Chapter 108: Assassination!

“So, Comrade Deep Sea will soon be coming here to struggle alongside us again.”

Xue San joked as he added charcoal beneath the pot.

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan nodded, picked up the kettle beside him, and added a little more water to the clear broth.

It was a small charcoal hotpot. The soup base could hardly have been simpler:

A little salt, two scallions, three slices of ginger.

The ingredients were even simpler.

Tender tofu.

Nothing else.

Once the water boiled, Zheng Fan dropped several cubes of tender tofu into the pot. After letting them cook for a while, Zheng Fan, the Blind Man, and Xue San each picked one out.

The dipping sauce was equally simple.

Soy sauce.

The tender tofu was dipped lightly in soy sauce and eaten while hot, silky and delicate, fresh and scalding.

“Hoo…”

All three blew on their mouths as they ate.

The Blind Man followed it with a sip of Yinlang Commandery yellow wine, looking thoroughly content.

“This kind of meal in winter is damned comfortable,” Xue San sighed.

The Blind Man nodded and added, “Back where we came from, this was still poor people’s food. Tofu was cheap.”

Still, at least the Demon Kings in Willow Fort ate and drank very well. Every so often, having something light and simple was a nice change of pace.

Then, as the Blind Man added several more pieces of tofu to the pot, he asked Zheng Fan, “Master, what do you intend to do about Zuo Jiqian?”

Zuo Jiqian had come begging at their door the day before. Although Zheng Fan had brushed him off and Zuo Jiqian had eventually left in frustration, once Xu Wenzu took office, the matter would inevitably be settled.

“Nothing.”

Zheng Fan’s answer was perfectly straightforward.

The Blind Man nodded in agreement.

“Master is wise.”

“Counting the days, Xu Wenzu should enter Yinlang Commandery today. After we finish eating, let’s head to the relay station and welcome him in advance.”

“Naturally. Master has considered everything.”

No matter what, Comrade Deep Sea was coming.

Before he entered Nanwang City and formally took office, meeting privately beforehand could only be beneficial.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land was already one of life’s great comforts. Mount Emei and Deep Sea joining hands again on another front could even be called a fine tale.

Zheng Fan could not personally understand just how nervous and terrified Zuo Jiqian felt.

But one thing was obvious.

Once the chubby Xu Wenzu became Zheng Fan’s direct superior, Zheng Fan’s days would become even more comfortable.

Zheng Fan took a sip of grape wine.

“Fine. We leave after we finish eating.”

Inside the little room, the three of them enjoyed their simple tofu hotpot enormously.

Halfway through the meal, however, there came a knock at the door, followed by Fangcao’s voice.

“Master, Mr. Liang sent someone to ask. A large number of refugees have gathered near Nanwang City. Should Willow Fort accept some of them?”

“Refugees?”

Zheng Fan put down his chopsticks.

“Did he say where they came from?”

“From the south.”

“The south?”

Willow Fort was already positioned along the southernmost line of the State of Yan.

If they had come from farther south, then they were obviously from Qian.

Zheng Fan set his chopsticks down and said to the Blind Man, “Come on. Let’s go take a look, then head early to the relay station and wait for Xu Wenzu.”

……

The refugee column was not enormous, but neither could it be called small.

Both sides of the road were filled with refugees.

At a rough estimate, there were several thousand.

Zheng Fan sat astride his horse.

Beside him were the Blind Man and Xue San.

Perhaps because Zheng Fan’s last joyous excursion into Qian had terrified the Demon Kings under him so badly, from then on, whenever Zheng Fan went anywhere, at least two of them accompanied him.

If one counted the Demon Child Zheng Fan always carried with him, that meant three Demon Kings serving as bodyguards.

Some Yan cavalrymen, though Zheng Fan did not know which fort they came from, were maintaining order among the refugees while guiding the direction of the column.

Most of the refugees traveled in groups as small as single households and as large as entire villages.

They had brought wives and children with them.

Because there were many elderly, women, and children, the proportion of able-bodied young men was not especially high.

Xue San deliberately rode over to ask about the situation.

