The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 319 Luo Tong Uses His Beauty Trap

Luo Tong has been back for several days, but he hasn't dared to show his face. Instead, he's been hiding in the shadows, preparing for the operation.

This mission is not easy. To complete it, he has to go through several procedures. First, he has to contact his clansmen or other local gentry. Without the cooperation of the gentry, he, a general without any troops, can't do anything.

However, the gentry in the Jinqu Basin had been torn apart by Guan Xing. Their members were either sent to mines or went underground to hide and lie low, making them really hard to find.

Secondly, the steelworkers mostly live inside the factory and rarely come out. Luo Tong doesn't have enough manpower, so a direct assault or kidnapping is unrealistic. Moreover, the steelworkers' salaries are very high, so bribing them with money is unlikely. The only option is to use beauty to lure them, as Lu Xun suggested, hoping that the steelworkers will impulsively follow the beautiful women. He can trick as many as he can.

But the prerequisite for using a beauty trap is to have a beauty. All the major clans have been ruined by Guan Xing, and the beauties that the clans have painstakingly cultivated have naturally been sent back to the common people to marry. Where can they find one in such a hurry?

Standing behind Luo Tong was a middle-aged man, his clan uncle Luo Cheng, who was also the helper he had found after returning to Wushang.

Upon hearing this, Luo Cheng replied, "We have found two beauties, Tingting and Yaoyao, whom you know, and they are both very willing to serve the family."

The faces of two beautiful women instantly flashed through Luo Tong's mind. He had personally selected these two women for the clan, entrusted them to the clan members for careful training, and prepared them to be his daughter's dowry maids or to be offered as tribute to powerful figures in Jiangdong. But then that damned Guan Xing...

Thinking of those two maids, Luo Tong's lips curled into a bitter smile, and he sighed sadly, "Our Wushang Luo Clan was once a powerful clan in Kuaiji with over a hundred retainers. But look what happened! As soon as the clan suffered a disaster, the retainers who swore allegiance left without a second thought. So many retainers, yet they are not as loyal as two maids. Truly, the world is cold and heartless."

Luo Cheng said speechlessly, "What affection? Those two lowly maids didn't come for affection. They're used to a life of luxury in the Luo mansion and can't stand hardship."

"They've always dreamed of marrying into a noble family with their mistress, and then giving birth to a healthy baby boy for their husbands so they could rise in status through their children. But now Guan Xing is making them marry lowly country folk who he wouldn't even bother to look at normally. How can they possibly accept this?"

"They agreed to work for us, but they made two demands. First, they asked me to help them kill their current husbands and in-laws because their in-laws were making them work in the fields. Their delicate hands were meant for playing musical instruments, not for holding hoes and doing farm work."

"Uh..." Luo Tong was stunned for a moment before laughing speechlessly, "These two lowly maids have been learning music, chess, calligraphy and painting from Miss for a few days and they think they are noble ladies. Where do they get their confidence? They have forgotten their origins after wearing fine clothes for only a few days?"

It's ridiculous that a girl from the countryside, after spending a few days drinking ink with a young lady, looks down on young men from the same countryside.

Luo Tong laughed and said, "This is a good thing. If they are content with the status quo, they won't be of any use to us. So, what is the second condition?"

Luo Cheng replied, "After the matter is done, take them away from Wushang and send them to a noble family as concubines. They don't want to stay in the broken village for a moment longer. I have already taken them back to the place where my clansmen are hiding in the mountains and prepared silk clothes and rouge and powder for them to ensure that they can regain their former beauty as soon as possible."

Luo Tong then asked, "What about their in-laws? Have they been dealt with?"

Luo Cheng shook his head and said, "Not for now. I'm afraid someone will find out and report us to the authorities. If the Wushang County government intervenes in advance, things will be difficult for us. So I told the two of them to wait until we leave Wushang before taking action. They didn't want any accidents to happen, so they agreed for now."

Luo Tong nodded and said, "That's very good. What about the steel plant? Have you found a starting point?"

Luo Cheng said, "I bribed a deliveryman who worked at the steel mill. From him, I learned that the steel mill currently has more than 300 craftsmen, a battalion of soldiers, and several cooks and sweepers."

