Chapter 35: The Shift in the Balance of Offense and Defense

"Hahaha... Commandery Governor Zhang is truly loyal beyond doubt."

The main hall of the Prince's Mansion.

Zhang Kang stood bowed below the steps; in the wooden box at his feet, a blood-soaked head stared with wide, angry eyes.

It was none other than Du Ming.

After ambushing and killing Du Ming, Zhang Kang had rushed to the Prince's Mansion to present the head.

Zhao Xu immediately gave orders to Chang Wei, telling him to take over the Du Family Fortress.

From this point on, of the three families that had run rampant in Yan Commandery—the Zhang, Huang, and Du—only the Zhang Family remained.

Glancing at Du Ming's head, Zhao Xu could not help but feel a chill rise within him.

This was the barbarity and cruelty that belonged to this era.

Now, as Yan Wang, he had no path of retreat.

If he retreated, perhaps one day this wooden box would contain his own head.

The main hall was deathly silent, seemingly shocked by the gruesome sight of Du Ming.

Liu Fu considered himself quite bold, yet at this moment, he too was silent and speechless.

For the first time, he felt that he had stepped onto a path with Zhao Xu from which there was no turning back.

At the end of this path lay the ambition he wished to realize, but it was also filled with blood and slaughter.

"As the Commandery Governor of Yan Commandery, this subordinate could not sit idly by while Du Ming plotted rebellion. Please rest assured, Your Highness; from now on, this subordinate will certainly serve the Prince's Mansion faithfully and safeguard Your Highness's well-being!" Zhang Kang said loudly with his head bowed, the very model of a loyal subject.

Zhao Xu felt as if he had swallowed a fly.

He only found Zhang Kang terrifying; if he could abandon both the Huang Family and the Du Family, what was there that he could not do?

Liu Fu glanced at Zhang Kang and whispered into Zhao Xu's ear: "Your Highness, this man harbors unknown evil intentions. It would be better to seize and kill him now to prevent future trouble."

"..." Zhao Xu clenched his fists, feeling somewhat tempted.

But Zhang Kang had performed a service this time; if he killed him rashly, it would surely provoke criticism in the Imperial Court once word got out.

After all, the destruction of the Huang and Du families was because they had intended to rebel.

Moreover, Zhang Qian was already dead; even if he brought up the previous assassination attempt, Zhang Kang could push the blame onto Zhang Qian.

Furthermore, he had no solid evidence.

Zhang Kang noticed Liu Fu's unkind gaze and felt a tightening in his heart.

He raised his voice and said: "Your Highness, the day before yesterday, this subordinate received a letter from my father-in-law, learning that Your Highness had recovered from illness. He intends to come to Yan Commandery in the near future to pay his respects to Your Highness."

"I appreciate the concern of Prefect Yuan. When the time comes, this Prince will certainly host him well." Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu relaxed his grip and had no choice but to abandon the idea of killing Zhang Kang for now.

Although Yan Commandery was his, he could not do whatever he pleased.

He still had to consider the influence of his actions in the Imperial Court.

After all, although the Great Song Dynasty now showed signs of decline, it was still too large to fall.

The Imperial Court system had not completely collapsed.

If he killed Zhang Kang without cause, the Yuan Family would surely impeach him before Emperor Zhao Heng.

If things went poorly, he might be stripped of his fief and ordered back to Jingshi to be placed under house arrest, which would be disastrous.

In Yan Commandery, he had just established his base and was like a fish in water.

If he returned to the Capital City, he would be like a fish trapped in a shallow pool.

Thinking of this, he said: "Someone, seal one thousand taels of Silver and one hundred bolts of brocade as a reward for the Commandery Governor."

"Thank you, Your Highness." A hint of a smile emerged in Zhang Kang's eyes.

He was certain that, with Yan Wang's intelligence, he would not disregard the Yuan Family.

Zhang Kang left with his reward, and Liu Fu immediately snorted: "No wonder Zhang Kang was so calm; it turns out he was relying on the Yuan Family behind him."

Thinking of the Yuan Family, Zhao Xu felt a sudden sense of unease.

The Zhang, Huang, and Du families were merely small Rich Clans in Yan Commandery.

But the Yuan Family was a behemoth in Yanzhou.

The officialdom and commerce of Yanzhou were basically held in the hands of the Yuan Family.

They could be called the true local emperors of Yanzhou.

Coupled with the fact that the Imperial Court was increasingly unable to control local influential clans,

the Yuan Family's power in Yanzhou was expanding steadily.

Although they could not yet compare to the Eight Great Influential Clans—the Wang, Dou, Ma, Han, Liang, Fan, Xie, and Xiao—

they had already secured a place in the Great Song Imperial Court.

