Chapter 1 Life, it seems, always arranges inexplicable things for you at inexplicable moments, just like now. Zheng Fan feels he has done nothing wrong.

As an envoy, isn't it normal to make some threatening remarks?

People say that even when losing, one must not lose face. What's more, no matter what happens in the future, at least the Yan army is now encamped outside the capital of the Qian Kingdom.

Isn't it appropriate for me to be a little arrogant, a little overbearing, a little嚣张?

Isn't it also a normal procedure for you to feel a little wronged, a little indignant, a little humiliated, a little tolerant?

Could it be that this second young master of the Zu family is really a boor, and he just exploded because I mocked him a few times, satirized him a few times?

Zheng Fan felt like he was a "碰瓷儿" (a type of scam where someone pretends to be hit by a car) from later generations.

You hit me, you hit me, if you have the guts, you can kill me!

Bang!

The power of the Demonic Pill has just been used. Although it seems that because of my improved strength or because I'm used to competing with my kids,

I didn't directly collapse to the ground this time, unable to move. But even if I forcefully summon the Demonic Pill again, facing hundreds of armored soldiers around me, it's difficult to have any real effect.

Unless...

In an instant,

Zheng Fan, the Blind Man, and A'Ming all focused their attention on Zu Dongling.

Capture the leader to capture the army!

At this critical moment, a sword flew over directly and pierced into the ground in front of Zu Dongling in an instant.

"Om!"

The sword was still trembling slightly, making a light sound.

Zu Dongling's face changed. He recognized this sword because it had the Baili family's logo on it.

The Baili siblings, one is called Baili Feng, and the other is called Baili Xianglan;

Of course, people are more accustomed to calling the former Baili Sword because he is the pride of the Qian Kingdom and a master of swordsmanship in this era.

Yao Zizhan, a great writer of the Qian Kingdom, once wrote a poem comparing a person to a sword, in which he directly called Baili Feng Baili Sword. This title also came from this.

Therefore, when the contemporary Jianghu (martial world) assessed the four great sword masters, some people were dissatisfied, saying that the Qian people controlled the literary discourse and that it was the Qian people's forte to use poems and articles to tout a person. Therefore, if it is said that the sword-maker of the Chu Kingdom was forcibly pushed to the position of the four great swordsmen by a word from the sword saint of the Jin Kingdom, then Baili Sword's position as the head of the four great swordsmen was built up by the Qian Kingdom's literati with one poem after another after being drunk.

Leaving aside the sword-maker of the Chu Kingdom, the Sword Saint of Jin Kingdom is just a madman, often crazy and even doesn't sell the face of the Jin Kingdom's royal family and the three major clans. Li Liangshen of the Yan Kingdom was originally just a soldier, and other people don't have as many resources as Baili Sword to boast about.

This is like the courtesans in the capital;

Everyone has their own tastes, and everyone has their own preferences. Some like plumpness, some like exquisite delicacy, some like literary talent, and some only love small, three-inch golden lotus feet.

But there is only one top courtesan. In the final analysis, what is being compared is who's patron behind them is more willing to spend money to create momentum and support the show.

But this description of Baili Sword can be said to be a bit sour grapes because, no matter what, Baili Sword's strength is indeed convincing.

In those years, Baili Sword entered the capital in white clothes. The official family (emperor) personally greeted him at the Yulong Bridge and appointed him as the martial arts teacher of the crown prince.

This is something that everyone knows on the streets, but there is one more thing that only the powerful and wealthy know, and that is that Baili Sword's younger sister was recognized as his goddaughter by the official family and has been kept by his side, wearing silver armor.

In the distance, Baili Xianglan's figure walked out. Her face was cold and aloof, not arrogant, but clearly exuding an aura that kept strangers away.

Originally, Zheng Fan lightly believed the Qian Emperor's joke, thinking that she was a widow and that the Qian Emperor had Cao Cao's fetish.

But after learning that her surname was Baili, he naturally dismissed the idea.

"By His Majesty's decree, let the Yan envoy leave the city."

Baili Xianglan's eyes looked at Zu Dongling.

