Chapter 914 The Sword Saint's Sigh

Zheng Lin was still "gnashing his teeth" at the stone door, though his true demeanor was more like a cute, ferocious cub.

However, Zheng Fan, as his father, understood his son's meaning at this moment.

There was an invisible bond between father and son, even if your child couldn't speak, you seemed to understand what he meant.

Similarly,

It wasn't just Zheng Fan who could clearly see and understand Zheng Lin's performance.

Eventually,

After the "ancestral ritual" ended, Zheng Fan left with his consorts and children.

At the very end were Fan Li, A Ming, and Xue San.

Third Master muttered softly:

"My lord used to rely on us, then found a godfather to rely on, and then a sworn brother to rely on. I have a feeling that when the children grow up, my lord will continue to rely on them.

"This lifetime, able to rely on others so clearly and unambiguously, ah, it's truly enviable."

This wasn't sarcasm or teasing, but a sincere sentiment.

This fortune, this destiny, was truly heaven-defying.

But thinking about it carefully, perhaps this was the most remarkable thing about their lord.

According to that "exploding bird" Daoist from last time,

Their lord was a rootless person, unacceptable to the heavens and earth; when you were weak, it would be easy for an accident to happen and cause you to die young;

It was also fortunate that their lord had been able to rely on big mountains for support all along, otherwise, relying purely on the demon kings themselves, they might not have been able to stand firm in the past few years.

This was called having countermeasures to deal with policies, adapting to circumstances.

Fan Li nodded,

Saying:

"The princess has a good life."

"Right, a good life is something you can't really learn." Third Master twisted his neck, silently took out a military dagger from his bosom, and asked, "Do you think, when grabbing auspicious objects, our godson might choose my dagger?"

Grabbing auspicious objects was just a ceremony, a process, carrying some kind of beautiful meaning;

But for Zheng Lin, it wasn't that simple.

Not only was he born the heir apparent, but he also had so many demon king uncles eagerly awaiting him.

Whether it was his future ambitions or hobbies, you couldn't say it had already been arranged, but at least it was in the active shooting phase.

"Why not a pharmacist?" A Ming asked.

The image of a dwarf always matched bubbling green vats, and the reality was indeed so.

"So, I've tempered several kinds of poison on this dagger." Third Master said, placing the dagger by his lips and licking it with his tongue. This poison, without a wound to enter the bloodstream, wouldn't be a problem.

"What did you prepare?" Xue San asked A Ming, "Fine wine or human blood?"

"Wine." A Ming replied.

"You're really low-key." Third Master commented.

A Ming glanced at Xue San and said, "I don't believe my lord and Fourth Mistress would agree to let me put human blood on the table, and by the same logic, I don't believe your poisoned dagger can be displayed."

Third Master immediately realized: "Damn, I was rash."

"A Li, what did you prepare?" A Ming asked.

"Didn't prepare anything." Fan Li said.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why?"

Fan Li scratched his head,

Said;

"Because it's too late."

…

Tonight,

Pingxi Manor was brightly lit with lanterns and decorations, like daytime.

For the manor, which usually favored quiet, it was rare to have such a lively scene.

Under the administration of the manor, except for Gongsun Zhi and Gong Wang, who had recently taken office at Snow Sea Pass and Zhennan Pass respectively, the remaining high-ranking generals had almost all gathered in Fengxin City to report on their duties.

Daring to do this was because they had confidence.

If Snow Sea Pass wasn't breached, there would be no trouble in the snowy plains;

As long as Fancheng in Zhennan Pass was still in their hands, the Chu Kingdom wouldn't dare to bubble up;

To the west,

Unless Ji Lao Liu was hit with three consecutive curses and had to gulp down a vat of lard in one go, he would never dare to weaken the fiefs at this time, and to put it bluntly, if he really tried this, with the intelligence and relationship network built up early by the Blind Man and Fourth Mistress, they couldn't possibly be kept in the dark.

Therefore, Pingxi Manor could put on this kind of show where heroes from all walks of life gathered in the Hall of Righteousness.

Of course, this was also the peaceful situation achieved by the southern and northern expeditions of the past two years.

The banquet began,

The military generals sat together, and the civil officials under the manor also sat together, eating and drinking, minding their own business.

The separation of civil and military affairs had already begun to take shape at this time. The Prince of Pingxi himself had risen to power by grasping both military and political power, but now, the manor was primarily based on the household system supplemented by various other systems, which greatly weakened the control of the various generals over the local areas.

In short, the path I took, I'll block it off after I've finished walking it, so that those behind me have no way to go.

