Chapter 1 No City in the Desert

There are no cities in the desert. The only place that can barely be called a city is probably the location of the Barbarian royal court.

However, this city wall is really too short, and the surrounding layout is too loose.

A hundred years ago, under the leadership of the royal court, the Barbarians launched eastern and western expeditions, plundering many people from various places. Naturally, there were a large number of artisans among them, including various craftsmen.

Furthermore, building a city is not too difficult as long as there are enough manpower and material resources, unless you insist on building a magnificent city comparable to the capitals of the East and West.

However, just as the Yan people always looked down on the so-called culture of the Qian people,

When your swords and horses can gain an advantage in battle, you will naturally think that your own system and culture are stronger. Therefore, when the royal court was at its peak, it never thought of learning the essence of Eastern and Western systems and cultures, and firmly believed that its own way of life was the healthiest and most suitable for warriors to grow.

It must be said that for a long time, the Barbarians did have this confidence. But with the Yan Kingdom's repeated counterattacks and unyielding spirit, especially after the great battle that broke out between the Barbarians and the Yan people on the border of the desert a hundred years ago,

The Barbarian royal court, which had gathered most of the tribal warriors of the desert, fought with the Yan people for a full year under the leadership of their Barbarian King.

During this period, the Yan people also defeated the Northern Expedition of the Qian Kingdom.

In the end,

The Barbarian King had to admit that he really couldn't defeat or swallow this imperial neighbor called "Yan" in the East.

The Yan people used hundreds of years of bloody battles, plus the deaths of several emperors who personally led expeditions, as the price to finally force the Barbarians to admit defeat.

After that,

The Barbarian King made a seemingly wise but actually foolish decision:

Because the great battle with the Yan Kingdom had caused great losses to the various tribes of the desert Barbarians, not only the deaths of tribal warriors, but also the disruption of production, making the Barbarians, whose production and economic model was more fragile, begin to live extremely difficult lives.

As the leader, the fundamental power and dignity of the royal court came from the ability to lead the tribes following you to eat meat.

Since the East was difficult to attack, and the Yan people were really too tough,

Fine,

Turn around,

And try the West!

In this way, after the great battle a hundred years ago, the Barbarians and the Yan people embarked on two different paths because of the cessation of large-scale warfare.

On the Yan people's side, the general who made world-renowned military achievements in the war against the Qian Kingdom was granted the title of Marquis Zhenbei (Marquis Who Pacifies the North) and permanently guarded the desert.

Within the Yan Kingdom, the system similar to the Son of Heaven and feudal lords that had been formed in the early years to cooperate with the long-term war with the Barbarians evolved into a situation where aristocratic families and clans stood in great numbers, threatening the imperial power.

As for the Barbarians,

After ending their expansion to the East, they turned to the West to explore. They didn't know until they tried;

The Barbarian warriors, who were already accustomed to the bravery and fearlessness of the Yan people, regained their joy in the West!

The small countries in the West were really too easy to attack. They were also rich and fertile, and their women were even more charming.

Because of the Barbarians' westward advance, the West was once at risk of being overthrown.

Later, the Barbarian King underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, suffered an ambush, and not only died in battle himself, but also took most of the direct descendants of the Golden Horde royal court as burial objects, and the Barbarians were thus divided.

Most of the Barbarians were driven back to the desert, and some remained, were Westernized, no longer believed in the Barbarian gods, and began to believe in God, becoming mercenary tribes.

At this time,

The capital city of the royal court presented to Li Fei was actually built by that Barbarian King when he was in power.

"The fact that the Barbarian King could order the construction of a capital city means that he already knew in his heart who he should learn from," Li Fei said.

"Your Highness, although the desert is vast, oases are scarce and the land is barren. In fact, it is not suitable for building a city," the Chief Secretary explained.

"It's different. If it's just a royal city, it can still be supported. There's a big difference between having this city and not having it.

The last time our great Yan attacked Chu, this is the same reason why Jingnan Wang (Prince Who Pacifies the South) and Pingxi Hou (Marquis Who Pacifies the West) had to risk a long-distance raid to destroy the capital of Chu.

