Chapter 458: A War Without Gunfire
Chapter 458: A War Without Gunfire ( words)
On this day, Jianning Mansion was "extremely lively". The encirclement and suppression plan against the Shen family, presided over by Zhao Duan, had just begun and attracted the attention of countless people.
The well-informed bigwigs in the city quickly found out what had happened.
After learning that both Envoy Zhao and Governor Ning had been assassinated last night, everyone was shocked and immediately began to wonder whether this "assassination" was real or was staged by "King Zhao".
In the eyes of many people, although the Shen family has deep roots and tentacles, they should not have the courage to assassinate second- or third-rank officials.
However, the authenticity of the assassination soon became unimportant, because after the grain transport soldiers sealed off the shops, the Shen family also began to fight back.
Unexpectedly, the Shen family surrendered and took the initiative to go to the Grain Transport Office to apologize and negotiate peace.
In the next few days, officials from all government offices in Jianning Prefecture were shocked to find that their policies were beginning to be obstructed.
Yes, the government order is blocked!
The imperial court set up government offices of all sizes in Jianning Prefecture, including large offices such as the grain transport and government offices, as well as small offices involved in various aspects.
Ultimately, the court's laws, when broken down into details, have to be implemented on the local people by countless officials.
Almost overnight, most of the system was paralyzed.
"The Shen family decided to fight back."
The grain transport office.
Inside Ning Zechen’s “office”.
Zhao Duan stood with his hands behind his back, next to the antique display case. The table was filled with official documents delivered by Master Wen.
These official documents all come from government offices of all sizes and cover all aspects.
There was no trace of surprise on Zhao Duan's face:
"It's just as I expected. The Shen family really decided to fight back, and used the method that the aristocratic families are best at.
These clans will not choose to confront us head-on because they have no soldiers, no right to interpret the law, and most importantly, no legitimacy.
So if we fight the imperial court head-on, even if several Shen families were stacked together, they would be reduced to ashes."
Governor Ning sat at the large table, looked at him and said:
“But the Shen family has been operating this area for too many years, with their tentacles covering every piece of land and every alley. In terms of military force, the imperial court has the upper hand, but in terms of infiltration and control of the local area, it is this group of locals that have the upper hand.
As long as they pass on the message, they can make many local people refuse to cooperate with the government... No, it doesn't have to be that complicated, because many of the low-level officials are Shen's dogs. "
Zhao Duan sighed:
"Yes, officials are of higher rank than clerks, but how can we get things done if we rely solely on officials? When clerks at all levels of government offices pretend to obey but secretly disobey, the court's orders will be obstructed and difficult to implement."
Governor Ning smiled bitterly:
"I have always felt that this matter is difficult, so I have repeatedly requested the appointment of new officials. But now it seems that these big families have not used their full strength. When they are working hard, we officials have been reduced to being sidelined."
Have you finally figured it out? Or were you unwilling to believe it before?
Throughout the dynasties, why did the imperial court try to win over the gentry clans?
If the royal family's control is strong enough, there won't be any problems with aristocratic families...
Zhao Duan murmured in his heart, but he was not depressed.
He walked over to the table and looked down at the "map" spread out on it.
It was densely covered with red and blue ink, with many areas circled, as if two armies were fighting.
There was no overt conflict between the two parties, but while the court was targeting the Shen family's business, the Shen family was also paralyzing the court's machine.
"It seems that I have underestimated the aristocratic families of this era." Zhao Duan whispered.
"What?" Governor Ning didn't hear clearly, and then he saw Zhao Duan pick up a pen and spread out paper, and began to write a letter: "Envoy, what are you going to do?"
"Attract more people to participate in this feast." Zhao Duan explained while writing without raising his head:
"Governor, do you believe it or not? The Shen family must have begun to win over other families and even offer them benefits, trying to gather more allies and make things difficult for the court?"
"Your Majesty is about to perform the Fengshan ceremony. What do you think will happen if, upon your arrival, you find that all the government offices are in chaos and the imperial court is almost paralyzed?"
