Chapter 1 Zheng Boye Advances

Zheng Boye walked forward, with the Sword Saint at his side.

A little ahead, a group of armored soldiers were moving the corpses in front, clearing the road. Closer, four armored soldiers, each with a large broom, were sweeping away the blood on the ground.

Because Boye would feel uncomfortable if his boots stepped on the filthy blood.

In fact, Zheng Boye wasn't that delicate. When attacking Dongshan Fort a while ago, he could personally carry a knife and go down to kill the enemy, but if conditions allowed, why make himself suffer?

Life requires more rituals; your own enjoyment is actually secondary. The key is that your soldiers like to see this kind of ritual.

Originally, someone had been sent ahead to say that the captured people should be escorted to the dock, but Zheng Boye refused. He decided to go to Jing City himself.

At this moment, a messenger soldier with a tricolor flag on his back galloped over, knelt down, and reported:

"Lord, General Liang has discovered a batch of Chu armor in the city's warehouse and requests reinforcements."

"Granted."

Zheng Boye generally wouldn't interfere with what A Cheng wanted to do. Anyway, listening to him was always right.

The man specifically sent someone over to ask for instructions, to give him face.

"Yes!"

The messenger ran back to report.

Beside him, the Sword Saint smiled and said:

"Lord?"

Zheng Fan smiled and said, "Let them be."

Earlier, when he gave the order, the soldiers below began to shout, "The Marquis has ordered," and so on.

The lower-level soldiers might not have a high enough perspective, but they all understood what it meant for the hundreds of thousands of Chu troops at Zhennan Pass when they appeared in Jing City.

A great achievement far exceeding the previous thousand-mile raid on Xuehai Pass was right in front of them!

Some soldiers took it upon themselves to change the title of "Boye" to "Lord," partly from the heart and partly because they felt it was a natural progression.

There was another layer of meaning, which was that everyone firmly believed that this battle would be won, and Boye would definitely be ennobled as a marquis!

Therefore, at this time, Zheng Fan would not correct their errors in address. He wouldn't even look at the time and place.

It was the same principle as when Tian Wujing was stripped of his title of king, and many of the soldiers below still called him "Your Highness."

Of course, while you enjoy this kind of military morale, you will inevitably be pushed forward by the people below.

After reaching a certain point, it would probably be the donning of the yellow robe.

The Sword Saint was no stranger to the fact that "everyone knows what the Earl of Pingye is thinking," but he still asked:

"Next, will we defend here?"

Having successfully attacked Jing City, the normal course of action would be to defend it to the death, cutting off the connection between Zhennan Pass and the Chu territory.

Zheng Fan shook his head and then nodded,

Saying:

"We definitely have to defend, but not necessarily in that way. There are many ways to defend a city. In fact, our army has already attacked."

"Liang Cheng's request earlier?" the Sword Saint asked.

He didn't understand military affairs, but he liked to ask.

Zheng Boye nodded and said, "Yes."

At this time, from the North City Gate, an army dressed in Chu armor and carrying Chu flags was quickly leaving the city.

Accompanied by a low shout from the leading general,

The originally orderly army suddenly became loose and dejected. Many people even deliberately borrowed blood from the corpses on the ground nearby to wipe their faces.

A defeated army headed north.

"Pass down the order..."

Zheng Boye pointed to the nearby corpses and ordered:

"Throw all the corpses inside and outside the city into the Wei River."

Let the corpses continue to float along the wide Wei River, so that the people of Chu downstream could really see that the Chu army in front had been defeated, with countless casualties.

This kind of panic was not only for the Chu army at Zhennan Pass to the north, but also for the Chu people in the rear to see. Perhaps many floating corpses would flow into the Mi River along the tributaries.

Let those Chu nobles who only knew how to drink and watch plays on boats upstream of the Mi River personally experience the terror of war.

They should have experienced war; the situation in Chu had not always been smooth sailing.

Not to mention the distant past, but just the recent past, when the princes' rebellion a few years ago involved a considerable scale of troops.

But Chu had really not felt the invasion of external enemies so clearly for a long time.

Even the 40,000 Chu soldiers who died under Yupan City last time died in Jin territory.

