Chapter 65: Extreme Measures

Admittedly, Miaofa's thoughts coincided completely with Gao Changsheng's.

However, completely subduing the old generals of the Duke of Liang within a short period of time was practically impossible.

Private soldiers and regular troops had entirely different meanings.

The former were privately funded and raised troops, remaining outside the imperial court's regulatory framework.

The latter were financed by the court, yet command over the troops rested in the hands of different individuals.

In terms of grand righteousness, however, the imperial court's forces ultimately answered to the Emperor.

Once regular troops rebelled, it was equivalent to a direct slap to the Emperor's face.

Should they happen to encounter a benevolent and virtuous emperor, these rebellious regular troops might still find a way to survive.

Yet if they fell into the hands of an emperor like the Divine Martial Emperor, who regarded imperial authority as everything, the lightest fate for the rebel army would be exile and imprisonment.

It was not entirely out of the question that all of them might be executed.

On the contrary, private soldiers posed no threat whatsoever to the Divine Martial Emperor.

Once the Duke of Liang was brought to justice, his private soldiers would instantly become a scattered mob of stragglers.

Since no one would be funding them anymore, they naturally could no longer form an effective combat force.

At most, they would scatter to various places and become mountain bandits and wandering outlaws.

Yet mountain bandits and wandering outlaws could generally only threaten local regions, posing no threat to the imperial court.

Consequently, most of the Duke of Liang's private soldiers and garrison troops had already been dismissed and sent home.

Only a small fraction were locked away in the Liangzhou City dungeon.

And this small fraction usually consisted of those among the private soldiers and garrison troops who held command authority or possessed a certain degree of prestige.

To some extent, this saved Gao Changsheng quite a bit of time.

"Shen Cuo, a native of Baijia Village in Liangzhou, served as a centenary commander of the Duke of Liang's private soldiers."

"Xiahou Ji, a member of the Xiahou clan in Liangzhou City, also served as a centenary commander."

"These two were personally promoted by the Duke of Liang. While they cannot quite be considered confidants, they command considerable prestige among the Duke of Liang's private soldiers."

"They are currently locked up in the dungeon."

Miaofa was riding a horse yet still managed to flip through the accounts.

"Only centenary commanders?"

Gao Changsheng asked casually.

"The records originally listed three chiliarch commanders as well, but they were marked with red ink by the Prefect of Liangzhou."

"Presumably, they were sent to Jinyong City and had their heads lopped off by the Emperor in a single decree."

Miaofa said with a shrug.

For a private army of five thousand men, reaching the rank of chiliarch was already the absolute ceiling.

It was evident that those three headless chiliarchs must have been the close confidants of the Duke of Liang.

"Dead is for the better."

"Given their relationship with the Duke of Liang, having those chiliarchs around would only make things harder to manipulate."

"As for those two called Shen Cuo and Xiahou Ji, have you figured out how to persuade them?"

Gao Changsheng said with an indifferent expression.

"According to the records, Shen Cuo has long since started a family, and with his wife, surnamed Zhao, they have raised a son and a daughter, alongside an elderly mother at home."

"If Your Highness wishes to deal with this man, we can start with Shen Cuo's family."

Miaofa said with a calm expression.

As soon as these words were spoken, Han Cong and Shi Meng immediately turned their gazes toward Gao Changsheng.

A faint trace of gravity lingered between the brows of both men.

Clearly, they harbored quite a few misgivings regarding Miaofa's strategy.

"Using family as leverage is indeed the simplest method."

"Yet it fails to truly win people over to one's cause."

"However, our time is limited; even if we wished to be meticulous, we probably wouldn't have that many opportunities."

"Still, we must ensure the safety of Shen Cuo's family."

Gao Changsheng said with a solemn expression.

Nowadays, the members under his command were growing increasingly numerous, and ensuring absolute loyalty from every single person to himself was inherently unrealistic.

Yet Gao Changsheng was the master, and whether it was Han Cong or Shi Meng, at the end of the day, they were his subordinates.

A master's attitude toward his subordinates would inevitably determine their loyalty.

If he used Shen Cuo's family as leverage against him today, he could resort to unprincipled means to threaten Han Cong and Shi Meng tomorrow.

Once a rift formed between him and his subordinates, their betrayal would become inevitable.

Stabbing him, the master, in the back at a critical juncture would be a truly fatal crisis.

