Chapter 141 Actually

In truth, Zheng Fan didn't really care what impact his advice would have on Ren Juan's future.

He only said those things to Ren Juan to show that he was on their side.

Back in his chambers, Zheng Fan immediately sent for Blind Tie and the others, and distributed the tasks assigned to him by Marquis Jingnan.

Then, in a side hall next to his own chamber, he found a relatively empty room and began to rest.

This sleep lasted until dusk.

As he stretched upon waking, Xue San leapt down from the rafters and said,

"My lord, you're awake?"

Zheng Fan nodded and looked at the sky outside.

"I slept a little too long."

"My lord was tired."

"Heh."

In fact, Zheng Fan knew he was slacking off, but he didn't care. That's what capable subordinates were for.

Even when he was slacking off and sleeping, he still had a subordinate protecting him.

Sigh, it's true that this recent campaign south and north hasn't been easy, but to say it's been particularly painful would be a bit pretentious.

After getting up, Zheng Fan walked outside, just about to find something to eat, when A'ming came over and handed him a ledger.

"So fast?"

Zheng Fan was a little surprised. He opened the ledger and found it was a record of the spoils seized from the noble families in the capital region.

Truly, a centipede dies hard. Even though the Jin royal family had been declining for years, scraping it with a knife still revealed a thick layer of grease.

Two-tenths of this was his! He was rich, rich!

At the same time, he thought of the hidden accounts beneath this ledger. Tsk, tsk.

However, Zheng Fan still asked A'ming:

"Marquis Jingnan's wife came from the Secret Spy Division. What if she checks the accounts?"

A'ming smiled and said:

"Si Niang said that you don't need to worry about that. This was all seized in a hurry during the chaos of war. Besides, even the people involved probably don't know how much they were squeezed dry. Can't we make these accounts however we want?"

"Mm, good."

Since Si Niang was so sure, Zheng Fan assumed there wouldn't be any problems.

Just then, Liang Cheng rode over and reported after seeing Zheng Fan:

"My lord, Marquis Jingnan is looking for you."

"Understood."

Zheng Fan took the ledger in one hand, and the reins that Liang Cheng handed over in the other. He flipped onto his horse and headed to the side hall west of the main hall.

There weren't large numbers of troops stationed at the entrance to the side hall, only five armored soldiers.

Even a dying tiger still has some might, not to mention that Marquis Jingnan was only injured. Even injured, he wasn't someone ordinary thugs could harm.

Without needing to report, Zheng Fan just exchanged a glance with the soldiers at the door, and they made way for him. When Zheng Fan pushed open the door and entered, he saw Marquis Jingnan sitting on a cushion.

Marquis Jingnan wasn't in a meditative posture. He was sitting very casually, with a small brazier in front of him. Water was boiling on the brazier, and next to it was a set of tea utensils, probably scavenged from the palace.

"Marquis."

Zheng Fan saluted.

"Mm."

Marquis Jingnan nodded, gesturing for Zheng Fan to sit down and talk.

Zheng Fan didn't stand on ceremony, and sat cross-legged directly on the ground.

"How did things go?" Tian Wujing asked.

When a leader gives you a task and then asks you how it went,

if you don't know anything, stammer and aren't clear, then you're really just occupying a position without doing anything. Especially now that it's wartime. Not doing anything in this position, according to military law, really deserves death.

Fortunately, even though Zheng Fan had slept almost the entire day, his subordinates had already very considerately compiled the data and given it to him.

"Marquis, it's all here."

Zheng Fan handed the ledger, which he hadn't even finished reading, directly to Marquis Jingnan.

Marquis Jingnan took it and began to flip through it, item by item, piece by piece, meticulously categorized.

"Li Fusheng said you did a good job in Chuzhou. This time, this marquis specifically had you try it out. I didn't expect you to handle this task so beautifully."

"Marquis, it is my duty."

"Doing well is doing well. Don't be modest. Besides, you're not exactly a modest person."

Marquis Jingnan put the ledger aside and continued:

"Your reminder this morning was very good."

"The Marquis has been very good to me, saving my life several times. This is what I should do."

"This sentence, this marquis believes is true."

"Every word I say to the Marquis comes from the bottom of my heart."

"Look, this sentence is false."

"Marquis..."

"Hehe, I won't make things difficult for you. But this marquis is really curious. You can fight wars, write books, speak well, do accounts, and have the vision to analyze the situation;

Zheng Chengshen, how could my Great Yan produce a talent like you?"

"Marquis, you flatter me. Compared to you, I am nothing at all."

"When we talk, there's no need to be so insincere."

"It's just that I feel close to you, Marquis, like a junior wanting to please an elder, saying a few auspicious words in front of them."

"Elder?"

"Yes."

"In your career, this marquis hasn't really promoted you in any way. Everything you have now, you've earned with your own sword and spear. In fact, this marquis has suppressed you quite a bit."

"How could I forget your grace in saving my life several times?"

"That's not much of a kindness. You're this marquis's soldier. It's only right for this marquis to save his subordinates."

"Marquis..."

You've blocked all the roads, how am I supposed to flatter you?

"How many men do you have left under your command?" Marquis Jingnan asked.

"Reporting to the Marquis, I only have about a thousand soldiers capable of charging into battle."

Fortunately, the Jin army's resistance in the capital region was very weak, and the casualties weren't great, otherwise Zheng Fan wouldn't even have been able to gather a thousand combat soldiers.

