Chapter 1 The Transformation

The next day,

The original escape team of two had become four.

Jiang Hu had a packhorse, carrying some things, and the two women walked on either side of the packhorse, following along.

In front,

Jiang Hu led the way, with Zheng Fan behind him providing cover.

This continued for almost the entire day, and it wasn't until dusk that everyone stopped to prepare camp.

The princess was very adaptable and could now endure this load. Gongsun Ling looked soft and weak last night, but she was very resilient at heart and persevered through it as well.

While camping, Jiang Hu went to the periphery to set up some traps and alarms for security, while Gongsun Ling started a fire.

Zheng Boye took a piece of smoked meat and walked to a stream ahead to wash it.

The princess also came over and started collecting water upstream.

"How is it? With Jiang Hu leading the way, does it feel much easier?"

The princess was, after all, a daughter. Her intelligence was undeniable, truly remarkable, but she still retained some childishness.

In Zheng Fan's opinion, her aptitude was similar to the Junzhu's (title of nobility, daughter of a Prince), but she lacked experience.

The Junzhu was someone who could lead the Zhenbei Army (Army of the North) in the desert at a young age and wipe out tribes at will.

The princess, on the other hand, had always lived in the depths of the palace.

The former was indeed excellent, but the latter still had a lot of room to grow.

"Your Azure Serpent must be quite famous," Zheng Fan asked while washing the smoked meat.

"Of course, what's wrong? When I first brought it to my side, it caused quite a stir. Even my father praised me for being extraordinary."

"So famous, and even handed over to the Imperial Beast Bureau for taming. Jiang Hu may not share the Gongsun surname, but he is, after all, an old-timer at the Imperial Beast Bureau. It's normal for him not to recognize you,

But would he not recognize your Azure Serpent?"

The princess blinked twice and said, "Are you saying that he actually recognized our identities a long time ago?"

"Probably. And look at our attitude as fugitives. When we saw someone calling for help, we simply sent her an arrow to relieve her.

Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling are also fugitives, so when they face someone needing help, they bring us back for a midnight snack and a place to rest.

Or,

Could it be that we are too evil? Too bad?

And they are good people?"

"So, he actually wanted to bargain with us a long time ago, and pretended not to recognize us at first to make it easier?"

"If that's really the case, then I'm relieved."

Bargaining, with one playing the white face and the other playing the red face, is normal.

Zheng Boye wasn't afraid of people having demands. Each takes what they need, which is to achieve their respective goals.

"What else might they do?"

"They are different from you and me. Your reputation is already ruined."

"..." The princess.

"As for me, I'm a Earl of Yan. Even if your brother offers me high positions and generous salaries, honestly, as a defector, the best ending would be to be enshrined there as a plaque, far less relaxed, free, and comfortable than I am in Yan.

So, neither you nor I can turn back, neither of us would want to stay in Chu.

But they are different.

The Gongsun clan helped the First Prince to deal with your brother, and your brother suppressed them. As the victor, I think he has that kind of high-mindedness.

If they capture the two of us and send us to your brother, your brother will definitely pardon them, and reinstating them in their original positions wouldn't be a big deal."

The princess's expression suddenly became serious. She had been reveling in her performance last night, but she hadn't thought of this.

In fact, Zheng Boye hadn't thought so deeply at first last night, but he started thinking about it while sleeping.

Ultimately, it was because Zheng Boye was unwilling to trust others from the bottom of his heart. Even earlier, at home, he had to use his wits and courage against the Demon Kings.

"Then aren't we very dangerous now?"

Clearly, the princess, like Zheng Boye, didn't like the feeling of having her life and death in someone else's hands.

"There's a way."

...

It was time to eat,

Still smoked meat with fen tiao (cellophane noodles).

Gongsun Ling probably didn't know how to cook, and still liked to stew everything together.

But now that they were on the run, everyone would just have to make do with it.

While eating,

Zheng Fan spoke first:

"Actually, thinking about it, staying in Chu would be quite good. Chu has beautiful mountains, water, and scenery."

Gongsun Ling flattered:

"If Zheng Boye stays in Chu, the Regent will surely value him greatly."

"He should, but he wouldn't dare give me any real power, would he? At most, I'd be kept by the Regent's side, used as a showpiece, or play chess and chat with the Regent, becoming a close minister."

Hearing this, Jiang Hu's expression paused slightly.

The princess then said, "This time, I did such a thing, eloping with another man on my wedding day. If my royal brother catches me, he will definitely lock me in a dark room like he did when I was a child."

