Early on the morning of the third day, Yang Hong and Yan Xiang, the two de facto administrative officials, gathered together in the lobby of the county governor's mansion.
News of the deaths of those grassroots officials had reached their ears through different channels.
Since there were too many people and the departments involved were extremely critical, the two of them dared not sit upright in the mansion, so they all came to the governor's mansion to sit in the hall and discuss countermeasures.
"Two adults, there are a total of seven officials who died this time. They are Sir Sicheng Liu of the Water Conservancy Department, Sir Sicheng Zhao of the Military and Horse Department, and Sir Sicheng Li of the Shu Ce Department..."
The Vincent who had just finished counting the names of those who had happened last night was reading the contents on the bamboo slips, his hands still shaking.
"So many?! Are our city defense officers and soldiers in Nanyang City just for a living?!" Yang Hong said angrily.
Yan Xiang also had a look of disbelief on his face, but he was prepared in his heart. Compared to Yang Hong, he was still calm and calm.
What he didn't expect was that in just one day, Qi Zhen's so-called appropriate opportunity actually meant this!
In one night, seven low-level officials of key departments were murdered. This was almost the same as rebellion!
"And..." The scribe swallowed his foam and said tremblingly.
"More!?" Yang Hong said with his eyes widened.
"Yes... In addition to the seven people above who have died, there are also some officials who were severely injured last night and could not even get out of bed. These people are Mr. Gongsun from the Clothing Department and Mr. Huang from the Surveying and Mapping Department... …”
There were another seven or eight names in this breath.
"That's enough!" Yang Hong was furious and said through gritted teeth.
The scribe's body trembled again, and he looked frightened.
"Go and invite Generals Zhang Xunqiao and Rui here, and tell them that I have something important to discuss." Yang Hong said with a dark face.
The subordinate scribe didn't dare to delay. He responded hurriedly, turned around and trotted away.
"Master Yan, what do you think?" Yang Hong put aside the fiery look he had just shown in front of his subordinates and asked calmly.
"It seems that the other party is naturally prepared." Yan Xiang said.
"Of course, the list you gave him must have played a role." Yang Hong smiled slightly, as if the anger just now was just an act.
Yan Xiang did not directly answer Yang Hong's words, but slowly said: "If you ask me for my opinion, I think that such a bold person should be pursued and must be pursued. It is better to wait for Zhang Qiao and Zhang Qiao. After the general comes here, he vigorously pursues this thief in the city. This man has a very big plan, so he will naturally stay in the city and will definitely not leave."
"What should we do about the shortage of these officials?" Yang Hong then asked.
"These people are so dead and injured that it seems that they can no longer care about political affairs. It is better to activate those officials who were under house arrest and replaced. After all, the most important thing now is to ensure the stability of Nanyang City and even the entire county. Yan Xiang said without thinking.
Yang Hong thought for a long time and nodded: "Then do as Master Yan said."
"My lords have long thought about it. Mr. Yan is just trying to make others laugh." Yan Xiang didn't have any respectful expression on his face, and he bowed his hand to Yang Hong in a very perfunctory manner.
From the beginning to the end, neither of them asked each other why they were all standing here after one night. As for the names on the list, they knew very well what kind of identities those people were.
Zhang Qiao and his two men soon arrived at the governor's house. Compared to Yan and Yang, they obviously knew what happened in Nanyang City last night earlier.
Soldiers naturally don't have as many winding intestines as civilian counselors, so the two men's concealment skills are really not good enough.
After hearing what happened last night, the two generals naturally had serious expressions on their faces. Qiao Rui even said directly: "The last general only cares about the stability of Nanyang County. I would like to ask Mr. Chang Shi to make it clear how to proceed."
He said that he wanted Lord Chang Shi to make it clear, but in fact he was already nakedly declaring his position. Anyway, the matter is now over. It depends on what you, Yang Hong, do. If I am satisfied, then let it go. If not, I will remove you as Chang Shi. What's wrong with Shi?
After all, the two generals Zhang Qiao are now the two loudest voices in the entire Nanyang City.
Yang Hong briefly explained to the two the solution he had discussed with Yan Xiang. The two generals thought about it for a while, raised no objections, and accepted the order with clasped fists.
"In order to ensure that the people in Nanyang City live and work in peace and contentment, I am afraid that there are some things that cannot be done but must be done."
Before leaving, Zhang Xun had already crossed the threshold with one foot, but he still turned his head and said.
Yan and Yang both agreed.
After the second general left, Yan Xiang and Yang Hong both had a wry smile on their faces.
The weather in Nanyang County has completely changed.
For the next day and night, the search for Qi Zhen never stopped. All soldiers in the city were mobilized and began to search for this daring assassin from house to house.
For a time, Nanyang City was in a frenzy, and the houses and residences of countless people were violently pushed away by officers and soldiers, who conducted thorough searches from top to bottom.
