The flickering campfire, the swaying gazes, the wavering expressions, the teetering atmosphere;

Everything within the fort seemed to be trembling in Zheng Fan's silence.

The barbarian soldiers standing around made no attempt to hide the looks they cast at the women huddled in the corner, their eyes practically ablaze.

Ever since that night when they followed their young chieftain's trail to this fort, they had been like wild beasts trapped in an iron cage.

From north to south,

And now here,

A foreign land,

War,

Darkness,

Each element was a key to unlocking their cage, and their instincts were slowly awakening.

The Qian people called the Yan people "Yan barbarians," which was a form of regional discrimination, not unlike the regional ribbing of later generations.

But whether it was the Yan or the Qian, their terms for the barbarians went beyond simple inter-group mockery; they had even risen to the level of racial prejudice.

The barbarians were nothing more than beasts in human form!

Liang Cheng stood to the side, his eyes slightly closed, as if he couldn't see anything around him.

Zheng Fan slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding barbarian soldiers. He spoke in the barbarian tongue:

"You want women?"

The barbarian soldiers nodded furiously, some even swallowing unconsciously. Zheng Fan's words were heavily suggestive, and they were growing impatient.

"Whether it's the women of Yan or the women of Qian, anyone who lets me know they've touched them will regret being born into this world."

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

All the barbarian soldiers knelt on the ground, trembling.

Liang Cheng opened his eyes slightly.

"I'll only say this once. When the rest of your tribesmen arrive, pass it on for me."

With that,

Zheng Fan stood up

and walked towards the steps of the fort.

Liang Cheng glanced around and issued a simple command in the barbarian language:

"Guard, watch."

Then,

he followed up the steps.

Tonight, there were few stars and no moon in the sky. It looked like it would rain tomorrow.

Zheng Fan heard the footsteps behind him and knew who was following. He said:

"Do you think my order just now was inhumane?"

Some things were hard to avoid.

Every war and slaughter was accompanied by the piercing screams of women.

"Your subordinate is only responsible for carrying out your orders, Master."

"I thought you'd think I was giving foolish commands."

Zheng Fan knew, of course, that letting his barbarian subordinates indulge themselves could boost their morale and earn their loyalty.

The gangsters of later generations chose their bosses based on who could feed them, give them money, and let them sleep with girls.

"Your subordinate understands."

"Actually, if they weren't barbarians, if they were proper Yan cavalrymen, I probably wouldn't object.

Anyway, the women in this fort are in this line of work. They aren't from good families.

We can give them some silver as a thank you afterwards, and everyone might be happy."

"Master, your subordinate thinks that if you give silver, the women down there would be willing to entertain the barbarians."

Zheng Fan turned around, looked at Liang Cheng, his gaze deep,

and said slowly:

"I'm being a hypocrite, is that it?"

"Yes, it is."

"I don't think of myself as a Yan person. To be honest, I don't have much sense of belonging to Yan. I might have had a little, if I'd lived in Tiger Head City longer, if I hadn't had that experience as a decoy laborer."

Liang Cheng stood to the side, listening quietly.

"I don't have any sense of belonging to Qian either. Maybe because I was an official of Yan, I have a kind of instinctive rejection of Qian.

But towards the barbarians, even though Sha Tuo Que Shi is still lying in his coffin in Green Willow Fort, I respect him, but I have no fondness for the barbarians at all.

I don't know where my position really lies, but if I saw barbarian men laying their hands on the women here, I would be angry."

"Master, you don't need to explain so much to me."

"I'm afraid my willfulness will affect your leadership of them."

"Master, you worry too much. You underestimate our methods. From the moment they entered the Mei family fort that night, we have been working to shape your image in their minds as a terrifying demon.

Blind Man even brainwashes them every night.

In their hearts, you are the demon, and it is perfectly normal for the demon to make them do things that violate their nature.

In fact, they will think this is the demon's punishment for them, but they will gladly accept this punishment.

The order you just gave, though seemingly unacceptable to them, may actually give them a pleasure that is even stronger than women."

"............" Zheng Fan.

So, you really shouldn't have been lazy and not gotten up early to practice with them because you were practicing needlework at night;

And you had to go to bed early because you were practicing needlework, so you couldn't join them for ideological education;

Otherwise, you wouldn't even know what kind of image your subordinates have arranged for you in the minds of these barbarians.

This image…

is so damn twisted!

