Chapter 1 Huang Gonggong Arrives Again

Huang Gonggong had come to Fengxincheng again. It seemed that, this year, he was either on the road going or on the road returning.

And, when going, he had to hurry to deliver the imperial decree;

When returning, he had to hurry even more to return to Yanjing to report back to the Emperor, lest His Majesty become impatient;

These trips back and forth were all matters of urgency.

Therefore, Huang Gonggong had lost a lot of weight.

"There's a saying that's always been circulating in that Qian country: 'Punishments don't extend to the scholar-officials.' But when they really want to screw you over, where would they care about those dogshit rules?

It's said that there's this practice where the higher-ups, if they really dislike someone, they'll demote him to the Southwest. And when he's just about to get there, they'll transfer him to the Northeast, making him run back and forth on the road like that, and with a deadline;

The young ones will end up with a pile of ailments;

The old ones will die on the way to their post."

The Qian country, because its military strength was weak, had many "Qian country jokes" circulating in the other three great nations.

"That's because the Qian country's literati are physically weak. Huang Gonggong, you're very robust," a eunuch attendant said, flattering him.

"Heh heh, robust? If this old one hadn't practiced breathing and qi cultivation for two years, this constant running around might really have been too much to bear. This old one understands now; the higher-ups are treating this old one as a lucky charm."

Back then, the imperial court issued an edict ordering the Jingnan Prince to take command of the army, replacing the First Prince;

Two red-robed eunuchs went to deliver the decree, but the Marquis's residence kept its gates tightly shut. The two red-robed eunuchs each chose a stone lion and crashed into it, killing themselves one after the other.

When it was Huang Gonggong's turn to go, many colleagues treated him to wine beforehand, as if to send him off in advance.

When Huang Gonggong arrived at Licheng, just as he was preparing to gather his strength to crash into the steps,

The gates of the Marquis's residence opened.

From then on,

All of the imperial court's decrees that were to be delivered solely to the Jingnan Prince were carried out by Huang Gonggong.

For good luck!

"It's just that this Pingye Baron is really something. The campaign against Chu had just ended, and he went back to Xuehai Pass. There's still a mountain of things to do here in Zhennan Pass.

Heh heh, I reckon the Pingye Baron must be missing the Princess; as the saying goes, 'Heroes have always found it hard to resist the charms of a beautiful woman'..."

"Slap!"

Huang Gonggong slapped the eunuch attendant in the face. He didn't hold back at all, knocking out one of the man's front teeth.

"You worm-hearted wretch, how dare you spout such nonsense from your mouth?" Huang Gonggong cursed in exasperation, "The Pingye Baron is a person of such stature. The moment the imperial decree is issued, he'll be a Marquis;

A Marquis, a Marquis!

You eunuch freak, how dare you joke about the Marquis?"

"Huang Gonggong, this servant was wrong, this servant will never dare again, never again."

"Drag him out and give him ten more lashes."

"Huang Gonggong, Huang Gonggong..."

After the eunuch attendant was dragged out,

Inside the room,

The other eunuchs and attendants didn't dare to say a word for a while.

Huang Gonggong's gaze slowly swept across the entire room,

And said:

"Others say this old one has a good life. This old one only listens, because this old one understands in his heart that no matter how good your life is, it can't withstand you rushing to your death!"

……

"I really don't understand. You're going to Fengxincheng to receive your title, not to the battlefield. Why did you have to drag me along?"

During a break for a meal, the Sword Saint asked.

Just like Zheng Fan, the Sword Saint had just returned home not long ago, and then Zheng Fan, on his way to receive his title, had come to call on him again.

No,

To be precise,

Zheng Fan hadn't come to call on him, and he hadn't even stepped through his door.

Rather, in the name of going to Fengxincheng to receive his title,

He had asked the head of the academy to select a few of the most outstanding students to accompany him, the Pingye Baron, to Fengxincheng to witness this glorious and great moment.

This was a reward for outstanding students. When these students returned, they would tell their classmates about the scene of the conferral that day.

Liu Dahu,

Had been chosen!

Then,

The Sword Saint saw his own silly son running home excitedly, roaring and shouting, venting his excitement.

"I'm going to Fengxincheng!"

"I was chosen to go to Fengxincheng with the Baron!"

"Aaaahhhhhh!!!!!!"

The Sword Saint covered his forehead,

And had no choice but to pack his things that day, put on his veil, picked up Longyuan, which hadn't even warmed the table leg yet, and walked into Zheng Baron's entourage to Fengxincheng himself.

