Chapter 118: Entering the Capital

“Sit. Have some tea.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Zheng Fan sat down in the chair, but did not pick up the cup.

“Longjing from Qian. Try it.”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Marquis, drinking tea immediately after a meal can upset the stomach.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

The Marquis of Jingnan set down the tea cup in his hand.

“Since you joined the army, you still care about preserving your health?”

“Reporting to the Marquis, I joined the army to expand the territory of Great Yan. I preserve my health so that after the territory has been expanded, I can live a little longer and see more of Great Yan’s flourishing age.”

“Grind ink for this Marquis.”

“This lowly officer obeys.”

“This Marquis is going to write Wei Zhonghe a letter. The Directorate of Ceremonial is short on talent like you.”

“…”

Zheng Fan.

Looking at Zheng Fan’s embarrassed expression, the Marquis of Jingnan waved a hand.

“Sit. It’s no great matter. Knowing how to say pleasant things is also a skill. Besides, when it comes to horsemanship and commanding troops, you, Garrison Commander Zheng, are no worse than anyone else.”

“The Marquis praises this lowly officer too highly. There is still much I need to learn from the Marquis.”

“Hero Chen. A wandering swordsman of Qian. Rumor in the martial world says he was born a natural sword embryo. He taught himself swordsmanship, visited the Sword Pavilion in Jin after reaching adulthood, and paid respects at the Great Marsh Sword Tomb in Chu.

“His cultivation is probably above Sixth Grade. After this man took you hostage, he actually went directly to Willow Fort, only to be repelled by the barbarian cavalry inside your fortress.

“This Marquis is curious. Why did he take you to Willow Fort?”

“Marquis, this subordinate has already investigated the matter clearly and reported it to the Secret Intelligence Department yesterday.”

“This Marquis has read it. What I do not understand is why he truly refrained from killing you and accompanied you all the way to Willow Fort.”

Zheng Fan hesitated for a moment.

Then answered, “Reporting to the Marquis, he is stupid.”

“What do you mean?”

Zheng Fan raised a finger and pointed toward his forehead.

“That hero has a problem here.”

“He does not understand human relationships and worldly affairs? He is simple-minded?”

“Marquis, you saw straight through it.”

After spending every day learning and practicing flattery alongside the Blind Man and the others, Zheng Fan was naturally smooth when the occasion truly demanded it.

“Then it seems he really is a sword fanatic.”

“Yes, Marquis. Otherwise, this lowly officer would not be standing before you today.”

“I assume you also know the identities of the other two groups of assassins?”

“I do. His Sixth Highness arranged a liaison inside this lowly officer’s fortress.”

The Marquis of Jingnan showed no particular sensitivity to that. Zheng Fan said it openly, and the Marquis simply listened as though it were nothing unusual.

“Were you and Xu Wenzu not like fire and water back in Tiger Head City?”

“When one is a stranger in a strange land, seeing someone from home makes one want to go welcome him.”

“‘A stranger in a strange land.’ That sounds good, but this Marquis does not believe you.”

“Marquis, you are wise. At the time, when this lowly officer heard Lord Xu had become my immediate superior, I was terrified and hurried to the relay station in advance to wait for him and make a humble apology.”

“Heh. Enough. Three days from now, you will enter the capital with this Marquis. Go back and recover for a few more days.”

“This lowly officer obeys!”

“One more thing. Take a message to Xu Wenzu. Three days from now, on the day this Marquis departs for the capital, the Jingnan Army will withdraw from Nanwang City.”

“This lowly officer understands.”

Zheng Fan left the room.

Du Juan followed him out.

“Lord Zheng, simply arrive before noon three days from now.”

“Many thanks for the reminder, Sister Du Juan.”

Du Juan returned to the room.

“He left?”

“He has, Marquis.”

“Mm.”

“Marquis, this Garrison Commander Zheng truly is quite interesting. He’s a man with thoughts of his own.”

“Are you trying to put in a bad word for him?”

“Marquis, although this servant follows you now, I truly cannot do needlework. All I know are the skills I learned in the Secret Intelligence Department.”

The Marquis of Jingnan picked up his tea cup.

He took a sip.

Then slowly said, “Still water is naturally clear. Great rivers refuse neither mud nor sand.”

……

After leaving the Marquis of Jingnan’s residence, Zheng Fan and A’Ming headed together toward the Commander-in-Chief residence.

It was still the same residence as before. Quite a few people had died there little more than a month earlier, yet Xu Wenzu had still specifically chosen to move in.