Gongsun Ling then said, "After all, Princess, you are the Regent's own sister. No matter what the Princess does, the Regent won't really be angry with the Princess."

Hearing this, the princess smiled, put her arm around Zheng Fan's shoulder, and said:

"That's what they say, but I don't regret it. Who told me I fell for him? It's like Tiger fell for Ling-jie (older sister). This matter of catching each other's eyes is just like the plays. You can't see or touch it on normal days, but once the time comes, it really has to be him."

A Ling looked at Jiang Hu, and a smile appeared on her face.

People's hearts are all made of flesh.

As a young lady of the Gongsun clan,

She might have looked down on Jiang Hu before, but now, she knew that Jiang Hu was her foundation for survival.

Whether she was fleeing in Chu or going to Yan, she had to rely on Jiang Hu.

To be a simping dog to this extent is almost like being Xiaotian Quan (Erlang Shen's hound).

Jiang Hu smiled and said, "Boye, Princess, we will definitely be able to leave this mountain and return to Yan, because in Yan, Boye can truly display his talents.

I've also thought it over carefully. Whether the Imperial Beast Bureau is re-established or not, I don't really care."

Hearing this, Gongsun Ling looked at Jiang Hu in surprise.

"I hope Boye can take me in. From now on, let me follow Boye, raising demonic beasts for Boye at Xue Hai Pass. There are also many demonic beasts in the Tian Duan Mountains."

Zheng Fan's previous words meant that even if he was captured back to Chu, the Regent would push him to the front, and the Regent would definitely value him.

The princess understood and followed up, she was the Regent's own sister, to put it bluntly, even if her rebellion failed, the Regent would not kill her, only imprison her.

If we are captured back to Chu, we will still be people of importance. Even if you, Jiang Hu, capture us and make a contribution, you will still be just an ordinary official. It is very easy to kill you and take revenge on you.

Jiang Hu clearly understood the warning in those words and expressed his loyalty.

The warnings and precautions of both sides completed a round of confrontation in a harmonious atmosphere.

In the next ten days, the mountain roads were difficult to travel, but with Jiang Hu leading the way, and the two women being very competitive, the four of them moved very quickly, and no accidents occurred along the way.

Oh, except that the fen tiao (cellophane noodles) ran out.

After the fen tiao (cellophane noodles) were finished, everyone began to rely on hunting for food. There had been quite a few hunting harvests along the way, and the Azure Serpent would occasionally bring some of its "leftovers," so there was actually no shortage of food and drink.

It was just that eating wild game for many days in a row was a huge burden on the stomach.

This morning, the four of them were still moving forward when the Azure Serpent suddenly jumped out and blocked their path.

Generally speaking, the Azure Serpent rarely appeared during the day.

Jiang Hu immediately lay on the ground, his ear to the ground, and said:

"The sound of hooves, quite a few people."

Actually,

The four of them were almost out of the mountains now. Ahead were the foothills of the mountains, which was the area where Yan and Chu were facing off.

Sensing that cavalry was about to arrive, Jiang Hu immediately hid the packhorse, and everyone else also took cover.

Soon, a Chu cavalry unit of about a hundred people appeared. They didn't stop and continued speeding west.

Zheng Boye immediately said to Jiang Hu beside him: "This is an advance scouting party, we must move now."

Whenever a large army sets out, there must be an advance force. The advance force opens roads through mountains and builds bridges over rivers, and is the key to the army's opening up of blind spots on the battlefield. The advance scouting party is the scouting party of the advance force, and generally advances on a regiment scale.

And after the army sets up camp, the scouting party will continue to be subdivided to obtain a wider field of vision.

So, at the moment, a Chu army of considerable size should be advancing here.

If they didn't seize the time to leave here now, the four of them would likely be encompassed by that Chu army of considerable size, and it would be impossible to escape by then.

Zheng Boye immediately led the three of them south, which meant going back the way they came, because encountering the Chu army was possible to the north, east, and west. So, he would rather be two days late in leaving the mountains than ensure his safety.

However, not long after Zheng Boye and the others started heading south, a change, or rather, a turning point, occurred.

A Chu cavalry unit was speeding east from the west, and was presumably the opposite of the one they had encountered earlier. Behind them, Zheng Fan saw black-armored cavalry chasing them.

Heaven have mercy,

Seeing the familiar armor of the Jingnan Army (Army Pacifying the South) knights, Zheng Boye's eyes actually welled up with tears.

