Taiheiki

Chapter 29 Planning
"Meng De, you stayed in Wancheng just to do this?"

"Well, of course, this is just the beginning!" Wei Cong smiled: "There will be a second step and a third step next!"

"There's a second step, a third step?" Cao Cao's eyes sparkled. "No wonder you refused to return to Luoyang. Now that makes sense, are you the one behind this Deng family?"

"Yes, Deng Shimao from Nanyang has given his all to help!"

"That makes sense!" Cao Cao sighed. "I would do the same. Anyone who's not a fool or a blind person wouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If this goes through, the three states of Jing, Jiao, and Guang will benefit the Deng family for generations to come. While we may not have the title of feudal lord, we'll have the power of a feudal lord in reality. Brother Meng De, is it too late for me to get involved?"

"Aman, do you want to join too?" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"If I miss such a great opportunity right now, wouldn't I be the biggest fool in the world?" Cao Cao laughed and said, "Don't even mention the order of priority. I knew Brother Meng De before Deng Shimao did!"

"This..." Wei Cong hesitated for a moment and said, "Ah Man, if you must join, it's not impossible, but you also know the truth that if a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his country, and if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life, so--!"

"Don't worry, Brother Meng De. Even if it's Cai Mao, I will never reveal a single word!" Cao Cao patted his chest hurriedly: "This matter came from your mouth and entered my ears, and I will never let a third party know--" As soon as he said this, his eyes subconsciously glanced at A Jing next to him, revealing a hint of fierceness.

"A Jing is my bedside companion, you don't need to worry!" Wei Cong said hurriedly.

"Well!" Cao Cao nodded. "If that's the case, what do you plan to do with General Jiangyi, Brother Meng De?"

"Since we can't communicate, then we can only fight with weapons!" Wei Cong said, "I heard that he doesn't have any powerful family to protect him, or maybe his family is a powerful family. I don't know if it's true or not!"

"It seems so!" Cao Cao nodded. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have been a bandit for so many years. If he really had someone behind him, he would have long ago sought out a famous scholar as his teacher, changed his ways, devoted himself to learning, and in a few years, he would have been selected as a filial and honest official and then been sent to serve as an official in a county. In fact, Meng De, you are really lucky. If my prediction is correct, when Feng's cavalry marches south, Zhang Boshi will most likely join the army with his troops. If he achieves military merit and becomes an official, it will be a very different story!"

"This truly is an era of overwhelming martial virtue!" Wei Cong thought to himself. Over the four hundred years of the Han dynasty, clans gradually emerged from the grassroots of the empire, armed with swords in their left hands and Confucian classics in their right. Bonded by ties of blood, mentorship, referrals, and fellow townsmen, they formed powerful local power groups. Affairs at the prefecture and county levels were already their prey. Faced with these vibrant, growing, and pressing local forces, the imperial center was already unable to cope. Although the last two emperors of the Eastern Han dynasty employed every possible means to dismantle and divide these local factions (such as the Three Mutuals Law, the Hongdu School, and even the Party and Faction Persecution) in an effort to maintain imperial rule, the brutal infighting among the imperial relatives and eunuchs, the growing corruption of the central government, and the ongoing, costly foreign wars made all the central government's measures unsustainable and unsystematic. Once the leadership of the center changed (which was almost inevitable), all previous efforts would be undone.

As the central government's political resources dwindled, imperial power was increasingly forced to rely on co-opting one or more factions to combat another. Even if it managed to achieve one or two tactical victories, the fruits of victory would inevitably be devoured by the co-opted factions. From a longer-term perspective, the Eastern Han Empire was slowly but inexorably heading towards disintegration.

Unlike the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, the late Eastern Han dynasty saw only the empire itself decline, but Eastern Han society thrived, thriving and flourishing. As a newly emerging aristocratic landlord class, they were rich in talent and possessed a strong sense of martial virtue. They possessed wealth, land, and connections, and the fall of the empire merely shattered the shackles that bound them. They rubbed their hands, eager to take action, networking, and yearning for the impending turmoil (as evidenced by the early experiences of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and others, who, of course, viewed this not as destruction but as salvation for the Han Dynasty).

