My game can make money starting from the Three Kingdoms period.

See the deputy's report:

"Captain! A messenger from the Cheng family reports that he encountered an unidentified enemy force and has already annihilated the invading enemy on behalf of the Captain!"

"The Cheng family?!"

Lu Congtian slammed his hand on the chair, and the mortise and tenon joints cracked violently.

Lu Congtian's ominous premonition grew stronger.

Is it...

right now

Cheng Dong arrived leisurely, surrounded by his troops.

"Captain, you're too kind. Defending Dianjiang is the duty of the Cheng family. The credit for annihilating the enemy belongs to you, Captain."

Cheng Dong looked down at him with a relaxed smile.

They still placed him under the banner of justice, their words and actions impeccable.

Lu Congtian stared intently at Cheng Dong, countless thoughts swirling in his mind.

However, given the current unclear situation, he could only endure it.

He wanted to wait for his scouts to report the facts before taking any action.

So Lu Congtian forced a smile and reassured Cheng Dong, "So it was Cheng Gong who did it. How dare I claim this credit? I wonder how many enemies Cheng Gong killed, and who they were? Please tell me, Cheng Gong, so that I can report your merit."

Lu Congtian's eyes betrayed him.

Cheng Dong already knew that Lu Congtian had guessed it was intentional, but so what?!

Cheng Dong dared to mock Lu Congtian, a mere captain, showing no fear of him!

Cheng Dong stroked his beard and chuckled, "The enemy wasn't many, just a dozen or so boats. They were all dressed in white, trying to infiltrate Dianjiang, but luckily I spotted them and shot them dead in the waterway. None of them survived!"

No one survived; each word struck Lu Congtian's heart like a hammer blow.

Lu Congtian knew perfectly well that this fleet belonged to Deng Kai, who had returned.

After Lü Meng crossed the river in disguise, Jing and Yi provinces were especially wary of caravans dressed as white.

Cheng Dong, taking advantage of the rules, portrayed Deng Kai's fleet as the enemy of the White-Clad Crossing the River.

In addition, Deng Kai brought supplies and tenants from Zigui, and had weapons and men. On the surface, he was no different from Lü Meng who crossed the river in white robes!

There were many checkpoints along the waterway from Zigui to Jiangzhou, and Deng Kai sent out clearance documents in advance, which ensured that everything went smoothly.

Now that they are about to reach Dianjiang, Deng Kai may relax his vigilance and fail to report his arrival at customs, which Cheng Dong could seize upon and kill as if he were an infiltrator of the enemy!

Or perhaps Deng Kai had reported it, but it was suppressed by Cheng Dong, who had absolute power!

In short, now that the dead are dead, there's no way to prove anything!

What a terrible situation, no one can survive!

Why would Cheng Dong do this? It's not hard to imagine. Once Deng Kai brings his men and supplies to Dianjiang for flood control, how will Cheng Dong make money?

Moreover, how could he allow the authority of the local bully to be challenged?

Now, both of them know the truth, but they can't bring themselves to confront each other.

Cheng Dong disguised himself too well; he hijacked every excuse that was in his favor.

If Lu Congtian were to erupt now, it would be exactly what Cheng Dong wanted.

Cheng Dong wanted Lu Congtian to lash out at him without asking any questions.

Why would Cheng Dong fear Lu Congtian, who has less than four hundred men? His own private army alone numbers three thousand! If Lu Congtian dares to make a move, he can defend himself openly and legitimately, thereby replacing Lu Congtian!

Therefore, Cheng Dong was so emboldened and dared to provoke Lu Congtian.

When the scouts returned, they whispered a few words in Lu Congtian's ear.

Lu Congtian confirmed that it was Deng Kai's fleet that had been ambushed by Cheng Dong!

Fortunately, Deng Kai's son, Deng Yi, did not follow him and remained in the city.

Lu Congtian remained calm and bowed to Cheng Dong, saying, "Lord Cheng's foresight, loyalty, and courage in fighting the enemy have protected the safety of Dianjiang. I sincerely admire you."

Cheng Dong could tell that Lu Congtian was being sarcastic.

He chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the feeling that Lu Congtian couldn't do anything to him.

"Heh, such a trivial matter is not worth mentioning. Commandant, may we now consider my suggestion from that day?"

"We should follow the example of Master Cheng."

Lu Congtian readily agreed, which surprised Cheng Dong.

