Chapter 1 The Silver Wave

Silver Wave Commandery was located in the southernmost part of Great Yan, bordering Jin to one side and Qian to the other.

A hundred years ago, Silver Wave Commandery was actually called Yin Lang Commandery.

It was named after the first prime minister after the founding of the Yan Kingdom. Because of his outstanding contributions in helping Yan Taizu establish the country and govern it, his hometown commandery was named after him.

Just as it was named after a person, so too could it be renamed because of one.

This renaming was related to the first Zhenbei Marquis (Marquis who guards the North).

A hundred years ago, when the desert barbarians, under the call of the royal court, engaged in a decisive battle with Great Yan, the new emperor of Qian personally led an army of 500,000 northward, and the Yan Kingdom faced the danger of being attacked from both sides.

What followed was the well-known battle in which the first Zhenbei Marquis defeated 500,000 with 30,000.

That day, after defeating the Qian army,

the first Zhenbei Marquis wrote a poem:

"I wave my whip and urge my horse through silver waves,
Enjoying the clear stream and peach blossoms along the way."

Here, the silver waves refer to the Qian army's complete collapse and retreat, leaving corpses piled up on the roads of Silver Wave Commandery. The armor worn by the Qian soldiers reflected the sunlight, resembling rolling silver waves.

The second line refers to the leisure of the pursuit, as if it was not a war or a battle, but a casual stroll to admire the peach blossoms.

Whether the Zhenbei Marquis tactically respected his opponents is unknown to later generations, but the Qian army was utterly defeated, and its military fortune was broken from that point onward.

These two lines of poetry can be said to have fully expressed the first Zhenbei Marquis's strategic contempt for the Qian army.

In addition, the first Zhenbei Marquis was originally from the "Yin Lang Commandery", a true southerner of the Yan Kingdom.

Therefore, Yin Lang Commandery was simply renamed Silver Wave Commandery.

However, in official documents between Qian and the Yan Kingdom, whenever Silver Wave Commandery was mentioned, the name "Yin Lang" was used instead.

The two words "Silver Wave" were simply too irritating to the Qian people. Every time they saw the name, they would subconsciously think of the poem by the first Zhenbei Marquis;

Then they would think of the disastrous defeat a century ago, and the tragic scene of their soldiers lying dead across the fields…

Seventy percent of Qian's border troops were used to defend against the Yan Kingdom, while the remaining thirty percent were distributed along the borders with Jin and Chu.

The Yan Kingdom, on the other hand, stationed 300,000 of its most elite Zhenbei Army cavalry in the north to deter the barbarians, while establishing only a border town, South Gazing City, on its southern border.

Emerald Willow Fort was a link in the defense chain centered on South Gazing City. There were eight other forts like Emerald Willow Fort.

Compared to the Qian's strict defenses, the Yan Kingdom seemed much more perfunctory.

There was no helping it. A century of accumulated prestige, a psychological advantage, and strong confidence were all in play. Perhaps this series of defenses, including South Gazing City and Emerald Willow Fort, were more to save face for the Qian people.

After all, the area from Silver Wave Commandery to Heavenly Achievement Commandery, the capital of the Yan Kingdom, was completely flat.

Once something happened in Silver Wave Commandery, the Yan Kingdom's iron cavalry could arrive in an instant.

For a hundred years, countless Yan men had dreamed of retracing the glorious path of the first Zhenbei Marquis and being granted a marquisate and becoming a prime minister!

Unfortunately, Qian never gave them the opportunity.

The name Emerald Willow Fort was also said to be derived from the first Zhenbei Marquis.

Legend has it that when the fort was built, the first Zhenbei Marquis planted a willow branch here.

At the time, the first Zhenbei Marquis was ambitious, thinking that by the time this willow branch grew into an emerald willow, he would have already led his army to conquer the capital of Qian.

Unfortunately, fate played tricks on him. Because of the urgent situation in the north, the Yan Kingdom could not transfer more troops to the first Zhenbei Marquis from the front line of the decisive battle with the barbarians.

The first Zhenbei Marquis had to lead his troops to conquer the three northern commanderies of Qian, absorb the population and wealth, and return to his country. Later, for the sake of checks and balances, the first Zhenbei Marquis, a southerner, was enfeoffed in the north and could never fulfill his wish to conquer Qian.

