Chapter 1 He Hit a Brothel
"Send the order, dismount and rest. No fires are allowed, and send out scouts."

Without setting up tents, at Zheng Fan's command, all the barbarian soldiers secured their warhorses and began to eat dry rations and drink water.

They were from the desert criminal tribes and were not pampered at all. In some ways, they could endure hardship even more than the Yan army.

Zheng Fan took out fried noodles from his warhorse's saddlebag, leaned against a tree, and ate them with water from his waterskin. Liang Cheng sat next to him.

"My lord, are we going to attack the fortress ahead later?"

"Now that we're here, we have to give it a try."

"Did you discuss this with Blind Man?"

"Yes." Zheng Fan nodded.

"Your subordinate doesn't believe it."

Zheng Fan smiled and asked, "Why?"

"If you and Blind Man had discussed it, you would have brought Xue San with you on this trip."

The fortress ahead stood there quietly. He only had four hundred barbarian cavalry under his command. A full-scale attack would definitely not work.

The reason they had stopped so far away to rest, and were not allowed to light fires, was to hide themselves and prevent being discovered by the fortress opposite. Once the signal fire was lit, the surrounding watchtowers and nearby garrisons would definitely be alerted.

So, if they were going to choose a sneak attack, how could he forget to bring the team's assassin if it was a pre-arranged plan?

"Yes."

Zheng Fan admitted it, put the last bit of fried noodles in his mouth, and took a sip of water.

"What we do today, before long, our infamy will come thick and fast. Maybe, it will attract the attention of the bigwigs in the court. Not to mention, the prime minister's alma mater was trampled by us, he will definitely know.

But infamy alone is not enough; we need to walk on two legs to be stable.

Anyway, the imperial court is already working on clearing Silver Wave County and reorganizing the border defense system. This is a sign that they are going to attack Qian.

Before the attack, they will definitely provoke and create some tension. I don't know who the people above will arrange this task to, but it doesn't matter, we'll just grab it.

I've discovered that since I woke up in this world, I don't have any outstanding abilities, except for one thing: grabbing credit. I'm especially talented at it."

"Although you explained it very thoroughly, your subordinate doesn't think that's the real reason."

"Heh, the most fundamental reason is that my hands are itching a bit."

"Yes."

Liang Cheng accepted that reason.

"Actually, I used to like playing strategy single-player games in my previous life. Do you know what kind of style I played those games in?"

"Reckless?"

Zheng Fan shook his head and replied, "Hoarding."

Zheng Fan handed the waterskin to Liang Cheng, and then put his hands in front of him.

Liang Cheng poured water from the waterskin onto Zheng Fan's hands.

Zheng Fan began to rub his hands.

"In the game, I like to stay in my old home and farm. If there's trade, I'll do trade; if there are tech points, I'll do tech. I don't like fighting in the early stages. After I finish farming, I'll just mass troops and steamroll.

But that's a game. Once I enter reality, once I have soldiers and a little property under my command, I feel restless in my heart.

It's like having a little money in your pocket. Reason tells you to save it to buy a house, a car, or give a bride price, but you can't help but go out and splurge that night.

To be honest, I carried a scapegoat at the academy today. Although I know it's very likely to let me enter that Jingnan Marquis's eyes, I'm still not very comfortable."

"So, you plan to vent your anger on the Qian people?"

"This is a strategic probe. In the way history books record it, it's almost like this: In the tenth year of Wu'an in Great Yan, Cui Liu Fortress defender Zheng Fan fired… oh no, let me start over;

In the autumn of the tenth year of Wu'an in Great Yan, Cui Liu Fortress defender Zheng Fan shot the first arrow of Yan's southward advance, marking the beginning of the Yan-Qian war.

Maybe, thousands of years later, this passage will be a test point in the history volume."

"My lord."

"Yes?"

"I want to say something insincerely."

"Speak."

"Doing this is still a bit abrupt and risky, and besides these barbarian soldiers, you only have me by your side."

"Then what's the truth?"

"I think it's very interesting."

Zheng Fan smiled and patted Liang Cheng on the shoulder.

