Chapter 19: Forming an Alliance

The Prince Mansion storehouse.

Box after box of silver glittered with a lustrous white light under the sun's rays.

Liu Fu held a heavy ingot of silver and sighed, "The Prince is truly formidable. Once Zhang Rang was killed, his dog's life became worthless, yet it bought so much silver and fertile land, and will help the Prince Mansion's strength advance further. Once the Zhang Family is wiped out, that Zhang Rang will have died for nothing."

"What is silver worth? Getting the Yan County Garrison into our hands is what truly matters. From now on, Yancheng is held in the grip of the Prince Mansion," Chang Wei said in a booming voice.

Zhao Xu wore a smile.

Crisis, crisis—sometimes danger is often accompanied by opportunity.

Although this assassination attempt was perilous, it also brought the Prince Mansion immense benefits.

However, even so, one still could not let their guard down. He said, "Do not forget, the true power of the Rich Clans lies in the countryside."

The countryside encircles the cities.

Especially in this ancient, purely agricultural era.

The majority of the population resides in the countryside.

The Rich Clans' land is outside the city, and the commoners who depend on them are also outside the city.

Added to their sturdy Fortresses, they are like individual, isolated little worlds.

And Yancheng exists more as a center for commerce, military, and administration.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu and Chang Wei restrained their smiles.

Just as Yan Wang said, now is not the time to be complacent.

Emerging from the storehouse.

Zhao Xu said to Liu Fu, "Take these sixty thousand mu of land deeds and continue to recruit commoners. Do not limit yourself to Yan Commandery; people from Yanzhou, or even the Great Song, can all come."

Liu Fu ordered someone to lift the chest containing the land deeds and said, "This subordinate understands. Once this batch of land deeds is distributed, the number of commoners attached to the Prince Mansion will reach twenty Battalion Commander. With at least three people per household, that is sixty thousand people."

Zhao Xu's goal is to completely control all thirty Battalion Commander in Yan Commandery.

This number of households did not satisfy him.

However, it was progress, at least.

He asked, "How are the scholars from humble backgrounds you were looking for?"

Mentioning this, Liu Fu became excited.

"They are more than happy to work for the Prince Mansion and potentially become officials in the future. One by one, they are begging this subordinate to pledge their loyalty to Your Highness."

"That is good. Then build the office immediately and name it the Government Affairs Division. It will be responsible for the various affairs of these twenty Battalion Commander, serving as a way to train their administrative abilities. Once the Prince Mansion controls Yan Commandery, we will then assign official ranks based on their capabilities," Zhao Xu urged.

He is in a race against the Rich Clans led by the Zhang Family.

It all depends on who runs faster.

After a pause, he asked again, "Have you found the Agency head I asked you to locate?"

"I have. Yesterday, things were delayed due to the night raid, but this subordinate will go and summon them now." Liu Fu bowed and turned to leave.

At this moment, Zhao Xu turned to Chang Wei.

He had just been about to go comfort the soldiers when he was called back.

"The Yan County Garrison is filled with sons of Rich Clans. After taking over the garrison, you must find a way to expel the sons of the Zhang, Huang, and Du families, and let the Dong, Yang, and Lv families take their places," Zhao Xu said.

Chang Wei nodded solemnly, "This subordinate understands."

No sooner had his words fallen than a servant ran over and said, "Your Highness, the people from the Dong, Yang, and Lv families have arrived."

"Let them in." Zhao Xu thought to himself that it was truly a case of 'speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives,' as he headed toward the guest hall.

After a while, six people entered the guest hall.

Besides Dong An, Yang He, and Lv Chang, their fathers—the heads of the three families, Dong Yuan, Yang Cheng, and Lv Ran—had also arrived.

"Seeing that Your Highness is safe and sound, we can finally rest easy."

Dong Yuan looked Zhao Xu up and down, and seeing that Zhao Xu was in high spirits and seemed unaffected, he could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

When they learned that Yan Wang had been attacked, their first suspicion was that it was the work of the Zhang Family.

But a guess is only a guess.

However, this made them even more uneasy.

Just imagine, if the Zhang Family could strike a lethal blow against the Yan Prince Mansion, then they themselves were surely in danger.

"These thieves are truly detestable.

To dare to assassinate the Prince Mansion—they are simply bold beyond measure," Yang He snorted in anger.

"Indeed, this act is tantamount to rebellion," Lv Ran echoed.

"..."

The six of them spoke one after another, vying to curse the rebels who had attacked the Prince Mansion.

