Chapter 50: Great Chaos

Liu Zheng washed his face with ice water and said excitedly, "Did the Garrison also get involved? If I guessed correctly, a conflict must have broken out between the Garrison and the Scattered Soldiers!"

Shen Xing and Zheng Yueru exchanged a glance, shock in their eyes.

Could this Young Master Liu truly foresee events like a god?

Shen Xing cupped his hands and said, "Young Master does not leave his door, yet knows the affairs of the world! Those Scattered Soldiers bullied the commoners and involved the relatives of several Garrison members; the Garrison rose up to fight, and they fell into a chaotic battle with the Scattered Soldiers. If Lu Zhengyi had not arrived in time, I fear the situation would have become uncontrollable!"

"Our Scouts have also made contact with several Powerful Clans; they are increasingly interested in the Young Master's proposal and are still in negotiations!"

A flash of brilliance appeared in Liu Zheng's eyes: "Is there any news from Liangzhou?"

This was actually what he was most worried about.

The greatest premise of this entire plan was that Liangzhou Prefecture would let things be! Liu Zheng had long known that Chen Ping held a grudge against his father, Liu Dahao. When Liu Dahao was in Liangzhou, even as a wealthy merchant, he could make Chen Ping sit on pins and needles. Now that his father had fallen into misfortune, Chen Ping would naturally kick him while he was down.

Therefore, Liu Zheng felt that Liangzhou would certainly not intervene in this bandit incident, and even if they did, they would likely just put on a show and move at a snail's pace.

But this actually played right into Liu Zheng's hands!

If Liangzhou really did intervene, it would only disappoint Liu Zheng.

As expected.

Shen Xing sneered: "Young Master, Liangzhou's five thousand elite troops are still in the midst of preparation; I fear that even if they were to reinforce us, it would be after half a month!"

The others also sneered one after another.

Who does not know the intentions of Liangzhou?

"That is for the best!"

For a moment, Liu Zheng felt eager to get started. He led a group of people to the canyon where the Shen Gong Workshop was located.

"Kill!"

"Change formation!"

"Fan shape to diamond shape!"

"Charge!"

After these few days of training, the soldiers had become much more familiar with the Spear and Divine Crossbow Formation. Under the drilling of Qin Zhangfeng, their combat effectiveness had greatly increased.

The craftsmen of the Fine Iron Workshop and the Weaponry Workshop were also working overtime, having already produced one thousand Rhodok Spears. In this world, Liu Zheng called them "Yinzhou Spears." He knew that this weapon, at least in Liangzhou, would certainly make the enemy tremble with fear. He wanted to use all available traffic... to advertise for Yinzhou.

One thousand five hundred Spearmen, one thousand five hundred Crossbowmen.

This was the current configuration of the three thousand Garrison troops.

They could barely supplement one thousand Cavalry.

Although the garrison-tuntian system was already being implemented, after all, those farmers could not form combat effectiveness in a short time.

This time, Liu Zheng only intended to use these four thousand Garrison troops!

At this moment, he looked on with great satisfaction.

Only, he suddenly thought of a matter that gave him a massive headache. This was also the reason why the scale of his Garrison had always remained at three or four thousand. That was, he lacked a true commander capable of leading troops!

Qin Zhangfeng was certainly brave, but in Liu Zheng's eyes, he still lacked the true ability to devise strategies.

He could be a general, but he could not be a commander.

Brave and impulsive, he could charge into battle, but he could not grasp the situation on the battlefield at any moment. In other words, he could not yet command a force of over ten thousand people.

Talent.

He was still lacking talent!

Therefore, Liu Zheng felt that the number of four thousand was already the limit for Qin Zhangfeng. Any more, and it would all fall into chaos.

And he himself, naturally, would not know how to lead troops.

"Young Master, there are two days left until the agreed time."

Shen Xing reminded him.

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Then add more fuel to the fire for them. Go send another letter; the money is still being prepared, if they want it, wait another seven days!"

Everyone burst out laughing upon hearing this.

Our Young Master is truly full of wicked schemes.

Yangzhou County Marquis Mansion.

Lu Zhengyi was trembling with rage, with several maidservants attending to him nearby.

"My Lord, My Lord, Captain Yuan has already gone to handle it, you must not collapse!"

"Preposterous, those Scattered Soldiers are bullying people too much!"

"To dare to slaughter the commoners of my Yangzhou, drive them out, tell them to drive them out!"

