Chapter 1004 A Big Pit

"Heiyo!!!"

Wu Qin lay on his side, gasping for breath.

Beside him, Su Su, the former courtesan of the Appreciation Flower House, silently got up, picked up the washbasin beside her, wet the towel, and turned back to help him wipe his body.

Wu Qin frowned slightly and pushed her away, his eyes filled with disgust, with no trace of the tenderness from before.

"Get out, it's hot."

Perhaps she had seen it too many times, Su Su was not annoyed. She got up, put on her clothes, and went to the door, knocking:

"Bring some ice."

Soon, a servant brought the ice. Su Su picked it up and placed it by the bed, not worrying about the melting ice water wetting the sheets, as they were already as wet as they could get.

Wu Qin turned his face and looked at Su Su, who was busy.

Such a large piece of ice, and she could easily move it by herself. How could a weak woman with no strength to truss a chicken be able to do that?

Besides, he was as tired as a dead dog, but she could float up gracefully, as if everything he had done before was just wishful and useless… How infuriating!

No wonder his old man liked the concubine who had once been a ranger the most, and no wonder his old man disliked that concubine the most as well.

In front of a martial artist, all your assets will appear short and powerless.

Where does… even a sliver of happiness come from?

"Are you hungry?" the courtesan asked.

Wu Qin shook his head, he wasn't hungry;

But while shaking his head, he said, "I want food."

"It will be sent soon."

Wu Qin climbed up from the bed, while the courtesan sat in front of the dressing table, tidying her appearance.

"Is each meal I eat, one less?"

"Just got news that brocade-clad guards have been sent out of the city towards the fleet."

"When did you get the news?"

"Before you came in and took off my clothes."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

The courtesan put a red paper next to her lips and bit it lightly;

Then she picked up a bottle of perfume produced in East Jin from the table and dabbed it on her body, saying:

"Telling you now is the same, anyway, it won't delay things for long."

"You woman, do you usually receive guests like this?"

The courtesan turned around, looked at Wu Qin sitting on the bed, with a mocking look on her face,

And said:

"If I were serving that Regent Prince, I would be more charming than you can imagine."

"I don't believe it!"

"Not to mention that the Prince is a fourth-rank martial artist, just thinking about the storms that this man under me has experienced and stirred up is enough to make one physically and mentally exhausted.

This matter,

You're still young,

You don't understand."

Wu Qin stood up angrily and reached out to draw the sword he had previously placed by the bed.

The courtesan was not afraid at all, but looked at him with a provocative gaze.

In fact, although she had mentioned the Regent Prince in her mouth, she was thinking of the silver-armored young general who had led the soldiers into the Appreciation Flower House that day.

In the end,

Wu Qin did not draw his sword against the courtesan. He knew that he was no match for the woman in front of him.

He dropped the sword,

Sat on the ground,

Covered his face,

And cried.

The courtesan didn't comfort him but continued to fix her hair.

After everything was tidied up, seeing Wu Qin still sobbing, she couldn't help but laugh and scold:

"Although you are still young, you have already enjoyed extravagance and pleasure that ordinary people can hardly achieve in their entire lives, or even ten lifetimes. What's there to be sad about?"

Wu Qin raised his head and muttered:

"My father, won't abandon me."

"What do you amount to for your father?"

Wu Qin's face became ferocious, and after the ferocity, he lowered his head dejectedly.

"Alright, alright."

The courtesan opened the window and looked down,

"It won't be long before someone comes to get you."

"Can…can I escape?"

"Do you think you can escape?"

"You…you…"

"Even if I don't watch you, there are already brocade-clad guards watching you outside."

Wu Qin pursed his lips,

Got up from the ground, came behind the courtesan, and reached out to grab her clothes:

"Then again…"

"Slap!"

The courtesan slapped Wu Qin in the face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Worthless."

The courtesan leaned back against the windowsill,

When she turned around, she saw that blood had begun to ooze from the corner of her mouth:

"I finally managed to put on my makeup properly before I died, so I can't let you ruin it. If you really want to, wait until I'm dead, then you can do whatever you want.

If… you're willing."

After saying that,

The courtesan pulled over a chair and sat down.

"I hope the old and young men of this Da Qian can be tougher;

Always letting us women stand in front,

It's so embarrassing, ha ha."

