Chapter 935 Fight

Li Fei's expression showed a moment of awkwardness.

At this moment,

he felt he shouldn't have stood up from the hot spring;

he should be at the bottom of the pool, not in it.

But,

Li Fei licked his lips,

and finally cupped his hands and said,

"Sharing the nation's worries is my duty."

He agreed;

as the current Zhenbei (Pacifying the North) King, he agreed to this transfer.

Li Chenghui had once accompanied Li Liangshen to guard the capital, nominally a dowry sent by the old Zhenbei King.

During the last Three Kingdoms War, although no major battles broke out in the Qian Kingdom's border regions, the tension was evident;

therefore, Li Liangshen was now considered the First Prince's right-hand man, and together they supported the defense of the Dayan Kingdom in Yinlang Commandery.

Later, with the reorganization of the capital and the re-establishment of the Forbidden Army, Li Chenghui, after leaving some of his elite troops behind, led his forces back to Beifeng Commandery. His purpose was to support the new Zhenbei King, Li Fei, in Beifeng Commandery; family helping family.

What the Prince of Pingxi (Western Pacification) wanted wasn't just Li Chenghui, although he was a famous archer.

But Zheng Fan wanted him with his troops; that army, after dispersing some into the Forbidden Army and leaving what was necessary in Beifeng Commandery, could still muster at least thirty thousand.

These were the elite of the old Zhenbei Army.

With Li Bao's death, his troops were divided between his son and son-in-law; his son-in-law, Gongsun Zhi, was now also under the command of the Prince of Pingxi in Jin.

Li Fusheng's death resulted in the near-total annihilation of his army; that army was practically gone.

Adding in the army that Li Liangshen took to Yinlang Commandery,

on the surface, half of the original three hundred thousand Zhenbei Army iron cavalry were permanently lost.

And counting the Zhenbei Army's consumption in its southern and northern expeditions over the years, its foundation was truly thin. The scale of the army was still large, but what was once elite was now just a large army...it was really different.

If Li Chenghui's army was also transferred away, the century-old Zhenbei King's Mansion would be reduced from the Dayan Kingdom's foremost feudal domain to just a "town" without a "fief."

Li Fei couldn't help but feel distressed to see his family's legacy being dismantled like this; it was impossible to be happy about it.

But the problem was,

when the Emperor and the Prince of Pingxi teamed up to put on a show for him,

could he refuse?

To put it bluntly,

staging this play and giving him a bit of a shock was already the Emperor and the Prince of Pingxi showing concern for this "junior"; at least it was done with some artistry and finesse.

If they really wanted to take it by force, a decree from the Emperor and an order from the Ministry of War would be enough. Did the current Zhenbei King's Mansion have the power to resist?

From the moment his father passed away on his sickbed,

the Zhenbei King's Mansion

was no longer the Zhenbei King's Mansion of old.

In fact,

Li Fei understood that the remaining "sworn brothers" in Beifeng Commandery probably preferred to lead their own troops to earn merit and achievements, because it was clear that the desert barbarians wouldn't pose a threat to the Dayan Kingdom for years to come. It would take them a long time just to produce a new wolf, and even after that, they would have to lick their wounds.

"Zheng, look at you. If you could share the nation's worries and be as devoted to the country as the Zhenbei King, I wouldn't have so many troubles. My Dayan would have no reason not to prosper."

"Yes, yes, yes, I was wrong. The Zhenbei King has a broad mind and considers the nation his home. Zheng admires him!"

A bargain was struck;

since Li Fei had said those words, there was no need for a signature or seal. It was set in stone, so he might as well cooperate with the Emperor to bring this performance to a good end.

He got Li Chenghui's elite army, and Li Fei got "a good reputation."

Li Liangting "abandoning" his own son was probably to cut off the Li family's foundation for causing trouble in the Dayan Kingdom in the next generation.

Although Li Fei inherited the title of King, he didn't have his own faction in the Zhenbei King's Mansion, and those adopted sons and generals wouldn't recognize him. Without this bond, the Zhenbei King's Mansion no longer had much cohesion.

