Chapter 1 Le Anhou's Hesitation

Marquis Le An moved his lips a few times, but in the end, he didn't dare to raise his voice in rebuke.

Even,

He hesitated about whether to report this scene back after returning.

In theory,

He was there on behalf of the Emperor,

You should have been kneeling on the ground,

Allowing me to place the court crown on your head, only then would the ceremony be complete;

You yourself took the court crown from my hand,

You put it on yourself,

What does this mean?

If one were to deliberately exaggerate, it would be taking credit and being arrogant, showing contempt for the Emperor!

Disrespect towards me doesn't matter,

Marquis Le An, who had lived cautiously for most of his life, knew this very well, but you are being disrespectful to the Emperor?

But,

But,

But,

Marquis Le An didn't dare to ask a single word, as this place was surrounded by tens of thousands of soldiers;

This place, from today onwards, would become this man's fiefdom;

Most importantly,

He was almost certain,

That if he truly harbored resentment and told his imperial brother about this, what would follow would definitely not be his imperial brother issuing an edict to reprimand and punish this Marquis Pingxi. If nothing unexpected happened, the blame would fall on him instead.

As a member of the imperial family, plotting meticulously to sow discord between the Emperor and important ministers.

Marquis Le An took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. He glanced at Eunuch Huang out of the corner of his eye, only to find that Eunuch Huang had already knelt down.

"........." Marquis Le An.

"This servant congratulates Marquis Pingxi! May Marquis Pingxi's lineage last for ten thousand generations! Ten thousand generations!"

For eight hundred years, the highest title a non-imperial family could attain in Great Yan was that of a marquis. Only two exceptions existed: the Prince of Zhenbei and the Prince of Jingnan.

Therefore, the national situation being different, the military merit marquises of Great Yan were truly not inferior to those of other countries. At least, they were not inferior to the Pillar of State of Chu.

Because, Marquis Pingxi was going to be enfeoffed, he was going to establish his own government! This rule, this plan, was based on the Zhenbei Marquis Manor a hundred years ago!

Marquis Le An also knelt down,

Then felt that something was wrong.

He was also a marquis,

He was also a member of the imperial family,

It was enough for him to act aloof and be polite to him. Why did he have to kneel?

What the hell was this? What the hell was this?

Still that same phrase,

Losing his own face didn't matter, but if he lost his imperial brother's face, he would be blamed again after returning.

Marquis Le An was well aware that there must be spies from the Secret Intelligence Division among this group. The scene of Marquis Pingxi standing up and putting on the crown himself earlier; if he didn't report it, his imperial brother would still know. The scene of him kneeling down, his imperial brother would also know.

The former should be fine,

The latter would probably be punished along with the former's offense.

Marquis Le An immediately scrambled back to his feet.

But at this moment,

Marquis Zheng drew his black cliff saber,

Pointing the blade forward.

Instantly,

The soldiers in the entire field knelt down in waves,

Chanting in unison:

"Greetings, Marquis Pingxi!"

"Greetings, Marquis Pingxi!"

"Greetings, Marquis Pingxi!"

Shouts echoed one after another. At first, they were chaotic with grandeur, but gradually, they converged into a single rhythm.

Instantly,

The momentum soared through the clouds!

Marquis Le An, who had just gotten up, felt his knees weaken and fell back onto the platform.

Heaven have mercy, this idle member of the imperial family, who had lived cautiously under the pressure of his imperial brother since adulthood, had never seen such a scene before!

Know that those shouting below,

Were not just tens of thousands of mouths,

Most terrifying,

Were these tens of thousands of soldiers,

Were the fierce soldiers who had just come down from the Chu campaign, still permeated with killing intent!

Veteran soldiers who had been on the battlefield, once they formed a group,

Their aura, their momentum, could not be simply described with words.

"Roar!"

Zheng Fan's Pixiu (mythical wild beast) let out a low roar from the Chu campaign, and ran towards the platform.

Zheng Fan held his saber, jumped off the platform, landing on the Pixiu's back. The Pixiu galloped forward, Zheng Marquis reached out and grabbed a Black Dragon Army flag, shuttling through the army.

This scene,

Pushed the atmosphere of the entire field to its peak!

The soldiers roared almost to tears,

Almost frantically shouting, striking their armor with their weapons, as if completely possessed.

Yes,

Mad,

Truly mad!

Infected by this atmosphere were not only these soldiers, but also these commanding generals, including Li Fusheng.

They also kept hammering their armor, shouting loudly.

On the platform,

Marquis Le An was frightened by this scene, almost blurting out:

"This... is this a mutiny...?"

