Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 470 Prophecy
Although Jia Zhi had a premonition that this banquet would not be a good one.

But Jia Zhi did not expect that Fan Yang Lu would be so bold.

In Lu's manor, he met the "master" that was talked about by the entire Zhuo County gentry.

When hearing the name Liu Lingzhu, Jia Zhi suddenly realized that since he arrived in Youzhou, he had heard of this famous alchemist in Youyan. The only one who could be so revered by the entire Zhuo County nobles was him.

But after Jia Zhi met Liu Lingzhu, Lu Wenwei also revealed his cards to him.

According to the prophecy that "the Liu family will rise", the Lu family of Fanyang and a group of powerful families in Zhuo County decided to nominate Liu Lingzhu as the King of Yan and rise up to rebel against Su Ze.

Moreover, in front of Jia Zhi, Liu Lingzhu also read out the imperial edict from Yuan Ziyou, the pseudo-emperor of Luoyang, who conferred the title of King of Yan on him.

It seems that Liu Lingzhu not only received the support of the local gentry in Youzhou, but also colluded with Erzhu Rong's Luoyang court.

Lu Wenwei also proudly explained their plan to Jia Zhi.

In various counties of Youzhou, the Lu family of Fanyang contacted a group of people, together with the followers of Liu Lingzhu in the county government. When they conspired to start an uprising, they would kill the chief officials of various counties, seize the county government, and then start a rebellion.

Although Lu Wenwei did not say it, they must have made arrangements in the governor's office. As long as Youzhou was in chaos, these aristocratic families would be able to quickly control the place, and then lead Erzhu Rong's army into Youzhou to drive out Su Ze's forces.

Seeing the tense situation at the banquet, Jia Zhi expressed on the spot that he was willing to join the King of Yan and fight against Su Ze together.

But it was obvious that Liu Lingzhu and Lu Wenwei did not trust Jia Zhi very much. Although they accepted his surrender, they also imprisoned him in the manor.

Lu Wenwei asked Jia Zhi to write an order and ordered his men to open the county government office. The Lu family's private soldiers would first occupy the county government office in Zhuo County, and then use Zhuo County as a base to start a rebellion.

Lu Wenwei and other aristocratic family leaders who have experienced countless turbulent times are very well versed in conspiracies and tricks. He dictated to Jia Zhi a handwritten message without missing a word, and then asked the scribe to copy it according to Jia Zhi's handwriting, not giving Jia Zhi any chance to make any secret signals.

However, after all, Jia Zhi was also a descendant of the Guzang Jia family, so Lu Wenwei was relatively polite to him. He detained him and his followers in the guest room for distinguished guests and also had people serve them fine wine and delicious food.

Jia Zhi paced back and forth in the room, feeling restless. The messenger, who had always looked plain, suddenly said:

"Sir, I have a way to pass the message on."

Jia Zhi's eyes lit up, and looking at this plain-looking messenger, he quickly said:
"Do you really have a way?"

The messenger nodded. Jia Zhi also knew that the messenger arranged by the county lord was quite magical. He said quickly:

"Quickly send the news of our prisoner to the county government. The Lu family's private soldiers are not elite, and they may not have the courage to set fire. Just hold the county government for a while."

In ancient times, government offices were all small fortresses. It was normal for many government offices to hold out for a few days after a city was captured, and some even held out for several months.

Jia Zhi had long been on guard against the gentry in Zhuo County. Supplies were stockpiled in the county government office. He kept all the elite yamen runners in the county government office. As long as they could hold out for ten days or half a month and prevent the Lu family from getting their hands on Da Yi, he could buy time for Murong Shaozong to quell the rebellion.

Moreover, Jia Zhi also had his own thoughts. He was already trapped in the enemy camp. If his county government also surrendered, then after the rebellion was put down, wouldn't he be suspected by his superiors of having surrendered to the enemy?

Jia Zhi said to the messenger:

"I'll leave this matter to you. After it's done, I will definitely ask for credit from the Governor's Office!"

The messenger paid his respects to Jia Zhi, and somehow he found a loophole and escaped from the guest room where he was imprisoned. Jia Zhi finally felt at ease.

I’m afraid the enemy is hiding in the dark.

The most terrifying time for a poisonous snake is not when it appears in front of you, but when it is still hiding in its hole.

If Fanyang Lu and Liu Lingzhu could really confront the Duke's elite troops head-on, they would not have secretly contacted each other to plot a rebellion and resorted to assassination or other means.

I just hope that the news can be delivered as soon as possible. As long as the counties in Youzhou are not in chaos, the elite troops of the Governor's Office can quickly put down the rebellion in Zhuo County.
-
What Jia Zhi didn't expect was that the speed of the messenger was measured in seconds.

Su Ze knew what happened in Zhuo County, Youzhou almost instantly.

Liu Lingzhu?
Su Ze closed the memorial in front of him and found out that it was this guy.

In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, Liu Lingzhu had once raised an army in Youzhou.

In that timeline, Liu Lingzhu was a close minister of Erzhu Rong. Because of his prestige in Youzhou, he was appointed to Youzhou by Erzhu Rong and served as the Grand Administrator of Youzhou.

After the deaths of Erzhu Zhao and Emperor Xiaozhuang, Liu Lingzhu used his magic to mobilize the people and named himself the Prince of Yan and the Grand Chancellor.

It is now clear that Liu Lingzhu was able to quickly raise an army in Youzhou because he must have received support from the Youzhou nobles.

Liu Lingzhu was also a natural comedian. Before he started his army, he divined that he would "enter Dingzhou in March."