When he returned, he reported, “Master, they really are from Qian. They originally went to Nanwang City, but were redirected and distributed elsewhere halfway there. Those cavalrymen are from Jitui Fort. Supposedly Zuo Jiqian gave the order that Jitui Fort would accept every refugee from Qian.”

“They really are Qian people.”

Zheng Fan sounded rather amazed.

After all, the impression Qian had always given people was: rich and cowardly.

Although its military strength was poor, it possessed enormous economic and cultural advantages.

So Qian people actually smuggling themselves across the border to live in Yan was something Zheng Fan had genuinely never expected.

The Blind Man noticed Zheng Fan’s surprise.

“Master, this is actually normal. Qian is wealthy, yes, but because of the first Marquis of Zhenbei’s campaign a century ago, Qian never truly invested effort into developing its three northern commanderies.

“On top of that, those three northern commanderies support huge numbers of garrison soldiers and impose heavy corvée obligations. Once ordinary people are squeezed badly enough, life in northern Yan can actually become easier than life there.”

Yan had aristocratic clans everywhere.

But those clans were not necessarily that cruel toward the tenant households under their control.

At the very least, the master households would still try to ensure that their tenant families survived.

When conditions allowed, they would even share limited economic and political benefits with them.

Because those tenant households were, in effect, the aristocratic clans’ own “subjects.”

Their economic base, their political influence, and even their private armies ultimately depended upon the population living on their estates.

It was somewhat like the later saying:

“If it belongs to the public, you may as well waste it. But if it belongs to your own family, you guard it carefully.”

To Imperial Court officials, the people under state rule were somewhat like public property.

But once those people became tenant households belonging to their own clan, they became private assets.

Naturally, the attitude changed.

On top of that, Yan had benefited greatly from the Silk Road in recent years, and commerce flourished.

Unlike Qian, Yan was actually capable of collecting commercial taxes effectively.

So first, the Yan Imperial Court had never possessed particularly strong control over the localities anyway.

Second, commercial taxation had already provided the central government with meaningful revenue.

The result was that the survival pressure borne by ordinary people under Yan rule truly was lower than in the other three states.

That had been Zheng Fan’s first impression of the local villagers’ condition when he had initially arrived at Willow Fort.

“I wonder what the officials and scholars of Qian would think if they knew about this.”

“Master, it is understandable. Things like culture are too distant from people at the bottom.

“They don’t understand grand principles.

“But they know how to vote with their feet.

“There were similar records during the Song Dynasty. Song commoners voluntarily abandoned their status as Song subjects and fled into Liao territory to become subjects of Liao.”

“Yan is not Liao,” Zheng Fan reminded him.

“Yes. Master is correct.”

“Zuo Jiqian is probably sending all these refugees to Jitui Fort because he wants to put on as much of a performance as possible before Xu Wenzu takes office.”

The appearance of these refugees was itself a political achievement.

It demonstrated that Heaven’s Mandate and the hearts of the people lay with Yan rather than Qian.

Xu Wenzu had not even formally taken office yet, and a ready-made accomplishment was already presenting itself at his doorstep.

But these were also several thousand mouths.

Every day, they had to eat.

That was why Zuo Jiqian, backed financially by the Zuo Clan, dared to redirect every refugee to his own Jitui Fort and support them himself.

In effect, the Zuo Clan was spending money to purchase a political achievement for the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief Xu Wenzu.

Zuo Jiqian probably hoped that, in exchange, Xu Wenzu would go easy on him over his recent military defeat in Qian.

“We don’t want these people, right?”

Zheng Fan looked toward the Blind Man.

The Blind Man shook his head.

“If they were all able-bodied young men, it would be worth considering. But with this many old people, women, and children, there is no need for us to steal Zuo Jiqian’s chance to perform.”

“Right. After all, his Chicken-Leg Fort has all the chicken legs anyone could want.”

In truth, when it came to financial resources, Willow Fort, backed by the Sixth Prince, had no fear whatsoever of Jitui Fort.

To begin with, Willow Fort was already largely complete.

Some details still required repairs and finishing work, but once spring thaw arrived, a little patching here and there would settle everything.

It already possessed the capacity to absorb additional population.

More importantly, Zheng Fan knew perfectly well that their warehouses contained not only extra weapons and armor but also abundant grain reserves.

