Chapter 11 The First Lesson

Xiao Yibo was directing his men to boil water. Bathing five hundred people required a truly staggering amount of water, and everyone was working themselves to the bone.

Fortunately, Xue San had been bored a few days prior at Meijiawu and had put his dwarven racial talents to use.

He'd built a large water supply facility for bathing.

In reality, it was just a large wooden pipe leading down from a big water tank, with fifty holes drilled into the pipe, essentially creating fifty shower heads.

Xiao Yibo carried two buckets of hot water up the ladder, poured the water into the big tank, and then came back down with the empty buckets.

Ahead, a circle of tarpaulins had been erected, much like the tents set up in northern customs when families hosted feasts for relatives and friends during weddings and funerals.

Even with hot water, it was still bitterly cold to bathe here.

But the ones bathing inside were barbarians; if nothing else, these guys were really good at enduring the cold.

Fifty people at a time took turns bathing, howling and singing terribly off-key songs into the cold wind as they washed.

Yes, Xiao Yibo felt restless.

He knew he wasn't a truly trusted member of this team; he was just an errand boy, or at best, a small boss of errand boys.

Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn't have known about the recruitment of these five hundred-plus barbarians.

Previously, watching cart after cart of military equipment and provisions being brought into Meijiawu, watching warhorses being led into the stables, he'd dreamed of one day donning that fine armor, riding those tall northern warhorses, and achieving great deeds alongside those terrifying fellows.

But,

they didn't seem to have any intention of bringing him along.

Xiao Yibo didn't think it was because they didn't trust him, even though he had personally killed his own father to save his own life.

Xiao Yibo felt that those people really didn't care about that; they weren't keeping him out because they were wary of him, but simply… looking down on him.

But, opportunities had to be seized.

Having made up his mind, Xiao Yibo handed the two empty buckets to the subordinate beside him, wiped his hands on his clothes, and walked out of the inner courtyard toward the city tower.

In the open space between the inner courtyard and the city gate tower, Si Niang and the other women were cooking. Seven or eight earthen stoves had been built yesterday, and now, with large pots placed on top, the aroma of a big stew was gradually spreading.

There were also two iron pots with steamers on top, filled with steamed buns.

Because they were catering to Zheng Fan's tastes, unless there was no other option, the Devil Kings would not choose "nang" (a type of flatbread) as their staple food.

Actually, freshly baked nang was still very fragrant, crispy, and delicious, but dietary habits were really hard to change.

On the way, Xiao Yibo saw Xue San carrying a basket on his back.

His small frame and the large basket seemed very disproportionate.

"Third Master, let me help."

"Alright, you take it."

Xue San handed the basket to Xiao Yibo.

Xiao Yibo took the basket and immediately smelled a fragrance. There was no covering cloth on the basket, and he could see a whole basket of white, square blocks.

"This is..."

It was soap!

Although ordinary, well-off families could afford it, it would still sting for a long time. Now it was here…

"Let's go."

Xue San urged from ahead.

"Okay, coming."

Xiao Yibo carried the basket and followed Xue San back to the tarpaulin bathhouse.

"Can you speak the barbarians' language?" Xue San asked.

"I can, a little."

The cart gang had been transporting goods near Tiger Head City, and naturally there were many barbarian merchant caravans, so Xiao Yibo did know some of the barbarian language.

"Hmm, that's good."

As he spoke,

Xue San reached out and grabbed two handfuls of soap, tossing them directly into the tarpaulin bathhouse.

"Tell them, five people to a bar of soap, let them pick it up and use it themselves."

Xiao Yibo nodded and shouted several times in the barbarian language according to Xue San's instructions, then he and Xue San threw the soap in.

While throwing it, Xiao Yibo's heart was bleeding.

So expensive soap,

just being wasted like this…

"Alright, let the next batch of people come in and take it themselves."

Xue San clapped his hands, job done.

The lord's soldiers, if not as flashy as Templar Knights, at least had to be clean and refreshed.

Wouldn't do if the lord went down later to shake hands and greet them, putting on a show of being close to the people, and was knocked out by the smell of their bodies.

"Third, Third Master…"

Xue San stopped and turned back with some curiosity,

"What's the matter?"

"Are… are you going to leave?"

"Wouldn't us leaving be a good thing for you?"

If we leave, the cart gang will really be yours.

Xiao Yibo heard this and immediately knelt before Xue San, saying in a deep voice:

"Third Master, I want to follow you, I want to follow you out and make a name for myself!"

"Oh? What's this, you're trying to cling to us?"

"Third Master, I can be your ox, your horse, I can treat you as my own parents…"

"No, no, no! No, no, no!"

Xue San immediately waved his hands,

Damn it,

being your dad is too dangerous. Even if Third Master is bold, he wouldn't curse himself like that for no reason.

"How about this, it's fine if you want to follow, Hong Ba Zi will also be coming along. From your men, choose twenty or thirty trustworthy and capable ones who can come along.

But, you have to remember one thing, now that you're following us, from now on it's:

Life and death are fated, wealth lies in the heavens."

"This humble one understands!"

