Chapter 1246 – The Looming War (7)
Dongqing consists of six states and twenty-one counties, spanning from north to south. The division of states and counties mostly follows the old dynasty’s rules rather than population or land area. This resulted in Hujun County, Zhe County, and Hu County being counties of significant size, with Hujun County being comparably one of the smallest states within Dongqing. Aside from these three peculiar counties, Hejian County, Langya County, and Huan Ning County are also independent counties.
However, the latter three have standard land sizes; besides their special military positions, they bear no distinction from regular counties.
Langya County is now under Huang Song’s control, and Huan Ning County is situated in the south, having previously submitted to Xu Pei.
Since Jiang Pengji dealt with Xu Pei, she did not mobilize strong forces against Huan Ning County. The local gentry showed remarkable discretion, not daring to cause a ruckus. Their efforts would be futile, as Huan Ning County is surrounded by steep mountains and beautiful waters; while not greatly productive in grain, Jiang Pengji’s troops effectively choked all grain and trade routes, leaving the tens of thousands of Huan Ning County residents liable to starvation.
The Huan Ning County aristocrats, seeing that Jiang Pengji was indeed not to be trifled with, opted to submit rather than take risks.
Among the three counties, only Hejian County remains “leaderless.”
It’s not that Hejian County doesn’t wish to affiliate with any lord, but its geographical position is a bit awkward.
Situated crucially on the routes of Wanzhou, Haoyang, and Cangzhou, it holds a significant position for offense or defense.
Before spring plowing, neither Jiang Pengji nor Huang Song dared to mobilize troops in Hejian County.
Once the armies are engaged, it means war, and if the spring plowing is ruined, it wouldn’t only harm the interests of both lords but also those of the common folk under their rule.
Fights can happen anytime, but the common people can only farm once a year; miss that window, and they’ll be starving for an entire year!
Moreover, Hejian County holds another importance for Jiang Pengji.
The entire Liu Clan is in Hejian County!
Bad news reached Jiang Pengji—a sudden attack by Huang Song’s army had quietly changed the leadership in Hejian County overnight.
When this dreadful news reached Jiang Pengji, she was joyfully reviewing the progress of her spinning wheel and cotton, feeling as though someone had just poured a bucket of cold water over her.
Those familiar with Jiang Pengji now hesitated to meet her gaze.
“How could Hejian County fall?”
After the battle with Xu Pei, Jiang Pengji and Huang Song had been tacitly sending troops to guard the northern and southern borders of Hejian County, neither daring to act first, maintaining a delicate balance. Each sent numerous scouts to investigate enemy movements, ensuring they had full control over military developments.
In this situation, Jiang Pengji was clearly perplexed about what the defenders were doing.
Huang Song’s troops had already taken over Hejian County; the defenders had only just begun to react—too little, too late!
If she didn’t receive a sufficiently persuasive reason soon, she would surely punish the commander for this oversight.
Don’t be fooled by Jiang Pengji’s generally easygoing nature; when angered, her might is something even a mere messenger could hardly withstand!
Without a moment’s hesitation, he spilled every detail.
As soon as he finished, the messenger knelt trembling, begging for mercy; the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Qi Guanrang, Wei Ci, and others exchanged furtive glances at their lord.
They braced themselves for her to flip the table, yell, and curse Huang Song’s ancestors.
Surprisingly, Jiang Pengji displayed remarkable composure, her face clouded but not overly expressive.
“What a fine Zhang Clan of Hejian County—” Jiang Pengji chuckled coldly, her eyes flashing with killing intent, “they truly reaped the benefits back then.”
The primary reason for the fall of Hejian County was the Zhang Clan’s gentry capitulating to Huang Song’s persuasive underlings, secretly colluding with several clans to control the dynamics within the county. Then, on the night of March 24, they joined forces with Huang Song’s troops, capturing the friendly Liu Clan, Shangguan Clan, and others who had aligned with Jiang Pengji, leading to the swift takeover of Hejian County under cover of darkness.
Upon hearing Jiang Pengji speak, everyone was momentarily stunned, puzzled about when she had a squabble with the Zhang Clan.
Others hadn’t quite caught on, but Li Yun found the name “Zhang Clan” oddly familiar.
Thinking back, a light bulb went off in his head, and he finally remembered their past conflict.
“This Zhang Clan… seems a bit familiar. Could it be the one that pushed my poor wife to live as a widow and almost caused her demise?” Li Yun recalled—this Zhang Clan belonged to his wife, Shangguan Wan’s, ex-family, “After that feud, could they still be harboring resentment? Huang Song must have been aware of this and used it as leverage to persuade the Zhang Clan to defect? Thinking about it, there’s some merit to that.”
As Li Yun spoke, everyone turned their attention back to him.
With his prompt, many recollected, tracing this old tale back to its roots.
“That’s probably it.” Jiang Pengji smirked, her anger barely contained, “We should have eradicated that clan back then!”
Qi Guanrang and Wei Ci coughed subtly, reminding Jiang Pengji to rein in her violent words.
Reckless talk about exterminating a whole clan could earn her scorn from the enemy and make her appear ghastly!
Regardless of the past circumstances, it was undeniable that Jiang Pengji had taken in the Zhang Clan’s fleeing young lady, later facilitating the match between her and the warrior Li Yun. From the Zhang Clan’s perspective, that was a green hat of monumental size—putting it mildly, they might as well have rolled across the prairie!
Though the Zhang Clan lacked hard evidence of Jiang Pengji taking Shangguan Wan, her marrying Li Yun was common knowledge.
From this standpoint, the Zhang Clan and Jiang Pengji were naturally at odds.
Rather than watching Hejian County fall into Jiang Pengji’s hands to be oppressed under her rule, they would far prefer to support Huang Song.
Logically, that made sense.
“Even so, if no one were orchestrating things behind the scenes, it’s likely the Zhang Clan wouldn’t have managed such carefully planned treachery.”
Yang Si regarded Li Yun with a hint of sympathy.
So it seemed singlehood served him well.
Shangguan Wan was also a victim, but if Li Yun encountered an unreasonable lord, he likely would have found himself unfairly targeted.
Jiang Pengji turned to the messenger.
“Do you know who was the persuader?”
The messenger replied, “According to reports from spies, it was a certain strategist named Cheng from Huang Song’s camp.”
The intelligence gathered indicated that prior to Hejian County’s fall, there had indeed been a man of ordinary clothing and notable appearance frequently entering the Zhang Manor.
Cheng?
There’s only one strategist named Cheng under Huang Song, right?
Everyone couldn’t help but subtly shift their gazes toward Cheng Yuan.
Cheng Yuan’s father, Cheng Cheng, is a nephew of Cheng Jing, making Cheng Yuan the grandnephew of Cheng Jing.
Though of similar age, that family connection was quite remarkable.
Jiang Pengji sneered, “If it were Youmo, it wouldn’t be surprising at all. The Zhang Clan’s been floundering for years; their brains can be pretty easily muddled.”
This grudge was just a catalyst; Huang Song’s envoy—strategist Cheng Jing—was the true central figure.
Due to Cheng Jing’s persuasion, it unintentionally inflated the already shriveled egos of the Zhang Clan, leading them to overestimate themselves.
