Chapter Ten: Coercion and Enticement

  In the Imperial Palace of Haotian, Emperor Chu Wei sat in his study, holding a silk report about the failed search for Jin Yuan's troops. He suddenly burst into curses: "Bastards! So many people have gone and still can't find it!" After finishing speaking, he violently flung the silk in his hand, flying straight to collide with the wall, shattering into a pile of torn fabric.

  "Come!" Chu Wei sternly shouted, and in the blink of an eye, a black-clad man appeared before him, half-kneeling. This was his Dark Guard.

  "Get me a thorough investigation of where the Jin Yuan troops have gone!" Chu Wei ordered with a wave of his hand.

  "Yes!" The man in black nodded slightly and then flashed away.

  Meng Fan returned to Yào City with the grain without any issues. As the sky had just brightened, he met Lei Ming and Yang Tian smiling at him by the city gate. Meng Fan's heart was genuinely moved for a moment, and he secretly made up his mind to follow them closely.

  Actually, Leiming and the others weren't specifically waiting for him to get up, but rather Yang Tian had started practicing his elite camp again. The martial arts he taught were more effective when practiced in the morning, and Leiming was there to guide him.

  Fortunately, the two of them looked at Meng Fan's excited appearance and didn't tell him the truth, otherwise Meng Fan would have been so angry that he could have spat blood.

  The grain Meng Fan escorted back can last them two months, so Lei Ming and his men plan to take a good rest and train their troops seriously, either for future battles or to retreat.

  Five days passed, Chu Wei in the imperial palace received a report from the dark guard, Jin Yuan's army bypassed Tianyuan City through the mountains and forests, and went straight to Yao City, after which there was no trace.

  "Oh? So that means the Jin Yuan army was defeated by Meng Fan at Tianwei Gate?" Chu Wei heard this and exclaimed with joy, then furrowed his brow, "No, it's impossible to defeat them without reporting the merit. Did Yao City get destroyed?"

  "Your Majesty, Meng Fan is still there. He went to Tianyuan to transport grain five days ago. Moreover, Yaocheng has not been damaged yet, and the defense is still very lax." The dark guard respectfully reported the situation he had investigated.

  Chu Wei rubbed his forehead, this Meng Fan was still the same as ever, not taking the management of the city defense seriously at all. If it weren't for the face of Tianwei Gate and his decent martial arts skills, he would have been dismissed from his post long ago!

  However, Jin Yuan's troops lost their tracks near Yaocheng, and they had to ask him about it.

  "Dark Guard, go and ask Meng Fan for me if there is any news about the Jin Yuan army!" Chu Wei gave the order, but seeing the Dark Guard hesitate, he added, "Take my token with you, he won't give you a hard time." After finishing speaking, he let out a sigh.

  "Yes! I'll set off immediately!" The Dark Guard let out a sigh of relief, responding quickly and then flashed away without leaving any trace.

  Chu Wei sighed and said to himself: "This boring battle..."

  The next day, the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and the sunlight occasionally broke through the black clouds floating in the sky, shining on the lush green rice fields, highlighting the brightness of the rice between heaven and earth, as if the heavens also knew the importance of food.

  An Wei still wore black clothes, riding a horse alone to the outside of Yaocheng City. Looking at the closed city gate and the five-meter-high city wall with the listless and sparse guards, he couldn't help but secretly scold: "Men Fang this bastard, relying on his high martial arts skills, can't even train soldiers properly!"

  "Open the gate! We're from the capital!" The dark guard pulled out his token and waved it at the city wall.

  The guard on the city wall was startled, and a person from Huatian Imperial City had arrived, which meant trouble. He rubbed his eyes and looked carefully from top to bottom, and indeed the man had a large token in his hand. However, as a small soldier, he had no opportunity to come into contact with those special tokens, and did not know how powerful the other party was, only knowing that a big shot had indeed arrived.

  He didn't dare take matters into his own hands and shouted "Wait a minute!" as he turned around and ran down to the city to report to his superior.

  The news quickly spread and reached the ears of Lei Meng and others. Lei Meng gathered Yang Tian, Luo Yangtian and Meng Fan to discuss. Lei Meng sat upright and asked Meng Fan: "General Meng, you are from the capital city, what do you think?"

  Meng Fan bowed slightly and said: "I've been out of the way for half a year, and I haven't taken over here for long. I really don't know what you people are after."

  Huang Chu felt that Meng Fan was telling the truth, he nodded and said: "General Meng's first official position, I don't know if it's normal. Huang guessed that Yaocheng was suspected."

  "How dare he!" Meng Fan clenched his fist, as if ready to thrash someone severely.

  "General Meng, please don't worry. I think it's only a matter of time before Huang Tian finds this place too, since over 10,000 people have passed through here and with careful investigation, it can still be found." Mr. Wen said to comfort General Meng who was getting anxious.

  Meng Fan felt slightly relieved after hearing this and asked: "Does Mr. have a way to deal with it? It's not good to fool people from the capital."

  Mr. Wen stroked his beard and nodded in approval of Meng Fan's timely calmness, saying: "It seems to me that General Meng has the intention of severely punishing the newcomer, why not threaten him a bit?"

