Chapter 1 The Rain in Li Tian City

The rain in Li Tian City fell and stopped, stopped and fell, much like the plum rain season.

And on this day,

It was the day of the Jingnan Marquis's wife's funeral.

There were no special arrangements; in official terms, it even seemed overly simple.

However, this "quiet" was only reflected in official terms; it didn't mean that the commotion wasn't big.

Without prior notice, organization, or informing, the residents and merchants along the streets of Li Tian City, wherever the funeral procession would pass, had spontaneously set up incense tables in front of their homes.

As the funeral procession, dressed in white mourning clothes, passed by, the people on both sides of the street began to light candles and burn paper money, the whole family kneeling down.

Some people were crying, and then slowly, many people began to cry.

Many years later, if Great Yan still existed and was the orthodox dynasty, the historians or local chronicles might record this scene today, generally stating how gentle and virtuous the Jingnan Marquis's wife was, how she loved the people like her own children, and strengthened the ethnic integration of Yan and Jin;

When she passed away, the people of Jin spontaneously organized her funeral, and the sound of weeping echoed for dozens of miles, which was moving.

But in fact, the vast majority of the people in Li Tian City, their crying might not be fake, but it wasn't because of grief, but because the anxiety and unease that had been plaguing their hearts dissipated with this funeral… tears of joy.

The previous repression had made everyone in the city breathless, worried about how the Yan people would retaliate, and afraid that the Yan Marquis would do something rash for the sake of a beautiful woman.

When people are suppressed for a long time, the emotional release is a natural thing.

The funeral, the mourning, the encoffining—in the eyes of most people, things were developing in the way they should, which was a good thing.

Everyone could continue to live their lives as before.

On the day of the funeral, the Jingnan Army, which had just returned from the expedition, also rushed to Li Tian City. The flying dust explained their hardship of the long march.

However, things seemed to have settled.

The four commanding generals of the Jingnan Army, who had led the expedition, personally dismounted and stepped forward to carry the coffin, sending their mistress on her final journey. The remaining armored soldiers, still carrying the unshed aura of battle, raised their sabers and lined up all the way from the city gate.

The Marquis's wife went to the mountain to pray for the Marquis's blessing, was deeply worried, triggered a heart disease, and died despite treatment.

This was the official story; how many people believed it was unclear, and there was no need to clarify it.

The fire on Tian Hu Mountain burned intermittently for two days, and no one dared to count how many Taoists had died.

Recently, too many things had happened, and most people could only sway along with the tide in a daze, unable to care about anything else.

Interestingly, a large group of envoys who had been sent by their respective masters to congratulate the Jingnan Marquis on the birth of his son all caught up with this funeral. A joyous event turned into a white affair, making people sigh at the impermanence of the world.

And the great shock that seemed to be about to set off a thousand waves,

After making a show of "the storm is coming, the wind is filling the tower,"

It disappeared into nothingness in an extremely strange posture.

Much like the weather in Li Tian City at this time,

Sometimes the sky was clear and sometimes it rained heavily, making it unpredictable.

………

Night fell.

Inside an inn,

Zheng Fan, his left arm still bandaged in white gauze, silently drank the tea in front of him. A person walked in from outside the door. After entering, the person cupped his fist and bowed to Zheng Fan, apologetically saying:

"This servant is late, making Lord Zheng wait for a long time. Please forgive me, Lord Zheng."

Zheng Fan nodded, but didn't speak.

Eunuch Zhang cautiously sat down in front of Zheng Fan, reached out and poured himself a cup of tea, drank it all in one gulp, then poured another cup, and finally sighed, saying:

"There were just too many things to do today."

Zheng Fan put the teacup in his hand on the table. He was in a bad mood today, so he was too lazy to flatter or be polite.

Eunuch Zhang had to sigh slightly in his heart. He thought that back when this man had risked everything to save His Highness, it was like climbing a high branch. Not to mention His Highness, he had been respectful to himself. But now, his wings had hardened, hehe.

Of course, Eunuch Zhang also knew that Zheng Fan did have the capital to harden his wings. Leaving aside the fact that the Jingnan Marquis valued him, Zheng Fan himself was also striving, and he had no shortage of military merits. It was difficult for such a talented person of strength not to rise up, as long as he was given a chance.

