Chapter 1 "My Lord, I actually think it'd be pretty good to be a family servant; maybe I could even become the ultimate family servant."

Xue San joked.

Zheng Fan was too lazy to respond to Xue San's flippancy.

For ordinary people, becoming a servant in the Li family would be an offer hard to refuse. These servants weren't like those in ordinary wealthy families, responsible for chores and housework; they were private soldiers, enjoying the best provisions and inheriting their positions from their fathers, forming a group most loyal to the master, somewhat like the emperor's imperial guards.

It could be said that after entering that circle, enduring three to five years would make one a core member of the Li family.

And the Li family, according to information Xue San later gathered, was the largest family in the Northern Sealing Commandery. Their lineage wasn't particularly abundant, and their offspring weren't thriving, but they were a genuine family of meritorious military generals, inheriting the title of Marquis of the North Suppressor for generations, somewhat like the Mu family of the Ming Dynasty.

But how could Zheng Fan abandon his seven "subordinates" and run off to be a servant alone?

In this world, where he was unfamiliar with everything, only these seven "subordinates" could give him a sense of security.

Moreover, even from a personal development perspective, being his own boss was much better than working for someone else.

"Last night, when we were camping, I specifically went to the officers' tents to eavesdrop on their conversations."

"The woman's tent?" Liang Cheng asked, looking at Xue San.

Xue San immediately shook his head. "That old man with the sword never leaves her side. I'm not absolutely certain I can fool that old man yet, so I chose a mid-level officer's tent and heard quite a bit.

Right now, the Li family, that is, the North Suppressor Marquis's family, isn't having a good time.

Because the barbarians in the desert have completely splintered into a disorganized mess, there hasn't been a large-scale, war-level conflict between the two sides for almost a hundred years, at most only small skirmishes.

As a result, the status of the North Suppressor Marquis lineage has been declining. Actually, it's their own fault; they don't know how to play the game of nurturing bandits to emphasize their importance.

Then, after the current King of Yan ascended the throne, he has been working to weaken the fiefdoms, concentrating power, as if he plans to use troops against the Central Plains and dominate them.

The current North Suppressor Marquis was forced to go to the capital by three imperial edicts some time ago, nominally to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday, but in reality, he has been placed under house arrest in the capital.

Currently, the North Suppressor Army is also somewhat uneasy."

"So, this time, the Li family is putting on a demonstration?" Liang Cheng asked.

"More or less. The excuse is that two scouts from the North Suppressor Army went missing in the territory of that barbarian tribe, and the North Suppressor Army demanded to enter to search, but was refused.

Then the North Suppressor Marquis's mansion mobilized several thousand iron cavalry from the North Suppressor Army and directly charged over.

The leader of that barbarian tribe has some brains and wanted to intercept the grain supply line, but who knew that woman was even more ruthless, using several thousand civilians as bait and completely annihilating all the manpower that barbarian tribe had mobilized this time."

After listening, Liang Cheng nodded and said, "Deliberately provoking a war is to show the Yan Kingdom court that the Li family still has extremely strong control over the Northern Sealing Commandery and the North Suppressor Army, making the court hesitant to act against the North Suppressor Marquis in the capital.

Deliberately using civilians as bait, firstly, is to achieve a huge victory in a short period of time, so that this local war, which is destined to be unsustainable, can end quickly. After all, this war was initiated by the North Suppressor Marquis's mansion without authorization, and it is not the court's intention. The North Suppressor Marquis's mansion cannot afford to drag it out; the war must start quickly and end quickly, otherwise neither the court's accountability nor the gradual unity of the desert barbarians can be borne by the North Suppressor Marquis's mansion alone.

Secondly, it is also to smear themselves, to tarnish the Li family's reputation, so that the Emperor and ministers of the Yan Kingdom think that the Li family is just a family of unrefined men, reducing their vigilance.

Any family with rebellious intentions who wants to covet that position will at least try to create a benevolent and loving image before launching their rebellion to win people's hearts. The North Suppressor Marquis's mansion's use of thousands of civilians as bait will surely spread soon, and the people of Tiger Head City, including the entire Northern Sealing Commandery, will have a bad impression of the North Suppressor Marquis's mansion, but the court will be very happy."

"I didn't expect you to understand so much," Zheng Fan said, looking at Liang Cheng with some surprise.

In Zheng Fan's impression, Liang Cheng had always been a man of few words, but such a person had a clear understanding of these twists and turns.

"I have experienced similar things before. When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; this is an unchanging principle since ancient times.

Moreover, sometimes, even if you are completely loyal to the top, you cannot guarantee that your subordinates will be equally loyal."

"Like Zhao Kuangyin?" Zheng Fan said.

"More or less."

The three of them sat on the mound, chatting and watching the army advance in front of them.

Zheng Fan got up first, patted his pants, and said:

"Alright, we should go back too."

"Haha, when we get back, we have to think carefully about how to make good use of that three-hundred-man establishment," Xue San said, impatiently jumping onto his horse.

"Only the establishment, no money, food, or military equipment," Zheng Fan reminded Xue San.

The imperial court did issue an edict to protect the trade route, but it didn't really require the border towns to independently maintain and establish caravan guards; instead, it required the military leaders of the Northern Sealing Commandery, led by the Li family, to transfer troops to various towns to be responsible.

