Chapter 15: Between Life and Death

"Your Highness, Zhang Rang cannot be arrested. Doing so will completely offend the Zhang Family, Yan Wang Mansion."

In the mansion's guest hall, Dong An tried hard to persuade him.

Although they wanted to use the mansion's hand to restrain the Zhang Family,

they did not yet want to reach a point of irreconcilable conflict with the Zhang Family.

After all, the Zhang Family was powerful; if they truly tore off the mask of civility, they might not necessarily be able to win.

Yang He and Lv Chang nodded frequently.

The commotion caused at Tianxiang Lou was not small, and the news quickly spread throughout the small Yancheng.

Liu Fu and Chang Wei also rushed back to the mansion upon hearing the news.

"Cannot arrest him? Why cannot he be arrested? That woman is not a servant of the Zhang Family. According to Da Song Law, those who kill without cause should be beheaded. In this general's view, Your Highness arrested him well, arrested him satisfyingly!" Chang Wei stared at the three men, Dong An, with his tiger-like eyes.

When he learned the news, he was at the North Camp.

At that moment, he shouted, "Good."

The soldiers of the Personal Guard Army also felt a surge of spirit upon hearing it.

In these years, who in Yan Commandery dared to touch the Zhang Family's people?

Yan Wang's move stirred people's hearts; to them, there was finally someone in Yan Commandery who could manage the Zhang Family.

Although Liu Fu felt satisfied in his heart, he was, after all, the tutor of the mansion and had to consider the overall situation.

Naturally, he could not be as uninhibited as Chang Wei and the other soldiers.

He said, "Your Highness, doing this will offend the Zhang Family to death. I fear they will obstruct the mansion's affairs everywhere in the future, which would be counterproductive."

Zhao Xu heard this and did not speak, but instead turned to the three men, Dong An, first.

He said, "I am very satisfied with today's luncheon. The Prince's Personal Army currently lacks military uniforms. I wonder if your three families can supply them to the mansion."

Military uniforms were not Armor; they only required weaving and sewing. Doing it himself would waste time, so it was better to give it to the three families, which could further win them over.

"No problem." Dong An immediately threw the matter of Zhang Rang to the back of his mind, feeling great joy in his heart.

Yan Wang was acknowledging them.

Zhao Xu continued, "In the future, the mansion will have many more businesses, and there will be many opportunities for cooperation."

Yang He snatched the chance to speak, "Thank you for your grace, Your Highness. My Yang Family will surely follow the lead of the mansion."

"Our Lv Family as well," Lv Chang said, cupping his hands.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly; he would just listen to these words, as the specifics would depend on their actions.

"Today's matter will not involve your three families. You may return now; there is no need to worry. Also, do not leak the matter of the mansion's courtyard and the mansion's affairs for the time being."

The three looked at each other; although they did not understand why Zhao Xu wanted to mention the courtyard, they still answered in the affirmative.

After paying their respects, the three exited the guest hall.

Once the three had walked far away, Zhao Xu's gaze suddenly became sharp.

He told the three not to mention the courtyard to test them.

Whether they truly intended to attach themselves to the mansion would likely be seen tonight.

Then, he said to Liu Fu and Chang Wei, "Do you know of Qingfeng Stronghold?"

"Qingfeng Stronghold?" Liu Fu's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "This subordinate knows of it. I have heard from people in Yan Commandery that Qingfeng Stronghold is a group of very brutal bandits in Yan Commandery."

Chang Wei nodded. "It is said that because the Northern Di people invade and plunder every year, many commoners either attach themselves to Rich Clans or become bandits. This Qingfeng Stronghold is one of them, claiming to have thousands of desperate outlaws under its command."

"Hmm." Zhao Xu's heart sank.

On the way back, he had read the note, which read: Tonight, the Zhang Family will collude with Qingfeng Stronghold to raid the mansion at night.

"Take a look at this." He showed the note to the two.

Chang Wei and Liu Fu were both shocked. "Your Highness, what is this note about?"

Zhao Xu then told them about the singing girl.

"It is truly strange. First Zhang Rang kills a singing girl, and now a singing girl sends a note to reveal the Zhang Family's conspiracy. This Tianxiang Lou is truly a small temple with a big evil wind." Liu Fu furrowed his brows tightly.

Zhao Xu nodded. Without worrying about who the singing girl was for now, the most urgent matter was the content on the note. "Better to believe it exists,"

"than to believe it does not."

In a chaotic world where human life is as cheap as a dog's, power struggles are often extremely cruel. He absolutely believed the Zhang Family was capable of this.

The city gate guards of Yancheng were the responsibility of the County Soldiers.

And the County Soldiers were under the control of the three families headed by the Zhang Family.

