Chapter 278

Chapter 278

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 8: Chang’an Discusses Wine, Autumn Brings Change Chapter 278: The Death of Tao Qian

The news of Tao Qian’s impending inspection of the counties naturally reached Ze Rong’s hands much faster than it arrived in Chang’an.

Ze Rong held onto this news for a long time, revealing a determined expression.

Whether the rising lanterns were truly blessed by the gods or someone was helping him behind the scenes, the end result was the same—

Tao Qian had left the safest area for him, Donghai, and was heading towards Guangling!

If he really wanted to act, he had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

In fact, he had no choice but to act.

The illusion of the gods appearing had already placed him on the hot seat, and Tao Qian was coming precisely because of the divine phenomenon.

But since he didn’t know how such a situation had occurred, he naturally didn’t know how to make such a spectacle reappear to satisfy Tao Qian’s demands.

To ensure that the halo of Buddha’s protection wouldn’t be easily stripped from him, Ze Rong had to eliminate all unstable factors.

The first one was Tao Qian!

“Can’t let that old man Tao Qian die in Guangling’s territory…” Ze Rong muttered.

Tao Qian couldn’t die so blatantly at his hands. Even if he claimed that Tao Qian had fallen out of favor with Buddha, it wouldn’t quell all the criticism.

After all, Ze Rong had been promoted by Tao Qian himself. A sudden betrayal would only provoke condemnation from all sides in Xuzhou.

His gaze swept over Tao Qian’s inspection route.

From Donghai County to Pengcheng, and then to—

Xia Pi!

Yes, Xia Pi!

His eyes lit up, and he immediately sent for Zu Lang.

After the spectacle that day, even Zu Lang, who had previously scoffed at Ze Rong’s claims of divine punishment, couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and fear towards him.

Now, summoned by Ze Rong, Zu Lang still had a trace of lingering fear on his face.

Such rumors of gods had a greater deterrent effect in the relatively undeveloped southern regions, even for someone like Zu Lang, who fancied himself a great leader of Jing County.

Seeing Zu Lang’s expression, Ze Rong became even more confident that his goal could be achieved.

Zu Lang hadn’t expected that Ze Rong’s summons wasn’t to offer him more lavish treatment, as before, but to seriously say: “Last night, Buddha sent me a message. Tao Gongzu, the ruler of Xuzhou, is indecisive and stagnant, which will inevitably lead Xuzhou to disaster. When that happens, the land will be ravaged, and even the sacred land of Guangling won’t be spared. Naturally, Buddha is displeased.”

Zu Lang’s eyelids twitched.

These weren’t words to be spoken lightly.

What did it mean that Tao Qian would bring disaster to Xuzhou?

To put it bluntly, it meant—

Tao Qian was no longer fit to rule Xuzhou!

The man before him, the spokesperson of the Buddhist sect, had just turned himself into a divine miracle at the Bathing Buddha Festival in Guangling. At such a delicate time, his words couldn’t possibly mean he intended to persuade or educate Tao Qian.

The most likely scenario was that he intended to replace him!

Zu Lang studied Ze Rong’s expression for a long time before asking, “What does the master wish for me to do?”

Ze Rong replied, “I hope you will cooperate with my men to ambush Tao Qian within Xia Pi.”

His face still wore the calm expression of someone discussing Buddhist scriptures, temporarily suppressing his greed for Xuzhou and Tao Qian’s power.

Seeing Zu Lang’s hesitation, he added, “If Xuzhou is well-governed, Yang Province will naturally be peaceful. This is the inevitable trend of the times. For the sake of the people of both provinces, we must take this risk. Fortunately, with Buddha’s protection, we will surely overcome any adversity.”

These words sounded quite noble, but Zu Lang wasn’t so foolish as to believe that Ze Rong was making this decision solely for the people of Xuzhou and Yang Province.

It was clearly for his own benefit.

But there were two points in Ze Rong’s words that did resonate with him.

First, if Ze Rong could seize Xuzhou and use its military strength to support him, he could deliver a heavy blow to Sun Ce.

