Chapter 472: Shadow of the Birthday Tribute

The news brought by Ruan Xiaoqi was like a huge stone dropped onto the calm water surface.

"Birthday Tribute", "Yellow Mud Ridge", "June", "Minister Liang"… these keywords linked together pointed to a clear and dangerous event.

After seeing Ruan Xiaoqi off, Chen Wen immediately closed his eyes and focused, fully activating his Lv. 3 perception, especially the newly unlocked "causality fragments" function, trying to capture more fragments about this matter from the chaotic timeline.

Shi Dun and Qian Gui held their breath, not daring to disturb.

The room was utterly silent, only the candlelight flickering.

Chen Wen's brows would at times furrow, at times relax.

Countless blurred light and sound, intermittent noises, twisted symbols flashed rapidly through his consciousness.

Most of it remained meaningless noise.

But gradually, several fragments closely related to the "Birthday Tribute" began to become clear.

The first fragment showed a sizable convoy escorting many heavy crates and baskets, traveling along a rugged mountain path.

Beside the path seemed a broken boundary marker bearing the characters "Yellow Mud Ridge".

At the head of the troop was an officer with an arrogant expression.

The second fragment showed several blurry figures whispering in discussion within the dense forest.

One of them lightly swayed a feather fan—it must be Wu Yong.

Another was tall and sturdy, with a heroic bearing—surely Chao Gai.

Moreover, three figures appeared adept at water, vaguely the Ruan Trio.

Their speech mentioned phrases like "ill-gotten wealth", "why not take it", and "Seven Stars Gather in Righteousness".

The third fragment was a chaotic melee.

Drugged wine, overturned crates, panicked soldiers, and… several cold, merciless "nether energy" chains silently extending from the shadows, attempting to entwine and steer the raid's course, ensuring it follows a certain "script".

The fourth fragment was the briefest, yet it made Chen Wen's heart jolt.

It was Song Jiang's figure, in the Yuncheng County government office, conferring secretly with a hurried officer; afterward, the official troops' pursuit oddly veered off course…

Numerous fragments came flooding in, then vanished in an instant.

Chen Wen snapped his eyes open; fine sweat beaded his forehead, his breathing slightly ragged.

"My lord?"

Qian Gui hastily offered a cup of warm water.

Chen Wen took it, drank it down in one gulp, paused a moment, then summarized the key points of the fragments he had just seen and informed Shi Dun and Qian Gui.

"As expected!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Dun clenched his fists, excitement and fighting spirit flashing in his eyes.

"Heavenly King Chao and Scholar Wu really intend to act! To seize that ill‑gotten wealth extorted from the people by Minister Liang—how satisfying!"

But he immediately thought of those "nether energy" chains, and his face darkened again.

"Besides, the Iron Crow Army is indeed watching from behind! They likely intend to use this chance to utterly drive Heavenly King Chao and his ilk onto Liangshan, bringing them under their control!"

Qian Gui, meanwhile, paid more attention to Song Jiang's movements, stroking his beard as he pondered:

"The role Song Jiang plays in this affair is rather subtle."

"He appears to be leaking word to Chao Gai and company, performing a righteous deed, yet the deviation of the official troops' pursuit probably also involves him."

"This both upholds his reputation as the 'Timely Rain', deepens his bond with Chao Gai and the others, and ensures the incident blows up, completely pushing Chao Gai and company onto the opposite side of the government, with no way back…"

"One stone, two birds—what a scheme! Behind this must be the Iron Crow Army pulling the strings!"

Chen Wen nodded, his expression grave.

"Qian Gui's analysis is spot on."

"This 'Birthday Tribute' incident is a meticulously crafted plot by the Iron Crow Army to drive Chao Gai, Wu Yong and the others onto the outlaw path, using it as the outset to formally open the curtain on the 'Liangshan Gathering'—a crucial node."

"Its purpose is to generate killing energy, gather stellar power, and lay the foundation for their 'Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends' script."

He rose to his feet and paced slowly around the room.