Governor Ning's expression changed slightly, and he suddenly said:
"What you mean, Lord Envoy, is that the Shen family's plan is to drag it out? If this confrontation continues, they are gambling. You and I can't afford to drag it out."
Zhao Duan nodded and said quickly:
“Now, we and the Shen family are fighting a war of attrition without the smoke of gunpowder. It depends on who can’t hold on first.
If we calculate normally, we will definitely be the first to collapse, because even if we cut off all the shops and caravans of the Shen family, with their family background and stored silver and money, it will be enough to live off the family for a long time...
But we can’t keep the government offices paralyzed for long…”
"However, they overlooked me. Oh, if it were you, Governor, you would not be able to hold on alone. But I can."
As he spoke, Zhao Duan had quickly finished writing the first letter to the local military government. He took out a seal, blew on it, and stamped a scarlet stamp on the letter paper!
He smiled at Ning Zechen and said:
"Your Majesty has given me the position of Fengshan Envoy, allowing me to coordinate all the institutions of the Jiangnan court in the name of Fengshan. Even if the order seems unreasonable, as long as it is named as 'Fengshan', it can be promoted."
Governor Ning suddenly realized something and said:
"So, you want to write letters to other government offices, asking them to work together to divide up the Shen family's assets?"
"Smart!" Zhao Duan smiled.
"The Shen family has a deep foundation, and its businesses are spread across Jiancheng Road and even Huaishui Road. Similarly, there are many members of the Shen family, and each member of the family has his or her own calculations and interests."
Governor Ning stood up excitedly and said:
“So, as long as we unite more people, divide up and surround together, those members of the Shen family whose interests are affected will in turn put pressure on Old Lady Shen. For a big family like this, the most important thing is to have people’s hearts and minds. Once people’s hearts are scattered, it’s time for it to collapse!
The Shen family is indeed not afraid of fighting a war of attrition with us over money, but they are afraid of us waging a psychological warfare!
The old lady has to win over allies to maintain her obstruction of the imperial court, and she also has to constantly offer benefits to make up for the losses of her people... She can't hold on for much longer!"
Zhao Duan smiled and drafted the second letter, which was written to "Feng Ju" who was sitting in the lake pavilion:
“Don’t forget, our allies are not only government offices, but also the group of royal merchants and large and small families that were nurtured by the new policy.
Doctor Feng, who is in charge of the new policy at Huting, and I have an old acquaintance. With just one letter from me, he can mobilize those imperial merchants to join the hunt."
Zhao Duan took out the third letter and simply wrote it to King Huai'an!
The fence-sitter Prince Huai'an showed a tendency to lean towards the court when the market opened in Huting, so Zhao Du'an simply invited him this time.
We’ll try our best to see whether there is any result or not.
His fourth letter was written to Luan Cheng, the prefect of Binhai Road. His request was simple, with only one: to swallow up the Shen family's accumulation in Binhai Road.
The fifth letter...
The sixth letter...
Zhao Duan wrote a thick stack of letters in one breath, but considering the war of attrition with the Shen family, it had to be ended before the empress's enthronement ceremony.
Taking into account the communication distance in that era, he contacted "allies" nearby.
Unconsciously, Zhao Duan's network of contacts was no longer limited to the capital city, but spread to the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures.
Finally, he called in the attendant Song Jinxi and instructed:
"Send someone to deliver these letters. Let the priest of the Martial Arts Hall do the running. I need it to be fast and safe to avoid being intercepted by others."
"Yes." Song Jinxi nodded, took the letter, hesitated and asked:
"Sir, do we need to spread out and protect our officials? If those assassins change their targets and attack the officials below..."
Governor Ning shook his head and said, "No! Neither the Shen family nor the Prince Jing's Mansion would do such a thing that breaks the rules."
His tone was determined.
The logic is simple. If Prince Jing turns around and kills his officials, then Zhao Duan can also send his men to hunt down the people in Prince Jing's mansion...
And considering that Zhao Duan has five world-level masters under his command, a large group of royal priests and the elite of Lihua Hall... if both sides really break the rules and start assassinating each other.
Both sides will lose badly and it will be meaningless.
"Governor Ning is right. There may be more assassinations, but they are mainly aimed at me and Governor Ning. So I have been living in the Governor's Mansion for the time being."
