Where did you hear this news?
Wei Gongzhan. For the first time, he harbored murderous intent towards this cousin!
Even Mr. Black Cloud, who spent all his time exploring the secrets of Great Azure Mountain, didn't really care. Although the other party appeared serious on the surface, he was actually just as content as he was in Jiangnan. Only this guy in front of him was thinking about how to destroy this place day and night.
He used to be nothing more than a clown, but now he's actually able to contact the imperial court!
"General Wei, is it?" The chubby middle-aged man smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits. "I am Liu Sheng. General, you need not doubt my information. All my information comes from the capital and is absolutely reliable. This time, the imperial court has mobilized 50,000 troops, nominally to retake control of Jiangnan. Even the imperial edict has been issued. Because Prefect Chen Qing of Liuzhou has rendered meritorious service in defending Jiangnan, he has been specially transferred to the capital and promoted to Vice Minister of Ministry of War. Liuzhou has been temporarily taken over by the former General Yuchi Peng. The imperial court has also increased the number of troops by 50,000 to deal with the threat of other rebellions!"
Wei Gongzhan: "."
"The Prefect did not rebel," Wei Gongzhan, taking a breath. "He saved hundreds of millions of people in Jiangnan for the imperial court!"
"That's why the court has bestowed such a great honor upon him!" the wealthy man laughed. "How old is Lord Chen? At the tender age of twenty, he is already Third Rank vice minister. Such an honor has never been seen before, not even in the history of the previous dynasty. Hasn't the court done enough?"
"And if," the wealthy man's eyes flashed with a cold light, "That with such a reward, Lord Chen still refuses to leave Jiangnan, then it means he truly harbors wolfish ambitions. Isn't it only right for the court to send troops to punish him? General Wei?"
Wei Gongzhan silent, his heart turning cold.
This day has finally come!
The wealthy men looked at Wei Gongzhan and all smiled kindly.
These past few days, they've smiled more than in previous decades, the reason being that Jiangnan is about to be set right!
Yes, all the local gentry now hate Chen Qing with a passion, but upon hearing that the imperial army is coming, they are filled with gratitude for everything Chen Qing has accomplished!
Yes, it's gratitude, because once the imperial court controls this area and the scholar-official class regains its voice, they can share in all the wealth of Jiangnan.
Are they really angry that a few Mountain God can support hundreds of millions of people?
Are they really hating those commodities that can bring back billions of dollars by being exported to Jiangnan?
Are they actually hating the productive forces created by the disciples of the Mystic Academy and Yellow Academy?
No, what they hate is that all of this has nothing to do with them!
Chen Qing's mistake was that he did not share all of this with the scholar-officials. Only when these things are in the hands of the scholar-officials can they truly benefit the people!
They had all figured it out: once Chen Qing was executed and the court took over again, the court, unfamiliar with the local environment, would definitely need the help of these Jiangnan literati to manage it. From now on, the Jiangnan families, by controlling a few Mountain God sites, would control the wealth of the entire Central Plains!
And those rebellious students from the academy, whose academic style in Jiangnan has been distorted by Chen Qing, must be corrected.
Of course, they weren't that domineering, nor did they intend to completely abolish those doctrines. After all, they still had some benefits for people's livelihoods. As long as those students were willing to return to their original positions and to benefit people's livelihoods under the guidance of Confucianism, they could exist, but they must be subject to constraints!
If such methods of creation are left unchecked, the harm will outweigh the benefits. Only under their leadership can stability be maintained; otherwise, the order of Jiangnan will be lost, its literary style will be gone, and the consequences will be endless.
Seeing Wei Gongzhan silent, the burly man beamed with joy. "General Wei, rest assured, we will truthfully inform the court of your achievements. We have already heard that you are now a first-class immortal farmer in Great Azure Mountain. It is truly humiliating for a member of your bloodline to be forced to do farming under Chen Qing's tyranny. General, you have worked hard, but what you have gained is worthwhile. Furthermore, General Yuchi has directly infiltrated Chen Qing's ranks as a general. With this inside and outside cooperation, the traitor Chen Qing will surely be annihilated by the imperial army!"
"Oh?"
Before Wei Gongzhan could speak, a clear, cold voice came from behind. Wei Gongzhan was startled and turned around to see Yuchi Feihu in full armor.
Seeing Chen Qing's young master appear here, Wei Gongzhan felt a mix of emotions.
He had heard many tales of his young master's valiant fighting over the past year, and he knew that his young master was now a warrior general commanding tens of thousands of soldiers. But he had forgotten one thing: his young master was a direct descendant of a noble family!
This identity means that the young master won't stay here forever.
Moreover, whether it was intentional on the part of the imperial court or not, the person leading the troops this time was actually the head of the Yuchi Household: Young Master Peng!
This is forcing the young master to rebel against Chen Qing!
"Young Master, you've finally arrived!" Wei Gongyan's eyes lit up immediately!
The fact that he, a Door God Guard who had been ostracized and neglected, was found by this group of elites and given such courtesy was certainly not because of any particular use he had.
After all, what kind of help could a mere gatekeeper provide to the imperial court?
His role was not as good as Shen Yuan's, who was in the academy. Shen Yuan was at least a first-class academician of the academy, a prodigy of the Heaven Academy, and held a high position. He could steal a lot of intelligence and information for the court.
