Jiang Chun suppressed his impatience and asked, “Doesn’t your Zhang family keep retainers in the fortress? How could you have been defeated so easily?”
The muscles on Patriarch Zhang’s face twitched. “They claimed to be bandits, but their methods were more like those of soldiers. They were highly skilled, well trained, and caught us off guard. That was how they succeeded.”
Jiang Chun’s eyes flickered. “Soldiers? Do you have any evidence?”
Patriarch Zhang shook his head. “No evidence, but all the horses from my family have ended up in the hands of the Jinyang Army. Clearly, the culprits must have been the Jinyang Army.”
“When have we ever had bandits in Xian County all these years? The Jinyang Army arrived, and my Zhang family was robbed. Who else could it have been?”
Jiang Chun looked darkly at Patriarch Zhang. Only after a moment did he say, “That is merely your speculation. Without evidence, I cannot hold the Jinyang Army accountable.”
In the past, he had thought Jiang Jin was nothing special. She was a woman, after all, and no matter how ambitious she might be, her methods and experience had to be limited.
Yet after several clashes, he had suffered defeat at her hands time and again.
Her territory had also continued to expand. After the Jinyang Army easily seized Daqing’s four counties, he had lost the courage to confront Jiang Jin.
Though he was deeply unwilling to admit it, he had no choice but to acknowledge that his imperial sister was remarkably capable—and that her army was formidable.
On the surface, his own forces appeared strong and numerous, but only he knew their true condition. His troops had no will to fight, morale was scattered, and the army was riddled with factions.
Patriarch Zhang frowned. “Your Majesty, all the horses belonging to my family bear our brand. That is evidence.”
Jiang Chun shook his head. “According to the information I received, your horses were obtained by the Jinyang Army in an exchange with a group of masked bandits.”
Patriarch Zhang gritted his teeth. “Your Majesty, that was nothing more than a farce staged by the Jinyang Army themselves. Anyone with eyes can see that they were responsible.”
Jiang Chun’s expression turned cold. “I have already said that I need definite evidence. Without evidence, it would be inconvenient for me to act.”
Patriarch Zhang’s heart jumped. He instantly understood that His Majesty did not want to confront the Jinyang Army.
His expression grew ugly. He despised the emperor in his heart and felt utterly stifled, but only after a moment did he say, “So we are simply going to let the Jinyang Army off?”
Dong Cheng glanced at him. “It is not that His Majesty wishes to let the Jinyang Army off. Without evidence, it would be difficult for us to launch an attack without cause. We need a justification.”
Patriarch Zhang lowered his head. Discontent flashed in his eyes, but he was helpless and knew that saying more would be pointless. “In that case, this subject will take his leave.”
Jiang Chun watched Patriarch Zhang’s back until it disappeared from sight. Only then did he say coldly, “Do you think this was done by my dear imperial sister?”
Dong Cheng pondered. “Nine times out of ten.”
Jiang Chun’s expression darkened further. “So it really was her. She will stop at nothing!”
Although the money stolen this time had not belonged to him, the Zhang family’s wealth was, in a sense, the wealth of Sizhou. As one side grew richer, Fengzhou would become increasingly prosperous while Sizhou grew poorer and poorer.
He was ultimately unwilling to accept this. “Is there anything we can do?”
Dong Cheng thought for a moment before saying, “The Zhang family’s horses have already been officially accounted for, so it would indeed be difficult to pursue that matter. However, that batch of gold and silver may provide us with a breakthrough.”
Jiang Chun frowned. “It would be unwise for us to clash with the Jinyang Army right now. We cannot simply board their ships and search them. Besides, the Jinyang Army may have hidden the gold and silver anywhere they pleased.”
That was entirely possible. Gold and silver took up little space; they could bury them anywhere, and finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Dong Cheng shook his head with a sigh. “That is true. However, I believe the Jinyang Army is very likely to transport the gold and silver back to Fengzhou.”
Jiang Chun raised an eyebrow. “You mean we can search them at sea?”
Dong Cheng said helplessly, “That is indeed one method. But the sea is vast and boundless, making the search extremely difficult. Moreover, we are not even certain that the Jinyang Army truly intends to transport the gold and silver back to Fengzhou.”
He then changed tack. “This is a conflict between the Zhang family and Princess Jinyang. Why not let Patriarch Zhang resolve it himself? There is no need for us to intervene.”