The capital of a country is like the heart of a person. If the heart is there, then the blood can be connected. If the heart is not there, then people's hearts will be scattered."

The Chief Secretary was a little surprised, but he still cupped his hands and said,

"Thank you for your teachings, Your Highness."

The Chief Secretary knew that although the Prince had grown up outside, he had always had a good teacher.

Of course, that old Confucian scholar actually valued Chen Xianba, and Li Fei had always been listening in.

"As Your Highness said, it's a bit of a pity. If the Barbarians had built this city, then..."

"It can't be built. If they failed to make long-term plans and lay a foundation when they were strong, it will be difficult to remedy it when they decline.

If possible, do you think the Barbarian Kings of the past hundred years didn't want to build this capital city?

First, they can't build it, it's too much effort. It's too difficult to rely on the royal court's own strength.

Of course, they could grit their teeth and do it.

But at that time, my Marquis Zhenbei's mansion was already entrenched on the border of the desert, and the Marquis Zhenbei's iron cavalry had already taken shape, and the offense and defense had changed.

If their royal court dared to really build this capital city, then my father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather would dare to personally lead the Marquis Zhenbei's iron cavalry straight to their capital city.

Originally, the royal court's garrison could run, detour, and retreat if they couldn't win.

The desert is very large. If they don't want to face you directly, there are naturally plenty of places to maneuver, and they will definitely be able to drag you until you are exhausted and gain nothing.

But if the capital city is built,

There will be more bits and pieces, and it won't be so easy to just throw them away.

At that time,

When my Marquis Zhenbei's iron cavalry arrives here, the royal court will have no choice but to bite the bullet and fight to the death here.

This is the situation that my Marquis Zhenbei's mansion wants to see. At the same time, it is also a situation that the royal court knows it can never win.

For a clan or a country,

Once missed, it may be a hundred years, or even several hundred years, that will be wasted like this. It will be difficult to make up for it."

Speaking of this,

Li Fei reached out and picked up a piece of pastry, stuffed it into his mouth, took a bite, and said while chewing:

"Just like my great Yan, what was the situation five years ago when my great Yan was expanding abroad?

To the West, the Barbarians had already declined and were no longer as brave as they used to be.

To the South, the Qian people were whitewashing peace, but in reality, the border troops were lax.

To the East, the Three Families divided Jin, the ruler was not like a ruler, and the ministers were not like ministers.

Even the farthest Chu Kingdom was controlled by aristocratic families in the court and local areas, which was very similar to my great Yan at the beginning, and even a chaos of princes occurred at that time.

What a great opportunity! Fortunately, His Majesty, Father, and Prince Nan (Prince of the South) seized it. If they missed this opportunity, the road for my great Yan in the future would be extremely difficult.

Those who guard a widowed and poor land but do not cultivate martial virtues will perish.

Those who guard a widowed and poor land but do not know how to be enterprising will decline.

These are also the words that the teacher said back then. When I was in the village, I only thought they made some sense. After becoming the Prince, my identity was different, and after my perspective on things was different, I felt that there was great truth in them."

"Your Highness's teacher is truly a great talent. I wonder if you can invite him to come out of the mountain. I would also like to pay my respects and ask for advice."

"The teacher does not favor me."

"This..."

"Besides, the teacher's temperament is also unwilling to come."

At this time,

The head guard came over to report:

"Your Highness, the royal court has sent people to welcome you."

"Good."

Li Fei put all the remaining pastries in his hand into his mouth, clapped his hands, quickly chewed in his mouth, and began to tidy up his python robe.

Then,

He walked out of the carriage.

Outside,

There stood a group of Barbarian knights with bright armor. They were mighty, they were majestic, they were high-spirited, their nostrils were turned to the sky, with an air of looking down on everything.

Li Fei remembered that Chen Xianba had told him that when gangs in the town fought, they would often choose the biggest guy in their gang to hold the best knife and put him in the most conspicuous first row to suppress the formation.

