Chapter 1 A Thin Inheritance

"With such a meager inheritance, just a leg of lamb, not enough to fill our bellies in the first place. What's the point of fighting over it?"

Inside the Imperial Study,

Wei Zhonghe was reciting Zheng Fan's words, one word at a time.

With only a slight delay, but not a single word missed. His left ear twitched almost imperceptibly, seemingly "synchronizing" the audio, even mimicking Zheng Fan's tone.

Ji Runhao tore off a piece of lamb, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly, saying:

"This kid's got something, no wonder Chengjue hangs out with him."

Ji Chengjue

was the name of the Sixth Prince.

"Your Majesty, this young man is sharp-witted. This old servant is truly fond of him."

This was the second time Wei Zhonghe had said this today, meaning he genuinely admired Zheng Fan and felt he was well-suited for life in the palace.

The imperial palace was essentially a crucible, and any eunuch who could climb from the bottom to become a grand eunuch possessed considerable cunning and skill.

But the palace wasn't a battlefield or a martial world. Eunuchs were incomplete, not even considered real people. Everything depended on their master.

Therefore, pleasing the master was the eunuch's primary survival skill in the palace.

In this regard, Wei Zhonghe had high hopes for Zheng Fan.

He pleased the Sixth Prince, he pleased the Jingnan Marquis, and now he pleased the Zhenbei Marquis. Even His Majesty found him interesting.

Moreover, Zheng Fan's personally crippling the Third Prince during the day revealed a hidden madness.

Alas,

this kind of person was born to be a grand eunuch.

In the martial world, he'd be like a martial artist with a naturally perfect body or a Qi Refiner with a foundation for Qi fusion.

Unfortunately, Wei Zhonghe knew he wouldn't get the chance to cut off Zheng Fan's little dragon and have him recognize him as a godfather.

If the two Marquises found out he'd castrated their admired general, brrr…

"Heh, this is getting interesting. You eunuch like him, Wu Jing clearly wants to promote him, and now Liang Ting is obviously interested in him.

This kid is quite the catch, very popular."

"How could that be? No matter where he is, isn't he still Your Majesty's man? It's hard to say if he'll accept the Zhenbei Marquis's offer, especially since the Jingnan Marquis is so good to him.

But regardless, as long as Your Majesty opens your golden mouth, won't this kid immediately prostrate himself at Your Majesty's feet?"

"He crippled my son. I don't mind, but do you think he doesn't?"

"This…"

"Good steel should be used for the blade. This kid is from Beifeng. He should have been part of Li Liangting's Zhenbei Army. How did Wu Jing snatch him first?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this old servant checked his record. Initially, he was promoted by the Princess, due to his meritorious service as a laborer, beheading the Shatuo tribe's leader.

But the Princess only promoted him to escort commandant, nominally under the Zhenbei Army, but it was just a figurehead position.

Later, when the court intended to transfer northern officials south, this kid was sent to Yinlang County as a fort defender."

"Who arranged it?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ministry of War."

"Chengjue's doing?"

"The youngest son of the Ministry of War's Vice Minister Jiang Wenzhou owes a lot of silver in the Sixth Prince's gambling house."

"Oh? Chengjue didn't hide it?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this is the first time the Sixth Prince has personally arranged for his own man since coming of age."

"He has good eyes. This Zheng Fan is a talent."

"It seems not only the two Marquises and this old servant appreciate him, but even Your Majesty appreciates him. This old servant is truly envious of this kid. What kind of good fortune did he accumulate in his previous lives to have such luck now?"

"You eunuch, I always tell you to read more, but you never do. You only know how to adopt those useless godchildren and acquire more land."

"Your Majesty, this old servant's brain is really incapable of reading. This old servant is getting old. The only thing this old servant wants to do is serve Your Majesty until this old servant is too old to serve anymore, then buy an estate and build a shrine so this old servant can continue to pray for Your Majesty every day."

"That flattery isn't sincere. Your cultivation is almost on par with the Old Master, isn't it?"

"Absolutely not, absolutely not. This old servant only learned a bit of the Old Master's skills."

The title of Old Master was permitted in the palace because that Qi Refiner had protected the former emperor's family at the cost of severe injuries during their escape from the capital, essentially saving the current Emperor's life.

