Zhang Chang conscientiously cleaned the fish, skewered it, and handed it to Zhao Shu. After doing this, he stood aside and waited for Wei Tingsi's instructions.
The scout was a veteran with a lot of experience. He said, "Marshal, the Shu army is frequently mobilizing troops, blocking our way."
Wei Tingsi remained expressionless. After listening for a moment, he took out a list from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Chang. "Remove all of these people, except for those of the Prince of Shu. Keep those of the Prince of Jing."
This list was given to him by Ji Dongxue. After hearing it, Zhao Shu gave him a thumbs up. This way, the King of Shu would be suspicious of the King of Jing. The two were not of one mind to begin with; they only cooperated occasionally. How could they be so close?
Eliminating his influence in Zhuzhou weakens his power and incites his resentment towards Prince Jing—a brilliant strategy.
Zhang Chang took the list and turned to leave. He knew exactly what to do. If he had done this before leaving Zhuzhou, the effect would not have been as good as it is now. Now, as long as he pretended that it was done by Prince Jing, Prince Shu would hate Prince Jing. He would definitely think that Prince Jing was covering the rear for the Wei army.
"Continue to investigate and see if there have been any changes in troop strength in these areas, and try to bring Mr. Luo over." The frequent troop movements of the Shu army are very likely because Luo Hu has been discovered, or the King of Shu has discovered that the defenses have been compromised.
The scout went down to carry out the order, and Zhao Shu had already grilled the fish until it was half-cooked.
Wei Tingsi continued to look down at the map in his hand, as if he hadn't seen Zhao Shu working so hard without complaint. Zhao Shu suddenly became a little unhappy, as if she hadn't received praise from the teacher for studying hard, which seemed boring and childish.
Out of the corner of his eye, Wei Tingsi saw Zhao Shu pouting. Suddenly, he put down the map, moved to her side, and gently took the half-cooked fish. "I can do it." Zhao Shu was reluctant, feeling that if he did everything, she would have no chance to use her skills.
She forgot that she had just mocked his definition of a place to use his skills.
Wei Tingsi chuckled softly, his voice as gentle as water. Zhao Shu felt her heart couldn't take it. Couldn't he have changed his style a little?! It was so alluring!
"Since there are no children to inherit the family business, I don't want to abandon you so soon."
Zhao Shu: ...eyes wide open, a million mythical beasts were stampeding through her mind. In Ajiu's words, "Holy crap, I'm being rejected! And so blatantly!"
"Bastard!" She kicked him, but landed in Wei Tingsi's arms in a way she couldn't explain. Their eyes met, and their lips were about to touch. She quickly pretended to vomit. "I ate too much and feel like throwing up. Let me go and let me throw up for a while."
Wei Tingsi didn't force him. Anyway, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. He let go of him, and didn't forget to flip the grilled fish in his hand. Before long, the aroma of the fish wafted away on the wind.
Zhao Shu never imagined that war could be so leisurely. In the past, whenever she watched war on TV, there were corpses everywhere, severed limbs, and rivers of blood. There was not a single good place. But now, she was leisurely grilling fish and... well, flirting... I guess that's a stretch.
While both were fighting, Prince Yong and the Crown Prince faced far greater difficulties. Over the years, Beiding Prefecture had lost the bravery and wisdom of its ancestors. In just a few days, the Beizhong family had been surrounded by Prince Yong's army in Beiding Prefecture for two days.
"Your Highness, there are still 150,000 people in the city. Our scouts report that the Bei Zhong family is inciting the people to defend the city." The report came from Mo Qin, whose face was grim and pessimistic.
The Crown Prince and Prince Yong exchanged a glance and fell silent.
The Bei Zhong family has a long history spanning multiple dynasties and is deeply rooted in Beiding Prefecture. Beiding Prefecture prospered because of this family and is one of the few large cities in the north, with a population of 150,000, which is considered a large city by today's standards. If the Bei Zhong family can incite the people to defend the city, it will be quite difficult for them to break through it.
The generals also fell silent. The strategist and advisors did not speak. They had only 200,000 troops, which should have been enough to deal with the Bei Zhong family. However, if the 150,000 residents of the city were to defend it together, they would not dare to attack the people.
This has created a dead end. The Bei Zhong family incited the people to defend the city, which means they were prepared to sacrifice themselves and die in battle. They are different; they are the generals of Dayong. Dayong must continue. If they massacre the city for the sake of victory, Dayong will be drowned in a sea of public opinion, and the crown prince will never be able to ascend the throne again.
“The Bei Zhong family is unkind; they haven’t even evacuated the people,” one of the military officers said.
He didn't answer him. In these chaotic times, with war raging everywhere, who could care about such things? Only a sure-win Da Yong would have any reservations.
After a moment, Fei Chi, who was standing next to Prince Yong, said, "Hmph, expecting them to evacuate? Don't dream. They're just relying on the fact that the people are still in the city and haven't escaped, so that we can be restrained."
“Yes, maybe they even locked down the city before and wouldn’t let the people leave,” one of the junior officers said.
Prince Yong and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance and nodded. The Empress Dowager then said, "Go and take stock of the Bei Zhong family's assets, make a list, and send it over."
Mo Qin and other military generals didn't quite understand what the Crown Prince meant, but the strategist and advisors did. One of Huo Baichuan's reforms was to replace native chieftains with centrally appointed officials. The Bei Zhong family had accumulated immeasurable wealth over many dynasties. As long as they revealed these things, they wouldn't have to worry about no one opening the city gates for them.
For too long, powerful families have dominated the world, and ordinary people have been oppressed for too long. People from humble backgrounds need to find a way out. As long as there is a way, even if it is full of thorns, people will fight for it at all costs.
This is human nature, nothing else.
Feichi personally led a group to inventory the Beizhong family's assets, starting with the land. Since there was no land in the city, there was no need to go into the city to calculate it clearly. It took five days and dozens of people to work together to finally roughly inventory the Beizhong family's land.
The crown prince looked at the list that was handed to him, and his face turned as white as paper. "These parasites!"
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