Chapter 1 Waking Up Early Is Not As Good As Waking Up at the Right Time

However, waking up early is not as good as waking up at the right time. Just as Zheng Fan was squatting by the well brushing his teeth, he saw two people riding horses towards him on the road in the distance.

"Heh~~~ Retreat!"

Zheng Fan reached out and took the hot towel Si Niang handed him, wiping his face as he stood up.

He said:

"They're here."

They were, indeed, here.

Two people, a man and a woman. The man was dressed in black and unremarkable, while the woman had a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth and a flirtatious look in her eyes. She looked to be in her early twenties.

However, what attracted Zheng Fan's attention the most were the woman's feet.

The other three kingdoms all had a custom of foot-binding for women. Whether it was Qian's scholars or Chu's nobles, they were all fascinated by the three-inch golden lotuses.

However, because the emperors of Great Yan had issued decrees prohibiting foot-binding, families of court and noble women who bound their feet were punished.

Therefore, although there were some who secretly imitated the practice among the people of Yan, it did not become a trend in Yan.

The woman was wearing a pair of green embroidered shoes.

But the style made Zheng Fan feel that they were somewhat similar to those worn by the assassin he saw in the mourning hall yesterday, the one who hid in the coffin and released the Storm of Pear Blossoms Needles.

Zheng Fan wasn't sure if it was the same person, but in fact, he didn't need to be sure.

"Du Juan, Zuo Ling (Left Commander) of the Silver Wave Commandery of the Secret Intelligence Division, is here on the Marquis's order to request Prefect Zheng to send troops to assist in capturing the rebellious thieves of the academy."

The woman named Du Juan was very polite, first showing Zheng Fan her identity token.

Then, she put away the token and clasped her hands in front of Zheng Fan in a salute:

"This subordinate greets Prefect Zheng."

"Miss Du is too polite."

Zheng Fan didn't put on airs. It was better to be polite to the people of the "Imperial Embroidered Uniform Guard."

He did find it very interesting in his heart. In all likelihood, yesterday's assassin and himself, who killed the assassin yesterday, were now standing face to face, exchanging polite greetings.

"Lord Zheng, I wonder when we can set off?"

"We can set off now."

"Good."

Zheng Fan glanced at Liang Cheng standing beside him, and Liang Cheng understood.

Soon, a team of four hundred barbarian cavalrymen was ready to depart.

"Miss Du, please lead the way."

"Lord Zheng is too polite."

Zheng Fan and Du Juan rode their horses in front, while the man who came with Du Juan followed behind with Liang Cheng, followed by nearly four hundred barbarian cavalrymen.

Cui Liu Fort had been abandoned for a long time, and there were many farmlands nearby, so the road conditions were not suitable for a large army to gallop through. Everyone controlled their horses' speed.

However, Blindman yesterday said that when Cui Liu Fort was being rebuilt, the road would also be widened and repaired. As for whether the road repairs would occupy the land of farmers, that was not taken into consideration, because a large part of the land near Cui Liu Fort originally belonged to Cui Liu Fort's military farms. After Cui Liu Fort was abandoned, the surrounding land was occupied by farmers.

So, in legal terms, these lands were originally state-owned.

"Lord Zheng, is Cui Liu Fort going to start construction?"

Du Juan had obviously noticed something.

"Miss Du can see for herself that the current fort is only suitable for raising chickens. If it's not renovated, people simply can't live in it."

"But this subordinate didn't see the memorial you submitted requesting the reconstruction of the fort in the documents. The other fort prefects have all submitted memorials to the court."

Zheng Fan's heart skipped a beat.

Oh dear, he had actually forgotten about this, and Blindman Bei had forgotten too.

Perhaps because they adhered too firmly to the principle of independence, self-reliance, and regeneration,

Zheng Fan and Blindman hadn't thought that repairing the fort required reporting to the court and requesting permission.

Zheng Fan had started his career by recruiting his own soldiers, and buying his own armor and warhorses. He was used to doing things on his own.

