Chapter 148 Setting a Trap

In the military camp outside the city, Long Chen was sitting cross-legged in meditation while Zhang Xi kept watch outside.

A shadow flickered, and Feng He slipped into the tent from the darkness. Long Chen slowly opened his eyes.

"Aren't you afraid I might launch a surprise attack, my lord?" Feng He asked with a chuckle as he sat down.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Xi immediately rushed in, only to find Feng He sitting right next to Long Chen.

"How... how did you get in?" Zhang Xi demanded, a surge of annoyance welling up inside her. Yesterday, when Long Chen was targeted by assassins, she had failed to protect him properly, and now Feng He had managed to slip into the tent right under her nose without her noticing at all.

Long Chen shook his head, signaling her to remain outside.

With no other choice, Zhang Xi retreated from the tent and stood guard outside, nursing her silent anger.

"General Zhang is truly devoted to you, my lord. It reminds me of Long Chen from the original Long Family Army—he was just like that. All his subordinates were willing to go through fire and water for him." Feng He's eyes remained fixed on Long Chen, trying to gauge his reaction.

Without taking the bait, Long Chen simply asked, "Have you mapped out all their locations?"

Feng He pulled a map from his sleeve and said, "The Dark Guards' Wuming and the Imperial City Bureau's Hou Ping—their lodgings change frequently, but the rest of them have fixed locations."

"Crown Prince Li Chengtong has also sent men to Qianjiang County. They sought an audience with you this morning."

When entering the city in the morning, the stall owner's son had slipped a note to Long Chen, revealing that the chef at the governor's estate was an agent of the Imperial City Bureau. Feng He had been watching from not far away at the time.

Long Chen smiled faintly. "The internal factions of Southern Liang are far from a monolith. Li Yuanying wants to kill me to claim credit, hoping to bolster his bid for the crown prince position."

"To protect his status, Crown Prince Li Chengtong will inevitably try to undermine him. That actually works to my advantage."

Long Chen had anticipated that Li Chengdao would send assassins to intercept him, but Li Chengtong throwing a wrench into the works was a pleasant surprise.

Feng He gave a dry chuckle. "Must be a family trait. Didn't Li Chengdao seize the throne through usurpation himself?"

Like father, like son; when the predecessors set a crooked example, the descendants naturally follow suit. Internal strife was standard operating procedure for the Li family.

"How are the Three Patriarchs?" Long Chen asked.

When they left the governor's estate, Xu Zhi and Wang Zhong had not been severely poisoned, but Long Chen knew the Imperial City Bureau's bone-corroding poisons were lethal, so the two of them certainly wouldn't be faring well.

Feng He reported, "Xu Zhi's voice will likely be ruined. Wang Zhong was initially revived, but his intestines had rotted away; he just died. His eldest son, Wang Li, has declared that he wants to hunt you down for revenge, my lord."

Long Chen laughed innocently. "What does that have to do with me? The Imperial City Bureau poisons them, and I take the blame?"

The Imperial City Bureau was clearly the one behind the poisoning, yet Wang Li's son wanted to exact vengeance on Long Chen. What kind of twisted logic was that?

Feng He smiled helplessly. "His old man is dead; he has to find someone to hold accountable, or else who is he supposed to take revenge against?"

Long Chen chuckled. "Wang Li is just hot-headed. Since Xu Zhi isn't dead, he'll talk some sense into him."

"Since the old man is dead and needs to be avenged, I'll just hand his enemies right over to him. Tomorrow, I'll ride the momentum and let them tear each other apart."

This was Long Chen's grand strategy: make the three rival factions slaughter one another while he reaped the profits.

The Dark Guards, the Imperial City Bureau, and the Three Patriarchs were all formidable forces, and all of them were enemies to Long Chen.

If he were to go to war against all three factions simultaneously, even a man of iron wouldn't have enough substance to withstand their blows.

Therefore, Long Chen had pretended to be a corrupt official, demanding wealth from the Three Patriarchs so that the two sides would appear to be in cahoots.

Next, Long Chen had leaked that Jing Tianlie had dispatched Dark Guards into the city, claiming these agents had already discovered the bribery and the collusion between Long Chen and the Three Patriarchs with sea pirates. By agitating the Three Patriarchs into sealing off Qianjiang County, he could wipe out both the Dark Guards and the Imperial City Bureau in one fell swoop.

The Three Patriarchs couldn't tell the difference between the Dark Guards and the Imperial City Bureau anyway, so Long Chen could easily lump them all together.

That had been the original plan.

Then came the assassination attempt by Bai Tingting, which further heightened the friction between Long Chen, Bai Qiuolian, and Jing Tianlie, allowing Long Chen to push forward with his subsequent plans even more naturally.