Seeing the Sword Saint ask,

Zheng Baron didn't hide anything,

And said directly:

"It's true that 'one is elated with success on the breezy spring day,' but in reality, the brighter the hall, the higher the threshold, and the easier it is to trip and fall.

We're just taking precautions, taking precautions."

Zheng Baron was a very self-aware person,

Especially when it came to his own luck.

There were just too many people around him with the protagonist's script.

Either they could recover from serious injuries as if nothing had happened, and even greatly improve their cultivation;

Or they were almost unbeatable, and even the shadows of totems could hardly kill them, and they wanted to die but couldn't;

But as for himself,

Ever since he joined the army,

He had to be constantly worried, lest he accidentally kick the bucket.

From Xuehai Pass to Fengxincheng, the journey wasn't short, but it wasn't too far either. If they went at full speed, it wouldn't take too long.

But Zheng Baron was afraid that something unexpected would happen,

And cause him to die on the eve of victory.

It was like an old man who, after completing his lifelong wish, would easily have the camera pan to him passing away, with a smile on his face.

Zheng Baron felt that he was still young and hadn't reached that point yet.

He couldn't just say to the Blind Man before leaving home, "I feel like this is just the beginning,"

And then immediately have reality tell you, "The end."

"If you're too cautious, how will your path as a martial artist improve? Body and bones, the bones represent courage. Without the spirit to support it, how can you have courage?"

Zheng Baron rolled his eyes at the Sword Saint,

And said;

"If I lose my life, what am I supposed to do with these three souls and six spirits, become a ghost?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

The Demon Pill inside the armor twitched,

Seeming to think his father's suggestion wasn't bad.

The Sword Saint was helpless and didn't bother to say anything more. He could only say that, in terms of shamelessness, this soon-to-be Marquis of Great Yan was far beyond his own martial arts realm;

Even if he opened his second stage, the Sword Saint felt that he could only look up to him in this regard.

Zheng Baron took a sip of water from his water bag and looked at Chen Daxia, who was squatting there eating fried noodles, and said:

"Daxia, you're in the fourth rank now?"

Chen Daxia nodded, then shook his head.

Zheng Baron said, "You mean, you've entered the fourth rank, but entering the fourth rank doesn't mean anything to you?"

Chen Daxia widened his eyes and looked at Zheng Baron, his face full of shock.

"Are you waiting for me to ask you what your nodding and shaking your head mean, and then you'll repeat what I just said to me in a low and indifferent tone?"

The look of shock on Chen Daxia's face became even more intense.

Zheng Baron shook his head, sighed, and said, "Actually, I also want to advance."

Chen Daxia felt a little internal injury and could only swallow the fried noodles in large gulps.

Zheng Baron looked at Chen Daxia again and asked:

"How did you advance so quickly?"

Without waiting for Chen Daxia to answer, Zheng Baron said again:

"I don't know how, but I just practiced my sword every day and went up, right?"

"………" Chen Daxia.

Zheng Baron looked at the Sword Saint again, his expression helpless.

The Sword Saint opened his mouth and said, "Chen..."

Zheng Baron answered preemptively:

"Chen Daxia has the heart of a child, while I am too distracted by worldly affairs."

"Um………" The Sword Saint.

"Actually, I understand the logic, but understanding it is useless. Let's take it slow. Things are pretty good now. Isn't Li Liangting still able to guard the desert even though his martial arts are average?

In time,

I,

Won't be any worse than him."

Zheng Baron took another sip of water,

And said:

"Are you done eating? Let's get going. The matter of advancement can only be put on hold for now. Fortunately, we can get our title first."

……

Because he had the motivation of receiving his title, Zheng Baron was very enthusiastic about traveling, no less than when he was chasing after his own brother-in-law.

The Qian people had always called the Yan people "Yan barbarians."

Here, the "barbarians" didn't refer to bloodlines.

In fact,

Among the four great Eastern nations,

The Zhao clan of the Qian country was actually the least prestigious. The Ji, Yu, and Xiong clans had been enfeoffed as marquises during the Great Xia Dynasty eight hundred years ago. There was historical evidence to trace and corroborate.

Only the Zhao family had a slightly humbler background, so they used their literati to forcefully find a minister named "Zhao" in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty to be their ancestor, in order to prove that their ancestors and the ancestors of the other three families were actually officials of the same court and were equal in status.

But no matter what,

The Qian people mocked the Yan people for not understanding etiquette,

And they weren't wrong.

In many things, the Yan people had always disliked trouble and didn't like to fuss. They kept things as simple as possible.

But no matter how simple it was, the proper face still had to be maintained.

