Chapter 758 You Want Children?

Breakfast:

Preserved egg and lean meat porridge, fried dough sticks, sesame balls, and salted duck eggs.

Tian Tian reached out and picked up a salted duck egg, tapped the hollow end against the tea table, cracked it, and began to peel it. After peeling one end, he handed the salted duck egg to his godfather.

Then, he picked up another salted duck egg and imitated his actions.

Soon, the father and son were both drinking porridge and digging into the salted duck eggs with their chopsticks.

Most of Tian Tian's habits and details were imitations of Marquis Zheng. In this aspect, the father and son were of the same lineage.

After breakfast, Marquis Zheng lay on a recliner, basking in the morning sun, gently rocking his body, while Tian Tian stood aside and began to recite his lessons.

Tian Tian's lessons were taught by Xia Zi (the Blind Man), who was enthusiastic about this job and took time out of his busy schedule every day to teach Tian Tian.

Zheng Fan knew what Xia Zi was thinking.

But Tian Tian's identity was too special, and it was difficult to find a suitable teacher to do this. The lessons taught were also close to this era and not particularly unconventional.

Furthermore,

With Xia Zi's "rebellious" temperament, the children he taught, at the very least, wouldn't obediently slit their own throats with a decree like Fu Su.

The child's biological father had suffered so much for this Great Yan. Since the child was being raised here, Zheng Fan would never allow him to be cultivated into another Tian Wujing who would sacrifice himself for Great Yan.

Perhaps, Old Tian had placed Tian Tian in his care for this reason as well.

Xia Zi had been away for a while, but Tian Tian would practice calligraphy and review his lessons on his own.

Listening to the child's clear recitation, Marquis Zheng took a nap and aided his digestion.

When the child finished his morning lessons, Zheng Fan got up to practice his saber.

Usually, he practiced his saber in the afternoon, but now that Xia Zi and Si Niang (Fourth Madam) were away, he had to take some time in the afternoon to review some government affairs.

Even though Xia Zi and Si Niang had both built their own teams over the years, the people below didn't dare make decisions on their own regarding some overall issues and could only wait for Zheng Fan to personally nod.

Tian Tian excitedly carried his little stool and followed his godfather to the small martial arts field in the Marquis's mansion.

When his godfather practiced his saber, Tian Tian sat there watching intently, waving his little hands from time to time and muttering sound effects for his godfather.

"Hah, hah, oh~"

It was a pity that the Sword Saint had finally understood the realm of the Second Rank while holding Tian Tian, and the Dragon Abyss flying into the sky was truly a grand scene, but in Tian Tian's eyes, it was probably not much different from acrobatics.

The child still believed that his godfather's saber was the strongest.

After finishing his saber practice, covered in sweat, Tian Tian ran over with a towel and handed it to him.

At this time, Xiao Yibo came in and reported, "My Lord, the Second Madam and Third Madam are about to enter the city."

"Understood."

Zheng Fan took a bath, changed his clothes, and after tidying himself up, the princess and Liu Ruqing's carriages had just entered the Marquis's mansion.

The two women didn't look tired from the journey, because most of the journey was by water.

"Greetings, Second Mother, greetings, Auntie."

Tian Tian saluted the two stepmothers.

He originally called Liu Ruqing Third Mother like everyone else, but Liu Ruqing corrected him and told him to just call her Auntie.

The princess stepped forward and picked up Tian Tian in her arms.

"Whoa, it's getting hard to carry you."

As she said that, she kissed Tian Tian's cheek.

Putting aside the potential future conflicts of interest, at least at this moment, it was difficult for any woman to reject a well-behaved and obedient godson like Tian Tian.

Furthermore, the princess knew that Tian Tian was the apple of her husband's eye, and she wouldn't be so foolish as to be jealous of a child at this time.

"You've worked hard," Zheng Fan said.

"Husband."

"Husband."

The two women bowed to Zheng Fan.

"Go and rest. You must be tired from the journey. I'll go to the front office to deal with some matters, and we'll have lunch together later."

Although Marquis Zheng's body had not fully recovered, he was on the road to regaining his strength. With the women back, the family had a real warmth.