Eunuch Huang turned his head and glanced at Marquis Le An with some helplessness, reaching out to hold Marquis Le An's hand.

To be honest, Eunuch Huang didn't know whether this Marquis Le An was truly so incapable or if he was putting on an act. After all, the Emperor's other brothers had all died young, passing away from illness not long after the Emperor ascended the throne.

"Marquis, rest assured, rest assured, this servant is here."

Eunuch Huang's comfort gave Marquis Le An great support, and he immediately reached out and grabbed Eunuch Huang's hand in return, nodding repeatedly.

……

"What… what's going on?"

The Grand Xia asked involuntarily as he stood beside the Sword Saint.

This almost chaotic scene was influenced by that man, or rather, deliberately created by that man.

The Grand Xia had been in contact with the Qian army before. In his eyes, the Qian army was just two words—scattered and undisciplined.

Even after experiencing the Yan army's attack on Qian four years ago, when the Qian court reorganized the border regions, it still gave people a loose and disorganized feeling compared to the Yan army, and to the Xuehai Army, which the Grand Xia had always seen very closely and clearly.

The Yan army,

Known for its military discipline,

Known for its organization,

Known for its strict orders,

Was actually displaying a posture more exaggerated than mountain bandits at this time.

The Sword Saint said:

"Born as a commoner, enlisting as a civilian laborer, accumulating military merits, climbing up step by step, marrying a princess, being granted an official position, being granted a title of earl, and then being granted a title of marquis."

The Sword Saint looked at the Grand Xia,

And said:

"The most intoxicating and maddening thing in this world is not mythology, but seeing the same shadow as oneself within the mythology."

Therefore, when the First Prince was conferred the title of Marquis of Andong, it did not make people feel so excited.

Firstly, the First Prince's military merits were somewhat far-fetched;

Secondly, because he was a member of the imperial family, a prince.

In fact, the latter reason was even greater, at least, in relation to the scene before them.

Princes were destined to be at a different level of existence from ordinary people. Their lives were different.

But Zheng Fan, the former Earl Zheng, now Marquis Zheng,

Was a military merit marquis who had emerged from the status of a commoner.

This was a real dream, and the starting point of the dream was the door of one's own thatched hut that everyone had experienced.

"His rise allows these soldiers to see hope, to see the possibility that dreams can be realized." The Sword Saint smiled and said, "As long as the Yan army, from top to bottom, still has persistence in military merits, still has persistence in this dream, the Yan people's iron hooves cannot truly stop.

What's more,

With this Marquis Zheng's example in front,

His deeds will make Yan children take him as an example from a very young age;

Will make Yan youths regard attaining a marquis through military exploits as the truth once again, will make Yan soldiers regard death as going home in every charge from now on."

The Sword Saint held Longyuan,

Paused for a moment,

And continued:

"From today onwards, his reputation, at least among the common people, will be even higher than that of the Prince of Jingnan. One reason is because Tian Wujing's early self-destruction of his entire family has soured the public's perception of him, but the main reason is that Tian Wujing comes from the Tian family, one of the largest original aristocratic families in Great Yan."

The starting point is different,

Which will make people feel that,

Your dream,

I am not worthy to dream.

The Grand Xia seemed thoughtful and looked at the Sword Saint, saying:

"So, are you the same?"

"What?" The Sword Saint was somewhat surprised.

"Among the Four Great Swordsmen, the other three all have backgrounds, but you are the only one who doesn't."

"My surname is Yu."

Yu Hualing, he was of the royal family!

Immediately,

The Sword Saint smiled again:

"Although this royal identity can't even fill my stomach."

The Grand Xia smiled: "Actually, Yao Shizeng asked me if I would be willing to learn from Baili Jian."

The Sword Saint heard this and said, "Li Liang leads the Zhenbei Army; he won't give you, a Qian person, a second glance; the one from Chu will only help you look at your sword, modify its grain, but won't spar with you;

Baili Jian,

With Yao Zizhan's connections in Qian, the Baili family will give him face."

"But I'm not willing."

"Why?" The Sword Saint smiled again, "This is the same as the Zheng fellow I met on the road a few days ago; I know what you're going to answer."

The Grand Xia touched his sword somewhat honestly.

The Sword Saint then said: "But what differs me from the Zheng fellow is that he likes to say it out loud in advance, lacking all romantic sensibility, while I prefer to hear you say it yourself."

The Grand Xia nodded and replied:

"Because my origin is also very humble."

"Humble?"

"Yes, for a long time, I didn't think I was humble. It wasn't until I learned the word humble from Master Yao that I realized that I had also been humble.

