Chapter 20: Trouble is Coming

  At this time, Xue Yue was pacing back and forth at the entrance of Jinlin School Field, constantly sighing. A few days ago, Li Yue led a group of family guards to come and cause trouble. Originally, with Xue Yue's temper, they would have been driven away long ago, and if they had resisted, they would have been killed without hesitation. However, last time Zhao Yin executed the soldiers who disturbed the people, intimidating the whole army, and later issued a booklet on being kind to the people, almost to the point where they couldn't even fight back or retort. So every time this group of family guards came, the Imperial Guards and Jinlin Army would ignore them and not bother with them. Li Yue was also very smooth-tongued, originally coming to the military camp to cause trouble without a plan, but seeing that these soldiers seemed to be afraid of Zhao Yin's booklet on being kind to the people, they became bolder and bolder, and today they even blocked Xiang'er, although they didn't dare to use violence. However, Xue Yue couldn't bear it anymore, and several soldiers rushed up and beat up the family guards fiercely. After the fight, Xue Yue and others felt uneasy and worried.

  Zhao Yan and Wang Xichen returned to the Jinlin barracks, only to find a strange atmosphere among the soldiers. Zhao Yan soon learned that his policy of being kind to the people had become an excuse for Li Yue to bully others. Zhao Yan regretted it in secret, but this was not the time for regrets; he had to solve the problem. He gathered all the soldiers on the training ground and declared loudly: "Firstly, I want to commend the soldiers who fought alongside Xue Yue. You have fulfilled your duties as comrades-in-arms, and not only will you not be punished, but each of you will receive three times the usual reward in silver." The soldiers involved in the fight were overjoyed and tearful, while the other soldiers whispered among themselves, feeling that Zhao Yan was being inconsistent.

  Zhao Yan continued: "You may think that I, Zhao Yan, am being contradictory, issuing policies to benefit the people but rewarding those who violate them. Yes, I told you not to disturb the people, but I didn't say you could tolerate others' disturbance either. Take out your bloodiness, if there's a next time, just kill them all! However, don't forget that as warriors protecting our country and the people, we have a fish-water relationship with the common folk. But are Li Yue's household servants still considered ordinary people? A group of henchmen who bully the common folk every day, do you think we need to show leniency?"

  "No!" The crowd shouted in unison.

  "What should we do then?" Zhao Jiong asked loudly.

  "If they dare to come, we'll teach them a lesson." A voice from below responded.

  Zhao Tong said, "Wrong. The ancients said that a gentleman avenges himself after ten years, but I think this saying is not suitable for our Imperial Guard. Our Imperial Guard settles scores on the spot and never leaves debts unpaid. The whole army will assemble and prepare, and we will set out in half an hour to collect the debts owed to us."

  "Revenge, revenge, revenge..." The momentum is shocking.

  Li Fangxu walked up to Zhao Yan and said, "Your Highness, this matter still needs careful consideration. Li Yue's father is a well-known merchant in the south, with a title of 700 households and a baron, with abundant funds, and controls many trade routes on the sea. Many officials in the court have connections with him, we can't touch him."

  "General Liang, if you're afraid of taking responsibility in the future, you can stay at Jinlin Barracks. If blame comes down from above, I'll take it all upon myself." Zhao Yan said calmly. This was a test; if Liang Fangxu didn't want to join the Imperial Guard, the day when the Imperial Guard and Jinlin Army would part ways wouldn't be far off, and on future battlefields, they might even become enemies. Zhao Yan looked at Liang Fangxu, waiting for his response. Liang Fangxu's mind was also in turmoil; the moment of deciding his fate had arrived - either choose to remain loyal to the Emperor and part ways with the Imperial Guard, or join the Imperial Guard and gain greater development. No matter which path he took, there was an uncertain future ahead.

  Li Fangxu took a deep breath and said: "The Golden Scale Army is willing to take the lead."

