Fantasy: After transmigrating, I effortlessly became a god.

Shangxi Prefecture, a wealthy prefecture known for its salt wells, was greeted by the Xuanhu Army before nightfall. The prefectural lord and high-ranking officials all came out of the city to welcome them. The 50,000-strong Xuanhu Army was stationed in the east of Shangxi City.

In the eastern part of Shangxi City, thousands of chefs toiled under the scorching sun, while tens of thousands of people prepared delicious food. Finally, as darkness fell, the food was placed on the table, and the joyous banquet began.

"Commander Li, it has been three years since we last met. I have missed you dearly."

"I also miss Lord Zhou, so I'm sorry to bother you today."

"To say you're bothering me is too polite. Shangxi Prefecture welcomes Commander Li with open arms."

Li Po did not introduce Zheng Qian to Lord Zhou, but instead brought Guo Yi with him and they chatted happily.

Ma Teng was also very happy at this moment. His parents had come, as well as his wife, Zhou Yingying, who was known as the most beautiful woman in Shangxi Prefecture.

Zhou Yingying is the illegitimate daughter of the Zhou family patriarch. After marrying Ma Teng, the Ma family directly controlled one-fifth of the well salt in Shangxi Prefecture, making them incredibly wealthy.

Ma Teng lived up to expectations, breaking through to the late stage of the Blood Refining Realm at the age of twenty-five, and becoming the deputy commander of the Xuanhu Army outside the city.

"Yingying." A flame rose continuously in Ma Teng's abdomen. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have fought Zhou Yingying for three hundred rounds on the spot.

"My lord, I'll go home and bathe before waiting for you." Zhou Yingying gazed at Ma Teng with deep affection, her eyes filled with tears.

Why doesn't she want to?

Ma Teng breathed hot air into Zhou Yingying's ear, "You dare to seduce this general? I'll go ask Commander Li for leave right now and see how I deal with you when I get back."

Zhou Yingying bit her lip, rolled her eyes at Ma Teng, and walked towards her home. Her home was in the East City, four streets away from Xuanhu Army, a ten-minute walk away.

Although Li Po was chatting with Lord Zhou, he kept an eye on Zhou Yingying. When he saw Zhou Yingying and Ma Teng separate, he gave a signal to his guards, who obediently disappeared from the banquet.

At the banquet, Ma Teng was about to look for Li Po when two centurions in his army got into a fight, so he had to deal with them first.

A moment later, the guard who had left earlier came to Li Po's ear and whispered something. Li Po's expression remained unchanged, but he was very happy inside.

Zhou Yingying, the most beautiful woman in Shangxi Prefecture, returned home alone, but her house was empty. Even the surrounding families had all come to prepare food for the banquet, so it could be said that there was no one around for three miles.

After whispering a few words to his guards, Li Po stood up, exchanged a few polite words with Lord Zhou, and then went to find Ma Teng.

"Hmph, fighting over such a small thing, what a disgrace."

"It's the general, we were wrong."

At first, the two ignored Ma Teng's mediation and argued constantly, even talking back, which greatly annoyed Ma Teng.

When they saw Li Po appear, they hurriedly admitted their mistake.

"What's wrong?" Li Po asked with a cold face, but secretly he was laughing to himself. He was the one who arranged for these two to fight.

"Commander, those two haven't even drunk any horse piss, but they have quite the tempers. They had a little conflict, but I've already dealt with it." Ma Teng hurriedly bowed, not forgetting to protect his subordinates while speaking, as he said he had already resolved the issue.

"It's all taken care of." Li Po nodded slightly and continued, "Ma Teng, you rarely come home, so please..."

"Commander, a secret decree has arrived from the palace, saying that the matter is of great importance and that you must go there immediately."

Just as Li Po was about to give Ma Teng a break, a guard suddenly ran over and said that a secret decree had arrived from the palace.

"Ma Teng, until I return, you must stay close to Zheng Qian at all times to prevent him from causing any trouble. Once I return, I will let you go home and reunite with your family." After saying this, Li Po hurriedly walked towards the camp.

Upon arriving at the camp, Li Po changed into a night outfit and disappeared into the military camp.

At the Ma family home, Zhou Yingying was taking a shower when suddenly the door was opened and a dark figure darted in.

"Who?" Zhou Yingying's face was full of panic, and her whole body was curled up in the bathtub.

"It's only been a year, and you don't recognize your commander anymore?" The man in black pulled down his mask, revealing a pair of narrow eyes.

