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Chapter 408: Lu HaiKong's Power Base
Chapter 408: Lu HaiKong's Power Base
After Ding Yuan left, Lu HaiKong continued his activities. For Lu HaiKong, Ding Yuan's visit was merely a side show, and it was quite enjoyable to see Ding Yuan's expression as he was nailed to the Pillar of Shame.
However, this interlude was just that, and Lu HaiKong had his own matters to attend to.
Ever since the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, Lu HaiKong's biggest move was not with the Yellow Turbans in the three provinces, nor was it the recently sparked rebellion of the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes.
Lu HaiKong had long been prepared for these actions.
Moreover, Lu HaiKong did not exert much effort in the rebellion of the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes. It was Ding Yuan's own doing that forced them to resist.
Of course, if Lu HaiKong's shadow was not behind this incident, he wouldn't believe it himself.
Lu HaiKong even added fuel to the fire by closing his market, causing all the businesses in Bingzhou and Youzhou to flood towards Ding Yuan, leaving him with no time or energy to negotiate or trade. Instead, he had to resort to killing and looting to obtain enough livestock for trade.
The rebellion in that area had already started, so Lu HaiKong no longer needed to pay attention to it. Those were Ding Yuan's problems to deal with.
As for the Yellow Turbans in the three provinces, they were not true Yellow Turbans. They were just a group of bandits led by the Huozi Camp, with yellow cloth tied around their heads.
After the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, when the system prompted Lu HaiKong to choose a faction, he ultimately did not select the Yellow Turban faction, precisely because he had not yet made a choice regarding factions.
Choosing a faction was not something that needed to be done immediately. Postponing it would only reduce the benefits of some faction quests, which Lu HaiKong's current foundation could easily make up for.
Lu HaiKong's decision to not choose a faction was more about not wanting to get involved in this nationwide war at this particular time. For him, this was an excellent opportunity to control Bingzhou. At the very least, Lu HaiKong wanted to fully integrate the three provinces of Yunzhong, Dingxiang, and Yanmen under his control.
Under these circumstances, Lu HaiKong had no time to participate in the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The Yellow Turbans' small actions were merely Lu HaiKong's minor arrangements.
During this period, Lu HaiKong's work focused on two aspects. One was the control of the influential families in the three provinces, or in other words, the control of the power structure in the three provinces.
Do not underestimate Lu HaiKong's strength or assume that he had been idly wasting time for the past half a year. During this time, a force under Lu HaiKong had been actively operating—this force was the intelligence system led by Xi Zhi Cai.
For the past half a year, Xi Zhi Cai had not been idle for a single day. Operating through the Shadow Guards and an increasingly vast intelligence network, he had been making arrangements.
In just half a year, Xi Zhi Cai presented Lu HaiKong with a perfect report.
During this half a year, while Ding Yuan was busy with business in Jiuyuan County, he failed to notice that in the two provinces of Dingxiang and Yunzhong, the influential families who held real power had been experiencing frequent changes. Many members who had previously been suppressed and unable to achieve their ambitions successfully rose to power within half a year and took control of the families with an iron fist.
Behind these changes in the influential families were Ma Pin and Xin Ping, and behind these two men was a man who spent an entire winter in his mountain stronghold, never leaving the side of his silver moon and fireplace.
With the help of these influential families, the county troops in Yunzhong and Dingxiang, which had suffered heavy casualties during the suppression of Lu HaiKong, had almost entirely replaced their mid-to-high-level officers.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion had just begun, and Lu Hai Kong, who had already established a strong power base in Bingzhou, was not one to let such an opportunity slip by. He replaced the second battalion of the Fire Camp with indigenous NPCs from the mountain strongholds, all of whom were absolutely loyal to Lu Hai Kong. This meant that the combined forces of Yunzhong and Dingxiang counties, totaling around 100,00s grasp.
At this point, Lu Hai Kong's power could no longer be described as merely having "matured." Whenever he wished, he could easily start a rebellion and take control of Bingzhou.
However, he did not take that path. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he sent out a group of fake Yellow Turbans to wreak havoc in the three provinces, using them to further consolidate his power. On the other hand, Lu Hai Kong fully unleashed his strength, beginning to gather the refugees left homeless by the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes' uprising.
Within just half a month, the number of refugees gathered in Dingxiang and Yunzhong had already reached over ten thousand. These refugees were mostly sent to Qiangyin, and a large number of skilled workers among them were selected and brought into the mountain strongholds.
For Ding Yuan, this marked the beginning of a disaster, but for Lu Hai Kong, it was the start of a grand feast. The situation between the two had completely reversed.
However, not everything was going smoothly for Lu Hai Kong. One matter during this period had left him quite displeased—the lack of cooperation from Zhang Li, the Prefect of Yanmen.
There had been a brief honeymoon period between Lu Hai Kong and Zhang Li. When Zhang Li helped Lu Hai Kong establish a connection with Zhang Ran, the relationship between the two was quite amicable. Later, when Zhang Yi imposed an economic blockade on Lu Hai Kong, Zhang Li also played a significant role in assisting him.
Therefore, after Lu Hai Kong's power in Qiangyin grew, he did not hesitate to share the benefits with Zhang Li. He even sent the Shadow Guard to help stabilize the situation in Yanmen, securing Zhang Li's position as the Prefect.
But as Zhang Yi stepped down and Ding Yuan rose to power, Lu Hai Kong's business faced obstacles. Zhang Li, true to his nature as a strategist, ceased close cooperation with Lu Hai Kong, and their relationship cooled down significantly.
In the year 191, a book titled "The Book of Heavenly Peace" appeared, but at that time, the relationship had only cooled; it had not deteriorated. The real deterioration occurred when Lu Hai Kong reached out to Yanmen, and their relationship soured completely.
In Yanmen, Xi Zhi Cai's actions came a little late. Although he had made some preparations, he had not taken much action, patiently waiting until the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It was then that Lu Hai Kong's men found Zhang Li and demanded his cooperation with Xi Zhi Cai's plan to replace the middle and upper-level county troops in Yanmen with Lu Hai Kong's men.
Zhang Li was a relatively gentle man; he would not openly refuse Lu Hai Kong but was also cautious about letting Lu Hai Kong control Yanmen's county troops. He sensed something dangerous in Lu Hai Kong's intentions.
What did Lu Hai Kong want to do? Control Yanmen's county troops? Would he start a rebellion and betray Ding Yuan, dragging the Zhang family into the abyss?
So, on the one hand, Lu Hai Kong pretended to agree with Xi Zhi Cai's demands, but in execution, he secretly went against them. He even created various obstacles for the Fire Camp members sent by Lu Hai Kong, while also informing Zhang Ran about Lu Hai Kong's actions.
Zhang Li did not intend to harm Lu Hai Kong; he vaguely understood Lu Hai Kong's current power. What he wanted was to draw a clear line between himself and Lu Hai Kong with Zhang Ran's help, as this man was too dangerous.
Sometimes, panic can truly blind one's judgment. What could the Prefect of Yanmen, who needed Lu Hai Kong's support to stand firm, do to stop Lu Hai Kong's plans?
Moreover, could Zhang Ran really do anything to Lu Hai Kong at this point? What Zhang Li did not know was that before he approached Zhang Ran, Lu Hai Kong's men had already taken a step ahead and contacted Zhang Ran...
(End of Chapter)
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