Chapter 1 The Next Day

The sun was bright at noon the next day, but even the warmest sunlight couldn't soothe the anxiety in the hearts of the many people inside Chuzhou City.

Humans are highly adaptable creatures. This adaptability extends beyond the natural environment to many other aspects of life.

Yesterday, the heads and banners of the Wang Shi (royal army) shattered the qi and spirit of the Qian people in the city. Just as everyone was preparing to lower their heads and accept this change in identity,

the Yan army within the city,

actually left the city.

Moreover, they left completely.

This made the hearts of the people and nobles in the city extremely complicated. These past few days have been a constant change of positions; everyone was finding it a bit too much to bear.

Wen Sutong and Liu Sicheng stood on the city tower, watching the Yan army below as they marched out of the city in neat formations.

Wen Sutong was better off; the old man had seen too many storms. At this moment, dressed in his official robes, he exuded a leisurely air, as if he were going out for a walk in the warm winter sun.

Liu Sicheng's face, however, looked somewhat gloomy.

Some people can only be pawns on a chessboard. They don't know how big the sky outside the board is, and they just do their job conscientiously.

He kills those he is supposed to kill;

He kneels to those he is supposed to kneel to.

Liu Sicheng was such a person. The spiritedness of the past few days had been washed away by the rain and wind with the departure of the Yan people.

"Lord Wen, you knew the Yan people would leave, didn't you?"

Wen Sutong nodded.

"Then, may I be so bold as to ask Lord Wen, what should we do?"

When invaders leave, the puppet army naturally panics. It's precisely because they know what kind of stuff they're made of that they become traitors.

"Just play it by ear," Wen Sutong said calmly.

"I, I, I...my heart..."

Wen Sutong smiled and said:

"How does revenge feel?"

Liu Sicheng's older brother had been dismissed and exiled for offending a powerful figure in Chuzhou City, and he died of illness on the way.

Now, that powerful family had been exterminated by Liu Sicheng's blade two days ago.

The worried look on Liu Sicheng's face faded slightly,

and he said:

"Satisfying."

"If it's satisfying, then that's all that matters."

"This..."

Wen Sutong reached out and patted Liu Sicheng on the shoulder, saying earnestly:

"Now that you've made your choice, don't hesitate any longer. The worst that can happen is that the Wang Shi will come back one day, and when General Liu is exterminated, my Wen family will accompany your Liu family on the road.

However you look at it, you won't be at much of a loss, will you?"

"That's the logic, oh no, no, that's not what I meant, not..."

Wen Sutong waved his hand dismissively,

and said:

"In the days to come, please do your job well, General Liu. Replenish your troops, even if it's just filling the ranks with incompetents. A grand city like Chuzhou should have at least ten thousand garrison soldiers to match its towering walls, right?"

"I understand, sir."

"Although advising you to trust the Yan people sounds a bit strange even to me, we no longer have the luxury of being pretentious.

We've killed too many people in this city, and we've offended too many people. Even those who have benefited from us are smiling and fawning now, but as soon as the wind changes, they'll be the first to stab us in the back. The more miserable we die, the more cleanly their cowardice today will be washed away.

Ah, isn't it funny? The whole city is full of pigs and dogs who fear death and didn't bark before, but when the time comes, they'll be the ones who bite the hardest."

As he said this,

Wen Sutong raised his head slightly, stretching his old limbs that had been standing for so long, and sighed:

"But we are worse than pigs and dogs."

………

The army marched out of the city.

This time, the speed of the march was not as exaggerated as when they had continuously crossed the three border defenses of the Qian Kingdom; it could be said that they were taking it quite easy.

Firstly, there would be plenty of battles to fight in the future, so there was no need to exhaust themselves.

Secondly, it was also convenient to wait for the armies of the three borders of the Qian Kingdom, leaving them some space to pursue.

Zheng Fan didn't know if the Blind Man consummated his marriage last night, and neither did the other demon lords.

It was very unfair that the Blind Man could "peep" at everyone else, but no one else could peep at him.

Even if you wanted to sneak into the tent at night, you couldn't escape the Blind Man's detection.

However, men, when they're together, it's inevitable to tell some raunchy jokes.

