Three Kingdoms: Let Yuan Shen be great again

As the saying goes, there is a sequence to learning, and each profession has its own expertise; this saying is quite apt.

In dealing with wealthy and powerful families, Zhang Kai's professional skills are undoubtedly among the top three in the world, as evidenced by his proven track record.

(Cao Song: I have no objection.)

Yuan Yao's reflection on this point came from the heart as he watched Zhang Kai attack the fortified villages meticulously built by the powerful local lords.

After Yuan Yao received the list verified by Zhang Xun and the accompanying evidence, he carefully examined it several times, trying to pick out a few lucky unlucky people as his first targets.

This matter looks simple, but it's actually not difficult at all.

To be fair, everything on Yuan Yao's list is a priceless treasure. You could tear any one of them to pieces without hesitation, and you could pick them with your eyes closed without making a mistake.

The only risk was that Yuan Yao almost got high blood pressure from the inhuman acts of these anthropomorphic beings while verifying their crimes.

In the end, Yuan Yao conservatively chose only five targets to avoid provoking others by targeting too many.

The next step was to send troops to suppress the rebellion, which was to be carried out by Zhang Kai and his men.

Before the official start of the war, Yuan Yao and his companions Cao Xing and Liu Ye discussed how they would choose their offensive tactics if they were the ones fighting.

The group discussed the strength of the powerful family in front of them for a long time, analyzing the terrain and studying troop deployment. They finally concluded that if the opponent focused on defending the fortified village, the battle would likely turn into a difficult siege and street fighting, resulting in significant losses.

Yuan Yao was shocked to see this and quickly told Zhang Kai about it, hoping that the other side would be on high alert and not be caught off guard.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Kai laughed heartily, completely ignoring Yuan Yao's words and telling him to just relax and watch his performance.

"Brothers, let's slaughter the fat fish!"

At Zhang Xun's whistle, his men sprang into action, some surrounding the main gate, some blocking the back gate, and others standing on high ground to keep watch and report.

Instead of launching an attack, they provoked their opponents with vulgar and offensive language, loudly proclaiming which fortress walls were weak and vulnerable, and occasionally letting out screams and strange laughter, creating an extremely chaotic scene.

After tormenting his opponent for more than an hour, including two or three feint attacks, the tightly closed gate suddenly opened, and the henchmen of these powerful figures launched an attack on Zhang Kai.

Zhang Kai had been waiting for this. He immediately gave the order to launch a counter-offensive that crushed the enemy. Taking advantage of the enemy's rout, he stormed into the fortified village and declared victory in the battle with an almost complete triumph.

Yuan Yao was amazed, but couldn't help asking, "I don't understand, knowing they were at a disadvantage, why did they take the initiative to attack?"

Zhang Kai scoffed, "What do they know! These idiots are as stupid as pigs, how could they possibly understand the situation? They probably don't even know today is the eighth day of the seventh lunar month!"

Liu Ye: "Uh, today is the ninth day of the seventh month, General Zhang."

Zhang Kai: "..."

Yuan Yao: "..."

Everyone tacitly skipped this little interlude and continued watching the battle, moving into the final stages of the match.

According to the plan, the next step was simple: capture all the powerful leaders and their henchmen, plunder their hidden wealth, and recruit the common people who were dependent on the area.

The problem was that Zhang Kai's men were originally a bunch of bandits, and their military discipline was the worst in the entire Zhong clan. Seeing that the situation was settled, they immediately became treacherous and rushed into the fortified village to start burning, killing, and looting.

First, they would kill anyone who refused to put down their weapons. Then, if someone accidentally blocked their way, they would stab them without asking any questions. Finally, if someone was dressed well and seemed to have some money, they would kill them with one stab and then search them on the spot and strip them of their clothes.

The chaos escalated to the point that some people became increasingly lawless, committing murder and arson not only but also raping women in broad daylight.

unacceptable!

Liu Ye couldn't bear to watch any longer and wanted to advise Yuan Yao.

"That's too much!"

Unexpectedly, Yuan Yao was even angrier than Liu Ye and started cursing loudly.

