512: Chapter 512 Information Warfare

The Northern Daily, while said to be the official bulletin of the Northern Territory, had long since become reading material known to everyone under heaven.

Even in regions outside the Northern Territory, where it was privately purchased and circulated among the people, its influence was not the least bit weaker.

Therefore, when the people of the various eastern provinces read this article, it moved them deeply.

After all, a year ago, not long after Prefect Sun Zhao attacked Prince Bai, Prince Bai could no longer hold on.

Now, even though Prefect Sun Zhao did not directly name names, it was clear he was accusing the Prince of Donghai of being unfit to be the Prince of East Sea.

Did that mean the Prince of Donghai's days were also numbered?

Inside Prince Zhao's Mansion in East Sea City.

The Prince of Donghai held the newspaper with a look of contempt on his face.

“This Lin Xiao is nothing more than this, using the same tricks he used against Prince Bai on this Prince.”

“If Prefect Sun Zhao had such courage, how could he have reached such an age only to be a commandery governor?”

“Only a fool like Prince Bai, who is opinionated and brainless, would have his rhythm disrupted by such tactics.”

Feng Yue, standing aside, sneered, “The more eager he is to smear Your Highness, the more it shows he has no confidence in his heart.”

“If he truly had full confidence in defeating Your Highness, he would have led his army south long ago.”

“Hmph, this Prince's fief was won by my ancestors, unlike that Prince Bai, who relied purely on imperial rewards and had no foundation.”

“It's not hard for Lin Xiao to get the commoners to curse behind my back, but is it really that easy to take away this Prince's territory?”

“It's easy to conquer the world, but hard to win the hearts of the people; using such petty tricks will make it difficult to achieve great things.”

The Prince of Donghai said, “Feng Yue, gather those old fogies who are on good terms with this Prince; I will host a banquet tomorrow night!”

“Your Highness is going to...”

“Over the years, they have secretly taken so many benefits from me and I've sent them so many women. Now that I'm being cursed to my face, it's time for them to put in some effort.”

Feng Yue suddenly understood and smiled charmingly, “What Your Highness says is true. I actually have an idea as well.”

“Let's hear it.”

“The Soul-Hooking Messenger Wangliang, who was captured a few days ago, is still locked in the dungeon.”

Feng Yue said playfully, “His meridians are all severed, and he's already a cripple, but after all, he is one of the two Soul-Hooking Messengers of Yanyu Pavilion.”

“If the news of his capture is made public, the Prince of Zhenbei's side... should feel quite a sting of embarrassment.”

The Prince of Donghai laughed heartily, “I almost forgot about that fellow. Although we didn't catch that female rat, the male rat is also good. Approved!”

“If we can use this rat to lure out a string of rats, that would be interesting, haha...”

The next day, a large number of famous scholars from the Eastern Territory arrived at Guanhai Pavilion to attend Prince Zhao's banquet.

During this sensitive period, the fact that so many famous scholars still came to the banquet also surprised the common people.

It seemed that these reputable literati had not completely sided with the Prince of Zhenbei and still supported the Prince of Donghai.

That very night, below Guanhai Pavilion, Wangliang was tied to a wooden stake and paraded through the streets for public display.

The words “Prince of Zhenbei colludes with Yanyu Pavilion, Soul-Hooking Messenger Wangliang intended to assassinate Prince Zhao” were shockingly displayed!

There were many people from the martial world in East Sea City, and many experts as well.

Even if the ordinary commoners didn't understand, these martial artists knew that Prince Zhao couldn't just say such things casually.

Because, if no such thing had happened, there was no need for the Prince of Donghai to provoke Yanyu Pavilion for no reason.

This could only mean that the Prince of Zhenbei really did have a connection with Yanyu Pavilion!

In the distance from Guanhai Pavilion.

Xiao Yixiao led a few assassins, watching from afar as Wangliang was humiliated, pelted with rotten leaves and stones.

“Boss Xiao, are we really not going to rescue Messenger Wangliang?”

The assassins couldn't bear to watch; for the proud Wangliang, such a scene was likely worse than death.