Especially now that Great Yan, despite its domestic situation looking like it was about to "impoverish the people," had already established its position as the number one power in the East by destroying Jin, attacking Qian, campaigning against Chu, and intimidating the barbarians.

After becoming wealthy, they naturally began to seek out some rules to decorate their image and elevate their status.

Therefore, before entering Fengxincheng, Zheng Baron's group was stopped.

The people who stopped them were a group of civil officials and their attendants.

Some of them had come from Yanjing with Huang Gonggong, and some were Yingdu officials who had joined them along the way and were originally from the Ministry of Rites of the Dacheng Kingdom.

No one could say for sure,

Why a Yan general being enfeoffed as a marquis required a Jin official of rites to arrange the rules;

But at least,

This Jin official of rites was very fussy and particular about details. He researched everywhere and dug up ancient history everywhere. He didn't use the rites and rules of the Jin region, and he kept talking about how things were done during the Great Xia Dynasty when they enfeoffed marquises.

Whether this was really the case, no one could say for sure, unless they brought Meng Shou of the Chu Kingdom here as a consultant;

However,

As for rites,

Pointing out more things, drawing more things, citing more examples, and drawing more allusions,

A sense of ritual, would arise,

Making it,

Seem like something important.

This old official of rites, surnamed Zhu, who was over seventy years old, after arranging all the rules and points to note for entering Fengxincheng tomorrow,

Looked at Zheng Baron again,

And asked cautiously;

"Baron, where is your golden armor?"

"Oh, it was damaged on the battlefield."

"That's a pity. It was a gift from the Emperor and should have been brought. By the way, Baron, where is your Emperor-bestowed barbarian saber?"

"It was exchanged with the Chu Emperor as a token during the peace talks. At the time, this Baron really didn't have any decent token to use."

The barbarian saber had been given to his brother-in-law,

But his brother-in-law had sent it back the next day;

Meaning, as half an elder, when he gave something, there was no need to worry about returning the favor.

But afraid of offending Zheng Fan, the barbarian saber had been returned secretly.

When Zheng Baron left Xuehai Pass, Xiong Liqing had specifically asked about it. The Princess knew that in formal occasions like this one, being enfeoffed as a marquis, every Emperor-bestowed item should be brought or worn according to etiquette;

But Zheng Baron had already become arrogant,

And directly sent the barbarian saber that his brother-in-law had returned to Shatuo Queshi to keep him company.

"Please take another careful look at the etiquette and rules for tomorrow. There are few marquises of military merit in Great Yan. Every marquis of military merit is a groundbreaking event for Great Yan. Baron, you must not be careless."

Tomorrow's scene would be grand.

Because of the long distance, not many officials from Yanjing had come.

The decree-announcing Huang Gonggong, along with a Marquis of the Ji clan, was the current Emperor's younger brother and a member of the imperial clan.

According to the rules of the Great Yan imperial clan, princes were basically enfeoffed as kings after they came of age;

When their father, the Emperor, passed away and one of their brothers succeeded to the throne, the princes would immediately submit a memorial requesting to have their titles of king revoked and changed to dukes.

And when their brother who was on the throne passed away, the new Emperor would again have the Ji clan dukes submit a memorial requesting to have their dukes' titles revoked and demoted to marquises.

After the marquis title, it would be calculated according to how the title was passed down generation after generation, decreasing with each generation. It would no longer have anything to do with the direct line of the imperial family on the Dragon Throne.

The current Yan Emperor was even more ruthless. When his brothers requested to have their titles revoked according to the old rules, the Yan Emperor agreed and jumped straight to marquis.

This was suppressing the imperial clan as soon as he came to power. Moreover, along with the Yan Emperor's ambitious and brilliant life, after his death, the rules he changed would naturally become the new ancestral system.

After all, reducing the treatment of the imperial clan also saved money for the national treasury, reducing the number of useless people the country had to support.

In addition to the people from Yanjing who had come to announce the decree and observe the ceremony, many officials from Yingdu had come. Grand Preceptor Sun Youdao had come in person, and Prince Ding himself had also come;

Originally, some of the commanders had already led their armies back to their garrisons, but after hearing the news, they simply led a few personal guards and rushed back to Fengxincheng to observe the ceremony and offer their congratulations.

Although everyone knew that the First Prince of Nanwang City had already been enfeoffed as the Andong Marquis,

How should they put it?

The First Prince had killed the so-called Zhong Wenmian, the Grand Marshal of the Three Frontiers of the Qian Kingdom, on the battlefield. It seemed like a great achievement, but outsiders watched the excitement, while insiders watched the details. As people in the military, they naturally understood that the campaign against Chu was the truly difficult one!