At this time, Qi Zhen was in General Zhang Xun's mansion, discussing with the two generals Zhang Qiao how to deal with the enemy the next day.
The most dangerous place is the safest place, not to mention that Qi Zhen is now nominally a street rat that everyone shouts about, but in fact he is the one who holds all the power in Nanyang City.
Last night, in addition to killing the officials who were determined to make a comeback in the name of Yuan Shu IV and the Third Duke, and beating those wavering wallflowers so hard that they couldn't get out of bed, Qi Zhen's most successful thing was to kill Yang Hong, the long history official. The mind is revealed.
Sure enough, loyalty is valuable.
Qi Zhen didn't care about being wanted. This was a reaction they had to make. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain to the court and the world later, or they might be misunderstood that they were the ones involved in the murder of Yuan Shu. They should be blamed for this crime. Can't afford it anyway.
In Qi Zhen's heart, those civil servants were very important, but this was not the moment for them to play their role.
The most important thing now is the enemy that the nearly ten thousand soldiers in Nanyang City have to face.
That's right, the enemy.
It stands to reason that when Nanyang City is stabilized, Qi Zhen only needs to wait for Huang Yueying and Liu Bei to lead the army to Nanyang City. At that time, with the cooperation of the two generals Zhang Qiao, the city gate can be opened with almost no effort. With one attack, the entire Nanyang County was at Qi Zhen's fingertips.
But no.
Just as Qi Zhen worried, no one in the Three Kingdoms was a fuel-efficient lamp.
What's more, Yuan Shu, a feudal lord who is divided into one party.
Huang Yueying did a very good job. Using the reputation of the Cai family, she gathered most of the people in Nanyang County and prepared a strategy to encircle the central government.
Unfortunately, the information Qi Zhen got from Yuan Shu's mind was not like this.
In order to cope with the upcoming alliance, Yuan Shu, a powerful man, came up with a plan.
There are two purposes. One is to see the loyalty of the county magistrates and military towns under his subordinates, and which ones are determined to follow the rebel party to rebel against him this time. The other is to see if there are any opportunities for key departments in Nanyang City. A blood exchange can be completed, and the ones who will be replaced are naturally those loyal fans.
If the latter hadn't come to Nanyang because of Qi Zhen, I'm afraid this matter would have been accomplished with the cooperation of Yang Hong and Yan Xiang!
But it is obvious that the two closest advisers do not know Yuan Shu's idea!
As for the former, it was only when Qi Zhen killed Yuan Shu that she realized that many of the main generals in the military town had actually faked their surrender.
Fake surrender!
Pretending to surrender to Huang Yueying and cooperating with Huang Yueying's uprising, in fact, he had already reported this move to Yuan Shu. When the opponent was besieging Nanyang from all sides, Ji Ling led the soldiers and horses in the city to rush out. At that time, the sergeants who were interested in Yuan Shu naturally Betrayal.
This is the true harmony between inside and outside!
What Qi Zhen saw about Yuan Shu was that he was at a loss what to do, was in a panic, and even made frequent fainting moves. It turned out that it was this old boy who was pretending to show it to others!
Why are you pretending like this? Naturally, it was to make those weak-minded people in Nanyang City jump out. Otherwise, why would he want blood?
By that time, even if it was reported to the court, Yuan Shu's reasons would be justifiable and blameless!
What a terrible scheming, what a profound plan!
Qi Zhen had a faint admiration for this hero. It seemed that the history books were right. If he was really a loser, how could he have 300,000 soldiers and even Sun Ce under his command?
It's a pity that Huang Yueying was originally only given three days to work, but now it has become a rope that binds her.
Now that there is only one day left, what Qi Zhen can do is to find a way to defend Nanyang City impregnably. This cannot be achieved without the full cooperation of General Zhang Qiao.
If he had rushed to Pheasant County as soon as Yuan Shu died, he might still have a chance.
Qi Zhen thought of this and sighed helplessly.
But in that case, without a disruptor like himself, things in Nanyang City may not necessarily turn out like that.
It may be too late to send someone to notify Huang Yueying, but firstly, given the current situation in Nanyang, it is necessary to ensure that the news of Yuan Shu's death is not leaked. Secondly, it is really difficult for Huang Yueying to respond at this time.
Qi Zhen didn't think those two people had time to react.
Pointing to the map on the wall, Qi Zhen explained to the two generals the location of the surrounding military towns and the general idea of the army's siege and attack.
And he told them clearly that not all the invading troops were of one mind, and many military towns might temporarily rebel.
Second General Zhang Qiao, who thought he was sitting back and relax, suddenly frowned and said nothing with a sad look on his face.
Qi Zhen knew that this matter was difficult for the two generals, but she still said bravely: "We must think of some ways."
