Chapter 106 She Zhi Cai Jiao Da Zhang Ma

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

Heavy, yet still rhythmic, panting echoed through the courtyard.

Barring the unexpected, the Marquis of Jingnan always set aside half an afternoon to practice his saber.

In his past life, studying hard for university, for a good future, seemed too illusory; not many people could truly recognize this at that time.

But Zheng Fan often had to venture into battle, and also worry about assassinations on ordinary days; the threat of life and death was very real. This was, in fact, the most effective and direct form of motivation.

The Blind Man appeared at the courtyard entrance, standing there watching his lord practice.

Martial artists and swordsmen were two different paths.

But a swordsman is a swordsman; a swordsman's pursuit is the sword.

A martial artist, however, doesn't necessarily have to use a saber. The reason why martial artists generally carry sabers is because the "saber" is more suited to a martial artist's physique.

Of course, if suitable, they can also use spears, staffs, clubs, meteor hammers, and the like.

The Marquis of Jingnan had always practiced the saber.

Even though the Sword Saint lived next door, the Marquis of Jingnan didn't choose to switch allegiances and play at being a floating sword immortal.

The quality of the saber had been changing, from an ordinary saber all the way to Black Cliff, but the original intention had never changed.

After finishing his practice,

Zheng Fan sheathed his saber.

"Your Lordship's saber technique is becoming more and more refined."

"That flattery wasn't sincere enough."

"This subordinate isn't flattering you, but I really saw the saber intent. Your Lordship's talent has already been proven to be excellent."

Compared to Tian Wujing, the Sword Saint, or even the Grand Master Chen, of course, he couldn't compare.

But Zheng Fan's aptitude was actually very good.

After all, he had advanced to the sixth rank in a few years without relying on pills or forced promotion. The path he took was actually very solid.

"After a while, I'll have to take some time to bring a couple of people out for training. I feel like they're almost ready; they need to go out and see if they can find their bottlenecks."

"Take the Sword Saint?"

"But wouldn't the Sword Saint be too boring?" Zheng Fan asked.

If he brought the Sword Saint as a bodyguard, would that still be considered a tour?

"But Your Lordship's safety is the most important thing. None of us are free."

The devils didn't have time to split themselves up, because they were each responsible for a large number of things.

"Bringing the Sword Saint is too exaggerated. Let's just bring Grand Master Chen."

"Yes, Grand Master Chen is a reliable person." The Blind Man nodded in agreement. "However, this subordinate still suggests that Your Lordship bring some spies trained by San'er to protect you in secret. That way, if anything happens, you can be notified in time."

"I'm not going far, just the Skybreak Mountains."

"You still have to bring them. Because once something big happens, we still have to rely on Your Lordship to make decisions. This isn't flattery."

"Alright."

Zheng Fan picked up a dry towel and wiped his upper body.

The Blind Man continued to report, "That Granny has woken up. Si Niang thinks that we should take advantage of her being awake to hold San'er's wedding, go through the formalities, and finally serve tea.

"This subordinate thinks that Huba Mei might be a brilliant move. She's the one who brought us that prophecy. In the future, we might still be counting on her.

"It's like a Dragon Ball radar, allowing us to take the initiative.

"Therefore, sacrificing a San'er to win her over is worth it. Furthermore, San'er is also willing."

"Alright, call me when they serve tea."

Logically speaking, the parents of the groom and bride should sit together to receive the tea.

"As for those who left restrictions or qi marks on Tian Tian, this subordinate has calculated that it's probably just a few parties.

"After all, with the current power of Great Yan, regardless of how empty it is inside, it's extremely strong externally. And the son of the Prince of Jingnan can be called the foundation of Great Yan's future.

"This foundation can support the empire, but it can also collapse the empire."

"No other specific news?" Zheng Fan asked.

The Blind Man naturally knew what his lord was asking.

He shook his head and said,

"There's still no specific progress on Du Juan's matter. Because the people on Tianhu Mountain are all dead, and even some of the people involved at the time are long gone.

"This subordinate thinks that judging from the Prince of Jingnan's change in attitude toward the imperial court, the Yan Emperor might not be completely clean. But if this subordinate were the Yan Emperor, I wouldn't be so short-sighted as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs at that time. That's not eliminating future troubles; that's planting land mines for future generations.