However, Marquis Zheng was so eager to deal with official business not because he had contracted the common disease of the men of this era, deliberately ignoring the reunion after a long separation to maintain the dominance of the husband, but because he really had important matters to attend to.

Inside the office, all irrelevant people were dismissed, leaving only He Chunlai.

Soon,

Gou Moli and Liang Cheng walked in.

The Barbarian King's trip to the Chu region was to sort out the relations there, open up the situation there, and make the Fan family a nail in the Chu region for future use in a true sense.

Frankly, this configuration of him plus Liang Cheng was a bit too much, but it was still for the absolute safety of the two madams.

"My Lord."

"My Lord."

Gou Moli was a little surprised. The Marquis had summoned them without delay as soon as they had escorted the two madams back. If this Marquis wasn't someone who put personal matters before public affairs, that would be one thing, but Gou Moli knew that the opposite was true.

He wouldn't look down on Zheng Fan because of this. In fact, this kind of person who liked to put personal matters before public affairs, and who controlled your life and future, was the most terrifying.

The previous example was Zhao Jiulang.

If it were another Zheng Fan, or "Little Tian Wujing," he, Zhao Jiulang, would never have had his throat slit in the morning sun.

Liang Cheng was a little excited, because he knew that his lord had advanced in Yanjing.

Zheng Fan glanced at He Chunlai, who handed a letter to Gou Moli, and signaled Liang Cheng to read it with him.

The letter was from Xia Zi.

Liang Cheng quickly understood that this was the approximate location of the prophecy that had been found.

Gou Moli was a little confused. What did this mean?

Which ignorant tribe on the snowy plains had offended the Marquis's mansion again?

On this matter, Zheng Fan and Xia Zi had discussed it and decided to tell Gou Moli…part of the truth.

The snowy plains were too vast, and there were many tribes there. Don't think that the Barbarians were now trembling in front of the Marquis's mansion. If you wanted to send troops to the snowy plains without consulting him, the Barbarian King, there might still be problems.

Yes,

Marquis Zheng had decided to send troops.

He didn't plan to take the devils and play out a scene of seven swords descending on the snowy plains;

Personally resolving that destined duel seemed cool and chivalrous, but it was actually a bit brain-dead.

What was the point of working so hard to build a large family business?

Was it for one-on-one duels?

Sending a large army to crush everything was the kind of steady happiness that felt good, right?

And once it involved the deployment of troops, especially a long expedition to the far north of the snowy plains, he couldn't be sure without talking to this Barbarian King.

"This Marquis had a dream. In the dream, in the far north of the snowy plains, there was something cursing this Marquis. This Marquis was very uncomfortable, so he decided to eliminate it.

Therefore, this Marquis sent people to the snowy plains in advance to check the situation, and they really found a sect in the far north, a sect with a completely different belief from the faith of the stars.

The map is here. Although it's not very accurate, it's still a rough idea.

Now that we've found it, this Marquis has decided to send troops to wipe it out."

Gou Moli opened his mouth wide when he heard these words.

This was pretty far-fetched.

But he understood that this was not the time to argue about a dream. The Marquis had already decided to send troops, and what he had to do was help configure and arrange this expedition well.

So, Gou Moli went straight to the point and said,

"My Lord, if that's the case, your subordinate has a suggestion."

"Speak."

He had called him over to listen to his suggestions.

As for whether Gou Moli would have any thoughts about the prophecy of the devils or whether it would lead to any accidents, these hidden dangers could be temporarily put aside in the face of a real goal.

"How many people are there in the sect that my Lord mentioned? Are there any directly controlled tribes?"

"Their foundation is in the far north," Zheng Fan replied.

"In that case, there shouldn't be many tribes."

The far north was vast, but it was a forbidden zone for life. It wasn't that no one lived there, otherwise Sanghu wouldn't have been able to integrate a makeshift tribe and move south in the first place.

But since it was proselytizing, the population base was fundamental. Counting it this way, the power under that sect would definitely not be that great. It might not even be as good as an ordinary medium-sized Barbarian tribe.

Moreover, if a large force really appeared on the snowy plains, it would be impossible to hide the news.