For a long time,

For a long time,

When Wu Qin walked towards her again, he found that she had lost her vitality.

Wu Qin picked her up, placed her on the bed, and covered her with a quilt.

Then,

He walked to the dressing table and held the piece of red paper with the lip print in his hand;

He opened his mouth,

Wanting to lick it,

But in the end, he couldn't muster the courage.

Outside the door, there was a sound of someone falling to the ground.

Immediately afterward, the door was pushed open, and a group of brocade-clad guards rushed in.

Wu Qin threw the red paper in his hand on the ground, drooped his shoulders,

And said:

"I want to see the Prince."

"Bang!"

A brocade-clad captain directly slammed the hilt of his saber on Wu Qin's face, knocking him over.

"Take him away!"

……

Xie Yu'an and the Blind Man sat on the left and right, respectively.

Sitting at the head was not the Prince, but the Heir.

Below was Wu Qin, still bleeding from his nose.

Before capturing Wu Qin, the news they received was that Wu Xiang had refused to come to Jinghai City with the brocade-clad guards who summoned him on the grounds that he had suddenly caught a cold;

Although he didn't directly kill the messenger and send back his head, this attitude was clear and unmistakable.

When the superior summons you, no matter if you have a cold or are about to die, you have to come.

This reason was too perfunctory.

The worst prediction had already revealed the tip of the iceberg.

Inside the signing room, the Blind Man stroked the bronze thumb ring on his finger, rarely not kneading an orange.

Xie Yu'an kept opening and closing his eyes, also pondering something in his heart.

The Prince himself did not participate in the interrogation of Wu Qin.

Because the Prince had already foreseen that this son who had been abandoned in the city had long been abandoned by Wu Xiang.

What was the point of interrogating a useless abandoned son?

But for the Blind Man and Xie Yu'an, they were facing this suddenly sliding situation, and for a time, they had no other things to do, so they could only bring this guy up and ask him first.

Of course, they didn't get anything out of the interrogation.

This young master of the Wu family only learned that he had become "discarded goods" from the silver-armored guard courtesan.

Before that, he had always thought that he was deeply trusted by his father, so he entrusted him with such an important liaison mission, and he was very happy.

The Blind Man waved his hand,

And the guards came in and dragged Wu Qin away.

"Lin'er, where is the Lord?" the Blind Man asked, "Is he really…not coming?"

Zheng Lin pursed his lips,

And said:

"He said, he has no face to see you."

The Blind Man and Xie Yu'an looked at each other, what was this all about?

This answer felt a little unsettling;

Whether it was the Blind Man, who was originally one of their own, or Xie Yu'an, who had recently joined, they didn't think that their "Lord" (Prince) would be a person who would give up on himself.

Moreover, he had experienced hundreds of battles, and it wasn't like he hadn't faced so-called crises before.

Although the current situation was developing in the most unpredictable and worst direction, Jinghai City was at least in their hands, and they hadn't seen the Qian army outside, had they?

"Is the Prince confident of success?" Xie Yu'an asked the Heir, and at the same time, made a gesture of slowly clenching his fist.

The Heir said impatiently, "I don't know."

Zheng Lin really didn't know, he was almost about to say that his father had even asked him before if he wanted to run away together.

What could be determined was that,

If he had given an affirmative answer at that time,

The father and son would then discuss whether to take his old mother with them, after all, your old mother always abuses you, so do you take her or not?

Very exaggerated…very absurd;

Giving people a strange feeling,

Confident of success, everything is under control? Not like that.

Really directly suffered a major blow, felt that there was no way to recover, and was thinking of running away quickly, that wasn't the feeling either.

Deliberately acting mysterious?

But even if Zheng Lin had looked down on his father before,

He actually knew in his heart that no matter how useless his father was, he would never be so foolish, what time was it, and he was still deliberately being mysterious and secretive?

The Blind Man said, "Since the Lord is letting us make the decisions first, then let's discuss it first? In terms of military affairs, what are your thoughts?"

Obviously, this question was for Xie Yu'an.

Although they both liked to peel oranges, they had their own specialties. The Blind Man was better at logistics and governance, while Xie Yu'an had at least commanded hundreds of thousands of troops.

Xie Yu'an reached out and rubbed his brow,

And said:

"So the Prince didn't come out because now, there is simply no way to make any arrangements.

