Chapter 1 A Matter of Justice

The Zhenbei Marquis Household was about to celebrate the Lady's birthday, and guests from all directions were gathering for the occasion.

At this time, someone came to the door, seeking justice for the women, children, and elderly of a tribe that had been exterminated!

The Zhenbei Army began to mobilize rapidly, streams of black flowing towards the area. Hundreds of congratulatory teams stationed along the riverbanks, including their soldiers and private troops, automatically began to prepare for defense, as if facing a formidable enemy.

However, no one shouted to rush forward and kill this unwelcome guest. After all, this was the Zhenbei Marquis Household's territory. If you dared to act without permission, wouldn't you be insulting the Zhenbei Marquis Household?

Si Niang carefully collected the shattered remains of poor Yang Wenzhi and walked out of the tent. Looking up, she saw her master sitting on top of the tent, gazing at the scene in the distance.

"Come up, you can see clearly from here."

Zheng Fan beckoned to Si Niang below.

Si Niang leaped onto the top of the tent and sat down next to Zheng Fan, the two of them snuggling together.

The scene was just like a modern-day rural youth hooking up with a pretty widow to watch an open-air movie together.

"Master!"

At that moment, Ding Hao's voice came from below.

Zheng Fan had sent him away for the past two days, ostensibly to help guard the camp and be responsible for defense. Now that such a thing had suddenly happened, he naturally came to find Zheng Fan to protect him.

To be fair, Ding Hao wasn't exactly a good person in the strict sense of the word, and his hands were even stained with blood, but he did one thing very well, and that was to repay kindness.

"Come up, be careful."

"Yes, sir!"

Ding Hao also climbed onto the tent. With the weight of three people on it, the tent began to sway slightly, clearly a little overwhelmed.

"Master, perhaps I should go down." Ding Hao said.

"It's fine, it'll collapse sooner or later anyway." Zheng Fan waved his hand indifferently, then smiled, "Are you still blaming me for not allowing you to come over these past two days, preventing you from having a hot meal?"

"This subordinate is used to the army's rations, how dare I complain to Master."

Actually, he was a little bit concerned. After all, since becoming Zheng Fan's teacher, Ding Hao had been well-fed and cared for every day in the residence.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Chewing on the dry, cold nang felt like knives were scraping from his throat to his stomach.

"Well, you have to understand." Zheng Fan said.

"This subordinate understands."

Zheng Fan pointed to that little bit of slovenliness in the middle of the dark mass in front of them...

"Unless you're willing to eat with that guy for two days."

"............" Ding Hao.

That ruthless man had been in the tent these past two days?

Zheng Fan ignored Ding Hao's shock and said,

"Zuo Guli Wang, what kind of official is that?"

He hadn't been in this world for a short time, but Zheng Fan, who had spent more than half a year in a coma, hadn't fully understood many aspects of this world. After all, this world didn't have the kind of internet of later generations, where you could gather information from all aspects with just a few taps of your fingers at home.

"Reporting to Master, the Zuo Guli Wang is a position in the Manchu royal court. The first person in the Manchu royal court is the Manchu King. Below the Manchu King are the Zuo and You Xian Wang, and below the Zuo and You Xian Wang are the Zuo and You Guli Wang. Below the Zuo and You Guli Wang are the Zuo and You Grand General, the Zuo and You Grand Commandant, and the Zuo and You Grand Chieftain."

"The Manchus respect the left, which is the opposite of us, right?"

"Yes, the Manchus respect the left."

"The Zuo Guli Wang is already one of the top figures in the Manchu royal court, isn't he? Why is he surnamed Shatuo?"

"Reporting to Master, the Manchu royal court has long since declined. A hundred years ago, during the heyday of the royal court, the royal court itself was the most powerful tribe of the Manchus. The Zuo and You Xian Wang and the Zuo and You Guli Wang were all powerful hegemons in their respective regions.

