In the past few days, the troops from Juxian County have shown signs of moving towards Bian'ai County.

When Shenxi received Lin Yanjun's report, according to the information Zhao Peng relayed, Li Cunzhi, the military commander of Ju County, had received instructions from Tao Feng to meet Tao Feng at the border between Ju County and Bian'ai County.

They also provided Tao Feng with some military supplies and sent more than half of their troops to follow Tao Feng directly into Yuzhang Prefecture.

Therefore, Shenxi only allowed Lin Yanjun to mobilize troops and make some preparations in the south of Bian'ai County.

Regardless, we must ensure Zhao Peng's safety and even assist him in succeeding.

However, due to some unexpected events, the Cao family launched a mutiny and turmoil ahead of schedule.

Before they even reached Ju County, Tao Feng learned of the Cao family's conspiracy and led his troops back to Jianming Prefecture.

Perhaps Li Cunzhi hasn't received any concrete news yet, or perhaps he has other motives?

Shenxi summoned Qi Xiuwen, Lin Yanjun, Gu Beitian, Dou Yong, and others, and told them about the matter.

He then asked Lin Yanjun, "What is Li Cunzhi's latest move?"

Lin Yanjun said, "They are still stationed in the same place and have not made any moves."

"Song Zhen, Xiu Wen, show me Lin Tai's relevant information."

After this incident came to light, Song Zhen and Qi Xiuwen had already found Lin Tai's information.

Lin Tai, a Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examination) in the Renxu year, has been serving as the head of Xunwang Township for seven or eight years without achieving anything.

He was once reprimanded by the former county magistrate, Zhong Ti, for things like not understanding the people's sentiments, not knowing their livelihood, and being too radical in his actions.

However, there are no records of corruption or bribery.

It could be said that there were no major mistakes, and that for an official, minor mistakes were generally considered acceptable as long as they didn't cause any serious harm.

Through this simple description, Shenxi basically determined Lin Tai's character.

It can be said that Lin Tai is not very capable, but he wants to do something and even wants to climb the ranks. However, he looks down on corruption and bribery. He has no money and no connections, so it is very difficult for him to get ahead.

So they wanted to achieve some results, but they were too radical. Their ideas were good, but what they did was harmful to the people.

They are not capable officials, yet they are unwilling to settle down and are overly ambitious, always feeling that their abilities far exceed their current positions.

He never bases his actions on the lives of ordinary people; he just wants to make himself appear capable.

Some might call such an official incorruptible and a good one, but in Shen Xi's eyes, he is a mediocre official.

Incompetent officials are no less harmful than corrupt officials, and may even be less so than capable corrupt officials.

If such an incompetent official is merely mediocre and does nothing, leaving tasks to his subordinates and following the old system, it might be better. But the problem is if he is too eager to stand out and show off, and does too much, which will only lead to widespread resentment.

But now that he's doing this, causing unrest in the county, he must have a purpose.

Moreover, given his ambitious and unrealistic nature, the goals he intends to achieve are certainly not small.

In today's world, only warfare can lead to soaring success.

Now, the only soldiers Lin Tai can borrow are Li Cunzhi, who is stationed on the border of Bian'ai County.

In other words, Lin Tai may have had some prior collusion with Li Cunzhi.

Could it be that if Chenxi hadn't occupied Bian'ai County earlier, it might now belong to Li Cunzhi?

Shenxi shared her suspicions with the others.

Lin Yanjun exclaimed in surprise, "Impossible! Doesn't that mean that my brother and I escaping into the forest gave Li Cunzhi a reason to enter Bian'ai County?"

Chenxi nodded.

The riots in Bian'ai County and Lin Yanqing's rebel army were the reasons why Li Cunzhi entered Bian'ai County.

It's possible that Lin Tai had some connection with Li Cunzhi back then.

However, Chenxi quickly occupied Bian'ai County, causing Li Cunzhi to lose his best opportunity.

This time, it was Tao Feng who presented the opportunity to him.

If we can deal with Tao Feng and then take Bian'ai County, we'll have more say in the Cao family's affairs.

Qi Xiuwen's voice held an undisguised depth: "Then this time, let's take advantage of the situation and seize his giant county as well."

Gu Beitian said, "No, we only need to cripple Li Cunzhi. If we take Juxian, we will directly face Xie Ning of Nanning. Let Li Cunzhi's remaining forces fight Xie Ning to the death."

"What if Xie Ning kills Li Cunzhi? Wouldn't we still have to face Xie Ning?" Lin Yanjun really wanted to kill Li Cunzhi directly.

Gu Beitian pointed to Kangjian Prefecture: "Xie Ning's main forces are divided into two parts. One part is to defend the capital, and the other part will join forces with Haozhou Prefecture and Miaojiang Road to attack Kangjian Prefecture. The three of them will divide up Kangjian Prefecture. They may only send a small number of troops to watch over Li Cunzhi, or take advantage of Li Cunzhi's weakness to fight him."

"I had analyzed this place with the leader before, but not in detail. The reason why I did not include Xie Ning in the future trend of the world is mainly because Xie Ning was the first to betray Xie Hou, who had been kind to him. It is difficult for people to form an alliance with him. Haozhou Prefecture and Miaojiang Road did not form an alliance with him, but they tacitly attacked Kangjian Prefecture."

"Once we capture Kangjian Prefecture, I guarantee that Haozhou Prefecture and Miaojiang Road will be eager to devour Xie Ning. The outcome will depend on who else is willing to get involved. We don't need to get involved in this mess and confront Xie Ning directly. Our main task is to take Jianming Prefecture, expand our territory to the northwest, and wait for the right opportunity."

Shen Xi smiled and said, "Bei Tian is indeed a military strategist. With just one sentence, he has analyzed the current situation so thoroughly."

"Now that you understand what's going on, Xiuwen and Yanjun, you two should thoroughly search for the villagers of Xunwang Township, secretly control them, and block the news. If you capture Lin Tai, force him to send out messages so that Li Cunzhi can send troops as planned."

“I think even if Li Cunzhi knew that we were searching for the villagers of Xunwang Township, he would still attack us. After all, he couldn’t possibly guess that we had already figured out that he was going to attack us.”

"Yanjun, once you have deployed all your troops, I am going to cripple Li Cunzhi. Remember, leave an escape route so that Li Cunzhi's remaining troops can escape."

Shenxi gave instructions one by one, and then said again, "Although we should not take over Ju County, it does not mean that we cannot occupy one or two towns in Ju County."

Gu Beitian laughed heartily: "The commander really doesn't lose out. He has occupied the best two townships next to us, saving our county seat from being too close to Ju County."

Qi Xiuwen couldn't help but smile.

The leader has found the right talent. Gu Beitian will definitely be able to plan the best path for the leader in the future.

"As for the two towns we've occupied, Dou Yong, their stability is your responsibility."

Dou Yong immediately agreed, as this was the first time he would be doing something for his superior, and he certainly couldn't let his superior down.