The Demon Lords

In this regard, Lord Pingye’s manor can be said to be extremely ruthless.

Of course, this is also what they deserve. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Back then, they invaded Snow Sea Pass with glee, pillaging and killing. After the revelry, there comes a time for atonement.

Lord Zheng had never incorporated those wild slaves into his troops, because there was no need.

Firstly, Snow Sea Pass has always followed the route of elite troops. It’s a tradition that must be maintained.

Secondly, although Snow Sea Pass has absorbed many barbarians, the ordinary people are still predominantly Jin people. Most of these people have suffered from the wild people’s atrocities, and punishing these wild slaves could win their hearts.

By erecting the wild people as a common target of hatred, this external conflict can blur any potential contradictions that might arise from being Yan people in Yan and Jin lands, including Lord Pingye’s identity as a Yan person.

The Wild King thought for a while, and said:

"That’s indeed the meaning, but I still want to live a good life, you know? I’m not afraid of Lord Pingye now, because Lord Pingye and I are the same kind of people, willing to sell anything for profit;

But you’re different. I’m not sure if you’re willing to see me live a good life."

The Sword Saint didn’t plan to answer this question.

He wasn’t averse to Zheng Fan bringing the Wild King along to the capital, because he could see that Zheng Fan seemed somewhat worried about the rewards from this trip to the capital.

The Wild King didn’t press further, instead clapping his hands,

and said:

"This is Ming Pond, right? It used to be the place where the Situ Family erected a monument after a great victory expelling our Holy Tribe."

Many place names and ancient sites in Jin land are actually related to the Jin people’s expulsion of the wild men back then.

In the past, a certain head of the Situ Family led an army here to defeat a wild tribe, pushing the front past Wang River, further compressing the strategic turning space of the wild people in Jin land, and laying the groundwork for ultimately expelling the wild people from Jin land entirely.

That head of the Situ Family once ordered craftsmen to erect a monument here to commemorate this great battle.

Over the years, so much has been washed away by the wind and rain. The beauty of Ming Pond has already drowned out the historical fact that this was once an ancient battlefield, turning it into a place for Jin people to play, a paradise for flowers and plants.

In the early years, the lake used to be dotted with flower boats, not only those red tents relying on the flesh trade for a living, but also many good families and ladies who voluntarily or intentionally came here to make the sky their quilt and the ground their bed.

In another world, it would be a tourist attraction with "romantic encounters" as the theme.

But now,

the flower boats are gone,

and there’s barely a soul in sight nearby.

The former floral romance has left only the flowers without romance.

"Where is the inscription?" asked the Sword Saint.

"Back then, I had people dig it up and smash it," said the Wild King.

The Sword Saint nodded.

The Wild King also sighed, a touch of reminiscence in his eyes.

After a long while,

the Sword Saint said, "Such waste of things."

"Hehe." The Wild King chuckled.

In fact, he really wanted to say, eight hundred years ago, the land of the Three Jin was filled with the temples, inscriptions, and murals of the Wild Holy Tribe, but now, can you still see them?

But he was too lazy to argue, because he knew that the Zhuxia people always had a self-centered mindset. Their own things were considered real things, their own melody was heavenly, their own ancestral halls were sacred, while other groups, whether wild people, barbarians, or Shanyue, were not worth mentioning, even looking at them once more would be considered an insult to the eyes.

At this time,

Zhang Yuanshan walked to Lord Zheng’s side, slowly kneeling down, and said:

"Lord, isn’t this truly good mountains, good waters, and beautiful scenery?"

Lord Zheng kept silent.

Zhang Yuanshan, feeling oblivious like a fly, continued, "Lord, how much more force do you think we would need to completely pacify Jin land?"

Lord Zheng opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Yuanshan, and smiled.

Zhang Yuanshan also smiled.

Then,

Lord Zheng closed his eyes again.

"......" Zhang Yuanshan.

"Is it because you find talking about these things with a subordinate like me quite boring?"

Lord Zheng nodded.

Zhang Yuanshan pursed his lips and said, "But I still have a question, hoping you can clear my doubts, as this is also what the Sixth Prince is concerned about.

That is, Lord Zheng, do you think our next step for Yan should be to take Chu first or Qian first?"

Actually,

Zheng Fan’s attitude towards Zhang Yuanshan turned so cold because, after the expedition set off, he finally received a letter from Ji Chengjue.

