Chapter 84: The Colorful Whip Flies Over the Spring Ox (Part 3)

By now, Wang Hou was no longer surprised by Han Gang's sharp mind and nodded straightforwardly: "Both are. They are the hall edicts sent back by the Political Affairs Hall more than half a year ago, which included Li Jinglue's memorial. In his memorial, Li Jinglue mentioned that there are ten thousand acres of unclaimed idle land on both banks of the Wei River in Qin Prefecture, suitable for garrison farming..."

More than half a year ago, wasn't that when Li Shizhong had just taken office in Qin Prefecture? From his memorial, it was clear that he was applying to the court for garrison farming in Weiyuan and Guwei, essentially endorsing Wang Shao's plan. Han Gang was surprised: "Did the Governor originally support the Secretary?"

"When Li Jinglue first arrived, he did support you, without any hesitation. Who doesn't like credit? However, once you took on the additional responsibility of managing the tribal affairs and gained the right to submit direct memorials, the wind changed overnight."

"No wonder!" Han Gang sighed. Managing the tribal affairs was originally handled by Xiang Bao, and the right to submit direct memorials meant that Wang Shao could bypass the Governor's office and directly submit memorials to the emperor. One had his power taken away, the other had no share in the credit, so of course, they wouldn't support Wang Shao anymore, and opposing him openly or secretly was only natural.

"No wonder when the Secretary wanted to build a city in Weiyuan, Li Jinglue didn't openly oppose it but lamented the lack of money and grain, suggesting the use of military funds to support the Secretary's plan!"

"Indeed, at the time, we thought he didn't want to anger Prime Minister Wang. Now it's clear what was really going on!" Wang Hou was in a good mood. Wang Shao had inadvertently exposed Li Shizhong's true intentions, which became the best support for the plan.

As long as Wang Shao reported the benefits of garrison farming in Weiyuan and Guwei with the same words, how could Li Shizhong deny it? If he did, Wang Shao would have even more reason to appeal to the emperor about Li Shizhong's interference in the development of the Hehuang region. The charge of "repeatedly changing his stance" would be enough to make Li Shizhong lose his position.

"By the way, why wasn't this discovered earlier?" Han Gang was suspicious. If it had been discovered earlier, Wang Shao wouldn't have been in such a difficult situation.

Wang Hou laughed awkwardly. This was, of course, Wang Shao's own problem: "At the time, you were leading me to investigate the various cities and forts, and you only returned to Qin Prefecture once or twice a month. You didn't think to check the hall edicts and the imperial gazettes."

Han Gang frowned slightly. Sun Tzu had said that knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. Han Gang, coming from a thousand years in the future, understood how important information was. Intelligence was right there, but if you didn't study it, it was as good as not having it. The imperial gazettes and hall edicts contained a wealth of information, and it was a mistake to forget to check them just because of busyness. This was indeed Wang Shao's oversight.

"By the way, Yukuang... are you going to grab the spring ox?" Wang Hou changed the subject, looking around and suddenly asked.

Han Gang nodded. This was why he had run out of the city so early in the morning. With his personality, he wouldn't have joined in such a pointless commotion for no reason, "My father instructed me to bring back a piece of spring mud."

"That makes sense!" Wang Hou nodded and said, "I won't join in this commotion. Yukuang, be careful not to get trampled. Otherwise, you won't be able to ride a horse tomorrow!"

"Not get trampled?" Han Gang repeated the words, then looked back at the enthusiastic crowd behind him, shuddering. He quickly pulled Wang Hou and Wang Shunchen, who were about to squeeze back into the crowd, and laughed, "With Brother Wang here, it's not my turn to act."

He insisted on keeping Wang Shunchen, and they squeezed out of the crowd. Han Gang had heard many stories of people dying from being trampled in his previous life. If something happened, he would die with his eyes open. Wang Shunchen, with his low center of gravity, stable base, and excellent skills, and a fierce appearance, wouldn't be in any danger even in the surging crowd.

When the last official had finished whipping the ox and turned back, the drums and gongs sounded loudly. Li Shizhong led the officials to step back nearly a hundred paces. As they retreated, the atmosphere in the field became tense, and thousands of people were poised to act.

The drums and gongs played a different tune, and in the center of the crowd, a silk ball with a red ribbon rose into the air, like the fuse of a firework. A wave of frenzied noise shook the entire field. Like a mountain collapsing or a sea surging, like a flood breaking through a long dike, the crowd surged forward.

Han Gang was secretly alarmed. If he had been in the frenzied crowd, he might have been pushed down and trampled to death. No wonder Wang Hou had warned him to be careful. The level of their madness was no less than that of the fans of Korean stars in the future. Like army ants sweeping through the rainforest, or locusts passing through a field, or a flood sweeping over the land, in the blink of an eye, the spring ox, as large as a real ox, disappeared.

Han Gang was full of complaints. His predecessor was truly a bookworm buried in books, with no memory of the spring ox grabbing. If Wang Hou hadn't reminded him, he would have been completely unprepared, and it would have been a miracle if he had survived, let alone grabbed the spring ox.

