Chapter 1 "Coming from Cheng?"

"Hmm, from Cheng? Haha, you're interesting. Aren't they still at war there? And you're still out doing business."

Jin Shuke looked at the document and asked with some surprise.

"What are you saying, Officer? Does war mean we don't need to eat or do business?"

The head of the merchant caravan discreetly passed a small packet of silver to him.

Jin Shuke avoided it, not taking the silver, and instead said,

"Is this what you people mean by valuing money over life?"

"Life is certainly precious, but without money, we can't survive, can we?"

Jin Shuke nodded and said, "That's reasonable. Go in, and we'll do a more thorough check and registration later."

"Oh, thank you, Officer. Please accept this small token for you and your brothers to buy tea."

"Put it away, or I'll charge you with bribery."

"Wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare."

The caravan leader immediately put the silver away and bowed several times before signaling his team to enter the city.

At the city gate checkpoint, they couldn't get big money, but small bribes were common. However, because of the "strict laws" in Shengle City, no one dared to risk it now.

It wasn't worth jeopardizing their future and their lives for a little bit of silver.

Jin Shuke waved for a subordinate to come over and whispered to him,

"Go and notify Third Master's men that a merchant caravan from Cheng has entered the city."

"Yes, sir."

After giving the order, Jin Shuke stretched and walked over to Yu Huaping.

The Shengle army emphasized military posture, mainly to look good when General Zheng inspected the troops.

Every month, the various departments would gather for a drill, and the top three and bottom three would be ranked.

Therefore, many officers had extremely high standards for their subordinates' posture during their daily duties. Some would even gather their men after hours to practice marching.

This significantly improved the "appearance of the city" in Shengle.

Of course, standing at attention was not difficult for Yu Huaping. He could stand in one position from morning till night.

Jin Shuke took out a small bottle, poured a little feng you jing (essential balm) on his fingertip, and rubbed it under his nose.

This was a new product from the workshop in the west of the city: feng you jing (essential balm).

It had a good refreshing effect, so Jin Shuke bought some for himself.

Looking at the Cheng merchant caravan entering the city, Jin Shuke whispered, "There might be spies from over there in there."

Yu Huaping turned his face to look at Jin Shuke.

"I've already notified them," Jin Shuke continued.

Yu Huaping nodded.

For the past few months, Yu Huaping had been diligently working as a city guard. The Sword Saint was truly able to endure loneliness.

Even General Zheng, who initially came to the east gate seven or eight times a day, had gradually lost interest and stopped coming. However, Jin Shuke had always paid close attention to this "subordinate."

He seemed convinced that this person was no ordinary man. He often shared his experiences with him and told him about his goals and motivations.

Therefore, some people in this world were destined to rise to the top. Not everyone possessed such insight.

"Want to go for a drink after work?" Jin Shuke asked.

Yu Huaping shook his head and said, "No, you guys go ahead."

Jin Shuke wasn't angry at all. In fact, he was used to being rejected. Except for the time his wife gave birth, Yu Huaping had never attended any other gatherings with the brothers.

"Alright." Jin Shuke reached out and patted Yu Huaping's shoulder, imitating the expression General Zheng usually had when patting his shoulder.

After getting off work,

Yu Huaping put away his sword and began to walk back.

On the road, he saw his disciple waiting for him at the street corner every day at the same time.

The little sword boy was wearing a wooden sword around his waist, standing straight.

Yu Huaping walked over, and she naturally followed behind him.

The master and disciple walked into a small alley in the city. It was a small courtyard that looked dilapidated but was kept very clean.

The Sword Saint came in, picked up the bucket, and turned to leave again.

The little sword boy took out a handful of candied fruit from her arms and teased the little boy who ran out of the house.

The master and disciple seemed to be used to this division of labor and had integrated into it very naturally.

The Sword Saint carried water back and forth twice, filling the water tank.

The little boy had eaten too much candied fruit and was touching his little belly.

An old woman watched this scene with a smile. When the Sword Saint came back, she enthusiastically pulled him over to measure his shoe size, saying that she wanted to make him two pairs of cloth shoes.

"The boots you soldiers wear are good, but they make your feet sweat. Your feet stink! The shoes I make are better. They're comfortable to wear."

Hearing this, the Sword Saint nodded and said,

"That's right."

As dusk approached, the woman who worked at the perfume workshop returned home.

At this time, the Sword Saint and the little sword boy were preparing to go out.

The woman pursed her lips and called out,

"I'll cook dinner. Let's eat together tonight."

The Sword Saint waved his hand and said, "Next time, next time."

After saying that,

He left the house with the little sword boy.

Back at the post station where they were staying, the post station manager brought two bowls of noodles.

The Sword Saint and the little sword boy each had a bowl of noodles, and they both ate without any regard for their image.

"Master, why didn't we stay there for dinner?"