It would be extremely easy for them to deliberately let the people of Qingfeng Stronghold in.

"What a move of borrowing a knife to kill, and taking advantage of the fact that Your Highness's Personal Army has not yet formed combat power. If not for someone's help, I fear..." Chang Wei, despite having the courage of a tiger,

felt a cold sweat break out on his back at this moment.

"Your Highness, we must leave the mansion quickly. Preserving your life is the priority right now." Liu Fu was also panicked.

He could not help but panic.

The notoriety of Qingfeng Stronghold was known to everyone in Yan Commandery; it was full of desperate outlaws.

With only the mansion's one hundred guards, how could they withstand these thieves?

Chang Wei liked to be straightforward, but he was not without a brain.

He said, "Your Highness, we cannot stay in the mansion. But where can we go? This Yan Commandery is full of the Zhang Family's eyes and ears. Moreover, without an imperial decree, a vassal king cannot leave his fief; otherwise, it is considered treason. This is a great taboo."

Zhao Xu nodded. "The Zhang Family has us cornered. Since that is the case, we might as well use their own plan against them."

"Use their own plan against them?"

Chang Wei and Liu Fu looked at each other, then looked at Zhao Xu.

Walking slowly to the door, he said, "Chang Wei, you go and dispatch five hundred of the strongest and most robust men from the Personal Army to transport the grain and grass, and then do this..."

Chang Wei listened intently, his originally tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxing.

When Zhao Xu finished speaking, he cupped his fists heavily, "This general will go at once."

Liu Fu sighed in admiration, "Your Highness is wise; tonight, we may just make the Zhang Family lose their bait and their chicken."

Zhao Xu looked toward the direction of the Zhang Family and sighed, "It is just that the Zhang Family is so vicious; if they are not removed one day, they will truly be a great threat to the Prince's Mansion."

Liu Fu shared the same concern.

Currently, the Prince's Mansion is in the light, while the Zhang Family is in the dark.

They were able to plot this assassination, and they can continue to plot the next one.

"That is indeed the case, but if we act rashly, I fear they will be driven to desperation and raise an army to rebel, and since the Prince's Personal Army has only just been established and is not yet fully formed, I fear it will be difficult to resist," Liu Fu hurriedly advised.

He feared that Zhao Xu might be impulsive for a moment and ruin a great plan for lack of patience.

After all, Yan Wang had only just recovered a few days ago, and although he had won over a little bit of the people's hearts, that was only a small handful of people in Yan Commandery.

The Prince's Personal Army is also composed of new recruits, and neither their military heart nor their morale is very reliable.

Furthermore, the private armies of the Zhang, Huang, and Du families combined are said to number over twenty thousand men.

This does not even include the County Soldiers of Yan Commandery.

"This Prince understands."

Zhao Xu was clear about his own weight; he had only transmigrated here for four or five days.

To think he could wipe out the number one Rich Clan of Yan Commandery just by the stir he had caused in four or five days was a bit of a pipe dream.

As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.

He did not even know where the Fortresses of the Zhang, Huang, and Du families were, how many troops were inside, how many Cavalry or Infantry they each had, or what their combat strength was; how could he talk about wiping out these three families?

However, although he could not wipe out the three families, he did not have to fear them anymore either.

If it could be said that before the Personal Guard Army was recruited, he was like fish meat waiting for the Zhang Family to slaughter him.

Then now, he already had some capital.

Moreover, the fact that the Zhang Family played such underhanded tricks clearly showed they did not dare to raise an army to deal with him; everyone had their own misgivings.

Since that is the case, then let us struggle and see who will have the last laugh!

Thinking of this, he said, "If the Zhang Family has a scheme today to make this Prince feel uncomfortable, tomorrow this Prince will have a scheme to make the Zhang Family feel uncomfortable."

"Oh? If so, I only hope Your Highness's scheme succeeds tonight, otherwise..." Liu Fu said with pleasant surprise, then his throat choked up, "Although I have only spent a few days with Your Highness, I can feel that Your Highness is a wise and sagacious lord; even if Your Highness goes to the King of Hell's palace, I will follow you there."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu spat a mouthful of tea onto Liu Fu's face, "Nothing good ever comes out of a dog's mouth; how could this Prince die so easily?"

Liu Fu wiped his face, "Die, what does this mean?"

Zhao Xu could not be bothered to pay him any more mind and kicked him in the backside, "Get lost."

Liu Fu left, and the smile on Zhao Xu's face gradually disappeared.

In the past, he had only seen these power struggles in television dramas and books; only by experiencing them personally did he realize how truly dangerous they were.

However, he had nothing else, only the drive to forge ahead.

Let the demons and monsters come; who is afraid of them?