Chapter 1 You're Not Wrong to Die Ten Times

"Do you know that just for saying that, you wouldn't be wronged even if you died ten times?"

Zheng Fan sat in silence, not deliberately displaying any panicked emotions.

Without that political sensitivity and understanding of the Jingnan Marquis, the City Lord Zheng wouldn't dare dance on the edge of a knife.

Da Yan and the Situ family tacitly maintained peace; from a noble perspective, it was because the Yan Kingdom respected the Situ family for resisting the invasion of wild men for the various Xia nations, so they deliberately gave them a boost.

But if that wasn't the reason, then it could only be that something was wrong with the health of one of the three giants, and that person's health problems would directly affect the country's decision-making.

Which left only,

His Majesty.

Tian Wujing seemed to just touch upon the subject and didn't plan to delve deeper into it, instead saying:

"What do you think of the current situation in Jin?"

Zheng Fan immediately replied:

"My Lord, originally the land of the Three Jins should have been extremely chaotic. Our Great Yan would have needed to spend a lot of time and energy to completely digest it, but now that the Situ family's Dacheng Kingdom has been established, it has, in a way, helped us divide the Three Jins.

This time, the turmoil in the Three Jins, with many powerful figures rising up, seems to have the momentum of a prairie fire, but it's all just a superficial blaze. Even if our army watches the fire from across the river, it will burn itself out, and it can be considered a once-and-for-all way to pull out those who harbor dissent and disobey orders."

"Just watching isn't enough."

"Yes, my Lord is right. What I meant was to watch first, and when it burns at its brightest, then start putting out the fire. But we don't need to use too much force, because even if the fire is weak, it's not good to get burned.

We slowly put it out, slowly drive it, slowly guide it, and eventually, these sparks will naturally roll into the territory of the Situ family."

"Wouldn't that help boost the Situ family's momentum?"

"Not so, my Lord. An orange becomes an orange when grown in Huainan, but a trifoliate orange when grown in Huaibei.

The reason these powerful clans can create such momentum is very similar to the aristocratic families in our Da Yan. It's all based on their popularity in their local areas. But once they leave their homeland and go to a new place, like fish leaving water, they will become refugees. Not only will they lose their previous momentum, but they will also become a burden."

"Your insight is indeed not bad."

"My Lord flatters me."

"But Huainan Commandery and Huaibei Commandery, or this Huai, is it a river? Where exactly is it? Why have I never heard of it?"

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

"Forget it, let's not dwell on that."

Tian Wujing stood up, and Zheng Fan quickly followed suit.

"City Lord Zheng."

"My Lord, I'm here."

"From the time you left Cui Willow Fort to where you are now, have you ever regretted it?"

"Replying to my Lord, I regret it so much that my intestines have turned green."

"Heh."

"It's also because I was greedy, thinking that since I was going to Jin to take office, I should build a good relationship with the Jin Emperor first, so that I could have someone to rely on later, but who knew..."

"City Lord Zheng, are you so sure that I won't blame you, so you're being so unreserved with me?"

As a Yan general, to secretly plan to collude with the Jin Emperor in advance is simply unforgivable.

"Isn't it all because my Lord spoils me?"

City Lord Zheng climbed up the pole.

"You are a talent, so I spoil you."

"Yes, a good bird chooses a tree to perch on. Under my Lord, I feel open and happy."

"But I do have something to remind you."

"Please instruct me, my Lord!"

"You are a Yan person, aren't you?"

"Yes!"

"You are a Yan general, aren't you?"

"Yes!"

"Has Da Yan ever failed you?"

"Never!"

"If Da Yan doesn't fail you..."

"Then I will never fail Da Yan! Never fail my Lord!"

"Remember the first half of your words."

"I will keep it in mind."

The Jingnan Marquis looked calmly out the window. Night had fallen, and it had begun to rain outside.

At this time, in the southern part of Qian, winter was already over, and the atmosphere of spring was very strong. But Jin and Yan were both located in the north, so winter was naturally longer.

Therefore, it's not without reason that the literary style of Yan and Jin is not prosperous. Winter is the longest season of the year, unlike Qian, where most places have four distinct seasons.

Without being able to see enough spring flowers and autumn moons, one cannot cultivate true poets.

But sometimes, living too comfortably can easily soften a person's bones.

The Jingnan Marquis raised his hand,

Saying:

"City Lord Zheng, listen to my order!"

Zheng Fan immediately knelt on one knee and said sincerely:

"I am here!"

"I order you to quickly gather your subordinates, select one thousand elite riders, and at zi shi (11 PM - 1 AM), be at my disposal."

"I obey!"