Perhaps Xu Wenzu wanted to use that choice to express his attitude.

But from the deserted entrance to the residence, one thing was obvious.

The true voice of authority in this city was still the Marquis.

Xu Wenzu had been waiting for Zheng Fan. Liang Cheng had already told him Zheng Fan had been summoned by the Marquis of Jingnan today.

As soon as Zheng Fan arrived, Xu Wenzu immediately invited him into the study.

The study looked rather empty.

The desk itself was also somewhat messy.

Xu Wenzu did not call for tea.

Instead, he slammed the door shut, grabbed an inkstone and several other things from the table, and smashed them viciously onto the floor.

Then he roared three times, “Outrageous! Outrageous! Outrageous!”

Zheng Fan silently stood to one side and watched Xu Wenzu perform.

After finishing his fit, Xu Wenzu walked to the bookshelf and took down a box.

He opened it, removed a dried persimmon, and handed it to Zheng Fan.

“Eat. I brought these from the north.”

The dried persimmon had even been brushed with honey.

Zheng Fan accepted it and took a bite.

While chewing, he said, “The Marquis of Jingnan asked me to bring Your Excellency a message.”

“Speak. What instructions does His Lordship the Marquis of Jingnan have for me?”

“Cough, cough…”

Zheng Fan coughed several times.

He did not stand on ceremony. He found a chair and sat down.

Xu Wenzu knew Zheng Fan was injured, so he also pulled over a chair and sat beside him.

“The Marquis of Jingnan said that in three days, he will enter the capital. On that same day, the Jingnan Army will withdraw from Nanwang City.”

“Hoo…”

Xu Wenzu released a long breath.

Clearly, those words relieved an enormous amount of pressure.

The previous Commander-in-Chief had died under strange circumstances.

An assassination had occurred at the funeral.

Xu Wenzu himself had been attacked on the way to take office.

And after entering Nanwang City, everything inside the city still followed the Marquis of Jingnan’s will.

As Commander-in-Chief, Xu Wenzu was little more than decoration.

Now, once the Jingnan Army withdrew from Nanwang City, he would finally be able to reclaim at least part of the authority that belonged to his office.

“The Marquis also said he is taking me into the capital.”

“He is taking you into the capital?”

“Yes.”

“The capital is a place of trouble right now. At court, the factions advocating war and peace are fighting bitterly. You are only a Garrison Commander, yet you stirred up so many incidents. Once you enter the capital, there will certainly be people looking for trouble with you.”

The current Grand Chancellor’s alma mater was the academy Zheng Fan had smashed.

How could that not bring trouble?

“It should be all right. Since the Marquis of Jingnan is taking me into the capital himself, he can hardly stand by and watch them kill me.”

“You brat.”

Xu Wenzu reached out and slapped Zheng Fan on the shoulder.

The day before, after learning Zheng Fan had awakened, Xu Wenzu had gone to Willow Fort and knelt before him.

After that kneeling, the two had agreed to address each other as brothers.

So in front of Comrade Deep Sea, Zheng Fan could relax a little now.

This was Nanwang City.

Not Tiger Head City.

Put nicely, the revolutionary friendship between himself and Comrade Deep Sea had deepened.

Put more realistically, Xu Wenzu was no longer the Pacification Commissioner in Tiger Head City who could suppress the County Magistrate and decide matters with a single word.

His official rank had risen, but his actual freedom of action had shrunk considerably.

Besides, Zheng Fan had now also boarded the Marquis of Jingnan’s ship.

“The Marquis of Jingnan is not a hereditary noble with perpetual succession. In terms of foundation, his house truly cannot compare with our Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate.

“But this generation’s Marquis of Jingnan is Her Majesty the Empress’s own younger brother and the future Crown Prince’s maternal uncle. He himself is also deeply valued by His Majesty.

“Now that you have gained his favor, your future prospects are limitless.”

“Brother, are you probing me?”

“Ah, what probing? There’s nothing left for me to hide from you. Come look at these.”

Xu Wenzu pulled Zheng Fan over to the desk.

“Look at these. These. And these.”

“They’re all official documents for constructing forts?”

“Exactly. The Ministry of Works sent them to me. The documents from the Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of War are underneath.”

“Oh.”

“Little Brother, it seems you already knew?”

Zheng Fan very much wanted to ask what exactly he was supposed to know.

But instead, he put on a thoughtful expression and gave a slight nod.

Comrade Deep Sea, please continue imagining the rest for me.

“That makes sense. That day, you must have gone to the relay station early to wait for me precisely because you wanted to warn me about this.”

