Chapter 226 Meng Zhenshan's Scheme

In Jiangnan, since the imperial court moved to the region, a large number of people, money, and grain have flooded in, bringing rare development opportunities to Jiangnan.

After all, for the Powerful Families families, they can only eat more if the cake is bigger. Thus, while they tried every means to exploit the commoners, they also put great effort into developing the economy.

This was why the massive land annexations by the Powerful Families families did not trigger riots or rebellions, as the commoners could still barely make a living.

As a nation, as long as we can get by, there won't be chaos; at most, there are just some complaints.

Unlike the quiet development in the south, outside Luoyang, even though the heavy snow never stopped for a moment, large numbers of troops from various regions were still gathering in Luoyang, waiting for the Yellow River to freeze over.

They had to cross the river and head north while the Yellow River was frozen. Otherwise, once the ice melted and the ice run began, they would have to wait until March or April to cross, by which time the Hedong region might be lost.

Outside Taiyuan City, tents stretched endlessly. Twenty thousand Turks Cavalry and thirty thousand Jin Army soldiers were assembled here, waiting for the weather to warm up before heading south.

In the current situation, they had no time to stop and rest. Even if it delayed the spring plowing, they had to assemble their forces in advance.

Spies from all sides became increasingly busy, moving cautiously everywhere to gather news, fearing that missing a single piece of information would affect the final outcome.

Various intelligence reports were delivered to Gao Yuan's desk every day, but unfortunately, none were what he wanted to see most.

Seeing Gao Yuan shaking his head and sighing, Mu Qing set down the chicken soup and walked behind him to gently massage his shoulders.

"Is something troubling you?"

Gao Yuan rubbed his temples.

"Northern Liang has shifted its focus to the north. It seems there's no hope for the Jiannan Circuit for the time being."

Gao Yuan had been waiting for Northern Liang to invade the Jiannan Circuit so that he could rightfully send troops to suppress the rebellion and then conveniently take the fertile Land of Abundance for himself.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have hit Western Kang so hard. What a miscalculation!"

Mu Qing gave a sweet smile.

"Husband, you always like to strike hard whenever you hear of foreign tribes. I suspect if Western Kang really attacked Song Prefecture again, you would still send troops."

"That's not necessarily true. The previous Jiedushi of Jiannan Circuit was Song Ren; he was a man with self-awareness and would seek outside help if he couldn't win. This current Meng Zhenshan is different, and he has always been at odds with the Gao Family."

"I'm afraid this guy is too headstrong. If foreign tribes invade then, it will be the commoners of the Jiannan Circuit who suffer."

The woman leaned gently against Gao Yuan's back.

"Isn't there still you, Husband? As long as you are here, those foreign tribes won't be able to stir up much trouble."

"You have that much confidence in me?"

"Of course. Husband, you are the most powerful general in the world."

Gao Yuan was wary of the consequences and didn't dare to move against the Jiannan Circuit, which he had long coveted. However, Meng Zhenshan was no pushover. Since taking over the Jiannan Circuit, he had been restless, wanting to achieve great merit.

Western Kang had been beaten several times and was now in decline, while Northern Liang had shifted its focus to the north, allowing the Jiannan Army to free up its hands.

At this moment, in the back hall of the Jiedushi of Jiannan Circuit's Office in Chengdu, Meng Zhenshan was holding a secret meeting with several confidants.

"Commander, This humble general believes we should first recover Yaizhou to eliminate the hidden danger before considering the attack on Bo Prefecture."

"Indeed. With Yaizhou in the hands of the Western Kang people, our rear is always somewhat unstable."

Meng Zhenshan frowned. In his eyes, the merit of recovering Yaizhou was too small; he didn't care for it at all.

"Western Kang is but a minor ailment. Southern Yue is the true underlying threat. If we can take Bo Prefecture and tear a hole in their defensive line, it would be a monumental achievement. The Emperor would surely be delighted then."

