Chapter 40 Jiang Wan Takes the Helm, the Encampment is Besieged

"Besides, I am only eighteen years old, and I have plenty of time to deal with these minor issues."

Sitting in the main hall, Jiang Hong narrowed his eyes and stared at Zhao Mang in front of him.

"You have quite the ambition, young man. Does that mean the red iron ore matter was also entirely handled by you?"

Hearing this, Zhao Mang glanced at Jiang Wan and replied without the slightest hesitation: "Naturally."

"By now, your Jiang family and the Zhang family are already at each other's throats, and that Zhang family happens to be my enemy as well."

Having said this, he paused for a moment.

Zhao Mang recalled Li Shiwu, the man he had once held by the collar like a shield.

He stated unceremoniously, "As for Li Shiwu, I haven't even deigned to look at him."

"Partnering with me brings you far more benefits than drawbacks."

With that, Zhao Mang looked at the two men in the hall, hoping to read their expressions for the answer to his proposal.

Little did he expect that Old Master Jiang would completely dismiss him.

Old Master Jiang let out a cold snort and said bluntly, "You are merely a mud-legged upstart who managed to climb up. What gives you the right to compare yourself to Li Shiwu?"

"Li Shiwu has long been rooted in the garrison, and his subordinates are full of talented individuals."

"And what do you have?"

"You wish to leap up the branches and turn into a phoenix? It is truly utterly ridiculous..."

At these words, Zhao Mang's expression instantly turned gloomy. He cast a sideways glance at the old man of the Jiang family.

Before the old man could finish speaking, Zhao Mang slammed his hand heavily onto the table.

In an instant, the force transferred from the table down to the floor.

The bluestone-paved ground shattered into pieces on the spot.

Zhao Mang's sudden display caused the bodies of the two men present to tremble instinctively.

While Jiang Hong managed to maintain his composure, beads of cold sweat immediately broke out on Old Master Jiang's forehead.

Zhao Mang picked up the teacup on the table and said coldly, "Jiang Kuo was the one you propped up, wasn't he? I don't want to beat around the bush with you. Since you refuse to reason, I have plenty of fists and kicks to use!"

"Jiang Kuo is already dead, and Jiang Wan is the only one who can take charge of the Jiang family now."

"This is not just advice from me; weigh it carefully yourselves."

With that, Zhao Mang put the teacup back on the table, stood up, grabbed the still-stunned Jiang Wan by the hand, and walked out the door.

Old Master Jiang was choked with fury, his face turning beet red, yet he found himself entirely powerless to scold Zhao Mang. "You..."

Meanwhile, Jiang Hong remained silent, his eyes narrowed slightly as if calculating something in his mind.

As Zhao Mang and Jiang Wan vanished through the front gates of the Jiang residence, the table that had just withstood Zhao Mang's strike—which had appeared completely steady and intact until then—suddenly shattered, collapsing into a pile of debris across the floor, along with the teacup resting upon it.

This startling collapse gave Old Master Jiang yet another severe jolt.

After a long while, Old Master Jiang finally recovered his wits, pointed straight at Jiang Hong's nose, and cursed furiously, "Aren't you so capable! Why didn't you say anything just now?"

Jiang Hong maintained his upright, expressionless demeanor and replied, "You saw it yourself, Old Master. That man is simply not someone who reasons. How could I possibly make him change his mind?"

Old Master Jiang sneered, "I suppose you wanted to collude with him all along! Jiang Kuo had only been in office for two days before he met his death at the Red House Pavilion. Could it be that you were behind it?"

Hearing this, Jiang Hong could no longer maintain his impassive mask, and anger flickered across his features. "Spare me your baseless accusations, Old Master! I have studied the books of the sages; would I ever commit such a despicable act?"

Old Master Jiang snapped, "Books of the sages? As far as I can tell, they've all been digested by dogs!"

Jiang Hong retorted, "It's useless to argue about this now. If you hadn't stripped Wan'er of her position in the first place and replaced her with such a worthless piece of trash, we wouldn't have brought this trouble upon our doorstep!"