This might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

If he didn’t want Sun Ce to turn on him after capturing Kuaiji County, as he had done with Yan Baihu, he had to come up with a plan before Sun Ce returned.

The noble families of Wu County might not be reliable, so his only ally was Ze Rong.

Thus, boosting Ze Rong’s influence might also be helping himself!

Second, Ze Rong’s claim of “overcoming adversity” might actually be possible, given his performance at the Bathing Buddha Festival.

Since Zu Lang couldn’t figure out how Ze Rong had made the thousand lanterns float, why not believe that Ze Rong truly had great abilities?

Zu Lang said, “I can help you, but I’m not very familiar with the situation in Xia Pi.”

If the ambush were in Gaoyou, Zu Lang could at least claim some familiarity due to his recent travels.

But Xia Pi was completely unfamiliar to him.

Assassinating a governor was already a life-risking endeavor. Not considering the environment beforehand would be too reckless.

Ze Rong shook his head, “No need to worry about that. The grain distribution for Pengcheng, Xia Pi, and Guangling is managed by me. Many of my subordinates are familiar with Xia Pi, and they will guide you well.”

These men had already been brainwashed by Ze Rong’s religion, or were unwilling to give up their current benefits, or even hoped to achieve greater success by helping Ze Rong rise. They would never betray him in this advantageous situation.

They were undoubtedly the best guides for Zu Lang.

After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Zu Lang’s tone softened considerably when he spoke again, making it clear to Ze Rong what his decision was.

“I have three final questions.”

“The first is, why choose Xia Pi?”

Ze Rong replied, “Buddha cannot bear a tarnished name, and to minimize casualties, once we need to march north from Guangling to occupy the provincial capital, we will publicly claim that Tao Gongzu’s death was the work of Chen Hanyu and Chen Yuanlong of Xia Pi, who sought to illegally seize Xuzhou.”

These words were utterly shameless.

But since Zu Lang had already made his decision, he didn’t care about the dirtiness of the frame-up.

After all, it was about giving Ze Rong a legitimate reason to become the ruler of Xuzhou.

Zu Lang then asked, “Xuzhou’s terrain is flat and open, making it easy to invade. Aren’t you afraid that the chaos in Xuzhou will attract the covetousness of neighboring regions, and you’ll end up doing someone else’s work?”

Ze Rong replied, “You’re mistaken. It’s almost harvest season, and large-scale military movements are unsuitable everywhere. Besides, Yuan Shao in the north is restrained by Qiao Yan, Cao Cao in Yanzhou is in conflict with the local gentry, such as Bian Rang of Chenliu, who constantly slanders him, giving him a headache. Before the internal strife is resolved, he has no chance to send troops. Yuan Shu in Yu Province is at odds with Liu Bei, and as for the south, you already know the situation.”

The south, Yang Province, had no direct possibility of sending troops to Xuzhou.

This was indeed the most suitable time for Xuzhou’s “purge.”

By the time others had the leisure to take advantage of Xuzhou’s chaos, he should already have firmly controlled Xuzhou.

Ze Rong was fully confident in this.

His confidence made Zu Lang feel that perhaps Ze Rong still had some cards up his sleeve that weren’t suitable to reveal at this time, so he asked his final question: “You invited Mi Zhu of Donghai here. Is he on our side?”

Ze Rong replied frankly, “Even if he isn’t now, he soon will be.”

Since arriving in Guangling, Mi Zhu hadn’t made any clear commitments, but he hadn’t shown any resistance to Ze Rong either.

In Ze Rong’s view, if Tao Qian died and the blame for his death fell on Chen Gui and Chen Deng, Mi Zhu would have no reason to refuse joining.

Tao Qian hadn’t been generous or bold enough with his subordinates, which was why such a wealthy force in his territory hadn’t formally submitted to him or provided sufficient support.

Ze Rong wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Plus, after taking action against Tao Qian, he would have no choice but to tie Mi Zhu to his side.

After all, Mi Zhu had been in Guangling during the Bathing Buddha Festival. How could he not be implicated?





