Chapter 1 The Fire

The great fire in Yingdu was still burning, but here, it was no longer the focus of the Yan army's objective.

This was the result of a long-distance raid, but not the whole story.

The Jingnan Prince left the city and returned to the military camp, and then, he didn't show his face again. He said that his injuries were very serious.

So, this time it wasn't to test Zheng Boye as before, but because he really didn't have the physical condition to command the army anymore. Even Sword Saint guessed that Tian Wujing might need to sleep for a while.

The royal tent was vacated for Zheng Fan's temporary use. Messengers had already been sent to order all generals above the rank of Major General to immediately go to the royal tent for a meeting.

Scholars talk about managing an army, basically with two routines: one is strict military discipline, and the other is treating soldiers like sons.

It can't be said that what they say is wrong, but it's like saying that if you want to live, you have to eat. It's true, but it's a sentence without any substance.

If you really want to quickly take control of an army, the first thing you need to do is to control the middle and high-level generals of this army.

Let them be responsible for conveying your will, and with them as the backbone, an army can truly be used by you.

Zheng Boye sat on the commander's seat in the royal tent, holding a waterskin in his hand, taking small sips of water. In front of him on the ground was a map of the heartland of Chu.

Si Niang went to treat the wounded, while Sword Saint stayed by Zheng Fan's side, holding the Longyuan Sword, as if dozing off, perhaps still savoring the scene in the great fire earlier.

"Crack... crack..."

The firewood in the brazier crackled from time to time.

Zheng Boye looked at the map and took another sip of water.

Sword Saint opened his eyes slightly, looked at Zheng Fan, and said,

"Actually, I've always been curious, you, as a Yan nobleman, can so easily shout out something."

Shout out what?

Betraying Yan.

"Do you know what the first gift Great Yan gave me was?"

"Gift?"

"Believe it or not, my first impression of Great Yan was being a civilian laborer in the desert, being used as bait by the Zhenbei Marquis's daughter to attract the Shatuo tribe to attack.

In that battle, very few of the surviving civilian laborers survived."

Sword Saint frowned slightly, as if thinking, thinking about what kind of rhetorical technique Zheng Fan was using.

Zheng Fan didn't bother to continue explaining.

In this Great Yan, he actually only owed Lao Tian, after all, Lao Tian had saved his life several times.

But for others, even for this country, he didn't feel like he owed much, nor did he feel like he owed much favor.

He woke up in this world and wasn't born and raised in this world. Moreover, he was taught a lesson by the princess as soon as he came to this world.

Yes,

He was promoted constantly afterward,

From the imperial court, from the Yan Emperor, and from Little Sixth.

But for the imperial court and His Majesty the Yan Emperor,

It was because he had made continuous military achievements that he was rewarded.

To put it bluntly,

It's like helping to cut wheat during the busy farming season. I work, you provide food, and pay me half a string of money as remuneration. We owe each other nothing.

I have rendered service to Great Yan,

I have shed blood for Great Yan,

It is only natural for your Yan country to give me official positions, status, and treatment.

We haven't received compulsory education or public medical care from your Great Yan, so why should I owe you any favors?

It's just with Little Sixth,

He did sponsor me, and I have to acknowledge that favor;

But now that I have become a publicly recognized representative of the Sixth Prince's party, Little Sixth has also used me to erect monuments and attract others to work for him.

See? See?

The now-prominent Boye of Pingye was originally sponsored by me,

Do you want to become the same?

What are you hesitating about? Join the Sixth Prince's party now!

So, in the final analysis, it's just mutual utilization.

But there's no need to explain these things to Sword Saint, and it can't be explained clearly.

Being alone as a stranger in a foreign land, it's okay to have some goodwill towards Yan, after all, I've fought under the Black Dragon banner for so long, but to contribute all my loyalty to him and remain steadfast, sorry, Zheng Boye really can't do it.

Unless he was taken into the palace by His Majesty the Yan Emperor from the beginning to be raised as an illegitimate son,

But…

Looking at the treatment of Ji Lao Liu and the others, Zheng Boye felt that if it were really like that, he would probably be more eager to rebel against Great Yan.

At this moment,

The soldiers outside reported that the generals had all arrived outside the tent.

"Let them in," Zheng Boye said.

"Yes."

Soon, a group of generals entered the royal tent.

Everyone should have known outside the tent that the person inside was Boye of Pingye and not the prince, so they didn't feel surprised to see Zheng Fan standing there.

Immediately,

All the generals, regardless of their seniority or rank, collectively cupped their hands and saluted:

"Greetings, Boye of Pingye."

"Greetings, Boye of Pingye."

