Changsheng: My experience in patrolling the liver

Chapter 91 Precarious
In the end, it was the County Minister Ji Xuechang who stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Sir, we should prepare for the worst as soon as possible."

"I know," Xiao Jingchuan held his forehead and sighed with a worried look on his face.

A day has passed since he learned about this, and he has just recovered from the shock of his son being imprisoned.

As a county governor and the leader of a force, with so many people watching him, it is impossible for him to be immersed in grief and lose his mind.

He needs to recover eventually. The more urgent the situation is, the calmer he needs to be to make the right decision.

He knew very well that in the worst case scenario, he would have to abandon his two sons if necessary.

If there is any chance, he will try to rescue his son.

Unfortunately, the political enemy who sent Xiao Hongyang to prison was backed by one of the six princes.

In other words, it was one of the princes who instructed to suppress his Xiao family.

If the third prince behind his Xiao family does not support him, what can he use to fight against the other princes?

"Everyone, please speak." Xiao Jingchuan glanced around and said.

"This incident was most likely done by the Second Prince. We analyzed the martial arts masters who tried to assassinate Lord Li, as well as the bandit army of the Three Dragons of Dongcang. They were the troops he deployed!"

"We ruined his plans in the first place, so now that he has time to spare, he wants to deal with us!"

"The Third Prince promised to protect us, could it be that he went back on his word?"

"Your Highness should keep his word. To break it this time is really petty!"

"If I had known this, I shouldn't have bet on him. I really misjudged him!"

"I have said it before, the Fourth Prince should have been our first choice. Facts have proven that the Third Prince is not worthy of our support at all!"

"Everyone, it's too early to talk about this now. Perhaps the Third Prince has some hidden secrets. Once the county magistrate's personal letter arrives, there may be room for reversal."

"Let's not talk about other things for now. For now, we should consider how to deal with the revenge of the Second Prince after the Third Prince does nothing!"

"."

A group of civil servants and advisers spoke one after another, and the words became increasingly heated. From time to time, they would exchange a few words to express different positions and opinions.

There are even some who mock and ridicule colleagues with whom they had different opinions in the past.

Xiao Jingchuan felt a headache after hearing this, and suddenly thought of something. His eyes fell on Gu Wenhui who was standing in the outer circle.

At the beginning, he insisted on getting involved in this party dispute, but Gu Wenhui repeatedly advised him against it, saying that the time was not right.

Xiao Jingchuan got tired of listening to Gu Wenhui, so he simply distanced himself from him and stopped listening to what he said.

Now that things have come to this, looking back on the past, he feels somewhat regretful.

Facts have proved that Gu Wenhui's concerns were correct. He was too anxious, which led to this situation.

"Wenhui, do you have anything to say?" Xiao Jingchuan suddenly spoke, causing the others to shut up and turn their heads to look at Gu Wenhui who was standing in the outer circle.

In fact, this was the first time in recent years that Xiao Jingchuan asked for Gu Wenhui's opinion.

Gu Wenhui looked normal, and he cupped his hands and said, "Mr. County Magistrate, now that this has happened, I am more worried about the safety of you and the entire Xiao family than the eldest son who is already in prison.

If it is confirmed that the Third Prince has completely abandoned you, he will certainly retaliate further, and the next target may be Donglai County!"

After hearing this, everyone realized that this was indeed the worst outcome.

"As I thought, the simplest and most direct way is to use the imperial power to dismiss you from your post and send you back to the imperial capital to await your fate. Then, we will confiscate the Xiao family's property and replace them with a new governor who suits their interests to take charge of Donglai County."

What Gu Wenhui said made Xiao Jingchuan a little restless.

"If this is the case, what should I do?" Xiao Jingchuan asked hurriedly.

Gu Wenhui frowned slightly, as if thinking, and spoke after a moment.

"First of all, you, the county magistrate, must not go to the imperial capital at this time. If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you will find no excuse. Otherwise, if someone wants to harm you, you will not be protected at all."

Xiao Jingchuan nodded, agreeing with what Gu Wenhui said.

"There are only two options left. One is to hand over the position of county governor and the huge Donglai County, take away all the soldiers, money and supplies, and leave to find a chance to make a comeback. As long as people are still here, everything will still have a chance."

Hearing this, Xiao Jingchuan frowned even more tightly and said, "What about the other way?"

"Disobey the order, defend Donglai County and wait for help." Gu Wenhui said.

"Help? Do you mean the third prince?" Xiao Jingchuan asked.

"No, it's the other princes." Gu Wenhui explained with a faint smile.

"Now the six princes are fighting each other more and more fiercely. Since the third prince wants to abandon us and the second prince wants to retaliate against us, there may be other princes willing to accept us. Of course, the prerequisite is that the county governor must show enough value, enough to attract the special attention of the other princes."

