Chapter 906 Grand General

"Son, go help Daddy get it."

Perhaps,

the moment Tian Tian said these words, the thread of prophecy in the dark, at least on this point, seemed to have reconnected, albeit in a way that was seemingly extremely close but actually unrelated.

But,

as a "father,"

Zheng Fan felt genuinely gratified and happy after hearing his son's words.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a second child as well-behaved and sensible as Tian Tian. He almost fulfills all your fantasies about a "son," fantasies that seem almost too unrealistic, yet they actually happen.

Filial piety and paternal love,

should be the most common and ordinary principles, but in reality, it's often difficult to truly practice them in such a pure way.

People eat grains, and they have to go through wind and rain, just like infants in swaddling clothes, who are initially innocent and lovely, but gradually, they become less "pleasing to the eye."

This is reality,

like a mountain stream flowing downwards, a river rushing into the sea, it is natural and right;

but some people, after solving the most basic problems, or when they are taking a break from their busy lives, always want to do something that belongs to their own little sentiment.

On a grand scale, it is using the power of a country to build water conservancy projects; the governance of Wangjiang is one of them.

On a smaller scale, it is Zheng Fan's group, whether it was the Tiger Head City at the beginning or the later Cui Liu Fort, Shengle City, and Snow Sea Pass, using at most eight parts of their ten parts of strength, and spending the remaining two parts on sentimentality instead of saving it up.

It's not enjoying sentimentality after working hard, but working hard on weekdays in order to live a life where they can be sentimental.

How could Zheng Fan not know what Xia Zi's small goal has always been?

But even so, in recent years, Zheng Fan still let Xia Zi be Tian Tian's first enlightenment teacher;

For precocious children, the first few years are actually the stage that has the greatest influence and shaping on them.

There's no way around it,

With Lao Tian's example in front of him,

Zheng Fan didn't want Tian Tian to follow his father's old path.

Instead of being overwhelmed by the so-called righteousness,

it's better to be like himself; if you really piss me off, I'll just overturn your Jinluan Hall!

From the looks of it,

Xia Zi's education has undoubtedly been successful.

I, Zheng Fan, don't want to suffer any grievances in this life, and my son must be the same.

Zheng Fan held Tian Tian's small legs with both hands, and the father and son admired the killing below that was already coming to an end.

The rebellion of the Chu spies failed to make any waves. What the regular army couldn't do was left to the so-called spies and assassins. Once they lost the initiative, their end would inevitably be extremely miserable.

Soon,

the shouts of killing below could no longer be heard clearly. It was estimated that they had entered the final stage of pursuit and killing. Since there was no climax, the ending would be even more anticlimactic.

Sword Saint sat there without moving.

Jian Bi leaned on the railing on the other side, her back to Zheng Fan, with a faint hint of sarcasm on her lips.

Giving separate lessons,

actually taking the opportunity to give his son such a small stove, huh.

Being slightly "tough" in invisible places or openly was already the limit of Jian Bi's way of rebutting Zheng Fan;

Zheng Fan put Tian Tian down,

looked at the Sword Saint sitting there holding Long Yuan in his hand,

and couldn't help but laugh:

"Why are you suddenly so nervous?"

"I wasn't nervous at first," the Sword Saint replied.

"Oh, is it because?"

The Prince's eyes subconsciously began to spread around. The Sword Saint had a strong sense of perception. He could sense when there was danger or strong people nearby.

"Because of what you said earlier."

"What did I say?"

"You said what name Liu Xiazhen would become after it was left behind. I suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but want to hold the sword in my hand."

"What name?"

"Liu Xia Zheng."

"..." The Prince.

"Hehehe."

Seeing Zheng Fan's expression, the Sword Saint smiled.

"That name is unlucky, it must be changed," the Prince muttered to himself, then said to Tian Tian beside him, "It's almost dawn."

Tian Tian nodded and said:

"Later, I will find my younger brother to wash his feet and his butt and go to sleep."

"No, Daddy is going to sleep."

"Hmm?" Tian Tian was a little puzzled. "Does Father have any instructions?"

"Because of the previous commotion, the ground is quite dirty. You take your younger brother to clean up the streets."

"Okay."