He knew that he was already suffocating, and Liang Cheng, who had been training soldiers all the way, must be suffocating even more.

"It's okay, making trouble is our motto. Which time did Blind Man play it safe when he made plans?

This time, we're just going to probe. If we can sneak attack a fortress, we'll sneak attack one. If the defense is tight and the sneak attack fails, we'll run away immediately.

There's no reason to only allow him, Blind Man, to light the lamp, but not allow us to set fire."

"There are too many fortresses here, and the watchtowers are also very dense. We have to be careful when we attack later."

"Yes, you pick twenty people later. We'll sneak over first to see if we can pull out that nail."

"Your subordinate obeys."

…………

"Are you ready?" (Barbarian language)

"Ready." (Barbarian language)

Zheng Fan nodded with satisfaction. He and Liang Cheng had already taken off their armor, and the twenty barbarian soldiers who were selected to be the "reconnaissance company" were even more ruthless; they directly chose to go bare-chested.

The border between Yan and Qian was already considered a bitter and cold place in the north for the Qian people, but for the barbarians who had always lived in the desert, it even felt a little warm.

Barbarians have a lot of body hair. Even if these guys are naked, their bodies have large patches of hair, which look like they are wearing fur coats.

The rest of the barbarian soldiers had already wrapped the hooves of their warhorses, and their mouths were also muzzled. After the agreed time, they would immediately advance.

If the fortress had already been taken, they would be welcomed in. If they failed, their advance could also welcome Zheng Fan and others back.

This was also something that couldn't be helped. There were no walkie-talkies in this era. If you dared to stupidly hold up a torch and wave it on the fortress after succeeding, all the surrounding watchtowers would immediately release smoke.

As for learning to imitate animal calls, that's even more ridiculous. The distance is here. You have to learn to imitate a dinosaur call to notify the subordinates ambushing here.

"Let's go!"

After Zheng Fan finished speaking, he looked at Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng nodded. He walked in the front, and Zheng Fan followed behind him, completely imitating Liang Cheng's movement trajectory.

There was no way. Zheng Fan lacked practical experience, but he wanted to operate it himself, so he could only hug his thigh.

As for the remaining twenty barbarian soldiers who followed, they were natural hunters in the desert. After dispersing, they quickly began to touch the fortress while hiding their figures according to the rhythm.

Generally speaking, on these border watchtowers, whether it is day or night, the sentry tower at the top will not be empty. They are like "eagle eyes" and will monitor all movements within sight.

The Qian people were indeed frightened by the first-generation Zhenbei Marquis a hundred years ago, so they shrunk their heads and started playing with civil engineering on the border.

This dense watchtower system, if you talk about its real defensive effect, is actually not very high.

As long as the enemy's forces are sufficient, they can completely wait for your main force to arrive and fight while slowly pulling out the nails you have planted here one by one.

But the key problem is that the most elite Zhenbei Army of Yan has been responsible for suppressing the barbarians on the edge of the desert for a hundred years, and the Yan state is limited by the gate valve system and cannot mobilize forces to carry out foreign expansion.

And this kind of watchtower system is very ideal for the defense of small troops, so gradually, the Yan state no longer sent small troops south to graze.

Later, due to the decline of the barbarian royal court and the opening of the east-west Silk Road, the upper echelons of the Yan state, which obtained a stable source of wealth from commercial development, slowly acquiesced in Silver Wave County becoming a trade transfer station.

The pattern of Silver Wave County as the Little Jiangnan of Great Yan also came from this.

Originally, the quiet time might have been maintained for a longer time, and the people on both sides of the border could have spent a more stable and peaceful life, and the white dove of peace would have continued to hover in the sky of Yan and Qian for a long time.

But all of this is likely to be broken by Zheng Fan's arrival tonight.

Zheng Fan had also thought about what kind of plot development it would be if he and his seven subordinates woke up in the territory of Qian.

Perhaps, he would have to practice calligraphy first, and then, under the packaging of Blind Man Bei and Si Niang and others, become the number one talent in Jiangnan, and then marry a princess and embark on the peak of his life, embarking on the basic route of a traditional transmigrator.

