Chapter 855 No Martial Morality!

Leaving the school grounds where the opera stage was, Prince Pingxi didn't choose to return to the Fu Prince's mansion, but went straight out of the city and back to the camp outside the city.

Sleeping in a good bed with good quilts for a night, and then looking at his seemingly solemn but actually simple marshal's tent, the Prince shook his head, sighed, and then smiled.

"Da Hu, go ask that opera troupe. If they're willing to come with us, take them. If they're not, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After Liu Da Hu left the marshal's tent, the Sword Saint on the side said, "If he goes to ask, they probably won't go."

Replace him with a rough-looking Zheng Man or a more valiant Chen Xianba,

and the opera troupe would probably think that the Prince had fallen in love with the opera. If they didn't leave, the Yan people would be angry and kill people; there would be no option to not leave.

But Liu Da Hu looked honest, and was honest at heart. He would definitely protect the Prince on the battlefield at the cost of his life, but in normal times, he inevitably gave people a feeling of insufficient deterrence;

and the Prince had added the phrase "it doesn't matter," so Liu Da Hu would probably really be going to discuss it.

"I gave them the opportunity. Their daughter assassinated me. Am I supposed to enshrine them, crying and begging them to come with me to save their lives?"

"Indeed."

The Prince picked up his teacup, blew on it, and asked:

"Lao Yu, how does it feel?"

"What feeling?"

"The feeling of this journey."

"It's alright. The scenery of Qian is really good. I've been to Jiangnan before; the scenery is even better."

"You know that's not what I'm asking."

"I used to think that the retainers of the three families in Jin were short-sighted and only cared about extravagance and enjoyment, but when their foundations were truly touched, they would rise up and resist.

The Yan people took down the Helian and Wen families after shattering their elites.

After the Situ family nearly collapsed at Xuehai Pass, Situ Lei was still able to put up a desperate fight before his death.

But these Qian people..."

"That's why the imperial court treats Jin the same way. Basically, Jin people and Yan people may have prejudice and distinctions, but in terms of governance, Yan and Jin were almost equal from the start.

Because the imperial court was afraid that the Jin people would rise up in revolt and didn't want Jin to become a quagmire that the imperial court would be forced to sink into.

And if Qian were destroyed first, the conscription and extraction from Qian would definitely be much higher than from Jin, because the Qian people's resistance is controllable.

When a pack of wolves demands from a flock of sheep, they will be even more unscrupulous."

"Unexpectedly, the imperial court's governance would also bully the weak and fear the strong?"

"Since ancient times, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Whether or not one dares to resist, whether resistance can be quickly quelled or is difficult to quell, or even cannot be quelled at all, these differences are actually very big."

"Just like your Jindong."

"That's right."

"But you told that Jing Niang before that there was actually no difference between the Yan and Qian people."

"But the infiltration of the upper class into the lower class, even if it's like scraping the bone to remove the poison, will never recover overnight."

"Then what are you doing bringing troops out of Nanmen Pass and coming here?"

"It's been several years now, and if you give it a few more years, it won't be something that can be described as overnight. Maybe five years? Ten years? One generation down, another generation up.

When that day comes,

I'm sitting there watching the opera,

and the ones who want to kill me aren't the actors on the stage, but the people in official uniforms.

How can this Qian country

still be fought?"

"So, you're also bullying the weak and fearing the strong."

"You can't say it like that. After all, you can't blame others for not having martial morality and liking to pick on the weak. First, you have to blame yourself for being weak."

Zheng Fan said to Chen Xianba: "Pass down the order, the entire army will speed up the rest and reorganization. Start taking stock of supplies and military needs now."

"Yes, Sir!"

Zheng Fan looked at Zheng Man again:

"Order Chen Xiong to lead the vanguard army and set off south immediately to meet up with the scouts of the Third Master."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Are we setting off?" the Sword Saint asked.

"Yes."

Zheng Fan rotated the inkstone in front of him.

"I'm afraid they're getting impatient over there."

"Which side?"

"What do you think? Which side else could there be?"

"Where are they waiting?"

"It's impossible for them to be waiting under the capital city. As long as my army reaches the capital, even if we just throw a rock at the city walls, the Liang victory that the Qian people worked so hard to achieve will be wiped out in one fell swoop, and they'll have to pay for it.

Why am I marching so slowly, and why did I have to stop in Chuzhou City for a rest?

It's to make the Qian defenders on the opposite side think that I, Zheng Fan, am retracing the old path."

"And then, how do you plan to proceed?"

"Back then, because Li Bao was in front attracting the main force of the Qian army to fight all the way, it gave Li Fusheng the opportunity to detour and intersperse, taking the lead in entering Bianzhou Prefecture and penetrating the Qian people's capital area.

This time, I plan to go the opposite way, not following Li Fusheng's path, but following Li Bao's path.

