Chapter 134 The Length of the Shadow

In the moonlight, Xue San's shadow stretched to a length impossible in reality.

Especially the sentence "accept your fate" revealed a world of bitterness.

People all desire freedom, and demon kings even more so.

Originally, in their respective "worlds," whether successful or failures, they were all protagonists. But after being reborn, they had to call someone "Master."

They were used to it, and didn't really resist it too much. In terms of emotion and reason, it was only right to call Zheng Fan "Master."

But if they had a choice,

Everyone would want to take a breath of fresh air.

If the former couldn't be satisfied,

Well,

Just being able to exhale would be enough.

Over a hundred black-clothed men personally trained by Xue San melted into the encampment. Some of them had been selected and trained by Xue San during the Sheng Le period, while others were Jianghu individuals absorbed along the way, but they all inherited Xue San's "mantle" and "way of thinking."

In fact, special operations tactics have existed since ancient times.

The war strategy of using elite soldiers to achieve extraordinary effects isn't exactly an unpopular tactic.

But being able to do it so professionally, with such training, and with such planning, was indeed rare in this era.

Most importantly, because of the seven demon kings, in the early days, Zheng Boye was actually taking the path of special forces operations.

Because the external sentry posts had been cleared, the hundred black-clothed men infiltrated very easily. Some were responsible for assassination, while others were responsible for setting fire to the stables.

Their goal wasn't actually to kill all the enemies inside under the cover of night. That was too naive and impossible. What they needed to do was to strip the enemy's "outerwear" as much as possible in the last period of the night.

Then,

Wait for the main force in the rear to charge and completely crush the enemy.

A'ming, clutching his abdomen, got out of bed and stood beside Xue San.

Xue San put his hands behind his head, humming a little tune, and said:

"Don't you feel like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?"

A'ming said, "Just treat it as troop training, but did you set the time too long before?"

One shichen (approximately two hours) was equivalent to two hours, but A'ming and Xue San didn't need that much time at all. Even if they deliberately did it in a playful manner, they still had a lot of time left over.

"A lion uses all its strength to catch a rabbit. Since it's troop training, it has to be the best. The time is just right. When my subordinates are done, the sky will just be getting light. At this time, A'cheng will lead the army to charge again, and it will be a one-wave push."

"Oh."

A'ming nodded.

"By the way, have you figured out how to lick Master's boots?"

"I have."

"Share it?"

A'ming shook his head.

"So heartless?"

"Yes."

"Don't you care about the friendship between colleagues and comrades?"

"I don't care."

"Are you so cold-blooded?"

"My blood… is cold to begin with."

"…" Xue San.

The time had come.

In the distance,

Liang Cheng personally led four thousand Xue Hai cavalry, launching a charge as dawn just began to appear.

In an instant,

It was like thunder rolling in from afar.

The Naiman warriors in the encampment were immediately awakened, but in the next moment, they directly fell into panic.

Because the centurions and other leaders had basically been assassinated by the black-clothed men who infiltrated their tents. In the barbarian tribe, the hierarchy was strict and very obvious.

People of different identities had completely different tents, making them really easy to distinguish.

In this regard, they should actually learn from Zheng Boye.

The place where the warhorses were kept also caught fire suddenly, causing the warhorses to start galloping in the camp.

At the same time, because this wasn't a purely military camp, the Naiman warriors were actually living with their families, so there were also clansmen scattering everywhere in the camp.

In short,

If this was an exercise,

The Earl's manor side could be said to have sent out all their elites, and their combat skills, planning, execution, and coordination were all impeccable.

On the other hand, the opponents basically made every mistake they could.

The cavalry led by Liang Cheng directly charged into the tribe. The knights wielded their sabers, mercilessly reaping the lives in front of them. The battle situation didn't have any ups and downs at all, and instantly presented an irreversible one-sided collapse.

A'ming opened his wine pouch.

Xue San turned to look at A'ming and asked:

"Did you go to fill it with soda?"

"Yeah, Fanta."

"Okay, go ahead, while Master isn't here right now, hehe."

A'ming left.

Because as Xue San said, Zheng Fan wasn't here.