The generals naturally didn't dare to hate their own prince, so they could only be at odds with this group of civil officials, but the leader of the civil officials in the manor was Mister Bei, so these warriors didn't dare to act too recklessly, and everyone just ignored each other.

When the prince himself attended, the two groups actively gathered to welcome him.

"Sit, sit."

The prince calmed everyone down, then, holding a cup of wine, toasted each table, with basically everyone at the table drinking it all down, while he only wet his lips.

But no one was dissatisfied, nor did anyone try to persuade him to drink more.

After making the rounds, Chen Daole took out scrolls, not imperial edicts, but they were also yellow, and began to review the achievements made by everyone in the past year under the leadership of the Pingxi Manor in the construction and development of J восто;

These were mostly in the area of local governance, which was the domain of civil officials;

Then came the rewards.

The manor would increase benefits, and in terms of official positions, the manor had the right to appoint local officials, but they needed to go through a process to Yanjing for a stamp of approval.

Immediately afterward,

He Chunlai, like Chen Daole, took out a scroll and began to review the military achievements of the past year.

This aspect was actually a bit awkward, as the most glorious victory in the past year wasn't won by the direct lineage troops of J восто.

Therefore, the results presented were a bit shabby.

For example, the crackdown on the uncooperative savage tribes, could that even be called a crackdown?

The official army only needed to send a few representatives, and the Haian Tribe and other lackey savage tribes would personally overturn that tribe;

For example, the confrontation on the border with the Chu lands, could that be called a confrontation?

Dozens of sentry riders were gnawing at each other there…

The only thing that could be put on the table was the performance in Fancheng.

After Gou Moli stabilized the situation in Fancheng in the early stages, he began to actively expand his influence, and although there were no large-scale battles, there were frequent small victories.

The Savage King, who had swept across most of J восто in the past, was now thriving on the stage of Fancheng;

But unfortunately, he was still in Fancheng and hadn't returned.

Compared to the solid data improvements and progress on the civil official side, the more the military generals listened to these summaries, the more depressed they felt.

Only Ke Yan Dongge, who had been invited as an exception, was drinking and eating obediently;

Apart from that, even Jin Shuke, who was usually the most stable, had put down his chopsticks at this time, with a solemn expression.

But the prince himself was sitting there, watching everyone, and no one dared to complain.

He Chunlai also began to read out the military awards. Compared to the large-scale promotions of the civil officials, the military side seemed much shabbier, mainly gold, silver, and treasures, and the amount wasn't much either.

The generals whose names were called stood up one by one and knelt down to receive the rewards, but they all felt a little deflated.

However, the dull scene didn't last too long.

The prince stood up from his chair,

Saying:

"Do you feel… there's something missing?"

In an instant,

The military generals immediately shuddered collectively, all left their seats and prostrated themselves, saying in unison;

"This subordinate dares not!"

"This subordinate dares not!"

The military generals had all prostrated themselves, and the civil officials on the other side also stood up, but they didn't kneel down together.

The prince slowly paced,

In the originally noisy banquet hall, there was only the sound of the prince's boots rubbing against the brick surface.

"Logically speaking, at this time, I should say something to boost morale, to appease you all properly, so that everyone can finish this meal with high spirits.

"Then, go together to see my son, to grab auspicious objects.

"But I just don't have the mood for it."

At this time,

Ke Yan Dongge opened his mouth and said:

"Your Highness, we are guilty."

Immediately, all the surrounding generals shouted along with him:

"We are guilty."

"No, you are not guilty, not guilty, it's just that I myself, I feel a little unhappy.

"The other day, I went to the mountain to pray for blessings.

"When offering wine on the mountain, I thought of those brothers who once stood by my side and fought for me.

"The brothers who died in J восто are fine, we can help them collect their remains.

"But what about the brothers who died in the Chu lands, who died in the Qian lands?

"We,

"Can give out awards here, can drink wine here;

"What about them?

"Have their bones already been eaten clean by wild dogs and vultures?

"They don't have blood sacrifices, will they be hungry? Will they be cold?

"Compared to them,

"I,

"You,

"Aren't we too happy?"

The generals knelt there, not one of them speaking.

"Life is getting better and better, and the situation in our J восто will only improve more and more year by year.

"We will have strong soldiers and horses,

"We will have plenty of food and fodder,

"We will have a sea of laborers,

"We will have them, we will definitely have them.

"I don't plan to take you to collect the remains of those comrades who died in foreign lands and bring them back;

"I want the places where they rest to become our own places, so that those brothers who are sleeping outside can sleep at home.

"So,

"I'm very angry,

"You,

"One by one, putting on a stinky face, who the hell are you trying to show it to!"

The prince was angry,

With this roar, it could be clearly seen that many generals were trembling.

