Chapter 1141

Li Yongfu received orders and left with Jiang Zhengyang's subordinates. Hu Xiaotian waved his hand, signaling the surrounding servants to retreat. Only he and Jiang Zhengyang remained in the hall. Jiang Zhengyang apologetically said to Hu Xiaotian: "Just now, I was unable to speak the truth; I hope Sir Hu will forgive me. To be frank with Sir Hu, I intend to personally lead these twenty thousand people via White Spring City to the capital."

Hu Xiaotian nodded. White Spring City lies 230 li due south of Martial Prosperity Commandery. Jiang Zhengyang should not be lying, yet White Spring City is not any strategic stronghold. Why would he choose that place? Could they have been mistaken, and Jiang Zhengyang never even considered rebelling? Or perhaps he merely intends to use White Spring City as a transit point?

Jiang Zhengyang cupped his hands toward Hu Xiaotian and said, "Sir Hu, I'm leaving first. The grain transport is no trivial matter; I must personally supervise."

Hu Xiaotian did not try to keep him, and saw him out the door.

Returning to the room, he immediately went to the map of Dakang's territory. Originally they had thought that after obtaining the grain, Jiang Zhengyang would likely head northwest at once, taking the route through Cangmu. Although this route detours westward in principle, it was still plausible; once reaching Cangmu, one would be far from Martial Prosperity Commandery, allowing Jiang Zhengyang to send part of his forces to escort the grain convoy westward while the rest remained to intercept any troops that might discover their movements. However, Jiang Zhengyang unexpectedly chose to go directly south, and passing through White Spring City is actually a shortcut to the capital.

This was somewhat beyond Hu Xiaotian's expectations. Hu Xiaotian stared at the map, wondering why Jiang Zhengyang would choose to go south. Did he intend to use this method to confuse everyone, heading south for a distance before doubling back west? Or had he already reached an agreement with the commandant of White Spring City, so that upon arriving there the two sides would join forces?

Hu Xiaotian's finger lightly tapped White Spring City. White Spring City itself had nothing remarkable, yet fifty li to its southwest lay a lake—the largest freshwater lake within Dakang's borders, Cloud Marsh. Hu Xiaotian suddenly thought of something. He called out toward the door: "Come here, summon Li Yongfu at once!"

Although Hu Xiaotian had also studied Dakang's geography in his spare time, his familiarity with the surrounding terrain still could not match Li Yongfu's.

After listening to Hu Xiaotian finish, Li Yongfu pondered and said, "Going through White Spring City to Kangdu is indeed the nearest route. The magistrate of White Spring City is Zuo Xingjian, who once served under Jiang Zhengyang. On the surface, Jiang Zhengyang's choice of this route seems unremarkable." Li Yongfu still could not confirm that Jiang Zhengyang would rebel; although he obeyed Hu Xiaotian's orders, that did not mean he shared Hu Xiaotian and Remy Tianxing's judgment this time.

Hu Xiaotian, however, was certain that Jiang Zhengyang would definitely rebel. He shook his head and said, "There must be something fishy about this. I originally thought he would take the route through Cangmu, heading to Prosperity Prefecture to seek refuge with Guo Guangbi, but now it seems he may have other escape routes that we had not previously considered."

Li Yongfu said, "The garrison at White Spring City numbers less than five thousand, and it is merely a small town; Jiang Zhengyang would unlikely choose it as a base to hold."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Fifty li from White Spring City lies Cloud Marsh; does White Spring City have a navy?"

Li Yongfu shook his head.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Is there a large island within Cloud Marsh?"

Li Yongfu said, "Azure Heart Mountain. It is fifty li long, twenty li wide, and one thousand zhang high; atop Azure Heart Mountain, water bandits have long been entrenched."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Exactly. That must be the reason. If Jiang Zhengyang were to go overland to Prosperity Prefecture, a convoy of this size would inevitably move slowly, so he could not abandon that plan; superficially choosing to transfer at White Spring City, his true intention is to head for Azure Heart Mountain in Cloud Marsh. I have looked into Cloud Marsh's situation: the Yong River's tributary, the Hope Spring River, flows into Cloud Marsh, meaning Jiang Zhengyang could very well enter Cloud Marsh via the Hope Spring River without necessarily going to White Spring City."

Li Yongfu sucked in a breath of cold air. If that were truly the case, this matter would probably be quite troublesome; without evidence, they could not launch a large-scale military operation to obstruct Jiang Zhengyang, and once he entered White Spring City's territory, they would be unable to reach him. However, up to now, everything remains merely Hu Xiaotian's personal speculation; if Jiang Zhengyang had no intention to rebel, all of the above speculation would collapse.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Have someone notify Remy Tianxing right away; our plan may need adjustment." Hu Xiaotian's main plan was to seize Yunyang City upon confirming Jiang Zhengyang's rebellion, and to construct a mutually supporting dual-city defense line on the south bank of the Yong River; however, he likewise did not want these hundred thousand stone of grain to fall into Jiang Zhengyang's hands.

Li Yongfu said, "The conditions on the Hope Spring River are complex; parts of the river are narrow and difficult to navigate, so our large warships cannot pass. To reach that place via the Hope Spring River, we must use medium- and small-sized warships, of which about seventy are currently available for use in Martial Prosperity Commandery."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "We must prepare in advance; you arrange for the seventy warships to set out for Cloud Marsh in batches, keeping it strictly secret—absolutely no alerting the enemy. I have a feeling that the water bandits of Cloud Marsh might also be in contact with Prosperity Prefecture's Guo Guangbi."

Li Yongfu said, "My lord, I'll see to it right away."

Hu Xiaotian added, "Also, try to slow their loading speed as much as possible, to buy us ample time."

Yes!