Assuming the worst possible scenario as a premise to deduce what will happen next,

The fastest, we might receive the first military report by sunset, such as discovering a Qian army somewhere.

The time is too short, so short that Wu Xiang dared to not disembark directly.

So, we can't even make arrangements now, mobilize troops?

First, it's too late, and second, even if it's in time, how should we mobilize them?

Withdraw from Jinghai City, bypass his Wu family fleet, cross the river to find the Three Towns?

Or, send a fast horse to order Chen Xianba of the Three Towns, the Heir of the Jingnan King, and that Commander Zheng to immediately abandon the Three Towns and lead their troops to Jinghai City, where the headquarters is located?

North-south direction,

Should we let Nian Yao withdraw from Mingsu City and lead his troops to respond to the side of Jinghai, or should we let my father pull the Xie family army over to serve as the flank?

The bad situation is that we know that the Qian people are likely to come, and most likely, they are already here.

The worse situation is that we only know that the Qian people are already here, but we don't know their specific deployment.

Is their main force in Jiangxi or Jiangdong?

Where do they set up the main battlefield, the dividing circle?

If we cross the river back and forth, east and west, it is easy for the Qian people to directly close the net, and then, it will be a new version of the Wangjiang battle;

And the north-south direction, these two cities are the north-south barriers, guarding Jinghai;

Which one should we withdraw from, the south or the north?

The Qian people have spent so much effort to set up this big game, if Mingsu City and Tongyan City were really vacated by the Qian people on purpose, there is no reason why the Qian people would not predict our possible actions in advance."

Zheng Lin said, "So, according to you, we shouldn't do anything now? Knowing that the Qian people are about to attack, but sitting here and waiting?"

"In response to the Heir's words, because sometimes, doing too much will only lead to more mistakes.

At least for now, although our army is scattered, they are at least defending the cities, and military supplies can be obtained locally for the time being.

Although to a certain extent, we have abandoned the Yan army's most powerful field battle force and mobility…

But this time, the main force of the JIndong Iron Cavalry led by the Prince is only 50,000.

50,000 iron cavalry and 100,000 iron cavalry, or 200,000 iron cavalry, are different concepts.

At this moment,

I think,

Waiting and seeing is the best choice."

Zheng Lin's gaze sank slightly;

The Blind Man nodded and said, "That's all we can do, let's wait for news first."

Xie Yu'an said, "I'm afraid the Prince thinks the same way."

Then, Xie Yu'an got up, first saluted Zheng Lin, and then looked at the Blind Man:

"Please, North Gentleman, re-count the grain and all military supplies in the city."

"Okay."

Xie Yu'an added, "I will go to inspect the city defenses."

Immediately afterward, Xie Yu'an turned to Zheng Lin:

"Please ask the Heir to request the Prince to send brocade-clad guards to clear the city again. There must be Qian people inside the city.

Jinghai is where the Prince's banner is located, unless there are bigger changes in the subsequent military reports, otherwise, with the prestige of the Prince's banner standing in Jinghai, the surrounding troops can have a backbone to rely on when facing the Qian people's attacks and actions, so the battle can be fought more systematically."

After saying this, Xie Yu'an said goodbye and left, leaving the signing room to the Heir and North Gentleman.

"Godfather, Xie Yu'an, is he trustworthy?" Zheng Lin asked.

The Blind Man was noncommittal,

Instead, he said:

"I would rather it was your father who said those words earlier."

After saying this,

The Blind Man laughed to himself,

"Oh, I don't know when it started, but I've actually gotten used to hearing your father speak in the marshal's tent. After your father speaks, not only do I not feel uneasy, but I also feel very at ease."

"Godfather, I really want to go to the backyard and drag him out for a beating."

"Your mother is in the backyard with him."

"..." Zheng Lin.

"Don't say such angry words, what about the skill of cultivating qi that I taught you? In this regard, you are far worse than your father."

"He's pretending," Zheng Lin said with certainty.

"Who is born with the ability to remain calm in the face of Mount Tai collapsing?

Doesn't everyone start by imitating and pretending?

If you can pretend for a long time, if you can keep pretending, then there's no difference whether you pretend or not."

There was a hint of sternness in the Blind Man's tone.

