Chapter 321: An Emperor for the Ages

Once Shengle’s cavalry successfully entered the city, the battle was, to a certain extent, already over.

Fengxin City was the nominal capital of a new dynasty and, in reality, little more than a bandit den.

Under circumstances like these, how could this chaotic collection of rebel troops possibly organize a counterattack?

As for street fighting forget it.

The brutality of urban combat did not apply only to attackers.

First, the defenders themselves had to possess the courage to fight to the death and sacrifice everything.

Besides, the Shengle Army had the double advantage of a long-range surprise raid and a night attack, and the rabble they had struck was completely unprepared.

If the situation could still somehow reverse after all that, then General Zheng truly would have wasted every last coin he had poured into raising this elite force.

The killing inside the city had not yet ended.

Outside, however, the two rebel camps had already been swept once.

Some rebels threw down their weapons and surrendered and were gathered together.

Most simply ran when the Yan army attacked.

Zheng Fan had no interest in splitting off troops to chase them.

Those deserters might gather in groups of three or five, find some nearby hill, establish a little bandit stockade, and torment the local population.

That was almost inevitable.

But what did it have to do with General Zheng?

General Zheng’s job was to fight battles.

To seize military merit.

As for long-term local peace and order to hell with it.

Unless the imperial court had marked this entire region out in advance and promised it would eventually become his jurisdiction.

But that was obviously impossible.

Fengxin was far too distant from Shengle City.

Zheng Fan rode to the drawbridge, dismounted, and first went to the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint sat cross-legged, regulating his breathing.

During the gate seizure, he had held nothing back.

One could say bluntly that without him, they probably would not have taken the gate at all.

To stabilize the situation, he had even drawn on his own core essence.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Zheng Fan spoke with genuine concern.

The Sword Saint opened his eyes.

Then he turned his head and looked toward the city.

His meaning was obvious.

This matter was not finished yet.

“Don’t worry.

“Accidents happen all the time.”

Some people were good at coaxing children.

Others were good at coaxing great men.

In A’Ming’s opinion, his Master clearly belonged to the second category.

Because A’Ming knew perfectly well that Zheng Fan had never intended to capture Situ Yi and Situ Jiong alive in the first place.

A fallen puppet emperor had already lost most of his value.

The savages and the people of Chu had tossed him aside like a chamber pot.

Was the Emperor of Yan supposed to treat him like a treasure instead?

If a massive army had pushed all the way here, that would be different.

Capture the puppet emperor.

Capture the entire collection of puppet civil and military officials.

Then escort them all to Yanjing in chains and present the prisoners before the court.

That would absolutely produce a spectacular political triumph.

But Zheng Fan was operating deep inside enemy territory with an isolated force.

Why would he burden himself with a giant flock of prisoners and drag them around like dead weight?

Besides, the war was not over yet.

So from the beginning, these people were meant to die.

When it came to decisiveness in killing and eliminating hidden trouble before it could grow, A’Ming knew his Master was far more straightforward than most.

Still, his Master had “deceived” the Sword Saint.

He had taken advantage of the common assumption that capturing an emperor alive would certainly be an enormous achievement.

Then he had pretended that, for the Sword Saint’s sake, he was willing to throw away that merit and kill them instead.

That was how these little tricks worked.

It was not particularly dirty.

After all, the person being coaxed would probably be quite satisfied by it.

Once Zheng Fan finished placating the Sword Saint, he looked toward the First Prince.

The First Prince’s injuries were fairly serious.

But as long as he was not dead, that was good enough.

If the First Prince had suffered some fatal accident while under Zheng Fan’s command, that would have created an enormous problem for General Zheng.

In later tavern gossip, people might say:

The Marquis of Jingnan is the great harvester of imperial princes’ maternal clans.

And Zheng Fan?

He is prince pesticide.

But Zheng Fan also understood the First Prince’s state of mind.

The man practically wanted to be sent wherever the danger was greatest.

If he died, then none of it mattered anymore.

If he survived, then at least he could wash away some of the shame attached to his defeat.

It did not matter what outsiders thought.

As long as his own heart felt a little better, that was enough.

That was why Zheng Fan had not stopped Xue San from taking the First Prince along on the gate-seizure mission.

“You’ve worked hard too.”

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

“...”

The First Prince.

Truthfully, the First Prince really was not accustomed to the Shengle Army’s peculiar shoulder-patting etiquette.

And yet every commander in the Shengle Army seemed obsessed with doing it.

Even Jin Shuke, who was nominally his superior, was deeply addicted to the habit.

He patted the shoulders of his own subordinates several times every day.

“Let’s enter the city,” Zheng Fan said, gesturing politely.

The First Prince shook his head.

“This subordinate still needs to return to the unit.”

He was a stubbornly serious prince.

He understood his current post and responsibilities.

