Don’t be deceived by these neighboring fortresses and general officers causing a stir at the Qian State’s border every day; they’re all feasting on my leftovers!
I’m not telling you this to boast, but to make one thing clear.
Because you’ve met me, someone who is also lucky.
Follow me. I can’t promise you’ll all survive—I’m sure you don’t believe that nonsense yourselves. Death is inevitable; people will die. But I will ensure your deaths have value. I can help as many of you survive as possible, and help you earn as much military merit as possible.
With me, you can quickly use your military merit to free your families from slave status. With me, you can make a comeback even faster!
The Zuo Family, the Huo Family—they’re all gone.
But you still have a chance to rise again!
I offer you hope. At this difficult time, I am your last and best hope!
However, I have one request. It’s a simple one. Considering I’ve made sure you’ve eaten well every day for this past half-month, I hope you’ll at least hear me out.
That is, if I’m on the battlefield, not quite dead but still breathing, don’t forget to drag me along when you make a run for it!"
The serious atmosphere was suddenly broken by collective laughter; Zheng Fan laughed too.
"TSK." A Ming, standing behind, shook his head and said, "My lord used to emulate Chen Daoming. Who is he mimicking now? Lord Jingnan? The Earl of North Border? Or perhaps the Yan Emperor?"
Liang Cheng spoke up, "Couldn’t it just be... My lord himself?"
A Ming’s eyes widened slightly. "HMM, so it’s true. The quietest ones deliver the most satisfying flattery."
At that moment, Blind Bei clapped his hands. Xiao Yibo and his men brought forward a basket filled with letters.
In this era, there was no free postage; sending letters via post stations was both expensive and inconvenient. For short distances, it was manageable, but for long distances, delivery was purely a matter of luck.
"Whose letters are these?" Xue Three asked Blind Bei.
"Letters from their families," Blind Bei replied.
Zheng Fan seemed completely unsurprised when Xiao Yibo and his men brought the basket forward. He pointed at it and shouted,
"These are letters from your relatives! Not everyone got one, but there’s a good number here. I’ve already taken care of things with the local officials and the guards in charge of your families. Their work is still hard, and their lives are undoubtedly tough—certainly not like before, and exhausting, for sure. But I’ve done my best."
With their houses overturned, their assets were surely confiscated by the imperial court. Wealth, connections—all severed under the iron hooves of the North Border Army.
They were convicts, and their family members had been made state slaves. They themselves certainly had no way, nor the ability, to make arrangements for their kin. So, when Zheng Fan said this, the way the members of the Huo and Zuo Families present looked at him truly changed.
After all, not everyone in this world was a Xiao Yibo or a Lord Jingnan.
The Yan people, after all, were not Barbarians. Though they lacked the sophisticated culture of etiquette, morality, and literature found in the Qian State, the Yan people still valued filial piety and personal relationships deeply.
Why hadn’t they chosen to escape during their escort, or to leave after Zheng Fan had equipped them with armor and warhorses? Wasn’t it precisely because their families were still in the imperial court’s hands?
One had to remember, there were quite a few graded martial artists within the Huo and Zuo Families. Huo Kuang, for instance, was an Eighth Rank Martial Cultivator!
If they had wanted to flee, they could have done so during the transport. But they hadn’t. They still hoped to use military merit to exchange for their families’ freedom.
And now, this commander had actually already made arrangements for them. This gesture, more than providing them with meat at every meal, touched them far more deeply.
Huo Kuang stood up. After receiving the letter Xiao Yibo handed him, he didn’t rush to open and read it. Instead, he turned and slowly knelt on one knee before Zheng Fan.
Ordinarily, salutes were required. Even though their commander had spent the better part of the last half-month dressed in a cotton-padded jacket, looking more like a wealthy gentleman, the necessary etiquette was still observed.
But this time, this act of kneeling carried genuine sincerity.
Zuo Jiqian also stood. He knew full well that Zheng Fan was winning over hearts and minds, but there was nothing he could do. As one of those directly involved, he understood that after Zheng Fan had gone this far, he himself had already been caught in the snare.
Therefore, Zuo Jiqian also knelt.
On the training ground, the men of the Huo and Zuo Families slowly rose to their feet, then, one by one, they knelt on one knee before Zheng Fan.
"PHEW, Blind Man, that was a truly brilliant move of yours," Xue Three couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Blind Bei chuckled and said, "It wasn’t my idea."
If it wasn’t your idea, then whose was it...
Blind Bei had actually considered this method before, but he hadn’t mentioned it in his correspondence with the Sixth Prince at Green Willow Fortress. He knew that the Sixth Prince’s businesses and properties, while seemingly vast, didn’t actually yield much surplus. Despite bearing the surname "Ji," the Prince likely paid even more in protection fees than an ordinary wealthy merchant. To be frank, the armaments and warhorses at Green Willow Fortress were even somewhat more extravagant than those of the Jingnan Army. It seemed the Sixth Prince was already stretched to his limit. Furthermore, asking him to help with the members of the Huo and Zuo Families who had been demoted to state slaves would be costly. Secondly, at this juncture, suppressing the aristocratic families was practically the political doctrine in the Yan State. Intervening in such a matter at this time would entail significant political risks.
However, although Blind Bei hadn’t proposed it, ever since his lord had returned this time, Blind Bei himself had begun to occasionally read through the letters and intelligence reports sent by the Sixth Prince, and would sometimes send replies.