Chen Xianba also said that he had seen two yamen runners come over while yawning when two gangs were suppressing the formation, as if they had enjoyed themselves in the red tents last night and hadn't slept well, but as soon as they came out, both sides immediately backed down.

True confidence does not need to be deliberately expressed or displayed;

Just like the scene in front of him,

The Barbarian royal court,

Was going to show its most "powerful" side to the Prince Zhenbei in front of them.

This is what Li Fei thought in his heart, but his body began to tremble, and then he lost his balance and almost fell from the carriage. Fortunately, the Chief Secretary beside him helped him.

The Chief Secretary was first surprised, after all, the Prince who had been talking eloquently about the general trend with him in the carriage before was not someone who would be easily frightened.

However, after all, the countries of Zhuxia (ancient China) were better at playing conspiracies and intrigues. Even the Yan people, who were considered the most "barbaric" by the Qian and Chu people, were actually much more advanced than the Barbarians.

This was showing weakness to the enemy.

"Hahahaha."

A middle-aged man wearing black armor and with a strong physique walked to the carriage while laughing loudly. There was also an eagle standing on his shoulder.

"Greetings, Prince. I, this prince, am being polite."

The Barbarian prince performed a salute similar to that of a young actor on stage. Combined with his outfit and size, it seemed out of place.

"Oh, greetings, Little Prince."

"Come, get out of the carriage!"

The little prince reached out to help Li Fei out of the carriage.

Li Fei smiled, reached out, and put his hand on the Barbarian little prince's hand.

Who knew that the Barbarian little prince would put his other hand on Li Fei's waist and lift Li Fei up almost entirely before putting him down.

"Oh, I was scared to death, scared to death."

Li Fei said, patting his chest.

"Haha, Prince, don't blame me, I'm a rough man, hahaha."

"Don't blame, don't blame."

"Prince, this way please."

"Please, please, please."

The Chief Secretary followed behind as an attendant.

The Barbarian prince was really not young. The reason why he was still called the Little Prince at such an old age was because the old Barbarian King had lived too long.

The little prince's behavior revealed a sense of unrestrainedness, even rudeness, but after seeing his own prince's change of face, the Chief Secretary was not sure whether the other party was deliberately acting as well.

Next,

The Prince Zhenbei entered the royal court city under the leadership of the Barbarian prince.

Along the way, Barbarian warriors stood on both sides of the road, all wearing bright armor.

"Prince, what do you think of my Barbarian warriors?"

Li Fei immediately replied:

"Mighty and majestic, wonderful!"

"Hahaha, can't compare to the Zhenbei army of the Prince's family."

"What's there to compare? The Barbarians and my great Yan have long been at peace. Isn't it good for everyone to get along harmoniously like this? Why do we need to fight again?"

"Yes, that's right, that's right."

After entering the royal city, they saw many tribal flags. Prince Yiguci introduced them to Li Fei.

Those who could enter the royal city to erect flags were all large tribes with influence in the desert, with strong strength and a large population. Of course, there were also more small tribes that could only set up tents and erect flags outside the city.

At first, Li Fei was a little nervous.

But gradually, he didn't panic;

Because it was more difficult for him to be a qualified Prince Zhenbei now, but he was good at going back to being the shy young man in the village who hadn't seen much of the world. It was nothing more than acting naturally.

Therefore,

The scenes that followed were extremely harmonious.

In front of the little prince, the Prince Zhenbei was a little timid and a little apprehensive. He had a very novel feeling about everything he saw.

In fact, there were many people paying attention to him, but he didn't reveal any flaws.

No matter how excellent the disguise was, it could not withstand more than ten years of life.

The Golden Horde League Assembly was large in scale, and many tribal leaders gathered. Some tribal leaders also came to pay their respects to Li Fei, the Prince Zhenbei.

The Marquis Zhenbei's mansion had guarded the desert for a hundred years, and its prestige among the Barbarians was self-evident.

Li Fei returned the salutes one by one, without the slightest sign of impatience.

There were also houses in the city;

But the central area was a large tent. The tent was very high and covered a large area, like a small palace built with tents.

