Chapter 406

Kong Xiuzhi's brows were cold and solemn:

"Does the Prince still not understand, the key points of Yingzhou east and west—"

"Don't tell me how important Yingzhou is anymore!!!

Even if I know, it's useless! Even if you know, it's useless! If you can't beat them, you can't beat them!

Old Kong, merit is not established like this! You must be able to fight first, and then you can establish merit!

Haven't you seen it clearly yet? Why didn't Xiao Zixiang fight when Shen Wenji was guarding Yingzhou, but he fought as soon as I came? He saw that our Yingzhou has no one—

Sorry, I didn't mean you are not good.

But in the current situation, even if Shen Wenji was not transferred... hurry up and prepare the boat for me ah ah ah ah ah!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu started to be hysterical like a groundhog.

Kong Xiuzhi had no choice but to reveal a little bit:

"I'll give the Prince a bottom line. The reason I dare to fight is because I have a strange person who taught me the strategy of defense. In my opinion, this person's strategy and planning are not necessarily inferior to Duke Liu or Shen Pingdong. And... there is... in short, this battle is not without a chance of winning—"

"Hey, wait wait wait!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu suspected that his hearing had weakened under excitement, so he let go of one hand to pick his ear, and then asked:

"Who did you just say taught you the strategy of defense?"

"A strange person."

"Who? Qi Ren? Is his surname Qi?"

"A strange person is an extraordinary person. He has strange strategies in his chest, his knowledge is strange, his actions are strange, and his plans are strange, so he is called a strange person."

Xiao Xiao Jiu was very curious and urged:

"Tell me the name!"

"The subordinate doesn't know."

"Oh my—"

"But the Prince of Badong's time of leaving Jingzhou, the route of advancing troops, and the strategy of water and land were all within this person's expectations. I had doubts when I first heard it, but it has been verified one by one recently. Everything this person said is correct!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu didn't believe it:

"So magical? Where is he now? Let him come to see me."

Kong Xiuzhi showed a trace of melancholy, his eyes had a distant meaning, and he sighed:

"I don't know where he is either..."

Xiao Xiao Jiu was moved by Kong Xiuzhi's emotions, followed by a deep look, his brows slightly wrinkled, his eyes looking far away, as if he was immersed in the atmosphere of "high-ranking hermit, coming and going without a trace." But this depth lasted less than two breaths before he exploded:

"Do you take me for a three-year-old child! If you don't even know where the person is, how can he teach you the strategy! Dream it!"

"As early as the beginning of the Prince of Badong's rebellion, before he left Jingzhou, he had someone hand over the strategy and deployment to me."

Xiao Xiao Jiu's suspicion was very heavy:

"Let me see!"

"This involves secrets, the subordinate cannot let anyone see it."

"Not even me?!"

"No."

Xiao Xiao Jiu said angrily:

"I'm on your side!"

"The Prince just asked the subordinate to prepare a boat..."

"..."

"And the subordinate has promised the person who came that I will never leak the strategy to a second person. If the military secrets are leaked, leading to the collapse of Yingzhou, the responsibility lies with the subordinate. My family is all in Jiankang, and I cannot afford this responsibility."

Xiao Xiao Jiu was speechless for a while, but observing his words and expressions, he felt that this matter didn't look like it was made up. He thought for a while and asked:

"Aren't you afraid that this person was sent by Xiao Zixiang, deliberately designed to set you up?"

"No."

"How do you know it won't be?!"

"Because the one who brought the letter was the daughter of the Marquis of Xichang, and she was acting under the order of the Marquis of Xichang. She will definitely not be the Prince of Badong's person."

"What?! My Seventh Sister is here!!!!!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu's pupils lit up, his whole person was like being ignited, the sword was taken off his neck, and he looked around!

Baoyue is the seventh among the cousins, and Xiao Xiao Jiu usually calls her "Seventh Sister." In Xiao Jiu's eyes, although this Seventh Sister has a cold personality, she is beautiful, smart, cool, and majestic. She is definitely a high-cold goddess.

