Words Strategize for the World

Hexia County, located downstream of the Weishan River, a tributary of the Yunzi River, is a border city bordering the Ba Kingdom.

Due to its favorable location, convenient roads, and thriving land trade in Chi Kingdom, Hexia County gradually evolved into a commercial city after Chi Kingdom was reduced to only three counties.

After traveling for most of the day, Fang Hao and his group finally arrived at the bustling commercial city of Hexia County.

When they were still 3 miles away, the team stopped to regroup and rest.

To be on the safe side, Fang Hao left everyone behind, taking only Lai Fengwu, Yuan Kang, and a team of 10 people with him, and headed towards Hexia County.

After walking for about ten minutes, the shadow of the city wall became clearly visible.

"My lord, look, the city gate is not closed!" Yuan Kang's excited voice rang out.

As they drew closer to Hexia County, Fang Hao naturally noticed that the city gates were open. However, now that the Ba Kingdom had invaded the Chi Kingdom, the fact that the city gates were still open under these circumstances indicated something was amiss.

Has the Hexia Commandery already been occupied by the Hegemon Kingdom?

Fang Hao guessed.

If Hexia County has truly been occupied by the Hegemon Kingdom, then things will be terrible. Their dozen or so men wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in their teeth.

While remaining vigilant, Fang Hao also told the others to pay attention to the situation and to retreat immediately if anything changed.

Soon, they were less than 300 meters from Hexia County. At this distance, they could see everything clearly from the top to the bottom of the city wall.

Fang Hao was relieved when he saw that the soldiers on the city wall and at the city gate were still wearing the uniforms of the Chi Kingdom soldiers.

"Halt! Who are you?"

Upon arriving at the city gate, Fang Hao was about to lead his men into the city when he was stopped by the soldiers guarding the city.

At the shout of the gatekeeper, seven or eight soldiers ran out of the city gate. Seeing that Fang Hao and his group were fully armed, the soldiers immediately drew their swords.

Before Fang Hao could move, Yuan Kang and about ten others quickly drew their weapons and confronted the city guards.

Fang Hao raised his right hand and placed the back of his hand behind his back, signaling Yuan Kang and the others not to act rashly. Then he took out the scholar's bronze plaque and said, "I am a scholar from the capital, and I have come to Hexia County on business. They are my subordinates, and we are about to enter the city."

The soldiers guarding the city saw that Fang Hao had an extraordinary demeanor and was well-mannered, and they immediately backed down when Fang Hao took out the bronze token.

The ten soldiers guarding the city looked at each other, and none of them dared to step forward and speak to each other.

"Which of you is the foot commander?" Fang Hao questioned.

As soon as Fang Hao finished speaking, all nine soldiers looked at the foot soldier standing at the back.

Bu Chang felt a little embarrassed by the look, so he smiled awkwardly and said ingratiatingly, "Hehehe, Lord Ya Shi, I am Bu Chang. I was blind to your talent and I apologize. However, the Ba Kingdom has recently attacked my Chi Kingdom, so I dare not let Lord Ya Shi in easily. Please allow me to report first, and then let the lords decide."

"Okay, then go quickly."

The foot soldier turned and left. The remaining nine soldiers quickly put away their weapons, and some of them even nodded and smiled ingratiatingly at Fang Hao.

After Bu Chang left, Fang Hao's thoughts began to stir.

During wartime, the city gates were left open; how could they be so careless?

No, there must be something fishy about Hexia County.

Why not test him then and see how the officials of Hexia County react?

Not long after, a short, middle-aged man with a somewhat sleazy appearance arrived at the city gate with more than twenty people.

The short, sleazy-looking man greeted the man with a forced smile, saying, "Sir, I am Shan Wei, the deputy inspector of the county town. May I ask your esteemed name?"

Fang Hao waved his hand and said, "I dare not call myself sir. I am Fang Hao."

After Fang Hao finished speaking, he took out the bronze plaque again and said, "I am a scholar from the capital, and I have important business in Hexia County."