Therefore,

Among the Four Great Swordsmen,

You have always been my role model, because I feel that you and I have many similarities."

The Sword Saint closed his eyes,

Enjoying these words.

The Grand Xia continued: "Therefore, I think that most swordsmen in the world take you as their role model, and will choose to walk a path like you.

Just like,

The current Zheng... Marquis Zheng."

The Sword Saint slowly opened his eyes,

Nodded,

And said;

"After all, in this world, most are still,

Mortals."

……

"How is it?"

On the city wall, the Prince of Jingnan asked.

Standing beside him was still Lu Bing.

Lu Bing nodded and said, "Perhaps, I now understand somewhat why His Majesty wants to promote Earl Zheng so vigorously, no, it is Marquis Pingxi now.

It's not just because Marquis Pingxi has outstanding military merits, nor is it just because of your Highness's regard for him,

His Majesty has his own considerations for everything he does;

Perhaps,

I can only see what's in front of me, but His Majesty's vision can always be extremely far-reaching.

His Majesty,

Is planting a root,

The establishment of the Zhenbei Marquis Manor has been more than a hundred years;

The citizens of Great Yan have been yearning for a hundred years to ascend to the Emperor's door with extraordinary achievements, just like the first generation of Marquis Zhenbei.

As time goes by,

Too long,

It's time,

To change to something fresh."

The Prince of Jingnan said nothing.

Lu Bing then continued: "But the grand occasion today truly makes me feel that this trip was worthwhile. I feel that with Marquis Pingxi sitting in Jindong, Jindong can be guaranteed peace for twenty years."

"Do your own job well," the Prince of Jingnan reminded.

"Yes, I know."

"Don't easily say words like twenty years, because twenty years is too long. What was Great Yan like ten years ago, and what is Great Yan like now?"

"Your Highness's teaching is correct."

"Do you think His Majesty has another year?"

Lu Bing fell silent. In theory, such a question should not be asked by a subject. He, in particular, should not answer it.

But the Prince of Jingnan asked what he should not have asked;

And even if he didn't answer, it was actually a kind of answer.

Finally,

After hesitating,

Lu Bing spoke:

"His Majesty means that the matter of the foundation of the nation needs to be settled."

"So boring," the Prince of Jingnan said.

Lu Bing began to bow, preparing to withdraw.

But before he withdrew,

The Prince of Jingnan turned his head and looked at him.

Lu Bing's body froze, and he could only raise his head again, looking at the Prince of Great Yan in front of him, whose expression was calm, but whose hair was already white.

"I thought that among the three of us,

He should be the most ruthless one,

But in the end,

In his old age,

He can't bear to?"

Lu Bing's forehead began to sweat,

Barely said:

"His Majesty's considerations are for the sake of Great Yan's century-long plan!"

"He's old."

Lu Bing dared not respond again.

"He doesn't like watching his sons fight, he doesn't bear to let go of the power brought by that dragon throne;

You tell me,

When did he start to have this kind of compassion?

On the night the Third died,

The night he died in his arms?"

"Your Highness, you..."

"He closes the door of the back garden, truly closes it for a month. When he opens the door again, wouldn't the foundation of the nation be settled by itself? Where does so much trouble come from?"

The Prince of Jingnan finally withdrew his gaze from Lu Bing;

Continued:

"Let him wait. This Prince will go to Yanjing, but I won't rush. If he can't wait, that's his business."

Lu Bing opened his mouth,

And bit his teeth,

Finally,

Still said:

"Your Highness, how can I explain this to His Majesty?"

"Then you have to ask him first how to explain it to Li Liangting."

……

After the extremely noisy conferment ceremony, there was bound to be a celebration with wine and meat.

But the soldiers at the bottom did not dare to surround Marquis Zheng, and the commanding generals like Li Fusheng and Luo Ling did not surround him to drink either, because they knew that the ceremony was over, but for Zheng Fan, his steps were not yet complete.

Because he still had to see someone,

And that person,

Did not stand on the platform today.

Marquis Zheng also knew what he had to do now. He first returned to his camp.

He saw that the Grand Xia, according to his instructions, was already there waiting with a wooden box on his back.

Marquis Zheng hesitated for a moment,

Looked at the Sword Saint,

Said:

"Can you trouble yourself?"

The Sword Saint, who was leaning against a wooden pillar as if dozing off, opened his eyes,

And asked:

"What did you say?"

"Um, can..."

"No."

Zheng Fan nodded, reached out, took the steaming wooden box from the Grand Xia's back, and holding it himself, urged Pixiu towards the city gate.

