They entered the village five days before, earlier than the time when residents of the county seat had noticed some out-of-towners whose faces were unfamiliar furtively enter the city to fish for information. It would seem Shan Congyi and his men had long since reconnoitered this area, which was why they’d directly come to Taowang Village.
In other words, the Wan Kingdom had some time before made preparations for cooperating with the Luohai Kingdom to wade into the matter of Jiangzhou, and there was a very high chance it’d been the Wan Kingdom who’d initiated the cooperation!
Yao Yi inwardly gave a sneer. The Wan-Kingdom had been in disputes with the Great Wen for a very long time. Also, Yuwen Tong had inflicted many defeats on the Wan Kingdom and Shan Congwen had even died at Yuwen Tong’s hands, so the Wan Kingdom had every reason to hate him more than the Luohai Kingdom did, and it was a natural thing that the Wan Kingdom had taken the lead in throwing Jiangzhou into chaos to make trouble for the Great Wen.
“All villagers were very happy when the caravan entered their village. They finally saw hope, believing that their pottery would begin to sell, but all members of the caravan were strangers to them, so they were wary of them. At first, the caravan were indeed talking with the villagers about buying their pottery. They seemed to be serious about the business, and the price they offered was pretty decent. All villagers were tempted. However, afterward, members of the caravan suddenly said that the national road had been blockaded, so they were unable to go to Jiangzhou, that even if they bought all the pottery, they wouldn’t be able to transport it elsewhere to sell it. Seeing that things were taking a drastic turn for the worse, the villagers were very anxious. Afterward, for some reason the village head fell prey to the deception of the leader of the caravan and actually agreed to let the caravan stay in the village. The next day, the village head called all villagers together and said that the caravan would buy all their pottery at twice the usual price, but the precondition was that they must help the caravan get to Jiangzhou along the national road.
An army of the imperial court was stationed near the national road, and the rebel forces in Jiangzhou were also guarding it on the other side. With the limited number of men in the village, helping the caravan get to Jiangzhou along the national road was an impossible task. Everybody felt that the village head and the caravan were insane, and they refused to do that, but then the leader of the caravan said that he’d purchase their pottery at triple its market price, that he would also donate a sum of money to the village. And then he signed an agreement with the village head on the spot. Apart from offering to donate money, members of the caravan also told the villagers that they were acquainted with the general leading the army of the imperial court, that they knew the army would engage the rebel forces in Jiangzhou in the next few days, that all the villagers needed to do was transport the pottery into Jiangzhou when the rebel forces was distracted by the army of the imperial court. Smart people could immediately tell that this matter was not as simple as it seemed, but those people of the caravan were plausible liars and hoodwinked most villagers into believing their words. Having had their way, members of the caravan told the village head to have the young and middle-aged villagers team up and guard the entrance and exits of the village. Villagers were not allowed to go in or out of the village without consent, and strangers were forbidden to enter. If anybody insisted on getting in, they wouldn’t be able to get out.
A lot of villagers felt that those businessmen were somewhat weird, for they didn’t look like natives of the Great Wen and had many fierce-looking musclemen at their service, so some villagers made an attempt to leave the village, planning to go to the county seat to avoid being dragged into those things, but they got spotted when exiting the village. Those musclemen hired by the caravan caught them, marched them back and then killed them. The one who informed on them was my father-in-law’s son.Read more new novels on Listnovel.com. What with that matter, my father-in-law disowned his son, who, along with his wife and son, have now moved into the village head’s residence, waiting upon those people. After the deaths of those villagers, all the others got scared and also came to realize that this caravan was not what it seemed, but they’re unable to extricate themselves from this situation, because apart from those musclemen, many of the villagers are willingly doing the village head’s and those people’s bidding too. Presently this village is nothing short of a prison.”
Wang Sheng related to Yao Yi all that Mr. Tao had told him about what had recently happened in the village. Then he added, “My father-in-law said that the leader of the caravan is a bearded man, that more than half of that man’s features were obscured by his bushy beard. He’d only seen the leader from a distance a couple of times, so he couldn’t give me a detailed description of his face, but his height and his lanky figure match up with what my boss told me. His demeanor bears little similarity to that of a common businessman, but his aristocratic mien tallies exactly with my boss’ description. Although he speaks in a mild tone, he’s quite ruthless when giving the order to kill. He has high prestige among his men, and nobody dares disobey him. In addition, he has a very strong Wan-Kingdom accent. Given all these facts, he’s almost certainly the person you’ve been looking for.”
Yao Yi said, “I see. That person must be Shan Congyi. Is he still in the village head’s residence?”
Wang Sheng replied with an inclination of the head, “Yeah. My father-in-law said that those people have been staying in the village head’s home all this time. In addition, his men have begun to show up at the village entrance on a regular basis. It seems that they’re expecting someone.”
Yao Yi’s heart lurched and with that he immediately thought of the two caravans. “I think I might have an idea of who they’re expecting.”
“By the way, were those people of that caravan carrying any goods when they first came into this village?” asked Yao Yi.
Wang Sheng answered with a bob of the head, “They were driving six or seven carts, all of which were fully loaded. The consignments seemed to be quite heavy and the horses were straining. The villagers were curious but couldn’t get close to check what the goods were. Those people of the caravan always make sure their goods are securely guarded. Presently they’re all in the village head’s residence. There’s no way any outsiders could gain entry into it.”
