Gong Wang raised his head,

Looked at Marquis Zheng,

Then fixed his gaze on the peeled peanut in Marquis Zheng's palm.

Here, eat a peanut;

The implication being,

You can only eat what I give you; you can't steal what I don't.

If Marquis Zheng were in Fengxin City at this moment, waiting for him to go to the Marquis's mansion alone, Gong Wang's heart wouldn't be shaken so violently;

But as this scene unfolded before his eyes,

Almost like the plump peanut, its "red makeup" blown away, revealing only its tender whiteness.

This is what he, Gong Wang, looks like now.

Originally, resistance was impossible; he could only obediently shrink his head to continue living.

The Yan people defeated the Cheng rebels, defeated the barbarians, and just burned the Chu capital, Yingdu;

Regardless of whether the Yan lands are now in poverty, at least the iron cavalry of Great Yan has proven its unparalleled combat power.

He, Gong Wang, never thought of raising a banner at this time, to rally the Jin people to do anything.

It's not that he, Gong Wang, is determined and will swear allegiance to Great Yan and the Ji family for life; that's obviously unrealistic;

Because even the Marquis of Pingxi himself can't do that.

But if you want to stir things up, there has to be some shift in the wind, some change in the external environment, right?

To rebel now is to seek your own destruction, to think that life isn't comfortable enough and want your whole family and clan to gather on the execution ground?

Before, Gong Wang still had some confidence. The confidence of a general doesn't come from the support of the court, nor from popular support, because after experiencing the baptism of battlefield killings, they are more aware that the strength and number of their troops are their true foundation.

Only,

While he, the Chief Military Officer, was in the command tent,

The Marquis of Pingxi had him unknowingly,

Sit here.

Looking at the peanut shells on the ground, he had obviously been eating for a while, and sitting for a while too.

No stern scolding,

No great rage,

No scheming coercion;

Anyone can be furious; even the women in the alleys know the principle that whoever has the louder voice has more momentum when arguing;

But the dew of grace, bit by bit, drop by drop, can surpass countless thunderbolts;

Unfortunately,

Those in the world who can use, are capable of using, and are qualified to use it, are few and far between.

His greatest reliance had been trampled underfoot by the other side.

Gong Wang opened his mouth,

Not to speak,

But to wait to receive the peanut,

Waiting,

To be fed.

Marquis Zheng lowered his head, looked at him, looked for a long time.

Finally,

Marquis Zheng reached out his other hand, patted Gong Wang's shoulder, and lifted him up,

Saying:

"Get up."

Gong Wang dared not disobey and immediately stood up.

"Catch."

Gong Wang hurriedly spread out his hands to receive the peanut that Marquis Zheng had overturned from his palm.

There is actually no essential difference between civil and military officials.

Do it for too long, do it for too long, and it's easy to mess it up, and slowly, it becomes bureaucracy.

The face of a bureaucrat is more durable than a rag for wiping tables; wash it, and it turns white, but if you don't wash it for a long time, it's black and grimy; if you don't mind the disgust, you can still use it; but some people are keen on it, calling it thick blackness.

But unfortunately, Marquis Zheng couldn't use the methods he used in Yingdu City to deal with those officials to deal with his generals,

Because,

He was still counting on them to fight for him in the future.

If he really made him lose face, this general would be useless, and the people below wouldn't obey you anymore;

Since he didn't plan to do the most extreme thing, there was no need to go too far, grasp the problem, just grasp the main contradiction.

Of course, the most important thing is that Gong Wang's posture was still very upright.

"Peanuts aren't filling." Marquis Zheng said.

"My Lord, there is food in the command tent. If you don't mind..."

"Let's go, what are we waiting for?"

Marquis Zheng stood up from the chair and walked straight towards the command tent.

At the same time, a white-clad figure followed behind Marquis Zheng, it was the Sword Saint.

Gong Wang dared not risk assassination, nor would he take the risk;

But unfortunately, Marquis Zheng always liked to be foolproof when it came to his own safety.

Entering the command tent,

Marquis Zheng naturally sat down on the commander's seat.

On the table, the bowls and chopsticks were all there, used by Gong Wang. Next to it was another set, prepared by the guards earlier for Gong Lin to use together.

Marquis Zheng picked up the bowls and chopsticks, and by the time Gong Wang and his son Gong Lin walked in, Marquis Zheng had already started eating.