"Does it hurt?"

Tian Wujing asked with a smile on his lips.

Zheng Fan nodded and said:

"It hurts."

Zheng Fan's biggest problem now was that Great Yan actually only had two field armies: the Jingnan Army and the Zhenbei Army. The Zhenbei Army had the northern border counties as a source of recruits, while the Jingnan Army relied on Yinlang County.

Zheng Fan claimed to have connections with both field armies, but didn't fully belong to either of their ranks, so he couldn't directly get reinforcements from them after a battle.

The root cause was that Zheng Fan originally should have belonged to local military factions like Xu Wenzu, but Zheng Fan wanted to pull himself up and become independent, which was like cutting off his umbilical cord.

How could Tian Wujing, as someone who had been through this before, not understand?

"Shengle City is still in the hands of the local clans. I'll have Ren Juan allocate a thousand cavalry to you later to help you take Shengle City."

A thousand Jingnan soldiers?

Zheng Fan immediately said excitedly:

"I thank you, Marquis!"

"Don't be in such a hurry to thank me. I'm only lending them to you for three months. After three months, these men have to return."

"Ah?"

Zheng Fan was stunned.

Although borrowing them for three months was already extremely good, he originally thought they were being given to him.

"Do you want them or not?"

"I want them, Marquis, I want them, I want them!"

Tian Wujing nodded and continued:

"The location of Shengle City is crucial. It's right next to the Situ family, and also close to the Heavenly Fracture Mountain Range. You don't need to worry about guarding against the Situ family, I'll personally keep an eye on them;

But there's one thing you have to do well for this marquis."

"Please instruct me, Marquis!"

"Pay close attention to the situation with the wildlings. Although the wildlings can't compare to the barbarians, Great Yan will inevitably have to face the problem of the wildlings if it wants to unify the Three Jin in the future."

"Rest assured, Marquis, I will definitely not fail my mission!"

"Mm, this marquis trusts your ability to handle things. By the way, Ren Juan also took in more than two thousand Jin prisoners of war. They're a bit of a mixed bunch, some from the Wenren family, some from the Helian family, and some who were imperial guards from the capital region. Do you want them?"

"I want them."

"Just don't swallow them and get a stomachache."

"Marquis, the more soldiers I have, the better."

"What arrogant words. You say the more soldiers you have, the better, so what about this marquis?"

"The Marquis is good at using generals!"

"Heh." Tian Wujing shook his head with a smile and said, "Who did you learn your flattery skills from?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, I ran a restaurant before joining the army."

"Indeed, if you, Zheng Chengshen, become successful in the future, it will be a typical example of someone rising from humble origins. My Great Yan has been poisoned by aristocratic families for too long, it needs someone like you to stick your head out."

People need hope. In the past, aristocratic families controlled the channels for advancement, making it too difficult for ordinary commoners to rise in the world.

Since the aristocratic families have been trampled underfoot, there naturally needs to be some new atmosphere, and Zheng Fan was happy to be cultivated as a typical example.

In fact, the Qian Kingdom also had a typical example in the past, the Tattooed Prime Minister, who rose step by step from a prisoner exiled to the border army, to a position almost second only to the emperor, which could be said to have injected a shot in the arm for the Qian Kingdom's generals, but it didn't last long.

"Next, if nothing goes wrong, I'll be staying in Litian City. It's far away from your Shengle City. Li Bao of Quhe City is closer to you. You also have some connection with the Zhenbei Army. Handle it yourself."

"I understand."

"There's nothing else here. I plan to withdraw the army tomorrow. I'll also take the Empress Dowager and some close relatives of the Jin royal family with me. You should also make some preparations there."

"Yes."

"Alright, go get busy."

"I take my leave."

After Zheng Fan left,

a beautiful figure walked out from inside, holding a wet cloth in her hand. She took the pot off the brazier and began to make tea.

Tian Wujing gently patted his forehead and said:

"I told you you didn't need to come."

"My lord, how could I not come? Look at you, my lord, you've turned yourself into such a state. You clearly could have won the battle, but you insisted on fighting that Jin Sword Saint. Do you need that kind of fame?"

The Sword Saint being defeated in front of him was truly an absolute honor for a martial artist.

In front of Du Juan, Tian Wujing really didn't put on any airs. When his gaze fell on Du Juan's slightly bulging belly, it was rare for it to be tinged with a hint of tenderness.

"If I take action, the soldiers will die less."

If the Sword Saint was in the capital region or the palace, he could kill two hundred cavalrymen with just his sword.

"Yes, yes, yes, you're the Marquis, you're the Great Commander, you care for the soldiers, but you also have to care for me."

Du Juan handed a teacup to Tian Wujing and continued:

"My lord, Ren Juan doesn't have many troops under his command to begin with, and now you're taking out a thousand. Are you testing him?"

"He had thoughts he shouldn't have, so of course I have to test him."

"My lord, Ren Juan is loyal."

Tian Wujing took a sip of tea, and upon hearing this, raised his head and looked at Du Juan, saying:

"Do you want to be empress?"

Du Juan snuggled into Tian Wujing's arms, her fingers caressing Tian Wujing's chest, and said:

"My lord, I don't want anything. I only want you to be safe and sound."

"Even if you wanted to, you couldn't be."

Tian Wujing shook the teacup in his hand,

"Who would dare to trust someone who could even destroy their own family to share future wealth."