Chapter 88: A Series of Joyful Events

Xiang Ruzhen ordered her men to bring the assassins in, and the three of them interrogated him in secret.

"Who sent you?"

"I cannot say, and I advise the generals not to ask either."

Lu Jinlan frowned, and Yan Wuxin threatened, "Don't try to be a heroine here. If you're in our hands, just confess honestly. Don't force us to use torture."

The assassin said firmly, "You can torture me, you can even kill me. But I am acting under secret orders, and I will never speak, even if it means death."

Her attitude was firm, and the three of them couldn't help but have some doubts.

Xiang Ruzhen whispered, "This person looks unfamiliar, but is quite skilled. I just had several generals from Qiulong Pass secretly identify her, and they all said they had never seen her before. She must have taken advantage of the city gates being wide open today to steal our uniforms and sneak onto the battlefield. Judging from her accent, she seems to be from the capital."

Lu Jinlan nodded slightly, her dark eyes darting around, already having an idea in mind.

"On a secret order, is that it? You won't talk about it, huh? Fine." Lu Jinlan smiled and stroked his chin. "I'll send a few people to parade you through the streets. We'll beat drums and gongs and announce it to everyone that this person was on a secret order to assassinate former General Ling Xin. Although I don't know who your master is, she'll definitely be furious."

The assassin stared in shock, his eyes wide. "You...you can't do this!"

Lu Jinlan smiled. "I'm going to do it this way, what can you do about it?"

The three exchanged a smile, and Yan Wuxin stood up and said, "I'll go and call someone right away."

The assassin, sweating profusely, had no choice but to confess: "I'll confess! But if I do, you absolutely mustn't tell anyone. Otherwise, we'll all be in mortal danger. I'm acting on a secret imperial decree; the Emperor sent me."

"What?" The three were so shocked they couldn't speak.

The assassin said, "I am a member of the Imperial Guard. Half a month ago, the Emperor ordered me to come here to secretly eliminate Ling Xin. But since I arrived here, I haven't had a chance to get close to her until today."

Xiang Ruzhen didn't believe her. "Do you have any evidence to prove what you're saying?"

The assassin replied, "It was an imperial edict; there is no evidence."

Lu Jinlan thought about it and realized it made sense. If the emperor were to assassinate a general, how could he leave any evidence if he wanted to do it discreetly?

She quickly ordered her men to take the assassin away and keep him under strict guard.

Lu Jinlan frowned as she paced around the room.

Yan Wuxin said uneasily, "Things are not going well. We've accidentally stumbled upon the Emperor's secret. How are we going to handle this?"

Xiang Ruzhen said skeptically, "We don't even know if what she said is true! Why would the Emperor want to get rid of Ling Xin in this way? Even if Ling Xin is killed, the Ling family army will still exist. At most, there will be a few days of temporary chaos, and the Marquis of Dingbei will soon appoint someone else to continue taking over the Ling family army. What use is that to the Emperor?"

Lu Jinlan was still racking his brains when he heard Xiang Ruzhen's casual words and suddenly realized, "It's useful! A few days of brief chaos will be of great use!"

Yan Wuxin hurriedly asked, "What did you think of?"

Lu Jinlan said, "The Emperor issued a secret order half a month ago. Wasn't that right when I had just taken over the Prison Dragon Pass? At that time, I had taken 30,000 troops from Ling Xin and had been on guard against her, fearing that she would want to go back. If the assassin had succeeded earlier, the Ling family army would have fallen into chaos on its own, and would they have cared about asking me for troops?"

Yan Wuxin suddenly understood, and excitedly slammed his hand on the table, saying, "More than that! Maybe you can take advantage of the chaos to get some more troops from the Ling family army. Even if you only keep them for five or six days, that'll be enough for us to fight a battle."

Lu Jinlan nodded repeatedly, "If we think about it this way, then the Emperor's intention in appointing me as the Rear General is self-evident."

“Once the assassin succeeds, all the generals in the Ling family army will be below me in rank. I am eager to use troops. Beizhou City is right under my nose. While they are leaderless, I will most likely go to the city to persuade them. By using both soft and hard tactics, perhaps a part of the Ling family army will come under my command.”

Xiang Ruzhen murmured, "So, from the moment you arrived at Qiulong Pass, the Emperor hoped that you could help her gradually dismantle the Ling family army. When you first arrived at Qiulong Pass, you had already taken control of 80,000 Ling family soldiers. The Emperor then tried to create opportunities for you to gradually swallow up the remaining 320,000."

Yan Wuxin sighed, "Now I understand everything. The Emperor and the Marquis of Dingbei are fighting to the death, neither willing to give an inch. The Marquis of Dingbei keeps retreating in an attempt to preserve the strength of the Ling family army. The Emperor was already at her wit's end, but then she suddenly discovered that Jinlan was a bandit-like fellow who could deceive, rob, and swindle."

"Perhaps the Emperor initially sent you to Prison Dragon Pass hoping you could achieve a surprise victory and stem the tide of defeat. But your capture of those 30,000 troops gave her an idea. The Emperor suddenly realized that he could kill two birds with one stone."

"She used you to dismantle the Ling family army, and you used the Ling family army to win battles. By firmly grasping the Ling family army in your own hands and using it for your own purposes, you objectively weaken the Ling family army's power. Isn't this a win-win situation?"

Lu Jinlan sighed, "Yes, Ling Xin's death is entirely beneficial to me. Although this assassin delayed her move for so long, I must say that today was the best time for her to strike."

“The Ling family army is currently mixed up with the Song family army. Ling Xin is dead, and the 400,000 Ling family soldiers are at a loss. My mother can rightfully take over the Ling family army. After today, there will be no more Ling family army.”

