Chapter 902: Teaching the Son

Liuxia Town was a fortified settlement.

But it was more than merely a fortified settlement.

On the surface, the master of the fort was a Chu man surnamed Tian. The men standing guard along the walls and patrolling outside all wore Chu hairstyles and Chu clothing.

In truth... the entire place answered directly to Zhennan Pass.

Inside and out, nearly every “Chu man” here was actually a Yan soldier of Chu birth who simply was not wearing armor.

There were no shortage of Chu men in eastern Jin’s armies.

Some were prisoners captured during the wars who had later been “re-employed.”

Some were troops brought out of Fan City by the Fan Clan and Qu Peiluo.

Others were Chu men who had secretly crossed the border and later entered the Standard Household system.

Qualification for Standard Household status was difficult to obtain.

Usually, it required military merit.

But sometimes... there were “special grants.”

Shanggu Commandery had quite a few Standard Households of that sort.

Liuxia Town in particular had many, precisely because it stood at the point where the two sides’ spheres of power met.

Even ordinary commoners understood the importance of a shopfront.

The door was the face.

You had to make it look good.

Liuxia Town was one of eastern Jin’s “faces” turned toward Chu.

Every day, Chu civilians secretly crossed the border and arrived here.

Then they were sent onward into Jin territory north of Zhennan Pass.

The “Chu people” living here ate well and dressed well.

They were the display window shown to Chu.

Even in later generations, border regions often worked the same way.

The buildings facing the foreign side tended to be the tallest, newest, and most dazzling.

In his previous life, Zheng Fan had even heard while traveling that some places employed people whose daily job was simply to enter otherwise empty high-rises and switch the lights on and off.

That was not fraud.

That was wisdom.

The Chu men living here also praised the Standard Household system to the heavens.

They not only used themselves as examples.

They also had performance targets for recruiting people.

Bring over a certain number of adult men.

Or adult women.

Even children counted toward one’s “performance.”

Mm.

Prince Pingxi Residence placed considerable importance on the child population.

Every power in the world knew children were the future.

But before children became useful laborers or soldiers, they had to be fed for years without producing anything.

The Residence was willing to pay that cost.

As the Blind Man put it:

Children were the easiest to brainwash.

Wash away the part that told them they were “Chu.”

Teach them they were people under Prince Pingxi Residence.

Teach them they were all children carefully protected by Prince Pingxi.

In truth, they had already done the same thing back in Shengle City.

In the publicly funded schools, whether a child entered as Yan, Jin, Savage, Barbarian, or Chu, nobody continued emphasizing his original ethnic identity.

All of them were gradually assimilated toward a single object of loyalty.

The batch that included Liu Dahu and Zheng Man had already grown up.

Every year from now on, another group of children raised in that environment would enter the army and the various industries governed by Prince Pingxi Residence.

Of course... that recruitment method had naturally been designed by the Blind Man as well.

Use a pyramid scheme properly... and it could unleash genuinely terrifying potential.

Chu had also made a great many efforts to curb this population loss.

Unfortunately, people had legs of their own.

The Chu army only had a handful of military forts on the southern bank of the Wei River.

The river stretched too far for soldiers to line every bank.

Outside flood season, a commoner could hug a piece of driftwood and float across.

Once he reached the opposite bank, Yan soldiers were even waiting there to receive him.

The Blind Man had provided the method.

Jin Shuke had been the one who actually implemented and refined it.

He ordered the military forts and patrol troops along the border to count every smuggled person they successfully received as military merit.

Naturally... that greatly increased the enthusiasm of the men below for acting as human smugglers.

But the policy had also produced side effects.

Some border troops decided waiting for “willing fish to take the hook” was too slow.

So they crossed the Wei River themselves and raided Chu villages for people.

That forced the two sides into another round of friction.

The several new Yan military forts built on the far bank of the Wei River had grown directly out of those incidents.

At that moment, Zheng Fan was sitting by a second-floor window inside a restaurant in Liuxia Town.

The place copied the model of Prince Pingxi Residence.

The restaurant itself was publicly owned.

At present, there were only two occupied tables on the entire second floor.

At one sat Zheng Fan and Jin Shuke facing each other, with Tian Tian and Ji Chuanye attending them.

At the other sat the Sword Saint and the rest of the group.

The restaurant doors were closed.

A waiter stood outside telling people the establishment was closed for the day.

Inside, however... the first floor was packed with armored soldiers Jin Shuke had transferred over to guard the Prince.

Zheng Fan was normally an extremely cautious man.

Yet on this journey, whether at Snow Sea Pass or Zhennan Pass, he had behaved with remarkable casualness.

Even the Sword Maid next door found it strange.

The explanation was not complicated.

He had worked painfully hard for so many years.

