webnovelfull Chapter 427 Layer upon layer of exploitation, layer upon layer of skin peeling
Chapter 427 Layer upon layer of exploitation, layer upon layer of skin peeling
It was dark again.
Zhang Liao decisively retreated, and Shen Yi set off again, with both sides tacitly going their separate ways.
Zhang Liao's idea was simple: he could help Yu Fan share the burden, but not at the cost of bloodshed and sacrifice. He, Zhang Wenyuan, was not a Wu minister and had no need to risk his life for Sun Quan.
Five days later, Shen Yi arrived at Riyue Lake smoothly. Under Zhang Liao's watchful eye, he passed through the gap between Riyue Lake and nearby lakes and headed straight for Nanchang.
After watching them cross the lake, Zhang Liao said, "Since Guan Xing has crossed Riyue Lake, he won't be back for a while. We can attack Yuhan City with peace of mind. But to prevent Guan Xing from diverting his troops to reinforce, we need to leave someone to keep an eye on him. Zhuge Qian, you take two thousand cavalry to continue watching Guan Xing and keep an eye on the battle in Nanchang. If Yu Fan can't hold out, you can provide support from the outside. But remember to put pressure on Guan Xing and delay the time it takes for him to break through the city. There's no need to fight Guan Xing head-on."
Zhuge Qian bowed and said, "Yes..."
Zhang Liao turned his horse around and charged back to Yuhan. He hadn't been idle these past few days while he was confronting Guan Xing. Instead, he reported to Cao Ren that he needed 20,000 infantrymen to prepare for a strong attack on Yuhan City. Judging by the time, the Wei infantrymen would be arriving soon.
As for whether Cao Ren would be unable to withstand Guan Yu's attack with 20,000 fewer men, Zhang Liao was not worried. The terrain of the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor was complex, and large troops could not be deployed. Even if the 20,000 men stayed with Cao Ren, they could not be deployed to the battlefield due to the terrain limitations. Therefore, it would not have a significant impact on the battle situation on Cao Ren's side.
However, these 20,000 infantrymen had a significant impact on Zhang Liao. With these 20,000 troops, Zhang Liao might be able to capture Yuhan City before Guan Xing could capture Nanchang. Once he captured Yuhan, he could attack Da Mo to the east to raid Guan Xing's stronghold, and also attack the main Han army force that was attacking Nanchang to the west, thus completely seizing the initiative on the battlefield.
Shen Yi's idea was to seize Nanchang before Zhang Liao broke through Yu Han. At that time, he could either go north to attack Jiangling or turn back to reinforce Yu Han, and join forces with Ning Huan, who was stationed in Yu Han, to attack Zhang Liao. At worst, he could hold Nanchang and wait for reinforcements. He would not lose out no matter what.
It's no exaggeration to say that Shen Yi and Zhang Liao are now two gamblers at the table, competing to see who can go faster.
However, Shen Yi was more concerned about Guan Xing's actions than this. He wondered where Guan Xing had gone and whether he had encountered any unexpected events on the way.
……
Let's go back to the day Guan Xing set off.
Under the cover of moonlight, Guan Xing crossed mountains and ridges, successfully avoiding Wei scouts and arriving in Linru. After meeting Yu Yang in the city and taking stock of the supplies, he led three thousand elite soldiers disguised as caravan guards and six or seven thousand shovels, hoes and other farm tools toward Jiangling.
After several days of trekking, they successfully arrived at the city of Nanchang, but were unable to enter the city.
Because that damned Yu Fan had already closed the city gates and placed the entire city on high alert. He had also expelled all the nobles and merchants in the city who had more than a hundred guards and were at risk of defecting to the enemy, and forbade anyone from entering or leaving the city.
This move naturally provoked dissatisfaction among the city's gentry, but...
In the past, Yu Fan would have definitely considered the feelings of the gentry, but after the news of Lu Xun's capture spread and he learned that Eastern Wu was completely finished and had no hope of rising again, Yu Fan put aside his concerns and became reckless and unrestrained.
Sun Quan is about to surrender, and after that, he will no longer need to be subservient to the gentry. So what he needs to do now is to preserve Sun Quan's last bargaining chip and hold out until the day Sun Quan agrees on the terms and formally surrenders.
In this situation, who the hell cares about the life or death of the aristocratic class? Go die wherever you want.
As for who will clean up the mess left behind, it's not up to him and Sun Quan; whoever wants to clean it up can do it.
It has to be said that once people lose hope and start their final frenzy, the energy they unleash is truly beyond imagination; at least they managed to trap Guan Xing outside the city.
Guan Xing had no choice but to continue his journey, heading north into the Jiuling Mountains towards Ai County. Upon entering the mountains, he discovered that the troops stationed at the mountain outposts had all been recalled to the city by Yu Fan, making Guan Xing's journey smooth sailing from then on. It wasn't until he left Yuzhang and entered Jingzhou territory that he encountered the first Wu army outpost.
