Chapter 289: Chaos in the East

"That's right. We must also place spies in the palace, preferably close to the emperor. Zhou Zhong is an unfavored bastard, and being suddenly pushed onto the throne must make him feel uneasy and as if he's treading on thin ice. He and Zhou Mian, father and son, are two tigers in one mountain. We must seize this opportunity to provoke a quarrel between them."

"We also need to find a way to win over General Zhao Yi in the north."

"Zhao Yi's loyalty to the Great Zhou Dynasty cannot be underestimated. Small favors won't move him. We need to prepare some substantial dishes for him."

"What's the hard dish?"

Feng'er narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Isn't it said that he loves his soldiers like his own sons? Let's start with the military pay. The emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty has learned from previous experiences. If we start with the military pay, it will be done without making a sound. If the soldiers in the north fight bloody battles on the front line against the Tartars, but the rear can't even pay the pensions, do you think Zhao Yi will be disillusioned with the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

"Right! Since the Great Zhou Dynasty is financially strapped, we can send beauties into the palace. Using both the beauty trap and the alienation tactic, we could achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

"The beauty trap may work on the retired emperor, but I'm afraid it won't work on the emperor. I heard that there is a young couple behind the enemy lines, and they are very close. But the alienation tactic can be tried."

The two grew more excited as they talked. Xu Huiming also shook off his earlier gloom and became even more excited. "I just don't believe it. If the Great Zhou Dynasty can't even pay the military, and Zhao Yi's soldiers charge into battle hungry, can he remain indifferent?"

Feng Er immediately said, "We are sending warmth over a thousand miles away. We should be humble, speak more beautifully, and paint bigger pictures. We should send some cotton clothes and food from time to time. I don't believe we can't dig into the corners of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"What about the Tartars?! If we can't grasp the situation and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the north really mutiny, we'll end up losing more than we gain! What if the Tartars seize the opportunity to march south? We have to handle this problem with great care. Before you left, did His Highness teach you any secret strategies?"

"Her Highness didn't mention this specifically, but based on her attitude towards the natives of Qianzhou, I discovered that Her Highness doesn't really care about our small family and small country. It seems that for her, anyone who lives on this land can become her subject."

"Everyone who lives on this land is her people—" Xu Huiming muttered these words to himself, seeming to be in a daze.

If he had felt a bit jealous and sad before, now facing the open-minded Xu Zhenying, he only felt fortunate to be born in the same era.

"So I think there's no difference between the Tartars and the natives. Your Highness will do his best to digest anything that can be digested. Our early deployments should also follow your Highness's thinking."

"That's right, the tone must be right, and we must follow His Highness's ideas." Xu Huiming said this with a hint of high spirits. "I'm actually looking forward to the trip to Bianjing now—"

Feng Er sighed, "I'll have to be tied to you for several more years!"

Xu Huiming smiled but said nothing.

————————————————————

Jinzhou Prefecture was in the midst of a vigorous westward migration movement.

All the staff in Bao'an Prefecture and Xiangshui Prefecture were in place. The newly appointed officials had not yet taken their positions, but the officials who had surrendered to the Zhou Dynasty before and remained in their posts had already heard the news.

The officials of Jinzhou Prefecture are different from those of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Since they are officials of Jinzhou Prefecture, they naturally have to look that way.

The previous mentality of lip service and neither merit nor fault is unacceptable.

It is rumored that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao likes people who are diligent and practical.

Therefore, they could only sing the folk songs of the mountains they visited. When the magistrates of several counties who remained in office heard that cotton was to be planted in this area, cotton clothes would be made next year to improve the people's lives and increase their income.

This group of people immediately took advantage of the time when other officials had not yet arrived at their posts and took people to re-survey the land early and mark out the areas for planting cotton.

They also followed the style passed down from Jinzhou Prefecture and sent those who were good at speaking to take the lead and mobilize and publicize from house to house.

In some places, even before the new officials from Jinzhou Prefecture arrived, the county magistrate had already reorganized the county government office and transferred all valuable items to the newly expanded academy.

The college, cafeteria, and county government office were all prepared early, waiting for the next person to take over.

The county magistrate who remains in office will automatically be demoted to deputy level, and will only have the possibility of becoming a regular official after completing a one-year training period.

But even so, the deputy county magistrates were inexplicably excited.

The reason is simple: everything that comes from Jinzhou Prefecture is fascinating.

