The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 570: King Zheng, One Word Determines Your Rise and Fall

Li Mi was very annoyed. The strong murderous aura could be clearly heard even from a hundred miles away.

He was conceited about his talent, vision, and ability in both civil and military affairs, and he also had a sharp tongue and a delicate mind. Although he had worked under Yang Xuangan before, he actually looked down on Yang Xuangan, thinking that this man just had a better background than himself, but was actually an ignorant and reckless man. If he had listened to his advice earlier, the world would have been different a long time ago, and he would not have ended up in a situation where his life and death were unknown.

He spent all his family wealth to make friends with heroes all over the world. Wang Bodang, Shen Luoyan, Zu Junyan and others came to join him. Even the Zheng family of Xingyang sent Zheng Fei to join their army.

He was well-informed and sharp-eyed. When Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was frightened by the wealthy northern families and fled to Jiangdu, he immediately began his own journey to dominate the world. He wanted to show his talents and ambitions, unify the world without any constraints, and ascend to the coveted supreme throne.

He chose Wagang, a place he liked very early on, and sent his trusted general and beloved disciple Wang Bodang to lurk there. Once the opportunity came, he would immediately act as a matchmaker to "invite" himself out of the mountain.

As expected, the reckless man Zhai Rang fell into the trap. He was delighted to treat himself as a guest of honor and ran towards the direction he wanted step by step according to his instructions.

He took in and annexed small groups of rebel forces to strengthen his prestige and strength, secretly allied with the Zheng family of Xingyang to plot against Zhang Xutuo, went down to Xingyang and looked towards Luokou in order to attack Luoyang, and then marched directly to Chang'an to establish the foundation of the emperor. If successful, he would be the undisputed overlord of the north.

But after taking Xingyang, he suddenly found himself in the same predicament as Yang Xuangan at the beginning, unable to take Luoyang!

Unlike Yang Xuangan's active offensive which was unfavorable, his situation was even more embarrassing. He couldn't even get to Luokou and was even trapped in Xingyang, becoming the passive defender. For an innovative and enterprising rebel army that had just emerged, this was definitely not a good thing.

Yang Xuangan had learned a lesson from the past. If he had been trapped in Xingyang, the consequences would have been disastrous. If he did not advance in the rebellion to fight for the world, he would have retreated. Taking a step back would not bring him a bright future, but would lead to eternal damnation. Yang Guang was never a magnanimous king.

Li Mi was sharp-eyed and soon discovered the difference between his uprising and Yang Xuangan's rebellion, and the main forces were different!

He had no power and influence, and the uprising relied on the Wagang rebels, whose lower class consisted of only some ignorant civilians. Most of the so-called leaders were gangsters. Only the elites he brought with him were the real elites. However, a good cook cannot cook without rice. These people were far inferior to the official troops under Yang Xuangan.

Even so, he still relied on his wisdom and ability to capture Xingyang City and expel Zhang Xutuo, the most powerful general of the Sui Dynasty and the nemesis of the rebel army. Unfortunately, he failed to kill him and he was allowed to escape to Luokou, blocking his throat to attack Luoyang, making him more embarrassed.

Having more people has its advantages, but naturally it also has its disadvantages. There is a shortage of food and fodder!

Li Mi was caught in a dilemma at this time. Because Luokou, the granary of the Sui Dynasty, was not taken, he had to consider where to collect grain. On one side was the people's hearts, and on the other side were the aristocratic families, but both were support that he could not lose.

At this time, a nursery rhyme emerged in Xingyang County.

Xingyang City, the kingdom of Zheng, has a long history dating back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

He turned his hand to chase away Suta, and covered his hand to suppress Wagang.

Li Mi knelt in the hall, and Zhai Rang lay at his feet.

He is worth tens of millions of taels and has ten full warehouses of food and fodder.

I ask you what you want, Yang Jialang of Northern Zhou.

Xingyang City, King of Zheng;

Zheng Wang, Zheng Wang;

One word can determine your rise and fall.

The three consecutive Kings of Zheng at the end of the nursery rhyme made Li Mi extremely annoyed, but the sentence "I will decide your rise and fall" shocked him and made him feel cold all over.

Originally, the Zheng family was the overlord of Xingyang City, holding nearly half of the power and most of the wealth of Xingyang City. It could almost be said that they had absolute power. Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty sent Zhang Xutuo, the most powerful general of the Sui Dynasty, to Xingyang as a general. This must have been a decision he had carefully considered.

