Chapter 1 The Inn Is Closed

Fourth Sister's inn had been closed for some time. The madams were gone, and the Little Red拂女s were still in training; using them to serve guests would be like using famous calligraphy and paintings as toilet paper.

In addition, with Storyteller Xue San and Brewer A Ming gone, the inn naturally closed down.

Fortunately, there were still many restaurants in Tiger Head City, after all, it was a prosperous place for merchants.

Arriving at the entrance of a restaurant, the manager personally greeted Zheng Fan because of his armor, bowing and scraping as he led him to a private room on the second floor.

Ding Hao helped Zheng Fan push open the door to the private room.

Inside was a round table, with five people sitting around it.

Interestingly, all five were wearing armor, not casual clothes.

Cold dishes had already been served, but everyone's chopsticks and bowls were neatly arranged, and they hadn't touched them at all.

It could be said that these five centurions had given Zheng Fan a lot of face.

Arriving early and waiting upright.

Zheng Fan knew that this was not because he would become their leader tomorrow, leading them to the Zhenbei侯府 to escort the birthday gifts.

Firstly, the matter of Plum Blossom Village, coupled with the scene he acted out with Xu Wenzu in front of the recruitment envoy's hall that day, could be said to have raised his profile and background to a very profound and unpredictable level.

Officials of Xu Wenzu and the county magistrate's level could naturally cautiously observe the situation or even wait for the highest bidder, but for these senior soldiers who weren't even considered captains,

They,

Didn't have the qualifications to stand by and watch.

Especially since the Zhenbei侯府 was like a mountain in the entire Northern Sealing County, and even in the entire Yan Kingdom's military, they couldn't afford not to take it seriously.

When Zheng Fan walked into the private room,

The five centurions stood up from the round table together, then knelt on one knee:

"Greetings, Commandant Zheng!"

Zheng Fan was very satisfied with their attitude, but if it had been in the past, he might have been ecstatic or at a loss, but at home, being licked by the six devils in all sorts of ways every day, he had developed some immunity.

Moreover, according to Ding Hao's suggestion, there wasn't enough time to calmly learn from Liu Bei and build relationships, so he simply established his authority to the end.

Without saying any pleasantries, and without rushing them to stand up, Zheng Fan sat down in a chair that Ding Hao had taken the initiative to pull out for him.

Leaning slightly against the back of the chair, one hand stroked his chin, while the other drooped on the armrest.

If Xue San and the others were here to see Zheng Fan's posture, they would probably shout "Lord Eunuch" in their hearts.

You say it's arrogant, it is;

You say it's dismissive of others, that's right;

But none of the five people kneeling below dared to complain. The more Zheng Fan didn't give them face, the more they elevated their speculation about Zheng Fan's background, and the more they bowed their heads and obeyed.

People are just cheap.

"Today, I'm inviting you all to dinner, so get up and sit down.

This general is just a family slave and lackey of the Zhenbei侯府, I can't afford such a great courtesy from you. If my young lady finds out, alas, she'll have to pinch my ears again and blame me for acting rashly outside."

Young lady, pinching ears, rash;

Think about it, savor it, savor it carefully!

When the five centurions got up, their eyes met, and they could see the excitement in each other's eyes.

Those in higher positions might care about whether the Zhenbei侯府 could survive the tide of weakening the feudal lords, but they wouldn't think about these things. Holding on to the thigh in front of them was the first priority!

Their reactions all fell into Zheng Fan's eyes, which made him very satisfied.

Zheng Fan needed to win them over, at least, on the way from Tiger Head City to the Zhenbei侯府, these five people and the soldiers under their command had to listen to his orders.

Only in this way could he have more room to maneuver, and even secretly killing Xu Wenzu would be easier, wouldn't it?

Moreover, these five centurions had extremely strong control over the soldiers under their command, because almost all of these soldiers were their own family private soldiers!

It could be said that throughout the entire Northern Sealing County, except for the Zhenbei Army, which had its own system with a formal military system hierarchy, the remaining garrison soldiers in each city were severely eroded by the local clans.

Grassroots military officers like Wang Li and Ding Hao, who relied on their own efforts to rise to the top, were only a small minority.

