Chapter 375: Murong Che's Scheme

"What are you doing?"

"Everyone, leave this place! This is the Shu Wang Mansion! No shouting or causing trouble allowed!"

Fortunately.

At this moment, Zhong Lin had been playing the role of the master of this Chuan Shu household. If it weren't for him, and if it had been Qin Zhangfeng guarding the entrance at this time, it would surely have incited even greater anger among the people.

"This... General Zhong, you are one of us from Chuan Shu. You tell us about this matter—could he not be a traitor to the country!"

"Exactly, you come and judge this!"

"How can such a hypocrite deserve to live in our Shu Wang Mansion? Get out!"

"Get out!"

The sound of this abuse rose wave after wave.

Zhong Lin sighed deeply and said loudly, "Fellow villagers, Zhong Lin also feels indignant about this incident. However, Prefect Liu came to Chuan Shu this time to help us wipe out the Southern Barbarians and stabilize the situation. He has made great contributions to our Chuan Shu. Prefect Liu is a guest, and we are the hosts; how can there be any reason to treat a guest this way?"

He paused for a moment and continued, "Besides, what Jia Shu did was not the intention of Prefect Liu at all. The truth of this matter is still worth examining. I hope you fellow villagers will not be misled by others and fall into a treacherous trap."

These words were earnest and well-intentioned.

They also spoke the thoughts in Zhong Lin's heart, because he had been with Prefect Liu recently and knew Liu Zheng's character well; he would not abandon the people of Jiangzhou for anything, let alone hand over one hundred thousand people to be slaves for the Southern Barbarians. This matter must be a misunderstanding!

However, that was what he thought, but others might not necessarily think the same.

"Bullshit!"

"If it weren't for him, where would Jia Shu have the authority to sign such a treaty?"

"Exactly!"

"General Zhong, hand over that traitor to us!"

Listening to the clamor outside.

The people inside the room were each more nervous than the last.

Only Liu Zheng took a deep breath.

When encountering major events, one must remain calm!

This was his usual habit. He analyzed the matter in his heart and felt more and more that there was something fishy about it. That Jia Shu, had he suddenly changed his nature? Would a man who did not even fear being executed by slow slicing sign such a treaty? It was highly unlikely!

Then, there must be a secret within it that Liu Zheng did not know.

What could it be?

Suddenly.

His eyes lit up.

The one who looks north?

He quickly captured this piece of information and then hurriedly looked at Pei Yanran beside him: "Lady Su, you said before that there is a senior fellow apprentice of yours right here in Jiangzhou City, is that so?"

Pei Yanran was stunned and nodded.

Only then did Liu Zheng heave a sigh of relief and chuckle: "That must be it... How is this senior fellow apprentice of yours?"

At this moment, Pei Yanran also sensed the mystery and said with a joyful face: "Does Prefect Liu mean that this matter is very likely planned by my senior fellow apprentice? That's right, although Senior Fellow Apprentice Murong has submitted himself to the tiger, he has always kept his heart set on Zhongyuan. He is well-read in the classics, upright and unyielding, and has great strategies in his chest..."

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Qin Zhangfeng.

This guy was someone who liked to get jealous... She didn't dare to continue praising him.

Liu Zheng's eyes flickered; it seemed this should be the key to the problem!

He began to stand up and pace back and forth.

The whole person fell into deep thought.

Murong Che...

Jia Shu...

What exactly were these two people trying to do?

If this Murong Che had planned this long ago, why didn't he implement it earlier? Only after he himself wiped out Agutuo did he start planning?

These two points connected in his mind again!

Agutuo...

Luo Huo of Jiangzhou...

The burning of Mang Mountain.

Suddenly...

Liu Zheng shuddered all over and shouted: "Bring the contents of that treaty for me to see!"

Shen Manqing quickly brought over the "traitorous treaty" that was being rumored outside.

Liu Zheng looked at it carefully.

"Within three days, hand over and release two hundred thousand Jiangzhou people. After three days, the Jiaozhi army will escort one hundred thousand slaves and withdraw from Jiangzhou. Along Yongchuan, Qianzhou..."

No, no, no... these things at the back are not important!

