Chapter 105 Strategist Xun Yu, The Plan to Use One Tiger to Devour Another

At first, Zhao Zhouling didn't believe it. How could the Bai family head do something like betraying his teammates right after making an agreement?

But once he saw the handwriting on the letter, he couldn't help but believe it.

The letter paper used was the Bai family's unique white crane paper.

The cost of making one sheet of this White Crane Paper is thirty taels of silver. The entire sheet of paper is made of cowhide and sheep hair, making it extremely sturdy. The paper is printed with a lifelike crane shape and is bound with silver and gold threads. Only someone of great renown whom the Bai family regards can obtain this White Crane Paper for sending messages.

Because this white crane paper is unique to the Bai family and is of the highest standard, even high-ranking officials in the imperial court would carefully collect any letter written on it.

This thing not only symbolizes a noble status, but also the importance that the Bai family head attaches to him. It is an unparalleled collectible treasure, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a rare and exquisite work of art.

Yet this very item, which the Bai family has always kept secret, has now fallen into Liu Fu's hands.

Looking at the writing on the white crane letter, it was indeed the handwriting of the Bai family head, and the ink was still wet, clearly indicating that it was sent over immediately after it was written.

Upon seeing the carrier pigeon in Liu Fu's hand when he took out the white crane letter, the magistrate of Zhao Prefecture already knew what was going on.

No matter how fast a person is, how can they possibly be faster than a homing pigeon with wings?

"That old scoundrel Bai has gone too far! You bastard!"

The magistrate of Zhao Prefecture was so angry that he jumped up and down on the city tower. At this moment, he wanted to tear the white crane letter paper in two, but he forgot that the white crane letter paper was made of a mixture of cowhide and sheep hair, and was also made of silver and gold threads.

This thing cannot be torn by external force, and ordinary water and fire can hardly damage it. It is truly paper that can be passed down for thousands of years, unless it is burned at extremely high temperatures.

Seeing that it couldn't be torn up, Magistrate Zhao clenched the letter tightly in his hand, then glared angrily at Liu Fu below the city and the thousands of troops behind him. He was already secretly lamenting his misfortune and regretting his actions.

The current magistrate of Zhao Prefecture is like an idiot who joined the National Revolutionary Army in 1949. He had just boarded the ship and hadn't even gotten his footing when the heavenly army that was going to destroy him came to claim his life.

"well……!"

The magistrate of Zhao Prefecture sighed, looking down at Liu Fu, and trembled with anger.

He had made an agreement with the Bai family head, and after the Bai family head made so many promises, he turned against him.

Just now on the city wall, he had already said all the harsh words to Liu Fu. The prince came with the imperial seal and the imperial sword, but he dared to refuse him entry and even cursed him, and even threatened to use his troops against the prince.

If Liu Fu were to enter the city, he would surely be dragged to the execution ground and beheaded for the crime of having his entire family executed.

At this point, death was inevitable, and there was no way out.

Now that he knew his fate, Zhao Zhouling gritted his teeth, and his anger immediately turned towards the Bai family head.

"You old scoundrel, if you hadn't tricked me, how could my promising future have been ruined by you?"

"I was originally a dignified prefect, a powerful official in charge of a region of the imperial court, and you actually tricked me into becoming a rebel! Humph!"

If you can't beat Liu Fu, then beat the Bai family head. Even if you die, you'll drag your enemy down with you and send him to the underworld. That way, you'll have someone to keep you company when you die.

The magistrate of Zhao Prefecture had already secretly made up his mind. Looking at the thousands of soldiers below the city wall, he gritted his teeth and ordered his soldiers:

"Recently, some bandits have been impersonating the king and robbing everywhere. They have already looted several cities. You must be careful to guard the city gates. After I finish dealing with my own affairs, we will fight against the bandits together!"

He first devised a plan to deceive the soldiers on the city wall, and then the magistrate of Zhaozhou led his troops to the Bai family to seek revenge.

In his view, Pingcheng's city walls were sturdy enough, and with the few thousand men Liu Fu brought, half of them were government troops and half were militiamen, it would be extremely difficult for them to attack the city.

Moreover, they marched hastily towards Pingcheng, fearing it would slow their advance, so they didn't bring any siege equipment. Because of this, it was highly unlikely that Liu Fu could conquer Pingcheng in a short time.

At this moment, the magistrate of Zhao Prefecture had already secretly come up with an idea.

He immediately led his troops to kill the Bai family, slaughtering the entire Bai family. He then opened the granaries to distribute grain, claiming that he could no longer tolerate the oppression of the common people by wealthy families, and that was why he did this.

Then, through another round of framing and shifting blame onto the four major families, they would win the hearts of the people. At that time, they would try to use the money in the Bai family's treasury to recruit able-bodied men to guard the city, while they themselves would take a large amount of silver notes and try to escape from Pingcheng to seek refuge with the Liao Dynasty, which was more powerful than the Later Han Dynasty. Even seeking refuge with the Later Jin Dynasty would be a way to survive.

Having made up his mind, Magistrate Zhao immediately took action, leading his troops to surround the Bai residence.

Liu Fu never expected that such a simple counter-espionage scheme would actually succeed.

At this moment, Liu Fu turned to look at Xun Yu and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in praise:

"Wenruo truly lives up to his reputation as a wise man who understands people's hearts; such a simple counter-espionage scheme actually succeeded."

That's right.

The very simple counter-espionage tactic that Liu Fu just used was an idea that Xun Yu, who had once devised the "two peaches kill three warriors" strategy, came up with on the spot during the march.

Xun Yu then bowed to Liu Fu:

"Your Majesty flatters me. These are merely the basics I learned while working with Jia Wenhe. If we're talking about manipulating people's hearts, Jia Xu and Guo Jia are both geniuses, far surpassing me in ability."

At this point, Xun Yu also burst into laughter:

"If we're talking about who made this possible, we have to rely on Lord Du's skillful hands and the lord's treasure-hunting rat's prowess; otherwise, my plan to use one tiger to devour another would not have been possible."

At this moment, Liu Fu also turned to look at Du Ruhui, and the three of them burst into laughter.

That's right, that's actually how it happened.

On the forced march, Xun Yu heard about the character of the magistrate of Zhao Prefecture. He knew that the magistrate was fierce but lacked strategy and was prone to impulsive actions. On a whim, Xun Yu told Liu Fu that they could use a small counter-espionage scheme to take Pingcheng with less effort.

In Xun Yu's view, if anything unexpected happened while they were marching hastily to Pingcheng to capture the Bai family, they would not have any advantage in attacking the city without siege equipment.

Although Liu Fu has the Vajra to use, the cities in Liaodong are not easy to build. If the Vajra breaks through the city, the city tower will also be damaged. If the Later Jin invades in the future, the city tower will have to be rebuilt, which will inevitably cost money.

Therefore, by using a small counter-espionage tactic to make the two fight each other, the predicament was resolved.

Liu Fu initially thought the counter-espionage plan was too simple and might not work, but he was still prepared to give it a try.

Then the treasure-hunting rat stole the White Crane Paper, and Du Ruhui copied the handwriting of the Bai family head, and the matter was accomplished...