The Demon Lords

Chapter 486 12 Losing the Game_1

"That's not going to work. Regardless if it's the Yan Emperor who threw him out for a transaction with the Situ Family, or if he's playing his own tricks, we have no obligation to risk our own lives for them."

Zheng Fan took out two cigarettes and handed one to the Blind Man. Both of them, who were initially sitting against the battlements, now squatted down facing them.

It was night. In modern times, smoking on a battlefield at night is like waving a signal beacon. The situation wasn't much better in ancient times. While they didn't have sniper rifles, they certainly didn't lack sharpshooters. Especially when Qi and blood were infused into arrows before shooting, the range and lethality became terrifying.

Zheng Fan often practiced archery with A Ming when he had nothing else to do, so he understood this well.

They cherished their lives as dearly as misers cherish their silver coins and would certainly not joke around with them. After all, setting up a night watch near the front line or deploying sharpshooters was an unspoken rule.

So, with their cigarette tips pointed downwards, the two squatted and lit them.

"What does My lord plan to do?"

"Since there's definitely something wrong with Xinsu City, the outcome will be either A or B. There's no need to overthink and plan. After this cigarette, I'll go down and ask the emperor directly, plain and simple."

"My lord, if the Yan Emperor deliberately threw him out, it means he wants to avoid any responsibility or suspicion and send him away in the most justifiable manner. If we've already taken him in, throwing him out now would be a deliberate slap in the face to the Yan Emperor, wouldn't it? That could anger and embarrass the Yan Emperor even more than foiling his plans."

"Blind Man, you haven't met Ji Runhao."

"Hmm."

"Let me put it this way: this emperor, in the ancient times of our world, is truly another Emperor Qin or Emperor Wu of Han. He's incredibly arrogant and proud. Although all politicians play dirty, he probably wouldn't stoop to such methods—allying with Emperor Jin only to betray him on his journey back."

"My lord, if you analyze it from that perspective, I'm inclined to believe it."

"Heh. Of course, if that's true, then we're screwed either way. There'd be no point in staying in Yan any longer, would there?"

"That's reasonable."

"But if Emperor Jin orchestrated all of this himself..."

Zheng Fan exhaled a ring of smoke and frowned.

"The problem is, even if it's true that there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics, why would he collude with the Situ Family now? Situ Lei has already ascended the throne and established his own kingdom."

"My lord, I believe if we follow that line of thought, assuming Emperor Jin initiated this, then there must have been an unforeseen development at some stage."

Saying this, the Blind Man pointed ahead and continued, "Last night, several thousand more cavalry arrived. The Situ Family's army outside now numbers between fifteen thousand and nearly twenty thousand. Emperor Jin couldn't possibly muster such a force."

"I heard that after the Helian Family and the Wenren Family were wiped out, many generals from the Jin army defected to Yu Ciming's side?" Zheng Fan mused.

The Yan State had tacitly allowed this. To make a somewhat inappropriate comparison, Emperor Jin was now like Wong Tianhai.

Hearing this, Liang Cheng said, "My lord, the morale of the troops outside is very high. They don't seem like recently reorganized defeated soldiers."

"Forget it, forget it. No more analyzing, it's giving me a headache. Since we're sure there's a problem here, I'll go down and ask him directly later. No need for any convoluted games."

With that, Zheng Fan stubbed out his cigarette and said to Liang Cheng, "You keep watch from the city wall. Be wary of a night raid by the Jin people."

"Yes, My lord."

When everything is a tangled mess, the best approach is often to cut straight through it, regardless of the consequences.

At least, that's what Zheng Fan believed. For the sake of getting by, one could feign ignorance on other matters.

But when it concerned his own life and death, and that of the large group of people around him, it was pointless to continue playing dumb.

The men who had originally guarded Emperor Jin upon entering the fort had all been reassigned to the city wall. So, when Zheng Fan arrived with nearly a hundred armored soldiers, Emperor Jin had only two guards and two maids with him.

Yes, the old fort master hadn't changed his ways; he continued to send his granddaughters.

Zheng Fan also discovered that the Emperor was given even higher preferential treatment. Previously, the offer to Zheng Fan himself was one granddaughter to warm his bed; here, two were sent directly to the Emperor.

Of course, this was understandable. Although the Yu imperial family had long since lost its prestige, and the Jin people hadn't acknowledged an Emperor Jin for a very long time, he was, after all, still the legitimate emperor.

For a minor local tyrant like the old fort master, currying favor with Emperor Jin was highly advantageous. This was true even if he wasn't seeking power—Emperor Jin didn't have much left anyway. However, even the prospect of having a couple of imperial grandsons through his granddaughters would be an extremely profitable venture.

Without waiting for an announcement, Zheng Fan walked straight in. The two guards attempted to stop him, but Zheng Fan's armored soldiers forcefully blocked their path. They adopted a stance that clearly indicated they would strike if provoked, making the guards hesitant to act rashly.

When Zheng Fan entered, he saw Emperor Jin slowly sipping porridge. Despite the circumstances, he still maintained his characteristic elegance.

But this elegance gave Zheng Fan the distinct impression that he was putting on an act.

Among the four great Eastern nations, individuals who had met three emperors were extremely rare. Zheng Fan, however, had met all of them and had even spoken with them.