More importantly, the Demon Kings had worked painfully hard for so many years.

After paying such an enormous price, if he still could not control even the direct-line troops beneath his own command... then he might as well find a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

At that moment, Zheng Fan was looking through the window at the street below.

A group of Chu civilians carrying their families and belongings were being issued identity plaques in orderly fashion.

They would use those plaques to collect food.

There was only one kind of food.

Steamed white-flour buns with filling.

Tall stacks of bamboo steamers released an enticing aroma of grain and flour.

By now, the food had gradually acquired a name among the people:

Prince Pingxi Buns.

Naturally, there was some flattery of the Prince behind that name.

But the main reason was the propaganda slogan.

Become a subject under the Prince’s rule and not only could you eat steamed buns made from white flour... the buns even had filling.

The filling might only be shredded radish or pickled vegetables.

But there were strips of meat inside too!

For these Chu people who had just been “deceived”...

No.

Just been guided here... a first meal of as many buns as they could eat was indeed an enormous comfort to both body and spirit.

It could ignite hope for their future life.

Afterward, they would be sent north of Zhennan Pass and resettled.

Tian Tian was helping shell peanuts.

He placed the shelled peanuts onto a plate.

Ji Chuanye was pouring tea.

When he poured for Zheng Fan, Zheng Fan did not even glance at him.

He had long since grown completely accustomed to it.

But when the Crown Prince poured tea for Jin Shuke...

Jin Shuke visibly became flustered.

Leaving aside everything that had happened since he entered Zheng Fan’s service, there was another layer to it.

For more than a century, the people of Yan had relied on Marquis Zhenbei Residence to inflict tremendous pressure and terror upon the desert Barbarians.

And now... the Crown Prince of Yan was pouring tea for him.

Jin Shuke genuinely found it difficult to sit still.

He could only keep smiling awkwardly while forcing his attention onto the Prince seated opposite him.

Borrow courage from the Prince from across the table.

At last, the Prince withdrew his gaze from the street below.

Once again, he said:

“You have done very well.”

Zhennan Pass had two Prefects.

Both could fairly be called capable administrators.

But in truth, nearly all major coordination and planning in the region depended upon Jin Shuke.

“This is what this subordinate ought to do, Your Highness,” Jin Shuke said honestly. “However, this subordinate has one suggestion.”

“Speak.”

“This subordinate suggests that from today onward, all Chu people absorbed through Zhennan Pass should be resettled locally. In the future, this area will inevitably become a major battlefield between Yan and Chu again. If enough civilian strength is cultivated here in advance, it can be used when war comes.”

Mobilizing laborers and auxiliaries and bringing them to the battlefield was itself a form of consumption.

Building Zhennan Pass and its surrounding region more thoroughly would also give future armies another layer of logistical support.

Zheng Fan nodded.

“When we return to Fengxin City, go speak to the Blind Man about it. The two of you can discuss it properly.”

Zheng Fan did not immediately approve the proposal.

Zhennan Pass was the first defensive line facing Chu.

Whether it was suitable to keep such a large population of Chu migrants here required consideration beyond the simple needs of war.

“Oh, right. We intend to send Gong Wang to guard Snow Sea Pass. As for Zhennan Pass, We intend to have Gongsun Zhi sit here. They need not bring their original troops with them. Only a few personal retainers.”

This was, in fact, another step in stripping away independent military command.

The two men would be sent to those mighty strategic passes and made, in effect, into local “earth gods.”

It was an open scheme.

Outwardly, both men were being promoted.

After all... they would now hold mighty passes in their hands, would they not?

And neither man would have much grounds for resentment.

Jin Shuke and Keyan Dongge were old hands from Prince Pingxi Residence.

Had they not been removed first?

Once you cut your own men first... cutting outsiders afterward became much easier.

In short... the governing theme from now on was simple.

Nobody should deliberately stir up trouble outside.

Everyone should lower their heads and farm in peace.

“Your Highness is wise,” Jin Shuke praised.

“Heh.”

Zheng Fan tossed two peanuts into his mouth.

“We have fought every single year for as long as We can remember. At last, we can rest a little.”

“Your Highness, it is like pulling a fist back slightly so the next punch can land harder,” Jin Shuke said.

Everyone knew what came after recuperation.

The war of unification.

By ordinary logic, it was still too early.

The safest course would have been to spend an entire generation recuperating, then leave the great undertaking to the next generation.

But right now... the desert Barbarians had no central leader.

The snowfield Savages were scattered.

Most of the famous commanders and marshals of Qian and Chu had already fallen.

Yan, meanwhile, still had fierce generals and a God of War.

Who could know what circumstances the next generation would face?

Most importantly, back when the late Emperor was alive, Ji Old Sixth had constantly complained to Zheng Fan that his father was trying to accomplish the work of three generations within one, rushing too quickly and exhausting the state.