"Don't say such empty words. I suspect I won't outlive you, old eunuch."

"That's even more convenient. When Your Majesty departs, take this old servant with you. In heaven, this old servant can continue to serve Your Majesty."

"Heh heh, in terms of flattery, Zheng Fan is not as good as you."

"This is this old servant's means of survival."

"Ah, you."

The Yan Emperor's expression changed, and he said:

"A thin inheritance, not enough lamb to share. This meager inheritance isn't worth fighting over or deigning to fight over. It's better to risk it all and work together to conquer a vast territory for my Great Yan!"

Wei Zhonghe's heart skipped a beat, and he said:

"Your Majesty, that kid meant this?"

He really dared to say it, he really dared to say it.

What shocked Wei Zhonghe the most was that he could see it so clearly.

"This child has a grand vision and sees through things."

This was the Yan Emperor's assessment of Zheng Fan.

Little did he know, Zheng Fan had the Sixth Prince, who was just like his father, and the peerless silver fox, the Blind Man, supporting him. It was like having two think tanks helping you watch the news; of course you'd see things more deeply than others.

"Earlier, after he finished talking about the strategy for attacking Qian, the words Liang Ting said to him..."

"Was the Zhenbei Marquis teaching him how to roast a leg of lamb?"

The Yan Emperor's gaze swept towards Wei Zhonghe. Wei Zhonghe immediately slapped his own mouth twice, not loudly, but he immediately knelt down,

"This old servant misspoke, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Actually, it wasn't that Wei Zhonghe had said anything wrong. He was right, Li Liangting had indeed started teaching Zheng Fan how to roast a leg of lamb after Zheng Fan finished speaking about the strategy for attacking Qian.

But the mistake was in the tone of Wei Zhonghe's words, which carried a slight disdain for Li Liangting, as light as a cicada's wing, but it was captured by the Yan Emperor.

Every place has regional discrimination and occupational discrimination. It's human nature, and it can't be changed.

Eunuchs are at the bottom of the occupational discrimination ladder, almost at the very bottom. Even the male prostitutes in the red tents might have a chance to stand up straight.

The Yan Emperor's gaze fell on Wei Zhonghe,

and Wei Zhonghe's back was already drenched in cold sweat.

But if you were to say that Wei Zhonghe was discriminating against Li Liangting's northern barbarian origins, then you would be underestimating the Grand Eunuch of the Great Yan Directorate of Ceremonial.

Actually, he was testing, testing the Yan Emperor's true feelings towards the Zhenbei Marquis. As a servant, you had to act according to your master's wishes. It was his survival instinct, ingrained in his bones.

But clearly, His Majesty's feelings for the Zhenbei Marquis were already sensitive to this point.

"Get up. If there's a next time, go guard my tomb and wait for me to join you."

"Your Majesty, this old servant wouldn't dare."

Wei Zhonghe slowly stood up.

"Liang Ting may have been talking about roasting a leg of lamb, but he was also indirectly saying that Zheng Fan's strategy was correct.

As a general, all you see is how to defeat the enemy in front of you, how to capture the city before you. As the saying goes, it's easy to find a thousand soldiers, but hard to find a general. But in my opinion, it's easy to find a thousand generals, but hard to find a commander.

If I were to tell you that Zheng Fan's strategy is almost identical to the strategy I, Liang Ting, and Wu Jing discussed back then, what would you think, you old eunuch?"

"This old servant congratulates Your Majesty on obtaining another great talent, I celebrate for Your Majesty, I celebrate for Great Yan!"

Just like roasting a leg of lamb,

you have to consider what the sheep was fed before it was slaughtered, you have to consider the charcoal, you have to consider the spices, etc. Just like a true great official guarding a region or a commander conquering a region, what you need to consider isn't just the gains and losses of a single battle or a single city, but rather politics, economy, culture, the enemy, and the various changes in your own court.

This is called vision.

What Li Liangting and the Yan Emperor appreciated was the vision that Zheng Fan displayed in his strategy.

Of course, what the Yan Emperor and the Zhenbei Marquis didn't know was how many talents were standing behind Zheng Fan. Newton stood on the shoulders of giants, but Zheng Fan was being carried by seven dwarves.