He, the Regent of Chu, had forcibly united the power of the nobles with his own skills to face the outside world, which should have been very difficult.

Zheng Boye felt that his brother-in-law could completely handle more work.

Therefore,

He didn't mind adding to his brother-in-law's burden.

When a knife is held to your neck,

When your skin has already felt the cold chill,

I don't believe you can continue to be "as solid as a rock"!

After entering the city, the streets on both sides were lined with armored soldiers. Anything could happen in a newly captured city, so the protection of Boye was taken more seriously.

Fortunately, Jing City was not very big. After walking around, paying attention to the dirt on the ground, Zheng Boye and the Sword Saint soon arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.

The gate of the City Lord's Mansion was somewhat bloody, but inside, it was much cleaner.

The last group of guards at the City Lord's Mansion directly chose to flee and surrender when they saw that the situation was hopeless, so there wasn't much fighting inside.

In the courtyard,

Zheng Boye looked around,

And said to the Sword Saint beside him:

"I always thought that the gardens of the Qian people were extremely well-made, but now it seems that the gardens of the Chu people also have a unique flavor."

The gardens of the Qian people paid more attention to cultural atmosphere, while the Chu people pursued nature more.

The Sword Saint said, "Someone reported to you earlier that the City Lord's surname was Jing?"

"Yes, Jing Suyuan."

"Then that's right. The largest garden in Chu is not in Yingdu, but in the Jing family."

The Jing family of Chu did not raise private soldiers, and was known as the family where Chu's culture resided. Therefore, most of the Jing family's energy was actually spent on how to be elegant, how to be more elegant, and how to be the most elegant.

It was normal for Jing Suyuan to specially renovate the garden in the City Lord's Mansion according to the Jing family's aesthetic in order to enjoy himself when he came to Jing City as the City Lord.

The noble lords had to eat well, drink well, and be in a good mood before they could care about the common people at the bottom, and then write poems, "Every grain is hard-earned."

Of course, Zheng Fan, as an invader, was not qualified to criticize this or that.

Although he came from the common people of Tiger Head City, his ass had long been sitting on the side of the powerful.

At this time, Si Niang walked over and smiled, "Master, I caught a cook. His skills must be good. The ingredients are all prepared, and he can cook at any time."

Zheng Boye nodded, pointed to the spot and said:

"Right here, set up a table."

The furniture was readily available. The guards immediately brought a pear wood round table and three square patterned chairs.

The tea set and tea were also of the best quality.

Zheng Boye sat down first, and signaled the Sword Saint to sit down with him.

The Sword Saint didn't stand on ceremony and sat down.

Si Niang poured two cups of tea and placed them in front of Zheng Boye and the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint lowered his head and took a sip, nodding slightly and saying:

"Good tea."

Zheng Boye took a sip, put down the cup, and said:

"It's still a little worse than the Great Marsh Fragrant Tongue."

Because he was only deeply impressed by the Great Marsh Fragrant Tongue.

The Sword Saint smiled and said nothing.

Zheng Boye turned to look at Si Niang and said, "Build an earthen stove in front, and let the cook cook there, while we watch."

"Yes, Master."

Soon, a simple earthen stove began to be built there, and the cook and his wife also walked over tremblingly, kneeling down together in front of Zheng Fan.

"What are your names?" Zheng Boye asked.

"Answering your noble's question, my name is Niu Dongguan."

"Niu Dongguan, cook, I'm hungry."

"Yes, yes."

Niu Dongguan and his wife got up and went to the earthen stove to work.

Si Niang walked over and stood next to the earthen stove, watching.

With her watching, even if this honest-looking cook really wanted to be a hero and poison the food, regardless of his wife and children, he would definitely not have the chance.

The Sword Saint said, "Wouldn't that be a little bad?"

The Sword Saint didn't care about the corpses that littered the road when entering the city earlier, but he cared about this captured cook cooking in front of them for them to eat. It was a bit too oppressive.

Zheng Boye smiled and said:

"This is to help him make a name for himself. If he really makes the food delicious, he will be a great chef in the future. Moreover, watching the master cook is a kind of... craftsman spirit."

"Craftsman spirit?"

