Chapter 782 The Number One Simp in the World

The armory of Fan City was opened.

Qu Peiluo rode on horseback, with Fan Zhengwen, also on horseback, by his side.

The Fan family head, who always liked to dress as a scholar, finally shed his elegant robes in white and blue tones and put on a leather armor.

He did want to try wearing better armor; it wasn’t as if his family didn’t have any. They even had treasured armor, but after putting it on, he couldn’t even muster the strength to speak. Helpless, he could only choose a piece of leather armor to make do for now.

For the first time, Fan Zhengwen experienced what it meant to be forced into something. This was probably what it felt like.

At the same time, the changes in the past few days had made him understand a principle, not for the outside world, but for the inside, for… himself.

Smart people say, "The sea accepts all rivers because it is low-key and humble,"

But deep down, they inevitably have a kind of arrogance that looks down on everything.

And Fan Zhengwen had finally realized his limitations.

Back then, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t wanted to gradually expand the Fan family and Fan City. He wouldn't dare think about "declaring himself emperor and honoring his ancestors," which was too far away. But at least he could work towards the pattern of a truly great vassal town. It wasn’t necessarily impossible to sit on equal footing with the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion in the future. And if he was even more greedy…

Could he also be enfeoffed as a marquis?

Now, he no longer had such thoughts. In this era of great strife, one had to speak with swords and spears;

When a large army was pressing down on the border, if one couldn’t retaliate with equal sharpness and ability, then everything would be pale and weak.

"If Fan is lucky enough to allow this Fan City to be preserved in this great calamity, then Fan…"

Qu Peiluo turned his head with interest and looked at Fan Zhengwen, asking:

"What will you do?"

Fan Zhengwen smiled and replied:

"I will hand over this Fan City, this family business, completely and thoroughly. Those who are willing to go to Yanjing with me will go to Yanjing, and those who find it hard to leave their homeland will stay. But those who stay will no longer be the masters of the Fan family, hehe.

Since I don't have the ability, I might as well let go directly, and I can still seek a carefree and clean life.

Going to Yanjing, the new ruler won't look at the monk's face, but at the Buddha's face, and if not the Buddha's face, then at the relatives' face, and if not the relatives' face, then at the face of ability, and if not the face of ability, then he has to look at my face of abandoning my family and returning…

Giving me a position as Vice Minister of Revenue shouldn't be too much, right?"

"A servant who has managed finances for my Qu family for a hundred years is naturally qualified to be a Vice Minister of Revenue in Yanjing City."

"Thank you for your auspicious words, Young Master."

The equipment from the armory was transported out in batches. This was not only to allow Qu Peiluo's subordinates to re-equip and provide military supplies for defending the city, but also to arm the young and strong in the city.

A siege battle can narrow the gap in the quality of soldiers. For Fan City at this moment, it was most cost-effective to purely turn it into a game of filling each other with human lives.

But when he saw that many of the military equipment being transported out were in the "Azure Phoenix Army" style, Fan Zhengwen's face was slightly embarrassed.

The Fan family had managed finances for the Qu family for a hundred years, but the Fan family had also been a rat for more than a hundred years.

The Fan family had taken a lot of kickbacks in the work of forging armor for the Azure Phoenix Army.

Qu Peiluo's expression was as usual. He had expected this scene long ago.

"I remember hearing a saying from Yanjing, said to be what the new ruler said to Marquis of Jingnan back then, that Yan was located in a barren land in the northwest,

In terms of population, it is inferior to Qian;

In terms of territory, it is inferior to Chu;

In terms of strategic passes that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is inferior to Jin;

How can Yan now swallow the land of the Three Jins, dominate the north, and intimidate Qian and Chu, overlooking all of Xia?

The Yan people only have five fingers, but they can use all five.

Qian and Chu have ten fingers, but only one finger can be used at a time, or at most three fingers together.

The Yan people clench their fists, while other countries are still counting their fingers. In this situation, how can Yan not be strong, and how can other countries not be weak?"

This was a feeling that arose from the situation. The Fan family's relationship with the Qu family was equivalent to the Qu family's relationship with Chu in the past.

Everyone was nominally in a master-servant relationship, but in reality, they were bloodsuckers attached to the body of the former.

Fan Zhengwen nodded,

And said:

"Therefore, the late Emperor of Yan first trampled on the aristocratic families and unified the domestic pattern before achieving the success of reckless expansion.

