Taiheiki

Chapter 38 Civil strife
At this moment, he kicked something and looked down. It turned out to be a money bag. He took it in his hand and weighed it. It was really heavy, at least two or three thousand coins. The anger on the clerk's face immediately disappeared. "He is a man of money. I will take this responsibility for him. I believe the chief clerk will also benefit from it, so he won't scold too harshly!"

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The cold wind blew through the pine treetops beside the official road, making a sharp sound, and Wei Cong shivered subconsciously.

"Just send it here!" Deng Zhong patted the back of Wei Cong's hand with a smile: "Damn it, it's unusually cold this year. Go back, you still have a lot of things to deal with!"

"It's okay!" Wei Cong said with all his strength, "Everything has been arranged. With Zhao Yannian here, I feel relieved!"

"Really?" Deng Zhong laughed. "But your Zhao Yannian is a capable and reliable man. By the way, how much time did Governor Han give you to deal with the Zhang family?"

"Three days!"

"There are only two days left! That's a bit tight!" Deng Zhong said with a smile, "Do you want me to go back to Wancheng and hold Feng Cheqi back for a few days?"

"How do you know that Prefect Han said he wanted to get rid of the Zhang family before Feng Cheqi arrives?" Wei Cong asked in surprise.

"He and I are old friends!" Deng Zhong laughed. "In other words, I've known him since childhood. Although he appears to be a generous guy, he's actually extremely cautious. If possible, he doesn't want to be in any danger at all! I came here, but Feng Cheqi didn't arrive yet, so he gave you the thief Cao Congshi and asked you to destroy the Zhang family. After I leave, when Feng Cheqi arrives, he will act according to the circumstances!"

"You mean, Feng Cheqi is the one behind the Zhang family?"

"That's not the case. It's just that Feng Cheqi knows Zhang Bolu and can use him!" Deng Zhong shook his head. "Meng De, you have to know that no matter how powerful Zhang Bolu is, if the prefect really decides to destroy the Zhang family, he won't be able to resist. His family's hundreds of guests, no matter how good they are at fighting, can they really withstand the county soldiers? In the final analysis, there is someone behind the scenes. The county prefect is afraid to act rashly, which is why we have the situation today!" At this point, Deng Zhong paused for a moment and smiled, "What's wrong, Meng De, are you scared?"

"Now that things have come to this, what's there to be afraid of?" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Besides, if I were really scared, I should have wiped out the entire Zhang family as soon as possible!"

"That's right!" Deng Zhong clapped his hands and laughed, "That's the Wei Mengde I know!" He took a step forward and whispered almost close to Wei Cong's ear, "Don't worry about what Han Chun says. You only get one chance for something like this. Prepare well, and then strike a fatal blow. I'll take care of the rest, so you don't have to worry!"

After seeing Deng Zhong off, Wei Cong returned to his residence. He immediately called Zhao Yannian and asked directly, "If we want to fight the bandits right now, how many people do we have available?"

"Fifty men!" Zhao Yannian answered without hesitation, "The only ones capable of confronting the bandits sword to sword and spear to spear are the four teams you personally trained."

"What about the rowers?" Wei Cong asked. "Didn't they take back a lot of staffs from the armory? They're also quite strong, aren't they?"

"Arrowing and throwing stones from a distance is fine, but hand-to-hand combat is probably not going to work! After all, they're inexperienced, and they don't have any ties of gratitude to you. They won't fight tooth and nail in a crucial moment!" Zhao Yannian replied, "If I were the enemy, I'd definitely attack the oarsmen first, and they'd be crushed!"

"Well, that means we can't count on these rowers, right?" Wei Cong was a little disappointed, but he still decided to trust Zhao Yannian: "Besides, the governor also agreed to let me recruit 50 county soldiers. Can I rely on these county soldiers?"

"If I have these fifty county soldiers, I will be confident!" said Zhao Yannian.

"Even with the fifty county soldiers, there are only a hundred available!" Wei Cong asked doubtfully, "The Zhang family alone has three or four hundred desperate young guests they've hidden and recruited. Excluding those who drowned or were captured in the Tianshui battle, there are still at least two hundred left. Add in the able-bodied men at home, and there must be at least four or five hundred. And we still have Wu Fort to defend. How can we win with only a hundred men?"

