Chapter 1 Xu Wenzu's Return

Xu Wenzu returned to the post station with soldiers, but they weren't the garrison from Yin City. Instead, he brought troops from the Yin City southern suburban garrison.

The official system of the Yan Kingdom was somewhat chaotic, divided into substantive and nominal positions, plus a large number of symbolic official posts used to reward and appease local aristocratic families, giving a feeling of a hodgepodge.

However, the military system of the Yan Kingdom was very concise, divided into three major armies: the Northern Garrison Army under the jurisdiction of the Northern Marquisate, the Imperial Guards in the capital, and the Southern Pacification Army, which had always been stationed in Yinlang Prefecture.

These three armies could be called the Yan Kingdom's trump card field armies, the cornerstone of the nation.

The Northern Garrison Army was under the control of the Northern Marquisate and, to some extent, didn't even have to listen to the Yan Emperor's edicts, while the Imperial Guards and the Southern Pacification Army were the treasured possessions of successive Yan Emperors.

Below these three armies were the prefectural troops. The strength and equipment of the prefectural troops varied greatly from prefecture to prefecture. Tiancheng Prefecture, as the capital region, was commanded by the First Prince, and its troops were naturally superior in loyalty, equipment, and quality. As for the prefectural troops of other prefectures, there were some unspeakable and unclear factors in terms of quality and penetration by local magnates.

Below that were the purely local garrison troops, similar to the garrison of Tiger Head City and the defense soldiers of Cuiliu Fortress where Zheng Fan was now stationed in Yinlang Prefecture. To put it bluntly, more than 70% of them were controlled by local aristocratic families. For example, Zuo Jiqian's Jituibao was entirely supported by the Zuo family.

Logically speaking, Xu Wenzu had left earlier to call for reinforcements, and he should have called the Yin City garrison closest to the post station. But as it turned out, the Yin City garrison didn't come; instead, troops from the Yinlang Prefecture garrison outside Yin City arrived.

There was something very intriguing about this.

It was like the Hong Kong police in later Hong Kong movies: when the people arrived, the matter was already over, leaving only Xia Zibei and Xue San seriously injured on the ground.

Originally, Xu Wenzu had planned to send Xue San and Xia Zibei to nearby medical officers for treatment, but Xia Zibei refused, insisting on returning to Cuiliu Fortress.

Xu Wenzu agreed. He personally led two garrison captains and eight hundred garrison soldiers to Cuiliu Fortress, while Xia Zibei and Xue San were transported to Cuiliu Fortress in subsequent carriages.

By the time the carriages carrying Xia Zibei and Xue San arrived at Cuiliu Fortress, it was already dawn. As the carriages entered Cuiliu Fortress, they happened to encounter Xu Wenzu leading his troops away with a gloomy expression. Judging by the direction, they were heading straight for Nanwang City.

A Ming and Liang Cheng embraced each other, carrying the seriously injured Xia Zibei and Xue San from the carriages into the room.

After dismissing the others,

Si Niang used scissors to cut open all of Xia Zibei's upper body clothing, then took out a needle and thread to help Xia Zibei sew up the terrifying wound on his chest.

Liang Cheng was helping Xue San set his bones and fix them in place, while instructing Fan Li to go outside and get stone slabs.

A Ming wasn't idle either, recounting the incident to Xia Zibei.

Xia Zibei listened while thinking, and Si Niang, who was sewing up his wound, said with some concern:

"Don't think anymore; rest after I finish sewing."

Xia Zibei shook his head and said:

"I can't rest; at least, not yet. That Chen Daxia, was he also sent into the fortress?"

"Yes, according to the master's instructions, he has been given some medicine, but no other treatment has been done. The master has already fallen asleep; he was probably emptied out by the demon pill and is too exhausted."

Xia Zibei nodded and said:

"Although that Chen Daxia is a bit simple, a bit foolish, and a bit reckless, he's still a good and honest man. The master did the right thing."

"Did the right thing? Earlier, the master had A Ming help him walk in front of that person, and he was almost dragged down as a last-ditch effort before that person died."

Xia Zibei shook his head and said:

"How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den? How can you catch wolves without parting with your children? The master did this for a reason."

"Are you praising the master or comforting yourself?" A Ming asked.

"Both, I suppose." Xia Zibei paused, gritted his teeth. Obviously, Si Niang's stitching on him was still very painful, but Xia Zibei was still trying to rally his spirits and said, "A Ming, you go and contact the person left by the Sixth Prince near us to make contact. Have their spies in the Qian Kingdom商队 investigate what exactly happened to Chahe Village. Tell that person that this matter is very important and must be investigated as quickly as possible."

