Chapter 977: The Frenzy of Greed (With thanks to 'Gu Feng Liulang' for the generous reward!)
Chapter 977: The Frenzy of Greed (With thanks to 'Gu Feng Liulang' for the generous reward!)
September 25, 2017
Bingzhou, within the Xihe Prefecture Governor's Mansion.
The words of the Xihe Prefecture Governor silenced everyone present.
But this silence didn't last long. Before long, someone broke it, not by speaking out publicly, but by whispering and consulting with those close to them.
In truth, there wasn't much to discuss. An hour later, after the Xihe Prefecture Governor's suggestion, the decision on who would succeed Li Yi was made—almost unanimously, they all agreed that Zhang He should take over as the new leader of the alliance.
Seeing their beaming faces and unanimous approval, it seemed that Zhang He's appointment was indeed what everyone had hoped for.
In fact, Zhang He's appointment was indeed what everyone had wished for, and the reason was simple: his identity and the current situation. Zhang He was the direct grandson of Zhang Yi and a member of the Bingzhou aristocratic families. His identity made him a suitable choice for the leadership role. Moreover, many of the alliance's affairs required Zhang He's involvement, and without him, it would have been challenging to manage such a large alliance.
So, when the Xihe Prefecture Governor proposed Zhang He, they unanimously supported him.
Of course, in addition to these reasons, many of the more influential aristocratic families had another, more critical consideration: Zhang He's family, the Zhang family, had suffered significant losses, and he currently held little power.
In this situation, Zhang He could only rely on their people, making it nearly impossible for him to cultivate his own trusted followers. These families didn't need to worry about Zhang He becoming too powerful, and they could easily remove him from the leadership position if needed.
With Zhang He's own advance preparation, the stage was set for this unanimous decision.
However, whether everyone genuinely supported Zhang He was a matter of doubt.
Although Zhang He handled today's matter quite well, there were still some flaws, and who knew how many people in attendance had their suspicions about him at that moment?
Nevertheless, their meeting concluded, and Zhang He's identity was confirmed. After congratulating Zhang He, everyone gradually left, and the incident came to a close.
With this, Zhang He's final move was complete. From the moment Li Yi was arrested and Zhang He took over as the leader, he had set the stage for his plan. The next step was to slowly boil the frog in warm water.
The events in southern Bingzhou were now entering a critical phase, a time to reap the rewards.
Starting from Zhang He's appointment as the leader, within the following month, Zhang He began to make small but frequent moves.
These moves by Zhang He were not insignificant, but they were always accompanied by Lu Hai Kong's more significant actions. While Lu Hai Kong's forces 'besieged' the First and Second Armies, Zhang He occasionally made his moves.
And when Lu Hai Kong's troops occasionally destroyed their defensive constructions, the aristocratic families' attention was drawn to Lu Hai Kong, and they didn't notice Zhang He's smaller actions.
They were unaware that in the following month, Lu Hai Kong's forces had already thoroughly infiltrated southern Bingzhou.
In reality, if Lu Hai Kong had wanted, he could have easily taken control of southern Bingzhou and eliminated the aristocratic families there half a month before Li Yi's capture.
But Lu Hai Kong showed no signs of action, and Zhang He didn't seem to be in a hurry to conclude matters either.
Why rush to conclude matters? These southern Bingzhou aristocratic families could be dealt with at any time. Their meticulous preparations were not just for capturing these families.
They now had a golden opportunity before them. Why wouldn't Lu Hai Kong take advantage and gather some valuable resources instead of directly eliminating the aristocratic families?
Half a month after Zhang He captured Li Yi, he began to frequently reach out to the surrounding aristocratic families and powers, asking for resources and assistance.
Initially, the neighboring aristocratic families and powers were quite generous in their support for the southern Bingzhou families, intimidated by Lu Hai Kong's might. They were willing to help confine Lu Hai Kong, this formidable tiger, and didn't hesitate to provide for the southern Bingzhou families. But they couldn't keep up with Zhang He's repeated requests.
In just half a month, Zhang He had asked for resources three times. How could these aristocratic families possibly endure such demands? They refused the second time!
