Xue Rong felt both scared and relieved.
Of course, it's more relaxing.
Because, compared to Jiang Zhihong, he believed what this subordinate said more.
As long as this subordinate did not lie, then this was definitely the Taiping Dao's method from beginning to end.
They burned granaries, artificially magnified the consequences of natural disasters, and delayed disaster relief from the imperial court in order to incite the massive refugees to rebel.
"That Jiang Zhihong really deserves to die."
"You actually tried to trick me into betraying the court... Fortunately, I didn't rush into it."
"Jiang Zhihong would never have thought that even after his death, one of my subordinates happened to know the truth."
“It was a close call.”
"There are millions of traitors... If one thing goes wrong, all the lives will be ruined."
"I almost became a sinner for all eternity."
"Hmm... if you put it this way, then in a disguised way, if I don't believe Jiang Zhihong's words, I have saved the whole world."
"Well, that's the truth."
The more Xue Rong thought about it, the more noble he felt.
And the position of that subordinate in his heart also rose invisibly.
But just when he was about to say a few more words to motivate his subordinate, he suddenly realized that something was wrong with the other party!
His eyes were a little evasive... He was lying!
Xue Rong's heart suddenly sank.
Looking at this subordinate again, his expression seemed to be mixed with a hint of fear.
fear?
Why fear?
Xue Rong suddenly remembered the previous scene.
When he thought the dust had settled and rode towards Jiang Zhihong, it turned out that this subordinate was the one closest to the city gate.
But when everyone behind caught up and asked him what he was going to do, this subordinate was left behind...
Why is this happening?
Xue Rong narrowed his eyes.
He could only think of one possibility.
It was this subordinate who heard what Jiang Zhihong said to him!!!
That sentence 'I advise you to kill your men, try your best to delay time, and take this opportunity to escape to Taipingdao'!
If that's the case, everything makes sense!
This subordinate fell from the front of the team to the back because he was afraid of killing someone!
That’s not all.
This subordinate even came up with a way to resolve the problem!
What about the Taiping Dao burning down the granary, the large-scale replacement of local officials, and the cousin working in the Ministry of Personnel.
They're all fake!
This was a lie made up by this subordinate in order to save his own life!
As long as he believed this lie, he would regard Jiang Zhihong's words as lies, and then return to the capital openly, and eventually be secretly executed by His Majesty.
So cruel, so vicious, so powerful!
Thinking of this, Xue Rong felt a chill in his heart.
"By the way, what's the name of your cousin in the Ministry of Personnel?"
Xue Rong asked with a wry smile.
"This, I won't hide it from you, sir."
The subordinate hesitated and said, "My cousin is of low rank and not well-known. I'm afraid you haven't heard of him..."
With a click!
The subordinate's head spun continuously, and his neck was twisted into a knot.
"Hehe...you want to trick me into returning to Beijing and let me die?"
Xue Rong's eyes were red, and his voice was hoarse and low, "Unfortunately, your lie is too clumsy."
"……grown ups"
The cavalrymen looked stunned, some of them could not believe what they were seeing.
How come they were chatting happily one moment and then murdered each other the next? ? ?
The general was usually vindictive, but when did he become so moody? !
"Besides what he just said, did he tell you anything else?"
Xue Rong looked at his men grimly.
“…”
Everyone looked at each other and stepped back cautiously.
Not to mention that he was riding a horse all the way and had no time to say anything.
Even if he really said something, the general cannot admit it considering his current look of wanting to bite someone.
"Didn't you say that... Never mind, it's not important."
Xue Rong smiled deeply, "Because, you are all going to die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the remaining twenty-one cavalrymen chose to retreat at the same time.
There was no doubt that the general had misunderstood something.
They didn't know where this misunderstanding came from, but they knew that no matter whether they could resolve the misunderstanding or not, they had to save their lives first.
pity.
They had just taken a few steps back when the golden and jade armor that had previously provided them with powerful strength and protection suddenly began to squeeze inwards.
Arms, torso, legs.
In just a moment, they were firmly confined to the spot.
"Whether it's the Silver Armor Pagoda or the Gold Armor Pagoda, the commander can control the life and death of his subordinates."
Xue Rong explained with a horrifying look on his face and disappeared instantly.
Then there was a series of sounds of broken cervical vertebrae.