This was not an act, but since escaping on the wedding day, from Zhou County to now, for nearly a month, Zheng Boye had no Demon Kings to protect him except for Demon Maru. He had been truly living in fear and trepidation. Now, seeing the Jingnan Army cavalry, he really had a sense of intimacy, like a traveler returning to his hometown.

"Not good, Yan army!"

Jiang Hu instinctively whispered.

Immediately,

Zheng Fan looked at him.

Jiang Hu also looked at Zheng Fan. The middle-aged hunter man's lips twitched, and a sheepish look appeared on his face.

This was his habit and instinct, but now, he had already defected from Chu, but his position had not yet completely reversed due to inertia.

According to Zheng Boye's analysis, the current situation should be that the two army groups ran into each other during a rapid march, which was the so-called...encounter battle.

When the advance forces of both sides see each other, the first reaction is always to send one or two knights back to report to the commander, and then directly launch a charge on the other side to wipe out the other side's advance force.

Because an encounter battle simply cannot give you too much time to react and deploy, and if even the advance force is surprised, the commander in the rear must also be surprised. A mixed battle is likely to break out. And at the beginning of the mixed battle, wiping out the other side's advance scouting party is equivalent to blacking out the other side's field of vision, allowing your commander to have a little more clarity than the other side in the mixed battle.

Of course, in addition to the tactical advantages and disadvantages, there is also another reason, that is, the Yan cavalry has always had a strong confidence in being the "world's number one iron cavalry", especially the Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army.

Since it is a mixed battle, then just charge straight up, first defeat the opponent's scouting party, then defeat the opponent's advance force, and then let the enemy's routed soldiers retreat back to our side, forming a rolling curtain, and the rear troops will follow up with a charge, and the enemy is likely to collapse in a series of defeats in such a confused manner.

Don't think this is wishful thinking. In fact, it is not uncommon for two or three thousand cavalry to directly defeat tens of thousands of enemy troops. In fact, even those retreating enemy troops are very confused, because they themselves know that they outnumber the enemy by ten times. Ten against one, they should be able to win. Everyone has two arms and one head, but they often collapse in such a confused manner.

The most classic battle was the one where the first generation Zhenbei Marquis used 30,000 troops to break the 500,000 Northern Expeditionary Army of the Great Qian. That was a military force ratio of nearly twenty to one, and at that time, the Qian Kingdom had just been founded and was only the second generation emperor, leading the elite troops that his brother had used to conquer the world during the founding period. They lost their helmets and armor in such a confused manner, achieving the reputation of the Zhenbei Army as the world's number one.

At this time,

Zheng Boye and the others were located on a hillside, and below was a relatively flat canyon, providing a good view of the battle.

The princess asked curiously:

"Why don't you go down and say hello?"

The princess was the one whose position changed the fastest. To be honest, the princess had grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth and had never suffered the hardships of wandering and fleeing for the past month. She was the second most excited to see the Yan army.

Because she could imagine that if she followed Zheng Fan back to Yan, she would be conferred a title by the Yan Emperor, and she would be able to live in the Xue Hai Pass Earl's Mansion. Judging from how she had accompanied Zheng Fan all the way and saw that Zheng Fan was even more spoiled than her, the

She felt that her life in the Earl's Mansion might not be so ceremonious, but the standard of living and quality of life would definitely not be bad.

Zheng Boye shook his head and said:

"If I go down now, it will be difficult for them to distinguish between friend and foe. It's not good."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

The princess felt that she had gained knowledge, because she believed in her man's ability to lead troops to fight. In military matters, what her man said was definitely right.

The actual situation was that the small Yan cavalry unit seemed to have a fierce momentum, but they might not be able to win this small-scale encounter battle. Zheng Boye felt that if he went down to say hello now, there might be problems.

Sure enough,

Behind this Yan army cavalry, a Chu cavalry unit of nearly a hundred people suddenly rushed out. The Chu cavalry in front who were being chased also immediately turned their horses around and began to cooperate with their comrades who were catching up from behind to sandwich this Yan army.

Seeing this, Jiang Hu excitedly clenched the stone in front of him.

In his heart, he was cheering for the Chu army's victory.

The princess licked her lips. She would be excited to see the Yan army appear, but she couldn't feel sad that the Chu army had the advantage.

Zheng Boye also noticed the political positions of these two "Chu people" beside him,

But this was human nature, and Zheng Boye understood.