"If we ignore this, after Chao Gai and company seize the Birthday Tribute, they will have no choice but to flee to Liangshan, step by step falling into the net woven by the Iron Crow Army, ultimately becoming tools for maintaining its 'history'."

"This is not only undesirable for us, but also a tragedy for heroes like Heavenly King Chao."

"Then… what should we do?"

Shi Dun asked anxiously.

"Are we supposed to stop Heavenly King Chao from seizing the Birthday Tribute? But that's ill‑gotten wealth—taking it is doing heaven's will!"

"To stop? No."

Chen Wen halted his steps, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"We must not only allow the seizure, but ensure they seize it beautifully, cleanly and swiftly!"

"But we must absolutely prevent the Iron Crow Army from getting its wish, forcing them into a dead end and bringing them wholly under its control!"

He looked at Qian Gui and Shi Dun, speaking in a low voice:

"The Iron Crow Army intends to use this event to accomplish the 'forcing onto Liangshan' of Chao Gai, Wu Yong and the others."

"Then we shall do the opposite."

"We will make use of this incident: on one hand, aid Chao Gai and company in successfully obtaining this ill‑gotten wealth, boosting their strength and reputation;"

"on the other hand, we must devise a way to leave them a retreat, at least… a margin of choice, rather than only the road to Liangshan!"

"Furthermore, we must seize this opportunity to further strengthen the 'Northward Aspiration' seed we have sown, so that their rebellion, from the very start, carries a grander aim!"

"Leave a retreat?"

Qian Gui fell into thought.

"You mean… after seizing the Birthday Tribute, to confuse the officials' senses, delay or even mislead the pursuit, buying Heavenly King Chao and his men time and space to hide or relocate?"

"Exactly!"

Chen Wen praised the way.

The Iron Crow Army wants a swift sword to cut through tangles, to force them up the mountain quickly, and to incorporate them into the plot.

We, however, want to turn it into a 'pending case', so that even if Chao Gai and the others seize the birthday tribute, they can still have temporary respite from the limelight, and even have room to secretly accumulate strength.

Meanwhile, using Wu Yong's wisdom to guide their thinking, after they seize this hundred thousand strings of gold, jewels, and treasures, besides personal enjoyment, could there be a more long-term, more beneficial-to-the-people use?

For example, purchasing grain and fodder to covertly aid the surrounding poor; for example, forging weapons to accumulate strength......

Redirect their focus from the simple 'executing Heaven's will'—robbing the rich to aid the poor—to a more constructive 'founding a career'.

Shi Dun's eyes lit up.

Excellent! This way, we not only thwart the Iron Crow Army's scheme to force people up the mountain, but also let Chao Tianwang and his group gain actual benefits, and allow our 'Northward Aspiration' concept to be put into practice!

Indeed.

Chen Wen nodded.

The key to this matter lies in two points.

First, accurately master the escort route, timing, and troop strength of the birthday tribute, ensuring Chao Gai and company's operation is flawless.

Second, it is how to cleverly influence the official investigation afterward, and……how to counter any possible countermove by the Iron Crow Army.

He looked toward Qian Gui.

Can the Office of Peace and Stability's personnel in the Shandong Circuit, especially in the Aid and Yun Prefectures, ascertain the birthday tribute's specific itinerary without exposing core forces?

Qian Gui pondered briefly, then replied solemnly:

I will do my utmost. The journey from Great Name Prefecture to the Eastern Capital is long, the escort contingent is not small, and along the way, prefectures and counties will certainly need to provide supplies. As long as we keep watch on a few key nodes and combine the clues provided by Ruan Xiaoqi, we should be able to infer the approximate timing and route.

Good!

Chen Wen declared decisively.

Qian Gui, you must handle this immediately and be sure to obtain detailed information as soon as possible.

Shi Dun, you will accompany me to Dongxi Village tomorrow.

This play, the Iron Crow Army has set up the stage, wanting to sing according to their script.

Then we will go and change their lyrics, swap their roles!