"After all, although the First Prince held the position of marshal of the Eastern Expeditionary Army at that time, Great Yan was far from the point of discarding the hunting dog after the hunt.

"Most importantly,

"The Yan Emperor isn't Old Zhu, and Tian Wujing isn't Lan Yu."

"Continue."

Zheng Fan dipped the towel into the water tank and began to wipe his body again.

"The Qian Kingdom probably didn't do it either, because this subordinate can't imagine how stupid the Qian people would have to be to pull off such a move.

"Probably, the ones who suffered the most and were the angriest in this matter were the Qian people. They would be very aggrieved."

"What about the Chu Kingdom?" Zheng Fan asked.

"During this war against Chu, we fought against the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard a lot and gained a deeper understanding of this agency. In fact, the real momentum of the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard only rose after the Regent took power. Before that, it didn't actually have that much power. At least, the Chu imperial court didn't give it that much support.

"In addition, many nobles had extended their hands into the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard, dividing up the cake. It was after the Regent took power that he reshaped this agency and made it more orderly.

"And when Du Juan died on Tianhu Mountain, the Chu Kingdom was still erupting with the chaos of the princes. Logically speaking, Your Lordship's brother-in-law shouldn't have had the chance to do such a thing.

"Although, he actually had the most motivation. Because at that moment, if Du Juan's death led to Tian Wujing, the Jingnan Army, and the Great Yan imperial court turning against each other, then the Yan people wouldn't have been able to annex the entire Sanjin region, and the Yan people's military might wouldn't have been able to touch the Chu Kingdom.

"Moreover, this move could also shift the blame, whether it was directing the Yan people's hatred toward their own internal affairs or toward the Qian Kingdom. The Chu Kingdom would undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary.

"But as this subordinate said earlier, the Regent might have the ability or, by coincidence, through his own channels, learned of Du Juan's identity. He could have done some things, and the Chu Kingdom had that ability. But the Regent at that time could have acted so exquisitely, leaving several parties very surprised, with no place to vent their anger.

"This is clearly impossible. This is definitely not something that could be done hastily, even if he was a Chu prince.

"The difficulty of achieving this is equivalent to the Regent summoning a real fire phoenix from the ruins of Yingdu, rather than a spirit."

"Heh." Zheng Fan smiled. "After such a thorough elimination, it couldn't possibly be Gou Moli, could it?"

After all, the Barbarian King at that time was also at the poker table, although at that time he was calling himself a little dog to greet his grandpa everywhere.

"That's naturally impossible. If he really had that method, he wouldn't have been hugging the princess's embroidered shoes and sniffing them for so many years."

"What about the barbarians?" Zheng Fan asked. "It's said that the old Barbarian King of the barbarians has some tricks up his sleeve."

"If the barbarians could do it, then the Roman Empire in the West could also do it. They sensed that a new great empire was about to rise in the East, so they tried to trip it up in advance."

Zheng Fan nodded.

The Blind Man also smiled silently.

The barbarians and the West were indeed possible, but the possibility was very small, because the difficulty of operation was too great.

The biggest problem was,

They were too far away.

"The person who could push this matter to happen should also be in the game; it can't be too far away," the Blind Man said. "Just like us.

"In the eyes of outsiders, even though Your Lordship has already been enfeoffed as a marquis, our team is still not valued by outsiders. But in reality, we have the ability to come up with some grand conspiracies, after all, we even dared to make the princess unconscious, didn't we?

"So,

"Seemingly, we've already eliminated all the major forces, but under the surface, there might still be hidden forces like us that haven't come to the table."

Zheng Fan then picked up a robe and put it on.

He said:

"There's another more extreme possibility: Huba Mei's prophecy said that there's a guy who seems to be about to awaken in the cold pond, but who knows if one had already awakened before?

"What if,

"Over there,

"There's a deaf person?"

Hearing this, the Blind Man nodded, deeply agreeing.

"If we can't find out, then we won't investigate for now. Anyway, we'll have a chance to pick them off one by one in the future; we'll always run into one," Zheng Fan said, taking it very lightly. "Now, you guys are busy developing, and I'm busy seeing how to improve my strength.

"This division of labor is also pretty good."

You seven help me develop my power,

And I'll level up for you seven.

"By the way, Your Lordship, there's one more thing this subordinate needs to report to you. You should like this."