He had no interest in running around to seize attention.

And after experiencing such dramatic rises and falls in life, he really had learned to let go of quite a few things.

Zheng Fan did not force him.

Instead, he waited until the Sword Saint slowly rose, then entered the city together with him.

The slaughter inside Fengxin was still continuing.

The Shengle Army did not have enough men to completely encircle the city.

And because surprise was essential, they had deliberately avoided placing blocking forces at the other three gates beforehand, lest they alert the enemy.

But the first Shengle cavalrymen to enter the city did not scatter randomly.

Under Liang Cheng’s command, they rode directly toward the so-called “imperial palace.”

The “imperial palace” was really nothing more than the mansion of Fengxin’s former largest papermaking merchant.

It had been renovated somewhat and decorated with carvings and objects supposedly reserved for imperial use.

Now that they had fought their way into Fengxin City, they absolutely could not allow Situ Yi and Situ Jiong to escape in the chaos.

If those two brothers slipped away, the taste of this victory would immediately become much worse.

The Shengle cavalry entering afterward split into smaller groups and attacked any rebel forces still displaying organized resistance.

There was no need to completely annihilate them.

All that mattered was preventing them from gathering into coherent groups.

At the same time, the other city gates remained open.

Anyone who wanted to run was encouraged to run quickly.

Do not stay here and create more trouble.

Under those circumstances, very few rebels still possessed the resolve to grit their teeth and keep fighting.

Most simply fled toward the other three gates.

A “capital” defended by twenty thousand rebels fell surprisingly easily.

At the end of the day, everyone understood one simple truth:

Situ Yi’s new dynasty had no future whatsoever.

The people gathered here were not loyal to him.

They were merely rats huddling together in the same den, eating meat, drinking wine, and enjoying whatever days remained.

Drinking companions.

Fair-weather friends.

The disaster had arrived.

Naturally, everyone flew in his own direction.

A man might have heard of a martyr sacrificing himself for righteousness.

But when had anyone ever heard of a traitorous lackey heroically dying for his puppet master?

“Are you tired?” Zheng Fan quietly asked the Sword Saint walking beside him.

The Sword Saint nodded.

“A little.”

During the gate seizure, the Sword Saint had stood upon the drawbridge like one man barring ten thousand.

Some exhaustion and weakness were inevitable.

Especially after those two great sword-strikes.

One had cut down fifty cavalrymen inside the gate.

The other sent Longyuan flying through the enemy formation, piercing armored men one after another.

Both were terrifying bursts released over an extremely short period.

The strain and damage to his body were naturally severe.

Even when Sha Tuo Queshi had stood outside the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Residence facing wave after wave of Zhenbei iron cavalry, he had still broken them apart one punch at a time.

He had not simply killed dozens with a single blow.

Of course, a swordsman possessed extraordinary killing power.

But in endurance, he genuinely could not compare with a Martial Artist.

A Martial Artist’s qi and blood could surge continuously, backed by a terrifyingly strong physique.

That allowed him to “bathe” inside a sea of soldiers.

A swordsman was ultimately better suited to duels.

“You’ve truly worked hard.”

The Sword Saint gave a dry laugh.

“Hypocrite.”

The “imperial palace” was already in sight.

Liang Cheng had led armored troops around the entire compound.

Bows were drawn.

Arrows nocked.

They could assault the place at any time.

But when a table held its main dish, the honor of uncovering it naturally belonged to the person of highest status.

So everyone had been waiting.

Waiting for Zheng Fan to enter the city.

Liang Cheng rode over and reported:

“Master, Situ Yi and Situ Jiong are both inside.

“There are also several hundred guards with them.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

He was very satisfied.

As long as the brothers had not escaped, everything was fine.

Then he waved his hand.

“Attack.”

Catching turtles inside a jar was actually very simple.

Even if the people inside wanted to struggle to mutual destruction, there was not much they could do.

Archers loosed several volleys over the walls.

Screams immediately erupted inside the compound.

Then Fan Li looking like a giant iron jar in his armor charged forward and used himself as a battering ram.

He did not hit the gate.

He smashed directly into the compound wall.

*BOOM!*

A huge section of wall collapsed.

Fan Li rolled straight through the opening and knocked down several guards who had been sheltering from the arrows with their backs pressed to the wall.

Armored troops immediately poured through the breach and began clearing the inside.

It did not take long before soldiers opened the main gate from within.

Zheng Fan gestured toward the Sword Saint.

“After you.”

The Sword Saint raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you suddenly so attentive?”

“This moment belongs to you.

“You should enjoy it properly.”

“What is there to enjoy?

“These beasts invited the savages through the pass.

“The people of Jin have been ravaged.

“The entire region has been turned into chaos.

“I—”

“There will be plenty of time to care about the common people later.

