Chapter 108 Overwhelming Power

Riding on the horse, Zheng Fan looked very casual, his posture lazy. If not for the armor he was wearing forcibly supporting him, he might have turned into a puddle of mud directly.

Behind Zheng Fan, the five centurions all wore bitter expressions, anxious and uneasy, as if it was their first day being sold into a brothel, completely unwilling.

In Blindman Bei's "hindsight strategist letter," he had mentioned that,

Ever since they had taken action in the Mei Family Manor, Zheng Fan had to maintain a high enough profile to secure his position.

Don't lower your head, don't admit weakness. As long as you keep a high profile, no one will dare to provoke you, or even dare to investigate you!

But if you're timid, if you lower your head, then the troubles will keep coming;

Finally, in the letter, Blindman Bei also said that if the situation really became unmanageable, he begged his lord to protect Si Niang, this weak woman, and leave Huto City immediately!

Although Zheng Fan didn't get Blindman Bei's letter in advance for various reasons, Zheng Fan's over-the-top acting in front of Shen Hai (Deep Sea) could be considered an early collaboration.

Zheng Fan understood this logic.

Just like those swindlers in later generations who could turn water into oil with high technology and flourish in the country, receiving strong official support,

The more high-profile you are, the more people will believe you. The more impressive your boasting, the safer you are.

The Zhenbei (North Suppressing) Marquis's residence was too high, so high that no one dared to pull the tiger's skin;

The Zhenbei Marquis's residence was too high, so high that even if someone pulled the tiger's skin, no one would know.

Right now,

Clerk Chen had already been tied up by Ding Hao with a rope and dragged along the street as a cleaning cart. He was already a bloody mess and had lost his breath.

His luck really wasn't good.

Why didn't he just be a little more low-key and trick the widow into his own home or his outer mansion if he wanted to force himself on her and take advantage of her situation?

Instead, he had to go to a restaurant, a crowded place, and choose to be next door to Zheng Fan, who was so public-spirited, righteous, selfless, and eager to help others.

Alas, why bother.

Right now,

He was forcibly leading the five newly recruited underlings and their hundreds of soldiers to advance towards the Chen residence.

This was the only way Zheng Fan could think of to break the situation.

Make things big, completely big, so big that no one dares to criticize.

People only know that the dead don't speak and are the best at keeping secrets, but there's another truth: not many people are willing to speak for the dead.

Anyway, he already had the idea of running away, so there was nothing he couldn't risk.

Zheng Fan forcibly pulled himself together,

This early in the morning,

He had to lead people to exterminate a family,

It was like eating seven or eight hard dishes for breakfast, making people feel a little greasy and uncomfortable.

The Chen residence was really close to the restaurant, which shortened Zheng Fan's greasy and nauseous time.

At this moment,

He sat upright on his horse,

Surrounded by a group of soldiers.

Zheng Fan raised his head slightly. Behind that stone lion, on that corner of the wall, and even directly in front of him, camera positions could be set up.

At this time, he looked exactly like an evil eunuch leading troops to ransack the home of a loyal subject in a TV series.

If this were a film or television work, his ending would probably be getting killed by the righteous protagonists who grew up and sought revenge, and then the actor list would roll out in front of his corpse and behind the protagonists' backs...

Ding Hao, on the other hand, looked very excited. After all, for many things, there was only the difference between zero and countless times;

He had already exterminated the family of his direct superior. This time, it was his second time doing this.

The soldiers below showed excitement and anger on their faces.

The story had already spread. Their comrades' bones were still cold, and their wives and children were about to be bullied. The common soldiers didn't have the superiors' ability to weigh gains and losses.

All they knew was that their comrades' families had been humiliated, and now there was a Captain Zheng who was leading them to take revenge!

Circles are exclusive. When facing threats to their interests, they will instinctively choose to band together.

And the army is the group with the strongest banding attribute.

Zheng Fan saw many soldiers who shouldn't have belonged to the five centurions behind him, but they had all joined in with their weapons.

Some units that had originally come in formation to maintain order, mediate disputes, and resolve conflicts, directly defected after learning the whole story from other soldiers, and also joined the action of surrounding the Chen residence.

Zheng Fan saw several captains from Huto City. They didn't come closer, but they didn't try to gather and control their men either.

First, they were afraid of Zheng Fan's background;

Second, if they intervened in this matter, how would they lead their troops in the future?

During the time Zheng Fan was hesitating,

More and more soldiers gathered,

If you didn't know better,

You'd think there was going to be a military exercise here.

Several times, Zheng Fan's hand was about to rise.

He knew that

As long as he raised his hand and then brought it down, without the five centurions behind him giving the order, and without the captains in the distance giving the order, the soldiers who had gathered around, now exceeding a thousand, would directly swarm up and massacre everyone in the Chen residence.

Behind the gate of the Chen residence, there was obviously someone moving around. On the walls, people were constantly peeking.

However, dozens of private soldiers had already gone out before. There shouldn't be many left in the residence now.

The Chen family was a "hereditary" family of clerks in Huto City. Generations of family members had been serving as lower-level officials in the Huto City government office. They could be considered a local snake family.