Zheng Fan also cupped his hands in return, then straightened his back and looked down,

Said:

"Yingdu is already on fire, and we have already taken the great achievement into our hands. The prince means that he is too lazy to deal with the aftermath and has handed it over to me.

From this moment on,

I, Boye, am ordered by the prince to temporarily control this Jingnan Army.

Everyone,

Will you give me face?"

Sword Saint stood in the dark corner, looking at Zheng Fan. To be honest, there was one thing Sword Saint had to admit, and that was that this Zheng Boye's performance on formal occasions was really completely different from his behavior in private.

Among the generals below, there were actually quite a few who knew that the prince should be injured, and it was likely that he was temporarily unable to preside over this situation, so he secretly ordered Boye of Pingye to be transferred to command.

Those who knew the inside story naturally understood that at this time, if they wanted to prevent the morale of the army from collapsing, they had to do their best to help Boye of Pingye stabilize and control this army.

And those who didn't know the inside story were actually somewhat accustomed to Boye of Pingye commanding the army on behalf of the prince. After all, Boye of Pingye had enough military achievements and prestige, and the generals were also convinced. Secondly, Boye of Pingye had been helping the prince deal with military affairs in the royal tent for a long time before.

So,

Not long after Zheng Fan finished speaking,

The generals changed their previous cupped-hand salute to a one-knee salute,

And said in unison:

"This humble general is willing to be dispatched by Boye of Pingye!"

"This humble general is willing to be dispatched by Boye of Pingye!"

No one proposed to take a look at the Jingnan Prince's order to confirm the legitimacy and completeness of this process.

Because rules were originally established for people with distant relationships. Everyone was not blind to the Jingnan Prince's attitude towards Boye of Pingye all along, so how could they not understand?

"Everyone, please rise."

Zheng Fan gestured for everyone to get up, and then he pointed to the map hanging in front of him and began to explain:

"Right now, what we need to do is to find the whereabouts of the Chu Regent King. He has slipped away, but he will definitely not slip away very far. One is that there is not so much time, after all, he has a family to bring with him and a large number of Chu Imperial Guards; secondly, he is also reluctant to be too far away from Yingdu, because if he is too far away, he will be completely in the dark.

Moreover, he should not be north of Yingdu, which is the direction we came from.

I, Boye, speculate that to ensure safety and be close to Yingdu, the east and west directions should not be suitable. Only in the south can he have depth. In extreme cases, he can continue south, using the land of Southern Chu as his base to rise again.

South of Yingdu, outside the capital area, is Chu's Panhe County. South of Panhe County is the true southern territory of Chu."

Zheng Fan's finger tapped on a mountain range south of Panhe County,

Said:

"Here, is Mount Liugong. Hundreds of years ago, the Chu ancestors set out from here, crossed Mount Liugong, and conquered the Shanyue tribe entrenched in the south. Mount Liugong once served as the Chu people's camp for the expedition.

This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is considered an important passage between the north and south territories of Chu. If I, Boye, were the Chu Regent King, I would probably choose to use this place as a base for the imperial retinue and wait and see.

Of course,

My, Boye's, speculation may not be accurate,

But it doesn't matter,

We can just kill two birds with one stone and sweep south. I, Boye, don't believe that the accompanying ministers, members of the royal family, and such a large imperial guard can really hide without a sound.

If he really hides without a sound, then I, Boye, would be happy."

At this time, a Major General asked,

"Boye, what does this mean?"

Zheng Boye nodded slightly to the Major General who asked the question. This kid is not bad. Although he forgot his name, he can interact with him so quickly, so he is worth paying more attention to.

"Because he is the Regent King, and at the same time, he is considered the current emperor of Chu. After the capital is burned down, if he doesn't speak out, the entire Chu Kingdom will directly fall into a state of having no leader.

So, he has to speak out. He has to tell his subjects and all the Chu troops fighting against our army that he is still there, and their emperor is still there.

If he really hides completely, it would actually save us trouble.

But my brother-in-law is not a cowardly rat, so I, Boye, believe that when our army goes south, we should soon be able to find the location of the imperial retinue.

My wife misses her brother very much at home,

I, Boye, am afraid of my wife,

As you all know,

She's a princess,

And she voluntarily followed me to Great Yan, so I have to coax her a little bit and let her have her way;

What if she misses her brother?

There's no way,

I can only invite my brother-in-law to visit Great Yan. Only in this way can my family be at peace.

Therefore,

I, Boye, would like to ask you all for a favor,

Help me with this."

"Hahahaha!!!"

"Hahahaha!!!"