"I say, there are so many willow trees here, which one did the first Zhenbei Marquis plant?"

Zheng Fan, riding on his horse, asked the people around him.

"Is milord very interested in this?" Si Niang (Fourth Sister), riding alongside Zheng Fan and disguised, asked.

"What if the first Zhenbei Marquis buried some treasure under that willow tree, like, say, the Zhenbei Testament?"

"That's easy. Milord, you can issue an order and have Blind Man use his spiritual power to explore this willow forest. He can search for a month without eating, drinking, or sleeping, and he'll probably find it."

Blind Man Bei, who was nearby, coughed subconsciously, interrupting Zheng Fan and Si Niang's unreliable conversation, and pointed ahead,

saying:

"Milord, Emerald Willow Fort is just ahead."

"Not easy, finally arrived. Order, speed up, rest in the fort before sunset!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Zheng Fan spurred his horse forward,

and Liang Cheng waved his hand to signal the more than five hundred barbarian cavalrymen wearing armor identical to that of the Zhenbei Army to accelerate as well.

In an instant,

hooves thundered in the willow forest, and dust flew everywhere.

However, as soon as they rode out of the willow forest, Zheng Fan had to order them to slow down again.

As soon as they left the forest, the view opened up, and there was no desolation of a border fortress at all, but instead endless fields of fertile land.

There were even many farmers, men and women, working in the fields. Seeing so many cavalrymen suddenly appear, they couldn't help but put down their work and curiously sized up the newcomers.

Zheng Fan couldn't help but turn his head to look at Blind Man behind him, and asked:

"Blind Man, are you sure we didn't take the wrong road?"

This is the border?

This is the border?

Is this really the border?

It was said that border areas could not engage in large-scale farming, but the fertile land and the ruddy complexions of the farmers here…

The harsh, cold land of Northern Sealing Commandery naturally could not compare, but even the lives and scenery of the people in the Tiger Might and Three Rock Commanderies, the heartland of the Yan Kingdom that they had passed on the way, or even Heavenly Achievement Commandery, the capital commandery of Great Yan, were not as prosperous as what they saw before them?

"Milord, we definitely didn't take the wrong road." Blind Man Bei replied.

Alright, if the human radar said they didn't take the wrong road, Zheng Fan would believe it for now.

Immediately, Zheng Fan could only order:

"Control your horses' speed! Anyone whose warhorse tramples the crops will be executed without pardon!"

After Zheng Fan gave the order,

Si Niang reached out to A Ming,

who asked in confusion:

"What?"

"Give me your nail clippers first."

"What for?"

"I might need to cut milord's hair later."

A Ming was a little puzzled at first, but then he understood and exchanged a smile with Si Niang, but he didn't give her the nail clippers.

Traveling on the road was also a way of training the troops.

After the first "Demon Cave" experience, these barbarians' fear of Zheng Fan could be said to be engraved in their bones. In addition, Liang Cheng was skilled in training troops, and Blind Man Bei provided ideological and political education every night after camping, leading the barbarian soldiers to pour out their tragic experiences of being squeezed out and suppressed by the larger tribes and nobles in the desert, and of having their relatives detained and used as expendable tribal members, or cannon fodder. Every night, the camp was filled with crying.

In short, this team of five hundred cavalry had been integrated, and since these barbarians were already skilled in horsemanship and archery, they could be said to be a truly elite force.

With Zheng Fan's order, the cavalry team began to advance slowly on the road.

The nearby farmers were not afraid of strangers, and some even took the initiative to come over to watch the fun. Of course, there was no scene of the army and the people being as close as fish and water, with people rushing to deliver food and drinks.

This couldn't help but make Zheng Fan feel a little disappointed, thinking that the next time he led troops on a march, he should notify Blind Man in advance to arrange for some hired actors?

These civilians weren't afraid of the soldiers, and they were looked at like monkeys being watched.

Moreover, because most of Zheng Fan's troops were barbarians, their appearance was quite different from that of the Yan people, which further aroused the curiosity of the local civilians.

