Chapter 1 When the Dust Settles

Once the Sheng Le cavalry successfully entered the city, the battle, to a certain extent, could be considered settled.

How could Fengxin City, the nominal new dynasty capital but in reality a bandit's nest, with its chaotic rebel army, possibly organize a counterattack under such circumstances?

As for street fighting, forget about it. The brutality of street fighting isn't just for the attacking side; first, you have to consider whether the defending side has the courage to fight to the death with a "sacrifice for righteousness" mentality.

Moreover, with the double insurance of a long-distance raid and a night attack, against a completely unprepared rabble of rebels, if they could still be "counterattacked," then General Zheng would have wasted all the resources he poured into nurturing this elite force!

The fighting within the city hadn't ended, but the two military camps outside the city had already been cleared. Some of the rebels who surrendered their weapons were rounded up, but most had fled during the Yan army's attack. Zheng Fan wasn't interested in dividing his forces to pursue these deserters.

These deserters might gather in groups of three or five on the nearby hills to establish small bandit camps, definitely poisoning the local area, but what did that have to do with him, General Zheng?

General Zheng only needed to be responsible for fighting and seizing military achievements. As for the long-term stability of the local area, screw it. Unless the imperial court demarcated this area before the war and assigned it to his jurisdiction, but that was unlikely; this place was too far from Sheng Le City.

Riding his horse to the drawbridge, Zheng Fan dismounted and walked to the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Earlier, when seizing the city gate, the Sword Saint had held nothing back. It could be said that without him, the city gate would most likely not have been captured. He had even used his origin to maintain the situation.

"You've worked hard," Zheng Fan said with concern.

The Sword Saint opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked in the direction of the city.

The meaning was clear: this matter wasn't over yet.

"Rest assured, there are always unexpected things that can happen."

Some people are good at哄 (hǒng) children; others are good at哄 (hǒng) powerful figures.

In A'Ming's view, his lord belonged to the latter.

Because A'Ming knew that his lord had never intended to capture Situ Yi and Situ Jiong alive. An outdated pseudo-emperor's value had already greatly diminished.

Hadn't the Wildlings and Chu people already treated him like a spittoon and discarded him far away?

Would the Yan Emperor treat him like a treasure?

If a large army group had pushed here, then fine, you could capture the pseudo-emperor and a group of pseudo-court officials, then present them as prisoners in Shangjing, which would definitely be a big success. But now, he was venturing deep alone, too lazy to even capture prisoners, let alone carry this bunch of burdens on the road.

Besides, the war wasn't over yet.

Therefore, the people were meant to be killed from the start. In terms of decisiveness and "preventing problems before they arise," A'Ming knew that his lord did it much more neatly than others.

But his lord still "deceived" the Sword Saint, taking advantage of the established thinking that capturing the emperor was a great achievement, and then pretending to be acting in the Sword Saint's interest, preferring to give up the great achievement and kill first as a sign of respect.

The routine was like this. It wasn't dirty, because the person being哄 (hǒng)ed should be quite satisfied and happy.

After comforting the Sword Saint, Zheng Fan looked at the First Prince. The First Prince's injuries weren't light, but it was good that he hadn't died.

In fact, if something unexpected happened to the First Prince under his command, it would be a big trouble for General Zheng.

Later, people would comment that the Marquis of Jingnan was a harvester of princes' maternal clans, and that he, Zheng Fan, was a prince sprayer.

But Zheng Fan knew the First Prince's mentality. This guy wanted to carry out the most dangerous task in the most dangerous place. If he died, then so be it. If he didn't die, it would be a way to wash away the shame on his body. Regardless of what others thought, he would feel better himself.

Therefore, Zheng Fan didn't stop Xue San from taking the First Prince to seize the city gate.

"You've worked hard," Zheng Fan said, patting the First Prince on the shoulder.

"..." The First Prince.

To be honest, the First Prince really wasn't used to the shoulder-patting etiquette in the Sheng Le army.

But in the Sheng Le army, it seemed that every general liked to do this, including his nominal superior, Jin Shuke.

Jin Shuke was so obsessed with this action that he patted his subordinates' shoulders several times a day.

"Let's enter the city," Zheng Fan said, gesturing.

The First Prince shook his head and said, "This subordinate needs to return to camp."

