Chapter 1 The City Falls

As the city garrison of Shengle City, the city fell before he even took office?

Zheng Fan rubbed his face vigorously with both hands; this was too damn difficult, wasn't it?

Back when he played games, he at least had a city or a farm as a base at the start. What about him now?

His home was gone!

Honestly, Zheng Fan was thinking about turning around and going back to Yinlang County to continue being the garrison of Cuiliu Fort. At least there was a fort there for him to live in.

Although the Yan army's military laws were strict, Zheng Fan wasn't worried about being punished. After all, he hadn't even reached Shengle City when the city was captured. Even if they wanted to accuse him, they couldn't pin it on him, could they?

"My lord?" Liang Cheng was still waiting for instructions.

What a high sky,

What a vast sea,

How should we make waves next?

"How far away are the Situ family's forces from here?" Zheng Fan asked.

"According to the messengers, the distance is actually quite far, but too many local tyrants and forces in the newly conquered territories have surrendered upon hearing the news. This has caused a great stir from the Situ family. Moreover, this subordinate believes that since they have suddenly attacked, it is impossible for them not to send troops to penetrate deep, and the Jin people are not short of cavalry."

Zheng Fan nodded. The current situation could be described as pitch black. As a team accompanying the military gate to take office, they didn't belong to any combat sequence of any unit, so the information they had was quite limited.

In other words, Zheng Fan's troops didn't exist on the desks of the various generals or the Jingnan Marquis.

"The entire army enters this Wubao (walled village), conscript all the men in the fort into corvée labor."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Regardless, he had to find a place to settle down first. This Wubao wasn't very big, but it was still a support. There should be a lot of stored grain and other supplies inside. In addition, Zheng Fan had brought a lot of things with him on this trip to take office. He was really reluctant to lose everything and travel light.

Most importantly, where would he go if he traveled light?

Go east to fight the Situ family to the death?

Xu Wenzu hadn't replenished his troops. Even if he counted those young ladies, he had less than two thousand men at his disposal. Where would he get the capital to fight?

Or go west back to Yan?

Returning to Yan without fighting a battle or even seeing the enemy's face wouldn't be justifiable.

Actually, there was another option, either go north to find Li Bao's Zhenbei Army stationed in Quhe City or go south to join the Jingnan Marquis in Litian City.

But all these belongings would have to be left behind. Zheng, the city garrison, was unwilling to lose money unless it was absolutely necessary to escape.

Therefore, the old owner of this Wubao was dumbfounded. He had clearly been smiling obsequiously and acting like a grandson for half a day, and had contributed the stored grain, wine, and meat in the Wubao for the Yan people to enjoy. But these Yan people turned their faces as soon as they said they would, directly rushed into his Wubao, first controlled him and his family, and then drove the men in the fort to immediately start building higher walls.

Had something happened?

The old man was old and had long lost the ambition of his youth. At this time, he gritted his teeth and took the initiative to help the Yan people appease the others in the Wubao, telling them to cooperate with the Yan people.

All the old man wanted was to ensure that his Wubao would see as little bloodshed as possible, no matter what happened. As for whether it was joining the rebels or helping the evildoers, he didn't have that thought, nor did he think about it.

After all, the people of Jin had only known the three major families for many years and didn't know that His Majesty existed. If the Yan people's military system was very similar to that of the barbarians, then the Jin people were very close to the barbarians in terms of political system.

In other words, the Jin country had long been a coalition that used the "Jin" banner. The Jin people really didn't have any thoughts of loyalty to the emperor or love for the country, nor did they have any sense of belonging to the big picture. It was just a matter of the king changing on the city walls, and they would listen to whoever came.

Therefore, after the main forces of the Helian family and the Wenren family were wiped out in one fell swoop, nearly half of the Jin country surrendered upon hearing the news.

In this regard, although the Qian people weren't very good at fighting, their soft power was much, much higher.

Zheng Fan put on his armor, paired it with a saber, and stood on the battlements to look into the distance. The sudden change disrupted all previous plans and blueprints, but these were secondary. Right now, what Zheng Fan didn't want to see most was the figure of troops appearing in his sight.

He only had this little bit of wealth left, and he was still waiting to save up kindling. He couldn't afford to lose it all here, otherwise all his hard work for decades would be in vain.

"My lord, don't worry. Even if the Situ family sends troops, Jin is so big that they can't possibly come straight to us," Liang Cheng comforted.

Zheng Fan looked around and found that the Blind Man wasn't here. Looking at Liang Cheng again, Zheng Fan said with a wry smile:

"A Cheng, do you know what the Blind Man would say if he were here?"

"Say what?"

"He would tell you to shut up."

"............" Liang Cheng.

In private, the Blind Man had told Zheng Fan that if other people's words came true, it might be a coincidence, but Liang Cheng had too many coincidences.

