Chapter 733: Before the Storm (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
When Zheng Qiao received the message, only two days had passed since Shen Tang had deceived Lin County. These two days had been thrilling and exhausting. This was because Shen Tang had no intention of holding Lin County and had preemptively swept away the county's warehouses and a large amount of military supplies.
She moved all of these things away.
They armed the military strongholds they initially tricked into acquiring to the teeth.
At this point, she stopped pretending and laid her cards on the table.
Learn from Wei Shou's unwavering commitment to genuine happiness!
His face practically screamed "Come and chop me if you dare!" The provocation practically leaped off the words in the battle report. Zheng Qiao's emotions were already unstable, and seeing the contents of the battle report made the veins on his forehead bulge with rage.
The assembled officials, summoned for discussion, all bowed their heads, even their breathing trembling as if fearing a single deep breath might bring about their demise. In contrast to their cautious fear, Zheng Qiao's generals were far more open, eagerly volunteering for battle: "These mere thieves possess only some petty, unsavory tricks. We are willing to lead our troops to eliminate them and demoralize the enemy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a few people chimed in.
Zheng Qiao's expression was unpredictable, revealing no clear attitude. He simply snapped the bamboo slip containing the intelligence report in half with one hand, then pulverized it with his own literary flair. At this moment, a usually low-key civil official stepped forward to offer a dissenting opinion, pouring cold water on the situation.
He said indifferently, "Eliminate? General, you are underestimating the enemy. It was Cunshan that was tricked into opening the city gate by Shen Youli. This place is a city defense built by the king over several years, intended to serve as a buffer for Qushan County, while also supporting Aoshan County... Under normal circumstances, even if we win all three duels, we still need three to five times the number of troops in the city to take it down..."
He chuckled and said, "Although Shen Youli tricked the garrison in Cunshan City into leaving the city in batches, we do not know their exact strength, but we can guess that there are at least 10,000 troops. In other words, if we want to take back Cunshan, we need to send at least 30,000 troops. If so, the enemy's goal of diverting troops will be achieved."
Because of Zheng Qiao's attitude and actions, his military officers had always looked down on these civil officials. Now, being directly rebuffed, they couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. He said sarcastically, "So, according to you, we're helpless against this Shen Youli? Let him stay in Cunshan and eventually become a major threat? Hmph, we don't need 30,000, 20,000 troops will be enough to take him down!"
Upon seeing this, the civil official merely sneered and remained silent.
Even now, these reckless fools with their eyes on the top of their heads still haven't grasped the current situation, and they are bound to meet a bad end!
Of course, not everyone is reckless.
Some people who knew about the situation in Cunshan sighed helplessly.
The king must be the most speechless.
They spent time, energy, money, and manpower to gradually build Cunshan into an impregnable fortress, only to have it fail to achieve any effect and be tricked away by the enemy through a series of scams. It's hard to say whether to call Shen Youli cunning or the defenders incredibly stupid.
emmm——
It must have been the stubbornness and arrogance of the city's defenders that ruined everything!
Zheng Qiao looked at the chaotic scene below—mainly a group of military officers arguing, and a group of civil officials remaining silent, occasionally uttering only nonsensical literary remarks—he took a deep breath and made a firm decision: "Just send troops to contain Shen Youli, we don't need to pay attention to her."
Attacking Cunshan City would require 30,000 to 50,000 troops, but defending it would not. The minimum number of troops needed to block Shen Tang at Cunshan would suffice.
He carefully examined the group of military officers under his command.
Over the years, Zheng Qiao had personally fed them, spoiling their tastes and temperaments, and for a time, he couldn't find a single general as steady as Wei Shou. He sighed inwardly, and helplessly could only choose the tallest among the short ones, selecting one of them.
The chosen general proudly stepped forward to receive his orders.
He waved his hand, signaling the court session to end.
The court officials left in twos and threes, and the last one to leave was the civil official who had poured cold water on the situation. Zheng Qiao looked up and their eyes met.