Then the moment Ji Old Sixth himself sat on the dragon throne... he immediately began preparing for the coming war of unification.

The chance to leave his name in history as an Emperor for the ages?

Forget descendants.

He would not even yield that opportunity to his own sons and grandsons.

At that moment, another group appeared on the street below and began lining up to receive wooden identity plaques.

The Prince happened to look down again.

“Mm?”

Jin Shuke followed his gaze.

“That woman...”

It was not that they had discovered some peerless beauty.

The civilians secretly crossing over from Chu were not exactly starving famine refugees, but neither could they arrive dressed in fresh, luxurious clothing.

If life had been going well for someone in Chu, why would he sneak across the border to start over from nothing?

That was why one woman in a purple dress stood out dramatically among the new arrivals.

Her hair had clearly been styled.

Her clothing was expensive.

More precisely, in this age, bright and elegant clothing itself was a mark of status.

When ordinary commoners bought cloth for clothing, they cared above all about two things:

Was it durable?

Would it hide dirt?

The guards maintaining order below soon noticed the woman too.

Two of them immediately pushed through the crowd to speak with her.

From this distance, Zheng Fan could still see the gradual appearance on their faces of that particular smile every man understood.

Eastern Jin under Prince Pingxi Residence was peaceful and orderly.

That did not mean every soldier or official below was a sheet of pure white paper.

Under normal circumstances, if a refugee caravan contained a particularly pretty girl, outright abduction would be unacceptable.

Liuxia Town was supposed to serve as a signboard.

Create too much trouble here and the people responsible would pay dearly.

But promising benefits to the girl’s family, offering some silver, then marrying the girl as a wife or taking her as a concubine?

That was perfectly normal.

If both sides agreed, who could object?

Yes, it carried an element of taking advantage of someone in difficulty.

But her family might also have been eager to find a local patron in their new home.

Just then... a rider galloped down the distant street.

Riding at speed inside the fortified settlement was forbidden.

The newcomer ignored the rule completely.

Clearly... he was confident enough to do so.

The man obviously knew the woman in purple.

After dismounting, he walked directly toward her.

The two guards immediately stepped forward and saluted him ingratiatingly.

Then they wisely withdrew.

“Your Highness, his name is Tian Rong.”

“The nominal master of Liuxia Town?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Yes.”

A smile appeared at the corner of Zheng Fan’s mouth.

The first floor was packed with armored soldiers.

Yet clearly, this nominal fort master of Liuxia Town had no idea.

Otherwise he would never have deliberately come chasing a woman this close to the Prince.

That meant Tian Rong was merely the master of Liuxia Town in name.

The actual authority had already been hollowed out.

And the person who had arranged all of this... could only have been Jin Shuke.

“Well done.”

By now, Zheng Fan had lost count of how many times he had said those words to Jin Shuke.

Jin Shuke answered seriously:

“Your Highness, those who are not of our people are sure to have different hearts. At present, this subordinate still does not dare place genuine authority here in Chu hands.”

Zheng Fan nodded faintly.

At that moment...

Ji Chuanye, who had been drinking water, suddenly choked.

He immediately lowered his cup, bowed his head, and began coughing.

Tian Tian patted his back.

Soon, Ji Chuanye recovered and resumed sitting obediently on the bench.

Zheng Fan picked up one peanut and put it in his mouth.

As he chewed, he said:

“Slap yourself.”

Ji Chuanye froze.

Then he pressed his lips together, raised one hand, and slapped himself twice.

“Swatting mosquitoes?” the Prince asked.

Smack!

Smack!

Ji Chuanye slapped himself twice more, hard enough that his cheeks reddened.

Tian Tian looked at his little brother but did not dare speak.

Jin Shuke looked as though he were sitting on needles.

His lips moved.

He wanted to say something.

Yet he had no idea what he could possibly say.

Everyone sitting at this table was shrewd.

Ji Chuanye had choked on his tea because when he heard Jin Shuke say, “Those not of our people are sure to have different hearts,” he had failed to suppress a laugh.

To hide his lapse in composure... he pretended he had swallowed water the wrong way.

The Crown Prince was an intelligent child.

He already possessed political instinct.

But a child was still a child.

And everything depended on who he was sitting beside.

No one could maintain a scheming mask from dawn to night.

Sometimes a single sentence unexpectedly made you want to laugh.

That was perfectly normal.

Originally... the little incident could simply have passed.

Unfortunately, someone had chosen not to let it pass.

At the next table, the Sword Saint remained calm.

The Sword Maid, He Chunlai, Chen Daole, and the others, however, were visibly shocked when they saw the Crown Prince slap himself.

What did arrogance look like?

