Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1140 Chaos Among Powerful Families, Panic in Jiangdong

As soon as Zhang Zhao stepped into the mansion, Zhang Hong, Lü Meng, and the others who were already waiting in the hall all stood up, their eyes filled with anxiety. Zhang Hong was the first to ask, "Mr. Zibu, has the old lady made a decision?"

Zhang Zhao took off his dusty hat, sat down in a chair, and sighed deeply: "Alas, I didn't even see the old lady. General Cheng Pu was guarding the door and wouldn't let us in no matter what. He just said that political affairs were to be left to us, and military affairs would be handled by the three old men."

Lu Meng frowned, his hand on the table tightening slightly: "So, the old lady tacitly approves of Zhou Lang and General Meng Qi's actions?"

Zhang Zhao tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his gaze deep: "In my opinion, Ma Chao and Zhou Yu are probably beyond our control. Since they have already made their move in Wu County, this battle is likely unavoidable."

The hall fell silent for a moment, broken only by the occasional crackling of the candlelight. Zhang Hong's expression was grave: "If we really have to resort to force, Moling, being in a strategic location, will likely be the first to bear the brunt."

Zhang Zhao looked up at him, his tone cautious: "To be on the safe side, I'm thinking it would be better to move the family members of our clan away from Moling first. This place is too close to Wu County, and if war breaks out, we will inevitably be affected."

"Where to move to?" Lü Meng asked urgently.

“If we’re going to go, let’s go somewhere far away.” A resolute glint flashed in Zhang Zhao’s eyes. “Nanhai County. The war there has just been quelled, and it’s relatively safe for now. If it really comes to the point where we can’t resist anymore, we can retreat to Nanhai and rely on its natural defenses to hold our ground.”

Zhang Hong looked troubled: "But there are many old and young people in the clan, and a long-distance migration is not an easy task. I'm afraid many people are unwilling to leave their ancestral land."

Zhang Zhao was well aware of the difficulties involved, but given the pressing situation, he remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Let's discuss it with our clansmen first. Those who can leave should try to leave."

However, just as Zhang Hong had predicted, most of the clan members were attached to their homeland and unwilling to leave, so the matter was eventually dropped.

A few days later, news came from Wu County that the situation had become clearer.

Quan Cong and Xue Zong were captured. Quan Cong was beheaded by Ma Chao, and Xue Zong surrendered. The entire Wu Commandery was pacified.

Within Wu County, after a period of reorganization, things had gradually calmed down. Those forces that had secretly colluded with powerful families and acted as their henchmen were all uprooted, their property confiscated, and their land distributed to the common people. On the contrary, those families that had always been law-abiding and had never attached themselves to the powerful were also ordered to give up a portion of their land and open their family libraries to the common people.

The people of the city were overjoyed at the sight. In the past, those powerful families had bullied the common people, and they dared not speak out against them. Now that the families had been overthrown, their long-suppressed resentment could finally be released. In the streets and alleys, children chased and played, laughing and frolicking, while the elderly sat together, discussing the benefits of the new policies, their faces showing long-lost smiles.

The heads of the powerful families in Jiangdong were restless and gathered at Zhang Zhao's residence. The atmosphere in the hall was so heavy that it was almost palpable.

"Master Zibu," the head of the Gu family, unable to contain himself, spoke first, his tone accusatory, "you are the backbone of our Jiangdong family, yet you have secretly transferred the family's assets and relatives to Nanhai County. Could it be... that you are so afraid of Ma Chao and Zhou Yu?"

The other family heads echoed this sentiment, their gazes all falling on Zhang Zhao with anxiety and confusion.

Zhang Zhao slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Don't you even have this much sense of crisis?" He glanced at everyone and said sharply, "Do you think you can rest easy by clinging to these fields and family fortunes? When the enemy is at the gates, will these things be able to stop the sword or repel the enemy?"

"You are mistaken, Zibu Gong!" Lu Meng, the most impatient of them all, retorted stubbornly, "Chen Wu and Xu Sheng have already led their troops back to reinforce us. We now have enough troops to fight Zhou Yu and Ma Chao! Your advance retreat will only cause panic among the people in the city."

Zhang Hong nodded quickly: "Yes, Zibu Gong, they have just arrived in Lujiang and their foothold is not yet firm. We only need to set up an ambush outside Lujiang City and annihilate them within Lujiang County, and Moling will be as stable as Mount Tai. Your actions are more likely to shake people's morale."

Zhang Zhao sneered, his eyes sharp as knives: "As steady as Mount Tai? Just look at this city of Moling. It's completely guarded by those old bastards Cheng Pu and Huang Gai. We can't even get through the city gates! They're supposed to be guarding the city, but in reality, they've already been secretly colluding with Zhou Yu. The winds in the city have already shifted!"

He paused, his tone softening slightly but carrying an undeniable resolve: "Why don't we transfer our assets and family first, leaving ourselves a way out? If we really reach a point where there's nothing left to defend, at least we still have Nanhai County to go to, which is better than sitting here and waiting to die!"

The hall fell silent. The family heads looked at each other, Zhang Zhao's words like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing any remaining hope in their hearts. Yes, the attitudes of Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others had indeed become ambiguous lately. If what Zhang Zhao said was true, then Moling City was no longer their support.

After a long silence, the head of the family whispered, "What Master Zibu said... could it be true?"

Zhang Zhao closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "Believe it or not, the decision is yours. I, Zhang Zhao, will not gamble the lives of my entire clan on this illusory peace."

