Chapter 164 The Situation

Three more days passed. During these three days, several bonfires would be lit outside Cui Liu Fort every night, as Blind Man Bei conducted ideological education and reformation on the newly arrived barbarian soldiers.

With the old barbarian soldiers sharing their experiences, the effectiveness of the ideological transformation was quite obvious.

Zheng Fan had already noticed that during the day, the gazes of those newly arrived barbarian soldiers towards him carried a fearful dread.

Well, Zheng Fan no longer cared what role Blind Man Bei had assigned him during the brainwashing.

Since he was too lazy to "rejoice with the soldiers and civilians," it seemed good enough to let them fear him as a demon, at least it was less troublesome.

The newly arrived barbarian soldiers were young and strong men from affiliated tribes. Their tribes had already entered Yan and been settled down. So, to a certain extent, they were actually like the aristocratic family penal soldiers, their weaknesses were grasped, and they were easier to tame.

However, sitting in the room, looking at some of the messages delivered by Little Sixth, made Zheng Fan feel a little depressed.

Firstly, there seemed to be some unusual movements in the Desert Royal Court. There were still 100,000 Northern Garrison troops stationed in the Northern Sealing County, but after 200,000 of the original 300,000 were withdrawn, the deterrent force against the desert had dropped too much all at once.

The Yan Emperor ordered the First Prince, Ji Wujiang, to lead 100,000 Yan Capital Imperial Guards and the Tiancheng County soldiers to Northern Sealing County to guard the desert.

The imperial court's appeasement policy towards the desert had attracted many desert barbarian tribes to become affiliated, which was also a countermeasure to weaken the barbarian's strength.

Little Sixth said in the letter that the Yan Capital Imperial Guards had always been heavily infiltrated by aristocratic families, and many of the original generals and captains were from aristocratic families.

During the imperial court's suppression of aristocratic families, the Yan Capital Imperial Guards had also undergone a major cleansing, which greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the originally more decorative Imperial Guards.

However, in Zheng Fan's view, since there were still 100,000 Northern Garrison troops from the Northern Garrison Marquis's mansion in the Northern Sealing County, the army led by the First Prince should not have major problems if they helped from behind and played a supporting role.

At the same time, Little Sixth's letter also said that a new round of infighting had begun in Jin, but this time, it looked a bit strange, because after such obvious and clear movements in the neighboring country of Yan, the three clans of Jin should know, even if they were as stupid as pigs, that they should not start a major conflict at this time, so it had a bit of a cover-up meaning.

The remaining Imperial Guards in Yan Capital, as well as the county soldiers that could be mobilized from various places, were mostly allocated to the eastern direction of the empire, as a warning to Jin, and also to prevent Jin from taking advantage of Yan's conquest of Qian like Qian did a hundred years ago.

Seeing this, Zheng Fan couldn't help but reach out and rub his brow, because he was the Cui Liu Fort garrison commander, so he was naturally very sensitive to any disturbances in the Silver Wave County area.

Yesterday, the Jingnan Army's 50,000 rearguard troops set out.

These 50,000 rearguard troops had always been the Jingnan Army's reserves, and their combat effectiveness and equipment were naturally not as good as the 50,000 Jingnan Army regulars, but they were definitely better than ordinary county soldiers.

According to the intelligence gathered, this rearguard army was not going south, but east.

Presumably, they were also dispatched to defend against Jin.

In this way, the entire interior of Yan was actually very empty.

If at this time, something like an uprising or rebellion led by the remnants of the aristocratic families suddenly broke out within Yan, it would be really difficult for the Yan Emperor sitting in Yan Capital to have troops that could be transferred to suppress the rebellion for a while.

Because, after the 200,000 Northern Garrison troops suppressed the aristocratic families, the vanguard troops had entered Silver Wave County the day before.

Not good, not good.

Zheng Fan picked up his teacup and took a sip of hot tea.

The barbarians had always been a major concern for the Yan people. Although the barbarians were no longer powerful, they were, after all, old enemies for hundreds of years, with deep blood feuds, so there could be no relaxation of vigilance.

Sending Imperial Guards to support the north was a very appropriate measure in itself.

It should be known that when the barbarian royal court was flourishing a hundred years ago, the Yan State would rather let the founding Northern Garrison Marquis take only 30,000 iron cavalry back to guard the home, and still choose to leave the main force in the desert to fight the barbarian army.

Great Yan had defended the East against the barbarians for hundreds of years, which was not just talk, but a real practice.

Although Jin was plagued by internal strife, leading to a continuous decline in national power, and there were even rumors that the three major clans might "divide Jin" at any time.