Xue San rode his horse alongside Zheng Fan and whispered:

"My lord, based on my experience, the Blind Man definitely didn't do anything last night. That young lady was walking just fine this morning."

Zheng Fan laughed:

"Maybe the Blind Man is a toothpick, and you're a mace."

"Hehe!"

Xue San laughed like a simpleton,

feeling that what his lord said was truly wonderful!

As the army moved further away from Chuzhou City, an order came from Li Fusheng, ordering Zheng Fan's unit to monitor the Qian army in Qingshan County.

Taking Chuzhou City had provided the entire army with very ample supplies, but the Yan army wouldn't be so bored as to attack every city in the south. Therefore, during the army's march, they would allow some Qian Kingdom cities to remain.

However, in order to ensure that the army's march wasn't disturbed, a separate force would be dispatched to keep an eye on the movements of that city, firstly to warn the Qian army in the city not to act rashly, and secondly to cover the army's advance.

The Yan people were basically all cavalry, so they could be so willful and arrogant, acting like bandits walking around in their own house, yet still boldly warning the owners not to move.

This task had always been rotated among the various units, and the number of soldiers assigned to monitor was based on the number of garrison soldiers in the city.

This time, it was Zheng Fan's unit's turn.

After receiving the order, Zheng Fan led his 2,500 cavalry directly out of the main army and galloped thirty miles to the west, arriving at the outskirts of Qingshan City.

In yesterday's battle, Qingshan City almost became a decisive point, because after realizing things were not going well, Zu Dongcheng had ordered his troops to move closer to Qingshan City.

To be honest, once this force entered Qingshan City, even if the walls of Qingshan City weren't very high and the city's defensive facilities weren't very complete, Li Fusheng would never have been crazy enough to order his Zhenbei Army soldiers to attack the city.

When the figures of the Cuiliubao cavalry appeared in the sight of the Qingshan City garrison, the drums and gongs in the city immediately sounded, and more and more people could be seen running to the city walls. The entire Qingshan County was in a state of high alert!

And the leader of the great enemy,

Zheng Shoubei (Garrison Commander Zheng),

had already sat down, holding a piece of peach cake in his hand, eating and drinking water.

Sitting next to Zheng Fan were the Blind Man and Si Niang.

The military order was only responsible for monitoring the city to prevent the city's garrison from sending out small groups of troops to carry out harassment, not for attacking the city, so Garrison Commander Zheng was very relaxed.

"After the Qian army's defeat yesterday, Qingshan City should have received the news long ago," the Blind Man said.

"That's natural." Zheng Fan clapped his hands, and Si Niang thoughtfully tilted the water bag downwards to let her lord wash his hands.

Qingshan City was so close to the battlefield, and after winning, the Yan army had retreated back to Chuzhou City to rest. No matter how stupid the officials and soldiers in Qingshan County were, they wouldn't be so stupid as not to send anyone out to check the situation.

The traces of tens of thousands of people fighting, the plains littered with corpses, couldn't be hidden, and besides, in yesterday's battle, although most of the Qian army was annihilated, some lucky ones had escaped, and there must be deserters who had gone to Qingshan City.

"Actually, based on the merits that you have accumulated, you should have been promoted to Lieutenant General long ago," the Blind Man said.

"What's the rush? The key is that the Jingnan (Pacifying the South) Marquis is deliberately suppressing me."

If he wanted to become a Lieutenant General, he would have directly joined the Zhenbei Marquis.

However, Zheng Fan didn't feel any dissatisfaction with the Jingnan Marquis's suppression, because he could see that Tian Wujing's intention to promote him was to hope that he could accumulate strength.

"It's best that you can think it through yourself, my lord. I think the Jingnan Marquis's intention is to arrange for you to have a job where you can stand on your own in the future, at least a General who can have the final say in a county.

Therefore, we still have to earn more military merits, which is related to the position we can be assigned to in the future.

It would be most comfortable if we could be directly assigned to Chuzhou City."

If the Great Yan war goes smoothly,

either the Qian Kingdom will be directly destroyed, or it will be reduced to a Southern Dynasty.

As long as they can lure out and destroy the armies of the three borders of the Qian Kingdom,

the entire northern part of the Qian Kingdom will become the sphere of influence of the Yan Kingdom, and those cities that haven't been taken down will only become isolated cities. Isolated cities are actually very easy to attack.