This is reflected in the fact that the founding monarchs of the three states of Wei, Shu, and Wu, established after the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, all adopted a more or less divisive approach towards the aristocratic landlord class. They all subjectively wanted to rebuild the First Qin and Han Empires. However, they all failed. The economic and social foundations that maintained the First Qin and Han Empires no longer existed. After experiencing the chaotic wars at the end of the Han Dynasty, the newly emerged aristocratic landlord class became even more powerful economically, culturally, militarily, and politically. Without their support, any of Wei, Shu, and Wu would have found it difficult to defeat their opponents and unify the world, let alone maintain their rule. This enormous force was no longer something that could be countered by the talents of a single hero.

The only problem was that the aristocratic landlord class was too young to balance individual interests with the interests of the empire. They seized power from the powerful Wei, annihilated Shu and Wu, and unified China. However, their shortsightedness and selfishness in how they wielded and exercised power led to the Rebellion of the Eight Princes and the Invasion of China by the Five Barbarians. The next person to attempt this path was Fu Jian, but that was more than half a century later.

Of course, even as a time traveler, Wei Cong couldn't possibly remember all of the above information, but he was certain of one thing: Cao Cao and Deng Zhong were both men of great talent, vision, and courage, but they weren't able to save the empire from collapse. Historically, Cao Cao was the one who ultimately buried the Han Empire. Therefore, Wei Cong knew full well that possessing martial virtues or extraordinary strategies wasn't necessarily a good thing for the world.

"Meng De, Meng De!" Cao Cao saw Wei Cong looked distracted and asked, "What's wrong with you? What are your plans for Zhang Bolu?"

"Me?" Wei Cong forced a smile to hide his distraction. "Of course, speed is of the essence in war. The faster the better. If Zhang Bolu knew about this, I'm afraid it would cause a lot of trouble!"

"That's right!" Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed. "Great minds think alike. I'll go back first and take those crimson-robed thieves away tonight and keep them in the cellar of Cai's mansion. That should at least delay Zhang Bolu from learning the truth for ten days or so, right? Then we can consider how to wipe out this gang of crimson-robed thieves!"

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"Are you crazy, Ah Man?" Cai Mao stood beside the table and put down the lacquer tray in his hand. "Anti-crimson general Zhang Boxi? Who do you think he is? A stray dog on the side of the road? He's been rampant in Jiangbei for over ten years. He has at least hundreds of brave young men under his command. Even the prefects and governors can't do anything to him, and yet you say you want to eliminate him? That's easy to say! How can you eliminate him? Just with your mouth?"

"I don't know what to do yet! But I have made up my mind and there is no need to say more!" Cao Cao's voice was as firm as the sword at his waist.

"Ah Man, who did you just meet? What kind of magic potion did they give you?" Cai Mao was at a loss for words. "You want to wipe out Zhang Bolu, that's great, but where are the soldiers? Where are the food? Where are the armor and weapons? Where are the warships? And then there's the connections with the county governors and magistrates. These all need to be taken care of, and it's not something that can be done overnight. Also, Feng Cheqi is about to arrive. Once he arrives, he will definitely recruit volunteers to fight the Wuling barbarians. Zhang Bolu will probably respond, so how can you eliminate him?"

"Everything depends on human effort!" Cao Cao smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. I just want to ask you one thing: will you help me?"

"I'll help you?" Cai Mao laughed out loud in anger. "How can I help you with this? Ah Man, I advise you to stop thinking about it. What about recruiting warriors to save Hanshou County, what about wiping out the crimson-robed bandits? We're just fifteen or sixteen-year-old kids, why would we risk our lives so much? With our family backgrounds, even if we don't do anything, we can still be selected as Xiaolian and become Lang after we come of age. If something goes wrong, won't we regret it?"

"After you come of age?" Cao Cao sneered. "Even if you're selected as a filial and honest official, so what? A palace official would take at least four or five years, wouldn't it? Then another five or six years before you can be promoted to a third-level official, and then to a provincial governor. Counting from now, that's at least twenty years, right? So many things could happen in such a long time. I don't need your help. Just tell me about Zhang Bolu's recent situation and the local conditions in Jiangling, and I'll leave the rest to you!"

Cai Mao saw Cao Cao's expression and knew his friend had made up his mind. He could only sigh and say, "Well, I'll help you, but I advise you to think twice before you act. Swords and spears are blind, and even the dead have no chance of survival!" "I'll remember that!" Cao Cao warned, "Ah Mao, this matter is confidential and must not be made known to others!"

