The message was simple, just one sentence.
The students who participated in the Qingcheng county examination this time and won the title of Juren will no longer go to the prefecture to take the state examination. The county magistrate alone will serve as the state examination examiner and select three Jinshi students, together with Nanzhou and Yuezhou. Jinshi went to Kyoto together to participate in the palace examination.
Li Kang didn't care about this news at first. The imperial examination in Jiaozhou has been in his hands for so many years. Moreover, according to the law, if he does not come to participate in the state capital, the selected Jinshi students, even if they go to Kyoto, will not be considered. Not recognized.
At this time, Su Qi'an made such a fool of himself. In Li Kang's view, he was nothing more than a clown.
No matter how talented Su Qian was, the students from Qingcheng County would not dare to participate in the unrecognized Jinshi.
In the end, it didn’t matter. I came to the state capital obediently and took the state examination honestly.
Although Su Qian's actions were useless and like a clown, at this juncture, it was a counterattack against him.
Li Kang is already making plans in his mind. When the state examination begins this year, he will have to take good care of the candidates and students in Qingcheng County.
Not to mention that Li Kang didn't care about this news, all the officials in the city were like this. But not long after the news reached the city, another piece of news came.
If the last news made them feel that Su Qi'an was being disgusting, the next news shocked everyone.
Regarding Qingcheng County's plan to bypass Li Kang and organize the Jinshi imperial examination independently, it actually agreed. The person who agreed was none other than His Highness Ninth Prince who came to Jiaozhou for a so-called visit.
Not only that, it is said that Nanzhou and Yuezhou next door also sent news and agreed to go to Kyoto to participate in the palace examination with the Jinshi selected from Qingcheng County.
He even said that if Su Qian didn't understand anything during the Jinshi imperial examination, both states would be willing to send senior examiners to assist.
When this news came, the commotion caused in the city was tantamount to a major earthquake.
Especially Li Kang, his face was furious at this time and he threw several cups.
"What do you mean, Your Highness Ninth Prince? By supporting Su Qi'an so blatantly, does this mean you are ignoring the laws of Great Liang?"
Li Kang was furious. His Highness the Ninth Prince represented the royal family. Coming all the way to his territory made him quite wary.
I am afraid that His Highness Ninth Prince may have some royal intentions and may come here to beat him.
However, the Ninth Prince had been in Jiaozhou for more than a year. Except for the Qingcheng County Sheriff's intervention, he had no intention of interfering in the rest of the time.
This made Li Kang feel a little more at ease. Maybe he was overthinking it. After all, Her Majesty the Ninth Prince is a princess. Even if she is deeply loved by His Majesty, she is not a prince after all. Therefore, it is indeed difficult to interfere in certain matters.
But this time, Li Kang obviously underestimated the quiet His Highness the Ninth Prince, who usually kept himself quiet, but at the critical moment, he suddenly came to him like this.
If His Highness Ninth Prince supported Su Qi'an in holding the Jinshi imperial examination in Qingcheng County, it could also be said that His Highness relied on his own power to kill first and then show off. However, Nanzhou and Yuezhou responded positively.
It is enough to show that this matter is likely to be recognized by the royal family. Even if it is not good, it is a kind of temptation.
Now, Li Kang suddenly understood everything at once. Why did the royal family care about Su Qian's coming to Jiaozhou? They never cared about his life or death.
In fact, this was a kind of paralysis for him, which made all the officials in Jiaozhou treat Su Qi'an like a descendant of the royal family who was exiled and not taken seriously.
But in the two years since Su Qi'an came to Jiaozhou, in just two years, he first eradicated two priests, and then killed a county governor. He and the two elders' armies did not fall behind, expanded the army and improved the system.
All of this was a premeditated plan. Now that Su Qi'an dared to disclose it openly and directly snatch the imperial examination quota from him, this was not a provocation, but a naked declaration of war.
Now, no matter how good-tempered Li Kang is, he will never tolerate it.
He immediately ordered to summon his troops and declare war on Su Qi'an.
On the surface, Su Qi'an held the Jinshi imperial examination in Qingcheng County to snatch his place in the Jiaozhou imperial examination. In fact, behind this was the royal family's acquiescence.
Guo Su Qi'an snatched his power.
Su Qi'an is just a chess piece. If it succeeds, Jiaozhou will belong to Great Liang again. If it fails, it will eventually affect Su Qi'an, who has nothing to do with the royal family.
As the shepherd of Jiaozhou and the overlord of Jiaozhou, Li Kang knows all too well about a small temptation. If he continues to acquiesce and does not make any expression, there will definitely be endless troubles in Jiaozhou later.
Therefore, Li Kang had to use thunderous means to eradicate the situation that threatened his rule, no matter how much he paid.
Just when Li Kang gave the order to gather troops to completely encircle Su Qi'an, the state envoy on the side was about to speak.
"What, state envoy, are you still siding with Su Qian'an now? Look carefully, this is the result of blind connivance. This person named Su is totally trying to seize the power of this state!"
Li Kang spoke coldly and stared at the state envoy with a cold look. If the state envoy said yes, Li Kang would take him down without mercy. In serious cases, he would cut off the state envoy's head and make a conquest. of sacrificial flags.