This was a serious prince. He knew his current position and responsibilities, didn't think about showing off, and having experienced ups and downs in life, he could indeed see through a lot of things.

Zheng Fan didn't insist, but waited for the Sword Saint to slowly stand up, and then walked into the city with the Sword Saint.

The slaughter in the city continued.

Because the Sheng Le army didn't have enough people and wanted to achieve surprise, to avoid alerting the enemy, they didn't deploy troops to block the other three city gates in advance.

However, the first batch of Sheng Le cavalry that entered the city didn't spread out randomly, but went directly to the "imperial palace" in the city under Liang Cheng's leadership.

The so-called imperial palace was just the residence of the city's largest paper merchant, with some renovations and the addition of carvings and objects that only the royal family could use.

Since they had entered Fengxin City, they couldn't let the Situ Yi and Situ Jiong brothers escape in the chaos; otherwise, this victory wouldn't be so sweet.

The cavalry that entered the city later began to divide into groups to suppress the remaining organized rebels in the city, not seeking to completely eliminate them, just preventing the rebels from shrinking and forming a scale.

At the same time, the other city gates weren't closed. Those who wanted to escape should escape quickly and not cause trouble here.

Under these circumstances, very few rebels continued to resist stubbornly. Most began to flee towards the other three city gates.

The "capital," guarded by 20,000 rebels, was actually conquered very easily. In the final analysis, everyone knew that Situ Yi's new dynasty had no future.

The reason they gathered here wasn't because they were loyal to Situ Yi, but because everyone was squeezing into a nest, having fun together. The so-called fair-weather friends were probably like this. When disaster struck, they flew away quickly, their own lives being the most important thing.

To put it another way, you've seen martyrs who sacrificed themselves for righteousness, but have you ever seen traitors who generously went to their deaths?

"Are you a little tired?" Zheng Fan asked the Sword Saint in a low voice as they walked side by side.

The Sword Saint nodded and said, "A little."

Earlier, when seizing the city gate, the Sword Saint had guarded the drawbridge single-handedly, so it was normal to be a little tired and a little exhausted.

Especially those two sword strikes, one killing fifty riders inside the city gate, and the other flying past, continuously piercing armor and killing dozens of people, were both terrifying bursts of energy in a short period of time, naturally putting a heavy burden and damage on the body.

Even Sha Tuo Qieshi, when facing the assembled Zhenbei Army iron cavalry outside the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, had only punched them down one by one, rather than killing a certain number with each punch. Of course, swordsmen have strong attack power, but they don't have the endurance of martial artists who can "bathe" in a sea of soldiers.

"Thank you for your hard work."

The Sword Saint chuckled, and said, "Hypocritical."

The "imperial palace" was right in front of them.

The outer perimeter was already surrounded by armored soldiers led by Liang Cheng, with bows drawn and arrows ready, ready to charge in at any time.

However, the main course on a table had to be unveiled by the person with the highest status, so everyone had been waiting for Zheng Fan to enter the city.

Liang Cheng rode his horse to Zheng Fan and reported, "My lord, Situ Yi and Situ Jiong are inside, along with hundreds of guards."

Zheng Fan nodded, very satisfied. As long as the two brothers hadn't run away; then he waved his hand and ordered, "Attack."

Catching a turtle in a jar was already very simple. It would be difficult for the other side to fight to the death.

After several rounds of volley fire from the surrounding archers, screams immediately came from the residence. Then, Fan Li, looking like a large iron can, ran and used himself as a battering ram, directly smashing into...

Not the door, but the wall of the residence.

"Boom!"

A large hole was smashed in the wall, and Fan Li rolled in, knocking down several guards who had been standing against the wall to avoid the arrows.

Then, a group of armored soldiers charged in through the broken hole to clear the interior.

Before long, the armored soldiers inside opened the gate.

Zheng Fan made a "please" gesture to the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Why are you being so attentive at this time?"

"This is your moment. You must enjoy it."

"What's there to enjoy? These beasts let the Wildlings into the pass, and the people of my Jin land are suffering. Everywhere is a mess. I..."

"We'll have time to care about the people's affairs later. Today, let's first make ourselves happy. In fact, it's not contradictory. Only when you're happy and comfortable can you do better things for the people, right?"

"That makes sense."

"Please."

"Let's go."