…

The first ray of sunlight appeared in the morning, and the streets of Liu Xiazhen were littered with corpses. Because it was close and quick fighting, and they had directly used deadly moves from the beginning, the deaths of these Chu spies were quite tragic.

Many Chu refugees who had already been settled received orders to clean the streets.

For them, this was actually a kind of deterrent, very direct, but also absolutely very effective.

During the cleaning process,

the streets were densely lined with brocade-clad guards,

and inside,

were the busy figures of two children.

…

"Will this be a little too much?" Chen Daole stood by the window on the second floor and said, looking at the scene below, "I know what our Prince means, which is to train their courage, but…"

He Chunlai placed a bowl of oil-splashed noodles in front of Jin Shuke.

The Prince had gone to sleep,

and so had the Sword Saint.

But while those two could sleep peacefully, the people below really didn't dare to relax. The children were working, and everyone was watching from the side.

Jian Bi shouted, "Brother He, I want more chili!"

In fact, Jian Bi was always very polite to everyone except when she was dealing with Zheng Fan, where she was a bit conflicted with herself.

"Okay."

He Chunlai put more chili and brought the noodles over.

Then,

he walked to Chen Daole, who was standing by the window, and asked,

"Do you want to eat?"

"Where do I have an appetite?" Chen Daole asked back.

"Squeamish," He Chunlai said disdainfully.

"No, no, come and see for yourself."

Chen Daole pulled He Chunlai over, gesturing for him to look down.

Below,

Tian Tian had a small cart next to him, and the two children were cleaning up.

"Wow, Brother, it can be so long?"

Tian Tian picked up a head, walked to the cart, and neatly stacked it on top;

He took two steps back, looked at it, and then stepped forward to slightly adjust the direction of the head.

The Crown Prince was still playing there…

"Younger brother, don't play, let's clean up quickly."

"Brother, look, there's more inside, it's so long."

Then,

Tian Tian also walked over and played with the Crown Prince…

He Chunlai "ah"ed.

He had made oil-splashed noodles today, but he had also prepared fatty intestines as a topping.

At this time,

Jin Shuke, holding a bowl of noodles, also walked to the bedside, eating while watching the scene below, and said:

"I'm quite surprised that the Crown Prince isn't afraid. He truly is a member of the Ji family."

Being a member of the Ji family was a great compliment from the barbarians to the Ji family's descendants.

As for Tian Tian, as someone in the Prince's inner circle, Jin Shuke had naturally heard about Tian Tian's living environment since he was a child. It was normal for him not to be afraid.

Moreover, like father, like son. He has two great fathers, and under this influence, it would be difficult not to be courageous.

The cleaning work lasted until noon before it finally ended.

Tian Tian took the Crown Prince to take a bath and change clothes, and then Jian Bi led them to eat.

The two children sat down,

and Jian Bi specially added a fatty intestine topping to the noodles;

The two children were really hungry and ate heartily.

Instead, Jian Bi watched and couldn't bear to look any longer, so she ran to the back kitchen and threw up.

…

The Prince slept soundly, but not enough;

He was awakened just at noon.

It was Jin Shuke himself who came to report.

"Enemy attack, signal fire?"

Zheng Fan asked while tidying his cuffs.

"Yes, Prince, the signal fire was raised from the Shibali Fort on the Wei River. It's the Chu army, but less than a thousand."

The signal fire can transmit not only the message "enemy attack," but also the size of the enemy army based on the smoke path and color.

In fact, there are not many Yan troops in the entire Shanggu County, including the location of Liu Xiazhen where Zheng Fan is now.

There is a batch on the Wei River, scattered around, and there are also some military villages in Shanggu County. The scale of each military village is not large, and the real organized army is at Zhennan Pass.

The reason for doing this is that Shanggu County is a battlefield divided by the Yan and Chu sides under a tacit understanding.

In other words, if the Chu people launch a large-scale northern expedition, the Yan people's Wei River defense line will be like paper, easily torn apart, and will not be able to stop the enemy at all.

In addition, the Chu people also have a navy that can be mobilized, so crossing the Wei River will be very easy and simple.

This seems to put the Yan people at a disadvantage, but it is not the case.

