Chapter 59: Ambush Assassin (3)
With the addition of 50,000 prisoners, the rate at which military rations are consumed is bound to be great. Fortunately, there are large amounts of food stored in the secret passages of the royal palace, so the Zhao army does not run out of rations because of the prisoners. Although the enemy's food is also food, it must be personally identified by Wang Ye one by one. Sure enough, not all of the captured things are edible. A small part of the food contains disease ingredients. This means that the other side must have guessed that these 50,000 people would definitely fail, so they tampered with their food.
After identifying the composition of the disease, Zhao Ziheng ordered the fact to be made public to the captives, which immediately caused a commotion among the captives. These 50,000 people were unaware of the spread of the plague, and plagues are generally natural disasters that are difficult to prevent. However, when the Feiyan Army saw the Zhao army going deep into the plague-infected area, all of them did not believe the credibility of this fact. The reason why the Zhao army had not been infected even after going deep into the enemy's base camp was because they had taken defensive measures. The Feiyan Army, fearing that they might have been infected with the disease, asked Zhao Ziheng for help, but there were still some people who did not believe this fact.
Zhao Ziheng could only watch the quarrel among the ministers. As for the treatment of the captives and the disease, the treatment of the captives had been carried out as Wu Yao said. However, the disease was transmitted by human beings, and many people did not agree to make it public. Many people also said that it would be easy to imagine the consequences of making it public or not. To make it public would be a loss for the State of Zhao, which had mastered this information, and not making it public would cause more people to panic, which led to the birth of two factions...
"Your Majesty, we only need to announce to the public that our Zhao Kingdom has a way to treat this plague. There is no need to tell anyone else what we know."
"That's right, Your Majesty. This way we can regain trust and earn more money. For us, this is a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone."
"No, Your Majesty, this is an extraordinary period. Feiyan is planning a huge conspiracy. We may not be able to deal with it with our current strength. If we announce that Zhao is plagued, it may backfire. People carrying the disease from all over the world will surely come in droves, which will only cause panic. This will play into Feiyan's evil plan. Telling other countries about Feiyan's conspiracy and facing the impending disaster with firepower is the most important thing, Your Majesty."
"Hmph, such a woman's kindness! Are we, the mighty lion of Zhao, afraid of a rat like Feiyan?"
"Although the rats are small, there are many of them. Even a lion cannot defeat the ants coming from all directions. Your Majesty, please think twice."
Everyone present was arguing with each other and expressing their opinions. There were more people on the opposing side and only a few who were in favor.
"The news has leaked out. No matter how secretive we are, we can't silence 50,000 prisoners."
"If they pay with their lives, they won't leak it."
" You want us to be butchers?"
"It's all right. You should know that Feiyan was the mastermind behind the invasion of Zhao several times."
"Fifty thousand people, even those from Feiyan Country, are lives. How can you say such cruel words?"
"Compared to Feiyan, we are much more merciful. You think too much."
"you--"
The arguments between the opposition and the supporters became increasingly heated, and finally...
“That’s enough!!!”
There was a sound in the eyes, a sound that everyone was very familiar with. The noisy scene instantly quieted down, and all eyes were focused on Zhao Ziheng who calmed down the noise. Zhao Ziheng raised his hand and touched his forehead with his fingertips, then faced the ministers...
"I know you are all thinking about Zhao, but let's stop here today. It's late. I want to calm down and think about your suggestions. You can go down and rest first."
Zhao Ziheng's fatigue was entirely caused by the quarrels among the ministers. Compared with endless quarrels, Zhao Ziheng was more accustomed to thinking alone or discussing with several insightful ministers. Perhaps he had guessed that this would be the case, but he could not ignore the existence of these ministers, which sometimes really gave Zhao Ziheng a headache.
"I will take my leave!!"
Knowing that Zhao Ziheng was angry, no one would be so tactless as to continue arguing or speaking. They would quickly step down to avoid angering the emperor, as that would be of no benefit to anyone. It would be better to wait until Zhao Ziheng was in a better mood before stepping forward to claim credit.
Wang Ye had no future this time, so there was no point in staying. After the ministers left, the tent became completely quiet and empty. Zhao Ziheng, who was sitting on the dragon chair, rested his hands on the armrests, tilted his head slightly with his hands, and closed his eyes. He looked really tired. No wonder, he was busy until late at night every day. He had just dealt with the commotion caused by the discovery of disease ingredients in food during the day. The disease ingredients in the food seriously affected the needs of the Zhao army. Fortunately, Zhao Ziyin would arrive with supplies of military rations within a few days, which calmed the army's morale. At this moment, Zhao Ziheng finally relaxed a little and got a moment's rest, thanks to the noisy ministers just now...