After traveling for a few miles, the entire nearby village heard the news and came to see the spectacle, and the already narrow road became even more crowded.

The history of wars between the Yan and the barbarians was very long, but in the past hundred years, due to the Zhenbei Marquisate, the barbarians had been in a state of passive beatings. The barbarians were no longer able to kill their way into the Yan Kingdom's hinterland and startle the entire Yan territory with beacon fires everywhere.

Therefore, the local civilians had no resentment towards the barbarians.

On weekdays, they had seen many barbarian merchant caravans, and there were often barbarian slaves in the Yan Kingdom.

However, it was indeed the first time they had seen barbarians wearing standard Yan Kingdom military armor.

When they took them from the north to the south for their assignment, it also caused some disturbances, but such things as incorporating barbarians into the army were not uncommon in the Yan Kingdom. The Zhenbei Marquisate even raised four tribes that had surrendered, oh, now there were only three left.

Moreover, perhaps it was the strong national self-esteem created by the Yan people's unparalleled military strength over the past hundred years that made them not feel that there was anything wrong with using barbarians as soldiers, nor did they feel that there was anything to be afraid of.

This made Zheng Fan feel that it was similar to the Tang Dynasty in another world.

The Tang people were also too proud, so they could absorb foreign people into their system and absorb the elites of foreign people for their own use.

If you look through the history books of the Tang Dynasty, you will find that there were simply too many Tang army generals with names that were obviously from foreign ethnic groups.

Of course, when your country is prosperous, it doesn't matter, but when your country is weak, the saying "Those who are not of my race must have different intentions" will be verified.

The day before yesterday, when Zheng Fan was drinking with Blind Man Bei, he joked about who knows when Great Yan would produce an An Lushan.

Then,

Blind Man Bei looked at him with his white eyes,

looked at him,

think about it carefully;

he didn't know if Great Yan would produce an An Lushan, but Great Yan had already produced you.

An Lushan was a Sogdian, and you, Zheng Fan, aren't even from this world…

"Make way!"

In order to allow the team to move forward, Zheng Fan had to ask his barbarian soldiers to clear the way.

The folk customs of Yan were indeed tough, but they weren't full of idiots, and they wouldn't go so far as to fight with soldiers just to watch a show.

Finally,

after traveling a short distance for about two hours, Zheng Fan finally led his troops to his assigned post - Emerald Willow Fort.

Then,

Zheng Fan felt that he was blind.

A fort was not a city, Zheng Fan knew this. In fact, it was more like a fortified village of the kind found in Northern Sealing Commandery. They came in all sizes, but were more directly under the official control than fortified villages.

The fort in front of Zheng Fan,

if you could still call it a fort…

Its area was not small, at least, you could tell that it used to be not small, enough to easily accommodate thousands of soldiers fighting inside without feeling crowded.

But now,

its outer walls had collapsed for who knows how many years,

and moss had grown all over the ruins.

When he got closer, Zheng Fan even saw a few speckled chickens running out of it,

"Cluck, cluck…"

Strutting in front of Zheng Fan and his barbarian soldiers, as if declaring their sovereignty!

This time, even Blind Man Bei didn't know what to say.

After working so hard to get transferred from the north to the south,

who would have thought,

that he would inherit a chicken coop?

Fan Li said with a smile:

"We can eat eggs every day in the future."

Zheng Fan took a deep breath. He felt like he was meeting someone he had been dating online, and the Zhi Ling sister he saw online turned out to be Ru Hua in person…

"Who is it?"

At this time, an old man came out of the chicken farm.

The old man was wearing a worn-out leather armor and holding a pottery jar in his hand, scattering chicken feed as he walked out.

When he saw Zheng Fan and the dark mass of barbarian soldiers behind him,

the old man was stunned for a moment,

then he steadied himself,

held up the broken pottery jar,

pointed at Zheng Fan and scolded:

"Who goes there!"

Hey,

you have to say,

although this old man was old, when he got serious, he really had the aura of a "veteran who never dies."

It's just that although this was a border area, it hadn't fallen, and this old soldier wasn't a hero isolated beyond the borders.

Zheng Fan exhaled, took two steps forward, and took out his identity token,

saying:

"Great Yan Emerald Willow Fort Garrison, Zheng Fan!"

