Time moved slightly backward.
Just as Bai Jiao successfully ascended to the position of River Earl and injured the City God, upheaval also erupted within the city.
Inside the barracks, Li Yu observed the junior officers growing increasingly agitated, seemingly intent on pressuring their superiors. When he noticed Xing Ju’s cold gaze fixed upon him, his heart sank.
“Silence!”
At this moment, one of Xing Ju’s personal soldiers immediately struck the ground with his sword hilt and bellowed.
“If I follow orders, what then do you intend to do?”
Xing Ju narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Sir!”
The first to speak, a guard commander, grew anxious. Seeing that many supported him, and emboldened by the belief that the law would not punish the masses, he continued defiantly: “Why do something that pleases our enemies and pains our allies? In these turbulent times, the only way to protect our families and attain honors for our wives and children is to pledge allegiance to a wise lord. With all due respect, Governor Li Zhen is not a reliable man!”
As he spoke, commotion erupted outside the tent, and the sound of armor dragging on the ground approached.
“Oh? And who, in your opinion, is this wise lord?”
Xing Ju asked expressionlessly.
“Of course, it’s Lord Wang of the Jun Wang family!”
The guard commander answered without hesitation. With a clap of his hands, two rows of armored soldiers surged into the tent: “Sir, it would be best to follow the will of Heaven!”
“Indeed, your treachery is laid bare!” Xing Ju roared: “Then let us follow the will of Heaven! Kill them!”
Clang!
Swords were drawn, and a head flew into the air.
The guard commander’s head rolled several times on the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief.
The assembled officers were stunned into silence by the sudden turn of events.
“Seize them all!”
After killing the guard commander, Xing Ju coldly ordered.
“Yes!”
Numerous soldiers rushed forward and immediately arrested the officers who had supported the guard commander.
At this moment, these officers turned pale, realizing too late that the soldiers who had rushed in were not their allies, but Xing Ju’s men.
“Bring me my men! Announce my order: display these heads to every camp, and kill anyone who causes trouble without hesitation!”
Xing Ju issued commands, his face stern and resolute.
At once, soldiers carried the heads out. Outside, the clamor continued, accompanied by shouts of battle, sending a chill down Li Yu’s spine.
“Haha… Come, my dear son-in-law, wait a moment. Once I’ve crushed this rebellion, I shall immediately send troops to rescue my dear friend!”
Xing Ju laughed heartily, a flash of arrogance crossing his face.
In an instant, Li Yu understood: “This man treats power as his own, viewing military authority as his personal possession. The Wang family’s infiltration was naturally a grave transgression!”
Moreover, the Li family was a scholarly household. Even if they controlled a province, they would still have to rely heavily on Xing Ju.
However, if the Wang family took power, their first act would be to strip Xing Ju of his military authority, and perhaps even execute him. Therefore, his choice was understandable.
Though thinking this, Li Yu, seasoned as he was, immediately knelt, his face filled with gratitude: “Thank you, Father-in-law, for saving my life!”
Seeing this, a glint shone in Xing Ju’s eyes, and he laughed heartily again.
…
Outside the governor’s mansion.
The battle for control had now reached its most intense phase.
“What’s happening? Where are our inside men? Why haven’t they opened the gates yet?”
Wang Su watched his men charge wave after wave, only to be driven back by arrows and spears, their bodies falling before the gates of the governor’s mansion. His face was filled with anxiety.
“Li Zhen was prepared. He first executed several of our spies, intimidating the rest… Then he disrupted the shift rotations, forcing mutual surveillance. We simply cannot take it yet!”
Beside him, a scholar dressed in green robes, seemingly his strategist, explained.
“We can’t wait any longer…”
Wang Su lifted his head, gazing at the sky.
A heavy rain had just passed, and now the sun shone brightly. Yet a sense of foreboding gripped his heart: “Bring the siege equipment! Announce that whoever captures this mansion will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!”
The private soldiers immediately roared in approval, their morale boosted, and charged forward.
Wang Su called the strategist closer: “You go prepare fire oil and other materials. If all else fails, we’ll burn this place to the ground!”
“What?”
The strategist recoiled in horror. Not only were the household registers and land records inside the governor’s mansion vital for governance, but burning a governor alive would be an outrage beyond imagination.
Even the most rebellious warlords and rising regional powers merely drove out the existing officials, at most offering white silk or poison wine, saying, “We do not stain our swords with blood.”
But now, to burn both the governor and his mansion to ashes?
“This is too extreme… The public opinion among the literati…”
The strategist hesitated.
“We have no time left…”
Wang Su’s eyes seemed to bleed as he gripped the strategist’s arm: “Go now!”
The killing intent and coldness in his voice startled the strategist. Knowing further defiance would cost him his life, he could only reply: “Yes!”
As he turned to leave, a household guard came galloping, knelt before Wang Su: “Master… terrible news! Just now we received word that the Longmen Conference failed… and several ancestral tablets in the family temple have also… fallen…”
This shocking news left Wang Su reeling: “Then… where is my son Wang Yu?”
