In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 368, is that so?

Zheng Qing wanted to stabilize grain prices in the county town so that the people would not go hungry and reduce the breeding ground for chaos. However, it was clear that even if all 5000 shi of grain were put into the market, it would probably be difficult to lower the grain price in the county town by even a penny.

“Father, the grain shops in this city are just places that sell grain, not the Wang family’s granaries.”

Zheng Qiuyan explained, "Normally, the grain shops only keep a small amount of grain. Only when the grain is sold out or out of stock will the Wang family transport new grain from their estate. Therefore, the amount of grain we can confiscate is very limited."

"It seems that the Wang family must be eliminated."

Zheng Qing frowned even more deeply. Eradicating the Wang family sounded easy, but it was no easy task.

Our original plan was to use the Taishan bandits to lure the Wang family out of their hole, wipe out the Wang family's forces to the greatest extent possible, and then launch a full-scale attack on the Wang family.

It was obvious that the plan had failed, and he had to think of other ways.

Zheng Qing looked up at Han Yue and asked, "Brother Han, do you have any other good ideas?"

"No."

Han Yue shook his head. The Wang family manor was like an iron barrel, with defensive capabilities no less than a city. If the Wang family were to remain holed up in the manor, there would be no way for them to do anything.

As for trapping the Wang family in the manor, that's unrealistic.

The grain stored in the Wang family manor is enough to feed the Wang family for at least three or four years. After three or four years, it will be too late.

"And you, young friend Chen?" Zheng Qing then looked at Chen Dao.

"Could we try a direct attack?" Chen Dao asked.

"No!"

Before Zheng Qing could speak, Han Yue shook his head repeatedly: "The Zheng family's manor is no less than a fortified city, and there are a large number of martial artists guarding the entrance. It is almost impossible to force your way in!"

Throughout history, the most difficult battles have always been sieges. As the art of war says: "If ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them."

This statement illustrates that to win a siege, one needs at least five times the troop strength of the defending side.

The Wang family's retainers number at least several hundred, and our side would need at least several thousand soldiers to conquer the Wang family's manor. Clearly, our side cannot muster that many soldiers.

"Could you two tell me more about the Wang Family Manor?" Chen Dao asked.

"Of course it's no problem."

Without hesitation, Zheng Qing replied, "Although the Wang Family Manor is a manor, it is no less than a small city, with city walls, watchtowers, gates, and other military defensive structures..."

As Zheng Qing slowly recounted the story, Chen Dao finally gained a clear understanding of the Wang family's manor.

In general, the Wang family's manor is somewhat similar to the manors of the Han and Tang dynasties in China. The manor contains the Wang family's private army, as well as military defense structures such as city walls and watchtowers. Taking down such a manor is no less difficult than capturing a small city. With our own manpower, there is absolutely no chance of taking down the Wang family's manor.

"We can try infiltrating."

After learning about the situation at the Wang Family Manor, Chen Dao suggested, "We should only bring high-ranking martial artists to infiltrate the Wang Family Manor and then attack from the inside!"

"This plan will not succeed."

Zheng Qing shook his head and said, "The Wang family should already know about our annihilation of the Taishan bandits. Based on my understanding of Wang Wenshu, he will definitely increase his vigilance and will not give us any chance to infiltrate the manor."

The Wang family manor has watchtowers. As long as a martial artist stands on a high watchtower, they can have a clear view of the situation outside the manor. It is impossible for anyone to sneak into the manor without the Wang family noticing.

"We can sneak in at night."

Chen Dao said calmly, "As for the Wang family warriors on the watchtower, I will take care of them."

"really?"

All eyes turned to Chen Dao. If Chen Dao could take care of the Wang family warriors on lookout, then infiltrating the Wang family manor might not be impossible!

Chen Dao nodded emphatically and said, "Prefect Zheng and Master Han, please rest assured."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing and Han Yue exchanged a glance, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded in agreement with Chen Dao's suggestion.

"In that case, we'll trust Young Friend Chen this once!"

Zheng Qing said with a smile, "It's getting late, let's have dinner first, and we'll take action tomorrow night!"

Soon after, the prefectural governor's office held a banquet to entertain Chen Dao, Han Yue, and others.

While Chen Dao and the others were having their meal, in a room a building away from them, Li Jie and Li Meng, whom Chen Dao had rescued from Lijiapo, stared blankly at the food on the table.

The two women were probably a little lost when they left Lijiapo. They were both born in Lijiapo and had lived there for more than ten years. Suddenly leaving their familiar village made them feel uneasy.

But staying was clearly not an option either. Having experienced such a thing, they were traumatized by Lijiapo and dared not linger there.

After leaving Lijiapo, the two, along with the rescued woman from the same village, followed Zheng Qing's group to the county town and stayed in the luxurious prefect's mansion.

Having lived for decades, Li Jie and Li Meng had never seen such a luxurious mansion before. The moment they stepped through the mansion's gate, they both felt an extreme sense of unreality and were still in a daze.

"elder sister."

Li Meng turned to look at Li Jie and said, "I just heard them call that official 'Prefect.' Is the Prefect the highest-ranking official here? Are we living in the residence of the highest-ranking official?"

"probably?"

Li Jie answered uncertainly that they, who lived in Lijiapo, did not know anything about officials like the prefect, and did not even know what rank the prefect was.

"This prefect is truly a good official."

Li Meng couldn't help but say that ordinary people like her are so easily satisfied. They only need a little favor from those high-ranking officials, and they will be grateful from the bottom of their hearts.

Although Zheng Qing had never done her any favors, he had rescued them from that hellish place, and that alone was enough for Li Meng to feel grateful to him.

Not to mention, Zheng Qing also provided them with food, and the people from the prefectural governor's office just told them that they could work at the prefectural governor's office and have enough to eat.

"Yes."

Li Jie murmured, Chen Dao's face flashing through her mind: "That boy was also a good person. The way he looked at us was completely different from those thieves."

After saying that, Li Jie looked down at the meat on the table, her eyes glistening with tears: "If only my brother were still alive. Although he didn't say it, I know he always wanted to eat meat."

Li Jie and Li Meng's older brother is named Li Chuang. He is a rugged-looking man with an exceptionally gentle heart. He treats his two younger sisters very well. Although he is the one who does the most work in the family, Li Chuang always saves the best food for Li Meng and Li Jie when the family eats, while he himself eats only coarse rice flour to fill his stomach.

To avoid his two younger sisters from overthinking, Li Chuang always said that bran flour was delicious. But in fact, Li Jie and Li Meng knew that bran flour was not tasty and made them hungry quickly. They always left the rice and wheat porridge for them, and Li Chuang, who ate bran flour himself, was mostly hungry.