  "That's......" Meng Fan was puzzled.

  "Bring the visitor to the hall, don't let him go anywhere else, otherwise General Meng can give him a beating; besides, giving him some benefits...". Mr. Wen frowned, he still had to say these strategies in detail to these martial artists, far from being as clear and concise as Commander Tong.

  Lei Meng, Yang Tian and Huang Chu were all this kind of people, so they naturally understood as soon as they heard it. When Mr. Wen said those words, they were all delighted and smiled on their faces.

  Meng Fan saw the three people laugh, and he also understood what was going on. His face slightly red, after being forced to yield by him, he cupped his hands in thanks to Mr. Wen and turned around to leave the hall.

  Lei Meng smiled and said, "Let's disperse, move back a bit."

  Yang Tian followed Lei Meng and whispered: "Do you want me to go and keep an eye on him?"

  "Wow, you're inviting Sakura on your own initiative? I was worried that General Yang wouldn't agree to it." Lei Meng was slightly surprised at Yang Tian's initiative and teased him a little.

  Yang Tian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's your point? I'm busy preparing for the future, aren't I?"

  Lei Meng took a deep breath and said, "Yes, staying in this city is not a solution. We need to find a place to settle down for the long term."

  "Why don't we go talk to Emperor Haotian?" Yang Tian suggested.

  "Descend? With so many Jin Yuan's soldiers here, there's definitely no room for people from home." Lei Meng shook his head in denial.

  "No!" Yang Tian said firmly, "I want a place to build from scratch!"

  Lei Meng stopped in his tracks, looked at Yang Tian and said: "What's going on?"

  Yang Tian also stopped and stared at Lei Meng with a sharp gaze, saying: "Just the two of us can make them sleepless! I have confidence!"

  Lei Meng looked up and down at Yang Tian, his expression firm and resolute, not looking like he was acting on impulse for a moment. It seemed that the bold words he had shouted before were true. Lei Meng closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said: "Alright! With these battle-hardened soldiers in our hands, we can also dig out the hole in the sky."

  Yang Tian saw that Lei Meng had already been thinking of making a comeback and smiled on his face, but in his heart he was not happy about it.

  "But...," Lei Meng poured cold water again, "The place he can give us is just the border, where it borders Jin Yuan, poor and threatened by both countries..."

  "Hehe... With a genius scientist like you, we can make the desert bloom! Just get some fertilizer, improve the tools, and add some TNT, and the desert will become an oasis!" Yang gave a timely compliment, making Lei Meng feel elated and look forward to a bright future.

  "What about you?" Yang Tian said, and Lei Ming immediately retorted, it was all his doing, but he wanted to exhaust him to death!

  "Me?" Yang Tian was shocked. Lei Meng was indeed Lei Meng, and couldn't be fooled. "I'm going to command the troops and guard the border!"

  Lei Meng gave a cold glance, saying: "From now on, you won't be able to take things lightly." As he spoke, Lei Meng turned and walked away, floating back with one sentence: "That person has arrived, you'd better pay attention."

  Yang Tiangong cupped his ears and listened carefully for a moment, and sure enough, Meng Fan and the other person were dragging Ma Ha over. He hastily hid to one side.

  "General Meng's governance of the city is indeed impressive, not a single sign of chaos can be seen among the people here." The person's flattering words seemed to have gone to waste, as the streets were empty and devoid of anyone, with only waves of sweltering heat blowing by.

  Meng Fan laughed and said: "That's natural, otherwise how would the Emperor let Meng lead a side?"

  He didn't know the meaning of shame, and in his heart he despised himself intensely. His left hand touched the red and swollen left cheek, while his right hand touched the lower right ribcage, both places still burning with pain.

  Meng Fan saw the man's right cheek twitch, looking around and ignoring him. He was annoyed and said: "I'm asking you, Cai Yan, Cai Daishouwei, what are you doing in Yaicheng? If it weren't for the Emperor's token on your waist, I'd beat you up so badly that even your mother wouldn't recognize you!"

  Cai Yan felt a chill, and hastily looked at Meng Fan with a serious expression, saying: "Your Majesty, I was wondering if I could come to visit General Meng and see how he is doing here."

  "Oh?" Meng Fan was shocked in his heart, could it be that Emperor Huáng Tiān suspected something here? He pretended to be angry and said, "Is Your Majesty worried that Meng is not capable enough to govern this small Yào City?! Damn it, I quit!" After finishing speaking, he stormed off towards the main hall.

  "Ah, no!" Cai Yan hastily followed up with his footsteps, hurriedly apologized and accompanied a smile, "It was my humble mistake, the words didn't reach my intention, General, please don't mind the trivialities of a lowly person, don't be annoyed, don't be annoyed..." The Emperor himself had to give Meng Fan some face, Cai Yan dared not casually offend him.

  "Very well, then sit down. Meng will have someone bring over some food and drinks to entertain General Cai properly." Meng Fan said indifferently with an air of pretentiousness.