When the generals heard this, they all laughed.

Don't mention it, after everyone got used to the seriousness of the military meetings when the prince was there, they really felt a different feeling when they met the approachable Boye of Pingye.

It's impossible to have such a laughing scene when the prince holds military meetings.

"What I, Boye, mean is that we will divide our troops into three routes, but these three routes cannot be too far apart. The battle has been fought to this point, and everyone is looking forward to returning home in triumph soon, so we can't fall into a pit at this time, because that would really not be worth it.

The Chu people still have a few tricks left, and they are very likely to ambush us when we advance rashly;

Therefore, these three routes of troops must be able to support each other, and must not leave the general direction without authorization.

General Ren Juan."

"This humble general is here!"

"You lead 15,000 cavalry as my left wing."

"This humble general obeys!"

A few years ago, Zheng Fan was nominally under Ren Juan's command, but now, he can directly order him. However, Ren Juan doesn't feel any resentment in his heart.

Everyone hates nepotism because the vast majority of those who get ahead through nepotism are useless trash.

However, once a capable and meritorious person has nepotism, they will immediately gain a halo, and the effect will be even better.

"General Chen Yang."

"This humble general is here!"

"You lead 15,000 cavalry as my right wing."

"This humble general obeys!"

"I, Boye, will personally lead the central army to pave the way for the three armies."

After saying this,

Zheng Fan looked down again,

And continued:

"The fire in Yingdu cannot be extinguished in a short period of time. I, Boye, know that many of you want to take some wealth from Yingdu to take away.

I, Boye, have always liked fighting battles and making both fame and fortune.

The soldiers risk their lives and fight against the Chu slaves, opening up territory for my Great Yan and dyeing the battlefield with blood. What does it matter if they get some wealth?

I, Boye, have always believed that it is only normal for every soldier of my Great Yan to live as comfortably as the local rich man in the village, and for their wives and children to have a prosperous life.

But right now, our battle is not over yet, so we cannot stay here.

After you generals return to the camp, explain the reasoning clearly to the soldiers, and don't let everyone have resentment in their hearts.

After going south,

If we are lucky enough to capture my brother-in-law, then I, the Great Chu consort, will do my best to be a good host, and I guarantee that you will all eat and drink your fill and take as much as you can, and I'm just afraid that your warhorses won't be able to carry it!

If we can't capture him, it doesn't matter. If we drive him far away or force my brother-in-law to make peace,

Then I, Boye,

When we return to the court in triumph,

Will personally take everyone to search for wealthy places in Chu,

When it comes to greed for wealth,

When it comes to enjoyment,

I, Boye, have never seen anyone more powerful than me!"

This must be mentioned, and it must be explained clearly.

The Yan army is brave in combat and has extremely strong military qualities. The Jingnan Army is even more outstanding, but the problem is that the Yan army's military discipline after victory is also very powerful in looting and burning.

Of course, no army in the world is not like this. Yingdu is burning, but going in now to rob can actually still yield a lot of good things. It is really extremely cruel to let the soldiers watch such a large imperial capital without wreaking havoc, and it is easy to cause resentment among the soldiers, which in turn leads to war-weariness.

This is a big taboo, so we can only draw a cake to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst by looking at plums for now.

The generals nodded in agreement, indicating that they understood and would go back and talk to their subordinates.

The generals present have already broken away from the level of low-level interests, because ordinary wealth can no longer arouse their great interest. They must be greedy for wealth, human nature is greedy, but they value more the promotion of official titles and ranks after making meritorious service and receiving rewards.

Can the Major General be promoted to Lieutenant General?

Can the Lieutenant General be promoted to Commander?

Can the Commander be promoted to a peerage?

There have long been rumors in the army that Boye of Pingye is likely to be made a Marquis after this battle. They do not expect to be made a Marquis, but raising their peerage would be enough to pass on to their families and continue their wealth for several generations.

Zheng Boye raised his Wuyazi,

And shouted:

"Everyone, the prince has already helped us burn Yingdu. Next, it's time for us to do something for the prince. We can't let the prince be so tired all the time!

In this battle,

We will win,

The Jingnan Army,

Will win!"

All the generals drew out their sabers and raised them high,

And shouted in unison:

"Will win!"

………

Mount Liugong is no longer a military fortress.

Hundreds of years ago, the Chu people did use this as a starting point to launch an expedition against the Shanyue tribe in the southern territory, but after that, most of the southern territory also fell under the rule of the Chu people. A few places like Wutong County still have restless Shanyue tribes, but in general, the Chu people have included their rule in the entire southern region.

