Jiangshan Dream - Chapter 40
Less than seven days after returning to Beichen, Yin Sang suddenly brought shocking news: King Tiancheng had passed away, and Crown Prince Lei Ran had succeeded him as the new Emperor of Tiancheng, known as King Tiancheng Ran. The surrounding small countries, because of Crown Prince Tiancheng's reputation for debauchery and tyranny, attempted to raise an army, but were all defeated by Lei Ran's well-prepared forces, resulting in the destruction of their countries and the loss of their homes! In just over half a month after Lei Ran's accession, Tiancheng had annexed four surrounding small countries, and for a time, everyone in the neighboring countries lived in fear.
From this point on, no one in the world dared to underestimate Prince Lei Ran of Tiancheng. Everyone understood one thing: that ruthless and vicious prince had only been biding his time. In terms of courage and wisdom, he was probably no less than the God of War of Beichen!
At the same time, Tiancheng has gained a remarkable military strategist. Tiancheng's troops are almost always victorious in every battle. It is rumored that Lei Ran has received help from a master, and his reputation is gradually becoming rival to that of Beichen Tian.
Since Lei Ran succeeded to the throne, Bei Chen Tian immediately reacted, announcing the death of the old king. With the support of the people of Bei Chen, he sat on the throne of the Bei Chen Emperor, taking the title of Bei Chen Tian Wang. The surrounding countries were all in danger and tried to curry favor with him.
Compared to Lei Ran's ruthless methods, Bei Chen Tian's actions weren't so extreme; he merely stripped them of their royal power and forced them to submit to Bei Chen.
Lin Feng strongly disagreed with this move. In his view, since it was a feudal slave society, only centralized power could truly unify the world. If feudal princes were enfeoffed, chaos would surely follow.
However, Bei Chentian merely smiled. Although the enfeoffment system was flawed, now was not the time to be arrogant. To act like Lei Ran would be to lose popular support, and in war, losing the hearts of the people meant losing half the battle. As for centralized control… if Yin Sang were truly unified in the future, the trend would be set, and he wasn't worried about them refusing to relinquish power.
Lin Feng thought about it and agreed that what he said made sense.
Now the world is divided between two rulers, Beichen Tiancheng has risen again, and Yinsang is gradually moving towards unification. Various small countries are forming alliances, but they still cannot stop this major trend. More and more small countries are looking to attach themselves to Beichen, but some of them are playing tricks. For example, Chechi and Fengyu are fighting each other fiercely, and they sent letters to Beichen using war as an excuse to ask Beichen Tiancheng to send an envoy.
Furthermore, after Beichen Tian ascended the throne, he also issued a proclamation to the world, bestowing upon "An" the title of King of the First Rank, and granting him a special gold medal, so that wherever he went, it would be as if the king himself were present! Instantly, the name of "An," the number one extraordinary person in Beichen, spread like wildfire throughout the city, and everyone was talking about the extraordinary deeds of this extraordinary person. No one knew which big mouth had spread the word.
That day, Bei Chentian was reading the letter in his room, frowning inwardly. He had just ascended the throne and was so busy that he couldn't spare a moment for anything else. And these small countries were so ungrateful!
They certainly knew why Chechi was acting this way. The sudden disappearance of the eldest princess who was lurking in Chechi had given Chechi some clues, but the matter of the spy was not something they could openly admit. So they used this excuse to try and lure Beichentian into sending troops.
Although their idea was good, Bei Chentian saw through the problem at a glance. However, he was pondering whether to send an envoy or troops.
"Since they want you to send people, just send them. Why be so indecisive?" Lin Feng, who was mingling with him like a fish in water today, said casually. She openly picked up an apple from his table, sat down on the soft seat, peeled it, and started eating. Lin Feng seemed very interested in extorting Bei Chentian. However, in her opinion, the emperor's food didn't seem very good.
Lin Feng was quite satisfied with the title bestowed upon her by Bei Chen Tian. Although she didn't care about fame and fortune, having it did make things much more convenient at times, as it granted her almost unparalleled access within Bei Chen territory. Furthermore, because of that spy incident, her relationship with Bei Chen Tian had become much closer, so she naturally had to be careful when dealing with matters of interest.
