Through countless dynasties, I can summon the heroes of Chinese history.

Chapter 24 The Caravan Leads, Guodong's Greed

Laiyang Prefecture, Changyang City.

This is a city with walls three zhang wide and four zhang high. The blue bricks and joints reveal the cold hardness of years of wind and frost. Just by looking at this majestic wall, one can feel its unshakable power.

On the west city wall, rows of soldiers, clad in tough leather armor and gleaming with cold spears, stood in perfect formation, their eyes fixed on the movements outside the city. Even the wind whistling through the gaps in their armor created a crisp, rhythmic sound.

Their eyes were wide open, their brows were furrowed, and their jawlines were taut as a bowstring. Even when the wind and sand stung their eyes, they would only blink twice and would not move their gaze even slightly.

On the walled passageway, soldiers from the city troop moved back and forth, their troops following closely behind on a tight patrol. Amidst the bustling activity, it was easy to see that the number of garrison troops in the city was considerable, and the defenses were watertight.

If the area outside the Changyang Prefectural Government Office was a scene of heavily guarded soldiers with spears in formation, then the inner hall of the Changyang Prefectural Government Office was a scene of extravagant revelry and singing.

Meanwhile, in the main seat, the garrison commander Wang Guodong, dressed in casual clothes with a thick, bushy beard, was leisurely raising his cup to drink. He was flanked by civil and military officials, while singing girls moved gracefully with their long sleeves fluttering.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, a military officer suddenly looked worried, stood up, and bowed, saying, "General, according to reports from our scouts, the Prince of Laiyang is currently reorganizing his troops and seems poised to unify Laiyang. Our Changyang garrison must be on guard."

Upon hearing this, Wang Guodong's lips curled into a disdainful sneer.

"The Prince of Laiyang is nothing but a discarded son of the emperor. What ability does he have? Besides, even if he wanted to reclaim Laiyang, he would first have to establish his authority by dealing with those bandits. How dare he easily send his troops eastward to invade my Changyang?"

Wang Guodong didn't take Jiang Ce seriously at all. In his view, Jiang Ce's trip to Laiyang was just to act as a scapegoat for the imperial court. Even if he was still alive, he was like a grasshopper in autumn, not going to last much longer.

Even if he had the guts, relying on some of his former subordinates and recruiting some men, he would never dare to attack Changyang.

After all, behind Changyang is the Han family, one of the five major families in Laizhou. They now occupy the entire Wendeng County and their strength is quite formidable. Even if Jiang Ce wanted to curry favor with them, he wouldn't have the qualifications.

As soon as Wang Guodong finished speaking, a refined-looking man in the seat to his left frowned and stood up to advise, "General, what you say makes sense, but we should not take it lightly."

"As far as I know, the current empress hates the Prince of Laiyang to the core, yet he was still able to reach Laiyang safely. There must be something we don't know about this."

"If I'm not mistaken, the Prince of Laiyang must be protected by skilled guards. Furthermore, he served as a general in the Laiyang army two years ago, and thus made the acquaintance of many military commanders!"

"During his time in Laiyang, he defeated the invading Eastern Yi army one after another, which attracted his former subordinates to lead their remaining troops to join him. He probably already has quite a few men."

The refined man stopped there, knowing that Wang Guodong understood what he meant.

This refined-looking man was none other than Han Xiujing, the magistrate of Changyang County. His background must be extraordinary to be able to hold this position in such a strategic location.

The reason he was able to come here was because the Han family behind Wang Guodong specially sent him to assist Wang Guodong, and his identity is basically obvious.

"Magistrate Han can rest assured!"

A sudden, cold glint flashed in Wang Guodong's eyes. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, declaring, "I still have 20,000 elite troops in Changyang City. If that Prince of Laiyang dares to come, I will make sure they never return, their blood staining the city walls!"

Having been the local tyrant for two years, Wang Guodong naturally couldn't bear to give up this kind of life.

Now that Jiang Ce, the Prince of Laiyang, has suddenly appeared, it naturally affects the interests of the powerful families in Laizhou.

…………

"Report...!"

A drawn-out, urgent announcement rushed in from outside the government office, shattering the gentle music playing inside.

Wang Guodong's brows furrowed suddenly, his previously drunken eyes cleared instantly, and he waved his hand to dismiss the dancing singers and the musicians playing the zither, and the noise in the hall dissipated in an instant.

"Come in!" he said in a deep voice, his tone completely devoid of any trace of alcohol.

Although he indulged in pleasure and frequently held banquets and dances in his mansion, he never dared to slack off in the slightest in his responsibility to guard Changyang, entrusted to him by Han Jun, the head of the Han family.

After years of painstaking military training, the 20,000 troops in the city have been trained to be strong, well-disciplined, and disciplined.

Even though his greedy nature was criticized, his undeniable talent in commanding troops was undeniable, which is why he was entrusted with the important task of defending the city.

The scout, covered in dust and with bits of grass from outside the city still clinging to his armor, rushed inside, knelt on one knee, and urgently reported: "General, a caravan from the north has been spotted thirty miles outside the city in the rocky desert! There are about a hundred men, carrying a thousand warhorses and thirty carts of goods, heading towards the Eastern Barbarians!"

This was a carefully set trap by Chen Yun. He did not use the conspicuous cartload of gold and silver, but only a small amount of silver mixed with furs, medicinal herbs and other special products from the north as commercial goods.

After all, pure gold and heavy goods are too conspicuous. Only by disguising themselves as ordinary merchants from the North, and accompanied by a few seemingly capable but unsupported bodyguards, can they appear reasonable and less likely to arouse suspicion.

A thousand warhorses are worth thousands of gold coins, and they can be sold for huge profits. Not to mention, powerful families have been short of horses for a long time, and the strategic value of these warhorses far exceeds that of ordinary wealth.

With this resource, the Han family will be able to gain an absolute advantage in negotiations with the Eastern Yi.

"A thousand warhorses?!"

Wang Guodong suddenly stood up, his chair sliding back half a foot. He could no longer hide the greed in his eyes, and even his breathing became a little rapid.

Caravans are inherently divided into strong and weak. Those large caravans with deep backgrounds and effective connections are untouchable by anyone, whether in the legitimate or criminal world.

However, this northern caravan looked like an ordinary merchant group, with neither a prominent banner nor any official clearance documents, clearly lacking any foundation.

He quickly calculated in his mind.

Thirty miles outside the city lies the rocky desert, a place with a complex terrain, perfect for an ambush. If we gather our elite troops and do it without anyone noticing, we can wipe out the caravan, steal their warhorses and goods, and who will suspect anything?

"General, you mustn't!"

Han Xiujing's expression immediately tightened, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade them: "This must be a trap set by the enemy to lure our troops out of the city! The arrival of this caravan is highly suspicious; judging from their formation, it's definitely not ordinary. There's a high probability that a large force is secretly lurking nearby!"

Han Xiujing came from the Han family and held a high position within the family. The reason he served as the magistrate of Changyang was to keep an eye on Wang Guodong and prevent him from causing trouble.

As an important member of the Han family, Han Xiujing knew quite a lot. For example, a few days ago, a large number of people came to the outside of Laiyang City, and they were all Jiang Ce's old subordinates.