Chapter 563
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Chapter 563: Ruling a Region
Fengzhou City
Lin Jiang brought out five thousand people, left five hundred people in Dongping Prefecture, now there are more than twenty thousand people, thirteen thousand of them are surrendered soldiers, and the rest are young refugees recruited in recent days.
When Lin Jiang publicly executed a group of thugs and ruffians who wanted to loot, the order in Fengzhou City was roughly restored. Lin Jiang emphasized military discipline, provided enough money, didn’t harm the civilians, and the people of Fengzhou City quickly accepted the rebel army.
But Lin Jiang was also very busy. He had not yet found someone skilled in handling internal affairs, so he had to entrust the army to Qin Yong and take matters into his own hands.
The first thing he did was to deal with the officials in Fengzhou City, especially the clerks. The main officials in such cities as Fengzhou City are usually temporary officials, while the clerks are the local residents, who are the ones who exploit the people the most.
There was no injustice in executing the head of the clerks one by one. Lin Jiang got rid of all of them, promoted new people, and then started to clear up wrongful cases, which won more hearts and minds.
"It’s hard to find talented people. I wish I had a few geniuses like Xiao He, Zhang Liang, or even Zhuge Liang."
Dealing with these things is very complicated, Lin Jiang is starting to get impatient. Without reliable help, Lin Jiang is just too busy. Even though he is strong, he is working overtime every day. If it were someone else, they might really get exhausted.
Half a month later, the military advisor of the rebels arrived in Fengzhou City with hundreds of people. Finally, Lin Jiang’s worries were eased a bit, as someone could share some tasks.
"Military advisor, I have two tasks for you. Firstly, send someone to Daizhou State to offer peace and stability, recruit talents, and stabilize the external situation. Secondly, clean up the city’s noble and wealthy families. This will help seize their wealth accumulated over hundreds of years to support the army and settle the people."
Lin Jiang said that after capturing Fengzhou City, even if King Dai was incompetent, he needed to make a statement. Therefore, offering peace and stability was crucial at this point. Lin Jiang required a stable external environment to have time to consolidate his gains.
Furthermore, to support the army and settle the people, he would rely on these nobles and wealthy families. From the government records, Lin Jiang found out that these noble families and wealthy individuals in Feng State collectively owned eighty percent of the land in Fengzhou City. They were like fat lambs waiting to be sheared. As for their wealth, it was unknown, but based on the results of raiding other homes, it seemed more than enough to support his tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.
Moreover, there was no need to worry about mistaken targets. These people’s wealth was built on blood and tears. It’s not like their families haven’t enjoyed the benefits of their family status. Can it be possible? The luxurious lifestyle of those noble sons and daughters isn’t established on the suffering of ordinary people?
As adults, one should be judged by their successes and failures, not by right or wrong. Otherwise, it would seem childish.
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Daizhou State
Governor He was pleading in front of the officials, asking the court to send troops to recapture Feng State, but no matter how passionately he spoke, the officials from Daizhou State remained indifferent.
They were already aware of the loss of Feng State. Mr. Wolong, alone on horseback, defeated tens of thousands of soldiers. With only a few thousand men, he took over Fengzhou City. How could they fight against that?
Daizhou State also has a Martial Saint, they had heard. The Martial Saints of Daizhou State had all said they couldn’t do such a thing. They admitted that regular arrows were ineffective against them, but giant crossbows could seriously harm them. They couldn’t ignore the threat of giant crossbows. When asked to send their Martial Saint to battle, they all refused.
Not everyone in Daizhou State was indifferent. Some individuals supported Governor He, but they either lacked troops or had too few. Sending just one or two thousand soldiers would be like sending them to their doom. Without mobilizing all the forces in Daizhou State, how could they stand a chance?
The court meeting today ended inconclusively, and after the meeting dispersed, Prime Minister Li privately met with King Dai.
"Your Majesty, this Rebel Wolong has become a serious threat. If we don’t act quickly to eradicate him, he may become a major problem."
Prime Minister Li said to King Dai, "As the Prime Minister, I may have my own interests, but I know the danger posed by Mr. Wolong occupying a whole province."
"Prime Minister Li, I am aware. But I have inquired, and it seems no one is a match for that traitor," King Dai responded.