At this point, he was the only one left among the six thousand golden-armored pagodas.
Xue Rong shook his blood-stained palms, his face extremely grim, "If you escape, how can this general survive? You can blame your colleagues. Who was it that happened to hear what Jiang Zhihong said to me?"
Xu Chong hid himself in the light and stood in front of Xue Rong, carefully observing the other's expression.
In fact, if wrapped in the Yin Spirit, one can definitely see more clearly than the physical body.
Heartbeat, breathing, eyes, and the most subtle expressions, all of these combined can be used to roughly judge psychological changes.
But the problem is that his three Yin Spirits have shrunk to the size of a palm and cannot wrap around a complete person, so he can only collect information with his naked eyes.
But now it seems that it is enough.
"This method is really outrageous..."
"I simply strengthened the red light of one person, and Xue Rong was able to have evil thoughts towards him on his own initiative, and find enough reasons to continue to expand his evil thoughts, and finally put them into action."
"It's a pity that the Yin Spirit is still too weak after its transformation."
"Just controlling the fortune and misfortune of a Tongmai warrior consumes such a huge amount of energy."
"It seems that we still need to find a way to improve it."
Thinking of this, Xu Chong frowned slightly.
From the time Jiang Zhihong attacked the Golden Armored Pagoda until now, he has not gained anything.
For example, Jiang Zhihong.
Although Xu Chong had never thought of absorbing Jiang Zhihong's spiritual energy, he watched Jiang Zhihong die at close range after all.
The fact that the distance is so close is unavoidable.
There are also those cavalrymen who died at the city gate, plus the twenty-two who just died.
From beginning to end, he was not provided with even a little spiritual source.
You know, the panel absorbs spiritual energy, but there is no restriction on killing with your own hands.
As long as it's newly dead, you can just stand by and suck it.
It's just a question of how much.
"So...is this the effect of a natural disaster?"
Xu Chong seemed to be thinking about something.
This seems to be the only explanation.
At this moment, Xue Rong suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.
"I……"
"Why would I suddenly attack?!"
"Obviously, I believed my subordinates' words more... Why did you suddenly change?!"
As if waking up from a dream, Xue Rong sat on the ground, his face full of horror and trance.
"The death of the controlled person will eliminate his influence on the consciousness of the others? This is not good..."
Xu Chong frowned and continued to observe.
After being in a trance, Xue Rong's expression turned completely ugly.
He found that he seemed to have no choice now.
If he returned to Beijing to meet the emperor, he was sure that he would not be able to hide the true cause of death of these twenty or so men...
“Damn it!!”
Xue Rong cursed angrily and stood up.
First, he walked to a slightly secluded place and dug a deep pit with his bare hands.
Then he turned around and killed the horses.
In the end, twenty-two human corpses and twenty-two horse corpses were buried.
After doing all this, Xue Rong sat back down and immersed himself in thought.
There are now two versions of the whole thing.
The first is what Jiang Zhihong said, there was no Taiping Dao at all, and it was Emperor Qing who was plotting to murder the refugees in Yongzhou.
Secondly, his subordinates said that there was no Emperor Qing at all, and it was the Taiping Dao that was obstructing disaster relief and taking the opportunity to incite the refugees to rebel.
To be honest, no matter how he thought about it, Xue Rong felt that the latter was the real truth.
As the emperor of Daqing, why would he kill refugees for no reason?
What's more, even if they wanted to kill him, couldn't they just crush him with the army? Why make it so complicated?
Unfortunately, no matter what the truth is, he killed twenty-two golden-armored pagodas.
After much consideration, the only option left is to join the Taiping Dao.
"Taiping Dao..."
After making the decision, Xue Rong stopped distracting himself and frowned as he pondered, "I must find the people from Taiping Dao as quickly as possible to help unblock the system."
"But even if it's faster, conservatively speaking we'll have to allow a month."
"How can you delay it for a month?"
"The fact that the Blood Robe Guards were able to discover the Taiping Dao's conspiracy proves that there must be people still in Yongzhou... Once the news of Jiang Zhihong's death gets back, it would be very unusual for me to delay my return to Kyoto with any reason."
"And even if I can delay it for a month... in what capacity should I approach Taiping Dao?!"
“Damn it…”
Xue Rong cursed again.
