CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 87 LORD JINGNAN_1

Just as the stone was about to hit Zheng Fan’s forehead, a low shout came:

"Mo Wan! Are you trying to get us all killed?"

WHIZZ!

The stone began to slow, finally halting right before Zheng Fan’s forehead. Perhaps due to the abrupt deceleration, a faint scorching smell lingered in the air, even singeing and curling the fringe of Zheng Fan’s hair.

Lying on the ground, Zuo Jiqian heard the voice behind him and instinctively tried to turn his head.

BANG!

A Ming kicked him in the head.

Already injured, Zuo Jiqian was directly kicked unconscious.

"He’s your father!" A Ming shouted, clutching his left hand.

His left hand had turned a bluish-purple; he was clearly concentrating the poison from the earlier needle attack there, suppressing its spread.

Just then, a somewhat young and tender child’s voice echoed from within the stone:

"I was just following orders."

"Orders? Whose orders?" A Ming asked.

"My... father’s."

The word "father" was bitten out, spoken with extreme reluctance.

A Ming looked at Zheng Fan in confusion. Zheng Fan looked back at A Ming, just as puzzled, indicating he wouldn’t be foolish enough to give such an order.

"He said... ’Son, smash!’"

"..." Zheng Fan.

「...」

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Squadrons of cavalry galloped over, converging beneath the north gate tower of Nanwang City.

The soldiers guarding the north gate tower immediately closed the city gate. Rows of archers on the city wall above the gate were already in position. The Captain of the North Gate defense drew his saber and shouted down at the troops below, who were clearly in Yan Army regulation uniforms:

"Identify yourselves! Why are you charging the city gate tower?"

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a black cloak and gilded armor slowly urged his Pi Beast forward from the ranks.

In Great Yan, tradition held that one judged a man by his mount. Generally, the higher a person’s status, the better the quality of Pi Beast they could be equipped with. The Pi Beast beneath this middle-aged man had powerful limbs, an astonishing physique, and three long black horns on its forehead, radiating a ferocious aura. In quality, it completely outclassed the unicorn ridden by Hui Wenzu.

The middle-aged man did not announce his identity, but his armor and mount had already allowed many soldiers on the city wall to recognize him.

The defending Captain’s mouth fell open. "M-My... Lord..."

The man raised a purple-gold token in his hand and announced loudly, "Rebels are causing turmoil in Nanwang City! I have led my army to enter the city and suppress the rebellion. Anyone who obstructs will be considered an accomplice of the rebels and shall be killed without mercy!"

"KILL!"

"KILL!"

"KILL!"

The thousands of cavalrymen behind him raised their weapons and roared in unison.

The systems of nobility differed among the four great states. In Great Yan, Marquis was the highest rank; only members of the imperial family could be enfeoffed as Kings.

Great Yan’s foremost Marquis was naturally the Earl of North Border. His marquisate commanded the three hundred thousand strong North Border Army, which had suppressed the barbarian tribes for a century.

However, in the south of Great Yan, there was also a Lord Jingnan, in command of the fifty thousand strong Jingnan Army.

In truth, the true defense for Great Yan along the Qian State border had never been the fortress system centered around Nanwang City. The Yan people excelled at offense but were weaker in defense. Even during the most difficult times, facing the most powerful barbarian Royal Court, the Yan people would take the initiative to engage the barbarian cavalry in frontal assaults.

The greatest threat perceived by the border towns of Qian State was precisely this fifty thousand strong Jingnan Army.

With the fifty thousand Jingnan Army present, even if Great Yan’s border defenses were completely dismantled, the Qian State forces would not dare to advance northwards easily. If Qian State sent too few men on a northern expedition, they risked being annihilated by these fifty thousand Jingnan Army troops. If they sent too many, the Jingnan Army, relying on the mobility of its cavalry, could choose to fight, retreat, outflank, or intercept at will, buying enough time for Great Yan to mobilize troops from elsewhere to meet the threat.

However, unlike the hereditary line of the Earl of North Border, the Ji Family had no desire to create another power like the North Border Marquisate. Therefore, each Lord Jingnan was personally appointed by the Yan Emperor.

When a Lord Jingnan reached retirement age, or when a new Yan Emperor ascended the throne and needed to install his own confidants, the position of Lord Jingnan, much like the head of the Ministry of Rites, would be changed. The outgoing Lord Jingnan would retain his marquis title, but he would no longer be called Lord Jingnan. A new Lord Jingnan would then be appointed to take his place.

Thus, the fifty thousand strong Jingnan Army, its standard deployment, was actually more akin to an imperial guard unit stationed outside the capital. And the title of Lord Jingnan itself was more like an official post than a hereditary peerage.

The current Lord Jingnan was the Empress’s own younger brother, making him the nation’s maternal uncle. Shortly after this generation’s Yan Emperor ascended the throne, he was enfeoffed as Lord Jingnan and given command of the Jingnan Army.

"Sir, should... should we open the city gate?" a Centurion asked the defending Captain standing beside him.

This defending Captain glanced back worriedly beyond the city gate. The disturbance over at the General Mansion had also been detected from here, and the city defense forces had already been deployed there. Yet, at this critical moment, Lord Jingnan was leading his army and wanted to enter Nanwang City...

In Yan State, the military and civil administrations were nominally separate and did not interfere with each other. This principle was practically non-existent in Beifeng Prefecture, where the Earl of North Border’s Marquisate was effectively the self-made emperor. However, in other regions, it was strictly enforced.

Lord Jingnan could normally only station his troops within the Jingnan Army’s main camp. Because his title was not hereditary, he did not possess a marquisal manor.

Faced with the pressure from the Jingnan Army below the city tower, the defending Captain gritted his teeth and ordered, "Pass the order! Open the city gate and let the Jingnan Army in! I refuse to believe that the Emperor’s brother-in-law would actually rebel!"

The city gate slowly creaked open.

Lord Jingnan, leading the charge, was the first to rush through. Behind him, the thundering iron cavalry of the Jingnan Army followed, pouring in like a torrent.