The situation before him was beyond Liu Da's imagination. Zhao Cheng glanced at the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang and saw that their expressions had all changed. He couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Yesterday's message via iron nail was simple: it said that Liu, Guan, and Zhang were deliberately trying to lull Zhao Cheng and his group into a false sense of security. On the surface, they were giving their full support, with Guan Yi cooperating with them in handling various permits and Zhang De running around to help them. But in reality, they were secretly arranging for people to incite the villagers and organize them to cause trouble on the day construction began, in order to disrupt Zhao Cheng's plans and catch them off guard.

During the seven or eight days of preparation, Zhao Cheng had grasped the basic situation of the urban village and knew that the able-bodied men in the village had all gone to work in the city center. Xiao Luomu was familiar with the clerks in the county government, and the clerks knew the situation of these migrant workers very well. Xu An, Wu Sisi, and Huang Hua worked through the night with the clerks and persuaded more than a dozen people, and then let these people persuade others.

For migrant workers, the inability to reunite with their families for extended periods is a major source of anxiety. Providing them with sufficient funds to afford housing in their work locations is the right solution.

To put it bluntly, it's all about throwing money at it.

Xiao Luomu initially hoped that Zhao Cheng would spend more money to appease the local bullies, and Zhao Cheng didn't think there was any problem with that. But after being tricked like this, he simply changed his strategy.

Since we're going to spend money anyway, let's spend it on these people.

If you, the local bully, try to bite me, I won't feed you anymore!

Whatever!

Zhao Cheng walked up to Guan Yi and said with a smile, "Lord Guan, the people of Han Nancheng are not fools. You can reason with them."

Guan Yi was speechless.

Liu Da was the first to react, and his smile immediately returned. He said, "Young Master and Boss Xiao are really capable. Look, you've already made all the arrangements, and you didn't even tell me sooner!"

Zhao Cheng said, "This wasn't intentionally arranged. I just felt sorry for them and wanted to give them more money. But I didn't expect these old people to cause trouble!"

Zhao Cheng smiled and said, "I never expected that my good intentions would actually help me solve such a big problem! Of course, this is all thanks to the effective governance of the Earl of Moling and Lord Guan, which is why the people are so understanding!"

Zhao Cheng's words were full of sarcasm, but he deliberately didn't spell it out. Liu Da then seized the opportunity and said with a smile, "Although there were some unexpected issues, things are going smoothly now. So... shall we begin construction?"

"certainly!"

Zhao Cheng waved to Guan Yi and said with a smile, "Lord Guan, let's start again!"

...

late at night.

The Marquis of Moling's residence.

After drinking with Zhao Cheng and the others, Guan Yi and Zhang De followed Liu Da back to his residence.

Tonight's drinking session was the most frustrating I've had in days.

In the past, Liu Da believed that he was the one in control at those drinking parties. Whether it was Zhao Cheng or Xiao Luomu, they were just pawns on his chessboard, and he could make them go wherever he wanted.

They trust themselves and must rely on themselves. Even if you lead them into a fire pit, they have to obediently jump in!

But tonight, no matter what expressions Zhao Cheng and Xiao Luomu had on their faces, Liu Da felt they were mocking him!

This feeling is awful!

"Which part of the process went wrong?"

Liu Da instructed his servants to brew three pots of strong tea, and then sat in the main seat to ponder.

How did they know?

Zhang De said, "Brother, they kept thanking you today. Could it be that you're overthinking it, and they didn't even notice?"

"Zhao Cheng's tail is practically wagging in the air. Is he thanking me?"

Liu Da shouted, "That's mockery! That's deep contempt!!"

"Big brother is right, Zhao Cheng and Xiao Luomu's way of looking at me has changed."

Guan Yi slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "We were careless. A person who can defeat the Southern Zhou spies three times is not so easy to fool."

After he finished speaking, all three of them fell silent.

Guan Yi glanced at Liu Da and said, "Actually, we shouldn't have agreed to Wen Hu's offer. When we first met Zhao Cheng, we could tell that he was sincere and didn't intend to take advantage of us. Xiao Luomu is also a businessman who values ​​rules and ethics. Cooperating with them would actually be a good thing."

Zhang De immediately said, "Since Second Brother has said so, I won't hide it either. I don't really agree with helping Wen Hu either. Zhao Cheng and Xiao Luomu are building a winery in Hannan City. Once the Immortal Wine becomes a hit, we can also benefit from it!"

"Nonsense!" Liu Da slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup lid wobble.

"We've already promised Wen Hu, how can we go back on our word? Besides, is this something we can decide? Who is Wen Hu? He represents the Left Prime Minister!"

Guan Yi nodded and said, "Of course we can't do things that break our promises. My third brother and I were just venting our frustrations."

Liu Da continued, "Have you all forgotten the Yuan family of Han Nancheng who were wiped out half a year ago? One hundred and seventy-three members, not a single one was spared!"

Zhang De exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, could it be the Left Prime Minister who did this?"

“I didn’t say it was the Left Prime Minister,” Liu Da said with a gloomy face. “I’m just telling you that compared to the Left and Right Prime Ministers, the three of us brothers are just insignificant little people. If the big shots just flick their fingers, we could suffer a catastrophic disaster.”

"It is a mystery who destroyed the Yuan family. Some say it was done by the Southern Zhou people, some say it was done by pirates, and some say that the Yuan family had a grudge against the Su family and it was done by the Su family because someone saw the swordsman next to Su Wansan in Hannan City that night. But none of that matters. What matters is that the Yuan family was indeed destroyed."

“I’ve heard a bit about Wen Hu. Although he’s the Left Prime Minister’s nephew, he’s actually the Left Prime Minister’s most ruthless henchman! If we hadn’t agreed to cooperate in the first place, we might have been ostracized in the future. But now that we’ve agreed and then gone back on our word, hmph… it’s probably not as simple as just being ostracized.”

Guan Yi and Zhang De exchanged a glance and both shivered.

"It hasn't been easy for the three of us brothers to get to where we are today, living in this remote corner. Let's all put our hearts into it."

Liu Da waved his hand, picked up his teacup, and said, "So let's not talk about this anymore and think of a solution. We can't let Zhao Cheng build this winery. If we let him build it, Wen Hu will come to our graves!"

Guan Yi thought for a moment and said, "Since Zhao Cheng hasn't broken off relations, we can continue to deal with it. But we can't stop construction from starting, so we can only try to disrupt it during construction. How about... we find some people to cause trouble?"

Liu Da shook his head and said, "Small skirmishes are meaningless, and we can't let our people take direct action. It would be troublesome if it got investigated later. Zhao Cheng is backed by the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, and Xu An is with him. If the Right Prime Minister and the Marquis of Qingdong investigate, we'll be finished."

Guan Yi fell silent, unable to think of a good solution for the time being.

He suddenly realized that his elder brother was absolutely right. It was clearly a power struggle between big shots like the Left and Right Prime Ministers, yet they, the little people, had been dragged into it.

Ordinary people, caught in this vortex of struggle, face immense difficulties and walk on thin ice, where a single misstep could lead to their utter destruction.

It's too difficult.

Zhang De suddenly said, "If we're going to disrupt their construction by having them cause trouble, I have a good idea..."