Chapter 1 The Ax

The ax fell.

Without excessive words, without preparation, without foreplay, straight to the point, yet incomparably smooth.

The woman fell to the ground. As a member of the royal court barbarian master's sacrificial order, she had not expected that her end would be so inexplicable.

The caravan guard beside her was also stunned, as if everything that had happened before his eyes was simply incomprehensible.

Fortunately,

Fan Li was an honest man,

A kind man,

He didn't like people around him to be troubled,

So,

He liked to help others solve their troubles and doubts.

But he felt that he was rather stupid, at least, in the half-year at the inn, Si Niang and Xue San laughed at him for being slow-witted.

Therefore, he did not intend to help people solve "troubles." He knew he didn't have that ability, but if the troubled person was eliminated, wouldn't the trouble be solved as well?

Therefore, another corpse was added to the ground.

Afterward,

Fan Li sat on a mound of earth,

And took out a large handful of sand onions from his bosom.

These days, he had been eating a lot of sand onions every day, using all the money he had in the caravan to exchange for sand onions. This stuff wasn't hard to find in the grasslands and deserts.

Add some salt, a little bit of yogurt, marinate it, and when you eat it, it's astringent and spicy, with a strong taste.

The caravan guard who had just died had always been very dissatisfied with this, because he and Fan Li slept in the same tent at night. You should know that the name of this sand onion in later generations was "Mongolian Leek," so you know how strong the smell would be if you ate too much of it.

But since eating a handful of sand onions that day, Fan Li suddenly felt that his strength had increased!

Just like beasts instinctively looking for some trace elements to supplement themselves, Fan Li naturally thought that it was sand onions that restored his strength.

So, he ate, every day, whenever he had the chance, eating while riding a horse, eating while walking, and even holding them in his mouth while sleeping.

Eating and eating,

He ate until the sandstorm finally subsided,

Eating and eating,

He ate until the figures of three horses appeared in front of him.

They were a little far away, so he couldn't see clearly,

But on one of the horses,

That small, stubborn figure made Fan Li instantly recognize the person's identity.

Fan Li smiled, his smile still honest.

He waved the sand onions in his hand,

He decided,

To share this magical food that could restore strength with his little friends!

………………

"So, you recognized Xue San's dagger?"

"Yes, Master, I recognized it. He sharpened it in the courtyard for half a year."

"That woman, you hacked her?"

"Hacked her."

Fan Li made a chopping motion with his bare hands, simple and unadorned.

Zheng Fan nodded and handed the water bag to Fan Li, who took it with a smile and took several big gulps.

Things in this world were so strange, as if there were countless threads connecting individuals and events together.

In summary, it may be a sentence: Fate is unspeakable.

Fan Li followed the blind man Bei's arrangement to follow the barbarian caravan to explore the desert, in order to leave a way out for the inn.

If it really didn't work, everyone could really retreat to the desert and open a new Dragon Gate Inn, and Feng Si Niang could change careers and sell human meat buns.

Who would have thought that the caravan was actually a spy team of the barbarian royal court? The caravan was just its disguise, and its essence was still to collect information for the royal court.

Perhaps the steward who recruited Fan Li was too low-level to know the inside story, or perhaps the caravan felt that Fan Li was strong, stupid, and could ride a horse, so it was very cost-effective to recruit him as a strong laborer.

In short, they brought him along.

Then, quite coincidentally, the white-robed woman who had just escaped from the three of them miraculously ran into Fan Li's reception team.

The dagger that Xue San had stuck in the woman's back became the best marker.

In Fan Li's view, since it was someone who had been stabbed by his partner,

Then she must be an enemy.

If his partner didn't kill her, then he had to chop her to death, of course!

The matter was solved just like that.

However, the two children survived. Fan Li didn't kill them.

Under Zheng Fan's order, Xue San took the two children to a nearby herdsman's house, directly gave the two children to the herdsman's family, and left a little money plus two horses.

In fact, the safest way was to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, but Zheng Fan couldn't make that decision.

