Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1968: The Seven Stars of Azure Dragon (Fifteen)
Just a few simple words made Wu Kuang understand everything immediately.

In this matter, Zhang Liang actually did not take sides.

As one of the three famous heroes of Qi and Lu in the past and one of the few survivors of Xiaoshengxianzhuang, Zhang Liang's hatred for Luowang and the empire was probably even greater than that for him and Chen Sheng.

Zhang Liang was willing to act as a broker just to encourage them to rise up in rebellion and rebel against the empire.

As a scholar, he definitely couldn't do such a thing, so it was normal for him to want to push Chen Sheng to be the first to take action.

From this perspective, Zhang Liang should be more inclined to the side of Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang.

However, on the issue of Tian Guang, Zhang Liang's position had to change again.

A missing peasant hero who has been missing for many years has nothing to do with him as a Confucian disciple, but in order to use Tian Guang's whereabouts as a "carrot" to lure Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang to fight the empire to the death, he has to cooperate with "Tian Yan".

In Wu Kuang's opinion, Zhang Liang might know something about Tian Guang's affairs, but certainly not as much as Tian Yan.

So even if he was unwilling to get too close to Tian Yan, who had an unclear relationship with Luo Wang, he had to cooperate with her.

Taking both factors into consideration, Zhang Liang's principle was to mediate and ease the conflict between the two parties in order to facilitate the achievement of this matter.

So they didn't have to worry about Zhang Liang tripping them up, but it was also difficult for them to get help from him.

Thinking of this, Wu Kuang turned the topic back to Tian Guang's matter:
"I would like to ask Mr. Zhang to take care of the issue of Hero Tian Guang and inform Hero Tian Yan as soon as possible. Time waits for no one."

Urging Zhang Liang may not have much effect, but it is better than not urging him.

Zhang Liang nodded with a smile, as if to reassure you, "Don't worry, I will be loyal to the people who entrusted me with the task, and I will do my duty without hesitation."

These words made Wu Kuang further convinced of his judgment.

Although he had made a completely wrong judgement, the problem was definitely not in his head.

He didn't know the actual relationship between Zhang Liang and 'Tian Yan', and could only make this judgment based on the existing information - the most confusing thing was the blood feud between Zhang Liang, the Empire, and Luowang.

Ren Wukuang's brain was spinning, he did not expect that Zhang Liang would not reject "Tian Yan" who was connected with Luowang.

But it doesn't matter if he made a wrong judgment.

A Yan did not intend to fool them with a blank check, he really wanted them to meet Tian Guang.

Tian Guang is of no value nowadays, so it would be okay to let Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang meet him.

After seeing him, you can find a way to kill him and completely cut off this connection with him, putting an end to it all.

But A Yan can't let them get their wish too early.

Without Tian Guang as the 'carrot' to lure Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang, she was worried that these two people would get out of her control and do something unexpected.

It must be said that these two brothers are quite capable of causing trouble.

Although it was not surprising that they would definitely embark on the path of direct resistance to the empire, which was similar to A Yan's plan, she still hoped that the situation would develop as accurately as possible according to her plan.

………………

Dongjun, Dazeshan, farmers’ headquarters.

After A Yan proposed Chen Sheng's plan of rebellion to the Zhu family, the two sides had already held many discussions.

Through repeated discussions, the Zhu family finally figured out the main theme of the "Tian Yan" plan.

Overall, the plan is pretty simple.

That is to wait until Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang are transferred away from the Mausoleum of the Emperor in Mount Li, and then according to their destination, find a suitable place on their way to create an opportunity for Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang to start an uprising. What the hell!

The specific operation will depend on the situation at that time. Arrangements will be made based on comprehensive considerations, including the location, the number of prisoners traveling with the prisoners, the performance of Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang, and other factors.

Overall, the difficulty is not too great, at most it is a bit trivial.

The arrangement on the Nong family's side was simpler. They would just use the matter between Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang as an excuse to start a civil war. Then the Zhu family would be defeated and they would flee from the Nong family with the "remnants" who were loyal to them.

Of course, the specific details of the actual implementation will be very complicated. After all, it is difficult to make a big noise and hide it from everyone.

But then again, it is difficult to completely exclude the farmers from things like rebellion.

The more difficult it is, the greater the chance of success once it is done.

The Zhu family had no objection to the plan in general, but they still did not give in.

Tian Yan's plan might be perfect, he trusted Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang's abilities, and the manpower of the farmers was not a problem, but these might not be enough to go to war with the empire head-on.