"Zhang Kai, I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to manage your troops!"

"Cao Xing, in one incense stick's time, lead your men forward. Anyone who violates military law will be executed!"

Liu Ye glanced at Yuan Yao, who was gritting his teeth, and was somewhat surprised that the other party was so angry.

It's understandable that he doesn't understand.

Yuan Yao was genuinely furious at Zhang Kaijun's actions.

In his eyes, while the wicked local tyrants themselves deserved to die, the others in the fortified village were a completely different story.

Yuan Yao could tolerate Zhang Kai's subordinates engaging in some underhanded tactics during the ransacking of homes, such as keeping some of their property for themselves, but he absolutely could not accept the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians.

Because these civilians are all Yuan Yao's property!

They were killed. Whose surplus value will Yuan Yao exploit in the future?

As the saying goes, taking away someone's wealth is like killing their parents, so it's no wonder that Yuan Yao's eyes were blazing with anger and he immediately stopped Zhang Kai's men from committing their evil deeds.

Soon, after Cao Xing intervened and killed several more foolish bandits, the chaos inside the fortified village quickly disappeared. Zhang Kai's troops also calmed down and began to clean up the battlefield.

To be honest, these guys are really good at what they do when they're serious. They're very experienced in the field of looting, and with just a glance, they can tell where a cellar is hidden, where good stuff is probably buried, and which wall might have a hidden compartment.

This scene made Liu Ye shake his head again. He went to Yuan Yao's side and whispered, "Young lord, Zhang Kai is not a man to be trusted with important tasks."

This guy is half soldier and half bandit. His subordinates have such terrible discipline that they are completely unacceptable. If left unchecked, it will have a very bad impact.

Moreover, despite their valiant performance in attacking fortified villages, aside from the fact that it was purely a matter of learning from their experience of bullying the weak, the more important reason is that after tasting the sweetness of burning, killing, and looting, they became even less willing to risk their lives on the battlefield.

Liu Ye: "Keeping these bad apples in the army will only cause trouble. Please reconsider, young lord!"

Yuan Yao: "Ziyang's words make sense, but I would like to make some modifications."

Yuan Yao admitted that Liu Ye was absolutely right, and he did agree with removing Zhang Kai and his group from the combat order.

The question is, the Zhong clan theoretically had an army of 30,000, so was it only Zhang Kai's small group that needed to be reorganized?

Zhang Kai's subordinates were at least capable of fighting some pacification battles, but most of his troops couldn't even handle pacification battles properly, and their very existence was highly questionable!

Yuan Yao lamented, "What I need is a comprehensive military reform from top to bottom, including the military system, equipment, training, ideology, and so on. Every aspect must be overhauled."

This is clearly not an easy task, nor can it be accomplished overnight. Considering the complex internal situation within the Zhong family's military, it requires even greater caution.

"Anyway," Yuan Yao breathed a sigh of relief, "at least this campaign to suppress the powerful clans and alleviate the financial pressure went smoothly. Let's continue as planned."

A few days later, all five powerful families marked by Yuan Yao were captured without exception.

Yuan Yao waved his hand and ordered several local strongmen and their henchmen to be escorted to the square opposite the prefect's mansion. He was going to hold a public trial in Wancheng.

The trial began, and Huang Yi was the first to speak.

Huang Yi: "Since the Zhong family took control of Lujiang, they have ruled over 30,000 households and 150,000 people in this prefecture. They are all good, righteous, virtuous, and kind people! But the people being tried today are not good people. They are bastards, beasts, animals, and parasites! Only our Grand Commander, who personally led the troops to suppress the bandits, is our great hero! ... Sir, please."

Liu Ye: "The wind rises and the clouds fly, where can we find brave warriors to roam the four directions! The traitors must be eliminated at all times, there is no other way. Think about it, you are living a very difficult life, trying to survive in this chaotic world, and suddenly you are killed by the traitors! Therefore, the days without the traitors are the good days! ... Young lord, please."

Yuan Yao stepped forward: "Ahem, carry out the execution!"