Therefore, Mount Liugong has become a scenic spot. In winter, Yingdu is relatively cold, and some nobles and even the royal family like to spend the winter in Mount Liugong.

There are also many natural hot springs here, which are of great benefit to recuperating the body.

The Regent King himself lives in this royal villa.

At this time,

He was sitting by the pond, holding a fishing rod and fishing.

Sitting beside him were the elderly Meng Shou and the two Left and Right Executive Secretaries. The Left and Right Executive Secretaries were originally positions in the Prince's Mansion, not official positions in the imperial court.

News of the great fire in Yingdu has reached here.

The Regent King arranged for a group of people, pretending to have escaped from Yingdu, some from noble backgrounds and some from commoner backgrounds, to put on a show at the gate of the royal villa.

The show was very simple, nothing more than crying about how the Yan people were burning, killing, and looting in Yingdu, setting fire to the city, and acting like beasts!

The Regent King was furious, scolding the Yan people for harming his people and crying about the deaths of so many nobles who stayed behind in the capital.

Then,

An edict was issued to Great Chu,

To expose the barbarity of the Yan people.

But the real purpose was to tell the Chu people that their Emperor had not been burned to death in Yingdu, that he was still alive, and that he could continue to command the Chu soldiers and civilians to resist the Yan people.

In fact, this was a lie that was destined not to be able to be hidden from those who were interested, because there were too many places that you could not explain, and it could not stand scrutiny at all.

But those who were interested would remain silent.

Therefore, the lie could be maintained.

Not long after, news came that the Yan army that had broken through Yingdu had not retreated, but had gone straight south under the leadership of Boye of Pingye, entered Panhe County, and was pointing directly at Mount Liugong!

For a time,

The imperial retinue on Mount Liugong was shaken.

One was because the shock of the news of the burning of Yingdu had not dissipated,

And the second was that the Yan people's aggressive and clear goals were really alarming.

The Left Executive Secretary, Ding Liang, said, "Your Majesty, General Zhang Jian's meaning is to try to fight a battle south of Mount Liugong."

Although Zhang Jian's family's position in the Zhang family was not that of a Pillar of the State, it was not much worse than that of the Shi family. Most importantly, the Zhang family was the first military family among the imperial guards to clearly pledge allegiance to the Regent King.

The Right Executive Secretary, Ma Lun, said, "This official thinks that General Zhang Jian's idea is correct. Whether it is defending or transferring the imperial retinue, we have to fight a battle to stabilize the morale of the army."

If the imperial retinue keeps running away, it's not good. It's easy to run away until you collapse.

However, the Regent King threw away the fishing rod in his hand,

And pointed to the pond with a smile,

Said:

"There are no fish fry in this pond at all. No matter how we fish, we won't be able to catch any fish."

As he spoke,

The Regent King stood up, and a eunuch brought up a bronze basin to let the Regent King wash his hands.

"The Yan people want to withdraw their troops, and they don't really want to fight anymore.

Yingdu was burned, so it was burned. It burned a lot of things and people that were too troublesome for me to deal with myself;

Now,

We should still try our best to preserve some of our family assets,

So that we can be more calm and collected when we clean up the country in the future.

Fighting against the Yan army at the foot of Mount Liugong, no matter what the outcome is, no matter how hard we fight, there is no benefit, just like fishing in this pond.

If we win a battle, we still have to seek peace;

If we lose, we have to lower our posture even more when we seek peace;

What's the point?

I have said that we will not compete with the Yan people for a day or two. Let's look at him again in ten or twenty years.

Ding Liang, receive the decree."

Ding Liang immediately knelt down:

"This official is here!"

"I order you to be an imperial envoy, carrying my decree, to go to the Yan army to negotiate peace with my brother-in-law. The conditions are nothing more than that we give up Zhennan Pass and Shanggu County.

Anyway, Nian Yao's side can't hold on for too long. I want to take back Nian Yao's army intact.

As for the rest, you can talk about it casually.

Oh,

By the way,

How to show integrity, how to argue with reason, how to turn our peace talks into my vow to fight to the death with the Yan dogs with the strength of the whole country until only one soldier is left in Great Chu, preferably with the addition of words such as 'Even if Chu has only three households, it will surely destroy Yan';

Only in this way can the Yan dogs retreat in the face of difficulties.

You can handle it yourself."

Ding Liang said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, will the Yan people let this official do this?"

"My brother-in-law is good at being a man, and he knows what to do. Anyway, the Yan people have already won. It's just a matter of raising a hand to sell us a face and fill the appearance.

After all, we still have to be neighbors after this battle is over.

As the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative,

What's more,

I and him,

Are relatives."