What did outrageous dominance look like?

One sentence.

And the Crown Prince of a state slapped himself.

Zheng Fan picked up another peanut and chewed slowly.

The Crown Prince, cheeks reddened, did not sit there stupidly waiting for the next punishment.

Nor did he attempt to act innocent.

Still less did he show resentment.

He climbed down from the bench.

Then he bowed deeply to Jin Shuke.

“Chuanye showed disrespect to his elder and teacher. Chuanye was wrong. Master, please forgive Chuanye.”

An ordinary child who made a mistake might become stubborn, refuse to admit anything, and double down.

The Crown Prince understood perfectly well what he needed to do.

Jin Shuke instinctively began to stand.

“Sit,” Zheng Fan said, lifting his teacup.

Jin Shuke sat again.

The Crown Prince remained bowed.

“Chuanye. Was it that funny?”

“Godfather, Chuanye was wrong. Chuanye only... only failed to hold it in for a moment. Chuanye...”

This time, the Crown Prince genuinely sounded close to tears.

Not from grievance.

Because he truly regarded Zheng Fan almost as another father.

As for regarding Zheng Fan merely as one of his subjects... he did not have that much face.

“Tell me. Who is the man in front of you?”

“He is Chuanye’s Master. He is the teacher in military arts Godfather chose for Chuanye. He is... he is Jin Shuke, former Chief Commander of Great Yan’s Zhennan Pass.”

“He was there in the thousand-li rush to Snow Sea Pass. During the Yan-Chu national war, he saved Our life, overturned the entire course of the battle in one stroke, and captured and killed one of Great Chu’s Pillars of State. Afterward, he campaigned beside this Prince again and again and rendered distinguished military service for Great Yan. He risked his life for Great Yan. He holds office under Great Yan. He bears rank and title from Great Yan. Think about what he has contributed to Great Yan. Then think again. You are the Crown Prince. Since the day you were born, apart from helping your father compete with your grandfather for the throne... what exactly have you contributed to Great Yan? When he says, ‘Those not of our people are sure to have different hearts’... what qualification do you have to laugh?”

“Godfather, Chuanye was wrong. Chuanye was wrong. Chuanye really knows he was wrong.”

“Stand up. Look at me.”

Ji Chuanye straightened and looked at Zheng Fan.

His small body was still trembling faintly with each breath.

Ever since entering eastern Jin, Zheng Fan had never punished or scolded him this harshly.

“If your Imperial Father were sitting here today, it would not end with two slaps to your own face. You would probably kneel over there until dawn. Perhaps... even your position as Crown Prince would no longer be secure. I brought you two brothers out this time to let you see. To see exactly what preparations your father and I are making for the future unification of all Xia. To see exactly what we are paying to prepare for it. You are the Crown Prince of Great Yan. If your father does not depose you, then you will probably become Great Yan’s Emperor in the future. Country farmers and village women may point at Barbarians, Savages, Chu people, Jin people, laugh at them, and mock them however they please. You... cannot. The fact that you could not suppress that laugh proves that, deep inside, you truly think that way. You truly believe it. Chuanye...”

“This child is here, Godfather...”

“I do not want the unified Xia your father and I spend half our lives fighting to create... destroyed by one laugh from you.”

If the Emperor of a newly unified realm was an ethnic supremacist... then everything was finished.

“Chuanye understands. Chuanye will change.”

Only then did Jin Shuke speak.

“Your Highness, this subordinate—”

Zheng Fan waved one hand.

“Sit back down.”

“Yes.”

The Crown Prince returned to his seat obediently.

At that moment... a sudden commotion erupted below.

The woman in purple had actually drawn a soft sword from around her waist and stabbed it directly into Tian Rong’s chest.

Panic exploded through the surrounding crowd.

The instant the disturbance began... every door and window on the first floor burst open.

The armored soldiers who had been stationed there to protect the Prince swarmed into the street, immediately dispersing the crowd and surrounding the woman in purple.

On the second floor...

Prince Pingxi, still holding his teacup after having just disciplined the Crown Prince of an entire state... immediately searched for the Sword Saint.

He discovered that the Sword Saint had somehow already reached the window.

Zheng Fan made a calming gesture, telling Jin Shuke and the others not to move.

Then... the Prince strolled over with his teacup as though nothing had happened.

He stopped beside the Sword Saint and quietly asked:

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

The Sword Saint glanced at Zheng Fan.

Equally quietly, he answered:

“You were teaching the child. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Then he added:

“Seventh Grade swordswoman. Even you can beat her.”

Every muscle in the Prince’s face relaxed.

He propped one elbow against the window frame and drank tea while looking down.

“Pretty.”

“The woman?” the Sword Saint asked.

“The clothes.”

[End of Chapter 902]