Zhao Duan thought about it, and suddenly something came to his mind, and he smiled:
“However, although there is no need to assassinate each other, it does not mean that we can only passively defend.
I bet that the spies in Prince Jing's mansion must be secretly monitoring our every move. In this way, we can deliberately throw out some bait to attract the spies in the mansion to grab it, and then you can kill them...
You can ask the shadow guards in the city to cooperate with you and provide intelligence.
Oh, I have witnessed the methods of the royal palace spies many times when I was in Beijing, so I might as well give it a try this time."
When Song Jinxi heard this, he smiled and left the room.
The masters of the Wugong Hall have been trapped in the palace for many years. They finally got a chance to go out together and were so bored along the way. Now hunting down the secret spies in the palace is just the right way to relieve their boredom.
……
……
The two sides went to war completely!
This is a fact that people of all sizes in Jianning Prefecture have gradually come to realize.
It started with the Shen family and the Governor's Office wrestling openly and covertly.
This group of prominent figures who had participated in the "Jingyuan" banquet that day began to make bets, guessing who would stop and surrender first.
And how long it will last.
At first, almost everyone believed that the confrontation would take a turn for the better in a few days at most.
However, as the days go by, this invisible battle not only shows no signs of "ceasefire", but becomes more and more intense.
What has attracted people's special attention is that in this drama of struggle between the local bureaucracy headed by the Grain Transport Office and the largest local clan of the dynasty, the Prince Jing's Mansion, which should have stepped forward to mediate, was silent and almost non-existent.
The tenth day of the war.
Civil cases occurred frequently, with dozens of cases a day, and all county governments were overwhelmed.
The prefect of Jianning Prefecture could not bear it any longer, so he went to the Grain Transport Office to beg for a ceasefire, but was politely "invited" out by Zhao Duan.
The twentieth day of the war.
Letters sent back from Jiancheng, Huaishui and Binhai were delivered to the Shen family mansion one after another.
On that day, the Shen family held a family meeting, with most of the family members in attendance. No one knew what had happened. They only knew that after it ended, the Shen family took drastic measures, voluntarily abandoned their businesses in other places, and focused on retreating.
One month into the war.
The collection of grain for transport encountered obstacles this season. Zhao Duan went to the prison late at night and talked with He Xiaolou who was imprisoned there.
The next day, twenty strong men around He Xiaolou and Zhao Duan disappeared. In just two days, there were more than fifty corpses in the Grand Canal.
The canal transport vessels set sail on time and were not affected.
……
Forty-ninth day of the war.
It was cloudy and rainy. From dawn on, fine rain began to fall from the sky above Jianning Prefecture.
The atmosphere in the Caoyun Office was almost like that of the central army tent on a battlefield. Zhao Duan moved out a green bamboo chair and sat outside the study with its double doors open.
Close your eyes and rest under the eaves that protect you from wind and rain.
"Sir, a secret letter from the Shadow Guard!"
The young secretary Qian Kerou ran from the front yard with light steps, her boots stepping on the wet floor and the splashing rain soaking her trouser legs.
Zhao Duan opened his eyelids, raised his hand to take the secret letter, opened it and pulled out a thin piece of letter paper. After scanning it, the corners of his mouth rose and his face showed joy:
"Your Majesty's dragon boat has crossed the Huai River. In a few days, it will arrive at Jianning Prefecture."
Qian Kerou asked in surprise, "Is His Majesty coming?"
Then, she said with a bitter expression: "But the situation here is..."
Although there was no smoke of gunpowder after forty-nine consecutive days of fighting, the losses on paper alone due to the paralysis of the court's institutions and the accumulated affairs were enough to dismiss all officials in Jianning Prefecture.
The situation seems to have not improved, and the two sides are still in a deadlock, and the Shen family seems to be determined to hold out until the empress arrives.
Once the empress arrives, the situation will remain the same and will inevitably affect the Fengshan ceremony.
Zhao Duan might not care about such a serious crime and could endure it by relying on the favor of the empress, but a series of local officials headed by Ning Zechen, including the entire Jianning Prefecture and the entire Jiancheng Dao, could not bear it.