I remember that Young Master once went to Eastern Jin?"

"When I was taken as a prisoner, I was detained in Jin for a while."

"Then has Young Master taken a close look at Eastern Jin?"

Qu Peiluo shook his head.

He was under custody at the time, so how could he move freely?

"If we can survive this time, this subordinate suggests that Young Master go to Eastern Jin to take a look. In fact, what this servant has been doing in Fan City these past two years is also imitating what the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion has done in Eastern Jin;

But unfortunately, I failed to draw a tiger and instead drew a dog, and now I have fallen into such a difficult situation.

But this servant still believes that the policy implemented by the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion in Eastern Jin is correct.

To strengthen a country, one must enrich the people and strengthen the army. The people are not afraid of war, and the soldiers are eager to fight. Looking at the entire Eastern Jin, from the bottom up, all the layout and all the preparations are waiting for an order from the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion to immediately turn into thunderous power.

The late Emperor of Yan trampled on the aristocratic families, opened the imperial examinations, and recruited poor scholars to advance. In the final analysis, he was still patching, repairing, and modifying the imperial court's structure.

But Eastern Jin back then had already become a blank slate due to the war. The Marquis of Jingnan's mansion built a new house on the blank slate.

Hearing about its various aspects and observing its details,

Alas,

The world says that Lord Marquis of Jingnan of Yan inherited his military strategy from Prince Jingnan;

But in this servant's eyes,

The strongest point of Lord Marquis of Jingnan is not in leading troops to fight, but in local governance.

This servant used to read history, and I never had a concrete image of a person who had both literary and military talents in his heart. The literati in Qian who read a few books on military strategy and claimed to be proficient in both civil and military affairs were even more laughable.

But in this Lord Marquis of Jingnan, this servant truly realized that there really is such a person with both talents in this world!"

Qu Peiluo shook his head and said, "That's because you haven't led troops or fought him on the battlefield."

Qu Peiluo led the Azure Phoenix Army that the Qu family had reorganized and rushed to defend the king, but was beaten very badly by the Marquis of Jingnan.

"That's because Young Master has never really been in charge of a family and doesn't know how expensive firewood and rice are."

The two looked at each other,

Then,

They both laughed.

Qu Peiluo patted his wrist guard and said, "You said, it's possible that we'll be waiting for the city to fall and die in a while, but we're still here talking about a figure far away in the sky. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"

"At least, it can prove that we lost justly, doesn't it?" Fan Zhengwen continued, "Everyone says that Prince Jingnan of Yan uses his troops like a god, winning every battle. During Da Chu's reign, Nian Yao could only be a trembling turtle in front of Prince Jingnan.

But what was the ending of Prince Jingnan? What was his fate?

Military god, military god, is just a meteor in the night sky. It's brilliant, it's amazing, but that's all it was.

In this servant's opinion,

If the new ruler of Yan doesn't 'restrict' people like Lord Marquis of Jingnan now, or if the new ruler has the ability to restrain him, then if something goes wrong in the future…

Eight hundred years ago, the three marquises opened up the borders under the order of the Emperor of Da Xia, and which of them wasn't first-class in the world in terms of civil and military achievements?

Lord Marquis of Jingnan already has this aura, and his wings have also grown."

Qu Peiluo asked, "So, what's the use of saying all this?"

"Young Master, the higher Lord Marquis of Jingnan goes in the future, the less embarrassing it will be for you to lose to him, and people and history will think it's natural.

Even,

If the princess is snatched away by Lord Marquis of Jingnan, you will no longer be a clown here, but will be sighed by future historians, what kind of Qu family young master dared to… hehe, snatch a woman from a young man.

And he survived.

That's really, amazing."

Qu Peiluo was thoughtful, and then asked, "So, since you, as a servant, are so optimistic about Lord Marquis of Jingnan and the prospects of the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion, why do you still want to go to Yanjing? Wouldn't it be better to directly ask to enter the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion and become a steward?"

"My wife and children are in Yanjing," Fan Zhengwen said with a smile.

"Just because of this?" Qu Peiluo asked.

"Hey, back then, when I was under the Qu family, it didn't stop me from betraying Chu and defecting to Yan, did it?"

Qu Peiluo was speechless for a moment.

After the armory was opened and taken over by Qu Peiluo, next was the Fan family's treasury.