It was not until this time that he realized that the situation was far worse than he had imagined.
Finding Taipingdao is easy.
He still retains his identity as a Dingtian Guard. He can get a lot of clues by asking in any Blood-Clothed Thousand Households Office.
Even if there is no such thing in Yongzhou, it is still in time to go to Lin Province.
But the problem is that Jiang Zhihong died, and he killed himself.
As the person in charge of Taiping Dao's plan, Jiang Zhihong's identity is likely to be complicated.
If you are not sure of the Taiping Dao's attitude, you must never contact the Taiping Dao in your original identity.
Of course, it is possible to fabricate a false identity, and Taipingdao will accept it.
But the question is, if that’s the case, why would Taiping Dao take it so seriously?
There are so many people queuing, why should we unblock you as soon as you arrive?
Xue Rong's mood plummeted.
At this moment, a faint voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"You seem distressed?"
"!!!"
In an instant, Xue Rong's hair stood on end and he retreated ten feet.
"Don't be so nervous."
Xu Chong maintained his greed and said calmly: "I saw you kill your own men with your own hands, and I was very curious, so I came to see... To be able to sneak into the Golden Armor Pagoda, which family are you from?"
"Which family...the six major families?!"
Xue Rong's expression changed drastically, "Are you from the Taiping Dao?"
"You are the same, isn't it? What's so surprising?"
Xu Chong's tone revealed a hint of confusion.
"I……"
Xue Rong hesitated for a moment and asked, "May I ask your identity?"
"I, Zheng Huaikong, should be considered your elder."
Xu Chong said calmly.
This is the name I heard from Hua Nong Yue.
"Zheng Huaikong!"
Xue Rong's scalp tingled.
He remembered the name.
Zheng Huaikong, the younger brother of the head of the Zheng family!
According to the intelligence of the Blood-Clothed Guards , he has at least reached the ninth level of body cleansing.
One on one, no match!
"Why, you seem afraid of me?"
Xu Chong's voice turned cold, "You...are not a member of the Taiping Dao?"
With a move of picking stars in his hand, he locked onto Xue Rong from a distance.
At the same time, Xu Chong was a little confused.
Logically speaking, the people Xue Rong most wanted to meet at this time should be the people from Taiping Dao.
That's why he fabricated this identity, intending to guide Xue Rong on how to delay time.
Why are you scared now?
"Please spare my life, sir!"
With a huge threat looming in his mind, Xue Rong no longer doubted the identity of 'Zheng Huaikong' and knelt down with a thud.
"Please spare my life, sir!"
"I was bewitched by Emperor Qing and made such a big mistake in my confusion!"
"Fortunately, Lord Jiang has enlightened me, and I have been able to turn back from my wrong path. I plan to break off relations with the imperial court completely!"
"Please understand, my Lord, I really had no intention of killing Lord Jiang!"
Xue Rong kowtowed repeatedly and cried incessantly.
I was worried about this...
Xu Chong narrowed his eyes, increased the power of the Star-Picking Technique, and raised his voice slightly: "What! Jiang Zhihong is dead?! I was away for only a few days, and Jiang Zhihong is actually dead?"
"Please spare my life, sir..."
Xue Rong's whole body trembled violently, "I will definitely change my ways and will never coexist with Bao Qing!"
"I will tell you everything in detail. If there is anything hidden... you should know that it is very simple to verify what you said."
In the spirit of putting on a complete show, extremely cold words came out of Xu Chong's mouth.
This, on the contrary, made Xue Rong feel a little relieved.
He was afraid that Jiang Zhihong was some insignificant and key figure who could not die, but now it seems that this is not the case.
At least this 'Zheng Huaikong' did not take action immediately.
As long as you don't take action, you have a chance.
So Xue Rong honestly recounted the entire incident.
Xu Chong frowned when he heard this.
This Xue Rong, didn’t he add too many ingredients?
He actually mixed together what his subordinates said and what Jiang Zhihong said.
The whole thing changed drastically and became "Emperor Qing conspired to murder the people of Yongzhou, and the righteous Taiping Daoist Bo Yuntian extended a helping hand."
He said that his original intention was to make Jiang Zhihong surrender and return to Beijing with him.
After all, there are so many subordinates around, and there are many eyes and ears, so he can only do that.
