Chapter 798 Carrying the Coffin

Indeed, Yan soldiers came over with the reward money and distributed it to the captured Chu soldiers. The Chu soldiers were stunned. What was going on?

Huang Dingyuan, being the head of the group, mustered his courage at this time, forced a smile, and asked:

"Marquis… Consort, what happy occasion is this?"

Lord Zheng on the Pixiu opened his mouth and said:

"My Lady has conceived. Let us share the joy with you."

"Congratulations, Consort! Congratulations, Consort!"

Huang Dingyuan immediately kowtowed three times, and then beckoned his men to come and kowtow with him.

"Congratulations, Consort! Congratulations, Consort!"

Everyone was saying auspicious words.

The scene was somewhat comical;

But they were fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others. As prisoners, what could they be particular about?

Moreover,

Years ago, when "Lord Zheng" snatched the princess from Chu, the entire Chu nation was filled with righteous indignation, wishing to eat the Yan barbarian's flesh and drink the Yan barbarian's blood!

The glorious Chu was being defiled by a Yan barbarian!

But as the Yan people relied on their unparalleled iron cavalry and Jingnan Wang's series of military actions against Chu, and as Zheng Fan gradually rose to the rank of Military Merit Marquis of Yan, suppressing the Chu people;

The Chu people lost several Pillar Generals, lost Yingdu, lost the Great General, and many nobles even had their ancestral graves dug up. Under such blows, unknowingly, the Chu people's attitude towards "Marquis Pingxi" began to change.

From the earliest "Yan dogs" to "Yan thieves" to "Marquis Pingxi of Yan," to "Marquis," and finally to "Consort."

Qu Peiluo was definitely not an isolated case.

When you can knead him at will, when he tries to resist but fails again and again,

If he doesn't want to die,

Then he can only actively cooperate and transform into the image you want to knead.

However, Huang Dingyuan and these Chu people misunderstood, thinking it was their own princess who was pregnant.

This matter was not a secret among the Chu high-level officials, but for these Chu soldiers stationed on the border who weren't even considered regular soldiers, it was extremely fresh news.

Lord Zheng was generous with the reward money. Afterward, he turned his horse around and led the knights back to board the ship.

However,

The next day, more Chu troops followed from behind.

The ship stopped again, and several Yan soldiers carried a basket of copper coins and began to throw them. The Chu soldiers happily took the reward money while shouting auspicious words loudly.

It wasn't that they were greedy for these rewards. Ordinary soldiers might like them, but their leaders still looked down on them. They simply wanted to imitate Huang Dingyuan's initial gesture and curry favor.

Some habits formed by the centuries-old aristocracy of Chu still lingered. Two noble families might fight to the death one moment, and the next they might be discussing kinship and being affectionate;

In the end, the copper coins weren't enough. The generous Lord Zheng even took out valuable items like brocade and jade to distribute as rewards. Of course, it was impossible for everyone to get one item; one item would be given to a group of people. He didn't want anything else, just a group of people shouting auspicious words on the shore to make Lord Zheng happy.

There was even a local Chu official who brought his men to set up an incense table on the shore in advance to pray for Lord Zheng and the "princess'" child.

Lord Zheng went down, and after Si Niang checked, he drank a glass of wine. Everyone was happy.

…

"Mr. Bei, do you think my Chu people are very obsequious?"

Qu Peiluo stood on the deck, looking out at the scenery on the river, and asked.

"People in this world are all the same. Eighty percent live muddled lives, and of the remaining twenty percent, ninety percent only see the muddled lives of others but forget about themselves."

"What does that mean?"

"Acting smart."

Qu Peiluo smiled, "Indeed."

These people who are "being attentive" will be purged next, because they think they are congratulating the princess, but in reality, they are not.

"General Qu…"

"Mr. Bei, please call me Peiluo."

"Alright, Peiluo; tomorrow we will probably leave the Chu border. Chu is still vast."

"Yes, Peiluo has always felt that the Yan is exhausted from fighting, while Qian Chu is guarding a mountain of treasures but is being beaten."

"It's like the stupid son of a wealthy landlord, hehe."

The blind man took out an orange. He had been in a good mood lately, so he peeled quite a few oranges. Unfortunately, Gou Moli stayed in Fancheng, so he could only peel oranges for anyone who had an empty mouth.

Qu Peiluo took the orange and began to eat it.

"Peiluo heard that many of the affairs in Fengxin City are managed by Mr. Bei. Even the Marquis told me to come to you to specifically discuss the handover in the future."