“Today, let’s first make ourselves feel good.

“Get all that anger out.

“Truthfully, the two things don’t conflict.

“If you’re happy and your heart is clear, won’t you be in a better condition to help the people afterward?”

“That makes sense.”

“Please.”

“Let’s go.”

Previously, Zheng Fan had carefully flattered the Sword Saint because he wanted a true expert to help him.

It was like spotting a high-performing stock and immediately betting heavily on it.

But after witnessing the Sword Saint’s actual strength today, the logic changed completely.

If a thigh this thick was standing right beside you and you still refused to cling to it, then there had to be something wrong with your brain.

Sha Tuo Queshi’s condition made him inconvenient to carry around.

The Sword Saint had no such limitation.

Today, Zheng Fan would build him a stage.

For Zheng Fan, it cost little more than surrendering some of the spotlight.

What he might gain in return was genuine friendship with the Sword Saint.

Sometimes, friendship was worthless.

Other times, it was fucking priceless.

More importantly, the Sword Saint belonged to the jianghu.

Zheng Fan walked inside the official system.

What happened tonight would add another dazzling stroke to the Sword Saint’s jianghu legend:

*The Sword Saint opened a city gate with one sword and captured the puppet emperor!*

In the future, storytellers in teahouses would adore that tale.

Young heroes listening below would adore it even more.

But before the Marquis of Jingnan’s command desk and inside the imperial court, the report would simply say:

*Zheng Fan led an isolated force deep into enemy territory, raided day and night, and destroyed the puppet court in a single battle.*

You wash your sword in your jianghu.

I watch the tides from my shore.

Each gets what he needs.

The “imperial garden” of the palace was really just the courtyard outside the mansion’s main hall.

Bodies covered the ground.

Most belonged to the guards who, even at the final moment, had still chosen to follow and protect Situ Yi.

But now, they were essentially all that remained.

Zheng Fan and the Sword Saint entered together and stopped at the doorway.

Inside, Situ Yi sat on a grand chair wearing dragon robes.

His left hand held a sword.

Beside him sat another man wearing a python robe.

Unless something had gone terribly wrong, that man was Situ Yi’s younger brother—

Situ Jiong.

Situ Yi’s gaze was cold.

He did not look like a man hollowed out by wine and lust.

If anything, he still possessed a somewhat heroic appearance.

Situ Jiong was clearly far worse off.

His entire body was visibly trembling.

Situ Yi’s gaze first fell on Zheng Fan.

“Who are you?

“State your name!”

Zheng Fan smiled.

He treated the man like a performing monkey and did not answer.

“IMPUDENT!”

Situ Yi pointed at Zheng Fan and shouted.

Then his gaze shifted to the Sword Saint standing beside him.

Situ Yi knew Yu Huaping.

The instant he recognized him, fury erupted.

“GOOD!

“Very good!

“You call yourself a man of Jin, yet you collude with the people of Yan to rebel against Us and steal Our realm!

“Yu Huaping!

“What monstrous courage!

“You are unworthy to call yourself a man of Jin!

“We will exterminate your entire clan!

“Even if you are the Sword Saint, We will dispatch an army to seize you!

“We will never forgive you!”

Situ Yi and the Sword Saint had old hatred between them.

Back during the Situ Clan’s political struggle, Situ Yi and Situ Jiong—the two elder brothers—had been squeezed out by their younger brother Situ Lei and forced beyond Snow Sea Pass to guard a frontier city.

It had essentially been exile.

By then, the two brothers were already connected with the savages.

Especially after Yan destroyed the Helian and Wenren clans in rapid succession.

Their father, the old head of the Situ Clan, had fallen into panic.

Situ Yi and Situ Jiong seized the opportunity to propose borrowing savage troops to resist Yan.

The old family head had originally been tempted.

For the brothers, that would have created an opportunity to return from Snow Sea Pass to Yingdu and begin another round of struggle against their younger brother.

As the saying went: as long as life continued, the battle for succession never ended.

But then Situ Lei borrowed the Sword Saint’s sword and killed his own father.

Had Situ Yi and Situ Jiong truly been determined from the beginning to surrender themselves completely to the savages?

They were not stupid.

But at that moment, they genuinely had no other path.

Their father had been the arbiter of the political game.

Once their younger brother killed him, the game itself was over.

The two elder brothers no longer even possessed the qualifications to keep playing.

That was when they hardened their hearts and fully colluded with the savages.

Even if the Yan army had not attacked tonight, Situ Yi already despised his present situation beyond measure.

Perhaps, in his mind, if the Sword Saint had not helped Situ Lei kill their father back then, he would have possessed far more bargaining chips when he later stood before “Little Dog.”

He certainly would not have fallen to the point where even Yupan City—his so-called “capital”—could simply be taken away from him.

At the very least, he might have preserved the basic dignity of an “emperor.”

