Summoning the Peak of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 2988 Zhang Liang: These are no ordinary rioters; they should be dealt with swiftly and decisively.
Chapter 2985 Zhang Liang: These are no ordinary rioters; they should be dealt with swiftly and decisively.

Zhang Liang had tried his best to overestimate the influence of the Ming Dynasty, but ultimately he underestimated it.

In Qingnan, which has only about thirty counties, seventeen places simultaneously experienced rebellions? Nearly half of the county towns had seen uprisings.

This was even after Zhang Liang, relying on his personal prestige within the Ming Cult, had already appeased most of the people of Qingnan and persuaded them to accept the rule of the Great Qin.

Imagine if Zhang Liang had not arrived, or if it had been other officials of the Qin Dynasty instead of Zhang Liang, what kind of rebellion would these ignorant people, who were indulging in the false doctrines of the Ming Cult, have launched?

It would likely end in rebellion in all three prefectures, with war raging everywhere.

When that time comes, the Qin army, with its rear cut off, will have no choice but to wreak havoc in Qingnan and slaughter the enemy until rivers of blood flow in order to protect itself.

If that were the case, the Qin Dynasty would lose the hearts of the people of Qing and Xu, and would force the people of Xu to fight desperately. This would be the real trap set by Zhu Di.

Ying Hao's purpose in summoning Zhang Liang to Qingnan was precisely this: to completely eliminate the hidden dangers in the three counties of Qingnan with the lowest cost and fewest casualties. However, the deeper purpose was to appease and dispel the resistance of the people of Qingxu.

"My lord, all the remaining Ming remnants in Linzi City have been lured out."

Shangguan Haitang reported with a complicated expression that Zhang Liang had not informed her of his plan to fake his death, and that even she, as one of his own, had been deceived, which made her feel distrusted.

"Only by deceiving your own people can you deceive your enemies."

Zhang Liang's voice was steady, then, with an undeniable decisiveness, he said in a deep voice, "Pass down the order: close the net according to the original plan!"

At Zhang Liang's command, the Qin army garrison in Linzi, which seemed slightly flustered by the "death of the governor," instantly revealed its sharp fangs.

Under the unified command of Governor Fan Zhongyan, the elite troops who had been lying in ambush at key points launched a swift and orderly attack.

At the West City Wharf, the rebels from the Sea Shark Palace, who were attempting to seize the ship, were busy loading the last batch of weapons onto the fishing boat. The man leading them, with a fierce face, was none other than 'Flipping River Dragon,' a disciple of the Sea Shark Palace.

He gazed at the gradually brightening sky, grinned, and said, "Once we take the granary on the other side, we'll..."

Before he finished speaking, a dense swarm of crossbowmen suddenly appeared from the surrounding rooftops.

Zhang Baiqi stood at the highest point and waved his hand, ordering, "Release the arrows!"

In an instant, a torrential rain of arrows fell.

'Flipping Dragon' roared and swung its sword to parry, but it couldn't stop the crossbow bolts coming from all directions.

Three crossbow bolts pierced his chest, and as he knelt on the ground, his eyes were filled with disbelief, while everyone else was riddled with arrows from powerful crossbows.

Even on his deathbed, he couldn't understand why the Qin army, which should have been thrown into chaos by Zhang Liang's death, reacted so quickly.

Meanwhile, the same scene was playing out in the slums of the south of the city.

The brothers Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian had just gathered several hundred men and were planning to take advantage of the chaos to seize the armory, distribute the weapons, and then attack the Prince of Qi's mansion. However, they had not even taken the first step.

Zhu Youjian was meticulous and had specially arranged for scouts to guard the perimeter. However, when Zhang Niujiao's heavy infantry surrounded them like an iron barrel, the scouts he had sent out did not even have a chance to warn them before they were surrounded and killed by the Qin heavy infantry.

"not good."

Zhu Youjian's face was deathly pale, his hand holding the sword trembled slightly, and he whispered to Zhu Youxiao, "Brother, we've fallen into a trap."

Zhu Youxiao, however, seemed not to hear, and instead stared intently at the familiar figure in the Qin army formation ahead—Zhang Niujiao.

This general, a former member of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, was grinning broadly, his smile full of mockery.

"How is that possible... Are all the Shadow Assassins blind? They can't even tell whether Zhang Liang is dead or not?" Zhu Youxiao muttered to himself.

