Chapter 58: Confrontation (1)
Based on what I have seen and heard along the way, the scene before my eyes is completely inconsistent. What on earth happened?
After inspecting the abandoned city, Zhao Ziheng returned to the camp and held a meeting with Wang Ye and other accompanying generals, civil officials, imperial doctors, military doctors, etc.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that a disaster other than death from the plague could happen in the Plague Land. Could it be that the information you gave me was just rumors?"
Zhao Ziheng was angry that his subordinates did not conduct on-site search for intelligence. Rumors were just rumors after all, and they were absolutely unreliable without confirmation. The plague was indeed terrible, but the carefully selected spies should not be afraid of anything. Knowing the situation of Feiyan and Zhao, but not reporting the truth, such mistakes were absolutely not allowed. As the king of a country, Zhao Ziheng personally went to the plague area, so he would not allow his subordinates to be afraid of death.
Wang Ye, who was standing by, could understand Zhao Ziheng's feelings. If some things were not dealt with seriously, they would happen again, so he did not stop them. Others did not dare to say anything because of Zhao Ziheng's anger...
"Wu Yao!"
"I will be here!"
Wu Yao, who was originally Zhao Ziyin's deputy general, was nominated to be Zhao Ziheng's accompanying general this time.
"Call back all the spies currently in Feiyan, select a new group of elite spies, and warn them that if they make false reports again, they will be severely punished. This matter is now in your hands. Make sure to punish them severely, and use this as a warning to other spies that the spies selected by our Zhao State must not fear life and death. Those who retreat in the face of battle are not warriors of our Great Zhao."
"Yes, sir."
Although Zhao Ziheng's words were a bit harsh, they were still decisive. This was what a spy should do. If they were not afraid of life and death, their existence would have been replaced by ordinary people long ago. In any case, even if he was still in the Zhao Palace, Zhao Ziheng's words were absolute. Moreover, at this moment, he was facing unknown dangers at any time, just like those spies hiding in dangerous places. Therefore, his words were more convincing and irrefutable.
"Doctor Li, have you found out the cause of death of those who died in the city?"
"Yes, as mentioned before, those people did not die from the plague, but from the massacre. The dead were not only ordinary people, but also soldiers. It should be that those people resisted during the massacre."
After hearing the answer from Imperial Physician Li, Zhao Ziheng thought for a moment.
"...I see, Sir Xiao, have you figured it out?"
"Yes, here—"
After one question was asked, another followed. A civil servant handed the document in his hand to Zhao Ziheng. Zhao Ziheng took it and began to read it. After a while, he put the document away...
"Sun Ming, just do as you did before, send people to investigate in the mountains and report the intelligence as soon as possible."
"I obey your orders!"
Another general received orders from Zhao Ziheng.
"That's it. Everyone, go do what you should do. Leave. Wang Ye and Wu Yao stay."
"I will take my leave now!"
At the command, everyone except the two people named left the tent one after another, and soon they were all gone...
"Wu Yao, no clues yet?"
"not yet."
"...The journey was smooth and unimpeded. Since entering Feiyan, there have been mysteries everywhere, including the entry and the cause of death of the people here. It is said to be dead silent, but it is full of dangers. Doesn't the emperor think so?"
Wang Ye suddenly spoke from the side, and Zhao Ziheng remained silent to show his agreement with him, and Wu Yao seemed to be the same.
"Although everyone knows that the emperor is going to the war with the army, no one would believe that the emperor would really go to the most dangerous place in person. Does Lord Wang think that the emperor would be in danger?"
"Danger is always there, and isn't it too obvious this time? Didn't General Wu notice it?"
"If that's the case, then why didn't Lord Wang stop it? The emperor's safety is related to the survival of our Zhao State. No one can replace the emperor as the monarch of our Zhao State. Lord Wang knew there was danger but didn't stop it. What is your intention?"
The conversation between Wu Yao and Wang Ye was extremely deep. Knowing that danger could come at any time, Wu Yao was very dissatisfied with Wang Ye's behavior of knowing everything but not stopping it. He was only concerned about Zhao Ziheng's situation.
"Wu Yao, calm down."
Wu Yao's anger made Zhao Ziheng speak. He was very pleased that Wu Yao cared so much about his comfort, but he still had to stick to the facts.
"Your Majesty, if there is really danger, then we are likely being targeted. Lord Wang knows about it but does not report it. He wants to kill Your Majesty."
"...I am very grateful for your concern for me. However, it was my own decision to come here even though I knew there was danger. General Wu should have known from the beginning that we were facing danger at any time since we set out here, right?"
Having said that, it seems that Wu Yao was already dissatisfied with Wang Ye, and now he is only 10% more dissatisfied.
"If I'm guessing correctly, General Wu doesn't seem to have a good impression of me, right?"
Wang Ye's words caused Wu Yao to glare at him. Wu Yao thought that Wang Ye was self-aware, but Wang Ye disagreed and had the same attitude as expected...
"If that's the case, I also hope that General Wu can treat our affairs as private. You can do whatever you want to me in private, but it doesn't seem right to start a quarrel in front of the emperor, right?"
Wang Ye's words made Wu Yao furious. It would be fine if he said it in private, but it made Wu Yao particularly angry when he said it in front of Zhao Ziheng. A person with unknown origins was suddenly valued by Zhao Ziheng, and it seemed that he would listen to him in everything. How could Wu Yao bear this? He didn't think so for himself, but for Zhao Ziyin. Zhao Ziyin was the general of Zhao State and the cousin of Zhao Ziheng. Since Wang Ye appeared, Wu Yao felt that Zhao Ziheng favored Wang Ye and ignored Zhao Ziyin's hard work, so he regarded Wang Ye as a thorn in his side...