"Okay."

Xia Zibei opened his mouth again, enduring the intense pain, and continued:

"Give Chen Daxia the best medicine and transfer two young women from the mansion to serve him day and night, with good food and drink without interruption."

To give such treatment to a guy who almost killed him, ordinary people would really find it difficult to do.

"I understand," Si Niang responded.

The Little Red拂女she had trained were still too young to go out and perform tasks, but taking care of people was not a problem.

"A Cheng, tell the barbarian soldiers under your command that Sha Tuo Queshi and Chen Daxia are in our fortress, and absolutely no one is allowed to spread the word. You've already told Xu Wenzu that you drove Chen Daxia away. I don't think Xu Wenzu fully believed it, but he won't pursue it."

"Okay," Liang Cheng agreed.

"This matter is too strange. The forces involved are very large. Although the target is our master, it's likely that the master was just affected incidentally."

"Who would attack the master?" A Ming asked.

"How would I know? I'm not a god. Anyone is possible, but we still have to see how the situation develops next. I can't do it anymore; my energy is severely depleted. Later, people from the Secret Intelligence Division may come to check the situation. Si Niang, you deal with them.

I estimate that this storm will come in a few days."

"I understand; you rest. I've finished patching you up."

Xia Zibei lowered his head, looked at the wound on his chest that had been stitched up, and said with some dissatisfaction:

"Didn't I tell you to use beauty needles..."

"Such a big and thick wound can't be closed with other threads. It's okay; when the wound heals and forms a scar, it'll look quite mighty."

"San'er..."

Xue San lay there, silent.

"San'er..."

"沙琪玛?" (shā qí mǎ) [What's the matter?]

Xue San didn't want to speak; his teeth weren't leaking wind; it was a through draft.

"When you can get out of bed, you instruct Fan Li to make... make a prosthetic limb for Chen Daxia."

Xue San wasn't angry or puzzled.

He just said calmly:

"嗖掉." (sōu diào) [Got it.]

"For two bowls of noodles a few years ago, he can help someone run to the Yan Kingdom to take revenge.

We... we have to treat him doubly well, so that after he learns the truth, he'll feel ashamed and indignant, and not let down the master's groundwork at the risk of being killed."

"Understood," Si Niang nodded.

"Got it," A Ming agreed.

"Also, also, the most important thing is, after the truth is found out, before telling him, pay attention to..."

"Pay attention to what?" Liang Cheng asked.

"Pay attention to not letting this bastard be so ashamed that he directly commits suicide!"

………

After Zheng Fan was brought back to the fortress, he only had time to give a few instructions about Chen Daxia before falling into a coma.

This coma lasted for three days and three nights.

The last time he was possessed by a demon pill and killed the eighth-rank silver-armored guard, he didn't remain unconscious for so long. The reason why it lasted so long this time was because his already overdrawn body had also suffered serious injuries, and he had rushed back to Cuiliu Fortress with Chen Daxia overnight, constantly rallying his spirits to fight wits and courage.

After three days of coma, Zheng Fan woke up. Thanks to Si Niang's careful care, although his body still ached when he woke up, he was already in the recovery phase.

Xu Wenzu sent people from Nanwang City to Cuiliu Fortress every day to check on Zheng Fan's condition. When he learned that Zheng Fan had woken up, he personally came to Cuiliu Fortress the next day.

After dismissing the attendants, Xu Wenzu knelt directly in front of Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan didn't get out of bed to stop him. First, because he couldn't move easily, and second, because Zheng Fan knew that only by letting Xu Wenzu kneel properly once could Xu Wenzu put down the mustard in his heart from that night when he ran away first.

After Xu Wenzu left, Zheng Fan was pushed outside by Si Niang in a wheelchair to bask in the sun.

Also basking in the sun were Xia Zibei and Xue San, who were also sitting in wheelchairs.

Cuiliu Fortress could be renamed the Cripple Fortress.

The winter sun was always so comfortable, and Zheng Fan couldn't help but squint his eyes.

Then, Zheng Fan turned to look at Xia Zibei and Xue San.

Zheng Fan discovered that the size and dimensions of the three people's wheelchairs were actually very suitable, especially Xue San's, whose wheelchair was obviously a small size.

And both his and Xue San's wheelchairs had handles, which were convenient for you to turn to make the wheelchair move forward, but Xia Zibei's wheelchair didn't have them, because Xia Zibei could use telekinesis to propel the wheelchair forward.

"Who made these wheelchairs?" Zheng Fan asked.