  Cai Yan originally wanted to take a look and leave, he didn't want to stay here with this unscrupulous person for too long, his face was still hurting from the slap. However, the task of the Emperor of Heaven had not been completed yet, he still needed to find an opportunity to investigate further before he could be done with it, and eating and drinking were a good opportunity. So he hastily sat down and said: "General Meng is too polite, too polite."

  Meng Fan saw that Cai Yan was being polite with his words, but his butt didn't seem to be showing any politeness. Before he could finish speaking, he found himself stuck to the chair. Meng Fan thought to himself that Cai Yan indeed had an ulterior motive. So he closed his eyes and remained silent, waiting for the dishes to arrive.

  Before long, amidst Cai Yan's unease, a guard brought up a table of food, with a large plate of braised pork, a plate of green vegetables, a dish of stir-fried peanuts, and a large jar of wine.

  Yang Tian, who was hiding outside the hall, smelled the meat fragrance and his stomach growled loudly. He was desperately spitting out saliva, thinking it was a bad omen, when an even louder growling sound came from inside the hall. It turned out that Cai Yan's stomach was even hungrier!

  Cai Yan heard a faint noise outside and didn't pay attention to it. He thought that since Meng Fan was such a master, there shouldn't be any petty thieves around, so it must have been the soldiers on guard duty who were getting hungry.

  He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and whispered to Meng Fan, who was dressed in a B-style uniform: "General, the dishes are ready."

  "Mmm." Meng Fan wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "I accidentally fell asleep and dreamed of delicious food. I didn't expect it to be served after all. Come on, hurry up and sit down, let's eat while it's hot." He walked to the center of the hall and sat down at the square table with a long bench.

  Cai Yanguo couldn't help but look down on Meng Fan, quickly stepped forward and sat down, opened the mud seal on the wine jar, poured two bowls of wine, handed one to Meng Fan, raised his bowl and said: "Cai Yanguo can have dinner with General Meng, it's a great honor for three lifetimes. Come, Cai Yanguo respects the general with a bowl, wishing the general to rise step by step!" After finishing speaking, he "gulped" and tilted his head back to drink the bowl of wine in one go.

  Meng Fan was stunned, damn it, this kid's words are more pleasant than his singing, no wonder he can stay by the emperor's side. He immediately also tilted his head and drank down that bowl of wine, lightly put down the bowl, eyes straight at Cai Yan who had already started eating meat.

  "Haha~" Cai Yan was embarrassed and smiled, usually he would eat with his subordinates first, but now that he was in someone else's territory, he hadn't noticed and had started eating already. He quickly thought of an excuse and said: "I'm anxious to see the general, I haven't eaten anything since last night..."

  "Come on, eat! What's with all the nonsense!" Meng Fan didn't mind these trivial matters, hearing an excuse was enough, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

  After taking two sips, Cai Yan raised the bowl with both hands and said: "Ah, I'm so sorry! I came to visit General Meng Fan without bringing a gift. This bowl is my apology!" He knew that Meng Fan would not let him drink alone, so he took another sip.

  Meng Fan pinched the edge of the bowl with his right hand, and drank the wine in the bowl. He thought to himself, "This kid has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, is he trying to get me drunk?"... Forget it, it's better to be safe than sorry, let's get him out of here early. So he poured another bowl of wine and said to Cai Yan, "This bowl is Meng's way of welcoming the great General Cai!" After finishing speaking, he picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

  Tsai Yen hastily poured himself a bowl and drank it, saying: "I dare not, I dare not!"

  Meng Fan clapped his hands after Cai Yan finished drinking and sat down. Just as Cai Yan thought he was applauding for him, a guard came in from outside carrying a sack of things and placed it respectfully on the table, saying: "The gold has been prepared."

  Meng Fan waved his hand to let the guards retreat. He casually untied the cloth package, revealing a glittering gold, and said to Cai Yan who was drooling: "Cai Daishou, the journey is tiring, these are for you."

  "Good, good!" Cai Yan's eyes were filled with gold. Although he served by the emperor's side, he didn't get much gold because he had no real power.

  "Get out!" Meng Fan gave the order to expel the guests.

  Tsai Yen was taken aback, how did Meng Fan suddenly drive people away? He stuttered: "G...General..."

  "Meng didn't have time to accompany you drinking here, he still had to govern Yaicheng! What if Jin's troops launch a surprise attack? You'll be responsible if we get ambushed! Scram!" Meng Fan shouted.

  Cai Yan lowered his head and didn't dare to speak out, thinking in confusion about how he could linger a bit longer and gather some information. At this time, Meng Fan gave the order: "Guards! Escort our guest out!"

  It was the same guard who came in, holding a bulging oilcloth bag, and quickly wrapped up the gold on the table, standing aside with it, waiting for Cai Yan to get up.

  Cai Yan was helpless, muttered a word of bad luck under his breath, let out a light sigh, and then stood up to bid farewell to Meng Fan with a bow: "Cai Yan bids you farewell here, please forgive me for disturbing the general's place!"

  "Go."

  Cai Yan dejectedly followed the guard out of the city. He had thought about sneaking back to gather more information, but after pressing on his still sore ribs, he gave up on the idea and headed back to report.