After receiving the order, Zheng Fan stood up and asked shamelessly:

"My Lord, who are we going to fight?"

"Whoever just hit you, we'll go hit them now."

"Fight the Jin army?"

With the establishment of the Dacheng Kingdom, the only ones in the Three Jins who can be temporarily called the Jin army are the Yu clan's troops in the capital area.

Yu Huacheng has not yet been conferred a title by the Dacheng Kingdom. In name, he and his subordinates still belong to the Jin army, even though they were preparing to put the butcher's knife to their own emperor's neck just two days ago.

"How to stabilize the situation in the Three Jins is something that the people in the imperial court have their own considerations for, but I also have my own considerations. You can listen to what those people in the imperial court say, but don't let it affect what you do."

"Then they previously..."

"They retreated, not because they were giving face to me, Tian Wujing, but because they didn't dare to attack me at this time, fearing that it would anger my Great Yan.

I'm standing right in front of them, and they don't dare to come and kill me themselves. Do I have to be grateful to them for not killing me?

This place is already Yan territory.

How can they come and go as they please?

City Lord Zheng, I admire you very much, but there is one thing that I think you lack. As a military general, you must have the nature of a wolf. You can retreat temporarily, but retreating is not to protect yourself, but to seek the opportunity to bite off the opponent's neck."

"I am taught."

Zheng Fan felt that Tian Wujing had said a lot today, and there was a clear intention to give him pointers.

However, since Tian Wujing said he wanted to send troops, Zheng Fan would naturally send troops. After taking his leave, Zheng Fan immediately called the Blind Man and Liang Cheng and arranged the work.

At zi shi (11 PM - 1 AM), the Jingnan Marquis, wearing golden armor, rode his resting Pixiu out of the fortress, followed by more than a thousand riders.

The moon was dark and the wind was high,

A thousand riders swept across the hills.

When this troop arrived under the city of Xinsu, the two flag-bearing knights brought by the Jingnan Marquis took the initiative to step forward.

Shortly after,

The city gate of Xinsu opened from the inside, and a commanding officer rode out, bypassing the crowd and coming directly to Tian Wujing, saluting on horseback:

"Greetings, my Lord!"

"Leave a portion to watch the city, and the rest of the troops, enter the formation."

"I obey!"

The Jingnan Army was a troop personally built by Tian Wujing. Not to mention that Tian Wujing was now the highest authority in the Yan Kingdom in the new Jin territory, even if he was nothing, he could still easily mobilize the Jingnan Army here to obey his military orders.

Whether it was the Zhenbei Army or the Jingnan Army, in fact, the troops only knew the Marquis and not the Emperor.

Only the Yan Emperor could accept and even actively promote this situation. If it were any other emperor, as long as he had the ability, he would definitely be single-mindedly thinking about weakening the feudal lords and "releasing military power with a cup of wine."

Soon, four thousand riders poured out of the city of Xinsu and joined forces with Zheng Fan's troops. This team already had a scale of over five thousand riders.

Five thousand riders were actually enough to cope with a medium-sized battle.

The troops were reorganized. The Jingnan Marquis was very particular about deploying troops. He liked to unravel the chaotic and complex battlefield, so as to find the opportunity to disintegrate or defeat the enemy.

Zheng Fan's troops were temporarily incorporated into this troop, and Zheng Fan himself followed beside the Jingnan Marquis.

The Devil Kings didn't come over, but stayed in their own team. After all, in the eyes of the Devil Kings, it was definitely safest for their master to follow Tian Wujing, the third-rank martial artist.

The scouts were not sent out either. After the troops marched east for dozens of miles, they all dismounted to rest under the order of the Jingnan Marquis.

Zheng Fan knew that this was to build up the strength of the horses, so that both the people and the horses could return to their best condition.

Tian Wujing leaned against the side of his Pixiu, and the Pixiu was also very considerate, taking the initiative to lie down to provide support.

This made Zheng Fan envious for a while, thinking that he would also capture a psychic demon beast to use as a mount in the future.

In fact, if things had developed according to the previous plan, after he became the City Lord of Shengle City, he would definitely have plundered the resources in the nearby Tianduan Mountains. And demon beasts were originally a scarce and precious "hard currency," not only were they very popular in the Eastern noble circles, but they were also sold to the West at a high price.

But plans can never keep up with changes. First, after returning from the southern expedition, Xu Wenzu didn't replenish his troops, and then there were two days of city defense battles that consumed them.

It was conceivable that in the upcoming cavalry charge, the assets under his command would be cut down by several layers again.

This was really wasteful.

But Zheng Fan couldn't show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face, but had to pretend to be very calm.

