Chuang Wang reacted extremely quickly.
The moment of surprise on his face lasted no longer than the blink of an eye. Almost immediately, a warm smile spread across his face as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Mr. Li is a man of great learning," he said pleasantly. "When you first proposed the idea of not collecting grain taxes, the common people flocked to our banner as soon as they heard of it. The morale of our army improved greatly as well."
He nodded as if reaffirming his own belief.
"I am certain your idea must be correct. There must be a way to make it work. Those firelock rebels must simply be talking nonsense."
Li Yan almost choked on the praise.
He quickly shook his head, looking rather gloomy.
"After speaking with those people from the firelock faction, I feel that my own ideas are unrealistic. Their ideas, however, seem very reasonable."
The moment those words left his mouth, Chuang Wang's eyes narrowed slightly.
Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance also showed thoughtful expressions.
None of the three men spoke.
Yet the atmosphere between them suddenly turned strange.
Li Yan continued, unaware.
"Big Brother, on my way back just now, I thought about this again and again. The more I considered it, the more I felt those firelock rebels seem to be doing quite well."
"Their strength is formidable, and their influence is expanding. They can fight effectively, but their ideas about governing are also impressive."
He spoke slowly, as if thinking out loud.
"Their method of taxing the wealthy more while reducing the burden on the poor is actually an excellent solution to the people's livelihood. It is far more reliable than our idea of abolishing grain taxes altogether."
Li Yan hesitated for a moment before saying the words that had been circling in his mind.
"Perhaps we should consider learning from them… or even joining forces with them."
The smile on Chuang Wang's face widened even further.
"Mr. Li speaks very wisely," he replied calmly. "Let me think about this carefully."
"You infiltrated Jinan Prefecture and even fought with their people. You must be exhausted. Go and rest first."
Li Yan nodded.
"Yes, I should organize my thoughts as well."
He then clasped his fists toward Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance.
"Both of you are learned men with great ambition and wisdom. Please think about this matter as well."
Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance returned the salute.
"Brother Li, rest assured. We will consider it carefully."
Only then did Li Yan leave.
As he walked back to his tent, he kept knocking lightly on his own head, as if trying to shake loose the thoughts inside it. Once inside, he lay down with his head propped up, carefully replaying Liu Maopao's arguments in his mind.
After he left…
Song Xiance also stood up.
"I should also take some time to think about what Brother Li said," he murmured. "Perhaps I must calculate once more where Heaven's Mandate truly lies."
He clasped his fists politely and walked out of the tent.
The moment he disappeared outside, Chuang Wang's expression darkened instantly.
Niu Jinxing's face did not look any better.
"That man actually wants us to learn from those firelock rebels," Niu Jinxing said coldly.
Chuang Wang snorted.
"He did say one correct thing. He truly is naive."
Niu Jinxing leaned closer.
"Brother Chuang Wang, what those firelock rebels said must be nothing but pretty words. Tax the rich more? Who are they trying to fool?"
He sneered.
"Anyone who rises in rebellion does so to seize the world. Once the world falls into their hands, they themselves will become the wealthy. Why would they willingly give up the fat meat already in their grasp?"
"What a joke."
Chuang Wang's face grew even darker.
"But Li Yan actually believed that joke."
He shook his head.
"When he told me to show benevolence and righteousness before, I assumed he meant pretending to show benevolence. Yet he never said the word pretend."
Niu Jinxing slowly made a throat-cutting gesture with his hand.
"This man must be killed."
Chuang Wang's voice became low.
"He once helped me."
"If he is not killed," Niu Jinxing replied calmly, "our army's morale will collapse."
"Think about it. He will certainly tell our soldiers that abolishing grain taxes will not work. The soldiers admire him greatly. They will believe his words."
"Once that happens, they will begin to doubt you."
He paused.
"Our army barely gathered one hundred thousand men. With morale shaken, it could fall apart overnight."
Chuang Wang remained silent.
Niu Jinxing pressed on.
