Chapter 1 The Beginning

All around, Qian soldiers were fleeing, pursued by the Northern Garrison cavalry. Some Qian soldiers knelt and begged to surrender, but were met with a merciless saber strike.

These were Li Fusheng's troops, a madman's troops. They were used to this ruthless execution. Li Fusheng's bloodshot eyes reflected their inner selves.

Zheng Fan didn't care about any of this. He couldn't be bothered. War was cold and cruel. Besides, he knew that for an army that bypassed enemy lines and went straight into their territory in a blitzkrieg, taking prisoners was a luxury. They simply didn't have the energy to manage and control them.

Moreover, Li Fusheng and his troops would continue south tomorrow, and couldn't possibly bring these burdens with them.

However, ordinary soldiers were ordinary soldiers, but enemy generals and nobles were definitely not among the burdens.

It was just that because of the special nature of this army, they all seemed to have been infected by their commander, becoming bloodthirsty lunatics. That was how Zheng Fan got the chance to pick up such a huge windfall.

Zheng Fan reached out and tore off the jade pendant from Zu Dongcheng's waist.

In his previous life, Zheng Fan didn't like playing with jade and didn't know much about it. But in this life, after waking up in this world, he often encountered such things.

Si Niang was very knowledgeable in this area, and always chatted about it after finishing her needlework.

However, even for Zheng Fan, an amateur in jade, he could tell that this jade pendant was precious.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Zheng Fan got up. Just then, a group of knights rushed past him. After they left, Zheng Fan saw a rider turn back. Who else could it be but Liang Cheng?

Liang Cheng was covered in blood, but judging by the color, it was all Qian blood; this guy's blood was black.

"My lord."

"Having fun?"

Liang Cheng smiled shyly.

Zheng Fan noticed that Liang Cheng's armor was damaged in several places. Obviously, he had suffered a lot of damage and danger when he charged into the enemy camp along with everyone else.

However, Liang Cheng's survivability on the battlefield was still trustworthy. Not to mention anything else, just his zombie bloodline was equivalent to having a "lock-HP" cheat.

"Help me grab a live one. I think this is a big fish."

Zheng Fan pointed to Zu Dongcheng, who was unconscious beside him.

"Alright."

Liang Cheng rode away again.

About a quarter of an hour later, Liang Cheng rode back, a Qian soldier with a bloody head on the horse in front of him.

Now, catching a fleeing Qian soldier was no different from catching a wild goat in the wild, except that as the Northern Garrison expanded its area of pursuit, you had to run a little further to catch a live one.

"Plop!"

Liang Cheng threw the Qian soldier off the horse onto the ground.

"Don't kill me, please don't kill me, don't kill me..."

This Qian soldier had been scared out of his wits.

Judging by his relatively young appearance, this should be his first time on the battlefield. Unfortunately, there was no gradual process; he was thrown straight at the Northern Garrison, and the most insane regiment of the Northern Garrison's six garrisons at that.

"Don't be afraid, I won't kill you. Tell me, who is he?"

Zheng Fan pointed to Zu Dongcheng.

The Qian soldier raised his head, looked at Zu Dongcheng, and paused.

Clearly, he recognized him, and even more clearly, he was hesitating whether to answer.

At that moment, Liang Cheng's saber was placed directly on the Qian soldier's neck, the cold touch making him feel like he was greeting death face-to-face through a mirror.

"He, he is General Zu."

"General Zu?"

"The young general of the Zu family army."

"Zu Zhuming's son?" Zheng Fan asked.

Zheng Fan naturally knew about the Zu family army. It was one of the units previously transferred north.

"Tsk, tsk."

Lord Zheng was secretly pleased. He really had the best luck. In his previous life, his manga studio was constantly being shut down.

In this life, he could pick up merits everywhere he went.

This was the right way to live life.

"The Zu family army, the military formation at the very front, was that the Zu family army?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Yes, yes it was."

"Oh, alright, you can go."

"Huh?" The Qian soldier was a little surprised.

Liang Cheng patted the other man's back with the flat of his blade and said, "Get lost."

The Qian soldier immediately ran away, scrambling and rolling.

Looking at his jubilant movements and his excited expression, perhaps happiness was that simple.

