Chapter 90: Great Qian, I Have Come

The academy’s teachers and students began fleeing wildly up the mountain.

Respect for teachers?

Ritual propriety?

Morality?

Everything was trampled beneath their feet.

Elderly instructors and great scholars were crushed underfoot by their own students.

Classmate friendship became:

If you dare stand in my way, I’ll shove you aside.

The plaque personally inscribed by the current Chief Minister which had lost all protective power was thrown onto the ground.

It had already been trampled until cracks ran through it.

Some words.

Some slogans.

Normally, it was fine to shout them for yourself.

Intelligent people knew never to take such things too seriously.

Idiots brainwashed themselves.

When the blade genuinely came down, the dream shattered.

Cut away the beautiful false veil, and only then could one see the ugly face hidden beneath one’s own.

From the moment he urged his horse forward to the instant his saber fell, Zheng Fan had remained calm.

Only now watching these seeds of Yan scholarship, these proud pillars of Yan’s literary spirit, howling and scattering like homeless dogs did a trace of melancholy appear in Commander Zheng’s eyes.

If everything in life were predictable, then life would inevitably become boring.

Truthfully, Zheng Fan had hoped to see these seeds of Yan culture remain unyielding before the butcher’s blade.

United.

Unbroken.

That would at least have been refreshing.

Something interesting.

Instead he had still expected too much.

Sigh.

The edge of his saber, still dripping Huang Zichong’s blood, slowly pointed forward.

Zheng Fan spoke:

“Take them all.

“Anyone who resists— kill without mercy!”

Liang Cheng repeated the order in barbarian speech.

Zheng Fan himself had been learning barbarian language recently.

It was not difficult.

But at a moment like this, for safety’s sake, he still used Liang Cheng as translator.

He was genuinely afraid that if he phrased the order unclearly, his barbarian troops might misunderstand and simply slaughter the entire academy.

That would be entertaining.

Every barbarian cavalryman dismounted.

A little over twenty men remained behind to guard the horses.

Everyone else raised their weapons and charged through the ceremonial archway.

Zheng Fan dismounted as well.

With Liang Cheng beside him, he followed behind the barbarian soldiers and began climbing the mountain steps.

Ahead of him lay an elderly man in torn clothing, his face covered in blood.

He had probably been an instructor or one of the academy’s great scholars.

Earlier, when the students fled, they had knocked him down and trampled over him.

Now he was already dead.

Zheng Fan walked around the old man.

He sighed.

“You tell me.

“Young students believing the world is beautiful and innocent— fine.

“But this old bastard lived to such an age and still wasted his entire life like a dog.”

“Master.

“He was standing at the very back while shouting earlier.”

“And in the end, he was the first trampled to death.”

“That too.”

Zheng Fan continued upward.

He stopped before the fallen plaque.

The plaque had been trampled into multiple cracks.

It was badly damaged.

Zheng Fan pointed toward it and asked Liang Cheng:

“Should be repairable, right?”

“If Master only wants a rubbing of the calligraphy, there should be no problem.”

“Mm.

“It’s the current Chief Minister’s writing, after all.

“Take it back.

“Make a rubbing.

“Hang it inside Green Willow Fortress.

“‘The Sea of Learning Has No Shore’— that phrase is universal enough.

“You can hang it anywhere.”

“Understood.”

Zheng Fan suddenly turned toward Dujuan, who had been following behind himself and Liang Cheng.

He asked:

“Miss Dujuan.

“I trampled the Chief Minister’s alma mater today.

“Do you think he’ll blame me?”

Dujuan first took a moment to understand the meaning of “alma mater.”

Then she answered:

“The Chief Minister has always been known for his capacity to tolerate others.”

“See?

“See?

“Hear that?

“Miss Dujuan says the Chief Minister won’t retaliate against me openly.

“He’ll do it secretly.”

“...” Dujuan.

They continued climbing.

Along the way, books, headcloths, folding fans, and other refined scholarly objects lay scattered everywhere.

“Hey.

“Don’t move.”

Zheng Fan raised one hand, signaling Liang Cheng and Dujuan beside him to stop.

Then Zheng Fan bent down and picked up a jade pendant from the steps ahead.

Presumably, one of the teachers or students fleeing earlier had dropped it.

“Hoo... hoo...”

Zheng Fan blew across the pendant and examined it in his palm.

Then he turned toward Dujuan.

“Miss Dujuan.

“Does this need to be handed over?”

“If Commander Zheng likes it, you may keep it.”

“Thank you.”

Closing his fingers around the jade pendant, Zheng Fan continued climbing.

Qingming Mountain was not tall to begin with.

The three had not walked long before they saw the school buildings and dormitories above.

This kind of school complex was the first Zheng Fan had seen since arriving in this world.

At the very least, there had been no schools like this in Tiger Head City.

One of the foundations of aristocratic-clan politics was that the clans monopolized education.

Great families maintained their own clan schools for their own descendants.

Ordinary families?

They had almost no access at all.

Monopolizing education was equivalent to cutting off the road of advancement for most common people.

