Chapter 1 The Chill of Night

Night fell, and the cold deepened. Outside the main tent, soldiers had already set up pots and were brewing ginger soup, which was offered to every general entering and leaving.

Marquis Jingnan refused Situ Yu's welcoming banquet, not even entering Yingdu City, and instead went straight to a military camp outside the city.

Immediately afterward,

military orders were issued:

all guerrilla generals and above in the Eastern Expeditionary Army were to attend a meeting in his command tent.

Actually, many people had known before that the arrival of Marquis Jingnan would undoubtedly mark the rekindling of the flames of war between the two sides, but few would have imagined that it would burn so quickly.

Rather than a military conference, it was more like Marquis Jingnan simply issuing instructions. He didn't even wait for everyone to arrive. Whoever arrived was announced, waited outside for a while, and then someone would come out. Then you'd go in, sometimes a single general, sometimes three or four together, and then they'd all come out together.

Zheng Fan was in the queue waiting outside the tent, along with Chen Yang.

The two sat facing each other, sipping their ginger soup.

In the winter night, wearing armor was the worst; it was like being covered in "cold packs."

If you were moving around, it wouldn't be so bad, but the worst was when you were stuck in one place without any way to keep warm; it was pure torture.

But there was nothing to be done about it. The high-ranking generals rushed to Marquis Jingnan's summons, afraid of delaying even a little. What, you want a warm room to warm up while you wait outside? And some grilled meat to whet your appetite?

How about we send you a maid to help warm your blanket?

These were all military leaders who held considerable power, but at this moment, they were all shriveled up like ordinary soldiers. Even when they reached out to take the ginger soup, they had smiles on their faces and said "thank you" politely.

This was the difference in prestige in the army. No matter which army you were from before, you had to behave yourself in front of the Southern Marquis.

Zheng Fan had already drunk his third bowl of ginger soup, and he could taste the ginger in his teeth.

Finally, the First Prince opened the tent flap and walked out, saying to Chen Yang:

"The commander invites you."

Chen Yang clasped his fist at the First Prince, put down his bowl, and got up to enter the command tent.

The First Prince sat in Chen Yang's previous spot, taking a bowl of ginger soup and saying to Zheng Fan:

"When he comes out, it's your turn to go in."

"Yes."

Yesterday's commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army was now just a go-fer, a guard, under the new commander.

But you couldn't see much disappointment on the First Prince's face. Instead, you could feel that he was more lively than before, and that gloomy air had dissipated.

Moreover, anyone who wasn't an idiot knew that Marquis Jingnan had placed the First Prince by his side not to humiliate him, nor to use him to establish his authority, but as an elder, when a junior had done something wrong, he stepped in to clean up the mess, and let the junior watch and learn how things should be done.

This was the true way of an elder, and those who only pointed fingers at you during the New Year's dinner were not elders at all.

For some reason,

Zheng Fan felt a little jealous.

You have to know, he used to be the only one who could enjoy such meticulous instruction.

"General Zheng, this is the first time we've met formally, isn't it?" the First Prince said. "When we were in Yanjing, Sixth Brother often mentioned you to me, and those golden quotes of yours."

"You flatter me, Your Highness."

The First Prince didn't seem to want to make small talk. He just said:

"I used to think that even if I wasn't good at fighting, I at least understood some of the basics, but now I think about it, I'm really far behind."

Zheng Fan keenly noticed the First Prince's current feelings, which must have stemmed from the military orders issued from the command tent earlier. The First Prince had been going in and out of the command tent, relaying messages, so he must have heard the orders that Marquis Jingnan had given to the generals, and that was why he was feeling so emotional.

According to Zheng Fan's previous understanding, the Eastern Expeditionary Army, under the command of the First Prince, had been taking a steady and cautious approach. Judging from the First Prince's current feelings, it seemed that Marquis Jingnan had changed the strategy as soon as he arrived, and not just a minor adjustment, but a major one, or even a complete reversal of the original battle plan.

Sometimes, denying a person wasn't such a serious thing. What was more devastating was denying that person's ideas and policies.

Zheng Fan didn't know how to comfort the First Prince. In fact, he didn't think the First Prince needed to be comforted.

A messenger came to report that the 30,000 Jingnan troops led by Marquis Jingnan had also arrived. Marquis Jingnan had arrived first with a small group of men, while the main force was behind him.

