“How do you feel?”

After Gou Moli and He Chunlai left, Zheng Fan asked.

There were only three people in the room besides him.

Martial Artist Chen shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head again.

Finally, he said:

“It’s very complicated, yet very clear. Especially when I was confused before, it suddenly felt like a flash of cold light, instantly creating heaven and earth, like a sword…”

Martial Artist Chen waved his hand.

Marquis Zheng was a little helpless.

People really can’t be compared; this guy can actually have an epiphany like this.

Fortunately, Marquis Zheng was used to it.

The Sword Saint’s answer was even simpler. In the past two years, after Marquis Zheng said, “You are only good at using a sword; you are not good at anything else,” the Sword Saint had returned to simplicity.

He said:

“I’m here to use the sword, not to use my brain.”

Simple,

Direct.

But Marquis Zheng just wanted to chat with someone now, saying, “You can say whatever you want.”

The Sword Saint asked suspiciously, “Wasn't Gou Moli clear enough?”

“What he said was clear enough, but…”

Zheng Fan got up from the couch, walked to the brazier, reached out, and took a baked potato, weighing it in his hand.

“But, the problem might lie here; he might have spoken too clearly and looked too closely, so he can’t jump out of it.”

The Sword Saint smiled.

“Looks like you are one level higher than him?”

“Because I’m standing on his shoulders.”

Zheng Fan peeled the potato skin, took a bite, sucked in air, carefully chewed, and continued:

“Anything, when you look at it up close, it’s one way, and when you stand far away, stand high, and look again, it’s another way.

This matter,

Looks like Prince Cheng’s mansion wants to seize power and be untied.

But,

I don’t think the current mansion has such far-reaching power.”

“Are you underestimating the Jin people?” the Sword Saint asked.

If you want to engage in regional discrimination, then I, the Sword Saint, won’t be sleepy.

“I’m just discussing the matter as it is.”

“The Situ family still has its foundation.”

Zheng Fan shook his head and said, “It’s different. The Great Cheng Kingdom is gone. Let me give you an example. When I was the garrison commander of Cuiliu Fort, I only had a thousand or so people under my command. Now, I am Marquis Pingxi, and the troops of the two passes and one city in Eastern Jin must all listen to my dispatch, and even the garrison in the four gates of Yingdu will listen to my dispatch;

But is it because of me?

If you take off the hat of Marquis Pingxi from my head, will the troops in Yingdu listen to me?

So, the same goes for Prince Cheng’s mansion.

The foundation is there, after all, the imperial court didn’t have time and was too embarrassed to liquidate it, but if you say that Prince Cheng’s mansion can rise again, it’s not possible, it’s impossible.

From the Great Cheng Kingdom to the Prince’s mansion, the platform is different. Do you think it’s all about ability? The general trend of the country and the court is not your martial world, where you can speak with just a sword.”

“Then what do you think is the ultimate goal of this matter?”

Marquis Zheng smiled.

Said:

“Aren’t I going to Yanjing after autumn?”

“You told me.”

Marquis Zheng had released the news in advance and made a schedule. After all, for the separatist warlords outside, each entry into the capital is equivalent to walking through the gates of hell.

The Tattooed Prime Minister also left his Western Army and was imprisoned after entering the capital.

It’s just that the trip in autumn hasn’t been negotiated with the Sword Saint yet, such as seeking some welfare for the people of Eastern Jin.

Marquis Zheng tore off a piece of potato skin.

He took a bite from the bottom.

“Hoo…”

He licked his lips.

Zheng Fan looked at the Sword Saint.

Said:

“The scheme is against me.”

………

Gou Moli, relying on the Pingxi Marquis Mansion’s token, summoned the secret agent director who had previously shown “discernment,” and, on the grounds of the Marquis’s order, had him provide some background information on family businesses and merchant groups.

Whether for Gou Moli or He Chunlai, they had been away from Yingdu for some time.

Yingdu is a huge arena of fame and fortune. Here, every once in a while, a family falls, and a new family rises;

Jin people, Yan people, new forces, old forces, all kinds of forces are intricately intertwined, which family has new talents, which family has stood on the right team, which family has recruited a capable and promising son-in-law, and so on;

Therefore, Gou Moli wanted to update his understanding of Yingdu’s background.