"Some people like this tune."

"Do you like it?"

"I'm okay."

Niu Dongguan's first dish began to be cooked, and soon, the aroma wafted over.

"It's hard to imagine that you are so free now, actually seriously waiting for a meal."

Zheng Boye said: "I'm not idle, and besides, what I'm doing now is very meaningful. Maybe thousands of years later, the dishes he makes today will become famous dishes in some place.

In the future, whenever people eat this dish, they will think of what we did today.

Maybe, there will be a sign hanging in the restaurant, specifically telling diners the origin of this dish and that dish. We can be considered to be famous for generations."

"This counts?"

"Of course it counts."

"No, there is still a difference." The Sword Saint continued, "If Yan merges with Chu in the future, this will be a good story, glorifying you; if Chu continues to exist in the future, then what will be glorified is probably him, for saving his wife and children, he satisfied the bloodthirsty Earl of Pingye of Yan with his superb cooking skills."

"Hahahaha, interesting, interesting, I didn't expect you to say that."

The Sword Saint said, "Isn't that how storytellers in the jianghu (martial world) make up stories?"

He, Yu Huaping, had long been made up into countless stories by people in the jianghu.

In the past, when traveling around the world, he would stop at teahouses and taverns to rest and eat, listening to storytellers or other tea drinkers and wine drinkers chatting and gossiping. Many times he listened for a long time, until they said the name.

Yu Huaping realized:

Oh,

They're talking about me.

"That's right, that's right, but no matter whether the wise and martial Earl of Pingye had a delicious meal here, or the vicious executioner Zheng Tu forced a famous chef to cook a meal for him;

In the end,

Maybe decades later, someone will distinguish this, but really hundreds of years later, even if Chu is still there, no one will distinguish whether I am loyal or treacherous, good or bad.

They only care about whether there is fame. I think I should have some fame."

The Sword Saint savored this sentence and said:

"You see a deeper level than me."

"Hehe."

The dishes began to be served.

Chu cuisine emphasized freshness, trying to maintain the original taste of the food, but this actually tested the chef's skill even more. Often, dishes with heavy oil and strong flavors were relatively simpler.

Zheng Boye glanced at Si Niang standing there, and Si Niang nodded.

"Please."

Zheng Boye made a "please" gesture to the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint picked up his chopsticks, picked up a dish, and put it in his mouth.

"Not bad."

The Sword Saint looked at Zheng Boye, but found that Zheng Boye was holding chopsticks in his hand, while He Chunlai was using boiling water to scald his chopsticks and bowl.

"..." Sword Saint.

After being scalded and washed, Zheng Boye picked up a dish,

"Hmm, not bad."

The dishes were served one after another, and Zheng Boye and the Sword Saint ate unhurriedly.

After all, there were only two cooks, and it was impossible to make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, but fortunately, they made eight dishes, and none of them were cold dishes. Finally, they began to stew fish soup in an iron pot.

At this time, after the matters outside were settled, Gongsun Zhi, Gong Wang, Gou Moli and other generals also came here.

Everyone originally wanted to come and listen to Boye's next arrangements, but when they saw Zheng Boye sitting there leisurely enjoying the food, they felt that it was a matter of course.

When you are victorious in every battle,

All your actions,

Will be automatically imagined by your subordinates to be profound and unpredictable.

"Come on, everyone, eat together, you worked hard on the ship."

Zheng Boye waved.

"Thank you, Boye."

"Thank you, Boye."

The guards next to him brought stools.

The generals were not polite and picked up their bowls and chopsticks to eat, but no one sat down, and they all stood by the table.

Many times,

The gap in status will be very clear.

It will come naturally, even without anyone reminding you.

After a while,

The Sword Saint sighed and stood up to eat as well.

He could actually sit down to eat, because no one present would feel that he was not qualified to sit down to eat.

Because everyone knew that if this Sword Saint wanted to, he could stab anyone at the dinner table through the chest with a single sword, and the one chosen would have almost no chance of escaping.

The reason why the Sword Saint didn't sit down was very simple:

These generals around were equivalent to his, the Earl of Pingye's, retainers;

Gongsun Zhi and Gong Wang had entrusted their children to the Earl of Pingye, and they already considered themselves half of the family.

