Chapter 928 A Dream of a Lifetime

Spring passed and summer arrived.

Some time ago,

the Pingxi Wang Mansion issued a series of appointments. At first, they seemed a bit unexpected, but upon closer inspection, apart from being dense and rushed, they were quite reasonable.

First, Qu Peiluo, who was originally responsible for the internal defense of Fengxin City, was transferred to the Zhennan Pass frontline to begin forming the Chu character camp (a military unit), along with a considerable number of biao hu (military household) qualifications.

The former young master of the Qu family finally got another chance to fly out and realize his ambitions again.

Then, Jin Shuke was promoted to Guard General under the Wang Mansion, formally confirming his position as the number two figure in the Pingxi Wang Mansion's army, second only to General Liang, and tasked with reorganizing the new army.

Attached to this was another piece of news: Ke Yan Dongge, who had been sweeping the floor for half a year, finally took his floor-sweeping subordinates and was dispatched to Yupan City, becoming the garrison commander of Yupan City.

The military and political status of Yupan City was naturally much worse than that of Xuehai Pass back then, but it was, after all, a new beginning.

And the original magistrate of Yupan City, Sun Liang, was transferred back to Fengxin City from the position of magistrate of Yupan City to serve as supervisor.

Of course, he was just a figurehead; in fact, the Sun brothers had always been led by Sun Ying.

In addition, the two left and right yamen (government offices) under the Wang Mansion were managed by Chen Daole and He Chunlai, who were responsible for acting as helmsmen.

These two yamen oversaw many functional departments, controlling them meant controlling the entire economic lifeline of Jinyun East. Adding "Sun Liang," these three people were known as the Wang Mansion's "Three Horse-Drawn Carriage" among the local people.

Moreover, these three were all Jin natives. To a certain extent, whether in terms of quality, distance, or ease of absorption, since the Pingxi Wang Mansion's base camp was in Jinyun East, absorbing the elites of Jin was undoubtedly the most convenient and quickest choice.

In other parts of Jin, where Yan officials and Jin officials were still paired, often with Yan officials as the main and Jin officials as secondary, Jinyun East could be called the first choice for Jin elites to leap through the dragon gate.

Overall, this series of personnel changes did not surprise the outside world too much, because even the local people had heard that the real power in the hands of the Wangye (Prince), or rather within the Wang Mansion, was held by the Wangye's several advisors. These advisors each had world-shaking talents, having followed the Wangye from the very beginning until now, and these advisors seemed not to care about fame, basically not holding official positions or titles.

This was indeed true; it was no secret in the upper circles of the Wang Mansion. No matter how high your official position or how heavy your military power, you had to bow and greet the advisors when you saw them.

Therefore, no matter how the flag bearers changed outside, the Wang Mansion was still that Wang Mansion.

However,

this time,

it was really different.

…

"My Lady."

"My Lady."

Chen Daole and He Chunlai stood inside the Wang Mansion's signing room.

Sitting in the side seat was still Yue Xin, but sitting in the main seat was not Si Niang, but Xiong Liqing.

Xiong Liqing looked at the pile of memorials in front of her,

took a deep breath,

and revealed a somewhat helpless smile,

saying to Chen Daole and He Chunlai standing below:

"Please trouble the two adults to drink a few more cups of tea and delay your work a bit."

"Yes."

"Yes."

The two immediately sat down.

They had come to hand over the documents for the past half-month for review, which was a tradition when Mister Feng was around.

But clearly, although Xiong Liqing had gotten her hands on these tasks, she was only able to keep the system running smoothly under her; as for giving any guiding advice, she knew she didn't have the level and didn't dare to play around arbitrarily.

Thinking about how last year, when her older sister was pregnant, she was still handling extremely complicated matters like silver notes, bonds, and coinage, and doing it all in an orderly manner, Xiong Liqing felt a sense of suffocation.

So, her older sister was indeed her older sister, worthy of being the person who had personally dragged her in.

Chen Daole and He Chunlai really sat there and began drinking tea. They had to follow the usual practice and engage in a period of "discussion" while reporting their work.

Although this was a waste of time, it was indeed necessary to waste it.

Because everyone had to try their best to maintain this situation, so as not to let the outside world know that those gentlemen were actually not in the Wang Mansion, not in Fengxin City… or even, perhaps, not in Jinyun East.

Not only the gentlemen, but the Wangye was also absent.

