Chapter 13 Wolf and the Husky

The伏虎阵 (Fuhu Formation), at this time, had truly lived up to its name as the "Subduing Tiger Formation," having subdued Li Yuanhu, this fierce tiger among men.

Heaven knows how stifled Li Yuanhu felt right now. He was trapped by the formation, unable to break free, yet he dared not use his full strength to destroy the formation, for fear of accidentally killing all the immortal disciples maintaining it, which would be a real mess.

It wasn't until the immortal personally took action to dismantle the formation that Li Yuanhu let out an extremely frantic roar, then hastily picked up his twin hammers, which he had previously dropped on the ground. He didn't even bother to mount his horse, and ran straight south.

"Tsk tsk, he actually got away." The Sixth Prince seemed to enjoy the spectacle, not minding the chaos at all.

"Yes, he actually got away." Zheng Fan's tone was much more relaxed.

No matter what, he was happy that Shatuo Qieshi had escaped.

At this moment, Zheng Fan, the master, was unaware of the roles his two troublemaking subordinates had played in the whole affair.

Nor was he aware that the sudden change in the direction of Shatuo Qieshi's body was greatly related to him personally.

It was just that night when he promoted the style of later generations, worshiping whatever gods there may be first; who knew he would actually worship a godfather for himself!

"Oh my, it's almost dawn." The Sixth Prince stretched and continued, "Colonel Zheng, let's not rush back to sleep. Shall we go out and take another look?"

Tonight's operation by the Northern Garrison Army wasn't just this one scene. In comparison, this could only be considered a small side show. The real drama wasn't being staged here.

"Sure, it's a good opportunity to take a turn around. The shops in the market should be reopening by the time we get back."

At four or five in the morning, the most awkward thing isn't your routine, it's being hungry and unable to find a place to eat.

"That's right, we can take a turn around and come back to have a bowl of mutton soup, then take a bath and catch up on some sleep."

Zheng Fan went to fetch his horse, and the Sixth Prince took his reins, mounting his horse.

"Colonel Zheng, let's go for a stroll to the north."

The Sixth Prince was a good rider, much more skilled than Zheng Fan. Of course, this was also because the nobles of Great Yan didn't like using sedan chairs; everyone traveled on horseback.

In their words, why were Qian and Jin so useless?

They all sat in sedan chairs until their knees went soft.

Going out from the archway and heading north, they soon saw small squads of Northern Garrison Army cavalry. Zheng Fan and the Sixth Prince encountered several inspections, which must have been to search for any remaining enemies after the battle.

After traveling a bit further north, a scene of carnage unfolded before them.

The entire Nadu tribe had been wiped out, no prisoners taken, all slaughtered.

Even though the battle to exterminate the tribe was over, the blood on the ground hadn't had time to dry.

"They were exterminated," Zheng Fan said with emotion.

He thought of how he had hesitated to order the extermination of the Chen residence in Tiger Head City.

But here, these truly important figures casually ordered the extermination of entire tribes, as easily as drinking water when thirsty.

The princess was like that, Xu Wenzu was like that, the old madam was even more like that; all those in power were like that.

Ahead, a cavalry team appeared, each horse dragging a Nadu tribesman behind it.

These were the tribesmen who had fled with the young patriarch, Nadu Jiayang, last night; they had been captured, and Nadu Jiayang himself was among them.

Of course, they weren't captured to be kept alive, but purely to squeeze out the last bit of their value.

Shortly after, the patriarchs of the other three major tribes slowly approached with their male relatives and offspring.

This was a bloody lesson in ideology.

It was crude, it was bloody, but it was extraordinarily effective.

The Sixth Prince, on horseback, said calmly after seeing this scene, "The barbarians are beasts; they fear power but do not cherish virtue."

Clearly, the Sixth Prince agreed with this approach. When dealing with barbarians, you had to go all out.

This was the entire strategic model of Yan, and even its national policy!

When facing the northern barbarians, there would be no retreat, especially with the Northern Marquis Manor in Beifeng County.

But when facing Jin and Qian, both sides could appear more civilized, and there would rarely be incidents of massacring cities during battles.

Even the first Northern Marquis, after leading 30,000 iron cavalry to defeat the 500,000-strong army of Qian, and ravaging the northern three counties of Qian, only killed the wealthy to seize grain and wealth. Those commoners who could be relocated were moved back to Yan, which did indeed leave "nine out of ten houses empty," but it wasn't the kind of "nine out of ten houses empty" that frequently appeared in history.

