Chapter 1 The Wind, the Grass, the Cattle and the Sheep

Under the vast sky and boundless plains, the wind swept through the grass, revealing herds of cattle and sheep.

Zheng Boye sat before a barbecue grill, upon which lamb was roasting. Beside him were numerous jars and bottles filled with seasonings.

Barbecuing was best when done yourself; only then could you savor the true flavor. While Zheng Boye wasn't exactly a barbecue master, he usually paid attention to the quality of life, so his practical skills weren't bad.

Moreover, with such a variety of spices and seasonings here, even if you were roasting boots, the taste wouldn't be bad.

"With so many condiments added, the original taste of the lamb has long been masked," the Sword Saint said, sitting beside him, a teacup in his hands.

On the other side, the Savage King, still in shackles, rubbed his hands together excitedly. Hearing the Sword Saint's words, he immediately retorted, "Spices are precious things! Look at you, acting all disdainful and looking down on them, tsk tsk."

The Sword Saint took a sip of tea and glanced disdainfully at the Savage King, saying, "I've also lived through hard times in my childhood."

"You said it yourself, in your childhood. How old are you now?

A person's mouth, a person's stomach, is actually the cheapest thing. It doesn't take ten or eight years; just give them good food for half a year, and it'll be hard for them to go back to the simple fare of the past."

"That's not necessarily true."

"Are you trying to say you're living a simple and natural life now? That's because you have money. Don't say you don't; as long as you open your mouth, even if you want a small mountain of gold, our Boye will find a way to move it over for you.

Having money and living simply, that's a state of mind, like not asking the girls in the red tent to take off their clothes but just wanting to watch them dance.

Having no money, that's not simplicity; that's just being poor."

The Sword Saint was too lazy to argue further and simply said, "Why are you talking so much today?"

The Savage King laughed, "Boye took pity on me, took me out of the cage, and brought me here for a picnic. The scenery here is also excellent. Shouldn't I talk a bit and ease Boye's boredom? Unlike you, acting like a lord, just sitting there like a clay statue in a temple.

Well, since you're playing the pure one, responsible for being aloof, then I'll have to be the enthusiastic little rascal, to avoid things getting dull."

Hearing this, the monk Kong Yuan, who was sitting opposite them, put his palms together, "Amitabha."

The young monk Liao Fan, who was staring at the barbecue grill and drooling, immediately wiped the corner of his mouth and put his palms together, "Ami...the lamb is burning!"

"Thump!"

Immediately, a chestnut fell from his master's hand.

"It's ready to eat."

"Yo, thank you, Boye."

The Savage King didn't stand on ceremony, grabbing two skewers and starting to eat.

He ate the meat very quickly, seemingly unafraid of the heat, sucking the meat off the skewer in one swift motion.

The Sword Saint reached out and took a skewer, eating slowly.

His body was still in the recovery phase, not suitable for such hearty eating.

In his previous life, Zheng Fan's impression of martial artists and heroes was that they should drink and eat meat in large quantities, carrying wine gourds and sweeping away the demons and monsters around them.

But in this life, after he started practicing martial arts and came into contact with existences like the Sword Saint and the Marquis of Jingnan, he realized that they were all very disciplined, even more so than athletes in later generations.

This was a strange paradox. On the one hand, their physique was far beyond ordinary people, so even if their lifestyle and diet were a bit decadent, they were still more durable than ordinary people.

But it was precisely because of their strong self-discipline that they were able to achieve heights that ordinary martial artists could not reach.

Even Sha Tuo Que Shi, with his disheveled hair and unkempt appearance like a tramp, was only like that because he had given up everything and planned to go to the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion to get an explanation.

However,

Zheng Boye found it really difficult to achieve this kind of self-control.

Normal sword practice, fine; normal martial arts practice, fine too. But giving up the pleasure of eating or living like an ascetic monk in pursuit of strength and advancement, Zheng Boye really didn't have that kind of awareness.

He'd just do whatever was comfortable. He'd had too miserable a life in his previous life, diagnosed with a rare terminal illness at a young age. If he had to live a life of bitter cultivation and deep-seated hatred in this life, what would be the point?

With this thought,

after eating a skewer of meat,

Zheng Boye habitually took out his China brand cigarette case and pulled out a cigarette.

The Marquis of Jingnan had once told Zheng Fan that tobacco was harmful to the body,

but in this world, what things that could quickly and briefly bring pleasure didn't have some side effects?

The young monk Liao Fan also reached out to grab the barbecue, but was once again met with a chestnut from his master.

Then,

while rubbing his head, the young monk Liao Fan looked pitifully at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan, with a cigarette between his left fingers, said, "Eat."

The monk Kong Yuan put his palms together, "Amitabha, since Boye is using torture to force us, then we shall eat. The Buddha will forgive us."

Immediately,

the two monks, one big and one small, began to sweep the battlefield.

They hadn't roasted enough meat earlier; it wasn't enough to share.

Kong Yuan very readily put the meat back on the grill to continue roasting, while also skillfully smearing spices on it.

In the distance, a thousand Xue Hai (Snow Sea) cavalrymen patrolled.