Among the Seven Demon Kings, besides his mother, who liked to teach him a lesson, Zheng Lin was most afraid of the Blind Man.

The Blind Man's stubborn side has always been reserved in front of Tian Tian, and when Tian Tian was a child, the Prince's Mansion wasn't even the Prince's Mansion yet, the territory and foundation weren't as big as they are now, and the Blind Man's obsession wasn't as deep either.

Zheng Lin is different, um, most importantly, the Blind Man knows that this brat is very resistant to beatings, both physically and mentally, so he naturally won't be polite or cover up.

"Godfather, Wu Xiang has rebelled…"

"The Wu family is not completely attached, so there is no question of rebellion."

"Then what about Nian Yao in the south? What about Xie Zhuyang in the north? Weren't they still fighting and tearing each other apart not long ago? Are they considered attached?"

"You suspect that it's not just the Wu family that will rebel?"

"Yes."

The Blind Man nodded and asked, "Among these two families, if someone rebels, which one do you think it will be?"

Zheng Lin thought for a moment,

And replied:

"Nian… Yao."

"But what you asked earlier was whether Xie Yu'an is reliable."

"Because he is still worth asking."

"Heh heh."

The Blind Man smiled, "Why is it Nian Yao?"

It was difficult for Zheng Lin to answer, because he remembered that when his father was looking at the military map, his finger had lingered for a long time on Mingsu City, where Nian Yao was stationed.

But he couldn't use that as a reason to answer the Blind Man's question, could he?

That would be too embarrassing.

The Blind Man added, "You must know that Nian Yao's wife, children, and even grandchildren are all in Yan Jing City."

Zheng Lin replied:

"Not every family in this world is full of parental kindness and filial piety."

The Blind Man nodded slightly and said, "Indeed."

Immediately,

The Blind Man showed a kind and comforting expression and said:

"You are progressing faster than I imagined."

Zheng Lin's expression was calm, as if he was indifferent to honor and disgrace;

"Nian Yao's family is in Yan Jing City; Xie Yu'an was in the marshal's tent before, and now he is in front of us. His father, Xie Zhuyang, is stationed in Tongyan City.

Nian Yao is a ruthless person, and sometimes it's hard to say for sure what he will do;

But Xie Zhuyang's side should be stable, his son, this Xie family's thoroughbred horse, is the hope and future of the Xie family.

Most importantly,

Xie Zhuyang and Xie Yu'an have a similar vibe to your father and son."

……

"Lord, this concubine saw the Blind Man and the others today, and they all looked solemn."

"Hmm."

Zheng Fan was sitting on a chair, enjoying Si Niang's head massage.

"Lord, will the situation really collapse like that?"

"Perhaps the first military report will be sent tonight. In the next few days, the military situation from all sides will be enough to cover our faces."

"The situation must be very critical."

"The situation outside, no matter how critical it is, is nothing more than soldiers coming to block and water coming to dam.

Now,

What I'm worried about is the south."

"Mingsu City?"

"Yes."

"Lord doesn't trust Nian Yao? If Nian Yao is still wavering like this…then this concubine really thinks he is a figure."

"There's no need for us to underestimate a person too much, and at the same time, there's no need to overestimate a person too much.

Compared to Nian Yao,

I'm more worried about my brother-in-law's… restless heart."

Speaking of this, Zheng Fan subconsciously glanced at the red stone on the coffee table in front of him.

"A… possibly schizophrenic emperor."

Si Niang gently hugged Zheng Fan's neck and rubbed her face gently against Zheng Fan's,

And asked in a low voice:

"All of this is probably within the Lord's expectations."

Zheng Fan laughed,

After laughing,

He sighed again,

And said:

"That's why I let our stinky kid go to the meeting for me. Oh, I'm worried too;

Didn't I just say that we shouldn't overestimate a person too much?

I'm not a god, how can I be omniscient, how can I be omniscient every time?

It was just good luck and winning battles one after another before,

But if you walk by the river often, how can you not get your shoes wet?

So,

I'm just afraid that once I sit there, well, everyone will think that I've already foreseen everything, and that I have everything under control, and as a result, everyone will become extremely confident and wait for my counterattack.

But I have to have it."

"Then what are you doing this time, Lord?"

"This time, ah,

I've really fallen for it,

Heh heh."

———

There will be more tonight.