But since the Manchu King's western expedition a hundred years ago led to the demise of the royal court's elite, the Golden Family has declined ever since. Not only did the Manchu tribes no longer listen to the royal court's orders, but even the royal court's own sphere of influence was constantly being compressed.

The bloodline of the Golden Family has also become weaker from generation to generation. Therefore, starting from the previous generation of Manchu Kings, the positions of Zuo and You Xian Wang, Zuo and You Guli Wang, and those below them, were no longer entirely held by members of the Golden Family, but began to select talents from the entire desert Manchu people to fill them.

This Shatuo Queshi, this subordinate has heard of him before. It is said that he was selected by the royal court's priests when he was young and brought into the royal court. After adulthood, he was even granted the title of Zuo Guli Wang by the contemporary Manchu King."

"Heh, he really is a remarkable figure. So, although he is the royal court's Zuo Guli Wang, he came this time to avenge his mother's tribe?"

"Master, this subordinate believes that this Zuo Guli Wang is being a little too sentimental. Throughout history, the Manchus and our Yan Kingdom have committed offenses against each other every year, it's either you die or I live. He wants to seek justice for the dead Manchu women and children, then who will seek justice for the Yan Kingdom's people who died under the Manchu sabers?"

"In other words, double standards." Zheng Fan said.

"Double standards, what does that mean?"

"It means two sets of standards, one for themselves and one for others."

"Master is wise, every word is precious."

"Alright, stop flattering me. Actually, I can understand him quite well. Battlefield battles are battlefield battles, and whoever lives or dies depends on the sword in their hand. He should be able to see that very clearly.

So, he said earlier that he came to seek justice for the thousands of elderly, weak, women, and children of the Shatuo tribe, not the young and strong who died in battle."

"Master, how do you know this so clearly?"

Zheng Fan pointed to his face, and said,

"Otherwise, I would already be a corpse."

After all, he, Zheng, was the one who cut off the head of the Shatuo tribe's leader.

"We bystanders can of course criticize others for having double standards, but he is the person involved, his mother's tribe was slaughtered, which is equivalent to his hometown being burned to the ground.

As far as he's concerned, there's no such thing as double standards. He's angry, he's furious, he's unwilling, so he proactively comes to the door to demand an explanation."

At this time, Si Niang opened her mouth and said, "Master, he said he has already resigned from his position as Zuo Guli Wang."

"Yes, he's afraid of dragging the royal court down with him."

The Yan Emperor and the Zhenbei Marquis were vying against each other, and the Zhenbei Marquis Household chose the Shatuo tribe as the monkey to kill and show to the chickens, ducks, and geese.

The Manchu royal court made no statement, even though the slaughtered tribe was, in name, its people. In fact, if you looked closely, you might even be able to find an envoy sent by the royal court to congratulate the Zhenbei Marquis's Lady on her birthday.

The Zhenbei Marquis Household's deterrent power over the entire desert was indeed strong enough.

But despite this, he still resigned from his official position and came here alone to demand justice.

He was already prepared. Last night, he even personally paid tribute to himself.

He was actually here to die.

The world values compromise and understands how to assess the situation, but he doesn't.

He just wants an explanation,

An explanation for himself.

............

"The Old Lady said that the royal court is having a difficult time. If they were to lose a talent like the Zuo Guli Wang, then the days ahead would be even more difficult. She advises the Zuo Guli Wang to think twice, for the sake of the royal court, for the sake of the Manchu people."

The old voice came again, conveying the words of the "Birthday Star."

The slovenly man slowly straightened his body,

And shouted:

"Please have the Princess come out for a meeting!"

His voice was like a thunderclap, echoing across the riverbank.

Shortly after,

A voice came from the Marquis Household:

"The Old Lady says she is tired and needs to rest and be quiet."

The courtesies have been exhausted;

Since you still don't know what's good for you,

Then go to hell.

This is a military order!

"Zhenbei Army!"

"Zhenbei Army!"

"Zhenbei Army!"

Three Zhenbei Army captains raised their swords.