"My Lord, your subordinate believes that if we send troops, the army under our Marquis's mansion will inevitably shake the snowy plains. Although the tribes of the snowy plains are not worth worrying about now, it's hard to guarantee that they won't be alarmed and think that our Marquis's mansion is taking advantage of the winter to carry out another campaign of extermination. This is easy to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

If it were normal times, misunderstandings would be fine, and we might even wish they would jump out, so we could set up a target.

But the destination of this expedition is the far north, the journey is long, and we should minimize any potential risks.

Furthermore,

The regular soldiers under our Marquis's mansion seem to be numerous, but one unit is at Zhennan Pass, one unit is at Xuehai Pass, one unit is at Fengxin City, and next, they have to move to Yupan City.

The only soldiers that can be mobilized are General Liang's garrison, and once this garrison is transferred to the snowy plains, the home, such a large territory, will really not be able to withstand any storms.

Moreover,

The deployment of a large army requires grain, supplies, and the consumption of warhorses. Even if we really win in one battle, the enemy can't give us any trouble head-on.

But to run so far just to hit them once, the losses on the road are really huge.

Your subordinate thinks it's not worth it to send the troops under our Marquis's mansion."

"What do you think we should do?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Your subordinate believes that we can order the Hailan tribe to send 10,000 warriors, and then… …"

Gou Moli looked at Liang Cheng and continued:

"And then have General Liang lead 3,000 iron cavalry to guard the rear. Along the way, we can issue orders from the Marquis's mansion, ordering the tribes to provide supplies and support, and even conscript them as our army's auxiliary troops.

In this way, the tribes of the snowy plains will not be too stimulated, and those chieftains will be at ease.

The Marquis's mansion's consumption can also be minimized.

In fact,

We basically have no consumption at all."

Liang Cheng said, "That's a good idea."

Gou Moli smiled and said, "Since the enemy is not strong, we can just borrow a knife to kill them. Our main force is in Xuehai Pass, which is a deterrent to the snowy plains. They will instead work steadily for our army and conquer the far north for our Marquis's mansion.

But if our main force is isolated in the snowy plains, we won't be able to take care of the home first, and if something goes wrong…

My Lord, the tribes on the snowy plains are short-sighted, but they all have the shadow of wolves in them."

Once the main force encountered any difficulties in the far north, the long distance of the return journey would be enough for some Barbarian ambitious to take risks.

To put it more directly, they could collude with the tribes and directly suffocate the expeditionary army on the snowy plains in the cold winter.

This possibility was low, but it did exist.

It had to be said that

The Barbarian King's proposal was very useful to Zheng Fan. Jin Dong seemed to have a strong army, and he, Marquis Pingxi, also seemed to have great military achievements, but the foundation was still a bit weak, and the accumulation was still insufficient.

He could start a big fire, but he couldn't stand a small fire simmering slowly.

"Let's do it this way, but this Marquis will lead the troops personally."

Gou Moli was stunned for a moment, but he still didn't say anything to stop him.

Zheng Fan looked at Gou Moli and said:

"I'm a little worried about you, so you can accompany this Marquis on the expedition."

Gou Moli smiled and

Said:

"Your subordinate obeys. Your subordinate also wants to go home and take a look."

Liang Cheng said, "Your subordinate will start preparing now. In addition, I'll have Ke Yandong Ge send an official letter to the Hailan tribe, asking them to gather their men."

"Well, Xia Zi and Si Niang should be back soon too."

Zheng Fan stretched and said, "Go find San'er again and have him set off tonight with his men to scout the way for us."

"Yes, your subordinate understands."

Gou Moli and Liang Cheng went down.

Zheng Fan sat in the chair in the office for a while longer.

The reason why he was preparing to mobilize troops so eagerly was because he was afraid of things taking too long. If he could strike before the other party matured, he would never delay.

The most hateful thing was that if you delayed, fate would punish you.

For example,

When you lead your troops to arrive,

The other party suddenly says to you:

I just woke up.

At this time, it would be completely meaningless to regret why you didn't set off earlier or why you didn't leave earlier.

As for whether this map was a trap.