In the final analysis, it was probably because this guy was a big zombie. Such an evil creature was countless times more ominous than a crow cawing at your door. Anything like the Grand Duke Jupiter or something unlucky was nothing compared to Liang Cheng.

At this time, a scout galloped back, didn't enter the fort, and directly reported to Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng above the wall:

"Military Gate, there are troops approaching in front!"

Zheng Fan looked at Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng pretended not to notice that Zheng Fan was looking at him,

and asked:

"How many are there?"

"Several hundred cavalry."

Hearing this, Zheng Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

Several hundred cavalry wasn't much.

However, soon, another scout galloped back. This scout had an arrow stuck in his back, but it should have been caught in the armor, and the injury wasn't very serious.

"Military Gate, a huge cavalry force has appeared twenty miles to the east!"

Obviously, the two scouts detected different things, and the latter should have been sent out further.

At the very least, they were both soldiers who had seen battles. Scouts were qualified to be the most elite cavalry in the army, and it was impossible for them to make a mistake to the point of mistaking several hundred cavalry for "huge scale."

"How many are there?"

"Nearly ten thousand!"

Nearly ten thousand?

Nearly ten thousand was a very vague term. You should know that once the number of people gathered in a place exceeds ten thousand, it would be a bustling crowd. Relying on the scout's detection, even the most experienced scout would find it difficult to give an accurate number. In addition, how could others not send out scouts?

And cavalry was even more difficult to estimate. The dust raised by cavalry during travel, both people and horses, made it almost impossible to detect the specific number of the enemy.

However, the approximate number of nearly ten thousand was already very alarming, and basically all of them were cavalry.

No matter how good Zheng Fan felt about himself, he wouldn't take the initiative to confront the enemy head-on with his troops.

So, at this time, Zheng Fan looked at Liang Cheng again. Anyway, the crow incident had already been triggered, so he might as well listen to what the professional had to say.

"My lord, this Wubao is not as good as Cuiliu Fort, but it is already the only reliable place in the area. If we leave at this time, unless we abandon all the supplies we are carrying and retreat quickly, we are very likely to be caught up by the Situ family's troops behind us."

At that time, in the wilderness, the disadvantage in numbers would be too clear.

Zheng Fan understood what Liang Cheng meant and said:

"So, we should defend here?"

"Defend it. This is the safest way. Li Bao in the north and the Jingnan Marquis in the south can't possibly not send troops. We have reinforcements, my lord."

Zheng Fan nodded and said, "Then let's defend the city. Distribute all the wealth we brought with us, and distribute it to the people in this Wubao. Promise them that if they help us well this time, we will definitely ask for credit for them when we report the merits in the future."

"So, my lord has already arranged everything?"

"Huh?"

"When this subordinate was below earlier, I saw the Blind Man and Si Niang distributing wealth. My lord is farsighted, and this subordinate admires you."

"Isn't it a little too awkward to flatter me like this?" Zheng Fan asked.

Don't you know what I'm capable of?

Zheng Fan believed that since he woke up in this world, he had two advantages: one was his increasingly improving acting skills, and the other was good luck.

In other aspects, he was completely beaten by these devils in all directions.

Hearing this, Liang Cheng said:

"This subordinate will pay attention next time and strive to improve."

"Yes, that's right. When flattering, it's best to be subtle and silent. A loud fart doesn't stink, but a silent fart can suffocate people."

"............" Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng was a little dazed. To be honest, it was really beneath him, a big zombie, to put down his status and talk about whether Zheng Fan's farts were loud or stinky.

It wasn't that he was reserved, but that it didn't conform to his worldview.

Zheng Fan didn't make things difficult for Liang Cheng anymore. He looked forward and saw that nearly two hundred cavalry were rushing towards them.

"Is that the vanguard?" Zheng Fan asked.

Liang Cheng immediately entered the role and shook his head, "The other party's hooves are disordered, obviously running with all their might. This is not the vanguard, but more like routed soldiers running away, but they still maintain a good formation."

Zheng Fan observed carefully again and nodded. After all, warhorses were not oil-burning motorcycles. They were living things, and knights would not run with all their might unless it was absolutely necessary.

The vanguard had the advantage and would definitely prepare for the upcoming battle, so they would deliberately conserve their energy.

Perhaps because they saw the Great Yan Black Dragon Flag on the Wubao, the cavalry came directly below the Wubao.

The leader, a man with dark skin, wearing a purple brocade robe, shouted directly:

"I am the Emperor of Jin, open the door quickly and let me in!"

The man shouted very anxiously, because a large number of cavalry were about to catch up behind him. To be precise, this Situ family's troops were coming for him, the Jin Emperor!

On the city wall, Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng looked at each other.

Although the occasion was inappropriate,

Zheng Fan couldn't help but:

"Hehe."