The little prince led Li Fei over, and the guards at the door all saluted and stepped aside.

In the end, only one Barbarian who didn't look so much like a Barbarian stood at the door.

His hair was red, his eyes glowed with amber, but his face had the darkness and roughness of the Barbarians.

"Come, Prince, let me introduce you. This is Saboduo, the Right Wise Prince of my royal court.

Right Wise Prince, this is the Prince Zhenbei."

"Greetings, Prince," Saboduo saluted.

"Greetings, Right Wise Prince."

"I want to take the Prince to see Father."

The Right Wise Prince nodded and stepped aside.

Then,

Li Fei entered the royal tent under the leadership of the little prince.

Inside the royal tent,

The old Barbarian King was sitting there wearing a tiger skin.

The tiger skin was very mighty, but at first glance, people could instinctively feel that the thin old man inside the tiger skin was the real beast king.

"Greetings, Barbarian King."

Li Fei saluted the old Barbarian King, naturally without kneeling.

"The child of the Li family has come, haha, good, sit."

Two maids stepped forward and gave them blankets.

Li Fei and the little prince sat opposite each other.

After sitting down, Li Fei took out a letter from his arms and said:

"Barbarian King, this is a personal letter from my mother to you."

"Oh, good, let me see."

The maid presented the letter.

The old Barbarian King finished reading the letter,

Nodded,

Said:

"Zhidu."

"Father."

"The lady of the Li family wants to arrange a marriage between our families."

The little prince looked at Li Fei in surprise.

"Hehe."

The old Barbarian King smiled,

Said:

"I think it's good. The royal court has already married into the Ji family, and now it has married into the Li family. In the future, my clan and the great Yan will definitely be harmonious, and the people of the two countries will share peace."

"Please fulfill this, Barbarian King," Li Fei bowed and said.

At this time,

The little prince suddenly said; "Why is it always the women of our desert who marry into the great Yan? Don't you Yan people have a saying that it is impolite not to reciprocate?

How about this,

Prince, isn't your elder sister at home? Let her marry me, and you and I will be true brothers in the future. Wouldn't that be better?"

After the little prince said this,

The old Barbarian King sat there, not scolding, not making a sound, just squinting his eyes.

In the tent,

The atmosphere suddenly quieted down.

Li Fei was not furious,

But thought seriously for a moment,

Said:

"If I marry your daughter, you will be my father-in-law. If you marry my sister, you will become my brother-in-law. Wouldn't that mess up the generations?"

"Hahaha, that's what you said. We in the desert don't pay attention to this. Even the women of one's own father can be inherited by the son."

Li Fei looked at the old Barbarian King,

The old Barbarian King scolded with a smile:

"You beast, I've long known that you've been thinking about your little concubines for a long time."

"Hehe."

"That won't do. The Barbarians are the Barbarians. I am still an Yan person after all. If this matter spreads out, how can I continue to be the Prince in the future?

Barbarian King, Prince, you should know that my Marquis Zhenbei's mansion has been getting worse year by year in the past few years. The army has been dismantled, and the court has been taking action against my mansion.

You say, if this handle falls out, wouldn't my mansion be even more passive?"

The old Barbarian King nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, you Yan people have many rules."

"That's because you haven't seen the Qian people. In the eyes of the Qian people, we Yan people are actually also Barbarians."

"Hahahaha." The old Barbarian King laughed loudly, and then began to cough.

Then,

He waved his hand,

Said:

"Forget it, just marry a granddaughter. Zhidu, give Daniu (Big Girl) to him."

"Yes, Father."

After a brief meeting, Li Fei left the tent.

The little prince stayed behind.

"Father, what do you think?"

"What about what?"

"Him?"

"Who?"

"The Prince Zhenbei."

"The old generation of his Li family hasn't all died yet. That's something you should look at. I'm too lazy to look at this one."

"This..."

"What's the use of him being really useless? What's the use of him pretending? If he doesn't sit in the position of the Marquis Zhenbei, he's just a monster. What can he do?

Does the Zhenbei army of the Li family listen to him now?"