So thoughtful.

Xia Zibei smiled helplessly and said:

"San'er made them."

Xue San, who was still leaking air when he spoke in his wheelchair, quickly looked at Zheng Fan with a look of pleading for credit and said:

"Master, does this wheelchair fit well?"

"It fits very well. Did you make this in advance?"

Xue San was also seriously injured and transported back; obviously, he couldn't have started making wheelchairs immediately after returning.

"Isn't it, Master? You've all been busy with things for the past month. It's just me; I'm too idle, so I thought, since I'm idle anyway, I might as well make seven wheelchairs according to the body size and habits of the seven of us."

"Thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome, Master. It's good as long as you feel comfortable."

Zheng Fan really didn't know how to praise Xue San. What was the difference between making wheelchairs in advance and making shrouds in advance? Wasn't this cursing his own people?

But from another point of view, everyone encounters danger and goes to fight too often on weekdays, so it's true that there's nothing wrong with preparing in advance to facilitate recuperation.

"Master, in the past few days, after things have been brewing, the storm has finally begun to rise."

Xia Zibei woke up on the second day and then began to analyze intelligence. As for the work of collecting intelligence, it still relied on the Sixth Prince's merchant team.

Building fortresses was only the first step. The Sixth Prince's "funding" was actually still continuous. Just the weapons and armor piled up in the fortress's warehouse were enough to easily pull up another five hundred men. However, Zheng Fan listened to Xia Zibei's suggestion and didn't rush to raise troops.

As for information sharing, in this era, there really was nothing more knowledgeable than being a merchant team. In fact, all countries universally inserted their own spies into merchant teams to gather information.

"Tell me about it."

Zheng Fan took a cup of tea from Si Niang and blew on it.

"Those who assassinated us that day were a group of people, but there were three components: Chen Daxia was one person, the group of assassins who rushed in first was one component, and that puppeteer came from the Tianji Pavilion of the Jin Kingdom. It's a department in the Jin Kingdom that specializes in creating objects and weapons of war for dignitaries."

"Hmm." Zheng Fan took a sip of tea. He had actually heard Chen Daxia say this when he was in the carriage that night.

"Because the previous magistrate and chief military officer of Nanwang City both died strangely, and in addition, the Southern Pacification Marquis led the Southern Pacification Army into Nanwang City on the day of the funeral, this move was indeed too presumptuous.

Moreover, to this day, the Southern Pacification Army has not moved its troops out of Nanwang City, and the Southern Pacification Marquis himself lives in Nanwang City.

Therefore, rumors are spreading outside that the Southern Pacification Marquis was worried that Xu Wenzu, who came from the north, was sent by the imperial court to Nanwang City as the chief military officer in order to restrict and restrain him. So, he did two things and didn't stop. He directly ordered people to intercept and kill him at the Yincheng post station."

"That's not right. The assassins shouted that they wanted to kill me."

"Xu Wenzu did report truthfully, but judging from the reactions of various parties, this was Xu Wenzu and the imperial court deliberately saying this in order to save face for the Southern Pacification Marquis. The fear was that at this juncture, with the imperial court already in opposition to the Northern Marquisate, they would also tear their faces with the Southern Pacification Marquis.

Therefore, even if Xu Wenzu's memorial and memorials from other channels all said that the target of the assassins was you, Master, all forces and feedback directly believed that it was Xu Wenzu who was to be killed."

"Oh, I see. It's just that I don't have enough clout, right?"

You don't have enough clout to even deserve to die.

A small fortress defender has the qualifications to be assassinated in such a fanfare?

"However, I've been in contact with the Southern Pacification Marquis twice. How do I put it? I don't think he's the kind of person who can do assassinations. If he wanted to deal with Xu Wenzu, he shouldn't use this method."

Zheng Fan had seen the Southern Pacification Marquis's arrogance. If this kind of person wanted to kill Xu Wenzu, what Zheng Fan envisioned in his mind was Xu Wenzu being ordered by the Southern Pacification Marquis to be shot directly under the city gate when he arrived at Nanwang City, and then having Xu Wenzu's flesh cut off to make jerky.

"That Tianji Pavilion puppeteer from the Jin Kingdom was taught by the Grand Director of the Jin Kingdom's Tianji Pavilion and has unlimited prospects, but he participated in this assassination and died in the Yan Kingdom.

Then, on the day the assassination occurred, it was the seventieth birthday of the Tian family's head, and the Jin Kingdom's envoy also went to congratulate him. On the congratulatory message sent, his son, Tian Wujing, was written as the Southern Pacification Prince of the Yan Kingdom instead of the Southern Pacification Marquis."