"We could unite forces from other provinces to march together, Your Majesty. The struggle for legitimacy is within the Chen family, but Rebel Wolong is an outsider."
"Would others agree to this?"
"Wolong has killed King Chu, showing no respect to Chen Kingdom or the royal family. Except for some persuasive individuals, it would be difficult to convince other princes."
Prime Minister Li said. With only Daizhou State, we cannot defeat Feng State. However, there are dozens of provinces in the southern part of Chen Kingdom. Currently, there are several emperors and many warlords. By uniting them, there is a chance. If we combine all these forces, there are over a dozen Martial Saints.
"Then, following Prime Minister Li’s plan, please let Prime Minister Li handle this. We must involve other princes and military leaders. If we can use Rebel Wolong to eliminate them, it would be even better."
King Dai nodded in agreement. If we can gather all the forces in Southern Chen Kingdom, we can defeat the rebels. It would be even better if we can eliminate other warlords too. Currently, there are many people like Governor He in Southern Chen Kingdom, who claim loyalty but act independently, disregarding the court’s authority.
Prime Minister Li readily agreed as he was still loyal to Chen Kingdom. Seeing the deteriorating situation, he felt anxious. With the plan to drive away the wolves and tigers, he needed to strategize carefully.
Prime Minister Li started to prepare meticulously. He selected persuasive individuals from his staff to visit various provinces and convince other emperors and warlords.
Before anyone was sent out, a messenger from Feng State arrived. A young scholar carrying a personal letter from Mr. Wolong came to Daizhou State. King Dai immediately summoned his high officials.
"Prime Minister Li, this is a personal letter from Rebel Wolong. He wishes to surrender."
"Surrender?"
Prime Minister Li was completely stunned. Rebel Wolong captured Fengzhou City at its strongest moment, how could they be thinking about surrendering?
Prime Minister Li picked up the personal letter and read it once, immediately saying, "Your Majesty, this is a trick by the traitor. He doesn’t truly want to join the court, he is just trying to buy time."
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li is right. According to our spies, the traitor has only taken control of Fengzhou City, Dongping Prefecture, and Qishan Prefecture, out of the Six Commanderies and Twenty Three Prefectures of Feng State. He must be buying time, we must not agree. We should gather our troops quickly and attack."
The court of Daizhou State was not foolish. They had long seen through the true meaning of this personal letter.
"Dear ministers, I am aware of this matter. However, the traitor is despicable. His envoy has already said that if Daizhou State doesn’t surrender to them, they will go to King Tai of Xuzhou for recognition, and are willing to be King Tai’s frontline troops to attack Daizhou State."
King Dai explained that although the traitor’s letter appeared pitiful, the envoy who came was extremely arrogant, threatening King Dai that if there is no response within half a month, Feng State would be given to another self-proclaimed emperor, King Tai, who would bring troops to attack Daizhou State.
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed. They all knew that King Tai would definitely agree, because among the self-proclaimed emperors, King Tai’s power was the weakest. Getting a whole state for free, who wouldn’t want that?
Even if they didn’t gain anything, weakening the power of Daizhou State would still be beneficial. If Rebel Wolong were to attack Daizhou State, they would rather see a conflict between the two powerful forces.
"Rebel Wolong, truly…"
The Prime Minister Li felt a pang of sadness. Before, Rebel Wolong was boasting about himself, saying that whoever gets Wolong can rule the world. They used to take it as a joke, but now he had to rethink this statement.
Rebel Wolong possessed extraordinary strength. Now, this letter of surrender has also shown his leadership abilities. He was both courageous and strategic. If it were an ordinary rebel, would they have thought of surrendering during a big victory?
"Dear ministers, please don’t remain silent. What should we do now?"
King Dai also became anxious. He needed to reply to the person. If he didn’t reply, what if they really went over to King Tai’s side? They wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack.
"Your Majesty, promise him. Agree to whatever the rebel says. Let the rebel buy us some time, we can buy time as well."
Prime Minister Li hesitated for a moment and then gritted his teeth, saying, "The rebel is cunning. Let’s go along with his wishes, delay for now. He will continue to persuade other princes and warlords. When the time comes, we will crush them."