Of course, the most important reason was that Cui Liu Fort had been abandoned for too long. It was clear that the court didn't pay attention to it, so he felt that reporting to the court was unnecessary.

"This humble one did a little business in the north and saved up some savings. I thought that if I could solve the problem myself, I wouldn't trouble the imperial court."

"Lord Zheng is noble, this little girl admires you."

"You're too kind, Miss Du, you're too kind."

In fact, if Du Juan really wanted to investigate, Zheng Fan felt that she would most likely find out which merchant house these craftsmen were hired from and who handled the procurement and transportation of the materials.

But this was something that couldn't be hidden, and even though the Sixth Prince was generously providing him with assistance through the channels of the merchant house, even if it was discovered in the end, the Sixth Prince could probably explain it by saying that he had once saved his life and was now repaying the favor.

Anyway, the Sixth Prince was not a simple character. No matter how useless a prince he was, he was still of royal blood. He should have his own way of dealing with it, so Zheng Fan didn't bother to worry about it or cover it up for him.

After passing the Willow Forest, the road became wider, and Zheng Fan ordered the cavalry to speed up.

After riding for about three hours, the sun had just reached noon when the group arrived at the foot of a mountain.

The terrain of Yan was mainly plains, with few high mountains. Even if there were mountains, they seemed somewhat petite.

For example, Qingming Mountain (Green Cry Mountain) in front of them, named for the meaning of the green bird waiting to cry;

It was already considered a "famous mountain" in Silver Wave Commandery, but Zheng Fan estimated that the vertical height of the mountain was only a hundred meters or so.

There was a paifang (archway) at the entrance of the mountain, and under the paifang was a stone tablet with the words:

Huai Ya Academy (Harboring the Shore Academy).

Founded seventy years ago, the founder was Huai Ya Zi, who had studied in the three major countries of the East as a person of Yan, creating a great reputation in literature.

For the people of Yan, who were extremely self-conscious about culture, the feeling of excitement was no less than that of a provincial college entrance examination champion coming from their own mountain village.

Now, Huai Ya Zi was long gone, but the academy he founded was still thriving.

At the moment, the literary style of Yan, Silver Wave was the most prosperous, and the literary aura of Silver Wave, began with Huai Ya.

Outside the academy, there was a small village, somewhat like a slightly larger post station, with inns and restaurants.

When four hundred barbarian cavalrymen lined up here, they brought with them the whistling north wind blowing from the north.

Du Juan had been curiously observing the barbarian soldiers under Zheng Fan's command all the way. She was curious about the quality of these barbarian soldiers, and she was also curious about the extremely fine armor on these barbarian soldiers, and even the warhorses under the crotches of these barbarian soldiers were top-notch in Yan, a land with many horse farms!

In Du Juan's opinion, even the cavalry in the Jingnan Army was inferior to these barbarian soldiers in terms of equipment.

It should be known that the soldiers of these forts were essentially the same as the garrison soldiers of the cities in the Northern Sealing Commandery, somewhat similar to security regiments, but this Cui Liu Fort was quite different.

But she was curious, but she kept these questions in her heart and didn't ask them.

The midday sun shone on his body, warm and comfortable, baking the armor until it was a little hot.

Here, the mountains and rivers were beautiful, and Zheng Fan really had the urge to camp here and take a nap.

"Miss Du, what should we do next?"

Zheng Fan yawned and looked at Du Juan beside him.

Yesterday, Marquis Jingnan had made it very clear that he was only responsible for cooperating and... taking the blame.

The specific operation was to be decided by the people of the Secret Intelligence Division.

"Lord Zheng, please wait a moment."

Du Juan handed a document to the man behind her, who had been following behind. He dismounted and took the document from Du Juan's hand.

"Go, and tell the academy to hand over the people themselves."

"Understood."

The man walked towards the mountain gate.

Qingming Mountain was indeed not high, but the forest was dense. After the Secret Intelligence Division's subordinate entered the mountain gate, his figure quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

Du Juan looked at Zheng Fan and smiled:

"Lord Zheng, you can order your men to rest for a while."