That was also why, even though this generation’s Emperor of Yan consciously promoted men from humble families, he still found it impossible to turn them into a true political force.

After all the genuine elites still overwhelmingly came from aristocratic clans.

They were born already carrying the clan brand.

On the open ground outside the school buildings, several hundred teachers and students were all kneeling or sitting on the ground.

None were permitted to stand.

At first, one middle-aged scholar seemed to want to rise and shout a few lines like:

“What an insult to propriety!

“What an insult to propriety!”

But a barbarian soldier who could not understand a single word immediately smashed the hilt of his saber into the man’s mouth and knocked out a tooth.

The previous day, Zheng Fan had told the Marquis of Jingnan:

Barbarians against scholars a match made in Heaven.

Reality had indeed proved him correct.

Most of the teachers and students were already here.

A few remained scattered outside.

But the agile barbarian soldiers quickly dragged them back one by one.

Dujuan took out the list.

She began calling names.

“Xue Chugui.

“Zhao Mingyang.”

Two names.

No one stood.

No one answered.

Whether they were inside the crowd or absent entirely was impossible to tell.

“These two are from Qian?”

Zheng Fan asked.

“Yes.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

He did not stand beside Dujuan holding a saber and repeatedly threaten the teachers and students to reveal where the two men were.

He felt that particular scene would resemble Japanese devils interrogating villagers about where the Eighth Route Army was hiding.

True, Zheng Fan himself admitted that earlier at the mountain gate, when he rode forward, threatened the scholars, and chopped off one scholar’s head, he had looked exactly like the villain from some ancient martial-arts film he had watched in his previous life.

But he still possessed boundaries.

So Zheng Fan pointed casually toward one young student inside the crowd.

Two barbarian soldiers immediately walked forward and dragged the student out.

The young man still had acne on his face.

His body trembled visibly.

But after being dragged before Zheng Fan, he stiffened his neck and shouted in a trembling voice:

“I will never betray my fellow students!”

While shouting, he looked toward the academy teachers and students being detained nearby and secretly glanced at Zheng Fan.

His calves were trembling.

Zheng Fan took out his little metal case.

He removed a cigarette.

First he tapped the filter end against his palm.

Then he placed it between his lips.

He brought out a fire striker.

Lit it.

And leisurely exhaled a mouthful of smoke.

Only then did he speak:

“Relax.

“I wasn’t planning to ask you anything.”

The student froze.

For a moment, he could not understand what Zheng Fan meant.

Zheng Fan flicked away some ash.

Then softly said:

“Chop him.”

BANG!

One barbarian soldier kicked the back of the student’s knee.

The student collapsed to his knees.

Another barbarian soldier immediately raised his saber.

“I’ll talk!

“I’ll talk!

“I’ll talk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The student screamed instantly.

The two barbarian soldiers hesitated.

Zheng Fan merely raised the cigarette to his mouth again.

He inhaled.

Two streams of smoke slowly emerged from his nostrils.

The two barbarian soldiers exchanged glances.

The one holding the saber brought it down anyway.

SPLURT!

A head fell to the ground once more.

Among the detained crowd, many teachers and students immediately lost control of their bowels and bladders.

A foul smell quickly spread through the air.

Dujuan watched Zheng Fan’s behavior from nearby.

She said nothing.

Zheng Fan took another drag.

This version of cigarettes was somewhat harsh on the throat.

He could not help coughing dryly.

Then, he casually pointed toward another middle-aged scholar.

Barbarian soldiers immediately walked over and dragged the man from the crowd.

“I’ll talk!

“I’ll talk!

“I’ll talk!

“I know them!

“They’re in the crowd!

“They’re—”

“I hate people who sell out their friends for glory.

“People like that deserve death.”

“...” the middle-aged scholar.

Zheng Fan ignored him.

Instead, he turned toward Liang Cheng.

“Leave him to you?”

For fear of making things look too bad, Zheng Fan did not directly ask Liang Cheng:

Are you hungry?

Liang Cheng looked at Zheng Fan.

He replied:

“Appropriate?”

“Appropriate.”

“Convenient?”

“Convenient.”

“Good.

“I’ll take him into the woods over there and interrogate him.”

Liang Cheng walked over, grabbed the middle-aged scholar, and dragged him deep into the forest ahead.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Very soon, incomparably miserable screams came from the woods.

Zheng Fan dropped the cigarette butt onto the ground.

With impressive civic-mindedness, he ground it out under his boot.

Then he raised his head.

When his gaze swept across the academy crowd, their bodies collectively shrank backward.

“Miss Dujuan.

“Continue reading.”

Zheng Fan looked toward her.

Dujuan lifted the document.

“Xue Chugui!”

SWISH!

Every teacher and student around one particular man immediately turned to look at him and spontaneously created distance.

Despair appeared on the man’s face.

Barbarian soldiers immediately stepped forward and seized him.

Dujuan continued calling names.

Efficiency was extremely high.

Taking advantage of the moment, Zheng Fan walked alone to a relatively secluded pavilion on the western side.

There, he allowed his mind to empty.

A short while later, Liang Cheng returned and found Zheng Fan inside the pavilion.