Thinking of the trembling and trepidation of the past two months, everyone in the signing room was physically and mentally exhausted, but they still had to grit their teeth and persevere until the Wangye and the gentlemen returned.

Fortunately,

there were no wars at the moment, and the development plans, from the detailed to the general direction, had all been set long ago, so they only needed to follow the original process to fill in the blanks. The Pingxi Wang Mansion had long established a well-functioning system, which also reduced their burden.

After they finished drinking their tea,

Chen Daole and He Chunlai took their leave,

and as they went out,

they happened to see Sun Liang pushing Sun Ying, who was sitting in a wheelchair, out together.

Everyone met and smiled at each other.

Mister Feng was not here, so Mister Bei was naturally not here either; everyone was here to "waste time" together.

…

Inside the signing room,

Xiong Liqing rubbed her sore wrist,

and said with a bitter smile to Yue Xin, who was sitting at the assistant's desk beside her:

"So tired."

Yue Xin smiled; this Lady had to say she was tired several times a day.

"I want to go home and take care of my children; I don't want to come out and manage the household. I used to envy those empress dowagers who supervised the country in my Xiong family's history, but only after actually doing it did I realize it wasn't so simple."

Yue Xin replied, "My Lady, if leisure were available, who would be willing to work outside?"

"Yes, I used to be annoyed, why do we women have to stay home and raise children? Why can't women create their own careers?

Only now do I understand that actually, the lords also like to stay at home and not go out; dealing with things outside is too tiring and troublesome; it's more comfortable to stay at home.

It's just that there's an extra layer of psychological burden."

As she spoke,

the princess laughed again,

"So, our Wangye saw through it from the beginning."

"Hehe." Yue Xin cooperated with a laugh.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Pingxi Wangye should be handling ten thousand affairs every day;

otherwise, how could Jinyun East have this thriving situation?

In fact, the Pingxi Wangye liked to stay at home the most, playing with his children. Every time he needed to change into formal attire to go out, he would have a look of impatience.

"I just don't know how long the Wangye and my sister will continue to play outside." Xiong Liqing sighed, "How can they be like this, just throwing down such a huge foundation?"

"There must be important things," Yue Xin said.

"Of course I know that."

Xiong Liqing picked up her teacup, took a sip of ginseng tea, and said:

"Fortunately, the people below are disciplined, and those stewards are also calm and capable. Most importantly, General Liang is still here. As for General Jin, the Wangye said that General Jin is someone trustworthy, one of our own."

Other matters can be temporarily entrusted to others, which doesn't affect anything, but military power must not be separated from one's own hands for even a moment.

Therefore,

Liang Cheng was very unlucky this time, becoming the only demon king left behind to guard Jinyun East.

Coupled with the loyal Jin Shuke, these two controlled the current military power of Jinyun East, so no big waves could be stirred up in the land of Jinyun East.

"Let's keep looking; there's actually nothing wrong; the people below have reviewed it more than once before daring to submit it, but if I don't look it over, I always feel like I'm not doing a good job as a temporary housekeeper."

"What My Lady says is true; it should be so."

…

Wang Mansion's back residence;

Tian Tian, having finished his lessons for the day, was practicing his saber.

The one teaching him saber techniques was Xu Chuang.

The Wen Mingshan faction had always emphasized both saber and sword cultivation. Although they had never produced any real martial arts heroes, it didn't mean that this faction's saber and sword techniques were not good. It was precisely because the saber and sword techniques they inherited were both superb that they were unable to choose between them. After cultivating both saber and sword, they divided their energy, resulting in the situation where the strength of their disciples was generally lower than that of other major martial arts sects.

Accompanying Tian Tian in practicing the saber were Chen Xianba, Zheng Man, and Liu Dahu.

Standing not far away was Sword Saint.

Sword Saint had long been numb to his eldest son standing there learning saber techniques.

Fortunately,

Sword Saint had other hopes.

Behind Sword Saint, there was a large crib.

But the two babies in the crib, Da Niu and Zheng Lin, didn't seem to like watching their older brothers practice saber.

Da Niu was holding Long Yuan,

while Zheng Lin reached out to touch Long Yuan. Da Niu wouldn't let him, so Zheng Lin reached out and pulled, and the two children began to tug.

Neither of them cried nor got anxious; they were just instinctively pulling on the objects in front of them.

