Chapter 115 The Imperial Envoy

Feng Guan finally finished reading the imperial decree,
Heaving a long sigh of relief.

After a "By imperial order" was announced,
The attendants of the imperial envoy's team pushed forward the "wine and meat" and "reward money" mentioned in the decree.

The wine jars were sealed with the character "Imperial," and the meat was affixed with official seals.

The silver coins were loaded into several carriages in baskets, also sealed with the character "Imperial."

The wine, meat, and silver were all borrowed by Feng Guan from the Earl's mansion, as was expected, but when Feng Guan and Zhang Yuanshan saw this scene, they immediately exchanged glances.

They had prepared these things, originally intending to reward the soldiers of Xue Hai Guan after the military parade, but now, before the military parade had even started, why were they being pushed into the drill ground?

This must have been a mistake in timing by the people below, but even if it was a mistake, the patrolling knights should have stopped it. There was no reason to issue rewards before the martial performance even began.

However, since the "Imperial Gift" had already been brought in, there was no reason to send it back. No rules were greater than the Emperor's face.

So, Feng Guan first turned to Zheng Boye and smiled apologetically;

Zheng Boye returned a gentle smile.

The imperial attendants pushing in cart after cart of wine, meat, and silver began distributing the rewards.

However,
They quickly noticed something was wrong.
The expected scene of eager scrambling did not occur,
In fact,
The military ranks looked exactly the same as before.

Everyone stood tall with their chests out, not looking sideways.
The freshly slaughtered pork, still steaming, was brought to the soldiers, but they didn't reach out to take it, acting as if they didn't see it at all.

Even more astonishing,
Even when the silver coins were placed in front of them, they still didn't take them, letting the money fall to the ground and roll away.

No one moved,
No one looked,
No one accepted,
No one took.

Since the Xue Hai Army was established at Cui Liu Fort, it had emphasized military discipline and laws, and the most important rule in the army was clear rewards and punishments.

In battle,
All spoils had to be handed over to the authorities, which would then be distributed according to military merit.
Anyone found concealing spoils would be executed without pardon; this was an iron rule.

Matching the extremely strict military laws were excellent benefits. Soldiers, as long as they joined the army and became registered households, could send their children to school for free, receive free medicine from the medical hall if they were sick, and receive monthly money and grain subsidies. Those who died in battle would receive compensation.

Strict military discipline must be matched with excellent benefits, otherwise, the soldiers would become alienated.

During training, whether morning or evening drills, the military scribe would loudly ask:
Whose food are you eating!
Whose pay are you taking!

In addition to the earlier incident during the announcement of the decree, if the soldiers had only been acting on instinct the first time, this time, everyone actually knew what was going on.

This was a challenge to authority.
Therefore, no one would touch these rewards.

Feng Guan's face looked a little strained.
At this moment,
Zheng Boye spoke:
"Eunuch Feng, in this Earl's opinion, we should perform the martial demonstration first and then distribute the rewards. The best performers will receive the most generous rewards. What does Eunuch Feng think?"

Feng Guan immediately said:
"What the Earl says is absolutely right. We will follow the Earl's suggestion."

After relaying the message, the imperial attendants immediately pulled the rewards back.
Then,
Zheng Boye glanced at Liang Cheng.
Liang Cheng, gripping his saber,
Waved his hand to signal,
The flag-bearer on the side immediately signaled with flags.
The troops from each garrison below quickly returned to their positions. The martial performance, also known as the military parade, officially began.

………

The night was cool, and the wind was clear.
A pot of sauerkraut fish, with three plates of cold dishes.
Instead of wine, there was warm tea on the table.

Zhang Yuanshan and Feng Guan sat face to face. Zhang Yuanshan ate slowly, while Feng Guan ate quickly.
The former, working in a leisurely department like the Ministry of Rites, knew how to break down one moment's worth of work and spread it out to fill an entire day;
The latter had to finish eating quickly, because if his master called for him and he wasn't there, that would be a great offense.

"Your thoughts?"
Feng Guan asked.

He was, of course, asking about the military parade during the day.

Zhang Yuanshan took a sip of tea and said:
"The armor was bright, the order was orderly. Although I have never led troops, I can still see that this Xue Hai Army has the style of the Jing Nan Army of old."

Feng Guan smiled slightly, ate a piece of fish, followed by a mouthful of sauerkraut, raised his head, sighed, picked up his teacup, raised it, but didn't drink, instead, he sprinkled it on the table.

Within inches, a formation was created, beneath the two men, a mist of water vapor formed.
This was just an insignificant method among Qi refiners, its effect was similar to street performers doing tricks, but it was like hanging a string of bells on a door, if someone were to push the door open to listen to something, the bells would ring.