Maybe, he would also have the opportunity to write a large number of border poems and even have the opportunity to become a Confucian general, leading the Qian army to march north to Yan.

Shouting: A hundred years of national hatred, the sea is hard to calm!

In short, during the process of groping forward, Zheng Fan's body was firmly following Liang Cheng's rhythm in advancing, but his brain had diverged too far, too far.

"We're here."

Liang Cheng's words pulled Zheng Fan back from his daydreams.

Raising his head, the walls of the fortress were right in front of him. The scenery, poems, songs, and feather fans that had just been swirling in his mind all dissipated with the wind at this moment.

Shatu Queishi once shouted in front of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion: I am a barbarian from the desert;

Then, he, who had been labeled a Yan barbarian by the Qian people, should also do what a barbarian should do.

The rest of the barbarian soldiers were also very fast. In fact, because Liang Cheng had to cooperate with Zheng Fan's speed as a rookie, when the two of them sneaked to the corner of the fortress wall, the barbarian soldiers who had come with them had been waiting for a while.

It was a pity that they couldn't smoke here, otherwise there should be three more cigarette butts at their feet.

Everyone bit the knife in their mouth, and then began to climb!

Without吊索, or other climbing tools, everyone just used their hands and feet and began to climb the wall in the most primitive way!

At this moment, Zheng Fan regretted not bringing Xue San and the others.

With Xue San, it would definitely be easier to climb up.

Even Blind Man, relying on his mental power, could go up quickly.

But there was no way, he had to pay for his impulsiveness.

Fortunately, this fortress was not a big city. First of all, it was not particularly high, and secondly, its construction technology was not reliable. It was not built with the goal of "never falling" from the beginning, and it had experienced a hundred years of wind and frost. There were too many places on the walls with potholes for climbing and borrowing strength.

The barbarian soldiers were agile, and Zheng Fan steadily moved upward relying on the operation of the qi and blood in his body.

Liang Cheng was the fastest because he was using his fingernails to directly insert his hard fingernails into the gaps in the wall to borrow strength. His feet didn't even need to move, like he was playing on a single bar.

He was going to be the first one to go up and solve the one who was watching the wind on top first!

Finally, Zheng Fan saw Liang Cheng on top turn over and go up first.

The others also began to accelerate at this time, even at the expense of making a little more noise because of it.

Finally, Zheng Fan climbed up. The moment he poked his head out, he saw Liang Cheng and several other barbarian soldiers squatting there, and his heart immediately settled down. He turned over and came up.

However, what surprised Zheng Fan was that he didn't see a corpse at this sentry post.

Liang Cheng shook his head at Zheng Fan, indicating that there was no one here originally.

Did the night watchman go to squat in the latrine?

This luck was a little too good.

Everyone had come up, and everyone was holding the knife in their hands, lowering their bodies, and their breathing seemed cautious.

The first step, which was also the most difficult, had been completed.

Next, they were waiting for orders.

This fortress was not small. The reason for choosing this as a target was because it was the right size. It was estimated that it could house dozens of garrison soldiers.

Those small watchtowers that looked very small, with only a handful of garrison soldiers inside, were too little meat and easy to expose, so Zheng Fan didn't consider them at all.

Liang Cheng made a gesture and then began to grope towards the inside along the wall. The rest of the people were divided into two columns and followed Liang Cheng's rhythm slowly towards the inside, relying on the walls.

After exploring a little deeper, they heard some sounds, and they could also see some lights inside.

The smoke and fire were different. The guards in the fortress didn't have to eat dry rations every day, they could also make fires for cooking. The reason why wolf smoke is called wolf smoke is that it was originally burned with wolf dung for the best effect. Of course, using other animal dung or adding some sheep felt to promote it could also create a good effect.

Zheng Fan had been following behind Liang Cheng, so he could hear more clearly than the other barbarian soldiers.

Suddenly, Zheng Fan heard some disharmonious sounds, it was a woman's voice.