As for whether Li Liangting had ever thought that after cutting off his own family's foundation, the Zheng family in the east might rise and become another "Zhenbei King's Mansion"...

he probably had.

Li Liangting had repeatedly used Zheng Fan's status as a native of Beifeng Commandery as a reason to bring Zheng Fan under his command; this was a form of surveillance.

The reason he didn't succeed was partly because Zheng Fan had achieved a series of victories, proving that he had the qualifications and ability to defend a region.

But the main reason was that Tian Wujing stood in front, shielding Zheng Fan from too much pressure.

Otherwise, with the late Emperor, Li Liangting, Zhao Jiulang…no, even without them, just look at the current court's vigilance toward the Prince of Pingxi's Mansion. Even if they didn't take early action to cut it off, they would try to fill it with sand as much as possible.

The Qian people knew to restrain the rise of feudal domains, so how could the Yan people, who had suffered from powerful clans, not understand this principle?

So, without Tian Wujing, it would have been impossible for Zheng Fan to snowball his way to a situation where he was too big to fail by farming, developing, fighting, then farming, developing, and fighting again.

In fact, Li Fei could understand the Emperor and the court dismantling the Zhenbei King's Mansion. The old Confucian scholar had taught him not only the Four Books and Five Classics, but also many other things.

But what Li Fei couldn't understand was why the Emperor would dismantle one feudal domain to strengthen another. What kind of operation was that?

Unfortunately, Li Fei didn't dare to ask this question, not even to mention it.

The bath was over.

Three people took the bath, and one person left behind a thick layer of "mud."

If today's events were to spread, it would probably give rise to a historical anecdote of "relinquishing military power in the hot spring."

Li Fei excused himself first, saying that he had to leave for a while to apply medicine and acupuncture to his legs, but in reality, he was going to personally write a letter to be sent back before the court's transfer order. Everyone knew this.

After Li Fei left first,

the Emperor, already dressed, reached out and patted Zheng Fan's shoulder,

and said grumpily,

"You've profited a lot again. You owe me another favor."

Zheng Fan rolled his eyes at the Emperor

and said disdainfully,

"Bullshit, that's your medical expenses."

"Zheng, if you're going to say that, then I might as well just go to the back garden and hang myself from a tree. My life is valuable, but I don't think it's worth thirty thousand iron cavalry!"

"Remember to choose a crooked-neck tree when you hang yourself."

"Why?"

"It's more symbolic that way."

……

The banquet was still a while away, so the Emperor took the Prince of Pingxi for a walk in the imperial garden first.

The two adults walked in front,

while Tiantian and the Crown Prince walked behind.

In a nearby pavilion, Si Niang and He Sisi were sitting together eating snacks and chatting.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Li Qian is here too."

The Emperor stared at Zheng Fan with interest.

"So what if she's here? She almost killed you, not me."

"……" The Emperor.

"Tiantian-ge, I'll introduce you to a little brother later. He's a barbarian, very strong, but I still think you're stronger, Tiantian-ge."

"Strong" among children referred to who was more powerful.

"Okay." Tiantian nodded.

At this moment, two women and a young man with a barbarian hairstyle came outside the imperial garden.

Zheng Fan recognized the woman walking in front; he was very familiar with her. It was Princess Li Qian of the Zhenbei King's Mansion.

However, today Li Qian wasn't wearing armor or dark casual clothes, but rather gorgeous attire;

very exquisite and beautiful.

After all, Li Qian was a beautiful woman. When Xiao Gouzi held a embroidered shoe, it was a sentimental expression of his own pity, but if the little princess looked like a tiger woman, Gou Moli probably wouldn't have chosen this.

However, the princess's usual image made it easy to forget her beauty.

For some time in the past, in Zheng Fan and Ji Lao Liu's correspondence, this woman was referred to as the "crazy woman."

However,

the scenery was different now.

As Li Qian walked gracefully,

the Emperor stood there very reservedly,

and Zheng Fan also stood there very reservedly;

Ironically,

the two big men standing there seemed a little deliberate, as if welcoming another kind of "coming-of-age ceremony."

"Qian, greets my Emperor, may he live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!"

"Qian, greets Prince of Pingxi, may you have good fortune."