Universal education, standardized breeding, cement roads, pencils, cotton clothes, and even the latest movable type printing method, all of this is like arriving in a strange new world, everything is new, they have to start all over again, adapt to the official atmosphere of Jinzhou Prefecture, and even get used to the style of hard work.

Also, being an official in Jinzhou Prefecture provides great opportunities for promotion!

As long as people are more diligent, honest, and smart, and achieve results, they will soon be promoted.

Although the areas around Bao'an Prefecture and Xiangshui Prefecture had been the territory of Prince Ming for a long time, Prince Ming's governance style was no different from that of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Many people had been stuck in their original positions for years with the idea that they had neither merit nor demerit. Seeing that there was no hope of promotion, they had no interest in political achievements.

Unexpectedly, he was recruited under King Zhao's command.

This requires all your effort!

Take Renlan County for example. In just two or three years, its per capita income has increased several times over! It has become a benchmark city for development in the southwest region.

It is said that this group of cadres will be organized to visit and study in Lan County in the future.

Therefore, these officials who stayed in office were all very enthusiastic and rolled up their sleeves to get to work!

Unlike the booming Jiangling Prefecture, Prince Ming in the east had a really hard time.

The officials from Jinzhou Prefecture were still on the road, and some of them had not yet reached Jiangling Prefecture, which was the closest to the Ming King's territory. However, the people here had heard rumors from somewhere that Jiangling Prefecture was distributing land and grain, which made the people in the east very nervous. Some of the bolder ones who lived nearby even took their families and went to seek refuge with their relatives in Jiangling Prefecture.

In the palace of King Ming, dozens of his staff, civil officials, and military generals gathered together. The atmosphere in the room was silent and no one spoke.

The young Ming Wang, seated high in the main seat, had a stern, angular face, revealing a gloomy, oppressive quality. He had red lips and white teeth, a touch of feminine beauty, and his voice was as clear and melodious as the sound of water hitting rocks.

"Everyone... take a look. This is the news coming from our west."

A guard read out the pile of documents in front of the Ming King's desk one by one.

The silence deepened as the crowd watched. Prince Ming tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his voice unmistakable, "That one from the southwest... has been crowned king, with the title Zhao, meaning the sun and moon are shining brightly. I never imagined she'd be only fifteen or sixteen years old, yet she's already become the overlord of a region. It's us who underestimated her. Her name is Xu Zhenying, right? Ha, ridiculously, she's said to be a woman!"

Everyone was stunned.

The legendary Green-headed Thief King with three heads and six arms who loves to drink human blood is actually a woman?

Master Meng stroked his beard, half-opening his eyes. "Yes, it was indeed a girl. It's said that she occupied Lan County at the age of thirteen, and within two years, she had taken eight prefectures. Everyone... this girl should not be underestimated. And as for the firearms that General Tan mentioned in the battle report ahead, do any of you know anything about them?"

A young general who had just returned from the front said, "It's a very powerful weapon! We once bribed the soldiers over there, and they said it's made of very hard iron sheets, with two wheels at the bottom and a cylinder as thick as an adult man's arm on top, so it can be moved. It only needs to be filled with gunpowder to become extremely powerful. I have seen it with my own eyes-"

The young general's face was filled with fear, as if thinking of something. "That thing... rumbles! When it's used, the earth shakes and the sky changes color! It can blow a mountain apart in an instant! Our two teams, nearly two or three hundred people, were blown skyward! General Wang said... that it's not a thing of this world at all, it's magic! Isn't it said that King Zhao is the reincarnation of an immortal child? She must be casting a spell from a distance!"

"Spreading nonsense to confuse the people! General Gu, if you continue to speak nonsense and shake the morale of the army, beware of military punishment!"

The young general was scolded by Master Meng until his face turned pale, his body swayed slightly, and then he sat back in his chair.

Ming Wang frowned, naturally displeased, but he didn't have many capable generals at his disposal, so he could only suppress his grievances and said, "Are our soldiers terrified? They're actually afraid of an inanimate object. It's just a weapon, just like the repeating crossbow. As long as we have the blueprints and a skilled craftsman, we can also cast spells remotely."

Master Meng nodded. "Indeed, judging by their description, they must have obtained some powerful weapon. Don't panic, everyone. As long as we can steal the blueprints for that weapon, we can follow the instructions and make a similar one."

Another said, "How can we not be anxious? We've deployed a hundred thousand troops in the west, and they only have twenty or thirty thousand, yet they've beaten us to a pulp and sent us fleeing in panic! On the front lines, they use those weapons to scatter us, then outflank us, driving us into the mountains like dogs, and finally, when they've had enough, they try to persuade us to surrender. And that's not enough, they have this iron barrel called a loudspeaker that amplifies the sound countless times! Right off the bat, they're talking about how the soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture only get one or two taels of silver a month, which is making my soldiers all restless!"

