Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 204 Chaos
"Brother Liu, it's been a long time." Liu Daogui cupped his hands in greeting.

Liu Yi's gaze was complicated. "Tonight's banquet is for celebration; the military parade should be held tomorrow."

Liu Daogui said solemnly, "Brother Liu, you may not know this, but the soldiers have fought hard on the battlefield and have only just finished resting today. They came here immediately to be inspected by the general. They have no other intentions."

Logically, after a victorious return, even without compensation, two celebratory banquets should be held to appease the soldiers who fought on the battlefield.

Huan Hong spent his days in a drunken stupor, ignoring the people below him.

Therefore, Liu Daogui's actions today are to be expected.

"Of course, everyone in the military government knows that they are loyal to the court," Liu Yi said with a sarcastic expression.

Liu Daogui met his gaze without flinching, saying, "Brother Liu, you truly understand me!"

Liu Yi's banter eased the atmosphere considerably. Huan Hong stepped forward and waved to the soldiers, saying, "Now that you have been inspected, you may return to your camp."

But to everyone's surprise, the soldiers remained motionless.

In front of so many people, Huan Hong's face fell, and he shouted, "This is a military order; those who disobey will be executed!"

However, these words made the atmosphere tense again.

The soldiers turned their gazes toward Liu Daogui.

Having reached this point, it was pretty much over. Liu Daogui wasn't really planning to rebel, so he loudly proclaimed, "General Huan's orders cannot be disobeyed. Let's stop here for today."

The soldiers shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Then they turned around and left in an orderly fashion.

Having achieved his objective, there was no point in staying any longer. Liu Daogui bowed to the crowd and said, "I have military duties to attend to, so I will not disturb your enjoyment any longer. Farewell."

"Since Daoze is here, why not stay and have a few drinks?" Liu Yi said, feigning an invitation to stay.

These words should have been spoken by Huan Hong, but coming from Liu Yi's mouth inevitably carries the suspicion of overstepping his bounds.

Huan Hong looked grim and seemed at a loss, standing there stunned, his limelight stolen by Liu Yi.

"There will be plenty of time in the future. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will drink with Brother Liu again." Liu Daogui's words had a hidden meaning.

Liu Yi also said meaningfully, "Then I, your brother, will have to pay you a visit."

Liu Daogui sneered and prepared to turn around and leave this place of trouble.

But just then, the sound of galloping hooves came rushing in, "Report... Kuai En, the county magistrate of Yandu, has colluded with bandits, burned down the salt fields, and absconded with valuables..."

The scout's anxious words struck the general's mansion like a thunderbolt.

Everyone was so shocked they couldn't close their mouths.

"How could this be? Where did these thieves come from?" Gao Ya was furious, staring at Liu Daogui, but quickly turned to Liu Yi, "I remember this county magistrate of Yandu is one of your men!"

After such a major incident, Liu Yi's face turned pale, and he lost his composure from before. The reason he was able to make a comeback was because he handed over the salt fields to Sima Yuanxian.

Now Yandu has been plundered again, Sima Yuanxian has gained nothing, and Liu Yi will be badly injured even if he doesn't die. "How could this be... there must be something fishy going on..."

"Strange? Humph, what strange could there be? If you can't pay the salt and money, what use are you to the prince!" Gao Yazhi cursed without any regard for decorum.

His main purpose in coming to Guangling was to take over Yandu. Now that Yandu is gone, his position as the Prefect of Guangling is meaningless, and the Gao family has lost face in front of Sima Yuanxian...

Liu Yi looked at Liu Daogui, a look of resentment rising in his eyes, but he quickly became puzzled.

All the people from the Conquering Army were present.

If the people from Lanling were coming, regardless of whether they went through Xiapi, Pengcheng, or Shouchun, once they entered Guangling County, Liu Yi, as the local strongman, would surely know. A thousand men simply couldn't hide their tracks.

Sure enough, Liu Yi shifted his gaze from Liu Daogui and stared intently at Huan Hong.

The Sima and Gao families were in trouble, and the Huan family was the prime suspect. Coincidentally, Huan Hong had brought a lot of people over from Jingzhou, and there were also many of Huan Chong's old friends in Guangling County...

Huan Hong first looked at Liu Daogui, then at Liu Yi, and a look of schadenfreude suddenly appeared on his face.

His alliance with Liu Yi was based on their own ulterior motives, and now that Liu Yi was going to suffer, he was actually happy for him. And Gao Yazhi, the Prefect of Guangling, was another dog sent to Guangling by Sima Yuanxian; he was going to be dragged down with him too…

Each of them had their own ulterior motives and was trying to shirk responsibility; none of them had a solution.

Liu Daogui sneered inwardly. No matter how hard they racked their brains, they would never have guessed that it was the military households who were behind it, because these people were always focused on what was above and couldn't see the military households below at all.

Just then, two bright eyes were cast over.

Looking over, Liu Daogui saw Meng Chang and Yuan He.

If there are any clever people in the Conquering Army, these two are certainly among them.

Even if they guessed it, it didn't matter. It was just empty talk, and Sima Yuanxian wouldn't believe it anyway. Liu Daogui was the least suspicious, Huan Hong was the most suspicious, and Liu Yi was the next most suspicious.

Liu Daogui was filled with righteous indignation. "Who dares to be so audacious? It's utterly outrageous! Looting the salt fields is tantamount to going against the imperial court and against the general! I request permission to immediately pursue and annihilate the thieves!"

The thief crying "stop thief!" only makes the situation more chaotic.

Liu Daogui subtly implied that Huan Hong was involved.

"One should not speak recklessly according to the rules. Yandu has never been under the jurisdiction of the Conquering Army. We should report it and wait for the court to make a decision." Huan Hong was no pushover either. He completely shirked responsibility and silently retreated behind his troops, becoming a coward.

Gao Ya retorted angrily, "Your Conquering Army headquarters is full of spies and informants. It's good enough that you don't collude with them. How can you possibly catch any thieves?"

He said those words without thinking, offending almost everyone.

There was an immediate rebuttal. Yuan He rolled his eyes and stepped in to stir things up, "General Gao, what do you mean? What does the robbery of Yandu have to do with our military government? This matter is no small thing, and we must make it clear today."

He was being relatively polite; the others pointed at his nose and cursed, "Don't you dare make false accusations!"

"In my opinion, it is clearly you who are crying 'stop thief' while plundering Yandu!"

The crowd started chattering, making the scene even more chaotic.

Gao Ya's fair face turned a deep purplish-red with anger, but there was nothing she could do. The Zheng Lu Army was an independent entity, and the Guangling Chancellor had no right to question it. Only the Governor of Yangzhou or the Northern Commander could issue orders.

The Jin dynasty was cobbled together by various factions, resulting in a complex internal structure and a chaotic power structure.

Even the imperial court sometimes cannot command the local areas.

Just like how the imperial court suppressed the Huan family, the Huan family remained steadfast and would immediately make a comeback at the slightest sign of trouble.

Liu Daogui chuckled inwardly. This group was indeed a makeshift crew, adept at infighting and vying for power, but when trouble came, none of them could step up; they all shifted blame and blamed each other…

This has always been the prevailing custom in Jiangzuo.

The last time Yandu was robbed, there was a lot of fighting and disputes, but in the end, nothing came of it.

Huan Hong snorted coldly: "Since General Gao has his own way, my Conquering Army will not meddle in other people's business. This is the end for today. Farewell."

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves, turned around and left, leaving Gao Yazhi and Liu Yi stunned on the spot.

Liu Daogui ordered his soldiers, "The general has ordered us to return to camp!"

(End of this chapter)