Inside the command tent, there were only four people;

Everyone else was outside.

Gong Wang, after entering the tent, very sensibly knelt down again,

He knew earlier outside the tent that the Marquis had saved him some face.

Don't look at him kneeling, don't look at him prostrating; sometimes, being willing to train you, being willing to scold you, being willing to let you lose face, is actually a kind of love; of course, the heat can't be too great, otherwise he would be burned to death.

With Marquis Pingxi's current status, kicking him a few times and scolding him head-on, as long as it wasn't done in a humiliating way, the people below wouldn't feel that he was being treated unfairly.

Seeing his old man kneeling again, Gong Lin could only kneel down with him.

Marquis Zheng turned his head to look at the Sword Saint beside him and said:

"Do you want to eat?"

The Sword Saint shook his head, took out a hardtack, and ate it slowly himself.

"Being polite?" Marquis Zheng smiled.

The Sword Saint said: "Not enough dishes."

Hearing this, Gong Wang immediately raised his head and said:

"This humble general will immediately have someone prepare..."

"No need."

Marquis Zheng put down his chopsticks, looked around, and finally wiped his hands on a wolf skin blanket placed behind Gong Wang's command table,

While saying:

"This dish is really not tasty, there's too little oil and seasoning, it's tasteless."

Gong Wang immediately said:

"What the Marquis says is true, how can the cooks in this humble general's army compare to the chefs in your mansion, Marquis."

But Marquis Zheng laughed:

"It's not that principle. Actually, when it comes to cooking, it's very difficult to make it delicious, very difficult, it takes effort; but it's also simple to make it not so unpalatable;

Add enough various spices, enough oil, and even if you throw a boot in and cook it, you can still call it delicious and authentic.

Gong Wang,

You make this Marquis very gratified,

You are a good general."

"My Lord, this humble general dares not accept the praise."

"No, you deserve it. Look, Yingdu sends you extra money and food every season, what a large amount of profit, but you don't use it for your own enjoyment, even your meals are so bland, it must be used on the soldiers.

This,

If this isn't a good general, then what is?"

"Thump!"

Gong Wang's forehead heavily hit the ground of the command tent, cold sweat streaming down.

The Marquis is not the Emperor,

But in Jin East,

He is the undisputed local Emperor!

The former has the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion almost treating Beifeng County as its own fief, and taking barbarian tribes as dogs at its side;

Then there's King Jingnan refusing to accept the imperial decree, two red-robed eunuchs staining the stone lions with blood, and even kicking over the defeated First Prince, who had to kneel back down and continue to admit his mistakes.

Therefore, under the Marquis's Mansion, it's not like when Zheng Fan and Xu Wenzu were in Nanwang City, a simple superior-subordinate relationship belonging to the imperial court;

The Marquis's Mansion has its own yamen, its own operating system, it is an independently operating sphere of influence.

"Sigh."

Marquis Zheng sighed,

Tapping his fingers lightly on the table,

Said;

"Gong Wang."

"This… this sinner is here."

"Is it because this Marquis placed you here, and didn't give you one of Xuehai Pass or Zhennan Pass, so you have resentment in your heart."

"This humble general dares not, this humble general dares not."

"Then look, what have you done? It's not that this Marquis is petty, and can't tolerate his subordinates using their own abilities and connections to get some profit;

But you can't wipe your eyes and see, who sent the money and food, who is selling you favors?

Yes,

It's your Jin people's Prince Mansion,

It's the imperial descendants of your former Jin Great Cheng Kingdom,

But you, Gong Wang, raise your head and look,

Who exactly is the master of the world,

Right here!

How can you be so stupid?

Eating someone's food makes you soft-mouthed, taking someone's stuff makes you short-handed,

Why would the Prince Mansion risk such a big deal to curry favor with you?

Don't you use your brain to think,

What kind of days can make the Prince Mansion continue to be passed down, are peaceful days, are law-abiding days!

But now that the Prince Mansion dares to reach out to you, is this the look of wanting to live law-abiding days!

And if the Prince Mansion is no longer law-abiding, what will it do, what else can it do?

At that time,

The adult Sima Yuzhen will raise his arms and call on the Jin people to resist, drive out the Yan barbarians, and restore our rivers and mountains.

You,

Gong Wang,

Are you still going to take the opportunity to raise troops,

To cut off this Marquis's head!"