If Zheng Fan's earlier flattery and concern for the Sword Saint was because he saw the potential in this true master and didn't hesitate to invest heavily, like seeing a high-performing stock, then now, after witnessing the Sword Saint's true strength, it had become: such a thick thigh, you'd be stupid not to hug!

Sha Tuo Qieshi couldn't be easily carried around due to his own limitations, but the Sword Saint didn't have this problem.

Today, I'll set the stage for you. For me, it's just less of a spotlight, but the reward could be friendship with the Sword Saint.

Sometimes, friendship is worthless; but sometimes, it's very precious.

Most importantly, the Sword Saint belonged to the Jianghu (martial world), while Zheng Fan followed the system. Today's events would add another stroke to the Sword Saint's reputation in the Jianghu (martial world).

The Sword Saint opened the city gate with one sword and captured the pseudo-emperor!

This story would definitely become the favorite of storytellers in teahouses and the favorite of young heroes to listen to.

And in the case of the Marquis of Jingnan and at the imperial court, it would only be said that Zheng Fan ventured deep alone, rushed day and night, and destroyed the pseudo-dynasty in one battle.

You wash your sword in your Jianghu (martial world), and I watch the tide by my sea.

Each gets what they need.

In the "imperial palace" imperial garden, which was actually the courtyard outside the hall, there were corpses everywhere. Most of those lying on the ground were guards who were willing to follow and protect Situ Yi until the very end.

But those were all that were left.

Zheng Fan and the Sword Saint walked together and stood at the door.

Inside the door, Situ Yi, wearing a dragon robe, was sitting on a grand chair with a sword in his left hand.

Next to him sat another man in a python robe, who was likely Situ Yi's younger brother, Situ Jiong.

Situ Yi's gaze was somewhat cold. This man didn't look like the kind of person whose body had been emptied by wine and women. Instead, he seemed somewhat heroic. His younger brother, Situ Jiong, was much worse in comparison, clearly trembling.

Situ Yi's gaze first fell on Zheng Fan, and he said, "Who are you? State your name!"

Zheng Fan smiled slightly, treating him like a monkey to watch, and didn't answer him.

"Impudent!" Situ Yi pointed at Zheng Fan and scolded.

Then, Situ Yi looked at the Sword Saint standing next to Zheng Fan, and immediately roared, "So it's you! So it's you! As a Jin person, you actually colluded with the Yan people to plot rebellion and usurp my throne!

Yu Huaping, you, you are so bold! You are unworthy of being a Jin person!

I will exterminate your entire clan! Even if you are the Sword Saint, I will definitely send a large army to capture you! I will never spare you!"

Situ Yi and the Sword Saint had a great feud.

Back then, in the political struggle, Situ Yi and Situ Jiong, the two elder brothers, were squeezed out by their younger brother, Situ Lei, and had to go to Xuehai Pass to guard the city, which was a kind of exile in disguise.

At that time, they had already colluded with the Wildlings, especially when the Yan people destroyed the Helian and Wen families one after another. Their father, the old Situ family head, was panicking, and the two brothers took the opportunity to offer the idea of borrowing troops from the Wildlings to resist the Yan people.

Originally, the old family head was tempted.

The two brothers could take this opportunity to return to Yingdu City from Xuehai Pass and start the next round of struggle with their younger brother. As the saying goes, life is endless, and the struggle for the throne never stops.

But who knew that Situ Lei would borrow the Sword Saint's sword and kill his own father?

Were Situ Yi and Situ Jiong determined to rely on the Wildlings?

They weren't stupid, but at that time, they really had no choice. Their father was the arbitrator of the rules of the game. When their father was killed by their younger brother, it was equivalent to directly announcing the end of the game. They didn't even have the qualifications to participate again, which is why they made up their minds to collude with the Wildlings.

Now, having fallen to this point, even if the Yan people hadn't attacked today, Situ Yi would still be very dissatisfied with his current situation.

Perhaps, in Situ Yi's view, if the Sword Saint hadn't helped Situ Lei kill his father back then, his trump cards when facing "Little Gouzi" (Situ Lei) would have been much more than they were now. He wouldn't have been reduced to the point where even a Yupan City, this "capital," was taken away, at least he could have maintained the basic decency of his "emperor."

"You still have the face to question me?" The Sword Saint was almost laughed to death.

