Chapter 149: Operation Seven [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Two days ago.
The prefect of Sibao County hosted a banquet for the Zhai brothers.
The banquet was in full swing when he solemnly performed a grand salute, startling Zhai Le so much that he jumped up and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, Your Excellency, why such a grand salute? We have been entrusted with important responsibilities by Your Excellency, so we should do our best to ensure the safe arrival of the tax silver."
Although Zhai Huan did not stand up, he cupped his hands in greeting, lowered his posture, declined the prefect's grand gesture, and stated that he would do his best to cooperate.
The prefect was somewhat relieved to receive the brothers' promise.
At the banquet, he also introduced the two brothers to another person—a subordinate official of the prefect, and also one of the captains leading several thousand troops stationed near Xiaocheng. This mission would be carried out by him with a thousand elite soldiers, in cooperation with the Zhai brothers.
This captain was tall and strong, with a slightly dark complexion.
He had a square face, a thick beard, thick eyebrows, and dignified black eyes with pupils positioned slightly upwards, giving him an air of aloof arrogance.
Whether it was due to his emotions or his naturally stubborn and fierce appearance, his first impression was not very friendly.
Even though the prefect enthusiastically introduced the three of them, he remained indifferent, casually bowing as a response, and speaking sparingly, using only "hmm," "oh," or "I've heard so much about you." Even Zhai Le, a social butterfly, couldn't help but want to stay as far away from him as possible.
The prefect's initial enthusiasm quickly turned cold.
until--
The prefect hinted that Zhai Le should be the leader, and his square face instantly darkened, becoming very long, but he couldn't lash out on the spot.
This is completely absurd!
Zhai Le and his companion are not locals and are therefore unreliable.
One was barely twenty, and the other was still wet behind the ears. The two kids combined were not even as old as him. Even if they were exceptionally talented, they lacked experience and were not familiar with the other soldiers. Once they encountered the enemy, command and dispatch would be a major problem.
How can one compare themselves to their past self?
Hmph, and he's even helping out from the sidelines?
This prefect has gone completely mad!
Tax revenue is indeed a significant matter, but to make such a grand spectacle of it, using a mix of real and fake troops as a smokescreen, with the garrison forces fragmented, is unacceptable. He fears that if a civil uprising or other enemy activity occurs, it will be impossible to defend against. This only fuels his growing discontent.
Of course, he knew it in his heart.
Because he was a confidant of the former prefect and often disagreed with him, the current prefect disliked him very much. In recent years, the current prefect has been making trouble for him whenever possible, clearly trying to torment him.
This time it was even worse, completely humiliating him.
Zhai Le felt a chill run down his spine after hearing the prefect's words.
He hurriedly got up to decline.
Help is fine, but don't ask for the power to make decisions or command troops.
This is no good thing, it's just asking for trouble!
The prefect didn't see anything wrong with it.
The most capable person should have the position!
This captain served for several years without making a single mistake, but he also never achieved any merit; to put it bluntly, he was mediocre! He was timid and hesitant in his actions, his personality indecisive, and while he was decent at training troops, he lacked decisiveness in decision-making. After turning thirty, his skills had stagnated.
If there were no other options available...
Hmph, the prefect won't even remember him.
In contrast, Zhai Le, despite his young age, was already a seventh-rank official. Although he looked youthful, his speech and demeanor revealed a decisive nature, and he also had his cousin Zhai Huan by his side with whom he had a tacit understanding. If he were willing to take command, his actions would be unhindered, making him clearly much better than this old fellow who was just sitting in the latrine without doing anything.
Since neither party was willing, he couldn't force them.
However, his meddling caused the captain to become dissatisfied with Zhai Le and his companion, thus creating a unilateral feud between them.
The prefect saw the commandant's expression and inwardly scoffed.
They set off on the second day after the banquet.
As Qi Shan and the others had predicted, the prefect not only released more than a dozen false messages, but also set up five tax collection teams, four fake and one real, departing from different times and locations. Each team had a different route, but the team configurations were roughly the same.
Zhai Le was shocked when he first heard the news.
Out of professional instinct, he frowned and calculated the troop strength.
"Hiss—one unit is a thousand, five units is five thousand. Although Xiaocheng is the capital of Sibao County, and its garrison is much larger than in ordinary areas, it certainly wouldn't exceed twenty thousand. A conservative estimate is around ten thousand. This isn't..."
Half of their troops were transferred away within a few days?
The prefect probably took this into account, so he staggered the departure times of the five teams.
As long as the tax revenue can be successfully delivered by water, the situation is basically safe, and the deployed troops can return. The round trip will take about ten days, with a thousand troops returning every other day. The troop strength in Xiaocheng will be weaker than usual, but not by much.
Most importantly—
Only one team is real; the other four are just for show and can be deployed immediately if needed.
The prefect was also making his own clever calculations.
Zhai Le subconsciously thought of the riots in Lingzhou nearby.
This news...
The prefect should know, right?
He was thinking uncertainly, lost in thought, when his cousin patted him on the shoulder, instantly bringing his wandering thoughts back to their original focus.
"Brother..."
Zhai Huan rode alongside him on horseback.
"What's wrong?"
Zhai Le said uncertainly, "I'm thinking that Xiaocheng's military strength is weak. If rioters appear now, wouldn't that be dangerous?"
Zhai Huan said, "It's not impossible."
In his opinion, a convoy of two or three hundred men would suffice. After all, the leader, a martial arts expert, could even transform his martial energy into weapons; ordinary bandits wouldn't even have time to detour. Those capable of robbing would have to see if they could crack this tough nut.
As a result, one force was dispatched with a thousand soldiers, as if the prefect was certain that a powerful force would come to rob the tax silver... Intriguing.
Because they were in a hurry, everyone had to hurry on their way.
These thousand soldiers were all well-trained. They hurried along without complaining. They set off before dawn, and when the sun was at its strongest, they would find a shady spot to rest, replenish their strength with water and food. When the sun began to set, they would continue on their way until nightfall.
However, the tax-paying vehicles were heavy and could not travel quickly.
On the first day, we left the east side of the city, and the weather was calm and peaceful.
The next day, we entered the canyon, and the sea was calm.
On the third day, we reached the official road...
The tense crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief.
That canyon was the easiest place to set an ambush, and they walked with trepidation, as if every bush and tree was a potential enemy. But after a whole stretch of road, the tax evading bandits they were worried about did not appear, and even the captain, who had been keeping a straight face, began to relax.
Today marks the end of the journey, leaving only two days to go.
Due to the wars of recent years, the population had dwindled, the political situation was unstable, and even the official roads were neglected and overgrown with weeds, with large boulders blocking the way and greatly hindering their progress. This greatly annoyed the captain, and what angered him even more was—
The scouts who were exploring ahead brought back bad news.
The heavy rain a few days ago caused a landslide that blocked the way, and it will take at least half a day to clear it.
The captain's eyes widened: "Half a day?"
The scout said with difficulty, "Yes, the mountain is unstable. If we use force to clear the way, it may trigger a second landslide."
The most time-efficient way is to take a detour.
|ω｀)
Slippery: Landslide.
The prefect and the commandant looked at each other as if they were idiots.
P.S.: The author's first unit got so many chapters blocked, they said it was vulgar or erotic... It's driving me crazy! I revised it twice and it was rejected both times. The female lead is so sexually frigid and it's supposed to be erotic? Sigh... I'll ask the editor on Monday what the problem is.
(End of this chapter)
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