At this time, Zheng Fan was still at least a day away. Liang Cheng was actually the vanguard, taking the lead in attacking here to pave the way for the subsequent army. After taking this place according to the established plan, Liang Cheng would also lead his army to make a roundabout detour to the rear of the Naiman tribe's main settlement, cooperating with the seven thousand barbarian cavalry led by Master to attack the Naiman tribe's pasture.

The demon kings themselves actually didn't have much "humanity." This lack of humanity here wasn't meant as a derogatory term, nor was it specifically referring to their darkness, but was simply a description given from an objective perspective.

Xue San sat down on the ground,

Cupping his cheek,

His eyes revealed contemplation.

Recently, he had been contemplating a lot, but the results of his contemplation were few and far between.

In the next moment,

Xue San scratched his head, revealing a silly smile like Fan Li's;

Then,

He put on a cold face, revealing an indifferent posture like Liang Cheng's, as if everyone around him owed him a hundred taels;

Immediately afterward,

He slapped himself in the face,

And returned to his original state.

"It's difficult………"

……

On the battlefield, you can't say that everything can definitely be arranged, designed, and executed meticulously. There will always be some unexpected events.

For example, according to the original plan, the seven thousand barbarian cavalry led by Zheng Fan should have arrived on the west side of the Snowfield Deep Pool one day later, but they arrived more than half a day early.

While Liang Cheng's troops were cleaning up the battlefield, the vanguard cavalry of the barbarian cavalry had already arrived. Therefore, Liang Cheng directly handed over the work of cleaning up the battlefield and guarding the prisoners to the rear, and led his newly fought troops to set off again, starting a strategic detour.

This kind of situation could only happen with the demon kings. They didn't give the boss any face at all, letting the boss clean up the battlefield for you. Putting it with other lords and generals, it would simply be a typical example of disrespect.

Zheng Boye arrived at noon, and the troop's marching speed was faster than expected.

Because these Keyan tribe warriors, upon hearing that they were coming to the snowfield to rob the barbarians of their cattle, sheep, and livestock, and could also turn the barbarians into their slaves, were simply as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Their subjective initiative was off the charts, and there was no sign of fatigue from the long migration.

In fact, this was also normal, because although the Keyan tribe in the desert couldn't be considered a large tribe, it was definitely not a small tribe. To be feared by the barbarian king and chosen to be squeezed out, a tribe without some skills wouldn't really have that qualification.

Under the long migration, the livestock herds began to gradually decrease, which was equivalent to watching their property constantly shrink, which was really a kind of suffering.

Migration was for survival, and plunder was for a better survival. When a goal was placed in front of them, the passion that everyone erupted with was really a bit terrifying.

According to the pre-arranged plan, the barbarian cavalry led by Zheng Fan would camp here, serving as the expeditionary army on the surface, attracting the main force of the Naiman tribe, and also creating a diversion, providing cover for the troops led by Liang Cheng.

So, after Zheng Boye dismounted, he sat directly by the Deep Pool.

The Deep Pool was actually a lake, quite large in area, said to be very deep in the middle, but the outer part was no different from ordinary shallows.

Zheng Boye took off his boots and put his bare feet into the pool water.

The pool water was very cold and icy, making people shiver uncontrollably, but it also dispelled the fatigue of the journey.

Jin Shuke set up a pot next to him and helped boil hot water.

Keyan Dongge was a young tribal leader who was very good at learning. His learning target was naturally Jin Shuke. After all, they were both barbarians, so he thought that he could replicate Jin Shuke's path.

So, Keyan Dongge took off his armor and clothes and jumped into the pool to catch fish.

There were actually rivers and lakes in the desert oasis, but the area was relatively small and not very dense, but Keyan Dongge's swimming skills were quite good. Before long, he caught two cod.

The cod here wasn't the kind of cod in the ocean that Zheng Fan knew in his previous life. This was a unique fish species in the snowfield.

At this time, Xue San also happened to come over and took the cod from Keyan Dongge's hand very familiarly, took out a small dagger, and began to cut sashimi with extremely skilled techniques.

