Devil’s Advent

On the official road, there are teams escorting prisoners everywhere. Zheng Fan is riding a horse, and Siniang and A Ming are beside him.

The Marquis of Jingnan really regarded Zheng Fan as his own, and even his family's funeral affairs were left to Zheng Fan to handle. It took Zheng Fan a lot of time to finish these things.

Si Niang and A Ming accompanied Zheng Fan to Beijing this time, but because Zheng Fan was riding in the carriage of the Marquis of Jingnan when they set off, the two of them followed from a distance.

After Zheng Fan experienced the extremely exciting Yanjing Twelve Hours,

Ah Ming and Siniang were recruited by Zheng Fan to go to the farm to help collect the corpse.

Although I didn't personally participate in the purge of the clan, but seeing that it took only ten days and a half months, from the official roads of the prisoners one after another, I can probably see clearly the scale of this purge. up.

Those who were escorted were basically young and middle-aged men. Even if they were a little older, it would be no problem to send them to the front line to be civilian husbands.

The Emperor Yan wanted to clean up the Dayan Clan, but he didn't slaughter them all. Of course, those top Clans must be resolutely wiped out physically, but there are so many families of the Dayan Clan, and they were forcibly labeled as "criminals" Under the will of the Emperor Yan, the prisoners will march towards Yinlang County in the south.

There,

It will be the first line of Yan State's attack,

And war will indeed consume a lot of materials, money and food,

But the most direct consumable in war is human life!

Zheng Fan didn't know whether it was the same scene when Qin Shihuang conscripted prisoners and civilian husbands, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he was still shocked by the scenes on the official road.

The army upholds the will of the monarch and begins to wield the blade,

The entire country of Yan began to carry out the most brutal and direct war mobilization under the order of Emperor Yan.

The huge land owned by the clans was naturally confiscated. The huge hidden households that originally belonged to the clans and not the country were re-stated and recorded by the court. A clan becomes a country.

In ancient times, the centralization process of the central government was originally a seesaw in which the central and local governments competed for "land" and "population".

In the historical process that Zheng Fan is familiar with, it seems that every ancient dynasty that has created brilliance has centralized power before creating brilliance, so that they can concentrate their power to do big things.

However, when passing by these prisoners, Zheng Fan could clearly feel the hostility of these prisoners.

The son of a powerful family who was originally high above the top, but now he has become a prisoner.

In the hundreds of years of Dayan's political system, the Ji family and the aristocratic family have always ruled the world. Strictly speaking, the children of these aristocratic families are also the masters of the country of Dayan.

In fact, the balance between imperial power and aristocratic families has never been broken.

The imperial power was further shrunk because the first emperor succeeded to the throne with the support of the Zhenbei Houfu, and the extravagance enjoyed by the first emperor during his reign. The aristocratic families have never let down their guard against the expansion of imperial power.

But no amount of precaution, no amount of scheming, can't match two words: naivety.

Yan Huang naively believed that Fa Xiao, who robbed chicken legs when he was a child, would not rebel when he was sitting on a heavy army, so he accepted everything from the Marquis of Zhenbei;

Zhenbei Hou innocently believed that Emperor Yan was not a temptation to him, so he handed over the 300,000 Zhenbei army to his majesty, and he himself was a plowman himself, willing to bear the infamous general Dayan who had existed in the land of Dayan for hundreds of years. The gatekeepers plowed again.

Jingnanhou innocently joined the battle between Zhenbeihou and Yanhuang, and he did not hesitate to slaughter his own family first to show his break with the past.

The suspicion of the emperor, the boundary between the emperor and his ministers, did not seem to be reflected in the three of them. The three innocent guys joined forces abruptly to turn this big swallow upside down.

There are three heroes in one generation, and these three heroes are still standing together.

When the cavalry of the Zhenbei Army and the Jingnan Army rolled in behind Yan Huang that day,

All the officials and clansmen all "thumped" in their hearts at the same time,

they understand

Dayan's day,

changed!

It was as if overnight, their wealth, their status, and their dignity that belonged to them were completely deprived. They were sent to the front line of southern Xinjiang by Emperor Yan, and they wanted to take up arms and atone for the "sins" they had suddenly added to themselves. , Fighting for the "freedom" that I originally had but lost overnight.