"Also, when the two sides confronted each other, they set up a big pot at the city gate to cook meat. I don't know where the meat came from, but it smelled so good, and they had it every meal! They ate three meals a day, and every meal they came to us to show off. When we went out of the city gate to attack them, they ran away with their bowls and pots! How can you fight like this! These soldiers from Jinzhou Prefecture are so slippery, you can't beat them, and you can't run away. I've never fought such a cowardly and tricky battle in my life! I think if this continues, within half a year, all our soldiers will have run into the enemy camp!"

"That's too much!" The Ming King listened and angrily slammed the table. "I just don't believe it. Jinzhou Prefecture suffered such a severe flood two years ago, leaving hundreds of thousands of people displaced. How could Xu Zhenying come up with so much money to support the soldiers? And that damn Zhu Kui! Not only did he defect to the enemy, but he didn't bring back any useful information! And what about the others? Weren't they sent out to gather intelligence before?!"

The intelligence-gathering secret guard hesitated, then, under the gaze of Prince Ming, stammered, "Your Highness, all the soldiers we sent out six months ago were turned and defected to the enemy. Only one, because his mother was still in our hands, sent back word...that the people in Jinzhou Prefecture were incredibly wealthy. Xu Zhenying's parents were merchants, and she herself was incredibly resourceful. Upon arriving in Lan County, she vigorously developed commerce, not just in Jinzhou Prefecture, but also in Qianzhou Prefecture. The people in both prefectures are raising pigs, growing fruit, or even tea. In short, over the past two years...the people there have praised her unconditionally, and all of them are devoted to her."

Ming Wang was so angry that his face turned blue. He threw the cups on the coffee table, making several sharp and crisp sounds.

The people in the house turned pale with fear.

"Why didn't you tell me such important news earlier?"

The secret guard was speechless because the King of Ming had said before that the west was full of bandits and that they were not a threat and did not need to spend too much energy on them.

The post he reported had been submitted long ago, but for some reason there were rumors in the streets that the princess was still alive, and the Fang family was now living well in Jinzhou Prefecture, and the head of the Fang family personally issued a document to denounce Prince Ming for killing his wife and rebelling.

The Ming King brought trouble upon himself and did not have time to deal with the rumors. He suppressed the official document and did not have time to read it. Now people are blaming him!

After all, isn't it because Ming Wang underestimated the enemy?

But he could only lower his head and apologize: "It is my fault! I should have reminded Your Highness earlier, but the war with the Zhou Dynasty was intense... Therefore... Therefore, I was delayed..."

Prince Ming looked embarrassed, but he also remembered that the secret guard had reminded him before. However, at that time he was overwhelmed by the Fang family's letter of accusation that was sent all over the country, and had no time to distract himself. Therefore, he was not paying attention and she took away an entire city.

Even Zhu Kui surrendered with 40,000 soldiers!

Because of this, he was even more angry.

What a great Xu Zhenying is! He actually occupied almost one-third of the land of the Great Zhou Dynasty silently!

He is the descendant of Emperor Zhou Heng, with pure bloodline and noble status. Now he is called king together with an exiled prisoner. It is a great shame and humiliation!

"Forget it, I'll settle the accounts after I've dealt with these pressing matters first!"

Another aide, surnamed Pei, also advised, "Your Highness, at this point, we can't confront them head-on. Xu Zhenying has just captured six prefectures and is under attack on three sides. He probably won't plan to expand for the time being. Before these firearms were invented, we could still suppress them on the front lines, but now they have such powerful firearms. Our only option now is to defeat them before we can plan our next tactical plan."

"This king knows it very well, but it is really not easy to steal this map!"

"If one man isn't enough, send ten. If ten aren't enough, send a hundred. Your Highness, this firearm blueprint is of great importance. No matter how much manpower, material resources, and financial resources are invested, it's worth it!"

"These firearms have always been a major concern. Master Pei is right. Our only option now is to avoid fighting and wait until we get the firearm blueprints. Then we can counterattack!"

The King of Ming made the final decision. "Alright, General Zhang, you will immediately send a team of a hundred men to Jinzhou Prefecture. Whether they bribe the craftsmen there or steal or rob them, whoever can bring back the firearm blueprints will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, a high position, and generous salaries!"