Chapter 1 What it Means

Zheng Fan couldn't understand what this meant, but it was truly frightening.

The Yan Emperor's light tone, coupled with his indifferent attitude, was like an abyss, making one's heart palpitate with a single glance.

Xiao Liuzi had said how cold and ruthless his father was, and Zheng Fan hadn't taken it seriously before. An emperor, if he wasn't cold and ruthless, how could he claim to be alone and寡?

But after facing him personally, Zheng Fan felt that anyone who ended up with this kind of father probably wouldn't have a childhood.

"Defense Zheng, it's time to take your leave," Wei Zhonghe whispered to Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan snapped back to his senses and immediately said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Wei Zhonghe accompanied Zheng Fan out of the imperial study and said, "Defense Zheng, whatever His Majesty says is what it is. If you have time in the future, you can go to the Lakeside Pavilion to see the Third Prince. The Lakeside Pavilion is desolate, and the Third Prince is bored there all alone."

"Thank you for the guidance, Eunuch."

Eunuchs seemed to be greedy for money, but Zheng Fan wasn't prepared, and he also felt that even if he were prepared, he wouldn't dare to get close to this Wei Zhonghe and give him silver.

What he wanted to do most now was to leave this capital and return to Cui Liu Fort.

Perhaps this thought would make people feel a little unambitious, but it was Zheng Fan's first instinct.

His second instinct was:

So fragrant.

Wei Zhonghe didn't see Zheng Fan out any further, and turned back to the imperial study.

Zheng Fan walked into the imperial garden, and the fragrance began to grow stronger. He deviated slightly from his course and walked a short distance to the west, where he saw a middle-aged man sitting by the pond, roasting a leg of lamb.

The middle-aged man saw Zheng Fan and waved, saying, "Lend a hand."

In fact, when he saw this man, Zheng Fan had guessed his identity.

In the entire Great Yan, there were probably only three men who could roast a leg of lamb in the imperial garden and also have a beard.

But right now, Marquis Jingnan was busy with the extermination and cleanup work at the Tian family,

And he had just seen His Majesty in the imperial study,

So,

There was only one left.

The one who was said to have been living in the Western Garden since entering the capital, which was built by the Qian people on the order of the late Emperor. But if he wanted to, it was normal for him to run to the imperial garden to roast a leg of lamb.

Defense Zheng was a little tired.

These 24 hours had truly been an incredibly fulfilling day.

First, he accompanied Marquis Jingnan to eat Peking duck, and chatted with Xiao Liuzi for a while.

Then he went to the prince's residence, witnessed the infighting between the princes, and then personally crippled the Third Prince.

Afterward, he followed Marquis Jingnan home without stopping, and had just picked up the meal sent by the servants at the Tian residence when he received Marquis Jingnan's order to exterminate the family.

After the extermination, he was dispatched as a messenger and entered the palace, where he had just met the Yan Emperor.

He had just come out of the imperial study with his back soaked in cold sweat, and before the sweat had even evaporated, he ran into Marquis Zhenbei sitting there roasting a leg of lamb.

Honestly, the plot was too fulfilling. In his previous life, he wouldn't have dared to draw a comic like this without taking a breath. The reason was simple: if you didn't add some filler to control the rhythm, how could this comic be drawn for long? And if it wasn't drawn for long, how could you charge for it?

But there was no way. Marquis Zhenbei was sitting there, waving for you to come over.

No matter how tired and bitter you were, no matter how much you complained about society, you still had to go.

Zheng Fan jogged forward, not bowing, but squatting down directly.

"Keep turning it."

"Okay."

Eating barbecue with a leader is definitely a way to quickly build a relationship. At this time, being too拘泥于礼数 and bowing would be too formal and might even spoil the leader's enjoyment of the barbecue.

Therefore, one minute on stage requires ten years of effort off stage.

Being licked by Xia Zi Bei and the others for more than half a year after waking up might have been for this day, so that he could be at ease when facing these bigwigs.

Zheng Fan had once been very curious as to why Xia Zi and the others licked him in such roundabout ways every day. It turned out the intention was so profound.

Zheng Fan slowly turned the leg of lamb, watching the oil dripping onto the charcoal fire. This fragrance…

He was really a little hungry. At Xiao Liuzi's Peking duck restaurant, Zheng Fan had been preoccupied with talking to Xiao Liuzi, so he had only eaten a duck leg. Then, at the Tian residence, he hadn't had time to finish his dinner before being swept away to exterminate the family.

After all the to-ing and fro-ing, he hadn't really had a solid meal all day.

