Chapter 1247: Jia Wuqun Strikes Back Again!

Shao Sansheng came over. "Eldest Young Master, what is it?" He had noticed the cold displeasure on Shao Pingbo's face.

Shao Pingbo said, "He told us to minimize contact with him from now on."

Shao Sansheng gave a startled "Ah." "Why?"

Shao Pingbo sneered. "He's already sunk too deep. If he has the ability, let him kill me. If he doesn't dare force things to the point where the fish dies and the net breaks, then it isn't up to him anymore!"

He looked back and added, "He's using Liuer to threaten me..." Then he repeated the shopkeeper's warning from moments before.

Shao Sansheng's face immediately filled with worry.

...

On a sloping rise, Qi's army made a brief probing attack, then withdrew like the tide, leaving behind only a scattering of corpses.

A little later, Gao Pin arrived at the forward position in person to inspect how well his defensive formation had performed.

He walked the front line from end to end. After confirming there were no major problems, he repeatedly reminded the defending general of several key points, then finally led his men back to the central command post.

The headquarters had now been moved into an abandoned small town. The best residence in town had been requisitioned as a temporary central command.

Conditions were limited, but it was still far better than living in tents.

After returning to the room whose walls were covered in maps, Gao Pin reviewed intelligence from every direction. When he came across a Blackwater Terrace report on enemy movements, something seemed to occur to him.

"Where is Lord Shao now?"

His deputy replied, "We don't know yet. His movements have always been kept secret. Why is the Grand Marshal suddenly concerned with his whereabouts?"

Gao Pin sighed. "This Lord Shao truly is capable. He returned to the capital and swept through the place once, solving all those troubles in an instant. But he offended those people at court far too viciously."

"I warned him about his weakness to his face. I told him he had never truly lived in a court and did not understand how deep its waters were. But he refused to listen. He insisted on contending with that crowd. Why bother?"

"He enjoyed himself this time, but are the men at court so easy to provoke? Especially after offending so many at once. Once they join hands, even His Majesty has to yield three parts."

"Just watch. It will not take long before they strike back."

"Lord Shao's methods are too extreme. They invite backlash. Unfortunately, he would not listen to advice."

The deputy said, "The Grand Marshal is worried about his safety? But Blackwater Terrace matters are not something we can casually inquire into. If the Grand Marshal truly wants to know, why not memorialize His Majesty and ask?"

Gao Pin waved a hand. "I'm not worried about his safety. He has offended too many people. I cannot protect him, and I would not dare. Otherwise, we would only drag unnecessary trouble onto ourselves."

"What worries me is that if those people at court corner him until he has nowhere left to go, he may defect elsewhere."

Just then, a general entered and presented another message. "Grand Marshal, news from the capital."

Gao Pin took it, read, and suddenly gave a cold chuckle. He handed it to the deputy. "Take a look. What did I just say? The counterattack has already begun, even faster than I expected!"

The deputy read the secret letter and shook his head with a sigh. "Those lords in court truly move quickly."

Gao Pin said, "They suffered such a great loss. Zhao Gongquan's son was even killed by him. If that whole group did not strike back, if they did not beat down Shao Pingbo's arrogance, where would they put their faces?"

The deputy's expression turned grave. "It doesn't matter if they fight among themselves under ordinary circumstances. But we're at war with enemy states right now. If the rear becomes this divided and internal conflict delays the campaign, what then?"

Gao Pin pointed at him. "You are still too young."

"Those people are not like soldiers. To them, if they cannot keep their footing at court, then even if we conquer the entire world for Jin, what does that have to do with them?"

"If a whole group of them cannot even deal with one Shao Pingbo, how will the people beneath them view them?"

"Those below are fence-sitters. And Shao Pingbo has His Majesty supporting him besides. If His Majesty puts Lord Shao in an important position one day, the wind may turn entirely in his direction. Momentum can form in an instant!"

The deputy fell into thought.

Gao Pin's voice suddenly sank. "Send word to His Majesty immediately. Ask that he keep a close watch on Lord Shao."

"Lord Shao is a poisonous strategist. I do not wish to see him defect to another state and seek revenge. That could be disastrous for our army's campaign!"

"Yes!" The deputy cupped his hands, accepted the order, and moved immediately to carry it out.

...

In Wensang Commandery of Jin, a group of newly conscripted young men stood on the drill ground. Several with crippled arms or legs were picked out, followed by others missing an eye or suffering similar disabilities.

The Commandery Governor took one look and seemed ready to explode. He paced furiously back and forth for a while before finally stopping in front of a young man and pointing directly at his nose.

"Lord Xie, these are the soldiers you were responsible for conscripting?"

Lord Xie looked young, but hardship had already marked his face. His expression was grave. "My lord, this subordinate failed in his inspection!"

The Commandery Governor roared, "That's your excuse? A great war is raging at the front, and the survival of Jin itself is at stake, yet you're sending men missing arms and legs to the battlefield. Are you tired of living, or are you trying to get me killed?"

Lord Xie hurriedly explained, "My lord, nothing like this happened before. Yesterday I heard that something had gone wrong with a newly repaired canal and rushed there in haste. I had no time to attend to this side and had not yet inspected the recruits. Once they were checked, these men would certainly have been removed!"

"Inspected?" The Commandery Governor waved angrily toward the disabled men. "Even an idiot can see something is wrong with them. What inspection do you need?"

"You appointed the men responsible for conscription. If I don't hold you accountable, who am I supposed to hold accountable?"

"Men, seize him!"

Several yamen runners immediately rushed forward like wolves and tigers.