The gold, silver, jewelry, wealth, and silk inside were moved out and began to be rewarded to the subordinates.

Money can make a mill turn, and distributing wealth is indeed the most direct and effective way to boost morale.

When Lord Marquis of Jingnan fought, he could make his soldiers rush forward with a roar with just a few words. This was also because he usually fed them and their families well.

At the same time, the young and strong in the city who were willing to go to the city wall were also rewarded. No matter what happens next, at least now, a kind of atmosphere of defending Fan City and serving the Fan family is gathering in Fan City.

Qu Peiluo said to Fan Zhengwen:

"I will write a letter to the head of the Dugu family in the south next, saying that I, Qu Peiluo, have already entered Fan City. Give me a few days, and I will offer Fan City. I hope the head of the Dugu family will look at the faces of my father and the ancestors of the Qu family and give me this opportunity to atone for my sins."

This was a delaying tactic.

"Will the Chu army believe it?"

After all, they were all veterans of the battlefield and old foxes in politics.

Qu Peiluo said confidently:

"Do you think I would be so cheap?"

Fan Zhengwen shook his head.

Qu Peiluo nodded and said:

"They are the same."

The last time he returned from Fan City with the princess and Liu Ruqing,

Liang Cheng had found the blind man to report about Qu Peiluo.

The blind man was good at analyzing people's psychology,

And directly said:

Qu Peiluo has lost too many times to the master, lost love, lost career, lost family fortune, and even lost his country.

On the Qingtan after the defeat, he wanted to commit suicide, but was stopped;

When he was first released back to Chu, he wanted to rebel, but he was also stopped;

Anything, after a long time, becomes numb. Suicide is the same. It's not that he's suddenly afraid of death, but that he doesn't have the energy.

He has too much pain and too many knots, and coupled with some of the master's bad tastes, it can be said that he is extremely cruel to this Great Benevolent Qu;

But it is precisely because of this method of creating miracles with great effort that it has had some unexpected effects.

Liang Cheng asked if Qu Peiluo was determined to submit to us?

The blind man pondered for a while and said:

Do you know Wu Sangui? In the eyes of people who like to watch the excitement of history, Wu Sangui was furious for Yuan Yuan and led the Qing army into the pass for the sake of a beauty.

Although the fact is not like this, the people who really care about the facts are always in the minority.

Therefore, Wu Sangui has clearly done many heinous things, but people's perception of him is not so extremely bad.

The so-called "furious" for the sake of a beauty can even give off a heroic and unrestrained flavor after a long time.

Finally,

The blind man sighed,

What a pity,

To be able to think of this,

This child is really the unicorn seed of the Qu family,

It's a pity to have met the master,

Unfortunately,

We met us.

…

The letter written in Qu Peiluo's own handwriting was sent to the Dugu family's camp in the south.

In the next two days, the Dugu family's army did stay there and remained still, without continuing to advance, and even the shadows of the army did not really go to the city, except for the sentries occasionally passing by under the city walls.

At the same time, the guards in Fan City began to make the final preparations for defending the city, cutting down and burning the woods outside the city, and collecting and organizing various materials in the city.

Two days was neither long nor short. After all, these two days had passed in vain. For the people of Fan City who were determined to hold on and wait for reinforcements, this was a free profit.

And General Nian in the north seemed to be rectifying the rabble he had gathered while waiting for the Dugu family in the south to officially attack the city.

The north-south pincer attack had to come together to truly destroy the morale of the Fan City guards in one fell swoop.

However, because of the stagnation of the Dugu family in the south, General Nian had to stop.

With Fan City as the center, this large area, where the three parties had clearly been sharpening their knives, had passed through this period of calm.

On the third day, seeing that Fan City had not moved for a long time, the Dugu family's army began to move.

Qu Peiluo sent someone to send a message again, saying that he wanted to meet the old head of the Dugu family.

Over there,

They agreed.

A meeting between the main generals in front of the two armies was a military etiquette inherited from Da Xia, and even earlier.

In the historical records of Da Xia, there were more than once records of Da Xia generals meeting with barbarians, savages, or Yue people in front of the army.

However, this etiquette has been ruined by a marquis surnamed Zheng recently.

Back then, under the Snow Sea Pass, there was a story that was spread throughout the martial world, that was, the Sword Saint broke through thousands of riders with one sword.

So, why did the Sword Saint leave the city?