Upon hearing this, the First Prince disregarded the scalding heat and drank the ginger soup in his bowl in one gulp. He got up, went inside to report, and then quickly came out again and sat back in his original spot.

The guard was about to hand Zheng Fan a fourth bowl of ginger soup, but Zheng Fan refused. He looked up at the sky, and the horizon was already faintly white. He had been waiting outside for a whole night.

Originally, Zheng Fan had been thinking about meeting Tian Wujing privately to talk about the Little Marquis, about how cute and clever he was, how he could crawl after only a few months, and how he was even starting to learn to talk.

It could be said that both his physical fitness and his intelligence were developing very quickly.

The Demonic Pill's effect on raising children was truly outstanding. No other parent could find such an excellent early childhood educator.

But Marquis Jingnan didn't give him this opportunity, perhaps because he didn't have time, because he had to make so many decisions as soon as he arrived.

After a while, Chen Yang came out. He stretched, pointed at Zheng Fan and the First Prince, and then said:

"I'll go back to camp first."

Basically, all the generals who came out of the command tent didn't waste any time and returned to their respective units. They should be getting ready to prepare something.

This was the Marquis Jingnan style that Zheng Fan was familiar with. However, it also showed that although Marquis Jingnan had been secluded in the Marquis's mansion, his connections with the outside world had obviously not been severed. Otherwise, he would never have been able to directly deal with the First Prince and issue military orders so quickly as soon as he arrived.

Of course, this was also to be expected. Even the people in the Yan court would be anxious if they learned that Marquis Jingnan was determined to be a stay-at-home man for half a year.

In today's world, although the Yan Kingdom was powerful, Zheng Fan, who was in it, knew that the Yan Kingdom was still in a state of bloatedness.

The Qian Kingdom was sharpening its swords, the Chu Kingdom seemed chaotic but was actually lurking, the Wildlings were rampant, and the barbarians were watching. Under these circumstances, a figure like Tian Wujing was equivalent to a country's strategic nuclear weapon. It was not yet time to let the horses graze on Nanshan Mountain, nor was it time to slaughter the donkey after it had done its work.

The First Prince got up,

"General Zheng, come in with me."

Zheng Fan nodded, got up, patted his stiff knees, and then followed the First Prince into the tent.

There was no brazier in the command tent.

No wonder all the generals, whether they were coming or going, were shivering from the cold.

Most importantly, when facing Tian Wujing alone here, you could clearly feel that the temperature inside was even lower than outside.

Because the First Prince was there, Zheng Fan appeared very serious and knelt down to salute:

"This subordinate, Zheng Fan, awaits the Marquis's orders!"

"Zheng Fan, how many troops did your unit bring this time?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, ten thousand."

"Are they fit for battle?"

Zheng Fan pursed his lips and answered directly:

"The morale of the army, the equipment, and the warhorses are all excellent. This subordinate believes that even if they can't compare to the elite troops of the Jingnan Army, they won't be far behind."

When the First Prince was the commander, he had to hide his strength. Now that the Marquis was the commander, as one of his own, he had to take the initiative to help out.

Zheng Fan's troops were mainly composed of Jin soldiers. The Jin knights were already of good quality, and with his good food, drink, armor, and horses, and with Xiazi doing ideological education and Liang Cheng in charge of training, what they lacked compared to the real Jingnan Army and the Zhenbei Army was just the accumulation of victories.

When an army got used to winning battles, its quality would change again.

The main problem of the Jin knights was that they were beaten too badly in the battle when the two Yan Marquises entered Jin, and their confidence was destroyed.

"Good, General Shengle, step forward and receive orders!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"This Marquis orders your entire army to cross the river downstream the day after tomorrow, advance eighty li east, and operate on the east bank of the river for ten days. Before crossing the river, the entire army is only allowed to carry three days of rations.

I don't ask you to behead enemies. Stay on the east bank as long as you can. After ten days, for every day you exceed, I will record one day of merit.

But there is a condition: if the army is completely lost, even if you, Zheng Fan, come back alive, this Marquis will punish you!"

Uh...

What kind of military order is this?

Am I leading the army on a tour of Jiangdong?

You don't tell me where to attack, and you don't tell me who to eliminate?

But Zheng Fan quickly understood that he was being sent to harass the rear.