"I am the emperor of the Great Cheng Kingdom! I am the Son of Heaven, destined by heaven! You dare to offend me, that is defying heaven!"

Situ Yi continued to shout loudly. He was acting like a fool, performing a one-man show.

"You're still dreaming even at this stage!" the Sword Saint scolded.

Zheng Fan then reached out and patted the Sword Saint's shoulder and said, "He's not stupid. He's very shrewd."

Signaling the Sword Saint to calm down, Zheng Fan crossed his arms and looked at Situ Yi very leisurely,

"What's wrong, you really think of yourself as an emperor? Do you want to learn from that Jin emperor, move to Yanjing, and then get the title of Duke of Jin, at least guaranteeing yourself a lifetime of wealth?

Let me tell you the truth, don't even think about such a good thing. My Great Yan only recognizes the Great Cheng Kingdom of Yingdu, but doesn't recognize you, a piece of trash that popped out of nowhere.

I advise you to save your energy. Great Yan already has the Prince of Cheng, so it's impossible to create another Duke of Cheng.

You led the Wildlings into the pass, ruining the foundation of Great Xia. Did you think that the losing side in the power struggle of kings could still retain some decency?"

Hearing this, Situ Yi's eyes froze. Clearly, Zheng Fan's words pierced his heart like a knife.

Why did he put on the dragon robe at this time? Why did he specifically make his younger brother wear the python robe?

Why was he acting like he had lost his mind, opening his mouth and closing it with "I" and "destined by heaven"?

What he was seeking was nothing more than to be captured as an "emperor."

In this way, even if he was escorted to Yanjing, according to everyone's tradition, he could at least get a title and the treatment of a wealthy man.

Zheng Fan's words were equivalent to puncturing his fantasy.

"I... I am the Son of Heaven. Even if I lose, I was once the supreme ruler. I can go to Yanjing, I can submit a letter of credence to His Majesty the Emperor of Yan, I can..."

"There's no need. It's not easy to travel so far. Let's not bother. Besides, I promised someone that you must have an accident today."

"Accident?"

"Yes, like you dying inexplicably. I wanted to capture you alive, but I didn't succeed."

Hearing this, the Sword Saint glanced at Zheng Fan out of the corner of his eye.

Zheng Fan caught the movement and smiled slightly in his heart.

"Brother, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"

Situ Jiong on this side couldn't hold on any longer, and immediately knelt down, kowtowing to Zheng Fan and then to Situ Yi.

Situ Jiong looked at his brother somewhat blankly. He actually knew his own weight and looked down on Situ Lei's illegitimate status, so for a long time, he had been standing on his brother's side to deal with Situ Lei.

But now, he knew that his brother couldn't protect him anymore.

Situ Yi leaned forward and said to Situ Jiong, "Don't cry. The winner is king, the loser is a bandit. Don't embarrass me at this time."

Then, Situ Yi looked at Zheng Fan and said, "I have at least sat on the dragon throne and have been hailed as 'Long Live the Emperor'. This Yan general, can you give me some dignity? White silk and poisoned wine are fine."

"You still want dignity? When you let the Wildlings into the pass, did you ever think about the dignity of my Sanjin people!"

The Sword Saint was about to draw his sword when Zheng Fan pressed his wrist.

"Dignity should be given. After all, he was a human emperor, and he had at least worn the yellow robe. What emperors pursue is nothing more than being unique throughout the ages..."

"Yes, if it weren't for the times misleading me, I would definitely have been able to become a unique emperor throughout the ages!" Situ Yi seemed very confident in himself.

Of course, it was already at this time, and since there were no descendants holding a knife to the necks of historians to say good things about him, he could only shout a few more words for himself at this moment.

Zheng Fan nodded with a smile and said, "I'll help you, help you become a unique emperor throughout the ages."

Saying that, Zheng Fan said to the armored soldiers next to him, "Go collect a vat of fecal water."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Situ Yi was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted in a panic, "What are you going to do, what are you going to do!"

He was anxious! How could he not be anxious!

Zheng Fan used his little finger to pick his ear, and then blew on it in front of his lips, and said, "Helping you fulfill your dream. Didn't you want to be a unique emperor throughout the ages? Then be the first emperor throughout the ages to die by being drowned in fecal water."