Danwei stood there, staring intently at the bronze plaque in Fang Hao's hand. After a while, as if confirming his suspicions, he said, "So it's you, Scholar Fang. Please come in. Since you have important business, let's go to the prefectural government office. I'm sure they'll treat you to fine wine."

Upon hearing this, Fang Hao replied with great enthusiasm, "Alright, then I'll trouble Inspector Shan to lead the way."

"Of course, of course."

As we walked towards the prefectural capital, although it was a bustling commercial city, the streets were now much quieter.

Several shops along the street were closed, and there were very few people on the street.

During the journey, Fang Hao's ten soldiers were taken to a post station by Shanwei. Shanwei's soldiers were also sent back to their barracks.

Fang Hao, Lai Fengwu, and Yuan Kang quickly arrived at the county seat with Shanwei. They had barely sat down when a slightly overweight man with a goatee came out to greet them.

The newcomer looked down on Fang Hao because of his youth, his eyes darting around as if he were lost in thought.

However, these expressions were fleeting, but fortunately Fang Hao caught them all.

"Haha, what a distinguished guest! Forgive me for not greeting you properly."

Although the visitor's expression was dismissive and his eyes were darting around, he suddenly adopted an unusually kind and friendly expression when he spoke, and his voice was also very approachable.

Upon seeing this, Fang Hao concluded in his heart that this person was definitely a treacherous and cunning individual.

Before Fang Hao could even stand up and speak, Shan Wei immediately introduced, "Scholar Fang, this is Prefect Liu of Hexia County."

Upon hearing Shanwei's introduction, Fang Hao quickly stood up and politely said, "So you are Lord Liu. My apologies for not recognizing you."

Juncheng first nodded with a smile, then sat down in a chair and began to chat with Fang Hao with a beaming smile.

After a pleasant exchange of pleasantries, Fang Hao said directly, "Lord of the County, I have a question. Could you please answer it for me?"

"Mr. Fang, there's no need for formalities. Just speak frankly."

Liu Juncheng spoke with a smile and a kind tone, making it easy to be deceived by his hidden true nature. Fortunately, Fang Hao had already seen through it.

"My lord, everyone says that Hexia County is a bustling commercial city, and I, Fang Hao, have long admired it. But upon arriving today, I find the streets sparsely populated and rather desolate. Why is that?"

Fang Hao's question was clever; normally he should have asked why the city gates were wide open.

Often, when we want to understand something, we don't need to directly ask the questions in our hearts, because being too direct will either offend people or prevent us from getting the answers we want.

At this point, it might be better to start with topics that the other person isn't paying attention to; you might be able to indirectly find out the answer you're looking for.

Liu, the Prefect, was quite surprised to hear Fang Hao's question. After a moment of hesitation, he said with a worried expression, "Scholar Fang, you are unaware that the Ba Kingdom's army is attacking. Many merchants in my Hexia County have left. What else can we do but suffer a desolate situation?"

Merchants are driven by profit; if they all leave, something must have happened.

"I found the Prefect to be a man of distinguished bearing and capable administrator; I never expected the merchants to leave. I wonder why?"

Upon hearing the compliment Fang Hao offered, Prefect Liu accepted it without hesitation.

"Hahaha, Fang Yashi is indeed young and promising, and knows how to speak. Although I govern well, the Ba Kingdom's army is not far away. Now the trade route is blocked by the Ba Kingdom's army, and the road is not as safe as before, so the merchants have naturally left."

Upon hearing Prefect Liu say that the Ba Kingdom's army was not far away, Fang Hao was startled and almost showed a panicked expression.

After calming down, Fang Hao spoke again.

"In that case, I admire the Prefect even more. The Ba Kingdom's army is not far away, and now the four gates of the prefecture city are wide open. It is conceivable that the Prefect has a profound plan to deal with the Ba Kingdom's army. Congratulations!"

Upon hearing Fang Hao's words, Prefect Liu's expression immediately changed drastically, his eyes gleaming with intense light as he stared intently at Fang Hao.

Fang Hao remained unfazed, while also keeping a close eye on Prefect Liu.

When two people stare at each other, it tests their psychological resilience.

If Fang Hao makes any unusual movements or his eyes dart around at this moment, he will face certain death.