After saying that,

Du Juan turned her head and looked at the barbarian soldiers behind her,

And actually spoke in the barbarian language:

"Dismount and rest!"

However,

Nearly four hundred barbarian cavalrymen all sat straight on their horses, and no one dismounted.

Except for the warhorses under their crotches occasionally pawing their hooves and snorting, the four hundred cavalrymen were silent.

With Liang Cheng in charge of training and Blindman Bei in charge of ideological and political work, if these barbarian soldiers still didn't know whose orders to follow, then Zheng Fan, who had poured so much money into them, could really go and smash his head against a tofu.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Du Juan's face, and she lowered her head to Zheng Fan and said:

"Lord Zheng, this little girl has been presumptuous."

Zheng Fan smiled indifferently and said, "It's okay, it's okay. The sun is just right. Once they dismount, people can't help but feel sleepy. Most importantly, since we're here to catch people, we can't lose our momentum."

"This little girl has been taught."

Du Juan was a smart woman. She knew when to call herself a subordinate and when to call herself a little girl.

"Miss Du used to live in the north?"

"Yes, I was transferred to Silver Wave Commandery the year before last."

"Then we can be considered to have some fate."

"Yes, Lord Zheng is skilled in training soldiers, and this little girl has had her eyes opened."

"It's nothing more than imitating the Northern Garrison Army. By the way, Miss Du, why would there be rebellious thieves hiding in such a good academy?"

"The academy often receives great scholars from the Qian Kingdom to give lectures, and it also receives travelers from the Qian Kingdom. Some people do come to study, but some people actually have other purposes, and the academy is the best cover for their activities and hiding."

"Oh." Zheng Fan understood. It was a bit like the embassies of later generations.

The Secret Intelligence Division of the Yan Kingdom should have been clear about this matter for a long time, but it was similar to Xiao Dahai and his gang, including the abandoned fort system. Previously, the court had always turned a blind eye and maintained the status quo.

Now that Xiao Dahai and his gang had been purged, and all the abandoned forts had welcomed newly appointed prefects preparing to restart, it was time to uproot the spy den in this academy.

At this time, there was a burst of noise from the mountain gate.

Zheng Fan saw the Secret Intelligence Division brother who had gone in to deliver the list walking down, his head bleeding, with signs of tearing on his body. Behind him, followed a group of indignant academy students dressed in white shirts.

Some of these students were old, and some were young, but at this moment, they all looked very excited.

The Secret Intelligence Division's little brother walked in front, and from time to time, bricks and stones were thrown from behind, hitting him. He just swayed his body, didn't turn his head, didn't reply, and just silently continued to walk down.

As long as one wasn't blind, one could probably see that the arrest list wasn't working.

Finally, the Secret Intelligence Division's little brother walked up to Zheng Fan and Du Juan, respectfully saluted Du Juan and Zheng Fan, and apologized:

"This subordinate is incompetent."

After saying that, the little brother fainted and fell to the ground.

Zheng Fan felt that the reason why Du Juan brought this subordinate with her was to have him deliver the message and be beaten.

Otherwise, with the hundreds of barbarian cavalrymen on his side, would she need to bring a subordinate?

This unlucky little brother wouldn't have been caught peeping at his female superior taking a bath at night and was now being given the cold shoulder, right?

Zheng Fan waved his hand,

Two barbarian cavalrymen dismounted and walked to the front, carrying the poor Secret Intelligence Division brother to the back.

Du Juan solemnly clasped her fists at Zheng Fan and said:

"Lord Zheng, this subordinate has no way now."

Passing the buck,

Completely and utterly passing the buck.

Zheng Fan nodded. Fortunately, he was mentally prepared. Why was Zuo Jiqian hesitant and didn't take on this job?

Because this kind of thing that offends the Yan Kingdom's literati group was too serious.

However, Zuo Jiqian couldn't see it, but Zheng Fan could. Look at the path of promotion for those sycophantic officials, most of them were willing to be white gloves for their superiors and recklessly dirty themselves, only then did they pave their own path to advancement.

