Chapter 1 The Wind in Yingdu Finally Subsides

The wind in Yingdu, finally subsided;

The matter of the Prince Cheng's residence,

Was picked up high,

And then put down heavily.

It's called high because that night, officials from all departments, the city patrol division, and troops from the camps outside the city all poured in, making for a truly grand display.

If it was put down, why was it still heavy?

Because the Prince Cheng's residence was indeed dealt with;

There were no rumors of Prince Cheng's sudden illness and death, nor any specific charges against him,

Many people in the Prince's residence were arrested. Of course, after the guards of the Prince's residence were quickly beheaded, the arrest of these eunuchs and palace maids didn't cause much of a stir;

But what followed,

Was the true skill of the new Prefect Xu Wenzu;

The assassination attempt was a prelude; the entry of troops into the city was a warm-up; the presence of the Marquis of Pingxi in the city was a paperweight; the matter of the Prince's residence was shrouded in mystery, but behind it all, there was clearly a lot of dirt to be dragged out.

Breakthroughs, excuses, openings,

Too many;

Xu Wenzu arrested a batch, seized a batch, demoted a batch, and fined a batch,

Which even Gou Moli found astonishing;

Perhaps the Barbarian King first learned military affairs, and then gathered the hearts of the people and tribes in the snowy plains. Because of limited conditions, he played a rough game;

The real imperial court, the real officialdom, has order and checks and balances, and you can't just shout: Someone, drag him out and behead him.

It's not barbecue, nor a mishmash,

But carving a lifelike object out of a piece of tofu with a lot of effort and deep skill;

Xu Wenzu showed Gou Moli what real officialdom tactics were,

While the Marquis of Pingxi was dozing off,

Gou Moli was having a great time!

With this wave of cutting and striking, Xu Wenzu quickly controlled the situation. Next, he needed to spend some time simmering it slowly and continuing to adjust it in depth.

When Fatty Xu took office,

He had already planned his strategy and was prepared to spend a long time to achieve this goal;

Who knew that plans could not keep up with changes,

After a gust of wind from all directions,

He had actually completed most of the plan to weaken the old bureaucratic system in Yingdu.

Originally, he was thinking of spending a few years in his term, slowly doing it, and then spending half a year in Yingdu, drinking tea, reminiscing, and waiting for the term to be over, the work would be done, and he would return to Yanjing to enter the court.

Now, Xu Wenzu would not feel frustrated and at a loss because things were done ahead of schedule. In fact, he was very happy and satisfied, because it meant that he could do more things, realize more political ambitions and blueprints for governing a region.

So,

At the farewell dinner for the Marquis of Pingxi,

Xu Wenzu was moved.

He couldn't help but be moved. It was truly too wonderful to partner with someone who understood human relationships and had outstanding ability to do things.

Xu Wenzu had experienced this feeling in Nanwang City;

Years later, when he came to Yingdu, he relived this feeling again.

Therefore, Xu Wenzu was not surprised that Prince Jingnan valued his own Zheng so much. It would be truly strange not to value or to shelve such a subordinate.

Marquis Zheng also spent the last night drinking with Xu Wenzu,

The two of them relived the glorious years of the past together,

And then joined hands to look forward to a bright future;

Xu Wenzu drank a little too much,

And finally patted his heavy chest,

And said as if he were drunk but still awake:

"Old Brother Zheng, don't worry, your marquisate has just been established, it's not easy. I, your brother, am here in Yingdu."

This was a kind of political commitment. The local separatist warlord and the regional governor reached a certain alliance.

In fact, after Prince Zhenbei gave up the fight for that chair, it was difficult for Xu Wenzu to be considered a member of Prince Zhenbei's faction. In fact, he could even be said to be a "commoner" now;

Here, "commoner" simply refers to being clean.

He had a close relationship with the First Prince,

He flirted with the Sixth Master's party,

And he was respectful to the Crown Prince's party.

He wasn't really anyone's person, but everyone thought this fatty was pretty good.

Therefore,

At this time, it was logical for Xu Wenzu to choose to join forces with Zheng Fan.

Of course, the main reason for all this was that the upper structure of Great Yan had long been tilted, and Emperor Yan, Prince Zhenbei, and Prince Jingnan formed an extremely deformed political and military system in the eyes of other countries.

