Chi Cheng was in the training grounds of the Fu Bo Commandery (Western Frontier) of Xia Prefecture, practicing his daily afternoon exercises. Suddenly, his brow furrowed as he sensed someone approaching rapidly.
Who was so blind as to not know that at this hour, this Lord Duke was not to be disturbed?
Just as he was about to shout a reprimand, before he could even see the person, a voice cried out, "My Lord! Trouble is brewing at home, my Lord!"
Huh? This voice... isn't it the third steward from my old home? Why has he come all the way here?
Chi Cheng put down his weapon in confusion, waiting for the other to arrive.
Within a few breaths, the third steward’s aged body landed with a thud before Chi Cheng, kneeling and kowtowing. "My Lord, trouble has befallen our home! Troops from all the commanderies and counties of Xia Prefecture are heading towards Lianshan County!"
"What? What did my father do to provoke such a large contingent of imperial troops? Could that old fool be plotting rebellion?"
Chi Cheng's body trembled as he asked in shock.
"How could that be? Even with the old master's courage, he wouldn't dare rebel," the third steward quickly waved his hands in reply.
"Then what exactly happened? Quickly explain it clearly." Chi Cheng pulled him up from the ground.
"The matter is this..."
The third steward quickly recounted the entire sequence of events.
It turned out that when Chi Old Master first heard about the New Policies and Three Laws, although he was pained by the thought of losing wealth, he had no intention of directly opposing the court. Instead, he planned to observe the situation like other noble families before making a decision. This was because the court had announced it was a reform, but there had been no significant action.
Just then, someone from a noble family approached him. They revealed that Zhang Chengzhu and An Xian would soon arrive at Lianshan County to oversee the transformation of the Royal Merchant Association's land and farms. Chi Old Master considered this very normal. In this era, which wealthy clan didn't build a fortress to surround their homes? Weren't the walls of every gentry's estate three to five meters high?
However, after the noble family member arrived, they promised not to interfere with Chi family's land annexation efforts. In fact, they offered assistance in this regard. Furthermore, they promised to donate a large number of books to enrich the Chi family's library and send people to guide the Chi family on how to become a noble family, and which foundational scriptures to choose as their basis.
Hearing these promises, Chi Old Master was greatly moved. To achieve the transformation into a noble family in his lifetime would allow him to boast to his ancestors in the afterlife.
At this point, the noble family member proposed a condition: they demanded the elimination of Zhang Chengzhu and An Xian. Chi Old Master pondered for several hours and felt that they were merely minor officials in charge of farm operations. Eliminating them would be simple, especially since it was within their family's sphere of influence. As long as the deed was done cleanly, there should be no problem.
Thus, Chi Old Master spared no effort, even for a small prey. He directly sent people to threaten the surrounding martial arts sects and invited three Foundation Establishment realm cultivators and over a hundred Body Tempering realm practitioners, along with ancient martial arts masters. His plan was to eliminate Zhang Chengzhu and his entire group in one fell swoop, leaving no one alive. This way, if no one leaked the news, no one would know that the Chi family was responsible.
Unfortunately, man proposes, heaven disposes. Chi Old Master miscalculated the combat power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the cautiousness of martial arts sects fearing death. The three Foundation Establishment realm cultivators dared not act immediately but hid behind, directing their disciples. This gave Zhang Chengzhu and An Xian an opportunity to escape. In the end, Chi Old Master's plan failed.
"Is my father insane? Or has he eaten leopard's gall?" Chi Cheng was furious. Sons often caused trouble for their fathers, but it was rare for a father to cause trouble for his son. He had now witnessed it.
The third steward dared not answer, lowering his head as if he hadn't heard.
Despite his anger, the matter had already happened and had to be resolved.
"Now that the commandery and county troops of Xia Prefecture are being mobilized, such actions are certainly not something Zhang Chengzhu and An Xian could accomplish on their own. Their backers must have arrived, or at least issued orders. Could it be! Oh no, this matter might not be easily resolved!"
Chi Cheng's heart sank. He guessed that the Prime Minister, Chu Chen, might have either personally arrived in Xia Prefecture or had sent an imperial decree to Zhang Chengzhu. Neither of these scenarios was easy to deal with, and there was no hope of resolving the matter peacefully.
"Damn it!" Chi Cheng was anxious, sweat beading on his forehead as he paced back and forth, contemplating a solution. However, after a long period of thought, Chi Cheng still couldn't come up with a way to handle it.
"After much deliberation, it's either defying an imperial decree or going against the emperor's will. This is difficult!" Chi Cheng thought bitterly. In his hometown, he was a fourth-rank official and a Count, seemingly invincible. But in the imperial court, his title of Count was the only thing he could somewhat rely on. Fourth rank was like an ant to Chu Chen, let alone the Emperor. An official of higher rank could easily suppress one of lower rank, especially with such a vast difference in their positions.
Unable to find a solution and realizing that the matter could not be resolved peacefully, yet unwilling for his entire clan to be annihilated, Chi Cheng hardened his heart and gritted his teeth, thinking, "Since it's difficult to resolve, then let's go all the way and just not resolve it at all!"
A wicked thought arose in his mind, and Chi Cheng suddenly had an idea. He turned to the third steward and said, "Go back and tell my father that I cannot resolve this matter for him. He should prepare for the worst and bring out all the hidden military equipment and valuable items from the family."
"This, this..." The third steward was stunned. How could the master, who was usually omnipotent, be unable to resolve this? But since the master said so, there must be no other way. He replied, "I understand. I will ride back to the clan as fast as possible to inform the old master."
"Go quickly, the sooner the better," Chi Cheng waved his hand. After the third steward left, Chi Cheng returned to his study with a gloomy expression. He wrote several letters, then summoned his personal guards. "You will deliver these letters to the addresses I have specified. Ensure you do so with the utmost speed!"
"Yes, sir!"
Watching the backs of his departing guards, Chi Cheng said with a grim expression, "You forced me to do this! Don't blame me for being ruthless when we meet in the afterlife!"
Three days later, on the city walls of Lianshan County.
Because troops from various commanderies and counties had been stationed within ten li of the city for the past few days, the Lianshan County Magistrate, who had a guilty conscience, sensed that something was amiss. He had sealed the east city gate in the past few days, claiming that the imperial troops outside the east gate were conducting drills and that it was inconvenient to enter or exit through this gate. In reality, he was preventing the imperial troops outside the city from attacking and capturing him, an accomplice.
On this day, the captain on the city wall noticed a change in the camp outside the city. The various forces outside the city were no longer camped separately but had unified their camps and formed formations. Upon seeing this change, the captain on the city wall immediately knew that someone capable of suppressing these various forces had appeared. He immediately dispatched someone to notify the Magistrate at the county office. The Magistrate then invited all the personnel involved in this matter to discuss countermeasures.