Chapter 1401 - 334: Coming Clean!

Chapter 1401: Chapter 334: Coming Clean!

The Sword Saint has returned home,

bringing along Hu Bamei,

and also carrying Xue Three’s reluctance and heavy longing.

Reunions are precious because they are brief; the true norm is that everyone goes their separate ways for life.

Next, the Demon Lords and Lord Zheng, their master, will part to accomplish their respective tasks.

The blind man and Jin Shuke led a troop to the rear;

starting from being a captain of the merchant guards, without people, money, weapons, or horses, to later having to select prisoner soldiers at Green Willow Fortress, and after going to Jin land, only being able to accept surrendered troops of Jin land, salivating countless times at the quality soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army and the Jingnan Army;

this time, finally, it’s their turn to have a real feast.

Xue Three also led a team of craftsmen to depart, supporting the brother troops in their sieging operations.

Yesterday, Lord Zheng invited Gongsun Zhi and Gong Wang to gather inside the fortress for a meal.

Because for a long time ahead, there will be no war on the eastern front;

therefore, Lord Zheng took Gongsun Zhi’s son, Gongsun Zhen, to the King’s Tent, so he could receive instruction from Prince Jingnan, and thus Gongsun Zhen was also taken to receive his own instruction.

Additionally, Gong Wang’s son, Gong Lin, was also assigned by Zheng Fan to serve as a military advisor.

During the meal, Lord Zheng had Liang Cheng sit beside him.

With everyone’s sons by their sides, plus Lord Zheng’s explicit indication, both Gongsun Zhi and Gong Wang should clearly understand which orders the three divisions of the eastern front should follow next.

After accomplishing this, Lord Zheng packed his things and, the following morning, proceeded directly to the Central Army King’s Tent with some followers and guards.

...

Everything seemed unchanged from before.

The King’s Tent was located in the central area of the military camp, separated by an independent fence, possessing a strong sense of independence.

Lord Zheng’s tent was within this small area, not far from the King’s Tent.

It was evident that Gongsun Zhen and Gong Lin were a bit excited yet nervous, as they were about to face Prince Jingnan, a god-like figure in the Yan Army.

In contrast, Lord Zheng appeared much more composed.

"You, go wash these vegetables, you, go clean these bones, and after that, start a fire and stew them."

After instructing Gong Lin and Gongsun Zhen, Lord Zheng adjusted his clothing and walked toward the King’s Tent.

Nodding at the personal guards under Prince Jingnan posted at the entrance, without announcing himself, Lord Zheng directly lifted the curtain and entered.

Inside the King’s Tent, Prince Jingnan was reading military memorandums.

"My lord."

"Come here."

Lord Zheng approached.

Tian Wujing, without looking up, pointed to the stack of memorandums on one side of his desk and said,

"Approve them."

Uh...

Lord Zheng nodded, picked up the memorandums, and sat at a subordinate position.

This abrupt engagement in work caught Lord Zheng off guard, but he had no room to protest.

Upon opening them, he found that they were sent from Ying Capital City, mostly concerning logistics.

These kinds of memorandums were relatively easier to handle.

Although the daily affairs of Snow Sea were managed by Siniang, Lord Zheng had occupied that position for so long that his outlook had been broadened, making these approvals manageable.

Routine communication that had no issues and was just procedural was approved and placed aside separately by Lord Zheng.

For those requesting extensions with unclear reasons, Lord Zheng noted "Process quickly," leaving out the latter half of the message, but the recipients could probably infer it to mean "Delays will be subject to military law."

These memorandums were also set aside separately.

There were indeed a few for which valid reasons were provided; Lord Zheng, applying his judgment and experience, determined these were not cases of intentional delay by officials but rather real difficulties.

For instance, due to heavy rain in Wang River, two floating bridges were destroyed, causing delays in military supply transport — a situation that human effort and attitude couldn’t quickly resolve.

Fortunately, there weren’t many of these cases, only a few.

With the three types categorized and stacked together, Lord Zheng presented them before Lord Jingnan’s desk, arranging them again.

Prince Jingnan raised his head, looked at Lord Zheng, and asked,

"Finished approving?"

"Yes, my lord. This stack needs your review, my lord, and I’ve made notations on this other stack."

The third stack, filled with redundant formalities, was left unsaid.

Prince Jingnan flipped through a few volumes, nodded, and said,

"Do you know what I want to say?"

Lord Zheng nodded, replying, "What a talent with this red ink, it’d be a waste not to join the Ministry of Rites."

"Heh."

Prince Jingnan laughed, pushing those memorandums aside, and said,

"As a commander, aiming to manage everything in detail is too difficult, but my habit is to keep everything in mind. Governing the military is like governing a country, where issuing a command to lead thousands into battle is thrilling, yet most of the time you need to sit and labor over documents."

"Yes, I’ve learned from you."

"Another batch will arrive this afternoon. Please approve them for me, in the same manner."

"Yes, my lord."

"How is your injury?"

"It’s no longer of concern."

"Although a Martial Cultivator’s true reliance is their physical body, refining spirit and energy, body and mind are indeed unified. It’s not about pursuing self and the Dao as obsessively as Qi cultivators, but at least don’t be a hindrance; otherwise, it could be detrimental to your future cultivation path."

This was observed when visiting East Mountain Fortress upon Lord Zheng’s recovery from a coma.