From Zheng Fan's point of view, they looked like the gang of barbarians under him. The barbarians under Zheng Fan were from the prisoner tribe. Their relatives were controlled by the big tribe, and they were reduced to the big tribe to fight. Time cannon fodder consumables.

The same is true for these prisoners. Their family members are controlled in their hometowns or in the capital, waiting for them to use their military merits in exchange for their freedom.

From a chicken to a sparrow, and then from a sparrow to an eagle, suddenly, I became a chicken again, and I started to work hard to become a sparrow again.

"The scale is huge." A Ming said with emotion.

Zheng Fan looked at Ah Ming and nodded.

Although Ah Ming is a vampire, he is not very old, at least not so exaggeratedly old, he cannot be compared with Liang Cheng.

Zheng Fan knew better that the current Dayan was boiled by three dreamers.

It is equivalent to Stud's doing everything. If the next attack fails to achieve great results, and the external development fails to achieve great success, the boiling water is likely to be burned on his own people.

It's a gamble,

Those three,

I am gambling with the luck of the country.

finally,

The three of Zheng Fan stopped,

Nanwang City has arrived.

...

After the Jingnan Army withdrew from Nanwang City, Xu Wenzu finally realized what it was like to be the commander-in-chief.

But he hadn't breathed in the free and fresh air for a long time, and the news from the capital directly scared him to the ground.

Good guy, more than three hundred catties of fat was piled directly on the ground, and the followers around him took a lot of effort to help him up.

Immediately afterwards, the Marquis of Jingnan, who came back with the evil spirit of slaughtering his own family, issued an order, and the aristocratic families in Yinlang County were trampled by the iron hooves of the Jingnan Army.

But one reason is that a batch of people were cleaned up due to the assassination of the Zongbing Mansion earlier, and Yinlang County itself was the battlefield of Qian Kingdom’s Northern Expedition a hundred years ago, so the climate here is not as prosperous as other places in Dayan. This second round of liquidation did not take much time.

Subsequently,

Various materials from the imperial court began to be transported to Yinlang County, to the Jingnan Army, and to Nanwang City. After hundreds of years of terrifying wealth accumulated by the aristocratic families were confiscated by the imperial court, they were immediately transported to the "battle zone" by the Emperor Yan.

This is a battle of national destiny belonging to Dayan!

After entering Nanwang City, Zheng Fan went straight to the General Military Mansion.

After receiving the notification from his servants, Xu Wenzu immediately went to the living room to meet Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan is drinking tea,

Looking at Xu Wenzu,

"puff……"

Tea spilled directly from the corner of his mouth.

"Brother Zheng, brother Zheng?"

Zheng Fan raised his hand, indicating that he was fine, there was no napkin here in ancient times, so he could only wipe his mouth with his sleeve.

It's Xu Wenzu's current look that catches people off guard.

It can be seen that Xu Wenzu is very tired, but he is not so tired that he looks thinner, but more puffy, especially after the bags under his eyes are pulled down, he looks like a strong cartoon.

As for Xu Wenzu calling himself "Brother Zheng", Zheng Fan didn't have much panic. The six princes no longer called themselves "orphan" in front of him, and it was normal for Xu Wenzu to stop calling himself "my official".

Zheng Shoubei also found it interesting that he had been pulling on the tiger skin of Marquis Zhenbei all the time, but in the end it was Marquis Jingnan's coat that he actually put on.

But no matter what, after tossing and tossing, I finally managed to look a little bit human, and I no longer had to grovel as often as before.

"Brother Zheng, come."

Xu Wenzu personally led Zheng Fan to his study, Zheng Fan had also been here last time.

In Xu Wenzu's yard, there were people coming and going, and everyone was very busy, not as deserted as last time.

After entering the study, Xu Wenzu closed the door of the study, then walked to the grand teacher's chair by himself, and collapsed directly.

Zheng Fan had only heard of "women are made of water" before,

Now,

He witnessed that as long as you are fat enough, you can also be made of water.