Sometimes, doing things is not about having a lot of people, but about efficiency. By the time the rooster crowed and dawn broke, Gou Moli had finally finished compiling the list of those who died from poisoning.

“Hehe, it really has a clear distinction.” Gou Moli picked up the list and sighed at the rising sun outside the window.

He Chunlai rubbed his eyes; he had also helped all night, and asked:

“I’ll prepare breakfast for the Marquis.”

After a pause,

He Chunlai asked again:

“Should I bring this to the Marquis too?”

Then,

He Chunlai added:

“You should deliver it.”

Gou Moli glanced at He Chunlai, shook his head, and said:

“Let’s talk about it when the Marquis asks.”

“Is that okay?”

“How old are you? You’ve only been busy all night, and you can’t wait to ask for credit?

This is just the beginning. Besides, how to intervene in this matter in the future depends on the Marquis’s own intentions.

And…”

“And what? Tell me.”

“I want to eat臊子面 (saozi noodles)."

……

“These noodles are cooked too soft, no chewiness.”

In the post station,

A huge man complained about a bowl of noodles.

“Sir, how about I cook it?” a guard next to him said.

Xu Wenzu nodded, pointed to the bowl of noodles in front of him, and said, “Which of you, eat it, don’t waste food.”

Another guard stepped forward and ate the bowl of noodles.

Xu Wenzu left the table. A bowl of noodles was just a snack for him. He just asked the post station to make a bowl to see, since it didn’t work, then his own people should make it. After all, he had to eat six or seven bowls in one meal to feel barely full.

“Cough… ptui!”

Clearing his throat, Xu Wenzu stretched and walked to the window on the second floor of the post station, saying:

“Yingdu is only two or three days away from here, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

A look of reminiscence appeared on Xu Wenzu’s face.

“Sir, are you reluctant to part with His Highness the First Prince?” the guard joked.

Xu Wenzu and the First Prince had cooperated seamlessly in Nanwang City. Xu Wenzu was in charge of logistics and local affairs, and the First Prince was in charge of military affairs. Clearly, the Great Yan did not have a Northern Garrison Army or a Southern Pacification Army in Yinlang County, but it still withstood the pressure from the three borders of Qian.

After that, they followed the First Prince in beheading Zhong Wenmian, and both were promoted.

“Heh.” Xu Wenzu shook his head. “Now that we’re in this territory, we can talk frankly. The First Prince is certainly great, but when we get to Yingdu, we’ll be working with that old Zheng brother. That guy’s skills are really admirable.”

Although the Pingxi Marquis Mansion in Eastern Jin is carrying out large-scale land reclamation and production, promoting development through trade, and a series of self-rescue movements,

But from the outside world’s perspective,

The Pingxi Marquis Mansion in Eastern Jin is still a relatively simple military town.

And Yingdu will be its lifeline.

Therefore, even Xu Wenzu felt that his appointment as the prefect of Yingdu was actually to provide logistics for Zheng Fan, so that Zheng Fan could suppress the wild men and the Chu people, and by the way, suppress the Jin people.

“It’s also sighing. Back then, this subordinate once spoke with Marquis Pingxi, and the Marquis even gave this subordinate a golden melon seed for tea money.”

“Haha, then you can be considered proud in this life. In the future, when you have children, no, after you have grandchildren, you can brag to your grandchildren.”

After Xu Wenzu laughed,

He sighed,

Said;

“It’s only been a few years, and he’s already a marquis. Although I knew he was not an ordinary person, I didn’t expect him to rise so fast and so amazingly.”

Xu Wenzu still remembered the scenes of his acquaintance with Zheng Fan;

He had sent people to inquire, but he didn’t find a servant named Zheng Chenggong in the Northern Garrison Marquis Mansion.

But,

These are no longer meaningful,

Isn’t it?

“Hmm? It smells so good.”

Xu Wenzu sniffed, leaned half his body out the window, and saw someone setting up a pot in the courtyard outside, cooking meat inside, the aroma of the meat was rich.

“Go ask, which official’s entourage is below.”

“Yes, sir.”

The guard immediately went down to inquire.

At this time,

The middle-aged man who had been sitting there silently drinking tea, with a bodhi staff beside him, got up and walked over.

Said:

“Sir, it’s better not to make trouble. Have you forgotten that incident outside the Yincheng post station?”

Xu Wenzu was stunned for a moment,

Waved his hand,

Said:

“Okay.”