The Emperor and Zheng Fan exchanged quick glances:

Are you comfortable now?

Yes.

The Emperor smiled and said, "Sister, please rise, no need to be so polite."

The barbarian woman and the barbarian youth who had knelt down with Li Qian also stood up.

"Come, this is my brother's Princess Consort."

"Iguna greets His Majesty, greets Prince of Pingxi."

"This is her younger brother, Igu Xie."

"Igu Xie greets His Majesty the Emperor, greets Prince of Pingxi."

Having already performed the formal greetings of ruler and subject, there was no need to kneel anymore; it was just a family meeting.

Iguna was Li Fei's Princess Consort, and Igu Xie was a direct descendant of the Golden Horde, the grandson of the old barbarian King, and the son of a barbarian little prince.

In fact, from an outsider's point of view, Zheng Fan really felt that these few from the former Yan Kingdom could be called the biggest scumbags in the world.

The First Prince married a barbarian princess, the old barbarian King's favorite daughter, known as the pearl of the desert. The barbarian princess had even given birth to a son for the Ji family.

Li Fei went to the barbarian court, slept with the old barbarian King's granddaughter, and even brought back his brother-in-law.

But this didn't prevent the Yan Emperor from issuing an order, standing on the map: break the barbarian's century-long spine for me!

Nor did it prevent the Zhenbei King and the Jingnan King from leading elite iron cavalry on a long-distance raid to massacre the entire royal city on the night of the barbarian court's alliance meeting.

It was truly eating them clean and leaving no crumbs behind, scummy beyond description;

however, this might be the irreconcilable conflict between countries and nations.

The barbarians had always wanted to leave the desert and invade the fertile regions, so they had fought with both the east and the west for hundreds of years;

the Yan Kingdom had been resisting the barbarians, but in recent years, with the rise of the Yan Kingdom, it urgently wanted to temporarily shake off the burden of the barbarians in order to free up its hands to complete the great undertaking of unifying the Xia nations;

The old barbarian King constantly sent daughters and granddaughters,

and the late Emperor accepted them all without hesitation;

in fact, everyone knew that this was just a show.

When the news of the late Emperor's death reached the desert, the barbarian court rejoiced that night;

then the Dayan iron cavalry suddenly arrived,

the late Emperor missed them before he left, and took them with him on his journey.

And under this general trend, the personal feelings involved...in fact, were not worth mentioning.

One family cries, a hundred families cry, thousands of families cry, no matter how much rational and emotional debate there is, the answer will always be unique.

At least,

Zheng Fan stood here and didn't see hatred on Iguna's face, and even the young man named Igu Xie looked docile and obedient.

It was said that the old matriarch of the Zhenbei King's Mansion originally didn't want Iguna to be her son's Princess Consort, but Li Fei insisted, and in the end, she became his Princess Consort, and he didn't take any secondary consorts.

Li Fei was a relatively simple child, growing up in a fishing village, and Iguna was his first woman. As soon as he took her, his own father led an army and killed her entire family...

At least on this matter, this current Zhenbei King was still benevolent.

"Tiantian-ge, come, look, he's here. Igu Xie, let me tell you, his fists are very hard. Eunuch Wei said he has an excellent martial physique."

The Zhenbei King's party had arrived earlier than the Prince of Pingxi, and the family banquet had already been held, so the Crown Prince and them were also familiar with each other. At this moment, he was busy introducing his new friend to Tiantian.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Iguna and Igu Xie bowed to the Crown Prince.

Li Qian didn't bow to Chuanye; she would give face to these two big men, but the face of a junior...there was no need to be too demanding.

When she had knelt down to greet them earlier,

she had clearly seen the satisfaction in the eyes of those two men.

Li Qian even found it a bit amusing in her heart,

the dignified Emperor of Dayan, the dignified military god of Dayan, the Prince of Pingxi, had to get their satisfaction from a woman.

The grudges of the past were actually written off. Li Liangting's death took away everything from the past.

Li Qian understood, and the Emperor understood,

that even though she had almost had Seventh Uncle kill the Emperor when he was still a prince, the Emperor would no longer use that matter as leverage;

this was the tacit understanding and agreement of the previous generation of three people.

