Chapter 1 Cold Wind

Night fell, and a biting cold wind howled.

Inside the military camp, a burly man meticulously wiped every inch of his armor, his fingers tracing each dent and scratch.

"Heh, tell me, are you this careful when you're cuddling women in the red tents?"

The squad leader lifted the curtain and entered the tent, sitting down on the rug and immediately taking off his shoes.

Puffs of white vapor rose from his feet, and the stench of his feet instantly filled the air.

But the man polishing his armor didn't seem to mind, as if he was used to this scene. He turned and said,

"Once you get inside a red tent, those girls grab you like a starving man who finally gets his hands on a meat bun, wanting to swallow it whole. Who has time to savor it?"

"True enough, haha."

The squad leader then pointed to the black dragon flag displayed inside the tent and said,

"Starting tomorrow, you'll be carrying the flag."

This squad was originally the flag bearer unit. The man had been recruited from the penal soldiers, so he had long known what role he would play on the battlefield.

"Yes."

The squad leader rubbed his hands and asked,

"I heard you were originally supposed to be sent to Shengle?"

"Yes, that's what the escorting officer said."

Ran Min was supposed to be sent to Shengle, but because the Jingnan Marquis launched his troops, a batch of penal soldiers was dispatched to transport some military supplies along with the main force of thirty thousand Jingnan soldiers. Ran Min was also conscripted and couldn't go to Shengle.

After the military supplies were delivered, the various units of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, which had suffered heavy losses, began to select young and strong men from the penal soldiers to replenish their ranks. Because Ran Min was from Tiancheng County and spoke with a Tiancheng accent, he was selected into the original Imperial Army unit and assigned to the flag-bearing squad.

He hadn't earned any military merit, but because he was lucky, he was transferred directly from the penal soldiers to the main army during a time of shortage.

"What crime did you commit?"

"Murder."

"Heh, killing people here isn't a crime, it's considered military merit."

"Yes."

"Actually, I can't take it anymore. For the past few months, I've been having nightmares, dreaming of the Wang River, filled with the corpses of our Yan soldiers, alas.

When I close my eyes, it's like I see them shouting in the river. They're cold, they're freezing, they're unwilling, calling out to me, wanting me to avenge them."

In the Battle of Wang River, the Yan army suffered heavy losses, with the left flank nearly annihilated. Tens of thousands of Yan soldiers were driven into the river, and countless drowned.

"It'll be soon."

Ran Min said as he continued to polish his armor.

"Yeah, soon. When the time comes, we'll show those Chu people and savages what a real Yan man is."

Ran Min didn't continue to echo him. He was a newcomer and hadn't experienced that disastrous defeat, so he couldn't truly empathize with the lingering resentment in the hearts of these veterans who had gone through the previous battle.

"You like this armor, don't you?"

Ran Min nodded and said, "I do."

"Fight hard tomorrow, and sooner or later, it will truly belong to you."

Ran Min nodded and said very calmly,

"Yes."

…

During this period, the Cheng Prince's Residence in Yingdu had long grown accustomed to the Jingnan Marquis's style of doing things.

Compared to the mutual leeway and respect between the two sides when the First Prince was the commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, this Yan Jingnan Marquis was incredibly direct.

In the eyes of this Marquis, the so-called Cheng Prince was nothing more than the governor of Yingdu, and the original Cheng civil and military officials were just clerks, runners, and constables.

The Cheng army was directly reorganized into the Yan army, without any regard for whether the Cheng people would feel that this was "killing the donkey after it grinds the mill," nor did he care if others criticized him for being too greedy.

Recently, the constant military deployments and rotations were also like a training exercise and integration, allowing the various armies to get used to Tian Wujing's command style.

It also allowed the Cheng people, from Situ Yu at the top to the local officials at the bottom, to become familiar with this atmosphere.

Inside the original Cheng Imperial Palace, now the Cheng Prince's Residence,

The current Cheng Prince, Situ Yu, was sitting there listening to a lecture.

Giving him the lecture was a scholar from the original palace.

Even though he was no longer the emperor, the prince was still young and needed to study, and Situ Yu's birth mother, the former Great Cheng Empress, was also still alive and had extremely high expectations for Situ Yu's studies.

Of course, all the capable officials had been extremely busy during this period. The Jingnan Marquis's orders were like a series of death warrants, and they dared not slack off in the slightest.

Only after the tide receded could one see who wasn't wearing underpants. This old scholar, over forty years old, knew nothing about practical matters and could only come to be Situ Yu's "teacher."

Situ Yu listened very carefully, although he didn't think that what the teacher was teaching would be of any use.

But for him at this time, there was no need to learn anything truly useful anymore. In other words, you are no longer living for your own free will, but for what others expect of you.

Only by living according to the rules and living peacefully can you live a long life, and this hereditary Cheng Prince title can continue in the Situ family.

This was perhaps his mother's greatest hope for him.

When the lecture ended,

A maid brought up white fungus soup for a late-night snack.