If it were in Qian,

When Xu Wenzu came to Yingdu, his first priority would not be to cut down the nobles of Yingdu, but to stare closely at the newly established Pingxi Marquisate, to divide, win over, and suppress it, with the ultimate goal of disintegrating this emerging military group.

Yan would not play like this. More precisely, as long as Emperor Yan was still in power, this atmosphere would not undergo any fundamental changes.

After receiving Xu Wenzu's promise, Marquis Zheng was also satisfied. He knew that unless he raised the flag to rebel, he and Xu Wenzu would always maintain a political alliance, supporting each other as external allies.

This was not the Sixth Master's party, nor the Crown Prince's party, but after the establishment of the Marquisate, apart from military allegiance, politically and officially, there would inevitably be forces that would be attracted to it.

Of course, these are all things for later.

The development of Jindong cannot be separated from Yingdu, not only the court's money and grain shipments to Jindong every season, but also trade, manpower, transportation, and so on. Once Yingdu wants to choke your neck, the Marquisate will be very uncomfortable. This hidden danger has been eliminated because of Xu Wenzu.

Next,

It was time to focus on doing his own thing;

Farming,

Forging,

Trading,

He was just short of erecting a monument at the gate of the Pingxi Marquisate, with the inscription: Development is the only truth!

And so,

The next morning,

Marquis Zheng led his personal guards out of Yingdu and began his return journey.

After passing Wangjiang and Yupan City, he did not continue towards Fengxin City.

Before going back,

He had one more thing to take care of.

Before,

When he was stationed at Xuehai Pass, he relied on the relationship of the Sun family in Yingdu and the Ministry of Revenue relationship of Little Sixth in the imperial court to eat his fill, enjoying double or even more benefits than other brother units;

But some things,

Zheng Fan himself can do,

Doesn't mean he would be willing to let his subordinates repeat his story from back then.

How could he allow someone to open a small stove under his nose, after all the foundation that he had worked so hard to build and the team he had pulled together through countless life-and-death battles on the battlefield?

On this matter,

The Marquis of Pingxi, has zero tolerance.

………

"Greetings, Young General!"

"Young General is back!"

"Haha, Young General."

While greeting the uncles, Gong Lin walked into his father's tent.

In fact, Gong Wang's army had a garrison city, but the county town was still being renovated and was not suitable for a large army to garrison temporarily, so the command tent was still set up in the military camp.

Moreover,

Since the Marquis of Pingxi had gone to Yingdu, it was only natural that Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi in the north would lead their troops out to put pressure on Yupan City, in order to boost the Marquis's reputation.

When Gong Lin came in,

Gong Wang was eating, with three dishes and a soup, the food was okay.

Seeing his eldest son return, Gong Wang was very happy and waved his hand;

"Have you eaten? Eat with me."

Gong Lin was Gong Wang's eldest son, and Gong Wang had brought him by his side since he was a child. In fact, he had already led an army independently early on.

But since joining the Pingxi Marquisate, Gong Wang had sent his eldest son to the Marquis's side, ostensibly to receive his teachings, but in reality, it also meant using him as a hostage.

However,

Father and son had been separated for a long time, and the father naturally missed his son very much.

Facing his father's kind expression,

And looking at the streaks of white that had already appeared on his father's temples,

Gong Lin took a deep breath,

But did not choose to sit down and eat with his father,

But opened his mouth with a very serious and even cold meaning;

"Gong Wang, the commander-in-chief under the command of the Pingxi Marquisate, kneels to receive the Marquis's order!"

Gong Wang was stunned at first,

He looked at his son seriously for a while, and saw that his son did not move;

In the command tent, there were also several scribes and some personal soldiers. Seeing this scene, everyone looked at each other.

In the end,

Gong Wang put down his chopsticks and walked down.

Gong Lin still stared at his father with a serious gaze, without the slightest concession, and in his hand, he was holding the token of the Marquis of Pingxi.

When the Great Cheng Kingdom was still there, Gong Wang was a general.

In these years, he had also been through many battles, and his power was naturally not to be underestimated.

Not to mention, there was also this layer of father-son relationship, with the father being the guide for the son.

But Gong Lin still stood there straight, with not much emotional fluctuation in his eyes.