The man had not gone far when he was stopped by a palace attendant.
"Please wait, Your Majesty. The King requests your presence."
Under the pitying gazes of the court officials, he had no choice but to steel himself and follow the eunuch to see Zheng Qiao. When he arrived, Zheng Qiao was fishing by the lake in the garden. As soon as he arrived, he heard Zheng Qiao say, "The fish in the lake are being carefully raised and fed every day. They are not afraid of strangers... Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
The Chamberlain replied, "I am not a fish in the lake, so naturally I do not know what fish think or feel. It is difficult to judge whether the king's question is good or bad."
Only the fish knows the answer.
Outsiders' judgments are all based on their own.
The Chamberlain said, "If the fish in the lake could speak human language, or were even living people, the king would know the answer with a simple question."
Who doesn't want to be free from worries about food and clothing?
Zheng Qiao pointed to the empty seat next to her: "Sit down."
For the first time ever, I invited the other person to go fishing together.
Attendant: "..."
When the eunuch approached him, his heart skipped a beat, and he worried that he might not live to see tomorrow. He didn't know what had gotten into Zheng Qiao today, that he had suddenly sought him out for a private conversation, but based on his understanding of Zheng Qiao, he was sure that the other party was up to no good.
But they quickly calmed down.
Zheng Qiao is determined to get rid of him; he's going to die no matter what.
He wasn't very good at fishing, nor did he have the leisure to do so; he was just going through the motions. But the moment his bottom touched the mat, Zheng Qiao beside him asked, "I remember you used to sit in front of me?"
The attendant replied, "Hmm."
Zheng Qiao said, "I remember you didn't like me very much."
Saying you don't really like it is just being polite.
The young and arrogant Chamberlain once led the isolation of Zheng Qiao, both because of Zheng Qiao's status and because he disliked Zheng Qiao.
As it turns out, he had a good eye.
The attendant thought he was probably going to die, but he couldn't bring himself to fawn over Zheng Qiao for a way to survive. So he simply went along with his heart and spoke frankly: "At that time, the king was a hostage of the Geng Kingdom. Getting too close to him would not do any good and could easily damage his reputation..."
Yan An, who is not afraid of damaging his reputation, is truly a victim of injustice.
Zheng Qiao sighed, "Yes, only my mentor and senior brothers haven't complained. Hey, how have you been lately, senior brother?"
Upon hearing the last sentence, the Chamberlain felt goosebumps all over his body, the hairs on his back stood on end, and he stared blankly at Zheng Qiao.
Zheng Qiao calmly looked back at him.
The attendant vaguely saw a resemblance to Zheng Qiao in the other man's eyes, but the feeling vanished in an instant, replaced by a greater sense of disgust and crisis. He turned his head away, avoiding Zheng Qiao's gaze: "...Xingning, it's probably alright."
Judging by the time, Yan An should be able to jog steadily by now. He's quite talented, and perhaps he can speak very fluently too.
Zheng Qiao looked at the lake surface, which was occasionally rippling.
"Did you know that my senior brother has a daughter?"
A chill ran down the servant's spine, and alarm bells rang in his mind. He wondered why Zheng Qiao had suddenly brought up Yan An's daughter. Could it be that he wanted to settle scores with him? Years ago, when Yan An's wife and daughter fled, he had secretly helped them, but he hadn't been held accountable for it because he hadn't done anything wrong.
Could it be that you intend to use this made from hair?
The Chamberlain calmly replied, "I know."
Zheng Qiao sighed: "I haven't met Senior Brother Yan and Senior Sister Ning's daughter yet, and I don't know which of them she resembles more. I've heard that people say daughters resemble their biological fathers more. With Senior Brother Yan's talent and looks, my niece will surely grow up to be a beauty."
The attendant moved his lips, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
"It's a pity that, given the current situation in Ganzhou, I probably won't live to see it..." Zheng Qiao sighed and shook his head, muttering to himself.