The old man first leaned in to look at the token, and after confirming that it was correct, he took a few steps back and knelt down to Zheng Fan:

"This humble subordinate greets milord!"

"Who are you?"

"This subordinate is Emerald Willow Fort Squad Leader, Tie Sanzhu (Iron Three Pillars)."

Zheng Fan put away his token and pointed to Emerald Willow Fort in front of him, asking:

"How did Emerald Willow Fort become like this?"

"Milord, Emerald Willow Fort has been abandoned for decades."

…………

It was night,

a little cold,

and the air was filled with the sour smell of years of chicken manure,

in short, it was very shabby.

Zheng Fan had originally thought of building a bathhouse of his own in his Emerald Willow Fort.

But now, good lord, was he supposed to build the bathhouse in the chicken coop?

Was he supposed to soak in the bath while watching roosters adding ingredients for him?

The barbarian soldiers built tents around Emerald Willow Fort,

while Liang Cheng and Fan Li first carried a coffin into the fort, found a room that was still relatively intact, and put the coffin down.

Along the way, they had encountered many checkpoints and had been asked many times why they were carrying a coffin with them when they were taking office.

Zheng Fan's answer was:

"Preparing to wrap my body in horsehide and die for my country."

The checkpoint guards were so moved that many senior officers even took the initiative to invite Zheng Fan to drink and become sworn brothers.

So, the atmosphere of Great Yan was still very simple and honest.

In fact, the coffin contained Sha Tuoqueshi.

Ding Hao, Xiao Yibo, and Hong Bazi were responsible for escorting the young lady and some valuables in the back, and did not follow the team.

Two chickens were being boiled in an iron pot, and Si Niang was sticking cornbread around the edge of the pot, making it a pot chicken.

"Milord, aren't you slapping this humble one in the face? Milord is taking office, how could this humble one not offer you two chickens?"

Old Man Tie walked over here with silver, shouting.

Zheng Fan didn't take Old Man Tie's silver,

but instead used an unquestionable tone,

pointed to the opposite side of him,

and said:

"Sit."

Old Man Tie hesitated for a moment, dared not refuse the silver again, and obediently sat down opposite Zheng Fan.

"How long has Emerald Willow Fort been abandoned?"

"Replying to milord, it's been almost thirty years."

"Why was it abandoned?"

Was the border defense of Great Yan so absurd and childish?

If he hadn't seen the scenery of Northern Sealing Commandery with his own eyes, Zheng Fan would have really thought that Great Yan had reached the end of its dynasty.

"Replying to milord, it was a decision made by the higher-ups to cut it down. The original soldiers of our Emerald Willow Fort have long been dismissed, and no money or food has been sent down.

This humble one has never started a family, and I have feelings for this place, so I've been living here all along."

"With the border defense so lax, do the officials above know about it?"

"They know, they definitely know. The other forts are similar to our Emerald Willow Fort, and there aren't many people left. This place is still considered good, because this humble one lives here, so I can maintain a brick frame or something. The local civilians have even dug up the stones from the other forts to build pigsties."

Hearing that it wasn't just Emerald Willow Fort that was like this, but all the forts were like this, Zheng Fan knew that the Great Yan officials were aware of this.

Zheng Fan couldn't help but ask:

"Aren't you afraid that the Qian people will attack?"

When Tie Sanzhu heard Zheng Fan's words,

tears immediately filled his eyes,

as if he had been stabbed in the deepest part of his heart,

and choked up:

"Milord, this humble one joined the army at the age of seventeen. In order to join the army, I even turned down the marriage that my family had arranged for me, just waiting for the day when I could make a meritorious service and bring glory to my ancestors!

Who knew,

who knew,

who knew!"

Tie Sanzhu stomped his foot, pointed to the south,

and gritted his teeth:

"This humble one has been waiting here since I was seventeen, waiting for forty years, and those damned Qian people just won't come over!

This humble one's life has been ruined by those damned Qian people!!!"

Blind Man Bei, who was sitting there eating oranges, heard Tie Sanzhu's words,

and quipped in a low voice:

"Another year of waiting for the royal army in the south, how many companies are left in the royal army."

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