Yesterday, you and I couldn't reach me; today, you and I, hehehe.

Fate is such a magical thing.

Zheng Fan understood that the Jin Emperor had his own difficulties, but even with the difficulties, after so many days of marching together, he could have found a way to see him.

But the Jin Emperor just looked down on him and felt it wasn't worth wasting the Yan Emperor's magnanimity on a small military leader like himself.

If Li Fusheng or Li Leopard were here, the Jin Emperor could definitely drink and make merry with those two boors. Suspicions and fears could all go to hell. He might even personally play drinking games and chat about women with those uncouth men from the north, perfectly fitting in.

If an emperor didn't have this kind of courage, how could he possibly open the door and invite bandits in?

Well,

if people look down on you, they look down on you. Zheng Fan had always been aware of his own worth. Aside from feeling a little sorry for Little Liu Zi, he could take it in stride.

But now, things had turned around.

The Jin Emperor was being chased by the Si Tu family's army like a fleeing rabbit and had run all the way to him, requesting that he open the city gates and offer him shelter.

What goes around comes around, doesn't it?

Where's your carriage now?

Where are your maids?

Where's your golden spittoon?

Where's your imperial bearing?

To be honest, the City Defender Zheng was truly experiencing the thrill of a former lover, who had left him because he was poor, being beaten up by society and coming back to beg him to get back together.

But as great as the thrill and pride were, there was no need to act rashly at this moment. With the Si Tu family's ascension and uprising, the recently stabilized situation in Jin had suddenly become extremely chaotic.

For Zheng Fan, quickly quelling this chaos was what would benefit him the most; otherwise, how could he continue being the City Defender of Shengle City?

He couldn't possibly run from Cui Liu Fort to this unknown fortress to continue being a garrison commander, could he?

If that were the case, Xu Pangpang of Nanwang City would add eight more chicken legs to his dinner to celebrate, another standard example of being happier the worse I have it after leaving.

"Open the city gates and welcome His Majesty, the Jin Emperor," Zheng Fan ordered.

The city gates were opened, and the Jin Emperor's troops entered.

Zheng Fan said to Liang Cheng, "Before, in order to have a good chat with the Jin Emperor, Blind Man and Fourth Sister didn't hold back in collecting information about him."

It's just like a con artist pulling a scam; you have to scout things out in advance and understand your target's preferences.

Of course, according to Blind Man, this was a type of esoteric art, commonly used by fortune tellers. They would first fish for information. If you were traveling long distances, they would tell you not to travel often recently. If you were a farmer, they would talk about the celestial phenomena. If you worked in the system, they would talk about benefactors and villains.

Fortune tellers couldn't make a living without this ability to fish for information in advance and then dig their own holes.

"Your subordinate understands," Liang Cheng nodded.

"After all the analysis, do you know what kind of persona Blind Man created for the Jin Emperor?"

"Please enlighten me, my lord."

"It's quite interesting. He dared to open the south gate and lead the Yan army into the pass. He was able to put aside his pride and actively kneel before the two lords. He can be considered a ruthless and decisive person.

"But the way he does things, he puts in too much effort. He seems to be constantly kneeling and selling out his country, and now he's become a puppet emperor.

"In reality, he's a proud person. To put it bluntly, he's quite stubborn.

"The Yan Emperor has a high vantage point and a grand vision. I've also met the Qian Emperor. He may not be good at fighting, so he was tricked, but he truly plays the art of dealing with people to perfection.

"Compared to the Yan and Qian Emperors, this Jin Emperor seems much younger. Outsiders believe he's a cowardly person, which only makes him more convinced that he's a wise man who is biding his time and has a plan and vision.

"In a moment, I'll deliberately use the previous coldness to provoke him, stirring up his anger. Do you believe that after he knows who I am, he'll think I'm straightforward and worth befriending?

"He might even think I'm an idiot who can be supported to pick the fruits later on."

"This…"

"This is the script. I'll tell you about it first so I can organize my thoughts. To be honest, I've only now realized that drawing comics in my previous life might have been a mistake. I should have applied to the Shanghai Theater Academy."

Before long, even before Zheng Fan took the initiative to request an audience, the Jin Emperor himself came to the city tower.

Looking at the Jin Emperor up close, Zheng Fan's first reaction was—he's really dark.

Some of the Bao Zheng characters in TV dramas, even with makeup, weren't as dark as the Jin Emperor.

"General, the Si Tu family's troops are not far from here. Please close the city gates quickly!"

The Jin Emperor's tone had some polite words added.

Zheng Fan shook his head and said, "No rush."

Blocking the city gates wasn't just blocking the enemy; it was also blocking his own chances of breaking through. Zheng Fan didn't want to make this decision unless it was absolutely necessary.

Because people could use ropes or baskets to get down the city walls, but how would you transport the warhorses out?

If you couldn't transport the warhorses out, how could you even think about breaking through?

Ultimately, Zheng Fan was still thinking that if things really got bad, he could just take off this official robe and continue living freely with his devils.

Zheng Fan didn't have the awareness to die for the Great Yan or the city.

"General?" Yu Ci Ming was clearly prepared to persuade him further.

Zheng Fan said with some impatience, "Your Majesty, this general knows how to fight a battle."

Yu Ci Ming was stunned. Ever since he had opened the south gate and led the Yan army into Jin, the two northern and southern lords, as well as the Yan Emperor, had been very polite to him. This was the first time he had encountered contempt from a Yan person.