The reason why it was insignificant was because it could only make a sound.

Feng Guan, as Wei Zhonghe's adopted son, naturally had some skills. Furthermore, the eunuchs of the Yan Kingdom's palace had a tradition of Qi refining because of that grand eunuch.

Zhang Yuanshan shook his head and said:
"Today's military parade was, firstly, to boost morale. After all, the Earl of Pingye returned from Chu not long ago, and now he's about to enter the capital. If the morale isn't maintained, it'll be difficult to prevent unrest below;

Secondly, it was for you and me to see. In the past half-year, the imperial court has gradually been taking over the local governance of Jin through the selection and appointment of officials. This has long caused dissatisfaction among the local warlords. The Earl of Pingye's actions are also meant to use our eyes to tell Ying Du, and even the imperial court, that he will not hand over the governance of the Xue Hai Guan region."

Feng Guan picked up the teapot and refilled his cup of tea, saying:
"Then why can the other warlords endure it, but the Earl of Pingye can't?"

Zhang Yuanshan smiled when he heard this, saying:
"Born as a human, who is naturally willing to be constrained? It's just that the situation forces them to do so. The other Jin warlords can endure it because Marquis Jingnan is above them, pressing them down. They have to endure even if they don't want to;

But everyone knows that Marquis Jingnan values the Earl of Pingye. Since everyone knows, how could the Earl of Pingye not know?

Because he doesn't need to endure, he doesn't have to."

"But this approach is a bit too much. I was, after all, announcing an imperial decree."

"The Earl of Pingye has done even more excessive things. The Third Prince is still at Lake Heart Pavilion."

"That's true." Feng Guan nodded.

Zhang Yuanshan put a fish head into his plate, fiddling with it as he said:
"Our Emperor is wise and divine, with a capacity like the sea. Even if Eunuch Feng, when you return, exaggerates and tells the Emperor about it, His Majesty will laugh it off, treating it as just the young people venting their frustrations.

Tsk,
Young people.
The Earl of Pingye is indeed young, a few years younger than me."

"Young people, young people." Feng Guan repeated this sentence.

"It's good to be young. Being young means that making mistakes isn't a big deal, and it's easier to be tolerated by His Majesty. Besides, what's really going on in Xue Hai Guan, you and I have both seen it.

When will the northern snow plains have another upheaval? Who knows?
The Chu Kingdom in the south suffered such a big loss this time, and the royal family and the Qu clan have both lost face. Although both sides have tacitly withdrawn their troops and ceased fighting, if war breaks out again, the troops at Xue Hai Guan will inevitably move south.

Otherwise, if the Chu people enter Jin and open up the Jin region, then Xue Hai Guan will instantly become an isolated island.

And look at the area within a hundred miles of Xue Hai Guan, how many villages can you see with smoke rising from their chimneys? How many cities are truly inhabited?

It's not easy for Xue Hai Guan to have the appearance it has today."

"Zhang Bode, which side are you on?"

Zhang Yuanshan said calmly: "I am on the side of Great Yan. I'll just treat what I saw and heard today as having seen it. When I return, I have to convey what should be conveyed, but I must not exaggerate, and I must even help the Earl of Pingye cover up a little."

"Why?"

"Because even if you tell the truth, our Emperor will find you annoying!"
Zhang Yuanshan's voice suddenly rose.

Eunuch Feng's momentum immediately deflated.

"Eunuch Feng, I'm only giving you a few pointers because of the many days we've traveled together. Yes, I am an external official, and you are an internal official;

What an internal official needs is loyalty, but that depends on the situation. External officials need reputation, deliberately going against the Emperor, His Majesty will mostly just laugh it off; what do you need reputation for as an internal official?"

"This humble one..."

"I'll just say this much. In fact, even if I didn't say these words, Wei Gonggong would definitely tell you when you return.

Think about who's standing behind the Earl of Pingye,
Marquis Jingnan, Sixth Prince,
Which of them can you afford to offend?
To take a step back, not looking at others, just look at the current Earl of Pingye, His Majesty praised him as the mainstay of the Yan army in the next generation, can you push him down?

Finding a step to climb up is human nature, but some steps are covered in poisonous thorns.

Even, if any rumors that are too obviously detrimental to the Earl of Pingye are spread, we will both be blamed."

"This humble one understands."

"Then please Eunuch Feng withdraw this supernatural power?"

Feng Guan waved his sleeve, and the water vapor beside the table instantly dissipated.