Tian Wujing, who was originally closing his eyes to rest, slowly opened his eyes, looked at Zheng Fan, and said:

"Don't be petty."

Zheng Fan showed a silly smile like Fan Li.

"As long as you can break into the imperial palace in the capital of Jin, the wealth inside will be enough for you to make up for this loss."

Zheng Fan didn't expect that the Jingnan Marquis would actually say such a thing to him. Wealth must be the most important thing for a warlord. Although the tombs of the Fucheng King hid a lot of wealth looted from Chuzhou, because his side had not settled down, he had not been able to arrange for people to secretly transfer it.

To put it another way,

How could the wealth in the Jin imperial palace compare to Chuzhou City?

Even though the Yu imperial family had always claimed to be living a difficult life, and it was even rumored that after the demise of the Helian and Wen families, the Jin Emperor had scattered his wealth to recruit and reorganize the defeated soldiers.

But a lean camel is bigger than a horse. The dignified Jin imperial palace had not been looted for hundreds of years, and the accumulation inside was definitely amazing.

Although the monetization of wealth takes time, and recruiting troops also takes time, but facts have proved time and time again that if you are very poor, then your time is basically worthless.

"After that battle, many defeated soldiers hid in the countryside, and at the same time, local powerful clans could also use wealth to win them over. Don't you like to use barbarian soldiers? You can also use wealth to buy the loyalty of warriors from the savage settlements in the Tianduan Mountains."

"Thank you... Thank you, my Lord, for your guidance."

"You would do these things even without my guidance. You have more than 5,000 troops under your command, and you account for 20% of them. You take 20% of the wealth."

"My Lord's great kindness and virtue, I..."

"Alright, I don't like listening to your nonsense."

The Jingnan Marquis raised his head, took another look at the night sky, stood up, and the Pixiu behind him also slowly stood up. This seemed to be a silent horn, like a ripple effect, the knights who were originally resting around stood up one after another.

There was no shouting, no noise, and no slogans.

When everyone was back on their horses,

The Jingnan Marquis's arm swung down,

In an instant,

The sound of horses' hooves was like thunder!

In fact, the Jingnan Marquis's war experience was not rich. Throughout history, some generals needed to gain experience and lessons from one war after another, or even from one failure after another, to grow into military stars. But some people seemed to be born with it.

The Jingnan Army had not fought any major battles in the Silver Wave Commandery for more than ten years, but the Jingnan Marquis's first battle was to borrow a road to open Jin and take half of the Jin Kingdom's territory for Great Yan in one fell swoop.

However, as the army sped along, guerilla generals came to the Jingnan Marquis to receive orders and instructions, and then led their respective subordinates out of the main formation and went in other directions.

This made Zheng Fan realize that the Jingnan Marquis seemed to be extremely familiar with this capital area of Jin.

One troop after another was divided out, with as few as two hundred and as many as a thousand. When they reached the outskirts of the capital area, Zheng Fan and the Jingnan Marquis actually had only three hundred riders left beside them.

Each troop had its own target to attack, and even the points of entry into the capital area and the subsequent arrangements had been instructed by the Jingnan Marquis.

This was a completely different style of combat from the Zhenbei Army. When Li Fusheng went into battle, he would charge ahead, and the other troops would cooperate to strangle the enemy according to their previous tacit understanding. But here at the Jingnan Marquis, the tasks and details were allocated to the extreme.

It was as if the capital area under the night sky was nothing more than a chessboard placed in front of the Jingnan Marquis, allowing him to freely place his pieces and finally cut off the big dragon.

In Zheng Fan's aesthetic view, this was the real art of war, unlike the Zhenbei Army, which just relied on its "strong soldiers and horses" to bully you.

Of course, if the premise of strong soldiers and horses was combined with the Jingnan Marquis's command and deployment, it was no wonder that the battle into Jin could directly destroy two major clans.

In the end,

The Jingnan Marquis looked at Zheng Fan,

And ordered:

"City Lord Zheng, after your troop patrols around here for an hour, go straight into the Jin imperial palace!"

He was actually going to entrust these three hundred riders, including the two flag-bearing knights who had accompanied him all the way from Litian City, to him.

Zheng Fan was a little flustered.

If he had known this, why didn't he bring Liang Cheng with him?

This feeling was like a new driver who had just obtained their license from driving school and had to drive on the road as soon as they left the school gates.

So much so that Zheng Fan belatedly remembered to ask the Jingnan Marquis:

"My Lord, what about you?"

Tian Wujing sat on the Pixiu and reached out to stroke the golden soft fluff on the Pixiu's neck,

Saying:

"I am now a jianghu ren (martial artist)."