"My lord! My lord..." Lord Xie shouted unwillingly, but the Commandery Governor did not listen. One wave of his hand was enough to have the man dragged away.

Similar incidents were not occurring only there.

Across many parts of Jin, the people responsible for conscription suddenly ran into trouble. Elsewhere, officials managing funds and grain were implicated. Some were reported for saying things they should not have said, others denounced for corruption and bribery.

They all had one thing in common.

Every one of them was a student Shao Pingbo had painstakingly brought out of Beizhou years ago.

News quickly reached the palace.

Inside the imperial study, Taishu Xiong took one look at the memorial and immediately understood what was happening. Furious, he slammed the desk and rose, his face dark as he paced back and forth.

...

Deep within vast mountain forests, a large flying mount descended.

Jia Wuqun, who had been fishing beside a stream, turned his head. When he saw that the man jumping down was Wang Xiao from Nanzhou, he immediately put away his fishing rod and stood.

The newcomer was naturally Niu Youdao.

When he saw Yuan Cong, Niu Youdao first gave him a deeply respectful salute. Only then did he walk toward Jia Wuqun.

Wei Duo stood off to one side, staring blankly. He did not know who this newcomer was, though he could tell that both Jia Wuqun and Yuan Cong knew him.

"Sir has worked hard." Niu Youdao cupped his hands to Jia Wuqun.

Jia Wuqun returned the salute, smiled bitterly, and shook his head. Then he extended a hand.

Yuan Cong immediately stepped in front of him to serve as his voice.

"I failed the Prince's trust. How can that be called hard work?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "Sir is too modest. Shao Pingbo is cunning. That he managed to escape is hardly strange. Such a man cannot be brought down in one stroke. We simply fight him again."

Jia Wuqun replied, "The Misty Pavilion has intervened. I fear matters will be difficult."

Niu Youdao raised a hand. "No hurry. No need to panic either. If there is a problem, solve the problem. One matter at a time."

"I came precisely on the Prince's orders to understand the details. I already know how exquisite Sir's earlier arrangement was, yet Shao Pingbo still managed to escape it. Have you determined exactly how?"

Jia Wuqun answered, "I already had Song's personnel stationed in the Jin capital investigate the situation."

He finished tracing the characters and gave Yuan Cong a signal.

Yuan Cong drew a sheet of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao accepted it and read.

It roughly recorded the chain of actions Shao Pingbo had taken after returning to the capital.

After finishing, Niu Youdao nodded with some emotion. "So that's how he broke the game. The opening he found was actually the incense money donated by the families of those officials."

Jia Wuqun wrote again across Yuan Cong's back.

"It was my miscalculation. I failed to see that I had left him such a large opening to exploit."

Niu Youdao waved a hand. "Sir need not blame yourself. Who could have expected it? I did not think of it either. I also believed he had nowhere left to run."

"That man's ability to adapt in the moment truly is formidable. To tell the truth, even I admire him."

"Then again, if he were easy to deal with, he would never have survived until now."

"But I believe in Sir's ability. One miscalculation means nothing. Regroup and strike again. We will certainly bring that bastard down!"

This time Yuan Cong spoke on his own. "After Sir Jia learned that Shao Pingbo had escaped, he already struck back again!"

Niu Youdao gave an "Oh," then looked somewhat uncertain. "The Misty Pavilion situation still isn't clear. Was it appropriate for Sir to move again so quickly?"

Yuan Cong said, "No need to worry. This time is different."

"Sir merely instructed Song's personnel in the Jin capital to let a little information reach those humiliated ministers and point out the direction of a counterattack: move against the students Shao Pingbo brought with him from Beizhou."

"Students?" Niu Youdao looked puzzled. "Shao Pingbo is ruthless enough. Would he really care about those students?"

Jia Wuqun smiled faintly and shook his head, then began writing across Yuan Cong's back.

"Not so."

"When Shao governed Beizhou years ago, he swept away corruption and ruled officials with an iron hand. Some of his new policies even drew my attention from Song."

"He established academies to cultivate students of a new generation, then sent them throughout Beizhou to temper themselves through experience."

"Even when he fled Beizhou at any cost, he still did not forget to take some of those students with him. Those he chose to take must have been handpicked capable men he had personally cultivated and could not bear to discard."

"Looking at everything he has done, Shao is a man with ideals and ambition. His methods may be unscrupulous, but he does possess the great aspiration to bring benefit to all under Heaven."

"Those students have endured hardship and long tempering. They have already become useful men. Once Shao obtains great power, they will form the core he needs to carry out those ambitions."

"Since they were something he could not bear to abandon even when fleeing Beizhou, then strike them."

"Shao has the body of a worn-out nag, yet harbors the aspirations of a qilin."

"After so many years of bitter expenditure, his mind and strength are already badly exhausted. He cannot withstand repeated provocation."

"Now that we know this weakness, there is no need to kill him in a single strike. We can keep pressing, keep creating trouble for him. Small blows added together may eventually break him."

"Strike what he cannot bear to lose, and perhaps something unexpected will come of it."

"There is another reason."

"The captive refuses to reveal the truth, so we still cannot confirm whether Shao truly belongs to the Misty Pavilion or merely borrowed its power."

"By moving in this way, we may see whether anyone helps him again. Perhaps that will let us probe the truth and provide some evidence for how we should respond next."

Niu Youdao nodded slightly.

Judging by Shao Pingbo's ruthless way of doing things, he did not entirely believe a group of students could truly restrain him.

But since Jia Wuqun had put it this way, there was no need to argue.

It cost them nothing to wait and see what happened next.

[End of Chapter 1247]