Although Lu Zhengyi was indecisive and easily swayed, he was still a person who cared about the commoners.

"Absolutely not, My Lord!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Who is making a racket?"

Lu Zhengyi shouted.

A Counselor ran in: "My Lord, there is a young White-clothed man calling himself Jiang Xuan, who claims to have a strategy to offer!"

Lu Zhengyi looked impatient: "A mere White-clothed man, what strategy could he have? Drive him out!"

"Yes!"

Yet, although Jiang Xuan was thin and weak, he gathered his strength and rushed in, falling to his knees with a thud and kowtowing several times: "My Lord, absolutely not! Those Scattered Soldiers can only be taken by wit, not by force!"

The crowd cursed him for being bold, and several clubs were already coming his way.

Lu Zhengyi frowned, waved his hand to signal the others to stop, and looked at Jiang Xuan, asking: "What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Xuan was drenched in sweat: "My Lord, the best military policy is to attack their strategy, and attacking the heart is the best of all!"

"The chaos within Yangzhou City is certainly the work of that young master of the Liu Family! Yangzhou must absolutely not be deceived!"

Lu Zhengyi was furious upon hearing this: "Who doesn't know this? But now that things have reached this point, if we don't drive those Scattered Soldiers out, what other Method is there?"

He got angry just thinking about it!

This father and son of the Liu Family were truly detestable; they used both open and secret schemes, and yet they left this Yangzhou Prefecture with no Method at all. By the time they reacted, the situation had already spiraled out of control.

Jiang Xuan gathered his courage and said: "My Lord, this commoner believes that in the current situation, to turn the tide, four steps will suffice!"

The Counselors' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this, and they began to curse angrily.

"A mere White-clothed, speaking so brazenly!"

"Are you saying the County Marquis Mansion is inferior to a White-clothed like you?"

These strategists of the County Marquis Mansion had been exhausted and overwhelmed for days, offering all sorts of plans, yet they had no Method; for a White-clothed like you to come and offer a plan, isn't that just slapping our faces?

Lu Zhengyi continued to wave his hand and said indifferently: "You may speak!"

Jiang Xuan felt a surge of spirit and said: "I have four strategies. First, for the Scattered Soldiers, promise them heavy profits to lure them into attacking Yinzhou! Second, for the commoners, suppress them with violence to strike fear into their hearts! Third, for the Powerful Clan, seize their private troops for the use of our Mansion. Fourth, for Yinzhou, spread rumors of their evil deeds, negotiate the Iron Mine matters, and even provide subsidies from Yangzhou to lure the young master of the Liu Family into an agreement!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room changed color.

"Audacious!"

"Who are you to speak such treason!"

"My Lord, this must never be done! If we follow this person's plan, Yangzhou's reputation will be no more!"

In their eyes, Jiang Xuan's four strategies were one more ruthless than the last! The first one, directly gathering all available power, especially using the name of the government to hire Scattered Soldiers with heavy profits to attack Yinzhou, was fundamentally unworkable in terms of logic and morality! Yangzhou would inevitably suffer damage to its reputation and be placed in a passive state.

And the second and third were even more absurd.

Violent suppression—were they not afraid of the public sentiment turning into chaos? The public's emotions were already running very high; if they used such methods, it would likely trigger a mutiny.

In such a situation, would the weakened County Marquis Mansion dare to touch the private troops of the Powerful Clan? It would be a miracle if they didn't rise up in the chaos!

The fourth approach, negotiating the Iron Mine matters and even going so far as to provide financial subsidies—where would Yangzhou's face be left with such an approach?

Wouldn't this imply that Yangzhou had been colluding with these Scattered Soldiers from the very beginning?

"You, you, you..."

Lu Zhengyi was also angered to the point of suffocation.

But Jiang Xuan remained kneeling there, very stubborn.

As far as the current situation went, these were indeed four steps for self-preservation.

Jiang Xuan was skilled in the Art of War.

Therefore, his perspective differed from these pedantic scholars; he prioritized effectiveness and purpose! Right now, getting the Scattered Soldiers out of the city was the best outcome. He did not care about the methods; having them leave the city was best, and having them go attack Yinzhou was the most ideal state.

And it was clear that the current commoners had already been incited by people with ulterior motives.

The common people, generally having a low level of education, lacked the ability to judge for themselves; they followed the crowd, and rumors became truth. Now that they were in a state of excitement and lacked reason, there was only one Method to stabilize the situation: violence!

