Chapter 267: Collecting a Debt

They were withdrawing.

Zheng Fan let out a long breath of relief.

If they kept fighting, there were simply too many unknowns. Zheng Fan had understood one thing since his previous life: he had no talent for business. When it came to personal finance, he was the sort of person who only dared put his money into something as safe and boring as Yu’e Bao.

Right now, no matter how badly the situation between the State of Dacheng and the savages deteriorated, the fighting was not going to reach Shengle City anytime soon.

For this expedition, Shengle City had contributed the army’s grain and supplies, but once the spoils were divided, Zheng Fan was absolutely going to make a killing.

One should not underestimate tribal chieftains.

Ordinary savages lived hard, miserable lives, but the leaders of the large and small tribes were filthy rich. The amount of captured wealth alone was considerable.

And as for cattle and sheep there were simply endless numbers of them.

Even if all of that were set aside, the captured warhorses alone were enough to make Zheng Fan wake up laughing from his dreams.

Why had the cavalrymen of the Three Jin lands once dared to challenge Yan’s iron cavalry?

Was it not because the snowfields supplied them with horses?

In this era, a fine warhorse was worth far more than a human life.

Several times more.

So City Defender Zheng felt that stopping while they were ahead was the wise choice.

And just as the Marquis of Jingnan had said, the assignment he had originally intended to help Zheng Fan secure might now be impossible.

But looked at another way, Shengle City’s position had instantly transformed from some forgotten corner into a strategic frontline.

Its importance had risen dramatically.

In the future, asking the court for troops, weapons, armor, and other military supplies would become much easier.

He would have far more justification behind him.

Good enough.

Good enough.

He had simply lacked foresight before.

Now he could carry the harvest home and enjoy the profits.

Who could have expected the Marquis of Jingnan to continue, “Chicken rib. Tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard.

“You wrote an annotation explaining that phrase in your book, using it to describe this kind of tiresome battlefield situation.

“That is why this Marquis cooked chicken soup and summoned you here.

“Yet you stood before me and pretended to be stupid.”

Zheng Fan immediately rose.

Then he dropped to one knee and answered, “Marquis, this general was not pretending to be stupid.

“This general wrote the book himself. How could I possibly not know what I wrote inside it?”

Fuck you, Blind Man.

Copying the simple parts was one thing.

Why the hell did you even copy the annotations?!

“With the army in the field and the situation impossible to predict, this general knows his own limitations.

“Amid such a fog of uncertainty, I truly cannot see which road is the correct one.

“Marquis, this general genuinely did not dare accept that chicken rib from you.”

“Get up.”

Zheng Fan stood.

“A man must be willing to shoulder responsibility.

“When this Marquis asks you something, answer honestly.

“If the heavens fall, this Marquis will hold them up.

“You are simply too cautious.

“If you continue like this for too long, sooner or later you will lose your edge.”

“Yes.

“The Marquis’s criticism is correct.”

“What do you suggest regarding the withdrawal?”

“Reporting to the Marquis, we should return slowly.”

“Slowly?”

“Yes.

“Since entering the snowfields, we have won every battle.

“Every wave of savages that came before us was shattered.

“Our army has not suffered a single defeat.

“No matter how bad the situation has become now, that is the Situ Clan’s own problem.

“Great Yan simply cannot carry a pig teammate like that.

“So we can take our time withdrawing and make the proper show of it.

“If we return too quickly, or in too much of a hurry, outsiders may mistakenly believe our expedition ended in defeat.

“Also, the teams behind us are still transporting savage slaves, cattle, sheep, and horses.

“They need time to gather everything and move.

“People can travel quickly.

“But cattle and sheep cannot exactly grow wings.

“If our army withdraws slowly, we can also cover them from the rear.

“The snowfields are bitterly cold and barren. To the savages, cattle and sheep are effectively their farmland.

“If we drive their herds back with us, then I dare not speak for other regions, but at least this part of the snowfields will not recover its vitality for seven or eight years.”

Many people had a misunderstanding about nomadic peoples.

They imagined that nomads ate meat every single day.