The Yan army is famous throughout the world for its cavalry advantage, and Jin Dong of the Pingxi Prince's Mansion has created a truly elite iron cavalry from the Snow Sea Pass.

In other words,

it is actually meaningless for the Chu people to cross the Wei River, unless they want to take Zhennan Pass in one go; otherwise, this flat Shanggu County will become a purgatory for them to be divided and surrounded by the Yan army cavalry.

Because there is this Zhennan Pass, the main force of Jin Dong can be transferred at any time. If the time is extended, the other troops of Jinxi and Dayan will also enter this battlefield. Fancheng can also take the initiative to attack to support the rear.

No matter how many elites the Chu people have, it will not be enough to fill them in here, unless they have enough confidence to dare to have a head-on field battle with the Yan people in this flat and vast land, and they must win.

It is also because both sides are clear about this situation that the Chu people choose to build a defense line on the south bank of the Wei River. The large area of land in Shanggu County is actually a poison.

However, according to the results of this early warning and the information transmitted back from the military forts and villages in the area from the Wei River to Liu Xiazhen, the scale of the Chu army entering the country is less than a thousand, although they are all cavalry, there are only a few hundred riders.

The Yan army can easily cope with this scale of enemy attack.

Not only does it not need to alarm himself, but even Jin Shuke does not need to come forward.

Of course, Zheng Fan also understood the meaning of Jin Shuke's personal report.

He was about to transfer him away, but the Chu people suddenly invaded the border, which seemed a little too coincidental.

Zheng Fan reached out and patted Jin Shuke's shoulder,

and said:

"If you, Jin Shuke, were playing the game of raising bandits to build your own power so roughly, then this Prince wouldn't have to transfer you away."

As he said that,

Zheng Fan looked at the big sun outside,

and said;

"Have you circled the location?"

"Yes, it's heading towards Liu Xiazhen."

"Oh? That's a bit interesting. Let's go, this Prince will also go out and see which family's child from the Chu country disturbed this Prince's good sleep."

…

The brocade-clad guards were dispatched, and a group of cavalrymen escorted the Prince out of Liu Xiazhen.

At a location more than sixty miles away from Liu Xiazhen, several Yan army cavalrymen had already formed an encirclement around this Chu army that dared to go deep alone.

But what was strange about this Chu army was that, facing the encirclement, they did not choose to break through at the first time. Instead, they all reined in their horses and stopped. At the same time, they also sent an envoy to say that they were here to surrender.

Therefore,

when the Prince led his guards and arrived, ready to stretch his muscles, what he saw was a group of Chu people who had already had their war horses led away, their weapons confiscated, and even the armor on their bodies unloaded and sitting on the ground.

Jin Shuke went to find out the situation first, and then immediately came back to report:

"Prince, this Chu army claims to be the Chu imperial guard, escorting the family members of their former master to surrender."

Zheng Fan looked at the scene,

and said;

"There have been many before, right?"

"There are often people who claim to be Chu nobles or people who have committed crimes sneaking over, but…"

"But you haven't seen such a pomp?"

"Yes."

Political asylum is not a patent of later generations, it has existed since ancient times. If you can't get along in your own country or if you commit a crime and are afraid of being punished, you are likely to run to another country.

They are different from ordinary refugees, because of their different identities, they can often get relatively proper resettlement in another country.

However, hundreds of Great Chu imperial guards risking danger and going directly from the Wei River to here obviously meant that the people they were escorting must have a remarkable status. Ordinary nobles would at most bring some confidants and servants on the road, which would be considered a very good treatment.

After all, although Yan is strong and Chu is weak now, a large-scale war of unification has not yet broken out, so Chu is still far from the time when the tree falls and the monkeys scatter.

"Bring the people up for me to see."

"Yes!"

Soon,

a woman, along with a boy and a girl, were led to Zheng Fan by the brocade-clad guards.

The woman saluted Zheng Fan:

"Greetings, General."

Zheng Fan was not wearing a python robe, nor was he riding a Pixiu. The iconic configurations were not there, so it was not surprising that the woman thought he was a general of the Yan Kingdom.

"This Prince is very curious, whose family members have such a big pomp for their surrender?"

"Reporting to the Gene... Prince?"

The woman obviously noticed Zheng Fan's self-proclaimed title,

and then,

her expression changed.