Seeing Cheng Dong raise his eyebrows, he cupped his hands and smiled, "The Commandant is a man of great principle, a blessing to the people and to the Han Dynasty. It's a pity that County Magistrate Deng isn't here. If he knew that the Commandant had seen the error of his ways..."

Cheng Dong casually mentioned Deng Kai, carefully observing Lu Congtian's reaction.

But Lu Congtian seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, no longer displaying the hostility he had shown earlier. "Thank you, Lord Cheng, for letting me know the operating rules behind Dianjiang. Deng Kai remains obstinate; I will certainly submit a memorial impeaching him and commend Lord Cheng for his achievements in water management. Let us move forward hand in hand!"

"Haha! Very good, very good!" Cheng Dong was very satisfied with Lu Congtian's words.

Why did Cheng Dong keep Lu Congtian around?

Because the idea of ​​flood control was proposed by Lu Congtian, and it was something he had been implementing all along.

Cheng Dong thought Lu Congtian was quite clever, actually coming up with such a good way to make money.

If Lu Congtian is killed or replaced, and if the higher-ups send people to investigate the water management matter, the Cheng family will inevitably be exposed.

The best outcome would be for Lu Congtian to cooperate willingly.

Once the money for flood control is used up, Cheng Dong has countless ways to shut Lu Congtian up. Then he'll switch projects, change people, and continue making money.

Therefore, Cheng Dong believed that he had used Deng Kai's life to subdue Lu Congtian.

If Lu Congtian obeys, everything will be fine; if he doesn't, there's nothing that can be done about the Cheng family now, because everything is so perfectly seamless.

Cheng Dong left leisurely.

He did not fully trust Lu Congtian.

He instructed Cheng Jiacao, a minor official he had placed in the county government, to keep a close eye on Lu Congtian's every move.

A few days later

Lu Congtian did indeed submit a memorial impeaching Deng Kai and praising Cheng Dong.

Of course, this was just a "minor matter" and not worthy of alarming the Ministry of Personnel or the Prime Minister's Office. The document was dealt with as soon as it reached Jiangzhou.

In other words, Fei Guan, who is now the Prefect of Ba Commandery and concurrently the Supervisor of Military Farms, was the one who ultimately decided to appeal.

Lu Congtian received a reply from Jiangzhou, saying that Deng Kai disregarded the law, illegally moved ships, transported private soldiers, and had ulterior motives, and should be punished. The reply also acknowledged Cheng Dong's merit in guarding Dianjiang, allocated some money to support Lu Congtian's water management efforts, and appointed him as the temporary county magistrate.

After receiving a reply, Lu Congtian sought out Cheng Dong.

The money and silk allocated to Jiangzhou were entirely entrusted to Cheng Dong for arrangement.

Lu Congtian's actions completely put Cheng Dong at ease.

Cheng Dong took in Lu Congtian's behavior and assumed that Lu Congtian had completely submitted to his tyranny.

This is what a truly ambitious person is!

Cheng Dong was very satisfied. He took 80%, gave 10% to Lu Congtian as a favor, and used the remaining 10% to do a show of flood control.

Three days later

Due to insufficient funds, the flood control project was forced to be suspended again.

The frequent work stoppages have drawn widespread complaints from the public.

If rumors start to circulate, it means the government isn't truly committed to controlling the floods.

Lu Congtian then visited the Cheng family again and offered his advice: "Master Cheng, it is now difficult to control the floods and amass wealth from the higher-ups. I have a preliminary idea and would like to ask for your opinion."

"Let's talk about it from the fields."

"Now, as the concurrent county magistrate, I have the power to create various pretexts. If I were to use the pretext of water management to levy taxes on the people, there would be over 8,600 households in Dianjiang. If each household were taxed 1,000 coins, that would amount to over 8 million coins..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Dong burst into laughter, exclaiming, "Cong Tian is truly intelligent!"

See? Who would turn down money?

It's not too late for Lu Congtian to realize this now.

Moreover, Lu Congtian was a master at making money, which greatly pleased Cheng Dong. "Congtian, go ahead and do it! I'll give you my full support!"

"Excellent!"

"I've heard you have three concubines..."

"I'll send it to Master Cheng shortly!"

Cheng Dong laughed, "No, I wanted to give you another one."

"Thank you, Mr. Cheng! I won't stand on ceremony and will accept it!" Lu Congtian said with a polite smile.

Cheng Dong immediately set up a banquet and summoned his concubine to entertain Lu Congtian.

Cheng Dong was very secretive in his actions, and even though he gradually trusted Lu Congtian, he would not let go of the necessary surveillance.