Chapter 659: Iron Cavalry and Frozen Rivers Enter My Dreams

Gong Wang raised his head, glanced at Marquis Zheng, then lowered his gaze to the shelled peanuts resting in the Marquis's palm.

Here. Have some peanuts.

The meaning beneath those words was simple: you may eat only what I give you. What I do not give you, you are not allowed to steal.

If Marquis Zheng had been waiting for him in Fengxin City, expecting Gong Wang to go alone to the Marquis Residence and present himself, the shock in Gong Wang's heart would not have been nearly this violent. But the scene before him was like those plump peanuts after even their "red makeup" had been blown away, leaving nothing but pale, tender kernels exposed to the air.

That was Gong Wang now.

Resistance had never truly been an option. The only way to keep living was to tuck his head down and behave.

The Yan had defeated the rebels of Great Cheng, defeated the Savages, and only recently burned Chu's Ying Capital. Whatever misery might currently plague the common people in Yan territory, the iron cavalry of Great Yan had at least proved its peerless strength in battle.

Gong Wang had never once thought of raising a banner at a time like this and calling on the people of Jin to rise with him.

That did not mean Gong Wang had already sworn unshakable lifelong loyalty to Great Yan or to the Ji family. Obviously not.

After all, even the Marquis of Pingxi himself could not manage that.

But if you wanted to stir up trouble, didn't you at least need the winds to shift first? Some change in the outside world? Some opportunity?

Rebelling now would be nothing but suicide. Was life really so comfortable that he needed to drag his entire family and clan to the execution ground for a reunion?

Before today, Gong Wang had still possessed a measure of confidence. A general's confidence did not come from support at court or from popular acclaim. Men tempered by real killing on battlefields understood more clearly than anyone that the true foundation beneath their feet was the strength and number of the troops under their command.

Yet while he, the Garrison Commander himself, sat inside his own command tent, the Marquis of Pingxi had entered without alerting him and calmly taken a seat outside.

Judging by the peanut shells on the ground, the Marquis had been sitting there for quite some time.

There had been no furious rebuke, no thunderous rage, no political coercion.

Anyone could display the wrath of thunder. Even women quarrelling at the mouth of an alley knew that whoever shouted louder seemed more imposing.

But a little grace like rain and dew, scattered here and there, drop by drop, could outweigh countless thunderclaps.

Unfortunately, very few people in this world knew how to use such a thing, were capable of using it, or possessed the standing to use it at all.

Gong Wang's greatest reliance had already been stepped beneath the other man's feet.

He opened his mouth.

Not to speak.

He was waiting for the peanuts.

Waiting to be fed.

Marquis Zheng lowered his head and looked at him for a long while.

At last, Zheng Fan reached out with his other hand, patted Gong Wang on the shoulder, and gave him a slight pull upward.

"Get up."

Gong Wang did not dare disobey. He stood at once.

"Catch."

Gong Wang hurriedly cupped both hands. Zheng Fan tipped the peanuts from his palm into them.

In truth, civil officials and military officers were not fundamentally that different.

Stay in office long enough and a man was liable to go rotten. Slowly, inevitably, he became a bureaucrat.

A bureaucrat's face was even more durable than the rag used to wipe a table. Wash the rag and it turned white again. Leave it unwashed for too long and it sat there black and filthy, but if you could stomach the disgust, you could still keep using it. Some people were even enthusiastic about the practice and called it "Thick Black Theory."

Unfortunately, Zheng Fan could not use the same methods on his own generals that he had used against the officials of Yingdu.

Because he was still counting on these men to fight wars for him in the future.

If he truly stripped Gong Wang of every shred of dignity, then the general would be finished. The men below would never submit to him again. Since Zheng Fan had no intention of taking things to that extreme, there was no need to go too far. When dealing with a problem, one dealt with the principal contradiction.

More importantly, Gong Wang's posture had been correct.

"Peanuts won't fill your belly," Zheng Fan said.

"My Lord, there is food inside the command tent. If Your Lordship doesn't mind..."

"Then move. What are you waiting for?"

Zheng Fan rose from the chair and walked straight into the command tent.

A figure in white followed behind him.

The Sword Saint.

Gong Wang was not the sort to bristle up and risk everything on a desperate gamble. Even so, Marquis Zheng had always preferred to make his personal safety absolutely foolproof.

Once inside the command tent, Zheng Fan naturally took the commander's seat.

