Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 164 Governor's Order
Xu Zhao's military expansion is just the tip of the iceberg.

Because military expansion is closely linked to factors such as finance, personnel, diplomacy, and government orders, any move will affect the entire system.

Military expansion is only the result; what is complicated is the process.

Today's Jiangdong bears some resemblance to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Faced with immense pressure to survive, various factions have begun actively seeking change.

Winter is coming and the storm is about to come. The best will survive and the worst will be eliminated!
Words such as war, military expansion, Yan Yi, and Wu Jing have become hot topics in the Jiangdong gentry circle.

The unfortunate Wang Lang unfortunately became a negative example and his reputation plummeted.

Thirty-six cities, thirty to forty thousand troops, but you can't even capture Qiantang, which is so close to you. I gave you the chance but you didn't use it!

Wang Lang, who was originally expected to become the leader of Jiangdong, has now become the object of everyone's ridicule.

After Wang Lang was killed, the game between Wu Jing and Yan family once again became the core focus of the situation in Jiangdong.

Everyone knows that the outcome of this battle will determine the future situation of Wujun and even the entire Jiangdong.

Scouts from various forces began to swarm towards Wucheng like a swarm of bees, and the spies lurking near Wucheng also quietly accelerated their pace of action.

Countless eyes were fixed on the core figures in the vortex: Wu Jing, Yan Yi, Xu Gong, Yan Baihu, Xu Zhao, and Yuan Shu.
After Xu Zhao publicly sided with the Yan family and personally led 5,000 troops to support Wucheng, Xu Gong, who had little presence recently, finally responded.

The reason why Xu Gong has been unusually low-key recently is because he is secretly working on something big!
This matter was to welcome the Yangzhou governor Liu Yao into Wu County and use Liu Yao as a hostage to control Yangzhou!

Historically, the person who accomplished this was Wu Jing, but now it has become Xu Gong. Compared with Wu Jing, Xu Gong has a stronger control over Liu Yao because he has a vast territory and a stable business. It is difficult for Liu Yao to shake his position.

Xu Gong believed that once he accomplished this, he would immediately become the most dazzling figure in the entire Jiangdong!

Now, the matter was about to be settled. Liu Yao, who had conspired with him, was on his way to Wu County and would arrive soon.

Xu Gong, who was sharpening his knife, could no longer hold back after two months of silence and decided to take advantage of the current situation to establish his prestige in the whole of Jiangdong.

Liu Yao is the sharpest knife in his hand, and he can use this knife to command the heroes of Jiangdong.

Those who follow me will prosper, those who go against me will perish!

Xu Gong, who was full of pride, immediately issued an order of governor in the name of Liu Yao, which spread throughout Jiangdong, demanding that Wu and Yan families stop fighting.

Yan Baihu was overjoyed to see the order and responded positively at the first time, expressing his willingness to obey the order of the governor.

However, after Wu Jing received the document from the governor, he flew into a rage and was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.

Liu Yao was originally the chess piece he had set his sights on, but now he was snatched away by Xu Gong, who used this chess piece to deal with him. How could he not be filled with hatred!

"Lord Wu, when Governor Liu first took charge of Yangzhou, it was the time to promote culture and education, alleviate the suffering of the people, and allow them to rest and recuperate. Now that you have received the order, you should withdraw your troops immediately to avoid further conflict."

Zhang Zhen, the envoy sent by Xu Gong, saw Wu Jing accept the document and then stood there silently, neither returning the greeting nor expressing his obedience. Growing uneasy, he couldn't help but raise a warning. Wu Jing slowly raised his head, his hands crunching the document until it crackled. Suddenly, he threw it to the ground, drew his sword, and approached Zhang Zhen with a stern grin. "Xu Gong falsely passed on the governor's document, and I was intending to use obedience to suppress rebellion. You are unworthy of being a member of the Zhang family, yet you fail to distinguish right from wrong and come here to die!"

