Volume One, Chapter 19: By the Grace of the Qin King!

The refugees, who had previously been timid and submissive, were instantly incited to fury, their eyes turning bloodshot.

"Brother Dao is right! Why should we be starving to death while they gorge themselves on fine food and wine, surrounded by beauties? I’m in!"

"My poor mother hasn't even tasted a full meal in her life! Damn it... I'm in too!"

"Count me in!"

Just like that, nearly everyone present joined this "forced into rebellion" scheme. Li Jize and Chen Xiaodao exchanged glances and grinned.

Passion and slogans alone were not enough; they needed a concrete plan. To others, kidnapping the current Chief Councilor would be a daunting task, but to Li Jize, he was merely a former colleague. He knew exactly where the Chief Councilor lived, when he left for the morning court session, when he returned, and which route he took.

Furthermore, drawing upon the memories of his predecessor—who had been born and raised in the capital—he even mapped out the exact location, the most effective method, and the optimal escape route.

Chen Xiaodao and the refugees listened, dumbstruck and wide-eyed.

Good heavens! Not only was he uniting them, a group of desperate refugees, to kidnap the Chief Councilor, but he had planned it with such meticulous detail—how much did he actually hate the man? Even worse, this act was an open challenge to the Great Qi Dynasty; it was nothing short of treason!

"The one thing you must watch out for is the North Liang Wolf Cavalry," Li Jize said, ignoring their expressions. At the mention of the "Wolf Cavalry," everyone shuddered. That was a force capable of going head-to-head with the savage barbarian cavalry!

"My previous plan didn't account for them, but don't worry. They are primarily tasked with guarding the refugees in the northeast of the city. As long as we take the hostage in the opposite direction and hide him in the mountains, we will be safe."

Li Jize paused, looked up, and scanned the crowd. "Does anyone have any questions or additions?"

No one spoke. It wasn't that they had no questions; rather, many were inexperienced in kidnapping. Moreover, being refugees, they weren't well-read, and trying to grasp the complex nuances of the plan was difficult enough, let alone spotting flaws.

At the critical moment, Chen Xiaodao raised his hand. "Prince Qin, once we have the hostage out of the capital, how do we handle the communication with his family and the ransom demand?"

As expected of a man who had served three different masters, he hit the nail on the head.

Li Jize nodded with satisfaction. He pointed to the mountains on the map and said, "There is a shrine to the Earth God at the foot of these mountains. You just need to keep a watch there to see if the ransom has been delivered. If there is no ransom within ten days, you may leave on your own—and do not return to the capital."

The crowd understood immediately. Writing the ransom notes and demanding payment would be handled by Li Jize from within the capital. This kept their risk to a minimum, and surely, no one in their wildest dreams would imagine the kidnapper to be the Prince of Qin himself, the esteemed General of Heavenly Strategy.

Seeing that Chen Xiaodao was satisfied, Li Jize looked at the others, only to find them tilting their heads or furrowing their brows, gesturing indecisively at the map.

Finally, feeling quite helpless, Li Jize sighed and began to delegate specific roles for their "coordinated operation."

He assigned scouts to lead the way and muscle to handle the abduction. Once everyone had a clear, specific task, the realization hit them: kidnapping was actually quite simple!

Just as they were about to discuss the final details, a sudden knocking at the door of the dilapidated shack where they were meeting startled everyone.

Something so confidential—if anyone were to overhear, they would all be dead.

Li Jize frowned and called out toward the door, "Who is it?"

A man's voice came from outside, whispering, "Prince Qin, there are two women outside the estate claiming to be your wife and mother. They want to see you!"

Li Jize’s heart skipped a beat. His mother and his "ugly" wife had tracked him down? How did they know he was here?

Of course, that was a silly question. Huang Suqiu had been following him ever since his head injury, fearing he might suffer another episode.

Chen Xiaodao, seeing his master’s troubled expression, instinctively asked, "Prince Qin, should we... postpone the operation?"

Clearly, Li Jize's mother and wife were unaware of his activities. After all, who kidnaps the Chief Councilor and makes sure their whole family knows about it?

Li Jize was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No! Tomorrow is the official rest day for the court; we must act today!"

"But..." Chen Xiaodao was worried that without their primary strategist, they would make mistakes and jeopardize the entire plan.

To be honest, Li Jize was nervous, too. He was the mastermind, but in truth, it was all just theory; no one is born knowing how to kidnap someone. It was a matter of finding methods through trial and error. Since it was everyone's first time, he didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone.

Finally, glancing at the map, Li Jize pointed to a teahouse near the ambush site. "I will be there. You go and lie in wait, and watch for my signal. If I do this..." He gestured with his hand, raising it and then bringing it down. "Then you act! Otherwise, if you receive no signal, you do nothing and return to rest. Do you understand?"

Chen Xiaodao and the others exchanged glances, then cupped their fists in unison and replied, "Understood!"

After giving his orders, Li Jize left the room and followed his subordinate to the estate gate.

Sure enough, in the distance, he saw his anxious mother, Huang Suqiu, and his new wife, Wang Yuanya, who was currently munching on grapes.

Seeing his wife, who could "eat grapes without spitting out the skins," Li Jize recalled the scene from the night before when he caught her sneaking food. He couldn't help but twitch his eyelid. Was this woman a gluttonous ghost reincarnated? Ever since he’d first seen her, she had been either eating or on her way to eat.

"Oh, Jize is here! Thank goodness!" his mother cried out as soon as she saw him. She rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "Let's go, let's go! Come home with Mother right now!"

Li Jize: "???"

What kind of joke was this? He was busy directing a kidnapping of the Chief Councilor! How could the ringleader go home?