He placed the Zheng family of Xingyang on the same level as the most powerful general of the Sui Dynasty, and even sent an extra royal family member to be the prefect of Xingyang, which shows how much he valued him. At the same time, he also took Zhang Xutuo's character into consideration and did not send him to Luoyang City, where there was a complicated network of aristocratic families. It can be said that he had good intentions.

The Zheng family had a huge influence in Xingyang County and controlled nearly half of the power in Xingyang City. Their tentacles had penetrated into every aspect of the city. If the Sui Dynasty had not been destroyed and the Xingyang prefect and the Tongshou had not suppressed them openly or secretly, they would not have become the Xingyang King who could decide the rise and fall of a country with a single word in the nursery rhyme. However, their strength was not bad at all, as evidenced by the fact that they were able to control Xingyang after Zhang Xutuo went on the expedition.

While joining forces with Li Mi to expel Zhang Xutuo and Yang Qing, he quietly eliminated his political enemies one by one and secretly controlled almost all the power in Xingyang City except military power. However, they did it very covertly, and it was impossible to see it without great wisdom and discerning eyes. Even Li Mi, who thought he was smart but actually had little experience in managing a household, did not notice it.

After all, the Zheng family of Xingyang not only sent money, food, intelligence, and cities, but also sent the children of the family to serve him. So Zheng Fei is indeed useful, and actively doing some dirty and dangerous things can be regarded as a statement.

If it weren't for this nursery rhyme, Li Mi might have really trusted and valued the Zheng family of Xingyang. However, when this nursery rhyme came out, he suddenly became alert. After a careful investigation, he found that he controlled less than 20% of the power in Xingyang City, and Zhai Rang controlled even less. The majority of the power had always been in the Zheng family.

If the Zheng family of Xingyang can join forces with me to expel Zhang Xutuo, then can I, who was defeated by Zhang Xutuo on the battlefield, resist their tactics?

When Shen Luoyan reported to Li Mi the financial, power and military strength of the Zheng family in the entire Xingyang County, Li Mi fell silent. The Wagang rebel army occupied almost all the towns in Xingyang County. More than 90% of the people in power in these towns were from the Zheng family, and most of the countryside that the Wagang army did not control was controlled by the Zheng family.

Li Mi, who was very conceited, received formal education since childhood, and aristocratic habits had long been ingrained in his bones. He took it for granted that aristocrats were the superiors and held power. This was his original idea, but when he became the head of the family, he found that power was dispersed in the hands of other aristocrats, and even exceeded that of himself, the head of the family (he never took Zhai Rang seriously), he found it difficult to accept.

Yang Xuangan hastily raised his army and still managed to reach Luoyang City. Although he failed to capture it after a long siege, except for Luoyang, he had a smooth journey in the early stage. What about himself?

Not only did they prepare for a long time, they also borrowed the shell of Wagang, and had the support of Guanlong, Shandong families, Buddhism, and Demonic Sects. At the same time, they quietly established relations with the Turkic alien race outside the Great Wall and borrowed two thousand Turkish wolf riders. You must know that the threat of cavalry in the north is much greater than that of infantry.

But even so, he did not produce any performance far exceeding Yang Xuangan's. Could it be that he was not even as good as that dandy boy?

The origin of the nursery rhyme is unknown, but the Zheng family of Xingyang remained silent on it, as if they tacitly agreed to it. What's more, many people even endorsed it and deliberately spread it. All of a sudden, many of the ruffians in the Wagang Army were dissatisfied, and the conflicts developed into friction, collisions and fights. The result was beyond everyone's expectations. The Wagang Army was at a disadvantage and was restricted everywhere.

At this time, the Zheng family manor in the countryside was attacked, and the branch members suffered heavy casualties, and all the food and wealth were looted, which made the main branch of the Zheng family furious. After learning about it, Li Mi hurried to find them. The Zheng family and Wagang worked together to investigate and actually found traces of Turkic cavalry at the scene.

Continuing the pursuit, a large amount of supplies were found in the Wagang Army. Zheng questioned them, but was told that these things were bought by the Wagang Army at a low price from what others said. The man said his surname was Li and was called Master Fan. No other information was known.

The remote branches of Zheng clan were attacked one after another. When they were preparing to work together to solve the problem, Zhang Xutuo's cavalry suddenly attacked, catching them off guard and almost catching all the middle and high-level officials of Zheng clan and Wagang clan who were responsible for the investigation. The Zheng clan was so scared that they fled back to Xingyang, and the Wagang army closed the city gates and was on guard.