"Fang Ai Qing, I once said that whoever captures this city for me will have all the sons and daughters, jade and silk of this city as their own. Do you still remember?" Emperor Han Xian suddenly spoke out these words, and everyones spirits lifted, knowing he was going to greatly reward his meritorious officials.

  "I recall that Your Majestys good fortune is boundless, and we are merely minor contributors, all thanks to your blessings." Fang Xiangming stepped forward and bowed.

  Xu Haifeng turned his head and glanced at him, thinking to himself that he couldnt tell if his brother was really good at flattering horses. He had never seen this before. But he didnt know that these few sentences were actually the most ordinary in official circles, and there were countless more shameless ones. Fang Zhongming had grown up in an official family since childhood, so it was hard for him to know what wasnt known.

  "Fang Ai Qing Ting Feng." Emperor Han Xian smiled slightly and said.

  "I am present."

  "I appoint you as Marquis of Pingxi, and the area within a hundred miles around Linan City shall be your fiefdom."

  "Your Majestys imperial grace is vast, I am not very grateful, but this time we won, it was actually General Xus merit. I dare not take credit for it. I humbly request Your Majesty to allow the general and me to share it together."

  The Emperor Hans face changed slightly, and he immediately returned to normal. He laughed loudly: "Good, my dear minister, your words are very much in line with my heart. This city will be shared by the two of you."

  "Thanks to your dragon kindness, Your Majesty, may you live for ten thousand years!" Fang Xiang hurriedly pulled down Xu Haifeng beside him to kneel and thank the emperor.

  "Your Majesty, I have one more thing." Seeing Emperor Han Xian seemingly having the intention to retire from court, Fang Rong hastily spoke up.

  "Oh, what is it? Just speak up." Emperor Han Xian asked with a gentle smile.

  "I report to Your Majesty, when I entered the city, the Roman people had not yet had time to destroy their stored grain. At this moment, the citys grain and fodder are piled up like mountains. I represent all the citizens of the city in presenting them to Your Majesty, and I wish you victory over Caesar, destruction of the Xiongnu, unification of the world, achievement of unparalleled merit, eternal fame, and permanent record in history."

  "Haha... Alright, alright. A great defeat of the Xiongnu and unification of the world. Since you have shown your loyalty, I accept it with a smile." Emperor Huan of Han laughed heartily and said: "Prepare the carriage, return to the palace."

  As soon as Han Xian Emperor left, the other officials swarmed up like a beehive, congratulating the two of them. Although Xu Haifeng did not receive any official promotion or title, he had obtained half of Linan Citys foundation, and was already extremely satisfied, so delighted that his mouth couldnt close.

  After the crowd dispersed, Fang Xiang gave a wink and left first. Xu Haifeng saw it in his eyes and understood, following closely behind. As soon as they walked out of the hall, someone was heard calling: "General Xu, slow down."

  Xu Haifeng recognized the voice as Tóng Yīfēng, and with no other choice, he made a hand gesture to the driver, turned around and said: "General Tong, we meet again."

  "General Xu has indeed unleashed his divine power this time, achieving a great and unparalleled merit. I, an old man, have not misjudged him." said Tong Yifeng with a smile.

  "Wherever, its all thanks to the emperors great fortune. Why is General Tong here?" In the palace, after listening to so many people talking, his greatest gain was that he also learned a few flattering phrases, and unexpectedly used them so soon.

  Tong Yirong glanced around and saw that no one was paying attention to him. He then pulled Xu Haifeng, indicating for him to head towards the dark corner.

  Xu Haifeng was very curious about his behavior and involuntarily followed him.

  Arriving at the dark corner, basically no ones line of sight could see here, Tong Yifeng mysteriously took out a stack of folded paper from his pocket and handed it to Xu Haifeng, bowing his head and saying: "Younger brother, this is the silver pay that the Fifth Regiment should have received before you went on expedition. I forgot to give it to you, now Im making up for it. Please, younger brother, considering our fraternal relationship, spare me this time."

  Xu Haifeng was taken aback, immediately understanding the meaning behind his words, and quickly helped Tong Yifeng up, saying: "General Tong, what are you talking about? Werent these military expenses given to me before we set out on our expedition?"

  Tong Yi Feng let out a long sigh after listening, and said: "Younger brother, I didnt misjudge you this time. Dont worry, I will definitely return this favor."

  After sending off Tong Yifeng, Xu Haifeng spread out the stack of silver notes and took a look. They were all large denomination silver notes of over 1,000 taels each. There were dozens of them in total. That was tens of thousands of taels of silver. He carefully hid the silver notes on his body and rushed towards the direction of the sound.

  Although there are many people here, Fang Xiangming has made early preparations. Each official can get a courtyard to rest according to the size of his official position. In order to avoid suspicion, Fang Xiangming specially selected two smaller courtyards for them to live in separately.

  After entering the inner courtyard, the two sat down separately. Fang Xians voice rang out: "Second Brother, this time the credit goes to you, but Ive taken the lions share. You wont blame me, will you?"

  "Big Brother, where did you learn to talk like that? If it werent for Big Brothers guidance, I would still be anxious and unsure of what to do. Who would have thought that today would turn out so well?" Xu Haifeng hastily expressed his sincerity.