Although he is a little afraid of her, he admires her in his heart. Especially at this time, with Seventh Sister here, his courage is strengthened by three points! More importantly, the Marquis of Xichang is a prime minister. Since he is willing to let his daughter come to deliver the letter, this shows that Yingzhou city is temporarily safe, and it shows that the strategy of the so-called strange person has been communicated with the court! Since the court has a plan, Yingzhou is not fighting alone. This is much more powerful than a strange person falling from the sky to teach strange strategies!

Xiao Xiao Jiu had just cheered up when he was splashed with cold water by Kong Xiuzhi's answer:

"Xie Xie Niangzi Xiao has long left Ying and has now arrived in Jiankang."

(Chapter 351, *The Best Strategy*: "After he paced back and forth a few times, he turned around suddenly and looked at Baoyue: 'You do three favors for me, first—' Wang Yang pondered for a while and then said: 'I'd better write it down.' Chapter 355, *Moon Falling in Rouge*: 'Xie Xie Niangzi Xiao, take care, I will trouble Xie Xie Niangzi Xiao with those three things.'")

Before Wang Yang left the barbarians, he wanted Baoyue to do three things. Sending a letter to the Emperor was one. Arranging in Yingzhou was another. As for the third, it has not yet been revealed.

Since it was Baoyue passing through Ying city on her way back to the capital to handle this matter, it is conceivable whether it is true or false that she claimed to be acting under her father's order.

And Wang Yang letting Baoyue come to deliver the strategy naturally has the intention of borrowing the identity of the Marquis of Xichang. First, using Xiao Luan to pull the court's banner can stabilize people's hearts. Second, Xiao Luan is a member of the Crown Prince's party and will not join forces with the Prince of Badong, so he can be trusted. Third, it is good to enjoy the shade under a big tree. Borrowing the big tree of Xiao Luan can hang people's desire for coolness.

There is another layer that has nothing to do with Xiao Luan, but to use Baoyue's means.

Kong Xiuzhi refused to leak the strategy to Xiao Xiao Jiu, mentioning that his family was in Jiankang. The meaning is not only that the war will be defeated and the court will pursue it.

Since Baoyue entrusted the matter to someone, the person she trusted was not just Kong Xiuzhi's character.

As for Kong Xiuzhi, he also has his own considerations.

Although the name of the Kong family in Shanyin is a descendant of Confucius, among the aristocratic families, it belongs to the Wu surname. (The Kong family in Shanyin is a descendant of Kong Qian of the Liang state. They moved to Shanyin at the end of the Han dynasty. If they moved south during the Yongjia period, they would be the Qiao surname. But if they moved too early, they would become the Wu surname. But if they moved too late, after the middle of the Eastern Jin dynasty, they would become "late-crossing northerners," and their family status would be lowered. This issue will be written about later.)

Not to mention comparing with those high-ranking Qiao families, even compared with the old Wu families like Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang, they are inferior. Coupled with several rebellions in the previous dynasty, the family's vitality was greatly damaged, and its momentum is getting lower and lower. He started as a student of the Imperial College, then to a military advisor, a small county magistrate, and a large county magistrate, step by step to today, which is not easy. If he wants to go further, it will be difficult.

Either he will always be a Chief Clerk and assist in government (of course, he will change to different places. Some people have changed five times and have not been promoted). If he doesn't die after several years of seniority, and then has some luck to enter the court as a Minister (full ministry), that would be a great fortune!

Or he can enter the court as an official of the three departments, perhaps starting as a Regular Attendant of the Yellow Gate, and it would be good to be posthumously awarded a Taichang after death.

There is another kind, which is to be transferred back to the capital as a virtual official. It looks smooth and high-ranking, but in fact, it is just a bridge for others. He will soon be beaten back to his original shape and transferred out to be an external official, still doing things like Prefect or Chief Clerk. This is equivalent to returning to the original place after a circle.

So don't look at him acting as a Prefect now, but this Prefect position is really very far away for him. If he accumulates political achievements normally, even if he does well, he will see the end of his life. Unless there is some special opportunity.

For Kong Xiuzhi, the so-called special opportunity is now!

Now the Prince of Badong is rebelling, the army is out of Jingzhou, people are panicked, and the court cannot rescue in time. If he can hold Yingzhou, that is a great merit! His name will enter the eyes of the Emperor and a group of court officials! His entire official career will be different in the future!

And the Marquis of Xichang!