"This humble general deserves to die, this humble general deserves to die!"

Gong Wang's body was trembling, this wasn't an act, he was a veteran of the battlefield, but the one sitting in front of him scolding him, in terms of military merits and qualifications, was much, much higher than him.

Most importantly, he heard the killing intent rising in the Marquis's words.

Marquis Zheng stood up, walked out from behind the command table, and said slowly:

"Do you know who told this Marquis about this? It's the new Prefect of Yingdu, Xu Wenzu.

The things that have happened in Yingdu these days,

You've heard the rumors, right?

Let's not say anything empty, it's just that the imperial court feels that some Jin dignitaries in Yingdu are living too comfortably, and are a little too arrogant, so they need to send someone down to trim them, to let the Jin people know who exactly is in charge of Jin territory now.

Do you know,

When Xu Wenzu told this Marquis about your matter,

What did he mean?"

Gong Wang dared not answer.

"Prefect Xu's meaning is very simple, a Jin native, colluding with the Prince Mansion, this Prince Mansion, it's a bit troublesome to move now, after all, they are orphans and widows, it doesn't sound good to spread it out.

But to cut off the claws of the Prince Mansion, that's right, isn't it?

Gong claw,

What do you say?"

"This humble general really has no rebellious intentions, this humble general has always been loyal to the Marquis, this humble general was just confused for a moment, confused for a moment."

Gong Lin also pleaded:

"My Lord, my father is just..."

Marquis Zheng raised his hand, signaling the father and son to stop talking, and the father and son immediately fell silent.

"In this Marquis's eyes, there is actually no distinction between Yan and Jin, this Marquis's idea is very simple, everyone has carried knives together, charged and killed together, and finally crawled out of the pile of dead, in the future, naturally we have to work harder to live a better life.

Enfeoffing wives and sons, enfeoffing Marquises and worshiping Kings,

It's really not impossible, and it's definitely not a distant prospect.

The Marquis's Mansion now has a large territory, but only those three pass cities can be considered to have some popularity.

We have to reclaim wasteland, we have to mine, we have to train soldiers, we have to forge armor,

Is this Marquis a idle person?

Is this Marquis a person who covets ease?

But this Marquis is waiting now, waiting for the soldiers and horses to be complete, and the food and grass to be sufficient;

After that,

No matter how respectful the Snow Plain barbarians are, no matter how tolerant the Chu people are, if we want to fight, can't we find an excuse?

Military merits, military ranks,

Are waiting,

Will there be a shortage?

So this Marquis doesn't understand,

Did the Wangjiang river water get into your brain, how could you make such a mistake!"

"This humble general is guilty, this humble general has let down the Marquis's expectations and painstaking efforts, this humble general is guilty!"

"Get up."

"Yes, sir!"

Gong Wang stood up.

Marquis Zheng walked down, came to Gong Wang's side, reached out, and patted him on the shoulder:

"You can't go down the wrong path again, I quite like Gong Lin."

"This humble general understands, this humble general understands."

"By my side, there has always been a short barbarian, he has helped me handle many things on the Snow Plain, um, and now he also independently commands a town of soldiers and horses, guarding Fengxin City."

"Yes, this humble general knows, he is..."

"He is the Barbarian King." Zheng Fan said very calmly.

Gong Wang's eyes immediately widened.

Gong Lin, seeing that his old man had stood up and that the atmosphere in the command tent had eased, so he also slowly stood up, his knees trembled, and he knelt down again.

"I said I don't care about the distinction between Yan and Jin, that's true, look, even barbarians, as long as they are loyal to me and can be used by me, I can not care about their origin.

The Snow Plain, the Chu Kingdom, we have both fought them, and we have both won, and in the future, there will still be battles to fight.

This Marquis has no other skills,

But I still have the confidence to lead everyone to continue to eat well and drink well.

You are a Jin person,

So what?

Compared to that one, we are all Xia people, we ourselves are one family.

This Marquis doesn't have good patience,

I was originally in a hurry to return to the mansion, after being out for a long time, I missed home, but I still had to come here to take a stroll.

Next time,

This Marquis will be too lazy to run."

"Please rest assured, Marquis, this humble general understands."

Marquis Zheng nodded,

"Oh, right, your adopted son, I'll take him away."

"No need, Marquis, this humble general won't..."