The Sixth Prince really was generous.

Either he did nothing at all, or once he acted, he supported you so heavily you practically overflowed.

The Blind Man had even said that the trading company recently sent people to ask why Willow Fort had not expanded its army.

Obviously, that inquiry had come at the Sixth Prince’s direction.

A fort under a Garrison Commander was normally funded by the Imperial Court for only five hundred soldiers.

But if you possessed the resources to maintain eight hundred or even a thousand men yourself, the Imperial Court would generally turn a blind eye.

That was simply the custom in Yan at present.

Furthermore, the Imperial Court’s attention and primary conflict were focused on the major aristocratic clans.

Those great clans commonly controlled tens of thousands of tenant households.

If they wished, pulling together private forces numbering several thousand or even ten thousand was hardly unusual.

Willow Fort, however, had always intended to follow an elite-soldier strategy.

Gathering together a giant mass of mediocre troops had little meaning.

Better to wait patiently until the Yan Emperor finally swung his blade at the aristocratic clans.

People from those clans would be of higher quality to begin with, and once exiled, they would be desperate to earn military merit.

Perhaps Willow Fort might even receive some little bastards who could glow.

Wouldn’t that be far more useful than simply swelling their numbers with peasant soldiers?

“Actually,” the Blind Man said, “this subordinate thinks one thing about this is abnormal.

“In previous years, it would not have been strange for Qian commoners to flee into Yan to make a living.

“But this year, Master gave Qian a good scare before winter began.

“Logically speaking, no matter how pathetic Qian’s frontier army is, it should at least be capable of bullying its own people.

“And its border is filled with beacon forts.

“Small groups sneaking across are understandable.

“But several thousand people crossing at once?

“There may be some hidden move by Qian inside this.”

By “hidden move,” he meant spies.

And perhaps quite a few of them.

“We can set aside the quality of Qian’s frontier army,” Zheng Fan said, “but their Silver-Armored Guard left a decent impression on me.

“And they even issue wives.”

“Heh.”

The Blind Man laughed as well.

“Actually, this subordinate believes Zuo Jiqian probably understands that there are timed bombs mixed in here.

“But right now he only cares about stuffing himself full in a single meal.

“He isn’t worried about whether he gets diarrhea afterward.”

“Fine. Enough watching.

“Let’s go to the relay station and wait for Fatty Xu.”

Zheng Fan still felt that meeting Comrade Deep Sea beforehand should not be done with too much fanfare.

So he brought only the Blind Man and Xue San.

No troops.

The three rode from afternoon until dusk before reaching the relay station in the outskirts of Yin City.

Nanwang City was unquestionably the largest city in Yinlang Commandery.

But Yin City was actually the commandery capital.

It was simply like some provincial capitals in later times—officially important, yet oddly lacking in presence.

Yan’s relay stations received officials traveling on government business while also supplying fresh horses to couriers and providing accommodations.

But they also conducted business with ordinary travelers.

On the long journey from Beifeng Commandery to Willow Fort, Zheng Fan had stayed at many relay stations.

His impression was that most of them operated much like comprehensive hotels in later times.

Officials, moreover, did not have to pay.

Zheng Fan was not currently traveling on official business.

He also deliberately wanted to conceal his connection with Xu Wenzu.

So he chose to “pay out of pocket.”

Considering that he and Xu Wenzu would probably need considerable time to talk after meeting, he simply rented two guest rooms.

When ordering food and wine, Xue San went to chat up the staff and ask which room the guest from Beifeng Commandery occupied.

Because Xu Wenzu’s body shape was far too distinctive, this proved very easy.

The information they received was that Xu Wenzu’s party had rented the entire first-class courtyard.

Mm.

As the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of Nanwang City, he did at least possess that much status.

However, when Zheng Fan went to the first-class courtyard and explained his purpose to the personal guards stationed at the gate, they told him Xu Wenzu had gone out that afternoon to visit a friend and probably would not return until nighttime.

As for who the friend was or where he lived, even the guards left behind did not know.

There was nothing Zheng Fan could do.

The three of them ate the relay station’s evening meal in a hurry, then returned to their rooms to rest and wait.