As for the three family heads, Zhao Xu had only met them once when selling the Ice-Making Technique.

Now, with their eldest sons added, the six of them were truly different in height, build, and appearance.

He smiled and said, "Thank you all for your concern. The thieves have all been executed, and this Prince is unharmed."

The six nodded, and Dong An said, "Your Highness, this matter is extremely suspicious. In my opinion, it must have been an inside job; otherwise, how could these thieves have entered Yan Commandery?"

Hearing this, Zhao Xu roughly understood the intentions of these three families.

Visiting him was one thing, but their main purpose was likely to remind him that this incident was the work of the Zhang Family.

The Prince Mansion had been assassinated, and they were inevitably afraid, eager to join forces with the Prince Mansion to deal with the Zhang Family.

They wanted to avoid being retaliated against by the Zhang Family should the Prince Mansion fall.

Thinking of this, he secretly thought it was brilliant.

In this way, he had gained another source of support.

Thus, he said, "What you say is very true. That is why this Prince has already relieved Huang Gang of his position as Captain. I was just discussing this with General Chang, telling him to select more people from your three families."

Upon hearing this, the six men led by Dong Yuan were so delighted that their faces beamed with smiles.

Yan Wang had first entrusted them with the sewing of the uniforms for the Prince's Personal Army, and now he was promoting the sons of their three families in this manner.

This was a clear indication that he intended to rely heavily on their three families.

In the past, they had harbored some concerns about aligning with the Prince's Mansion.

But now, they decided to be wholeheartedly devoted.

After all, if they did not attach themselves to the Prince's Mansion, they might be wiped out by the Zhang Family.

Attaching themselves to the Prince's Mansion still offered a chance to survive, and perhaps even to prosper; weighing the options, it was easy to make a choice.

"Many thanks for your trust, Your Highness." Lv Ran's face flushed with excitement.

Pointing to Lv Chang, he said, "Your Highness, my dog of a son, Lv Chang, has never liked reading since he was small; he only enjoys wielding spears and sticks, and he has always had some brute strength. If Your Highness does not mind, you may keep him by your side to serve."

Among Dong An, Yang He, and Lv Chang, Lv Chang was the tallest and most robust.

One could vaguely tell that he was a capable fighter.

When he first came to the Prince's Mansion, he had stared at Xu Lie with the look of a fighting cock.

If it weren't for the fact that they were unfamiliar with each other, he probably would have exchanged a few blows.

"Your Highness, Lv Chang may not have other skills, but for Your Highness, going into battle to kill the enemy is more than enough," Lv Chang said, not being modest as he bowed.

Zhao Xu walked up, squeezed Lv Chang's sturdy arm, and laughed, "Good. Since that is the case, you shall follow General Chang and go to the County Soldiers camp first."

"Yes, Your Highness." Lv Chang grinned.

Dong An and Yang He felt a bit envious, but since neither of them was material for fighting, they could only stare helplessly.

Zhao Xu had the intention to win over the three families.

In this way, he could use the three families in the countryside to keep the Zhang, Huang, and Du families in check.

As for the future, if they remained loyal and obedient to the Prince's Mansion,

he would provide them with a way forward.

Therefore, he comforted them, "You two families need not worry; there will be benefits for you as well."

Upon hearing this, the Dong Family and the Yang Family breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and continued, "Actually, you all know clearly who our common enemy is. Since we share the same goal, why don't we make a written pledge here today in black and white to advance and retreat together?"

He did not believe in empty words.

He decided to have the three families commit to the Prince's Mansion in black and white.

If they refused, it meant they were merely fence-sitting; he could use them, but he would have to be on guard.

If they agreed, it meant they were genuinely attaching themselves to the Prince's Mansion.

Then, he would grant them more trust while remaining on guard.

In short, trusting someone one hundred percent in a life-or-death struggle for power was extremely naive.

After Zhao Xu spoke, the three families were silent for a while.

Exchanging glances, they reached a common decision and said, "We are willing."

"Good!" Zhao Xu was overjoyed; with this, the situation in Yan Commandery tilted further in his favor.

He ordered someone to fetch pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and Zhao Xu signed and pressed his seal along with the three families.

The oath was made.

He ordered the servants of the Prince's Mansion to procure wine and food, and kept the six men at the Prince's Mansion for a banquet at noon.

It was only after they were drunk that the six men finally left.

At this time, Liu Fu arrived with the head of the Yancheng Agency.

Zhao Xu, who had been slightly tipsy, instantly sobered up.