"Speak."

The Blind Man took a few steps back,

Clapped his hands,

And shouted:

"Enter."

In an instant,

Dense footsteps came from outside,

Immediately afterward,

Figures jumped down from the courtyard entrance and over the walls, quickly arriving in front of Zheng Fan in a very orderly manner, kneeling in several dense circles.

"Greetings, Marquis!"

"Greetings, Marquis!"

Two hundred or so people knelt together.

Everyone

Was wearing flying fish uniforms and holding embroidered spring sabers.

Ever since Zheng, Marquis of Jingnan, briefly commanded the Prince of Jingnan's personal guard, he had been obsessed with this kind of orderly formation.

Not the "Wula" that the fool Fan Li liked to shout,

But purely the kind of

You wave your hand,

And the surrounding guards understand your meaning, move in unison, and have a unified purpose, going through fire and water for you... enjoyment.

Although,

On the battlefield, Zheng, Marquis of Jingnan, was already able to summon a large number of knights to sacrifice their lives and charge for him, but that wasn't orderly.

At this moment,

Surrounded by a group of "imperial guards" kneeling,

Zheng, Marquis of Jingnan, really felt a sense of satisfaction as a "eunuch overseer" arising spontaneously in his heart.

"Your Lordship, this group of people has been carefully selected and trained by San'er. They will gradually replace your original personal guard battalion and perform your security work.

"Your original personal guard battalion should be assigned to the troops where they can be assigned, and those who aren't suitable to be captains but are still loyal can be retrained and come back in a different outfit."

Zheng Fan didn't speak but walked up to a soldier nearest to him and reached out to touch the clothes on his body.

The flying fish uniform looked very cool,

Especially when a hundred or so people wore it, the formation was impressive.

But the Marquis of Jingnan was a practical person, especially since the strength of his personal guard was directly related to his personal safety.

Fortunately,

Under the flying fish uniform, Zheng, Marquis of Jingnan, felt inner armor.

After knocking on it,

Judging from the feel and echo, it was, not surprisingly, fine steel inner armor.

The defensive power was very high, but... very expensive.

This had raised extravagance to a higher level, turning it into something extravagant but still somewhat practical.

"There are still many refugees outside the city who don't have winter clothes yet, and many people have caught colds because of it. But you let the clothing bureau make their flying fish uniforms first."

"But it looks good, Your Lordship."

"The re-equipment of my army has only just begun, and many soldiers are wearing old armor, and the styles aren't even uniform. But you let the forging bureau first help them forge inner armor that takes more time, effort, and materials and costs more."

"But it looks good, Your Lordship."

"They should be the most outstanding spies trained by San'er. After they're trained well, you send them here to be my security guards."

"But it looks good, Your Lordship."

Zheng Fan nodded,

Smiled,

And said:

"It does look good."

Zheng Fan clapped his hands,

And said;

"Step back."

"Shua! Shua! Shua!"

In an instant, two hundred "flying fish uniforms" retreated in an orderly manner.

The sound of the sabers and the friction of the sleeves were orderly, beautiful, and melodious.

"This, the number doesn't need to be too high," Zheng Fan said.

"Yes, this subordinate understands."

"In addition, this subordinate has one more thing to report. You might already know about this, Your Lordship."

"Speak."

"The princess intends to meet with Qu Peiluo today."

"I know; she reported it to me."

"Is the princess planning to emulate Dayu'er in persuading Hong Chengchou to surrender?"

Zheng Fan shook his head and said, "First of all, Qu Peiluo has already surrendered. Secondly, I wouldn't go so far as to have my woman use her beauty to recruit subordinates for me.

"One, I wouldn't want to. Two, does Qu Peiluo deserve it?"

Saying this,

Zheng Fan took out two cigarettes and handed one to the Blind Man,

And said:

"The news from the Fan family didn't go through you?"

"The news from the Fan family goes directly to the manor."

Because the Fan family's matter involved Ji Chengjue, and how to handle the relationship with that Sixth Prince as the situation changed had to be left to His Lordship to handle.

Of course,

The most fundamental reason was still that

The Blind Man was worried that his lord would be bored, so he deliberately left an opening so that His Lordship would have something to do.

"Next time, you should consolidate these messages first and let them pass through you first."

"Yes, this subordinate understands."

