He spoke these words because of the person. He had already discovered from Jiang Runqun's conversation that the man was quite arrogant, but somewhat ambitious but lacking in ability. For this kind of person, as long as you flatter him, you can make him so proud that he forgets his place.
Jiang Runqun was pleased to hear this, but he was not ready to agree immediately. He simply said, "Let me think about it some more. After all, Li Jun values my visit to Huichang City quite a bit."
"Lord Jiang is right, Li Jun values Huichang City." Gongsun Ming said indignantly, "He values Huichang City, but he doesn't value Lord Jiang, who is the lord of Huichang City. Putting aside the lord's great talent, Li Jun should have looked at the lord with respect just for the important position of Huichang City. But Li Jun is ungrateful and even casually placed the lord's concubines in his possession. How can such a vulgar and unrefined person be worthy of the lord's loyalty?"
These words deeply moved Jiang Runqun, and the resentment he felt when Li Jun reprimanded him that day welled up in his heart. He glared at Gongsun Ming for a long time without saying a word in rebuttal. Gongsun Ming pressed his advantage and said, "Now Li Jun heavily relies on Feng Jiutian, and all the people he employs are of humble origin. His policies are designed to exploit and oppress powerful families. The city lord only needs to provide some money and grain for supplies now, but after Li Jun returns, if he finds an excuse to demand land and troops from the city lord, or even forces the city lord to hand over Huichang City, then the city lord's palace and wealth will no longer belong to the Jiang family!"
These words sent a chill down Jiang Runqun's spine, striking at the very spot where he feared most. Since Feng Jiutian took power, most of the policies he implemented were aimed at protecting the poor and weak while suppressing the powerful. Although Jiang Runqun, due to his special status, could outwardly comply but inwardly defy them within his own jurisdiction, he would inevitably investigate once he learned that Li Jun had taken action against Chen Guoteng. The incident of sending Li Jun a beautiful woman, which had enraged him, was just like what had just happened—a feeling he never wanted to experience again.
“Li Jun is a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness in military strategy. No one but Commander Liu can withstand him.” Although he did not directly state his opinion, he had implicitly agreed with Gongsun Ming’s view. “I know that my troops are few and my generals are few, and I am no match for him.”
"Hahaha, please rest assured, City Lord." Gongsun Ming laughed heartily. This Jiang Runqun was much easier to deal with than he had imagined. It seemed that the powerful families of Yuzhou were all incompetent this generation. No wonder that brat Li Jun was able to unify Yuzhou in such a short time. However, his good luck had only just begun.
"Since Commander Liu has ordered me to contact you all, he must already have a foolproof plan to rid you of this great evil." After the laughter subsided, Gongsun Ming continued, "As long as City Lord Jiang agrees to give his full support, and we can also get help from the other three city lords, what is there to worry about in achieving this great undertaking?"
“In that case, I can rest assured.” Jiang Runqun slowly shrank back into the chair, his body seemingly shrinking by a third. He then said, “I can contact the other three city lords for you. We have an agreement to stand together through thick and thin.”
Gongsun Ming was slightly surprised when he heard this. It turned out that Jiang Runqun, who seemed mediocre, had some tricks hidden beneath his appearance. Although he thought such schemes were just petty tricks, they were better than none at all, which was more worrying.
Having secured Jiang Runqun's support, the other three city lords could be contacted by Jiang Runqun. After leaving the Jiang residence, Gongsun Ming decided to meet Peng Yuancheng. Although he intentionally belittled Peng Yuancheng when speaking to Jiang Runqun, both he and Liu Guang's instructions indicated that they valued this person highly.
Extraordinary people require extraordinary methods. Gongsun Ming pondered this, but the information he had on Peng Yuancheng was extremely limited. Judging solely from Tong Pei's opinion of him, this man was resourceful and shrewd. If he couldn't impress him with unexpected means, he feared Peng wouldn't easily agree.
"What?! Tong Pei and a fellow named Gongsun Ming are openly requesting an audience?" Upon hearing this news, Peng Yuancheng, who was drinking and making merry at home, was also taken aback. The Tong family had already been designated as unwelcome people in Yuzhou, and now they not only appeared in the city under his jurisdiction, but even brazenly came to his residence to submit their petitions for an audience. How could he not be surprised?
In fact, his intelligence network had also received news that Tong Pei had entered the jurisdiction, but he hadn't expected the other party to be so bold. If the other party had secretly sent someone to request an audience, he would have immediately driven them away, but the other party dared to ask for an audience so openly, which made him interested in meeting her.
"It seems the person who came with Tong Pei is quite a character. If it were Tong Pei, she wouldn't have the guts to do this. I'll test them," Peng Yuancheng thought to himself, and ordered, "Men, prepare about a hundred strong men to stand in formation, swords drawn. We need to give our guests a proper welcome!"