"But killing doesn't solve the fundamental problem."

The Sixth Prince looked at Zheng Fan in surprise and asked, "Do you have a different opinion?"

Because Zheng Fan's words were practically refuting the political correctness of Yan.

"Unless the desert can all be turned into an oasis overnight, simple killing will only create the next killing."

The Sixth Prince frowned slightly upon hearing this and said, "Continue."

"Great Yan can't completely control the desert because the cost is too great."

The desert was vast, and the territory actually controlled by Yan was like the difference between Tiger Head City and Tuman City in comparison to the entire desert.

The living environment here was extremely harsh, and completely occupying it and exterminating all the barbarians on the desert was almost impossible because Great Yan couldn't afford the price.

Not to mention Great Yan, even if the four eastern countries joined forces, it would be difficult to completely exterminate the barbarians.

This place wasn't suitable for farming, wasn't suitable for immigration, and maintaining actual occupation of the desert was simply unrealistic.

If it could be done, the Northern Marquis Manor had been here for a hundred years, and they would have already done it.

"That can't be helped. You don't know how much pressure the barbarian Golden Family put on Great Yan a hundred years ago when they were at their peak.

My imperial ancestors even had examples of a father emperor dying in battle and the crown prince ascending the throne in the capital and immediately leading a personal expedition.

Now that we've finally defeated the barbarians, we naturally can't give them another chance to make a comeback."

"Your Highness, you misunderstand my meaning."

"Alright, you have many golden sentences; continue."

"Relying solely on force is too costly. As far as I know, most of Yan's annual treasury revenue has to be transported to Beifeng County, right?"

It was impossible for the 300,000 Northern Garrison Army to be supported solely by the Northern Marquis Manor, and it was also impossible to rely on the strength of Beifeng County alone. It was the support of the entire Great Yan that maintained this 300,000 iron cavalry that made the barbarians tremble!

But Yan's finances were already difficult due to the rise of prominent families, and it was naturally even more difficult to maintain such a large field army at the same time.

If the threat of the barbarians could be resolved permanently, imagine, not to mention saving the military expenses of the 300,000 Northern Garrison Army, if you directly moved the 300,000 Northern Garrison Army from the north to the south, would it still be difficult to expand the territory?

"Then what's your solution?"

"Your Highness, I mean that force is necessary. At all times, we must ensure absolute dominance of force, but at the same time, to fundamentally solve the problem of the barbarians, we need another weapon."

"What is it?"

"Culture."

"Heh, I thought you were going to come up with some great strategy for governing the country; isn't that just the set of poetry, books, rituals, and music?

Let me tell you, when my imperial grandfather was in power, there was a Confucian scholar in the court named Di Shan, a rare great scholar of Yan at the time. He studied at the academies of Qian and once suggested to my imperial grandfather to use Confucian benevolence and morality to influence the barbarians, gradually making them understand etiquette and knowledge, thereby bringing great governance to the desert.

Guess how my imperial grandfather responded to his suggestion?"

"Simple, he sent him to Beifeng County as a guard official."

"Hmm? Have you heard of this?"

"Guessing."

"That's a really accurate guess. Half a year later, a barbarian tribe raided the border, broke through that fort, and cut off Di Shan's head."

"Your Highness, I'm not using the methods of Confucianism to deal with the barbarians."

"Then what are you using?"

"You can look around nearby, look in Yan, look in the other three countries, or even go to the Western Regions, to the Far West;

See if there are any religions similar to the barbarians' beliefs, and religions that teach people that this life doesn't matter, that they should look forward to a happy and fulfilling next life, or that call on people not to produce but to focus on serving the gods."

"I seem to have heard of the kind you're talking about."

"Find them, and then fund them to preach in the desert. At the same time, relying on the deterrent power of the Northern Marquis Manor, demand that the barbarian tribal chiefs must support this preaching. Whoever doesn't support it will be beaten, and whoever supports it and develops well can be given a title, such as a tribe that is not conquered by the Northern Garrison Army.

If this goes on, it will have an effect after two generations. By then, the barbarians will become..."

"Become what?"

"Hospitable, good at singing and dancing."

As he spoke, Zheng Fan stretched and said, "The entire desert will be filled with a peaceful atmosphere. Even if everyone starves to death, freezes to death, or is whipped to death by nobles, they will die with sweet smiles."

"Colonel Zheng."

"I'm here."

"After listening to your words, I feel so cold."

"That's because Your Highness is weak."

"..." The Sixth Prince.

