Chapter 936: with translation of chapter title

Xu Zengyi was considering whether to later have Kong Fang see a doctor when Kong Fang, like spilling beans, blurted out everything about how he obtained the A Furong antidote.

He was truly afraid.

Fearing Xu Zengyi wouldn't believe the A Furong antidote matter, he added a little story out of friendship.

"No need to say more, I believe what you say is true." Xu Zengyi waved his hand to interrupt Kong Fang, took the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the guard's hand and handed them to Kong Fang, "First write down the prescription, then we can talk about other things; the matter is urgent, do it quickly."

"Yes yes yes, this prescription is simple, just a few strokes." Kong Fang's demeanor and tone now looked much more normal.

He spread the paper on the ground, then half-knelt, using the torch's light to quickly write the prescription, carefully blew dry the ink, and then politely handed it to Xu Zengyi.

"Mr. Xu, look, this is my family's inherited prescription. It is something my family's two generations of ancestors painstakingly researched. Unfortunately, the unworthy descendants defied the ancestors' decision to abandon medicine for literature, causing the family line to break; I can only learn a bit of trivialities from the family's old papers." Kong Fang shook his head with a sigh.

Xu Zengyi was stunned for a few breaths, "Your family's unworthy descendant must also be your ancestor, right?"

"Yes, starting with my grandfather's generation they stopped studying medicine; the brothers were all hopeless yet tried to become officials and generals, only causing suffering for us descendants." Kong Fang said.

Xu Zengyi's mouth twitched slightly.

He finally could understand why this guy was so arrogant.

Facing such disrespect toward ancestors, what about others?

In this world, there are probably few whom he truly respects.

The lord has taken in this person; thereafter he probably won't be too idle.

Kong Fang's current appearance is only for now; a person's nature is innate, not something that can be drastically changed by experiencing one or two things.

Xu Zengyi put away the prescription, then asked, "Kong Fang, how do you view our lord?"

"Can I speak directly?" Kong Fang asked quietly, eyes wary.

"Of course you can; asking you means letting you speak directly."

"No no no, I mean, after I say it, will Lord Chen Jieshuai not punish me again? If you want to punish me, just kill me directly; I don't want to suffer this torment anymore."

"… You say yours."

"Okay." Kong Fang replied, yet still hesitated.

After a moment, he suddenly puffed out his chest and spoke loudly: "Lord Chen Jieshuai is a rare heroic lord of the world, one who cares for subordinates and truly governs for the people; in my eyes, Lord Chen Jieshuai will surely sweep away the world's corruption and give the people a bright, clear sky."

For freedom, he decided to go against himself.

Xu Zengyi chuckled lightly; this person still knows how to adapt.

"The Court has dispatched four hundred thousand troops southward, now stationed at Yanzhou Cheng; for our army's next move, what do you suggest?" Xu Zengyi asked again.

"Kill them, seize Nanyue Jun!" Kong Fang shouted, eyes wide.

"Is there no other option?"

Kong Fang glanced at Xu Zengyi, gave a grin, "Mr. Xu, your question shows a bit of disrespect toward me; if there were any other possibility, Lord Chen Jieshuai wouldn't have led troops here."

"Defending the south side of Shenxian Ling makes this battle much easier than taking the offensive. However, if my guess is correct, Lord Chen Jieshuai originally intended to do just that, but later some changes occurred, forcing him to lead troops north."

"This change could only come from the Court. Coincidentally, I also obtained some information at Xinglin Zhen; if nothing unexpected, the Court Army actually has no intention to go south; the earlier released news was purely false."

Xu Zengyi asked: "Why do you think the Court Army has no intention to go south?"

The true cause behind this, Kong Fang could never know.

The news brought by Yu Xiu mei, Liu Yan, etc., the true internal cause of the Court Army remains unclear; Kong Fang, aside from following them into the mountains for a stroll, never left this dungeon, thus had no chance to encounter such information.

"This reason is really hard to guess." Kong Fang paced around, turning left and right, "I only got a little information before, vaguely confirming that the Court Army's so-called southern attack on Lord Chen Jieshuai is actually to rebel, preparing to occupy Nan Jun."

"But this reason seems too simple to me; it's said that the Court now has several factions vying for favor, for that throne they'd almost lose face. Yan Yan currently isn't the strongest faction; he absolutely couldn't dispatch four hundred thousand troops while bypassing Ruan Yuchang and others."

"Although our dynasty's military is strong, four hundred thousand is no small number; those shameless lot would make anyone blush. Moreover, this involves grain and supplies."

"So I suspect their attack on Lord Chen Jieshuai is a feint; secretly they ally and dispatch troops to divide Dayu South's commanderies. They want, before that face is completely torn, to seize without injury the territories they've long coveted."

Xu Zengyi's eyes showed approval, "Tell us why they're doing this."

"The reason is quite simple." Kong Fang's expression relaxed, he smiled lightly.

"Da Yu is indeed near collapse, but it hasn't fallen yet! Even if those officials split into factions, making dirty deals, preparing to destroy Da Yu, there are still countless loyal subjects in the world."

"They now take an extra step to gain more benefits; when they truly rebel later, the path will be smooth, perhaps they could silently accomplish the division of Da Yu's realm."

Xu Zengyi nodded, his approval growing, "If the facts are indeed as you guessed, what should we do? Should we fight this battle?"

"Sir, you were testing me." Speaking of his forte, Kong Fang's posture relaxed further, he raised his arms and said, "The battle must be fought; not only must it be fought, it must be fought fiercely, decisively; best to let not a single one of the Court Army's four hundred thousand troops return, leaving several great victory monuments outside Yanzhou Cheng."

Xu Zengyi's face changed slightly, "Are you planning to ruin our lord's reputation?"

"Sir, you misunderstand me; I have no such intention. As long as we don't kill surrendering troops, our lord's reputation won't be ruined, but fighting fiercely will spread his name—not a bad thing, but rather it will awe those petty scoundrels in the court."

"Sir, the principle that kindness invites exploitation applies here as well. Lord Chen Jieshuai must fight this battle splendidly and ruthlessly to firmly establish himself in Dayu South and develop in peace."