In other words, even if Zhao Duan refused to give in, Governor Ning would risk his life, and other local officials would start to "rebel" in order to avoid being affected. "Don't panic, Kerou, do you believe me?" Zhao Duan smiled.
The secretary nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Of course I believe you, sir."
Zhao Duan smiled:
"If my judgment is correct, the Shen family can no longer hold on. In these few days, Old Lady Shen must make a choice."
Qian Kerou blinked: "Because of the secret letter from yesterday?"
Yesterday, the city's shadow guards delivered a secret letter at night, but no one else knew the content except Zhao Duan.
Zhao Duan smiled but said nothing. Qian Kerou's guess was correct. According to the secret letter, a "forcing the emperor to abdicate" incident occurred in the Shen family mansion last night.
Unable to bear the loss and pressure, the Shen family, under the instigation and cooperation of several Shen family members who were secretly contacted and bribed by Zhao Duan, forced the old lady to abdicate.
Although they were suppressed in the end, the Shen family, which seemed powerful to outsiders, had already been on the verge of collapse under the tremendous pressure internally.
Seeing that Zhao Duan didn't say anything, Qian Kerou wisely didn't ask any more questions, but just said casually:
"By the way, just now Song Gongfeng sent two more heads of spies. According to your instructions, they were sent to the courtyard of Prajna Bodhisattva as usual. The Bodhisattva is a little unhappy and wants you to go over there."
"I know." Zhao Duan curled his lips.
During this period, apart from the open war, secretly, the priests of the Martial Arts Hall used all kinds of means to lure and kill the secret spies of Prince Jing's Mansion.
Zhao Duan was quite moved. What does it mean to strike at a dimensionality reduction level? Compared to the brocade guards of the imperial court, the servants in the imperial palace, working together with the shadow guards, were simply invincible.
Fighting against spies is as easy as cutting melons and vegetables... But when you think about how much resources the royal family has invested in supporting a team of only a few dozen people for the Imperial Palace, it is not surprising.
Zhao Duan sighed, picked up the oil-paper umbrella by the door, and walked to another separate courtyard with it.
As soon as you enter, you will see a pond in the courtyard. Green lotus leaves cover the water surface, and frogs and fish are hiding under the lotus leaves to "shelter from the rain."
Prajna Bodhisattva stood quietly beside the square stone pillar at the edge of the pond. There was no sign of being wet on her body, as if any raindrops would be pushed away by an invisible force around her.
She looked at the rippling water, slowly turned her head, and said through gritted teeth:
"Master Zhao, can you please stop sending your head to this poor nun?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Didn't the Bodhisattva promise me that you could pray for the deceased?"
Prajna Bodhisattva was dressed in a light veil, with flowing black hair, and her translucent eyes stared at him quietly:
"If I had known this earlier, I would have gone to the temple earlier. Why would I stay here to help you?"
Zhao Duan rolled his eyes and sneered:
"Buddha, do you think I don't know? The reason you didn't leave, besides because you wanted my body, wasn't it because you promised His Majesty to protect me? Until His Majesty arrives?
I have good news for you. Your Majesty's dragon boat will arrive at Jianning Prefecture soon. If the Bodhisattva holds on for a few more days, he will be free and can leave on his own."
Prajna Bodhisattva bit her lips in resentment, acting like an 18-year-old girl:
"Why are you so cruel, sir? You know that I am grateful for your kindness in the debate that day. Your Majesty, even if you don't say it, I will help you to repay this kindness."
Heh... help me? Is it so as not to affect your Zen practice?
Buddhism emphasizes cause and effect. I helped you in the debate, and you benefited from it. If you don’t repay me, you will inevitably have to pay back the “result” in the future... You are obviously selfish, but you insist on loving me... Zhao Duan said with disdain:
"Okay, tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Prajna Bodhisattva raised his hand and pointed to the small courtyard in the rain.
There, there was a "tower of heads" made up of piled up human heads, each of which came from a secret spy.
At this moment, at the top of the tower of human heads, two fresh heads had their eyes closed, and they died very peacefully.