"The Fan family's news says that Nian Yao personally led an army to the outer county-states of the Qu clan."

"Oh?" The Blind Man was slightly surprised. "So fast?"

"The Azure Luan Army was first defeated on Azure Shoal and then surrendered. The Qu clan committed the crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, so it's only natural that they be dealt with."

"That's what they say, but the Qu clan's repeated betrayals were originally..." the Blind Man said, then nodded and said, "Perhaps this subordinate has used too many conspiracies and tricks, so I've become blind to these righteous things."

"So, my brother-in-law probably doesn't intend to start a war again in the short term. He seems to be single-mindedly wanting to take the conservative route."

If you want to gather strength in a short period of time, you naturally have to unite all forces.

Just like when the Yan Kingdom attacked the Jin region;

But now,

That brother-in-law seems to be planning to cut the knot quickly.

Not to mention that the Qu clan has committed a major crime, and it's justified to attack them. Even if the Qu clan were completely innocent, you occupy such a large fief and once controlled so many private soldiers;

This,

Is fundamentally intolerable to the central government.

"Will he do that, that Regent of Chu, like the Yan Emperor back then..."

Zheng Fan nodded and said, "I've been in contact with him. How should I put it? At the time, he gave me a feeling that was really similar to when I faced the Yan Emperor. Moreover, he should be sure that he can live for a very long time. I think this should be related to the spirit sealed in his body.

"Moreover, he pays too much attention to objective laws and is too calm.

"In the war against Chu, after I burned Jing City, he immediately laid down and started using a borrowed knife to kill the nobles. He even abandoned Yingdu without hesitation, wanting to gamble on Tian Wujing's life.

"He was certain that there would be a great disaster in the Yan-Jin region and that the Yan Kingdom's national strength wouldn't allow the scale and duration of the war to continue to expand.

"Now,

"Since he's already taken the first step, he will definitely not hesitate to take the rest of the steps.

"First, he'll destroy the Qu clan in the name of punishing crimes based on righteousness.

"Then, he'll use other means, even if it's not so concerned about appearances, to further clean up those great nobles who have already been hollowed out. After concentrating power, he'll patiently develop and wait for an opportunity.

"Speaking of which,

"I would never be like him, living without any passion or emotion at all."

"So, you let the princess go there because you want to send troops to help the Qu clan?"

"The Fan family's land, the Mount Meng area, is my bottom line, and it's written in the treaty. The Qu clan wasn't even mentioned in the treaty at all.

"This is an exchange;

"I,

"Sold the defeated and surrendered Qu Peiluo,

"In exchange for

"The Fan family and Mount Meng continuing to maintain their independence.

"I believe that my brother-in-law understands my bottom line."

Zheng Fan exhaled a smoke ring and shook off the ashes.

He said:

"The most important thing is that after Lao Tian and the main force of the Jingnan Army withdrew from the eastern Jin region, we simply can't launch an offensive against Chu alone, let alone rescue the Qu clan.

"Even,

"To put it bluntly,

"Even the Fan family's small territory, if the Chu people really want to take it back, we're out of reach.

"But,

"If he moves against the Fan family,

"Then I will definitely have Jin Shuke stir up some trouble in Shanggu County. No longer will everyone be at peace or even doing warhorse smuggling business in the future;

"I will have Jin Shuke constantly send small groups of cavalry out of Shanggu County to harass the Chu Kingdom and cause him trouble."

"This subordinate doesn't see as far or as clearly as Your Lordship when it comes to military affairs."

"So, the reason I agreed to let the princess meet with Qu Peiluo is... I want to release him. Now, let him go back."

Saying this,

The Marquis of Jingnan showed a faint smile on his face.

"I will have A Cheng set aside some Azure Luan Army prisoners and let Qu Peiluo take them back with him. When he goes back, he should be able to see the Qu clan's ancestral hall being burned to the ground by Nian Yao and the Qu clan's people being slaughtered."

"Does Your Lordship think that Qu Peiluo will resist the Chu imperial court and seek revenge because of this? But this subordinate thinks that after seeing too many unfilial sons, it seems that this kind of thing has become less certain."

The hatred of exterminating a clan is irreconcilable;

Logically speaking, it should be like this, but in reality, there have already been many counterexamples.