Seeing that it was almost dawn, he didn't feel much fatigue. What he had done and seen today were all things that excited him, so he wasn't sleepy at all, just… hungry.

Actually, to be honest, roast leg of lamb is delicious, but it's hard to be delicious to the heavens. Just like Xiao Liuzi's Peking duck, no matter how fancy it's made, it's still just a Peking duck.

People who have experienced the rich material life of later generations often encounter a similar problem. Sometimes when traveling and eating a local specialty, there's a high probability they'll feel… oh, that's it. Then they happily take photos and post them on their social media.

Food isn't a panacea. Unless you add medicine to it, special effects like the food glowing in *Chuka Ichiban!* don't exist. Eating is all about the mood.

And a big part of what affects your mood is the people you're eating with.

In Cui Liu Fort and Hutou City, Zheng Fan liked to sit with Xia Zi in the morning and drink porridge, eating it with a few dishes of pickles and a salted duck egg, which was fragrant and sweet. After the meal, the two would give each other a cigarette, and a pleasant day would begin in this way.

Right now, this roast leg of lamb was roasted by Marquis Zhenbei himself, so the leg of lamb inevitably had a layer of celebrity effect added to it. Plus, he was already hungry, so Zheng Fan's desire for the leg of lamb was even stronger.

Marquis Zhenbei was also a particular person. He took out some bottles and jars from his pocket, containing salt, chili powder, cumin, and other seasonings.

The various cuisines of this era hadn't fully developed yet, but Marquis Zhenbei immediately brought out these things, giving Zheng Fan a feeling of meeting a kindred spirit.

Usually, he could only eat good food when he was with Si Niang and the others. When he was alone outside, eating was really just to keep himself from starving to death.

Even the pickled fish at Marquis Jingnan's house had pickled vegetables that were so black that Zheng Fan didn't even recognize them as pickled vegetables at first!

"Hey, the heat isn't there yet."

Marquis Zhenbei took the leg of lamb from Zheng Fan and continued to turn it over, roasting it. People who are used to eating this kind of leg of lamb naturally have their own preferences for the heat.

Zheng Fan wasn't afraid of being blamed. Seeing that Marquis Zhenbei had started to turn the leg of lamb himself again, Zheng Fan picked up the bottles and jars on the ground one by one and began to add the seasonings in order.

Marquis Zhenbei didn't say anything at first. Seeing Zheng Fan adding one seasoning after another in an orderly manner and adding them according to the time and location, he was slightly surprised at first, then said, "An expert?"

"Just like to eat good food."

With Si Niang and the others around, Zheng Fan naturally had ample opportunities to eat and drink well, and Zheng Fan never believed that there was anything wrong with pursuing enjoyment of the senses as much as possible when conditions allowed.

For example, Sha Tuo Qieshi. If he had been drinking boiled water and eating cold naan on the way to escort the birthday tribute, Sha Tuo Qieshi probably wouldn't have recognized him.

Therefore, people who love to eat are always lucky.

"Tsk, tsk, what's your name?"

"Former Beifeng County's Zhenbei Army's Hutou City Merchant Escort Commandant Zheng Fan!"

"Oh, you're Zheng Fan?"

"You actually recognize me?"

"Recognize, recognize. Is the Qian Kingdom fun?"

"It would be more fun if there were more people."

"Heh heh, how many people do you need?"

"Right now, five thousand cavalry can make a round trip through the three northern prefectures of the Qian Kingdom. With thirty thousand cavalry, the Qian Kingdom's border army would have to give us a respectful send-off."

"The term 'respectful send-off' is interesting."

"I think so too."

"I remember that in Tian Wujing's memorial, there was a strategy for attacking the Qian Kingdom provided by you, advocating the use of cavalry legions to annihilate the Qian Kingdom's border army elite in the field?"

"Yes. The Qian Kingdom's border army is severely corrupt, with insufficient troops and insufficient pay. The Mian Prefecture City that I attacked earlier actually had two or three thousand Mian Prefecture garrison soldiers at the city gate at the time, but they were all more skilled at holding hoes than swords. The only thing that could pose a threat to us was the Qian Kingdom's border army generals' personal guards, as well as the field cavalry of the three garrisons."

"But that's different from what you said earlier. In the memorial, you didn't agree with the gradual approach."

"I'll answer however you ask."

"Hmm, annihilating their border army elite first, then striking directly at the capital, isn't that a bit too risky?"

"Then let me ask you, how would you rank the strength of our Great Yan's three armies?"

"The Zhenbei Army is the first."

"Well-deserved."

