The Siege of Taoyuan County

Inside the Minister's mansion.

Steward Xu Bo knocked on the study door.

After a response from inside, Xu Bo pushed the door open and said, "Master, someone seeks an audience."

Zhang Shi looked up in confusion.

At this late hour, who could be calling?

"Who is it?"

Xu Bo lowered his voice instinctively. "It's someone from the Prince."

King Wu... it had been some time since they'd met. Why would he suddenly send someone?

Zhang Shi frowned. "Show him in."

Soon, a middle-aged man in black tight-fitting clothes entered.

He bowed respectfully and presented a letter with both hands. "Minister Zhang, the Prince asked me to deliver this letter to you."

"Who are you? Why doesn't the Prince speak with me in person instead of sending a letter?"

"I am Jiang Hu, Captain of the Prince's Guard."

Zhang Shi trembled as he accepted the envelope, looking at Jiang Hu with suspicion.

The Prince's Guard... back before the princes' powers were reduced, the local princes still maintained some forces.

But that guard had been disbanded long ago!

King Wu had secretly kept this private army?

Zhang Shi hastily opened the envelope and read carefully. As he read, cold sweat began to flow.

Haiyuan City had been exposed... the Prince went there personally?

Zhang Shi folded the letter and asked urgently, "Besides this letter, did the Prince say anything else? Will he return?"

Jiang Hu replied, "The Prince told you to preserve your useful self. I've delivered the message. Minister Zhang, farewell!"

With that, Jiang Hu turned and left.

Xu Bo cautiously approached and asked, "Master, why didn't King Wu take his guard with him when he left?"

Zhang Shi lit the letter with an oil lamp, watching the ashes float away thoughtfully.

"Hmm... you may go now."

After leaving the Minister's mansion, Jiang Hu headed straight for a large residence not far from the Prince's palace.

The mansion was guarded by many men in black tight-fitting clothes, giving it an extremely solemn appearance.

He passed through the hall and went directly to the study in the back courtyard, bringing several others with him.

This study was uniquely decorated, with a table in the center.

On the table was a map that appeared to be of some county.

As soon as he entered, Jiang Hu got straight to the point. "Everyone, the Prince has gone far enough away now."

"Within three days, we must take Taoyuan County and seize the Boundless Merit. Then we'll depart from Jiangling Port. By then, the Prince should have prepared to receive us at another port."

Someone asked, "Captain, what exactly is this Boundless Merit? Why does the Prince value it so much?"

Jiang Hu looked at the map and said, "I don't know. I only heard the Prince say it's some divine object that can split mountains and crack stones! This is what the Prince values most. He went to capture Fang Zheng, and if he wasn't successful, it's all up to us. We must have two plans and cannot afford mistakes!"

Jiang Hu pointed at the map. "We only have two thousand men. The day after tomorrow, we'll first send two hundred men disguised to enter Taoyuan County and seize the city gates."

"The rest will hide in the forest two miles away. When the time is right, we'll enter the city and attack! A county's garrison and constables combined won't exceed five hundred, and they're all mediocre fighters. Each of you will lead a team. Two teams will guard the city gates to prevent people from leaving. The rest will search for the Boundless Merit. Kill anyone who blocks your way. We must act quickly and decisively!"

"That's the general plan. I sent Little Six out at noon to scout Taoyuan County. He should return tomorrow, and then we can make more detailed arrangements."

Everyone took turns pointing at the map and discussing the plan, preparing for any unexpected situations.

Suddenly, a panicked figure burst in, panting heavily as he stood before Jiang Hu.

Jiang Hu exclaimed in surprise, "Little Six! How are you back so soon? Did you complete the reconnaissance?"

Little Six gasped for breath and finally said, "I... I... I couldn't get past the toll stations..."

"What?! Toll stations?" Jiang Hu was dumbfounded.

"Yes! Toll stations! The entire territory of Taoyuan County is covered with damn toll stations! I didn't bring enough silver. After passing two stations, I couldn't go any further...."

The room fell silent.

Everyone trained in the estate outside the city and rarely had the chance to go out. They had never heard of such a thing.

Wasn't this just highway robbery?

Jiang Hu flew into a rage. "Are you blockheaded? Couldn't you go around?"

Little Six was extremely aggrieved. "I wanted to! But all the passable roads were patrolled! Unless we went over the mountains, we had to pass through toll stations!"

"This is insane! I thought after passing one toll station, there wouldn't be more, but after walking three hundred paces, there was another one! They set up their toll stations like tea stalls. They were clearly official soldiers but wore linen clothes outside! Isn't this just thuggery?"

"And when my horse got tired, there were people selling fodder by the roadside. I didn't think much of it. Who knew that one portion of fodder would cost two silver coins! They said it was some greenhouse grass. Isn't this daylight robbery? After passing two stations, I only had twenty copper coins left. When I couldn't pay, they surrounded me."

Jiang Hu slammed the table in anger. "Damn these villains! Why didn't you kill them?"

"They all had swords..."

"So in the end, did you pay?" someone asked anxiously.

Little Six began to cry. "I really had no money! They confiscated my horse and even made change for me, or I couldn't have left the toll station. I ran back...."

"They charge to go in AND to come out?!"

"Yes...."

"........"

"Captain, we've run into real bandits. What do we do?"

Jiang Hu pressed his chest and breathed heavily, feeling at a loss.

Things weren't going as he had imagined. Had bandits become legitimate now?

"Captain... what should we do? We can't possibly go over the mountains, can we? That would take too much time, and the brothers couldn't endure it!"

"In my opinion, we should charge in, overturn their damned toll stations, and then quickly raid Taoyuan County!"

Little Six hurriedly objected, "No! Absolutely not!"

"There's a toll station every three hundred paces. If you overturn the first one, the people at the next will go back to raise the alarm. And we don't know how many toll stations there are. By then, once the city gates close, we won't be able to do anything!"

"Captain, what should we do?!"

Jiang Hu's expression was solemn. He never imagined that a small county could cause such trouble! This situation was unheard of, not even covered in military manuals...

Jiang Hu reluctantly said with a red face, "Everyone... let's gather some money. We'll get past the toll stations first..."

"Captain, aren't we supposed to be raiding?!"

"Shut up! Little Six, how much does each person cost at the toll station?"

Little Six painfully recalled, "One tael of silver per person, two taels for a horse..."

That's four thousand taels total for people and horses... At this moment, Jiang Hu's eyes were filled with confusion.

The Prince hadn't left him much money besides travel expenses.... Not enough money.

Little Six's weak voice came through. "Why don't we sell the horses..."