Zu Dongling's face changed several times because what he was facing now was not only the oppression from the imperial power. In fact, when the Yan army appeared outside the capital, the sacred and inviolable foundation of the imperial power had actually been shaken.

But Baili Xianglan is also a sword master. Even without the imperial power behind her, what she says is very effective in itself.

Zu Dongling raised his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately made way.

Baili Xianglan walked over, drew her sword, and continued to walk forward.

Zheng Fan, the Blind Man, and A'Ming followed behind her.

Zu Dongling's troops continued to stay where they were.

First an assassin, then the person who was supposed to rescue him wanted to kill him, and then the person who said they were going to kill him tomorrow came to save him.

The world is really interesting.

But what Zheng Fan desperately wants now is to leave this city. He really doesn't like this feeling of his life being out of his control, he really doesn't like it.

Baili Xianglan really saw them off, all the way to the city tower. The city guards had already prepared the basket.

Zheng Fan cupped his fist at Baili Xianglan and said,

"Thank you, Miss, for saving us. I apologize for any offense I may have caused to you in the palace earlier due to some misunderstandings. Please forgive me."

It's not shameful at all to bow one's head to a woman, especially to a beautiful woman. It's even more justifiable. Besides, if this beautiful woman is terrifyingly strong, then not licking her boots is already very reserved.

Zheng Guard is a person who pays attention to "following his heart." Some misunderstandings can be resolved if possible. After seeing the strength of those real experts, Zheng Fan knows that thousands of troops can certainly crush them, but if they want to take the time to assassinate him in the chaos, he will definitely be very uncomfortable.

Baili Xianglan still had a very calm expression on her face and said,

"Tomorrow, I'll be waiting for you."

She still wants to kill me.

Zheng Fan sighed and said,

"Miss, I feel a little unwell tonight. I think I caught a cold. I may not be able to leave the camp tomorrow."

Baili Xianglan looked at Zheng Fan with some doubt.

Perhaps she really didn't expect

that a dignified Yan general, an envoy of a country, and a figure who had repeatedly made military exploits on the Yan-Qian battlefield could be so shameless.

However, what Zheng Guard doesn't know is that the reason why she wants to kill him is not because of the lewdness in his eyes earlier, but because of the swordsman named Yuan Zhenxing.

"General Zheng, there will always be a chance," Baili Xianglan said. That's all she could say.

Even if her brother himself were here, he wouldn't do something like storming the Yan army camp alone with his sword.

Swordsmen are different from pure martial artists in that swordsmen are better at one-on-one duels rather than fighting against thousands or tens of thousands of people.

The fact that Yuan Zhenxing was shot to death by arrows in broad daylight perfectly illustrates this point. If it were a pure martial artist like Shatuo Queshi, it probably wouldn't be a big deal to take a few showers in the rain of arrows.

Zheng Fan smiled, turned around and walked into the basket, and the basket was lowered.

The three of them got on the horses that had been tied under the city wall and galloped home without hesitation.

On the way,

Zheng Fan shouted in his heart:

"Blind man, let's not do this kind of thing again in the future."

My life is precious, and I haven't had enough fun yet.

The Blind Man seemed much calmer and said:

"My lord, let's take it slowly."

Slowly grow until we can also say that a son of a thousand gold doesn't sit in a dangerous hall!

However, soon, Zheng Fan thought of what the Qian Emperor said, "No soldiers or soldiers are allowed to go south." In fact, from the moment the Qian Emperor said that, Zheng Fan's heart had been heavy.

Although everyone has been joking that the Great Yan is full of fierce generals, what the hell are we going to do in the future?

But after all, he has lived in Yan Country for so long. From Zheng Fan's point of view, both Xiao Liuzi and Marquis Jingnan and Marquis Zhenbei have been very kind to him.

The Yan Kingdom can be defeated, but that should be a decline from its peak, or a collapse from its peak. But right now, if it ends just as it's getting started, it's inevitably too sad.

Most importantly, the knights of Cui Liu Fort under his command have already lost a lot. Zheng Fan is still waiting for the battle to be won so that he can exchange it for a small city and become a city guard to cultivate and develop in peace, so that he won't have to be a headless fly running around everywhere in the end.