Liu Zheng's mind was in chaos, but he quickly grasped one point.

Three days!

Two hundred thousand people released, one hundred thousand slaves, escorted!

Pay attention to this word.

"Escorted!"

What is "escorted?"

It means that these one hundred thousand slaves must be handled by the Southern Barbarian army, responsible for coordinating the front and back, and then escorting them. Since it is an escort, the slaves are in front and the army is in the back. This can prevent the slaves from escaping—there is certainly no logic to having the army in front and the slaves in the back.

Then...

Could it be...

A bold guess flashed through Liu Zheng's mind. Could it be that this Murong Che wanted to use a single fire to burn down this Jiangzhou City?

This...

My god!

Are these two people truly trying to pierce the heavens of this Longyan Dynasty?

Others might not know, but Liu Zheng knew that this Jiangzhou was roughly the Chongqing of later generations. Chongqing is known as the "Mountain City," and what is a mountain city? Naturally, it is a place filled with trees everywhere.

Then...

The situation in Jiangzhou at this moment was almost identical to that of Mang Mountain a few days ago.

It's just that...

A few days ago, Liu Zheng could burn it as he pleased.

But now, Jiangzhou held three hundred thousand civilian captives.

Therefore...

Did these two come up with this desperate plan: first release two hundred thousand, then "escort" one hundred thousand? Finally, find an opportunity to trap the majority of the Southern Barbarian army inside the city and set a fire?

This...

Is it feasible?

Liu Zheng took a deep breath; he was frightened by this guess.

However, he knew that ever since the Southern Barbarian army occupied Jiangzhou, they had begun to reinforce their fortifications. It was said that of the city's eight main gates, only one could be used for passage, while all others were sealed shut! It was said that the sealed gates could not be breached even after half a day of attacking... This Luo Huo was ruthless enough; he had been single-minded from the start, determined to hold Jiangzhou at all costs, since he had thirty thousand captives anyway.

But now...

It was very clear that he was about to be tricked by himself!

"Young Master?"

Qin Zhangfeng saw that Liu Zheng's expression was unusual and couldn't help but ask.

Liu Zheng felt confident, slapped his thigh, and laughed heartily: "Good, good, good! Zhangfeng!"

"Present!"

"Send a letter to Jiang Xuan! Lead five thousand troops, remember, no more and no less! Just five thousand, to take over the captives, but..."

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he said fiercely: "When you go, bring plenty of Quelehuoduo! Hide the troops in the forest; if a great battle breaks out, pour out with the entire force!"

Qin Zhangfeng was stunned for a moment, but immediately agreed.

Only then did Liu Zheng stand up tall, take a deep breath, his eyes flickering.

What a Wangbei Academy!

What a Murong Che!

What a Wangbei-er!

Now, he was becoming more and more interested in this Wangbei Academy!

Three days!

Today, Qingyang Shuo sent a letter saying that the current real gold and silver in Yintan City was just enough to last for four days!

Liu Zheng couldn't help but laugh heartily: "We're going to get rich, we're going to get rich!"

The others who heard this were all dumbfounded.

Get rich?

In this situation, he could still get rich?

What they didn't know was that the current redemption crisis would soon be resolved in three days. And these past few days, the plummeting Yinzhou Coin was the perfect opportunity for Yintan City to buy them back at a low price!

Just think about it.

These past few days, even if they bought them back at five Gold Coins, by the time the matter in Jiangzhou was over...

Yintan City would stand tall again.

The Yinzhou Coin would inevitably soar again—this was invisibly, for the Yinzhou side, simply a ruthless harvesting of leeks!

In one fell swoop.

Liu Zheng had even resolved the economic crisis.

Beautiful!

At this time, in Jiangzhou City.

"Hahahaha, delightful, delightful! Lord Jia, we must drink a large cup of wine to celebrate!"

A lively banquet.

Luo Huo was very happy.

Jia Shu smiled unnaturally, raised his wine goblet, and took a sip.

Infamy for ten thousand years...

Am I now considered to have achieved infamy for ten thousand years?

How does the outside world evaluate me? How does the Longyan Dynasty view me? How do the people of the world despise me?