"Is the Jiang family on the criminal register or the extermination register?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, on the criminal register."

"Put them on the extermination register."

"This old servant obeys the decree."

"By the way, did Chengjue build a temple outside the city?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it's a Land God Temple, but behind it, it enshrines the memorial tablets of the Min family, and also, Consort Min."

"Ah, the poor child Chengjue."

Wei Zhonghe stood to the side, not daring to speak.

After a while,

the Yan Emperor said:

"Tear it down."

………

"Are you full?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, this subordinate is full."

"Why did you only eat so little?"

"This subordinate is not used to eating something so greasy in the morning."

"That's because you usually live too comfortably."

"Before joining the army, my family ran a small business, so we didn't lack food or clothing."

"Would you believe me if I said I envied you?"

"I would."

"Oh?"

"Because the food in the Marquis's residence is really hard to eat."

"Ah, it really is hard to eat. You know, I used to look forward to going to the capital, when I was a kid, I could snatch the Emperor's chicken drumstick."

"…………" Zheng Fan.

This was, after all, the imperial palace. The Zhenbei Marquis could talk about the Yan Emperor's past embarrassing moments, but Zheng Fan knew he couldn't respond in kind.

The Zhenbei Marquis was walking in front, and Zheng Fan was following behind.

Zheng Fan was still carrying a large pile of the Zhenbei Marquis's barbecue tools. The Zhenbei Marquis was a practical man, he brought his own tools to the imperial garden to barbecue a leg of lamb, and he didn't forget to take them with him.

When passing through a pavilion gate, Zheng Fan felt that a barbecue rack was about to fall, so he said to one of the palace guards standing on either side of the pavilion gate:

"Brother, help me hold this for a moment."

The guard immediately reached out to help. Just as he took over one rack, Zheng Fan saw two soldiers running from behind.

One covered the guard's mouth, and the other held a knife to the guard's neck.

Zheng Fan was stunned for a moment,

the two soldiers smiled at Zheng Fan,

and Zheng Fan smiled back.

He knew they probably didn't want to splatter blood on him; they were being considerate.

Zheng Fan took two steps back,

"Pfft!"

The blade sliced through the enthusiastic guard's neck.

One of the soldiers took the barbecue rack that the guard had been helping Zheng Fan carry and said to Zheng Fan:

"Sir, this subordinate will help you carry this."

"Oh, thank you. Just stack it on top for me, stack it neatly."

"Yes, sir."

The other soldier dragged the guard's corpse away.

After rearranging the barbecue rack, Zheng Fan sped up and caught up with the Zhenbei Marquis again.

As Zheng Fan ran, he clearly saw a group of soldiers running as well.

Along the way, several guards who had greeted him earlier were killed by the soldiers who were running with him.

Not all of them were killed. For example, among the people who were guarding or patrolling together, after one of them was killed, a soldier immediately replaced the killed guard's position. The patrol was still patrolling, and the guard was still guarding.

It was like a gust of wind blowing by, stinging your eyes, but when you rubbed your eyes and looked closely, it seemed that nothing had changed.

"How's it going, can you still carry it?" the Zhenbei Marquis asked.

"It's alright."

"Well, young man, you need to do more work."

The Zhenbei Marquis didn't explain what was happening in the palace, and Zheng Fan didn't ask. In fact, Zheng Fan had already guessed the reason.

The influence of aristocratic clans on Great Yan was ubiquitous, especially the guards in the imperial palace. Although it wasn't like the Qing court in later times, where aristocratic children were used for these positions, ordinary families found it difficult to get this job, because it was close to important figures and the opportunities were great.

Before, they were patient and didn't act. Now, from the moment the Jingnan Marquis slaughtered the Tian family, things had started to move.

Probably, not only would this imperial palace undergo a great purge, but the Forbidden Army was probably also in a bloody storm. In addition, the Tiancheng County soldiers under the control of the First Prince were definitely doing similar things.

This was the power of the aristocratic clans. They were everywhere, and their influence could almost touch every aspect of a country. Moving against them was like scraping the bone to remove the poison.

In front of them, several teams of eunuchs and palace maids were hurrying towards the harem, each team led by a grand eunuch wearing red robes.

They were going to invite some of the concubines and imperial consorts in the palace to ascend to heaven.