The current Cheng Kingdom was divided into two parts. The part upstream of the Wang River, all the way to the Snow Sea Pass, was the Wildlings' territory, and the downstream area, all the way to the Zhennan Pass that the Situ family used to guard and defend, was the Chu people's territory.

Since he was leading the army to cross the river downstream, he must be going to the rear of the Chu people's territory to harass them. All he had to do was cut off the Chu people's supply lines, and at the same time... feed his troops with the enemy's supplies.

Marquis Jingnan looked at the First Prince again and said:

"Ji Wujiang."

"This sinner is here!"

The First Prince knelt down.

"You will join the Shengle Army and serve as a captain under General Shengle."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Zheng Fan wanted to refuse. Why the hell was he taking in this prince!

It was already enough to support one good-for-nothing in the Shengle Army, and now he had to support another big shot?

But looking at Marquis Jingnan's posture, Zheng Fan really didn't dare to have the same cheeky courage he used to have in front of Marquis Jingnan.

After seeing him again after half a year, Tian Wujing felt completely different.

Zheng Fan remembered that when they were in the Heavenly Fracture Mountain Range, Tian Wujing asked him about women's postpartum care. At that time, Zheng Fan clearly felt that Tian Wujing was becoming more "human."

But now, Zheng Fan found that that aura had disappeared from Marquis Jingnan.

After a moment,

Marquis Jingnan leaned back slightly,

and said:

"Learn from General Shengle how to fight a war."

"Yes, Wujiang knows."

With that,

the First Prince turned to Zheng Fan and knelt down on one knee to salute:

"Wujiang hereby joins General Shengle's command and will follow the General's orders!"

"Didn't you think you were steady and cautious in fighting? General Shengle is an expert in this area."

"..." Zheng Fan.

The other meaning of this sentence was: didn't you think you were good at playing it safe? Go and see what the real King of Playing It Safe is like.

"Your Highness, please rise quickly."

"General, there are only soldiers and generals in the army, no princes," the First Prince said directly, which also showed his attitude.

"Go down, summon Li Fusheng."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Zheng Fan saluted and excused himself. He wanted to stay a little longer and talk to Tian Wujing about the Little Marquis, but Tian Wujing just closed his eyes and didn't let him stay to talk alone.

Seeing this, Zheng Fan could only walk out of the command tent with the First Prince.

Zheng Fan walked in front, and the First Prince followed behind.

"Your Highness, each general has his own separate orders, right?"

"Yes. If the General wants to know, I can tell the General about the deployments and tasks of the other armies after we return to camp."

"Is that convenient?"

"I am now acting under General Zheng's orders."

"Hey, Your Highness, there's no need for us to be so formal. Can we be a little more casual? I'll just treat you as a captain under my command, and you can treat me as a general. We both know what's going on, but on the surface, let's just be natural, okay?"

"This subordinate obeys."

Zheng Fan reached out and patted the First Prince's shoulder,

"..." The First Prince.

"I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not. I'm just a small person. I've offended you a lot in the past. Please don't hold it against me."

"General Zheng wasn't afraid of offending me in the past, but now you're..."

"In the past, you were the commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army. Even if I offended you, you wouldn't hold it against me. Now that you're not, it's easy to hold grudges."

"What General Zheng said seems to make a lot of sense. No wonder Sixth Brother said that General Zheng always speaks in golden quotes."

"I heard that Sixth Highness is ill. Is it serious?"

"Wujiang is not very clear."

"Alas."

Zheng Fan sighed and shook his head.

He turned his head,

and looked at the command tent behind him again.

This guy too,

was also a hands-off father. His son was his, but he didn't even ask about him?

Tsk, a scumbag.

"General Zheng."

At this time, a Jingnan Army captain walked over.

Zheng Fan stopped and looked at him, asking:

"What is it?"

"The main force of our Jingnan Army that followed the Marquis on this expedition has arrived."

"Okay, the brothers have worked hard on the road."

"This time, the army also brought a newly matured pixiu (a mythical Chinese creature). The Marquis specifically instructed to bring it, saying that he had promised to reward you for your service, and to give you one.

Please, General Zheng, come with me now to the army's stables to pick it up. As for how to raise it and cultivate a relationship with it... with His Highness here, I won't say much."

Pixiu? Give it to me?

Zheng Fan's mouth opened slightly,

and a warm current suddenly welled up in his heart.

He immediately turned around and knelt down on one knee towards the command tent,

"This subordinate thanks the Marquis for the reward!"