This was actually a means of weakening the other party's military strength. There were many cities similar to Tiger Head City on the border, three hundred here, three hundred there; when calculated, it was actually quite a lot.

Cutting flesh with a dull knife is sometimes more painful.

But obviously, the Li family didn't intend to obey. As a fiefdom, the current head of the family had already been placed under house arrest in the capital. If they continued to cripple themselves, they would truly become fish on the chopping block.

Therefore, that woman said to Zheng Fan that there was only the establishment, and no manpower, military food, or equipment to replenish it.

Liang Cheng also mounted his horse. Hearing Zheng Fan's words, a look of confidence appeared on his face, and he said:

"My Lord, there's no need to worry about money and people. If Blindman and Fourth Sister can't even handle this, they won't have the face to continue following you."

Xue San interjected at this time: "No, Fourth Sister is useful; Blindman can be thrown away."

After all, they had made contributions, so when they left the team to return to Tiger Head City, each of them was given a horse.

Oh, and a military order that the female general thought was useless,

The Tiger Head City caravan escort commandant, an establishment of three hundred men.

The sun was high in the sky,

Three riders galloped together,

Raising a string of dust.

………………

"Sisters, these on the table are all the travel expenses I've prepared for everyone. This is your indenture; look, I'm going to burn it now."

Feng Si Niang held a handful of indentures in her hand and threw them all into the brazier.

However, none of the "aunties" standing in front of her indicated that they wanted to leave, nor did any of them come forward to take the money.

The madam directly burned the indenture, so you don't need to pay a single cent for redemption, and she's even giving you travel expenses. Looking at brothels all over the world, such a good madam is truly one of a kind.

Of course, if it were a city in the interior, with such a good thing, the girls would probably be eager to swarm forward to take the money and leave, but this is Tiger Head City, and they are not delicate beauties.

Someone knelt down, and under the lead, everyone knelt down together.

"Madam, you can't abandon us."

"Yes, Madam, without your protection, where can we all go?"

"Madam, I don't want to leave."

In the past six months, since the opening of the inn, Si Niang had taken in many "aunties," all of whom were poor people who couldn't make a living.

Times are different now. In the world Zheng Fan was in before, in that country, if you have hands and feet, it's really hard to starve to death.

But now, it is a world where it is really easy to starve to death.

"What's wrong?" Si Niang's mouth revealed a cold smile. "What's with all this clinginess? What's going on?"

"Pa!"

Si Niang slapped the table.

The madam's aura was terrifying!

The girls under Si Niang knew that Si Niang treated her subordinates well. Compared to the old madams in other brothels who didn't treat human lives as important, Si Niang was simply a bodhisattva.

But Si Niang's control over them was also extremely strict, and she had them all well trained. Once Si Niang got angry, they really didn't dare to continue shouting, and had to lower their heads one by one.

"Each of you should have saved a lot of private money, right? Our price isn't expensive, but we're fast!

Day after day, you've all saved quite a bit, right?

I haven't been selfish in this regard; I've turned a blind eye to tips and the like.

Now it's good, I've burned your indentures and prepared your travel expenses for you.

Whether you continue to stay in Tiger Head City or go to other towns, whether you do small business or find an honest person to marry, or go out of my door and immediately drill into other brothels to continue this business, it's all up to you!

We, no one owes anyone anything, and don't cry in front of me. I taught you all your tricks; you can deceive guests, but you still want to deceive me?"

Since the words had been said to this extent, the "aunties" looked at each other, and slowly stood up one by one, began to walk forward to take the travel expenses, and after taking the travel expenses, kowtowed to Si Niang again.

One of the aunties took the travel expenses, kowtowed, and didn't rush to stand up, but asked:

"Madam, the shop was doing so well, why are you closing it?"

"Close? Who said I was closing the shop?"

"Then why are you doing this if you're not closing the shop?"

Feng Si Niang smiled,

Reaching out,

She pointed to her face,

And said:

"I'm going to upgrade my industry in the future. For the past six months, I've really had enough!"

The underlying meaning of this sentence can be translated into another sentence, a sentence that most homeroom teachers would say:

You are the worst class I have ever taught.

………………

"Red wine is still good."

Blindman Bei put down his glass, a look of enjoyment on his face.

"Save some, I didn't brew much."

A Ming, who had recovered, sat next to Blindman Bei.

It was raining in the yard, tapping on the loquat tree.

"In the future, we can brew more," Blindman Bei said.

A Ming turned his face and looked at Blindman Bei, "Is it starting?"

Blindman Bei stretched his back and said, "That depends on how well you've recovered."

"I'm fine."

The vampire's recovery speed is different from a man's speed, but they both represent a kind of pride.

"If you're fine, then we can start."

"Oh, my body is fine, but there are still two problems in other aspects."

"Speak."

"The first problem, the Lord hasn't returned yet, are you taking it upon yourself to start?"

"The Lord will return sooner or later. What we're doing is just insignificant. We still have this self-awareness and subjective initiative."

"Okay, the second problem, I told you the day before yesterday that my body had recovered, why didn't you say we should start the day before yesterday but chose today?"

"Because it's raining today."

"Huh?"

"I think rainy days are suitable for killing people."

A Ming stood up,

Looking at Blindman Bei, who was still sitting in the recliner with his eyes squinted,

After a while,

He opened his mouth and said:

"You're so saucy."