The probability of it being a trap was very low, because it was a complete accident that he ran into Fan Xiaheshang, and the cassock was stored in that familiar Barbarian tribe, and was used by the noble of that tribe to wrap jade. But what if he took it to give to his lover or simply tore it open to make clothes?

If this could also be made into a trap, then fate had truly arranged everything.

And even if it was a trap, he would just fill it with lives. If five hundred wasn't enough? Then a thousand, two thousand, three thousand, even ten thousand or twenty thousand, see how big your appetite is.

Marquis Zheng reached out and rubbed his face, got up, and left the office.

……

Marquis's mansion, back house;

The princess had already settled her luggage. The small courtyard had been tidied up long ago, so it wouldn't seem a bit dusty and messy because no one had lived there for a while.

Tian Tian was riding on Qing Mang's back, circling on the pond in the courtyard.

Perhaps, Tian Tian didn't have a bamboo horse to ride in his childhood, but his toys were not something that ordinary children could have.

The black cat and the fox stood beside him, watching intently, for fear that the young master would fall down carelessly.

"Tian Tian."

The princess called out.

Qing Mang stopped, Tian Tian got off the snake's body, and walked over while tidying up his clothes.

"Second Mother, did you call me?"

"Come, this is the fruit that Second Mother brought you from the Chu region. Second Mother will peel it for you to taste."

The swamps of the Chu region could not only produce the tea that Marquis Zheng missed, but also all kinds of rare and exotic fruits. However, the difficulty of picking them was very high, and the commoners near the swamps of the Chu region were risking their lives doing this kind of business.

Of course, for the powerful and wealthy, they were already used to enjoying the sweetness of the blood of the bottom people.

Tian Tian reached out and took a fruit, took a bite, the pulp was sweet and fragrant, like an orange, but not sour at all, and very refreshing.

"Is it good?"

"Good." Tian Tian nodded.

"Come, Second Mother will peel another one for you."

"No, Second Mother, leave it for you and Father to eat."

"Don't worry, he won't miss that bite. Besides, he'll only eat it after you've had your fill, right?"

The princess reached out and rubbed Tian Tian's nose.

Sometimes the princess herself wondered, what if her future child wasn't as well-behaved as the child in front of her?

After the feeling of raising a child had been elevated to such a height by this child, would her future child be disliked by her if he was disobedient?

"Have you fallen behind in your studies recently?"

"Mr. Bei has gone out, and Tian Tian is reciting the books himself."

"What about painting?" the princess asked.

"I've painted, according to Second Mother's instructions before she left, one painting every five days."

The quality of Marquis Zheng's harem was very high, and even Liu Ruqing was proficient in some music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and the princess was even more powerful.

Xia Zi was responsible for the lessons, and the princess and Liu Ruqing were responsible for painting and music.

In this era, music was a standard for measuring a person's status, after all, only those who were free from the worries of food and clothing had the leisure to learn music.

"Our Tian Tian is so well-behaved, then Second Mother will test you, can Tian Tian draw this fruit?"

"Okay."

Tian Tian nodded, he was not afraid of being tested on his studies, because someone testing his studies meant that someone was standing in front of him and talking to him.

But he knew that his godfather was very busy, so he never said that he felt lonely.

"It just so happens that Second Mother brought back a set of painting tools from the Chu kingdom, someone, bring it out."

"Yes, madam."

A brand new and expensive set of painting tools was brought up.

Spread out, arranged well;

Tian Tian didn't use a paperweight, but used a red stone to press it down. He was used to the feeling of his older sister accompanying him to practice calligraphy and painting.

"Someone."

"Madam."

"Go tell the Marquis that Tian Tian is in my room, and let the Marquis come to my place for a small reunion dinner tonight."

"Yes, madam."

"Tian Tian, be good, you draw first, Second Mother will go change her clothes."

"Yes, Second Mother."

The princess took a brocade box and went into the inner room.

She opened the brocade box, and inside, lay a golden pill.

Seeing this pill, a look of expectation appeared in the princess's eyes.

In fact, the rare and exotic fruits she had eaten earlier were just an appetizer, this pill was the real thing, condensing the blood of a tribe.

And at this time,

The red stone that Tian Tian used as a paperweight,

Trembled.

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