"Yes, Father is right."

"Cough...cough cough... Go and do your work. Pay more attention to the news from the East. Instead of caring about what kind of temper this Li family child has, it's better to care about whether the news from the East about the Yan Emperor's death is true or not."

"Yes, Father."

…

That night, Li Fei stayed in another very exquisite and spacious tent not far from the royal tent. Then, a group of young Barbarian nobles pulled him to drink in the evening.

This was really pouring,

Li Fei's alcohol tolerance was not good, and he was soon drunk and unconscious.

Then,

A Barbarian woman was sent into his tent.

She helped him change his clothes and clean his body. Li Fei only felt that the girl's hands were so soft and his body was so hot.

…

When he woke up, it was already noon.

Li Fei looked at the woman in his arms, who was a few years older than him.

She should have woken up long before he did.

"You are..."

"Didn't the husband come to propose marriage to my grandfather?"

"Oh, yes, so you are..."

"Your wife."

"Oh, okay."

Li Fei got married just like that;

He really didn't expect the Barbarian wedding ceremony to be so simple, direct, and fast!

It wasn't even as fast as when he returned to the Marquis Zhenbei's mansion as the Prince.

After all, he knew that his father was Li Liangting when he was very young, and he was already mentally prepared.

He got married,

His first time was given to her.

Li Fei also checked the bed, but found no blood.

"You are my first man," she said.

"I know."

The nanny had told him that some girls would not have blood.

His wife was taller than him, and his wife was stronger than him;

Of course, she wasn't fat. Her skin color was considered white among the Barbarians. She smiled generously and was quite good-looking.

She should be the woman who the nanny had said would give birth to children and be prosperous for her husband.

In the afternoon,

Li Fei was taken by his new wife to pay his respects to the little prince.

The little prince, who was called his brother yesterday, was now a generation higher than him.

Li Fei knelt down and offered him wine.

Then,

Li Fei went to pay his respects to the old Barbarian King, kowtowing and saluting.

This was not called humiliating the country. After marrying someone's daughter, this etiquette was proper.

Then, they went to the sacrificial place and asked the priest to bless them.

After this series of events,

Li Fei felt that he was not marrying a wife, but that he was being married into someone else's family.

On the road in the royal city,

Li Fei was stopped by a group of young Barbarian nobles.

Young people are often the most impulsive and passionate;

Because they were not like their fathers and grandfathers, who had been taught by the Marquis Zhenbei's mansion.

"Dead cripple, dead cripple!"

"Dead cripple, wait, one day I will take your head!"

"I will take back the pearl of my desert!"

"Iguna is the woman I was going to marry. You don't deserve her!"

Li Fei was forced to the ground by the flying hooves.

His wife was quite strong and actually drew a knife that she didn't know where she had hidden it before and stood in front of him.

"He is my man. No matter who you are, if you dare to take another step forward, I will kill him!

Do you believe it,

Even if I kill you,

Your fathers and your grandfathers will not dare to come to me to seek justice!"

Lying on the ground, Li Fei looked at his wife's back.

Suddenly, he felt that his wife was so beautiful, even more beautiful than she looked after waking up from the wine during the day.

Then,

Another young man riding a horse came and scolded the young noble cubs.

"This is my Jin Horde family's own business. If you don't want to be shot to death by my arrow, get out!"

Li Fei remembered that this young man was his brother-in-law.

When he went to kowtow to his father-in-law, he stood on the side, gnashing his teeth at him.

The young nobles retreated,

Then,

The brother-in-law turned his horse around,

Stared at Li Fei, who was still lying on the ground,

And cursed:

"Get up already, are you even a man, making my sister stand in front to protect you!"

Li Fei, with the help of Iguna, climbed up.

It was a pity,

The roads in the royal city were very dirty, and the python robe that his mother and sister had embroidered for him was soiled.

However, Li Fei still took out a dagger and threw it to his brother-in-law.

The brother-in-law reached out and caught it, looking at Li Fei with some suspicion.

"A meeting gift," Li Fei explained.

"Humph."

