Jiang Pengji was prepared to attack Nansheng, and the first to bear the brunt was Yang Tao's former territory.
The ones who were most worried weren't An Cui and the others, but the aristocrats who had betrayed Yang Tao. They were burning with anxiety.
How could they not be anxious?
The group of aristocrats had been bewitched and recruited by An Cui. To be precise, they had been attracted by the pie that Lu Zheng had drawn. They were blinded by greed and dizziness. They gritted their teeth and abandoned Yang Tao, who had lost his power. Not only had they led their troops to rebel against Yang Tao, but they had also forced Yang Tao to the brink of death several times.
They had been so resolute not only to eliminate Yang Tao, but also to show their loyalty to the new master by stepping on their old master.
They had thought that An Cui would fulfill his promise after doing so well. They hadn't expected him to burn the bridge after crossing it.
Only ten to twenty percent of the benefits that had been agreed upon had been fulfilled. The rest had been delayed until there was no sign of them. No one dared to urge them. An Cui even pretended to be deaf and dumb. It was obvious that he was going to renege on his debt. To put it bluntly, this kind of unspoken behavior was akin to ignoring others.
He wasn't willing to cut his own flesh, but he ran faster than anyone else when asked to reap the benefits.
They had just gotten rid of Yang Tao, and An Cui had sent people to take over the benefits and take over Yang Tao's territory.
After taking control of the territory, An Cui didn't send people to govern or pacify the people. He didn't open the granaries to release grain or anything like that. Instead, he gathered troops, recruited the young, and lobbied the wealthy. It was understandable if the former two were fighting to the death with Jiang Pengji to increase their own strength, but the latter's actions were thought-provoking. The astute aristocrats could see through it at a glance. Wasn't this taking advantage of the situation?
An Cui had sent people to lobby for them. He'd painted a nice and fragrant cake. The wealthy would provide money and grain to help him get listed.
Would they buy it or not?
If they bought it, they didn't know when they could recoup their losses.
An Cui only needed to move his lips, but they would have to pay with real money and grain.
What if An Cui reneged on his debt?
If they didn't buy it, the owner of the land under their feet would change from Yang Tao to An Cui. Did they have the right to say no?
Even though the aristocrats had connections and status, the private troops they raised couldn't compare to those of the feudal lords.
An Cui wanted to act like a hoodlum, using all sorts of ways to exploit and squeeze out their family assets and private stashes. They were forced into a passive position.
Seeing through Ann's tricks, the group of hot-headed speculators finally calmed down.
"An Duoxi's words may sound nice, but in reality, he doesn't do what he says. Yang Zhengze, on the other hand …"
An Cui was in a crisis of trust, and the empty promises he had promised were unable to attract large amounts of investment for him. The rich families that had been fooled had also learned their lesson. At this moment, An Cui revealed his true colors as well. He switched from negotiating to using both the carrot and the stick to threaten them, causing them to suffer in silence.
Every time this happened, they would remember how good Yang Tao was.
Even though Yang Tao was from Dongqing and relied more on the team he brought out from Dongqing, Yang Zhengze was also a man of steel. He was a man of his word, and there was nothing wrong with that. The Nansheng aristocrats who had supported Yang Tao in the beginning had also earned quite a bit of dividends.
Even though Yang Tao had lost to Jiang Pengji in the end, it was still better than An Cui squeezing them dry right from the start.
How regretful!
The leaders of a few aristocratic families gathered together for a discussion. Their words were extremely dissatisfied with An Cui.
In contrast to An Cui, the former lord, Yang Tao, had become a cinnabar mole and the white moonlight.
"I originally thought that An Cui's power was strong and that he had unified more than half of Nansheng. He should be able to fight Liu Xi. Now it seems that he's only strong on the outside but weak on the inside." A clan leader dressed in an indigo Confucian robe said in a low voice, "Liu Xi led his troops south and acted as if he was invading Nansheng's land. We sent 12 urgent letters to An Cui asking for help, but he was indifferent … Sigh, we really misjudged him."
Fighting a war was an activity that burned money and manpower.
In the past two months, An Cui had vigorously recruited troops and horses, almost pulling away all the young and strong men in the vicinity.
Now, there were only old, weak, and disabled soldiers left in the city. Every family could gather more than 10,000 elites, but it was not a long-term solution.
Jiang Pengji was a vassal who had unified Dongqing. The 10,000 elites were not even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth.
It was too late to spend money to recruit troops and horses to defend the city.
The young and strong men in the vicinity were like chives. They had long been harvested by that greedy fellow, An Cui, over and over again. They were all bald.
Without the young and strong men as the main force, how could they defend against Jiang Pengji's wolf-like army?
It would be fine if it was just Jiang Pengji, but Jiang Pengji did not hold grudges against Yang Tao and allowed him to assist in training the troops. With Yan Lin's assistance, the two of them had a tacit understanding of each other. Back then, they could lead thousands of people to establish a large foundation in Nansheng. Now, they could lead Jiang Pengji to annex this place.
Jiang Pengji was not familiar with the territory of Nansheng, but Yan Lin and his old officials were very familiar with each other!
In less than three or four days, the border was in a state of emergency. Jiang Pengji's navy was divided into several groups and headed south at the same time. Their momentum was unstoppable!
"Why are you regretting this now … We didn't gather here to reflect on Yang Tao's actions …"
No matter how much they regretted it, it was water that had been poured out.
They should think about the current situation and how to overcome the difficulties before them!
Everyone kept silent and looked at each other, staring at each other with their eyes wide open. It seemed like no one was willing to be the first to stand out.
"Since you all have your reservations and refuse to speak, then I'll show my incompetence and throw a brick to attract jade."
It was not a good thing for the atmosphere to be stiff, so someone could not sit still.
He said, "In my humble opinion, there are only three options before us now."
"Which three?"
Everyone hurriedly asked.
"The first option is to prepare rations and gather troops to fight Liu Xi to the death."
"Isn't this like throwing an egg against a rock?" Someone sighed gloomily. There was no difference between saying it and not saying it.
"The second option is to treat An Cui the way we treated Yang Tao."
Everyone looked at each other after hearing this. This suggestion was too rash.
Jiang Pengji would not be moved if they stabbed Yang Tao first and An Cui the next.
If Jiang Pengji encountered a strong enemy, would they defect to their new master and stab her in the back?
If they defected to Jiang Pengji, they would be lucky not to die, let alone taste the sweetness of dividends.
"This won't do! If we do this, how will the world view us? Forgive me for being unable to agree to such an immoral act. "
One by one, the other clan leaders agreed with this argument.
They were the role models of the aristocratic families. How could they do evil things that were fickle for their own interests?
"Isn't there one more option? What's the last option? "
The man said, "The last option … Why don't we stake it all on one throw and do our best to help An Cui succeed!"
Everyone's faces turned green in an instant. It was as if they had swallowed several mosquitoes that had flown out of the latrine.
An Cui's behavior disgusted them.
If they were to empty their pockets to help An Cui, regardless of whether An Cui won or lost, they would lose anyway.
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