"Mr. Feng is in charge of finances, and I can manage other affairs;

Actually, under my Marquis's command, there are barbarian soldiers and also savage soldiers. Not to mention the Yan and Jin soldiers, logically speaking, you should prepare to command a Chu army to be most suitable.

But the conditions are not yet ripe. The soldiers you see entering Chu this time are already all the elite soldiers under the Marquis's command.

Thankfully, Chu didn't have time to react, and in the end, they couldn't make up their minds. If they had really used human lives to fill the gaps, emulating the determination of the Yan people a hundred years ago when facing the Qian nation's 500,000-strong army invading the north and clearing the fields, swallowing our army, then it could be said that the Marquis Pingxi's sky would have collapsed by more than half.

Furthermore, the Marquis's foundation is still weak, and after a battle, we have to stop and catch our breath.

You should first lead troops in Fengxin City and preside over the defense. In the future, we will slowly collude with Chu and strive to策反 (cefan, turn against) one or two Chu military generals to bring their troops over, or recruit some Chu people to tailor-make a Chu army for you."

"Mr. Bei doesn't need to tell me in such detail. Whatever you say, whatever the Marquis says, I will do it."

The blind man shook his head and said, "That won't do. We have to fully utilize everyone's value and make everyone actively think about it and be eager to do things. Only then can the scene be truly beautiful."

Qu Peiluo nodded.

"Let me tell you about the Marquis's next plan."

The blind man peeled another orange.

Qu Peiluo wanted to say, just talk, don't peel oranges all the time;

But when the blind man sent the orange pulp over again, he still reached out and put it in his mouth.

"Eastern Jin is a treasure land and must continue to develop. Originally, we were absorbing refugees from Jin, but now our neighbor Xu Wenzu in Yingdu is doing a great job. The imperial court has also begun to focus on people's livelihood and resettlement. With the policy of recuperation, it will be difficult for any large-scale refugees to appear for us to receive."

"Savages?" Qu Peiluo interjected, "Barbarians are too far away."

"Yes, but also no. Savages are one aspect, but we can't absorb too many savages. The population ratio must be controlled, otherwise it will easily cause problems."

"Actually, there is already a problem now." Qu Peiluo said, "With the current situation of the Marquis's Manor and Eastern Jin, as far as I know, if the Pingxi Marquis's Manor didn't exist, Eastern Jin would directly fall into chaos, even if the Yan court used official positions and the situation to force them to be stable, it would only be temporary."

The blind man nodded. Qu Peiluo was right. Introducing foreign races into the pass, borrowing the manpower and military force of foreign races, seems very simple, direct, and effective, but the Five Hu Barbarian Uprising actually came about in this way.

"Then, let the Marquis's Manor always exist." The blind man stretched, "After the summer and autumn, I plan to start absorbing refugees from Chu. In fact, there are already many Chu dead souls in the mountains west of Zhennan Pass."

"Will they come?"

"You are of noble birth, although you were down on your luck for two years, you still won't feel it deeply. Your nobles value origin, lineage, and some higher-level things, but for the common people, what they want is to eat and dress warmly. They will vote with their feet.

Hmm,

This is also one of the tasks you will be responsible for in the future. You should think about it carefully during this period. The rebel army and the Chu refugees who come to join us, with the help of the princess's identity, should be able to recruit quite a few.

How much we can eat, that's how much Chu will weaken."

"I understand."

"Good."

The blind man turned his head and faced the cabin. Seeing A Ming carrying a small stool about to walk in, he called out;

"A Ming, why aren't you staying at the bottom of the ship? Why are you coming up?"

A Ming replied, "Basking in the sun."

The blind man shrugged.

When A Ming walked into the cabin, he found that Fan Li was already squatting in the corner.

Si Niang was crossing her legs and sitting at the table, continuing to make plans and reports for the new quarter.

Seeing A Ming carrying a stool in, she couldn't help but find it funny:

"You're here too?"

A Ming nodded, very honestly, and said:

"Come take a look."

Then, A Ming put down the stool and sat down beside Fan Li.

Fan Li scratched his head,

And sighed:

"The kid."

A Ming took out his wine skin, took a sip of wine, and said:

"It's so unreal."

At this time, the red stone placed on the table stood up and turned half a circle in place.

Si Niang rolled her eyes at them and continued to work on what she was doing.

A Ming said, "Si Niang, will your child inherit your bloodline?"

Fan Li said:

"The Lord is dragging it down."

After that,

Fan Li raised his head,

And sighed at the beams of the cabin.

A Ming analyzed; "It shouldn't drag it down too much, right?"

Fan Li didn't speak, but the disappointment was visible to the naked eye.