That was absurdly naive.

Even if a household raised an entire flock of sheep, it might slaughter only one during a festival as a rare treat.

To them, cattle and sheep were means of production.

Eating them casually was not much different from a Central Plains farmer casually selling off his fields.

“So in the end, you are still thinking about business?”

“Yes, Marquis.

“Only if we make an enormous profit this time will the various factions be willing to support another campaign against the savages in the future.

“But most importantly, this is for the sake of the Marquis’s glorious reputation.

“The Marquis is Great Yan’s God of War.

“You absolutely cannot allow a blemish like this to stain your name.”

“Oh?

“So you are still thinking on this Marquis’s behalf?”

“Yes.”

“This Marquis understands.”

“Then this general will withdraw.”

“Wait.”

“Does the Marquis have another order?”

“On the way back, use savage corpses and excrement to foul the water sources.

“You will personally oversee it.”

“...”

Zheng Fan.

...

The Yan army began withdrawing.

The pace truly was very slow.

From time to time, they even sent cavalry out to raid for provisions and “greet” those tribes that had been too remote to visit during the advance.

After all, it was not easy for everyone to make a trip out here.

They might as well make sure the locals remembered their faces.

The Savage King’s side seemed to have completely forgotten that a Yan army was still on the snowfields.

Not another organized force was sent against them.

He did not even bother sending troops to escort them politely on their way out.

No one knew whether the battle situation inside the State of Dacheng had become so intense that the Savage King truly could not spare any soldiers, or whether, after learning the Yan people were withdrawing, both sides had tacitly arrived at an understanding.

Yes.

An understanding.

In the region the Yan army had ravaged, most of the large tribes had been shattered and the smaller tribes scattered.

The Yan people had certainly captured immense spoils.

But from another perspective, they had also cleaned the room for the Savage King.

In the future, he only needed to send one force into the region and could quickly establish actual control over it.

Everyone profited.

And so the army slowly returned.

It took them more than a month to reach the exit of the Tianduan Mountains.

Next, they still had to cross the Tianduan Mountains again before returning to Shengle.

During the long march, morale remained surprisingly good.

Xue San went out and gathered some mushrooms and wild vegetables.

That evening, Zheng Fan took nearly half of them and went to flatter Tian Wujing.

Fresh vegetables were genuinely precious now.

They had been eating meat every day, every meal.

Zheng Fan estimated that close to half the army was suffering from some degree of constipation.

Fortunately, the number of soldiers who fell ill because they could not acclimate to the local climate had been kept under control.

Those who became sick were isolated into a separate group and transported by dedicated personnel.

Ancient armies had suffered far too many examples of contagious disease and plague breaking out during campaigns.

The Jingnan Army had regulations specifically for this.

First isolate the sick.

Then have the army physicians prepare medicine and administer it to them.

Zheng Fan had even deliberately gone over to “observe” the process.

He had to admit, it was quite professional.

Of course, that professionalism had been purchased through lesson after lesson paid for in blood.

Carrying the mushrooms and wild vegetables, Zheng Fan entered Tian Wujing’s command tent.

Tian Wujing was holding a letter and reading it.

When Zheng Fan entered, he lowered the letter.

Then he actually smiled at Zheng Fan.

That smile scared Zheng Fan half to death.

In an instant, a chill shot from his tailbone all the way to the crown of his head.

His entire body shuddered.

A Tian Wujing wearing an expression like this was simply too unnatural.

“Marquis, a letter from home?”

During a military campaign, the transmission of information suffered from enormous delays.

Sometimes accidents occurred and military reports or letters never arrived at all.

At times like these, a letter from home truly was worth ten thousand pieces of gold.

Tian Wujing nodded.

“A letter from her.

“She will be giving birth soon.”

“Then by the time we return to Shengle City, the Marquis will probably already be a father.”

For the letter to reach them, it had to have spent at least twenty days on the road, assuming nothing had gone wrong.

Most sections of the route were manageable.

An eight-hundred-li urgent relay, changing horses without changing riders, could actually move remarkably fast.