The state envoy could understand Li Kang's anger. He shook his head and said, "Sir, this subordinate is not speaking for Su Qian, but the time has come for this expedition."
"Su Qian is doing this at this juncture just to force you to take action. Only in this way will he have a reason to fight back openly and fight with you."
"This time adding fuel to the fire is not a bad thing for us, but it is a good time to send troops."
Li Kang's eyes flashed, and most of the anger in his heart disappeared, and he said softly, "How can I say this?"
The state envoy smiled and said, "Haha, is it possible that your Majesty is sending troops this time without any reason and intends to directly gather all the troops and conquer Qingcheng County?"
"Don't forget, His Highness Ninth is on Su Qian's side. For us, His Highness Ninth is a troublesome existence, but it is also a good reason for us to send troops."
"You mean?"
"Su Qi'an, the Marquis of Dongshan, came to Jiaozhou to occupy the priest's land. Not only was he not satisfied, but he also used his status as a marquis to forcefully control a county. His ambitions were swollen. Under the guise of being a royal family, he openly kidnapped His Highness the Ninth Prince in an attempt to launch a war in Jiaozhou and seize Jiaozhou. , this move clearly exposes the wolf’s ambition.”
"As the shepherd of Jiaozhou, I live up to the emperor's salary and perform the duties of the emperor. I should protect the people of Jiaozhou. Now as the shepherd of Jiaozhou, I will definitely attack the scum of the Su Qian royal family and restore peace to the people of Jiaozhou."
"Sir, what do you think of this kind of petition?"
The state envoy's eloquent words made Li Kang's ugly face instantly glow with joy.
He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hahaha, okay, okay, okay, you are indeed the think tank of this state. It seems that my state wrongly blamed you some time ago. Well, you will be fully responsible for the next crusade."
"Yes, I will not disappoint you." The envoy bowed respectfully, clasped his fists, and then turned around and left.
After the two pieces of news reached the city one after another, all the officials in the city were waiting for Li Kang's action.
Li Kang represents the supreme power in Jiaozhou. With these two provocations from Su Qi'an, they didn't believe that Li Kang didn't make any move.
Under this kind of waiting, it didn't take long for the petition written by the state envoy himself and approved by Li Kang to be published soon.
At the same time, the state soldiers from the five counties of Jiaozhou were also ordered to assemble as quickly as possible, not towards the state capital, but to go to their respective counties and cities. All counties and cities were on first-level alert, waiting for Li Kang's next plan at any time. .
Moreover, Li Kang wrote a letter to three elders, requesting them to send troops to cooperate in the encirclement and suppression of Su Qi'an.
Now, everyone in the city understood that Li Kang, their state pastor, was really determined to eradicate Su Qi'an.
Li Kang's order was issued, and the three elders of the five counties and the Priest Alliance acted equally quickly.
In less than a day, of the 40,000 state soldiers, except for 10,000 who stayed in the state city, the remaining 30,000 were all gathered in the five subordinate counties.
The Priest Alliance sent 60,000 troops, which seemed like a small number, but more than 70% of these people were elite natives.
In the face of a real war, what counts is not quantity, but experienced veterans.
These 60,000 people were divided into three groups and headed towards Yangliu County, Jiao County, and Gaolan County.
The reason why heavy troops were sent to these three counties was not only because the three counties were the only way to pass through the same state city, but more importantly, the three counties combined could truly besiege Qingcheng County.
Although Li Kang took the initiative to declare war in this battle, he was not stupid and would not send heavy troops to directly attack Qingcheng County like the two elders did.
The distance from Zhoucheng to Qingcheng County was more than two hundred miles. The distance was not very far, but the total number of troops sent in this battle reached 100,000.
A hundred thousand people are tired of traveling by boat, which consumes a lot of logistics every day. Instead of doing this, it is better to divide the troops into three counties, take advantage of the terrain, encircle them first, and then move forward step by step to encroach.
Even if Su Qi'an's army defends Qingcheng County and cannot leave, they can approach step by step until a hundred thousand troops completely surround Qingcheng County, no matter how fierce Su Qi'an's resistance is.
In front of his 100,000-strong army, any solid city wall would be reduced to ashes.
If Su Qi'an wants to make a surprise attack, Li Kang is also prepared. Not only will the three counties maintain contact, but they will also establish contact points at regular intervals.
Once any county is attacked, the other two counties can go to reinforce it as quickly as possible.
Moreover, in the rear, there are more than 16,000 state soldiers serving as reserve forces in Zhoucheng and Chencang County. Once the three frontline counties are lost, reinforcements can be sent at any time.
In this battle, the tactics were to encroach step by step. The three counties were like iron barrels. No matter how hard Su Qi'an struggled, he could not escape the big net woven by Li Kang.
Li Kang was sitting at the back, just like a fisherman sitting on a fishing platform, just waiting for good news and waiting for Su Qian's fish to be caught.
Li Kang's tactics were completely aboveboard without any disguise.
After all, he is the Jiaozhou Mu, the overlord of Jiaozhou. As a Jiaozhou Mu, he issued a proclamation to attack Su Qi'an. On the contrary, on the one hand, he represented the Great Liang official.
All forces in Jiaozhou must obey his call in name. If Su Qi'an dares to make a sneak attack, regardless of whether he can succeed, his method alone is enough to confirm his unjust status.