The old scholar sat at the table and ate with a spoon without any politeness.

Situ Yu sat next to him, accompanying his teacher as he ate.

"Your Majesty, are you bored listening to my lectures?"

The old official would still call Situ Yu "Your Majesty" in private, rather than "Prince."

"Master Cui, why do you say that? Master Cui's knowledge is profound. It is my honor to be taught by you."

"Heh."

The old scholar shook his head and said,

"Your Majesty, you are still young, you don't need to live such a lifeless life, it will only harm your own vitality."

Another way of saying this would be: excessive worry harms the body.

Situ Yu did not refute, but said, "Thank you for your reminder, Master."

"When the war is over, Your Majesty should still submit a memorial and go to Yan capital to pay respects to that Yan Emperor. The first memorial will definitely be rejected, and the second memorial will definitely be rejected as well. Continue to submit them until that Yan Emperor agrees."

As he said these words, the vicissitudes on the old scholar's face seemed to disappear all of a sudden, and a shrewdness was revealed in his cloudy eyes.

Situ Yu was stunned for a moment, then stood up and adopted a posture of accepting instruction.

"For a teacher, imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving doubts are one aspect, but in the final analysis, there is no difference between doing scholarship and an old craftsman teaching his apprentice a skill. The ultimate goal is to enable them to live in this world, so I have to say these words."

"Yes, Situ Yu is grateful for your instruction."

"The current Yan Emperor is a magnanimous and ambitious ruler. Meeting him can be considered a stroke of luck for Your Majesty.

At this time, it is impossible to restore the country, to restore the national status, and there is no point in thinking about it. At least for now, there is no hope.

Therefore, please put aside other thoughts and be a loyal subject. In this way, after twenty years, forty years, sixty years, or a hundred years, there will always be an opportunity for future generations to rise again when the situation changes."

"Yes, Situ Yu is grateful for your instruction."

"First, keep the fiefdom, even if it's just Yingdu, it's enough. Therefore, Your Majesty must be tactful and cooperate with that Yan Emperor to play this act well.

What the Yan people want now is nothing more than the allegiance of the world, so we'll give it to him, we'll follow him, we'll stick to him, we'll serve him, so that he'll be embarrassed to reduce us again;

As long as we don't live idly in Yan capital, we'll have preserved a hope."

"But the war hasn't ended yet, and I don't even know the specific direction it will take..."

"Your Majesty, I don't know anything about military matters, but in recent days, after leaving the government office, I often walk around the streets and on the city walls. As an outsider, I just watch the excitement. I think the atmosphere here is very good right now.

Although the Jingnan Marquis is a bit strong, such a chaotic situation does require iron-fisted measures to clean it up as soon as possible."

Situ Yu nodded.

Just then,

The sound of drums rang out.

The drums first sounded from the commander's tent outside the city, and then the drums of various armies rang out one after another, extending to other camps outside the city. At the same time, the drums in the city also echoed.

"This is... drumming to gather the generals."

The old scholar stood up, clenched his fists, then sat down again, clenched his fists again, and made a gesture to smash his fist on the stone table, but hesitated and gave up;

However, he still couldn't hide his excitement and waved his fist.

"It's finally starting, wipe them out, wipe out those barbarian beasts, wipe them out!"

The old scholar's home was east of the Wang River.

…

As the sound of drums rang out, the camps began to move quickly. Whether it was the main army, auxiliary soldiers, or laborers, all were summoned under the orders of their respective superiors.

Those who were supposed to wear armor put on their armor, and warhorses were also pulled out of the stables.

The generals above the rank of lieutenant general rushed to the central army commander's tent from their respective garrisons.

Many people in Yingdu were awakened from their sleep, but no one scolded or cursed. On the contrary, everyone was excited.

When the sound of drums rang out,

Everyone knew,

The battle was about to begin!

…

Drumming to gather the generals,

Li Fusheng was the one drumming,

The closer one got to the commander's tent, the louder the drums sounded.

Outside the central army commander's tent, rows of white candles and an offering table were lit.

The Jingnan Marquis stood with his back to the crowd,

When the sound of drums stopped,

Several rows of generals who had arrived on time were already standing behind the Jingnan Marquis.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Jingnan Marquis's instructions.

Tian Wujing took a step back and knelt down on one knee in front of the offering table;

The dozens of generals behind him also knelt down together.

"Today, we pay homage to the tens of thousands of Great Yan soldiers who died in the Battle of Wang River. May their souls rest in peace."

"May their souls rest in peace."

"May their souls rest in peace."

The Jingnan Marquis stood up first, and the generals also slowly stood up.

"All generals, listen to the order!"

"Your subordinates are here!"

"Your subordinates are here!"

Everyone knelt down again.

The air was filled with a chilling aura. Everyone knew that the order to start the war was about to be issued.

"This first military order,

After tonight;

East of Wang River,

Barbarians,

Chu people,

All heads will be counted as military merit,

No prisoners will be taken!"

——————

Today is the setup, strive for an explosion tomorrow.

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