Keyan Dongge was very surprised by Xue San's knife skills. He didn't expect this short man to have such skills. This was a case of an outsider watching the fun while an insider watched the tricks. Keyan Dongge, who could eat ten big steamed buns in one meal, was himself a seventh-rank martial artist and could be considered an expert in using knives.

After making the sashimi, Xue San also took out two bottles and jars, one with soy sauce and the other with chili sauce, and put them in separate dishes.

After rinsing a pair of silver chopsticks in hot water next to him, he handed them to Zheng Fan and said:

"Master, there's no mustard, please make do with it."

Zheng Fan took the chopsticks, picked up a slice and put it in his mouth. The taste was very delicious and there was no fishy smell.

However, Zheng Boye didn't really like this dish, so he gestured for them to eat together after eating two or three slices.

Xue San took the initiative to come over and said:

"Master, there's a big fish among the prisoners this time, the third prince of the Naiman royal family."

"The third prince?"

"Yes, Master."

"Let's go, go take a look."

Xue San took the initiative to pick up a towel on the side and prepared to help Zheng Fan wipe his feet. Zheng Fan dodged directly and said:

"Okay, okay, no matter how ugly you are, I can't let you do this kind of thing."

"Hehe." Xue San scratched his head, revealing a Fan Li-style smile, and said: "I'm just putting on a show."

"Heh."

Zheng Fan smiled, wiped his feet himself, put on his boots, and after getting up, kicked Jin Shuke and Keyan Dongge, who were still squatting there eating sashimi.

"Get to work, don't just know how to eat!"

Liang Cheng had already led the Xue Hai cavalry on a detour, and someone was needed here to manage the scene. Zheng Boye himself could leisurely be a hands-off shopkeeper, but these two couldn't.

And these two happened to be the real leaders of these barbarian soldiers.

Jin Shuke hurriedly stretched out his hand to grab the last few slices, stuffed them into his mouth, smiled and gave Zheng Fan a bow, and ran to take care of military affairs.

Keyan Dongge's eyes were actually filled with tears after being kicked by Zheng Fan.

"Hey, what's wrong, crying?" Zheng Fan asked.

Keyan Dongge shook his head, swallowed the fish slices in his mouth, and said, "Boye, I miss my father. In the past, my father often kicked me like this."

Xue San, who was standing on the side, frowned,

Crap,

He's an expert!

"Get lost, go to work, gather all the cattle, sheep, livestock, and horses for me, and also, manage your clansmen, don't reach out indiscriminately, the spoils will be distributed after they are settled back in Xue Hai Pass."

"Boye, I've already inquired about these things from Brother Jin Shuke on the way, don't worry, Boye, I'm reliable when I do things."

Seeing that Zheng Boye wasn't interested in recognizing him as his foster son,

Keyan Dongge also sensibly ran to command his clansmen.

Zheng Fan then led Xue San towards the place where the prisoners were being held. On the way, Xue San said worriedly:

"Master, is the combat effectiveness of this barbarian army guaranteed?"

After all, they were newly arrived foreign soldiers who hadn't been integrated yet.

"At least, it can guarantee a baseline, it won't be too bad, anyway, our opponents aren't strong either."

This was Zheng Fan's view. After all, there was no more barbarian king on the snowfield, and the snowfield tribes, who were fighting on their own and were scattered, really had combat power that was a bit unflattering.

In the past, whether it was the Situ family or the Helian family, they were all playing with the snowfield tribes at will.

The place where the prisoners were being held was very large, actually just a circle, with a group of knights holding bows and arrows on the outside, waiting in full battle, constantly patrolling, while the prisoners inside were all huddled together and sitting there.

But privileges existed everywhere, such as in the prisoner camp, there was a tent, and the third prince was in the tent.

After Liang Cheng led his troops to charge in, this camp didn't have the power to fight back at all. The clansmen only had surrender and escape left. The third prince's tent was special and had been targeted by Xue San's men early on, so he had nowhere to escape, and he didn't hold a knife and make a desperate resistance. He surrendered very simply.

When Zheng Fan was about to walk to the entrance of the tent, Xue San, who was accompanying him, lengthened his voice and shouted:

"The Earl of Pingye has arrived!"