"But Commander, Southern Yue has strong forces and elite generals, and the Bo Prefecture area is easy to defend but hard to attack. I'm afraid..."

"Yes, Commander. If our attack on Bo Prefecture reaches a stalemate and Western Kang attacks then, I'm afraid..."

"You're speaking such discouraging words before the battle has even begun. Could it be that you've taken bribes from that Gao Yuan?"

Meng Zhenshan glared with his large eyes, immediately frightening everyone into shrinking back, swallowing the words they were about to say.

Seeing that no one objected, Meng Zhenshan began to make arrangements.

He deployed five thousand troops to Song Prefecture to consolidate the western defense line and prevent Western Kang from taking advantage of the situation to raid their home. He also deployed five thousand troops to Hanzhong to guard against the Northern Liang side.

He assembled the main force of thirty-eight thousand Jiannan Army soldiers, planning to take the entire Bo Prefecture while Gao Yuan was off guard after spring began, thereby threatening Guiyang, Tongren Prefecture, Zhenyuan Prefecture, and other places.

The plan was very thorough, having been drafted by Meng Zhenshan over several months. Unfortunately, the security work was quite poor.

One of his Zhonglang Generals got drunk while enjoying himself at a brothel in Chengdu and directly revealed the news that they were going to prefecture after the New Year.

He had originally wanted to tell his favorite Lady Hong that he wouldn't be able to come and favor her for a while, hoping the beauty wouldn't be sad or forget him.

Unexpectedly, this news quickly reached Xian Ying through various channels.

Although she hadn't officially married into the family yet, everyone in the Prince's Mansion knew that Lady Xian would be one of the masters of the house in the future, so naturally, no one stopped her.

Xian Ying's small hand tightly clutched the intelligence. With her snowy-white, slender neck held high, she walked into the main hall of Gao Yuan's Governors Office like a little fox that had caught its prey, looking triumphant.

Seeing the woman walk in, Gao Yuan put down his pen and walked to her side.

"Why did you come here so suddenly?"

"Can't I come because I missed you?"

Gao Yuan lowered his head and gave the woman a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I missed you too."

Such a simple sentence and intimate gesture sounded better than a long love speech to the woman. Xian Ying felt as if her heart was melting; her limbs went soft as she threw herself into the man's arms.

Feeling the warmth of the man's embrace and smelling his scent, the woman tucked away her nine tails and transformed into a soft girl, greedily enjoying this tenderness.

Unfortunately, such an idyllic moment didn't last long before it was interrupted by a cough. The two turned to see Mu Qing carrying chicken soup.

"It seems I've come at the wrong time!"

Although she said that, Little Chili Pepper's face clearly read:

"I'm unhappy, I'm jealous, coax me quickly!"

Gao Yuan smiled, took the chicken soup, placed it on the desk, and then pulled Little Chili Pepper into his arms as well.

"No, you've come at just the right time."

With two warm and soft bodies in his arms, Little Gao couldn't help but react. Fortunately, his robes covered it, or it would have been deathly embarrassing on the spot.

After enjoying the tenderness for a while, Little Chili Pepper finally snapped out of it and struggled to jump out of her husband's arms.

"Hmph! You two are being so affectionate here in broad daylight; you have no shame."

Although she was verbally attacking the shameless couple, her eyes were clearly fixed on Xian Ying.

Hearing Mu Qing's words, Xian Ying felt a bit displeased. Setting aside her submissive thoughts, the woman unfurled her nine tails.

"Little sister, that's not how you manage a man. If you act like this, you'll easily get a reputation for being jealous, and you'll probably be disliked in a few years. Do you want Big Sister to teach you?"

Little Chili Pepper actually believed her. She turned around, hands on her hips, and looked at Gao Yuan.

"Gao Yuan, you..."

Gao Yuan quickly let go of Xian Ying and pulled Little Chili Pepper into his arms.

"How could I? I like you just the way you are—genuine and cute. I'll never get tired of you."

Little Chili Pepper raised her neck and gave Xian Ying a triumphant "Hmph!"