So simple that this guy had barely run a few dozen meters before a Northern Garrison knight rode over and slashed him down.

"My lord has performed another great service." Liang Cheng congratulated him.

"Not bad."

"The Zu family army does have some tricks. If it wasn't the Northern Garrison charging into the formation earlier, but another unit, it would have been very difficult to break through their military formation."

"What do you think of the Northern Garrison?"

Liang Cheng hesitated for a moment before answering, "Like wolves and tigers."

"Yeah."

Zheng Fan said with emotion.

"But please rest assured, my lord, our troops in the future won't be any worse than the Northern Garrison."

"I have confidence in that."

Zheng Fan patted Zu Dongcheng's face, who was still unconscious, and said, "Carry him."

Liang Cheng immediately bent down and carried Zu Dongcheng on his shoulders.

The two of them led their horses and began to walk back.

Ahead, at the place where they had charged into the formation earlier, Northern Garrison soldiers were treating their wounded comrades.

Compared to the spoils of war, these battle losses really weren't much, and there wasn't the slightest atmosphere of sadness permeating the battlefield.

Everyone had smiles on their faces, and even the wounded soldiers were constantly laughing and cursing.

The desert wind and sand were strong enough to grind away most of the excess impurities, including emotions like life and death. The fallen comrades had only taken a step earlier than them, so there was nothing to be sad about.

The longer you were exposed to it, the more you could discover the atmosphere inside this army.

They were very pure, so pure that it was frightening.

But Blind Man had joked that once they conquered the prosperous lands of the Great Qian, would they also become corrupt?

If they became corrupt, then Zheng Fan would have his own independent way out in the future.

It wasn't necessarily that he had to rebel, but at least he had to seek his own independence. As a transmigrator, fighting not to bow to others, wasn't that too much to ask?

However, looking at the Northern Garrison at this moment, Zheng Fan suddenly had the feeling that it would be great if they could always remain so pure.

After conquering the Qian Kingdom, then the Jin Kingdom, after conquering the Jin Kingdom, then destroying the Chu Kingdom, and after unifying the East, then sweeping across the desert, destroying the royal court, and then sending troops to the West.

Whoosh…

No, if that were the case, wouldn't he have to be the Yan Emperor's dog forever?

"My lord, there is another way."

"Hiss, did you learn a new skill from Blind Man?"

"No, it's just that this subordinate can sense the emotions in my lord's heart."

"Heh, then tell me, what other way is there?"

"Marquis Zhen Bei has a commandery princess."

"I've seen her, a tigress."

"What does she look like?" Liang Cheng asked.

"Beautiful."

"If my lord can't bear to destroy them, then he can try to take them in."

"You're being too idealistic. Other people's food may be delicious, but it's still other people's. It's never as good as your own."

"This subordinate is enlightened."

Just then,

There was a person sitting in front.

That person was covered in blood, as if he had been smeared with layers upon layers of red paint, so greasy that it was unbearable.

But he sat alone in the pool of blood, carefree.

In front of him was a plate of peanuts and a plate of dried meat. There was no wine, but he brought the snacks dripping with blood to his mouth, one by one.

It was as if the place where he was sitting was not a battlefield that had just been fought, but a small teahouse in the city.

However,

No matter how the environment changed,

His state of mind was so free and calm.

Like an old grandfather who liked to sit on the doorstep, basking in the sun.

"I feel a little nauseous." Zheng Fan said.

"I feel a little nostalgic." Liang Cheng said.

Li Fusheng seemed to have noticed Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng, and shouted, "Lord Zheng, I really like this retainer of yours."

This was the second confession today.

Zheng Fan really wanted to bring them together, but Zheng Fan knew that Liang Cheng would not leave him.

Without himself, not by his side, how could he just watch the other demon kings grow stronger while he stayed still?

Even a demon king could not accept such torture.

Li Fusheng seemed too lazy to continue with this request, because such a thing was inherently dishonest. He had expressed his intentions, and if Liang Cheng was interested, he wouldn't say it openly, but he would definitely come to him in secret. By then, he could manipulate things and get him back.

"I have already ordered my men to collect the Qian army's flags and heads. They will be brought back to Chuzhou City later. Tell me, it's just a city, a little bigger and with a few more people. Why does Zhao Jiulang value it so much?"