Sword Saint reached out and pulled Long Yuan out of Zheng Lin's hand, giving it to Da Niu.

Yes,

in this regard,

Sword Saint was "bullying the small";

no matter what, Da Niu was his, Yu Huaping's, disciple, the rightful successor who would fully inherit his mantle;

he wasn't an official who needed to consider the overall situation; he was just spoiling her!

Da Niu took back Long Yuan and smiled at Sword Saint.

Sword Saint also smiled,

and at this moment,

Zheng Lin sat there with a cold expression, looking at Sword Saint.

He was playing with his older sister, and it was all good;

but then he encountered someone who couldn't play fair.

If Zheng Lin could speak now, he would probably curse directly: Shameless!

In fact, he was indeed very angry; this Wang Mansion's heir had not had a good temper since birth.

At this moment, the red mole between his eyebrows was also throbbing.

Sword Saint was aware of this child's special nature; facing this child's "aura," Sword Saint also revealed a bit of his own aura.

Zheng Lin blinked his eyes,

and the next moment,

turned his head away.

The highest point of wisdom is actually avoiding harm and seeking benefit.

He could clearly sense how terrifying the man in white in front of him was.

At this moment,

Sword Saint released a wisp of sword qi from his fingertip.

Zheng Lin immediately turned his head back and looked over, his eyes widening.

Sword Saint gently swept the sword qi across a piece of iron ornament hanging in front of the crib, and the ornament was directly and smoothly split in two.

Zheng Lin watched even more intently.

The sword qi suddenly turned around and rushed towards Zheng Lin.

Zheng Lin instinctively covered his head with both hands, but the sword qi dissipated in an instant.

"Giggle…"

Da Niu laughed again.

Zheng Lin lowered his hands somewhat blankly, looking at everything around him, and licked his lips.

Standing on the side, Sword Saint, who was originally playing with the children, noticed the yearning in this child's eyes.

He seemed to crave strength very much.

Even though he was destined to be one of the most powerful people in the world from birth, he had an instinctive pursuit of strength.

This point,

was really unlike his biological father.

Sword Saint glanced around,

knowing that there were no outsiders here;

this time, Zheng Fan had only taken those gentlemen out with him, and even he, Yu Huaping, had been rarely called along.

But even if the child's parents weren't here, when you had the idea of wanting to abduct someone else's child, you would always feel a little guilty.

Sword Saint clicked his fingers,

and another wisp of pure white sword qi spiraled out from his fingertip.

Sword Saint looked at Zheng Lin,

and asked;

"Want it?"

…

"Hiss…"

In the courtyard of a small village, Si Niang was helping Zheng Fan treat the wound on his chest.

The wound was very deep. Si Niang had just finished stitching it up and was now applying medicine. In fact, the process of applying medicine was often more painful. The medicine had to go deep inside, and the waves of pain were even more unbearable than the stitching.

After applying the medicine, Si Niang helped Zheng Fan put on his clothes.

Not far away,

Fan Li was piling up corpses;

Xue San was hanging on the flagpole, looking north.

The Blind Man was interrogating the captured survivors in a shed;

Not only Zheng Fan was injured, but the demon kings were also showing signs of embarrassment. Fan Li was the largest, and had the most unhealed wounds all over his body, hanging densely and frighteningly.

This place was located at the boundary between Fancheng and Chu, a mutually agreed buffer zone, and also adjacent to the Qishan mountain range. The Three Kingdoms War last year had caused many forces to enter this area in order to avoid danger.

Moreover, unlike Zhennan Pass, where Chu refugees were being accepted on a large scale, Fancheng had a purely military meaning, so there were many large and small forces entrenched here, becoming an "Evil Man's Valley" area.

Those who called themselves kings here and heavenly kings there, those who called themselves generals, seemed very miniature, sensible, and low-key.

And in the past two months,

Zheng Fan had been leading the demon kings to train in this area.

There was no other way; this was the only suitable place around.

Today, they would wipe out a king, which was just a few dozen people; tomorrow, they would destroy a heavenly king, which was just a den of bandits.

Of course, they would also encounter tough nuts, such as Zheng Fan encountering "bandits" with clear traces of the Chu regular army twice, and also encountering an investigation from the Phoenix Nest's inner guard.

These three times could be described as full of dangers.

Sword Saint wasn't here, the brocade-clad guards weren't here; everything had to rely on themselves; everything seemed to have returned to those years in Tiger Head City.