"Look at Song Xiance just now. He was already confused by Li Yan's words. He even said he must calculate Heaven's Mandate again."
"What if he calculates and concludes that Heaven favors those firelock rebels?"
"That would only create even more chaos."
Chuang Wang's eyes widened slightly.
That possibility genuinely startled him.
Niu Jinxing added quietly,
"And what if Song Xiance eventually sides with Li Yan?"
"In that case, Li Yan might replace you and become the new Chuang Wang himself."
That sentence finally broke Chuang Wang's patience.
His eyes turned cold.
"That man must die."
He lowered his voice.
"Think of a way to kill him and blame it on the firelock rebels. No one must know it was us."
"Otherwise the army's morale will still collapse."
Niu Jinxing smiled faintly.
"Leave it to me."
"I will invite him out for a walk. We will travel far from the main camp, find a quiet place, and drink together."
"Then I will kill him when the opportunity appears."
"As long as we are far enough away from camp, no one will know it was my doing."
"Afterward, I will return and say we encountered firelock rebels. Li Yan was shot dead by their firearms."
He spread his hands.
"No one will know the truth."
Chuang Wang nodded slowly.
"Good."
---
Meanwhile, Sun Chuanting arrived at Jinan with six hundred veteran frontier soldiers from Guyuan and more than four thousand newly recruited troops.
The Prefect of Jinan burst into tears the moment he saw the Minister of War personally leading reinforcements.
Recently, the forces of Chuang Wang had been active around Jinan Prefecture, frightening the poor prefect nearly out of his wits. For days he had waited anxiously for help.
Now that the Minister of War had finally arrived, the trembling heart lodged in his throat could finally settle down.
Sun Chuanting, however, had no time for emotional greetings.
The moment he entered the city, he immediately sent someone to summon Liu Maopao and the other men from Gao Family Village who had entered Jinan earlier to conduct operations.
Sun Chuanting got straight to the point.
"Gentlemen, what is the situation around Jinan?"
Liu Maopao smiled slightly.
"Everything is under control."
"Chuang Wang's little song is no longer popular inside Jinan city. We have mostly stabilized the larger towns nearby as well."
"But the surrounding countryside is another matter."
He sighed.
"The words no grain tax are simply too powerful among poor farmers. We cannot change their minds so easily."
"We try to reason with them, but they refuse to listen. In their eyes, the only good government is one that collects no taxes at all."
Sun Chuanting sighed softly and shook his head.
"In that case, there is no choice."
"We must defeat Chuang Wang first. After that, we can slowly reason with the farmers."
"Oh right," Liu Maopao suddenly said, remembering something.
He then recounted his entire conversation with Li Yan.
At the end, he laughed.
"That scholar must hold an important position in Chuang Wang's army…"
Before he could continue, the small golden statue of Dao Xuan Tianzun hanging on Sun Chuanting's chest suddenly spoke.
"Oh?"
"Liu Maopao, you said that man was a scholar who discussed the no grain tax policy with you?"
"Does he truly want to reform the system?"
Liu Maopao immediately bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Tianzun!"
"He is a reasonable man. After our discussion, he even seemed to agree with our taxation system. He believes it is better than Chuang Wang's policy of abolishing taxes."
Li Dao Xuan spoke calmly.
"That man… should be Li Yan."
The moment Sun Chuanting heard the name Li Yan, he remembered something.
Before leaving the capital to assume his post as Minister of War, Tianzun had told him that Chuang Wang had recently obtained a new strategist named Li Yan. Tianzun had also predicted that Li Yan would not truly fit within the rebel army and would eventually meet a tragic end.
He had even said that this man might still be saved.
Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting could not help but sigh.
"Liu Maopao… you told Li Yan these ideas a little too early."
Liu Maopao blinked.
"Too early?"
"Yes."
Sun Chuanting sighed again.
"If he carries your words back into Chuang Wang's army and keeps them to himself, perhaps nothing will happen."
"But if he speaks them openly…"
Sun Chuanting paused.
"It may bring him a fatal disaster."