After speaking,

He closed the window and sat back at the table.

This post station is located west of the former Jin Kingdom’s capital area, and can be said to have just entered the former territory of the Situ family.

The post station is very large.

Xu Wenzu brought hundreds of guards, all masters in the army, and occupied the back half of the post station after entering the station without explanation.

He originally planned to completely empty the post station, but because there were only so many guards, even if other positions were emptied, they could not be deployed, so only the backyard was retained.

After seeing Xu Wenzu’s identity documents, the post station manager immediately said that he would fully cooperate.

Although the window was closed, the aroma still came in from time to time.

“Damn it, how can it be so fragrant!”

Xu Wenzu knocked on the table. His biggest hobby in life is eating!

But he is indeed not the kind of person who doesn’t know what’s important.

Plus, once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of grass rope,

After being reminded, he could only prop his hands on the table and keep swallowing.

At this time, the guard who had gone down to inquire earlier returned and reported:

“Sir, it’s Wen Xi, the scholar of Prince Cheng’s Mansion in Yingdu, who is returning to the Prince’s Mansion in Yingdu after visiting relatives.”

“People from Prince Cheng’s Mansion?” Xu Wenzu wiped his mouth, a little surprised.

The man holding the staff asked: “Is the identity accurate?”

“Responding to Master Liao’s words, this humble one has just verified their documents and tokens and confirmed that they are from Prince Cheng’s Mansion.”

Xu Wenzu immediately looked at Master Liao,

Said:

“Master Liao, since they are from Prince Cheng’s Mansion, then they are my future colleagues. Why don’t we take this opportunity to talk about some things about Yingdu and the Prince’s Mansion and prepare in advance?”

Master Liao knew what Xu Wenzu wanted to do, nothing more than to covet their food;

This reason is indeed tenable.

But,

Master Liao still shook his head and said:

“Master Xu, I promised you to ensure your safety all the way to Yingdu, so you have to listen to me all the way. It will be two more days before we reach Yingdu, and it won’t be too late to meet and chat then.”

Xu Wenzu let out a low roar in his throat.

Finally,

He still sat back in the chair,

Head resting on his arms,

After a while,

He actually snored.

Seeing this, Master Liao couldn’t help shaking his head. This Master Xu is usually very shrewd most of the time, but sometimes he likes to act like a child.

Of course, Master Liao didn’t dare to underestimate him, because he had seen how this master managed the logistics of the huge Nanwang City and the First Prince’s army in an orderly manner.

In fact, everyone didn’t plan to rest at the post station;

Everyone had been rushing on the road all the way, basically just eating and resting by the roadside. Even marching was not as fast as this.

But the problem lies in,

Xu Da Ren’s (Da Ren is a polite title for adults or officials) Pixiu beast finally collapsed after persisting for so many days.

One of its hooves was lame and had to be taken to the post station to be cared for. In addition, Xu Wenzu and even the guards were very tired and needed to rest. That’s why Master Liao agreed to rest at the post station for a day.

Most importantly, he had to consider that when everyone entered Yingdu, he couldn’t let the new prefect who came to take office look disheveled and unpresentable.

At this time, the guard who had cooked the noodles earlier came in with a basin of noodles, but was stopped by Master Liao, who said, “Put it aside to cool first.”

Xu Wenzu, who was lying on the table, snored and muttered:

“Noodles will clump up if they are left for too long, and they won’t taste good.”

Master Liao had no choice but to say: “Then Master, will you eat them now?”

“Smelling this meat aroma, I can’t eat anything else.”

Xu Wenzu reluctantly sat up again, looking at the basin of noodles in front of him, with a look of disgust on his face.

“Master Liao, tell me, in this bright daylight, how can I, as an official of the imperial court, a regional official, feel like a thief in my own territory?

Could it be that,

The officials of my Great Yan have to be so cautious and walk on thin ice on the road?”

“Master, if it were normal, I would definitely not dissuade you. You are happy to stroll around the city, and you can go hunting outside the city if you want;

But this time, it’s different.”

“Where is it different?”

“This time, you are going to Yingdu, and you may see Marquis Pingxi.”

“Hey, that’s interesting. What’s wrong with going to see my old Zheng brother?”

“Who did you see when you were assassinated at the post station last time?”

“Uh… Old Zheng brother.”

“That’s right, this time, you are very likely to see him when you go to Yingdu.”