This was partly because the Yan Kingdom was originally a political system of co-governance between the monarch and the clans, and the Yan Emperor couldn't reach many things in the local areas;

Secondly, the defense of the entire northern Yan Kingdom was basically the responsibility of the Zhenbei Army, and some local troops in various cities naturally became increasingly lax and degenerated into a feeling of being security guards.

"Commandant Zheng, let me introduce you. This is Zhao Shuanhu, this is Qian Dacai, this is Yang Wenzhi, this is Meng Changyuan, and this is Wang Duan."

Correspondingly, they were from the five small families near Tiger Head City: the Zhao family, the Qian family, the Yang family, the Meng family, and the Wang family.

This method of introduction was similar to Zhang Fei's fondness for calling himself "Yan Man Zhang Yide," which actually pointed out their family origins.

The five families' power wasn't very large, they only had some influence in the Tiger Head City area, and they wouldn't have much presence in Tu Man City.

"Hmm."

Zheng Fan lazily reached out and raised the wine glass in front of him,

The five people immediately raised their wine glasses together,

"I'm a straightforward person, and I don't like being polite when I do things, but I always remember a sentence that my Lord often reminded us of;

Leading troops means everyone drinking together, shouldering responsibilities together, and sharing merits together!

Gentlemen, let's drink this cup together!"

The six people raised their glasses together and drank it all in one gulp.

Immediately,

Zheng Fan put the wine glass on the table,

Crossed his hands in front of his chest, and assumed a lazy sitting posture again.

"Everyone is probably clear about tomorrow's assignment. I'm a newcomer to being stationed outside, so I'm not afraid of everyone laughing at me. My young lady always felt that I wasn't the material to do great things.

In fact, that's indeed the case. I've been muddling along for so long. Well, isn't this the perfect opportunity? I hope you brothers can support me and hold up the fort!

As long as you brothers treat me sincerely, I will definitely recommend you to my young lady, and in the future, we'll share wealth and glory!"

The five people clasped their hands together and said in unison:

"We are willing to listen to the commandant's dispatch!"

Well, things were progressing exceptionally smoothly.

These five centurions from small families had softened from the beginning, and now they were almost melting into water.

This made the plan that Zheng Fan had discussed with Ding Hao earlier—you shine first, then I shine—somewhat impossible to implement.

He couldn't suddenly act like an idiot:

...

Ahahaha,

The weather is so good today,

Master, let me, Ding Hao, shine!

Okay, the weather is really good today,

After you shine, let me shine too, hahaha!

...

In the original plan, he would find a troublemaker, kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, and show off his strength along the way, everything would be perfect.

But these five babies were so obedient that Zheng Fan really couldn't bear to pick one out at random to be the monkey.

However, after being poked by zombies and cultivating frantically for so many days in a row,

He had finally entered the ranks, and Zheng Fan was really uncomfortable if he didn't show off in front of others. After all, he was just a vulgar person who couldn't stand the days of wearing brocade at night.

As soon as he felt sleepy, a pillow was delivered.

Just at this moment,

A woman's scream suddenly came from the next private room:

"Ah!!!!!"

Then,

A "smack!"

It should be the sound of a slap,

Then,

A man's angry scolding:

"Bitch!"

Zheng Fan's hands were shaking, and his blood was boiling,

Damn,

Heaven was destined to let him shine today!

There was no better political correctness than this for pretending to be a boss and slapping someone in the face!

Zheng Fan immediately stood up. After all, they had been together for so long and were master and servant. Ding Hao quickly understood Zheng Fan's intention and took the lead in opening the door for Zheng Fan.

The five centurions behind him also immediately stood up and followed Zheng Fan out.

Ding Hao very tactfully didn't take the lead in opening the door to the next private room, but waited for Zheng Fan to come over and kick it open!

"Bang!"

In the private room, there was also a table of wine and dishes, and in the corner, there was a slender man in brocade clothes tearing at a woman's clothes.

There was blood on the corner of the woman's mouth, her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were messy.

"It's you?"

"It's you?"

Zheng Fan and Ding Hao said almost in unison.