Liu Lingzhu was overjoyed, thinking that he could defeat the Erzhu clan and attack Dingzhou.

Who knew that he suffered a great defeat in the first battle he fought, and was beheaded by Erzhu Yusheng who came to conquer him. In March, his head was sent to Dingzhou for public display. You can tell me whether his divination was effective or not!
Unexpectedly, this time, it might be the battle with Bian Ji that changed the historical timeline, allowing Liu Lingzhu to return to Youzhou early.

After he took control of Youzhou, he secretly colluded with Erzhu Rong to stir up trouble.

Su Ze was very satisfied with Jia Zhi. He knew about his performance these days from the reports. There were also talented people among these children from aristocratic families.

If it weren't for his special identity, he wouldn't have been able to gain the trust of Fanyang Lu and find out so much important information.

In this case, the matter was very clear. Su Ze ordered a messenger to inform the Youzhou Governor's Office and all counties that as long as the assassination plot was smashed, Liu Lingzhu would not be able to resist the large army relying solely on Zhuo County.

The entire Youzhou quickly took action. County governments in various places arrested assassins who were lying in ambush inside and preparing to assassinate county officials, and followed the clues to uproot the local wealthy families who were in collusion with Liu Lingzhu.
-
As for Liu Lingzhu, he couldn't even capture the county government office of Zhuo County.

The Lu family of Fanyang had made adequate preparations. Their family had 500 private soldiers, all of whom were strong and healthy men selected during the turmoil in recent years. They were supplied with food and wine every day, and were specially trained by Lu Kan, the son of Lu Wenwei.

The Lu family even managed to get fifty sets of armor. Although they were only leather armor, they were enough to defend against bows and arrows. In Youzhou, they were considered well-trained elite soldiers.

Lu Wenwei instructed his son to take down the county government office without bloodshed, and to attack the county government office again to find the official seal, but he must not set fire to the county government office.

Lu Kan led his soldiers to the county government office. He had just asked someone to take out Jia Zhi's handwritten letter when the soldier who was shouting was shot dead by a powerful crossbow. The chief of the county government servants, Su Yong, shouted:
"You rebels have imprisoned the county magistrate and fabricated chaos! We swear to defend the county government to the death!"

Hearing the loud shouts of killing in the county government office, Lu Kan's face turned grim. This was the first task his father assigned to him, so how could he fail?

Lu Kan immediately ordered his soldiers to attack the county government office.

At this moment, the side door of the county government office suddenly opened. What Lu Kan did not expect was that the chief of the government officials, Su Yong, rushed out of the county government office with ten of his men.

But when he saw Su Yong's equipment, Lu Kan's heart sank.

Su Yong and his men were all covered in iron armor, which was more than one level higher than leather armor.

The Northern and Southern Dynasties period can be said to be a peak period for armor manufacturing.

Since ancient times, hoarding armor has been tantamount to treason.

In the era of cold weapons, armor is not simply a set of defensive equipment, but a super killing weapon comparable to Iron Man's coat.

After Su Yong puts on a full body armor like this, he is truly invulnerable to swords and bows. When such an iron lump rushes into the crowd, it is like he has unleashed his invincible power. Ordinary soldiers can only take the beating.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you can wear dozens of kilograms of heavy armor and wield weapons to fight.

Su Yong was originally an orange follower [Brave Armored Infantry], but his right arm was injured on the battlefield and he became a blue follower [Unyielding Armored Infantry (Disabled Version)].

Although his rank was downgraded, the trait of "Unyielding" is a positive word, and Su Yong still insisted on practicing single-arm combat, so he was assigned by Su Ze to Jia Zhi as the leader of the yamen runners.

Jia Zhi also treated these yamen runners very well, supplying them with meat and eggs every day. Since Su Yong entered Zhuo County, he has also insisted on training in the county government every day.

Su Yong used only one arm, but he wielded the Mo Dao with great power. Within a few minutes, he killed several people and caused a river of blood in front of the county government office.

Lu Kan had never seen such a scene before. He was afraid that Su Yong, the killer, would come to kill him, so he quickly asked his confidants to protect him and retreat.

When these private soldiers saw Lu Kan retreating, they also fled back.

Su Yong enjoyed the kill, but he did not continue to chase. Instead, he led his men back to the county government office, reinforced the fortifications of the county government office, and arranged for his men to train for defense, pretending to be in long-term confrontation with Lu Kan.

Unable to take over the county government office, Lu Kan could only surround it while reporting to his father.

Lu Wenwei scolded his son for being incompetent, but he also knew that precious military forces should not be wasted on this. He could only order his men to continue to surround the county government office, and then quickly contact other powerful families, preparing to swear an oath on the outskirts of Zhuo County and attack the surrounding counties.

On this day, Liu Lingzhu took the stage on a high platform hastily set up by the Lu family of Fanyang. As the King of Yan nominated by the local nobles, Liu Lingzhu actually performed a witch dance with disheveled hair to pray for the army.

The soldiers felt mixed emotions as they watched their king acting mysteriously on the podium.

After the prayers, Liu Lingzhu personally performed divination on the high platform.

After the divination was finished, Lu Wenwei immediately asked Liu Lingzhu:
"My king, what is the result of the divination?"

Liu Lingzhu frowned at first, then said:

"We must enter Dingzhou in March!"

Upon hearing this news, Lu Wenwei and other local nobles shouted:
"Good luck! Enter Dingzhou in March! Capture Su Ze alive!"

(End of this chapter)