I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 202 Schemes and Conflicts

Although shocked by the situation in Manchuan, Gao Yingxiang and his group had been through many storms and were able to maintain a relatively stable mindset.

Instead, they cautiously probed Zhao Zesheng, the magistrate of Manchuanli, hoping to obtain information about the militia and Manchuanli, and ideally, to discover the city's military defenses.

And the final result is
Zhao Zesheng gave them a strange smile, a look that sent chills down their spines. He then spoke frankly and with considerable pride:

"We have a total of five hundred troops stationed in Manchuan."

"Pfft!"

Upon hearing Zhao Zesheng's words, one of the people behind Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but chuckle.

Immediately, smiles appeared on the faces of everyone else as well.

Listen to what they heard: there are 500 troops stationed in Manchuan. Is that something to be proud of?

They had 20,000 troops stationed ten miles outside the city. Even if they were not as strong as the Ming army chasing them, they were probably even less strong than the People's Salvation Army that had defeated the Ming army.

However, with 20,000 against 500, they are still confident of victory, right?

For a moment, Gao Yingxiang and the others felt their courage had grown stronger.

At least in this small border county, they want to strengthen the country and save the people's army, right?

At the same time, some people began to have their own ulterior motives.

Although the dynasty had promised to provide them with a month's worth of provisions.

But they wanted more.

Take the prosperity of this small county town as an example.

They thought that it shouldn't be a problem to plunder hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver and tens of thousands of bushels of grain.
This made the way they looked at Zhao Zesheng seem a little strange.

Glancing at the changing clouds above everyone's heads, which had turned from gray to black, Zhao Zesheng's eyes flickered, and he sneered inwardly, thinking, "What a bunch of ignorant fools."

Did they think that the 500 soldiers who rescued the militia were just a little stronger than ordinary troops?

Believe it or not, we don't even need to send 500 men to easily annihilate your so-called 20,000-strong army.

And you idiots, guess why I'm telling you this?
He glanced at the golden dragon that was constantly circling and coiling above Gao Yingxiang's head.

On the other side, above the head of a man named Li Zicheng, there was also a slightly ethereal golden dragon.

Seemingly sensing Zhao Zesheng's gaze, the two golden dragons suddenly turned their heads to look at him, letting out a silent roar, as if warning him.

Strands of gold fell down, enveloping Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng, seemingly in preparation for Zhao Zesheng's attack.

Feeling the slight stinging in his eyes, Zhao Zesheng smiled silently. After all, their foundation was shallow, far inferior to their militia.

Even though he was just a county magistrate at the Qi Refining stage, he could easily observe the entirety of this dragon aura.

If it were the Heavenly King, he would only see a sliver of golden light.

Zhao Zesheng casually looked away, his smile widening.

It is said that if they kill the leader of a force that gathers dragon energy, they will be rewarded with the golden dragon of national fortune.

Although those official positions and ranks evolved from divine status were subject to numerous laws and regulations that restricted the behavior of officials.

However, people can always find loopholes, depending on how tempting the potential profits are.

To receive the Golden Dragon's decree and have a golden dragon mark condensed between one's eyebrows, even if it is just a phantom image, is an unparalleled honor and a mark of national excellence.

After all, in a sense, this means that they once participated in a war that destroyed a nation.

With all sorts of preferential policies, they are the envy of others.

Not to mention, the golden dragon phantom can also grant them various kinds of power enhancements.

Therefore, when this information was released, everyone in the People's Salvation Army, from officials and generals to soldiers and civilians, wanted to receive the imperial edict.

Even though the dynasty issued an order to help the rebels.

However, if these rebels were to launch an attack on them, then they wouldn't be to blame.

The Heavenly King had said that the border officials and soldiers had the right and the obligation to take the initiative to attack and wipe out the invading enemy forces that were actively attacking the People's Salvation Army.

"Hehe, my militia is quite strong. Five hundred men are enough to defend the city; it would take tens of thousands of troops to break through."

Zhao Zesheng seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in everyone's voice, and simply chuckled as he spoke.

"hehe."

Upon hearing Zhao Zesheng's words, Gao Yingxiang and the others laughed in agreement, secretly feeling a sense of scorn.

Five hundred men against tens of thousands of troops?
Haha, you can't brag like that, can you?
"Hmm, Magistrate Zhao, may we take a stroll around the city?"

At this point, Gao Yingxiang's tone of voice had become much more casual.

In his mind, he was at least a leader of a rebel army, just like the dynasty. Even if his strength and power were slightly weaker, his status should still be on par with the dynasty.

Zhao Zesheng, a mere county magistrate, was worlds apart from the emperor, and their status was naturally unequal.

Furthermore, given the limited number of troops here, he naturally became much more casual, acting as if he were in a superior position.

Zhao Zesheng glanced at Gao Yingxiang, noticing the change in his tone, but didn't take it to heart, simply smiling as he said:

"Of course it's possible. It's an honor for Manchuan if the King of Chuang wants to travel."
Please, gentlemen, let me personally guide you on a tour of my Manchuan.

"Oh, Magistrate Zhao is very busy with official duties. How could we trouble him to personally guide us? We'll just enjoy our own sightseeing."