Since the strategy was given by the Marquis of Xichang, he will also be favored by the Marquis of Xichang if he accomplishes this. Not to mention the Crown Prince, just the praise of the Marquis of Xichang is more useful than others struggling for many years!

Therefore, for himself, Yingzhou must be held!

For the country, Yingzhou must be held even more!

The urgent task is to appease this brat quickly.

As soon as Xiao Xiao Jiu heard that Baoyue was going back to Jiankang, he made a fuss again:

"Seventh Sister is gone and you still let me stay! If it's really safe, why didn't she stay! If the court has a plan, let the person who made the plan stand on the city wall! I won't do it if no one comes and lets me fight to the death! Seventh Sister didn't even see me, let alone you! Oh, this is knowing that what I say doesn't count, so she didn't even show up, hahaha..."

"Xie Xie Niangzi Xiao didn't see the Prince, not because she knew the Prince's words didn't count, but because she knew the Prince's heart was not firm—"

"If my life is not firm, can my heart be firm? Don't use words to bypass me! Hurry up and prepare the boat for me ah ah ah ah ah!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu turned on the crazy groundhog form again.

Kong Xiuzhi shouted sternly:

"Does the Prince want to be in the history books?"

"If my life is gone, what does it matter if I'm in the history books?! Do you think I care? Record it however you want in the history books! If I frown, I lose!"

(*Book of Southern History, Biography of Jian'an Prince Zizhen*: "The Emperor sent Pei Shuye to kill him with the signature official Ke Lingsun. Zizhen ran under the bed, Lingsun pulled him out by hand, kowtowed to beg to be a slave to redeem his life, but he didn't follow, and he was killed at the age of nineteen." This is the ending of Xiao Xiao Jiu on the original timeline.)

"Hurry up and prepare the boat for me! Otherwise, you force the Prince to die, and Yingzhou will be finished anyway! Even if it's not finished, you are guilty of an unforgivable crime! Forcing a prince to die, no matter how great the merit, it's useless!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu became excited again and shouted:

"You just want to force me to death! You just want to force me to death, right?!"

Kong Xiuzhi was tired and had a headache.

"Who wants to force the Prince to death?"

A person came in from outside the door, although wearing light armor, he was dressed loosely, with a sword hanging obliquely at his waist, walking leisurely. It was Li Dang, the Yingzhou signature official.

This Li Dang is also a strange person. Although the signature official is not a promising position, he can be promoted if he does it well for a few years. Moreover, he was once Liu Shilong's signature official. He followed Liu Shilong to confront the Northern Wei vanguard in Southern Yanzhou, and even made a merit! He was enfeoffed as the Baron of Yiyang and had three hundred households. (I will write about what the three hundred households mean in the notes) It can be considered changing his background.

But this person acts casually and unrestrainedly, doesn't care about promotion at all, and doesn't follow the rules very much. So he stayed in the position of signature official for more than ten years, and transferred to many states before and after. If it weren't for the relationship with Liu Shilong, with Li Dang's personality, even if he wasn't promoted, he would have been taken down long ago.

However, Li Dang is bold, has many ideas, dares to supervise, and is not harsh. Although there are small mistakes, he never makes big mistakes, so he can always be a signature official with a title.

A signature official with a baron title and ten years of seniority is rare in the world. Now that the Jian'an Prince is young, Li Dang's position is like an underage guardian, and his authority is not small.

Xiao Xiao Jiu had already put down the sword, but as soon as he saw Li Dang come in, his whole person was like being scorched by fire. He hurriedly put the sword back across his neck:

"You you you you don't move! I tell you, I'll go all out today! If you dare to move, I'll slit my throat! I'm not joking! If you don't believe me, try it! If you dare to try, I dare to die!"

Li Dang leaned against the door frame and sighed:

"I didn't expect the Prince of Badong to send assassins here."

Xiao Xiao Jiu was startled, and the sword almost fell!

Kong Xiuzhi was also startled:

"Where is the assassin?!"

Li Dang looked at Xiao Xiao Jiu and smiled slyly:

"The assassin went deep into the Prince's mansion and slit the Prince's throat. At that time, the three armies will wear mourning and avenge the Prince. This is the victory of the mourning army—"

Xiao Xiao Jiu's face changed greatly:

"Li Dang, you are not a human!!!"