…………

Outside, a group of barbarians who had bathed first and changed into prepared clothes were already waiting there.

One by one, they stared at the big pot, drooling at the aroma coming from inside.

Zheng Fan sat on the city wall, watching the scene below.

Blind Man Bei stood beside Zheng Fan and said:

"Lord, are you excited?"

"A little."

Zheng Fan spoke the truth.

Zheng Fan didn't really like playing online games, but he often played single-player games. He liked strategy games.

Like Mount & Blade, Red Alert, Empire, and the Total War series.

However, those were ultimately virtual, ultimately fake.

But the group of tall barbarians standing before him now,

were his soldiers,

Zheng Fan's soldiers!

This tangible feeling was truly hard to describe.

"Lord, leave the training of the soldiers to Liang Cheng. He's good at that. Ding Hao has also led troops, but for now, he can only assist."

"Okay, good."

Zheng Fan didn't know how to train soldiers.

If Zheng Fan really had to train the soldiers,

it was likely that tomorrow morning he'd be holding a whip, leading this group of barbarians to do marching drills in the morning sun.

Zheng Fan didn't know if this method of training soldiers was useful, because he only knew this one, and he himself was still at the stage where he just made a light effect and then relied on shouting to output damage when he fought.

"It's a Yan tradition that when generals are transferred, they bring their own private troops. The lord's troop quota is three hundred, but because the Sixth Prince gave instructions, and Xu Wenzu opened doors of convenience, taking five or six hundred people to take up the post shouldn't be a problem.

The rest depends on how these guys expand the team bit by bit."

As he spoke,

Blind Man Bei began to display his charlatanistic qualities,

spreading his arms,

and describing to Zheng Fan in an extremely inflammatory tone:

"Lord, imagine, at this moment, in front of you, are not five hundred barbarians, but one hundred thousand iron cavalry in fine armor!

They are all kneeling before you, shouting 'Long live the Lord!' in unison!

What an exhilarating feeling that would be!"

Zheng Fan closed his eyes and began to imagine, then his legs felt a little weak.

No, no,

I can't stay with this big swindler all the time, or I'll really be swindled into being crippled.

Armor and warhorses would be distributed tomorrow.

So, gradually, as batch after batch of bathed barbarians came out, the field was filled with more than five hundred people.

The ground was a little damp, all from their drool.

"When are we eating?" Zheng Fan asked.

These guys were obviously starving, and the food had obviously been prepared long ago.

"Wait a little longer," Blind Man Bei said.

"Waiting for what?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Waiting for the first lesson."

Finally, someone couldn't hold back anymore!

In the ranks, two barbarians exchanged glances and carefully approached the steamer of steamed buns, reaching out to grab a bun.

"Buzz!"

A silver flash of a knife.

One barbarian watched as the steamed bun fell to the ground, along with his left hand that was holding the bun. Before he could scream, the blade pierced his chest and was quickly pulled out.

The other barbarian holding the steamed bun froze for a moment, but in the next moment, a hand grabbed his neck and threw him out.

Liang Cheng walked out of the barbarian ranks, holding a knife still dripping with blood in one hand.

"What is Liang Cheng saying?" Zheng Fan asked the blind man beside him.

Liang Cheng had learned the barbarian language on this trip to the desert, and he was now lecturing these barbarians in the barbarian language.

"Actually, the lord should have guessed it, this is killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, establishing the rules."

Zheng Fan was a little amused. Having experienced so much, he wouldn't be frightened by the bloody scene before him, but he felt that Blind Man Bei and Liang Cheng's method of entrapment,

was a little awkward.

But Zheng Fan knew that doing so was the right thing.

The Sixth Prince had said: The Yi and Di (derogatory terms for non-Han Chinese peoples) are like beasts; they fear power but do not appreciate kindness.

The most direct way to make them obey was to make them fear him, fear him to the bone.

Otherwise, with the barbarians' nature, if he really took them to the south and they relapsed into harming the local people, he Zheng Fan would have to take responsibility for them. What a pointless endeavor?

Liang Cheng was lecturing below,

Suddenly,

he turned his head,

and pointed to Zheng Fan standing on the city wall,

"Swish!"

All the barbarians collectively raised their heads and looked at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan was a little dumbfounded by the sight. He vaguely guessed that Liang Cheng was saying that he was their true master.

Taking a deep breath,

Zheng Fan forced himself to remain calm,

and put his hands behind his back.

Immediately afterwards,

Liang Cheng pointed the blade at the barbarian he had thrown out earlier.

At this time,

Blind Man Bei, standing beside Zheng Fan, slowly closed his eyes, which made little difference whether they were open or closed.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

That barbarian held his head in his hands and let out an extremely shrill scream, blood flowing from all seven orifices.

The barbarians below were momentarily stunned.

Slowly,

as that barbarian was being mentally tortured,

one by one, the barbarians began to kneel down to Zheng Fan,

They began to raise their hands, then place them on the ground, slamming their heads against the ground, shouting something.

Finally, that barbarian was tortured to death in an extremely tragic way.