Satisfaction flashed through Jiang Chun’s eyes, though he said aloud, “It seems that is our only option.”
After leaving the palace, Patriarch Zhang looked back at the “imperial palace,” which had been converted from the residence of the First Prince. He found the sight deeply ironic.
A moment later, he turned and climbed into his carriage. Once seated, he closed his eyes and rapidly calculated how he might recover the wealth that had been stolen from him.
He could not simply let the matter go. That fortune represented the greater part of the wealth his family had accumulated over several generations.
Before he could think of an effective plan, the two counties of Shankang and Tao in Sizhou descended into complete chaos over the next two days.
Following the Zhang family, the Changsun and Ye families of Shankang County, as well as the Cheng family of Tao County, were robbed one after another.
The bandits called themselves “Your Uncle,” “Your Aunt,” and “Your Ancestor.”
The gold, silver, and copper coins stolen from the three families totaled more than seven hundred thousand in value, along with nearly a thousand horses.
Most outrageous of all, the three groups of bandits exchanged the food and horses they had stolen for medicinal formulas from the Jinyang Army, while the money vanished without a trace.
These brazen robberies made it obvious to everyone that the Jinyang Army was behind them, yet there was nothing anyone could do. Apart from condemnation and verbal attacks, they were powerless.
The lack of evidence was only part of the reason. More importantly, they could not win a fight against the Jinyang Army.
And Jiang Chun did not want to fight, either. This was clear from the fact that the various families had gone to the palace to lodge complaints, only to receive no response.
The prominent families in Shankang and Tao who had not yet been robbed were thrown into a panic. They could only strengthen their defenses and proceed with extreme caution.
Meanwhile, the Jinyang Army’s disaster relief efforts were proceeding with great momentum and remarkable success.
In just a few days, the Jinyang Army had forcibly organized the refugees in the two counties into a two-thousand-man protection force.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees gathered around the Jinyang Army. Disaster relief was closely tied to every one of their lives, and they feared that the Jinyang Army would be driven away by the powerful families or officials of Sizhou.
After all, members of the aristocratic families had been coming from time to time to falsely accuse the Jinyang Army of stealing their possessions. It was obvious that the families did not want the Jinyang Army to remain in Sizhou.
Xie Nanxiao, in turn, reassured the refugees. “Everyone, there is no need to panic. Unless we are driven to the absolute limit, we will not abandon you. We of the Jinyang Army will surely overcome this crisis together with everyone and stand against this natural disaster.”
The refugees were deeply moved. They became even more grateful to and protective of the Jinyang Army.
At locations and times unknown to everyone else, dozens of ships loaded with gold, silver, copper coins, bolts of cloth, and other valuables departed from Bilan County one after another, heading for Fengzhou.
At Bilan County’s temporary wharf, Zhu Xiaoliu watched as sacks of grain were carried off the ships one by one. He felt a pang of distress. “Although these were donated by the people, my heart still aches. It is all food.”
The supplies donated by the people had arrived two days earlier. Since the two hundred thousand dan of grain Jiang Jin had brought with her had not yet been used up, the new supplies had remained on the ships.
Only now, with the previous grain nearly exhausted, had they begun unloading and distributing this new shipment.
Yan Ke held a supply ledger and continued making notes and markings without pause. “There is no need to feel bad. We had a bumper harvest this year, so grain is not in short supply.”
“At the current rate of consumption, this grain will not last very long anyway.”
The number of refugees had grown from roughly twenty or thirty thousand per county at the beginning to around seventy or eighty thousand per county now. Between the two counties, there were approximately seven to eight hundred thousand refugees.
The daily grain consumption amounted to hundreds of thousands of jin, an enormous expense.
Just as they were speaking, dozens of horsemen came racing toward them in the distance. Behind them followed five or six thousand retainers from the aristocratic families, and they looked unmistakably hostile.
Zhu Xiaoliu grew alert and shouted an order. “Quick, cast off the mooring ropes! Have the fleet leave the dock at once, and get everyone ready for battle.”
Since the temporary dock was small, only a dozen or so large ships were actually moored there.
The remaining vessels were either tied alongside the larger ships or anchored nearby in calmer waters.
The ships began leaving the dock slowly and in an orderly fashion.