In the long period of time to come, it is expected that a General will lead his troops to guard a town and defend one side, which is the so-called military control.

This situation will continue until the Great Yan has digested the newly occupied territory, and then the governing power will be taken back from the Generals by the court.

Throughout history, it has always been the case when dynasties change.

Garrison Commander Zheng was very open about this and laughed:

"It's not difficult to make meritorious contributions. Although I don't have any clues, I don't know why, but I may have been too unlucky in my previous life, so I'm really lucky in this life. Merits seem to be rushing into my arms."

"Hehe." The Blind Man and Si Niang both laughed.

"Don't laugh, I'm serious."

"I'm happy for you, my lord. You are blessed with good fortune and favored by fortune," the Blind Man flattered.

Just then,

a team of cavalry charged out of the formation towards the walls of Qingshan County. This was Liang Cheng leading hundreds of cavalry, not to attack the city, but just to run around and stretch their legs, and also to put some pressure on the other side.

The city walls also reacted, and arrows were released early on.

Liang Cheng didn't get too close to the city walls, and turned back with his troops outside the range of the city wall garrison's arrows.

After returning, Liang Cheng dismounted and took the initiative to walk to Zheng Fan and said:

"There are really a lot of garrison soldiers on the city walls, and their armor is also a bit different. I guess this city has absorbed a lot of deserters yesterday, and they have also mobilized the people in the city to help defend the city."

"Hmm."

Zheng Fan wasn't surprised by this. In the future, it would be too wishful thinking to take a city by rushing through the gates, just like the different situations he encountered when attacking Mianzhou City twice.

The Qian people's military preparations were indeed lax, but the Qian people weren't all idiots.

After eating, Zheng Fan sat cross-legged and began to circulate his qi and blood.

His strength had been stuck at the upper eighth rank for some time, but he really had no idea how to continue improving.

Of course, it was normal to have no idea, after all, Garrison Commander Zheng's speed of improvement had already been amazing.

No one would disturb their lord at this time, after all, their lord wasn't just practicing for himself, but for all the demon lords.

The Blind Man went to a place a little further away and sat down to read the files he had gotten from Chuzhou City, which recorded many things about the Qian Kingdom's court.

A soldier squatted next to the Blind Man, passing him hot water from time to time.

Fan Li and Xue San were together, and they began to wander around, looking for small holes to see if they could dig out hibernating snakes.

Ah Ming and Liang Cheng sat together,

Water bag. Ah Ming took a sip, and then handed it to Liang Cheng for a sip.

Neither of them spoke, just letting the cold winter wind blow their bangs.

Half of the Cuiliubao cavalry was resting, and the other half began to ride freely within a safe distance under the city walls, changing shifts every once in a while.

In Qingshan County, after the initial panic, it also fell into silence.

Time slowly passed,

Xue San and Fan Li actually caught a snake and were making a barbecue.

Zheng Fan opened his eyes at this time, and the qi and blood in his body hadn't changed at all.

"My lord, there's no need to rush, cultivation is something that has to be done slowly." Si Niang, who had been sitting far away, got up and walked over when she saw Zheng Fan open his eyes.

"I don't care much about this."

You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and in this world, although there is the saying of the strong, having more soldiers and more generals can also offset one's own shortcomings.

"By the way, Si Niang, next time you disguise yourself, disguise yourself a little more roughly."

Si Niang was stunned for a moment when she heard this, and then she understood.

She always disguises herself when marching. Although she disguises herself as a man, she is too delicate, and since her lord knows her identity and has "intimate contact" with her, when looking at her delicate male face after disguise...

Her lord is afraid that something will go wrong, so he is preventing problems before they happen.

"I understand, mistress."

"My lord, do you want to eat grilled snake skin?"

Xue San walked over with the grilled snake.

Zheng Fan waved his hand and said, "You guys eat it yourself."

"Yes, my lord."

Zheng Fan looked up at the sky and said:

"It's about time."

Zheng Fan pointed his finger at Liang Cheng, who was still "sitting together" over there,

"Hey!"

Liang Cheng heard the call and looked over here.

Zheng Fan circled his hand, and Liang Cheng understood, and began to order his troops to gather and prepare to leave.

