Chapter 1 The Impasse

Marquis Jingnan hadn't sent any news, and the imperial court hadn't issued any military orders to the Jingnan Army under his command, because doing so would be equivalent to forcing the Jingnan Army to choose between the Jingnan Marquisate and the court itself.

Well, knowing that the result of the choice wouldn't be pretty, why bother tearing off that layer of skin personally?

However, the troops from Shengle City and Xinsu City were moving, actively entering the territory of Cheng and approaching Yingdu.

Previously, Chen Yang, the chief military officer of the Jingnan Army in Xinsu City, and Zheng Fan, the general of Shengle City, completely ignored the First Prince. Chen Yang closed his doors, and General Zheng was even more extreme, sending people to the First Prince's central army to ask for food and supplies.

But now, with the failure of the Wangjiang Battle, whether out of a desire to stabilize morale or to reinforce the defense line, it was only natural for these two troops, already on the border of Cheng, to head to Yingdu.

At the end of the day, everyone was a Yan person.

Of course, General Zheng's motives might be a little more complex, because his Shengle City was about to go bankrupt if it didn't fight.

Shengle City sent out ten thousand soldiers and five thousand laborers. As soon as they entered the territory of Cheng, they immediately learned from the behavior of the First Prince's eastern expedition army when it entered Cheng, and began to notify the local government offices to provide the army with food and supplies, and unceremoniously conscripted another five thousand Cheng laborers.

Helping you fight, what, isn't it right to provide three meals a day?

If the First Prince could do it, why couldn't General Zheng?

A county magistrate with a strong sense of integrity sternly rejected General Zheng's request, saying that there was not much stock left in his jurisdiction and that the conscription of laborers was too detrimental to the local vitality.

What he said wasn't false. Since the founding of the Situ family, from the Snow Plains to the Snow Sea Pass to Wangjiang, the war had never stopped. And after the Situ family lost the territory east of Wangjiang, the tax revenue, food, and labor conscription in the remaining areas naturally became heavier. Moreover, they had already borne the consumption of the eastern expedition army.

It was no exaggeration to say that the people were already exhausted.

General Zheng admired the magistrate's integrity and praised his character, then beheaded him.

The head was hung on the city gate of the county seat.

Immediately,

Several large households in the county town immediately gathered food and supplies to support the Shengle Army, and the conscription of laborers quickly began.

Inside the military tent,

Zheng Fan was holding a book and flipping through it. Naturally, it wasn't *Zheng Zi's Art of War*. General Zheng wasn't so shameless, narcissistic, and self-deceiving as to do that.

This book was a book about magic that he had managed to buy. The author was a Western magician, and this was a translated version.

Zheng Fan would definitely not cultivate based on this. Who knew if the Eastern scholar who translated it had made any mistakes? What if he developed a problem?

However, it was good as a popular science book to broaden his horizons. During the boring march, since Si Niang didn't come along, he could only look at magic books to pass the time.

It was indeed boring. Although Zheng Fan felt that he had attended the "Big Shot Military Academy" many times, and several big shots had taken him by their side and taught him by word and example.

But war was really uncertain. Sometimes, when you thought you were great and felt extremely good about yourself, you might just become a "Zhao Kuo" (referencing a historical figure known for his disastrous military leadership).

In addition to the precedent of the First Prince, who could flip the script even in such a cautious situation, Zheng Fan felt that he should continue to be a mascot in the army.

Every morning, Zheng Fan would ride his horse around the military camp to receive the attention and cheers from the army.

Zheng Fan didn't dismount, and he didn't go down to offer condolences or eat with them. Tian Wu Jing had told him that sometimes being too close to the soldiers would make them lose their sense of awe.

Zheng Fan had specifically asked Liang Cheng about this, because he had read many "stories" and "records" that talked about how some generals loved their soldiers like sons and even sucked their sores.

Liang Cheng directly asked, "Who wrote those stories?"

Then Zheng Fan understood that the person who wrote the story might have added their own private stuff, which was the so-called wishful thinking.

The army was a terrifying killing machine. Strict military discipline and laws were the key to ensuring the normal operation of this machine. As for other "shows," you could do them when you were too bored, just as a pastime.

The army of Shengle City moved slowly.

Correspondingly, as if in tacit agreement, Chen Yang's troops seemed to be competing with Zheng Fan's side to see who could move slower. After the two armies quickly entered the territory of Cheng and ate the "supplies" of the people of Cheng, they instantly transformed from energetic young men into old men.

Firstly, on the east bank of Wangjiang, the Chu people and the Savages didn't seem to have any intention of crossing Jiangxi in large numbers for the time being.

Firstly, it was almost winter, and because the Snow Plains had been baptized by Marquis Jingnan's army this year, many tribes couldn't survive this winter. This caused many tribes to actively submit to the Savage King in order to survive. The Savage King was currently busy accepting those Savage warriors who were entering the territory of Cheng from the Snow Sea Pass.

Secondly, the Chu people's Qingluan Army hadn't left yet, but the Chu people only seemed to have sent the Qingluan Army, an elite force of about 50,000 people, because their country seemed to be busy integrating and pacifying the rebellion, so they didn't have any plans to continue increasing troops and trying to expand the war.

Of course, the most important thing was that although the First Prince's eastern expedition army had lost the main force of the left army, the Zhenbei Army hadn't really been weakened.