Yao Yi gave it some thought. Considering the heavy weight of those things and the tight security, they must be what Shan Congyi was planning to deliver to Jiangzhou, presumably gold and silver ingots.
After a while, Wang Sheng asked, “Will those people who are coming to this village be a threat to the safety of the villagers here?”
Yao Yi looked at him. “Since they want the villagers to help ship their goods out of this place, no harm will come to any of them before those people achieve their ends, but in no circumstances will we let them transfer those things, so there will surely be conflicts, and when that happens, the villagers would very likely be used as human shields. If they are to survive, they must be informed of the truth and convinced to follow our plan when that day comes lest they fall victim.”
Wang Sheng was both anxious and apprehensive. “But most villagers have been brainwashed. If we try to persuade them, those people will find out very soon.”
Yao Yi said, “Then just do you best and convince as many as you can.”
After clapping Wang Sheng on the shoulder, he continued, “Those people are from the Wan Kingdom. They plan to transport something to Jiangzhou to help the rebel forces there grow stronger. This small county is the closest to Jiangzhou, so when a fight breaks out, it’ll be the first to take the brunt of the enemy’s attack and these villagers won’t be the only victims. Besides, it could be said that those who refuse to see sense deserve to die, and there’s nothing anybody could do to make a difference for that matter.”
Wang Sheng sighed, “I see. I’ll tell my father-in-law about this. He knows of the situation better than I do. We’ll put out feelers first and see how many of them might be swayed.”
“Be extra careful. On no account should you alert any of those people. Otherwise this whole village would be wiped out.”
“I understand.”
Immediately after Wang Sheng stopped speaking, he opened his mouth again, hesitating about whether to say the words that had sprung to the tip of his tongue. Yao Yi looked at him for a while before he got a shrewd idea what Wang Sheng wanted to say and asked, “Are you worried that you might not be able to ensure the safety of your wife and son?”
Wang Sheng nodded. “I should never have allowed them to come here with me.”
Yao Yi consoled him, “We’ll send some men to this village and protect as many people as we can.”
Wang Sheng was overjoyed. “Thank you, Captain.”
Yao Yi slightly shook his head. “It’s the least we could do. Well, I need to get back and report all this to my master. You guys be careful. Now that it’s been confirmed that those people are indeed hiding in the village head’s residence, you should put your personal safety first and leave the other matters aside.”
“I see,” said Wang Sheng.
Thus, Yao Yi finished his talk with Wang Sheng and quietly left.
Before leaving the village, Yao Yi in the dark glanced in the direction of the central area of the village. Shan Congyi and his men were lurking in Taowang Village, intending to use the villagers here as cannon fodder, which was a quite wily plan. Previously the Wan Kingdom’s army had killed numerous civilians in the borderlands and plundered countless households of their valuables. If it weren’t for the fact that afterward the Great Wen’s army had got the upper hand, and that Yuwen Tong, after becoming a marshal, had never allowed the Wan Kingdom the slightest chance to turn the tide, there was no telling how many more people would have fallen victim to the Wan Kingdom.
The Wan Kingdom was an old opponent, an old foe, and Yao Yi felt deep resentment towards it, the expression in his eyes heavy with apathy and repulsion.
Before daybreak, under the cover of the dark night, Yao Yi slunk out of the village.
At this time, Ling Zhang and the others had just eluded a patrol made by some hidden sentries.
As Yao Yi returned, Ling Zhang sensed the brooding air radiating from him and came to realize that Yao Yi must have discovered something unpleasant in the village. “So what’s the situation like in the village?” he asked.
Yao Yi gave Ling Zhang a detailed account of what he’d observed as well as what Wang Sheng had told him.
Ling Zhang’s hands abruptly balled into fists after hearing the story. “These contemptible bastards of the Wan Kingdom are actually planning to use these villagers of the Great Wen as human shields.”
The others were also filled with indignation. Had they not had orders to stick to the plan, they would charge into the village immediately and kill Shan Congyi and all his men.
“I’m afraid Wang Sheng wouldn’t be able to get many villagers to see reason, so we need to psych ourselves up. If things go south, we should try not to hurt those villagers unless we have to,” said Yao Yi.
Ling Zhang inclined his head. Those villagers who’d been misled were still subjects of the Great Wen after all. However…
“The village head of Taowang Village must die. Also, those who knew members of the caravan harbored evil intentions but still chose to serve them for money may be spared from death, but they must be punished according to the law. Under no circumstances should we let them get away with it.”
“Yes, Childe Ling.”
Those who’d chosen to help the caravan knowing that they were evildoers were not only stupid but also malicious, so they must not be let off!
After that, Ling Zhang made arrangements for some men to enter the village to secretly keep watch on the activities inside. The General Zhongwu probably had got the message already and would soon arrive, and when he did, they would finalize a plan and then wait for Shan Congyi and his allies in Jiangzhou to make their move.
Yao Yi took two men and sneaked back into Taowang Village.
Ling Zhang, along with the rest of the group, continued to stake out the village. Shortly before dawn, the General Zhongwu quietly showed up with some of his subordinates.
“It’s an honor to bow before you, Childe Ling.”
“There’s no need for formalities, General. Thank you for coming here on such short notice.”
“It’s my job, Childe Ling. How are things going in the village?”
Ling Zhang filled him in on the current situation. After hearing it, the General Zhongwu called his lieutenant over and expounded to Ling Zhang the plan they’d formulated about how to deal with the rebel forces in Jiangzhou. Now they had to make some changes to it in light of the action Shan Congyi and his men might take.