Yesterday's poisoning incident added another layer of bitter enmity between the Three Patriarchs and the Imperial City Bureau. For the Wang family in particular, the murder of a father was an irreconcilable blood debt. Long Chen even began to suspect that the Imperial City Bureau was intentionally assisting him from behind the scenes.

A completely deadlocked game had somehow been masterfully turned into a winning streak.

Perhaps this was simply the protagonist's halo at work!

With a tone of genuine admiration, Feng He said, "Your methods are truly brilliant, my lord. To reverse the entire situation in just two days when the odds were completely stacked against you—choosing to follow you was the right decision."

This was the first time Feng He had ever witnessed such master-level planning, playing three major factions right in the palm of his hand.

Long Chen gave a light laugh. "You are the crucial piece. Without your intelligence reports, my plan could never have been put into motion. As for the Three Patriarchs' estate, take whatever you want when we take it down! Consider it your reward."

Overjoyed, Feng He cupped his fists and bowed. "You are truly magnanimous, my lord!"

Through his relentless scouting over the past few days, Feng He knew that while the Three Patriarchs' wealth might not rival an entire nation, they were easily wealthier than entire provinces.

Once the Three Patriarchs were eliminated and Qianjiang County secured, they would have the funds needed to recruit troops. At last, he would be able to build his own army, and the legendary Long Family Army would rise again.

That elite force that had once swept across the world and made rival warlords tremble in fear was about to return!

"Off you go. Keep a tight, unblinking watch on the Dark Guards and the Imperial City Bureau tonight. If there are any unusual movements, report to me immediately."

Feng He cupped his fists, slipped out of the tent, and vanished into the night.

While Feng He's martial arts were inferior to the Dark Guards, and his proficiency with poisons and hidden weapons couldn't match the Imperial City Bureau, his intelligence-gathering skills were peerless. Long Chen only deployed him for scouting, never for direct combat.

The tent suddenly fell quiet, and Zhang Xi immediately ducked back inside to check on him.

"Has he left?" Zhang Xi asked, lowering her head as she stepped through the flap.

With the weather turning slightly warmer, Zhang Xi was wearing somewhat lighter attire. As she leaned forward to enter, the deep cleavage between her breasts was prominently exposed, sending a sudden surge of excitement through Long Chen.

"Why does it feel like they've gotten bigger again?" Long Chen couldn't help remarking.

Zhang Xi walked in, sat down, and glanced down at her chest with a worried expression. "No way, bigger again? Don't scare me!"

Reaching out to test his observation, Long Chen said with certainty, "Mhm, they definitely grew a bit."

Zhang Xi sighed. "Looks like I'll have to go on a diet."

Long Chen chuckled. "What diet? They're wonderful just the way they are. I like them."

Pouting, Zhang Xi muttered, "You're incorrigible!"

Having had his fun, Long Chen released Zhang Xi and said, "Go fetch Dugujiali."

Straightening her breastplate and smoothing down her outer tunic, Zhang Xi asked, "What for? Am I not enough for you? Do you need Dugujiali to give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation again?"

Long Chen gave an awkward laugh. "This is business."

With a disdainful scoff, Zhang Xi muttered under her breath, "As if you even know what business is."

She rose and left the tent, returning shortly after with Dugujiali in tow.

"My lord," Dugujiali greeted him, a faint blush of embarrassment lingering on her face.

During the artificial respiration, Long Chen had bitten her—albeit only very gently.

"Have all troops prepare for battle. Tomorrow, we enter the city to fight. Make sure everyone wears face coverings and gloves," Long Chen ordered.

He did this as a precaution against poison; the lethal agents used by the Imperial City Bureau were not to be trifled with.

"Are we going to war with the Three Patriarchs?" Dugujiali asked.

Long Chen shook his head. "No, tomorrow they will be our comrades-in-arms."

Surprised, Dugujiali asked, "Didn't you say they colluded with sea pirates, my lord? Why would we become comrades with pirates?"

Long Chen explained, "Tomorrow, we will join forces with the Three Patriarchs to besiege the agents of the Dark Guards and the Imperial City Bureau. Thus, the Three Patriarchs are temporary allies."

Nodding in understanding, Dugujiali said, "Understood. I will go make the preparations at once."

She hurried out of the tent.

Watching Dugujiali's retreating figure, Zhang Xi teased, "My lord, she's too embarrassed because you stole her first kiss."

With an innocent expression, Long Chen protested, "The situation was critical back then..."

Zhang Xi scoffed, "Critical my foot! Your swimming skills are top-notch, what was remotely critical about it? You just wanted to take advantage of her!"