The outpost on the border between Yuzhang and Jingzhou was only garrisoned by a small force, which was clearly a garrison with little combat capability. Guan Xing could easily surround and annihilate them, but he did not dare to act rashly because if something happened here, the nearby cities would definitely get the news and strengthen their defenses, which would be detrimental to subsequent plans. Therefore, he could only send Yu Yang to negotiate.
With a professional fake smile on his face, Yu Yang approached the sentry post and bowed, saying, "Commander Cai, I never expected that you would be personally on duty here. We are truly destined to meet."
The man known as Village Chief Cai was a middle-aged man who had repeatedly harassed Yu Yang. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "It's you again, Manager Yu. You've been running around quite frequently lately. What are you transporting this time?"
Yu Yang subtly handed over a money bag and said with a smile, "This is all for making a living. It's a new farm tool that I got from the Wushang Steel Plant through connections. This thing is a good thing. The gentry of Jingzhou are fighting over it. It was Cai family head who specifically asked me to get it. It was a lot of trouble."
Jingzhou has four major families: Kuai, Cai, Pang, and Huang. The Cai village chief in front of him is a member of a branch of the Cai family. That's why Yu Yang brought out the Cai family patriarch to intimidate people. He didn't believe that a member of a branch of the family who was on duty outside would dare to question the Cai family patriarch.
When encountering other members of aristocratic families, the same words are used: "This was purchased by your clan leader on my behalf; you cannot confiscate it at will."
Cai, the garrison commander, brazenly accepted the money bag and stuffed it into his pocket, but instead of letting Yu Yang off the hook, he walked toward the transport team and said, "Let's go take a look."
Upon arriving at the cart and lifting the straw mat, one would find the inside filled with gleaming iron shovels and hoes, which could be used as farm tools with a wooden handle attached.
Cai, the village head, also farmed regularly. Seeing these farm tools, he couldn't help but drool. He reached out and took three round-headed shovels, three square-headed shovels, three hoes, and three half-foot-wide picks, then waved his hand and said, "Go on over. I wish Manager Yu a prosperous business."
Yu Yang grimaced but dared not refute, and with a forced smile, he handed Cai, the village chief, two more round-headed shovels before beckoning the team over.
After walking two or three hundred meters out of the sentry's sight, Guan Xing, disguised as an ordinary guard, finally couldn't help but curse: "These parasites are too greedy! There are so many checkpoints along the way. If they skim off a layer from each checkpoint, how many guns will we have left when we reach Jiangling? Even the thickest fortune can't withstand such layer-by-layer skimming."
Yu Yang smiled wryly and said, "This is still considered good. At least they take the money and do the job. If you encounter those who turn into bandits and rob people, you're even more helpless."
Geng Shang continued, "It wasn't like this when General Guan was stationed in Jingzhou. Although the Han army sentries also accepted money, they didn't dare to go too far. Once they accepted the money, they wouldn't try to steal the goods. But after the Wu army occupied Jingzhou, the situation changed. These bastards wanted both money and goods, and they even wanted our lives."
“Wu Jun’s layers of skimming greatly increased the cost of goods. If we want to break even, we can only raise the prices of goods. Luxury goods such as jewelry and jade are fine, but daily necessities such as grain, salt, linen, and ironware can only be paid for by ordinary people. After all, if our costs are high, the prices we sell to ordinary people will be high.”
At this point, Geng Shang's eyes filled with sorrow. When their caravan passed through Wu Jun's territory, they had to act like Wu Jun's lackeys, and they had to do so willingly without showing any displeasure. They had to watch Wu Jun eat and take things without getting angry, and they had to smile and say that it was good to take them. Looking back, all he felt was bitterness and tears.
That's not all. After the goods were sold, the people would point fingers and curse them as unscrupulous merchants. The price increase was clearly caused by the Wu army's exploitation, but in the end, the merchants were made to take the blame. This made Geng Shang curse countless times behind his back.
Guan Xing said fiercely, "This disease needs to be cured. Once we recapture Jiangling and recover Jingzhou, we must clean up these parasites from top to bottom."
That's a story for later; for now, they have to grit their teeth and endure Wu Jun's exploitation.
They hadn't gone more than thirty miles when they encountered another Wu army checkpoint. The Wu soldiers at the checkpoint had more than Cai, the garrison commander, which infuriated the caravan guards, who were disguised as elite Han soldiers, to the point that they almost collectively went berserk.
What worries Guan Xing even more is that if this exploitation continues, how much of the goods he brought with him will be left when they reach Jiangling?
That damned Wu Jun's investigation was stricter than it was during the White-Clad Crossing of the River, but his inherent greed only grew stronger day by day.
Guan Xing had no choice but to accept Geng Shang and Yu Yang's suggestion to go into the mountains and take a shortcut to avoid Wu Jun's outpost. If he couldn't afford to mess with me, he could at least avoid me.