Chapter 349: Deal

“Who would still dare make you move?”

Those words gave Zheng Fan the uncomfortable feeling that he had been seen through completely.

The word *dare* carried genuine treason within it.

Everyone here belonged to the Yan army. Their factions might differ, but in name they all acted under His Majesty’s will. Even when people outwardly obeyed while secretly resisting, they still did so within the limits allowed by the rules.

Back when several Assistant Generals of the Zhenbei Army tried recruiting Zheng Fan, even they had only hinted indirectly. None had dared state the matter this openly.

A chill ran down Zheng Fan’s back.

For a moment, he wanted to kneel and solemnly reaffirm his loyalty to Great Yan, to His Majesty, and to the Marquis.

But doing that felt far too theatrical.

The Marquis of Jingnan had already laid the matter bare before him. Was Zheng Fan really going to keep playing dumb?

In ordinary times, they could laugh and joke around, occasionally crossing a few boundaries. It did no real harm and could simply be treated as part of life’s amusement.

He was a trusted confidant, after all.

A trusted confidant ought to enjoy at least a few privileges.

But if Zheng Fan kept behaving that way now, he would genuinely be failing to recognize what was good for him.

Most importantly, given the relationship between Zheng Fan and the Marquis of Jingnan, there was no possibility Tian Wujing was trying to bait him into exposing himself.

There would be no scene in which Zheng Fan revealed even a trace of rebellious intent only for Tian Wujing to smash him dead with one punch.

And because of that, General Zheng—normally so smooth-tongued—found himself strangely at a loss.

Tian Wujing stood and walked to the entrance of the residence. He stopped there.

“There are still matters in the army this Marquis must handle. Tens of thousands of Chu soldiers remain waiting for this Marquis inside Yupan City.

“As for you, remain stationed here until the court’s formal appointment arrives.

“You can also send someone to Shengle City now and give them advance notice.

“Otherwise, once the appointment comes down, Shengle’s new Garrison Commander may arrive as well.

“At that point, moving all your belongings will become inconvenient.”

Zheng Fan cupped his hands.

“Yes, Marquis.”

After Zheng Fan answered, Tian Wujing remained standing at the entrance.

He did not leave.

Silence settled between them.

Roughly thirty seconds passed.

Zheng Fan drew in a deep breath and said:

“He’s very healthy.

“Very sturdy.

“Always moving around.

“Terribly mischievous.”

Tian Wujing heard him.

He said nothing.

Made no response at all.

Then he stepped out of the courtyard.

Only after he left did General Zheng drop heavily into the rocking chair.

He needed a moment.

Not long after Tian Wujing departed, Xue San and A’Ming entered.

Liang Cheng still had too many matters to handle and could not get away.

As for Fan Li, whether he came or not made little difference. There was even a chance he would make matters worse, so Xue San had deliberately not called him.

Zheng Fan explained the situation.

A’Ming frowned slightly, looking somewhat depressed.

It appeared he would soon have to start building yet another wine cellar.

Xue San’s eyes, however, lit up.

“Master, this is pretty good. From now on, won’t we basically be the local warlords here? Heh heh. The Emperor is far away and Heaven is high. We’ll be An Lushan. We’ll be Wu Sangui. Heh heh heh.”

A’Ming glanced at Xue San.

“Could you name a few people with more auspicious endings?”

“Uh...”

Xue San fell silent.

Zheng Fan rubbed his face and pointed outside.

“We’re starting from scratch again. There are still some people inside the fortress, but outside? It’s almost an uninhabited zone for a hundred li.”

Xue San immediately said:

“Master, an uninhabited zone isn’t necessarily bad. No demolition compensation. No resettlement compensation either.

“We can redesign and replan everything from the beginning, road by road and district by district. What we did in Shengle can be treated as accumulated experience.”

“Opening workshops is exhausting,” A’Ming said.

Back in Shengle City, A’Ming had been responsible for the workshop businesses.

“What’s exhausting about building a few houses, setting up some furnaces, and making tools?” Xue San shot back.

“Those are secondary,” A’Ming replied. “What about skilled workers? We’d have to train them all over again.”

“Heh. That barely counts as a problem. Easy.”

Xue San grinned and continued:

“Under Great Yan’s rules, when a newly appointed general transfers to another post, he’s allowed to bring his original personal troops with him.

“If we’re going to hold Snow Sea Pass, we obviously can’t do it with too few soldiers. So the five thousand troops still left in Shengle will definitely have to be transferred here. The court won’t obstruct us on something like that.

“And maybe the Marquis of Jingnan will replenish our forces too.

“I wouldn’t count on getting Yan troops. The Zhenbei and Jingnan armies are excellent, sure, but after battle after battle, they need replacements themselves. There’s no real chance they’ll bleed men into us.

“But transferring over a few formations from Dacheng’s old army should be simple enough. That’ll also make things easier for us to operate.

“As for Shengle’s craftsmen, artisans, and skilled workers?

“Simple.

“Move them here.”

Zheng Fan raised his head.

“Move them?”

“Of course. We don’t have people here, Master. Look at how enormous this empty region is. Hahaha. Let them come.

“Anyone who comes gets land to farm and a house to live in. Those villages where nine houses out of ten are empty can simply be taken into public ownership and redistributed.

“If that’s still not enough, we can build new houses in planned batches.

“I refuse to believe no one will be tempted.

“And Master, don’t forget—the children of Shengle can attend private school, and the people there can receive medical treatment because of policies we introduced while you were General of Shengle.

“Now that you’re being transferred, how could those benefits possibly continue?

“Those troublesome commoners who’ve grown accustomed to the good life...

“Ahem.

“I mean, the good people of Shengle—now that they’ve tasted how sweet life can be under you, why would they willingly abandon you?