  "It's all right, with General Liang's help, what big thing can't be accomplished?" Zhao Yun said with a smile as he helped Liang Fangxu up. To be honest, Zhao Yun was really reluctant to let the Golden Scale Army leave, this kind of seasoned army couldn't be trained in just one or two years, especially that kind of spirit that belongs to the army, which can influence new recruits and quickly form combat effectiveness. Liang Fangxu's attitude made Zhao Yun exceptionally happy.

  Half a time later, the troops gathered, with 1,123 people from the Golden Scales Army and 457 people from the Imperial Forest Army. Except for 300 people who stayed behind to guard the house, the rest of the soldiers set off in a mighty procession from the Golden Scales camp towards the suburban mansion of Li Yue's father, Li Dongxun. Along the way, the people they met all hid far away and didn't dare approach them. When Zhao Jiong led his army to arrive at Li Dongxun's large estate, he captured the guards at the gate without saying a word, broke down the door, and rushed in. Li Dongxun's mansion was extremely luxurious, with corridors made of high-quality nanmu wood everywhere. Nanmu wood is not produced in Bianjing, and it must be transported from afar to ensure that the wood does not rot, which consumes an astonishing amount of financial resources. The surface of the nanmu wood was covered with animal hides. Li Dongxun felt that walking on the road wearing boots made his feet very uncomfortable, so he designed and constructed every large and small courtyard in this way. Because this mansion is too close to the imperial city, he was afraid that the imperial censor would report him for being too extravagant (Li Dongxun thought so himself), so he didn't dare use gold, silver, or jade carvings on the railings, but instead used large stone carvings. The pavilions and buildings were exquisitely crafted, with a majestic atmosphere that made people feel heroic at first sight. Although the mansion was not particularly huge, there were hundreds of slaves. Zhao Jiong couldn't help but feel the urge to rob Li Dongxun, thinking that this guy was too rich. He secretly decided to take advantage of this opportunity to extort money from the wealthy merchant.

  Hundreds of slaves were pushed into the courtyard by the soldiers, and those slaves had never seen such a scene. The ones with good hearts could still stand upright, shivering with fear, while the ones with poor hearts had already fainted on the ground. Li Dongxin walked out of the main hall with the support of two slaves and said in a deep voice: "I don't know what brings you here from afar, General. I am the 700-household Baron granted by His Majesty. Don't you fear death for bursting in like this?"

  Zhao Kan and Wang Xichen were busy discussing how to extort Li Dongxin, so they didn't have time to bother with him. Li Dongxin took one look and immediately changed his expression, saying: "Gentlemen, you've had a long journey, please come in and I'll treat you with the utmost hospitality." Li Dongxin saw that the emperor's seal couldn't control this group of soldiers, so he quickly put on a different face. He estimated that these soldiers were either deserters or bandits, and if they killed him and reported it as killing mountain bandits to gain merit, it would be very bad for him. Alternatively, it could be said that he was secretly harboring bandits or privately communicating with the Jin State, which would be absolutely disastrous for him. Li Dongxin didn't want to die, and the more fortunate one's life is, the more they cherish their own life. If he knew that Li Yue had brought him such trouble, he would definitely be furious and vomit blood. Li Yue had once again beautifully set him up.

  Zhao Kan, Wang Xi Zhen, Xue Yue, and Liang Fang Xu were invited into the banquet hall. Liang Fang Xu and Xue Yue were unwilling to take their seats and stood behind Zhao Kan and Wang Xi Zhen. Zhao Kan tried to persuade them a few times but to no avail, so he didn't say anything more. Before long, delicious dishes were brought up in large platters. Xue Yue couldn't resist the temptation and walked over to another table to eat with gusto, occasionally passing a chicken leg or something to Liang Fang Xu. Liang Fang Xu looked at him with disdain, pretending not to know Xue Yue.

  After three rounds of wine and five flavors, Li Dongxun continued with a slightly drunken tone: "The two generals have come to my humble abode, I am truly honored and humbled, but my simple words cannot express my respect." It turned out that the bowls and chopsticks used by Zhao were all made of white jade, extremely valuable, and under the table, each was pressed with a note worth 100,000 taels of silver.

  Li Dongxin continued, "Now the two generals can trust that in the future I will uphold justice and follow the law, doing business with a clear conscience, and have never collaborated with mountain bandits or those uncivilized outsiders."