The Keyan tribe warriors on the side looked at me and I looked at you. Some saluted on horseback, some patted their chests, and some even learned the Zhuxia etiquette and awkwardly cupped their fists at Zheng Fan.

These chaotic scenes made Xue San a little dissatisfied and he silently wrote them down in his little notebook. For the Xue Hai Army, a standard that could be compared with combat power was……… etiquette.

Not ordinary etiquette, but paying attention to how to cooperate and respond with the Master, being able to let the Master stand there and wave his hand to gain the feeling of universal obedience, and let the Master shout a sentence, and thousands of soldiers below could shout the next sentence together.

In short, the first priority of the army's existence was to make the Master happy, and the second was to fight.

Of course, these two were not in conflict. In this era, being able to achieve a uniform and familiar rhythm throughout the entire army, the combat power could not be bad at all.

After all, the troops under Zheng Boye were either from the Three Jins knights, or from the penal soldiers and Jingnan Army, or from the barbarian soldiers. Their personal qualities were guaranteed, not the kind of palace maids and eunuchs who made up the square formation team.

This kind of high-quality soldiers, coupled with a well-organized order, greatly improved their combat power.

However, although Xue San's shout didn't allow the surrounding Keyan tribe warriors to cooperate, the tent was quickly lifted, and the third prince, wearing a white shirt, directly knelt down to Zheng Fan:

"This sinner kowtows to Earl Pingye, may Earl Pingye be blessed."

Behind the third prince, there was also a woman kneeling, not young, but not old either.

Xue San was staring at Wu Niangzi and observing her. His own Master's fondness for Cao Cao's hobby was no longer a secret;

The Silver Armor Guards all knew to send married women over for infiltration, let alone these demon kings who had been with the Master for a long time.

Zheng Fan reached out and flicked Xue San's forehead.

Xue San immediately woke up.

Zheng Fan didn't enter the tent, but directly gestured for Xue San to set up a chair outside.

Zheng Boye sat on the chair, and the third prince was still kneeling on the ground.

Xue San stood next to the third prince, and the Demon Pill was still in Zheng Fan's armor. Every time he went out on an expedition, the Demon Pill couldn't continue to watch "Very Child," and would be forcibly brought out by Zheng Boye.

In addition, there were dozens of barbarian warriors guarding the surroundings.

It was always right to be cautious when going out.

What if this third prince wasn't as gentle as he looked on the surface, but was a hidden expert?

Zheng Boye, who had always liked to carry out beheading operations against others, had never spared any effort in preventing others from imitating him.

After Zheng Fan sat comfortably,

The third prince raised his head,

Looked at Zheng Fan,

And said loudly:

"Boye, the Naiman tribe has rebelled, massacred Yan people, and offended the dignity of Heaven. Their crimes are unforgivable!

Boye, you have brought out the king's army to punish the unjust and suppress the rebels, acting on behalf of Heaven.

This sinner is willing to serve Boye, working like a dog or horse, in order to atone for my sins!"

This elegant and eloquent speech, coming from the mouth of a barbarian, was really surprising, and it felt like the style was wrong.

But this person was indeed very skilled.

That Naiman prince had killed hundreds of Jin people, but in his mouth, it directly became killing Yan people.

In fact, Zheng Boye was angered by that Jingguan (corpse pyramid). That Jingguan was slapping Zheng Boye in the face! How could he tolerate it?

But in the mouth of the third prince, it became protecting the king's army sent out for the sake of his subordinates.

Although Jin was now part of Yan, and the Jin people were also considered citizens of the Yan Emperor, this was not wrong;

But being able to keenly perceive this point and directly say it proved that this guy's political skills were really high.

And now that he had been reduced to a prisoner, he was not at all pretentious. As the party being attacked, he first helped Zheng Fan justify his actions, and then directly said that he was willing to be Zheng Boye's lackey and a traitor.

He was decisive, efficient, and didn't beat around the bush, unlike some other surrendered people who, despite not having the courage to slit their own throats and commit suicide, still wanted to hold their heads high and show a wave of unyielding loyalty after being captured.