The lord sits,

The retainers stand,

This is as it should be,

And in general, those who accompany the lord to sit and eat are…

The mistress.

The Sword Saint could also flick his sleeves, stop eating, and leave the table.

But that would be too affected, as if he cared a lot about this little bit of integrity.

Moreover, they had just won a victory, sweeping away the gloom and depression on the ship for so long, so there was no need to spoil everyone's fun.

Therefore,

At the dinner table,

Zheng Boye didn't tell everyone to not be polite and sit down to eat together, but continued to pick up dishes and eat naturally;

The other generals and the Sword Saint were also eating very naturally.

"The fish soup is ready," Niu Dongguan shouted.

He, who had been trembling before, became more and more stable in his state of mind after he started cooking.

Si Niang personally brought the first bowl of fish soup and placed it in front of Zheng Boye.

Zheng Boye picked it up and gently blew on it.

At this time,

A messenger galloped in from outside:

"Report!!!!!!!!!! General Liang and General Jin have defeated the Chu army coming to Jing City's aid in the due north! General Liang's and General Jin's troops have split up and are continuing to advance."

Calculating the time,

It was about time.

Liang Cheng had taken a troop north early after breaking through the city.

Because the Wei River was to the south, the soldiers and civilians who had fled from Jing City earlier were all heading north.

The reaction and actions of the nearest Chu army must have been the fastest.

But when that Chu army came to rescue this side, it would inevitably encounter fleeing soldiers and civilians along the way.

In the descriptions of these soldiers and civilians, the Yan people would be like divine soldiers descending from the sky, and their numbers would often be exaggerated many times compared to the actual situation.

This was normal. First, if the Yan people were not strong, why would they flee? Second, in a state of panic and confusion, unless it was a scout with extensive battlefield experience, it was almost impossible for ordinary people, even ordinary soldiers, to roughly estimate the number of enemy troops in a short period of time.

Once the number reached tens of thousands, it was simply a dense mass. You couldn't fly into the sky to overlook it. Ordinary soldiers and civilians were caught in the crowd, how could they count it?

Therefore, although the news brought back by the messenger was very concise, everyone present could imagine it.

Jing City had a lot of Chu armor and flags stored, which was much more than the Fan family had sent earlier, not even on the same level.

Therefore, when the Chu army that was closest and urgently rushing to save Jing City continued to advance towards Jing City while gathering the defeated soldiers fleeing from Jing City in the south, they "received" the Yan army led by Liang Cheng and Jin Shukui, disguised as Chu soldiers.

Then,

They were wiped out in one wave.

This was also why no one dared to put miscellaneous soldiers or cannon fodder in the center of the formation when two armies faced off, thinking that it would be a waste of resources;

Because once the front quickly collapsed, it would easily drive their central and rear armies to collapse together. With a chain reaction, even the most excellent general would be unable to turn the tide.

After defeating the nearest Chu army, Liang Cheng and Jin Shukui split up and continued to advance north, with the goal of taking advantage of this momentum, taking advantage of the Chu people's shock and ignorance of the situation, to try to add a few more fires and stir him up!

It was a pity,

There were no more cavalry.

If Zheng Boye had brought 20,000 cavalry this time,

Hehe,

Zheng Boye really dared to personally lead these 20,000 iron cavalry to sweep through Chu's Shanggu County!

The news of the great victory came, and the situation in the north was very good. This meant that in the short term, everyone didn't have to worry about a counterattack from the Chu people. Regardless of the north or south direction, it would take some time for the Chu people to organize a counterattack force.

Therefore,

The generals at the dinner table all saluted Zheng Boye, who was sitting there drinking fish soup, and said:

"Congratulations, Boye, on another great victory!"

"Congratulations, Boye, on another great victory!"

The surrounding guards and armored soldiers raised their weapons and shouted:

"Lord is mighty!"

"Boye is mighty!"

Those who called the wrong title immediately corrected themselves.

"Lord is mighty!"

In this hot and noisy atmosphere,

Zheng Boye put down the soup bowl,

And slowly said:

"Another bowl of soup."