In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"What a brilliant tactic... truly brilliant..." Yang Guozhong gritted his teeth, a cold glint in his eyes. "I, Yang Guozhong, have spent my whole life playing the hawk, never imagining that I'd end up having my eyes pecked out by this little beast!"

"Your Excellency, the eldest son now holds considerable wealth and a private army in Yaozhou, and has become an uncontrollable force," the advisor said worriedly. "Moreover, he dared to incite a mob to confront the prefectural government head-on. If things escalate and the court investigates, it may implicate the Prime Minister's residence."

"Implicated?" Yang Guozhong sneered. "He severed all ties with me in front of the entire court! He's showing off! He's telling me that Yang Xuan can thrive just as well without me, Yang Guozhong!"

Yang Guozhong took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He knew that it was pointless to dwell on Yang Xuan's past scheming now.

What truly terrified him was that the "ironclad camp" Yang Xuan had established in Yaozhou had already gained the ability to influence the situation in Jiannan Circuit.

If this power cannot be used by him, then it must be utterly destroyed.

"Send a message to Xianyu Zhongtong." A ruthless glint flashed in Yang Guozhong's eyes. "Tell him that that little bastard in Yaozhou has crossed the court's bottom line. Have him secretly pass a message to Helan Jin of the Zhechong Prefecture: if Helan Jin can eradicate that little bastard completely, I, the Prime Minister, will decide to give him 20% of the salt profits from Qing'ao Well!"

"Prime Minister, are you trying to..." The advisor was startled. Was he using someone else to do his dirty work?

"Since he likes playing with fire so much, then I'll add some more fuel and see if he can survive this fire!" Yang Guozhong said coldly.

……

At the same time.

Chang'an City, the Eastern Palace.

Crown Prince Li Heng was sitting behind his desk, holding a secret report about Yaozhou in his hand.

Li Heng's expression was very solemn, and his advisor Li Bi was standing respectfully to the side.

"Your Highness, Yang Xuan's actions in Yaozhou are utterly audacious and reckless," Li Bi said softly. "He privately raised an army, controlled the salt and iron industries, and incited mobs to force the prefectural government to retreat. This is no ordinary county magistrate; he is clearly a warlord who controls his own army."

Li Heng put down the secret report, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and fell into deep thought.

"That old scoundrel Yang Guozhong has always controlled the court and suppressed the Crown Prince. I originally thought that his eldest son's madness at the Hua'e Xianghui Tower was just a farce within the Yang family. I never expected that this kid would be a venomous snake lurking in the shadows."

A glint of light flashed in Li Heng's eyes.

"Li Bi, do you think Yang Xuan has truly broken with Yang Guozhong, or is this a deliberate ploy by Yang Guozhong to cultivate his own private army in Jiannan Circuit?"

Li Bi pondered for a moment before replying, "Your Highness, I believe the break is genuine. Yang Xuan's behavior before the Emperor and Yang Guozhong's subsequent ruthlessness do not seem feigned. Moreover, Yang Xuan's actions in Yaozhou were akin to dancing on a knife's edge; the slightest misstep could have resulted in the execution of his entire family. Yang Guozhong is shrewd and calculating; he would not take such a risky step."

"If he really breaks with Yang Guozhong..." Li Heng's lips curled into a meaningful smile, "the enemy of my enemy may become my friend."

"Does Your Highness mean we should try to win over Yang Xuan?" Li Bi frowned slightly. "But he is, after all, a member of the Yang family, and his actions are too reckless, like a mad dog, which could easily backfire."

"A mad dog is good. A mad dog will bite as long as you give it a bone." Li Heng stood up, walked to the map, and his gaze fell on the location of Yaozhou in Jiannan Road.

"Yang Guozhong must have received the news by now. He will absolutely not tolerate this rebellious son escaping his control. Soon, there will be a good show to watch in Jiannan Road," Li Heng said with a sneer. "Order our spies in Jiannan Road to closely monitor all movements in Yaozhou. If Yang Xuan can survive this storm..."

Li Heng paused, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Then I wouldn't mind handing him an even faster knife, so he can bite Yang Guozhong hard!"

......

Eighty li outside Yaozhou City lies the Zhechongfu camp.

Inside the central command tent, the atmosphere was so oppressive it seemed as if water could drip from it.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The thick leather whip, soaked in salt water, lashed violently across a person's back, producing a chilling thud.

Scarface Captain Li Kuang was stripped of his shirt and tightly bound to a wooden stake in the tent.

His back was already a bloody mess, with his skin torn and bleeding, but this man who had fought on the border for many years gritted his teeth and didn't even let out a scream.