“What does it matter? Could it be that every time I take office and see him, I will be assassinated once?”

“Marquis Pingxi is blessed with good fortune. In the past few years, he has made great achievements in several battles. He himself is safe and sound. It can be seen that he is a man of great luck.”

“And then?”

“Having someone with great luck by your side is sometimes not a good thing, just like people like to wear jade with them, taking it as a way to ward off disasters.”

“Hehehe, hahaha.”

Xu Wenzu laughed and said:

“So, I am specially for my old Zheng brother to block disasters?”

“Caution is the key.”

“Master Liao, when did you learn this method of fortune telling?”

“Master Xu, have you forgotten? Before I became a monk, I was a lottery-drawing monk in the temple.”

Saying that,

Liao Gang stood upright with his bodhi staff, put his hands together,

“Amitabha.”

“Forget it, forget it, I’ll listen to you, I’ll listen to you. Caution is the key. Come, come, bring the bowl of noodles to the window. Master Liao, I won’t go down, I’ll just eat the noodles with the aroma of the meat in the courtyard outside, is that okay?”

Liao Gang frowned slightly, but finally nodded.

The window was opened again, and the basin of noodles was brought to the window.

Xu Wenzu took chopsticks, swallowed a large mouthful of noodles, then took a deep breath, and chewed with his eyes closed.

“This meat aroma is rich but not greasy, thick with sweetness, sweetness with astringency, astringency hiding sourness, tsk tsk tsk…”

Xu Wenzu took another big mouthful of noodles.

Liao Gang stood by the window.

“Master Liao, guess what kind of meat is being cooked in that big pot?”

“I don’t eat much meat, I only vaguely remember eating it a few times before entering the temple when I was young, so I can’t tell.”

“Okay, then I’ll tell you, in this world, no matter if it’s beef, mutton, pork, chicken, duck, or fish, all poultry raised and all areas cultivated, if you don’t add those spices, it actually has a single taste.

But in this world,

There is only one kind of meat, because it eats grains, eats those that fly in the sky, walk on the ground, swim in the water, soaked in tea dregs, smoked with stone powder, warmed on a heated kang, covered with cotton wool…

Why is the roast duck in Yanjing City so famous?

Because it emphasizes that before the duck enters the oven, it has to go through eighteen levels;

But the meat I just mentioned, more than eighteen levels, that taste, without adding any seasoning, just boiling it in well water, and tasting it carefully, the taste is absolutely amazing.”

The more Xu Wenzu said,

The more solemn Liao Gang’s face became,

Even,

The guards around him didn’t realize it at first, but slowly, their faces also began to change.

Xu Wenzu took another big mouthful of noodles and drank a big mouthful of noodle soup.

His face suddenly turned cold,

He splashed the entire basin of noodles down,

And laughed loudly below,

“You really don’t know etiquette. This official has booked the entire backyard of the post station. Anyone with a clear head knows that this official’s identity is not simple;

Since you’re cooking this delicious food,

It’s okay if I don’t go down,

Why don’t you send someone over to invite me to show some respect?

Damn it,

I don’t believe,

That Jin officials,

Are so upright and devoted to their duties that they don’t even bother to flatter their superiors?”

At this time,

An old man with white hair walked into the courtyard and stood in front of the pot, cupping his fist at Xu Wenzu at the window from a distance,

And shouted:

“Sir, it’s not that this subordinate doesn’t understand etiquette, nor is it that this subordinate is aloof, but this meat has to be stewed for a while before it can truly become tender and the bones can rot, so you can’t rush it.

Sir, looking at your figure,

I know you are an expert in food,

Please wait a moment, sir,

After the pot is opened,

This subordinate will invite you to taste it again to find the contemporary flavor of my Jin land. You must know that this meat, this water, and this firewood were all carefully selected by this subordinate. If it weren’t to flatter you, sir, I really wouldn’t be willing to take it out.”

Xu Wenzu reached out and patted the window,

And shouted:

“That’s more like it. Come, I’ll ask you, what kind of water is in this pot?”

The old man raised his head,

And replied:

“Water from the Wang River!”

“What kind of firewood is under this pot?”

“Firewood from the beams of a hundred houses!”

“Then what kind of meat is in this pot?”

The old man’s expression hardened,

Put his hands behind his back,

And roared:

“The flesh and blood of those who drowned unjustly in the river!”