The Demon Lords

The returning journey to the capital is not overly cumbersome;

Firstly,

the original imperial envoy team must return all the way, and this group of people had already demonstrated their ability to travel during the expedition to deliver the decree at Snow Sea Gate.

Next is Lord Zheng’s side.

Three horse-drawn carriages,

one carrying the princess and Lord Zheng, while the other two are loaded with goods.

Although there was some delay due to the military parade, overall, the return journey to the capital is still very leisurely; they can stop where needed and rest where required;

as long as Lord Zheng doesn’t emulate Emperor Qianlong’s secret tour to tease Xiayu He,

there will undoubtedly be no issues with the schedule.

Accompanying them are the blind man, Fanli, the sword maid, Gou Moli, the Sword Saint, Mr. Chen, along with the cavalry of three hundred personal guards led by Gao Yi.

Today afternoon,

the group camped early by the shore of Ming Pond.

It’s just over two days’ journey from here to Wang River, and once they pass Wang River and reach Ying Capital City, continuing to the Yan State border, there is a newly repaired official road that will drastically increase the team’s marching speed, and the well-equipped postal station system will save everyone a lot of time on supply and rest.

The hardest part of the journey is actually from Snow Sea Gate to Wang River because much of the eastern part of Cheng State was severely ravaged during the wild people’s unrest.

The initial plunder was straightforward, quick;

but when the Yan Eastern Conquest Army reached the west of Wang River and both sides started to stalemate, it was no longer just simple plundering, but rather a deep-rooted scrape for supplies, practically digging to the roots!

Later, Lord Jingnan defeated the wild people’s main force, the Blue Luan Army in Jade Plate City surrendered and were massacred; although the battle had concluded, first, the whole Jin land had been ravaged by war from west to east within two to three years, requiring time to recuperate;

second, major battles at Town South Pass with Chu State could erupt at any time, according to Lord Jingnan’s strategy, if the two states formally went to war, if they couldn’t crush the Chu army’s field forces and bring the war onto the Chu region, they would then strategically retreat, allowing the Chu army to invade Jin, widening the battlefield which would give the cavalry greater maneuverability and initiative.

Therefore, neither Yan nor Ying Capital City would choose to develop or migrate to this region predesignated as a "battlefield" at this moment.

Ming Pond is a beautiful place, especially now, with rippling lake waves, lush green grass, giving people a refreshing feeling.

Slowing down for two hours to rest here can be considered a rare ease amidst the long journey.

A long carpet is spread out with some food and drinks placed on it, the princess sits there, occasionally feeding Lord Zheng.

Lord Zheng rests his head on his hands, lying on the grass, enjoying the view of the sunset.

Not far away, the Sword Saint sits by the lake, with the wild people’s king sitting beside him.

The wild people’s king has been detained for so long, having endured the Shatuo Queshi’s zombie miasma erosion, and had initially disfigured himself to evade capture, making him now completely different from his original self.

No need for disguise or an iron mask, no worries about being recognized.

Furthermore,

very few people in Yan have actually seen the wild people’s king.

Logically, the Sword Saint and the wild people’s king should be sworn enemies.

But at Snow Sea Gate, the Sword Saint would often ask the blind man to bring the wild people’s king out from the prison for a talk, a chat.

The Sword Saint would talk about Liu Dahu’s affairs in the academy, and about his own wife’s thrift and housekeeping.

Then, the wild people’s king, stuffed full of dog food, had to intentionally act out several times to enhance the Sword Saint’s enjoyment;

after all, he longed to be outside, to see the sky, to see the clouds, to breathe some fresh air;

at this moment, the wild people’s king is peeling chestnuts, sugar-fried chestnuts, very flavorful, very tasty.

The wild people’s king not only eats himself, but he specifically peels a few and places them in front of the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint accepts them without reservation,

admiring the view and the lake breeze, occasionally picking a peeled chestnut and slowly chewing it.

"On the first day after leaving the city, seeing you were in the group, to be honest, I was quite startled."

"Afraid I’d kill you with one strike?"

"Yes."

"If I wanted to kill you, you’d have been dead at Snow Sea Gate long ago."

At Snow Sea Gate, the Sword Saint didn’t even need to act; just expressing a request to Lord Zheng, who would undoubtedly present the wild people’s king’s head to the Sword Saint.

People say Fan Zhengwen is skilled in business, but in such affairs of interpersonal dealings, Lord Zheng has never come out at a loss.

"It’s different," the wild people’s king shook his head and continued peeling chestnuts. "It’s different inside Snow Sea Gate and outside."

"Indeed, it’s different," the Sword Saint nodded.

"I’m right, aren’t I?"

"Yes, inside the city, you’re imprisoned, outside, you’re a prisoner of labor. A year and a half ago, tens of thousands of wild people were captured, how many have survived now?"

The infrastructure and recovery of Snow Sea Gate, even including last winter’s stability after absorbing so many people, contributed greatly to the use of tens of thousands of captive wild people.

They do the hardest work, eat the worst food, live in the coldest shelters, batch after batch of wild slaves dying on construction sites just like that.

Now, only a few thousand can continue hard labor; the rest, if not dead, were disabled and lost labor capability, subsequently dealt with.