After Xu Wenzu sat down paralyzed, his belly rolled up to his chin, and he rolled a few waves, which could not be calmed down for a long time.

"Brother Zheng, I'm tired and thin..."

"yes."

Zheng Fan really knows that work that consumes too much energy, such as staying up late, is indeed easy to make people puffy.

"Oh, this is the first time I've been so tired after being an official for half my life."

"It is not easy for adults to work hard for the country."

"Don't talk nonsense, brother, I can take the time to talk to you to catch my breath. You don't know how many government orders I have to issue in a day from the General Military Mansion, you straight mother!"

A large amount of supplies and a large number of prisoners were escorted to Yinlang County one after another. Everything needed to be handled by Xu Wenzu, the chief soldier of Nanwang City.

I don't know whether it is because I am worried that someone will hinder me or what, but the vacancy of the prefect of Nanwang City has not been filled.

But from what Zheng Fan saw along the way into Nanwang City, although the city looked a little bloated, it could still be called orderly.

This is enough to reflect Xu Wenzu's ability. Perhaps, the reason why the imperial court transferred him here should be his ability to handle complicated tasks.

Xu Pangpang did not live up to the court's expectations.

Perhaps, life is like this;

Zheng Fan still remembers that when he was in Hutou City, Xu Wenzu was still discussing with himself how he should dedicate the city after the Zhenbei Army rebelled.

At that time, most of Xu Wenzu's energy was actually devoted to political struggle and standing in line. In short, he was not like an official but more like a bureaucrat. But now, although he is tired, he can feel his energy God is still good.

It is also a kind of enjoyment to be able to do things down-to-earth without thinking about intrigue.

"I already know about the affairs of the capital, hehe, hahahaha..."

Xu Wenzu laughed out loud.

The two who had been thinking about the plan of the Hou Mansion below, did not expect that their Lord Hou and Emperor Yan would wear a pair of trousers in the end. This was the most dreamy result, but at the same time, it was also the best result.

Dayan, instead of facing the terrible internal friction and civil war, can mobilize all forces to carry out the largest and most invested foreign expansion in a century.

"My lord, I just came back from the capital, and I haven't returned to the fortress yet, so I came here first to see you coming."

Xu Wenzu pointed at Zheng Fan, he naturally guessed Zheng Fan's intention.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it for you, we two are the real ones on our own."

Zheng Fan nodded, although he didn't understand why he and Xu Wenzu became his own people after he became a lackey of Jingnan Hou's sect, but Shangfeng took the initiative to build a relationship with you, and you would not foolishly destroy the atmosphere.

"Although the Huo family in Huwei County is an aristocratic family that has been passed down for a hundred years, this family has a strong atmosphere of martial arts, and all the children of the Huo family are members of the Lian family.

Brother, I didn't break them up, and I didn't assign them out. I just stayed here, just for you. "

Prisoners were escorted here, and naturally not all of them were used as civilian husbands. They were actually more like reserve troops, or enriched into local troops.

The Jingnan Army has its own 50,000 rear battalion reserve, and like the elite of the Jingnan Army, blind expansion can only lead to a decline in its combat power, so the Jingnan Army did not recruit many prisoners, and instead recruited Yinlang The fortresses and military offices in the counties came to absorb them.

Anyway, most of the local security forces are used as cannon fodder. Whether gold can be refined or not, let's refine it and see.

Let me guess with some dark thoughts, the imperial court escorted the powerful prisoners to the front line to fight, isn't it just to consume them on purpose.

If they don't die, staying in the country is a hidden danger.

"The Huo family, how many people are there?"

"More than seven hundred people."

According to tradition, there is a high probability that these family prisoners will be scattered and distributed. Even refugees in a place will pay attention to breaking them up when they are resettled, let alone a family.

But whether you break up or not, there are actually advantages and disadvantages. If you can't suppress them, this group of people will gather together to resist you, and even if you can't do it well, they will even let go of the family members who stayed behind. It is also possible to defect directly to the enemy country.

But if you can suppress them and tame them, the children of seven hundred families with one surname will be hard to break down and escape after being thrown on the battlefield, and their resilience will be greater.

"Okay, I want it, armor, ordnance, food, these..."