Xue San slipped some silver to a junior relay official and told him to inform them once Xu Wenzu returned.

There was no need to worry about arousing suspicion.

Every day, plenty of people came to relay stations hoping to “accidentally encounter” high officials.

The junior official was clearly used to it.

The Blind Man and Xue San shared one room.

Zheng Fan stayed alone next door.

Fortunately, Station Chief Zheng was something of a tiny local tyrant at Willow Fort.

Nobody kept attendance records on him.

Lingering outside for a day and not returning home posed no problem.

Lying on the bed, Zheng Fan repeatedly shaped his hands as though drawing a bow, feeling the motion again and again.

Over the past month, with A’Ming accompanying him for archery practice, Zheng Fan felt he had improved enormously.

But when it came to precisely externalizing blood qi, he still could not control it well.

A Ninth Grade Martial Artist counted as an expert in the eyes of ordinary people.

In the army, that level was enough to become a junior leader.

But Zheng Fan knew perfectly well that relying on only that much cultivation to preserve his life could still be very difficult.

During his recent trip into Qian, he had personally killed more than one ranked Martial Artist on the battlefield.

In Zheng Fan’s opinion, at the very least, one needed strength on Shatuo Queshi’s level before personal safety could truly be guaranteed.

In fact, back then, if Shatuo Queshi had not wholeheartedly desired death, actually killing him would have been extremely difficult.

Zheng Fan lay on the bed, repeatedly practicing the idea of “having an arrow in the heart even when there is none in the hand.”

Before he realized it, the hour had grown very late.

Zheng Fan began wondering whether Xu Wenzu planned to spend the night at his friend’s place and simply not return to the relay station.

Or perhaps that so-called friend was actually some widowed former lover?

“Knock, knock, knock…”

A soft knock came from the door.

At first, Zheng Fan assumed it was Xue San or the Blind Man.

He rose from the bed and opened the door.

Only then did he discover a short, fat woman in her forties standing outside.

Her face was plastered with thick makeup.

Greasy, heavy makeup.

“My lord, would you like someone to keep you company tonight?”

So hotel room service from later times had actually existed in ancient times all along.

Zheng Fan pointed at the woman.

“You?”

“Oh my, my lord, look at you joking.

“Of course not this concubine.

“I have plenty of young girls under me.

“Pretty mares from Jin, slender mares from Xiahang, noble mares from Chu, fierce mares from our own Yan lands—I have every sort.

“My lord, just tell this concubine which kind you want.

“In a little while, I’ll send the girl upstairs.

“I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

Women from Jin were known for beauty and fine figures.

Xiahang’s “slender mares” were already famous.

Even the Qian Emperor had taken the three Yang sisters of Xiahang into the palace all at once.

Chu possessed many aristocratic houses with lineages stretching back centuries.

Because of internal struggles among them, noblewomen often fell into the world outside.

Whether the women offered here were truly noble daughters, nobody knew.

At least they knew how to pretend to be noble ladies while serving you.

As for the fierce mares of Yan the name explained itself.

Truthfully, with Feng Siniang, the finest madam in this entire world, at home, Zheng Fan had little interest in foraging for wild food outside.

Even if he genuinely wanted to indulge himself, how could the little Red Whisk girls trained by Siniang possibly be worse than women from some random establishment?

Besides, his two subordinates were living next door.

One of them was even a Blind Man who could provide a live broadcast through a wall if he wished.

How could Zheng Fan possibly order this kind of service here?

“This official is tired.

“No need.”

“Then this concubine won’t disturb you.”

The fat madam tactfully curtsied to Zheng Fan, turned, and left.

Very soon, there was a knock on the neighboring door.

Immediately afterward, Xue San’s excited voice rang out.

“I want them!

“I want all of them!

“One of each!”

“My lord, just wait. The girls will come right away.”

After saying that, the fat madam went downstairs, presumably to summon the women.

Zheng Fan stepped out of his room and stood in the second-floor corridor.

Xue San came out as well.

When he saw Zheng Fan, he even looked a little embarrassed.

“Have fun.

“Tell the Blind Man to come stay in my room.”

Zheng Fan had Siniang.

