CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK...
A rooster strutted arrogantly before Zheng Fan and his barbarian soldiers, as if declaring its sovereignty!
This sight even left Blind Bei at a loss for words.
They had painstakingly traveled from the north to the south, only to inherit a...chicken coop?
Fanli said with a good-natured laugh, "From now on, we can eat eggs every day."
Zheng Fan took a deep breath. He felt like someone who had just met the real person behind an online romantic interest—expecting Sister Zhiling but getting Ruhua instead...
At this moment, an old man walked out of the chicken farm.
The old man wore ragged leather armor and held a pottery jar, scattering chicken feed as he walked out.
Upon seeing Zheng Fan and the dense mass of barbarian soldiers behind him, the old man first hesitated. Then, striding forward with his pottery jar, he pointed at Zheng Fan and challenged, "Who are you?!"
Well, one had to admit, despite his age, this old man did indeed carry the air of an ’old soldiers never die’ veteran. It was just that, while this was a borderland, it hadn’t fallen, and this old soldier wasn’t some lone hero isolated beyond the frontier.
Zheng Fan exhaled, took two steps forward, produced his identity token, and announced, "Zheng Fan, Commander of Green Willow Fortress of Yan!"
The old man moved closer to inspect the token. After confirming its authenticity, he retreated a few steps, knelt, and declared, "This humble one salutes you, My Lord!"
"Your subordinate, Tie Sanzhu, Squad Leader of Green Willow Fortress."
Zheng Fan put away his token, pointed at Green Willow Fortress before them, and asked, "How did Green Willow Fortress end up ?"
"My Lord, Green Willow Fortress has been abandoned for decades." Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel{f}ire.net
The air was cool, and a sour stench of old chicken manure lingered.
All in all, it was quite wretched.
Zheng Fan had originally planned to build a bathhouse for himself in his Green Willow Fortress. Now, was he supposed to build his bathhouse in a chicken coop? So he could soak in the tub while watching roosters add their own ’ingredients’ to his bath?!
The barbarian soldiers set up tents beside Green Willow Fortress. Liang Cheng and Fanli then carried a coffin into the fortress, finding a relatively clean room to place it in.
Along the way, they had encountered numerous checkpoints and had been questioned many times why someone reporting for a new post would bring a coffin.
Zheng Fan’s reply was always: "I am prepared to die in battle for my country, my body wrapped in horsehide."
This reply deeply moved many guards at the checkpoints. Several high-ranking officers even invited Zheng Fan for drinks and to become sworn brothers.
This just went to show that the prevailing customs in Yan were still quite simple and honest.
In reality, the coffin was carrying Shatuo Queshi.
Ding Hao, Xiao Yibo, and Hongba were escorting the young lady and some valuables, so they weren’t with the main group.
Two chickens were simmering in an iron pot, and Siniang had even stuck cornbread to its rim—a dish that could be considered ’country-style pot chicken’.
Tie Sanzhu grumbled, approaching with silver in hand, "My Lord, aren’t you shaming this humble one? What’s wrong with me treating My Lord to two chickens, now that you’ve arrived to take up your post?"
Zheng Fan didn’t take Tie Sanzhu’s silver. Instead, with a tone that brooked no argument, he pointed to the spot opposite him and said, "Sit."
Tie Sanzhu hesitated for a moment but didn’t dare press the silver on him again and obediently sat opposite Zheng Fan.
"How long has this Green Willow Fortress been abandoned?"
"Replying to My Lord, almost thirty years now."
"Why was it abandoned?"
Had Yan’s border defenses really become such a farce? If he hadn’t witnessed the state of Beifeng Prefecture firsthand, Zheng Fan would have truly believed the Yan Kingdom was in its death throes.
"Replying to My Lord, it was a decision from above to disband it. The soldiers originally stationed at Green Willow Fortress were all dismissed long ago, and no pay or provisions have been sent down since. Because this humble one never married and, moreover, has an attachment to this place, I just stayed on."
"Such lax border defenses—are the officials above aware of this?"
"They know, they surely know! The other fortresses are much like our Green Willow Fortress, mostly deserted. Ours is still in relatively good shape because this humble one lives here and can still maintain the basic structure. As for the other forts, even the stones have been pilfered by local villagers to build pigsties."
Hearing that it wasn’t just Green Willow Fortress but all such fortifications that were in this state, Zheng Fan knew that the Yan officials were indeed aware.
Zheng Fan couldn’t help but ask, "Aren’t you afraid the Qian State forces will attack?"
When Tie Sanzhu heard Zheng Fan’s words, tears instantly welled up in his eyes, as if the deepest pain in his heart had been struck. He choked out, "My Lord, this humble one joined the army at seventeen! To do so, I even turned down a marriage my family had arranged for me, all in the hopes of one day achieving military merit and bringing honor to my ancestors! Who knew? Who knew? Who knew?!"
Tie Sanzhu stomped his foot, pointed south, and continued through gritted teeth, "This humble one has waited here since I was seventeen, waited for over forty goddamn years, and those accursed Qian State people just won’t come! My whole life has been ruined by those accursed Qian State people!!!"
Blind Bei, who was sitting nearby eating an orange, heard Tie Sanzhu’s words and quipped softly, "Gazing south for the King’s army, another year gone by; of that King’s army, how many companies even remain?"