How great it would be if the child didn't have the Lord's component.

But the crux of the problem is that without the Lord, Si Niang wouldn't be able to have a child, so they can only choose the lesser of two evils.

Demon lords don't have the concept of bloodline identity like the Chu nobles, because they have bloodlines, but they don't have identities.

Ordinary people rely on their identity, perhaps thinking that they are superior because they are wealthy or have power, but cut open their flesh and blood, and they are still the same stinky skins.

But the demon lords are different. Their bloodlines are clearly visible.

After learning that Si Niang was pregnant, Fan Li was fine, but even A Ming, who didn't usually like to join in the fun, couldn't help but come to see it from time to time, to think about it.

They are lonely;

And now,

They can have a way to break the loneliness.

It's so interesting,

It's so meaningful.

The blind man was right. Si Niang's child is completely different from other children, because this is a kind of inheritance belonging to all the demon lords.

"It's a good thing San'er didn't come this time, otherwise he would have been the most excited." A Ming said.

"Alright, alright, you've seen enough, don't affect me doing things. Since I didn't charge you admission, then you should be quiet."

A Ming didn't speak and continued to drink;

Fan Li took out a naan bread and slowly gnawed on it.

"Report!"

A messenger came to report:

"There are Chu troops blocking us on the east bank!"

Si Niang raised her head and said to the two guys sitting there:

"Aren't you going to take a look?"

"What's wrong?"

Lord Zheng was taking a nap earlier and was reflexively awakened by the "report."

Si Niang replied, "Lord, they said there are Chu troops blocking us on the east bank."

"Heh, did they give the happy money?" Lord Zheng asked.

"Replying to the Marquis, the leader there said they don't want happy money and are carrying a coffin."

"A coffin?"

Lord Zheng, who had been immersed in an atmosphere of auspicious words, frowned upon hearing this,

"How many troops?"

"Only a hundred or so."

"A hundred or so?"

"Let's go, let's take a look."

…

Because Lord Zheng's side was advancing by both land and water, he could have ignored it, but the ship still stopped.

There weren't many people blocking the road, and they weren't holding knives or guns, let alone bows and crossbows. Most of them were holding farm tools like hoes.

Any country, if it is large enough, will inevitably be divided into regular field armies and local garrison troops. The gap between the former and the latter can sometimes be like a chasm.

Along the way, they had encountered many Chu local garrison troops, and their equipment and quality were indeed much worse than the regular army, but the group of people blocking the road in front of them were not "soldiers" at all, not even militia, they could only be considered a group of laborers.

Behind the laborers, there was a coffin placed there.

Lord Zheng rode the Pixiu and was at the front of the formation. Beside him stood A Ming, Fan Li, Qu Peiluo, and Fan Zhengwen.

At this time,

An old man in a white robe with a cane walked out from the crowd on the opposite side.

As the old man approached, the embroidered-uniform guards beside Lord Zheng naturally drew their bows and nocked their arrows;

Lord Zheng raised his head and signaled to hold off.

The old man walked to the front of the crowd,

Stopped,

And said:

"This old man's surname is Yuan, name is Shanliu, I have met Marquis Pingxi of Yan."

"What is it?"

Lord Zheng had a rare good temper these days.

"Marquis invaded my Chu and returned victorious, my Chu lost another battle."

"Yes." Lord Zheng nodded.

"On the way back, the garrisons in various places have asked you for happy money, right? I heard that the princess is pregnant, Marquis is generous."

"Yes."

"Does Marquis think that my Chu people are all greedy for profit and forget righteousness?"

"No."

"I made the Marquis laugh."

Yuan Shanliu bowed slightly,

"In Marquis's heart, that's what you should be thinking."

"What if the Marquis thinks this way, what if the Marquis doesn't think this way? And you, what are you here for?"

"Does Marquis think that this old man is also here to ask for reward money?"

Lord Zheng was a little impatient, waved his hand,

And said:

"Just say what you have to say, don't waste time."

"This old man specially brought the villagers here, just to prove one thing to Marquis."

"What thing?"

"To prove that my Chu is not all about petty gains, my Chu has integrity. Marquis and the original Jingnan Wang, again and again defeated my Chu army, plundered my Chu territory;

But the Chu people still aren't afraid of death.

This old man knows that the late Emperor of Yan had the ambition to swallow all of the Xia;

This old man also knows that the new ruler of Yan has the ambition to carry on his father's business;

The Yan people want to destroy my Chu like they destroyed Jin,

It's definitely not that easy.

Marquis can defeat my Chu army on the battlefield, but Marquis don't even think about crushing the hearts of my Chu people with just knives and horses!"

