Chapter 151 Torn
Zhuang Yu, a military general of Southern Liang, served under the command of Mu Ze, a fierce general of Southern Liang. This man was very capable, but he had two quirks.
First, he likes to sing nursery rhymes before killing someone.
Second, he attached too much importance to his ancestors' military achievements, to the point of being pathological, and would never allow anything to happen that would bring disgrace to the family.
As Zhuang Yu's rival for many years, Su Qingqing knew his habit very well.
Looking at Zhuang Yu with amusement, Su Qingqing smiled and said, "You may be the only traitor in your family who betrays the country and betrays the country. You will be nailed to the pillar of shame in your family forever and be cursed and despised by future generations."
Zhuang Yu was so shocked by her words that his face turned pale for a moment.
Su Qingqing slowly returned to her seat, "I'll give you a quarter of an hour to think about it. Either you tell me what you know, or I'll spread what I know."
Zhuang Yu stared at Su Qingqing, wary, suspicious, and terrified... "You can't possibly know anything about me!"
She is just a stupid princess from Zhao Kingdom!
What can you know!
"Don't try to cheat me."
Su Qingqing smiled, "Yes, I really don't know much, I just happened to know that in the battle between Great Yan and Southern Liang two years ago, the reason why Southern Liang was defeated was because the defense of the eastern route was weak, allowing the soldiers of Great Yan to cut off the military supply of Southern Liang, and you happened to be in charge of the eastern route."
Zhuang Yu's eyes suddenly widened and his pupils shrank as he heard Su Qingqing's devilish words, "Tell me, could it be that you did it on purpose? I have some evidence that you defected to the enemy."
"You're talking nonsense! Everyone knows that my family made the greatest sacrifice in defending the supply line in that battle. My eldest brother and my second brother both died on the battlefield. No one will believe you!" Zhuang Yu's face was ferocious, as if he was irritated .
Minghe had shot an arrow through his chest before, and at this moment he was so excited that blood was gushing out.
Su Qingqing glanced at the blood he shed. "They are all dead, but you are alive. Haven't you heard that for those who survived the sacrifice, being alive is a sin in itself. Why don't you die?"
Zhuang Yu took a breath of cold air.
After that battle, he was indeed investigated jointly by the Ministry of War and the Dali Temple, but his loyalty and integrity could withstand any investigation.
But now, if the Crown Princess could really produce some evidence, no, she didn't even need to produce any concrete evidence. She just needed to treat him well and then let out some information about the previous battle. That would be enough.
Zhuang Yu felt a thorough chill sweeping towards him.
Even if he was dead now, as long as he didn't tell the woman what she wanted, he was sure that this person would not let go of his body and would spread rumors.
"Why should I believe you?" Zhuang Yu gritted his teeth and looked at Su Qingqing.
Su Qingqing's face was gentle, "You have no choice, but I can swear to heaven to put your mind at ease. If you tell me what I want to know honestly, I will kill you with one knife. From now on, you can be your ghost and I can be mine, and we will not interfere with each other.
But if you don't cooperate, I'm sorry, I can only make you infamous forever."
…
Su Qingqing felt that God was helping her, otherwise, why would Zhuang Yu be the one to kidnap Jixiang?
An hour later, Su Qingqing got what she wanted and fulfilled her promise. She slashed Zhuang Yu's neck with a knife and buried him on the spot in the courtyard of the county government office.
Although Zhuang Yu confessed everything readily, she still wanted to verify the details herself before she could feel at ease.
Three days later.
Zhao Bingchun had been waiting for no news from the other party, and Jixiang, the person who was supposed to have been kidnapped, was active in front of him every day. When Zhao Bingchun could no longer bear it and was about to contact them again to inquire about the situation, a bolt from the blue came.
"Sir, it's bad, the bandits are coming to kill us."
Zhao Bingchun was sitting on a chair at the time. Hearing this, he was so shocked that he fell off the chair. Without taking care of his image, he rolled over and got up. "What did you say?"
The yamen runner who came to report was panicked, "The bandits are coming, His Royal Highness is counting the number of people to prepare for the battle, you should go and take a look, if you go too late, I'm afraid His Royal Highness will have left the city."
The prince came to suppress the bandits and brought some of his own men, but he mainly used local soldiers.
Zhao Bingchun's mind was in a mess and he stumbled out. When he ran to the front yard, he saw Rong Que already on his horse, sword in hand. The assembled anti-bandit army was ready to go, and Rong Que was making pre-war mobilization.
This was the first time Zhao Bingchun had met the prince in recent days.
This time's disaster relief and bandit suppression mission seemed weird and chaotic from the moment Rongque and his team arrived.
Unlike ordinary disaster relief, the prince did not even go to the gathering place of the victims. He was nowhere to be seen every day. When asked, he said he went out to investigate the situation, but he had no idea what he was investigating specifically.
As for him, he had been in a state of panic all the time since the moment the prince and his companions arrived. Not to mention that he didn't know the whereabouts of the prince, even if he knew, he would have no time to take care of him.
This was the most bizarre scene he had ever encountered in all his years as an official, and yet it all fit together perfectly.
"Your Highness, Your Highness."
Zhao Bingchun was in a state of panic and ran towards Rongque, waving his hands.
Rong Que turned to look at him, his brows grim.
Zhao Bingchun held up his black hat and ran to Rong Que, panting and saying, "Your Highness, what's going on? Why did the bandits come to attack us? What's going on..."
How could the bandits possibly come to kill us?
He hired someone to impersonate the bandit!
Rong Que snorted coldly, "How could I admit my mistake! If you are afraid of death, just stay in the city and I will go and eliminate the bandits myself."
After saying that, Rong Que waved his arm and said, "Follow me!"
Rong Que had met Zhao Bingchun seldom since he came to Nanchong County, but he was always polite to him. This was the first time he had been so cold and sarcastic like today, and Zhao Bingchun couldn't help but become suspicious.
These bandit-suppression officers and soldiers of the county government were all under the management of Zhao Bingchun. They had never met Zhao Bingchun before and thought that Zhao Bingchun already knew about it, but now...
Seeing that Zhao Bingchun said nothing and the prince raised his arms and shouted, they no longer responded.
Zhao Bingchun glanced at these soldiers, with a sneer on his face, and said to Rong Que, "Your Highness, please think twice. These bandits are very powerful, and the yamen runners are also human beings. We cannot let them lose their lives in vain just to suppress the bandits."
After Zhao Bingchun said this, the yamen runners who were originally unwilling to fight the bandits became even more reluctant to go.
Rong Que rode on his horse, his face livid, and pointed his long sword at Zhao Bingchun, "Zhao Bingchun, what do you mean? Are you going to disobey my orders? I am ordered to suppress the bandits, are you going to disobey my orders?"
While they were talking, other officials of all ranks from the county government also gathered around.
Zhao Bingchun smiled wryly, "Your Highness, you are too kind. I just don't want everyone to die in vain. As long as the city gates are closed, these bandits can't get in at all."
"What about the disaster victims outside? The bandits can't get in, so what about the disaster victims?"
Zhao Bingchun snorted and laughed, "The victims deserved to die anyway. It's more comfortable to be killed by bandits than to starve to death."
Rong Que was so angry that he fell backwards. He turned around and scolded the soldiers, "I order you to suppress the bandits!"
Those people were unmoved and threw their swords and spears to the ground, making a high-profile statement.
These days, the barely maintained surface harmony has been completely torn apart.