The main force should have gone far away by now, and it doesn't matter whether you watch Qingshan County or not, the important thing is to pack up and catch up with the main force and continue south.

The Blind Man also walked over at this time and said:

"My lord, I found that the Yan army going south seems to be much smaller than we thought."

After skipping the three northern counties of the Qian Kingdom, the most direct and closest route south is to pass through Chujun, Beihejun, and Xishanjun, and then directly enter Bianzhoujun, where the capital is located.

If it was really an army of 250,000 going south, this road couldn't be so loose, at least, the scouts from the other towns should be coming and going one after another.

But from Chuzhou City to the south for such a long distance, it seems that only Li Fusheng's town is here.

"Isn't this very similar to your guess?" Zheng Fan asked rhetorically.

"My lord is joking, everything is under your control."

"Don't put gold on my face." Zheng Fan shook his head.

In fact, the top-level military plan has never been fully revealed, and even now, there are still many details that haven't been announced.

For example, which troops and how many people will go to kill under the capital city, and where to choose to fight an ambush against the Qian Kingdom's three border reinforcements.

However, even if the people above don't say it, there will be clues that can be seen.

From Chuzhou City to the south, it is clear that the scale of the Yan army going south is shrinking.

This means that the main force of the Yan army should all be staying in the Chujun area.

The Blind Man has arranged so much in Chuzhou City, even at the cost of "selling" himself and marrying a woman from the Wen family.

If the Qian Kingdom's reinforcements come back in a while, take down Chuzhou City, and kill the Wen family up and down, wouldn't the Blind Man's arrangements be all in vain?

"My lord, the troops are ready," Liang Cheng came to report.

The Cuiliubao cavalry was like a winter outdoor team building, and they were finally gathered and ready to leave.

Zheng Fan turned over and got on his horse, and took a long breath.

The Blind Man rode his horse next to Zheng Fan.

"Can that young lady ride a horse?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Yes," the Blind Man replied.

"Then it's impossible to ride for too long."

"Calluses will grow and then it'll be fine."

"She's your wife," Zheng Fan reminded.

If Si Niang's thighs grew calluses from riding a horse for a long time, Zheng Fan would definitely feel a lot of pain.

Fortunately, Si Niang has martial arts skills and will take care of herself, so there is no need to worry about this problem, but Yue Xin is different. Even if he can ride a horse, where would this young lady from a rich family have the opportunity to ride a horse for a long time?

"Now we're at war, I know what's important."

"Oh, I understand, you're afraid that you'll develop feelings, right?" Zheng Fan laughed.

"Men want to sleep with beautiful women, and men also like smart women."

The Blind Man didn't hide it at all and continued:

"She is very beautiful and very smart."

"Forget it, I won't worry about your affairs, anyway, you can definitely handle it yourself." Saying that, Zheng Fan pointed his finger at the Qingshan County in front and said:

"Blind Man, we don't expect Chuzhou City anymore, it is estimated that at least a Town General will be qualified to guard it, but this Qingshan County is also very good, with mountains and rivers, the scenery is good, not to mention that it is also the north-south transportation hub of the Qian Kingdom. If we can establish ourselves here in the future, it will be a suitable place to develop."

Liang Cheng said:

"Qingshan hides a crouching dragon, the land is as its name suggests, it is a suitable place to start a family."

Zheng Fan was a little surprised and said:

"A Cheng, can you read Feng Shui?"

Ah Ming on the side joked:

"He's been buried too many times."

Everyone immediately laughed, Zheng Fan raised his horse whip and said:

"We don't dare to think about a crouching dragon, and I don't think I have this kind of fate, and besides..."

"Squeak..."

At this time,

the gates of Qingshan County were opened.

The city gates should have been blocked with something before, so it couldn't have been opened by accident, it must have been that the people inside cleaned up the blockage before opening the door.

Three riders came out of the city gate, the leader was wearing a civil official's robe and was tied up like a dumpling.

Liang Cheng immediately sent someone forward to check, and after a while, the cavalryman came back and whispered something to Liang Cheng. After hearing it, Liang Cheng's expression was a little strange, but he still rode back to Zheng Fan,

cupped his hands and said:

"My lord, the garrison soldiers in the city have tied up the County Magistrate and opened the city to surrender to us!"

"......" Zheng Fan.