The brother-in-law snorted disdainfully, then turned his horse around and left.

"Husband, you were frightened."

"It's okay," Li Fei didn't care.

He wasn't angry when the little prince said he wanted to marry his sister;

He wasn't angry now when he was humiliated by a group of Barbarian cubs;

Because he didn't know why he should be angry,

Why,

Should he be angry with a group of dying people?

In the evening,

Iguna wanted to help him wash his feet, but Li Fei refused.

She said she should serve him, and he said he wasn't used to being served.

Then,

The two of them put their feet in the wooden basin together and washed them together.

They blew out the candles,

And rested.

But before he could even savor the memories of last night, suddenly, there was a burst of loud cheers outside.

Li Fei sat up in bed, and Iguna also got up and put on her clothes.

"Husband, I'll go outside and take a look."

Li Fei nodded.

The entire Barbarian royal court, inside and outside the city, had become an ocean of joy.

They were laughing, they were laughing loudly;

The tribal leaders and nobles of various tribes were tightly embracing each other, drinking precious wine together, and constantly howling like real wolves at the starry sky.

This was an expression of joy from the bottom of their hearts.

Li Fei waited for Iguna to come back,

Iguna sat next to him, holding Li Fei's hand,

And said:

"It was Grandpa who just announced to the people that the great Emperor of your Yan Kingdom has really passed away."

The Yan Emperor had passed away,

The people of the Yan Kingdom were crying;

The Barbarians were laughing;

Li Fei felt,

This was the true aura that an Emperor of great Yan should have.

The Yan Emperor had never launched a large-scale military campaign against the desert in his life.

But as the great Yan achieved great victories in its foreign wars, the sense of oppression in the hearts of the Barbarians, especially the Barbarian nobles, became even heavier.

They were really worried, very worried that after the Yan people had conquered territory and eaten their fill in other directions, they would turn around and attack them.

Perhaps, it was because they were also thinking in their hearts that when they became strong again, they would go to the Yan people to take revenge.

At this time,

A maid came over.

Iguna got up, spoke to her, and then came back to Li Fei, who was sitting on the bed, and said:

"Father said that the Golden Horde League Assembly will be held tomorrow."

Li Fei was stunned for a moment,

Then nodded,

And said:

"Oh, okay."

At this time,

Someone lifted the tent and walked in.

It was his brother-in-law, Yiguxie.

He had the dagger that Li Fei had given him during the day hanging on his waist.

Yiguxie pointed at Li Fei,

And said:

"Yan man brother-in-law, the Emperor of your great Yan has died."

"I already knew when I came," Li Fei replied.

Yiguxie smiled,

And said:

"You will be proud to have married my sister, because in the future, I will give you glory and care. I will become the backer of your Li family."

Li Fei nodded,

And said:

"I should be the one saying those words to you."

"Treat my sister well. If I find out that you are bullying my sister, I will lead the warriors of the clan to your Li family to teach you a lesson personally!"

"Yiguxie, don't be rude, get out!" Iguna scolded.

Yiguxie listened to his sister's words, or rather, they really had a deep bond as siblings;

Therefore, he was very angry when he learned that his father and grandfather had married his sister to an Yan man.

Yiguxie turned around, but before he could walk out of the tent, he was stopped by Li Fei,

Li Fei said:

"I will protect your sister… and you."

"You, a cripple?"

"Yes."

"I feel sorry for my sister, marrying a cripple is already bad enough, but you also like to boast."

"Hahahaha..."

Li Fei, who had been showing the face of a village boy ever since entering the royal court, suddenly became heroic at this moment.

He put his lame leg on the bed,

And with his hand,

He patted it,

And then pointed to the top of his head,

And said to his brother-in-law:

"Boasting?"

"Yes."

"Then you can go out and ask, ask your dad, oh no, it's our dad now, and our grandpa.

Go ask those Barbarian nobles, big shots, ask those old people;

Ask,

This desert,

Counting back a hundred years,

Who is the real father!"

——————

There will be only one chapter tonight. The word count is okay. I'll try to write more tomorrow, and ask for monthly votes again.