And that Regent of Great Chu, that person, the boldness of his actions is such that he would really exterminate a person's entire clan while continuing to promote Qu Peiluo, as long as he was useful.

"So, I'm letting him take a group of Azure Luan Army prisoners back with him. You must know that the vast majority of the Azure Luan Army are actually from the Qu clan and were born as slaves of the Qu clan for generations.

"He, Qu Peiluo, can endure his own hatred, but can that group of people endure their hatred?"

Zheng Fan threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it with the sole of his boot.

"Who told us that we're unable to send troops again now? We can only throw another fly into my brother-in-law's bowl and let Qu Peiluo, let this young master of the Qu clan, after returning, once again raise the banner of the pillar-state and gather those remnants of the nobles who will be purged in the future and cause him some trouble."

"And let the Fan family give them some support?" The Blind Man said, "This is really interesting."

The relationship between master and servant in the past,

After going around in circles,

The servant is going to support the master.

"The reason why the Yan Emperor was so decisive in trampling on the aristocratic clans was not only because he controlled the two most powerful armies in Great Yan with the support of the two marquises;

"The main reason was that in the subsequent foreign wars of Great Yan, he achieved a series of victories, successfully enhancing his prestige while also shifting internal contradictions. In fact, you and I could both see and were clear about what a mess Great Yan would immediately become internally once the foreign wars suffered setbacks and were hindered.

"Now, look, Zuo Jiqian has been promoted to lieutenant general in my army; he was born as a soldier-laborer from an aristocratic clan.

"As for my brother-in-law, hehe, where can he shift the contradictions to?

"It's impossible

"To beat up the Qian Kingdom, right?"

...

The royal forbidden army's military camp appeared on the edge of the Qu clan's fief.

In the past, this was actually a great provocation.

Because in terms of political status, the private fief of a great noble was sacred. The great nobles acknowledged that the Xiong clan was the imperial family, but they and the Xiong clan had fought to win this world of Great Chu together, so naturally, they had to sit together.

It's just that your stool is higher, and ours is lower.

It's not that there haven't been nobles who have declined, been annexed, or been cut back, nor is it that there haven't been Chu emperors who wanted to strengthen centralization and suppress the nobles. In fact, they haven't completely failed to achieve results;

But first, the nobles have an instinctive sense of crisis. When imperial power oppresses them, they will know how to unite;

Second, during the transition of imperial power, the princes inevitably need support from the nobles, so it often happens that the father worked so hard to cut back the nobles' fiefs and power when he was in power, but when the son succeeded to the throne, he returned them.

However, the Qu clan is ultimately different.

Even if its young master was defeated in battle and surrendered to the Yan people, even if the Azure Luan Army turned against each other and became servants of the Yan army,

Still, the Qu clan is, after all, the Qu clan.

Its foundation is here, and the prestige of its pillar-state lineage is also here.

Even such a great crime, in the past, would be nothing more than a slap on the wrist, expelling Qu Peiluo from the clan and not recognizing this son and grandson.

In fact,

That's what the Qu clan actually did. After learning the news that Qu Peiluo had been defeated and surrendered, the Qu clan's first reaction was to hold a clan meeting, where the clan elders publicly stripped Qu Peiluo of his status as a Qu clan descendant and his status as the direct line. They also sent people to submit a letter to the Regent, stating the Qu clan's attitude.

Then,

When the Yan army, led by the Marquis of Pingxi, began to dig up the nobles' ancestral graves, the Qu clan became nervous and sent people to contact the Yan army.

Hey, don't mention it, the Marquis of Pingxi was very understanding!

After all, at that time, the Yan people were powerful, and Yingdu had been burned by the Yan people, so the Qu clan sent people to the Yan army to contact the Azure Luan Army and Qu Peiluo, bringing letters and greetings.

In short, the meaning was that expelling you from the clan was forced by the situation and so on. You are still the direct line young master of the Qu clan; you are still a good son of the Qu clan.

Betting on both sides, every great noble can be said to be well versed in this way.

When the war ended, the treaty was concluded, and the Yan people withdrew their troops, the Qu clan once again declared to the world, denouncing the unfilial descendant Qu Peiluo, who had forgotten his ancestors.

Then,

The Qu clan felt that they had done enough and sent the newly selected head of the direct line to pay respects to the Emperor again, crying bitterly to show their loyalty.