  It's really sleepy to have someone send a pillow. Wang Xichen is not good at extortion, and after discussing with Zhao Chen for half a day, there is no good way, because Li Dongxin has a title, and it's not good to be too excessive. Unexpectedly, Li Dongxin was so smart that he reminded Zhao Chen, and Li Dongxin didn't even know Zhao Chen's identity. How could this opportunity be missed?

  Only then did Zhao Tan let out a sigh: "It's not that I want to make things difficult for Lord Li, but we've caught a Jin dynasty spy, and under torture, he confessed that you are the one who has been secretly in contact with the Jin dynasty." This matter, Brother Bai, can't you just give Lord Li some leeway? How could someone as upright and honest as Lord Li possibly be secretly communicating with the Jin dynasty? The "Brother Bai" Zhao Tan was addressing was actually Wang Xizhen. Wang Xizhen understood what he meant and spoke in a low voice: "Brother Chi, you also know that it's not that I don't want to give leeway, but if we let this slide, both of us will be in danger when the higher-ups investigate. There is a way, but...it's just too difficult for Lord Li." His expression was extremely conflicted and painful, as if he were unaware of the situation, even Zhao Tan suspected that he had been deceived.

  Li Dongxin was deeply moved that the two were thinking of him so much. He slapped the table and said generously: "Since you two are like this, I Li Dongxin will not be polite either. As long as there is a way to get through the difficulties, I am willing to risk everything."

  "Just by putting pressure on Lord Li's large shipyard in the imperial court, I believe the investigation into Lord Li will be greatly reduced."

  "This..." Li Dongxin hesitated, such a large coastal shipyard cannot form a production system in just a few decades, skilled workers and inherited drawings are all treasures.

  "Since Li Bojie is indecisive, let's just forget it. We can only handle the matter impartially at this point." Zhao Yan said helplessly.

  "Alright, I agree. Someone, bring the deed to the Southeastern Shipyard and hand it over to these two generals." An old man with white hair and beard, carrying a sealed contract, came to the banquet hall and handed it over to Zhao and Wang. The old man's eyes were dull, as if he was about to die, and he retreated shakily. Zhao and Wang exchanged a glance, and immediately looked away.

  Zhao Kuo said: "Li Bo's soldiers are also exhausted from the long journey, can't you give them some reward money to let them understand the magnanimity of the Earl?"

  "Nature, nature." Li Dongxin replied respectfully.

  The soldiers were not forbidden from everyone to send money, dishes and fine wine to accompany them. They finally calmed down the resentment in their hearts. Of course, if Li Yue dared to provoke again next time, the consequences would be severe. Until sunset, Zhao Jin brought the soldiers back to the mansion, along with the meals for the 300 soldiers guarding the house. Watching the Imperial Guards walk away, the old man with white hair and beard looked energetic and powerful, with an intimidating aura, saying in a low voice: "You handed over the shipyard so easily to that prince, really no problem? Be careful not to deviate from the master's plan." Li Dongxun was also majestic at this time, unlike his humble appearance earlier, calmly saying: "Giving the shipyard to Prince Zhao Jin has many benefits. It can shift their attention, please them, and allow us to plant our people inside. Why not do it?"

  "Hmph, you're always so clever, be careful one day you'll play with fire." The white-bearded old man said disapprovingly.

  "By the way, Soul Arrow, your disguise outfit is fine, right? If you're found out, it's game over." Li Dongxuan said with a smile, changing the subject.

  "This doesn't require your concern, last time if you hadn't failed to stop the imperial guard, the plan to sneak attack the Wu family wouldn't have failed. Don't let there be a next time, or I'll kill you first." He said and floated away.

  "Hmph, who's going to die is still unknown." Li Dongxuan's eyes flashed with a cold glint as he shouted: "Come in!"

  "Old Master." A servant came in and bowed, saying that someone had been sent to the military department to investigate General Bai and the foolish general.

  "Yes."

  "What's wrong with being an idiot? Sometimes it's not bad to be one." Li Dongxin muttered.