Because the Marquis of Jingnan at that time was going to meet the barbarian general Gelimu in front of the army.

Letting the Sword Saint of the world, disguised as a flag-bearer, accompany him to meet in front of the army, it is not clear whether this move will be unprecedented, but it is indeed unprecedented.

However, one is because the brilliance of the Sword Saint is too dazzling;

The second is that under the background of the "serious racial discrimination" in Xia, it is not right to not talk about etiquette with the barbarians?

What kind of etiquette should be talked about with animals and livestock? Are they worthy?

In addition, the war results were unprecedented, and under all kinds of light, the Marquis of Jingnan's small flaws in his personal conduct were directly covered up.

In fact, the barbarian general Gelimu at that time did not think about being polite, because the black dragon flag that rose above the Snow Sea Pass had already panicked him and his soldiers, and he also invited a master to disguise himself as his flag-bearer;

Everyone didn't think about being polite,

It's just that the configuration on the side of the Marquis of Jingnan was too high-end, and he directly crushed Gelimu.

But no matter what, although the noble forces in Chu are now declining under the suppression of one after another, the etiquette inheritance between the nobles of Chu is still accepted by each other.

Although the Qu family has been identified by the Chu court as a rebellious clan, and Qu Peiluo has become a sinner who has forgotten his ancestors, the Qu family has been inherited for hundreds of years, and this background and this incense relationship are still there.

The most important thing is that the current Fan City is equivalent to the meat on the chopping board in front of the Chu army, not like the despair of the barbarian army when they looked at the Snow Sea Pass;

When people are not forced to be anxious, they still need etiquette, justice, integrity and shame to decorate the facade. This is the attitude that nobles should have.

A table,

Two chairs,

Two flags;

One side is the Chu Fire Phoenix flag, and the other side is the Yan Black Dragon flag.

Qu Peiluo arrived first. He didn't bring guards. After sitting down, he looked at the Fire Phoenix flag inserted opposite him and was a little lost in thought.

The opposite side first sent a team of knights. After sweeping around to confirm that there was nothing wrong, the knights withdrew. Then, the old head of the Dugu family appeared, dismounted, unloaded his armor, walked over, and sat down.

No tea, no snacks;

Qu Peiluo got up and saluted the old head of the Dugu family:

"Peiluo, I have seen Uncle Dugu."

The old head of the Dugu family looked at the former handsome Qu family in front of him, and the demeanor of Qu Tiannan back then could not help but appear in his eyes.

Once upon a time, Qu Tiannan, the Pillar of the Nation, was known as the flag-bearer of the Chu military in the middle generation.

Not only his background, but his ability;

Many people in the Chu aristocracy said that if Qu Tiannan had not fallen in Jade Plate City back then, Nian Yao would not have been able to emerge like he is now, and the Chu aristocracy would not have been so passive in the army.

In the final analysis, it is because our people are too useless now, and the generation gap is serious, so that Hanmen and Qian Shou, and even slaves, have the opportunity to rise to the top.

Qu Tiannan died in a very aggrieved manner. He was trapped to death. At that time, the civil strife in Chu had just ended, or even just ended, so he was unable to send troops north to support Qu Tiannan. There were also factors of misjudging the development of the war. Chu did not expect the Yan people to be so violent, and unhesitatingly sent troops to attack the savages, and immediately asked Prince Jingnan to come out for the second time after the first failure.

It was Tian Wujing who only surrounded but did not attack Jade Plate City at the beginning, and forced the Azure Phoenix Army to surrender out of the city after exhausting the Azure Phoenix Army's food and grass.

And in the real battlefield, in the first battle of Wangjiang, Li Bao died in Qu Tiannan's hands.

Everything is gone,

Qu Tiannan is dead,

The Qu family has also become a thing of the past.

"Aren't you surrendering?" the old head of the Dugu family asked.

"The princess came here last year. I promised her to leave her a piece of land here so that she can go home and see it when she wants to in the future."

"Heh." The old head of the Dugu family looked at Qu Peiluo, "The princess is pregnant."

The Chu court naturally knew about this, and the Marquis of Jingnan's mansion did not hide it.

"I know," Qu Peiluo said.

The old head of the Dugu family scolded in a low voice: "The child in Princess Your Highness's belly is not surnamed Qu, but Zheng!"

Qu Peiluo smiled,

His face faced the sun, showing a just right angle;

He replied:

"It doesn't matter, I can take the child's surname."