“Why are you all staring at me like that?”
Xu Pangzi said, “Could it be that Jin Feng really dares to kill a court-appointed official? That is a beheading offence. Forget about him being a minor baron. Among everyone here, who would dare to directly kill Cai Liuyang?”
“Others may not dare, but that does not mean Jin Feng would not dare.”
The man with the goatee said, “He is a madman. He even dared to directly attack and kill Xue Henglu. What is a mere Cai Liuyang to him?”
“Then what about Cai Liuyang now? Has Jin Feng already killed him?”
Xu Pangzi suddenly became excited.
The other powerful figures also looked at the great eunuch with anticipation.
If Jin Feng had killed Cai Liuyang, they would not even need to ask the court for permission. They could immediately send troops to arrest him.
They might even take the chance to strike him down secretly, then claim afterwards that Jin Feng resisted arrest and was accidentally killed.
In any case, they would hold the moral high ground. Even if the Ninth Princess investigated, they would have nothing to fear.
As for Cai Liuyang, he was just a dispensable pawn. Trading him to eliminate Jin Feng, this major threat, would be an excellent deal.
“If Jin Feng had already killed Cai Liuyang, the eunuch would have directly ordered us to send troops by now. Since he is speaking like this, it means something unexpected happened.”
The man with the goatee stroked his beard and looked at Xu Pangzi as if he were looking at an idiot.
“Lord Zhou is correct,”
The eunuch sighed and said, “Princess Wuyang stopped him before Jin Feng could enter the Jinchuan county government office.”
“It’s that Wuyang again. Why does she not stay properly in the capital? Why does she keep running to Chuan Shu?”
Xu Pangzi grumbled curses, “And she travels so fast. How come she did not fall to her death on the road!”
“Lord Xu, watch your words!”
The great eunuch coldly shouted, “If you want to die, do not drag us down with you!”
In the feudal era, the imperial family was supreme.
Not to mention the emperor’s own daughter. Even slandering an ordinary member of the imperial family was a major taboo.
Xu Pangzi also realised he had spoken out of turn. He gave an awkward smile, leaned back in his chair, and fell silent.
“I called everyone here to remind you all that Wuyang and Jin Feng have both returned. They will definitely obstruct your plans from now on.”
The great eunuch said, “If we delay, things will change. You can act now.”
It was not yet the peak of the disaster, so the powerful families were still waiting.
They were waiting for the weather to get even colder, waiting for Zhang Liang to return to Jinchuan.
Thinking of Zhang Liang filled the powerful families with rage.
Ever since they learned that Guan Xiaorou had stabilised the situation in Jinchuan, Zhang Liang had stopped hurrying. To take revenge on the powerful families, his bandit suppression became even more ruthless and thorough.
The Zhenyuan Army had only recently been established. Using bandits as a whetstone was perfect.
When Jin Feng heard the news, he even specially wrote a letter to encourage Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang already had experience suppressing bandits. After Jin Feng filled him with a great deal of military theory knowledge, and now with Jin Feng’s encouragement, he completely let loose. He treated this entire northern journey as a training ground to practise his ideas and temper his troops.
Feint to the east and strike to the west, surprise attacks, kill to destroy morale, sudden counterattacks, fire attacks, flooding…
According to the different situations of bandits in each area, Zhang Liang used almost every tactic Jin Feng had taught him.
Twice he sent people downriver by boat, then turned around and killed back towards the vicinity of Xichuan.
How could the powerful families and bandits have expected Zhang Liang to return after leaving? The several boatloads of grain they had painstakingly transported back from Jiangnan had just been carried up the mountain and not yet weighed when Zhang Liang wiped them out in one go.
Then Zhang Liang distributed the grain directly to the common people on the spot and marched north again that very night.
The bandits along the northern route had previously scattered and hidden everywhere to avoid the suppression army. They had finally relaxed after Zhang Liang left and returned to their lairs, only for Zhang Liang to come back again…
The entire northern Chuan region was thrown into chaos by Zhang Liang. Bandit suppression was a basic state policy of Da Kang. Even if they complained to the imperial court, Zhang Liang would still be in the right.