Putting aside everything else, just take the siege warfare. Had Great Yan ever really fought so ostentatiously before?

Furthermore, the First Prince had suffered a defeat at Wangjiang earlier. Even if he had made new achievements this time, from the perspective of the imperial clan, a prince going from being a king to a marquis still felt somewhat unprofitable.

And for the people in the military, the imperial clan was the imperial clan, and the military didn't consider the First Prince's title of Andong Marquis to be a "marquis of military merit" in the traditional sense. On the contrary, the Pingye Baron was the real role model for the military;

After all,

You don't have the Ji surname.

Zheng Baron yawned,

And said:

"This Baron, understands."

The old official of rites took a small step back,

Knelt down,

And saluted:

"This official, congratulates the Marquis in advance!"

The attendants and officials who had come to arrange things with the old official of rites also knelt down.

Zheng Baron smiled,

And said:

"This Baron, hasn't..."

Hasn't prepared any lucky money.

At this moment,

Xiao Yibo walked out, leading a group of personal guards holding small bags. The small bags contained gold beans.

Zheng Baron looked at Xiao Yibo,

Xiao Yibo hurriedly came up and whispered:

"The Princess asked this subordinate to prepare them."

Zheng Baron nodded,

And said:

"Distribute the rewards."

…………

The next day,

Early morning;

Early on,

Outside Fengxincheng,

Tens of thousands of knights from the Jingnan Army's main force had already lined up, forming a large formation.

In the eyes of the Jingnan Army,

The Pingye Baron was actually one of their own.

He was the closed-door disciple of their Prince, and he was raising the Heir Apparent. If this wasn't one of their own, what was it?

In addition, the Jingnan Prince had deliberately cultivated him and had even entrusted him with military affairs for a period of time, which had further affirmed this "one of their own" relationship.

If he wasn't one of their own, how could Zheng Fan have been able to mobilize the Jingnan Army's garrison without the Prince's order?

Winter,

Frost fell,

The Jingnan Prince, wearing a fur cloak, stood on the city wall.

The Jingnan Prince was still the Jingnan Prince;

But the Jingnan Prince no longer seemed like the Jingnan Prince;

Everyone in the Jingnan Army knew that their Prince was very weak at this time.

But everyone firmly believed that after a period of rest, the Prince would return to being that Prince again.

At this moment,

A Qian, who was accompanying the decree-announcing team and was responsible for security affairs along the way, slowly walked over.

This was an inconspicuous small official,

But being able to walk here at this time, to stand so close to the Jingnan Prince, proved his extraordinary nature.

Lu Bing carefully looked at Tian Wujing,

And finally,

Slowly said:

"Prince, please take care of your health."

Tian Wujing didn't look at him and still stood there, calmly saying:

"He wanted you to say that?"

"Yes, His Majesty's meaning is that Great Yan will still need you as its pillar of support in the future. His Majesty was furious when he heard that you had single-handedly entered the Chu imperial palace and fought the fire phoenix spirit."

"What was he angry about?"

This was truly a taboo topic.

Of course, His Majesty was angry that the Jingnan Prince, the God of the Great Yan Army, didn't cherish his own safety;

But to specifically ask it,

It seemed to imply,

Anger that the fire phoenix and a Yingdu City weren't enough to burn Tian Wujing to death.

Lu Bing didn't answer. His position was only to convey messages.

There were three people in Great Yan who could communicate with each other, but no one had the right to speculate on their meaning.

After a while,

Lu Bing said:

"Prince, Lu Bing wants to say something, his own words."

"You are His Majesty's milk brother, of course you have the right to say what's on your mind."

Back when,

Everyone was still young,

Ji Runhao and Li Liangting walked in front, Tian Wujing followed behind, but behind them, there was another person who was responsible for carrying the food basket. That person was Lu Bing.

"The Prince should have been the youngest, but now he looks like... old."

"This Prince, is old?" Tian Wujing asked in response.

Lu Bing nodded and said, "It looks like it."

Tian Wujing remained noncommittal,

And reached out,

Pointing outside the city,

Pointing in the northeast direction,

There,

Was a general, full of heroic spirit, riding a Pixiu, slowly coming amid the cheers of the army.

"What about him?"

Lu Bing looked over,

For a long time,

And said:

"He's very much like the Prince you were back then."

The Pingye Baron,

Was really too much like Tian Wujing when he had just been enfeoffed as the Jingnan Marquis.

Tian Wujing smiled,

He finally looked at Lu Bing,

And seriously said:

"No,

He won't live like this Prince,

He won't."