“His whereabouts are unknown…”
Before the guard could finish, another rider arrived hastily, reporting before Wang Su: “There’s a major mutiny in the garrison… our men have been killed, and they are now purging the camp, preparing to march out. The commander is Xing Ju, and Li Yu is by his side…”
Spurt!
As Wang Su listened, he opened his mouth to speak, but blood spurted out.
If the earlier news still left him determined to take the governor’s mansion by force, now all such thoughts were gone.
“Master… if we wait for Xing Ju to finish suppressing the garrison and come here, we’ll face disaster!”
The strategist was alarmed and urged: “We must flee immediately!”
“Li Yu, you brat, even as a ghost, I won’t let you off!”
Wang Su cursed the heavens, his face twisted with rage.
How could a prestigious family like the Wangs simply pack up and leave? Not only were there family members and treasures to consider, but their landholdings were impossible to move.
Without this foundation, even if the entire clan fled, their family business would inevitably decline.
“No! Our family has the protection of the City God, our blessings endure, and we have great plans… Our preparations were thorough, a century-long scheme. Why has it come to this?”
Wang Su gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his aged face.
“Man proposes, Heaven disposes. Let’s go!”
The strategist urged impatiently.
“I won’t go!”
Wang Su, a man of extraordinary resolve, calmed himself after his outburst of grief and anger.
“Before this began, to prepare for the worst, I secretly relocated my elderly mother, several young children, and some key family members outside the city. Now is the time to send them a signal, telling them to flee immediately and avoid the calamity!”
“I shall remain here to draw attention away from them…”
As Wang Su spoke, his teeth clenched: “And… even if I die, I will drag Li Zhen with me!”
Wuwu!
At that moment, a loud military horn sounded, like the footsteps of Death drawing ever closer.
“Go!”
Wang Su waved his hand. Immediately, several loyal guards, their eyes brimming with tears, led several key figures away after bowing deeply.
A small cavalry unit quickly left through the city gate. Soon after, the arriving provincial soldiers took over the city defenses, began sealing off the city, and suppressing the remaining rebels.
A fierce street battle immediately erupted before the governor’s mansion…
In the fifth year of the Peaceful Reign, on the second day of the second month.
The prestigious Wang family rebelled, attacking the governor’s mansion, seeking to control the city.
Xing Ju led troops to suppress the rebellion. The Wang forces suffered a crushing defeat, with countless casualties. The family patriarch, Wang Su, was killed on the spot, while Governor Li Zhen was seriously injured. Had help arrived even a moment later, he would have surely perished.
Afterward, Li Yu, serving as acting governor, took charge in his father’s stead. He first imprisoned the entire Wang family, then seized their mansion, acquiring vast amounts of silver, gold, and land.
Additionally, he immediately dismissed four county magistrates who had been closely aligned with the Wang family.
Though there were minor disturbances, the provincial soldiers quickly quelled them.
Thanks to these decisive measures, by mid-month, order in Chufeng Prefecture had been restored, though things were subtly different.
…
Hundreds of cavalry galloped across the open fields, raising clouds of dust like a great dragon approaching the border of Chufeng Prefecture.
At the leader’s signal, the cavalry halted instantly, their movements synchronized, demonstrating remarkable discipline.
“Miss?”
A few riders ascended a small hill. There, a woman dressed in scholar’s robes, riding a red stallion, gazed toward Chufeng Prefecture for a long time before letting out a deep sigh:
“Man proposes, Heaven disposes!”
Had Wu Qing been present, she would surely have recognized this female general as her closest friend, the young woman who had once planned to entrust her child to Wu Ming and met Wu Ming at the Badaxia Bridge.
Yet now, where was the trace of gentleness in this woman?
Her mount neighed continuously, a famous steed known as “Red Flying Lightning,” reputed to have a touch of heavenly horse bloodline, extremely valuable.
The woman sat calmly atop it, exuding a natural aura of strategic brilliance and decisive command from afar.
“The Wang family is truly useless!”
The female general, dressed as a male scholar, sighed: “Issue the order, we withdraw!”
“Yes!”
A few riders immediately rode off. The young woman turned her horse, and finally, a faint bitter smile appeared on her face.
Originally, the Wang family, as a prestigious clan with long-term secret plans, should have at least prolonged the conflict for some time. Even if two tigers fought, leading to prolonged warfare, it would have given her ample opportunity to mobilize her forces and achieve unparalleled fame.
However, the situation was quelled far too quickly. The enemy was not only united but also left few openings to exploit. A direct assault would find both sides unprepared.
“This matter seems suspicious. We must investigate!”
The young woman rubbed her brow, a trace of fatigue finally showing on her beautiful face: “Returning home, I will surely face my elder brother’s criticism. I must prepare in advance… How difficult it is for a woman to hold power…”
Thinking of this fruitless return and the impending criticism, along with accusations like “a hen crowing at dawn,” a trace of cold fury flickered in her eyes.
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