Bowls and chopsticks were already laid out on the table. One set was Gong Wang's. Another had been prepared earlier by the guards for Gong Lin.

By the time father and son entered, Zheng Fan had already picked up a bowl and begun eating.

There were only four people in the tent.

Everyone else remained outside.

After entering, Gong Wang very sensibly knelt again.

He understood that outside the tent, the Marquis had been preserving his dignity.

Never mind that he had knelt and bowed his head. Sometimes, being willing to scold you, curse you, or let you lose a little face was itself a form of protection. Naturally, the fire could not burn too hot, or the man being protected would simply be burned to death.

Given the Marquis of Pingxi's present standing, even if he kicked Gong Wang a few times and cursed him from head to toe, as long as it did not become deliberate humiliation, the men below would not think their commander had suffered some unbearable grievance.

Seeing his father kneel again, Gong Lin could only kneel beside him.

Zheng Fan turned to the Sword Saint.

"Want some?"

The Sword Saint shook his head. He took out a hard flatbread and slowly began eating it himself.

"Being polite?" Zheng Fan asked with a smile.

"Not enough dishes."

Hearing this, Gong Wang immediately raised his head.

"This general will have more prepared at once..."

"No need."

Zheng Fan put down his chopsticks, looked around, then wiped his hands on a wolfskin rug laid behind Gong Wang's command table.

"The food really isn't good. Too little oil, too little seasoning. Bland as water."

Gong Wang immediately said, "My Lord is right. How could the cooks in this general's army compare with the chefs in Your Lordship's residence?"

Zheng Fan laughed.

"That's not the point. Making food truly delicious is hard. It takes real skill. But making it not taste awful is actually simple. Put in enough spices, use plenty of oil and fat, and even if you toss a boot into the pot to boil, you can still call the result authentic good flavor.

"Gong Wang, you've truly made this Marquis proud. You're a good general."

"My Lord, this general does not deserve such praise."

"No, you do. Look at this. Yingdu sends you extra money and grain every season. That's an enormous stream of grease, yet you don't spend any of it on enjoying yourself. Even your meals remain this plain. Presumably you've put it all into your soldiers.

"If that doesn't make you a good general, what does?"

Thud!

Gong Wang smashed his forehead heavily against the floor of the command tent, cold sweat pouring from his body.

The Marquis was not the Emperor.

But in eastern Jin, he was the undisputed local emperor.

Before him, Prince Zhenbei Residence had practically treated Beifeng Commandery as its private fief, taking Barbarian tribes as hunting hounds beneath its hand.

Then there had been the Prince of Jingnan, refusing an imperial edict, leaving two grand eunuchs in red robes bleeding against the stone lions, even kicking the defeated First Prince to the ground so that the First Prince had to crawl back and kneel again to continue admitting his fault.

The relationship beneath the Marquis Residence was no longer like the simple superior-subordinate relationship Zheng Fan and Xu Wenzu had once shared in Nanwang City, where both still belonged directly to the court's formal administrative system.

The Marquis Residence had its own yamens, its own machinery, its own sphere of power operating independently.

Zheng Fan sighed.

His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop.

"Gong Wang."

"This... guilty general is here."

"Is it because this Marquis stationed you here instead of giving you either Snow Sea Pass or Zhennan Pass, so you've been carrying resentment in your heart?"

"This general would never dare! Never!"

"Then look at what you've done. It isn't that this Marquis is so petty that I can't tolerate my own subordinates using their abilities and personal ties to skim a little grease for themselves.

"But couldn't you open your damned eyes and look at who was sending you that money and grain? Who exactly was selling you this favor?

"Yes.

"That is the residence of you Jin people's prince.

"That is the imperial bloodline of the Great Cheng State you Jin people once had.

"But you, Gong Wang, raise your head and look around.

"Whose realm is this now?

"How could you be this stupid?

"If you eat another man's food, your mouth grows soft. If you take another man's gifts, your hand grows short.

"Why would Prince Cheng Residence risk so much simply to curry favor with you?

"Couldn't you use your brain and think about what sort of days would allow Prince Cheng Residence to continue existing generation after generation? Peaceful days. Proper days. Days spent knowing its place.

"But if the Residence already dares stretch its hand toward you, does that look like a household planning to know its place?

"And if Prince Cheng Residence stops knowing its place, what will it do? What else can it do?