However, the strength of the Jin army had always been good. They often had friction with Chu. Although the two sides had not engaged in large-scale wars for many years, skirmishes of 20,000 to 30,000 troops had basically never stopped. Jin was busy with internal strife while still managing not to fall behind in the friction with Chu.

Therefore, Jin had to be guarded against, and the new round of conflict in the Jin court, which even Zheng Fan could see the trickiness of, would naturally not be hidden from the Yan Emperor.

However, under this situation, the situation in Yan was really a bit like a person standing on the edge of a cliff.

No matter which side had a problem, or even if no problem occurred and things continued to stalemate like this, Yan itself would experience twists and turns.

Since ancient times, war had always had one attribute, which was to shift domestic conflicts.

The interior of Yan at this time was like being placed on a grill and roasted.

The only key to breaking the situation lay with Qian.

But how should this war be fought?

………

Harboring deep thoughts of concern for the country and the people, Garrison Commander Zheng chose black silk stockings tonight.

………

The next day,

Early in the morning,

There was a sound outside the door.

"Master, Third Master is back!"

Xiao Yibo's voice was filled with obvious excitement. After all, among the entire Cui Liu Fort, the demon king who had the best relationship with him was Xue San.

A few days ago, the fort sent out troops, but Third Master did not return, which made Xiao Yibo secretly wipe away tears several times.

Xiao Yibo could really feel that Xue San did not mind his identity as a patricide, and was even willing to have a pot of wine and a plate of peanuts with him to chat when he was free.

So, upon learning that Third Master had returned safely, it could be said that Xiao Yibo ran back to inform the master with red eyes.

Zheng Fan was awakened,

Frowning slightly.

At this point, he had actually slept enough, but he still wanted to lie down for a while longer.

If it were in his previous life, he would have taken out his mobile phone while lying in bed, not in a hurry to get up, swiping through his phone to dawdle for a while.

In this life, he didn't have a mobile phone to swipe, but he had Fourth Niang, who was much more fun than a mobile phone.

Therefore, Zheng Fan instinctively felt angry at Xiao Yibo's behavior of disrupting the atmosphere early in the morning.

Fourth Niang turned her head, she was also awake.

Zheng Fan looked at Fourth Niang and lowered his head to kiss her.

In fact, according to common sense, no matter how beautiful a woman or how handsome a man, as long as they were normal people, their breath would be very strong when they first woke up.

So, the operation in many TV series where the male and female protagonists had to kiss after waking up was simply too heavy.

But Fourth Niang was different. First of all, Fourth Niang's physique might be a bit special, and secondly, Fourth Niang would hold a piece of her own secret mint leaf before going to bed.

In this way, after waking up, her mouth would also have a fresh, sweet taste.

"Master, Third Son is back?" Fourth Niang asked, nestling against Zheng Fan.

At the same time, her left hand began to draw spirals on Zheng Fan's chest.

"Well, he's back, so be it, let's sleep a little longer."

………

Facts proved,

Garrison Commander Zheng's decision to sleep a little longer was extremely wise and extremely correct.

Because when Xue San returned,

Blind Man and the others were having breakfast,

Xue San went up and gave Blind Man a big hug,

And then Blind Man, who had always been calm, vomited directly!

After Zheng Fan put on his clothes with Fourth Niang's help, Xue San had already scrubbed himself several times with soap.

"Master, boo hoo hoo, this subordinate thought that I would never see you again, Master, thought that I would never hear your teachings again."

Xue San performed with rich emotions.

Returning to Cui Liu Fort, he originally wanted to pay tribute to his old friends, but he didn't expect Cui Liu Fort to still be there. After entering, he found that Blind Man and the others were still there, and then, Master actually hadn't hung up!

Xue San's emotions could be said to be quite complex, probably similar to how Sun Wukong both loved and hated the golden hoop.

"Alright, alright, it's best that you can return safely." Zheng Fan reached out and patted Xue San's head.

He wanted to pat his shoulder, but his waist was a little sore,

He didn't want to bend over.

Xue San began to tell all of his experiences after sneaking into Mianzhou City that night. When he talked about hearing the cook's words and planning to risk returning,

He was interrupted by Blind Man Bei in time.

"Third Son, don't talk about how you came back for now, take out the head of the King of Fu for us to see."

"Okay!"

Xue San didn't really want to talk about how he came back either!

After taking out the head of the King of Fu wrapped in golden silk soft armor, everyone's expressions were a bit strange.

Because this head looked too much like a pickled pig's head that was about to be stewed in a pot.

"This King of Fu looks a bit like Xu Wenzu."

Zheng Fan said.

People who are fat tend to look alike.