Gong Wang smiled,

He grabbed his son's shoulders with both hands, squeezed them,

And said with great satisfaction;

"My son, you have grown up."

As a father, seeing his son mature, he naturally felt satisfied.

After sighing with emotion,

Gong Wang withdrew his hands, took two steps back, and knelt down on one knee to his son:

"This subordinate, Gong Wang, awaits the Marquis's order!"

For a time,

The scribes and guards in the command tent also knelt down.

Gong Lin held the token, facing the token, and said:

"The Marquis asks, Gong Wang, do you know what this Marquis dislikes the most?"

Gong Wang did not answer, this question was too broad.

Gong Lin continued:

"This Marquis, dislikes the most when his subordinates have other thoughts."

"This subordinate dares not, please, Marquis, investigate!"

"Gong Wang, think clearly for yourself, for the sake of you and I once fighting side by side on the battlefield, this Marquis, is giving you a chance to explain yourself face to face."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Gong Lin breathed a sigh of relief, put away the token, and then, he took three steps back, knelt down to his father, and kowtowed three times heavily and solemnly, his forehead turning blue.

Earlier, he was delivering the order. He knew that his father was kneeling not to him, but to the Marquis's token in his hand.

But watching his own father kneel down to him, the son's heart was really suffering, and he could only repay it in this way.

Gong Wang smiled, got up to help his son up, and said:

"Silly child, what is this, our father and son, we'll settle things one by one."

Everyone else in the command tent got up.

"Father, you've done something wrong," Gong Lin said.

Gong Wang sighed and said, "I heard some rumors that this time, the Prince's residence seems fine, but it was cut very badly, and many people in the Yingdu officialdom have also suffered great misfortune.

In fact, I was also thinking about whether it would be my turn.

Isn't the battle over?

The Yan people have also stabilized the situation in Jin,

And they've begun to clean up."

Gong Wang blinked and shook his head,

"It's my turn, isn't it?"

Gong Lin shook his head and said, "The Marquis is not that kind of person."

Gong Wang remained noncommittal, retreated to his command table, sat down, waved his hand, and everyone else in the command tent excused themselves and walked out.

"Why did your father and I join the Marquis in the first place? What I wanted was to have a backer to protect me when that day came.

Yan and Jin are different, at least in these two generations, the distinction between Yan and Jin is still very obvious, and the Yan people will always pay attention to the defense between Yan and Jin.

When we were fighting before, all conflicts could be suppressed, but now...to put it bluntly, it's still unloading the millstone and killing the donkey."

"Father, I have been following the Marquis for some time, and in the Marquis's eyes, there is really no distinction between Yan and Jin, even barbarians can be reused in the Marquis's place. The Marquis has a very large vision."

If it were other fathers and sons, and the son dared to refute his father's point of view in person, the father would likely give a disdainful smile and add:

Son, you are too naive.

But this time,

Gong Wang clearly listened.

The main reason was not how much he believed in his son's vision, but based on his understanding of the Marquis of Pingxi.

Earlier, when the wind from Yingdu blew to him, as a Jin general, he had an inherent sense of insecurity derived from the difference in his own bloodline;

This was the biggest, most basic, and unshakeable worldview.

Now,

Because of his son's words, he could slow down a little and think about things beneath this layer.

Then,

Associating with the words of the Marquis that his son had conveyed,

Gong Wang felt that he had grasped the essence of the problem.

"Father, I understand what's going on."

Some things, when you do them, you don't feel anything;

Just like when the Marquis of Pingxi was eating his fill at Xuehai Pass, he only felt that he had asked for more money and food by his own ability, and it didn't matter who ate it, right?

But on the other hand, trying to push it from the Marquis's perspective, Gong Wang realized what this kind of thing meant to the real superiors, and what it meant to the newly established system of the Marquisate.

In fact, the root cause was still that;

When Marquis Zheng took the large share of the "embezzlement", the one above him was Tian Wujing, and Old Tian acquiesced to this scene of earning a living by one's ability, even if he knew about it.

Not only did he acquiesce to this,

Even when Marquis Zheng said that the Barbarian King was in his hands,

Old Tian only replied:

I know.

And the one above Gong Wang was Zheng Marquis himself.

"Cough cough..."

Gong Wang began to cough,

And said:

"It was this father who was inconsiderate."