And what about him? A guy who was eliminated by the Battle God Army and was even disliked by the Door God Guard. Apart from bringing some worms and good rice to these low-ranking soldiers, he wasn't of much use.
The reason he is valued so highly is simply because of his relationship with the young master.
The young master, using the alias Huang Feihu, made a great name for himself in Yunzhou. In order to promote the bravery of the Fighter Army, Chen Qing hired many storytellers in the countryside to sing the praises of those who started as lowly soldiers and fought their way up to become generals.
This was also one of Chen Qing's methods to promote martial arts among the people, but it also made the young master's reputation spread Jiangnan!
Now, the young master's prestige and real power are not low in Chen Qing's Fighter Army. He is already a core figure. If such a person is willing to cooperate with the imperial army from the inside, he can certainly make great contributions!
Wei Gongzhan at the somewhat unfamiliar young master, remaining silent.
A year has passed, and the young master has become much stronger. The childishness on his face has faded, and he clearly carries the composure that only the old patriarch possesses.
It seems the storytellers weren't lying; the young master has experienced a lot and grown a lot this past year.
He should have been very happy, after all, he brought his red ginseng wine because he wanted to celebrate with the young master.
But now, he suddenly doesn't want to drink at all.
"Young Master, when did you arrive?" Wei Gongyan forward excitedly, his attitude extremely intimate!
"I've been here for a while now." Yuchi Feihu glanced at the other party indifferently, then looked at the group of wealthy men. "I've been listening to your insightful discussions for quite some time now."
"This must be General Yuchi?" The portly man's smile grew even more humble as he stepped forward to bow. "Seeing is believing, General Yuchi! You have quite the spirit; no wonder you can be so formidable even in a bandit camp. You truly are a direct descendant of Yuchi!"
The wealthy men seemed genuinely sincere in their flattery of Yuchi Feihu, a stark contrast to their outwardly friendly but inwardly disdainful attitude towards Wei Gongyan.
After all, what use is someone who, despite being a descendant of a noble family, has only managed to become a low-ranking gatekeeper after a year as Door God Guard, even less successful than some country bumpkin?
If it weren't for the fact that the other party could contact someone like Yuchi Feihu, they wouldn't bother dealing with him at all; he's a complete waste of space!
Yuchi Feihu approached and sized up the Squire Liu, who claimed to be a distant relative of Vice Minister Yang: "Is this all the men you have? This small number of people are plotting against Chen Qing, trying to coordinate an attack from within?"
"Of course it's not just us," Squire Liu hurriedly said, "We represent the entire scholar-official class of Jiangnan. It's not just Liuzhou; the scholar-officials of Yunzhou, Yangzhou, and Nanyang City have all been oppressed by Chen Qing and are just waiting for the imperial army to come and set things right!"
"Once the imperial army arrives, with our help, we will surely be able to crush this traitor Chen Qing with overwhelming force. And with the people of Jiangnan here, we can ensure the stability of people's livelihood to the greatest extent possible. Such a great achievement will surely allow you, General, to secure a place in the Yuchi Household!"
"Hmm," Yuchi Feihu nodded, "That sounds reasonable."
"Young Master." Wei Gongzhan opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"That's exactly right, young master!" Wei Gongyan replied with a smug smile.
Originally, after fleeing to Jiangnan, he had long given up his plan to follow Yuchi Feihu and gain merit, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better and he had such an opportunity!
If we can recover Jiangnan for the imperial court this time, my young master will at least be appointed as the governor of a region based on his merits. As his deputy, I will definitely be appointed as the commander-in-chief of a prefecture!
Of course, as a vassal's son, he generally couldn't become a local general, but his rank would definitely rise. With a higher rank, he could grant his mother an imperial title, and his future status in the Wei Household wouldn't be low. At least he would be worthy of the reputation of being a direct descendant of the Wei Household, right?
"How would you like me to assist you?" Yuchi Feihu asked with a smile as he approached further.
Upon hearing this, the other party beamed with genuine joy. "Young General, there's no need to worry. With the imperial army pressing in, there will naturally be instructions. You now hold a high position here, commanding tens of thousands of the Fighter Army. If you can turn them to defect, that would be ideal. If not, even confusing the command structure would be a great achievement. Then, with inside and outside cooperation, we can surely catch Chen Qing off guard!"
"Hmm," Yuchi Feihu nodded upon hearing this, then asked, "You just said that you can represent the scholars of Jiangnan. May I ask, who exactly do you represent?"
The wealthy men exchanged glances, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"What?" Yuchi Feihu's smile turned cold instantly, "You made me take such a huge risk, yet you didn't even tell me who you were cooperating with? You think I'm just going to risk my life to fool you?"
"Young General, please calm down." At this moment, Yuchi Feihu was already close to the Above First Rank official. How could a few fat, rich men withstand his aura? They were immediately trembling at the question and hurriedly said, "Tomorrow, there will be a literary gathering. All the scholars of Liuzhou will be there. As for the people from the other prefectures, because that scoundrel Chen Qing used sorcery to isolate the prefectures of Jiangnan, we can only communicate through letters."
Tomorrow?
"Yes, yes."
"Where?"
" Hundred Lives Hall on North Street."
"Good!" Yuchi Feihu smiled again, but deep in his eyes was an extremely cold light!