"He sold you out, showing his loyalty to this Marquis, how could this Marquis possibly mistreat him, and don't blame him, he was actually trying to save you.

It's much better for him to bring this Marquis in than for this Marquis to lead his own troops in."

"Yes, this humble general understands, all the troops under this humble general's command will only follow the Marquis's lead, that was the case before, that is the case now, and that will be the case in the future!"

"Gong Wang, remember what you just said, if one day this Marquis's order comes down, and you need to make a weigh the pros and cons, I hope you, don't be confused."

Saying that,

Marquis Zheng reached out and touched Gong Lin's head, who was kneeling on the ground,

"Do you remember what you said to this Marquis when you first entered the command tent?"

"I remember, Marquis, I said that if my father is stubborn, I will personally..."

Zheng Fan interrupted him,

Said;

"Your father won't, your father will make some mistakes on small matters, but on big matters, your father has always been very clear-headed.

Alright,

This Marquis is going back, you don't need to see me off.

Oh,

Right,

Take twenty lashes yourself, if I don't beat you up, I always feel uncomfortable."

"Thank you, Marquis!"

Zheng Fan left the military camp, the outer perimeter, were the guards and escorting cavalry;

The inner circle, only Zheng Fan riding on a Pixiu and the Sword Saint riding a horse.

The Barbarian King and the others had returned earlier, there was no need for others to help with knocking Gong Wang into shape, if he couldn't handle even this little thing, then his years of bloody storms would have been experienced in vain.

"Do you know what I was thinking in my head when I was standing behind you in the military camp earlier?"

"What were you thinking?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Do you think you're becoming more and more like Tian Wujing, the way you were sitting in the chair peeling peanuts."

Saying that,

The Sword Saint shook his head again, modifying his own words:

"No, Tian Wujing wouldn't be like you, you are obviously better at it, better at..."

Too bad,

The Sword Saint didn't know the word "show off."

"Before, I thought I was imitating Old Tian, learning from Old Tian, but slowly, I realized, that's not it.

It's like the military meritorious Marquises of Great Yan, it's not because of a Marquis title that people respect you, and you can be detached;

It's because you accumulated so many military merits in advance, accumulated strength, and naturally, you sat in this position, people, in fact, had long begun to respect you.

Me,

I'm very similar to Old Tian in some places,

Old Tian doesn't care about many things, and I'm too lazy to do many things.

But,

There is one thing that is different,

I won't be another Old Tian,

Never until I die.

Old Yu..."

"Yeah, tell me."

"I'm always very grateful, to be able to open my eyes again, to see the sun again, even if it's a little different, I'm still very grateful.

The more grateful I am, the more I cherish it,

The more I can't stand being wronged.

I finally came to the world, I want to take a good look around."

"You continue to speak."

"Um?"

"I feel like I'm about to have another epiphany."

"Heh heh."

Zheng Fan turned his head back, looking behind him, not far from there, was the Wangjiang River, which was already showing signs of thawing.

"It's almost spring."

"Yes." The Sword Saint nodded, "Another cycle, another four seasons, time really passes quickly. It's about to be spring now, but I seem to be able to foresee that next time winter comes, I will sigh: ha, it's almost New Year again."

"Hahahahaha."

Zheng Fan laughed loudly.

Reached out,

Pointing to the west,

The Pixiu under his crotch seemed to sense the emotional fluctuations from its master and began to paw restlessly.

"Old Yu, I also have a prediction."

"Oh?"

"Next time, when I cross this Wangjiang River westward, everything, everything will be completely different.

This Jin East,

This land of Three Jins,

This Great Yan,

Even the whole world,

Will usher in a new page."

Saying that,

Zheng Fan closed his eyes,

Said:

"I had a dream last night, guess what I dreamed about."

"There's a poem of yours in the school, iron horses and icy rivers come into my dreams?"

Zheng Fan shook his head.

The Sword Saint guessed again:

"Led troops, took over Yingdu?"

Zheng Fan shook his head again.

"Heh heh, led troops, took over Yan Capital City?"

Zheng Fan said:

"Dreamed that my three wives, all had big bellies."

………

There will be only one chapter today, because the next chapter is about to start a new volume, the plot and rhythm, including the foreshadowing and foreshadowing done before, will begin to emerge, so I have to go and think about some ideas and details of the new volume.

Then, please ask for a monthly ticket, so that our ranking can be as high as possible.