Could it be that you still wanted to reason with them at a time like this? That was impossible and the least effective. In troubled times, heavy codes must be used. Although Jiang Xuan came from a farming family, he did not lose the big picture due to hypocritical sympathy for the commoners. Being able to see this showed that his breadth of mind was truly extraordinary.

As for the Powerful Clan, it went without saying. In this chaotic situation, people's hearts were changing, and these Powerful Clans were the first to be affected. If they were not taken down with thunderous force, they would surely become a great disaster!

And finally, regarding Yinzhou, Jiang Xuan felt that since Yinzhou could stir up so much trouble, why shouldn't Yangzhou use their own methods against them?

One must know that in the past few days, the commoners had been spreading word of the young master of the Liu Family's divine might in repelling the bandits, while in contrast, Lu Zhengyi was colluding with the Bandit to deal with the "benefactor" of Yangzhou!

The difference in character was clear at a glance.

The commoners' cries to welcome the new master into Yangzhou grew louder and louder.

In such a situation, why care about morality or face?

Secret schemes or open ones, what did it matter?

As long as the goal was achieved, that was enough!

"Presumptuous!"

"Beat him out with sticks!"

"A mere White-clothed, offering such clumsy plans, a laughingstock!"

A group of people mocked and cursed him in various ways.

A flash of sorrow passed through Jiang Xuan's heart.

A grand Yangzhou Prefecture, and it was all a group of pedantic scholars? How could they survive in these troubled times?

Troubled times are cruel.

Troubled times have no soil for hypocrisy or indecision to survive.

"Beat him!"

"Beat him hard!"

As the sticks rained down on his body, Jiang Xuan felt immense sorrow and cried out: "Yangzhou is ruined!"

"You are all sinners!"

"Yangzhou is finished!"

Fortunately, the Garrison were all maintaining order within Yangzhou City at the time, otherwise, Jiang Xuan would certainly have been beaten to death with sticks today.

This matter soon became a joke.

At this time, another Han arrived from Yinzhou.

The transaction was delayed for another seven days!

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhengyi vomited three jin of blood that day.

"The father and son of the Liu Family, the humiliation is too great!"

"Where is Jiang Xuan?"

However, by this time, Jiang Xuan was nowhere to be found.

Yangzhou became even more chaotic.

……

At this moment in Yinzhou.

Three thousand soldiers were already fully prepared.

Liu Zheng rode his horse to the drill ground and shouted, "Yinzhou Army, are you all ready?"

"Yes!"

Three thousand men shouted in unison.

Qin Zhangfeng was in high spirits and cupped his hands, saying, "Young Master, the brothers are ready to set out at any time!"

Shen Xing also said from the side, "The Yangzhou Scout has already persuaded the Powerful Clan of Yangzhou to coordinate from within and welcome the Young Master into the city!"

"Good!"

Liu Zheng's confidence increased greatly.

Although he said seven days, he was certain that the chaos in Yangzhou would begin the day after the Han was delivered, because by then, the leader of the Scattered Soldiers, Luo Xiongchao, would surely be unable to restrain himself!

"Set off!"

The three thousand soldiers marched through the night.

Holding the "Suppression of Bandits Order" in his hand, Liu Zheng would forcibly break into Yangzhou under the name of "assisting Yangzhou in suppressing bandits."

……

"Big Brother, we cannot wait any longer!"

"That's right, that brat from Yinzhou is truly bullying us too much!"

"As the saying goes, a thief does not leave empty-handed; Big Brother, we are an elite force, how can we come here for nothing?"

In the Post House of Yangzhou.

Luo Xiongchao sat in the center, and his subordinates had already begun one by one to offer their advice, unable to hold back.

With Yangzhou in chaos, their ambitions naturally grew at this time.

Why not attack Yangzhou first, plunder it, and then go to Yinzhou to avenge the insult from that villain?

Luo Xiongchao also fell into deep thought.

Over the past few days, under the lobbying of these people, he had indeed become restless. Occupying the Yangzhou Prefecture was obviously impossible. But……

Just as they said, he possessed five thousand elite soldiers, so who was there to fear?

First take Yangzhou, then take Yinzhou, and then continue to roam with his brothers; why not do it?

"Good!"

"This Yangzhou Army bullies me too much!"

"Assemble the troops, we act tonight!"

"Yes!"