"It's not time yet," the Sword Saint replied.

In Jin, there was a rule that if a man and a woman were both unmarried, then eating a formal meal at the same table meant that they were living together.

The woman had already asked, but the Sword Saint had not agreed.

"Is Master shy?" the little sword boy asked.

The Sword Saint hesitated for a moment and nodded.

"I think that Mistress is pretty good. She's a down-to-earth person," the little sword boy said.

"How old are you? And you can already tell what people are like?"

"Master, I can see some people's thoughts. You know that."

The Sword Saint suddenly realized and lowered his head, continuing to eat his noodles.

After the master and disciple finished eating,

The little sword boy began to practice his sword,

The Sword Saint took out Long Yuan and began to carve.

He wanted to make a rattle-drum for the little boy who Zheng Fan himself had named "Tiantian," the little guy who had peed on him six times when he held him.

He also wanted to make a small wooden sword for her son, Liu Dahu.

The famous sword Long Yuan was now being used by the Sword Saint to make toys for children. If the Chu swordsmith knew about this, he might vomit blood.

The blind man had come to ask him if he wanted to continue being a city guard.

If he wanted to continue, then he would continue. He also asked if he wanted to be promoted. If he didn't want to continue, then they would discuss other arrangements. Even if he wanted to leave, they would have a farewell banquet.

But he decided to continue, continuing to change his sword for a saber every morning and watch the crowds come and go at the city gate.

The Sword Saint himself didn't expect to be a city guard for so long.

What he didn't expect even more was that

his stagnant, seemingly already reached ceiling realm, was showing signs of loosening.

The Sword Saint remembered a question that the blind man had answered for him, which was what kind of qi (energy) his sword had. The blind man said it was earth qi (energy).

As he carved,

The Sword Saint couldn't help but reveal a smile.

The little sword boy, who was practicing his sword, keenly noticed this detail,

But did not stop his sword practice,

Just snorted disdainfully in his heart:

"Hmph, men."

………

"Where's the vanguard officer?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Lord, he's waiting in the front hall."

"Hehe."

Zheng Fan smiled and threw the military order from the Grand Prince on the table.

Several demon kings had all put down their original tasks and gathered at the mansion for a meeting because the Grand Prince's army had arrived at the border and was about to enter Cheng.

Xue San said, "Lord, this Grand Prince has a lot of prestige. He's asking for ten thousand laborers and wants us to be responsible for the logistical support and transportation of his left-wing army. What the hell does he think he is?"

A'ming nodded and said, "He thinks he's Tian Wujing."

When Tian Wujing entered the Snow Plains, Shengle City was responsible for raising and arranging logistical support, doing a perfect job. Of course, Shengle City also made a fortune from the profit distribution after the war.

The Grand Prince obviously valued Shengle City's ability to be a "logistics soldier."

Zheng Fan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and didn't rush to speak.

Si Niang said, "Shengle is currently in a huge deficit. Fortunately, we have a strong foundation, so we can afford to lose money for now. But if we simply support a large army with supplies, it would be a truly losing proposition. Even if the lord's rank is promoted again after the war, what would be the point?"

If you only provide supplies, you definitely won't get anything in the future distribution of war results, because you didn't actually send troops to participate in the war.

Liang Cheng said,

"We can't be the sucker,"

At this time, Zheng Fan asked, "How is Chen Yang responding?"

Chen Yang was the garrison commander of Xin Su City, with ten thousand Jingnan troops under his command.

The blind man replied, "Lord, Chen Yang is holding his ground and not coming out. When the Grand Prince's main force passed through, he didn't show up to greet them either."

Without Tian Wujing's permission, who would dare to greet them in the Jingnan army?

Of course, you could greet them, which would mean that you would jump out of the Jingnan army system and into the Grand Prince's arms, begging for a hug. It was up to you to choose.

But from Zheng Fan's perspective,

He would be crazy to leave Tian Wujing and join the Grand Prince's embrace to be a lapdog again.

Tian Wujing's son was still being raised in his house.

"Tell that vanguard officer that Shengle is poor and has been in deficit for a long time, and we really don't have the extra resources to support the army."

Being in deficit was certain, because the Yan army in Jin, Licheng and Quhe which were the original strongholds of the Wenren family and the Helian family were still good, with dense population and developed trade. As for the rest of the Yan garrisons, the court only paid half the salary, and the other half was raised by themselves.

This was also a tacit rule. The court knew that you had the ability to get money and food and that your lives wouldn't be too bad. This was similar to why countless people in later generations were still eager to join certain government offices, even though the fixed salary was so low.

Zheng Fan added:

"In addition, make a list of all the military pay and supplies that the court has owed us for the past year and send someone to the Grand Prince, begging the Grand Prince to have mercy, saying that we are too poor to survive and hoping that the Grand Prince will support us."