I'm betting that the Qian people will put their main force in the south to intercept me on the detour,

I'm betting that the Qian army in front of me doesn't have arrows in their bows."

"You probably shouldn't be explaining these things to me."

"You were the one who kept asking."

"I did it on purpose."

"Why?"

"Because I think you seem a little flustered, so I kindly kept picking up where you left off."

"Thank you."

…

That night,

more precisely, at dusk, Fu Wang Zhao Yuannian drove his mother, along with his family, out of the city in carriages and into the military camp.

He was afraid, afraid that Prince Pingxi would really leave without saying a word. If that were the case, his Fu Prince's mansion would really be calling to the heavens without getting a response and knocking on the earth without finding a door.

However, the Prince didn't let the Fu Wangfei enter his marshal's tent, but arranged for the people from the Fu Prince's mansion to be settled together.

Fu Wangfei wasn't Si Niang,

Si Niang could eat, drink, and sleep with Zheng Fan in the marshal's tent, but Si Niang wasn't just a pretty face.

You can relax leisurely at your leisure, but in the marshal's tent, the Prince's mind is always clear.

Liu Da Hu returned to report that the opera troupe was unwilling to leave, and the Prince didn't have any further reaction to the matter.

The next day, at night,

the Yan army withdrew from Chuzhou City.

The morning of the day after, the Yan army began to move south.

After confirming that the Yan army had left,

a Qian army that had been on the periphery, with a small number of only a few thousand people, began to approach Chuzhou City and successfully "recovered" it.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner according to the old example of Lanyang City;

After Chuzhou City returned to the control of "Qian," it began to restore contact with the imperial court, and a series of petitions were sent up.

The main blame was placed on Fu Wang Zhao Yuannian, and of course, he bore the responsibility without shirking it.

The rest focused on describing how the officials of Chuzhou City led the people to resist the Yan people to the death, even developing into street fighting, with everyone vowing not to retreat;

Finally, reinforcements arrived and drove out the Yan barbarians.

However,

when writing about the final movements of the Yan barbarians, the gentlemen were in trouble.

Since the Yan barbarians were driven out, how could you write that they went south?

How could you drive someone further and further towards your own capital?

Therefore, regarding the subsequent movements of the Yan army, everyone began to blur the details.

Those with thicker skin and thinner minds said that the Yan army fled in disarray;

Those with thinner skin and thicker minds said that the Yan army was repelled and, unable to gain any advantage, transferred to the southwest or southeast, hoping that the imperial court would make arrangements as soon as possible to prevent the Yan people from gaining an advantage, because the garrisons, generals, and officials in other places were unlikely to be as selfless and dedicated to the country as they were.

But this, in an intangible way, confused one thing, which was the direction of the Yan army's advance. The Yan army's detour actually confirmed a certain possibility.

Of course, they were not the main force of confusion;

Because Xue San's scouts and Chen Xiong's thousands of vanguard cavalry were also detouring, trying to stir up trouble.

Next was the extremely tedious long march;

And when the main force of the Pingxi Prince's army arrived at Xishan Prefecture, it proved that the previous gamble had been successful.

Xishan Prefecture was the last line of defense north of Bianzhou Prefecture, which was the capital area of the Qian Kingdom.

In the Qian Kingdom's defense system, the Three Borders were the first line of defense, and the second was Xishan Prefecture;

Back then, Li Bao's troops were held up and engaged in bitter fighting here, the kind where as soon as one force was defeated, another would immediately fill in, and after being defeated again, a new force would fill in, Li Bao also lost an arm for this.

But this time, when Zheng Fan's army passed by the Xishan Prefecture city and the area not far from Xishan Camp, the largest military camp in Xishan Prefecture, in an almost unconcerned manner, the Qian army inside did not choose to come out to meet or intercept them.

This meant that their main force should have gone to the Xiangsi Mountain line.

Because back then, it was Zheng Fan who suggested that Li Fusheng take Xiangsi Mountain, let Li Bao be the sandbag to attract hatred, and quickly advance straight to the capital.

Perhaps the Qian people didn't expect that the Pingxi Prince, in a posture of advancing alone, would dare to be so tough.

Everyone thought he would take the small door, who would have thought he would go straight through the main door.

However, just as the Yan army was about to pass through Xishan Prefecture in one fell swoop, and the army was almost to the southern border of Xishan Prefecture, a force appeared from the north.

This force was not small in number, with five or six thousand troops, but their armor was inconsistent, their styles were inconsistent, and their organization was scattered. At first glance, they were a hastily pieced-together army coming to the king's aid.

However, this Qian army was different from the Qian army that had been encountered on the road, which, upon seeing the Yan army's banners, only dared to stay in place and wait for the Yan army to leave before daring to come forward to "recover lost territory";

Seemingly because they had clearly understood the Yan army's purpose, they began to "fearlessly" chase after the Yan army in a rapid marching manner, almost disregarding everything.