Zhang Yuanshan pointed at the sauerkraut fish with his chopsticks,
Saying:
"Eat more, this fish can only be found in the snow plain's ponds, you can't eat it anywhere else."

Eunuch Feng picked up another piece of fish and put it in his mouth,
Saying:
"It's indeed delicious."

……

Small pavilion, lanterns, melon seeds.
Liang Cheng sat opposite the blind man,
Asking:
"Why not go and eavesdrop?"

The blind man shook his head, saying: "What they say is not important, and it's easy to guess;

It's nothing more than one, complaining; two, dissatisfaction; three, venting; four, self-adjustment; five, facing reality; six, resignation."

"That does sound uninteresting."

"Yes."

"Have you planned for this trip to the capital?"

"There's no time. I can only think about it properly on the road. Unlike the last time when the Master went to the capital himself, he was just a supporting character next to Marquis Jingnan. This time, he's going to be the leading role."

"The manpower seems insufficient," Liang Cheng said.

San'er was still in Liang, A Ming was still sleeping, Si Niang was injured and either the blind man or Si Niang had to stay in Xue Hai Guan to oversee things, and Liang Cheng himself had to stay to command the troops.

However,
Hearing this,
The blind man smiled,
Saying:
"It's okay, we have ready-made helpers."

……

Side room, tea table, two plates of snacks, a pot of grape wine.

Si Niang picked up a small cup,
Xiong Liqing and Liu Ruqing immediately picked up their cups as well.

"Sisters, this grape wine may taste sweet and sour, but drinking too much can make you drunk. I, on the other hand, can't get drunk, so feel free to drink as much as you like."

When Si Niang ran brothels and clubs, she really drank all kinds of wine like water.

"If Elder Sister is in the mood, then this younger sister will do her best to keep her company," Liu Ruqing said softly.

"That's right, that's right, I'm also happy today, I beat the drums so joyfully. If I were in Great Chu, Imperial Brother would definitely punish me, but he just smiled."

The Princess was clearly a little drunk. Saying these words at this time could easily be interpreted as showing off and flaunting her favor.

Si Niang wasn't angry. This girl was running wild today, and the grape wine had made her completely let go. She was actually quite innocent and adorable.

Liu Ruqing didn't dare to be angry. She wasn't even thinking about competing for any position.

One was a princess, and the other was a woman even the princess carefully catered to. How could she, Liu Ruqing, compete?

"I've heard about what happened today. There's nothing to say, you brought honor to our man. Come, I'll toast you."

Si Niang clinked cups with the Princess,

And drank it all in one gulp,
Then said:
"I thought Elder Sister would scold me for not following the rules."

"It depends on the situation, it depends on the time. You should also be clear about this. It's been hard on you. At least this past year, I've had to use you to save face quite often.

But you need to practice your drumming. I heard your posture is very graceful, but your drumming skills are really not very good."

"Practice drumming?"

"Just think of it as strengthening your body. If you have the opportunity in the future, during wartime, while the man is leading the army to fight in the front, you can beat the drums in the back. That would be a wonderful tale."

"Then what about you, Elder Sister?"

"I'll naturally be by his side, I have to help him block knives."

Si Niang wasn't really saying sweet nothings, because there was a high chance that if the Master suddenly died, they, the Demon Kings, would also be finished.

Therefore, on the battlefield, if conditions permitted, the Demon Kings would not hesitate to help Zheng Fan block knives.

However, these words sounded different in Xiong Liqing's ears.

"Elder Sister, teach me martial arts."

"I won't."

"Why?"

"Too much trouble. If you think learning to drum is too boring and monotonous, you can also learn needlework from me when you have nothing to do."

"Needlework?"

Liu Ruqing then said softly: "This servant does know a little."

Si Niang "Mm"ed and said to Liu Ruqing: "I wouldn't be surprised if you knew how."

At this moment, Xiao Yibo stood outside the house and reported:
"Miss Ruqing, there's a letter from home."

Hearing this, Liu Ruqing's face immediately lit up with joy.

Si Niang pointed outside, saying:
"Go and read the letter."

"Thank you, Elder Sister. This servant will take her leave."

At this time, a letter from home was indeed a great comfort to a stranger in a foreign land.

After Liu Ruqing left, the Princess said:
"Is it a letter from the Fan family?"

"Of course. Thanks to your good cooperation, the Fan family is still doing well."

Because of the Princess's cooperation, plus Zhao Cheng's inside-out cooperation, the Fan family's contribution and risk this time were much lower than expected. Therefore, the Fan family was still the Fan family.

Si Niang took a sip of the grape wine and continued; "I wrote a letter to the Fan family, asking them to send Liu Zhong here as well."