Behind Zheng Fan sat A'Ming, but A'Ming didn't eat meat.

Zheng Boye was used to being cautious. Even taking advantage of the time before autumn to come to the grassland for a barbecue, he had put a lot of effort into security.

Zheng Boye had never denied his fear of death and was very frank about it.

Right?

He couldn't be said to be in a position of great power and influence now, and he was far from being "second to none," but he could still be considered a local emperor.

In later generations, he would be the mayor of a municipality directly under the central government, concurrently serving as the commander of the local military region.

Life was still very comfortable, so naturally he had to find a way to make himself live more steadily and make happiness last longer.

Moreover,

after receiving news from Yanjing and a personal letter from Little Sixth,

Zheng Boye immediately felt that his previous caution was truly prescient.

Just look at how aggrieved Little Sixth was in the letter.

The phrase "that crazy woman" was mentioned seven or eight times in the letter, enough to show the anger in Little Sixth's heart.

This was probably the subversion and frustration of an old fox, skilled in deceiving and manipulating people at the poker table, when the table was overturned. At that moment, Little Sixth probably felt that he was not a prince, but a weak chicken.

Zheng Boye could empathize with that feeling because he had also been a weak chicken.

It was precisely because the taste was unpleasant that Zheng Boye forced himself to tie all the experts he could find around him,

regardless of whether they were dead or alive, crippled or useless.

Because Zheng Boye believed that things might not be so critical now, but in a few years, as his power and importance continued to rise, his head would be worth the enemy sending extremely valuable experts to take.

Even, it was possible that a great expert like the Sword Saint would spontaneously come to take the head of the Yan dog Zheng Fan.

This was not an exaggeration; just think about how the Old Situ patriarch died.

Stretching, Zheng Fan leaned back, propping himself up on the grass with his right arm, posing in a very leisurely manner, and said,

"The Zhenbei (Pacifying the North) Marquis's princess will be coming here to enjoy the snow in a while."

The Savage King's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this news.

You could even feel his breathing becoming extremely heavy,

but soon,

as he picked up another skewer and swept the meat into his mouth, his person, spirit, and demeanor instantly returned to calmness,

and after chewing the meat,

he said,

"Boye, I think the princess's visit is not just for enjoying the snow."

"Oh, then what do you think it's for?"

Zheng Fan looked at the Savage King with interest.

"Boye, if the princess is coming, does that mean her marriage with the crown prince is off?"

The Savage King was usually locked in a cage, only to be exploited by the Blind One. Few people would supplement him with external information, and even if there was any, it was only limited to some changes on the snowfield.

"The Empress has passed away."

Hearing this reason, the Savage King nodded and said,

"So, our princess is really unlucky, with something happening every time she's about to get married?"

And one of those times was related to Gou Moli.

"Get to the point," Zheng Fan reminded him.

"Boye, this is the point. As the saying goes, you can do something once or twice, but not a third time. After doing this continuously, the princess's marriage with the crown prince will probably be put on hold for a long time. Vegetables left for too long will cool and spoil, and a marriage between two people is even less real than vegetables.

I think the princess is pretending to watch the snow this time, but she really wants to take this opportunity to spy on the situation and interfere with some things.

You have to know, there are still two garrisons of the Zhenbei Army in Jin."

Hearing this,

Zheng Fan couldn't help but laugh,

saying,

"It wouldn't come to that, would it?"

Li Bao's garrison, because of Li Bao's death in battle, although the new commander was originally the deputy commander of the Zhenbei Army, in reality his control over that garrison had certainly decreased. In addition, with the prosperity of Quhe City, that Zhenbei Army garrison probably already had other thoughts and was no longer the pure garrison of Beifeng County of the past.

As for Li Fusheng's garrison, it was placed by the Marquis of Jingnan by his side, stationed in Fengxin City, where it could threaten the Chu people to the southeast and maintain influence over Yingdu to the west.

If Zhenbei Wang (Pacifying the North King) Li Liangting came in person, then naturally there would be no major problem, and these two Zhenbei Army garrisons would probably still listen to Li Liangting's orders.

But the princess...

The difference was too great.

"Boye, don't underestimate her. First of all, the princess is very beautiful."

The Sword Saint frowned slightly,

and Liao Fan wiggled his little eyebrows, obviously curious about how beautiful the princess was.

Then,

the Savage King continued,

"Secondly, the princess is very willful. She doesn't really think that much before doing many things. We used to say that those with bare feet aren't afraid of those wearing shoes, so they don't care, but the princess has many shoes at home.

Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, I think the princess will probably try it.

I even think that the princess might even try to recruit you, Boye, to her side."

"Heh."

Zheng Fan felt that the Savage King was talking more and more nonsense,

"Does this Boye need to seek other backers?"

"She's capable of doing anything," the Savage King smiled and said, "So, please be prepared in advance, Boye, so that when you face the princess's recruitment, you can't laugh like you are now."

Zheng Fan laughed,

"Prepare what?"

"Prepare to not smile like you are now when you face the princess's recruitment at that time."

………

I went out during the day and came back a little late. Plus, my sleep schedule is still messed up these days, so I can't stay up late. That's all for today; I'll try to do more tomorrow.