But...

It doesn't matter!

He secretly exchanged a look with Murong Che, and the latter nodded calmly. Only then did Jia Shu chuckle; it seemed that this Murong Che had already begun to act.

Having submitted to the tiger for so many years, Murong Che naturally had his own base of supporters.

It was not difficult to stir up some trouble in this Jiangzhou.

Luo Huo was naturally happy at this moment. Fifty thousand gold and one hundred thousand slaves already exceeded his imagination.

Hmph!

So much for the integrity of a scholar!

It turns out he is just a guy who can be bought for ten thousand gold! Of course, there are also beauties...

Luo Huo was suddenly filled with contempt for this Jia Shu.

Hypocritical Han people!

This night, another all-nighter was reached, with the stench of drunkenness filling the air.

Luo Huo and this group from Jiaozhi were having such a good time.

Murong Che and Jia Shu, however, remained sober the entire time.

But the two of them did not sit together.

Yet, the gazes of the two grew increasingly firm.

Damn it!

Either become famous throughout the world, or go down in infamy for ten thousand years!

How many times in life can one truly struggle?

Jia Shu toasted Murong Che from afar with a cup of wine, and then, he slumped over, drunk.

"Trash!"

Luo Huo looked at Jia Shu and cursed with disdain, then laughed heartily: "Mr. Murong has performed a great service this time; what reward does the gentleman want! Just say it, as long as you don't set your sights on the two concubines I just married."

The crowd joined in the heckling.

The whole room burst into loud laughter.

Murong Che laughed and said: "Your Majesty is joking. Murong Che provides Assistance to Your Majesty only for the sake of achieving success and fame; I have no other requests."

Everyone praised him.

Luo Huo also laughed heartily: "These words of yours, sir, truly please me! Rest assured, sir, when we return to Jiaozhi, I will certainly grant you the title of Marquis!"

Murong Che was endlessly grateful: "Murong Che thanks Your Majesty. But Your Majesty, it is time to rest now; tomorrow, we must hand over the first batch of captives to the Dragon Flame Army."

"Dragon Flame Army?"

A flash of murderous intent flickered in Luo Huo's eyes.

Murong Che was startled and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, absolutely not! The treaty has been concluded, and we have gained much; we must not harbor murderous thoughts again. Besides, this time the Dragon Flame Army only brought five thousand men, showing great sincerity."

He was terrified that this fickle Southern Barbarian would ruin the big plan.

Only then did Luo Huo laugh and say: "You are overthinking it, sir. Fine! Tomorrow, release one hundred thousand first! The handover will be thirty miles outside the city!"

Murong Che nodded indifferently, concealing the excitement in his eyes.

Yong'an, one hundred miles away from Jiangzhou.

When Xie Zhen received this treaty that had enraged the whole world, he was also stunned.

"Impossible, this is absolutely not my younger brother's intention, it is not!"

He did not believe that Liu Zheng would make this choice.

Jiang Xuan, standing to the side, also said angrily: "Prince of Shu, there must be something fishy about this; the Young Master is not such a cold-blooded person! It must be that Jia Shu who was bought off by the enemy!"

A group of generals looked at each other in dismay.

What should they do now?

They now had an army of one hundred thousand stationed here; should they just watch as they take away the one hundred thousand slaves, or should they send troops to fight a great battle?

Xie Zhen fell into distress.

Jiang Xuan said angrily from the side: "Why not wait until those two hundred thousand captives are handed over, then our army will immediately launch an attack and completely wipe out these Southern Barbarians!"

Everyone was shocked.

Xie Zhen also exclaimed: "Absolutely not, there are still one hundred thousand commoners; how could I bear to see them lose their lives?"

Jiang Xuan sighed.

To advance is not right, and to retreat is not right; what is to be done?

Just at this moment.

A Scout brought a letter: "General, a letter from the Young Master."

Jiang Xuan opened it hurriedly, and Xie Zhen also wanted to know how Liu Zheng viewed this matter.

"This..."

Jiang Xuan opened the letter, his eyes lit up, and he said with pleasant surprise: "This..."

"The Southern Barbarians are in danger!"