Zheng Fan became interested, pointed at the third prince who was still kneeling on the ground, and said:

"Keep talking."

"Boye, this place was originally the old territory of the Anyang tribe. My Naiman tribe doesn't have many troops and people stationed here, and in my Naiman tribe's main territory, warriors can be mobilized to a total of twenty thousand!"

Zheng Fan raised his hand and interrupted:

"As far as this Boye knows, your Naiman tribe's main territory only has a little over ten thousand skilled archers."

"Boye is wise, but there are also more than ten thousand auxiliary soldiers and soldiers from subordinate tribes."

Zheng Fan wasn't very comfortable with the existence of auxiliary soldiers, because Zheng Fan was mentored by Tian Wujing, and was naturally influenced by Tian Wujing to take the path of elite troops.

As for the soldiers of the Naiman tribe itself, Zheng Boye didn't think much of them either. The barbarians' army only truly unleashed its combat power in the hands of the barbarian king. At other times, it was really mediocre.

For example, last year when he accompanied the Marquis on an expedition to the snowfield, the 30,000 Jingnan troops could be said to have been destroying cities and seizing territories, and they had broken through many barbarian tribes. If the barbarian king hadn't broken through Xue Hai Pass, Zheng Fan felt that he could have followed the Marquis to sweep through another part of the snowfield.

"Boye, this sinner also has a group of subordinates that I have cultivated in my tribe, and they are willing to obey my orders."

This meant that he could cooperate from the inside.

Zheng Fan nodded and said:

"Continue talking."

"Please let this sinner return, and this sinner will cooperate with Boye to take down the Naiman tribe!

Although without this sinner's help, the Naiman tribe is just a bunch of chickens and dogs in front of Boye, the soldiers under Boye are precious and cannot afford such losses.

In addition, this sinner is willing to be Boye's hunting dog and pacify the snowfield for Boye!"

"Okay, San'er, bring wine."

Xue San took out a wine pouch, first handed it to Zheng Fan, Zheng Fan opened the stopper, took a sip, and then threw it to the third prince who was kneeling on the ground.

The third prince took the wine pouch,

First kowtowed to Zheng Fan,

And then happily picked up the wine pouch and took several big gulps.

He drank too eagerly, so he choked.

"Cough cough…………cough cough…………"

Wu Niangzi immediately crawled over to help him pat his back.

"Boye's wine is really good, hahaha."

Zheng Fan smiled,

And said:

"The third prince's name has spread throughout the snowfield. Even this Boye has heard that the former barbarian king once praised the third prince as the literary star of the snowfield, a talent with the potential to become a prime minister in the future."

The third prince said solemnly:

"Boye, this sinner is a crude barbarian from the snowfield and really doesn't deserve such praise."

"A barbarian from the snowfield?"

"Yes, Boye."

"Once, there was also a person who said something similar. He said that he was a barbarian from the desert."

The third prince immediately said:

"This sinner greatly admires the spirit of the Left Guli King, but I dare not compare myself to the Left Guli King."

"Oh, you know quite a lot."

"Boye, this sinner likes to read and often corresponds with the outside world."

"Ah, you're indeed extraordinary. It seems that the barbarian king didn't misjudge you. You are not simple."

"I am willing to die for Boye!"

The third prince said loudly.

"Okay, go die."

Zheng Fan agreed.

At the same time, Xue San threw one of his daggers in front of the third prince.

The third prince was immediately stunned,

How could this be?

Zheng Fan yawned,

And slowly said:

"But that barbarian king also said a sentence, oh, maybe you don't know. He said that if I attack the Naiman tribe and encounter you, I must never let you go, and I must not listen to your words and let you leave.

He said that you are not as good as him, but the only thing that you lack is the burden of your clan relatives and brothers, and there is a lack of character.

However, once the Naiman tribe is destroyed and you have no burden, the snowfield will have to produce another barbarian king.

I said I wasn't afraid. If another one comes, I'll just clean him up again.

He said,

Then aren't you afraid of trouble?"

Zheng Fan leaned back slightly,

Looking askance at the blue sky,

And asked himself:

"Yes, I'm afraid of trouble."

————

Goodnight everyone.