But the effect was also remarkable.

Xue San, Fan Li, and the Blind Man had all leveled up in the battles.

This was the result of the last experience; basically, sacrificing themselves to protect their lord and then letting their lord be moved could be effective.

Therefore,

Zheng Fan had to bite the bullet and go up against those tough nuts;

Moreover, he couldn't choose to sneak attack; it was best to come face to face, pursuing danger.

Just the fact that the Blind Man and the other three had leveled up was a great gain, after all, with Zheng Fan's current status, it was really difficult to naturally put himself in danger again;

Even last year, when he was surrounded in Qian, eight thousand iron cavalry died to open a path for him, and Zheng Fan himself didn't really fall into the battle.

But this wasn't the result Zheng Fan wanted most;

After all, even if the Blind Man and the others leveled up, it was just making up for previous lessons; this round of lessons hadn't found the real path yet.

"My Lord, I think we can stop for a while," Si Niang said.

"Missing your son?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Actually… no," Si Niang replied.

"Well, let's see, the main thing is to figure out the way this time." Zheng Fan looked down at the wound on his chest.

Having advanced to the fourth rank, he had also quickly consolidated his realm in this real training.

Occasionally, when fighting in groups, the shadows of Sha Tuo Queshi and Old Tian in those years would appear in his mind. After all, a fourth-rank martial artist was already considered a resounding master in the martial world.

At this moment,

Xue San slid down from the flagpole,

reporting:

"My Lord, people are coming from the north."

"Who are they?"

"It seems like our people."

"How many troops?"

"Several hundred cavalry, should we avoid them?"

Before, they had encountered the Fancheng sentries or the forces they supported here, but they had actively avoided contact.

After all, this time, coming out "abandoning home and career" was to pursue the purest "stimulation";

If they really pulled a few teams of soldiers to protect them, they wouldn't be able to achieve the desired effect.

But this time…

"Forget it, the first phase of the goal has been completed, and we all need to adjust and recuperate; otherwise, we might really play ourselves to death.

Go meet them."

"Yes, My Lord."

About six hundred savage cavalry quickly surrounded the small village.

Third Master took the initiative to jump down,

and soon,

the savage cavalry seemed to have received an order and began to retreat.

Immediately afterwards, a figure who was not tall in the cavalry team rode over alone.

When he arrived in front of the village gate, he dismounted and ran up very excitedly. Who else could it be but Gou Moli, the Savage King?

"My Lord, My Lord, it really is you."

Gou Moli knelt down in front of Zheng Fan very excitedly, kowtowing and saluting.

In the buffer zone, both sides seemed to ignore it, but the struggle was internal;

The sudden appearance of a group of martial arts masters who began to take action here would naturally attract Fancheng's attention;

First, this group of suddenly appearing mysterious masters only targeted forces close to Chu, second, they actively avoided contact with their side, and third, looking at the strange wounds on some of the corpses brought back by his men…

Most importantly,

The letters between Fengxin City and Fancheng seemed to have changed in tone. Although the other party pretended to be very similar, Gou Moli still saw that it shouldn't have been written by the Blind Man himself;

With all sorts of clues, if Gou Moli didn't have that guess, he would be unworthy of the name of the Savage King.

"Hehe."

Zheng Fan had just treated his wound, and at this moment, seeing Gou Moli coming, he just moved his body slightly and smiled;

"Why, not bring your troops directly to wipe us out? That would be the end of it all."

The troops stationed in Fancheng were mainly savage soldiers, and with Gou Moli's ability, he could naturally control this army in his hands. Moreover, looking at the entire Pingxi Wang Mansion's garrison, perhaps only Fancheng had the lowest control and centripetal force.

Hearing the Wangye say this,

Gou Moli wasn't frightened, nor did he immediately kneel down to beg for forgiveness and express his loyalty;

Instead, he said with a smile:

"My Lord, this little dog is afraid that the master is already planning to open an inn and retire from the martial world, but didn't bring this little dog along. This little dog is really panicked in his heart.

This little dog has slept in the stable more times than in the main house in Fancheng these past two years;

The people below think we are being selfless and setting an example;

In fact, we are just practicing the skill of feeding horses in advance, just in case you abandon us in the future."

"Hehe."

Zheng Fan waved his hand,

and said;

"Alright, let your people come over and escort us back to Fancheng first."

"This dog obeys!"