Before taking action, Zhu Di gave a strict order: fight to the death until Zhang Liang is dead.

Since they received the retreat signal, it meant that the Shadow Assassins had confirmed Zhang Liang's death, but the truth was that they had fallen into Zhang Liang's trap.

This is puzzling. Among so many assassins who tried to kill Zhang Liang, not one of them could tell whether Zhang Liang was dead or alive.
“Plum Blossom, it must be Plum Blossom. He was the one who killed him. Only because he was turned by Zhang Liang beforehand could he deceive Baihu and the others.”

Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth and said, and his analysis was absolutely correct. It was impossible for so many shadow assassins to all be wrong, and there was only one premise for misleading everyone: the swordsman who drew his sword, Plum Blossom Hero, was an inside traitor.

Zhu Youxiao suddenly realized, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Kill Meihua's son immediately, so he'll know the price of betraying us..."

Zhu Youxiao was interrupted by Zhu Youjian before he could finish speaking.

"late."

Zhu Youjian's face was full of bitterness: "Meihua loves her son dearly. Her daring to betray us must be because Zhang Liang knew in advance and saved her son. We... have been in their scheme from beginning to end."

Zhang Niujiao then rode forward, pointing his spear at the two brothers, and demanded, "Finished talking? If you're done, kneel down and be bound, so your grandfather won't have to do it himself."

"Don't think about it!"

Zhu Youxiao drew his sword and roared, "Men of the Zhu family, you'd rather die standing!"

"Then I'll test whether your bones are as hard as your mouths."

The battle was brief but brutal.

The outcome was a foregone conclusion for the five hundred ragtag men organized by Zhu Youxiao and his brothers, who faced a thousand heavily armed infantrymen.

In less than a quarter of an hour, nearly half of the more than 500 people were killed, and the rest surrendered.

Zhu Youxiao was impaled on the shoulder by Zhang Niujiao's spear and pinned to the earthen wall, while Zhu Youjian was captured after his longsword broke and he was exhausted.

Zhang Niujiao walked through the pool of blood to Zhu Youjian, squatted down, patted the other's pale face, and said with disdain, "Boy, even Zhu Yuanzhang didn't dare to play mind games with Lord Zhang Liang. Do you think you and that brat Zhu Di are worthy of it?"

Under the efficient and ruthless strikes of the Qin army, the rebellions within Linzi were almost all quelled in the first instance. With Zhang Liang personally overseeing the situation in Linzi, the rebellions there were the easiest to handle; the trouble lay with the other sixteen locations.

Even if only a thousand people participated in each place, there would still be 16,000 people involved. In fact, the number of thousand people is an underestimate; there couldn't possibly be only that many.

The Qin Dynasty only has 10,000 troops stationed in Qingnan. It is inevitable that they will be unable to suppress the rebellions in seventeen places at the same time. If they do not react in time, they will easily give the rebels an opportunity to grow stronger.

"Besides Linzi, there were sixteen other rebellions..."

Zhang Liang opened his eyes, looked at the densely marked red dots on the map, and asked in a low voice as if squeezed from the depths of his chest, "Can you count the number of remaining rebels?"

Fan Zhongyan bowed and presented the latest statistics: "My lord, there are now 40,000 people involved in the rebellion. About 20% of them are armed, the rest are mostly farm tools and sticks, and there are also... women, children and the elderly who are unarmed."

Women, children, the elderly, and the weak.

Zhang Liang repeated the four words, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table. He recalled the people kneeling by the roadside, tears in their eyes, shouting "General Ren Gong" when he inspected the villages half a month ago.

I recall the woman holding her baby, who said her husband died during a Ming army conscription, and it was the relief grain provided by the Qin army that saved her and her child's lives.
I recall the children in the private school who recited "Guan Guan Jujiu" with their teacher, their voices tender yet full of hope.

In the blink of an eye, some of these people raised hoes and wooden sticks, shouting slogans such as "Drive out the tyrannical Qin and restore our Great Ming!"

"When they kneel before me, their eyes are filled with genuine gratitude, which cannot be faked. But they can turn around and throw all that gratitude to the back of their minds for some vague and ethereal doctrine."

Zhang Liang suddenly spoke, his voice eerily calm.

"Yunshan, Jiaxuan, tell me, are these cultists simply ignorant, or is this their nature, and they can't be tamed at all?"