"One day, when Situ Yu is grown and raises his arm to call on all men of purpose in Jin to rise in resistance, drive out the Yan invaders, and restore our rivers and mountains...

"You.

"Gong Wang.

"Are you going to seize the moment, raise your troops, and come cut off this Marquis's head?"

"This general deserves death! This general deserves death!"

Gong Wang's body trembled. He was not pretending. He was indeed a veteran general tempered by battle, but the man sitting before him and rebuking him possessed military achievements and seniority far beyond his own.

More importantly, Gong Wang could hear the killing intent rising in the Marquis's voice.

Zheng Fan stood, walked around from behind the command table, and said slowly, "Do you know who told this Marquis about your little arrangement? The new Prefect of Yingdu, Xu Wenzu.

"You've heard the rumors about what's happened in Yingdu lately, haven't you?

"Let's not dress it up. The court decided some of the Jin nobles and powerful families in Yingdu had gotten too comfortable and too arrogant for their own good. Someone had to come down and prune them back, remind the Jin whose word counts in Jin territory now.

"Do you know what Xu Wenzu meant when he told this Marquis about you?"

Gong Wang did not dare answer.

"Prefect Xu's meaning was very simple. A man of Jin birth colluding with Prince Cheng Residence. Now, moving directly against the Residence itself is inconvenient. It's an orphaned mother and son, after all. It wouldn't sound good if word spread.

"But cutting off a few claws from that Residence? Surely that's only proper.

"So, Claw Gong, what do you think?"

"This general truly had no thought of rebellion! This general has always been loyal to Your Lordship. I was only confused for a moment. Just a moment of stupidity!"

Gong Lin also pleaded, "My Lord, my father only..."

Zheng Fan raised a hand, cutting the father and son off. They immediately fell silent.

"In this Marquis's eyes, there really isn't much distinction between Yan and Jin. My thinking is simple. We carried blades together. We charged into killing together. We barely managed to crawl out of heaps of corpses alive. So naturally, from here on out, we should put in a little more effort and make our lives better.

"Bring honor to your wives and children. Earn marquisates. Become princes.

"Those things truly aren't impossible. They aren't some distant dream either.

"The Marquis Residence controls a large territory now, but only those three strategic passes have any real population to speak of.

"We need to reclaim wasteland. We need to open mines. We need to train soldiers. We need to forge armor.

"Am I an idle man?

"Am I a man who craves comfort and ease?

"But right now, I'm waiting. Waiting until the troops are ready and the grain stores are full.

"After that, no matter how obedient the Savages of the snowfields become, no matter how patiently Chu keeps its head down, if we want a war, do you really think we won't be able to find an excuse?

"Military merit. Military titles.

"They'll all be waiting for you.

"Could there possibly be a shortage?

"That is why this Marquis simply cannot understand it.

"Did your skull fill up with Wang River water? How could you commit something this stupid?"

"This general is guilty! This general has failed Your Lordship's expectations and painstaking intentions. This general is guilty!"

"Get up."

"Aye!"

Gong Wang stood.

Zheng Fan walked down toward him, stopped at his side, and patted him on the shoulder.

"You can't take another wrong turn. I rather like that boy Gong Lin."

"This general understands. I understand."

"There's always been a short Savage fellow by my side. He's handled a great many matters on the snowfields for me. Mm. These days he even commands one garrison force on his own, guarding Fengxin City."

"Yes, this general knows. He is..."

"He is the Savage King," Zheng Fan said calmly.

Gong Wang's eyes instantly widened.

Gong Lin, who had slowly gotten to his feet once his father rose and the atmosphere in the tent eased, felt his knees buckle and dropped straight back down.

"When I say I don't care about the distinction between Yan and Jin, I mean it. Look at that. Even a Savage. As long as he's loyal to me and useful to me, I can ignore where he came from.

"We've fought the snowfields. We've fought Chu. We've won against both. There will still be wars to fight in the future.

"This Marquis doesn't have many great talents.

"But I do have confidence that I can keep leading everyone to eat well and drink well.

"You're Jin.

"So what?

"Compared with that fellow, we're all Xia people. We're the real family.

"This Marquis has very little patience. I was already in a hurry to return to the Residence. I've been away too long and I miss home. Yet I still had to make a detour all the way over here to take a look at you.

"Next time...

"This Marquis may simply be too lazy to come."

"Please rest assured, My Lord. This general understands."

Zheng Fan nodded.

"Oh, right. I'm taking that adopted son of yours with me."