"rest assured!"

Xu Wenzu stretched out his hand to signal Zheng Fan to pull him up, and said at the same time:

"The people below say I'm eccentric, so I'm eccentric. Anyway, brother, I'm fat and thick-skinned, hehe."

In fact, Zheng Fan's Green Willow Castle does not lack food, grass, military equipment, armor and war horses, but the more of these things, the better.

"Thank you, my lord."

"Hey, hey, don't look outside, but don't look outside, I'm betting on you, you must fight for my breath, seeing that the war is about to start, to be honest, brother, I'm here Even if the time is uncertain, you have to put on your clothes and go into battle!"

"..." Zheng Fan.

The image of Xu Pangpang charging on a horse appeared in Zheng Fan's mind.

Then a group of people hid behind Xu Wenzu to avoid arrows when charging...

Or, during the battle of defending the city, Xu Wenzu was directly used as a sandbag and thrown behind the city gate to resist the enemy's charge...

Of course, these situations will basically not happen. If Dayan's army really reaches the point where even Xu Pangpang has to charge, then the country will not be far away from subjugation.

Xu Wenzu will definitely be there when he goes to the battlefield. He is the commander-in-chief, so it is impossible not to lead the army, but what he is doing now is to build his own lineage based on his relationship with Zheng Fan.

If Xu Wenzu knew that Shatuo Queshi, who smashed his carriage back then, was lying in Cuiliu Fort now, probably...

"Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to your lord's high expectations!"

Zheng Fan really doesn't mind saluting loudly and sincerely when someone gives you such a big face and such a big benefit.

………

After leaving the General Military Mansion, under the leadership of a trusted lieutenant sent by Xu Wenzu, Zheng Fan came to a school yard in the city.

In the school grounds, there were crowds of people, and there were many prisoners in custody. Some prisoners were put on shackles, but most of them were not restricted, but were confined to various areas.

On the outskirts of the school grounds, soldiers with bows and crossbows were in charge of guarding.

Inside, there are many military leaders and clerks shuttling back and forth.

A Ming, who was following Zheng Fan, whispered to Zheng Fan:

"It looks like a livestock market."

"Yes." Zheng Fan nodded in agreement.

"My lord, if this battle doesn't go well, there will be big problems for the Yan Kingdom."

"Um."

Zheng Fan also felt it. If he had expressed admiration for the majesty of Emperor Yan and the two Marquis before, now he truly felt the signs of a volcanic eruption hidden under this majesty.

Maybe, there was only one Zheng Fan in the Yan Kingdom before, but now, Emperor Yan has personally created countless Zheng Fans.

If there is a problem in the confrontational war, and at the same time, one of the Yanhuang three has an accident, then this group of people with revenge and anger in their hearts...

You know, in this world, most of the elites carry the label of aristocrats.

If one fails, it will be a new round of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

"Master Zheng, the Huo family is here."

The captain appointed by Xu Wenzu led Zheng Fan to a fence.

Behind the fence, a group of people are sitting, and you can clearly see the order that comes with them.

At this time, a person in the crowd stood up and walked over. His gaze fell on the captain, and finally on Zheng Fan.

Shouted in a very arrogant tone:

"Hehe, which adult wants to buy us back!"

"presumptuous!"

The captain immediately scolded.

Zheng Fan didn't care about being angry because of the other party's unruly attitude. First of all, he believed that no matter how unruly the group is, if they go back and hand it over to Liang Cheng and Blind Bei for reform, there shouldn't be any big problems.

Secondly, Zheng Fan's attention was attracted by the fence next door at this time, just like the first time he noticed him at the funeral of the former general Xiao Haihai.

The other party leaned there, seemingly in a daze.

Zheng Fan didn't pay attention to Huo's prickly head, but walked to the side of the fence, reached out and knocked,

"Brother Zuo?"

After the man heard this claim, his body trembled first, then he turned his head to look at Zheng Fan.

Immediately his hands gripped the fence excitedly,

Shouted to Zheng Fan:

"Brother Zheng, no, no, Mr. Zheng, Mr. Zheng, please do me a favor, please do me a favor, take me, take me!"