"Master, this is the identity token and some documents, this subordinate brought them back as well."

Xue San knew that relying on a single head would be difficult to be convincing. After all, there was no facial recognition technology or DNA technology in this era.

Zheng Fan nodded and said,

"You've worked hard."

This was another great military achievement, and, Zheng Fan was clear that after Xu Wenzu gathered and then disbanded the troops a few days ago, he was probably feeling extremely depressed. Sending up this head that looked very similar to Xu Wenzu should be able to relieve Xu Wenzu's embarrassment.

At this time, what this head could represent was much greater than the heads of one or two thousand Wolf Tusi soldiers.

"Find a nicer box and repackage it." Zheng Fan said.

"Master, let's use this head to free the remaining relatives of the penal soldiers from their slave status." Blind Man Bei suggested.

Xu Wenzu had just given Zheng Fan 1,500 barbarian soldiers, and Cui Liu Fort now had more than 2,500 cavalry.

Therefore, it was basically impossible to ask for more people and military resources in a short period of time. It would be better to take this opportunity to do a favor. There were still many people among the penal soldiers whose relatives had not been able to escape slavery, and this time they would all be settled together.

"Well, that's what I was thinking too."

Xu Wenzu, the milk cow, had just given a lot of milk, and should be dry for a while.

At this time, Ding Hao walked over. Ding Hao had been in a good mood for the past few months, because after the Yan Emperor suppressed the aristocratic families, the Northern Sealing Liu family, which had originally occupied the Northern Sealing County, had also been exterminated.

It was the same as Ding Hao's revenge being avenged in this way. With the pressure off his shoulders, the whole person looked much more energetic.

"Master, people from the Secret Spy Agency have come from outside, it's still that one… Shan Ji."

Shan Ji is here again?

Yes,

Brother Shan Ji is here again.

Zheng Fan originally thought that the Secret Spy Agency wanted to urge him to mobilize the troops in the fort to do something, but now the Qian people had completely abandoned the fortresses and adopted a scorched earth policy. Even if he wanted to fight, there was no place to fight.

Xu Wenzu had gathered his troops that day, preferring to lose face rather than casually find a place to fight or take a turn around.

However, this time was different from the last time.

When he met Brother Shan Ji,

Shan Ji directly said:

"Sir Zheng, the Marquis invites you."

………

A small mud stove, with an iron plate on top, greased with oil, and sprinkled with a little brown sugar, simmering out a caramel color.

The Northern Garrison Marquis sat behind the mud stove, using a short knife to first cut a few strips from the rice cake, then placing them all on the iron plate, and then beginning to flip them.

Soon, a sizzling fragrance filled the air.

Tian Wujing sat on the opposite chair, holding a booklet in his hand, silently reading it.

Great Yan, one south and one north, two Marquises, reunited together.

"Baked, want a piece? Uncle Xue's rice cakes are very delicious."

The Northern Garrison Marquis generously pointed to the rice cakes on the iron plate.

Tian Wujing shook his head and turned a page. He didn't like sweets.

"Sigh, you can tell you've had a comfortable life since you were a kid."

Li Liangting himself picked up a piece, put it to his mouth, ignoring the heat, took a big bite, and then chewed while shivering his mouth.

Next to him, Qing Shuang handed over a glass of ice water made from melted snow.

Li Liangting took it and took a big gulp.

"Hiss………”

The Northern Garrison Marquis ate with relish.

"I say, what's written in the Qian state gazette?"

The gazette, of course, was not a newspaper. It was also called the official report, and it was a periodic compilation of edicts, memorials from officials, and some things related to political intelligence that were issued to officials of a certain level in the country to read. It was a bit similar to the internal reference in later generations.

This was actually a state secret intelligence. Reading the gazette could give one a lot of insight into the official movements of a country.

Of course, for the Secret Spy Agency, getting a copy was not a difficult task.

"The West Army's cavalry camp has gone north, and the Great Zhong Minister and the Little Zhong Minister have separated."

"Hey, the Qian people's old habits can't be changed."

Li Liangting picked up the knife and picked up another piece of rice cake. This rice cake was a bit old, but it was crispier.

"Years ago, when you were still young, Qian once produced a Tattooed Minister."

"I know."

"You know shit, you hadn't led troops yet at that time."

Tian Wujing didn't argue, and was too lazy to argue.

"The Qian state's southwest Tusi rebellion may not seem like much to you and me, and in fact it's not much. If it weren't for those Tusi relying on the mountainous terrain, the Qian army would probably have been able to put it down long ago.

Didn't that kid surnamed Zheng go to Qian once and cut off the heads of several thousand Wolf Tusi soldiers to come back and report his achievements?

