“What should we do, my lord?”

Si Niang asked while standing behind Zheng Fan, helping him massage his temples.

Zheng Fan’s fingers tapped lightly on the tea table in front of him. The scribe had left, but the problem remained.

The Pacification Commissioner was truly a Han at heart serving Cao. Perhaps it was because the relationship between the Zhenbei Hou’s (Northern Marquis) estate and the imperial court had worsened in the past month, and the worst-case scenario might be about to happen. So, he couldn’t sit still and wanted to secretly meet with the Zhenbei Hou’s family.

If that day really came, and the Zhenbei Army, led by the Zhenbei Hou estate, directly raised the banner of “Cleansing the Emperor's Entourage,”

Xu Wenzu could immediately respond and offer the city in support.

But the key problem was,

The gimmick he had played with,

Zheng Zhilong and Koxinga,

Where could he find them?

As for the relationship with the Zhenbei Hou’s family…

Originally, the Princess wanted to reward him with the status of a family servant, but he had refused without hesitation and ran back to Hutou (Tiger Head) City to continue being his mountain bandit king.

Once this bubble was burst, not to mention the reaction of the Zhenbei Hou estate, this chubby Xu Wenzu would definitely not be easy to deal with.

How angry would a deceived deep-sea comrade be?

Hiss…

“My lord, how about we just rob the birthday tribute ourselves?”

For most people of later generations, when they think of “birthday tribute,” they will think of “winning it through wisdom”, just like mentioning film used to bring “Kodak” to mind.

“Do we have enough manpower?”

Zheng Fan asked.

The Blind Man and Xue San had gone to Tuman City to move goods,

Liang Cheng, A Ming, and Fan Li had gone to the desert to recruit troops,

The ragtag gang of the Righteous Gathering gang and the Cart gang were at Meijiawu,

It was almost impossible to replicate the scene of everyone rushing up to fight like they did when they robbed Ding Hao.

“My lord, we can choose assassination.” Si Niang continued to gently massage Zheng Fan while suggesting, “In this era, it’s not uncommon for people to suddenly die on the road from a headache or fever. We can just push the blame and create a smokescreen.

Blame the Liu clan of Beifeng, the desert barbarians, or even the secret agents of the Yan Kingdom's court, no problem.”

Zheng Fan nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

The chubby Pacification Commissioner was indeed good to him and had protected him. So, Zheng Fan felt that if his death could continue to protect him, the kind Pacification Commissioner would probably be willing.

Moreover, since he had infiltrated the escort team under a hidden identity, he would have an easier time striking.

Now was the stage of recruiting troops. If everything went smoothly, his first cavalry company could be formed in less than a month.

Giving up everything now, giving up the hot spring in the back house,

Zheng Fan was really unwilling.

If he had a choice, who would want to run to the desert to blow sand?

Even if he had to run, he would run to the Qian Kingdom. The culture there was flourishing. He could learn from the enlightened predecessors and become the reincarnation of Su Dongpo or Liu Yong, going to brothels not only for free but also being pursued. That would be very pleasant.

“Sigh.”

He sighed.

It was really inconvenient without the Blind Man by his side. Although the Blind Man’s actions were always very aggressive, it had to be said that the results were pretty good every time. Everyone had fun while getting things done.

“How about this, Si Niang, you disguise yourself and come with me when we set off. After we’re on the road, we’ll see what we can do. Arrange the affairs at home these next two days.”

“Yes, my lord. Then… now, my lord, shouldn’t you help this servant familiarize myself with needlework again? If I’m rusty, I won’t be able to handle the needles.”

Zheng Fan was stunned for a moment and said:

“Play… needles?”

…………

The next morning, Zheng Fan came out of his room, first stretched in the morning light, and then started shining in the sunlight.

After completing the routine, Zheng Fan went to eat breakfast.

The birthday tribute transport team would set off tomorrow, and according to Xu Wenzu's arrangement, he had to meet the escort team for tomorrow.

There were more than five hundred people in the escort team, so Zheng Fan naturally couldn't hold some kind of feast.

But according to the rules, he still asked people to send invitations to the five centurions to have a drink at the restaurant.

After eating breakfast unhurriedly, Zheng Fan was about to lead his horse out the door when he saw a strange man kneeling on one knee at the door waiting for him.

“Ding Hao?”

“It is indeed this subordinate.”

Ding Hao raised his head and looked at Zheng Fan. Originally with thick eyebrows and big eyes, he now looked a little… obscene.

Like Zhu Shimao had turned into Chen Peisi overnight.

“Si Niang’s craftsmanship is indeed good.”

“Yes, Mr. Feng’s skills are indeed ingenious.”

What Ding Hao was saying here was not only the part about disguise but also Si Niang’s treatment of him.

After being unconscious and resting for a day, Ding Hao woke up and tried to circulate his Qi. Immediately, a gray light was released from his body.

For someone who was just a good-for-nothing bum a day ago, this change was simply a brand-new transformation!

Moreover, Ding Hao vaguely felt that after experiencing this rise and fall, he seemed to have grasped some signs of a breakthrough.

At this time, Zheng Fan saw the long object wrapped in cloth placed next to Ding Hao and pointed at it, asking:

“What is this?”

“This is a spear.”

“Hmm, did you use a spear before?”