"The Prime Minister has his own schemes, how can I…"

"Speak human language."

"Reporting to my lord, it is because for a long time to come, our Great Yan troops will only be stationed in the big cities."

"Why?"

"Because the Qian Kingdom's territory is too large, and the Qian Kingdom's population is too large. Even if we conquer the Qian Kingdom, the area that our Great Yan can control will be very limited for a long time to come. Therefore, stationing in the big cities is naturally the best choice. So, keeping them stable is extremely important."

"Alright, I shouldn't have asked that. I can't understand it anyway. I just need someone to kill."

Li Fusheng pointed to Zu Dongcheng on Liang Cheng's back and asked, "Who is he?"

"The young general of the Zu family."

"The Zu family? They're not completely useless."

Obviously, the battlefield intelligence gathering work had already begun, and Li Fusheng had received the summaries.

This "not completely useless" was obviously a good evaluation.

After all, the military formation formed by the Zu family army was indeed the most solid of the three-sided triangular formations, and the Zu family army's combat power was indeed not bad.

But this "not bad" was compared to the level of the Qian Kingdom.

Compared to the barbarians, there was a big difference. The barbarians sometimes seemed docile, but when they really went crazy, they would not hesitate to fight you to the death.

Li Fusheng himself had personally experienced several examples of fighting to the last member of the clan.

"Lord Zheng has made another great contribution." Li Fusheng smiled, but the smile seemed a little unkind under the backdrop of his blood-covered face.

Zheng Fan cupped his fist and said, "This is what this subordinate should do."

"Then I would like to ask Lord Zheng to detain this person. His father still has 50,000 troops in the north, and he may be able to play some role."

"Using him to persuade his father to surrender may be difficult."

In Zheng Fan's view, these big figures rarely allowed themselves to be swayed by personal feelings, like Tian Wujing, like the Yan Emperor.

Li Fusheng shook his head and threw another handful of peanuts into his mouth, saying, "It would also be interesting to chop off his son's head in front of the formation to humiliate him."

"......" Zheng Fan.

…

Chuzhou City was filled with panic.

The Royal Army had arrived.

This was something that everyone in the city knew, from the nobles who had not been raided and exterminated to the peddlers and porters.

However, when the Yan people began to distribute food, a great many of the people of Chuzhou City came to receive it.

In comparison, the nobles seemed much more reserved.

Even the officials in the yamen were still anxiously calculating their own affairs.

At this time,

Blind Man and an old man slowly walked on the city wall of Chuzhou City.

This was a majestic and towering city wall. As the capital of Chuzhou City, it was naturally not shabby.

But this city wall had not played any role in stopping the Yan people on the day they entered.

Blind Man pointed to the place where food was being distributed below, saying, "What does Lord Wen think of this move?"

Lord Wen, Wen Sutong, was the highest-ranking official in Chuzhou City in name.

Yesterday, Blind Man had personally taken people to his mansion, ordered the knives to be placed on the necks of his family members, and forced the old man to wear an official hat.

Wen Sutong shook his head. He didn't know if he was letting go or was fearless. He directly answered the Blind Man, who he found extremely hateful, saying, "The foolish are the people."

Blind Man nodded, not angry, and instead agreed, "Indeed."

"Since Master Bei knows that bestowing favors on the common people will get you nothing, even if they know that this food was distributed by the Yan people, even if they know that this food is from the stores of the nobles and wealthy families, they still cannot stand with the Yan people.

As long as the wealthy nobles in the city come out to incite them, they will still express hatred towards the Yan people and regard the Yan people as Yan dogs."

"I know that."

"Since you know that, why do you still do this?"

"There's too much food."

"…………" Wen Sutong.

"Old Wen, I guess many people in the yamen are writing self-justifying memorials, right?"

"So what?"

"It's nothing. I just think that Old Wen's vision can actually be longer-term."

"What is longer-term?"

"Old Wen must be in great pain right now, one is that you care about your future reputation in history, and the other is that you care about the safety of your family."

"Heh heh."

"In fact, these are not contradictory at all, not contradictory at all, just as Old Wen said earlier, the common people of the Qian Kingdom who are now scrambling to take the food distributed by our Great Yan soldiers will not be loyal to our Great Yan because of this, because the foolish are the people."