The Sixth Prince wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiled, and said, "Colonel Zheng, this is a root-digging method; you're digging at the very foundation of their barbarians!"

The barbarians believe in the Barbarian God. Saying "Barbarian God is above" is equivalent to their most basic identity card.

But if they can be made to change their beliefs, it would be equivalent to tearing them apart. From then on, the culture and beliefs in the desert would no longer be unified.

Could barbarians who don't believe in the Barbarian God still be called barbarians?

At the same time, use political methods to corrupt their nobles and religious methods to influence their vast lower class...

Tsk tsk...

"Colonel Zheng, my Great Yan court lacks a position for you!"

"Your Highness flatters me."

"It's a pity; I can't tell this method to my imperial father, nor can I tell it to other ministers, and even less can I tell it to my second brother.

One is that I'm unwilling to give this method to others and allow them to achieve brilliance;

Second, if they knew that I, this idle prince, actually had national affairs in my heart, alas, the consequences would be disastrous."

"There will always be opportunities in the future."

The Sixth Prince pointed at Zheng Fan and laughed, "How many times has this been?"

"Your Highness, it's the second day."

"Hmm, that's right. But, Colonel Zheng, how did you figure out this method?"

"Your Highness, I'm from Beifeng County, and my family has been favored by the emperor for generations. I dare not forget to worry about the country for a moment..."

"Alright, alright, stop, stop. I won't ask, I won't ask. Save these words for when you have the opportunity to face the one on the dragon throne."

"Then I should say it even more now."

"This is the second time today."

"Hehe."

In fact, this method wasn't Zheng Fan's original creation. In that world, during the Qing Dynasty, there was a ready-made example.

Because the Qing Dynasty was established by a minority group entering the pass and seizing the world, it had a better understanding of the grassland peoples because of its origins. That was why it could prescribe the right medicine.

For example, the Northern Marquis Manor's method of reducing the population of the four tribes who submitted to them was actually implemented during the Qing Dynasty, artificially controlling the population of the Mongol tribes.

Every year, barring any accidents, the Qing emperor would take the princes and nobles to the north for summer retreat, and then the Mongol princes and nobles would also come together, and everyone would have a party together;

Then, they would throw out more than a dozen princesses and consorts for intermarriage and reward a wave of dividends.

At the same time, the imperial court would encourage that stuff to vigorously preach on the grasslands.

Therefore, the grassland nightmare that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for so long, although there were occasional rebellions during the Qing Dynasty, they ultimately didn't cause too much trouble.

The Qing court also successfully castrated the proud and terrifying wolf who had fought alongside them into a husky.

In fact, Blindman Bei had also told Zheng Fan another method, a simpler, more destructive, and more ruthless method, fully illustrating how vicious an old silver coin with blind eyes could be.

That was... opium.

But this suggestion was directly rejected by Zheng Fan!

Blindman Bei also expressed his deep understanding of this!

"Look, it's starting."

The Sixth Prince pointed to the front.

In front, Nadu Jiayang was pushed to the front row, so he could watch the destruction of the Nadu tribe with his own eyes, watching the mountains of his tribesmen's corpses.

Nadu Jiayang broke down.

He began to howl loudly, but no one knew what he was shouting.

Behind him, dozens of tribesmen who had accompanied him in his escape and were captured were also crying, their families having died last night.

Around them, the nobles of the three major tribes were watching everything that was happening under the leadership of the three patriarchs.

This was the order issued by the old madam, and the three major tribes dared not disobey.

At this time, a Northern Garrison Army officer was stopped by the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince asked him some things, and then rode his horse back to Zheng Fan like he was showing off a treasure, wanting to get some praise from Zheng Fan, "The one howling in the front is Nadu Jiayang, the young patriarch of the Nadu tribe. It was this guy who colluded with the royal court priest. Last night, the royal court priest was performing rituals in his tribe.

Isn't it funny? To make it easier for the priests to act, he even had his concubine serve his old man, and at the same time, he had the concubine drug his old man, who was the patriarch of the Nadu tribe, and knock him out.

So, when the three tribes attacked the Nadu tribe last night, it couldn't have gone more smoothly. His old man didn't wake up until his head was chopped off."

"Well, at least he left without pain."

"Colonel Zheng, is your focus always so peculiar?"

"Your Highness, I'm just kind-hearted and can't bear to see people suffer."

"I believe it, I really believe it."

Zheng Fan looked at Nadu Jiayang, who was howling over there, and said, "He's also a very filial son."

"Yes, yes, a filial son."