Jiang Zhengyang was at the grain transport site, watching the grain being loaded continuously onto their wagons; his heart could not help but swell with excitement. Ten thousand stone of grain was, for him, like sending fuel in the snow. With this ten thousand stone of grain, his troops could survive the harsh winter. Dakang is finished, and Hu Xiaotian is a fool—yet the choice cut of meat now in his grasp would be given freely to Dakang. Jiang Zhengyang hated not being able to seize all thirty thousand stone of grain for himself, but given his present ability, he simply does not have the capacity to consume that much; even if the Emperor entrusted him with all grain transport duties, he would lack the ability to process it.

Jiang Zhengyang had calculated that ten thousand stone was already the limit of what he could bear.

Zu Dacheng came to Jiang Zhengyang's side and whispered, "Sir, at the current pace, finishing loading all the grain would likely take three days."

Jiang Zhengyang nodded and said, "Please speed up the loading as much as possible."

Zu Dacheng said, "Why don't you, sir, go tell them again, asking them to cooperate more fully?"

Jiang Zhengyang furrowed his brow and said, "Saying too much will only arouse their suspicion."

Zu Dacheng looked around again, confirming they were far from the crowd, then whispered softly, "Just now we received word that preparations on Azure Heart Mountain are complete; before we reach White Spring City, five hundred vessels will head to Azure Jade Bay to meet us."

Jiang Zhengyang said, "Go inform them to proceed exactly as planned."

More and more reports reached Dongliang Jun; from the Prosperity Prefecture side, a force was advancing eastward, appearing on the surface to intend an eastward push, but after three days of grain transport, Jiang Zhengyang split his troops into two batches and continued southward in succession, targeting White Spring City; so far, nothing seems amiss, and Jiang Zhengyang likely chose the shortest route to Kangdu.

After Hu Xiaotian informed Ye Tianxing of the latest intelligence he had obtained, Ye Tianxing and he made almost the same judgment: Jiang Yangyang is eighty or ninety percent likely to have abandoned the westward march, after all, land transport is slow, a grain convoy of this size would find it difficult to smoothly reach Prosperous Prefecture; after reanalyzing the situation, Ye Tianxing also believed that Jiang Yangyang was very likely to lead the hundred thousand shi of grain to Cloud Marsh, and looking across Dakang, only Cloud Marsh is where he could avoid encirclement and establish a foothold for development.

Eight-hundred-li Cloud Marsh, within it there are hundreds of islands; on the islands are stationed nearly twenty forces of large and small water bandits, but the largest of them is still the Blackwater Stronghold of Azure Heart Mountain; the chieftain of Blackwater Stronghold, Ma Xingkong, claims to command twenty thousand followers and eight hundred warships, but in fact the water bandit strength of Blackwater Stronghold is no more than eight thousand, and the total number of vessels, large and small, is only over six hundred, most of which are fishing boats. Nevertheless, this is already enough for Ma Xingkong to dominate Cloud Marsh.

Ye Tianxing and Hu Xiaotian's initial calculations overlooked Cloud Marsh; they did not expect Jiang Yangyang to dare advance southward. While Jiang Yangyang escorted the hundred thousand shi of grain out of Martial Prosperity Commandery, Prosperous Prefecture began mobilizing troops, appearing to take advantage of Yunyang's emptiness to attack Yunyang, but in fact they were merely creating a commotion to draw outside attention. Based on various signs, perhaps there had already been an tacit understanding among Jiang Yangyang, Ma Xingkong, and Guo Guangbi.

Indeed, that is exactly the case: the water bandits of Blackwater Stronghold of Azure Heart Mountain and the righteous army of Guo Guangbi of Prosperous Prefecture have secretly formed an alliance. After Jiang Yangyang privately contacted Guo Guangbi of Prosperous Prefecture, his original intention was to lead this hundred thousand shi of grain to Prosperous Prefecture to join forces with Guo Guangbi. Guo Guangbi also has capable people; his chief strategist, Tian Geng, devised this plan for him to have Jiang Yangyang go to Cloud Marsh and store the grain at Blackwater Stronghold—only thus could they maximally evade pursuit by the Dakang army and keep the hundred thousand shi of grain intact under their control. At the same time Jiang Yangyang set out, Guo Guangbi dispatched a force of ten thousand troops led by Jia Anshuang to Yunyang City; the purpose of this expedition was absolutely not to capture the city, but to create an impact, draw the attention of surrounding forces, and create conditions for Jiang Yangyang's smooth escape.

Jiang Yangyang never expected that his offhand mention of White Spring City would arouse Hu Xiaotian's suspicion, prompting him to think of Cloud Marsh.

Hu Xiaotian decided to personally make a trip to Cloud Marsh; the number of soldiers that the seventy medium and small warships dispatched to carry out the mission in Cloud Marsh could transport was limited, altogether carrying six thousand elite marines. These ships set out one after another, going upstream against the current of the Yong River, then via the Wangchun River to Cloud Marsh. Hu Xiaotian knows what is important; seizing Yunyang is the top priority, and the grand plan he first set with Ye Tianxing has not changed. The ultimate purpose of this trip to Cloud Marsh is not necessarily to seize the grain, as long as it is ensured that this batch of grain will not be taken away by Jiang Yangyang.

To avoid drawing attention too early, Hu Xiaotian, on one hand, gave instructions to slow Jiang Yangyang's pace, and on the other hand, quietly dispatched ships from Martial Prosperity Commandery in succession; all the vessels had their flags and insignia removed, undertaking disguise. As long as it is guaranteed that these seventy warships reach Cloud Marsh before Jiang Yangyang arrives at White Spring City and remain hidden there.

In the early morning, I send up the First Update, asking for Monthly Ticket! (To be continued~^~)