Emperors have no family affairs. This wasn't only reflected in the fact that the women of the imperial family often had to become tools for political marriages; in fact, the emperor himself was also a sacrificial offering to this saying.

In the early stages, in order to win over aristocratic clans, you had to marry this family's daughter, right? After marrying this one, you couldn't neglect that one, right? This, this, this, and that, that, also had to be married.

Many of the women in the harem had a clan standing behind them. Moreover, sometimes, for deeper political marriages, the emperor had to work hard to impregnate them and give birth to princes or princesses carrying their mother's clan's bloodline.

Thinking about what Little Sixth had said yesterday, that his father had been working hard on those Qian country Hang 'beauties' recently, probably thinking about giving birth to a couple of descendants with Qian country blood to facilitate the rule after using troops against the Qian country.

No matter how interesting and wonderful something is, as long as a political task is added, all that remains is boredom and tedium.

A great fire,

started from the Tian estate,

and soon,

would engulf the entire Yan country.

Walking through the imperial palace at this time, Zheng Fan actually felt a little excited. This excitement probably stemmed from the fact that he was able to become a "witness to a historical moment."

Ahead, a man wearing black armor appeared. His armor was in the style of the Zhenbei Army, and a wooden box was placed next to the man.

"Marquis, please don your armor."

"This armor is so heavy, I really don't want to wear it."

The Zhenbei Marquis shook his head, but he was also somewhat helpless.

The man opened the box, inside was a set of simple and dignified armor.

It was simple, and as for how a set of armor could be dignified, that came from Zheng Fan's imagination.

After all, it was the Zhenbei Marquis's armor, just like the leg of lamb personally roasted by the Zhenbei Marquis, it always gave people a special feeling.

The Zhenbei Marquis didn't even pull up a screen. In fact, his entry into the palace from the West Garden today was top secret. The only person who came with him was this man.

Zheng Fan stepped forward to help. The armor was very heavy, and Zheng Fan had some difficulty lifting it. This showed why the Zhenbei Marquis didn't like to wear it; it felt like carrying several bags of rice on his body.

There was also a python-headed broadsword in the box. Good heavens, it was deathly heavy. Zheng Fan couldn't even lift it on his first try.

The man reached out and lightly lifted the broadsword. The Zhenbei Marquis reached out and took it, but he didn't stupidly hold it up. Instead, he pointed the blade downwards, and the blade pierced the imperial palace's floor tiles.

Leaning on the sword,

the Zhenbei Marquis said:

"Qing Shuang."

"Marquis."

This man was called Qing Shuang? It sounded like a woman's name.

The Zhenbei Marquis's mansion had seven chief commanders, six of whom were surnamed Li. Only one was not surnamed Li. Zheng Fan had heard the Sixth Prince introduce him. This only one not surnamed Li wasn't that he was not valued. On the contrary, his identity was very sensitive. There were rumors that he had the bloodline of the barbarian royal court's Golden Family, or the descendants of a prince who competed with the late Emperor for the throne, or even that he had the bloodline of a royal family from Jin or Chu.

At least, from what Zheng Fan saw now, he shouldn't have the Golden Family's bloodline. The facial features of the barbarians and the Yan people still had obvious differences.

"Have a general in your garrison stand aside and give his place to this kid."

"Yes, Marquis."

"Marquis…"

"You were originally from Beifeng, originally belonged to my Zhenbei Army. Now, you're just going home."

"Marquis…"

"No need to rush to thank me. We don't do that in the Marquis's mansion. If you want to thank this Marquis, then speak with merit. This Marquis's judgment of people has never been wrong, so don't let this Marquis make an exception."

"Marquis…"

"It's settled then, you'll follow Qing Shuang from now on. Don't be afraid of Tian Wu Jing blaming you. Tian Wu Jing is still half a generation behind this Marquis."

"Marquis."

"Hmm?"

This time, Qing Shuang spoke to remind him.

The Zhenbei Marquis then stopped talking to himself and looked in the direction Qing Shuang was pointing. Suddenly, the Zhenbei Marquis's face immediately turned red.

There,

stood a magnificent figure slightly younger than the Zhenbei Marquis, the gilded armor shining brightly in the morning light.