"Master Bei, what exactly do you want to say by inviting this old man out here?"

"My point is, Old Wen, tell me, how many of the later generations who read history will not be foolish?"

"Who can know what will happen in later generations?"

"Then look to the past. Your Qian Kingdom's Emperor Taizu bullied orphans and widows, and his seizure of the country was unjust, but does that prevent the Zhao family from still being the legitimate rulers of the Qian Kingdom now?

No, not at all. The Zhao family, the Zhao family's official family, are still the emperor of you scholars, and you are still his subjects."

"Master Bei means…"

"If Great Yan can overthrow the Qian Kingdom and merge Yan with Qian, tell me, who will care about Old Wen's decision today?"

"Master Bei, you are talking nonsense."

"I never think that my words are any great truth, I just want to relieve Old Wen's boredom, I just don't know, Old Wen, do you hope that what will be coming later,

Is it the Yan army, or the Qian army?"

Wen Sutong didn't answer.

"I admire Old Wen's sincerity."

"This old man didn't say anything."

"Not saying it's the Qian army is already an attitude. Old Wen, you're almost in the ground anyway, so you should be thinking about your family, your grandchildren are still very young."

"Master Bei is threatening this old man?"

Blind Man took out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Wen Sutong.

Wen Sutong took the scroll, opened it, and when he saw the words on the scroll, his whole body began to twitch with anger,

"This...you...how dare you...you actually..."

This scroll was a proclamation to reassure the people, issued in the name of Wen Sutong as the "Military Commissioner."

The content of the proclamation was all the same, but in addition to reassuring the people, it also fiercely criticized the officials of the Qian Kingdom, even going so far as to say that the Qian Kingdom's Taizu had unjustly seized the throne, and that the Ji family's replacement of the Zhao family as the joint ruler of Yan and Qian was well-deserved.

"This is a frame-up! This is a trap!"

Wen Sutong shouted.

"Yes, this is a frame-up, this is a trap, this is what I wrote, I can testify for you, Old Wen.

But who would believe it?

After all, Old Wen, since you put this hat on your head, do you still want to take it off yourself?

This proclamation has already been issued today, not only in Chuzhou City, but also all over the countryside.

Old Wen, you have no way out. Even if you are willing to take all the blame yourself, your family will definitely not be saved.

Although the Zhao official family has always said that he treats the scholar-officials kindly, you can weigh the matter in your heart, can he let your Wen family go?"

"What exactly do you want to say."

"Just the same old tune, since there's no way out, just honestly move forward. With your status and the fact that you were the first to surrender, my dynasty will naturally make you a typical example. In the future, it is reasonable for you to enter my dynasty's court as a Qian official and be appointed as a minister.

You have come at a good time, otherwise, when those prime ministers also surrender, their qualifications and status will be much higher than yours."

"Heh heh, ha ha ha..."

Wen Sutong, who had been angry, suddenly laughed.

Blind Man stood there silently, not speaking.

Wen Sutong was the person Blind Man had chosen. Since he had chosen him, there must be a reason for choosing him.

"This old man has a condition."

"You are not qualified to make conditions."

"You…"

"You can say some harsh words, but it's meaningless, because you don't want your whole family to be exterminated, and I have the ability to exterminate your whole family, so you are not qualified to negotiate with me, do you understand?"

"Then this old man has a request."

"Please speak, I will definitely tell my master, and then my master will write to the imperial court."

"My request does not need to be written to the imperial court. I have always been curious about what kind of person can make Master Bei recognize him as his master."

"My lord is a hidden dragon in the abyss."

"Those words are a bit taboo."

"Mm."

"My request, I have a granddaughter, sixteen years old."

"My master doesn't like…"

What Blind Man wanted to say was that his master didn't like girls who were too young.

But Wen Sutong interrupted, saying, "No, I don't want to climb up with your master, and my granddaughter is not a beauty."

"Then what is it?"

"To you."

Silence,

A brief silence,

Blind Man laughed,

Pointing to his eyes, he said, "I'm blind."

But Wen Sutong clapped his thigh,

Saying: "Isn't that perfect?"