The last battle of Daze Mountain allowed the Zhu family to truly experience how war is fought!
In a war that was considered an absolute victory by all parties, the Nong family still lost nearly 10,000 people, one eighth of the total population of the Nong family!

The casualty ratio of both sides was less than 1:2, but only about 1:1.5.

In terms of battle damage, it is not particularly outstanding, but it is unreasonable to talk about battle damage without considering combat power.

Under normal circumstances, if the Empire's ace armored soldiers, who have experienced many battles, fight against the scattered peasants, it would be considered a poor performance if they don't give you a casualty ratio of one to ten.

In this comparison, the farmers' performance in the Battle of Daze Mountain was incredible.

But no matter how amazing the performance was, it could not change the fact that the farmers had lost tens of thousands of brothers.

The Nong family is the largest gang in the underworld, with 100,000 brothers, but they can only win ten battles. Who can bear this?
Of course, the actual account book is definitely not calculated in this way, but it is enough to make the Zhu family deeply understand what Sun Tzu said: "War is a matter of great importance to a state, a matter of life and death, a road to survival and destruction, and must be carefully considered."

In addition to casualties, what the Zhu family is more concerned about is logistical supplies.

A short-term annihilation war that lasted less than ten months consumed most of the reserve food stored in Daze Mountain.

Although Daze Mountain is not the granary of the Nong family, as the school with the largest grain reserves among the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Nong family still prepared enough food at the headquarters to feed tens of thousands of people for three or four months in case of emergency - the specific amount is about 30,000 dan (one dan weighs 120 jin).

Under normal circumstances, there are only a few thousand farmers living in Daze Mountain, and this amount of food is enough to last for half a year.

For any underworld force, 30,000 shi of grain is a huge amount.

As a result, with tens of thousands of mouths feeding at the same time, most of the food was consumed in less than ten days, and the rest was distributed as pensions and military pay after the war - the farmers did not have enough money on hand, so they used grain to offset part of the money. After all, grain was hard currency, so their own family members were not treated unfairly.

The 100,000 disciples of the farming family usually support themselves and do not eat public food. They will only be given food and wages when their superiors need them to work.

This kind of mobilization usually involves at least dozens of people, and at most a few hundred people. Mobilizations of more than a thousand people are rare, and the materials consumed cannot be compared with the mobilization of tens of thousands of people.

In fact, let alone tens of thousands of people, even a few thousand people would consume an astronomical figure in half a year or several months.

In this regard, the financial resources of the peasant family are the richest and most affluent among all the schools of thought, but it is hard to say how long they can withstand the consumption. Of course, if Chen Sheng really rebelled, he would definitely directly rob the empire of its logistical resources such as food and fodder, and fight to support the war and be self-sufficient.

But Zhu Jia was not an expert in this area, and he was not sure whether Chen Sheng could really achieve self-sufficiency by plundering the empire.

If that doesn't work, the farmers will have to find a way to make up the difference.

Can farmers afford it?
Even if Chen Sheng could do it when his momentum was strong at the beginning, how much support would he need from farmers when his momentum slowed down or even got into trouble?
'Tian Yan' vowed that he could keep the Nong family out of this matter, and all assistance to Chen Sheng would be kept in secret. In this case, how much support could the Nong family provide?

What if Tian Yan sold them out directly?

If any of these problems went wrong, it would cost the lives of all of them, so the Zhu family dared not be negligent in the slightest.

Unless all issues are resolved, the Zhu family will never give in!

As for the concerns raised by the Zhu family regarding logistics supplies, A Yan quickly responded.

"So the biggest concern of Hall Master Zhu right now is whether the Nong family is really capable of providing Hall Master Chen Sheng with the funds to start a large-scale war that could shake up the empire while protecting themselves?"

In Lieshan Hall, A Yan knelt gracefully on the main seat and asked the Zhu family who were sitting as guests.

Zhu Jia put on a happy face, pinched his beard and laughed, "Please forgive me, this is related to the life and death of many brothers, I can't afford to be careless."

"Of course, I understand." Ah Yan smiled and nodded. "As for your doubts... I can tell you frankly that it is really difficult to guarantee this relying on farmers alone."

"If the rebels led by Chen Sheng can be unstoppable and defeat the imperial army in succession, the pressure on the farmers will not be too great. However, as long as his offensive momentum is blocked, the pressure on the farmers will increase sharply in the short term, but the long-term pressure will not be great."

"But if it really comes to that, the most troublesome problem will be how to survive it."

Zhu Jia immediately grasped the key point in Tian Yan's words - "only relying on"!
"What Xia Kui means is... that he intends to let others get involved?"