Tong Pei and Gongsun Ming waited for a long time before the steward at the door came out and said, "Please come in, both of you."
Tong Pei was filled with hesitation and unease. Peng Yuancheng was different from Jiang Runqun; he and the Tong family had always been at odds. Now, Peng Yuancheng had come to see him, and to discuss such important military matters. If they disagreed, he might be killed on the spot. As he walked, he stole glances at Gongsun Ming. Gongsun Ming strode confidently, as if he were strolling leisurely in a pavilion, not among hostile people. Seeing this, Tong Pei felt slightly relieved, but then his heart tightened again. Gongsun Ming had never dealt with Peng Yuancheng before, which was why he was so calm. Who knew if he would also become hesitant and timid when he met Peng Yuancheng?
Each with their own thoughts, the two men eventually entered the Peng residence. As soon as they entered the courtyard, the halberdiers on either side roared, their crossed halberds blocking their path. The clanging sound of the halberds striking each other sent a chill down their spines, and the halberdiers' shout startled them even more.
"Sign up and enter!" the halberd-wielders shouted in unison. Although they were speaking to the two men, they didn't look to the side, as if they hadn't seen them at all.
"They're trying to intimidate us first." This thought crossed both of their minds at the same time. Tong Pei looked at Gongsun Ming, seeking his opinion, but Gongsun Ming stopped and smiled faintly.
"Why have you two stopped moving forward? Are you afraid?" the steward asked with a mocking tone.
"Hahahaha..." Gongsun Ming ignored him completely, sat down on the ground with his knees crossed, and lifted his sleeves to say to Tong Pei, "Brother Tong, why don't you sit down and rest for a while?"
His sudden, whimsical suggestion left Tong Pei bewildered, but seeing that Gongsun Ming's expression was calm and he didn't seem to have lost his mind from fright, and considering that Liu Guang had said on their way here that everything should be done according to Gongsun Ming's wishes, he suppressed his doubts and sat down cross-legged as well. The snow had been falling incessantly, but the servants had diligently swept and cleaned, so the stone path in Peng Yuancheng's courtyard, though chilly, didn't appear overly dirty.
"After the snow has cleared, I climbed to a high place and looked into the distance. The landscape, adorned in red and white, was enchanting." Gongsun Ming recited a poem, a look of leisurely longing on his face. He said to Tong Pei, "Brother, I am from the south and have rarely seen snow. Whenever I read poems about the northern scenery, I was always puzzled. This time, the Chen Kingdom has experienced a snowfall unlike any other in a century, which has given you a real taste of the icy and snowy landscape. If the mild climate of Chen Kingdom is like this, I wonder what the scenery must be like in the far north, Lan Kingdom."
“Well… I’ve never been to the North. I’ve only heard that the snow there can be three feet deep in winter and never melts. In the far north, there are savages who build houses out of snow. Outside, the snow is swirling, but inside, it’s warm as spring. I’ve always been skeptical. How can a snow house be warm as spring? Even if it is warm inside, why doesn’t the snow house melt from the temperature inside?”
Although Tong Pei did not understand Gongsun Ming's meaning, she followed up on Gongsun Ming's words. Gongsun Ming smiled slightly and said, "This matter is indeed strange. The ancients said that reading a thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles is truly not an exaggeration."
Seeing that the two were talking loudly and oblivious to everyone else, refusing to take another step forward, the steward who had come to greet them became anxious. He gave a wink to a soldier, who then quietly moved to the back living room.
Gongsun Ming pretended not to see it, knowing that the soldier had gone to secretly report the situation to Peng Yuancheng and ask him for a decision. Sure enough, after a while, the soldier slipped back and whispered a few words in the steward's ear.
The manager forced a smile and said, "Mr. Tong, and this gentleman, did you come here just to indulge in idle chatter?"
"No, no." Gongsun Ming turned to him and laughed, "We came here to see this beautiful land, to see how it was lost to Lord Peng, and also to see who will get Lord Peng's fine head."
"How dare you!" Gongsun Ming could still utter such arrogant words amidst a mountain of knives and a forest of halberds, causing Peng Yuancheng and his subordinates to turn pale with fright.
“It is not us who are audacious, but Lord Peng and you all,” Gongsun Ming said without backing down, his words aggressive. The soldiers in the courtyard were not good at speaking and had not received Peng Yuancheng’s explicit orders, so they could not do anything to the two of them.
"Why do you say that, sir? Why are you getting entangled with these brave men here instead of going to see Lord Peng?" A man dressed as a staff member came out from the backyard, chuckling and bowing.