“To achieve great things, there must be sacrifices.”

Xiao Yixiao sighed, “The reason the Prince of Donghai did this is to lure us into saving him, so he can catch us red-handed.”

“If nothing goes wrong, the mysterious expert who seriously injured us that day is also in Guanhai Pavilion, just waiting for us to make a move.”

The group of assassins was helpless; indeed, the trap was too obvious.

“Let's go. Completing the Pavilion Master's mission is the primary concern. We will remember this grudge for now...”

The next day.

Those famous scholars who had attended the Prince of East Sea's banquet returned to their respective places and began to release statements opposing Prefect Sun Zhao.

Some wrote articles, while others gave public speeches.

“The Yan Army only killed over two thousand Japanese pirates, while the Eastern Sea Army has killed at least tens of thousands over the past decade. On what grounds can the Eastern Sea Army's soldiers be slandered?”

“Prefect Sun Zhao is an official of the Northern Territory; he has never been to the Eastern Territory, nor has he confronted the Japanese pirates. How can he speak so groundlessly?”

“General Zhang Yufu went to Qizhou alone and returned as a corpse. What happened and whether he was killed by Japanese pirates is a case with no surviving witnesses; we cannot fully believe Wei Kongming's one-sided story!”

“The Prince of Zhenbei is merely looking for an excuse to move south and annex the four provinces of the Eastern Territory. Elders of the Eastern Territory, do not be used by those with ulterior motives...”

“In my opinion, although the Japanese pirates are detestable, those with ulterior motives who use the pirates to try and interfere with the Eastern Territory and provoke the calamity of war are even more despicable...”

“The dignified Prince of Zhenbei hides behind a mere minor prefect and pulls the strings; it is truly a laughingstock!”

This wave of public opinion was a direct confrontation with Prefect Sun Zhao's article, even dragging Lin Xiao into it.

When these famous scholars of the Eastern Territory opened fire, it naturally caused great dissatisfaction among those in the north who supported Lin Xiao.

A mere Prince of Donghai and a bunch of pedantic scholars—how dare they question the Prince of Zhenbei, whose fame shines through the ages?

Consequently, various articles flew everywhere, and for the next few days, the war of words continued!

However, just as everyone was waiting to see if the Prince of Zhenbei would say anything, Lin Xiao chose to remain silent.

This made the group of famous scholars in the Eastern Territory even more self-righteous; after all, if you don't speak, you are most likely feeling guilty.

But seven days later, near Qingshui Bay in Qizhou, more than thirty large naval galleons appeared.

On the grand fleet of warships, the flags of “Zhao” and “Zhenbei” were flying.

This situation was immediately discovered and reported to Prince Zhao's Mansion in East Sea City.

“What? The Zhenbei Army has dispatched more than three thousand naval troops to suppress the pirates at sea?”

The Prince of Donghai was stunned upon hearing the report. Was Lin Xiao determined to use the suppression of Japanese pirates to compete for the people's hearts?

“That's right. It seems the one leading the troops is none other than Zhao Yunting's daughter, Zhao Caiwei,” Feng Yue said.

“The Zhao family's Cold Iron Guard originally consisted mostly of people from Yan, and most of them are skilled in water; this is not surprising.”

The Prince of Donghai frowned and said, “But more than thirty warships, each capable of carrying over a hundred men to sea, is no small number. Where did they come from?”

“It is said they were commissioned by Yangquan's Chief Clerk Xu Zheng and traveled from a branch of the Cang River all the way to the Qizhou estuary, which is why it took quite some time to reach the vicinity of Qi Province.”

“Chief Clerk Xu Zheng? A chief clerk who also knows how to build ships!?”

The Prince of Donghai had an expression of disbelief. Where did Lin Xiao find all these people?!

Just as he was in a daze, not knowing what Lin Xiao was up to, the next day's Northern Daily published a shocking piece of news:

“General Zhao Caiwei, by order of the Prince of Zhenbei, will head south to the waters of Dan Province to wipe out the Ghost Shark Army!”