Although he still had not managed to cross home plate, the games they played with needlework possessed their own exquisite charm.

He could hardly keep himself fed while starving all his subordinates forever.

But Xue San shook his head and walked from his doorway toward Zheng Fan.

The floorboards on the second level were old.

As he approached, the corridor creaked beneath his feet.

“Master, hear that?”

Xue San lowered his voice.

Zheng Fan suddenly understood.

“That fat madam was far heavier than this subordinate.

“Yet when she walked away just now, the floorboards made no sound at all.”

“Looks like someone has infiltrated the relay station and intends to harm Xu Wenzu.”

So Zheng Fan was going to become Xu Wenzu’s savior after all.

He had actually stumbled directly into this.

Thinking about it was almost comical.

Back outside the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate, Zheng Fan had wanted Xu Wenzu dead badly enough to deploy even the Left Guli King of the Barbarian Royal Court.

And yet, by sheer coincidence, Fatty Xu had gotten out of his carriage at exactly that moment to take a shit.

He had quite literally enjoyed shit luck.

But now Fatty Xu was about to become Zheng Fan’s direct superior.

The man Zheng Fan had once wanted to kill was now someone he had to protect.

Just then, a junior official downstairs came out carrying a lantern.

He raised it toward Zheng Fan, who was standing in the corridor above, waved it once, then walked away.

That was the signal.

Xu Wenzu had returned.

Because he occupied a separate courtyard, he did not enter through the relay station’s main building.

At that moment, the Blind Man also came out of the room.

His gaze met Zheng Fan’s.

“Master, hurry and warn Xu Wenzu.

“Have him prepare his defenses.”

Zheng Fan nodded and went downstairs alone.

Xue San and the Blind Man did not follow.

They would probably handle support from the perimeter.

The personal guards at the entrance to the first-class courtyard had changed.

They were probably the men who had accompanied Xu Wenzu on his visit during the day and had only just rotated onto duty.

Anyone entrusted with guarding Xu Wenzu while he privately visited friends would certainly belong to the innermost circle of his personal guard.

Moreover, these two actually recognized Zheng Fan.

When they saw him appear here, both froze at first.

Then vigilance instantly appeared on their faces, and their hands moved to the hilts of their sabers.

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng—is that you?”

One of the guards asked.

“It is indeed Zheng.

“Please inform Lord Mingzheng that Zheng has come to visit.”

If Zheng Fan had been some ordinary fellow trying to present a calling card, become familiar, or seek connections, the guards might have simply decided Xu Wenzu was tired after returning and blocked him.

But when they realized it was Zheng Fan the adversary who infuriated their lord enough to make his teeth itch they did not dare neglect the matter.

One guard immediately went inside to report.

“Let him in.

“Quickly, let him in.”

Xu Wenzu’s voice came from inside.

The man himself was already hurrying toward the entrance.

The guards no longer obstructed him.

Zheng Fan walked inside and saw an enormous mountain of flesh bearing down toward him.

Xu Wenzu had lost considerable weight on the return journey from the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate.

But now he had clearly gained every bit of it back.

More than that.

This was Yinlang Commandery, not Beifeng Commandery.

The nearby guards were all men he trusted.

So Xu Wenzu made no effort to maintain appearances.

He walked directly over to Zheng Fan with a broad grin, chuckling as he came to welcome him.

Zheng Fan, however, had no time to reminisce about the joy of two comrades meeting again.

He immediately lowered his voice and spoke quickly.

“My lord, be careful.

“Assassins intending to kill you have infiltrated this relay station.

“This subordinate received the information and came immediately to warn you.”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

At that exact moment, two screams came from beside the courtyard wall.

Clearly, some of Xu Wenzu’s personal guards had been shot dead.

What surprised Zheng Fan was that he had originally assumed the assassins would use poison, infiltrate stealthily, or perhaps approach Xu Wenzu through the room-service women.

He truly had not expected the assassins to simply swagger up and attack openly.

At the same time, an enraged chorus came from outside.

“Yan dog Zheng Fan!

“Blood debts must be paid in blood!

“Hand over your life!”

“…………”

Xu Wenzu.

“…………”

Zheng Fan.

(End of Chapter)