Things were more or less like this; that's how they had been for hundreds of years.

Great nobles, especially those of the Qu clan's size, even if they committed treason, would just admit their mistake in the end, and that would be it. What else did you want?

The Qu clan felt that they had done very well and that their attitude was also very correct. In fact, many Qu clan elders were already speaking out, planning to reorganize the Azure Luan Army and then attack the Fan family and take back the Mount Meng area.

They weren't recovering lost territory for the sake of Chu, but to recover their own fief.

Then,

A royal forbidden army bearing the banner of a great general

Appeared on the edge of the Qu clan's fief.

In an instant,

The entire Qu clan panicked. They immediately sent people to the military camp to inquire about the news and seek an audience with the great general, but they were all rejected by the great general. Even when the clan elders personally came forward, they still failed to obtain an audience with the Great General Nian.

A terrifying haze

Descended deeply into this area for the first time,

Not even when the Yan army's military strength had passed by here had there been such great oppression.

...

"Do you really have to be so ruthless?" Xiong Tingshan asked, sitting in front of the Regent.

"Interesting; whose side are you on?" the Regent asked while reviewing memorials.

"I can't swallow this anger."

"Whether you can swallow it or not, you have to swallow it. In fact, you also know that ever since my brother-in-law burned Jing City, we haven't been able to win this battle."

"But it shouldn't be like this."

"This is the best result. Fifth Brother, I hope you can help me. Let's work together, you and I, to thoroughly clean up the home first. Then we'll plant a few more crops, fill the granaries, and let the children run, jump, and play in the fields;

"Then, we'll take back all the face and substance that we lost."

"Fourth Brother, my heart is suffocating. I didn't expect it to be like this; really, I didn't expect it to be like this. I thought I could help you block the Yan people in the north, but you..."

"Alright, alright, get to work; quickly return to your Wutong County to preside over the situation. Suppress a group of people, and you also have to support a group of people.

"Those Shanyue people have been conquered by my Great Chu for hundreds of years. Their leaders have long been speaking the summer language and writing summer characters. To put it bluntly, apart from a slight difference in appearance, what real difference is there between them and my Chu people?

"We can open the doors of the imperial court and let them enter the court to become officials and let them become our own people."

Hearing this,

Xiong Tingshan, the former Fifth Prince and now Prince, who had married a Shanyue woman and had several children with Shanyue blood, suddenly clenched his fists and stood up,

Almost roaring;

"Fourth Brother, how can you dare to do this!"

"Why wouldn't I dare? Fifth Brother, I originally thought that you would see this more openly than I would. In fact, wouldn't you be even more happy to see this scene, wouldn't you?"

"This... this isn't right."

"There's nothing wrong with it. Can you say that your children aren't Chu people?

"Speaking the summer language, writing summer characters, and following the Chu etiquette, that is a Chu person. It's been causing trouble in the southern border of my Great Chu for hundreds of years; it's time to end it.

"I,

"Am not going to be the emperor of the nobles of Great Chu;

"I am going to be

"The emperor of all the people of Great Chu.

"As long as we can incorporate the southern border and completely eliminate the Shanyue threat, the restoration of my Great Chu's national strength will be faster. In fact, the restored Great Chu will be even stronger than it was in the past.

"To put it bluntly,

"Of all the fertile land in the world,

"One share is in Yan, one share is in Jin, five shares are in Qian, and three shares are in Chu, but in fact, those three shares in Chu don't include the southern border of my Great Chu.

"Let's see how those Yan people struggle and cause trouble.

"His family's foundation

"Is just that much.

"Let him waste it.

"If we really have to fight in the future,

"I

"Am not afraid of him!"

Xiong Tingshan took a deep breath, bit his lip, and asked a very practical question.

He said:

"Fourth Brother, you're going to let the Shanyue people enter the court and suppress the nobles again. Those nobles will go crazy; in fact, the common people will also go crazy."

Saying this,

Xiong Tingshan pointed outside,

"Will the forbidden army also go crazy?"

The implication was,

Being a defeated country, yet you're starting to act so harshly and radically internally, can you still sit firmly on your dragon throne?

Hearing this question,

The Regent smiled,

And said:

"In fact, you also know that I have always admired that emperor of the Yan Kingdom very much. Therefore, I plan to learn from the wise."

...