"There's no need, My Lord. This general won't..."

"He sold you out and showed this Marquis his loyalty. How could this Marquis mistreat him? Don't blame the man either. In truth, he was saving you.

"Having him lead this Marquis inside was much better than this Marquis having to march troops in myself."

"Yes. This general understands. From top to bottom, my entire army will follow only Your Lordship's lead. We did before, we do now, and we will in the future!"

"Gong Wang, remember what you just said. If one day this Marquis's order comes down and you find yourself needing to weigh your choices, I hope you won't become muddleheaded."

Then Zheng Fan reached down and rubbed the head of Gong Lin, who was still kneeling on the floor.

"Remember what you said to this Marquis when you first entered the command tent?"

"I remember, My Lord. I said that if my father remained obstinate, I would personally..."

Zheng Fan cut him off.

"Your father won't. Your father may become confused over small matters, but on great matters, he's always been clear-headed.

"All right.

"This Marquis is going home. No need to see me off.

"Oh.

"One more thing.

"Go take twenty lashes yourself. If I don't have you whipped at least once, I can't quite get rid of this irritation in my chest."

"Thank you, My Lord!"

Zheng Fan left the military camp. His personal guards and escort cavalry waited farther out.

Within the inner ring were only Zheng Fan, mounted on his Pixiu, and the Sword Saint on horseback.

The Savage King and the others had returned ahead of them. Giving Gong Wang a beating did not require anyone else's help. If Zheng Fan could not even settle a matter this small, then all the bloody storms he had endured these past years would have been for nothing.

The Sword Saint spoke.

"Do you know what I was thinking earlier, standing behind you in that military camp?"

"What?"

"I was thinking that you're looking more and more like Tian Wujing. The way you sat there in that chair shelling peanuts."

Then the Sword Saint shook his head and corrected himself.

"No. Tian Wujing wouldn't be like you. You're clearly much better at... much better at..."

Unfortunately, the Sword Saint did not know the phrase "showing off like a badass."

"In the past, I thought I was imitating Old Tian, learning from Old Tian. But slowly I realized that wasn't it.

"It's like Great Yan's military marquises. People don't fear and revere you because someone hands you a marquis's title and suddenly you become transcendent.

"It's because you already accumulated so much military merit and built up so much strength beforehand that you naturally ended up sitting in that position. People had actually begun fearing and respecting you long before the title arrived.

"As for me...

"There are places where I'm similar to Old Tian.

"Old Tian genuinely doesn't care about many things. I'm simply too lazy to bother doing many things.

"But there is one difference.

"I will never become another Old Tian.

"Not even when I die.

"Old Yu..."

"Mm. Go on."

"Deep in my heart, I've always been grateful that I got to open my eyes one more time and see the sun again. Even if this sun is a little different, I'm still grateful.

"The more grateful I am, the more I treasure it.

"And the more I treasure it, the less willing I am to swallow grievances.

"I finally got another trip through the human world. I want to look around properly."

"Keep talking."

"Hm?"

"I feel like I'm about to have another enlightenment."

"Heh."

Zheng Fan turned his head and looked behind them. Not far away, the Wang River was already beginning to thaw.

"Spring's almost here."

"Yes." The Sword Saint nodded. "Another cycle. Another four seasons. Time truly doesn't wait for anyone. Spring is only about to begin, yet I can already imagine myself when winter comes again, sighing: 'Heh. It's New Year again already.'"

"Hahahahaha!"

Zheng Fan burst out laughing.

He raised a hand and pointed west.

Beneath him, the Pixiu seemed to sense its master's shifting emotions and began pawing restlessly at the ground.

"Old Yu, I've got a feeling too."

"Oh?"

"The next time I cross this Wang River heading west, everything will look completely different.

"Eastern Jin.

"The lands of the Three Jin.

"Great Yan.

"Even the whole world...

"A new page will have turned."

Zheng Fan closed his eyes.

"I had a dream last night. Guess what I dreamed about."

"That line from the poem of yours they teach at the school? 'Iron cavalry and frozen rivers enter my dreams'?"

Zheng Fan shook his head.

The Sword Saint guessed again.

"Leading troops to take over Yingdu?"

Zheng Fan shook his head again.

"Heh. Leading troops to take over Yanjing?"

Zheng Fan opened his mouth.

"I dreamed all three of my wives had big bellies."

[End of Chapter 659]