This wasn't an act, because the Prince of Pingxi himself usually didn't like to manage worldly affairs, so he really wasn't that familiar with the civil officials. Therefore, the civil officials were in awe of him.

But in the army, the prince's prestige was visible to the naked eye. These people had all fought alongside the prince in the early years.

They had a reverence for the Prince of Pingxi from the bottom of their hearts.

"Those who feel wronged, I will now allow you to remove your armor and return to your fields;

"Those who feel that I am delaying you, I can guarantee that you can go to the Yan lands and get the same official position!

"Those who feel that I am favoring one over another here,

"Say it,

"I will personally make up the reward for you.

"Then,

"Get the hell away from me!

"Are you afraid that there will be no battles to fight in the future?

"Are you afraid that there will be no merits to establish in the future?

"Qian and Chu have not been destroyed, and many small countries still refuse to submit to the Wang transformation. These merits are all clearly there!

"Wait two or three years,

"Can't wait?

"Did I have to come here, on this day, to talk to you about these principles?

"If you don't even understand this principle,

"This brain,

"Doesn't deserve to stay and work under me, I'm afraid that one day, I'll be killed by your pig brain!"

The prince was angrily lecturing,

The two hundred or so people present, civil and military, were all very quiet.

"I said, don't keep giving me a mournful face."

The military generals kneeling on the ground were somewhat stunned, and then, they tried to distort their expressions as much as possible. They didn't know exactly what a mournful face was, so they looked particularly strange.

"Smile?"

"Hehe…"

"Hehe…"

"I can't hear you."

"Hehehe…"

"Hehehe…"

"Louder!"

"Hahahahaha!!!!!"

"Hahahahaha!!!!!"

The generals all laughed loudly.

The prince also laughed along with them.

Then,

The prince's gaze swept over the area of the civil officials.

In an instant, the civil officials who were swept over by his gaze felt a chill down their backs, and then, they didn't know who took the lead, or rather, it was those with the least resistance, who knelt down directly, bringing all the others down with them.

"Haha… hahaha ah ha… …"

Soon,

Laughter echoed in the courtyard of the vast manor.

Not far away, at the family table in the back.

Tian Tian and Ji Chuanye stood at the railing, watching the scene there.

"Even my imperial father can't make his officials like that." Ji Chuanye said.

The emperor's authority, his imperial father didn't lack it. His imperial grandfather had paved the way for his imperial father, but his imperial father's officials, it was impossible for them to be so obedient in front of his imperial father…

Obedient to the point where, if they were told to laugh, they would laugh collectively.

In Ji Chuanye's mind, there began to appear some of the principles from books that his masters had taught him when he was in the palace, such as: If the ruler treats his subjects as enemies, the subjects will also treat the ruler as enemies.

But Ji Chuanye also knew very well that the scene before him wasn't like that.

Those people who knelt and laughed at their godfather's words, they wouldn't hate their godfather, wouldn't feel that their godfather had humiliated them.

Although Ji Chuanye didn't personally ask them this question while they were laughing loudly, the prince felt that the answer should be like that.

Were these people more shameless than his imperial father's officials?

Tian Tian pursed his lips. He really wanted to explain this to his younger brother, but unfortunately, Tian Tian found that he couldn't explain it.

At this time,

The Blind Man walked up behind them,

Saying;

"His Majesty the Emperor inherited the team from the late emperor, and even more ancient teams and ancestral systems.

"And the prince,

"Completely built and selected his own followers.

"One is a inheriting shopkeeper, one is an entrepreneur, they are different."

Basically, the founding rulers of most dynasties didn't pay much attention to rules. They could be said to have exclusive power, and they could arbitrarily knead those below them. But after several generations, the emperors began to pay attention to rules, and the subjects began to shout about "making the ruler as great as Yao and Shun." It wasn't that everyone had evolved into aristocrats over several generations, but that the contraction and decline of imperial power led to this result.

Ji Chuanye thoughtfully nodded, then bowed to the Blind Man.

The Blind Man didn't think it was taboo to say these things to the prince.

This prince had seen many more taboo scenes in J восто.

Besides, some things, J восто, the imperial court, and the emperor were all tacitly aware of.

The banquet continued,

In a hall in the back residence, things had already been arranged.

In the center of the hall was a large round table, covered with festive red cloth. On the red cloth was something like a steamer, covering the items to be used for grabbing auspicious objects, such as books, seals, rulers, and so on.

But grabbing auspicious objects was, after all, a big event,

So some meticulous people would specifically come over to take a look and check things out.

Third Master came first, he put a three-colored lotus with the venom extracted into it.

"Hehe, this thing is colorful, the child should like it, right?"