“As long as we continue implementing the same policies around Snow Sea Pass, this subordinate guarantees that more than ninety percent of Shengle City’s existing population will willingly relocate here.

“If we still have the same people, then all we’re really doing is building some houses again.

“Everything can get back on track very quickly.”

Xue San finished his analysis with visible self-satisfaction.

A’Ming said:

“What are you so proud of? Master put those benefits in place inside Shengle ahead of time precisely to prepare for something like this.”

Xue San heard that and stared at A’Ming with wide eyes.

His expression practically screamed:

*How can you be that shameless?*

Zheng Fan pressed one hand downward.

“We’ll do it this way.

“The war is already over. A’Ming, take a detachment of cavalry and hurry back to Shengle first.

“Tell the Blind Man and Siniang what’s happening here. Have them prepare early and mobilize everyone.

“Anything that can be moved—people, grain, everything.

“Other than the city walls being too difficult to pry loose, if it belongs to me, move the damn thing here!”

“Yes, Master.”

Zheng Fan exhaled.

“Imperial Uncle Liu managed to make a huge crowd of commoners follow him into exile with nothing more than a few tears.

“If our actual policies and benefits can’t attract people, then we really would have wasted all this time.

“Oh, right. Have the Blind Man start spreading rumors in advance. Say the newly appointed Garrison Commander is a butcher who commits every kind of evil, loves squeezing the common people dry, and looks down on Jin people...

“Forget it.

“Forget it.

“There’s no need to remind the Blind Man about things like that.

“He’ll do it better than I could imagine.”

The Blind Man was an expert in precisely this field. No one was better at stirring the human heart.

If he personally handled the matter, forget the people—there might not even be a single chicken left behind.

In truth, the reason the Marquis of Jingnan had told Zheng Fan about the transfer in advance was precisely to give him enough time to make these arrangements calmly.

Even the Marquis, stationed in Litian City, knew how sought-after Shengle’s goods had become.

Naturally, he understood that if Zheng Fan needed to relocate his entire foundation, it would take time.

As for what kind of “Shengle” the next Garrison Commander would inherit that was no longer Zheng Fan’s concern.

Before long, Zheng Fan would be promoted to Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass.

A mere Garrison Commander of Shengle would no longer even qualify to speak to him as an equal.

At that moment, Fan Li came running over.

When he entered and saw everyone present, he looked a little surprised.

“You’re all here.”

“What happened?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Master, the Sword Saint woke up.”

...

The Sword Saint was awake.

But the Sword Saint also seemed to be paralyzed.

After examining him again, Xue San reached a conclusion.

For the time being, the Sword Saint could not get out of bed.

His body was terribly depleted. He had reached a state where the oil was almost exhausted and the lamp almost dry, yet somehow it was not quite going out.

The most dangerous period had already passed.

As for whether he would eventually be able to care for himself, that would depend on how well he recovered.

And perhaps on when a miracle decided to appear.

It was difficult to imagine.

Only a short while ago, outside Snow Sea Pass, the Sword Saint had personally slaughtered a thousand cavalrymen and rendered enormous service in defending the fortress.

Now, he could only lie here in something close to tragedy.

Zheng Fan crouched beside the bed.

The Sword Saint spoke.

“Tian Wujing came?”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“He came.

“The savages who entered Jin this time are basically finished.”

The tension in the Sword Saint’s face visibly eased.

This had been one of the beliefs sustaining him—and over the past half year, perhaps the greatest thing keeping him going.

Now, at last, it had been accomplished.

“I’m a cripple now.”

“You rendered great service for all Huaxia.

“You bled for Great Yan.

“Don’t worry.

“I’ll support you.”

“Heh.”

The Sword Saint did not seem impressed.

Instead, he continued:

“The reward for those thousand savage heads.”

“It’ll be converted into silver.

“I’ll give it to your wom—to that lady.”

The Sword Saint closed his eyes.

He seemed to relax completely.

Zheng Fan had genuinely been worried that once the Sword Saint had no remaining concern in his heart, he might end up like some old man or woman who fulfilled a lifelong wish and then simply dropped dead on the spot.

Fortunately, even paralyzed, the Sword Saint remained stubbornly alive.

“I don’t need you taking care of me.

“I told you before.

“My sword only helped you kill savages.

“Now that the savages have been driven out, even if I’m a cripple, I still won’t obey your orders or lift my sword for you again.”

“Tsk.

“That’s not really up to you anymore.”

“Heh.

“Now that I’m crippled, you intend to use force?”

“Listen to yourself. Do I look like that kind of man?”

“You don’t look like one.

“You are one.”

“You should just stay here and recover peacefully.

“Take your time nursing your body.

“If you never recover, I’ll find a few promising sword talents for you. You can train them properly and make some use of your remaining value.

“If your body does improve, then naturally that’s even better.”

“The savages are gone.

“I won’t work for you anymore.”

“Let me finish first.

“There will be plenty of places for you to exert yourself later.

“Barring an accident, I’ll probably be stationed at Snow Sea Pass from now on.”

“Stationed at Snow Sea Pass?”

“Mm-hm.”

The Sword Saint smiled.

It was a difficult smile.

But one could tell he was genuinely pleased.

“You’re such a wicked bastard.

“With you guarding this place, I can finally stop worrying.”

“...”

Zheng Fan.

The Sword Saint pursed his lips.

“But I’m crippled.”

“With proper recovery, you should at least be able to get out of bed.”

“Even if I can get out of bed, I’ll still be crippled.”

“You could still be a gate guard, couldn’t you?

“Just stand there and look the part.”

“That... might actually be possible.”

“Then you’d better recover properly.”

“Fine.

“But I have one condition.”

“Name it.”

“I only guard the north gate.”

“Deal.”

[End of Chapter 349]