"Value? Are you talking about my private soldiers?" Xiao Jingchuan followed Gu Wenhui's line of thought and learned to answer quickly.

"Yes, the six emperors are fighting for the throne, and in the end it will most likely be a battle of troops. As long as the county governor shows a strong enough military force, I believe there will be a prince willing to pick up your newly sharpened sword and help him ascend the throne!
As long as there is a prince willing to guarantee the Xiao family, even if it is the Third Prince who has changed his mind, your two sons in the imperial capital will be able to resolve the crisis together."

When Gu Wenhui finished speaking, Xiao Jingchuan's eyes lit up.

With this analysis, maybe his two sons can be saved!
As for his private soldiers, he has been training them seriously over the years and has never been vague. Although the results they have achieved are not as good as those of the powerful armies that have seen many battles, they still have good combat effectiveness.

Among them, the lower-level officers such as sergeants and sergeants are all arranged according to the strength of the warriors!
When Gu Wenhui said this, he saw that Xiao Jingchuan was interested, so he said no more and quietly retreated outside the crowd to wait.

There were different voices among the staff officials, but most of them agreed with what Gu Wenhui said.

The discussion lasted until late at night before everyone left.

County Magistrate Ji Xuechang walked at the end and said hesitantly, "Sir, disobeying the order is a serious crime. Once you do it, there will be no turning back."

There was some hesitation in Xiao Jingchuan's eyes, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "The only ones who can save my son are the princes. I will not sit and wait for death. If it really doesn't work, then I will abandon the city and make new plans!"

After seeing this, Ji Xuechang knew that his county magistrate had made up his mind, so he could only sigh and leave.

The Xiao family, which seemed to be at its peak and could call the shots in Donglai County, almost fell apart in an instant because of a game and an idea at a higher level.

It is not easy to fight against such overwhelming power.

A few more days passed like this.

The imperial envoy really came, and as Gu Wenhui said, his first purpose was to remove Xiao Jingchuan from his position as county governor and escort him to Beijing for interrogation.

Xiao Jingchuan knew that this was a road of no return, and finally he resolutely chose to disobey the order and broke off relations with the court.

This move is bold.

Normally speaking, the imperial court holds the military power of the world, which is something that a mere county magistrate like him cannot resist.

But now the emperor is bedridden, and the six most likely successors are fighting each other to the point of bloodshed, and they are too lazy to pay any attention to the faraway Donglai County.

In the end, in order to maintain the imperial power, the Central Secretariat ordered the three counties of Nanyang, Qijiang and Yongkang to send troops together to attack the rebel Donglai County Governor.

These three counties are adjacent to Donglai County, so sending troops does not require long journeys or excessive labor and financial expenditure. The cost of the expedition is the lowest and the efficiency is the highest.

Moreover, by gathering the strength of the three counties, it should be a sure thing to conquer Donglai County.

Inside the Sheriff's Mansion.

"It's really as Wen Hui said. The court only allows these three counties to send troops!" Xiao Jingchuan, who received the news of mobilizing troops from the three counties, said excitedly.

“It is not surprising that His Majesty is not paying attention to state affairs and the Shangshutai does not have military orders, so it cannot mobilize the central army or the border defense army and can only coordinate the forces of the surrounding counties.

In fact, all the civil and military officials in the court are now eyeing the vacant throne. They are busy taking sides and engaging in party struggles, and their minds are not on other places. Even the governors of the three counties are watching the situation and will not cooperate with all their strength.

To put it bluntly, the court and the imperial power are at their weakest right now! "Gu Wenhui bowed and said slowly, without any haste or impatience.

"Then what's next?" Xiao Jingchuan looked at Gu Wenhui.

"The next battle will be a tough one. If the county magistrate can defeat the soldiers from the three counties, the situation can be broken." Gu Wenhui said.

"it is good!"

On this day, Song Changming received a summons from Xiao Shuyun and came to the Xiao Mansion.

He soon noticed that the atmosphere in the Xiao Mansion today was a little unusual. The servants were all in a hurry or carrying something.

Before entering the courtyard, I heard the sound of a zither, which was gentle and sad.

Song Changming recognized that the piano was played by Xiao Shuyun, and he had heard it many times in recent days.

Although he didn't understand music, he could tell that the sound of the piano played by Xiao Shuyun today was somewhat different from the past.

Song Changming stepped into the courtyard and waited until the music ended before he bowed.

"I've met Miss Fourth."

There were only Xiao Shuyun and her two maids in the courtyard, with no other servants or guests.

"Captain Song, I see you this time because I want to say goodbye to you." Xiao Shuyun stood up and sighed.

Today she was wearing a goose yellow long skirt, with her beautiful black hair draped over her head. She had only a few delicate hairpins on her head, without too many gold, silver or jade ornaments, and looked elegant and pretty.

(End of this chapter)