I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 456: Shu County Stable

Shen Pei, Yan Xing, and Zhao Ning sat in the hall. Even Zhao Ning, who had the softest personality among the three, understood that if any of them failed to handle the current situation in Shu County properly, they would end up dead and their debts would be settled.

Shen Pei asked, "When you were comforting their families earlier, did you see anyone who was resentful in front of you?"

Zhao Ning nodded and said, "Indeed, there are two families, the Wang family of Jiangyuan and the Xie family of Guangdu. The successors are the younger brother and son of the deceased respectively."

Shen Pei said decisively: "In this case, we should strike first and gain the upper hand!"

But when the time came, Zhao Ning was still a little hesitant.

He said: "Perhaps the two of them are just slightly dissatisfied, and may not take the opportunity to cause trouble."

Shen Pei shook his head and explained, "Even you can see their emotions. They must be thinking the truth in their hearts and have never thought of hiding it. They will definitely cause chaos."

Zhao Ning: …

Although these words made him a little sad, he thought about it carefully and found that they made sense.

Yan Xing asked, "My Lord, do you want me to gather some more Qiang soldiers?"

Shen Pei shook his head and said, "No, if we gather too many Qiang soldiers here, the Qiang people who are reclaiming wasteland in northern Shu may be attacked. Even if we succeed in suppressing the rebellion, we will still lose."

"I thank you on behalf of the Qiang people of northern Shu!" Yan Xing thanked him sincerely.

"Since they are under my rule, I will do my best to protect them." Shen Pei said in a steady tone, "So, there is no time to lose. We should lead our troops to capture the Wang family of Jiangyuan and the Xie family of Guangdu as soon as possible to deter them."

"It would be fine if they surrendered when they met the county soldiers, but anyone who resisted with weapons must not be tolerated!"

"Yes!" Yan Xing took the order and left.

Only Shen Pei was left looking at Zhao Ning and asked, "Think about it again, was there anyone else in front of you who couldn't hide his thoughts?"

Zhao Ning was stunned for a moment, then immediately shook his head.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Ning suddenly asked, "My Lord, during this period of time, I have actually been puzzled by one thing."

"Let's talk about it."

"Shu County is already facing internal troubles, but why did the Lord send some of the county's soldiers to Captain Zhao and deliberately squeeze out some of the food and grass for farming? In this way, wouldn't it weaken his ability to deal with potential rebels?"

Shen Pei smiled and commented: "I'm afraid you still have something to say."

"Xun Gongda and I both came from Luoyang on the orders of the emperor. Do you think I provided the commander Zhao with county soldiers and food supplies in order to compare myself with Xun Gongda?"

Zhao Ning was stunned for a moment, then he said awkwardly: "I don't have such an idea."

Shen Pei did not expose him. He explained, "You are right. I do have a selfish desire to compare myself with Xun Gongda. After all, Zhao Jin only knows how to lead the army and will not serve as General Anxi for too long. However, this selfish desire is not the main reason why I sent troops and food. It is because if we sit back and watch the rebellion in the south and let it fester, it will take a long time to suppress it again in the future. This is my public interest."

"Moreover, even if we don't have these military provisions, can those chickens and dogs in the county succeed?"

"I was thinking of using their money and food to make up for the shortfall in Captain Zhao's rebellion suppression expenses!"

After hearing this, Zhao Ning was dumbfounded and speechless for a moment.

"Aren't you afraid, Lord? If something unexpected happens..." Zhao Ning asked.

Shen Pei smiled, did not answer, and got up and left.

Zhao Ning sat there hesitating for a long time, then suddenly stood up and caught up with Shen Pei, saying, "My Lord, I just remembered a family. Although he has some indignant words, he is still a distant relative of our clan. I should be able to go and persuade him."

"Is the person from his family who came to the prefect's mansion that day a distant relative of yours?" Shen Pei asked.

Zhao Ning explained: "It should be farther away."

"Well, you won't feel at ease if I don't let you try." Shen Pei said, "If you want to go, go and persuade Yan Yan before he takes action. If you can bring their hidden troops, they will pass." "But don't get yourself into trouble on this trip."

Zhao Ning was delighted to see Shen Pei agreed, and hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord!"

Then left in a hurry.

After Zhao Ning's figure disappeared, another person suddenly came to pay a visit, and this person even had his face covered with a turban.

But Shen Pei didn't care about it.

After the man took off his turban in front of Shen Pei, Shen Pei asked, "Has your Sima settled the man?"

If there were any long-time county official in Shu County, they would recognize him at first sight, for he was none other than Zhang Yue, who had always followed Gan Ning, the former county magistrate of Shu County.

Zhang Yue replied respectfully: "Don't worry, Lord Shen. My Sima is very familiar with Shu County and will definitely not be discovered."

Shen Pei nodded. This was the reason why he was not afraid of any eventuality.

Could it be that anyone really thinks that he and Xun You are incompatible?

If we don’t take the opportunity to provoke and resolve the conflicts, how can we create a good rear base for suppressing the rebellion?

Three days later, Zhao Ning actually brought back a group of troops.

Five days later, Yan divided his troops into two groups and took the initiative to capture the powerful families of Wang and Xie. Among them, Xie suffered heavy casualties because of his resistance.

Once this news spread, it immediately aroused the indignation of the powerful families in Shu County.

In Chengdu, the most densely populated city in Shu County, four powerful families, Liu, Li, Zhang and Du, rose up together and marched straight towards Chengdu County.

The rebels besieged the city, and just as Shen Pei was dispatching county soldiers to defend the city, a rebellion broke out in Chengdu.

Gongcao Zhao Ning, with a mixture of blood and tears on his face, ran to find Shen Pei and cried out that the troops he brought with him had participated in the rebellion.

Hearing the shouts and cries of killing, Shen Pei was not at all panicked.

He was still standing on the top of the city wall, wearing armor, and arranging various matters in a calm and steady manner.

Seeing this, Zhao Ning, who had messed up things, gradually calmed down.

He advised: "Chengdu County is already difficult to defend, why don't you lead the troops to break out? My Zhao family has some influence in Chengdu, and we can help you recruit more county troops and fight back to Chengdu."

Shen Pei naturally refused to retreat, but the more critical the moment, the better he could distinguish loyalty from treachery.

He loudly asked a county official not far away: "How many officials have fled?"

The county official replied, "More than half."

Shen Pei said, "It's almost time. Give the order, beat the drum!"

As the drums sounded, the confused rebels were still fighting under the leadership of their respective leaders, but a trail of dust had already appeared outside the city of Chengdu.

"Is this reinforcement?" Zhao Ning asked in disbelief.

"But Yan Xing is clearly not here?"

Shen Pei smiled and did not answer. Instead, he raised his sword and shouted, "Reinforcements are here. Follow me to kill the enemy!"

Then Shen Pei ordered his men to look at the big flag representing himself and rush along the city wall towards the enemy troops that had already attacked.

Zhao Ning looked at this scene, gritted his teeth, gripped his sword tightly, and followed!

After this battle, Shu County was stabilized!
(End of this chapter)