Chapter Thirty-Four: The Dagger Appears, Each with Their Own Plans

  "Zhang Yang seems to have lost patience, and Xu Huan's provocation is just the first step. I estimate that he will take the second step soon. Mr. Wen He, how do you think we should respond?" In the conference hall, everyone gathered together, including Li Jin Si and Li Jin Wu who sent people to summon them back. Zhao Xing was worried that his two brothers would be taken advantage of outside and suffer a loss.

  "Zhang Yang and his subordinate Zhang Gongcao are both from the wealthy Zhang family in Changzi County, whose business also includes a significant portion of liquor sales. Since Zui Xian Lou opened in Changzi County, the Zhang family's liquor business has been unable to operate. If they take action this time, the Zhang family will definitely go all out to destroy Wohu Village and take over the Xu family's wine workshop." Jia Yu analyzed calmly.

  "This family originally bought ten sets of furniture in one breath, it seems to be related to County Magistrate Zhu of Zichuan County." Zhao Xing suddenly remembered something.

  "The Zhu and Zhang families have already become in-laws, and the eldest Miss Zhang is going to marry the eldest young master of the Zhu family next month." replied Zhou Cang.

  "So far, there hasn't been any movement from County Magistrate Zhu, but I always feel that the most difficult to guard against is probably this seemingly harmless 'fat pig'!" Zhao Xing furrowed his brow and sank into thought.

  "When the enemy comes, we'll defend; when the flood comes, we'll dam it! We don't have to be overly afraid of him!" Guan Yu said in a deep voice, "I'll lead the Flying Tiger Troop to ambush near Qingfeng Ridge. Once the situation becomes critical, we can only disguise ourselves as mountain bandits and kill these birds under the cover of darkness!"

  "Good enough! But this method is indeed clean and efficient, a one-time effort for all eternity!" Jia Xun nodded in agreement.

  "If Zhang Yang breaks into the village under the pretext of catching thieves, we soldiers will not be able to stop him. Once he enters the village, not only will the secrets of the Xu family's wine workshop be exposed, but if those Hu people and Taihang women and children are discovered, it will be even more difficult for us to deal with."

  "When the time comes, they can only hide in the wine cellar." Zhao Xing sighed, "I'm afraid that someone in this village has already been bought over, and even the secret of the wine cellar is not safe!"

  "How is the second phase of the hidden troops project going?" Jia Yu asked Zhao Xing with a serious face.

  "At present, caves have been dug in four places, and the living facilities inside are not yet complete." Zhao Xing replied. As for the top secret of Wohu Village, only he knew the specific progress until now. Seeing the critical situation, he had to say it out loud.

  "But it's enough to hide everyone! How about this..." Jia Yu whispered to Zhao Xing, afraid that the sound would be heard by people outside the house.

  "Alright, let's do it as Mr. Wenhe said. Guan Ge will set off immediately and act according to plan. Mr. Wenhe is in charge of relocating the Qiang Hu and Taihang women and children. Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao will gather the villagers and prepare for defense against the county soldiers' forced entry. Everyone, follow my lead!"

  "We obey Master Zhuang's (Master Lord) orders!" The crowd stood up and replied, after finishing, they quickly left and took action separately.

  While the people of Wozhuang were analyzing and studying countermeasures, a group of people in Changzi County government office were also secretly plotting.

  At the forefront was none other than Zhang Yang, the county governor of Shangdang, surrounded by Zhang Gongcao, who had accompanied Xu Huan for a drink that day, Zhu County Magistrate, and Zhang Biao Kun, the richest man in Shangdang, who had never appeared before (known as Zhang Baiwan, but this "Baiwan" did not mean that the Zhang family had 100 million yuan, but rather that they had 100 million mu of land! The Zhang family's fields were not only all over Shangdang County, but also in nearby Taiyuan, Leiping, Xihai and other counties). There was also Zhang Jiafeng, the eldest son of the Zhang family, Zhu Muyu, the eldest son of the Zhu family, and Zhang Biao Lin, the county lieutenant of Shangdang and Zhang Biao Kun's cousin.

  "This time, taking action against Wòhǔ Zhuāng is to eradicate the root and eliminate future troubles! That young Zhao is not yet old, but he is intelligent and brave, with great ambitions. He came to Lǐjiā Zhuāng for only a short two years, yet he created a huge business empire, even the old fox Lǐ Tíngfāng willingly gave him several thousand acres of land. If we wait until he grows stronger, will there be any place for us in this Shàngdǎng County?" The first to speak was Prefect Zhāng Yáng.

  "I'd like to share the same fate as Governor Zhang!" Zhang Bingkun responded, "If the second son is not removed, Upper Party will never have a peaceful day!"

  "Please also tell us, Commander Zhang, how you plan to deploy your troops. We will follow your orders!" said County Magistrate Zhu.

  "Tonight, the troops will be divided into four routes. The first route, led by Feng and accompanied by Zhang's family servants, will spread rumors in Zichang County, saying that a strong wind is coming to create chaos. The second route, led by Zhu, the county magistrate, will take advantage of the chaos to occupy the Drunken Immortal Building! The third route, led by me, with 500 disguised soldiers dressed as 'a gust of wind', will surround Li's Village, kill people and claim credit, forcing the troops in Wohu Village to show up! The fourth route, led by the county governor himself, with 1,000 soldiers, will surround Wohu Village, using the excuse that they have discovered bandits hiding inside. Once we succeed in taking Li's Village, our forces will combine and the big plan will be accomplished!" Zhang Biao said viciously, plotting a ruthless and merciless plan to annihilate everyone.

  "Then we'll split up and act separately. Once the city is in chaos, I'll lead my men to attack both Zhu's and Li's estates as well as the Drunken Immortal Pavilion!" Zhang Yang said, "After today's success, the Xus' winery will be divided with me taking 30%, the Zhangs taking 40% and the Zhus taking 30%. The land of Sleeping Tiger Estate and Li's Estate will be divided with me taking 60% and the Zhus taking 40%. The horses in the estates will belong to the county government, the young and strong men will go to you two families, and the hidden wine will be evenly divided among the three families. What do you all think?"

  "Just relying on the county governor's orders!" Everyone's eyes showed greedy gaze! Just based on this harvest, it is enough to top up three years of income. Especially Zhang's family, nominally only occupying 40% of the wine workshop, but no land was allocated. However, what Zhang's family lacks least is land, and what they envy most is Xu's wine workshop. The two families, Zhang and Zhu, are connected by a common ancestor, and together they occupy 60% of the shares, while County Governor Zhang Yang occupies 40%, which originally belonged to one family. It seems that Xu's wine workshop, this golden egg-laying hen, will eventually fall into Zhang's hands.

  Everyone only thinks about the benefits, but no one thinks that if the other party is not a hen that can be slaughtered at will, but a big tiger that chooses people to bite, they may end up with nothing left. This is also a common disease of greedy people!