However, looking at Jiang Hu's excitement, Zheng Boye just shook his head slightly, because he had already roughly calculated that the Chu army cavalry who were originally running away numbered more than two hundred, the Yan army chasing them numbered more than two hundred, and the Chu army following up from behind numbered about two hundred as well.

The ratio of their numbers was about two to one, perhaps the Chu army was slightly higher, but definitely not three to one.

Although the Yan army was sandwiched from the front and back and was at a strategic disadvantage, but...

Zheng Boye silently took out a box of Zhonghua (brand) cigarettes, took out one, and this time, he lit it.

The princess looked at Zheng Fan and said with some worry:

"Below, maybe..."

Zheng Boye exhaled a smoke ring and said casually: "Hehe, this is the Jingnan Army."

Facing this situation, the Yan army captain below immediately issued an order to continue charging, and all the Yan army knights in the front row raised their spears.

Continue to charge, without dividing the troops to defend the rear, this was the most sensible choice.

First, the Chu army cavalry in front had just turned around to counter-charge, and their horsepower could not be raised again in time. We have been chasing all the way, and it is just right to collide with them with irresistible force!

Second, the idea of cavalry warfare is to be fast, ruthless, and accurate. Cavalry commanders rarely think about "being all-encompassing."

The collision,

Occurred quickly.

In an instant,

Knights from both sides were constantly falling from their horses, but after a round of impact, it was obvious that the Yan army knights had stronger riding skills and horse warfare charging abilities. This Chu army was directly pierced through, the middle part was defeated, and the Chu army on both sides was somewhat confused. Because this was a canyon area, the space on both sides was limited, which also hindered the progress of the Chu cavalry behind them.

Even many Chu soldiers in the rear stopped and dismounted, apparently intending to save their comrades, and were impatiently finishing off the Yan army knights who had fallen from their horses but had not died in the previous collision.

It was as if the original formation of this Chu army, which had been pursuing, was suddenly scattered.

The Chu army knights who originally wanted to continue chasing also had to rein in their horses;

At this time, the Yan army knights, who had completed a penetration, changed the rear team to the front team with an order from the captain. The spears of the original front team had been damaged or lost, but the rear team happened to have them preserved, and raised their spears again.

Generally speaking, the equipment of the advance force is often the best. The most combat-effective part of an army is the advance force and the direct troops personally led by the commander.

The Yan army did not bandage their wounds, nor did they care about the casualties after the previous round of penetration. Instead, they immediately began to speed up and launch a new round of charging, and began to integrate their formation during the charge, so as to shorten the time as much as possible.

The second round of charging began.

Some of the Chu army knights began to charge and fight, some began to dodge, and some began to wait for their superiors to order them to line up, completely disconnected.

What followed was the second penetration!

Screams were endless.

The Chu army was defeated, and the rest, those with horses began to flee, while those without horses waited to be taken away with a single knife when the Yan army knights rode past.

Jiang Hu gritted his teeth and finally let out a sigh.

He had to admit the power of the Yan army cavalry.

The princess also bit her lip. She had seen the guards beside Zheng Boye on the wedding day. They were very powerful and disciplined, but she felt that those people had been carefully selected to follow Zheng Fan to Chu.

But now, this was a random encounter battle, and the Chu army, which had a two-fold advantage in numbers, was completely defeated, while the Yan army's casualties totaled no more than a hundred.

In other words, the Yan army had used the cost of less than a hundred casualties to defeat more than four hundred Chu army cavalry.

Zheng Boye stretched and

Glanced at the three Chu people beside him,

Said:

"The Great Yan Iron Cavalry is unparalleled in field battles."

How should I put it,

The Jingnan Army captain below gave this Boye face!

The princess immediately asked:

"Xue Hai Pass cavalry, compared to them..."

Hearing this, Jiang Hu also looked at Zheng Fan. Obviously, he also wanted to know the answer.

Zheng Boye smiled and said:

"There is some gap."

"Oh." The princess nodded.

Jiang Hu also nodded, it was normal to have some gap.

"It's not a gap in soldiers. My Xue Hai Iron Cavalry is no less inferior to the Jingnan Army in terms of combat power and training."

The soldiers were already of extremely high quality, and Liang Cheng had now had two months to train them. Zheng Fan felt that the Xue Hai Iron Cavalry must have taken shape now.

After all, this was not starting from scratch. Barbarian cavalry and Jin knights were all extremely elite sources of troops.

"The only gap is the gap between me and the Jingnan Marquis."