Bei Chentian was already used to her disrespect and didn't care. He knew that this woman never cared about hierarchy. Bei Chentian never lost his kingly dignity in front of others, but when he met Lin Feng, he really didn't want to put on any airs.
He raised his handsome eyebrows, his eyes fixed on her, and asked with a meaningful smile, "Now that Chuixue is busy with political affairs, Ouyang is busy with the reorganization and arrangement of the army, the Dark Division has never returned, and Wuhen has also gone to help Hongyan train the navy, do you have any other candidates that I can send?"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and the voices of Nangong Chuixue, Ouyang Xiao, and another young man could be heard outside.
"Your Highness, I have something to ask of you."
Upon hearing the sound, Lin Feng immediately stood up and threw away the half-eaten apple in her hand. Closing the door was nothing, but she knew what was important. Bei Chentian couldn't afford to lose any dignity in front of others, and she would never cross the line of a king.
Bei Chentian smiled as he watched her stand behind him, his eyes showing approval, before saying to the outside, "Come in."
Three men pushed open the door and stood together, attracting considerable attention. One was aloof, the other leisurely, while the man in the middle was exceptionally composed, even more striking than the other two. Every move he made exuded a noble air, and his appearance was extremely handsome, bearing a resemblance to Bei Chentian. Lin Feng was immediately struck by the sight of such a man entering.
Upon seeing the man, Bei Chentian's face lit up with joy: "When did you return, my brother? Is Xi Lan alright now?"
"Your brother?" Lin Feng's curiosity was evident. Bei Chentian smiled slightly and explained, "This is Bei Chenxiang, the son of my deceased uncle, and also one of my most capable assistants." He paused and then added, "Over the years, my brother has been stationed on the Xilan border for the sake of Beichen's peace, which has been truly arduous. However, Tiancheng is causing trouble there, and I don't trust anyone else to handle it. I suppose your return means that Xilan has finally been brought under control?"
Bei Chenxiang was also happy to see Bei Chentian, but being a calm and composed man, he didn't like to express his feelings much. He exchanged a few pleasantries with Bei Chentian and then got down to business.
“Brother Wang, you may not know this, but Xi Lan has been captured. However, Tian Cheng is expanding rapidly and almost every border is being harassed. I am afraid that if this continues, it will be detrimental to Bei Chen. That is why I have come back to request troops and am willing to take in Xi Lan and guard the border.”
This man is full of passion and is probably a famous general in his own right.
Bei Chentian shook his head and laughed, "It's alright. Tiancheng will soon be attacked by other countries. Even if it doesn't cause chaos for a while, it probably won't send troops out for the time being. It won't threaten us for now. Since you've returned, brother, let's have a get-together. It's been a long time since we brothers had a proper chat."
Lin Feng could tell that Bei Chen Tian trusted his younger brother quite a bit, and Bei Chen Xiang certainly had the qualities that earned his trust.
Bei Chenxiang looked around and spotted Lin Feng, asking in surprise, "Who is this...?"
"I am An," Lin Feng said calmly, his tone not as cold as usual. It would be somewhat beneficial to associate with this kind of man, and even if he didn't associate with him, they shouldn't be enemies.
"So you are the One-Word King, I have long admired your name, my apologies!" The whole city is currently talking about the deeds of this One-Word King, who does not know him? Bei Chenxiang couldn't help but take a few more glances at this man whose appearance was no less than Bei Chentian's, and he was filled with admiration, his expression becoming much more humble.
Inside the room, Lin Feng had long since abandoned that fussy face cloth. After all, almost all of Bei Chentian's generals already knew she was An, and besides, she always dressed as a man, usually wearing a veil when in women's clothing. Very few people had ever seen her face. Even if they had, Lin Feng's demeanor as a saintess was completely different from An's; no one would associate the two together. Therefore, Lin Feng wasn't worried.