After figuring out where the real problem was, Gong Wang instead unloaded his burden;

After all, there was still a chance to admit his mistake, and the Marquis's message also gave him a prelude to admit his mistake; at worst, he would be punished, and he could still correct himself. Who could never make a mistake in his life?

Compared to this, the kind of purely added crime that came from being a Jin person would truly make Gong Wang feel despair.

Now, it was better.

Gong Wang breathed a sigh of relief,

And said:

"This father was scared before, haha."

This was self-deprecation, because even in front of his son, he had not been able to completely hide his state of being a frightened bird.

"Gongsun Zhi's army pressed south by dozens of miles, and General Liang's army pressed west by eighty miles. These two troops, like two pliers, have already approached this father.

This father thought that the Marquis wanted to attack this father.

Now it seems,

The Marquis is still giving this father a chance."

Gong Lin immediately said, "Father, if the Marquis didn't plan to give you a chance, he wouldn't have let his son come to deliver this order. The Marquis is the kind of person who dislikes trouble the most."

It could be heard that,

His son, who had been by the Marquis's side for a long time, had begun to worship the Marquis.

Gong Wang couldn't help but feel a little emotional. The one his son originally worshiped should have been himself;

This father couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"This father knows, this father will prepare now, all the troops will stay here, you and I, father and son, will go to Fengxin City. This father wants to apologize to the Marquis in person and ask for forgiveness."

Putting down the troops and entering Fengxin alone, entering the Marquis's residence, was the best gesture, more useful than a thousand words, especially for a general.

Gong Lin shook his head,

And said:

"Father, there's no need."

"What do you mean there's no need?" Gong Wang was a little puzzled.

Gong Lin wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said with a smile;

"The Marquis said that if his father intends to go to Fengxin City alone, please leave the command tent."

"Leave the command tent?"

Gong Wang immediately realized something, left his command seat, and walked straight out of the command tent.

As soon as he came out,

He saw that the scribes and guards who had left his command tent had been subdued on the ground, with knives on their necks;

And in front of him,

There were several rows of Marquisate guards in flying fish uniforms, and outside these guards, there were soldiers from the direct lineage under his command.

They held knives, they drew their bows and nocked arrows,

But the knives and arrows were aimed not at these flying fish uniforms, but at the command tent he was in!

In the center of the soldiers,

There was a chair,

And a man was sitting in the chair,

The man was peeling peanuts, blowing on them from time to time, and then throwing them into his mouth to chew.

It was the Marquis of Pingxi!

And standing next to the Marquis was the direct lineage general that Gong Wang had personally trained. Using the standard of the Yan people, such as the Zhenbei Marquisate, this general was equivalent to Gong Wang's adopted son.

This adopted son didn't have many troops under his command, but usually, he was responsible for guarding his command tent as the backbone of the central army.

This adopted son had betrayed him.

While he was talking to his son in the command tent,

He had brought the Marquis in, and had quietly controlled the periphery of his command tent.

However, it couldn't be said to be betrayal, because he was originally a commander under the Marquisate, and his adopted son was also a general under the Marquisate, and it was only natural to obey the Marquis.

In addition, in the distance, Gong Wang also saw a group of other generals under his command. Their expressions were tangled, but they were not bound and guarded. They were actually free, but obviously, they would not mobilize their troops for him.

Because,

The Marquis of Pingxi of Great Yan,

He himself,

Was already sitting there.

When the Marquis of Pingxi was in Yingdu, the waves in Yingdu could not rise;

Everyone knew that the Marquis's true prestige was actually in the army.

There was no reason why he could hold the field in Yingdu, but not in the army, even if it was the Jin camp.

Gong Wang did not hesitate any longer,

He walked forward very simply,

The flying fish uniform guards on both sides did not stop him,

After getting closer,

Gong Wang knelt down to Marquis Zheng, who was sitting in the chair:

"This sinful general, Gong Wang, has committed a great mistake, please punish me, Marquis!"

Marquis Zheng didn't rush to speak,

But instead spread out his hand,

In his palm, there was a handful of peeled peanuts,

He blew on them, blowing up a piece of "rouge,"

Then,

He held his hand out to Gong Wang, who was kneeling at his feet,

And said softly:

"Come, eat peanuts."