Whether it was from the quality of the soldiers, the equipment, or the combat experience, the Zhenbei Army was undoubtedly the strongest cavalry legion of the East in this era.

"The Jingnan Army is second."

"Why is the Jingnan Army second?" Zheng Fan asked.

The Jingnan Army only had fifty thousand troops, and although it had fifty thousand reserve troops in the rearguard camp, it was almost half the size of the Imperial Army, which had two hundred thousand troops.

"A hundred years ago, during intense battles, it was common for the Imperial Army in the capital to go on expeditions. Whether it was to the north to fight the barbarians or to the south to fight the Jin and Qian Kingdoms, they were constantly on the move. It was common for them to leave for ten years before returning.

"Now, the border has been peaceful without major battles for many years, and the Imperial Army hasn't moved in decades.

"No matter how many people there are, how shiny the armor is, or how majestic the ceremonial guards stand, they are ultimately just a facade, not comparable to the valiant aura of the border army."

"That's right. If our Great Yan can completely wipe out the three elite garrisons in the three northern prefectures of the Qian Kingdom, and then strike directly at the capital with a hundred thousand iron cavalry, even if the Qian Kingdom's capital garrison is said to have eight hundred thousand troops, how many combat-ready soldiers can they actually muster?

"Even if the Qian Emperor issues a decree for the troops of the world to come to the rescue, even if many Qian Kingdom rescue troops from various places come, their command, their quality, and their coordination will definitely be very low.

"At that time, our Great Yan's hundred thousand iron cavalry can defeat the Qian Kingdom's capital garrison and the Qian Kingdom's rescue army in one fell swoop under the Qian Kingdom's capital city. After that, the Qian people's courage will definitely collapse, and the capital city, in my opinion, can be broken without attacking."

"So sure?"

"Yes."

"Young man, being sharp is a good thing. Heh heh, according to you, if we really send troops to attack the Qian Kingdom, the entire northern territory of the Qian Kingdom will fall into our hands within half a year."

"Yes, the Qian Kingdom may only be able to cross the Qian River and huddle in the south."

"Eating too much in one bite can easily stuff you to death."

"Let's take it down first. Our Great Yan only needs to garrison the large cities in the newly occupied Qian Kingdom territory. As for the rest of the land, let it be for now."

"Heh heh, a good 'let it be.'"

Marquis Zhenbei didn't continue to comment on Zheng Fan's strategy.

In fact, Zheng Fan knew that his strategy was definitely in line with Yan Kingdom's current needs.

Tian Wujing's self-extermination of his family, coupled with the Jingnan Army's northward movement to block the area near the capital, although this news was isolated, the Yan Emperor's cleansing of the Great Yan's aristocratic families had actually begun.

Perhaps, from the morning court session after dawn, it would be the moment when the butcher's knife was fully displayed.

But even if it's scraping the bone to remove the poison, your own deficit will definitely be enormous. Victory in a foreign war is the best way to divert domestic conflicts.

Combining Yan Kingdom's own territory, national strength, and population, and taking into account the time for Yan Kingdom to divert domestic conflicts, and even considering the ages of the Yan Emperor and Marquis Zhenbei,

Yan Kingdom didn't have much time left, they couldn't afford to delay.

On the other hand, the Qian Kingdom was also lacking time. If they couldn't kill it with one blow and give it a chance to breathe, reform, and change, it would be a disaster for Yan Kingdom.

Therefore, conquering the Qian Kingdom in a "blitzkrieg" style was an inevitable choice.

On the other hand, it was also considering not giving the Jin and Chu Kingdoms a chance to react and send troops out of concern for mutual survival.

"This roast leg of lamb, you not only have to consider the choice of lamb and the part of the lamb, but also what grass the sheep was fed before it was slaughtered, you have to consider which charcoal to choose, and even the seasoning, you can't be missing a single flavor, otherwise you'll lose too much flavor.

"Ordinary people who eat roast lamb only know to set up a charcoal fire and roast it, which is a bit too small-minded."

"You're right."

"Okay, this piece is cooked, you can eat it first."

Marquis Zhenbei took out a small knife, cut off a large piece of lamb, and handed it to Zheng Fan.

Just then, a wolfhound came running from the flowerbed in the distance.

"Heh heh, it comes as soon as it's roasted, it really has a dog's nose."

Zheng Fan knew that this dog, which looked a bit like a larger version of a German Shepherd, should be the dog that Marquis Zhenbei kept, and Marquis Zhenbei not only brought it from the Marquis's residence to the capital, but also brought it to the palace, which was enough to show Marquis Zhenbei's love for it.