The powerful families itched with hatred but could do nothing.
One particularly hard-hit powerful figure was unwilling to accept it and privately sent assassins to kill Zhang Liang.
Unfortunately, Zhang Liang ate and lived together with his troops. It was extremely difficult for assassins to find a chance to get close.
Once, while distributing grain to the people, an assassin did manage to approach Zhang Liang. But the moment he acted, Zhang Liang’s personal guards spotted him.
Dealing with experts was a required training for every personal guard unit. The assassin only managed to take down one guard before he was turned into a sieve.
Although training assassins was easier than training strategists, it still consumed considerable resources.
After that, the powerful families even gave up on assassination attempts.
Jin Feng had not yet returned, and Zhang Liang was already like this. Now that Jin Feng had returned, Zhang Liang no longer needed to worry about Jinchuan. Would he not turn the entire Chuan Shu region upside down?
Moreover, there was now an additional Ninth Princess by Jin Feng’s side?
The powerful families suddenly felt immense pressure.
Yet they had spent more than half a year carefully laying this plan. The moment when profits would be maximised was almost here. For the great eunuch to tell them to wrap it up hastily made their hearts ache.
“This servant knows you are all unwilling, but the situation has already become extremely serious.”
The great eunuch said, “Do not blame this servant for not warning you. If the Ninth Princess obtains the imperial decree, this servant will have to leave Xichuan. You had better take care of yourselves.”
When the powerful families heard this, their faces all changed.
They also knew Chen Ji’s personality.
Chen Ji was too soft-hearted.
They had been able to persuade Chen Ji to issue a decree sending the Ninth Princess away. Likewise, the Ninth Princess could persuade Chen Ji to issue a decree returning the position of provincial governor to Qing Xinyao.
The Qing family had always been on the same side as the Ninth Princess and Jin Feng. When that time came, if they wanted to sell grain in Chuan Shu again, it would not be so easy.
“Eunuch, the Ninth Princess has already reached Jinchuan. If she travels by fast horse, she could arrive in Xichuan in just a few days. You have to help us think of a way!”
Xu Pangzi became anxious the moment he heard this.
For this plan, the Xu family had poured out more than half of their accumulated wealth to hoard massive amounts of grain across the entire Chuan Shu region.
Now, even if they wanted to withdraw, it was too late.
In this plan, the great eunuch held the leading position. Not only had he not contributed money to hoard grain, he was also the one who stood to profit the most among everyone present.
Every family had to give him a portion of the profits.
Of course, a mere eunuch did not have such capability. What the powerful families valued was the person behind him.
According to the agreement, the person behind the eunuch had received the money and was supposed to shield them from pressure coming from the imperial family.
“That depends on whether the Ninth Princess has obtained the imperial decree. If she has not, this servant can still hold out for a while. But if she has, this servant cannot defy an imperial order, can he?”
The great eunuch said helplessly, “You all must understand the Ninth Princess’s methods by now. The grain prices in Chuan Shu are already more than double what they were at this time last year. This servant advises you all to quit while you are ahead.
While the Ninth Princess has not yet arrived, it would be best to dispose of the grain in your hands as quickly as possible to avoid losing everything.”
“Eunuch, you only see that grain prices in Chuan Shu have risen, but you do not know how high Tang Xiaobei has driven grain prices in Jiangnan!”
Xu Pangzi said, “Not only have grain prices risen, the boatmen transporting the grain have also taken the chance to raise their fees. And those bandits also need some sweeteners to stay obedient. After adding up all the costs, if the grain price is not at least triple last year’s level, we are losing money!”
The other powerful figures nodded in agreement when they heard this.
“This servant is only giving a reminder. Whether you listen or not is your own business.”
After the great eunuch finished speaking, he simply closed his eyes.
Clearly, he was preparing to wash his hands of the matter.
The powerful families were so angry they wanted to hit someone, but thinking of the person behind the great eunuch, they could only suppress their rage.
“Actually, I think the situation may not be without a turning point.”