Yuan Shanliu spoke with passion,

Then,

He opened his clothes,

And opened his arms,

And shouted;

"The coffin, I have already brought it. Yuan Shanliu, together with the villagers, has come here to seek death, to use my death and the death of the villagers, to use our blood, to awaken the phoenix will of the Chu people!"

The old man was here to seek death, and he brought the coffin with him.

Behind him, the group of laborers standing in the distance were also waving their hoes, with high morale.

"Alright, alright."

Lord Zheng nodded,

Raised his hand,

"This Marquis can satisfy you. It's not bad. I've finally seen some different scenery."

"Thank you, Marquis, for fulfilling my wish. Please also understand that there are actually many, many more people like this old man in Chu. Marquis's saber must be sharpened a bit, I'm afraid it will be nicked in the future."

"Alright, this Marquis knows, this Marquis fulfills your wish."

Lord Zheng's hand,

Was about to fall,

When the hand fell,

The knights behind him would all come out and crush the old man in front of him, and by the way, crush the group of villagers behind him.

Yuan Shanliu had already closed his eyes, waiting for his end.

However,

Lord Zheng's gaze suddenly noticed,

Yuan Shanliu's hand, was wearing beads, his waist, was hanging with accessories, his hair was messy, but he was still wearing the hairpin that the Chu people liked.

The Chu people like to keep their sideburns long to seek a sense of elegance, and when they don't need elegance, they use hairpins to fix their hairstyle;

The rites of the Xia, in Chu, have developed more complexly;

And Yan, because of the hundreds of years of fighting with the barbarians, have actually influenced each other a lot. Officials and other upper-level people naturally still follow the Xia rites, but among the people, it has long evolved into whatever is comfortable.

Lord Zheng's hand, which was falling,

Suddenly stopped.

Behind him, the knights, who were about to whip their horses forward, had to forcibly restrain themselves.

Lord Zheng suddenly felt that it was a bit interesting.

Then,

He turned his head to look at the side, looked at Fan Zhengwen, who had come to watch the fun together. Fan Zhengwen's eyes were turning, and when he saw Lord Zheng's gaze, he wanted to say something but stopped.

"Speak."

Fan Zhengwen immediately saluted and reported;

"Lord, if this official remembers correctly, a poor scholar official personally promoted by the Regent of Chu, has been greatly used in the past few years, and his surname is also Yuan, called Yuan Heli.

There is an anecdote about him, it is said that his name and his father's name are relatively paired."

Shanliu (Mountain Willow), Heli (River Carp),

They do match.

In front, Yuan Shanliu, who was waiting to die, opened his eyes in confusion.

Lord Zheng waved his hand forward,

And said to Chen Xianba;

"Go ask those villagers what they are here for."

"Yes!"

Chen Xianba whipped his horse around Yuan Shanliu and went to the villagers behind.

Yuan Shanliu's expression changed all of a sudden.

Not long after, Chen Xianba whipped his horse back and reported:

"Lord, the villagers said they heard that you were giving out happy money here, and then this old Mr. Yuan organized them to come and ask for happy money.

The coffin was also suggested by this old gentleman to the villagers to use to carry the copper coins and wealth bestowed by you."

Yuan Shanliu pursed his lips, and the corners of his eyes began to tremble.

Lord Zheng smiled:

"You want to alert the Chu people, it's fine to die yourself, why do you want to deceive a group of villagers to die with you?

Oh,

This Marquis understands;

It's that dying alone isn't enough of a show, pulling a group of villagers together can also show your Yuan family's merit in educating the people in the local area.

Alas,

I say,

You're not using your life to prove something to this Marquis, your intention is to use your life and the lives of these villagers to create prestige for your son in the court and pave the way for his career, right?

It can be considered, pity the hearts of parents all over the world.

This Marquis is very moved.

Someone."

"Here!"

"Invite old Mr. Yuan onto the ship, and then tell those villagers that old Mr. Yuan told this Marquis that he wanted to embezzle all the wealth that this Marquis bestowed upon them and didn't want to share it with them;

Then, drive these villagers away.

Isn't the old gentleman trying to make a name for himself? Okay, this Marquis will help you make a name."

"Marquis… you!"

Yuan Shanliu was so angry that his body trembled, but he had already been carried away by several soldiers.

After seeing this scene, Qu Peiluo looked at Lord Zheng and said:

"Marquis has eyes like torches, this subordinate admires you."

"This really isn't anything to do with having eyes like torches."

Lord Zheng twisted his neck,

And continued:

"Bringing a coffin to battle, ha, this Marquis has played all the tricks."