"In fact, for any army, using wine, meat, money, or women to boost morale is a low-level method. The most important thing is to attract them with something beyond material existence."

Zheng Fan glanced at Liang Cheng and said:

"Your thinking is dangerous."

"Blind Man gave them a dream. In the dream, they returned to the desert in the future, and with our support, they established a tribe of their own.

That tribe has no war, no killing, only cattle, sheep, oases, and the laughter of children.

For this dream, to realize this dream, these five hundred barbarian soldiers will follow us to the death. Even if only one of them survives, that person will witness this dream for them."

"I suddenly feel sorry for them."

"The truly pitiful are those who live ordinary lives in this world without dreams."

"Alright, let's talk business."

"Yes, Master. What do you plan to do next?"

"What else can I do? Heh, I didn't say anything to Blind Man about coming out this time. If we go back like this, do you know how Blind Man will gossip about me behind my back?"

"Blind Man wouldn't dare to gossip about you, Master."

"He'll say, 'Zheng Fan, the head of the Anti-Vice Squad of the Green Willow Fort Branch of the Great Yan Empire, led his warriors across the border to help a neighboring country fight vice and build a spiritually civilized society.'"

"Master, your thinking is also dangerous."

"In short, I'm not willing to go back like this. This isn't the kind of fighting I imagined. Look at the reaction of those guys who squatted down with their heads in their hands when we rushed in just now. This is fighting vice!"

Liang Cheng nodded and said, "It's not the kind of fighting I imagined either."

Zheng Fan put his hand on the battlement and sighed:

"We thought of Qian as too normal before."

Liang Cheng nodded, obviously agreeing with this idea.

Because during the night raid, it wasn't just Zheng Fan who was fighting wits with the air, it was him too.

When he thought about how he had been hiding, detouring, and sneaking when he approached this fort, this cold zombie actually had the illusion that his face was burning.

"A hundred years of peace, the replacement of generations, is enough to wear away too many things. Actually, I should have thought of it earlier. I should have thought of it after seeing the broken walls of Green Willow Fort.

But at that time, I always thought it was because the Yan people were arrogant, looked down on Qian, and had the Jingnan Army stationed in Silver Wave County, so the border town defense system was abandoned.

But this is actually the inevitable result of time. If there is too much peace, the machine will rust, let alone people?

Did you hear what the fort chief said just now? The Qian border army is seriously short of supplies and personnel. This fort chief can even turn a fort that is at the forefront of the Yan defense system into a red light district in order to make money."

"Administrative corruption and military decay are the destiny that no dynasty can stop," said Liang Cheng.

"Tsk tsk, I'm really looking forward to it. The current emperor of Yan is a wise ruler, and the current Marquis of Zhenbei obviously has an extraordinary relationship with the emperor.

I don't know much about the Jingnan Army, but we've both seen how elite the Zhenbei Army is.

If the Yan emperor solves the domestic aristocratic families, appeases the desert barbarians, and then transfers the Zhenbei Army to the south, can Qian's defense line, which has been hollowed out, withstand the Zhenbei Army's 300,000 iron cavalry?"

Liang Cheng shook his head and said with certainty:

"It can't."

There was no disagreement about this, because the Zhenbei Army was indeed a first-class iron cavalry in this world.

"However, that's a story for later. Next, I plan to..."

As he said that, Zheng Fan turned around and pointed to the south,

"Continue south!"

Liang Cheng sighed and said, "Master, please allow your subordinate to say something against my will."

"Say it."

"It's too dangerous, and too reckless."

"What about the truth?"

"Master is wise."

Obviously, Liang Cheng hadn't had enough fun either.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves came from below the fort. Because the horses' hooves were wrapped, the sound was a bit muffled.

The barbarian soldiers in the fort immediately opened the gate and let their companions outside in.

"There's one more thing I need to ask you, Master. What should we do with the remaining people in this fort?"

Zheng Fan didn't answer, but asked:

"What do you think?"

…………

"Clang!"

A golden-hilted dagger was thrown in front of Zhao Changgui by Liang Cheng.

After seeing the golden luster, Zhao Changgui and the squad leader next to him revealed looks of greed in their eyes.

This fort had one chief, Zhao Changgui. There should have been four squad leaders, with forty soldiers under their command, plus some other personnel, about fifty people in total.

But the actual number of people in this fort was only half that.