"Exterminate the Manchus!"

"Exterminate the Manchus!"

"Exterminate the Manchus!"

Three thousand iron cavalry shouted in unison, their killing aura filling the air.

The Jin Kingdom's infantry and the Chu Kingdom's navy were both renowned in the East, but only the Yan Kingdom's iron cavalry was recognized as the best in the world!

The slovenly man took a step back,

And once again raised the wine jar, pouring the remaining wine all over his face.

Good wine ah,

Really good wine,

What a pity,

That he couldn't have drunk this wine sooner,

If he could have drunk this wine sooner, perhaps he wouldn't have come on this trip, right? At worst, he could have just gotten drunk every day to relieve his sorrows.

"Bang!"

The wine jar was smashed,

The slovenly man's hair began to flutter,

His blood-red eyes swept around, and red lines began to appear on his body, as if a long-dormant ferocious beast had opened its eyes!

"Tiger!"

"Tiger!"

"Tiger!"

The Zhenbei Army completed its formation. The outer circle of a thousand cavalrymen began to patrol, maintaining their speed. The inner circle was divided into formations of a hundred cavalrymen each, and began to charge in succession from eight directions.

Each formation of a hundred cavalrymen was clad in black armor, and at this moment, each formation seemed to breathe as one. Each formation was like a single person, like a sword!

The slovenly man began to accelerate, and actively charged towards the formation closest to him.

And on the opposite side, the cavalry also began to charge.

"Boom!"

The slovenly man smashed his fist into the formation, and the bodies of the twenty or so Zhenbei Army cavalrymen directly in front of him shattered, their armor twisting into scrap metal. The remaining cavalrymen also coughed up blood, injured by the qi and blood.

The sharp knife seemed to have stabbed a stubborn rock, causing a large gash to open up.

However, the slovenly man himself, his right hand that had thrown the punch, was also beginning to tremble, and blood could be seen flowing from the knuckles.

Before he could take advantage of the situation to charge into the broken formation and kill the enemy, the remaining Zhenbei Army knights immediately spurred their warhorses to scatter in all directions.

Retreating, of course, wasn't a real retreat, but to make room and space for the cavalry of the next military formation.

Before the slovenly man could calm the chaotic qi and blood in his body, the second military formation had already charged over!

The slovenly man let out a long roar from his throat,

And charged forward again.

"Boom!"

His body was like the most坚硬精铁 in the world, directly smashing into the military formation, and actually smashing through it. The twenty or so Zhenbei Army cavalrymen in the center of the military formation, all those he touched, either had their bodies shattered or their limbs broken.

"Tiger!"

"Tiger!"

"Tiger!"

However, the next wave of military formations was coming again.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

............

Eight military formations were broken through by the slovenly man alone.

His surroundings were also covered with blood and corpses.

His own body was also covered in wounds, with blood flowing like a stream, and in some places, bones could be seen.

If at first, his momentum was like a rainbow, piercing through the clouds, then at this time, he had the appearance of a river flowing downhill, a tiger falling on the plains.

However, his eyes were still filled with deep resentment, which had not diminished in the slightest.

At the same time,

The Zhenbei Army iron cavalry did not waver in the slightest because of the death of hundreds of their comrades.

The remaining cavalrymen of the eight military formations that had launched the charge earlier took the initiative to scatter to the outer circle and began to patrol and reorganize, while the cavalry that had originally been patrolling on the outer periphery had already formed eight new military formations.

A new round of charging,

Was clearly about to begin!

Just at this moment,

That old voice from within the Marquis Household came again:

"The Old Lady said, 'You are a talented general, why act like a common brute?'

The Old Lady also said, 'The old Manchu King doesn't have much left in his coffers. If you die here, how will that old thing survive?'"

The slovenly man heard this,

And burst out laughing,

Facing the cavalry from eight directions that were reforming and charging towards him, he showed no fear,

At the same time,

He roared:

"I am but a barbarian of the desert!"