Chapter 315: Pixiu

Night had fallen, and the cold was growing heavier.

Outside the command tent, soldiers had already set up cooking pots and begun boiling ginger soup. Every general entering or leaving the tent could receive a bowl.

The Marquis of Jingnan had refused Situ Yu’s welcoming banquet.

He had not even entered Yingdu.

Instead, he had taken over a military camp outside the city.

Immediately afterward, military orders began pouring out.

Every officer in the Eastern Expedition Army holding the rank of Guerrilla General or above was ordered to report to the commander’s tent for instructions.

In truth, many people had already understood that the Marquis of Jingnan’s arrival meant the flames of war would be rekindled.

But very few had expected them to flare up this quickly.

Rather than calling this a military council, it would be more accurate to say the Marquis of Jingnan was simply issuing orders.

He did not even wait for every commander to arrive.

Whoever reached the camp first reported his arrival, waited outside for a while, then entered when someone else emerged.

Sometimes a single general went in alone.

Sometimes three or four entered together, then came back out together.

Zheng Fan belonged to the group that had been waiting outside the command tent for quite some time.

Chen Yang was waiting there as well.

The two sat facing one another, each holding a bowl of ginger soup and sipping slowly.

A winter night combined with a full suit of armor was a truly exquisite kind of suffering.

It felt as though one had plastered cold packs all over the body.

If you were moving and had warmed yourself up, it was tolerable.

The worst was exactly this situation standing or sitting in one place without moving, with nowhere nearby to warm yourself.

It was practically torture.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

The Marquis of Jingnan had summoned them.

One senior commander after another rushed over to receive orders, terrified of delaying even slightly.

What else did they expect?

You were being asked to wait outside the tent for a while.

Did you also want someone to build you a heated room?

Perhaps bring over some roasted meat to whet your appetite?

Would you like a maid delivered too, so she could warm your bedding?

Every man here commanded a substantial body of troops.

Yet at this moment, each of them huddled against the cold like an ordinary grunt.

Even when they stretched out a hand to accept ginger soup, they smiled politely and said, “Thank you.”

That was what different levels of military prestige looked like.

It did not matter what army you had belonged to before.

In front of the Southern Marquis, you coiled up and behaved.

Zheng Fan had already drunk his third bowl of ginger soup.

He felt as though the spaces between his teeth were saturated with ginger.

At last, the First Prince lifted the tent flap and stepped outside.

He looked at Chen Yang.

“The Commander summons you.”

Chen Yang cupped his hands toward the First Prince, set down his bowl, rose, and entered the command tent.

The First Prince sat down in Chen Yang’s previous seat.

As he accepted a bowl of ginger soup, he said to Zheng Fan:

“When he comes out, you go in.”

“Yes.”

Yesterday, the First Prince had been Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Expedition Army.

Today, he had become little more than a personal guard beneath the new commander.

Yet there was not much desolation visible on his face.

If anything, he seemed more alive than before.

The gloom that had hung over him had largely dispersed.

And anyone who was not an idiot understood perfectly well that the Marquis of Jingnan had not placed the First Prince beside himself in order to humiliate him.

Nor was he using the prince to establish authority.

This was an elder cleaning up after a junior’s mistake, then deliberately keeping that junior nearby so he could watch and learn exactly how the matter should be handled.

*That*

was how a true elder behaved.

The sort who merely pointed fingers across the New Year dinner table and satisfied himself by lecturing younger people what kind of elder was that supposed to be?

For some inexplicable reason, Zheng Fan actually felt the faintest trace of jealousy.

In the past, this kind of personal instruction had basically been treatment reserved for him alone.

“General Zheng,” the First Prince said, “this is actually the first time you and I have met properly, isn’t it?

“Back in Yanjing, Sixth Brother mentioned you to me quite often.

“He also quoted many of those memorable lines of yours.”

“Your Highness flatters me.”

The First Prince did not seem interested in using the opportunity to build a relationship.

He simply said:

“In the past, I never thought I truly knew how to wage war.

“But I did believe I had at least grasped some of the principles.

“Looking back now...

“I was still far from enough.”

Zheng Fan keenly sensed where the First Prince’s present emotion came from.

It had to be the military orders the Marquis of Jingnan had been issuing inside the tent.

The First Prince had remained in and around the commander’s tent, carrying messages and moving in and out.

Naturally, Tian Wujing had not hidden those orders from him.

That was probably why Ji Wujiang felt so deeply shaken.

From what Zheng Fan had previously understood, the Eastern Expedition Army under the First Prince had followed a strategy of steady, methodical advance.

Judging from the First Prince’s current expression, the Marquis of Jingnan must have changed that strategy the instant he arrived.

And not with minor adjustments.

This had to be a major overhaul.

Perhaps even a complete overthrow of the original approach.

Sometimes, rejecting a person was not especially damaging.

What hurt far more was rejecting that person’s entire way of thinking and the policy he had built around it.

Zheng Fan did not know how to comfort the First Prince.

Truthfully, he did not think the First Prince needed comfort.

A messenger came from outside and reported that the thirty thousand Jingnan troops following the Marquis had arrived.