In the very center of the tent sat a tiger-skin chair, where a middle-aged general of extremely imposing stature sat.

He was dressed in black casual clothes, toying with two iron walnuts in his hands, and his triangular eyes gleamed with a cruel and violent light.

This man was none other than Helan Jin, the highest military commander of Yaozhou Zhechong Prefecture.

"Fifty lashes. Are you done?"

He Lanjin's voice was deep and hoarse, like two rusty iron pieces rubbing against each other.

"Reporting to the Commandant, the beating is over." The soldier who carried out the execution, covered in sweat, put away his whip and respectfully stepped aside.

He Lan stood up and slowly walked to Li Kuang, looking down at his face, which was contorted with pain.

"Do you know why I hit you?" Helan Jin asked coldly.

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate has failed in his duties and has disgraced our Zhechong Prefecture." Li Kuang gasped for breath, sweat mixed with blood streaming down his back.

"Wrong!" Helan Jin suddenly raised his foot and kicked Li Kuang hard in the wound.

"Ah—" Li Kuang finally couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

"I hit you not because you failed to retrieve that batch of salt, but because you were actually intimidated by a weak and ignorant scholar!" Helan Jin roared angrily. "You led five hundred regular soldiers, and you were forced to give way by a few words and a few scraps of paper! You not only tarnished the prestige of the Zhechong Prefecture, you practically trampled my face on the ground!"

"Commander, please calm down..." A deputy general quickly stepped forward to mediate. "That Magistrate Yang has over three hundred well-equipped and fierce soldiers under his command, and he has also produced the prefectural government's approval document, invoking the laws of the Tang Dynasty and the Right Chancellor's Office to intimidate people. Commander Li is just afraid that things will escalate and become difficult to handle."

"The laws of the Tang Dynasty? The Right Chancellor's Office?"

Helan Jin, enraged, laughed coldly. He turned and walked to the commander's desk, grabbed an unsigned secret letter, and slammed it hard into his deputy's face. "Look at this yourselves! This is a secret letter that arrived last night from Chang'an by fast horse!"

The lieutenant hurriedly caught the secret letter, glanced at it quickly, and his expression changed drastically.

"This...this is..."

"That's right, it was secretly delivered by someone from the Jiannan Military Governor's Office, and the person behind it is none other than the so-called Right Chancellor Yang Guozhong!"

A glint of greed and ruthlessness flashed in Helan Jin's eyes.

"That old fox Yang Guozhong has wanted to kill this rebellious son for a long time, but he just couldn't find an excuse. Now, he's secretly given the order: if we can completely eradicate that brat surnamed Yang, we can keep 20% of the salt profits from Qing'ao Well!"

Upon hearing this, the generals in the tent gasped, their eyes flashing with fanatical greed.

They had long heard about how terrifying the output of Qing'ao Well was.

Even if it's just a 20% share, that's still an astonishing fortune of 10,000 strings of cash a month!

With this money, their Zhechong Prefecture could recruit soldiers and horses, and even roam freely in Jiannan Road.

"Commander, now that Chang'an has given the order, what are we waiting for?" A hot-tempered lieutenant drew his sword. "This humble general will muster a thousand soldiers and march straight into Yanjing County, chopping that brat surnamed Yang into mincemeat!"

"Fool!" Helan Jin glared at the lieutenant. "Do you think this is about killing barbarians on the border? Yanjing County is, after all, a county seat of the Tang Dynasty, and Yang Xuan is an official appointed by the court. Although our Zhechong Prefecture is not afraid of him, if we lead troops to attack the county seat without cause, that's a capital offense of rebellion! At that time, that old fox Yang Guozhong will definitely be the first to jump out and make us the scapegoat!"

"So what should we do? Are we just going to watch that kid pocket tens of thousands of dollars every day?"

The lieutenant asked, unwilling to give up.

Helan Jin sat back down in the tiger-skin chair, continuing to toy with the two iron walnuts in his hands, a sinister smirk playing on his lips.

"Killing doesn't necessarily require a knife. I have plenty of ways to make local civil officials wish they were dead."

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Helan Jin's eyes: "Pass on my orders! From today onwards, under the pretext of 'preventing attacks from the southwestern barbarians and searching for enemy spies,' establish the highest-level military checkpoints on all major official roads, waterways, and passes leading from Yaozhou to the outside world!"

"Remember, all the passages! Don't let even a dog out!"

"Especially the convoys from Yanjing County. If they dare to get close to the military trucks, no need for words, fire arrows first, then capture them! I want to see if Yang Xuan's two hundred dan of refined salt that he can't transport out every day will end up as gold or a pile of useless stones!"