For many days in a row,

The Qu clan's people were unable to see Great General Nian and could only watch the great general's flag fluttering in the military camp.

The reprimand and accountability from the imperial edict were far more comforting than this complete silence.

Finally,

On this morning, this royal forbidden army moved out. They divided into several routes and officially entered the heart of the Qu clan's fief.

The Qu clan's fief was very large, and the population was actually not small, but after all, only a minority had the surname Qu.

Although the entry of the royal forbidden army made the Qu clan people feel uneasy, the local people seemed very indifferent.

The part of the royal forbidden army holding the great general's military flag directly marched to the outside of the city where the Qu clan's main family was located.

An eunuch, holding an imperial edict,

Walked to the front of the army,

Under the gaze of the Qu clan people and some private soldiers who had barely been gathered on the city wall,

And read the imperial edict:

"By the decree of the Emperor, who is blessed by Heaven: The Qu clan has been favored by the country for generations, but they do not think of serving the country with loyalty, surrendering to the enemy in battle, becoming the enemy's accomplice, cutting themselves off from their ancestors, cutting themselves off from the ancestral hall, and cutting themselves off from the face of a pillar-state."

This was a very short imperial edict.

When loudly reading to this point,

The eunuch looked up,

Looking at the dense crowd on the city wall,

A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Their crime deserves death!"

...

Min'an City, located in the Min Mountains, was a strategic city. Years ago, this was the territory of the Qi Kingdom.

The Qi Kingdom was located in the heartland of the various Xia, that is, a country that seceded during the chaotic period after the collapse of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Originally, the Qi Kingdom did not intend to interfere in the Central Plains wars because it felt that its opponents were stronger than the next, so it simply expanded eastward, bullying the Shanyue people there, while achieving the purpose of expanding its territory and population.

At that time, the Chu people were actually constantly encroaching on the territory of the Shanyue people. In short, at that time, the Shanyue people were like a receiver, who could be bullied by anyone.

Finally, the two sides bullied together, leading to a confrontation. The Chu Kingdom and the Qi Kingdom had even broken out in war, but the Qi Kingdom's main force had to be placed in the west to prevent itself from being swallowed by other countries, and this part of the Chu Kingdom was not the royal forbidden army but a private army sent by an aristocratic family.

Therefore, the scale of the war after the two sides collided was actually not large. Usually, you would pull out my military camp today, and I would occupy one of your military fortresses tomorrow. It was just a battle, and it was only a charge on the scale of thousands of people.

In any case, both sides were temporarily mapping out the territory and did not have the energy to actually control it, so it was just to show off their military power in front of the local Shanyue people and make the local Shanyue people submit to themselves instead of submitting to the other side.

After that, as the Chu people's momentum of expanding to the southwest border became greater and greater, and the manpower, material resources, and military strength that could be deployed increased, the situation where the Chu Kingdom formally attacked the Qi Kingdom did not appear as a matter of course.

Because, at that time, the Qian Kingdom was born.

Yes, the Qian Kingdom at the time was actually full of martial virtue. Under the leadership of the Qian Kingdom's founding emperor, they destroyed many separatist countries and completed internal unification. The Qi Kingdom also became the target of the Qian Kingdom's attack.

Therefore, the Chu people at that time actually became supporters of the Qi Kingdom in resisting the Qian Kingdom.

However, the Qian Kingdom's army and generals at that time were very capable, and the Qi Kingdom was eventually destroyed. Because of this, the Chu people and the Qian people fought several times on the border.

The Chu people failed to gain an advantage. The Qian people's own territory was too good. After the Qi Kingdom was gone, they did not have much desire to expand outward, at least they did not intend to fight a national war with the Chu Kingdom for a piece of the Shanyue people's territory.

In addition, after the Qian Kingdom's founding emperor died, the Taizong Emperor's Northern Expedition was beaten by the first-generation Marquis of Zhenbei, causing the Qian Kingdom's military to decline from then on. Slowly, they fixed their southeastern territory on the Min Mountains.

In recent years, although there have been occasional frictions between the Qian and Chu on the border, they have been within a controllable range. More often, they were chain reactions caused by the Chu people accepting some Shanyue refugees while digesting their territory.

After that,

With the Yan people starting to use troops abroad, the borders between the two sides became completely quiet.

Minzhou City was a "big city" in the area