Zheng Fan reached out and patted Liang Cheng on the shoulder. Liang Cheng turned his head to look at Zheng Fan. Zheng Fan held a knife in one hand and held his chest with the other.

Liang Cheng nodded, indicating that he had also heard the woman's voice.

Can Qian garrison soldiers bring their families with them?

Zheng Fan really didn't know.

But soon, Zheng Fan discovered that there was more than one woman's voice inside, and there were also some men's laughter, as well as bragging sounds.

He couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, but he could hear the smugness in their words.

Life in the fortress was very harmonious, and everyone's relationship seemed to be very harmonious.

It's just that why didn't anyone arrange for someone to keep watch up there?

Liang Cheng began to continue to move forward. Zheng Fan and the twenty barbarian soldiers followed behind. Everyone carefully went down the stairs. After everyone went down the stairs and came to the real inside of the fortress, Liang Cheng signaled the barbarian soldiers not to move first, and he and Zheng Fan would continue to explore separately to see the situation.

Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng looked at each other.

Zheng Fan looked puzzled.

Liang Cheng shook his head.

Obviously, he didn't understand either.

Even he, who had extremely rich experience in leading troops, couldn't figure out what tricks this Qian border fortress was playing.

Liang Cheng made a gesture to Zheng Fan, meaning that at the corner ahead, he would go to the right, and Zheng Fan would go to the left.

Zheng Fan nodded, indicating that he understood.

The two acted together. After passing the corner, they stuck to the walls on the left and right.

Zheng Fan bit the tip of his tongue.

Fuck, what time is it, what place is it, what is he thinking about!

"Creak!"

Just then, the wooden door on the side of the wall that Zheng Fan was sticking to was opened.

Zheng Fan's heart jumped into his throat, and the blade quickly lowered.

The person inside came out. He was a thin, tall man wearing leather armor, about forty years old, with a mouthful of yellow teeth:

"I said brother, you have to line up…"

"Pfft!"

Zheng Fan didn't hesitate and stabbed the other party in the heart with one knife.

Liang Cheng, after seeing what happened on Zheng Fan's side, immediately let out a low shout to signal the barbarian soldiers behind him, and at the same time, he rushed inside with his knife.

Zheng Fan had just pulled the knife out of this guy when more than twenty barbarian soldiers rushed past him.

Immediately afterward, there was a scream inside, both male and female, but there was no sound of weapons colliding or shouting.

When everything was over, a somewhat incredulous Zheng Fan sat on a chair that the barbarian soldiers had moved for him, with a basin of charcoal burning in front of him.

Seven or eight women who only had time to wrap some rags around their bodies huddled in the corner, and there were also more than ten naked men kneeling on the ground.

In addition, there were also more than ten men wearing clothes, kneeling on the other side.

On the ground, there were four corpses.

One was the guy Zheng Fan had cut down at the beginning who dared to remind him not to cut in line.

The other three were the three that Liang Cheng rushed in and killed when he saw people.

Then, Liang Cheng discovered that he didn't need to kill anymore. When the barbarian soldiers followed in, they quickly controlled the situation here.

A guy who seemed to be the head was pulled out by Liang Cheng and thrown in front of Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan bent down slightly, propping his knife on one hand and touching his chin with the other.

He asked: "Who are you?"

"I… I am the fort chief here, my name is… Zhao Changgui."

"Fort chief?" Zheng Fan pointed to the women in the corner and asked, "What are these?"

"This… this, the fort's food and pay are in short supply, and the brothers can't live anymore. I… I run this business here to earn a living, to earn a living…"

"Hiss…………"

After hearing these words, Zheng Fan only felt a tightness in his chest, as if all his previous actions of carefully leading his subordinates all the way to sneak in were like a fool acting for himself.

At the same time, Zheng Fan couldn't help but reach out and touch his face.

The future history books will probably write like this: In the autumn of the tenth year of Wu'an in Great Yan, Cui Liu Fortress defender Zheng Fan shot the first arrow of Yan's southward advance, marking the beginning of the Yan-Qian war.

Later, he had to add a sentence: He took down a brothel.