This was not self-deprecation,

In front of Jingnan Marquis,

Zheng Boye was just a younger brother.

Of course,

Zheng Boye didn't feel anything shameful about being the Jingnan Marquis's younger brother. Old Tian (referring to Jingnan Marquis) treated others however he did, but he was really good to him.

...

Zheng Boye stood on the hillside, calling out to the Yan army who had just finished the battle and were quickly cleaning up the battlefield below.

Soon, several knights rode up, drawing their bows and aiming their arrows at Zheng Fan and the others.

Zheng Fan walked forward,

Looking at them,

Just as he was about to state his identity,

Who would have thought that one of the captains, after seeing Zheng Fan, immediately dismounted and knelt down:

"This humble officer greets Earl Pingye, Boye, you're back?"

Obviously, this captain had seen Zheng Fan and remembered Zheng Fan's appearance, although Zheng Boye didn't remember him.

However, this also skipped a series of processes and formalities such as stating his identity, being suspected, re-proving himself, and being suspected again.

Afterwards, the captain of this Yan army cavalry saluted Zheng Fan,

Zheng Boye reached out and patted him on the shoulder,

The other party was flattered,

Zheng Boye even asked for his name, surname Mao.

On his first day back, this guy had given him face and directly saved him too much trouble, so naturally he had to give more encouragement, or simply dig him up to his Xue Hai Pass.

Next, this cavalry no longer performed combat missions, but became escorts to escort Zheng Boye and others back to the big camp.

By dusk, Zheng Boye was escorted to the big camp. What made Zheng Fan very excited was that the Jingnan Marquis was in the central military tent.

Phew,

After knowing that the Jingnan Marquis was also here,

Zheng Boye truly felt safe!

The Jingnan Marquis learned of the news in advance and ordered Zheng Fan and others to enter the central military tent to see him.

In fact, even without this order, if Zheng Boye wanted to enter the central military tent, even if the Jingnan Marquis was holding a combat meeting, no one outside would stop Zheng Boye.

Because everyone knew the relationship between Earl Pingye and their Marquis.

Entering the tent,

The Jingnan Marquis sat behind the commander's table,

After not seeing him for more than two months, the Jingnan Marquis hadn't changed.

"This general greets Jingnan Marquis!"

Zheng Fan saluted first.

"Greetings to Jingnan Marquis!"

The princess also saluted.

Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling knelt behind them.

The princess was better, after all, she was a princess who had seen the real world.

Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling were completely frightened by the Jingnan Marquis's aura and reputation. The name of a person is like the shadow of a tree. In front of the Jingnan Marquis, there were not many people in this world who could stabilize their minds.

"The last message this Marquis received was that you planned to rob the bride on the day of the Chu princess's wedding?"

This was the message sent by the Fan family, but this message was obviously delayed.

One was because this place was close to Zhennan Pass, which was a battlefield, and communication with the rear was inherently inconvenient;

Second, after the bride-robbing, the Chu people frantically blocked and searched Mengshan and Qishan, making it impossible for the Fan family's messengers to continue delivering messages here.

So, the Jingnan Marquis only knew that Zheng Fan planned to rob the bride, the princess's bride.

Below, there was nothing.

Even the Jingnan Marquis didn't know whether the bride was robbed or not, and he didn't know whether Zheng Fan had died or not, and whether he was still alive.

All he could do,

Was to constantly try to put pressure on the Chu army at Zhennan Pass.

Hearing this question,

Zheng Boye immediately raised his head, with a smile on his face, and pointed to Xiong Liqing beside him and said:

"Marquis, this is the Fourth Princess of Chu, the Chu Regent's own sister."

What Zheng Fan said was true, then it must be true, because Zheng Fan would not lie to anyone but the Jingnan Marquis, and the Jingnan Marquis obviously knew this as well.

Xiong Liqing immediately bowed again,

Said:

"Da Chu Xiong Liqing, has met Jingnan Marquis, Jingnan Marquis is blessed."

Tian Wujing, sitting behind the commander's table,

Looking at the Da Chu princess kneeling below,

The corner of his mouth,

Slowly revealed an arc,

Said:

"No need to call Marquis."

Xiong Liqing looked at the Jingnan Marquis with some confusion, and then at Zheng Fan beside her. She didn't understand what the Jingnan Marquis meant by this sentence. Was he dissatisfied with her and intending to give her a display of power, or was he expressing disdain for her, this Chu princess?

Tian Wujing then continued:

"Call me brother."