  "Little brother, its not that I want to steal your thunder and glory." Fang Ming took a sip of clear tea, moistening his dry throat: "You made a big show today, the whole army knows about the Black Flag Army of the Fifth Column. This is a good thing, but at the same time, its also a bad thing."

  "Why?" Xu Haifeng asked in confusion. Since his reputation had spread far and wide, it was of course a great thing, so how could it become a bad thing?

  "A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. Little brother, a big tree attracts strong winds."

  "Would someone come looking for trouble with me?"

  "Not looking for trouble, but getting entangled in right and wrong."

  "What?" Xu Haifeng was confused and thought that the usually straightforward Fang Dage had suddenly become unclear.

  "Little brother, remember that if you are transferred to the capital in the future and encounter something difficult to decide, come to my house and ask for advice from my old man. Do not make rash decisions."

  "Big brother, the more I listen to you, the more confused I become. Just speak clearly." Xǔ Hǎifēng said with a frown.

  "Its not that I wont tell you, but the time hasnt come yet. If I told you now, it would only make you worry in vain. In short, just remember that the affairs of the imperial family are not something we servants can get involved in."

  Xu Haifeng rolled his eyes and said, "Isnt that a no-brainer? Of course were not qualified to get involved."

  "Fang Ming smiled mysteriously and said, In the past, you didnt have the qualifications, but now its different. Never mind, lets not talk about this. Little brother, although your troops are strong and brave, after all, their foundation is still shallow. If you lead this city alone, Im afraid there will be many hidden hands reaching out, and when that happens, even if one or two can enter your pocket, it would be a blessing from heaven."

  Xu Haifeng nodded in deep agreement: "Thats right, these corrupt officials, theyre nowhere to be seen when its time to fight, but when it comes to taking money, they dont hesitate at all."

  His fifth column originally had five thousand people, but now there are only three thousand slave soldiers. Slave soldiers do not receive military pay, and their equipment is far inferior to that of regular troops. Although Gu Daoxu responded to his requests during training, once they left the training camp, all equipment was recovered, and each slave soldier was given only a set of black clothes and a poor-quality steel knife. However, when he privately asked Tong Yifeng, he learned that in the documents submitted to the Ministry of War, the fifth column had not been downsized and still had a quota of five thousand people, with equipment configured according to top-level regular troops. The annual salary for five thousand people is fifty thousand taels of silver, and a set of equipment for top-level soldiers costs five taels of silver. Roughly calculated, more than one hundred thousand taels of silver have disappeared.

  Although he had long known that the militarys empty salary was no longer a secret, he was still shocked by such a large sum of money. And those who have the power to manipulate this amount are few in number, with Xu Haifengs current identity and status, it is impossible to investigate.

  This time, if it wasnt for Xu Haifengs outstanding military achievements and his boundless future prospects, Tong Yifeng wouldnt have come to return the silver ticket as a gesture of goodwill. Of course, even if Tong Yifeng was the mastermind behind this plot, killing Xu Haifeng would be unbelievable; there must be someone who instructed him to do so. In this matter, the most suspicious person is undoubtedly Gu Dao, the Grand Marshal of the Western Expeditionary Army. Simply based on Gu Daos favor towards Xu Haifeng, this matter absolutely cannot be brought up by Xu Haifeng, or else he would become a classic example of an ungrateful and disloyal person.

  Actually, Xu Haifeng was wronged by Gu Daoxu. What kind of person is Gu Daoxu? How could he care about the 100,000 taels of silver? The one who did this is actually Cheng Ming, but of course, Gu Daoxu will have to take the blame for this crime.

  "Dont get angry, little brother. This bad habit isnt easy to change, even Father is at a loss for what to do. Fortunately, I have half of the citys reputation now, as long as the Fang family sits tight for one day, anyone who dares to stretch out their dog paws will have to weigh their actions carefully."

  "Still, big brother is so thoughtful and thorough, little brother admires. But this way, wont big brother offend many people and invite revenge?"

  Fang Xiang shook his head and said, "Since I was born into the Fang family and am the eldest son and grandson, all of this has long been habitual for me. Moreover, after all, I still have the entire family as my backing, there are many people who want to do me harm, but those who truly dare to take action are few. You dont need to worry. However, we also cant be completely unresponsive, some figures still need to be taken care of, and where we cannot be frugal, we absolutely must not be."

  "Yes, little brother will follow big brothers instructions. By the way, big brother, why did you want to offer food to the emperor alone today and prepare some other things?"

  "Ah, little brother, do you still remember what I told you when we met? What is it that the army lacks most right now?"

  "I understand, its about grain and fodder." Xuhai Feng suddenly realized what was going on when he recalled the conversation from last night.

  Fang Ming Zan said, "Its indeed grain and fodder. The Emperor has amassed a large army here, and the daily consumption is an astronomical figure. Even if we dont send it, he will think of ways to demand it. Rather than waiting for him to speak up, its better for us to take the initiative to offer tribute, which can gain his favor."

  "Brother is really impressive, I admire you with all my heart!" Xu Haifeng said with a loud slap on his thigh.

  "I have instructed the deputy officer to investigate the financial situation of this city. I suppose there will be a satisfactory result by tomorrow, and then we can discuss it further."

  Xu Haifeng hastily responded, and after chatting for a few more sentences, Xu Haifeng bid farewell and left. The two mens courtyards were adjacent to each other, so Xu Haifeng quickly returned to his temporary residence.