Well, if decades later,

A generation of heavenly pride, the desert overlord, grows up to be a great khan who shoots eagles and leads thousands of troops to come to him for revenge,

Then he would kneel, and he wouldn't be unwilling.

Three people went out,

And when they returned,

There were four people.

Because of the delay on the road, it was already a moonlit night when the four returned to the outside of Tiger Head City.

The gates of Tiger Head City would be closed at night, especially when the cloud of war had not completely dissipated, but fortunately, this time out, Zheng Fan had at least obtained an official position.

Even if this official position was not as good as Sun Dasheng's Bi Ma Wen, after all, Bi Ma Wen at least had horses, but Zheng Fan didn't even have a horse.

When they arrived at the city gate, they called the door, and a hanging basket was lowered from above, lifting Zheng Fan up.

Zheng Fan held the letter given by the young female general from the Zhenbei Marquis family and the letter of appointment stamped with the great seal. He first met the squad leader of the soldiers guarding the city gate, then the platoon leader, then the centurion, and then the patrol colonel named Wang Li.

Everyone took his letter and letter of appointment and read it, and then looked at Zheng Fan again with a strange look.

Finally,

Zheng Fan was like a product on an assembly line, being passed on and sent back all the way, and finally, he came to a large hall.

Sitting at the head of the hall was a pot-bellied man. Zheng Fan remembered this person. That day, he was sitting behind the blind man Bei's stall and watched him ride a "strange beast" leading a group of cavalry on the streets.

Zheng Fan also remembered his official title, which was Zhaotaoshi (Pacification Commissioner), not meaning to provoke people to fight him.

It was probably similar to a regional security chief, responsible for arresting bandits and cracking down on bandits.

The blind man Bei once told Zheng Fan that the official positions in Yan State were somewhat complicated and could not be completely inserted into a certain ancient dynasty.

In the lower position sat an official with white hair and beard. Not surprisingly, he should be the real head of Tiger Head City, who could be called the magistrate. Of course, foreign merchants liked to call him the city lord.

Obviously, this Zhaotaoshi, in terms of rank, surpassed this magistrate.

The Zhaotaoshi read the letter and the letter of appointment, and then said to Zheng Fan standing below:

"Tell me about the war."

Next was Zheng Fan's narrative. Except for concealing the fact that he, Liang Cheng, and Xue San had predicted it in advance, he basically didn't add fuel to the fire. As for the credit, it was because he was lucky and killed the leader of the Shatuo tribe.

After finishing the narration, the Zhaotaoshi nodded and said:

"Colonel Zheng, from now on you will be under my jurisdiction. I hope you can do your job well, live up to His Majesty's expectations, live up to the Zhenbei Marquis's promotion, and hopefully live up to my high hopes."

This was just a formality. Zheng Fan immediately nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Colonel Zheng, you've had a hard journey. Go home and rest first. You're granted a ten-day vacation. You can report to the yamen in ten days."

Zheng Fan responded and turned to leave.

After Zheng Fan left the hall,

The magistrate looked at the Zhaotaoshi with some worry and cupped his hands:

"Sir, what is the Zhenbei Marquis family doing this for?"

"What for? It's just casually sending a beggar away. Who told him to be lucky and be able to kill the bandit chief as a civilian?"

"Then... then we?"

"We don't have to do anything. Just watch. Right now, the Zhenbei Marquis himself is in the capital. It is said that all matters of the Zhenbei Marquis family are handled by the Zhenbei Marquis's eldest daughter."

"Sir, are you saying that this battle was launched by a woman?"

"You said that. I didn't say anything. Hehe, in short, the relationship between the imperial court and the Zhenbei Marquis is too delicate right now. We'd better wait and see."

"Then the food, supplies, weapons, and horses..."

"Why do you care about that? She obviously threw a hot potato over here. Why should we take it as a treasure? Let it be. Before things in the capital are settled, we'd better not do anything and respond to all changes with the same approach."