The Qian border army's extremely large army may only exist on paper. The amount of empty pay was already close to half.

Of the two squad leaders, one had already been killed in the previous cutting down.

Therefore, the two highest-ranking people in the fort now were Zhao Changgui and this squad leader named Xu Defu.

"The army of Great Yan will be going south soon. We are the vanguard of the army. Now, there are two choices in front of me.

At the same time, they are also your two choices;

One is that I will now order all the people in your fort to be killed and take back your heads as military merit."

When Liang Cheng said this,

Zhao Changgui and Xu Defu both revealed looks of horror in their eyes.

"The second choice is very simple. We can pretend that tonight's events never happened. As for how to deal with the dead and how to silence the survivors, you two should have your own ways.

I can even promise you that when the Yan army goes south in the future, you can all survive, and you will all have a share of the credit waiting for you."

This was actually a surrender.

"I'm willing, I'm willing!" Xu Defu immediately kowtowed and shouted.

"I'm willing too, I'm willing too!" Zhao Changgui also kowtowed immediately, afraid that his performance would not be as active as Xu Defu's.

"Today, your fort has been captured by us. Once this matter is spread, your superiors will definitely not let you off."

"Yes, yes, we understand, we understand." Zhao Changgui nodded immediately.

"We were too hasty when we came out, and we didn't bring too much gold and silver, but we will send someone to contact you in the future. As long as you work for us with peace of mind, you will get your benefits."

"Thank you for your kindness, General!"

"Thank you for your promotion, General!"

Liang Cheng saw that it was almost done and walked out of the room.

Xu Defu and Zhao Changgui, who were kneeling on the ground, looked at each other and could see the horror and relief in each other's eyes.

The border had been peaceful for almost a hundred years, but they had actually encountered Yan people. Fortunately, they had saved their lives and might even get rich because of this.

The four hundred barbarian soldiers, who had rested for less than half an hour, came out of the fort, their target, heading straight south!

They had a lot to do tonight. Like naughty children who had finally gotten out of the house, they would never go home until they had had enough fun.

Zhao Changgui and Xu Defu stood on the wall of the fort, watching the cavalry unit heading south gradually disappear from their sight.

"Huff..."

Xu Defu let out a long breath.

At this moment,

He finally confirmed that he had really survived.

Zhao Changgui sat down with his legs weak, one hand covering his chest, calming his heartbeat. The feeling of surviving a disaster made him feel a little suffocated.

"Fort Chief, let's go down later, gather all our men, tell them about the matter, and tell them that if the news of the fort being captured today is leaked in the slightest, we will all die. Then, deal with those two troublemakers, and don't allow the women in the fort to receive customers in the near future. This matter can be buried."

"Yes, the dead ones will be reported as having deserted. Anyway, this kind of thing is very common in various forts. Tomorrow, we will find a place nearby to dispose of their bodies. We have to do it cleanly and not leave any traces."

"Yes, I understand. But this may also be a fortune for us. The Yan people are finally going south. Others don't know, but don't we know how rotten our army is?

Everyone can't get enough to eat or wear, and the officials in the city only know how to write poems and beat us soldiers;

The military generals only know how to drink the soldiers' blood and deduct our rations, so that we can't even fill our stomachs.

Once the Yan people go south, we can't stop them, we really can't stop them. Now that we can get in touch with the Yan people, we can save our lives in the future, and maybe even win a good future!"

Zhao Changgui nodded and said, "You're right. This place will sooner or later be the Yan people's place, and we will sooner or later be the Yan people."

Then,

Zhao Changgui added:

"Go down now and call out the people from our hometown to control the situation. We must not make any mistakes."

"Okay, Fort Chief, I'll go now."

Xu Defu walked past Zhao Changgui and went down the steps.

But at this moment,

An arm suddenly grabbed his neck from behind. Then, the golden-hilted dagger was stabbed hard into Xu Defu's neck.

"Puff!"

Xu Defu looked back at Zhao Changgui in disbelief,

Looking at this fort chief, who was usually very greedy for money, and even took a share of the money earned by the women in the fort.

"You...you...why...why...what..."

His neck was stabbed with a dagger, and blood was gushing out, but Xu Defu still managed to spit out these few words with difficulty.

We had just agreed and discussed it, why...why?

"You...want...to be...greedy..."