Suddenly, the Chamberlain tried to throw the fishing rod at Zheng Qiao's face.
Is it fun to fool the dead?
A long silence followed, so long that even the courtier, who wasn't good at fishing, caught a fish. Those who knew how to fish found it interesting, while those who didn't just found it soporific. The courtier was starting to feel sleepy when Zheng Qiao's words jolted him awake.
Do you still remember my name?
Attendant: "..."
The dog is still that trash dog Zheng Qiao.
If you want his life, just say so. Why ask this question?
There's no other reason than that Zheng Qiao's handwriting is his Achilles' heel.
Back then, a classmate deliberately tried to annoy Zheng Qiao by openly shouting those two words. The boy, enraged, ignored Yan An's attempts to stop him and charged forward, punching him repeatedly. In the chaos, someone took the opportunity to add their own agenda, and it escalated into a full-blown brawl.
The Chamberlain was also forced to participate in the brawl.
Upon hearing the news, Master Yan rushed over and was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. In the end, he punished all the students by making them copy books and write three thousand self-criticisms, which had to be submitted within a specified period.
A group of students copied day and night, which caused them psychological trauma.
The Chamberlain was so angry that he punched Zheng Qiao's scarecrow.
He said, "There is a distinction between ruler and subject, and I dare not address you by your honorific name directly."
"So what if she's a delicate girl? Is that a slang term?"
Attendant: "..."
Has Zheng Qiao gone even crazier, or has he regained his senses?
"Former classmates, now scattered to the ends of the earth, you're the only old friend left." Zheng Qiao's expression was melancholy, leaving the Attendant speechless. Was this madman Zheng Qiao really trying to reminisce? This surreal reality almost made his mind go blank.
Zheng Qiao: "It's a pity that the name my mentor chose for me wasn't used."
The alarm bell in the attendant's mind was deactivated.
Basically, whatever Zheng Qiao said, he would just grunt in agreement, occasionally adding a question like, "Why didn't Senior Brother Yan come to see me?" On the surface, the Attendant was taciturn and aloof, but in his heart, he had long abandoned the way of a gentleman, and he would curse with whatever was most offensive.
If Yan Xingning could know this from beyond the grave, he would surely say it's bad luck.
The two reminisced for a full hour.
finally--
Zheng Qiao told him, "You should leave tonight."
The attendant trembled as he met the other man's gaze.
Zheng Qiao said indifferently, "Before I change my mind, you take your wife, children, and elderly parents and leave the territory of Ganzhou. If you are too slow, I will assume that you intend to die with me. You only have one chance, so don't blame me if you can't seize it."
After a long pause, the attendant finally managed to utter a sentence.
"Zheng Qiao, are you sober or insane?"
Zheng Qiao laughed heartily, scaring away the fish that had gathered around him. His calm expression was chilling in the twilight shadows: "Does it matter whether you're sober or insane? In my opinion, you self-proclaimed sober people do no more sensible things than a madman..."
The Chamberlain was unsure whether Zheng Qiao truly intended to let him go or if it was just another of his tricks, and he was afraid.
As the eunuch led him out, a night breeze blew, and the attendant shivered from the cold. His mind was a blur, and his body seemed to have its own will, guiding him forward with long strides. After walking a hundred or so steps, he stopped and looked back at the way he had come.
The once grand and imposing building, which was magnificent and luxurious during the day, now exuded a sense of desolation, gloom, decay, and ghostly aura, like a gaping maw of a vengeful demon, greedily devouring any living person who stepped into its territory.
He hurried home, where his wife and children anxiously peered out the door. When they saw the Chamberlain return alive and well, they wept with joy.