Zheng Fan didn't care about fame, nor did he consider being liquidated in the future. First of all, he had to have a future. Secondly, no matter what the future held, he Zheng Fan would not wholeheartedly become Yan's Yue Wu Mu (a famous patriotic general).

Hundreds of academy students gathered under the door plaque, completely blocking the mountain gate, filled with righteous indignation.

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to take righteousness! Fellow students, today we must not let these court lackeys enter our academy to act presumptuously!"

"Yes, this is a place where the culture of the Great Yan gathers, how can we allow these bandit soldiers to run wild here!"

"The integrity of the literati of the Great Yan, today we must protect it!"

"Come on, lackeys, if you want to enter the academy to arrest people, if you want to insult our academy's reputation, then step over our corpses!"

"Today we are protecting the literary aura of the Great Yan, the righteous path of the Great Yan!"

"Ten years later, a hundred years later, later generations of literati will definitely write articles to commemorate us when they enter the mountain gate again!"

"Look, those soldiers, are they actually barbarian soldiers!"

"What, they actually dare to let barbarians come to the academy gate, this is simply a desecration of poetry and articles!"

Hundreds of white shirts blocked the door plaque, each of them spitting wildly, their voices loud and clear.

Zheng Fan stretched out the little finger of his left hand, cleaned his ear, and then put it to his mouth and blew on it.

The people of this academy should understand the purpose of the government soldiers coming here. The Secret Intelligence Division's little brother had already gone in to submit the arrest list and should have explained the reason.

But they beat him out.

Looking at the impassioned cursing and the constant stream of academy students and even instructors coming down from the mountain to gather under the paifang to strengthen their voices, Zheng Fan couldn't help but find it a little funny.

He turned his head and said to Liang Cheng, who was riding his horse beside him:

"Wouldn't you say that this counts as the cultural invasion of the Qian Kingdom?"

Liang Cheng thought for a moment and nodded.

A hundred years ago, the first Marquis of Zhenbei broke the spine of the Qian Kingdom's martial prowess, but what he couldn't break was the Qian Kingdom's cultural output to the Yan Kingdom over the past hundred years.

Musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, etiquette, and morality became the sharp weapons for the Qian Kingdom to counterattack the Great Yan.

In fact, Zheng Fan, who had stayed in the north, also clearly knew that it was no wonder that the literary style of the Yan Kingdom couldn't flourish. To the north were the barbarians who wouldn't give up, and to the south were the three countries that were eyeing them covetously.

Only in these years, with the suppression of the desert barbarians by the Marquisate of Zhenbei, had the Yan Kingdom had a few decades of peace.

In the past, the sons of Yan would either ride horses to the desert to fight with the barbarians or go south to fight with the three countries. Where would they have the leisure to stop and compose poems and write lyrics?

If that were really the case, this Great Yan would have perished long ago.

The most ridiculous thing was why this group of academy students were so excited, and even, it could be said, so proactive. There were probably deep-seated reasons for this.

Especially when Zheng Fan saw one instructor after another and one old scholar after another coming down from the mountain, he was even more certain of his guess.

The literati and scholars in the academy were using this opportunity to put pressure on the court, forcing the court to compromise.

They yearned, yearned to make Great Yan become like the Qian Kingdom, a paradise for literati.

Zheng Fan looked at Du Juan with some curiosity and asked:

"This isn't your first time coming to arrest people, is it?"

"Many times, but we haven't been able to get in." Du Juan answered honestly.

"Why?"

"They won't let us."

"Is your Secret Intelligence Division so civilized?"

"Lord Zheng, what does 'civilized' mean?"

"It means being kind to others."

At this time, a few more students came down from the mountain, carrying a large plaque with them.

The plaque read: The Sea of Learning Has No End.

"The current Prime Minister inscribed these words here. This old man will see who dares to act presumptuously at the academy gate!"

An old scholar shouted, holding a crutch.