Blind Man Bei reopened his eyes, which made little difference whether they were open or closed,

and let out a soft sigh.

"What are they shouting?" Zheng Fan asked.

Blind Man Bei's mouth revealed a smile,

and slowly uttered two words:

"Devil King."

A surge of qi and blood began to rush to Zheng Fan's head.

This feeling was like the first time smoking, and also like the first time being bombed.

In short,

his head had a strong feeling of dizziness.

Zheng Fan restrained the trembling in his voice,

nodded slightly,

and said:

"I like this title."

Blind Man Bei took a step back,

and said:

"We like it too."

Just then,

Xue San came,

still dragging a barbarian with many holes stabbed in his body.

This barbarian still had a breath of life left, leaving a trail of blood on the ground as he was dragged.

"Jiangshi (a term used by Xue San to refer to Jiang He), translate for me, this guy actually tried to take advantage of the chaos to assault the women in our residence, hehe, I caught him."

Zheng Fan heard this and looked at the blind man beside him, asking:

"Is this also arranged?"

Blind Man Bei shook his head and said, "This scene wasn't in the script."

"So it's real?"

"It should be."

This time, there was no slight sense of guilt from entrapment,

Zheng Fan simply and decisively said:

"He should be killed."

From today onwards,

eating my food,

wearing my clothes,

using my things,

and still wanting to touch the women in my family?

You must be dreaming!

Liang Cheng began to tell the more than five hundred barbarians present what crime the barbarian in Xue San's hand had committed. The barbarians all looked at that "brother" with very sympathetic eyes.

The way the previous brother had died was too shocking and bizarre, giving them too great a shock.

The next scene,

was a little unsuitable for children.

Xue San fully explained what a devil was supposed to do.

He did it in front of many barbarians, step by step,

quickly and clearly,

in front of everyone,

handled these people, completed this work of art.

Zheng Fan was still standing above, watching the whole thing. He had originally wanted to eat a late-night snack later, but now he almost couldn't help but vomit up the dinner he had eaten earlier.

Fortunately, Devil King Zheng endured it. Image, image, image…

But many of the barbarians below were so frightened that they cried or vomited.

They were not afraid of killing, and not even afraid of being killed,

But this way of killing really made them fear to the bone.

Originally,

under the persuasion of Liang Cheng and A Ming,

they thought they had come to paradise, found hope.

But they suddenly realized,

that they,

had actually fallen into a devil's lair!

Little Wolf Cub walked out of the barbarians,

respectfully kneeling towards Zheng Fan,

The barbarians behind him also knelt down again together.

They began to repeat the words in the barbarian language that represented "Devil King" before,

This time,

they were especially neat,

This time,

they were also especially submissive.

Along with the shouts of "Devil King",

Xue San also knelt down, Si Niang also knelt down, Liang Cheng, A Ming, and Fan Li also knelt down.

Blind Man Bei, who was beside Zheng Fan, also took two steps back and knelt on one knee.

The whole audience,

only Zheng Fan was standing.

Zheng Fan closed his eyes slightly,

enjoying this feeling at this time,

to be honest,

some things,

are really addictive,

Once you've experienced it once, you really can't go back, you really can't go back.

He finally,

walked down this path,

the path that this group of devils under his command wanted him to walk.

But at the same time, wasn't this the path that he himself wanted to walk?

Power over life and death,

The Descent of Magic upon the world!

Blind Man Bei then said softly:

"Lord, you should add a narration at this time."

Zheng Fan let out a soft "Huh?"

"Such as, the so-and-so army that will make the Qian, Jin, Chu, and Yan Kingdoms tremble in the future, was officially established tonight."

"So-and-so army?"

"This subordinate hasn't thought of it yet." Blind Man Bei was very honest. "But I always feel that if this were a TV series or a novel or comic, there should be such a narration at this time."

"I personally don't like this kind of author's self-righteous spoiler method."

"The lord is wise."

"These guys, were they all selected from the penal colony tribes?"

"They can be considered the elite among the barbarian soldiers." Blind Man Bei replied.

"I'm really curious what kind of reaction the Qian people, who have always looked down on the Yan people, will have when facing this group of Yan Kingdom losers."

Blind Man Bei revealed the exclusive smile of an old schemer,

and said:

"Lord, we are also very much looking forward to it."

…………

Because the scene at night was too unsuitable for children and nauseating, Zheng Fan had no interest in accompanying Si Niang to bed early tonight.

The next morning,

Zheng Fan woke up and was washing up,

While washing up, he could still hear the sounds of training outside.

Obviously, Liang Cheng had begun to train these barbarians.

At this time,

Blind Man Bei walked over with a letter in his hand,

"Lord, this is a letter from Xu Wenzu to you."

"Read it."

Zheng Fan took the hot towel from Si Niang and began to wipe his face.

"To my brother Zheng Fan, it has been like three autumns since we last met……"

"Read the important parts."

Blind Man Bei nodded,

and said:

"The important part is at the end, that the lord's transfer order has been delivered to Tiger Head City."

"Oh? Where is it?"

"Cui Liu Fort Garrison, Silverwave Prefecture."