Zheng Fan recognized the man. Wasn't this the clerk Chen who had been crossed out by the emperor?

Ding Hao recognized the woman. The woman was Wang Li's wife!

"Little Cui."

"Hmm, Clerk Chen's nickname is Little Cui?"

Zheng Fan asked curiously.

"It's that woman, she's my brother Wang Li's wife."

Zheng Fan said "Oh,"

Wasn't this the one the blind man sent talisman water to?

At this time, Clerk Chen was also stunned to see so many people in armor suddenly barging in, but Tiger Head City was only so big. Although he, Clerk Chen, wasn't a real clerk, but just an aide under Clerk Liu, he was still a well-known figure.

"How dare you, do you know who I am!"

Clerk Chen was very angry at being caught at this time, and he put on an official air.

He didn't remember Zheng Fan, even though Zheng Fan was the one he personally recruited from the roster.

Later, when Zheng Fan went to the yamen for the first time to receive his identity token, Clerk Chen was sitting in the signing room entertaining himself and didn't pay much attention to this lucky wild chicken commandant.

After the Zheng Fan and Xu Wenzu tearing event broke out,

Clerk Chen knew about Zheng Fan, but since that day, Zheng Fan had closed his doors and taken a vacation for himself, so Zheng Fan's name and face hadn't been equated in Clerk Chen's mind.

In fact, there was no need to explain too much about the scene in front of him.

Wasn't this just a forced bow?

In addition, this wife was wearing white flowers on her head, plain clothes, and black cloth wrapped around her arms, in mourning for her husband.

What a beast!

The five centurions knew Clerk Chen, but they stood behind Zheng Fan and wouldn't do anything without Zheng Fan's orders.

Zheng Fan was a little curious and reached out to poke Ding Hao,

He saw that Ding Hao's eyes were already bloodshot with anger, but he still stood by his side motionless,

He asked curiously:

"Aren't you angry?"

Wang Li died to protect you, and his wife was almost insulted, shouldn't you go berserk?

"Angry."

Ding Hao gritted his teeth and replied.

"Then why don't you do anything?"

Ding Hao took a deep breath and said, "He's... an official."

He could go to his house and kill him at night, but it was daytime, in public.

Zheng Fan understood that Ding Hao was worried that his forced action would bring trouble to himself, so he had been restraining his anger.

But to be honest,

Zheng Fan really didn't intend to save face for Clerk Chen,

Even if Ding Hao didn't do it, he would personally do it himself,

First, out of a sense of public morality;

Second,

Damn, who knew if the blind man was telling the truth when he said he only sent talisman water and not diarrhea water?

What if the blind man really sent diarrhea water, wouldn't this also be considered half of the blind man's woman?

Fourth Sister had told him that a large part of the initial start-up capital of the inn was swindled by the blind man by fooling this silly woman.

The blind man wasn't in Tiger Head City now, but what if he and this woman had really had a fiery affair in the past, and this woman was almost insulted in front of him, but he, as her superior, didn't say a word, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

Ultimately,

Zheng Fan was very clear about one thing,

Official position, identity, status, wealth, and tiger skin, these were all fleeting clouds to him.

What he really cared about, and what was truly related to his own interests, was the relationship between himself and the seven devils under his command!

This was the foundation for his survival in this world, and Zheng Fan believed that even if he really lost his official position because of this incident, the seven devils wouldn't care, and everyone would happily hold hands and head to the desert together, singing "Let us be companions in this mortal world and live freely."

"What am I to you?"

Ding Hao looked at Zheng Fan in confusion and replied:

"Master."

"What am I to you?"

"Servant."

"No, you are my dog."

Ding Hao took a deep breath, obviously, he was forcibly restraining his anger.

"My dog, there's no need to swallow your anger." Zheng Fan habitually reached out and patted Ding Hao on the shoulder, and continued, "If you want to bite, go bite. I'll be responsible for killing him."

Ding Hao's body trembled, and there was something inexplicable in his eyes when he looked at Zheng Fan. Obviously, he was touched by Zheng Fan.

But Zheng Fan,

Avoided Ding Hao's grateful gaze,

And said in his heart:

My heart is so dirty.

——————

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