Looking back at the towering capital city wall behind him, Zheng Fan already had a hidden worry in his heart.

Can the Yan people get past this hurdle?

………

The warm room is also known as the "Spring Seeking Pavilion," taking its meaning of spring all year round.

Zhao Guan's family (the emperor) usually likes to stay here, except when he is busy with government affairs, especially in winter.

Of course, the Spring Seeking Pavilion will naturally no longer be called a warm room in the summer. It will be filled with ice cubes, and it is also cool in the hot summer.

The name of the Spring Seeking Pavilion is actually not very pleasant. It is too similar to the names of the flower shops in the capital, such as Seeking Pleasure Building and Changchun Garden;

But Zhao Guan's family liked the name and insisted on taking this name.

When Zhao Guan's family first ascended the throne, he issued an edict to build this garden, which was opposed by many courtiers. At that time, Yao Zizhan, a great writer of the Qian Kingdom, had just entered the officialdom. His father once wrote an article satirizing the current Guan's family's Spring Seeking Pavilion by borrowing the fact that the previous dynasty's construction of a large palace wasted people's and financial resources, leading to the country's demise.

In response, Zhao Guan's family still went his own way and did not make any attacks on Yao Zizhan's father, which also made the Yao family's reputation unparalleled for a time, paving the way for Yao Zizhan's literary name to flourish afterward.

At the moment, in the Spring Seeking Pavilion, the Qian Emperor was lying diagonally on a reclining chair, holding a bunch of grapes in his hand and putting them into his mouth one by one.

Below him, a middle-aged man was kneeling.

The middle-aged man's surname is Luo. Outside, he is notoriously fierce. In the Qian Kingdom's folk, it is rumored that he is a monster with eight arms who has to eat a child every meal. He is the Grand Commandant of the Silver Armored Guards and controls the operation of the Qian's special service agency.

At the same time, he has another identity, that is, his mother was the Qian Emperor's wet nurse, and he and the Qian Emperor are considered milk brothers.

"Your Majesty, the assassin is a Chu Kingdom assassin hidden in the capital."

Luo Mingda knelt and said tremblingly.

"I remember that the Silver Armored Guards are monitoring the Chu Kingdom spies in the capital."

"In response to Your Majesty's words, because the Yan army appeared outside the city, the capital is panicked today, and there is too much chaos. My men were negligent for a while, so..."

"I don't like to hear reasons."

"I am guilty!"

The Qian Emperor spat out grape seeds. The whole thing is actually very clear. The people who attacked the Yan envoy were from the Chu Kingdom, and they were also playing the trick of fanning the flames.

Because the Chu Emperor's death is only a matter of time, the princes already have a tense situation, so the Chu Kingdom urgently hopes that the three external countries can fight into a pot of porridge. This will make it easier for their Chu Kingdom to prepare for the transfer of power and turmoil next.

However, in the Qian Emperor's mind, Zheng Fan's words before he left appeared. He said that he would not fight, and he also said that things would not be so beautiful, completely developing according to what he said.

On the surface, this incident was due to the Silver Armored Guards' monitoring errors, which allowed this group of Chu spies to act, but from another point of view, it also meant that with the Yan people going south, a certain order that had been running smoothly in the court was broken.

The Qian Emperor can even conclude that someone under the Silver Armored Guards saw that the Yan people had already reached the capital and began to have other thoughts, and may even start secretly communicating with the Chu Kingdom.

As for the dignitaries who have contacts with the Yan people's secret agents, there will only be more.

This feeling makes the Qian Emperor very unhappy. As an emperor, what he hates most is that some people and things under his dragon chair begin to show signs of getting out of control.

"Milk brother."

"Your Majesty!"

Faced with this title that he hadn't heard in I don't know how many years, Luo Mingda was extremely terrified.

"Milk brother, there are really not many people I can trust now."

"Your Majesty!"

"The Yan people can't enter the capital, but the Silver Armored Guards have become less and less useful in recent years. It's time to clean it up."

"I understand!"

"Go down and do your work."