Tiantian first saw the princess standing there and was stunned for a moment;

then,

he saw Igu Xie, who had just finished bowing and stood up. This time, Tiantian froze there.

"Igu Xie, this is my Tiantian-ge, the Heir Apparent of the Jingnan King, conferred by Father Emperor...Huh? What's wrong, Tiantian-ge?"

The Crown Prince realized that Tiantian was almost standing there blankly.

Because after Tiantian saw Igu Xie, the scene from his dream immediately appeared in his mind.

In the scene,

an army besieged Yan Capital,

and a bald man with flashing runes all over his body appeared from the west, holding a strangely shaped flagpole with two heads hanging on it.

One was the head of the lame king;

the other was the head of the woman standing in front of him at this moment...that is, the princess's head.

And the bald, rune-covered man in the dream,

was precisely Igu Xie, who had just finished bowing,

with a flattering, honest smile on his face!

Zheng Fan also noticed Tiantian's strangeness, because Tiantian usually didn't have any problems with his dealings with people.

He had always cherished this "eldest son," so he immediately walked to Tiantian and touched his head, asking,

"What's wrong?"

"Dream...in the dream." Tiantian said these two words, then his gaze shifted slightly toward Igu Xie.

Zheng Fan's gaze immediately narrowed,

but he still reached out and patted Tiantian's shoulder.

Tiantian was comforted, took a deep breath, put on a smile, and went with the Crown Prince to greet Igu Xie.

"What's wrong?"

The Emperor walked to Zheng Fan's side and asked.

"I just think it's interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"Interesting self-introduction."

The Emperor reached out and slapped Zheng Fan's shoulder: "You're really something."

Earlier, when the Crown Prince introduced him, Igu Xie, this is my Tiantian-ge, he is the Heir Apparent of the Jingnan King.

With a tease,

you could imagine:

His father is the Jingnan King, the king who killed your grandfather and chased your father all the way west...

Zheng Fan made a joke, so the Emperor didn't ask further.

"By the way, the banquet will start soon. The civil and military officials should be on their way to the palace. Zheng, come with me somewhere."

"What for?"

"To put on makeup."

"Are you going to perform a dance?"

"Okay, you play the drums for me and I'll dance. Whoever doesn't dare is a grandson."

According to etiquette, Li Qian then took her younger sister Iguna to the pavilion, and the screen of the pavilion happened to fall at this time, blocking the outside.

"Qian, greets Her Majesty the Queen, may she live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years."

"Greets Her Majesty the Queen."

Li Qian led Iguna to pay respects to the Queen.

"Greetings, Princess Consort of Pingxi."

"Greetings, Princess Consort of Pingxi."

"Please sit." He Sisi reached out and smiled, inviting them to sit.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Si Niang was cracking melon seeds at this time, carefully looking at Li Qian.

Today, although Li Qian was wearing gorgeous attire, she still couldn't hide the heroic spirit between her eyebrows; she was a little wild horse.

In this household,

Xiong Liqing was too worldly-wise, Liu Ruqing had long placed herself in the position of a concubine, and Princess Consort Fu was a wanderer, without any words.

Si Niang didn't think it was because her limelight in the back house was too strong, which made them not dare to have any thoughts of stirring up trouble, but she just sighed that this family was too quiet and too obedient...

Without a bit of scheming and competition, without a bit of liveliness, how could this be like a royal mansion?

They were all so harmonious and orderly, where were the stories for future generations to see?

"Princess has lost weight." Si Niang said.

The princess smiled slightly and said, "Perhaps she has lost some weight."

"Losing weight is not good, you should eat more."

Saying this, Si Niang stood up, took a piece of pastry, and handed it to the princess.

The princess also stood up to take the pastry.

Si Niang also said, "Our Prince likes them a little plump."

Hearing this,

the Queen, who was sitting next to her, couldn't help but move her butt on the stone stool. She had really gained too much weight since giving birth to two princes.

The Queen didn't think about it that way, because she had personally witnessed the relationship between the Emperor and the Prince of Pingxi. She chatted with Si Niang like folk women chatting, and they were both a little uninhibited. After all, she also cherished having someone she could chat with casually.