"Please hand over your troops to this general for command."

"That's only natural." Yu Ci Ming didn't hesitate at this moment.

"Well, then Your Majesty, please go and rest."

Go wherever it's cool.

"General, I also know about military matters, and I can wield a blade."

Meaning, he could help defend the city.

Zheng Fan waved his hand and said,

"Your Majesty's dragon body is precious and must not be harmed. Please consider the overall situation and go and rest."

This wasn't Zheng Fan deliberately making things difficult for the Jin Emperor. It was because if he didn't accept the Jin Emperor into the fortress, he estimated that the Si Tu family's troops' target would be the Jin Emperor. Letting the Jin Emperor continue running with that force would naturally make his side safer.

But since he had accepted him, if a battle were to break out later, arrows had no eyes. If the Jin Emperor were shot in the head by an arrow, would Zheng Fan have to hold up the Jin Emperor's head and shout to the other side:

"The Jin Emperor is dead, let's not fight anymore!"

What was the point?

"The General seems to have a prejudice against me."

Zheng Fan smiled and asked in reply:

"Should I worship you?"

The contempt was overflowing.

"You………"

"Your Majesty, go down and rest peacefully, don't delay this general's work."

"Then, I'll go down first. I'll leave things here to the general."

The Jin Emperor was able to hold his breath, but after turning around and taking two steps, he remembered to turn back and ask:

"I was negligent, I haven't asked who the general is?"

"Zheng Fan."

Zheng Fan was too embarrassed to add the prefix. City Defender of Shengle City, Shengle City had already fallen, wouldn't adding this prefix be slapping himself in the face?

"Hehehehe."

The Jin Emperor laughed and said very directly:

"General Zheng is also truly genuine."

Clearly, the Jin Emperor knew who this General Zheng Fan was. After all, whether to meet him or not was one thing, but after traveling with his team for half a month, it would be too foolish if he didn't even know the person's name.

From this point of view, it was indeed reasonable for Zheng Fan to have such a stiff attitude towards him.

This General Zheng was really a straightforward and foolish person.

The Jin Emperor bowed deeply,

and said sincerely:

"In the past few days, Ci Ming also had his difficulties and was negligent towards the general. Now, the general doesn't hold it against me and protects Ci Ming. Ci Ming is extremely grateful!"

Zheng Fan's eyes immediately turned red,

and all the previous dissatisfaction and stiffness disappeared.

He took the initiative to walk to Yu Ci Ming and grab his hand,

and said, choking with emotion:

"Your Majesty, there's no need to be like this, there's no need to be like this. It's because this subordinate failed to understand your Majesty's difficulties. It's because this subordinate was narrow-minded."

The Jin Emperor and Zheng Fan held each other's hands tightly, and the two of them slowly straightened up. The Jin Emperor said:

"General, when the Great Yan's Heavenly Army defeats the Si Tu rebels, Ci Ming will definitely set up a banquet and have a good drink with the general!"

"I'll treat, I'll treat. Please, Your Majesty, honor me with your presence."

"You're too kind, you're too kind."

"It's only right, it's only right."

"Then I'll go down first. If the general needs anything that I have, just send someone to let me know."

"Your Majesty is wise."

The two exchanged another round of "reluctant farewells," and Yu Ci Ming turned and went down, as this wasn't the time to chat and talk.

As he went down, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he thought to himself:

"From the looks of it, although this person is a bit overbearing, he's also quite frank. Although his vision is small, his desire for personal gain is extremely strong. He might be controllable in the future."

Seeing the Jin Emperor go down,

Zheng Fan said to Liang Cheng, who was standing beside him:

"Do you believe that when he went down, he definitely thought I was an idiot?"

"My lord, your subordinate can't play these kinds of mind games."

"It's not that you can't play them; it's just that you're too lazy to play them most of the time.

"By the way, I suddenly thought of something last night when I was sleeping. The relationship between us is like the US elections.

"I'm responsible for performing on stage, and you guys are my think tank."

"My lord, you're being too modest. Actually, that's what your subordinate initially thought, but after experiencing so many things these days, your lord's growth has been evident to all.

"This isn't flattery, it's the truth."

"Look, you said you couldn't flatter. That last sentence was more eloquent than words. Not bad."

Liang Cheng smiled.

Zheng Fan leaned his hands on the battlements and looked into the distance.

In the distance, a dark cloud had already appeared. The Si Tu family's army was coming.

The Yan soldiers and civilians in the fortress were all mobilized to the city walls, and some siege equipment was also pushed up, but the quantity was insufficient, so they were already demolishing houses inside the fortress.

At this time, Xue San and A Ming, along with a few others, carried a coffin over.

Zheng Fan understood, drew out his saber, raised it,

and shouted loudly at the surrounding defenders:

"This general has already prepared a coffin for himself. The fortress lives, we live; the fortress dies, we die!

"This general will be with you, fighting to the death!"

The surrounding troops, whether they were the subordinates originally brought out from Cui Liu Fort or the civilians and young men in this fortress who had just been distributed wealth and rewards, were all injected with chicken blood at this moment, and they shouted together, raising their weapons:

"Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

Zheng Fan curled his lips and said in a low voice:

"I feel so dirty."

Liang Cheng also nodded.

Immediately afterward, Zheng Fan shouted down below again:

"Bring up this general's coffin. This general will stand by the coffin and defend the city!"