The Marquis had traveled ahead with a small detachment.

The main army had been behind him.

The moment the First Prince heard the report, he ignored how hot the ginger soup still was and drained the entire bowl.

Then he stood, went inside to report, and soon came back out again.

He returned to his original seat.

One of the guards offered Zheng Fan a fourth bowl of ginger soup.

Zheng Fan refused.

He raised his head and looked at the sky.

The horizon was already beginning to pale faintly.

So he had actually been waiting outside all night.

Originally, Zheng Fan had hoped for a private meeting with Tian Wujing.

He wanted to tell him about the Young Marquis.

How adorable he was.

How intelligent.

Only a few months old and already crawling.

A little older and he had even begun showing signs of wanting to talk.

Whether in physical development or intelligence, the child was progressing extremely quickly.

The Demon Child’s childcare really was outstanding.

No other parent could possibly find such an excellent early-education tutor.

But the Marquis of Jingnan had given Zheng Fan no opportunity.

Perhaps he simply had no time.

The moment he arrived, too many things required immediate decisions.

After a while, Chen Yang emerged from the tent.

He stretched, pointed at Zheng Fan and then at the First Prince, and said:

“I’ll return to my camp first.”

Almost every general who left the commander’s tent departed immediately and returned to his own troops.

Clearly, they all had preparations to make.

This was exactly the style Zheng Fan associated with the Marquis of Jingnan.

And it also showed something else.

Although Tian Wujing had shut himself inside the Marquis’s Residence, his contact with the outside world had obviously never been cut off.

Otherwise, there was no possibility he could arrive, dispose of the First Prince’s command position, and immediately issue military order after military order with such speed.

Of course, that was only natural.

If the people in the Yan court had learned that the Marquis of Jingnan had genuinely decided to become a shut-in for half a year and completely sever himself from affairs outside, *they* would have been the anxious ones.

Great Yan might currently appear overwhelmingly powerful beneath Heaven.

But Zheng Fan, standing inside it, understood that Yan’s current strength was still somewhat bloated rather than solid.

Qian was sharpening its army and preparing for war.

Chu looked chaotic, but was actually lying low.

The savages were rampant.

The desert barbarians watched from the side.

Under these circumstances, a man like Tian Wujing was equivalent to a strategic nuclear weapon for the state.

They were nowhere near the point of releasing the horses onto the southern mountains.

And even farther from the point where the donkey could be killed after finishing the millstone.

The First Prince stood.

“General Zheng.

“Come in with me.”

Zheng Fan nodded, rose, patted his stiff knees, and followed the First Prince into the tent.

There was no brazier inside.

No wonder every general had entered and left trembling from the cold.

More importantly, when facing Tian Wujing alone in a place like this, you could distinctly feel that the temperature inside the tent was somehow even lower than outside.

Because the First Prince was present, Zheng Fan behaved with exceptional seriousness.

He immediately knelt.

“This subordinate, Zheng Fan, awaits the Marquis’s military order!”

“Zheng Fan.

“How many troops did you bring from your own command this time?”

“Reporting to the Marquis: ten thousand.”

“Can they fight?”

Zheng Fan pursed his lips.

Then he answered directly:

“Their military spirit, morale, equipment, and warhorses are all excellent.

“This subordinate believes that even if they cannot match the Jingnan Army’s own elite regulars, the difference will not be great.”

When the First Prince had been commander, Zheng Fan naturally had to conceal some of his strength.

Now the Marquis was in command.

Since they were family, of course Zheng Fan needed to help support the situation.

Most of Zheng Fan’s troops were Jin soldiers.

The cavalrymen of the Three Jin had never been poor material to begin with.

Then add the good food, good drink, fine armor, and fine horses Zheng Fan had poured into them.

Add the Blind Man’s ideological work.

Add Liang Cheng’s training.

The greatest gap remaining between them and the true elite of the Jingnan Army or Zhenbei Army was probably nothing more than the accumulation of victories.

Once an army became accustomed to winning, its entire quality changed again.

The biggest problem for cavalrymen of the Three Jin was still the way Yan’s two Marquises had shattered them during the invasion of Jin.

That defeat had broken their confidence.

“Good.

“General of Shengle— step forward and receive your order!”

“This subordinate is here!”

“This Marquis orders your entire force to cross the Wang River downstream the day after tomorrow.

“After crossing, advance eighty li east.

“Then remain active on the eastern bank for ten days.

“Before crossing the river, the entire army is permitted to carry only three days of grain.

“I do not require enemy heads.

“Stay on the eastern bank for as long as you can.

“After the tenth day, every additional day you remain there will be counted as one day of merit.

“But there is one condition.

“If your army is completely destroyed, then even if you, Zheng Fan, return alive, this Marquis will still punish you.”

Uh...

What kind of military order was this?

He wanted Zheng Fan to lead the army on a sightseeing tour east of the river?

No designated target.

No named enemy to destroy.

But Zheng Fan understood quickly.

Tian Wujing was sending him to harass the enemy rear.

At present, Dacheng was effectively divided into two sections.