Zhao Changgui continued to strangle Xu Defu's neck while sucking in a breath of cold air, and said in a trembling voice:

"No, I didn't want to be greedy for the Yan people's credit alone. I didn't kill you for this."

"Then...then...why..."

Zhao Changgui brought his mouth to Xu Defu's ear and continued to tremble:

"Didn't...didn't you see who was standing next to the Yan people? It's barbarians, it's barbarians!

The Yan people have already colluded with the barbarians. They are going south together, they are going south together!

I...I...I can't, can't just watch, can't, can't, people will die, many people will die, many, many people will die."

"You..."

Xu Defu's body trembled for the last time and stopped moving.

He died with a belly full of incomprehension, and his wide-open eyes showed his unwillingness.

Zhao Changgui let go of his hand and watched Xu Defu's body lying under him.

He slowly stood up and began to walk forward, supporting himself on the battlement.

More than ten years ago, Zhao Changgui had spent a lot of money to bribe his way into inheriting his father's position as fort chief. He had never even killed anyone in his life.

Because his father had never seen the Yan people's cavalry in his life, and he had never seen them either. He often saw the Yan people's merchants.

When Zhao Changgui's foot stepped on the steps leading to the watchtower, his foot trembled, and he fell to the ground with a "thump".

He didn't rush to get up, but held his head in his hands and whimpered softly.

He was afraid, because he knew that if the events of today's fort were leaked out, according to the Qian military law, he would surely die!

He was not a scholar, and Qian had the tradition of not punishing the scholar-officials, but they had always been ruthless when it came to killing people like him!

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."

Zhao Changgui kept muttering in his mouth,

But slowly,

He propped himself up with his arms and got up again,

Then,

He continued to climb up the steps to the watchtower.

Finally,

He climbed to the watchtower.

His teeth were biting his lip, and he had already bitten out blood. He kept sniffing his nose, and tears were constantly rolling in his eyes.

He took out a fire starter from his arms with trembling hands,

"Yan people...barbarians...Yan people...barbarians..."

Zhao Changgui had never read a book, and he didn't know any great principles. He was greedy for money, otherwise he wouldn't have opened a red light district in the fort, attracting soldiers from all over the fortresses and watchtowers to come here during the day.

He loved money, he was afraid of death,

But he just didn't know why,

When he watched those hundreds of barbarian cavalrymen heading south in front of him,

His heart,

Suddenly became very flustered.

"Huff...huff...huff..."

Zhao Changgui calmed his breathing, clenched the fire starter in his left hand, preparing to light the tinder, and then, light the signal fire.

Zhao Changgui had long forgotten what color the signal fires were and what they meant. He had never lit them, and neither had his father, but he felt that he should light the signal fire now, he felt that he should do it.

He felt that he was crazy, but if he was crazy...then so be it!

The fire starter was sent under the tinder...

"Bang!"

A stone hit Zhao Changgui's hand, and the fire starter rolled to the ground.

Zhao Changgui raised his head in shock and saw two people who had appeared next to the wall of the watchtower at some point.

He had seen these two people before. One was obviously the person in charge, and the other had previously dropped a golden dagger for him to kill Xu Defu.

"I said, your method is very risky."

Zheng Fan said to Liang Cheng very calmly.

Liang Cheng shook his head and said, "My negligence."

"This is because of your personality. You don't like to analyze human nature. You think it's unnecessary and too lazy to do it. You have to learn more from Blind Man on this point."

"Okay."

Liang Cheng turned his head and looked at Zhao Changgui.

Zhao Changgui collapsed on the ground. He knew that he had no chance, and a look of despair appeared on his face.

"Clang!"

A knife was thrown in front of Zhao Changgui by Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan pointed to the knife and said:

"If you're a man, I'll give you a dignified way out. End it yourself."

Zhao Changgui picked up the knife on the ground,

Nodded,

Held the knife handle with both hands,

First, he pointed the blade at his stomach,

Hesitated for a moment,

Then he put the blade against his neck,

Tears and snot almost stained his face.

"Clang..."

The knife was thrown on the ground by Zhao Changgui again.

Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes and said:

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Changgui leaned back, leaning against the wall, with a hint of shame on his face,

And said a little embarrassedly:

"Help me, you do it...do it...kill me..."

Liang Cheng opened his mouth and said:

"Why?"

Zhao Changgui wiped the tears and snot on his face with his sleeves,

Said:

"I'm sorry to make you laugh, I'm timid, I don't dare to commit suicide..."