"Sir is right, sir is right."

"Zheng Fan, Zheng family, are they a big family in your Tiger Head City?"

"That's not true. It seems that they entered the city half a year ago when the city re-registered refugees and established household registration. They opened an inn in the city. Their wine tastes good."

"Is that so? Alright, that's it. Since the war is over and we've won, the city ban should be lifted tomorrow, it's too much of a delay."

"Yes, yes, I will order it to be lifted immediately."

"Well, don't bother sending me off."

The magistrate bowed and walked out of the hall.

Only the fat Zhaotaoshi and his entourage were left in the hall.

The Zhaotaoshi leaned his fat body back on the chair, reached out and rubbed his forehead, and said:

"Do you think the Marquis and the young lady can survive this hurdle?"

The entourage helped pour tea beside him, and after hearing this, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"The Marquis will be fine."

"I don't like hearing this kind of nonsense. By the way, have you written the memorial impeaching the Zhenbei Marquis family for corruption and manipulating power?"

"It's ready, but, sir, are you really going to send this memorial up?"

"What else can I do if I don't send it? If the Marquis is fine, then everything will be fine. If the Marquis really has an accident, I, as the vanguard of overthrowing the Zhenbei Marquis, may be able to help the Marquis and the young lady turn things around."

"Sir, you are so considerate."

"It's all fate, it's all fate, it's what I owe the Marquis and the young lady."

"Then the Zheng Fan just now, Colonel Zheng, are you really not going to care about him?"

"Care? Care my ass. A few days ago, he was just an ordinary citizen. Even if I give him food, supplies, weapons, and equipment now, would he dare to rebel with me if the Marquis really has an accident later? Does he have the guts?"

"This............"

"Let him go, the young lady didn't mention anything about arranging him in the letter."

"However, sir, since he was promoted by the young lady, then he will ultimately be marked with the Zhenbei Marquis family."

"Alright, if he has the ability to pull up his own troops and equipment, I will recognize his ability, hahaha..."

………………

The city gate opened. At the city gate, Zheng Fan met Xue San, Liang Cheng, and Fan Li who came in from behind. Then, the four of them walked on the street leading their horses together.

There was no curfew in Tiger Head City. Even though it was shrouded in the cloud of war recently, there was still no curfew. However, there were indeed more patrolling soldiers on the streets.

It was not appropriate to ride horses in the city at night, after all, what Zheng Fan was riding was not a Pixiu variation.

"After going home, take a bath and relax your muscles first." Zheng Fan stretched as he spoke.

He doesn't have much of a concept of "being an official" now. In fact, the Zhaotaoshi and the magistrate were not very enthusiastic about him, which also means that his job, um............ is just so-so.

However, it doesn't matter. After running out once and experiencing the battlefield, he has personally killed people. This feeling is more like a transformation.

"Master, Si Niang can massage, she can give you a set of essential oil SPA."

Xue San suggested diligently from the side.

When Zheng Fan heard this, an image immediately appeared in his mind...

However, Zheng Fan still shook his head. It was impossible to say that he was not attracted to Si Niang. No normal male animal could not be interested in a woman like Si Niang.

"You are my friends, my family in this world."

Taking advantage of the bright moon, Zheng Fan didn't feel pretentious and sentimental, and directly spoke his mind,

"I have never regarded you as my subordinates, never."

After all, I don't dare, I'm afraid of being hacked.

"This, no, Master, Si Niang used to open a large clubhouse in Shanghai, and she also specifically trained the technicians under her command. Her own skills must be the most..."

"No need to say more, this is disrespect to Si Niang. She should have a man of her own in her heart."

A woman with taste, a woman with a story, a mature woman, basically has a catalyst called "man", but it is only responsible for catalyzing the reaction. After the reaction is over, the catalyst can be thrown away and will not really be integrated into the reaction.

At this time, Fan Li, who was walking at the back leading the horse, suddenly opened his mouth and shouted:

"Master, Si Niang is still a virgin."