Zhang Zhen was horrified. He took two steps back and took out the official seal from his sash. His voice trembled slightly, "Wu Jing, I am the Six Hundred Stone Official appointed by the Governor himself! If you kill me, it would be a crime of treason. According to the law, your entire family should be executed. Don't make the mistake!"

Sun Ben quickly stepped forward, pressed the hilt of his sword, and advised, "My Lord, there's no point in killing this cowardly rat. Don't dirty your sword."

Zhang Zhen is a descendant of the Zhang family, one of the four major families in Wu County. He has come with the documents of the governor. If he is killed, it will cause trouble.

Wu Jing knew that the man before him could not be killed. He was just feeling pent up and had no place to vent his anger, so he shouted, "Get out!"

This loud shout seemed to roar out all the anger, grievance, fear and guilt he had felt in the past few months, shaking the dust on the top of the military tent to fall down.

Zhang Zhen retreated in panic.

Sun Ben waved his hand, signaling the generals in the tent to withdraw. He then whispered to Wu Jing, "Uncle, Xu Gong has taken Liu Yao hostage, acting with righteousness. If we openly disobey the governor's orders, we will lose support. The only way to eliminate Liu Yao's influence is to have Yuan Shu issue the imperial seal. Should we postpone our attack on Wucheng for two days?"

As the Governor of Yangzhou, personally appointed by Emperor Xian, Liu Yao held considerable influence in Jiangdong. Otherwise, Wu Jing, despite commanding military power, would not have been driven out by Liu Yao. While the Sun family posed no fear of Liu Yao, openly defying the Governor's orders would have led to considerable trouble and negative consequences.

After Wu Jing scolded Zhang Zhen and sent him packing, he fell into a trance, ignoring Sun Ben's words. Suddenly, he raised his haggard face, staring at Sun Ben with bloodshot eyes, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is Zhu Zhi really dead?"

When Sun Ben heard the name Zhu Zhi, he couldn't help but shudder and said with an uneasy look, "He must be dead."

Over the past two days, Zhu Zhi's life and death has almost become a concern for him and Wu Jing.

The reason is simple: the assassin who assassinated Zhu Zhi was sent by the two of them!
If this matter were to get out, the two of them would be dead without a burial place. The spit of the Sun generals alone would be enough to drown them.

When news of Zhu Zhi's capture reached them, Wu Jing and Sun Ben had tried to rescue him. However, everything changed when they captured Guzhang.

Thanks to the help of insiders in the city and the fact that the defenders had no intention of resisting, the city fell very quickly.

Less than two hours after the envoy sent by Wu Jing to Qiantang left, Guzhang fell into great chaos during a tentative attack by Wu Jing's army and was subsequently captured.

Wu Jing and Sun Ben were suddenly caught in a dilemma.

Should he wait patiently for the outcome of the negotiation between the envoy and Yan Yi, or should he take advantage of Wang Lang's golden opportunity to hold Yan Yi back and march eastward to capture Wucheng in one fell swoop?
Negotiations, after two or three days of effort, would hardly bring back any news. The outcome of the negotiations was also almost predictable: a high probability of collapse.

Do we really have to give up the opportunity to fight that is so close to us just for Zhu Zhi?
On the one hand, there is a hopeless wait, and on the other hand, there is the temptation to tear down the southwestern barrier of Wu County and destroy the Yan family.

After a fierce ideological struggle, Wu Jing and Sun Ben finally chose the latter.

So, not long after the negotiating envoys left Guzhang, their confidants rushed to Qiantang without stopping and ordered the assassins in the city to assassinate Zhu Zhi.

These assassins were all trusted warriors trained by the Sun family. They had once served Zhu Zhi, secretly eliminating his opponents in Qiantang. But when Zhu Zhi became a discarded pawn, they immediately turned their spearheads on him at the behest of Sun Ben, swinging their swords at their former target.

(End of this chapter)