"know!"

"These are the materials I've gathered about Zhang Bolu. You can take a look at them first!" Cao Cao pulled a scroll of paper from his sleeve and tossed it onto the table. "From what I can see, his family's Wu Fortress has really taken a lot of effort. With its trenches, ramparts, and even its archery towers, it's going to take a lot of lives."

As Wei Cong flipped through the documents, he smiled and said, "Doesn't Zhang Bolu really like to show off? Every time he goes out, he has a display of carriages and horses on land, and boats and ships on the water. His followers wear brocade robes and play drums. Why not find an opportunity for him to go out? Why bother to attack Wubao?"

"That's true!" Cao Cao nodded. "But he's been famous for quite a while now, and there must be many people who want to cause trouble for him. He's still alive today, so he's definitely not a good person. How many troops do you have? Let me have an idea first!"

"Just because others can't do it doesn't mean we can't do it! Fighting him outside is better than trying to take over Wubao!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "I have twelve people right now. I've already sent someone back to Wancheng to report this to Deng Shimao. When I come back, I'll bring the rest of my men with me, a total of fifty people. As for whether Deng Shimao will send anyone, I don't know!"

"Fifty men!" Cao Cao nodded. "A few days ago, I planned to go to Hanshou County and recruited over a hundred warriors. Together, they only make a hundred and fifty men. That's far from enough!"

"If we're besieging Wubao, even three or five times that number wouldn't be enough!" Wei Cong laughed. "But if we're going to bludgeon Zhang Bolu from outside, that's about enough. Oh, and there should be dragon boat racing in Jingzhou, right?"

"Dragon boat racing?" Cao Cao frowned. "This is Chu, so of course there will be some. But what does this have to do with how we deal with Zhang Bolu?"

"Don't worry about that, A'man!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "By the way, the warships Zhang Bolu usually uses for plundering shouldn't be special ships, right?"

"Of course!" Cao Cao laughed. "If he were so bold, he wouldn't be alive today!"

"In that case! Then I'm relieved!"

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There was a light snowfall, and Zhang Bolu could feel the snowflakes falling on his face, melting as soon as they touched his skin. He looked up at the sky, which was covered with dark clouds, just like his mood at the moment.

"Is there still no news about Bo Shi?" Zhang Bolu asked.

"Not yet!" The manager behind him answered cautiously, "I heard from the shop owner that at that time, Master Bo Shi and seven or eight of his companions and a Taoist priest had a conflict. The two sides started fighting, and then another group of customers also took action -"

"What happened next?" Zhang Bolu asked.

"The shop owner said he escaped and was afraid to look back. He didn't know what happened next!"

"Forget it!" Zhang Bolu let out a long breath, a puff of white mist appearing in the cold air. "You know, Feng Cheqi is about to head south. At this critical juncture, no complications are allowed! Tracking down the murderer can be put on hold for now!"

Hearing this completely unexpected order, the steward could not help but be overjoyed. Given Zhang Bolu's old temper, he was prepared to receive a scolding, or even a dozen lashes. It seemed that the master still took this matter very seriously.

"As ordered!"

"Also, has anything happened in Jiangling City these days? I mean, anything that might cause trouble?" Zhang Bolu asked.

"Something that caused trouble?" The manager hesitated for a moment and then replied, "There seems to be a dragon boat race in a few days. I wonder if that counts as causing trouble?"

"Dragon boat race?" Zhang Bolu was slightly stunned. "What month is it now? Isn't dragon boat racing a traditional event on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month?"

"I don't know about that, but I did see a bulletin board the last time I went to Jiangling City. It said there was a bounty of 10,000 coins for first place, 5,000 coins for second place, and 2,500 coins for third place! The remaining three to seven places also received 1,000 coins!"

"A bounty of ten thousand coins?" Zhang Bolu frowned. This bounty was indeed very generous, but many of his men were hot-blooded and aggressive. If they got involved, it would easily cause trouble. It would be fine on ordinary days, but at this critical juncture, the gain would outweigh the loss. "Tell those bastards to stay at the farm honestly for the next few days and not go anywhere, especially not to that dragon boat race. Otherwise, don't blame me, Zhang Bolu, for disregarding our old friendship!"

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(End of this chapter)