“Master Xu, Jin Feng is, after all, a noble. We cannot break the rules.”
The old man with the goatee said, “Today you send men to ambush and kill Jin Feng. Tomorrow, others will come to kill you. In the end, everyone will be killing each other. What kind of order would that be?”
“Master Zhou, you speak of rules, but Jin Feng does not abide by rules.”
The fat man glanced sideways at the goatee. “Jin Feng is notorious for protecting his own. We raided his granaries and even sent men to ambush and kill his concubine. Though it failed, more than a hundred escorts and chamber of commerce workers died. Master Zhou, do you think Jin Feng will pretend nothing happened?
Jin Feng even dared to kill Xue Henglu. If he finds out these things were done by us, what do you think Jin Feng will do, Master Zhou?”
“Then let him investigate.” The goatee remained calm.
“Master Zhou is very confident?” the fat man asked.
“Master Xu, have you not yet realised? Master Zhou has long had a countermeasure.”
An official on good terms with the fat man spoke up.
“Please enlighten me, Master Li,” the fat man asked curiously.
“In truth, the eunuch and Master Zhou are unwilling to act against Jin Feng or trouble the Zhen Yuan Army, not only because they adhere to the rules, but also because of the Ninth Princess.”
Master Li explained, “Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess are close friends. The Zhen Yuan Army was also obtained for Jin Feng by the Ninth Princess. If we touch Jin Feng, the Ninth Princess will surely fly into a rage.”
The fat man showed a look of sudden understanding.
The Ninth Princess was not some naive, sweet princess. When assisting the emperor with state affairs, she had secretly built up considerable connections and resources. Her influence in the court was such that even a duke would not dare underestimate it.
Offending her was indeed not a wise move.
“Jin Feng really stepped in luck, actually gaining the favour of the Ninth Princess!”
The fat man asked unwillingly, “Are we just going to watch this madman strut around Xichuan?”
“Master Xu, do not worry. Has Master Zhou not already thought of a countermeasure?” Master Li said.
“What countermeasure?” the fat man pressed.
“If your father were not a duke, an idiot like you would have died many times over by now…”
Master Li cursed the fat man inwardly, but considering the fat man’s family power, he patiently explained, “Everyone knows Jin Feng bears grudges and seeks revenge for the slightest grievance. Would the eunuch and Master Zhou be unaware?
So, the eunuch and Master Zhou deliberately ambushed Tang Xiaobei?”
The fat man finally understood what Master Li and the goatee meant.
“Yes,” Master Li continued, “When Jin Feng returns, he will certainly investigate. At that time, we can just give him a few clues.”
“With Jin Feng’s personality, once he gets clues, he will surely kill people, even wipe out entire families!”
The goatee added, “After he finishes killing, he will discover the clues were false. He killed innocent people…”
“Then he will be a fish on the chopping board, ready for us to slaughter!”
The fat man’s eyes lit up. “This plan is truly brilliant. How did you come up with it?”
For the powerful and noble, directly killing people was considered lowly. They preferred to use schemes.
Jin Feng held no official position. His actions were also influenced by his previous life. Everything stayed within the bounds of the Great Kang laws. He was entirely an exemplary citizen of Great Kang. The nobles could find no fault with him.
With no other way, they could only dig a pit for Jin Feng to jump into.
As long as he killed people, if the evidence was ironclad, neither the Ninth Princess nor his baronial status could protect him.
And the nobles, having gone to such lengths to dig the pit, would certainly make this case airtight.
“So, after Jin Feng returns, he is doomed. You must not provoke the Zhen Yuan Army again. Understood?”
The eunuch sitting at the head reminded them.
This was also the main reason the eunuch had called them to meet.
After all, not everyone was as clever as the goatee or Master Li. Among the nobles present, the fat man was not the only fool.
The eunuch and the goatee were truly worried that some might not hold back and send assassins after Jin Feng or provoke the Zhen Yuan Army.
That would give the Ninth Princess a handle to grasp.
This time, they had already thoroughly offended the Ninth Princess.
Given her personality, if she found any clues, it would be a miracle if she did not ruin their families.
That was why this group had gone to such lengths, luring away both the Ninth Princess and Jin Feng.
“Rest assured, Father-in-law. We know what to do,” the fat man took the lead in pledging.
The other nobles nodded in agreement.
Yet, on the morning of the third day, they suddenly received news that the Zhen Yuan Army had begun suppressing bandits again.
And it was not just one or two groups, but a full ten!
Every bandit gang had powerful gentry backing them, and those gentry were lackeys of the nobles.
The bandits who collected the year-end grain had several granaries in their lairs.
Many of the nobles present had grain shipped from various places stored in the bandits’ granaries.
This saved them the trouble of building their own.
The nobles had secretly transported grain from the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce. Zhang Liang was naturally furious about it.
Having learned the news from Qing Xinyao, he deliberately split his forces into ten groups and wiped out ten bandit strongholds in one fell swoop.
Part of the seized grain became army rations. What could not be carried was simply distributed to the common people following behind.
This was Zhang Liang’s revenge!
But now they had truly poked the hornet’s nest of Xichuan’s nobles.
Upon receiving the news, the nobles immediately gathered to discuss countermeasures.
“One should not be too kind. We let the Zhen Yuan Army leave, yet they immediately dare to cause trouble!”
The fat man cursed angrily, “Father-in-law, the Zhen Yuan Army is courting death. We cannot be blamed now, right?”
“Master Xu, what do you intend to do?” The eunuch glanced at the fat man with slanted eyes.
“The Zhen Yuan Army has harmed my people. I must show some response, mustn’t I?” the fat man said coldly. “Otherwise, who would still be willing to serve my Xu family?”
This time, the Xu family had also brought a large amount of grain from Jiangnan, thirty percent of which was stored at Qingfeng Mountain, sixty li north of Xichuan City.
The grain price had not yet risen to the fat man’s satisfaction. He planned to wait until the disaster worsened, then bring the grain to Xichuan to sell for maximum profit.
But Qingfeng Mountain had been destroyed by the Zhen Yuan Army.
The situation at the other mountain strongholds was similar.
Several nobles shared the fat man’s desire to destroy the Zhen Yuan Army.
“Master Xu, are you openly admitting collusion with bandits?”
The eunuch said sinisterly after hearing the fat man’s words, “If that is the case, do whatever you wish. Only, if the Ninth Princess asks later, Master Xu, please do not say you know this servant, lest you implicate me and get us both beheaded.”
“I…” The fat man faltered, sitting back down unwillingly.
Colluding with bandits was a capital offence!
Normally, no one inquired, but if the fat man used this matter to trouble the Zhen Yuan Army, when the Ninth Princess returned, even his duke father could not save him.
“But we cannot just watch the Zhen Yuan Army act so recklessly, can we?”
The fat man asked aggrievedly, “If they keep suppressing bandits all the way back to Jinchuan, we will lose everything this time.”
They had to sneakily take grain from the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce warehouses, yet Zhang Liang openly distributed their grain.
No matter how the nobles thought about it, they felt utterly stifled!
