Chapter 1186 – Taking Down Xu Pei, First Blood of the Lords (Fifty-Six)
After breaking through Ming Sha Pass, Cheng Yuan quickly took advantage of the waterworks within Zhe County to contact Yang Tao’s main forces.
To be precise, he was contacting Wei Ci.
Once Wei Ci received the letter, he pondered for a moment and replied to Cheng Yuan.
The contents of the letter were largely military notes, along with a sprinkle of personal insights.
Don’t be fooled by Jiang Pengji’s noble origins; her suppression of the aristocracy was even more ruthless than in her previous life.
Whether as a lord or an emperor, to achieve great things, one needs both talent and wealth. How can you accomplish anything without money?
Sixty percent of the world’s wealth is in the hands of the aristocracy. If you don’t take advantage of the chaos to squeeze the rich, it won’t be easy to do so later on. Once the world stabilizes, the aristocrats will rely on their foundations to accumulate wealth again, posing endless future troubles.
However, this wasn’t a problem for Wei Ci.
In his previous life, he had followed the emperor for decades, witnessing her countless misdeeds and laying traps for both the aristocrats and the commoners.
While he couldn’t claim to have mastered her essence, he could certainly imitate her.
Although Wei Ci looked quite harmless, he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing when it came down to business.
The personal insights he included were sure to teach Cheng Yuan a thing or two.
Cheng Yuan and Qin Gong led the army to break through Ming Sha Pass, quickly taking several military strongholds along the Taiqing River, thereby opening up Zhe County’s interior to them.
Before entering Zhe County, the two issued repeated orders prohibiting soldiers from harming the local populace. Any plundering or illegal activities would be dealt with by military law.
Those who reported wrongdoing would be rewarded, while those who concealed it would face collective punishment.
Zhe County was under Xu Pei’s dominion, and the hearts of the people were with him.
If outsiders harmed the locals, it would undoubtedly lead to backlash and resistance.
Jiang Pengji’s years of military training paid off, combined with the incessant brainwashing from the military commissar in the camp, who dared to act recklessly?
Our army achieved a great victory, yet the soldiers remained orderly, leaving Qin Gong filled with emotion.
If only all soldiers in the world were like them, how much less tragedy would there be?
Qin Gong’s heartfelt remarks were overheard by Cheng Yuan.
Cheng Yuan chuckled, “You’re mistaken, Commander. If all soldiers in the world were like this, casualties would only increase.”
Qin Gong looked puzzled. Wasn’t that wrong?
Cheng Yuan explained, “When lords fight each other, if their strengths are nearly equal and their forces comparable, it means the war could drag on indefinitely because neither can best the other. War requires the soldiers to fight desperately, but it also needs the local populace to fully support with provisions. The longer it drags on, the more commoners starve to death, and the more soldiers die on the battlefield—so, overall, aren’t casualties greater?”
Qin Gong understood, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, his smile somewhat naive.
Cheng Yuan felt a bit itchy in his hands.
No wonder those military advisers loved to bully Li Yun—turns out bullying an honest person is quite addictive!
Zhe County was densely populated with aristocrats, far beyond the likes of Hejian County.
With more aristocrats, that meant more wealth.
Once Cheng Yuan received Wei Ci’s reply, he instantly knew what to do.
He didn’t raise a slaughter knife against the aristocrats, but ordered some of the soldiers to break into smaller units, using the guise of bandits to raid.
Before Cheng Yuan’s troops invaded, Zhe County was a refuge for the aristocracy in times of chaos, with rich families everywhere.
As the army invaded, most small aristocratic families planned to move to avoid the disaster of war, and they ended up being easy pickings for these “fake bandits.”
They targeted only wealth, ignoring people and women.
All the household wealth they had carefully packed was whisked away.
Of course, they weren’t completely mindless; they didn’t touch the jewelry of the women nor did they let the men off easy with their accessories.
The small aristocrats were anxiously moving homes when they fell victim to robbery, while the middle-tier aristocrats remained unflustered.
Although they didn’t have officials in the family, their resources were decent, and they readily aligned themselves with the new master. They weren’t afraid, but they couldn’t escape unscathed; the “bandits” still managed to loot a considerable portion of their wealth. To prevent them from suspecting, they wielded their weapons against any resistance.
Beyond these, the largest and most powerful clans that sided with Xu Pei were the most panicked.
Especially the families of Xu Pei’s ministers; if they fell into Jiang Pengji’s hands, there was no telling how she would use them to threaten their relatives.
This was how Xu Yansiao found herself embarking on her second great escape.
One morning, the courtyard, usually quiet, buzzed with servants hurriedly packing luggage.
Xu Yansiao’s status in the Xu Pei household was awkward; her numerous cousins were cold towards her, and even the elder women ignored her.
She didn’t mind, however, locking herself in the courtyard to mourn her deceased mother, reciting scriptures daily.
A few days prior, she had vaguely overheard a couple of maidservants discussing the situation outside, suggesting that the enemy was on the move again.
“Enemy? Which lord?”
Xu Yansiao instinctively thought of Qin Gong; having not seen him for months, she realized she thought of him more often than before.
Now alone, with her kin gone, only Qin Gong remained somewhat familiar to her.
The maidservant stammered, “It seems to be from Wanzhou.”
Wanzhou?
That would mean the lord Liu Xi, whom Qin Gong currently served!
Xu Yansiao’s calm heart rippled with disturbance; the frown on her brow slowly eased.
Upon hearing that the enemy troops were coming, she instinctively recalled the recent events at Shanweng City, her heart tightening as if falling into an ice pit.
However, the assurance Qin Gong had given her unexpectedly brought her peace; all her hesitations and fears faded away like smoke.
Now—
Where was he?
After finishing her scripture copying, Xu Yansiao recited the text softly as she placed the pages into a bronze pot to burn for her deceased mother.
With a creak, the courtyard door swung open, and her top maidservant hurriedly exclaimed, “Miss Yansiao, quickly—”
Xu Yansiao lowered her gaze and asked, “What is it?”
The maidservant replied, “The horses are ready outside! Why haven’t you—”
Xu Yansiao coldly lifted her eyelids, taking a glance at the flustered maidservant, who showed no fear towards her but instead grabbed her wrist.
Xu Yansiao pulled her hand back, “Go tell my aunt that I will join them once I’m packed.”
The maidservant insisted, “What’s there to prepare? We need to escape! All money and jewels are mere trifles!”
Xu Yansiao sneered, walking towards the door.
“Let’s go.”
She was just a helpless girl living under someone else’s roof, and she couldn’t say anything about the maidservant’s rudeness.
What the maidservant said was true; what belongings did Xu Yansiao have in this house besides herself?
So, what was there to prepare?
Like a ghost in the background, Xu Yansiao was pushed into the carriage without a word, her head hanging low all the way.
When the carriage arrived at the dock, she was ushered into the cabin of a large ship.
Watching the dock gradually disappear from view, she sighed quietly, then lowered her head to murmur the scripture for rebirth, as if doing so could soothe her anxious heart. After about a quarter of an hour, terrified cries from the women echoed outside the cabin, causing Xu Yansiao to suddenly open her eyes.
“… It’s water bandits—”