Zheng Fan pointed toward the corner of Liang Cheng’s mouth.

Then he pulled one of Siniang’s handkerchiefs from his sleeve and tossed it over.

“Wipe.”

Liang Cheng caught the handkerchief.

But instead he wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

“Any more?”

“No.”

“Mm.”

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside.

Dujuan entered the pavilion as well.

Liang Cheng stepped backward, leaving the space to Zheng Fan and Dujuan.

“Commander Zheng.

“The suspects have all been captured.”

“Really?

“They’re idiots too.

“They didn’t know enough to run?”

“They probably never imagined we would actually charge up here and arrest them.”

“Mm.”

Dujuan looked toward Liang Cheng and bowed slightly.

Liang Cheng understood.

He left the pavilion.

Dujuan looked at Zheng Fan.

“Commander Zheng.

“This humble woman is extremely curious.

“I believe Commander Zheng cannot possibly be unaware how much trouble today’s actions may bring you in the future.”

At this moment, in this setting, under these circumstances, faced with this question—

Zheng Fan suddenly had an intense urge to recite a poem.

But in the end, he merely smiled.

“Miss Dujuan.

“Why ask me this question?”

“What?

“This humble woman is not allowed to ask?”

“Is Miss Dujuan asking on her own behalf?

“Or on behalf of...”

“Who does Commander Zheng hope this humble woman is asking for?”

“Miss Dujuan.

“You’re putting me in a difficult position.”

Dujuan stepped backward twice.

She saluted Zheng Fan.

“The suspects have been captured.

“Many thanks to Commander Zheng for dispatching troops to assist.”

“It was my duty.”

“This subordinate will take the prisoners away.

“Commander Zheng— until fate allows us to meet again.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“Miss Dujuan.

“Take care on the road.”

“Commander Zheng as well.”

Dujuan left.

One horse carried the Secret Intelligence Department agent who had earlier been beaten unconscious.

One woman held a hemp rope in her hand, with two prisoners tied behind her.

Under the warm afternoon sun, they gradually traveled farther and farther away.

Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes against the light.

Behind him four hundred barbarian soldiers were already mounted and waiting.

The academy remained the same academy.

It had merely lost a few people today.

Liang Cheng asked Zheng Fan:

“We’re not taking anyone from the academy?”

“What would we take them for?

“They can’t carry loads.

“They can’t do physical labor.

“If we drag them back to Green Willow Fortress, they’ll only waste grain.”

“But if we simply release them like this, then very soon...”

“Very soon, my reputation will become garbage, right?

“They’ll petition everywhere.

“They’ll write letters to their classmates and friends.

“They’ll use every force and connection available to them to repay today’s humiliation?”

Liang Cheng fell silent.

“Ah Cheng.

“You’re really only suited to leading troops into battle.

“Why didn’t Zuo Jiqian accept this military order?

“Why does the Jingnan Army have fifty thousand soldiers yet somehow cannot spare a few hundred to come here and arrest people?

“Why— when these people are obviously sheltering Qian spies and therefore guilty of harboring criminals did that woman Dujuan arrest only two suspects, without even asking about everyone else?”

Zheng Fan reached out and patted Liang Cheng’s shoulder.

He smiled.

“We’re here to take the blame.

“We’re here to carry the infamy.

“Some people treasure their feathers too much.

“So they need someone beneath them to stand in front and catch the filth.”

“Master sees more clearly than I do.”

“But this blame has to be carried.

“If they let you carry blame, that proves you’re useful.

“Perhaps afterward they’ll reward you with two or three sweet dates.

“For that one mouthful of sweetness, I don’t care about anything else.

“As for the future— since people like us have come into this world, none of us ever planned to spend old age peacefully.”

As he spoke, Zheng Fan looked toward the ceremonial archway behind him.

“Let them live.

“Let them advertise for us.

“Free publicity.

“Why refuse it?”

“Master is broad-minded.”

“If you don’t know how to flatter, don’t force yourself.

“Your flattery is like your body— far too stiff.”

“Heh heh.

“Master.

“Are we heading back now?”

“Back?

“We rode for more than three hours just to come bully a bunch of rotten scholars?”

“Then where are we going?”

“To somewhere

I’ve always wanted to visit.

“Since I’ve already decided to carry the infamy, I may as well make another big piece of news.”

Zheng Fan raised his riding crop.

CRACK!

The horse beneath him exploded into a gallop.

Behind him—

Liang Cheng and four hundred barbarian cavalry followed close!

...

The setting sun was red as blood.

A fortress stood quietly beneath the evening glow.

As far as the eye could see to both the east and west of the fortress similar beacon forts could be seen in the distance.

If one’s viewpoint continued rising higher, higher, and still higher one would see fortresses large and small densely scattered across this entire stretch of land.

Zheng Fan did not approach too closely.

From far away, he pulled on the reins.

The horse beneath him raised its forelegs and halted.

Behind him, four hundred barbarian cavalry pulled their reins in unison.

Looking toward the fortress ahead, a smile appeared at the corner of Zheng Fan’s mouth.

“Great Qian...

“I have come.”

(End of Chapter)