On the other hand, his own master had been weakened by the Emperor for the past six months. His wings on the surface had been shaved off, leaving aside the little bit of old foundation he had left behind. His master's opportunities could be said to be in stark contrast to Zheng Fan, the city guard in front of him.

"Lord Zheng, my Highness misses Lord Zheng very much."

"Cough cough…"

Zheng Fan felt like he was catching a cold. Logically speaking, his physical fitness should be very good. As a martial artist, it would be too embarrassing if his physical fitness wasn't up to par.

However, after more than half a year of expedition and then a long journey back to Li Tian City, his body was overdrawn. It was normal to catch a cold in this damn weather.

"I also miss His Highness very much, Eunuch Zhang. How has His Highness been doing recently?"

"Not very well."

"Oh."

"Lord Zheng, my master can't help Lord Zheng with anything now."

In the past, when you were just starting out, he sent castles, food, warhorses, and military equipment. But now, with the ebb and flow, it was impossible to squeeze anything out of the Sixth Prince, even if he wanted to help. A clever woman can't cook without rice.

"I'm doing fine now. Please tell His Highness not to worry about me."

"His Highness should be very happy to hear that."

"Eunuch Zhang, can you say something practical? I'm sorry, I'm not in a good mood recently, and I'm not feeling well. And there's no need for you to be sarcastic; it's quite boring."

"Uh…" Eunuch Zhang.

"I still appreciate favors, and the Sixth Prince knows this, so there's no need for you to test me here."

"This servant has been presumptuous."

Eunuch Zhang stood up to apologize, but he heard the meaning in his words. The person in front of him had obviously placed himself in the same position as his master.

"Get down to business."

"Alright, Lord Zheng, accompanying this servant are also several hundred shopkeepers and merchants."

"So many?"

"They are all old family assets. After the Ministry of Revenue took over my Highness's business, some of them were squeezed out, but most of them quit on their own initiative. They are all our own people, so Lord Zheng can use them with confidence."

"Okay."

Talent was hard to come by. Even if Sheng Le City was promoting quality education now, it was planning for future development. At present, it still needed this kind of real talent in business and management to operate everything. He thought that after these people arrived in Sheng Le, they would definitely play a great role.

"In addition, there is one more thing that Lord Zheng should know in advance."

"What is it?"

"The Crown Prince will be getting married in the autumn."

"The Zhenbei (Pacifying the North) Marquis's daughter?"

"Exactly."

Zheng Fan nodded. This was something that everyone knew, but now it was on the agenda. Counting the days, it wouldn't be long.

"In addition, the First Prince will lead two garrisons of the Zhenbei Army to change defenses during the escort of the bride."

"Use the Imperial Guards to replace them?"

"Yes."

When the Three Kingdoms War began, the First Prince Ji Wujiang led nearly 100,000 Imperial Guards to reinforce the Northern Feng Prefecture. Now, it was equivalent to leaving the Imperial Guards in the north and bringing back 100,000 Zhenbei Army soldiers himself.

Everyone in the army knew what the Imperial Guards were like. This was undoubtedly a blood exchange, but to a certain extent, it was also the dowry of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion.

Recruiting border troops to enrich the capital was a good move.

In this way, the original 300,000 Zhenbei Army soldiers had suffered a lot in a great war. Even if they were quickly replenished with new recruits, Li Bao's unit, stationed in Qu He City in the newly occupied land, was originally separated from the six garrisons of the Zhenbei Army. This time, the First Prince led 100,000 soldiers to change defenses in Yan Jing, which meant that the original mighty 300,000 Zhenbei Army had been dismantled by half.

The Emperor of Qian should be very envious of the Yan Emperor's "directness." You should know that although the Qian court had begun to liquidate and squeeze out the problem of empty pay and inflated armies, it was still mainly done by gentle means, because the vested interests who could serve as Imperial Guards generals in the capital had extremely close relations with the court, and could even be said to be a force in themselves.

Both sides had actually discovered the problem of the Imperial Guards' lack of combat effectiveness in the war. The Yan Emperor directly threw the Imperial Guards in the capital to Northern Feng Prefecture to eat sand and train.

"His Majesty is really willing to part with them."

Zheng Fan sighed.

