After the whole army crossed the Huan River, Zhang Xing began to feel rather free of wants and desires.
Because he knew that, from his own perspective, his stratagem had already succeeded completely. Whatever problems arose now were not his responsibility. He had devoted every ounce of effort to this affair, considered everything he could consider, and done everything he could do. Even things he might not be able to accomplish, he had tried to account for and planned to attempt later.
Perhaps rivers of blood would still flow today. Perhaps countless innocents would still be killed or wounded after this upheaval. Perhaps the eventual outcome would still set off other, undesirable butterfly effects at court... but all of that, just like the latter half of this stratagem, could no longer be called his responsibility.
He, Zhang Sanlang, had done his utmost to propose the best solution, put it into action, and completed his own part splendidly.
According to their agreement, as long as Zhang Xing used the Golden Awl Stratagem to lure the Mount Mangdang bandits out ahead of time and across the river, the rest was Sima Zheng and Bai Yousi's business.
How those two immortals from great aristocratic clans forced Chen Ling to deploy his troops, how they protected the fleet's safe passage through this region, and how they wrapped everything up in the end had nothing to do with him, Zhang White Ribbon.
Of course, while Zhang Xing himself felt rather free of desires, the others' eagerness to show off had instead gone somewhat overboard...
After crossing the Huan River, the main force occupied Mount Ji outright, and Headman Xu naturally bore the brunt of it. Poor Headman Xu had knocked around Mount Ji for many years, only to lose his entire foundation overnight. His grain