"I dare not accept such praise. I will need Your Highness's continued support in the future. I was unaware of Your Highness's deeds before, but since you are so highly regarded by Chen Tian, you must have some ability. If there are any problems, I will need Your Highness's help to resolve them."
Her words were quite polite, and Bei Chenxiang was very pleased. He shook his head and smiled, "Mutual help is the real deal." He glanced at Lin Feng and thought to himself that this An was indeed worthy of his reputation, showing no arrogance whatsoever. He was a good person.
Seeing that the group was having a good time, Ouyang Xiao laughed and said, "Don't be so polite. I'm getting hungry just thinking about the banquet. The food in the palace is really not good. How about we go to the newly opened Tianyi Restaurant? They have some specialty dishes and exotic delicacies. The restaurant is also very interesting. I heard that the owner has some connections with Boss Qin. Although it has only been open for two days, everyone in Fancheng already knows about it."
Ouyang Xiao always knew these things the fastest. Lin Feng almost burst out laughing when he heard this. Tianyi Tower? Isn't that the restaurant that Hu Yan opened on his behalf?
Speaking of Tianyilou, its opening was only a couple of days ago. Setting up a restaurant wasn't easy. First, there was the problem of selling the stolen goods; they had to wait until things calmed down before they could be brought out. Lin Feng was quite satisfied with Hu Yan's cautious approach. The restaurant was located on Pu Street, which was now bustling with activity. Lin Feng didn't know much about Chinese cuisine, so he casually added a few side dishes for the guests to enjoy with their drinks. As for specialty dishes, that was a problem. Beichen already had hot pot, so the idea of opening a hot pot restaurant wouldn't work; even if they did, it wouldn't offer anything new or exciting.
As for specialty pastries like Eight Treasure Rice and Thousand-Layer Cake, others have already been making them. Selling them now wouldn't easily make them well-known. Lin Feng is counting on the shop to make money for him, and she can't do a business that loses money.
After thinking for a long time, Lin Feng decided to open a Western-style restaurant.
First of all, the interior decoration of the shop was unique. She ordered people to remove the tables and chairs, add several horizontal beams, hang silk vines around the perimeter, and then ordered people to buy enough large trees at a high price to cut them into stumps to make large tables. Swings were hung on the horizontal beams to make chairs, and the placement of the furniture also required a lot of effort.
Next, let's talk about the food. There were the usual dishes, but for specialties, Lin Feng simply started making skewers and barbecue, adding cumin powder herself using modern techniques—something she usually enjoys, so it wasn't a problem. She also added Western-style sizzling steak and burgers, though they weren't quite what they looked like, they were still passable.
Most people go there to try something new, and the other dishes are also excellent. This is Lin Feng's primary business, and he has put a lot of effort into it.
Fortunately, now that we have a reputation, business is booming. We can open a branch in a few months. In addition, we have also arranged for Sirius's group to work in the store. They are very good at reading people and are a great place to gather intelligence.
Sigh, intelligence networks are easier to run in brothels. Lin Feng wondered when he should open a brothel.
At this moment, both Bei Chentian and Bei Chenxiang became interested after hearing what Ouyang Xiao said. Bei Chentian had almost finished resolving his own affairs, so he stood up and said, "Since that's the case, what are we waiting for? Let's quickly change into civilian clothes and go take a look together."
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Meanwhile, after Bei Chenxiang returned, Lin Feng and the other four finished their discussion, called for help to make some preparations, changed into casual clothes, and headed to Pu Street. As soon as they arrived on the street, they attracted countless women to turn their heads and look at them. Yin Sang's world class system was no different from that of ancient Chinese feudal society, so the fact that they could create such an unusual spectacle naturally showed how eye-catching these five people were.
Bei Chentian was not only handsome and dashing, but also possessed a regal air. His inner charisma seemed to materialize, lingering around him. Among the women, he was the one who received the most stares. However, Bei Chentian seemed to have seen this kind of gaze many times before. Whether he noticed it or not, he simply ignored it with a smile, as if Napoleon were inspecting his soldiers, without any awkwardness.