"Many people will be interested in things like rebelling against the empire." Ah Yan replied with a faint smile, acknowledging the Zhu family's speculation.

Having helpers is good news in theory, but Zhu Jia is not happy about it. Instead, he asked carefully, "Has Xia Kui found a partner?"

Ayan nodded.

Zhu Jia immediately asked, "Are you sure they are reliable enough?"

There is a lack of everything these days, except for anti-empire rebels, so the Zhu family does not doubt the position of the allies found by Tian Yan in resisting the empire.

But in other respects, it is hard to say.

Even if there is a rebellion, there is much more to consider than just the war with the empire.

There are already six disputes within the Nong family itself, and no one can predict how much intrigue there will be among other forces.

It was just a coincidence over the past few hundred years that allowed the chivalrous leader 'Tian Yan' to directly control the five halls and in fact unify the entire farming family. Otherwise, there would be no need to discuss Tian Yan's plan and it would definitely not have been possible to get the unanimous agreement of the six halls.

For the Zhu family, it is already troublesome enough to be on guard against 'Tian Yan' selling them out. If one or more families are added, they will not have to fight with the empire, and it will be enough to just be cunning with 'their own people'.

Ah Yan smiled calmly, and then responded, "I told Master Zhu that the other party is trustworthy, but I'm afraid you are worried too."

For the Zhu family, which had experienced the betrayal of Situ Wanli, the only person they could trust was themselves, followed by Liu Ji, and then Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang. No one else could be trusted.

He doesn't even trust the people from Shennong Hall, let alone other forces.

Ah Yan would not waste his energy trying to persuade the Zhu family.

Trust is the basis of cooperation, but cooperation does not necessarily rely on trust.

There are people who would try to get the skin of a tiger, it just depends on whether the conditions can impress the other party.

"Master Zhu, let me be frank with you. The partner I chose is actually Liusha."

The pupils of Zhu's eyes behind the mask suddenly shrank, and then he did not hide his surprise:
"quicksand!"

"Xia Kui, are you kidding me?"

"National Master Gu Xun is going to rebel?"

He didn't know whether Gu Xun would rebel against the Zhu family, but he didn't think the other party was very loyal.

But if Gu Xun wanted to rebel, he certainly didn't need to use the shells of the Nong family and Chen Sheng. He could just rebel directly and that would be the end of it.

"It has nothing to do with Gu Xun." Ah Yan shook his head lightly, "He has been missing for many days, and it is confirmed that he went out to sea with Mirage."

"So..." A guess came to Zhu Jia's mind, but he felt it was unreliable.

Ah Yan nodded and directly confirmed his guess, "Xiaoshengxian Manor was destroyed overnight, and the great scholar Xun Kuang and the head of the sect, Fu Nian, died. Master Zhu, do you think Han Fei, who was Xun Kuang's direct disciple, and Zhang Liang, Fu Nian's junior brother, will just brush this off?"

The Zhu family immediately understood.

It was true that Han Fei and Zhang Liang wanted to take revenge on the empire, but they were probably still concerned about Gu Xun, so they did not dare to directly involve Liusha in the rebellion, and instead turned to the Nong family to act as their white gloves.

Ah Yan continued to add details to further convince the Zhu family, "I have been communicating with Chen Sheng, the head of Mount Li, through Zhang Liang as the middleman."

In fact, no additional details are needed, the Zhu family is basically convinced of this.

The blood feud at Xiaoshengxianzhuang was unacceptable to anyone. In his opinion, Han Fei and Zhang Liang's decision not to rebel directly was an act of extreme restraint.

Now that Chen Sheng is willing to take the lead, it is only natural for them to secretly add fuel to the flames.

"What are the conditions for quicksand?"

"It's simple, they just want to see the Empire die!"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Jia continued to ask, "Then how do they plan to cooperate?"

"It's very simple." Ah Yan replied with a smile, "They don't ask anything, and they won't have any relationship with Chen Sheng in public. They will only provide all the logistical supplies we need in private."

"They can provide military supplies, food, weapons and equipment, and even siege equipment in large quantities."

"Tsk tsk..." Zhu Jia pinched his beard and smacked his lips, not feeling very reassured. "This condition sounds too generous to us, doesn't it?"

Ah Yan replied calmly, "Of course, there are some other restrictions."

"For example, they will limit the supply of materials, and adjust it in real time according to the actual situation at that time. It is not an unlimited supply. If we need materials beyond the limit, we may need to pay extra to buy them."

"For example, only you and I can know about the cooperation, and we cannot leak it to anyone else, not even Hall Master Chen Sheng and his men. If someone guesses it or finds out on their own, it is not within the restrictions."