Chapter 435: Water and Fire

Hezhou's geographical position is extremely special among the Lingnan Six Commanderies.

Clearly it is a secluded corner, yet it also leans on the Gu Zhandao.

If someone in the Lingnan Six Commanderies gains power and wants to march troops into Zhongyuan to seize imperial dominance, they would surely have to pass through Hezhou, taking advantage of the Gu Zhandao's convenience.

Fang Zijing asked Chen Wuji whether he could defend the territory.

This was originally the reason Chen Wuji raised his troops, but upon this question, Chen Wuji fell silent instead.

He also asked himself in his heart.

Having already taken the five counties, can he truly keep the peace and protect the people?

He seeks the five counties' able-bodied men and taxes; he ought to safeguard the lives of those who contribute taxes, for this is the mutual fulfillment between populace and bandit, truly proper and his duty.

Chen Wuji's silence lasted a full incense stick's time.

Lu Jing and Fang Zijing did not urge him, merely each seemed lost in thought.

Yang Tiejiang, sitting beside Chen Wuji on the left, seemed a person completely detached from affairs, merely glanced calmly and then continued to droop his eyelids in feigned sleep.

"Since we have designs, we ought to secure the realm and pacify the people!" Chen Wuji finally said.

Fang Zijing rose without hesitation, "Having Deputy Commander Chen's word is enough for me; whatever Deputy Commander Chen wishes to do, I will follow."

Lu Jing suddenly turned his head, his expression instantly gaining a touch of irritation.

Fang Zijing suddenly seemed to turn into a ruffian, "You, surnamed Lu, what are you staring at me for? You're merely a prisoner under command; Deputy Commander Chen gives you face, yet you really put on the airs of a county magistrate? This county magistrate post, swapping in another person wouldn't be impossible."

"If you truly wish to be a loyal subject, the walls and pillars are there—go bang your head. If you cannot be a loyal subject, then speak plainly and clearly; Deputy Commander Chen, a rising star who strives for governance, likely won't tolerate those vague, evasive remarks."

Lu Jing stared dumbfounded, blankly gazing at Fang Zijing, actually unable to recover for a good while.

Chen Wuji, however, burst out laughing.

Fang Zijing was practically his mouthpiece; these words hit right at his heart.

At the outset of the discussion, this person kept saying "exactly, exactly," nearly confusing Chen Wuji.

As it turned out, he was a straightforward, blunt, clean and efficient sort.

Lu Jing gave Fang Zijing a resentful glance, then turned to Chen Wuji and said, "Deputy Commander Chen, this Fang-surnamed person asked you a question; I also have a query, please indulge me, Deputy Commander."

"Speak, I'll listen."

"Deputy Commander, are you truly intending to rebel?"

"I don't know, but can we still rely on the Court?"

"What if the Court sends someone?"

"To send people to pluck the fruits I have struggled for with my clansmen and commoners? What do you think I would do? If the County Magistrate Lu were sitting here, what should he do?"

"Is this answer even in need of asking?"

"Naturally, come one, kill one; come two, kill a pair."

Lu Jing nodded, rose and clasped his hands in salute, "Thank you, Deputy Commander, for your instruction; Lu has it figured. Qing County is prosperous; I can still scrape together several ten thousand shi of grain, and I ask Deputy Commander to station troops in Qing County as a forward guard against Hezhou."

Chen Wuji did not answer.

This was his first time dealing with a county magistrate other than Qin Feng, and he immediately felt some pressure.

Indeed, those who mix in Officialdom, no matter the rank, are none of them economical lamps.

Lu Jing's declaration seemed thorough, yet it hides much subtext.

Qing County lies between Hezhou and Yunan; Gu Wenjie there remotely incorporated Hezhou troops, then passed through Qing County to invade Hezhou.

Lu Jing's request for Chen Wuji to dispatch troops for garrison—what his motive and purpose are, Chen Wuji has not yet figured out, but stationing troops in Qing County is certainly no good thing.

Qing County is flat plain, with no city walls, no defensible terrain; once battle erupts, aside from a lone army fighting in the field, there is no other recourse—basically only victory or defeat.

The very notion of "defend" simply does not exist.

Chen Wuji here has not yet given an explanation, but Fang Zijing could not sit still, stroking his beard and glaring as he shouted at Lu Jing, "Lu Jing, I think you've drunk too much horse urine; even if Deputy Commander Chen sends troops to your miserable Qing County patch, what could they do? How can you defend a place where you can see the end at a glance? And yet you dare to speak of it as a forward guard against Hezhou."

"Gu Wenjie again has the act of loosing troops to pillage the populace, and my Qing County is prosperous, so I cannot neglect defense!" Lu Jing said, "I know Deputy Commander Chen has a brigade of cavalry under his command; having them garrison would be sufficient."

"Who knows what medicine you old brat are selling in your gourd, Lu Jing? Be aware that throughout history, double-dealing fence-sitters meet the worst ends; take care you cannot even protect your wife and children." Fang Zijing uttered a string of yin-yang nonsense.

Clearly just moments ago he was echoing "exactly, exactly," yet in the blink of an eye they have become water and fire, irreconcilable.

County Magistrate Fang's mouth suddenly seemed smeared with arsenic, each move lethal.

"Fang Zijing, shut your mouth!" Lu Jing, somewhat broken, exclaimed.

Fang Zijing snorted twice, leaned his body sideways against the chair, and ignored it.

Lu Jing gave a cold glance, then continued to Chen Wuji, "Deputy Commander Chen, everyone in Hezhou knows Qing County is prosperous, the land of fish and rice of Hezhou. Since Gu Wenjie seized Hezhou, the grain they eat has all been looted from Yunan; with his multitude of troops, one day they will exhaust the mountains."

"As the saying goes, rabbits do not eat the grass beside their burrow, but Gu Wenjie will surely not leave this lush patch of Qing County ungnawed; though I have been under house arrest these days, I have still heard some rumors."

"Gu Wenjie has already moved troops against some wealthy clans of Hezhou and Qing County, at the drop of a hat slaughtering families and leaving no chickens or dogs. He has lost patience with those in Hezhou who have been merely feigning allegiance to him, intending to repeat old tricks; next he will surely loose troops to plunder Qing County's populace."

"If Gu Wenjie succeeds, Deputy Commander Chen's painstaking effort to take Qing County would be for naught."

Lu Jing said a great deal in one breath.

These words did hit the point, yet Chen Wuji still harbored many considerations.

His newly readied cavalry, he certainly did not want to just send it to Gu Wenjie's mouth to let him sharpen his teeth.

These troops can be dispatched, but they must have some reliance.

"I understand County Magistrate Lu's worries; I too have heard these rumors," Chen Wuji said.

"Since Qing County already faces the risk of becoming a front line, safety cannot be discussed; better to have County Magistrate Lu send himself and the families of the county officials to Yunan, so they can also work on the front."

"Yunan may be a small town, but at least it has walls to defend; altogether it is somewhat safer than Qing County's flat plain—what does County Magistrate Lu think?"

Lu Jing began to hesitate.

Fang Zijing turned his head, snorted with derision, and again spoke first: "I will go first, moving my clan along as well!"

His such decisive resolve unexpectedly surprised Chen Wuji.

Too straightforward.

Lu Jingqi closed his eyes, clasped his hands and said to Chen Wuji: "Within ten days, I will send my family and provisions to Yunan; regarding the military matters previously mentioned, please, Deputy Commander Chen, be cautious."

"Gu Wenjie is an incurable lunatic; such people have no reason to speak of."