When Third Master left,

He saw A Ming walking over.

The two silently nodded to each other and passed by.

A Ming put a cocktail that he had personally mixed into it, the color was gorgeous.

When A Ming came out, he ran into Liang Cheng walking in.

A Ming immediately asked, "Aren't you kneeling and laughing in front?"

"I'm done laughing, the banquet is coming to an end, if I don't come now, it'll be too late." Liang Cheng said.

A Ming noticed the thing Liang Cheng was holding in his hand,

Liang Cheng didn't hide it, picked it up, it was a set of human-shaped armor. This thing wasn't really meant to be worn by the child, it was more like a toy.

"What's this? A refined iron version of Barbie?"

"I made it myself in the army in my spare time, let it be a toy for the child." Liang Cheng said.

"Hypocrite."

Liang Cheng shook his head and didn't continue to argue with A Ming. After entering, he opened the "steamer" and put his item in.

When Liang Cheng came out, he actually ran into Fan Li.

"Hmm? I heard them say that you weren't putting anything in?" Liang Cheng asked.

Fan Li chuckled honestly and took out a huge naan from behind.

"So big, are you reincarnated as a starving ghost?"

Fan Li scratched his head and said, "Only big children might like it."

"Okay."

Liang Cheng didn't delay and left directly.

Everyone should put in what they should put in, anyway, it was considered fair competition.

But, when Fan Li walked to the "steamer," he broke the half-person-high naan in his hand and took out a sword with an extremely transparent color from inside and put it in.

As for the naan, Fan Li walked out while gnawing on it.

Walking to the corner of another courtyard,

A beautiful figure jumped down from the wall and onto Fan Li's shoulders.

Fan Li reached out to catch her and patted her butt, and the girl very familiarly borrowed strength and sat on his shoulders.

At the same time,

Her hands very familiarly wrapped around Fan Li's neck,

Her toes lightly kicked on Fan Li's chest,

And asked;

"Stolen it?"

"Yeah."

"Put it in?"

"Yeah."

"That's good, ah, but I really don't understand, why didn't my master come himself, could it be because the Hundred Mile Sword was originally deposited in the manor by my master, and he was embarrassed to ask for it back himself?"

Fan Li shook his head and said:

"He cares about face."

…

In a small courtyard next to the manor.

The Sword Saint was standing at the base of the wall,

The duck, which was still reluctant to return to the coop, was standing at the Sword Saint's feet.

Jian Bi was the Sword Saint's disciple, there was no doubt about it, but Jian Bi's first master was that Yuan Zhenxing.

The Sword Saint was willing to teach Jian Bi everything, but in Jian Bi's heart, the first master would always be the Second Sword of Qian.

People who practice swordsmanship all have a kind of demanding and pursuit of perfection in their hearts.

Therefore, the Sword Saint originally wanted to take Tian Tian as his disciple, a Spirit Child physique, learning anything would be twice as effective with half the effort.

But Tian Tian refused.

If he refused, he refused. The Sword Saint had long since seen past it.

It could only be said that it was a bit of a regret, after all, a Spirit Child physique was hard to find, and he should be content with having Jian Bi by his side to inherit his mantle.

Then,

Then,

Then the Prince of Pingxi, who had always been joked about his children, had truly done what was called "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."

Now, he had not only added a son and a daughter, but they were all Spirit Children!

The Fire Phoenix Spirit Body, even in the Imperial Family of Da Chu, would be enough to make the royal family ecstatic. That smaller baby boy, although seemingly not a spirit body, how could that seal be hidden from the Sword Saint?

What kind of monster was a child who had to be sealed at birth?

The Sword Saint couldn't help but look into the courtyard,

Liu Dahu was practicing his saber,

His youngest son was sitting in a crib, playing with a wooden saber, his older brother was practicing there, and he was following along with his dance.

In the toys on the crib, there were a total of seven small wooden swords, and only one wooden saber.

The Sword Saint walked over,

Reached out and picked up his son,

His son was very affectionate to his father, and he actively opened his arms to welcome his father's hug.

Imperceptibly, the Sword Saint put away the wooden saber;

After hugging the child for a while,

The Sword Saint put the child back in the crib.

The son sat there,

His eyes swept over the seven small wooden swords of various exquisite shapes in front of him, and then, he swept over them a second time;

Finally,

The son's eyes twitched:

"Wuwuwuwu…"

He started to cry.

The Sword Saint had no choice but to put the small wooden saber back.

The son immediately stopped crying, picked up the small wooden saber, and continued to dance along with his brother, who was practicing with a real saber.

The Sword Saint turned around,

And let out a very melancholy sigh:

"Ah…"

————

There will be more tonight.