There are also sayings like "After being enlightened, I suddenly realized my mistake, but it was too late to regret."
Xue Rong tried his best to portray himself as a righteous man who was originally loyal to Daqing, but after knowing Daqing's true face, he decisively chose to break away.
They talked at length, and Xu Chong finally stopped until he was almost impatient.
"It's not that I'm afraid of death, it's that I hate Bao Qing so much that even if I die, I'd rather die on the road to overthrowing Bao Qing!"
Xue Rong lowered his forehead to the ground and said in a painful voice, "Senior Zheng, please give me a chance!"
“…”
Xu Chong rubbed his brows and said calmly, "Get up. Jiang Zhihong is dead, so he is dead. Now that I know about it, I can send someone else to continue."
"Thank you, senior!"
Xue Rong was overjoyed and kowtowed a few more times before standing up.
It seems that Jiang Zhihong is nothing special.
"but……"
Xu Chong changed the subject and said, "If you want to join the Taiping Dao, it's useless just to show loyalty."
Here we come!
I am not afraid of you making conditions. I am afraid of you not making conditions.
Xue Rong was cheered up, "Senior, please feel free to speak."
"Help the Taiping Dao and hold back the imperial court!"
Xu Chong said, "The longer the better."
"this……"
Xue Rong's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Senior, you may not know that the matter of Yongzhou was reported back to the capital by the Blood-Robed Guards after investigation. I guess that there are still Blood-Robed Guards lurking in Yongzhou..."
"You don't have to worry about this anymore. This time I left to deal with this matter."
Xu Chong said casually.
In fact, long before the locust plague, all the Blood-Cloth Guards in Yongzhou had gone silent, either staying in the Qianhu Suo or the provincial branches.
Needless to say, Emperor Qing did this on purpose to delay the transmission of the disaster information back to the capital.
And now...the Blood-Clothed Guards will continue to maintain this state.
There is nothing to worry about.
"Senior solved the Blood Robe Guards?"
Xue Rong was stunned. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "As long as there is no one else to pass on the message, I can delay it for at least a month."
At least a month?
This is different from what Dou Tianyuan said.
Xu Chong raised his eyebrows, "Tell me more."
"First, if you want to delay the court, everything must appear to be real."
Xue Rong spoke, trying his best to show his value, "So, Jiang Zhihong's death cannot be concealed... Not only can it not be concealed, it is best to report the course of events and Jiang Zhihong's identity truthfully."
“I’ll teach you how to write this.”
Xu Chong said indifferently, "Continue."
The Emperor Qing must know that Jiang Zhihong is not a traitor.
If the report is full of certainty and says that Jiang Zhihong is an important figure in the Taiping Dao, it will only backfire.
"yes."
Xue Rong didn't care and continued, "In addition to the news of Jiang Zhihong's death, I plan to fabricate some traces of the Taiping Dao and ask the Emperor Qing whether I should take Jiang Zhihong's body back to the capital directly or stay in Yongzhou temporarily to guard against the Taiping Dao."
Makes sense…
Xu Chong looked at Xue Rong with some surprise.
This Xue Rong is quite smart.
"If you calculate it this way, twenty days will have passed."
After a pause, Xue Rong explained, "All the post stations in Yongzhou have been abandoned. To submit a report, we need to rush to Lin Province. It takes three days for the Golden Armored Pagoda to get the report back to the capital. It takes at least seven days... This round trip takes 20 days."
"Even if the new decree is for me to bring the Golden Armored Pagoda back to the capital, it will take almost a month including the time on the road."
"If I want it to be longer, it depends on whether Emperor Qing will let me stay in Yongzhou."
The shortest is only one month...
Xu Chong thought about it and said indifferently: "It's okay, a month is enough."
It is not realistic to save Yongzhou just by delaying time.
Ultimately, we still have to look at the 'other method' that Dou Tianyuan mentioned.
"senior."
Xue Rong struggled for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay for me to help delay for a month, but this is too risky. The worst-case scenario is that after a month, my household registration will be immediately revoked..."
"Don't worry, the Zheng family has the Heaven and Earth Blood Pool."
Xu Chong laughed, "Even if you become a useless person, I can still take you back to unseal you and restore your memory."
"Thank you, senior!"
Xue Rong was overjoyed.
It's not that he has no doubts at all, but he can only choose to believe it now.