Li Po, the official commander of the Xuanhu Army.

"You... how did you get here?" A hint of panic flashed across Zhou Yingying's face, but she quickly regained her composure.

Li Po chuckled, walked to her side, put his hand into the bathtub, and whispered, "I've come to see my... little lover."

A blush crept onto Zhou Yingying's face. "What if Ma Teng sees this when he gets back?"

"Don't worry, I won't go back. Military orders are absolute." Li Po said smugly. He had witnessed Zhou Yingying's kung fu a year ago and had never forgotten it.

"Aren't you ashamed? Go out first, or people will feel embarrassed."

"Haha, I'll wait for you on your bed. After we're done playing, Ma Teng will come back and we can continue playing together." Li Po laughed and went to Zhou Yingying's room to wait for him.

In Dongcheng, Zheng Qian and Ma Teng had already downed three bowls of wine, and he was even showing signs of intoxication.

"Ma Teng, among the five deputy commanders, I value you the most. You are brave in battle and decisive in decision-making. After we destroy the Beacon Fire Army and Li Po becomes the Grand Marshal, I will definitely advise the Emperor to recommend you as the commander of the Xuanhu Army."

"Thank you, Commander Zheng. I'll drink this first as a sign of respect." Ma Teng was very happy and finished the rice wine in one gulp.

Zheng Qian shouted to Wu Yuxiao, "Go and call Zhao Long, Zhang Yi, Wang Yue, and Li Ying over. Let's have a good drink today."

After Wu Yuxiao left, Zheng Qian stared at Ma Teng and said, "Brother, I recommended you to Li Po as commander today, and guess what?"

Ma Teng immediately became serious. "Commander Zheng, please speak frankly."

"He said that a career in government is not just about being good at fighting and having ability; you also need to be good at speaking. Therefore, Zhang Yi is the best candidate to be the commander. I argued with him about it, but he insisted on his own way."

Zheng Qian downed his wine bowl in one gulp and continued, "Believe it or not, Zhao Long, Wang Yue, and Li Ying will all come to drink with us. Zhang Yi definitely won't come because he and Li Po have already conspired to become the Grand Marshal so he can become the commander and sit on your heads and shit and piss. That's why he's starting to act arrogantly and disdain drinking with us."

Ma Teng was skeptical, but seeing Zheng Qian's confident demeanor, he became uneasy.

Normally, Zhang Yi and Li Po seem to be closer than the rest of them.

Ma Teng gave a wink to the guard behind him. The guard was very clever and immediately followed Wu Yuxiao to see if Wu Yuxiao really went to call the others.

Wu Yuxiao called out to Zhang Yi first, but Zhang Yi was ordered by Li Po to accompany Lord Zhou with Guo Yi, so he naturally wouldn't come. The other three, however, followed without a word when they heard Zheng Qian call them over for drinks.

Upon arriving at Shangxi City, Feng Ziguo finally contacted Zheng Qian. It turned out that he was hiding in the army of the steady and reliable Wang Yue. Wang Yue was his man and also knew about tonight's plan, so he not only came but also brought five battalion commanders with him.

After a round of drinks, Zheng Qian, slightly drunk, suggested, "This commander has never been to Shangxi City before. Ma Teng, you must do your duty as a host and show us around."

Before Ma Teng could speak, Wang Yue said, "I've never been to Shangxi City before, and I'd love to take a look around."

Zhao Long really wanted to get along with Zheng Qian, so he also said, "Ma Teng, the Xuanhu Army won't cause any trouble in Shangxi City. Zhang Yi is in charge. We can go for a stroll. It'll be fine. If the commander blames us, I'll take the blame."

Seeing that everyone agreed with Zheng Qian, Li Ying said, not to be outdone, "I also want to take a look around."

Seeing that they all wanted to go shopping in Shangxi City, Ma Teng couldn't refuse. After all, his home was there, and he was the youngest among them. If he had any sense of social etiquette, he would have invited them to his house for a drink, and they wouldn't leave until they were drunk.

Furthermore, Li Po instructed him to stay close to Zheng Qian at all times, without saying he couldn't leave the Xuanhu Army. Visiting Shangxi City didn't conflict with Li Po's orders. Once Ma Teng understood the key point, he stood up and spoke loudly.

"Very well, I am honored that you brothers think so highly of Shangxi City. I will now show you the beautiful scenery of Shangxi City."