"Southern Pacification Prince?" Zheng Fan smiled, "Too deliberate."

According to the rules of the Great Yan, no one other than a prince could be conferred as a prince. As powerful as the Northern Marquisate was, it was still only a marquis, and a marquis was already the pinnacle of meritorious titles for non-imperial clans in the Great Yan.

"The Jin Kingdom's envoy's explanation was that the congratulatory message was written incorrectly, and the person who wrote the congratulatory message had been punished."

"Heh heh."

"There's also one more thing: the assassins who rushed into the first-class courtyard of the post station were government troops, soldiers of the Rear Battalion of the Southern Pacification Army."

"Rear Battalion?"

"It's like this, Master. The Southern Pacification Army has an actual strength of 50,000 soldiers, but it's still a bit too thin to guard the southern border of the Yan Kingdom with only 50,000 soldiers. Therefore, the Southern Pacification Army has its own Rear Battalion, which is usually scattered everywhere for training or acting as prefectural soldiers. In reality, they're the reserve force of the Southern Pacification Army.

Once a war breaks out, these people will be immediately reorganized into the Southern Pacification Army."

"Still too deliberate."

"After Xu Wenzu left the post station, he first went to the north gate of Yin City to knock on the door, but the north gate captain of Yin City refused to open the door and didn't let Xu Wenzu into the city. Xu Wenzu had no choice but to go to the garrison and call the garrison soldiers.

The Yin City north gate captain was once a personal soldier of the Southern Pacification Marquis and was released two years ago.

This captain committed suicide the next day without leaving a will."

"Tsk………"

"Master, yesterday Yang Taiwei, the three-sided governor of the Qian Kingdom, sent an official letter hoping to meet with the Southern Pacification Marquis once in order to solve the current friction problems on the border between the Yan and Qian Kingdoms, and hoped that Yinlang Prefecture could be as harmonious with the Qian Kingdom as before under the Southern Pacification Marquis's rule."

Zheng Fan drank the tea in his hand in one gulp and said:

"In this way, something that's fake is no different from something that's real."

"Yes, Master. Regardless of whether it's a conspiracy or an open plot, its purpose has been achieved. The help of the Jin Kingdom, the recognition of the Qian Kingdom, and the support of the Southern Pacification Army—all that's missing is a dragon robe."

Zheng Fan nodded.

This was no longer a question of whether the Yan Emperor Ji Runhao was still wise and tolerant, because when things had reached this point, it was infinitely close to being draped in a yellow robe.

The rise and fall of the world, for the royal family and the emperor, was a game where they played a game where losing meant the death of their entire family. Throughout history, there have been almost no royal families who could die peacefully. Even if you have abdicated, although you will nominally be given preferential treatment, the imperial lineage will inevitably end in extinction.

As for the ministers' families below, they actually still have the opportunity to shuffle the cards and start over. At worst, they can just change the card table and continue playing.

"I just don't know how the Southern Pacification Marquis will choose to respond," Zheng Fan said.

Xia Zibei nodded and echoed:

"The Tian family is already the number one maternal relative family, and the Tian family clan is also one of the great noble families. If they take advantage of this momentum and take advantage of the fact that the imperial court and the Northern Marquisate are confronting each other, even if they do nothing and say nothing, the Yan Emperor will inevitably have to pinch his nose and send up a princely title."

At this moment,

Liang Cheng walked in from outside, holding a letter in his hand,

"Master, the investigation results of Chahe Village in the Qian Kingdom are out. The merchant team's scouts rushed back."

"You look at it."

Zheng Fan pointed at Xia Zi.

Letting Xia Zi read the letter was the unique style of Cuiliu Fortress.

Liang Cheng handed the letter to Xia Zi. Xia Zi took the letter, didn't open it, just squeezed it with his hand, pondered for a moment, turned to face Zheng Fan, and said:

"Master, this matter is not difficult to investigate because many people participated."

"Say it."

"When a Qian Kingdom參將was leading troops to chase after you, Master, they went to Chahe Village to requisition supplies on the way, and a conflict broke out with the villagers of Chahe Village. The soldiers killed people."

"And then?"

"Then that參將simply did two things and didn't stop. He directly slaughtered Chahe Village."

"So, Chen Daxia is really an idiot? When he saw a village was gone, he directly thought that I slaughtered it, and didn't even know to investigate it himself?"

"After that參將slaughtered the village and looted it, he wrote a line on the archway at the entrance of the village.

The Cuiliu Fortress Defender of the Great Yan, Zheng Fan, was here!"