This reminded Zheng Fan of Ma Chao in the Three Kingdoms, who was also a filial son.

He was very similar to the Nadu Jiayang in front of him, but Nadu Jiayang was too stupid.

After the education session was over, Nadu Jiayang and others were beheaded one by one by the Northern Garrison Army soldiers.

The tribal chiefs of the three major tribes could finally close their eyes and leave with the nobles of their tribes.

Many nobles, who had been excitedly roaring while leading troops into battle last night, were now covered in cold sweat and pale.

Clearly, their brains were a little underdeveloped, and they were only now feeling the "fox mourning the rabbit's death."

Old Madam's kindness, didn't make them go back and each write an 800-word essay to hand in.

"Alright, let's go back, go back and drink soup, it's freezing."

The Sixth Prince spurred his reins and returned to the oasis with Zheng Fan.

The market had become lively again, and the shopkeepers were starting to do business.

Today's mutton was exceptionally cheap, so cheap that it was unbelievable.

This was thanks to the Nadu tribe, which had been wiped out last night, contributing their entire tribe's sheep.

The Northern Garrison Army soldiers would also be able to have a more comfortable winter. At least, there would be no shortage of mutton soup.

The shopkeeper brought up the flatbread and mutton soup. Zheng Fan grabbed some chopped green onions and cilantro and sprinkled them into his and the Sixth Prince's bowls.

The two of them picked up their bowls and slowly began to drink the soup.

After drinking most of the bowl, the Sixth Prince put down his bowl first and said, "Seventh Uncle wants to take you as a disciple."

"I know."

"But I want you to refuse."

Hearing this, Zheng Fan put down the bowl in his hand and said very seriously, "I've long admired Seventh Uncle and have always respected his character. Now that there's such a great opportunity in front of me..."

"I am an idle prince, that's true..."

The two of them stopped together.

Silence, lasted for about ten seconds.

The Sixth Prince said, "Why don't you continue?"

Zheng Fan smiled and said, "I'm waiting for Your Highness to speak."

"Heh, I'm an idle prince, that's true, but I have a knack for doing business."

"Your Highness, I don't lack money. I'm the one who makes perfume."

"I know, but I am the behind-the-scenes owner of the largest merchant house in Great Yan!"

Zheng Fan's heart skipped a beat.

This meant that, in later generations, this person in front of him was "Daddy Six," and he didn't have the worries of Daddy Six, because his surname was Zhao, oh no, Ji.

"Colonel Zheng, we've known each other for almost three days. I've heard that in Qian, many couples may not even have met before they get married."

"Your Highness, just say what you want to say; don't go too far, or if you must go too far, don't go too off..."

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point."

"Good, I'm all ears."

"The north will have big events in the coming years; it's no longer suitable for your development."

"So?"

"Go south, face Jin, or face Qian. They are much gentler than the barbarians, more understanding, and especially hospitable."

"But, Your Highness, I like the wind of the north, the clouds of the north, the folk songs of the north, I like..."

"I will fully support you!"

"Serve the country with utmost loyalty, even in death!"

"Thought it through?"

"His Majesty treats his subjects with great kindness; I will certainly dedicate myself to the country."

"Wait, what did you call me?"

"Your Majesty?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it inappropriate?"

"No, say it a few more times; I like to hear it."

"Your Majesty is wise."

"Hahahaha..."

The Sixth Prince slapped his thigh, then stood up and put his face close to Zheng Fan's, their breaths almost touching.

"Colonel Zheng, can't you just stab yourself first..."

I really don't want to have to personally deal with you in the future; that would be too hurtful to our relationship."

Hearing this, Zheng Fan replied, "Your Highness can also learn from the statues in the temple..."

"What do you mean?"

"Be a puppet."

The Sixth Prince was speechless for a moment, pointed at Zheng Fan, and after a long while, said very seriously, "But you can't usurp!"

"I can promise not to usurp, but I can't guarantee that my son won't."

After saying this, the two of them faced each other and burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahaha..."

"Hahahahahaha..."

The other diners in the mutton soup shop looked at them like they were two idiots, able to be so happy just from drinking a bowl of mutton soup.

The Sixth Prince laughed until tears came out, and finally had to wipe his eyes with his sleeves, stood up, and said, "I'm tired; I'm going back to sleep. Everything is in dreams."

"Your Highness, don't leave."

The Sixth Prince, who had already left the table, stopped and looked back at Zheng Fan, asking, "Is there anything else?"

Zheng Fan spread his hands, "Your Highness, you have to pay the bill."