"I take my leave."

Luo Mingda walked out of the warm room and saw Baili Xianglan outside.

"Miss Xianglan." Luo Mingda saluted Baili Xianglan.

Baili Xianglan nodded and made way.

Luo Mingda left, and Baili Xianglan pushed the door open and walked in.

"Your Majesty, the Yan envoy has left the city."

"Heh, that Yan man surnamed Zheng is quite interesting."

"Zu Dongling..."

"Don't worry about Zu Dongling. This second son of the Zu family seems reckless, but he is actually very thoughtful. He did this to show me the attitude of his Zu family. It's a pity that those Chu assassins didn't kill the Yan envoy. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to give the Chu Kingdom a reassurance pill so that they could fight for the throne at ease."

"Your Majesty, you should have let me take action."

"No, some things can be done by following the trend, but if it's too deliberate, it will inevitably be seen through. If the Yan envoy dies, the Yan general on the opposite side is a madman, and he will definitely raise his butcher knife. We must not let these debts be on my head. I am a loving ruler, aren't I?"

After saying that,

The Qian Emperor also said:

"Tomorrow, you don't have to leave the city. Just protect me. If the Yan people attack the city tomorrow, I have to go to the city wall."

"It's too dangerous, Your Majesty."

"That's why you have to protect me. I don't want to die for no reason."

The Qian Emperor stretched out his hand and picked up three memorials from the table in front of him.

These are the memorials of guilt from the three prime ministers, Prime Minister Han, Prime Minister Fu, and Prime Minister Sima.

"Prime Minister Han will be kept for now. I will approve the memorials of guilt from Prime Minister Fu and Prime Minister Sima. Taking this opportunity to remove those few stinky stones will make things easier in the future."

"Your Majesty, you shouldn't say these things to me."

"It doesn't matter if I say it. The emperor is a lonely man. Sometimes I can't even find someone to talk to."

Baili Xianglan nodded, not asking why she wasn't a person.

She knows

that she is a sword.

………

After returning to the military camp, Zheng Fan went directly to see Li Fusheng. Although this Yan envoy was not legitimate and his starting point was a temporary idea, the first thing to do after returning was to report to the main general.

Li Fusheng was sitting in his tent. The wound on his shoulder had been treated and bandaged. When Zheng Fan came in, Li Fusheng was gnawing on a pig's trotter with one hand. There were still a lot of pig's trotters stewing in the pot, and the meat was fragrant.

At this time, mutton is more expensive than pork, but because Beifeng County is adjacent to the desert, mutton is cheaper than pork. It is really not easy to eat a meal of pork.

Seeing Zheng Fan coming back, Li Fusheng smiled and pointed to the big iron pot in front of him and said,

"Eat and talk."

Zheng Fan didn't go to get the pig's trotters. He had already eaten a lot at the Qian Emperor's place. Moreover, the things he was going to say next would make it difficult for people to have the mind to eat.

Sure enough, after Zheng Fan told Li Fusheng what he had said to the Qian Emperor and what he had seen and heard along the way, the pig's trotter in Li Fusheng's hand had stopped for a long time and he didn't take another bite.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

If the Qian Kingdom's three borders stick to their defenses and don't come out, then the strategic goal of the Yan Kingdom this time cannot be achieved. No matter how you gallop in the northern counties of the Qian Kingdom, it is still an enclave. Enclaves cannot be effectively defended, and they cannot be used to replenish the Yan Kingdom's mainland.

Most importantly, the royal court and the Jin Kingdom should have already taken action at this moment.

If the army is withdrawn again, this trip, this battle, will really be in vain. According to the Qian Emperor, it is specifically to help the Qian Kingdom scrape its bones to heal its poison.

Li Fusheng gritted his teeth and subconsciously wanted to throw away the half-eaten and cold pig's trotter in his hand, but his wrist only shook and his fingers still tightly grasped the pig's trotter.

Take it back,

Open your mouth,

Continue to gnaw.

He gnawed silently, eating one and changing another. He ate very attentively, not letting go of any meat, and even chewing the bones a few times in his mouth.