Zheng Fan continued pondering and nodded faintly.

“Yesterday, I came and went in a hurry. You had just woken up, so I was embarrassed to discuss official business.

“Truthfully, I had been puzzled about why I was suddenly transferred south to become Commander-in-Chief. For a time, I even thought the Imperial Court had seen through my disguise and deliberately moved me away from Beifeng Commandery.

“But it wasn’t until I saw these official documents that I realized this battle may not happen at all.”

Because there was no logic in the Imperial Court preparing to go to war against the Zhenbei Army while simultaneously pouring supplies and energy into the southern frontier to construct new forts and cities.

Even the explanation that Yan feared Qian might launch a northern expedition after civil war erupted, hoping to profit from the chaos, did not make sense.

Yan forts and cities had never primarily existed for static defense.

The Yan military tradition had always centered on offense.

Their proud iron cavalry smashed the enemy in the field.

They did not turtle behind fortifications and trade attrition with Qian.

To put it realistically, Yan could not truly afford that sort of war of attrition anyway.

“The construction of these forts and cities is preparation,” Zheng Fan said.

“Yes. Preparation to receive larger armies and stockpile more grain, weapons, and supplies.”

In truth, when Qin Shi Huang first built the Great Wall, he had envisioned it as a forward base for actively attacking the Xiongnu.

It was merely later descendants who had grown weak and gradually turned the Great Wall into a turtle shell.

“The Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of War documents authorize ten Garrison Commander posts under me.

“The Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue will also send funds and laborers once spring begins.

“These things cannot be faked.

“This is not some halfhearted performance either.

“The only strange part is that none of these documents were issued through an openly proclaimed imperial decree.”

That meant although the documents appeared to come from the Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue, and other ministries, those ministries themselves might not even know about them.

But the documents bore the vermilion endorsement of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Yan Emperor’s seal.

They had also been delivered through the Secret Intelligence Department.

That proved the orders came directly from the Yan Emperor, not from a decision reached after consultation with court ministers.

What sort of preparation for civil war was this?

This was obviously preparation to march south!

Zheng Fan drew in a deep breath.

The Blind Man’s analysis and his own suspicions had finally been confirmed.

The Marquis of Zhenbei and the Yan Emperor truly were acting.

Zheng Fan turned toward Xu Wenzu.

“Brother, make the preliminary preparations first. Once spring comes, simply work steadily.”

“Do I need you to teach me that? I, Xu Wenzu, may favor the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate, but I am also a man of Yan.”

Xu Wenzu was clearly dissatisfied by Zheng Fan’s reminder.

Internally, he would certainly stand on the side of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate.

But against outsiders, he would unquestionably stand with Yan.

That was the difference between political position and national position.

And the former should naturally submit to the latter.

“Truthfully, Brother, when the young lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate first transferred me south, I did not understand it either.”

“Exactly. At the time, I thought the young lady wanted to leave an escape route for the estate and sent you ahead to build up a base.”

“Sigh. Who could have expected this?”

Zheng Fan shook his head and sighed.

“Our Marquis truly possesses a broad heart.”

“Naturally.

“Wait. Could your approach to the Marquis of Jingnan also have been because…”

“Our Marquis’s side spoke to the Marquis of Jingnan in advance.”

“No wonder. No wonder.”

Zheng Fan sincerely felt that talking to Fatty Xu was incredibly easy.

Fatty Xu’s ability to fill in missing logic meant Zheng Fan hardly needed to invent explanations himself.

The man simply handed them over voluntarily.

“Then your expedition into Qian a month ago was also…”

“It was reconnaissance,” Zheng Fan said solemnly.

“I was also testing Qian’s true condition. Just like what you are doing now, Brother, it was preparation for the southern campaign.

“We are both northerners, yet now both of us have been transferred south.

“That itself is a signal.

“It may not be long.

“At most half a year.

“Our Zhenbei Army may also come here.”

“Hahaha. Now that would be a magnificent sight.”

Xu Wenzu, whose blood had been stirred by patriotism and national ambition, appeared extremely excited.

No matter how mature an official or politician might be, the temptation of expanding the realm was difficult to resist.

Everyone wanted their name recorded in history.

Everyone wanted to be born in an age of expansion.

Given a choice, who would want to spend every day wearing a dark expression while playing office politics?

“By the way, the assassination attempt on me—no, on you. You know the details, right?”

“I do. But I still cannot understand who actually wants me dead.”

“Most likely you are merely a chess piece.

“Or perhaps only a target used to strike another mountain from afar.”