Li Dang took two steps forward, looked solemn, clasped his fists, and his voice was high:

"The Prince uses his own life to exchange for the hatred of the whole state! The subordinate admires it very much! The Prince is righteous!"

As he said this, he forced his way forward, his eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he roared:

"The subordinate will send the Prince on his way!"

Xiao Xiao Jiu screamed in fright, subconsciously returning the sword to protect himself. Li Dang flew out, grabbed Xiao Xiao Jiu's wrist holding the sword, and twisted it.

Xiao Xiao Jiu only felt a numbness in his wrist, and the sword fell out of his hand with a clatter. Then he was lifted up by his collar.

Li Dang lifted Xiao Xiao Jiu off the table and put him on the ground:

"The Prince is shocked. Hurry up and press the Prince to calm down!"

Several guards who had been prepared outside the door rushed in, held Xiao Xiao Jiu's arms left and right, and took him away at high speed.

Xiao Jiu's feet left the ground again. Only then did he react and began to kick his legs desperately, struggling and crying while shouting:

"Li Dang, you dog thief! I won't let you go even if I become a ghost! And Kong Xiuzhi! You two wait! I will definitely tell the Emperor! Emperor! Emperor save me! Mother save me..."

The voice went further and further away, and finally disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Li Dang smiled and asked Kong Xiuzhi:

"Is Lord Kong afraid that he will sue for a false accusation?"

Kong Xiuzhi usually doesn't smile, but at this time he also showed a relaxed expression and looked at Li Dang:

"The first offender is in front, what do I have to worry about?"

Li Dang nodded:

"That's right, the small officials are always the first offenders. Who told me to be a small official!"

Kong Xiuzhi said seriously:

"It's better for you to be a small official. You, if you are a big official, you will make big mistakes."

Li Dang laughed:

"You know me!"

Note: The amount of tax households for a title is calculated based on the richness of the fief. For example, Li Dang is the Baron of Yiyang with three hundred households, which is one-ninth or one-tenth of the annual tax revenue of three hundred households in Yiyang County. And tax revenue is also collected based on the amount of local farmland and assets. In order for everyone to feel it intuitively, I will estimate an approximate value.

The household adjustment is calculated based on the fixed annual payment of four bolts of cloth per household by Emperor Little Xiao Wu of Liu Song, and the land rent is calculated based on the three *hu* per person set by Emperor Little Xiao Wu of Eastern Jin after abolishing the land measurement and rent collection. These two tax collections by Emperor Little Xiao Wu avoided the trouble of tax collection, which just happened to create convenience for our estimation.

Cloth is priced at four hundred based on the tax revenue of the fourth year of Yongming (*Book of Southern Qi, Annals of Wu Di* "four bolts are priced at four hundred"), so four bolts are one thousand six hundred. Generally, the poll tax is three *hu*. Female adults are halved, and half-adults are sometimes collected and sometimes not. So a family of five plus a half-grown child is calculated as five *hu* a year. One *hu* is priced at one hundred coins (Chapter 88 chapter notes), which is five hundred. Excluding miscellaneous taxes, the tax revenue of three hundred households a year is six hundred and thirty thousand, and one-tenth is sixty-three thousand. That is to say, as long as Li Dang has this baron title, he doesn't have to do anything, and he will lie down and earn more than sixty thousand a year.

Of course, this is just an estimate. The tax revenue of different counties is different, and there are often situations where taxes cannot be collected, which was called "tax evasion" at the time. Sometimes local tax arrears can be one-third, and if they are owed for several years, the court at the end of the Liu Song dynasty was really poor and had no money. Chasing the tax arrears of Yang and Xu two states could collect "600,000 *hu* of rice and grain, more than 50 million coins, 50,000 bolts of cloth and silk, and miscellaneous items outside" (*Book of Song, Annals of the Later Deposed Emperor*). Excluding miscellaneous items, it is estimated to be 130 million coins.

This is a long note, but the note looks long, but the word count is really not much. Just like this chapter's main text word count is 3,700, and the notes above add up to only 480.

Busy these two days, stop for one day. Update on the 11th, which is Saturday.