Li Fusheng ate a large pot of pig's trotters all by himself, and then picked up a bowl and started drinking soup, bowl after bowl.

Zheng Fan sat quietly beside him, not saying a word.

Finally,

Li Fusheng finished eating. He let out a long breath.

It seemed that because he was full, the happiness of being full diluted the gloom on his face.

"The sky is going to rain, and my mother is going to marry someone. Although the Marquis often taught us to look at things in the long term in the future, I have never taken it seriously.

A martial artist knows how to kill people and knows how to win battles. Just do your job well, and let the rest go.

In fact, Li Bao and I are similar. He is also a brainless guy."

Li Fusheng looked at Zheng Fan and said,

"Just tell me what you said earlier."

Zheng Fan immediately responded: "I understand."

Li Fusheng got up and walked out of the tent, and Zheng Fan also got up and walked out.

Today, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse.

Li Fusheng habitually put his hands in his armor again, like an old farmer, slightly hunching his back, looking at the capital city in front of him, and said with emotion:

"I heard that the Qian people's Jiangnan is even more rich."

"Eighty percent of the Qian Kingdom's taxes are collected from Jiangnan."

"Yes."

Li Fusheng sniffed, then cleared his throat and spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground,

said:

"Zheng Guard, what do you think of this capital city?"

"My lord, this mission was at night, and the Qian people didn't let me see too much."

"Just talk about your feelings, just talk about your feelings."

"Very big, and it should be very lively."

"Yes, this is a real big city. Our Tuman City, including Nanwang City, is just a little finger compared to this capital city in front of us.

Such a big city, such a beautiful city.

In my eyes, it is so white and tender, even more attractive than the white flour steamed buns."

Speaking of this, Li Fusheng turned to look at Zheng Fan and asked:

"Does Zheng Guard have any children?"

"No."

"Oh."

Li Fusheng's body swayed slightly a few times,

said:

"It's good to have children early. In our Zhenbei Army, everyone has children very early because fathers often die and sons inherit, and brothers succeed each other. Generally, after a woman's belly gets big, she dares to die in the desert with peace of mind.

But to be honest, this kind of life is not good, but we northerners don't think there is anything wrong with this kind of life."

Zheng Fan didn't know why Li Fusheng wanted to say these things, but he still listened quietly.

He, this transmigrator, only has a little bit of belonging to the Yan Kingdom, and after learning of the Qian Emperor's order, he feels a little heavy and depressed in his heart, not to mention Li Fusheng, a standard veteran in the Yan army.

"Zhao Guan's family is right, the Qian Kingdom has a vast land and abundant resources, and my Great Yan is indeed a bit cold, but let me tell you the truth;

Even if things are really as Zhao Guan's family said, so what?

Since the founding of my Great Yan, the Yan lads have been living in the south and fighting in the north. They have only had a slightly more comfortable life in recent years, but the bloodiness in their bones has not been lost.

If the royal court comes, we will fight them back. Anyway, we have been beating them for hundreds of years, and we are used to beating them;

If the Jin Kingdom comes, we will fight them back as well. If it doesn't work, we will clean up one and then clean up the other. Even if the Qian Kingdom wants to take chestnuts from the fire again, come on, let's do it!

It doesn't matter if the Zhenbei Army and the Jingnan Army are all wiped out, but I also want to see how many of the barbarians, the Jin people, and the Qian people will have to be buried with them if they want to wipe out the North and South Armies of my Great Yan!"

"Phew..."

Speaking of this,

Li Fusheng let out a long breath,

pointed to the capital city in front of him,

said:

"The women in our Beifeng County are fierce. There are really a lot of women who can ride horses and pull bows. When I was young, I was still a half-grown boy, and my body hadn't grown yet, and I hadn't practiced my kung fu yet;

But sometimes when I see those handsome young wives on the street, I can't help but go up and pat them on the crotch to have fun, even if I'm immediately hung up and whipped.

Now, such a beautiful city is in front of me,

If I don't go up and pat it, I really won't feel good.

Damn it, I don't care about the general trend, I don't care about the future, I'll be happy first,

Tomorrow,

I'm attacking the city!"