He had no desire to plunge himself into a state of irrecoverable damnation over a mere Shen Cuo; that would truly be losing more than he gained!

"This Taoist priest understands."

"However, while Shen Cuo is easy to handle, the real difficulty lies with this Xiahou Ji."

"The Xiahou clan is one of the premier prominent families in Liangzhou."

"If we wish to subdue Xiahou Ji, we will probably have to deal with the Xiahou clan first."

"If Your Highness can secure the support of the Xiahou clan, that would be for the best."

"It's just that..."

Halfway through his sentence, even Miaofa began to hesitate.

"Just what?"

Gao Changsheng asked with displeasure.

"This Xiahou Ji occupies a rather awkward position within the Xiahou family."

"He is neither the legitimate heir nor the eldest son, yet he is highly valued by the head of the Xiahou family."

"Otherwise, he would never have entered the Duke of Liang's estate."

"The most fatal part, however, is that because Xiahou Ji was imprisoned, the legitimate eldest son of the Xiahou family has naturally come to power."

"With the situation in the Xiahou family being this complex, perhaps Your Highness should choose someone else instead!"

Even Miaofa could not help but want to back out.

What lay before Gao Changsheng was not merely these intricate interpersonal relationships.

There was also the problem of time.

Because Miaofa was unwilling to waste time on this matter.

"No, we choose him!"

Gao Changsheng chuckled and said.

"Since you also said that the Xiahou family is one of the premier families in Liangzhou,"

"If we can support Xiahou Ji in rising to power, what we stand to win is far more than mere private soldiers."

"If I wish to establish a firm foothold in the northern frontier in the future, Liangzhou must be my base camp."

"In that case, striving for the support of major families is a problem that can never be avoided."

"Rather than agonizing over it in the future, we might as well offer timely assistance while Xiahou Ji is in an unfavorable plight!"

Time was not kind to Gao Changsheng.

Yet Xiahou Ji's current predicament and the situation within the Xiahou family presented a rare opportunity.

If they missed this chance, once Xiahou Ji were to die an untimely death, securing the support of the Xiahou family afterward would not be nearly so easy.

Being able to accurately seize opportunities was also one of a person's strengths.

In this regard, Miaofa fell short compared to Gao Changsheng.

"Brilliant, Your Highness!"

Miaofa nodded in agreement as well.

With the decision made, the four of them immediately swung into action.

Gao Changsheng dispatched Han Cong to Baijia Village.

Since they intended to use Shen Cuo's family as leverage against him, they naturally needed to let Shen Cuo see the tangible proof.

Otherwise, it would just be empty talk.

Gao Changsheng had no wish to provoke Shen Cuo instead of successfully threatening him.

While doing so was despicable, it was also Gao Changsheng's helpless recourse.

Following that, the three of them made their way all the way into Liangzhou City.

Upon arriving at the prefectural office, they openly declared their identities.

Before long, a middle-aged man attired in official robes of the sixth rank came running over in a flurry of small steps.

"This humble official pays respects to Your Highness the Sixth Prince. Not knowing Your Highness was gracing us with your presence and failing to welcome you from afar, this is a grave crime!"

The prefect hurriedly offered a flattering smile and said.

Before entering the city, Gao Changsheng had already taken the initiative to investigate the prefect's background.

The man was named Zhou Wuji, and he had once served in the imperial court's Ministry of Rites.

Following the downfall of the Duke of Liang, the entire region of Liangzhou had been thoroughly purged by the Divine Martial Emperor.

Even the prefectural office had undergone a complete turnover of personnel.

It was precisely during that time that Zhou Wuji had been transferred to Liangzhou.

"Prefect Zhou need not stand on ceremony."

"This prince wishes to see Shen Cuo and Xiahou Ji. I must ask Prefect Zhou to lead the way."

Gao Changsheng dispensed with pleasantries and immediately stated his purpose.

"Your Highness wishes to see the rebel generals, but do you possess an imperial edict from His Majesty?"

"Without His Majesty's consent, this humble official would not dare to make arbitrary decisions."

"Moreover, this humble official is considering this out of good intentions for Your Highness. After all, Shen Cuo and Xiahou Ji are men of the Duke of Liang."

"Should someone report this to the imperial court and falsely accuse Your Highness of colluding with rebel generals, that would spell disaster!"