The chase between two large armies, each with nearly fifty thousand troops, was naturally not like a children's fight, with one only caring about running and the other only caring about chasing. In fact, the peripheral contact and pulling between the two sides had already begun.

Furthermore, after passing Xishan Prefecture and entering Bianzhou Prefecture, they had to cross the Bian River, and the Bian River wasn't frozen yet. Therefore, in order to solve the trouble behind them, which had already become clear;

Under the order of Prince Pingxi,

The Yan army began to set up camp, waiting for the Qian army coming from behind.

After closing the distance, the Qian army also chose to set up camp and settle down. At the same time, according to reports from scouts, deserters were constantly appearing from the Qian army.

Obviously, the previous chase was still within the controllable range of some Qian soldiers' emotions, but once the Yan army stopped moving south, stopped, and saw that they were really going to fight this tiger, the soldiers were afraid and began to flee.

It hadn't even started fighting yet, and it had already become like this, which was truly a characteristic unique to the normal state of the Qian army.

However,

a messenger was sent from the military camp over there to deliver a letter of challenge. The two sides agreed that on the morning of the day after tomorrow, they would form a battle formation in the wilderness and engage in a decisive battle!

Immediately,

a primitive wind of etiquette swept over.

Zheng Fan paid special attention to the signature on the letter of challenge - Han 亗.

"What is this character pronounced?"

Zheng Fan asked A Ming beside him.

"It's pronounced: Sui."

"Oh."

The Prince nodded, and then his attention fell on the string of titles in front of the name, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Marquis of Ning'an, etc., a long list of titles that made it impossible to see at a glance, meaning that this person was extraordinary.

"It should be a retired Qian official, or even... a prime minister. Prime Minister Han? Xianba, call Zhao Yuannian here."

"Yes, Sir!"

Zhao Yuannian was called over and immediately gave the answer after reading the letter of challenge:

"Replying to Your Highness, it is indeed Prime Minister Han."

"Is that the one who framed Prime Minister Cimi to death?"

Zhao Yuannian was stunned for a moment, and said, "There is actually a reason for that, but Your Highness can understand it that way, it is indeed that one."

"How old is he?"

"He should be over eighty years old."

"So, the commander of that Qian army is an... eighty-year-old... civil official?"

"Your Highness, Prime Minister Han has always had an impatient and ardent temperament. Even when Your Highness entered Qian and caused the official to find an opportunity to retire him, he often wrote to the official from his locality, directly pointing out the official's mistakes in governing."

"Ardent and impatient, I can see that. If he wasn't ardent and impatient, he wouldn't be able to do something like sending a letter of challenge and wanting to have a decisive battle with me."

The last time he attacked Qian, when the Qian Kingdom's Three Borders troops were unable to return to support, and the local troops were defeated one after another, righteous armies organized by local officials appeared in various prefectures of the Qian Kingdom, going to the capital to defend the king.

Presumably, this Prime Minister Han used his own reputation and status, and perhaps had something like an imperial sword in his hand, forcibly drawing and organizing this force in his hometown prefecture to intercept him.

"Xianba, take up the pen and write a reply for me, saying that I accept the matter of the decisive battle."

"Yes, Sir!"

Whether to fight, when to fight, whether to fight according to the agreement, Zheng Fan hadn't thought about it yet, but that didn't prevent him from agreeing first.

Promises, integrity, the ancient way of the benevolent, and the like are not worth mentioning on the treacherous battlefield.

However,

after Prince Pingxi's letter was sent out,

in the evening,

another messenger was sent from the northern military camp, bringing a second letter.

Chen Xianba opened the letter and handed it to the Prince.

The Prince read the letter,

and then turned his head to look at the Sword Saint standing beside him,

and said:

"I think my luck is back."

The Sword Saint was a little puzzled.

"Heh heh."

The Prince patted the envelope,

and said:

"Isn't it a decisive battle the day after tomorrow? Prime Minister Han has invited me to meet in front of the two armies tomorrow. And he also noted that, according to ancient etiquette, I can choose one flag bearer to accompany me."

This was actually the same as the principle of not killing envoys in battle, a conventional etiquette that had been passed down for many years;

But in previous years, this etiquette had been humiliated to the ground by one person.

But now,

the same person, has received the same invitation again.

"Lao Yu."

"What, you want me to be your flag bearer again, and kill an old man in his eighties in front of the battle?"

"You don't want to go?"

"I don't want to go. Killing Gremu back then could be said to be sacrificing small things for the sake of greater things, but what about now?"

"Hey, that won't do. You have to go."

Prince Pingxi slammed the table hard,

and said:

"What if that old thing is so bad and doesn't have martial morality, and the flag bearer beside him is Bai Li Jian? What am I supposed to do?"