"The factory director's name is Feng Tiezhu. He used to be a famous blacksmith in the county. He even made iron for our family. But the factory director and more than 300 core blacksmiths are only responsible for making iron. Moreover, they live in the factory and rarely come out. The daily affairs of the factory are all handled by the deputy factory director, Wang Bin."

"Wang Bin was originally a capable clerk under County Commandant Ji Jie. He participated in the land reform in Wushang. Due to his outstanding performance, he was promoted by Guan Xing to deputy director of the steel plant. Interestingly, the director, Feng Tiezhu, did nothing but forge iron. Deputy Director Wang Bin was in charge of the mining and transportation of raw materials such as coal and iron ore, as well as the payment of salaries and the performance evaluation and promotion of employees. He was in charge of everything except for forging iron. He was the actual person in charge of the steel plant."

"Moreover, Wang Bin needed to frequently travel to coordinate with various government departments and even the military because he had to contact the mine, steel plant, and county government. Therefore, he did not live in the factory area but in his home in the county town, and he had to go back almost every night."

"More importantly, Wang Bin's wife passed away last year. He only has a six-year-old son who attends the newly built county primary school in Guanxing. He only comes home once every five days, and there is basically no one in the Wang family at other times."

"Just thinking about this makes me angry. Guan Xing somehow improved Cai Hou paper and made a new paper that was whiter than salt, easier to write on than silk, and cheaper than bamboo slips. But it was only for their internal use. Even if you had money, you couldn't buy it outside. It was impossible for our aristocratic children to write and study on white paper."

The right to education was a privilege monopolized by the aristocratic families. Because of this monopoly, the aristocratic families were able to produce talented people generation after generation, keeping the illiterate commoners at the bottom forever and preventing them from rising up to compete with them for status and power.

Now look what's happened: the common people who had no chance to study are now using blank paper, while the aristocratic families who monopolized education have no paper to use. Isn't this going against the natural order?

If this continues, how can the aristocratic families maintain their dominant position in education? If they cannot monopolize education, can they still be considered aristocratic families?

Damn Guan Xing, your father has already been ennobled, what are you still messing around for? Why don't you just honestly join forces with us gentry? Why do you have to go against us gentry for the sake of those lowly commoners?

Mentioning this made Luo Tong unhappy, and he said with a gloomy face, "We must get our hands on the papermaking formula sooner or later. We must not let Guan Xing use paper to strangle the aristocratic clans, or even use paper to squeeze the aristocratic clans out of the education circle."

The blank paper was extremely important to the aristocratic families; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was the foundation of their society.

Imagine this: children from lower-class families can squander blank paper at will and quickly become successful, while the sons of aristocratic families have to neglect their studies because they have no paper to use. How will they compete with these accomplished lower-class children a decade or two later?

If they can't compete, they will be squeezed out of the officialdom. If they can't enter the officialdom, not only will they be unable to compete with the common people for interests, but they may even lose their existing interests. In that case, it won't be long before the common people they look down on become the aristocracy, while the aristocracy will regress into the common people who are looked down upon. How can this be allowed?

The struggle between classes is like rowing against the current; if you can't move forward, you have to move backward. It's impossible for you to stay in one place and maintain the status quo.

Therefore, the right to education must be fought for, and blank slates must be seized.

Luo Cheng raised both hands in agreement, and tentatively asked, "Should I have them try to seduce the paper mill workers and get their hands on the papermaking formula?"

Luo Tong resolutely refused, saying, "No, the steel mill is more important than blank paper. With the steel mill, we will have weapons. With weapons, we may be able to defeat Guan Xing. After defeating Guan Xing, we will no longer need to go through the trouble of stealing the papermaking technique, but can directly take over the paper mill. Therefore, we must not have the idea of ​​building a paper mill before dealing with the steel mill craftsmen, so as not to alert the enemy and attract the attention of the Han army."

"Let's start with this deputy director of the steel plant, Wang Bin. Yao Yao is prettier than Ting Ting. Let Yao Yao seduce him. Tell her that if she succeeds, I will reward her with a thousand gold pieces and guarantee her a life of wealth and comfort for the rest of her life."