"Don't worry, sir. Battle matters are a matter of life and death. How could I speak rashly?" Zhao Yannian reached out and took it, dipping his finger in the drink in the glass beside him. He began to plan and explain on the table, "The Zhang family was originally just a middle-class family in Nanjun. It was Zhang Bolu who recruited fugitives and plundered everywhere, and only then did the clan gradually become powerful. In fact, there are many powerful families and wealthy people in various prefectures and counties who gather fugitives to commit illegal acts, but there are few like Zhang Bolu. The key is that Zhang Bolu can use military law to control his subordinates. Although he is a thief, his vanguard and rearguard are not disorderly when he travels. After each robbery, he gathers the people to deliberate and first takes a third of the spoils to provide compensation for the dead and wounded. Then he clearly defines the laws, rewards those who have made contributions, and punishes those who have made mistakes. Everyone is convinced. Therefore, when he goes out to fight, his orders are obeyed and he advances and retreats like the wind. No prefecture or county can stop him."

"You mean, after Zhang Bolu died, there was no one in the Zhang family who could use military law to deal with those fugitive teenagers?" Wei Cong asked.

"That's right!" Zhao Yannian laughed. "The Chu people are frivolous and brave, but they can't endure a long battle. After Zhang Bolu's death, the Zhang family no longer has anyone with the prestige to rule the people with military discipline. All we need to do is lure them out in full force. Once they're exhausted, we can ambush them with our surprise attack and achieve a complete victory. By then, the Zhang family will be terrified, and even if they have a fortress thousands of feet high, they won't have the heart to defend it!"

The more Wei Cong listened to Zhao Yannian's story, the more puzzled he became. He wondered how he knew so much about the Zhang family's affairs. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Yannian! It's not that I don't trust you, but this matter concerns the life and death of everyone, and we can't act arbitrarily. How do you know so much about the Zhang family? How can you be sure that after Zhang Bolu's death, there are no descendants in his family who can rule the people with military law?"

"This..." Zhao Yannian gave a bitter smile. "My dear, do you still remember when Zhang Bolu tried to recruit me? The reason I rejected his offer was because his family had no successors. If I were to use military law to punish his family, I'm afraid the consequences would be disastrous!"

After hearing this, Wei Cong finally understood. It turned out that Zhang Bolu recruited Zhao Yannian to be his military judge. Zhao Yannian was not a fool. After inquiring about the Zhang family's situation, he realized that this was not a job. That's why he knew the Zhang family's details so well now, which was something he had not expected at the beginning.

"I never thought there would be such a thing. So, the Zhang family is doomed!" Wei Cong laughed. "By the way, you just said you wanted to lure them in. Tell me more about it. What do you plan to use to lure the thieves?"

Zhao Yannian showed a trace of embarrassment, but he didn't say anything, staring straight at Wei Cong. It took Wei Cong a while to understand - "Damn it, they want me to be the bait!"

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Wei Cong stood at the bow of the ship. He was wearing a crimson robe, a yellow ribbon around his waist, a bag containing a bronze seal hanging from his waist, a large military hat on his head with a pheasant feather on each side, and a sword hanging from his right waist. Combined with his height of more than eight feet, he looked majestic, like a guard of the imperial guards.

"Hey, we're almost at Zhangjiawu Fort!" Wang Shou said in a low voice.

"Well, raise the flags and order the drums and music!" Wei Cong said solemnly. "Yes!" Wang Shou responded and shouted to the ship, "The order has been issued, raise the flags and music!"

Following the command, a large flag with a white background and a red circle was raised on the mast of the ship, with five large characters "贼曹恭卫" embroidered in the middle. At the same time, seven or eight men in black clothes held drums, cymbals, flutes, and horns, and played music. The tune was the "Mahadoule" of the time. This was originally a Hu music, which was introduced to Chang'an when Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions. Li Yannian created 28 new tunes for it and used it as military music. It was usually used by border army generals to lead the way and boost the morale of the troops. Wei Cong, a mere 100-stone 贼曹恭卫, used it, which was obviously an usurpation of power.

"How impressive!" Wei Cong looked at the band playing in front of him and sighed in his heart, "It's a pity that there are so few people and ships under their command. If there were thousands of masts and oars and an army of 100,000, that would be what a real man should be!"

"Look, this is the Zhang family's patrol boat!" Zhao Yannian's voice interrupted Wei Cong's thoughts. He followed the direction of Zhao Yannian's finger and saw a single-masted paddle boat quickly raising its reed sail and turning around to sail away.

"Don't worry about him!" Wei Cong waved his hand. "We have to let them know anyway. How far are we from the planned landing location?"

"About half a mile!"

"That will be quick!" Wei Cong nodded: "Have all the soldiers come up on deck and prepare to go ashore!"