Zhang Liang slowly rose, lightly tapping the table with his fingertips. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he said in a deep, iron voice, word by word, "These are no ordinary rioters; they should be dealt with swiftly and decisively."

The moment Zhang Liang uttered the word "cultist," the air in the sealed room seemed to freeze.

The Ming officials present exchanged glances, each holding their breath and suppressing even the rustling of their robes.

They stole glances at the scholar in blue robes sitting in the main seat—the former "General of the People," now the Governor-General of Qingxu in the Great Qin Dynasty. His face was calm as water, but the cold glint in his deep eyes sent chills down the spines of even seasoned officials.

Even Feng Yunshan couldn't help but swallow hard, his palms sweating profusely.

He had worked with Zhang Liang for many years and knew that this man, who seemed gentle and refined, was actually tough on the inside and had a heart as firm as iron.

But today, as the leader of the Ming Cult, he bluntly calls Ming Cult followers "cultists," which is tantamount to tearing away the veil of warmth that has been maintained for many years.

This is not a simple statement; it's a radical overhaul, a sign of genuine anger.

Zhang Liang was indeed furious, but his anger was not directed at the rebellious civilians kneeling outside the city, wielding farm tools and sticks; instead, it turned towards himself.

They turned to Zhang Zifang, who thought he had calculated everything but underestimated the obsessions of human nature.

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Langya Frontline.

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan, gazing at the winding southward marching route on the map, and sighed softly, "Is it too dangerous for Zifang to leave only 10,000 troops to guard the area?"

"He must have his reasons for daring to ask for it."

Su Lie stood beside him, his hand on his sword, his armor gleaming coldly in the morning light. He said calmly, "Besides, even if we fail, the Empress will back him up. Just don't try to interfere in the Qing-Xu war anymore. Just be a good Qing-Xu governor who only cares about political affairs."

Although Su Lie did not want to get involved in the factional struggle, the Imperial Noble Consort Liu Mu had saved his life, so he naturally belonged to the Han faction.

Therefore, even knowing that Zhang Liang taking over Qingxu would accelerate the disintegration of Zhu Ming's will to resist, he still did not want to obediently hand over power and submit.

There is a reason for this.

Zhuge Liang turned around, his gaze sweeping over the tent towards Qingnan in the north, and said, "Let's lure the snake out of its hole and finish it off in one battle. But this bait... is a bit too tempting."

Zhuge Liang belonged to the Emperor's faction and did not have as many concerns as Su Dingfang. Only with Zhuge Liang's mediation could Zhang Liang successfully take over Qing and Xu.

If Zhuge Liang also belonged to the Han faction, then Ying Hao would not have appointed Zhang Liang as the governor of Qing and Xu provinces, because even if Zhang Liang had extraordinary abilities, he could not possibly seize power from two Han faction generals.

Zhuge Liang recalled that before the army marched south, Zhang Liang had taken the military tally from him.

That was the power to command 10,000 garrison troops, but at that moment, Zhang Liang's lips curled into a smile that was barely perceptible to others.

"Lord Zhang, with your abilities, ten thousand troops should be enough, right? Or do you have other trump cards up your sleeve?" Zhuge Liang thought to himself.

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In the secret room, Zhang Liang slowly closed his eyes, his mind filled with the military meeting he had attended ten days earlier.

At that time, in front of Zhuge Liang and Su Lie, he insisted on leaving only 10,000 troops to guard the three prefectures and more than 30 counties in Qingnan.

The reason given was that quality is more important than quantity in warfare, and that a large army needed to concentrate its superior forces to march south.

With a mere 10,000 troops, defending three prefectures and more than 30 counties, even the elite Qin army would find it difficult to manage.

This isn't a question of whether we can hold out, but rather that we won't have enough in a real fight—and that's exactly what he wants: "not enough."

"Zhu Di was suspicious by nature. If there were too many troops guarding the area, his 'spies' hidden underground in Qingnan would not dare to show themselves. Only when they felt that there was an opportunity would they come out in full force, and only then could we wipe them out in one fell swoop."

These words sounded so grand and righteous that even Fan Zhongyan believed them at the time. But only Zhang Liang himself knew the truth: besides wanting to eliminate the hidden dangers in Qingnan once and for all, his deeper reason was to gain merit and power in order to solidify his position as the Governor-General of Qing and Xu.

(End of this chapter)