Xiang Ruzhen slapped the table and said, "That's great! Now we don't have to worry about rebels anymore."

Lu Jinlan nodded and said, "Today we not only won a great victory, but we also helped the Emperor get rid of a major threat. I will go see the Grand Marshal now."

Yan Wuxin hurriedly said, "No! This is not right! Don't get excited and only think about the good side."

Yan Wuxin said to Lu Jinlan, "Don't forget, in the Emperor's plan, you are to dismantle the Ling family army. How much you can get your hands on is up to you. If you manage to get all 400,000 Ling family soldiers into your hands, it will definitely exceed her expectations, not to mention letting the commander-in-chief take over."

"Although it is said that the commander-in-chief will take over and it will eventually be yours, it is not the same thing at all. Just think about it, with nearly 700,000 troops in the commander-in-chief's hands, how can the emperor not be wary? Such a large number would scare me to death if I told you."

Lu Jinlan's expression changed, and Yan Wuxin whispered a reminder: "The Marquis of Dingbei is a cautionary tale."

Lu Jinlan took a deep breath. "You're right. The Emperor is definitely more sensitive to this than anyone else. Let me think of a foolproof plan."

Yan Wuxin said, "Think about it. I can't help you with this. I'll go check on that assassin. Since she came under secret orders, her life is in danger if people find out. Let's just pretend we don't know anything and release her. If she doesn't say anything, neither will we, and this matter will be over."

Xiang Ruzhen said, "I'll go with you. I'll go and remind the relevant people to keep their mouths shut."

After the two left, Lu Jinlan sat alone at the table, lost in thought.

*

The battle at Qiulong Pass was incredibly fierce.

Three countries were at war, and the war reports received by the three monarchs all reported the same thing. However, the three emperors all showed varying degrees of shock, almost to the point of disbelief and incredulity.

Emperor of Jiang: "What? A report of defeat? We actually lost?"

The Emperor of Qu: "Victory report? I know. Well, we won. How could we not win against a small place like Prison Dragon Pass, which was fought alongside Jiang? What? Jiang was defeated? We defeated Jiang together with Hua?"

Emperor Zhao Mincheng of Hua Kingdom awoke with a start from his dream. Upon hearing the news of victory coming from outside, he hurriedly said, "Read it quickly! Read it quickly!"

The attendant, holding the victory report with tears in his eyes, exclaimed excitedly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! General Lu, in alliance with the Qu Kingdom's army and the Song family's army, annihilated 450,000 Jiang Kingdom troops outside Qiulong Pass. After a day of bloody battle, they killed more than 160,000 enemy soldiers, winning the greatest victory in the history of our Hua Kingdom!"

"Good!" Zhao Mincheng laughed loudly.

The attendant laughed and said, "The Jiang army suffered heavy losses. The remnants retreated more than 130 li and took refuge in Yezhou City of Jiang Kingdom. Your Majesty, we have recovered all our lost territory!"

Zhao Mincheng's eyes welled up with tears, and he nodded. "Good! That's great! Any other news?"

The attendant said, "General Lu's battle report is too detailed, reporting the merits of more than 130 people. I would like Your Majesty to review it and make your decision. I will not go into details. But there is one more thing I need to report to Your Majesty."

"General Lu said that in this battle of Qiulong Pass, in addition to the Song family army, the Ling family army also sent troops to reinforce. The commander-in-chief, General Ling Xin, died in battle, and the other generals also fought bravely and wiped out the defeat."

"General Lu said that the Ling family army's previous poor performance was probably due to command errors. Taking this opportunity, we might as well reorganize and improve its combat strength. After this battle, there will be no more wars in the northern border. She wants to select 200,000 elite soldiers to form an invincible Chicheng Army to guard the northern lands. The remaining 200,000 troops will be trained for a month and then incorporated into the local garrisons to strengthen the domestic military force."

Zhao Mincheng curled the corners of his lips, "What are the two characters in the Chicheng Army's name, Chicheng?"

"Your Majesty, it is sincere loyalty and courage."

Zhao Mincheng nodded slightly, a different meaning lurking in his joyful eyes. "Sincere loyalty and bravery? Excellent. From now on, the Ling family army will disappear from this world."

Zhao Mincheng finally felt relieved. "Immediately have the inner court draft an edict and send someone to the Marquis of Dingbei's residence to imprison him in the imperial prison."

The attendant hesitated for a moment. "This... Your Majesty, what reason should be written on the imperial edict?"

Zhao Mincheng sneered: "Didn't General Lu say that the Ling family army's poor performance was due to command errors? Let's use the charge of 'command errors' to imprison Marquis Dingbei."

The attendant left the battle report and hurried away.

Zhao Mincheng looked at the battle report again and again, and then summoned another attendant.

"Read it aloud to me, keep reading until I tell you to stop."

The attendant cleared his throat and began to read aloud.

Zhao Mincheng lay on the dragon bed, listening to the news of victory, a smile on his face, as he grew increasingly sleepy.

She didn't call for a stop, and the servant's voice went from clear and bright to hoarse. Finally, dawn broke.

The next day, Zhongyong Garden was filled with joyous occasions.

Just as Song Lincheng gave birth, an official from the palace arrived with an imperial decree.

Everyone was busy, from top to bottom.

Lu Jinlan's father, Madam Yan, hurriedly came out of the delivery room and apologized to the official who delivered the imperial decree, saying, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, sir. My wife is not in the capital, and my daughter is even further away at the border. My daughter's husband just gave birth to a child, and his wound has not yet stopped bleeding. Hearing that you have arrived, I had no choice but to come and receive you."

"I am but a humble woman, unfamiliar with etiquette, and have failed in my hospitality. Please forgive me, sir. May I ask what decree you wish to convey, and who you intend to receive it?"