But this wasn't a matter that could be resolved by their refusal.
The Zhang clan had no choice but to comply with Zhang He's demands. With his grip on the aristocratic families of southern Bingzhou and the backing of Lu Hai Kong, the families had no choice but to play along. With a single move, Zhang He created a sense of crisis in the once-stable southern Bingzhou, causing the aristocratic families to feel the winds of change.
In this situation, when Zhang He asked for resources, the aristocratic families had no choice but to oblige.
Having already invested heavily in the early stages, they had to continue their support, or else their previous efforts would be in vain. Moreover, the risk of Lu Hai Kong, the tiger in the north, breaking free and reclaiming southern Bingzhou was a real concern. No one could predict how he would treat the aristocratic families who had supported the south.
So, they gritted their teeth and provided support, but they also kept a close eye on the situation. They sent people to investigate the true state of affairs in southern Bingzhou.
Zhang He, on the other hand, was more than happy to welcome these visitors. He had been worried that they wouldn't come, as their presence was crucial for his plan. With their arrival, his scheme could unfold.
With the backing of the aristocratic families and their alliance, Zhang He had the power to orchestrate any scenario he desired.
When the representatives from the aristocratic families and powers arrived, they witnessed Lu Hai Kong's counterattack and the resilience of the aristocratic alliance. It was a scene of both crisis and hope.
Zhang He, seizing the opportunity, naturally asked for more funds and resources.
Ever since capturing Li Yi, Zhang He had only one task: to plunder and squeeze every last drop.
The aristocratic families struggled to endure Zhang He's relentless and bone-chilling methods of extortion. Initially, their support for southern Bingzhou was limited to a mere tenth or even a twentieth of their wealth. But as time went on, they gradually increased their contributions, and many families were on the verge of losing a fifth of their assets. It was a situation that pushed many to their limits.
However, Zhang He had another trick up his sleeve. He played a ruthless hand, selling out various resource points in southern Bingzhou.
In a 1691 book, there was a version that couldn't be more accurate!
Zhang He offered the aristocratic families various properties, shops, and even workshops.
With this move, the support from the aristocratic families and powers for southern Bingzhou began to change in nature. What started as assistance against Lu Hai Kong transformed into a goldmine.
They used their gold, food, and even technical talents to acquire resources from southern Bingzhou.
Zhang He put on a show, acting as if he were bleeding and jumping off a building, selling resources originally worth 100,000 gold for a mere 10,000 or even a few thousand gold.
This situation sparked a frenzy among most of them, who were now in a state of fanaticism. It triggered another wave of support for southern Bingzhou.
Amidst this frenzy, Zhang He seized the opportunity to amass more resources.
In the three months of the locust plague, they had only managed to gather 500 million in resources. But in just one month after Zhang He captured Li Yi, especially in the last half-month, they accumulated a staggering 2 billion in various resources.
And this wave of enthusiasm had only just begun. Following this trend, the amount of resources they could plunder was beyond Zhang He's imagination.
...
Ji Province, Bohai.
During this period, Yuan Hong had been enjoying a relatively comfortable life. Despite the annoyance of Yuan Shao in Ye City, Yuan Hong had no choice but to focus on consolidating his own territory for the time being.
He eliminated the few outsider lords within his territory, disciplined the unruly aristocratic families, and firmly established his control over the four counties of Bohai, Hejian, Anping, and Qinghe.
While Yuan Hong only controlled these four counties, it was important to note that Ji Province was not Bingzhou. Ji Province was vast and had always been a land of abundance. Even with just four counties, Yuan Hong's territory, in terms of both area and wealth, was not inferior to that of Lu Hai Kong.
Additionally, Lu Hai Kong was currently going through a rough patch. With external threats in northern Bingzhou and the aristocratic alliance causing trouble in the south, the pressure on Yuan Hong had lessened significantly, and his mood was naturally in high spirits.
As a result, Yuan Hong even generously sent nearly 1 billion in resources to the aristocratic families in Bingzhou.
However, on this day, when his intelligence officers delivered a report from Bingzhou, Yuan Hong's good mood completely vanished...
(End of Chapter)
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