“No, this subordinate used a saber before. Mr. Feng said that the spear is more suitable for this subordinate;

This subordinate thinks that Mr. Feng’s words can’t be wrong, and it just so happens that this subordinate also knows how to use a spear, so I took it from Mr. Feng.”

A spear for Ding Hao,

Zheng Fan understood.

Si Niang was playing the Lin Chong trope with Ding Hao.

In addition, there were indeed a lot of weapons at home. They could be melted down and reforged into a new one, thanks to A Ming, who liked to bring weapons home.

It felt like your dog bringing home gold bars instead of bones.

“My lord, this is the armor that Mr. Feng prepared for you.”

Ding Hao got up and picked up a set of armor from the steps behind him.

“This isn’t the set of armor I received from the yamen.”

“Indeed, it isn’t. It was specially forged for you by Mr. Feng.”

Since it was prepared by Si Niang, Zheng Fan didn’t say much. With Ding Hao’s help, he put the armor on.

After putting it on, Zheng Fan asked curiously, “Is there anything special about this armor?”

According to Western tropes, they seem to like to engrave formations or something on their armor. He wondered if Si Niang knew how to do that.

“Huh, what is this, ash?”

Zheng Fan looked at the dark green mark on his palm. It was left when he had just rubbed against the armor.

“My lord, Mr. Feng said that this is light powder.”

“Light powder?”

“Yes, Mr. Feng’s original words, the original words were…”

“What were the original words?”

“Mr. Feng said, with this powder, you can become the brightest star in the entire place.”

“…………” Zheng Fan.

“Dong, dong, dong…”

Zheng Fan reached out and knocked on the armor he was wearing and said:

“Are you saying that the stuff on this armor can increase the degree of luminescence?”

“Yes, my lord. Because you are the leader of this escort team, this is the same as leading troops, and it requires deterring and uniting your soldiers.

There are only three ways to lead. The first is to lure with benefits, the second is to demonstrate strength, and the third is relationships.

Today’s banquet is to lure with benefits. Mr. Feng has already prepared the gifts. As for building relationships, you are not familiar with the five centurions, and there is no time to develop relationships. And as for demonstrating strength, you have already entered the realm, although not for long, but for the grassroots in the army, entering the realm of a martial artist is naturally something to be respected. With this special armor, it is enough to maximize the effect of demonstrating strength.”

Ding Hao was someone who had been both a soldier and a bandit leader, so he naturally understood these tricks.

“Hehe, how could she come up with this method?”

Zheng Fan couldn’t help but find it a little funny.

It was also because in this world, being able to emit light was a sign of a strong warrior who had entered the realm, but Si Niang could actually think of using the principle of glow sticks to make him the brightest star under the spotlight, which was also interesting.

“My lord, actually, this method was used by someone a hundred years ago.”

“Oh? Used before? Also inviting people to dinner?”

“No, it was used by the first Zhenbei Hou.”

“The first Zhenbei Hou?”

Zheng Fan became interested. After all, that was a military god-level existence who had crushed 500,000 troops of the Qian Kingdom with 30,000 iron cavalry.

That battle not only established the foundation of the Zhenbei Hou estate for a hundred years but also laid the foundation for the Qian Kingdom’s position as a small submissive country for a hundred years.

“Well, the emperor of the Qian Kingdom who succeeded to the throne as the Imperial Younger Brother wasn’t that bad. Under him, there was an elite army of the Qian Kingdom that had been trained by his elder brother during his reign and had fought in the south and north.

What’s more, even if it’s five hundred thousand pigs, it wouldn’t be so easy to catch them all.”

“Hey, you’re not going to tell me that the first Zhenbei Hou used this method, right?”

“You’re wise, my lord. At the beginning of that battle, the first Zhenbei Hou used all the materials he had collected in advance that could emit light in the sun. He even forcibly opened the cellars of many wealthy families in the Yan Kingdom and took out pearls to grind them into powder. He also threatened several cultivator sects in the Yan Kingdom to cast spells to add a halo effect to the armor of the Yan Kingdom’s cavalry during the war, and then…”

A picture immediately appeared in Zheng Fan’s mind:

It was a noon when the weather was clear but the atmosphere was very oppressive.

Five hundred thousand troops of the Qian Kingdom were lined up and waiting for orders.

In the previous march north,

They were unstoppable,

They were numerous and powerful,

They were winning easily.

The front army had been prepared, and they were about to face the charge of the Yan Kingdom’s cavalry, but they were not afraid. Because they knew that as long as they held their ground for a while, the friendly forces on both wings would surround them. After they ate this Yan Kingdom cavalry with only 30,000 soldiers,

Tiancheng County and the capital of the Yan Kingdom would completely open their arms to them and welcome their entry!

At that time, the Qian Kingdom’s army was not yet synonymous with a weakling. At that time, the Qian Kingdom had not yet transformed into a bunker fanatic, turning itself into a shrunken turtle under a group of bunkers. They were high-spirited, they were upward-moving, they craved military achievements, and they craved opening up new territories to achieve their merits!

Then,

The tens of thousands of troops in the front army of the Qian Kingdom,

First heard the shaking of the ground.

They knew,

The Yan Kingdom’s cavalry was charging.

Then,

They saw a scene that they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Despair, fear, and shock instantly filled the hearts of every soldier in the Qian Kingdom’s front army.

Immediately afterward,

They,

Collapsed!

Because they saw,

Charging towards them,

Tens of thousands of shining stars!