This family had one weakness. Although their power seemed deeply rooted, unlike the manor lords outside the city, their foundation was in the city, in the residence.

Very powerful... but also very fragile.

They were NPCs, they were game characters, they were monsters he was farming, they were panels he was erasing in a manga...

Zheng Fan kept doing psychological hypnosis in his mind.

Yes,

Zheng Fan was still hesitating, still struggling.

When he used to draw manga, he only felt that even the most terrifying, horrific, and human-distorting plots and images contained a kind of beauty that he could feel.

But when you're standing in front of someone's house, and a single word can decide the life or death of their entire family, it's really hard to make a decision.

Zheng Fan didn't know if this was considered being a saint, or... just human nature.

"Why isn't that lord giving the order yet?"

Below, some soldiers began to wonder.

An experienced soldier explained, "What's the rush? With so many of us outside their door, the people in that residence are getting more and more flustered and tormented. Our lord is 'stewing an eagle'. How could he give them a quick death? Wouldn't that be too easy on them?"

"That's right, the Chen family has always been used to being tyrannical on weekdays. I really didn't expect this day to come."

"Damn it, when I think about how if I die in battle in the future, my orphans and widows will still be bullied by this kind of scum, I can't help but want to flay their whole family alive!"

"That's right, if we want our own families to be safe in the future, we absolutely can't let this family go this time!"

These common soldiers may not have such high awareness, but they understand a very simple but practical principle, which is that the law does not punish the masses.

Right now, more and more soldiers were gathering after hearing the news. Could it be that when the superiors investigate in the future, they would arrest everyone?

Zheng Fan's palms were full of sweat.

He knew that in the end, he would definitely give the order. He had to protect himself, and protect the family business that he and his seven subordinates had worked so hard to build.

But he still wanted to delay, delay, delay, wait, wait, drag it out...

Where do those fantasy dramas come from, where people casually explode planets with one kick and destroy the three realms with one palm?

Why is it that when it comes to himself, he can't bring himself to exterminate a family?

In Zheng Fan's heart, it was as if a group of black Zheng Fans were frantically beating up a white Zheng Fan.

Finally, just as Zheng Fan took a deep breath, preparing to raise his hand to give the order,

"The Pacification Commissioner has arrived!!!!!!"

He's here, he's here, he's arrived riding a pixiu.

Zheng Fan turned his neck slightly and turned his head. Sure enough, he saw the chubby Shen Hai riding that pixiu, surrounded by a group of guards, arriving here.

That pixiu really deserved to be a different species. Counting back eighteen generations, it was still a divine beast. Otherwise, it would have been crushed to death by Shen Hai.

The Pacification Commissioner's prestige was still very strong, at least in the territory of Huto City, there was no other high official who could compare with him.

Therefore, the surrounding soldiers began to disperse.

Xu Wenzu, under the protection of his guards, went straight in, coming to Zheng Fan. The scribe was also riding a horse by Xu Wenzu's side.

"Captain Zheng, what great prestige you have!"

Zheng Fan felt that Shen Hai's lines didn't seem to change.

This made his performance feel very awkward...

"You, come with me. This official wants to personally ask you why you're acting like this. Do you know that both privately mobilizing troops and gathering a crowd to cause trouble are capital crimes!"

After saying this, Xu Wenzu rode his horse to the opposite side of the Chen residence. There was a teahouse there. The teahouse had already closed. Xu Wenzu's guards had entered first, driving out the teahouse owner and the waiters. Then, the guards stood outside guarding, isolating the teahouse from the outside world.

Zheng Fan took a deep breath,

Put aside all the distracting thoughts in his heart,

And turned around on his horse with a very calm expression, slowly coming to the entrance of the teahouse.

Many soldiers looked at Zheng Fan with expectant eyes. Of course, they hoped that Zheng Fan could withstand the pressure and lead everyone to take revenge.

If Zheng Fan softened, they probably would...

After all, for this kind of thing, there had to be a tall one who was willing to take responsibility and lead the way before everyone could really mobilize.

Dismounting,

Two guards stepped forward to remove Zheng Fan's saber.

Zheng Fan grabbed the saber with one hand, refusing to hand it over.

Of course, he didn't think that Shen Hai would harm him, but in front of so many soldiers, he had to do something to show some backbone.

Xu Wenzu should understand, right...

Although, Xu Wenzu might really be angry about this, because he was, after all, the current chief official of Huto City.

The two guards were both arrogant characters. Seeing that Zheng Fan didn't hand over his saber, they both reached out to restrain Zheng Fan.

"Buzz!"

A dazzling black light suddenly burst out from Zheng Fan's body,

This light had an incredibly good effect under the action of the glitter powder on this armor.

The two guards were stunned and directly pushed back,

The soldiers who had been staring at this place were initially astonished, and then let out piercing cheers!

The surrounding captains and the five centurions who had been forced onto Zheng Fan's war chariot were also stunned. They weren't unfamiliar with ninth-grade martial artists, but such a young ninth-grade martial artist!