Countless hands scooped up handfuls of mud from the broken spring ox. Those who couldn't grab any turned their attention to the lucky ones who were already carrying the spring mud back, leading to many fights.

A piece of mud carried the people's hope for a bountiful harvest, no wonder they were so frenzied. Han Gang sighed. His father had repeatedly instructed him to bring back a piece of mud, which was said to be good for silkworms and could even cure diseases. However, he would disappoint his parents this time. Wang Shunchen was too short, and his figure had disappeared in the crowd. It seemed he could protect himself, but bringing back the spring mud was unlikely.

However, Han Gang was wrong this time.

"Brother, you really have good luck! Damn, I didn't expect it to be so crazy!"

Wang Shunchen, who had finally squeezed out of the crowd, was in a sorry state, his clothes tattered, his hair disheveled, and his hat gone. He complained loudly in front of Han Gang.

Han Gang smiled apologetically, feeling he had been a bit too much. But when Wang Shunchen reached into his sleeve, he pulled out a piece of spring mud as large as a bowl.

Wang Hou burst out laughing: "Well done, Wang Shunchen, to hide such a large piece. You're really something!"

Han Gang was also surprised and praised: "Brother Wang, you're really skilled!"

"What's the big deal?" Wang Shunchen patted his chest and laughed loudly, "I can charge seven times in and out of a thousand troops, let alone grabbing a spring ox? Leave the charge to me, and you can rest assured!"

Wang Shunchen, though low in rank and not yet in the official hierarchy, could already lead a unit of soldiers. Wang Shao had hinted that he would send him to Gangu City to lead troops, accumulate some military merit, and be ready for the war to open the Hehuang region. Wang Shunchen was now dreaming of leading a large army and trampling enemy formations.

The spring ox grabbing was over, and the spring sacrifice ceremony came to an end. The drums and gongs stopped, and the crowd dispersed, leaving a mess behind. After the ceremony, there was a customary banquet at the government office.

A group of cavalry, who had served as guards during the ceremony, escorted the highest-ranking officials, Li Shizhong and Dou Shunqing, back to the city. The remaining officials walked in groups of three or five, those with good relations together, heading for the South Gate. Only Wang Shao stood almost alone, with only Wu Yan by his side, clearly excluded from the Qin Prefecture official circle.

Of course, how much of this was due to fear of Li Shizhong's authority and how much was genuine dislike of Wang Shao was not hard to judge. In the official world, it was common to speak warmly and show deep friendship on the surface while stabbing each other in the back. Without a conflict of interests, few would go to such extremes. Those who had conflicts with Wang Shao were only his superiors in the Governor's office, Li Shizhong, Xiang Bao, and the newly arrived Dou Shunqing. Even Zhang Shouyue was happy to see Wang Shao succeed.

Wang Hou, seeing his father's current standing, couldn't help but smile bitterly. Wang Shao's plan to upgrade Guwei to a military prefecture was a direct challenge to Li Shizhong, and it was natural for the officials in the prefecture to take sides. From the current situation, Wang Shao's first battle against Li Shizhong was a惨败."

"Thanks to your strategy, Yukuang..."

"Strategy?" Han Gang always cared about his image. He didn't want to give the impression of being full of schemes, which would be detrimental to his future development. He knew Wang Shao had some opinions about him and didn't want to deepen the impression of being deeply scheming, "Don't make it sound like a conspiracy. If we really talk about strategy, it's a 'yang plot,' not a 'yin plot'!"

"Yang plot?" Wang Hou hadn't heard this obscure term before. Was a strategy that was the opposite of a conspiracy called a 'yang plot'?

"It's not a hidden scheme to harm others, but a strategy that is openly and brightly presented, something that can be said in broad daylight without any problem. It's a 'yang plot.' Even if we openly tell Li Shizhong that we will submit a memorial to the court, what can he do? Just like in chess, the moves are visible, but the game can still be won or lost. Putting the opponent in a dilemma and forcing them to respond is the method of using a 'yang plot.'"

"Yang plot?" Wang Hou repeated the unfamiliar term, and Han Gang's explanation gave him a bit of insight. Compared to conspiracies, the strategy Han Gang proposed was indeed open and aboveboard. But it was also aggressive, leaving Li Shizhong with no way to respond. Recalling how Han Gang dealt with Huang Daliu in the military equipment warehouse, Chen Ju on the escort route, Xiang Bao's servant in Fugang City, and even using the wounded camp to deal with his own father, each action was transparent and straightforward, leaving no room for criticism, yet achieving Han Gang's goals one by one.

Truly worthy of Han Yukuang! Wang Hou felt he had seen the true character of a scholar for the first time today. Han Gang's intelligence, talent, and character all earned his deep admiration.

With such support, Wang Hou was no longer worried about his father's success in his career. The initial investment had already yielded abundant results.

Wang Hou tugged at Han Gang's sleeve, "Yukuang, you're leaving for the capital tomorrow. I've booked a table at Huifeng Tower for a farewell dinner. We brothers must have a good drink today!"

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