Next,

One academy student took the lead:

"The academy has nurtured scholars for sixty years. Upholding righteousness and dying for principle is what we must do today!"

"Upholding righteousness and dying for principle is what we must do today!"

"Upholding righteousness and dying for principle is what we must do today!"

"…………"

"Heh, they're really quite organized, like a choir."

Zheng Fan had a smile on his face.

"Lord Zheng, this is the situation every time we come." Du Juan said.

"You've all helped them practice, haven't you? Actually, it's all the fault of the Marquis of Zhenbei."

"Why?" Du Juan asked in confusion.

"He's let them live too comfortably."

"So, Lord Zheng, what are you going to do?"

Du Juan looked at Zheng Fan and asked again.

Zheng Fan suddenly had the feeling that he was being tested, but the answer to the question had already been agreed upon with Blindman Bei last night.

To be precise, from the moment he took the military order in front of Marquis Jingnan yesterday, he had already made up his mind.

Zheng Fan raised his left hand and urged his horse forward.

Liang Cheng also urged his horse forward, and the four hundred barbarian cavalrymen behind him also urged their horses forward together.

Hundreds of well-equipped cavalrymen slowly advancing towards you. This sense of oppression was enough to make ordinary people shudder.

Especially since these cavalrymen were all barbarians!

The academy students under the paifang began to retreat subconsciously. In the past six months, the court's Secret Intelligence Division and the local garrison had come several times, but there had never been such momentum!

Seeing this situation, an old scholar shouted:

"Don't be afraid, they wouldn't dare, they wouldn't dare!"

"Yes, fellow students, don't be afraid. If they dare to use weapons in the academy, the thousands upon thousands of righteous people in the world will definitely not let them go!"

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to take righteousness. Upholding righteousness and dying for principle is what we must do today!"

"Where is the integrity of the literati of Great Yan?"

"The literary style of Great Yan will not die!"

Emotions were contagious. With needle after needle of chicken blood being injected, the academy students under the paifang were once again ignited with passion.

Zheng Fan was getting closer and closer to them, and the barbarian cavalrymen behind him were also getting closer and closer to them.

At this time,

A middle-aged man in a white shirt took the initiative to run out from the crowd under the paifang,

Pointing at Zheng Fan,

He scolded:

"Lackey, I am Huang Zichong of Sanshi. Do you know what place this is?"

First, he called him a lackey,

Then, he reported his origin and name.

One must become famous early, and one must seize the opportunity to promote oneself.

It's all a routine.

If Zheng Fan left here, he could become famous afterward.

Zheng Fan ignored him,

And continued to urge his horse forward.

Seeing this, Huang Zichong pointed at his neck and roared:

"Lackey, do you know that the blood of benevolent and righteous people will never run dry!"

Zheng Fan's horse came to Huang Zichong's front.

"Lackey, we literati can die, but our integrity will last forever!"

Zheng Fan drew his sword,

"Come on, chop here, chop here, if you have the guts, chop, I'll see if you dare to…"

Zheng Fan swung down his sword,

"Pfft!"

Huang Zichong's head left his body, spinning and spinning in the air. In his eyes, there was a full sense of disbelief.

"Thump!"

Huang Zichong's head fell to the ground.

The headless corpse began to spurt blood.

In the next moment,

The whole place was deathly silent.

All the students and instructors in the academy were frightened silly.

Breaking this silence,

Was Zheng Fan,

He once again urged the warhorse under his crotch to start moving forward.

When the horse's hooves were raised again,

The hundreds of people from the academy who were originally surging with excitement, the hundreds of literati pride of the Great Yan, completely collapsed.

They began to flee wildly to the rear, and the old instructors and scholars were squeezed to the ground by the crowd and trampled on, making bursts of screams. The scene was extremely chaotic.

A student who had previously taken the lead in shouting "Upholding righteousness and dying for principle is what we must do today,"

At this time, his face was full of panic,

While pushing away the fellow students around him, he ran towards the back mountain for his life and screamed:

"Mother, they really dare to kill people, they actually dare to kill people…"