“You still have the face to question *me*?”

The Sword Saint was almost laughing from fury.

“We are the Emperor of Dacheng!

“We are the Son of Heaven!

“Heaven’s Mandate rests upon Us!

“To offend Us is to defy Heaven’s Mandate!”

Situ Yi continued roaring.

At this point, he looked almost like an idiot performing a one-man play.

“You’ve fallen this far and you’re still dreaming!” the Sword Saint snapped.

Zheng Fan reached out and patted the Sword Saint’s shoulder.

“He’s not stupid.

“He’s shrewd as hell.”

After signaling for the Sword Saint to calm down, Zheng Fan folded his arms and looked at Situ Yi leisurely.

“What?

“You really convinced yourself you’re an emperor now?

“You thought you could imitate that former Emperor of Jin?

“Get moved to Yanjing afterward, receive the title Duke of Jin, and spend the rest of your life in wealth and comfort?

“I’ll tell you the truth.

“Stop dreaming.

“Great Yan recognizes the Dacheng state in Yingdu.

“We do not recognize some bastard who crawled out of an unknown corner and slapped on dragon robes.

“So save your strength.

“Great Yan already has a Prince of Cheng.

“There is no possibility we’ll create another Duke of Cheng.

“You invited the savages through the pass and wrecked the legacy of Great Xia.

“And you still think that after losing a struggle for the throne, everyone should preserve some dignity for you?”

Situ Yi froze.

Zheng Fan’s words had stabbed directly into his heart.

Why had Situ Yi deliberately put on dragon robes tonight?

Why had he ordered his younger brother to wear a python robe?

Why was he raving like a madman about “We,” “Heaven’s Mandate,” and being the rightful Son of Heaven?

Because what he wanted was to be captured as an emperor.

Then, even if he was escorted to Yanjing, according to established tradition he should at least receive some noble title and be allowed to live out his life as a wealthy man.

Zheng Fan’s words shattered that fantasy completely.

“We...

“We are the Son of Heaven!

“Even if We lost, We once stood as the Supreme Sovereign!

“We can go to Yanjing!

“We can submit a Letter of State to the Emperor of Yan!

“We can—”

“No need.

“It’s a long road.

“Travel is troublesome.

“Let’s not put ourselves through all that.

“Besides, I promised someone else that today, you were going to suffer an accident.”

“An accident?”

“Yes.

“For example— you somehow die for no clear reason.

“I wanted to capture you alive.

“But unfortunately, I failed.”

The Sword Saint glanced sideways at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan caught the movement and smiled faintly to himself.

“Brother!

“I don’t want to die!

“I don’t want to die!”

Situ Jiong finally broke completely.

He dropped to his knees.

One moment he kowtowed toward Zheng Fan.

The next, he kowtowed toward Situ Yi.

Situ Jiong stared helplessly at his elder brother.

He had always known his own limitations.

He had also despised Situ Lei for being born of a concubine, which was why he had long stood beside his elder brother against him.

But now, he understood.

His brother could no longer protect him.

Situ Yi leaned forward and said to Situ Jiong:

“Stop crying.

“The winner becomes king.

“The loser becomes outlaw.

“At this point, do not embarrass Us.”

Then

Situ Yi looked at Zheng Fan again.

“We sat upon a Dragon Throne.

“We once heard ten thousand voices cry ‘Long live the Emperor.’

“General of Yan— can you at least grant Us a dignified death?

“A white silk.

“Poisoned wine.

“Either would suffice.”

“You still want dignity?

“When you invited the savages through the pass, did you ever think about the dignity of the people of the Three Jin?”

The Sword Saint was about to draw his sword.

Zheng Fan reached over and pressed down lightly on his wrist.

“Dignity.

“Yes.

“You should have some.

“You were, after all, an emperor among men.

“You wore the yellow robe.

“What does an emperor seek in the end?

“To become unique throughout the ages...”

“Yes!

“If circumstances had not betrayed Us, We absolutely would have become an emperor for the ages!”

Situ Yi sounded extremely confident.

Of course, at this point, with no descendants left to hold a blade against the historian’s neck and force him to write kindly, he could only shout his own praises while he still had the chance.

Zheng Fan smiled and nodded.

“I’ll help you.

“I’ll help make you an emperor for the ages.”

Then

Zheng Fan turned to the armored soldiers beside him.

“Go collect a vat of sewage.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Situ Yi froze.

Then he immediately exploded.

“What are you doing?!

“What do you intend to do?!”

Of course he was panicking.

How could he not?

Zheng Fan casually dug at one ear with his little finger, then blew across the fingertip.

“I’m helping you fulfill your dream.

“Didn’t you want to become an emperor for the ages?

“Then you can become the first emperor in all history to be drowned in shit.”

[End of Chapter 321]