“I don’t particularly like that metaphor.”

“I cannot guess who exactly wants to use you as that target either.

“But I can confirm that those assassins genuinely were not trying to kill me.”

“Mm.”

“Still, I cooperated with the Marquis of Jingnan and acted as though our relationship was poor.

“After entering Nanwang City, I have not once gone to meet him.”

“The Marquis of Jingnan should understand.”

“Hopefully.

“But many times, people’s intentions change.

“And the Marquis of Jingnan’s position is naturally different from ours.”

“Why?”

“Tian Wujing, Marquis of Jingnan, comes from the Tian Clan.

“The Tian Clan may not rank among the very greatest aristocratic clans of Yan, but it is the leader among the second tier.

“If you ranked only the top five great clans, the Tian Clan might not make the list.

“But rank the top ten, and it would unquestionably hold a place.

“Furthermore, the current Empress is a daughter of the Tian Clan.

“Half the blood flowing in the future Crown Prince will also come from the Tian Clan.

“In terms of distinguished honor, the Tian Clan can be considered foremost among the aristocratic houses.

“Our Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate has few descendants. Our Marquis has only one son and one daughter.

“But the Tian Clan is enormous.

“A genuine great aristocratic house.

“So tell me.

“His Majesty and our Marquis made such an enormous show.

“Yet from the look of things, they are not truly going to fight.

“Then who exactly is their target?”

Fatty Xu’s political instincts genuinely shocked Zheng Fan.

His own side had gained advance spoilers from the Sixth Prince and relied on the Blind Man as an analytical cheat code.

Only then had they reached this conclusion.

Yet Xu Wenzu was already beginning to see the direction of the coming tide himself.

A gust of wind seemed to rise outside.

The study door made a faint scraping sound.

Xu Wenzu sighed.

“The door to this study is too rotten.

“From the first day I moved in, I wanted to tear it down.”

“My lord, I think these matters are not things we should be pondering.”

Earlier he had called him Brother.

Now he called him My Lord.

“I don’t need to worry much.

“I am stationed in the south.

“My branch of the family separated from the main clan three generations ago.

“But you are different.

“This time when the Marquis of Jingnan enters the capital, there is truly no telling whether…”

Zheng Fan suddenly felt the weather had turned even colder.

Probably because his body remained weak after his injuries.

“Not long ago, the Old Master of the Tian Clan celebrated his seventieth birthday.

“The Marquis of Jingnan did not return to the capital to celebrate his own father’s birthday.

“Yet now it is Her Majesty the Empress’s birthday, and the Imperial Court has issued a decree permitting the Marquis of Jingnan to enter the capital and offer congratulations.

“Her Majesty is certainly noble.

“But according to ordinary human relationships, how can someone refuse to return for his own father’s birthday, yet specifically return to celebrate his elder sister’s?”

“Mm…

“Indeed.”

“But it should be fine.

“Our Marquis is also in the capital.

“No matter what happens, our Marquis will protect his own people.

“Whatever the Marquis of Jingnan and the Tian Clan do has nothing to do with the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate.

“Our Marquis is fiercely protective of his own.”

“Yes.

“Absolutely.”

The Marquis of Zhenbei has never even met me.

How is he supposed to protect me?

“Still, the Marquis of Jingnan really does command his troops well.

“I checked the records.

“I found not a single case of Jingnan Army soldiers harassing civilians after entering the city.”

“Maybe those records were erased?”

“Words can be erased.

“But the discipline of the Jingnan Army is, among every army I have seen in half my life, the finest.”

“Even better than our Zhenbei Army?”

“In discipline during battle, our Zhenbei Army is unquestionably first.

“As for everything else, you’ve seen for yourself how brutally our Zhenbei troops plunder barbarian tribes in the desert.

“The Jingnan Army, in the end, has simply seen less blood.”

“That’s true.”

After finishing his conversation with Xu Wenzu, Zheng Fan walked out of the study carrying another box of dried persimmons.

He reunited with Feng Siniang and the others in the rear courtyard, boarded the carriage, and left the Commander-in-Chief residence.

On the journey home, Zheng Fan told them he would accompany the Marquis of Jingnan into the capital.

Feng Siniang’s reaction was completely different from what Zheng Fan had expected.

She seemed entirely unconcerned about the danger involved in entering the capital.

A woman’s points of interest were always strangely unpredictable.

Feng Siniang immediately asked, “So that means Master will soon get to see the Little Sixth you’ve been thinking about day and night again?”

(End of Chapter)