The landing site chosen by Wei Cong was a sandy embankment, about three miles away from Zhang's Wubao. There were many willow trees growing on the embankment, seven or eight feet above the ground. There were more than a dozen graves more than ten steps behind the embankment. Because it was winter, there was only a small amount of remaining snow and a few bamboo banners left in the graveyard, like bald heads. Beyond the graveyard were fields with straw left after the crops were harvested. The cold wind made the field look even more desolate and cold.

"Look!" Zhao Yannian pointed to the fields. "If the thieves want to attack, they can only come from this side! We can stick some bamboo sticks among the straw. They'll be caught off guard, and many of them will surely be trampled!"

"Well, that's a good idea!" Wei Cong nodded. "Wang Shou, take twenty oarsmen to insert the bamboo sticks, and the rest of you will follow the original plan!"

Everyone responded and began work. They first felled the willow trees along the embankment, then stripped the trees of their branches and leaves, laying them horizontally to form a roadblock. They then unloaded large bamboo baskets from the boats and placed them in front of the roadblock. They then dug up dirt and poured it into the baskets. A breastwork and shallow trench quickly formed. Since the workers were all young and strong, and equipped with all the necessary tools, in just half an hour, the breastwork and trench had taken shape. Wei Cong asked the workers to break off their shifts for food and rest, and then new hands resumed the work.

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Zhangjiawu Fort, stable.

Zhang Boan squatted down, breaking up the horse manure on the ground and examining it carefully. After a moment, he stood up, took a handful of straw from the trough, and wiped his hands. "This animal needs medicine for two more days. Follow the prescription I prescribed last time: seven grams of Glauber's salt and seven grams of turmeric. Add half a liang of butter and one liter of water. Mix well and feed it to the patient!"

"This—!" The groom was stunned. "Master, this Glauber's salt is easy to come by, but it seems that we don't have turmeric or anything like that in the farm!"

"Forget it!" Zhang Boan said with a smile, "I'll write a prescription for you later. Go to Jiangling City tomorrow and bring the medicine back!"

"Yes Yes!"

Zhang Boan walked over to the sick horse and stroked its mane. The horse stretched out its head and gently licked the back of Zhang Boan's hand. This made him laugh. Although the stable was dirty and smelly, it felt good to be with these four-legged livestock and listen to the sound of them chewing hay and oats.

"Uncle San, Uncle San, something bad has happened!"

Zhang Boan turned around and saw his son Zhang Jie standing at the door of the stable. He was panting and looked panicked. Zhang Boan frowned and said, "What happened?"

"Zhang Ping, Zhang Ping, take your men out of the village to avenge your eldest and fourth uncles!"

"What?" Zhang Boan's good mood immediately disappeared: "How many people did he bring?"

"I don't know exactly how many people there were, but almost all the guests and followers in the manor followed him out. There were also probably 20 to 30 people from the clan."

"Nonsense!" Zhang Boan was furious. "Is he crazy? Are all the clan elders deaf and dumb? Who allowed him to do this? Just rushing to Jiangling City like that? Isn't this courting death?"

"I tried to stop them, but I couldn't!" Zhang Jie said with a wry smile, "Those guests and their followers have drawn their knives. Anyone who tries to stop them will die. And they're not going to Jiangling City, they're just at the old grave, only three or four miles away from the manor!"

Zhang Bo'an inquired and learned that a patrol boat had recently returned from the river, reporting that they had encountered several boats approaching Jiangling City. The leading boat vaguely resembled the boat that had ambushed the general. It even flew a flag that read, "The thief Cao is serving Wei." There were drums and music playing on board, making it look quite impressive. The boat had docked at the old grave, and many men and horses had disembarked. They were digging the embankment and cutting wood, as if they were preparing a long-term plan.

When Zhang Ping learned about it, he immediately flew into a rage and cursed, "I didn't go looking for you, but you came looking for me instead. Well, you came just in time! I'm willing to follow me to chop off my enemy's head and offer it in front of my uncle's spirit!" All the guests and soldiers bared their left arms, then took their weapons, bows and crossbows, and left the farmhouse.

"Then why didn't you come and report to me immediately?" Zhang Boan said angrily.

"I wanted to, too! But before Zhang Ping left the manor, he left four guests behind to watch over us. He told them anyone who dared to tip you off would be killed first. I had to work so hard to find a chance to sneak out!"

"Zhang Ping, you bastard!" Zhang Bo'an cursed, stamping his feet. He turned to the groom and yelled, "Hurry up and saddle me! I want to leave the farm right away!"

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(End of this chapter)