When these heads were sent here, almost all of them died with their eyes open, but after being liberated by Prajna, they appeared peaceful.
"I just saved the souls of these two donors and found some valuable information from the remaining memories in their heads."
Prajna Bodhisattva's expression was extremely serious:
"I have seen that Prince Jing has secretly sent them to pick up some people and bring them into Jianning Mansion."
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows: "Who?"
Prajna Bodhisattva shook his head and said:
"Some of them are suspected to be sorcerers, but they are hiding their heads and faces and acting furtively. The only one who showed his face was not a sorcerer, but a warrior. A warrior you know."
Someone I know? Someone I know? Zhao Duan asked curiously, "Who?"
"The leader of Qingshan Wuxian disciples, cut off the flow of water."
……
……
As the residence of the prince, Prince Jing's Mansion is different from the Shen family who built the family mansion outside the city. The entire palace was built inside the city, on an open space in an excellent location.
At this moment, deep in the palace, there is a garden filled with strange rocks and rockery bought from all over the place.
Prince Jing, wearing loose clothes with wide sleeves, slightly graying temples, and with a noble and elegant temperament, sat in a hexagonal pavilion with a long green bamboo fishing rod in front of him.
The end of the fishing rod fell slightly, and a thin fishing line sank into the pond directly below the pavilion.
Next to him was a bamboo basket, and behind the basket was a set of stone table and stone benches.
At this moment, Duan Shuiliu, a short and strong man with a slightly square face, a big nose and wearing a black robe, was sitting at the table, holding a leg of lamb in one hand and a wine jug in the other.
Indulge.
The table was filled with food. Duan Shuiliu bit off a large piece of fragrant mutton with his big mouth, chewed and swallowed. His rough appearance was in sharp contrast to the elegant Prince Jing.
He swallowed the mutton, picked up the wine jug, tilted his head back and put the spout into his mouth. When not a drop of wine could come out, he threw it away.
"boom!"
The exquisite silver wine jug flew out of the hexagonal pavilion and fell into the pond, startling the golden carps in the pond.
"Mr. Duan, you scared my fish." Prince Jing frowned and reminded helplessly.
Duan Shuiliu chuckled, wiped the grease from his mouth with his sleeve, and said with a smile:
"Your Majesty, if you want fish, I can help you catch all the fish in the pond with just one palm. How about that?"
Prince Jing shook his head and said, "I admire Qingshan's martial arts. Mr. Duan's palm technique is a waste of talent to deal with Youyu, isn't it?"
Duan Shuiliu said self-deprecatingly: "Your Highness, please stop flattering me. Last time at the lake pavilion, I failed to deal with Zhao Duan, didn't I?"
"Hey, Mr. Duan had a fierce battle with Hai Gongfeng in the past. It was not Mr. Duan's fault that Zhao Duan escaped." Prince Jing waved his hand.
Water shortage and flu sighed:
"Hai Chunlin is clearly old, damned old, his energy and blood are declining, but he still has such martial power. He is worthy of being the one who came to Qingshan to keep the appointment on behalf of the Yu Kingdom's royal family when he was at his peak in the past. It's not shameful to lose to him!"
After a pause, he said:
"Okay, I've eaten and drunk. The prince summoned me here. What's the matter? You can't ask me to kill that Zhao guy again, right? Haha, I'm quite surprised that this guy can defeat Xiao Ran."
Zhao Duan...
Upon hearing this name, Prince Jing's face darkened a little, and the information that his spies had been killed one after another in the past few days emerged in his mind.
He smiled:
"Zhao Duan is traveling with many experts, and I am not interested in fighting him anymore. In a few days, my niece will enter Jianning and go to Luoshan to offer sacrifices to the gods."
Duan Shuiliu raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
Prince Jing smiled and said, "I asked Mr. Duan to return to Qingshan a few days ago and send a letter to Wushan Lord. I wonder what Wushan Lord would say after reading it?"
The "Mountain Master" he mentioned is actually the "Master of Qingshan Mountain", and is also known as the "Lord of Qingcheng City" by people in the martial arts world. He is the number one martial artist in the world and the leader of all celestial warriors.