It didn't matter whether the Zhenbei Marquis was willing or not. According to the relationship between the Zhenbei Marquis and His Majesty, the two brothers were so close that they could almost wear the same pair of pants. This time, it was his daughter's marriage, and it was reasonable to send 100,000 iron cavalry as a dowry.

It was conceivable that the Princess would be one of the most powerful crown princesses in history. Anyone with 100,000 Zhenbei Army soldiers as a dowry wouldn't be able to keep a low profile even if they wanted to.

At the same time, this was also the Crown Prince's wife's family. Whether in ancient or modern times, it was common practice to form an alliance between two forces in the name of marriage.

Other emperors were single-mindedly preventing the Crown Prince's forces from developing and growing too large, fearing that he would directly become the Supreme Emperor. But the Yan Emperor was really carefree, directly stuffing the Crown Prince with military power, and still in this capital area.

"Lord Zheng, my Highness means that it may be increasingly difficult for him to stay in the capital."

Being beaten by his own emperor from time to time, having his mother's tomb pushed down today, and having his concubines taken away tomorrow, throwing your face on the ground and stomping on it when he was happy, and stomping on it even more when he was unhappy, this kind of life was simply unbearable.

"Does His Highness want to leave the capital?" Zheng Fan asked.

Wasn't this courting death?

And if Little Sixth told his father that he wanted to go to Sheng Le City to find himself, to defend the country and contribute his strength,

Would the Emperor clean up even himself, together with him?

"His Highness wants to ask His Majesty for a county magistrate position under Tiancheng Prefecture."

"Oh, that's good."

Tiancheng Prefecture was considered the greater capital area, not leaving the Yan Emperor's eyes. Little Sixth could take a breather by going out in this way. Of course, whether it could be done depended on the Yan Emperor's intentions.

"The last thing is that this servant is asking Lord Zheng on behalf of my master. My master didn't order it when this servant came, but this servant thinks that when he returns, the master will definitely ask about it."

"Ask away."

"Does Lord Zheng think that this matter will just pass like this?"

Zheng Fan shook his head,

Saying:

"I don't know either."

Some things could be concealed from the common people, but not from the real wealthy class.

The identity of the Jingnan Marquis's wife, the death of the palace eunuch, even if they were concealed as tightly as possible, they could not hide from the ears of those who were interested. What should be known would still be known.

Zheng Fan actually had a feeling in his heart that the Jingnan Marquis's hair turned white overnight because of this incident, and he even said the word "Jingnan" (a historical coup) to himself;

In the end, it returned to this kind of calm through a funeral.

He couldn't help but feel that the attitude that the Jingnan Marquis showed in front of him earlier was a bit too radical.

Maybe others didn't have this feeling, because only he and the Jingnan Marquis were in front of the mourning hall that day. This was a feeling unique to Zheng Fan, the "personal experience."

To put it bluntly, even if Little Sixth was sitting in front of him and talking to him about this matter, Zheng Fan wouldn't necessarily tell him everything truthfully, let alone relying on Eunuch Zhang to pass on the message.

In terms of close relationship, like a scumbag, Zheng Fan still felt that he was closer to Tian Wu Jing.

"Alright, this servant understands. This servant will take his leave now and start his journey back to the capital tomorrow. Here, I wish Lord Zheng a smooth and safe journey."

After saying that, Eunuch Zhang left, and the special agent contact session also came to an end.

A Ming outside the door walked in and said:

"How was the conversation?"

Zheng Fan shook his head, "We talked some nonsense. Alright, let's go back, drink some ginger soup, and get some sleep."

"Master, Blind is not here yet, could something have happened on the way?"

"He can take care of himself, I am very reassured about this. Everyone can have an accident, but the probability of him having an accident is always the lowest."

Zheng Fan didn't live in the military camp. First, he didn't bring any troops, and second, Zheng Fan didn't like the military camp environment. However, it wasn't appropriate to live in the Marquis's mansion at this time, so Zheng Fan simply rented two rooms in a reputable restaurant and inn not far from the Marquis's mansion in Li Tian City. It was also convenient for Tian Wu Jing to call him in case something happened. Although Tian Wu Jing hadn't shown his face or called him since he returned from Tian Hu Mountain that day.

But Zheng Fan was, after all, the Marquis's favorite. A favorite should have the basic treatment of a favorite. Even the Jingnan Army's discipline officer, known for his impartiality, deliberately turned a blind eye to this kind of irregular thing.