The Grand Xia looked at the Sword Saint with some confusion,

Said:

"What's wrong?"

The Sword Saint said unhappily:

"I'm not going to serve Tian Wujing."

The Grand Xia was even more confused: "Then why not let me go?"

The Sword Saint "hehe" laughed twice,

Said:

"Because he's worried you'll stab Tian Wujing with your sword!"

The Grand Xia was a Qian person,

The Grand Xia had a very good relationship with Yao Zizhan,

Yao Zizhan was the former commander of the Qian's border regions,

And Tian Wujing was the god of the Great Yan army.

If he lived, the iron hooves of Great Yan would inevitably attack Qian again.

Yes,

The Grand Xia was now in the Yan army, and there were countless Yan soldiers inside and outside Fengxin City, but according to the Grand Xia's character, there were some things he wouldn't care about.

If it was the former Tian Wujing,

Then there was no problem,

The problem was that the current Old Tian was seriously injured.

After listening to the Sword Saint's words,

The Grand Xia suddenly realized and clapped his hands,

Shouting:

"That's right!"

Unfortunately,

There was no chance.

The Sword Saint shook his head helplessly,

Reminded:

"Don't say you're like me in the future."

"Are you not concerned about these false names anymore?" The Grand Xia asked.

The Sword Saint shook his head,

Said:

"No, it's just embarrassing."

………

Zheng Fan, holding the wooden box, entered the city, climbed the steps, and arrived at the city tower.

Tian Wujing, who was originally standing by the city battlements, turned around and looked at Zheng Fan as he approached.

When Zheng Fan got closer,

Tian Wujing said:

"Imprudent."

Imprudent, referring to taking the imperial crown and putting it on himself.

Zheng Fan said: "I earned my military merits myself, of course I have to put it on myself."

Tian Wujing shook his head,

Said:

"This, not good."

"I just learned it from you."

"Learn from me, can there be a good ending?"

"Learn half is enough." Marquis Zheng smiled, "Can scare them to death."

Tian Wujing sighed,

Draped in a cloak, he slowly walked to the threshold of the city tower and sat down.

The first time Zheng Fan met the Prince of Jingnan, the Prince of Jingnan was sitting on the threshold of the mourning hall.

That day,

The Prince of Jingnan was valiant, domineering, and sharp.

Today,

The person was still the same person,

But in feeling,

It seemed completely different.

Zheng Fan sat down on the threshold next to him,

Opened the wooden box. Inside were also cotton cloth wrappings. When he opened it again, there were steamed buns, still steaming with heat.

"Didn't you say last time that you wanted the stuffed buns from my Xuehaiguan? I specially brought them for you this time. Come on, eat them while they're hot.

These buns can be stored for a long time after they're steamed. You can eat them after warming them up once. If you warm them up two or three times, the taste will fade."

"You're here to be conferred as a marquis," Tian Wujing said.

"Sending buns is the main thing, being conferred as a marquis is secondary."

Zheng Fan handed Tian Wujing a bun,

And also took one himself.

The two of them simultaneously took a bite of the buns in their hands.

Zheng Fan chewed and looked at Tian Wujing,

Seeing Tian Wujing's thoughtful expression,

He immediately asked:

"What's wrong?"

Tian Wujing put the half-eaten bun in his hand forward and said:

"Red bean paste filling."

"Mine is shredded radish filling, come."

Zheng Fan handed the bun he had bitten to Tian Wujing, and took the red bean paste bun in Tian Wujing's hand.

The two continued to eat.

Halfway through,

Tian Wujing looked at Zheng Fan,

Said:

"Remember, you used to say that you didn't like to eat red bean paste filling either, saying it was greasy."

Marquis Zheng took another big bite,

Chewing as he said:

"Seeing that we're running out of food, we have to conserve food."

"Really?"

"Just pretending."

Tian Wujing stopped talking and continued to eat slowly.

After he finished one,

Zheng Fan took another one from the box and handed it over,

Said:

"Have another one?"

Tian Wujing shook his head.

"Come on, eat another one."

"Fine delicacies are fine, but you're forcing a prince to eat buns?"

"These buns were steamed by me personally."

Tian Wujing heard this,

Reached out and took the bun,

Said:

"A dignified marquis actually personally went to the kitchen to steam buns."

"No, I don't steam buns."

Marquis Zheng shook his head,

His eyes suddenly turned red, and he blinked hard several times,

Pursed his lips,

Lowered his head slightly,

Said:

"Conferred as a marquis."

"Mm."

Marquis Zheng took a deep breath,

And smiled;

"Brother, I'm striving, right?"