Zhou Xiong's Ambition

"What, you'd rather be beaten into defeat by the Duke inside the city gates?"

Zhou Xiong's eyes once again gleamed with self-confidence.

"So what if I don't have the support of Pukou City?"

"So what if I don't have the people's backing?"

"I still have troops under my command, and these soldiers all obey me. With so many troops, I can hold Pukou City!"

"Most importantly..."

At this point, Zhou Xiong's gaze revealed a fierce ambition: "Most importantly, if I hold Pukou City, I secure the gateway to the capital, Yun Jing!"

"What kind of merit is that?"

"How immense would that achievement be?"

"With such merit to my name, in these times of impending chaos, I might even rise to the rank of a vassal king in Yun Jing."

"Even becoming a 'One-Word Prince' equal in rank to the king is not impossible."

"But what if I surrender to Ren Tianye?"

"I'd be nothing but a defecting general who handed over the city."

"Would my merit surpass that of Zhang Shi? Or Wang Ming?"

Grandmother Sun's eyes widened.

She hadn't expected Zhou Xiong's ambition to run so deep.

With such ambition, he wouldn't be easily persuaded. Still, unwilling to give up, she said, "But you might not be able to hold Pukou City."

"That's not certain." Speaking of this, Zhou Xiong grew even more confident: "Pukou City's defenses are rock-solid; even cannons can't breach them. I've made my preparations long ago. Dream on if Ren Tianye thinks he can get in!"

"At worst, he can only lay siege to me."

"But if I can hold out just a while, until reinforcements arrive from Yun Jing, that heaven-sent achievement will fall right into my hands."

Grandmother Sun coldly retorted, "Hold out a while? How long can you last? As far as I know, provisions inside Pukou City are limited."

"Ha ha ha..." Hearing this, Zhou Xiong burst into laughter: "There may be little grain in Pukou City, but there's no shortage of sweet potatoes in the surrounding area. With so many sweet potatoes, I can more than hold out!"

"I must be a meritorious minister of Yun Jing!"

"In the future, I will become a vassal king capable of standing against Ren Tianye!"

...

While Zhou Xiong was rejecting Grandmother Sun's plea to surrender, Chen Liang and Song Shaoyi were also huddling together.

First, they acknowledged their progress on previous tasks, then turned their attention to more pressing matters.

"We need to convince the soldiers of Pukou City as well," Chen Liang put forward a constructive suggestion.

"That way, Zhou Xiong would lose his support."

Song Shaoyi, however, deemed this suggestion exceptionally difficult: "Persuading those soldiers to surrender will be extremely tough. Those soldiers have been personally led by Zhou Xiong for years."

"So many years!"

"Zhou Xiong has always treated his soldiers well."

"Under the current circumstances, they won't betray Zhou Xiong as easily as the common folk of Pukou City did."

Chen Liang could only nod in agreement.

He fully acknowledged this truth.

After all, Zhou Xiong's control over Pukou City's soldiers was indeed remarkable.

But as long as the soldiers remained loyal to Zhou Xiong, all the groundwork they had done would be in vain, because military power was everything.

"Then we have to focus on the food supply," Chen Liang said. "I've made some preparations on that front, but shaking the soldiers' food rations in Pukou City won't be easy."

"All we can do is try."

He paused, then added, "Right now, besides this matter, there's something else we need to do."

"We should send a petition of thousands to Yun Jing!"

...

Source City!

City Lord's Mansion.

Things were completely different from when Hu Shaoyou was in charge. The current Source City was a renewed one. Plus, the wealth that Hu Shaoyou had accumulated hadn't been taken away, so Source City hadn't suffered any losses. Now, with a completely refreshed spirit, it had become a solid rear base on Ren Tianye's southern campaign route.

Moreover, this rear base had already expanded in scale.

"General Zhang Shi..." A visibly refreshed Gu Qing reported happily on the recent achievements: "Under your leadership, the collection of yams—I mean, sweet potatoes—has basically been completed."

"All sweet potato plantations, including my family's estate, have been brought under unified control under the Duke's authority."

"With such astonishing yields and so many producing areas, even if the Duke fights a prolonged war, there's absolutely no problem."

Zhang Shi nodded.