When the dog came over, Zheng Fan handed the lamb in his hand to it.

Unexpectedly, after seeing this scene, Marquis Zhenbei immediately scolded, "How can anyone let an animal eat before they eat themselves!"

Damn it,

He had patted the dog's ass instead of the dog's leg.

"You're right, you're right."

Zheng Fan had no choice but to eat it himself first.

Then, Marquis Zhenbei cut off another piece of meat, took a few bites himself, and then threw the bone with some lamb still on it to the wolfhound.

The wolfhound lay on the ground, hugging the bone and gnawing on it.

"It's been suffering with me too, it can't even drink a mouthful of meat soup on weekdays if we're not out hunting or patrolling."

This wasn't Marquis Zhenbei being modest or trying to sell himself as miserable.

Zheng Fan knew the rules of the Zhenbei Marquis's residence's meals. The meal standard for the men in the Marquis's residence was the same as in the military camp.

Back then, Xiao Liuzi's teacher and Eunuch Zhang couldn't stand the Marquis's residence's meals and had Zheng Fan specifically go to the market to buy meat to eat.

Unlike Marquis Jingnan, Marquis Zhenbei went to Quan De Restaurant and ate several Peking ducks in one go, which may not have been to support Xiao Liuzi, but because he was really stifled in the Marquis's residence and wanted to eat meat!

When fighting a war, the generals would put on a show, eat a meal with the soldiers, and boost morale, which was already amazing.

Marquis Zhenbei, however, lived such a frugal life in his own Marquis's residence, and had persisted for who knows how many years. Zheng Fan believed that someone who wasn't really craving food to a certain extent wouldn't do something like roasting a leg of lamb to eat in the early morning.

One abstained from sensual pleasures, and the other exterminated human relations.

The reason why they gave up wasn't simply to live the life of an ascetic monk to obtain the "ascension" that most people get when they are physically hungry, but to gain more in other areas!

At this moment, Wei Zhonghe walked over quickly.

Zheng Fan really felt that Eunuch Wei was very suitable for street dancing in later generations. His moonwalk was amazing. If he were twenty years younger, Eunuch Wei's temperament would also fit the aesthetics of that time, and he would definitely have many fans.

Wei Zhonghe first glanced at Zheng Fan, then looked at Marquis Zhenbei, his old face smiling like a daisy, saying, "Marquis, His Majesty asked this servant to come here to get meat."

Marquis Zhenbei pointed at Zheng Fan and said, "There's only one leg of lamb. Originally, I was going to give him a piece, leave some bones for the dog, and then use the rest to satisfy my morning hunger. Now that there's one more person eating, tell our Emperor that there's not enough meat, he doesn't get any."

Zheng Fan was now holding the lamb in his hand, not knowing whether to eat it or not, because he was eating the Yan Emperor's rations?

Wei Zhonghe immediately became anxious and said, "Oh dear, my Marquis, when His Majesty knew that you were roasting a leg of lamb here, he specifically ordered the imperial kitchen to cancel today's breakfast. Our Emperor is waiting for the lamb you roasted this morning to fill his stomach so he can go to court."

"He's not afraid of smelling of lamb shit and scaring people at court."

"How could that be? His Majesty sits on the Dragon Throne, if he's going to scare anyone, it'll only be this servant."

"If I give it to him, this Marquis won't be full."

"This servant will order the imperial kitchen to send you another leg of lamb."

"Ah, forget it, forget it."

Marquis Zhenbei cut off a large piece of lamb with his knife and threw it to Wei Zhonghe.

Wei Zhonghe quickly reached out to catch it, and as if he was afraid that the lamb would get cold, he took another step in his moonwalk, flying back to the imperial study.

"You keep eating yours."

Marquis Zhenbei pointed at Zheng Fan and said.

"Yes, Marquis."

He had previously called him "you" and referred to himself as "I." Now that Wei Zhonghe had called him "Marquis," he had to change his address as well.

Marquis Zhenbei stuck the knife into the remaining lamb, saying, "Do you know why this Marquis didn't fight with our Emperor for this lamb?"

"This humble one doesn't dare to say."

"You're interesting. This Marquis is asking you about the lamb, what is there to be afraid of saying?

"How about this, if you can say it well, if you can make this Marquis feel satisfied, heh heh, it seems that this Marquis's garrison is still missing a lieutenant general."

Zheng Fan took a deep breath, blinked his eyes, and shook the lamb in his hand, specifically using a very vicissitudinous tone, saying, "The family's foundation is weak, there's only one leg of lamb, we can't get full in the first place, what's the point of fighting over it?"