CHAPTER 341: CHAPTER 21 SHEPHERD BOY POINTING TO THE APRICOT BLOSSOM VILLAGE_4

The families of Green Willow Fortress’s prisoner soldiers needed to have their slave status removed, and the wild soldiers needed to obtain Yan State residency permits. These were matters related to military stability and naturally could not afford any mistakes.

Fortunately, although A Ming was somewhat lazy in daily life, he was very meticulous when it came to work. People who weren’t meticulous couldn’t brew good wine, so Zheng Fan was quite at ease letting A Ming manage these matters.

As for Xiao Yibo, he had already taken his men and headed back. He had to report back to the fortress.

Meanwhile, Zheng Fan was kept behind by Hui Wenzu... for afternoon tea.

In Hui Wenzu’s words, the two ’brothers’ hadn’t had a proper meal together for a long time.

In fact, in Zheng Fan’s memory, it seemed the two had never truly sat down and eaten together.

Hui’s afternoon tea was very sumptuous, with six hearty main dishes. The only touch of green was a plate of stir-fried spinach.

In the room, after others were dismissed, Hui Wenzu first ate half a roasted chicken, then wiped his mouth, pointed at Zheng Fan, and said,

"You did a great job this time!"

Hui Wenzu was extremely pleased today.

This kind of pleasure was no less than being besieged on a battlefield, then suddenly receiving aid from a great general who led reinforcements to rout the enemy until they fled in disarray!

Zheng Fan just smiled.

"Those 1,500 wild soldiers, don’t mention taking them away for now."

Zheng Fan’s chopsticks, which were picking up food, paused. He asked,

"Why?"

Boss Zheng had just taken a hit to his capital and was now eyeing this tempting prospect of doubling his money to make it back.

"Hehe, arms, military equipment, warhorses—does your Green Willow Fortress have enough?"

Zheng Fan calculated that while there were indeed many items in the fortress warehouse, it wouldn’t be enough if he wanted to equip 1,500 men at once. The wild tribes were poor. For 1,500 wild soldiers heading south, it would be considered good if each man had a horse. As for armor and military equipment, it was true that many of them probably only had bows and arrows, and most of their arrowheads were likely carved from animal bones.

"Leave them with me for two days. I’ll open the armory and outfit you with 1,500 fully armored cavalry, each with two horses."

Zheng Fan’s eyelid twitched, but he didn’t rush to celebrate. Instead, he asked,

"Will there be any trouble?"

Even his toes could figure out that Fatty Hui couldn’t possibly conjure up equipment for 1,500 cavalrymen all of a sudden. He knew it had cost Chengjue a great deal to arm 1,500 riders previously. The only possibility was... Hui Wenzu was going to embezzle.

Nanwang City was once the center of Yan State’s Little Jiangnan, and its trade was extremely developed. Now, due to the war, it had become a large supply warehouse. The key to this warehouse was in Hui Wenzu’s hand. However, most of this large warehouse was actually sealed off with a specific quota, reserved for when the Jingnan Army and the Northern Border Army truly began their southern campaign.

Hui Wenzu was planning to carve out a share for Zheng Fan from the assets of the Northern Border Army and Jingnan Army! If word of this got out in the future, would Li Liangting or Tian Wujing be easy to handle? Wouldn’t any of those Lords be able to take Hui Wenzu’s head with just a word?

Hui Wenzu shook his head and said, "Left there, it’s just dead weight. It’s better if you use it first, hehe."

Zheng Fan sighed and said, "Don’t force it."

Chengjue was busy with equipment, war horses, and transporting supplies. The increased pressure might, at worst, make him vomit from exhaustion—but so what if he vomited? It wasn’t a big deal. However, if Hui Wenzu’s plan went awry, he could lose his life. Zheng Fan was truly reluctant to see that happen. Putting himself in another’s shoes, Hui Wenzu had been genuinely good to him since they first met. Zheng Fan truly didn’t want Hui Wenzu to take such a risk.

"Don’t be so modest. Weren’t you just calling Deng Ziliang a poor, pedantic scholar? How come it’s your turn to be like that now? You rascal, just win a few more battles, earn some more merit. Even if this gets discovered in the future, I, Hui Wenzu, wouldn’t have taken it for personal gain. There would still be room for discussion."

"Alright."

Zheng Fan didn’t act coy any longer.

Since Hui Wenzu dared to do this, he must have had a certain degree of confidence.

Moreover, Zheng Fan had a fleeting thought that Hui Wenzu might have already guessed some aspects of the war’s future course.

Zheng Fan had never underestimated Hui Wenzu. This man, skilled in both bureaucratic maneuvering and efficient administration, was no simple character.

"That’s more like it! You know, kid, I’m counting on you to make me look good, hehe. Come, drink this cup."

Zheng Fan raised his wine cup and clinked it with Hui Wenzu’s.

After downing the cup of wine, Zheng Fan tentatively said,

"We were just lucky this time. We struck just before the Qian State’s West Army Division arrived. Otherwise, we might not have made it back."

A surprise attack was inherently a gamble; naturally, it carried risks, but the potential rewards were also extremely high.

"Hehe, an old saying goes, ’a centipede dies but never falls down.’ No matter how badly off their Qian State is, it’s still a large nation. They’re bound to have some capable individuals."

"It’s just that this war might not be so easy to fight."

If the Qian State forces were determined to hole up like turtles in their shells, this war would become very difficult to fight.

"Let those two Lords worry about these things. As for me, brother, I’m not worried at all."

"Why is that?"

"The two most capable Lords will personally lead their armies. I’ve seen Lord Jingnan’s skill in managing his troops; it’s no worse than our Northern Border Army’s. However, I’m not yet sure about his actual combat prowess. But our Earl, hehe, the Qian State people will definitely be no match for him!"

He sounded very confident, very assured.

What else could Zheng Fan say?

This Hui Wenzu was a classic fanboy of the Earl of North Border.

"Drink."

"Drink!"

The drinking continued late into the night. Hui Wenzu was in high spirits, a rare occurrence, and insisted on Zheng Fan staying, refusing to let him go.

After all, having received such a huge favor this time, Zheng Fan could only oblige and continue drinking and chatting with Fatty Hui.