But the princess didn't think that way.

She had changed,

she had become someone who would take the initiative to bow her head, take the initiative to kowtow, and take the initiative to give face to the two men who had stood there earlier;

but that didn't mean she would just accept these "frivolous words."

After all,

of the four women present, one was a Queen, two were Princess Consorts, and she was the only one who wasn't married.

In the end, she, Li Qian, was still that Li Qian in her bones.

"The Princess Consort has a great figure, the Prince must like it very much, please eat a little more, Princess Consort."

Saying this,

while taking the pastry, Li Qian exerted a little force in her hand, wanting to take the opportunity to push the Princess Consort of Pingxi back into the chair, and preferably have her stumble a little, making her look a little ugly.

You want to play this game with this princess? This princess knows a little martial arts.

Unfortunately,

the princess was playing with the wrong person.

When it came to the battlefield between women, if Si Niang said she was second, no one would dare to say they were first. It was a pity that Xiong Liqing didn't come to the capital this time. If she was standing next to her, she definitely wouldn't be able to help but laugh.

"Ouch."

Si Niang cried out softly,

her body leaned back,

but in an instant, two silk threads wrapped around the princess's wrist and exerted a force that the princess couldn't resist, pulling her over as well.

The princess thought that because she knew martial arts, she could naturally overcome ten forces with one, and be transcendent in the circle of women;

but little did she know that Si Niang was the only one other than Fan Li who had just advanced to the Demon King level, a Fourth Rank Demon King.

In other words,

the princess was directly provoking a...Third Rank powerhouse.

Unsurprisingly,

the princess lost her balance,

while Si Niang landed steadily,

and then took the initiative to reach out to catch the princess.

The princess fell into Si Niang's arms, lying on her side.

"Oh, why is sister so careless?" Si Niang smiled.

The Queen, who didn't know martial arts, also opened her mouth and said, "Yes, be careful."

The princess wanted to struggle to get up, and her qi and blood began to condense.

But as Si Niang's hand touched her back, the qi and blood that had just gathered was instantly scattered, and the princess let out a soft moan, continuing to lie in Si Niang's arms.

Si Niang flicked her fingertips,

and a lifelike bee woven from silk threads flew out,

after circling around in the Queen's and Iguna's sight, it landed on the princess's butt.

"Careful!"

"Careful!"

The Queen and Iguna immediately exclaimed.

Si Niang also shouted "Careful,"

and then slapped the princess's butt mercilessly.

"Smack!"

This slap of Si Niang's was particular, dividing the slap into ten parts of force, removing five parts along the way, and only three parts landed on the flesh, with the other two parts spreading out, and when her fingertips were withdrawn, they were accompanied by rapid tremors, using that pre-retained force to lightly shock it again.

For a moment,

the princess only felt a tingling sensation, as if countless ants were playfully groping and circling on her body. It hurt, it really hurt, and it was also really comfortable.

She even

couldn't help but

let out a long but intermittent moan...

Times changed, and glory passed;

Back then, after the night when His Majesty took Cheng and San'er to the civilian labor camp, he was summoned by the princess;

His Majesty knelt in front of the princess and refused the princess's proposal to recruit him as a servant, and this woman probably had a faint disdain on her face.

At that time,

the princess was truly heaven to His Majesty and the demon kings who had just opened an inn in Tiger Head City.

But now,

even in front of the current Queen,

I'll just slap your butt,

what are you going to do about it?

After one slap,

the princess's face was already flushed,

but Si Niang, while reaching out to flick away the "bee" that had been slapped to death, smiled and said,

"She's really lost weight, she can't even raise a wave."

Saying this,

Si Niang lowered her head and put her mouth to the princess's neck, while her hand covered the princess's round spot and gently caressed it,

and said,

"You have to eat more, understand?"

This was a threat;

The princess, who was once called a "crazy woman" by Ji Lao Liu and Zheng Fan, had finally fallen into the hands of a true king.

In desperation,

the princess bit her lower lip with her silver teeth,

and responded:

"Qian'er understands, thank you, Sis..."

"Smack!"