…

At night,

Because of the distance, and because Zheng Fan was injured, they didn't rush back overnight, but set up a temporary camp by a small river.

However, Gou Moli had already sent people to greet the roaming cavalry near Fancheng, so there was no need to worry about a sudden surprise attack by organized enemies.

Zheng Fan also had a rare good night's sleep, but he still woke up in the middle of the night.

After waking up, Zheng Fan sat outside the tent, leaning against a post, looking up at the starry sky.

Soon,

Gou Moli came over with a large bowl of noodles and some side dishes.

When marching and fighting, according to the tradition of the Pingxi Wang Mansion, the troops mainly carried fried noodles, which was cooked flour mixed with salt, oil, sugar, and other things.

Gou Moli being able to bring a large bowl of beef noodles in this wilderness proved that he had long noticed the identities of this group of people, but had restrained himself from rushing over at the first moment.

After all, since his party had hidden their identities, there must be a reason.

This small detail was enough to show what a meticulous role the Savage King was.

Fortunately, he lost; fortunately, he had also tamed him;

As for the inn and horse-raising work he mentioned during the day, Zheng Fan felt that it shouldn't be just flattery.

People,

had experienced wind and rain, had seen the sunrise on the mountain peak and had been frozen in the valley,

and now didn't have to worry about food and clothing,

so they had to find some kind of pure spiritual comfort.

Perhaps, Gou Moli regarded that as comfort, that inn that had been often mentioned since leaving Tiger Head City, seemingly falling into an inconspicuous place in the martial world in the future, but in fact,

it had always been there,

it was in the heart.

Perhaps, it would never appear in reality, and he would never really open it, but in the depths of his heart, there was always a place for it, and the lanterns at the entrance of the inn were always lit.

"My Lord, seeing that you're awake, have some midnight snack, the Lady is treating Ah Li's wound." Gou Moli put the midnight snack in front of Zheng Fan and sat down beside him.

Zheng Fan didn't rush to eat,

but opened his mouth and said:

"I just had a dream, a dream like a revolving lantern, seeing many things from the past, some of which I saw with my own eyes, some of which I heard about, but all of them were in the dream, and I 'saw' them again."

Gou Moli reached out and began to peel garlic for the Wangye;

He knew that the Wangye wanted to find someone to talk to, and he happened to be here; it was his honor.

"In the dream,

I stood in the Tian residence, looking at the blood and fire of that night;

One moment, I was standing in the backyard of the Marquis's mansion in Litian City, watching Old Tian sitting on the threshold, his hair turning white overnight;

One moment, I was standing by the Wangjiang River, asking Li Fusheng, how are these Chu slaves still alive?

Standing on the wall of the Yan capital's imperial city, the late Emperor stood in front of me, below, was a group of Yan elders, shouting to save food for the army's founding war, laughing and jumping into the fire pit;

Standing in the Imperial Study, I saw the late Emperor covered in rust, but still continuing to swallow the elixir raw;

The fire in Yingdu, the fire phoenix's neighing, and the white hair walking out of the fire;

In the Lu family's mansion, the young prince stabbed his father in the chest with a knife, both father and son laughing like crazy;

Below the frozen Wangjiang River,

Tens of thousands of vengeful spirits, shouting 'By the order of the Marquis', killed out from the bottom of the river, stirring up the sky and causing it to rain.

I saw eight thousand iron cavalry, shouting to open a path for the Wangye, facing death calmly.

Oh,

This dream, saw so much, but fortunately, usually when I have such a complicated dream, I'm afraid my brain would be muddled after waking up, probably catching a cold;

At this moment, I feel very comfortable in my spirit.

Looking back,

Unconsciously, I have experienced so much in these years, and I was a little startled myself.

Gouzi,

You're a smart one,

You guess,

Why did I have this dream?"

Gou Moli smiled along and guessed:

"My Lord, are you tired of the previous days and want to retire?"

"Where are we at, it's still early, there are still things to do, there are still promises to fulfill, and there are still sceneries I want to see that I haven't seen yet.

Retreat,

Heh,

If the heart is not quiet, retreating to the ends of the earth is also a fart."

"Hehe." Gou Moli smiled, "Then you are…"

Zheng Fan reached out and pressed Gou Moli's hand that was peeling garlic,

and said:

"Probably,

Tonight, I suddenly don't want to use garlic to eat with noodles;

By the way,

Do you have stir-fried soybeans?"