Even if the First Prince was carrying the name of defeat, he was still reorganizing the defenses, managing the affairs of the small court of Cheng while continuing to train the army. The situation was still maintained.

With the remaining 40,000 Zhenbei troops stationed outside Yingdu, coupled with the tens of thousands of troops from the Yan army's right wing, combined with the Cheng army, to be honest, if you let the Chu and Savage allied forces cross the river like this, they would also be worried, afraid of being defeated again like Situ Lei was before his death.

Therefore, after the Battle of Wangjiang, both sides tacitly "calmed" down.

But both sides were clear that this tacit "calm" was only temporary.

When the rebellion within the Chu Kingdom was quelled or mostly quelled, the new Chu Emperor would inevitably increase troops here.

Alas, it was still the same old reason.

Nothing was more helpful for a new ruler to consolidate his rule than a victory in a foreign war.

Especially since the Chu Kingdom had already benefited; they had indeed defeated the invincible Yan army of recent years.

The Savage King was continuing to subdue the many tribes of the Snow Plains while incorporating batches of Savage warriors into his direct army.

Most importantly, the last Yan defeat, the deaths of the soldiers were one thing, but the loss of warhorses, armor, and other military equipment was the most fatal. Even if the Savages had plundered many artisans from Cheng, the sudden acquisition of so many finished products would definitely increase their combat power.

In the history that Zheng Fan was familiar with, the Jurchen tribe, which had emerged from the Black Water and White Land, was a similar example. First, they broke the Liao Kingdom, then they destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, and after looting and absorbing all the way, the equipment on the Jin army's regular soldiers was even more luxurious than that of the Song army.

On the Yan Kingdom's side, it was very simple.

The First Prince was waiting.

Zheng Fan was also waiting.

Chen Yang was also waiting.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for that person's news.

They had been waiting for almost winter.

But the news was slow in coming.

This had to allow the awkward situation to continue.

Zheng Fan and Chen Yang's two armies of 10,000 each, for the First Prince in Yingdu City, could help him respond, but would never actively listen to his orders. The First Prince was also very measured and didn't issue any clear orders to these two armies, but sent military order officials to go through the motions every three days.

"My Lord, how long do we have to wait?"

A'ming was a little impatient.

He missed the wine cellar in Shengle City and his private collection.

Zheng Fan shook his head first, then carefully shaved his beard with a razor, saying:

"I don't know. If there's no movement from Marquis Jingnan, there's nothing we can do here."

Most importantly, without the main force of the Jingnan Army, the Yan people simply didn't have enough confidence to launch a war of revenge again.

Losing once could be said to be carelessness, the Chu people were despicable, and the First Prince was young.

Losing twice,

That would really shake the great situation that the Yan people had worked so hard to build.

"So, Marquis Jingnan is still continuing to seclude himself?" Xue San asked, smoking a cigarette.

"Who knows."

After shaving his beard, Zheng Fan began to trim his nose hairs.

He was really too idle. In the past, when you went out to fight, would you care about this?

But now there was really nothing else to do.

However, one good thing was that the army had been brought out, and the food and drink were all supplied by Cheng, and the military pay during the expedition was paid after returning after the war, meaning it could be owed first.

Therefore, Shengle City suddenly had a huge burden removed. From Si Niang's letter, it could be seen that her financial pressure had been greatly reduced.

As for the burden on the people of Cheng, it was okay. The Yan people still had a sense of proportion. Heavy taxes and levies were better than being directly reduced to two-legged sheep when the Savages came, so the kind General Zheng had no psychological burden for exploiting the local people of Cheng.

"My Lord, I have trained all the artisans in the team, and they are teaching the laborers brought out this time, but there is no war to fight."

"Those artisans and laborers who have learned your techniques must be watched carefully."

"I understand, My Lord."

"What's for dinner? Don't eat hot pot, it's a bit greasy."

"Wild vegetable dumplings?"

"Okay." Zheng Fan nodded with satisfaction and said, "Make more and send some to Commander Chen."

"But, My Lord, it's almost winter. Is Marquis Jingnan coming or not?" Xue San was still struggling with this question.

A'ming leaned back slightly and lay obliquely on the blanket, saying, "Maybe he's still in a tug-of-war with the court."

Xue San said, "If he continues to tug, there will be problems. I'm really worried that in the end, we won't be running over to fight the Savages, but will be called back by Marquis Jingnan to help fight a civil war."

Zheng Fan hummed comfortably while applying a hot towel to his face:

"Without you, I will cherish myself even more..."

A'ming laughed, "My Lord is in a good mood, even singing."

Xue San immediately said, "You're stupid. What My Lord means is that Marquis Jingnan is coming soon."

"What?" A'ming didn't understand, but he knew that Xue San was definitely licking in a fancy and profound way again.

"*About Winter*...

Isn't it almost winter? Marquis Jingnan should be coming."

"Is that possible?" A'ming paused, then said, "But I am very curious about how Marquis Jingnan will deal with the Chu navy."

It was almost impossible for the Yan Kingdom to build a navy in a short period of time.

"Huff..."

Zheng Fan took the towel off his face, let out a long sigh, and said at the same time:

"Actually, there's no need to deal with it."

"No need to deal with it?" A'ming.

"Yeah, because Wangjiang is about to freeze."