Chen Deng of the pot might think, isn’t Mi Zhu and that Ze Rong just birds of a feather?

Ze Rong, while seeing off the soon-to-depart Zu Lang, flashed a smile that hinted at good news to come.

Tao Qian, however, was not as carefree and cheerful as Ze Rong.

Although the essence of his trip was to witness the Buddha’s manifestation, with the autumn harvest approaching, this inspection tour was not just a casual pretense.

So, on his way from Pengcheng to Xia Pi, he took the opportunity to inquire about the farmland conditions and grain reserves in these two counties.

It was fine not to ask, but once he did, he was truly shocked!

In Pengcheng and the county seat of Xia Pi, the government granaries were still normal, not much different from what Tao Qian had known before. The problem lay in the surrounding county cities.

Take Liu County, for example, which lies on the way from Pengcheng to Xia Pi. The grain reserves here were less than one-fifth of those in the county’s government granaries.

This amount of grain reserve couldn’t even cope with ordinary disasters, let alone other emergencies, such as supplying military rations in case of war.

It was also clearly not a gap caused by poor harvests.

Tao Qian, with a tense face, called for the county’s bookkeeper to inquire and got an unexpected answer.

These grains had all been transferred by Ze Rong!

The bookkeeper, under Tao Qian’s angry gaze, replied in an increasingly soft voice, “He had the transfer order from the governor, saying that this part of the grain was to be sent to the provincial government to be allocated to Colonel Sun and others, to prevent disobedience to the provincial government’s discipline. We had no reason to doubt him, so we gave it to him.”

Who would have thought, judging by Tao Qian’s current reaction, that Ze Rong’s actions were all behind Tao Qian’s back.

These grains were not sent by Tao Qian to appease his subordinates, but were clearly embezzled by Ze Rong himself.

As for the use after embezzlement, it was all too clear.

If not for these grains, how could Ze Rong feed his Buddhist followers?

Tao Qian, furious to the point of laughter, said, “Well, he still knows how to delay my discovery of his deeds, being lenient with the county seats and major counties, while exploiting the small counties. I asked him to manage the grain and fodder within the three counties to prevent delays in case of enemy attacks from Yang and Yu Provinces, and he managed to produce such a result!”

He angrily slapped the table and stood up, “I forgot, he also used this batch of grain to bribe the Buddha. If I were the Buddha, I would also like such a follower.”

At this point, Tao Qian had not yet realized that Ze Rong’s Buddhist miracle was also fake.

But whether it was true or false, he had already decided to go to Guangling to hold Ze Rong accountable.

He was old and frail, without much ambition, but he could never accept being deceived by a subordinate in such a way.

His name was Tao Qian, styled Gongzu, but he was not so devout to the Buddha without bottom line!

Tao Qian rejected Chen Gui’s suggestion to bring along a group of subordinates.

Accompanying him were elite soldiers from the Donghai County government, all brave and skilled warriors.

Traveling with such a team could undoubtedly lower Ze Rong’s guard and catch him off guard.

Tao Qian told Chen Gui, “Ze Rong has been operating in Guangling for a long time, with followers all around Gaoyou. If we go in a large force, we might be tipped off before reaching the city gates of Gaoyou. He has a lot of grain in his government granaries and some hard-to-understand methods. If he defends the city, it would be difficult to break through, and it might even give other parties an opportunity. It’s better to still go under the guise of inspection, have him prepare the Buddhist spectacle, and then capture him when we meet.”

Chen Gui thought about it and felt that this was indeed the safest way, so he only replied, “That’s fine, please be careful on your trip to Guangling.”

So the message Tao Qian had sent ahead by fast horse to Gaoyou said—

After he had a half-day of drinking and chatting with Chen Gui, he would come to Guangling.

Regardless of what Ze Rong thought upon receiving this message, his subordinates familiar with the terrain of Xia Pi and Zu Lang had already appeared on the necessary route for Tao Qian to go to Xia Pi.

The Huai River divides Xuzhou into two, with Guangling County south of the Huai River.