The Chamberlain first exchanged a few tender words with his family, gazing at the familiar and vibrant faces, Zheng Qiao's words echoing in his mind, so much so that he didn't even hear his wife's murmurs. She wiped away her tears of ecstatic joy and said, "I heard that the Lord was detained by the King, and I was filled with fear and dread, fearing that you too… Now that you're back, it's truly a joyous occasion. The kitchen has prepared mugwort water…"
Take a shower to drive away the bad luck.
At that moment, she saw the sword in the attendant's hand.
"This sword... doesn't seem to belong to the master?"
Upon hearing this, the Chamberlain seemed to wake from a dream. He looked down at the broken sword in his hand, his sluggish mind slowly returning to normal after surviving the ordeal. He stammered, "This sword belongs to Zheng Qiao."
The wife gasped, taking two steps back in fright, her eyes filled with disgust as she looked at the sword: "This filthy thing..."
Fearing surveillance, he swallowed back what he was about to say.
The attendant looked at the sword sheath in his hand, unsure whether to throw it away or not, and reluctantly placed it aside: "Madam, quickly have someone pack our bags, we'll set off from here tomorrow..."
The wife said with a pained expression, "How can we possibly leave?"
It's not that no colleagues want to leave, but they can't.
If caught, kill on the spot!
The Chamberlain said, "Don't worry, we can get away."
The wife looked at her husband with a mixture of belief and doubt, but she had one question: "My lord, if we leave, where should we go?"
The Chamberlain lowered his eyes and thought for a moment: "Longwu County, then."
The wife asked in confusion, "Where is that?"
The Chamberlain said, "The frontier."
His wife was reluctant: "That place is so harsh and cold, and there are also foreign invasions. Wouldn't it be terrible for our whole family to go there..."
The Chamberlain pointed to the broken sword and said, "If Zheng Qiao is willing to release the man, we should hand this sword over to him."
The wife asked, puzzled, "Whose hands are they?"
The Chamberlain twitched the corner of his mouth: "Ning Yan."
The wife's round eyes widened: "Tu Nan? But, but Tu Nan's husband, Yan Xingning, wasn't he... sent Zheng Qiao's broken sword to her? Wouldn't Tu Nan be so angry that he'd kill us?"
Ning Yan had no mother-in-law, and her family lived far away. From pregnancy to the ten months of pregnancy, the inexperienced couple almost went completely astray. Because their husbands were friends, she was asked to help Ning Yan, and the two grew closer through their exchanges about childcare.
She knew Ning Yan's stubbornness all too well.
The Chamberlain said, "That's what I think too."
Zheng Qiao is a madwoman; she's making things difficult for herself.
His wife suggested, "Why don't we just throw this away?"
She felt nauseous just looking at it.
The Chamberlain, still possessing some sense, did not do so.
The temporary residence was brightly lit all night. Large items couldn't be moved; only valuables, food, and water were packed. A bewildered child nestled in his wet nurse's arms, watching the adults bustle about with a confused expression, oblivious to the tension in the air.
I had only tidied up halfway when the housekeeper rushed over.
"My lord, my lord, someone from the palace has arrived!"
Upon hearing this, the Chamberlain's mind went blank and he nearly exploded. He grabbed his sword and said angrily, "Damn Zheng Qiao, he's really playing me for a fool! Fine, let's fight to the death!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, he realized he was a short eunuch with an unusually large belly. The eunuch secretly gripped his sword sheath, brewing murderous intent.
The eunuch was oblivious, and he tried his best to keep his voice down.
"Is the Attendant-in-Ordinary about to leave?"
The eunuch snorted, and the attendant assumed the other looked down on his status as a eunuch and disdained to associate with him. He raised his hand and untied his belt, startling the attendant into shouting.
What are you doing?
The eunuch said, "Show the Attendant something."
(* /ω＼*)
When the mushroom (a type of mushroom) starts to describe the villain in detail, it means that the villain is about to meet their end. Zheng Qiao is a madman, and a madman, of course, needs a unique way of exiting the story.
Zheng Qiao probably never dreamed that Ning Yan would come charging at him with a sword.
(End of this chapter)
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