Everything had been going smoothly lately.

So smoothly that it felt surreal.

Could it be that his bad luck was finally turning?

Perhaps Wu Xingzhou had taken away his chance to attack Pukou City, along with his misfortune, and now things were becoming smoother?

Back in the northern border, Zhang Shi had been a minor guerrilla commander with a passion for fortune-telling. But after entering the grasslands, he learned that relying on fate was useless—only real fighting yielded results—and gradually abandoned that habit.

This southern campaign, however, with Wang Ming's constant "humiliations," had made him start believing in fate again.

Of course, that was just Zhang Shi's idle thought. In reality, he remained calm and clear-headed. "We've now captured all the sweet potato plantations under court control at the fastest possible speed," he said.

"That means the next step is to target Yun Jing and other areas."

As he spoke, Zhang Shi gazed into the distance.

The Duke's order to him was to cut off Pukou City's food and water supply. That meant he had to push deep into the areas around Pukou, seize its sweet potato plantations, and leave Pukou City without any external support.

Time was of the essence, so Zhang Shi gave the order directly.

"We set out today, heading straight for the outskirts of Pukou, and we will cut off Pukou City's sweet potato supply!"

"Yes!"

Gu Qing acknowledged the order and immediately began preparations.

That very day, they set out in full force, marching straight toward the area around Pukou. Upon arriving, Gu Qing briefed Zhang Shi on the situation.

"General Zhang Shi, the outskirts of Pukou City contain many sweet potato plantations belonging to Yun Jing. The main reason is that sweet potatoes were originally introduced from Yun Jing."

"From there, they first spread to other areas. After people tasted the benefits, large-scale cultivation expanded, and we in Source City also benefited."

"However, while there are many plantations, the core ones are only in two places: one called Qingchou Yuan and the other called Luoxia Po. Right now, we are closest to Qingchou Yuan."

"If we can capture these two places, the other landowners will likely follow suit."

Zhang Shi nodded, finding Gu Qing's words entirely reasonable. The same approach had worked when collecting sweet potato plantations near Source City.

By seizing the largest ones, the rest were easily secured.

"Then let's head straight for Qingchou Yuan first. By the way, who is in charge of Qingchou Yuan?"

"General Zhang Shi," Gu Qing replied, "The person in charge is named Liu Xingyuan. He was elected as the manager by the Liu clan."

"Although he is only in his thirties, he is highly capable and commands great prestige."

"Remember, Qingchou Yuan was originally a settlement of generations of farmers. The Liu clan is the major local family, owning a thousand acres of prime farmland, controlling over half the arable land, monopolizing the grain trade, and later the sweet potato industry, as well as sericulture and handicrafts."

“He also controls many tenant farmers, hired laborers, servants, and craftsmen, adding up to perhaps hundreds or even thousands, all dependent on them for their livelihoods.”

“Furthermore, the Liu clan has woven an extensive network of relationships through marriages, teacher-student ties, fellow townsmen, and former protégés, making them something of a local power.”

“Yet, despite such large-scale operations, Liu Xingyuan manages everything with remarkable order and skill.”

Zhang Shi nodded again.

Imperial power had never truly reached the villages, and it was not unusual to find such figures in the countryside.

But in his eyes, they were all the same—mere birds and beasts, nothing more.

When the army pressed forward, before iron hooves, all must bow in submission.

—And that had always been Zhang Shi’s way of fighting.

However, after many experiences, whether consciously or not, his methods had begun to shift slightly.

He asked, “So, if we use force to deal with this Liu Xingyuan, it’s likely to cause problems?”

“Yes, General Zhang Shi!”

This was precisely what Gu Qing wanted to emphasize, and she quickly added, “If we resort to military force, seizing by force, given the Liu clan’s influence, it’s almost certain that refugees would spring up everywhere, and public order would collapse.”

“Moreover, offending them would mean offending the entire interest group. From then on, implementing any policies here would be extremely difficult.”

These words would have been met differently in days past. In his old temper, Zhang Shi would have simply snorted and sent his cavalry straight into the village.

Refugees? Resistance?

Let them test how sharp his blade was!

After all, this place still belonged to Yunjing, and he could make an example of Yunjing without even needing the Marquis’s permission.