Having said that, he stood up, flicked his sleeves, leaving behind a group of family heads looking at each other in bewilderment and in a state of utter confusion, and turned to walk into the inner hall—where the core family members and the most important assets of the family were waiting to set off for the south.

As soon as Zhang Zhao stepped into the inner courtyard, all eyes in the hall turned to him, the atmosphere thick with tension. One elderly man, his hair and beard half-white, stepped forward and bowed to Zhang Hong beside him, saying, “Mr. Zhang, look at Mr. Zibu’s attitude; he clearly sensed something. He’s always been cautious, but this time he’s so insistent on moving us… what should we do?”

Zhang Hong frowned deeply. After listening, he stamped his foot heavily, making the blue brick floor seem to tremble. He said in a deep voice, "When has Zibu's political acumen ever been wrong? Back when Sun Ce and Ma Chao pacified Jiangdong, how many families were able to survive? It was all thanks to him mediating between the two sides and protecting our families and properties. Now that he has shown such concern, there must be a reason!"

He glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the heads of the various families in the hall, and said decisively, "In my opinion, we must act immediately! Each family should first take stock of the elderly and children of their clan and their important possessions, and then move them to the South China Sea or Yuzhang County tonight—the terrain there is relatively safe, and we can temporarily avoid the storm. I have already had twenty large ships prepared, and they will set sail at midnight tonight. Make sure your family members are on board first!"

As he spoke, he turned to Lü Meng, who was clad in armor, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes: "General Lü, Ma Chao and Zhou Yu's armies have now headed towards Lujiang. Their forces are still weak, and this is the perfect opportunity to counterattack. You lead the elite troops to guard the key passages of Lujiang and make sure to annihilate them within Lujiang's borders! You fight valiantly on the front lines, while we settle our families in the rear, supporting each other from all sides."

Zhang Hong paused, then clenched his fist: "If you can succeed in Lujiang, we won't need to travel so far; even if things go wrong, we have our families in Nanhai and Yuzhang as backup, and we have the confidence to make a comeback. This move must be played carefully!"

Lu Meng clasped his hands in greeting and replied, "Rest assured, Mr. Zhang, this humble general will immediately muster his troops and rush to the aid of Lujiang! I will certainly live up to your trust and will surely crush their morale in Lujiang, preventing them from advancing an inch!"

Upon hearing this, the panicked people in the hall gradually calmed down and stood up, bowing and saying, "We will return to our residences to make arrangements immediately!" In an instant, footsteps and calls echoed throughout the hall, and the previously stagnant air finally began to flow with life.

Saying that they would pack up their clansmen and valuables and evacuate first sounds easy, but putting it into practice is more difficult than moving mountains and filling seas.

The prominent families of Jiangdong had lingered here for generations, their mansions connected to ancestral halls, their fields scattered across the countryside. Many of the elders had lived here from youth to old age, their very being etched into the very bones of this land. Accustomed to their ornate mansions, surrounded by servants, and accompanied by song and dance at banquets, they had never experienced the hardship of leaving their homeland. Now, to ask them to abandon their ancestral property and take their families to remote places like Yuzhang and the South China Sea—Yuzhang being mountainous and rife with miasma; the South China Sea hot and humid, far from the central government—the mere thought of it filled the clan with resentment.

"Why should we leave?" The eldest son of the Gu family patriarch smashed a teacup, shards of celadon scattering all over the floor. "My Gu family owns more farmland in Wu County than the government's granaries. Are we going to move to the South China Sea to drink the sea breeze?"

"Exactly! Aren't Zibu Gong and Zhang Hong worrying too much? No matter how powerful Ma Chao and Zhou Yu are, can they really destroy the foundation we've built up over generations?" The old lady of the Lu family, leaning on her cane, cried out to the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall, "I'd rather die in my own ancestral home than move!"

While suppressing the resistance within their clans, the heads of each family ordered their servants to pack up their valuables. Gold and silver jewelry were to be boxed, ancient books and paintings were to be wrapped in cotton, and even the silks in the storerooms and the rice in the granaries were to be taken away. In an instant, the once orderly mansions of noble families were turned into chaos: servants carried heavy boxes and bumped around in the corridors, women held jewelry boxes and cried, and stewards shouted to count the items, but there were always some cunning clansmen who deliberately made things difficult, either saying that a jade pendant was missing or that the carriage was not luxurious enough, and they dragged their feet and refused to move.

This chaos quickly spread to the common people. Already uneasy due to Sun Quan's prolonged absence from the city, rumors circulated in the streets and alleys that something had happened to their lord, or that the Xiliang cavalry would soon crush Jiangdong. Every household lived in fear. Now, seeing powerful families packing their valuables overnight and rushing south in a continuous stream of carriages and horses seemed to confirm those terrifying rumors.

"Even the powerful families are fleeing; could it be that war is really about to break out?"

"I've heard that Ma Chao is a ruthless killer; he slaughtered a million people on the grasslands back in the day!"

"Run! It'll be too late if you wait any longer!"

Panic spread like wildfire. People fled to the countryside with their families, only to find local landlords also packing up their valuables; merchants hurriedly closed their shops, stuffing copper coins into earthenware jars and burying them in their yards; even the soldiers guarding the city became distracted, frequently frowning as they gazed south. Grain prices in the market rose three times a day, and cloth, salt, and iron were looted in droves. The once prosperous city of Moling was, within days, tinged with the panic of impending doom.

The chaos in Jiangdong was no longer a hidden undercurrent, but had fully surged into the open. The entanglements of powerful families, the flight of the common people, and the sporadic battle reports from the distant Lujiang battlefield intertwined, like a net that tightened ever tighter, suffocating everyone.