Old Master Jiang shouted, "Fine! Fine! Fine! In the end, it's all my fault! Since you hold your daughter in such high regard, you can send someone to fetch her back yourself!"

...

The two of them had just returned to the Lingxiang Courtyard and had barely rested for a moment when Jiang Hong's personal servant arrived, handing a letter to Jiang Wan.

Following Jiang Hong's instructions, the servant relayed the message: "The master invites the young miss to return home as soon as possible to take charge of the household."

Jiang Wan was extremely astonished.

They had not been gone for long before Jiang Hong immediately summoned her back.

She hurriedly broke the seal and began reading the letter.

The gist of the message was that Jiang Hong had agreed to her association with Zhao Mang and urged her to return promptly to resume her former role in managing the Jiang family's affairs.

It was as if the matter of Jiang Kuo's death had been completely swept aside.

Ultimately, all affairs of the Jiang family had fallen back into her hands.

Hearing this news, a smile finally appeared on Zhao Mang's face.

It seemed that his display in the hall earlier had indeed struck fear into those two men.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully.

Zhao Mang spent his time familiarizing himself with the craftsmen Jiang Wan had selected for him.

He even had several large carts of materials and tools organized.

Calling upon Wang Mazi, he prepared to head back to Dunzi Peak.

Right at that moment, the messenger raven designated for them flew down and landed before Zhao Mang.

The moment he read the contents of the message, Zhao Mang's brow furrowed tightly, and a wave of agitation surged within him.

He immediately summoned Wang Mazi and issued his orders.

"Stop the convoy! You and I will ride for Dunzi Peak at once, no delay!"

Though Wang Mazi did not understand the reason, the stern expression and tone in Zhao Mang's voice made him instantly realize the gravity of the situation.

Within moments, he had everything arranged.

The two men spurred their horses into a gallop, racing toward Dunzi Peak.

Along the way, Wang Mazi asked Zhao Mang, "Squad Leader, what has happened?"

With a grave expression, Zhao Mang replied in a low voice, "A group of Tibetan raiders has come to Dunzi Peak."

"They have surrounded the place completely."

Hearing this, Wang Mazi's expression changed drastically. He had not expected that so soon after their departure, Tibetan raiders would strike Dunzi Peak again.

"Squad Leader! Roughly how many men?"

Zhao Mang pondered for a moment before answering, "According to Xiao Han, about three *dingben*!"

At this, cold sweat beaded on Wang Mazi's temples.

Last time, there had only been a dozen or so men.

He never imagined that this time nearly a hundred men would appear. The nature of the situation had fundamentally changed. Could the main force of the Tibetan raiders have arrived?

"How could so many come all at once? This is enough to rival a small-scale battle!"

"Could the main Tibetan army be pressing upon our borders?"

Zhao Mang's expression was grim. He had never witnessed the main Tibetan army, nor had he ever faced a raiding party nearly a hundred strong.

His only experience was with those dozen or so raiders.

He had thought that obtaining the rank of squad leader from the frontier garrison and leading forty soldiers, combined with the ten men from the camp to form a complete unit, was already a solid achievement.

Yet unexpectedly, the Tibetan raiders had sent nearly a hundred men.

That was twice the size of his entire troop. The moment he received the letter, he had a premonition of trouble.

That was why he had chosen not to travel alongside the caravan of craftsmen back to Dunzi Peak.

Now, he—the leader of this squad—was stranded outside the camp.

Furthermore, the forty raw recruits brought from the frontier garrison had never seen joint combat together.

Their true fighting capability remained untested.

The immense pressure weighed heavily on Zhao Mang. Dealing with a dozen men was something he could handle with ease, coming and going as he pleased.

A force of a hundred, however, gave him a genuine headache.

Right now, he only had his long saber and the armor gifted to him by Jiang Wan.

He could only hope he could successfully break through the siege outside the camp gates.

In a dense forest north of Dunzi Peak, Zhao Mang and Wang Mazi dismounted their horses about a hundred paces away from the encampment.

Stealthily, they crept closer toward the camp.

From a distance, the two of them witnessed the grim sight: a swarm of Tibetan raiders was actively attacking the Dunzi Peak encampment.