The fact that Emperor Zhao Heng had taken the eldest daughter of the Yuan Family as an Imperial Concubine was enough to show that the Yuan Family had become a force that even the Imperial Clan could not ignore.

It was precisely because of this that he had dismissed the plan to kill Zhang Kang rashly.

Otherwise, the Yuan Family would surely attack him in unison at the Imperial Court.

And his relationship with Emperor Zhao Heng was like Schrödinger's cat; it was unclear whether it was good or bad.

Between deposing an Imperial Prince and offending a powerful minister, Zhao Heng might not necessarily choose the former.

"Your Highness, Zhang Kang has the Yuan Family behind him, but you have the Imperial Clan behind you. This layer of interest is beneficial if used, and harmful if discarded. This subordinate believes that Your Highness must maintain the father-son relationship with the Emperor to avoid being isolated and helpless; you cannot rely solely on your own likes and dislikes regarding the Emperor." After frowning and thinking for a while, Liu Fu said slowly.

Zhao Xu nodded; Feng'er had already reminded him of this matter.

Now that the Huang and Du families had been wiped out, the situation in Yan Commandery had completely tilted in his favor.

It was indeed time to make plans in Jingshi.

Just as he was thinking, someone came to report that Chang Wei had returned.

He immediately ordered Chang Wei to enter.

"Your Highness, this general has already taken over the Huang Family and Du Family fortresses. How should the more than two thousand members of the Huang clan and more than three thousand members of the Du clan be dealt with? I await Your Highness's instructions." Chang Wei cupped his hands, his voice resonant.

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "How these people should be dealt with is not for me, the Yan Wang, to decide; it is for the commoners to decide. Take the clansmen of the two families to Dong Shi, summon the commoners of Yan Commandery, and let the commoners pass judgment. Those without guilt shall be dispersed and relocated to other lands to engage in farming, while those with guilt shall be sentenced according to the law."

Chang Wei and Liu Fu exchanged a glance, both taken aback, for they had never heard of such a method of passing judgment.

Liu Fu thought it over carefully and soon understood the crux of the matter.

It was to let the commoners trample underfoot the Rich Clan that had once trampled on their heads.

Once they had vented their anger and taken their revenge, they would be grateful to the Yan Wang.

Moreover, fearing that the Rich Clan might make a comeback, they would follow the Yan Wang even more closely.

"Your Highness is brilliant," Liu Fu praised, almost obsequiously.

Chang Wei had not yet grasped the underlying meaning, but since the army only needed to obey orders, he also nodded.

Zhao Xu continued, "As for the private soldiers of the two families, if they are unwilling to join the army, let them leave. Those who join the Personal Army shall be given equal pay. The landholdings of the two families shall be confiscated by the Prince's Mansion and then redistributed to the commoners."

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu replied.

The matters concerning the landholdings would require him to step forward and handle them.

They each departed.

Zhao Xu also sent men to bestow rewards upon the Dong Family, the Yang Family, and the Lv Family.

After all, the three families' deployment of troops this time had greatly bolstered the prestige of the Prince's Mansion.

And by confiscating the assets of the Huang Family and the Du Family, the Prince's Mansion had had its fill.

According to Liu Fu's estimation.

The combined landholdings of the Du and Huang families amounted to over 600,000 mu.

The commoners of Yan Commandery who were dependents of the two families numbered over 80,000 households.

This did not even include the two families' mines, shop businesses, and stockpiled grain.

Just in ready silver, over 500,000 taels had been uncovered, greatly easing the finances of the Prince's Mansion.

The crowd dispersed.

Zhao Xu paced back to the backyard.

Feng'er and Luan'er were currently sitting by the pond shelling lotus pods.

Seeing Zhao Xu arrive, they held up the shelled lotus seeds and offered them to Zhao Xu.

"Your Highness, have a taste, they are fresh and sweet." Feng'er generously picked up a lotus seed and popped it into Zhao Xu's mouth.

"Mm, delicious." Zhao Xu was in a great mood and couldn't help but laugh.

Luan'er said, "As the saying goes, a person is refreshed by happy events. Since Your Highness recovered from your illness, this is the first time you have laughed so happily."

"Isn't that so? From today on, Yan Commandery will truly be Your Highness's Yan Commandery. A Zhang Family won't be able to stir up much trouble anymore." Feng'er looked at Zhao Xu, stars shining in her eyes.

For them, the days of living in fear were over.

Now, Yan Commandery truly felt like their home.

Zhao Xu chewed the lotus seed; it was bitter yet sweet.

Although the Zhang Family still existed, the momentum of offense and defense had shifted.

Unlike before, when his administrative orders could hardly leave the Prince's Mansion.

From now on.

He could openly and honestly build his own fief.

As for Zhang Kang, he would keep a close eye on him to see what tricks he was playing.