Yes, only the Zhenbei Marquis's family could have such a foundation!

Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes for a while, not deliberately lingering here to enjoy the afterglow of his performance.

Purely because,

The light effect was too strong,

Zheng Fan's eyes were almost blinded, and he had to pause.

Next time, he had to ask Blindman to make him a pair of sunglasses, otherwise, he shouldn't use this fifty-cent light effect. If he blinded himself first during a real fight, what was he going to fight?

The two guards were somewhat unable to advance or retreat. They didn't dare to go up, and they couldn't retreat either.

At this time, the scribe who was the only one who had entered the teahouse with Xu Wenzu walked to the door, nodded to the guards outside, and made a gesture of invitation to Zheng Fan.

These guards all breathed a sigh of relief and retreated.

Zheng Fan stepped forward and entered the teahouse.

Inside the teahouse, Xu Wenzu was sitting behind the tea table. When Zheng Fan walked in, the scribe personally closed the door.

As soon as the door closed,

Xu Wenzu immediately got up,

Walking quickly towards Zheng Fan,

Like a huge meatball rolling towards him, with wind.

Zheng Fan knew that Xu Wenzu should be very angry this time, because no matter what his identity was, he couldn't allow Huto City to continue to be in chaos.

Xu Wenzu stopped in front of Zheng Fan,

Just as Zheng Fan was preparing to accept Xu Wenzu's scolding,

"You, you did a good job!"

"Huh?"

Zheng Fan was stunned for a moment, staring at Xu Wenzu's face, trying to determine if Xu Wenzu was saying the opposite of what he meant.

"Alas, the situation is getting worse and worse now. It is said that the Marquis has been placed under house arrest by His Majesty in the capital, and the impeachments of the Marquis by the officials have almost piled up on the desk in the imperial study.

It is indeed necessary to prepare, it is necessary to prepare.

Hmm, your plan is well designed. The Chen family, a family of clerks, may seem to have deep roots, but in the end, it's just a den of lower-level officials. It can be used to make an example!

Use the lives of their entire family to arouse the city's soldiers' sense of shared hatred, and then have you come forward to lead the revenge and seek justice. You can also greatly gain the hearts of the soldiers in Huto City and gain the love of the soldiers, making it easier to start an uprising with the Princess in the future!

You, very good, this plan is ingenious, and the choice of this person is also very good!

Alas, Zheng Chenggong has a good son."

"............" Zheng Fan.

"You can do things boldly and with confidence. After you're done, you'll be responsible for escorting the birthday tribute out of the city tomorrow. You can also leave this vortex. Let the old county magistrate take care of the aftermath, hehe.

Oh, the last time I saw the Princess, she was still a little girl. Now, she's a big girl. I really miss her.

By the way, I will come to join you after the team leaves the city tomorrow."

After saying this,

Xu Wenzu reached out and patted Zheng Fan on the shoulder,

And walked to the entrance of the teahouse,

Suddenly pushed the door open,

And walked out angrily,

And turned back to point inside and scolded:

"Outrageous, really outrageous! Indulging in violence, unscrupulous, lawless, lawless!

This official can't control you, can't control you, you wait, you wait, this official will go back and impeach you!

This official wants to see,

Whether this Huto City still belongs to the Great Yan!!!"

After scolding, Xu Wenzu flipped over onto the pixiu.

"Drive!"

He was really angry, and left before his guards could even catch up.

Outside, a dark mass of soldiers looked up at the teahouse with reverence.

Although the Yan Kingdom didn't value literature and suppress martial arts as much as the Qian Kingdom, the status of literati and martial artists had long been out of balance because of the long period of peace.

The common soldiers definitely hoped that their general could be tough and stand up to those civil officials!

Inside the teahouse, Zheng Fan was still a little dizzy.

If this Xu Wenzu had been in later generations, it would have been a pity if he hadn't come to draw manga with him. His ability to imagine things was really strong!

He was clearly being forced onto the stage, but in his eyes, he was the one who had planned everything step by step.

Am I blind, or do I look so sinister?

"Captain Zheng, my lord is physically weak. I hope Captain Zheng will take good care of him on the road."

The scribe said, bowing deeply to Zheng Fan.

Before Zheng Fan could return the bow,

The scribe turned around and shouted to the outside through the teahouse door: "Kill!"

Zheng Fan's eyes widened immediately!

Damn, ruthless!

"Kill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The soldiers outside the teahouse thought that Zheng Fan had given the order and immediately roared and charged towards the Chen residence.

The scribe thought he had done Zheng Fan a favor and smiled reservedly at Zheng Fan, seemingly not caring at all that under his usurped cry of "Kill," the entire family would be slaughtered by thousands of angry soldiers.

Zheng Fan snorted "Heh" in his heart,

And suddenly thought of what Blindman had said while smoking and "admiring the moon" that night;

Blindman said: Those who eat meat are vile.

Blindman also said: What the meat-eaters eat is not pork, beef, mutton, or dog meat,

But,

Human flesh.

————

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Thanks to Lu Yinhong for becoming the fiftieth Alliance Master of *The Descent of Magic*!