Duan Shuiliu was silent for a moment, then said, "My master read the letter and tore it up without saying anything."
"You didn't say anything?" Prince Jing asked.
Duan Shuiliu said unhappily:
"Why would I lie to Your Majesty? My master really didn't say a word. But... he went to bed earlier than usual that day."
Prince Jing was lost in thought. At this moment, outside the pavilion, the Crown Prince Xu Jinglong came over quickly:
"Father, the old lady of the Shen family wants to see you!"
Prince Jing was startled, and the corners of his finely bearded mouth curled up slightly:
"Invite her in."
……
……
When the old lady, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, dressed in pure black mourning clothes, with silver-white hair, walked across the bluestone road of the palace and arrived at the reception room under the protection of the oil-paper umbrella held by her maid Hong Girl.
I saw Prince Jing and his son already waiting here.
"Haha, why is the old lady here today? You are a rare guest. In such a windy and rainy day, please come in quickly to avoid being blown by the cold wind."
Prince Jing had a warm smile on his face and went out to greet them personally. Crown Prince Xu Jinglong followed obediently behind him.
"I greet the prince." Old Lady Shen stopped and slowly bowed her head in salute.
However, after not seeing her for more than a month, this old woman who originally had a rosy complexion and was in good spirits had become much more haggard.
Every wrinkle on his wrinkled face reveals the fatigue of mental and physical exhaustion.
"No need to be polite, old lady."
Prince Jing pretended to be displeased and personally helped the old lady with the title of Lady of Imperial Concubine into the reception room.
After the servants served tea and snacks, Prince Jing inquired about the burial arrangements of the second son of the Shen family with concern. Upon learning that the coffin had already been buried, he looked sad and said a few polite words to comfort him, such as "don't be too sad".
Apart from that, there was no mention of the recent fight between Zhao Duan and the Shen family.
It was as if he was completely unaware of the storms in the outside world.
The old lady sat in the black sandalwood chair, was silent for a moment, and then said straight to the point:
"Prince Jing, I am here today to ask you one question. Does what His Royal Highness said in my Shen family's mourning hall that day still count?"
What did I say? Oh, by the way, the gate of the palace is always open to the Shen family... Xu Jinglong was stunned for a moment before he reacted and smiled: "Of course it counts."
The old lady ignored him and continued to stare at Prince Jing.
Xu Jinglong: “…”
Prince Jing Xu Wen tried his best to suppress his smile: "Of course it counts."
The old lady nodded. The old lady who was in charge of the most wealthy family in Jiangnan took a deep breath, as if she had finally made up her mind. She stared at Xu Wen with her gray eyes, which were cloudy due to insomnia, and said:
"The Shen family needs the help of the palace."
Prince Jing was overjoyed and couldn't help but smile: "No problem, no problem... What does the old lady need?"
The old woman in mourning said calmly:
"I don't covet anything else, I just want Zhao Duan to be buried with my grandson."
The prince Xu Jinglong next to him frowned and said, "The one who killed your grandson was the worshiper Song Jinxi..."
The old lady snorted coldly:
"What weight does a mere eunuch who follows orders have? I only want Zhao Duan's life! From now on, the Shen family will follow the prince's orders."
The prince said unhappily: "Don't be too..."
Prince Jing raised his hand to interrupt him, and nodded as if he had expected it:
"can."
This time, not only Xu Jinglong, but even the old lady was stunned. They looked at Xu Wen suspiciously, thinking that the agreement was too straightforward.
Xu Jinglong started to think, wondering if this was the reason why his father invited Mr. Leduan to his house?
Yes, Hu Ting’s assassination failed, but this time it was in his own base, so the success rate was naturally different.
"I wonder how the prince is going to do it? Zhao Duan is surrounded by many experts, I'm afraid..." the old lady asked hesitantly.
Prince Jing smiled slightly, as if he had been prepared. He reached into his arms and took out an envelope.
Immediately, a strand of black hair fell out of the envelope.
……
Outside the parlor.
A maid in the palace raised her head unexpectedly and looked at Lu Yan'er who was walking in the rain: "Your Highness?"
(End of this chapter)