Chapter 1554 – Cutting Down Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Aiming for the World (Ninety-Two)
Feng Zhen’s ability to control public opinion with the navy was inferior to Wei Ci’s but still far beyond the normal level for this time.
By the time Yang Tao and the others sensed something was off, the rumors had already spread like wildfire—almost out of control. The common people were in a panic, the grain stores were purchased clean, and merchants took advantage of this windfall to double the already rising grain prices.
“Why wasn’t this reported sooner?!”
Yang Tao was rarely furious. While he was generally easygoing, he was no coward to be bullied and stay silent.
He was not only angered by Yang Si and Feng Zhen’s sinister and sneaky actions, but also by the inaction of his subordinates. With the common people causing such a ruckus, it was outrageous that relevant information only just landed on his desk. The public opinion had already reached a boiling point, and extinguishing it would now be difficult.
The official being questioned felt very wronged; he was innocent too.
“The enemy is quite cunning. Not only have they hired beggars and vagrants to spread rumors, but they also sent people to teahouses, taverns, and eateries to disseminate falsehoods, often posing as distant relatives to gain the people’s trust. Sadly, these fools were easy to deceive and believed it without second thoughts.”
The official dared not openly exonerate himself, so he shifted the blame to the enemy and the gullible populace.
At this time, it was neither spring sowing nor autumn harvest, and many common folks had nothing to do with plenty of time on their hands.
One small widow’s gossip could be the top story for half a month; let alone the rumors that Feng Zhen spread.
When their people finally noticed, the number of informed common folks was already huge, and the rumors were completely out of control.
Yang Tao’s face was dark as he saw through the man’s tricks but couldn’t lay all the blame at his feet.
Qian Su said, “My Lord, the most pressing thing now is to find a way to silence the chatter. If the rumors spread further, not only will the common people be in a panic, but the soldiers under our command will be affected as well. Compared to that, Feng Zhen and their tricks can be ignored.”
As long as Feng Zhen wasn’t sending troops to attack, all those provocations and petty acts could be brushed aside.
Yang Tao rubbed his temples in frustration and asked Qian Su, “How do we silence them?”
If it were just a small group, he could capture them and punish them harshly, but that was not the case now.
Yang Tao wasn’t good at handling these matters; he usually left it to Yan Lin or Qian Su to deal with.
“It’s a pity Shaoyang isn’t here…” Qian Su sighed. Yan Lin was currently training troops at the Huan River, checking military supplies, and likely unaware of this situation. He continued, “I do have a plan, though I’m unsure if it would work. My Lord, why not hear me out?”
Yang Tao replied, “What time is it? If you have a plan, just say it.”
He relied heavily on Yan Lin, but that didn’t mean he would ignore other advisors or let them feel uncared for.
Qian Su said, “Since the enemy spread rumors saying our supplies and provisions are insufficient, why not show them instead that the rumors are baseless?”
Yang Tao was taken aback and hesitantly replied, “But our food supplies are indeed insufficient—how can we show outsiders that?”
Qian Su chuckled, “Misdirection is nothing but a ploy; as long as we can stabilize the people’s hearts, it will suffice.”
They were, in fact, out of money and food, but that didn’t stop them from lying.
Thus, the next day saw a grand procession of grain transport on the streets, comprising a thousand men.
Some carried wooden grain bins on their shoulders, while others piled them onto carts that they pulled.
The common people found it fascinating, stretching their necks to get a better look.
At that moment, a cook accidentally twisted his ankle, causing the wooden grain bin he carried to crash to the ground, spilling the grains everywhere. The centurion lashed his whip at the cook, causing him to yelp in pain and roll on the ground.
“Hurry and pick up the grain! At this rate, when will we get this batch into the granary?”
The cook knelt in apology, hastily gathering the spilled grains back into the barrel, sealing it up again with the help of others.
Whether it was the wooden grain bin on the cook’s shoulder or those piled high on the carts, they were all hefty.
One could easily deduce their weight just by watching the cook’s labored steps and the impressions left by the wheels.
The onlooking common folks whispered among themselves in disbelief.
“Weren’t we told the army was short on food and broke?”
“That batch of grain must be at least ten thousand shi, right?”
“Those earlier rumors were certainly spread on purpose by Liu Xi, attempting to shake the troops’ morale…”
The people saying these lines were all planted by Qian Su, and the surrounding crowd just nodded in agreement.
After several batches were transported, the rumors of Yang Tao’s food shortage were temporarily quelled.
Feng Zhen heard about this and couldn’t help but sneer.
Yang Si chuckled, “I wonder who came up with such a bold idea? Isn’t he afraid of being exposed for faking it in public?”
If Feng Zhen and the others had caught wind of this sooner, they might have sent someone over to cause a scene, toppling those wooden bins.
They wanted to see if these bins truly contained genuine grains!
But alas, they were too late; Yang Tao had already suppressed the rumors.
Feng Zhen said, “If Yang Si is afraid of even this small risk, we might as well not fight him, lest we lower our standards.”
No scheme is truly foolproof; even the best plans carry some risk.
Who could say that Qian Su did poorly for reacting quickly?
Yang Si grinned, “If given the chance, I’ll recruit this person and let him work with Zixiao to create mischief.”
Wei Ci deftly handled public opinion, while Qian Su crafted a decent crisis operation; together, they could turn black into white.
Feng Zhen quipped, “As long as Yang Tao stands, you still want to recruit capable people for your camp?”
Yang Si then responded, “Then let’s think of a way to bring Yang Tao down!”
Feng Zhen remarked, “Yang Tao’s current weaknesses are supplies and troops. The latter is manageable, but the former is a tough nut to crack.”
Calculating the time, there was still a while until the autumn harvest; Feng Zhen decided to take a gamble.
Yang Si asked, “What are you betting on?”
Feng Zhen replied, “I bet Yang Tao’s food supply won’t hold out until the autumn harvest.”
Previously, several aristocratic families had flirted with them, and some with vast fields revealed key information—that Yang Tao had sent people to borrow food from them, and the amount was considerable. These aristocrats were shrewd, aware that borrowing typically meant no return; deeming Yang Tao untrustworthy, they simply refused. To gain Feng Zhen’s trust, they used this matter to disparage Yang Tao.
Yang Si understood Feng Zhen’s plan.
“Are you suggesting we lure Yang Tao’s troops to intercept supplies?”
Feng Zhen nodded, “Precisely!”
Yang Si continued, “Yang Tao has many clever minds under him; they won’t easily fall for it.”
Feng Zhen said, “False information—of course, they wouldn’t be fooled, but what if it’s true? Yang Tao is plotting against us using the Zhao Family; why shouldn’t we reciprocate and scheme in kind?”