"Ruqing's younger brother?"

"Yes, he's also her only attachment now."

"Elder Sister is really good to her."

Xiong Liqing was clearly a little jealous;
She was slightly drunk now, and spoke more directly, without the previous concealment and restraint. She really said whatever she wanted.

"It's not that I'm biased, I also want to bring your brother here so your siblings can reunite."

"..." Xiong Liqing.

"Those who love flowers know how to care for them. A woman like Liu Ruqing can't be allowed to continue feeling sorry for herself, otherwise, she'll easily wither. Her brother is the person she cares about most in this world. Once he's brought here, her heart will be here.

For her brother's sake, she'll be more proactive in life and show off her charm. I still have two qipaos that I want her to try on, and I'll teach her a few Wu dialect phrases. It'll definitely be very charming."

"Wu Kingdom?"

The Wu Kingdom was also one of the many small countries.

Si Niang smiled without saying anything.

Xiong Liqing drank another cup of grape wine,
Then raised her head,
Looked at the empty seat where Liu Ruqing had been sitting,
Then turned her head to look at Si Niang,
Swung her hands behind her,
Saying:
"Aaaaah, I just can't stand Elder Sister being so good to her. Elder Sister is only allowed to be good to me."

Si Niang lowered her eyebrows slightly, looking at the princess who was being coquettish with her.

Today, the Princess was either having too much fun or getting drunk for the first time in her life.

At this time, the Princess felt more and more wronged, and actually took the initiative to get off the chair and sat on the ground, hugging Si Niang's leg and crying:

"Wuuu, Elder Sister is only allowed to be good to me, not allowed to be good to her;

She's just a vase, she can only sing songs for him;
I can help him gain fame, I can help him save face, and I can even call myself 'This Palace' to make him happy, wuuu."

Si Niang reached out and touched the Princess's hair,
But her eyebrows furrowed slightly,
Zheng Fan had jokingly said to her that this princess seemed to have a bit of an M personality,
And Si Niang then recalled:
The person who first "hurt" the Princess was herself.

……

"I was so proud today, do you know, my soldiers, in front of that imperial eunuch, didn't listen to him, didn't listen to the imperial decree, only listened to me.
Do you think I'm more awesome than you were back then?
You must have been so stupid back then,
Giving up your official position,
Giving up your troops,
And going to the Zhen Bei Marquis's mansion alone to deliver yourself?
Why bother, why was it necessary?
I can't learn from you, I'm just a selfish villain, and, in this life, I only want to be happy. If anyone dares to make me feel wronged, I don't care who they are, I'll just flip the table…..."

Zheng Boye was holding wine, leaning against the coffin, talking to the person lying inside the coffin. Of course, Zheng Boye was the only one talking, and the person in the coffin wouldn't respond.

Everyone had a need for a tree hole, and Sha Tuo Que Shi was Zheng Boye's tree hole.

"I'm going to the capital, do you think it's a suicidal move for me to do something like this before entering the capital?
But I'm happy,
I'm willing,
Hahaha…..."

After talking,
Zheng Boye staggered to his feet,
Not returning the same way,
But opened a bronze door inside and entered another secret room.

In the secret room, the Wild Man King was sitting in a cage, weaving a dragonfly with straw.
And from the moment Zheng Boye stepped into this secret room,
His previous drunken state instantly disappeared.

When facing the man in front of him, even if he was in a cage, even if he was used to shamelessly kneeling on the ground and calling himself "Little Doggy,"
You,
Still needed to be twelve times more careful and calm.

Zheng Fan sat down on a chair beside him,
But,
This time,
The Wild Man King didn't immediately kneel and lick,
His face,
First showed confusion,
Then joy,
Then,
He returned to calm,
And then,
He actually began to tidy up his clothes and ran his hand through his hair, trying to make himself look more serious and dignified.

Zheng Boye watched him very calmly,
Finally,
The Wild Man King stopped moving and looked at Zheng Boye very calmly.

Zheng Boye smiled,
Saying:
"You figured it out?"

The Wild Man King was good at figuring out people's hearts. The so-called figuring out wasn't the ability to directly see through your thoughts. Even when the blind man was at his peak, he couldn't do that.

Gou Moli's specialty was to infer what you were going to do based on his understanding of you, plus your subtle body language, even a single look.

Although he was a wild man, he was meticulous.

"Boye, you're planning to use me."

Zheng Fan nodded.

The Wild Man King deliberately gave an incorrect guess: "Boye, are you planning to let me out to help you unite the snow plains?"

Zheng Fan shook his head,
Saying:
"No, it's to have you accompany me to the capital."