At that time, my dad was still around, and the late emperor was still around. For this Tattooed Minister, the two old guys were so anxious that they were about to explode, hehe."

Li Liangting took a bite of the rice cake and continued while chewing:

"Looking at people, first look at their appearance. Pacifying the southwest Tusi rebellion is only the first step. Why did this Tattooed Minister give the two old men such great pressure back then?

Because at that time, the Qian state's military men, because of him, had a tendency to rise.

Damn it,

Qian is too damn big, and too damn rich!

The Qian state, on paper, supports 800,000 troops on the three borders and 800,000 imperial guards every year. This doesn't even include the Ancestral family army in the southeast coast of the West Army.

If the Qian state's military men really become powerful, it will be difficult for our Great Yan to go south again."

Tian Wujing put away the booklet in his hand and said calmly:

"The Qian state's Zhao family's acquisition of power was improper, and suppressing the military with literature has always been a national policy."

After speaking,

Tian Wujing added:

"In this world, throughout history, only our Majesty dares to completely hand over military power to his subordinates."

"That kid surnamed Zheng has a very good saying, that is, there is too little food at home, and the brothers are breaking their heads, but they are still not full, so it's better to go outside to grab food to eat."

"He has always been good at talking."

"That's right, even that eunuch Wei Zhonghe appreciates him."

"How many times have you mentioned him today?"

Li Liangting threw the short knife on the ground, the blade piercing the floor. He wiped his mouth unceremoniously with the back of his left hand and said:

"What I mean is, damn it, I wanted him back then, but you wouldn't let me. Okay, I gave him to you, but damn it, you still only let him stay in that fortress."

"Xu Wenzu, isn't he also one of your people?"

"Xu Wenzu is a capable man."

"I know."

"But that kid surnamed Zheng is just left there, it's a pity. Our Great Yan is not as good as Qian. Qian has a lot of people, and talents pop up from time to time."

"A while ago, the Zhong family's young general led 3,000 West Army cavalry around the Silver Wave County border."

"I know about this."

"He can hide it from Xu Wenzu, but he can't hide it from me. If he had been willing to send troops to intercept at that time, by the time the troops from other military fortresses arrived, it would have been possible to leave that Qian cavalry behind."

"Hehe, do you mean he avoided the battle to preserve his strength?"

Tian Wujing didn't speak, because it was an obvious matter.

Li Liangting shook his head and said:

"Wujing, you don't know the price of firewood and rice when you're not in charge of the household. More than ten years ago, His Majesty directly appointed you to lead the Jingnan Army. This family fortune was directly taken over.

You haven't experienced the hardships of starting a family and running a household. Sometimes, fighting a war is like doing business. There are risks and profits, but those purely stupid and bad battles are better not fought."

"It's surprising to hear these words come from your mouth, Marquis of the North."

"Tch, how do you think my 300,000 Northern Garrison troops came to be? Yes, in the past few decades, most of our Great Yan's taxes have had to support my Northern Garrison troops.

But to be honest, 300,000 iron cavalry, this family fortune, is really difficult to defend. So I understand that kid. Anyway, the face lost isn't his own, and the tall ones have to take the blame first. He doesn't need to risk his life."

"So your daughter made the decision to use the lives of 2,000 civilians as bait."

"Hey, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, this is the family style, what about it!"

Tian Wujing didn't want to speak anymore.

"I say, since a war is about to start, give this kid a hand. If it really doesn't work, since you're not using him, just give him to me again?"

"This time the war starts, it is destined to have deaths. His Majesty's decree is also very clear. This battle will be commanded by me."

"I'm not arguing with you for this command, as long as I can let my Northern Garrison troops fight with that group of Qian people, I'll even be your halberd-bearer."

"He, since he wants to preserve his strength, let him stay there and preserve it."

"Hey, I say Wujing, you're being too ruthless. You're the one who insisted on keeping him, and everyone makes mistakes, right? You're just slapping him to death, what's the matter?

Do you know that if he misses this battle, it will be difficult for that kid to rise again."

"The path, he chose himself."

"Tsk, isn't there a little room for maneuver? This kid is a smart person. He knows what occasions really require him to put in his full strength and make sacrifices.

At the very least, he is one of the most meritorious and capable of those military heads, right? If you don't bring him, wouldn't that chill the hearts of those military heads?"

"The heads of two thousand-plus Wolf Tusi soldiers are nothing in my eyes."

"Oh ho, then what do you want him to do to make merit? Go and cut off the head of a Qian state prince for you?"

Hearing this, Tian Wujing

seemed to really think about it,

and said:

"He could."