"That's fine too!"

Although somewhat hesitant, Zhao Zesheng finally nodded and said apologetically to Gao Yingxiang and the others:
"I am indeed busy with official duties, so I will have to excuse myself for now. I will host a banquet for you all at Ya Shan Lou tonight."

"Haha, no problem, no problem."

Gao Yingxiang chuckled.

Afterwards, Zhao Zesheng bowed slightly to everyone and quickly turned to leave.

It seemed that he really had a lot of government affairs to handle.

Watching Zhao Zesheng's departing figure, Gao Yingxiang's gaze became slightly solemn.

He always felt that Zhao Zesheng had some ill intentions. Although, because he didn't have a stable territory or a truly secure nation, he couldn't detect the dragon energy and the golden dragon of national fortune.

However, the golden dragon they formed could still provide them with some degree of warning.

Zhao Zesheng's observations clearly alerted the golden dragon.

"Uncle, I have a feeling that Zhao Zesheng has some ill intentions."
You can't believe everything he says.

After seeing Zhao Zesheng walk away, Li Zicheng quickly walked up to Gao Yingxiang.

"Hmm! This person is definitely not a good person. Let's observe the situation first."

Gao Yingxiang nodded and then led the group to stroll around Manchuan, as if they were really just having fun.

As time passed, evening soon arrived, and the group followed a yamen runner who had come looking for them to the Ya Shan Restaurant.

In a private room on the third floor, the group mingled and drank, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years.

However, after several rounds of drinks and dishes, as everyone was chatting and laughing about what they had seen, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

"What's going on? Don't you know I'm entertaining distinguished guests?"

Zhao Zesheng touched the official seal at his waist, a clear look flashing in the depths of his eyes, but he did not show it on his face. Instead, he angrily shouted at the outside of the room.

"grown ups."

A yamen runner pushed open the door and entered, glancing at Gao Yingxiang and the others with some embarrassment.

Upon seeing this scene, Gao Yingxiang and the others couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

"Stop stammering, what kind of manners are you? Speak up quickly if you have something to say."

"Yes, sir!"
These were the personal guards brought by the rebel leader. They were disciplined by the landlady for harassing her, and then beaten by the owner.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zesheng's face turned cold, and he shouted angrily.

"Hmm? How dare you harass a respectable woman."

According to the laws governing the rescue of the militia, what crime should they be charged with?

Upon hearing the question, the constable immediately and quickly replied:
"Sir, anyone who harasses a respectable woman shall be punished with ten strokes of the cane and three months of hard labor, depending on the severity of the offense."

"Then..."

At this point, Zhao Zesheng glanced at Gao Yingxiang and the others who were frowning, and as if he had suddenly realized something, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"Haha, there might be some misunderstanding."

How could the rebel leader, who spoke up for the people, have any men who harassed respectable women?

"Come, come, Your Majesty, let's go and see what's going on."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yingxiang's face instantly darkened.

Although compared to others, Gao Yingxiang's team was relatively disciplined.

However, things weren't much better; incidents of burglary and assault on women still occurred.

It could even be said that it is quite common.

However, although Gao Yingxiang knew this, he basically turned a blind eye as long as it didn't get too serious.

Therefore, after hearing the report from the yamen runner, Gao Yingxiang knew that this was something his subordinates were capable of doing.

Therefore, Gao Yingxiang hesitated for a moment after hearing Zhao Zesheng's words.

"This"

However, in the end, he nodded with a grim expression.

Since the matter has already involved his personal guards, he has no choice but to step forward.

Gao Yingxiang's personal guards were also on the third floor, just one room away from them.

Therefore, everyone quickly arrived at the scene.

Then, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and the others were all stunned on the spot.

They initially thought that the boss, his wife, and others had been beaten by the guards they had brought with them.

As for what the constables said—that their men had been reprimanded by the boss and his wife—they simply assumed it was a slip of the tongue.

The reason Gao Yingxiang looked so bad earlier was because his personal guards had embarrassed him.

While Zhao Zesheng was pleading for the people, his personal guards were harassing respectable women, which naturally displeased him.

However, the situation on the ground was completely different from what they had imagined.

The room was a mess, but nothing particularly special.

The sight of the people lying on the ground was something they found hard to accept.

The dozen or so guards they brought were all bruised and battered, clutching their stomachs and lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

The boss, his wife, and two employees were glaring at them angrily, as if they wanted to rush forward again and beat them up.

However, a constable stood by and stopped them; if they continued fighting, someone would die.

Upon seeing this scene, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and others changed color on the face and cursed inwardly.

What a bunch of useless trash! A group of more than ten people couldn't even beat four people from a restaurant.

Moreover, there was also a woman among them.

Judging from the situation, if the constables hadn't stopped them, those people would have fared even worse, and might even have been beaten to death.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Magistrate Zhao, I expect you to give us an explanation."

"That's right, how can you hit someone?"

Hearing Gao Yingxiang and the others' words, Zhao Zesheng frowned almost imperceptibly and said to me, "Who do you think you are?"
(End of this chapter)