The change was too obvious, and she subconsciously took two steps back. Her eyes immediately began to turn red, with a very clear look of fear and hatred.

This change really made the Prince on horseback a little embarrassed.

But soon,

the woman calmed down,

knelt on the ground, and saluted:

"Reporting to the Prince, I am the legal wife of Nian Yao, and they are my and my husband's son and daughter."

Zheng Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Nian Yao's wife and these two children?

However, this explained the expression the woman showed after knowing his identity. It was not because of the so-called damage to his reputation,

but because he,

had personally castrated her husband.

The Prince glanced at the woman again. Nian Yao was the domestic slave of his brother-in-law when he was still a prince. It is said that his wife was also a maid in the mansion;

When Nian Yao first rose in Chu, the Chu nobles laughed and despised them as the inferior offspring of slaves.

Perhaps the Empress Dowager and the Empress had seen too much, and their appreciation level had also improved. In Zheng Fan's eyes, Nian Yao's wife was quite ordinary.

Of course, Zheng Fan was not in the mood to think about these things now;

The matter was very clear.

Under the operation of the spies of the Dayan Secret Intelligence Division in Chu, they contacted Nian Yao's old subordinates and were able to send Nian Yao's wife and children out of Chu.

But what does this behind the scenes

mean?

Sixth,

I castrated Nian Yao and sent him to the palace for you to play with;

You actually brought out Nian Yao's wife and children as well,

what are you going to do?

…

Zheng Fan stayed in Liu Xiazhen for a few more days before slowly returning.

This time, things went very smoothly. The military power of Snow Sea Pass and Zhennan Pass was confiscated without any trouble, so there was plenty of time. He did not have to rush back like last time to avoid being too late to accompany his wife to give birth.

As for Nian Yao's wife and children, Zheng Fan did not detain them at all. He directly sent people to escort them to the west.

The Prince also made a special greeting,

so that Nian Yao's family members would not enter Fengxin City, but directly let those guys from the Fengxin City Secret Intelligence Division's office come to hand them over and send them to Yanjing City.

…

Yanjing;

The Imperial Palace;

General Nian, oh no, Chief Nian, was eating at this time.

Since becoming the Chief Eunuch, he wears better clothes, a scarlet robe; not to mention the food, the Chief Eunuch has his own exclusive small stove, although it is impossible to be as exquisite as the emperor and empress, there are a few separate side dishes, small wine and small meat for each meal, enough to satisfy his desires.

The other day,

the emperor called himself over again, pointed to the map of Qian, and asked himself about the rebellion of the indigenous people in the southwest of Qian. He also gave his answers.

After eating a lion's head and taking a sip of wine, Nian Yao let out a long sigh.

"Eating?"

A voice came from outside.

Nian Yao immediately put down his chopsticks and knelt down:

"This subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live long and be blessed!"

"Get up."

Ji Chengjue came in and sat directly on the chair. Eunuch Wei stood beside the emperor.

"I'll tell you a happy event."

"Your Majesty, what happy event do I have?"

"I don't know how it happened;

Our Secret Intelligence Division's spies in Chu really contacted your wife and children, and also contacted some of your old subordinates. Finally, at the cost of considerable casualties, they brought your wife and children back from Chu and connected with the one at Zhennan Pass.

Jin Dong has already transferred your wife and children to the Secret Intelligence Division."

Hearing this news,

Nian Yao's face immediately showed great joy,

and immediately kowtowed:

"Your Majesty's grace is vast, and Your Majesty's kindness is like rebirth for this subject. This subject vows that he will definitely do his best for Your Majesty and die without regret."

"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything, it's just your good luck."

"This is protected by Your Majesty's great virtue, and it is Your Majesty who protects me."

"Okay, get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The emperor got up and prepared to leave;

But when he reached the door,

the emperor suddenly stopped,

and gently patted his forehead,

and said:

"Look at my memory, I was only concerned with congratulating you, but I forgot one thing."

Nian Yao, who had just gotten up, immediately bowed down:

"Please instruct me, Your Majesty."

"That is, when your wife and children were crossing Wangjiang,

they encountered a strong wind and the boat capsized;

The people,

all drowned."