But Zhang Shi had witnessed Wang Ming’s numerous stratagems, turning one impossible situation after another into smooth successes.

Since Wang Ming could do it, why shouldn’t he… give it a try?

And so, for almost the first time, Zhang Shi voiced a question that should never have come from his lips.

“What about this Liu Xingyuan? Does he have any romantic stories?”

“Ah?” Gu Qing was taken aback. “General Zhang Shi, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean…” Zhang Shi said, “Is this Liu Xingyuan a sycophant? Or does he have a woman he loves but cannot have? Would he kill himself over a woman or something?”

Gu Qing was even more bewildered.

She wondered what nonsense Zhang Shi was talking—who would kill themselves over a woman? Was he joking?

But since he asked, even if she didn’t understand, she could only answer honestly: “I don’t know the specifics, but…”

“I do know that Liu Xingyuan’s wife is very beautiful—so beautiful, you could call her a celestial being, and it would not be an exaggeration.”

“And although she comes from a modest family, her temperament is excellent. She had endless suitors back in the day, but eventually Liu Xingyuan won her over.”

“However, she has always felt that he is not her true match—that she married beneath her. So, the two often have small conflicts.”

“But I hear that Liu Xingyuan always humbles himself first and seeks reconciliation.”

“As a result, their relationship has remained relatively stable.”

Zhang Shi tried to digest this information, sorting through it for anything useful.

A stable relationship between Liu Xingyuan and his wife?

That was not good news.

But, he thought, maybe it wasn’t that important—he had seen and heard of many relationships that seemed stable but could explode in an instant, utterly devastating.

The tension between them—the wife always thinking Liu Xingyuan wasn’t good enough for her.

That might be useful.

And the fact that his wife once had many suitors…

That seemed like the most promising lead.

Zhang Shi analyzed all this in his mind, just as he used to analyze battlefields on the grasslands. Yet, after much thought, his head remained a jumbled mess.

He found himself missing Lu Shuang.

If only she hadn’t left early to scout, she would have been an excellent advisor.

Finally, Zhang Shi could only sigh.

“Enough, enough. Let’s stop analyzing. I’ll treat this as a stab in the dark.”

He said, “Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll write a letter to Liu Xingyuan. Give him one day—no, three days—to consider surrendering on his own.”

“Tell him that under the Marquis’s command, love is free and equal. Any misconduct will be punished by the Demon Suppression Bureau.”

“If he surrenders, he will come to understand what a truly equal relationship should be.”

Zhang Shi racked his brain to come up with this speech.

Gu Qing was vaguely puzzled but knew of Zhang Shi’s formidable reputation—he had carved out victories across the northern frontier, after all.

So she agreed and went to carry out his orders.

—

On the Qinglu Plain, within the Liu clan.

The actual leader, Liu Xingyuan, was meeting a few soldiers.

These soldiers had come from Pukou City. Their purpose was Liu Xingyuan and the vast stores of sweet potatoes under the control of the Liu family—the very lifeline of Pukou City, which their general, Zhou Xiong, had demanded must be secured.

“Don’t worry,” Liu Xingyuan agreed without hesitation. “The Liu clan has always been subordinate to Pukou City. These sweet potatoes came from Pukou City in the first place.”

“Since General Zhou Xiong needs them now, I, Liu Xingyuan, and our entire clan will offer our full support.”

His words were smooth and pleasing, drawing a satisfied smile from Pukou’s envoy. Still, the soldier was not entirely reassured. “That traitor Ren Tianye will surely understand the stakes. He will likely come to claim these sweet potatoes or seize them by force.”

“Though we can send some troops, we only have five hundred. If Ren Tianye marches with a large army, you may not hold out.”

The soldier’s concern was valid. As long as they stayed within Pukou City, Ren Tianye could do little in the short term.

But once they left the city and wandered outside, the situation would change—Ren Tianye’s army could crush them like ants with ease.

He added, “So, Patriarch Liu, we ask you to look out for Pukou City. Keep the sweet potatoes hidden and shipped into the city. That will be a great achievement. Both Pukou and Yunjing will reward you handsomely.”

Liu Xingyuan maintained his smile. “Rest assured. I know full well whom I am loyal to.”