But crossing the Tianduan Mountains was simply too difficult.

One careless turn and a messenger could become lost.

“It is a pity.

“When she gives birth, this Marquis will not be by her side.”

“The Marquis is campaigning for the state.

“Madam will certainly understand.”

At the same time, Zheng Fan muttered inwardly:

Why don’t you mention that the first time she visited your family to meet the elders, she ran straight into you exterminating your entire clan?

Of course, that sort of thought could remain inside his head.

There was absolutely no chance he would say it aloud.

“What are you carrying?”

“Mushrooms and some wild vegetables.

“I still have some sauce left.

“We can cook a small pot together.”

The “sauce” was hotpot base.

Before the expedition, Siniang had personally stir-fried a large batch using beef tallow and various spices.

She had packed plenty.

If a woman wanted to capture a man, she first had to capture his stomach.

City Defender Zheng was not a woman, but he had profited from good food more than once.

Naturally, he placed even greater importance on it.

Water went onto the stove.

The hotpot base went in.

Once the water boiled, the wild vegetables and mushrooms followed.

Zheng Fan was not worried about whether the mushrooms were poisonous.

Xue San had enormous experience surviving and hiding in harsh wilderness conditions.

He knew perfectly well what could be eaten and what could not.

“Zheng Fan.”

“Mm?

“Marquis?”

“When a woman is undergoing postpartum confinement, what should she pay attention to?”

“Hmm?”

Tian Wujing was actually asking something like that?

Then Zheng Fan understood.

The Marquis of Jingnan probably truly regarded him as one of his own now.

After all, Zheng Fan was also the child’s godfather.

Tian Wujing would hardly feel comfortable asking other people this kind of question.

So he could only ask Zheng Fan.

Fortunately, while City Defender Zheng had never personally undergone postpartum confinement, he still knew enough to bullshit his way through a few points.

“She should keep warm and avoid getting chilled.

“She should not wash her hair or bathe too frequently.

“She should eat mild foods that replenish qi and blood.

“And if Madam intends to...”

Zheng Fan hesitated for a moment.

Then continued, “If she intends to nurse the child herself, there are also certain foods she should avoid.

“Oh, right.

“Crucian carp soup helps bring in milk.”

Zheng Fan had no idea whether everything he said was actually correct.

He simply remembered something roughly along those lines.

Whether or not it had any scientific basis, the important thing was to say enough that he looked knowledgeable.

“A wet nurse has already been prepared at home.”

“But for your own child, it is still better for the mother to feed them herself.

“If Madam’s... supply is not enough, you can supplement with cow’s milk or goat’s milk.”

Tian Wujing listened and nodded slightly from time to time.

He was clearly committing everything to memory.

Truthfully, Zheng Fan had almost never seen the mighty Marquis of Jingnan display such a human side.

“My wife is skilled at conditioning the body.

“Marquis, once we return to Shengle City, I can take her with me to Litian City.

“She is family.

“She will handle matters reliably, and you can use her without worry.”

Hearing this, Tian Wujing’s gaze darkened slightly.

Then he silently nodded.

“Oh, right.

“Marquis, have you decided on the child’s name?”

“His Majesty will bestow the name.”

“Oh.

“Right, right.

“Then what about a childhood name?”

“Li Liangting will choose it.”

“Uh?”

So the father gets no say at all?

“It was agreed upon many years ago.

“At that time, His Majesty was still Crown Prince.

“He said that in the future, he would choose my child’s formal name.

“Li Liangting would choose the childhood name.”

“Marquis, the three of you truly share a deep friendship.”

Tian Wujing shook his head.

Then said, “This Marquis was only ten years old at the time.

“I refused.

“So the two of them beat me up.”

“...”

Zheng Fan.

“Later, once this Marquis grew up and wanted to beat them back, one of them had suffered injuries and his martial cultivation was almost completely ruined.

“As for the other...”

Tian Wujing paused.

“In any case, the debt from being bullied by the two of them together when I was young can no longer be collected.

“Gradually, I stopped intending to collect it.”

[End of Chapter 267]