However, just as Zheng Fan and A Ming walked to the entrance of the inn, they saw two rows of armored soldiers lined up at the entrance of the inn.

When Zheng Fan walked in, he saw a messenger captain standing in the center of the inn's lobby, with a general in his early thirties standing next to him.

Seeing Zheng Fan come in, the messenger captain raised the military token in his hand. This was the Jingnan Marquis's token. Seeing this token was like seeing the Marquis, and it was generally given to messengers to convey the Marquis's military orders.

"Sheng Le City Guard Zheng Fan, receive the order!"

Zheng Fan immediately knelt down on one knee, and A Ming behind him also knelt down.

"Sheng Le City Guard Zheng Fan, expedition to the Snowy Plains, repeatedly made military achievements. Since ancient times, punishment is required for wrongdoing and reward is required for merit, so as to rectify people's hearts and establish military hearts.

Specifically, Zheng Fan is promoted from Sheng Le City Guard to Sheng Le General, and Li Yi Yong's five thousand Jin camp is ordered to go north to Sheng Le and be placed under the command of Sheng Le General to guard against border troubles!"

For more than ten years, the Jingnan Army had basically been the Jingnan Marquis's one-man show. The Jingnan Marquis decided on matters of reward and punishment, even this kind of promotion. After the fact, he would go through a procedure with the Ministry of War in the imperial court.

The Jingnan Army had long been accustomed to this.

In other words, without this kind of decision-making power and autonomy, Tian Wu Jing would not have been able to bring out such a powerful army that was not inferior to the Zhenbei Army in more than ten years.

Of course, it was valued by the monarch now, but if it turned over in the future, it would inevitably be taken out again as evidence that the Jingnan Marquis harbored evil intentions and had no regard for the monarch.

Sheng Le General?

This was a direct promotion of his rank, a bit similar to a guerrilla general, but because he had his own territory and defense area, he was actually half a level higher than an ordinary guerrilla general.

Of course, Zheng Fan didn't care much about official positions. What he really cared about was the five thousand Jin army camp.

When the Yan Kingdom entered Jin, it collapsed half of the Jin Kingdom. In addition to those who died in battle, the living Jin soldiers either became routs and entered the capital area or entered the Si Tu family, while some were used as slaves for labor, and some who knew the times were heroes, plus those with good qualities, were incorporated into the auxiliary army.

Five thousand soldiers, still selected by the Jingnan Army, their qualities would definitely not be bad. After all, the qualities of the three Jin knights themselves were not bad.

At this time, the general who had been standing next to him knelt down on one knee to Zheng Fan,

"This subordinate Li Yi Yong, pays his respects to General Zheng. From now on, this subordinate and his brothers are willing to be driven by General Zheng and make contributions to our Great Yan!"

Zheng Fan took a deep breath,

After the surprise,

There was some doubt,

Old Tian hadn't even shown his face at the funeral,

But suddenly he promoted himself and even directly stuffed him with soldiers. You should know that these five thousand Jin camps were fully equipped with warhorses and military equipment, so he didn't need to find a way to equip them himself.

In the past, Tian Wu Jing always used the reason of honing himself to suppress his promotion. Now, he suddenly stuffed him with sweet dates. People, sometimes, are just cheap. Zheng Fan felt a little flustered in his heart.

At this time, a soldier walked over holding a long box.

The messenger captain continued:

"The Marquis bestows a famous sword upon Sheng Le General Zheng Fan, hoping that Sheng Le General Zheng Fan will guard the border, be as sharp as a sword, and protect our Great Yan people from harm."

Sword?

This old man uses a saber.

At this time, the messenger captain put away the token and said to Zheng Fan in a gentle and even flattering tone:

"General Zheng, please come up and receive the sword."

Zheng Fan got up and walked to the front of the long box.

The messenger captain reached out and opened the box.

A treasured sword with a simple hilt and a reddish blade lay quietly in the long box.

Some things, their value, even a layman can see at a glance. Zheng Fan didn't play with swords, he was used to using sabers, but looking at the sword in front of him, it was clear at a glance that it was definitely a famous sword of this era.

"This sword is called…"

The messenger captain immediately replied:

"Long Yuan."