So if Tao Qian wanted to reach Guangling, he had to cross the river.

The best way to Gaoyou was to board a ship at Xu County in Xia Pi, pass through Hongze Lake, naturally cross the Huai River, then go east along the Sanhe River southeast of Hongze Lake, and enter the area of Gaoyou Lake.

East of Gaoyou Lake is Gaoyou County City.

Because of the calm weather these days, Tao Qian chose to take this water route without hesitation, instead of switching back to a carriage after crossing the river.

But he didn’t expect that the Yangzhou helpers invited by Ze Rong, though nominally called Shanyue, were mostly skilled in water!

These people had long disguised themselves as fishermen and entered the Hongze Lake area from the other end, waiting for Tao Qian to come to them.

Tao Qian knew nothing about this.

The summer heat was mostly shielded by the cabin above, and there was a slight breeze with moisture on the lake. He lay on the soft couch in the boat, the rocking of the waves taking away some of his earlier anger.

That deceitful scoundrel Ze Rong had indeed depressed him to the extreme, but now he had temporarily passed the peak of his anger.

After all, the ruler of Xuzhou was still him, Tao Qian, not that scoundrel Ze Rong.

It wouldn’t be too late to get angry again after arriving in Gaoyou.

The crops in the Huai River basin were growing exceptionally well due to the irrigation, as he had clearly seen before boarding the ship. In another half a month or so, the government granaries would be further filled. He didn’t need to be so angry about Ze Rong’s actions that he might harm himself.

He should enjoy the lake and mountain scenery first.

But just then, Tao Qian suddenly felt his ship shake, as if it had hit something.

The next moment, a cry rang out on the ship, “What are you doing?”

In what should have been a very quiet afternoon, the sound of blades cutting through the air suddenly rang out, followed by a muffled groan from the person who had just spoken, who then fell directly from the ship into the water with a splash.

Hearing this, Tao Qian immediately rolled over and got up.

He was not a scholar without the strength to truss a chicken, so he immediately grabbed the knife by his side, intending to see who had the audacity to attack him, the governor of Xuzhou, on Hongze Lake.

But he had only taken one step when he suddenly realized something was wrong with the ship.

It seemed to be sitting lower in the water!

His suspicion was immediately confirmed when the boatman at the stern shouted, “Someone is smashing the ship from below!”

Tao Qian’s heart tightened.

Because he still had to navigate the Sanhe River, he hadn’t chosen a particularly large ship, which meant a significant portion of his subordinates were not on the same ship as him.

His opponents, however, showed no mercy, clearly aiming for a one-hit kill.

Once the ship was damaged, it would be difficult to turn back or escape.

The fishing boats quickly gathering around and the water ghosts lurking in the water quickly boarded the ship as his other subordinates realized something was wrong.

These people were dressed in the most ordinary hemp clothes, all in fishermen’s attire, making it impossible to judge their origins at a glance.

He just had an almost intuitive premonition that these people…

Even if there were no monks among them, they were most likely Ze Rong’s subordinates!

That letter he sent to placate Ze Rong, intending to successfully confront him upon arrival, might still be on its way to Gaoyou, but Ze Rong had already decided to oppose him and resolutely struck first!

Thus placing this act of betrayal and assassination here.

The opponent’s preparedness rendered the martial advantage Tao Qian’s subordinates should have had completely useless at this moment.

He could only watch helplessly as the other side successively cut down the guards in front of him, step by step pressing closer.

In the face of such a life-and-death crisis, even if there were risks, Tao Qian decided to jump ship, at least to fight for a way out.

But before he could retreat to the window under the cover of his subordinates and jump out, a short arrow flew across and pierced his chest.

Being on a boat on the lake, Tao Qian had no chance to wear any armor for protection.

The arrow went straight in, and in an instant, a paralyzing sensation spread to his mouth and tongue.

It was a poisoned arrow!

In Tao Qian’s eyes, the ships of his subordinates seemed to be just a step away, but he could no longer see the outcome of this rescue.

His vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.