The territory from the upper Wang River toward Snow Sea Pass belonged to the savages.

The lower reaches, extending toward Zhennan Pass—the old Situ defensive position facing Chu—had become the Chu sphere.

Since Zheng Fan was ordered to cross downstream, he would obviously be entering the rear of Chu’s area.

His mission was straightforward enough: disrupt Chu’s supply lines.

And at the same time... live off the enemy.

The Marquis of Jingnan then looked toward the First Prince.

“Ji Wujiang.”

“This guilty general is here!”

The First Prince knelt.

“You will join the Shengle Army.

“Serve under General Zheng as a Lieutenant Commander.”

“This subordinate obeys!”

Zheng Fan desperately wanted to refuse.

*Why the hell do I have to take this imperial prince with me?*

The Shengle Army already spent enough resources supporting one useless mascot himself.

Now he had to support another great lord too?

But looking at the Marquis of Jingnan’s expression, Zheng Fan genuinely did not have the courage to use the joking, shameless manner he once had around Tian Wujing.

They had not seen each other for half a year.

Tian Wujing felt completely different now.

Zheng Fan still remembered Tian Wujing asking him in the Tianduan Mountains about women recovering after childbirth.

At that time, Zheng Fan had clearly felt more and more “human warmth” appearing around Tian Wujing.

But now, seeing him again, Zheng Fan realized that presence had vanished.

After a brief silence, the Marquis of Jingnan leaned back slightly.

“Follow General Zheng properly.

“Learn from him how a war should actually be fought.”

“Yes.

“Wujiang understands.”

Then the First Prince turned toward Zheng Fan and went down on one knee.

“From this moment onward, Wujiang enters General Zheng’s command.

“I will obey the General’s orders!”

“Didn’t you believe your own way of fighting was steady and cautious?” the Marquis of Jingnan said.

“General Zheng is an expert in precisely that field.”

“...”

Zheng Fan.

There was another meaning beneath those words:

*Didn’t you think you were good at playing cautiously?*

*Go follow Zheng Fan and see what the true King of Playing Cautious looks like.*

“Your Highness, please rise.”

“General,” the First Prince said directly, “inside the army there are only soldiers and commanders.

“There are no imperial princes.”

That was his statement of attitude.

“Withdraw.

“Send Li Fusheng in.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Zheng Fan saluted and withdrew.

He had wanted to stay behind for a while longer and speak with Tian Wujing about the Young Marquis.

But Tian Wujing simply closed his eyes.

He gave Zheng Fan no indication whatsoever that he should remain for a private conversation.

Seeing that, Zheng Fan could only leave the command tent together with the First Prince.

Zheng Fan walked in front.

The First Prince followed behind.

“Your Highness.

“Every commander received a separate order, correct?”

“Yes.

“If the General wishes to know, once we return to camp, this subordinate can tell you the deployments and missions assigned to the other armies.”

“Is that convenient?”

“This subordinate now acts under General Zheng’s orders.”

“Tsk.

“No, Your Highness.

“There’s really no need for us to be this rigid with each other.

“Can we relax a little?

“I’ll treat you as one of the Lieutenant Commanders beneath me.

“You treat me as an ordinary general.

“We both understand the reality in our hearts.

“But on the surface, can we just act naturally?”

“This subordinate obeys.”

Zheng Fan reached out and patted the First Prince on the shoulder.

“...”

The First Prince.

“I’m not going to pretend I’m more important than I am either.

“I’m just a small figure.

“If I offended Your Highness in the past, please don’t hold it against me.”

“General Zheng was not afraid of offending me before.

“Why are you instead...”

“Before, you were Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Expedition Army.

“If I offended you, you wouldn’t bother holding it against me.

“Now that you aren’t, you’re much more likely to remember a grudge.”

“General Zheng’s words... actually seem very reasonable.

“No wonder Sixth Brother said General Zheng always produces memorable lines.”

“I heard Sixth Highness fell ill.

“Is it serious?”

“Wujiang does not know much about it either.”

“Haaah.”

Zheng Fan sighed and shook his head.

Then he looked back toward the command tent behind them.

*That man too.*

*A father who completely washes his hands of parenting.*

*The child is yours.*

*You don’t even ask about him once?*

*Pah.*

*Scumbag.*

“General Zheng.”

At that moment, a Jingnan Army Lieutenant Commander approached.

Zheng Fan stopped and looked at him.

“What is it?”

“The Jingnan Army regular force accompanying the Marquis has arrived.”

“Mm.

“The brothers have had a hard journey.”

“This time, the army also brought a Pixiu that has only recently reached adulthood.

“The Marquis specifically ordered it brought along.

“He said he once promised to reward General Zheng for your merit with a Pixiu.

“Please come with this subordinate now to the army stables and take possession of it.

“As for how to raise it and cultivate familiarity... with First Highness present here, this subordinate need not say more.”

A Pixiu?

For me?

Zheng Fan’s mouth slowly opened.

A sudden warmth surged through his chest.

He immediately turned toward the distant command tent, dropped to one knee, and called out:

“This subordinate thanks the Marquis for his reward!”

[End of Chapter 315]