The messenger for Ji Chengjue’s letter initially missed Lord Zheng, going to Snow Sea Pass instead, and then three riders from Snow Sea Pass chased down the group, delivering the letter to Lord Zheng.

In the letter, Ji Chengjue first pridefully mentioned the birth of his son.

Then he spoke of some recent affairs, including some trivial recent moods, and yes, he also wrote two poems.

In reality, Lord Zheng and Ji Chengjue were more like pen pals.

The casual talks were at the top, followed by the serious messages.

At the end of the letter, Ji Chengjue focused on three things.

One was the planning of money and grain input to Snow Sea Pass in the first half of the 3rd year of Yongping.

The second was his views on his father’s summons for Lord Zheng to the capital, which were very reserved.

And this reservation implied a kind of "hint," because this was supposed to be a splendid affair, so why be reserved?

The third thing was to say that Feng Guan was a young eunuch recently favored in the palace, very opportunistic. Then, about Zhang Yuanshan, he described him as:

I don’t even know if he’s my man.

Smart people speak simply;

Smart people write letters simply too.

A sentence like "I don’t even know if he’s my man" actually contains a lot of content.

Even Ji Chengjue cannot see through him, so Lord Zheng just spares the effort to try.

However,

facing the question from Zhang Yuanshan,

Lord Zheng directly replied:

"First take Chu."

The two of them chatted about this topic, completely disregarding the Chu princess sitting by their side.

"Why?" Zhang Yuanshan posed the question, ready to listen intently.

Lord Zheng glanced at Zhang Yuanshan,

and said matter-of-factly:

"Because attacking Qian State has nothing to do with me."

"..." Zhang Yuanshan.

The blind man walked over at this time,

and said to Zhang Yuanshan:

"Brother Zhang, this beautiful lake scenery, does it inspire poetry?"

Clearly, the blind man was stepping in to help Lord Zheng with this hot potato.

Zhang Yuanshan really wanted to blurt out,

what does the scenery here have to do with you, a blind person?

But he held back, only to accompany the blind man in composing poetry.

After the place became quiet again,

the princess said softly:

"I don’t like that person."

"I don’t like him either."

"Hmm." The princess nodded, seemingly happy to have someone she and her husband mutually dislike.

Then,

the princess tentatively asked:

"Husband, could you possibly, on the road, give him..."

Lord Zheng looked at the princess, smiling and said, "Why such boldness, he is after all an imperial envoy."

The princess looked at Lord Zheng, who had several styles of royal robes at home,

and bit her lip.

Lord Zheng found this quite cute, reached out to touch the princess’s chin,

and said:

"For those we dislike, there’s no need to deal with them all; you can’t possibly get rid of them all. Just treat them as if they don’t exist or as a mere fly."

...

The rest in Ming Pond was considered a slight comfort for the team; in the following two days, the team moved quickly without much delay.

Under Zheng Fan’s orders, the team headed slightly north, avoiding Jade Plate City, crossing the Wang River from upstream.

After all, she is his woman now; usually needing her to come out and support in social settings is ’life’s necessity’, but it’s not necessary to deliberately make her sad.

"Jade Plate City," this place, is now probably a heartbreak for most of the Chu people.

After crossing the Wang River, the team did not stop for rest and entered Ying Capital City by night.

Ying Capital City is a large city and the biggest central city within the original Cheng State territory.

Since Lord Jingnan stationed his troops in Fengxin city, it is not considered a military center, but it hasn’t fallen short in other central aspects.

But whether it’s Feng Guan’s identity as an imperial envoy or Lord Zheng’s identity, opening a city gate in the middle of the night posed no big problem.

Thus,

the team entered Ying Capital City and stayed at the inn within the city.

Due to the team’s quick movement, it hadn’t sent a messenger ahead to inform the city, plus entering at night, so even though many dignitaries in Ying Capital City were alarmed, none chose to pay a visit at night.

Therefore,

inside the inn,

it was rather quiet.

And in the inn’s courtyard,

having just placed the internal and external guards, Gao Yi saw the blind man approaching him.

"Mr. Bei, what is the matter?"

The blind man folded his hands in the front,

and said:

"Relay Lord Zheng’s orders!"

Gao Yi and the two deputy generals beside him immediately knelt down,

"Here we are!"

"Here we are!"

The blind man took a deep breath,

and slowly said:

"Sharpen your knives."

————

The next Chapter is a big one, so let’s pause here for now. Everyone, please check it out tomorrow.

Well,

asking for a monthly ticket for the next big Chapter.