Chapter 38 Chopping off the limbs
The Privy Council Study.
Chen Jinghe knocked on the door, and someone inside said, "Come in." Then he opened the door, bowed to the man sitting at the table with small sandalwood leaves, and said, "Fourth Master."
"Zhang Cheng has led the Xiaoji Battalion and the Ghost Guard to Luzhou to arrest the Prefect Yao Liqian and his family. Judging by the distance, they should arrive before sunset."
Duan Gan was reviewing the battle reports from the border. His brows furrowed slightly, and his handsome face turned cold. He slammed the stack of letters in his hand onto the table.
He sensed something was amiss, raised his eyes slightly to look at the man sitting down, and cautiously asked, "Fourth Master, is there some important battle going on at the border?"
"The Liao Dynasty intended to form a marriage alliance with the Turks."
This sentence instantly reminded him of the current situation facing the border.
"This... The Liao Kingdom frequently harasses the borders of the Celestial Empire, but with General Wu Lei guarding the border, those Khitans are not a threat at all. However, if they seek marriage alliances with neighboring countries to strengthen their armies, they will pose a threat to our borders."
"Even if a marriage is arranged, it will only be a facade of harmony. The Turks and Khitans value bloodlines. The tribal princesses who are married off are either daughters of low-ranking officials who are temporarily granted titles, or daughters of insignificant royal families. The connections are not significant; it's just a temporary measure."
"What should we do then?"
He chuckled softly, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and leaned back, a hint of mockery and derision flashing in his eyes.
"Let them marry if they want to. As for who the bride and the royal family are, that's not up to them."
Chen Jinghe looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Duan Gan didn't explain, but wrote a few words and put them in an envelope. Chen Jinghe stepped forward, took the envelope with both hands, and then heard him instruct: "Make sure to deliver it to Wu Lei. He will know what to do."
"It's Fourth Master."
Not long after Chen Jinghe left, a gray-white gyrfalcon flew down from the sky and landed on his desk.
He reached down and took the bamboo tube from the gyrfalcon's foot, poured out the slip of paper inside, and unfolded it. It read: "Requesting assistance from a noble person of the Celestial Empire."
He naturally knew who it was. The marriage alliance between Liao and the Qing Dynasty was not only for attacking the Celestial Empire, but also for defending against internal enemies. The Khitan king was seriously ill, and his eldest and second sons were fighting endlessly over who would inherit the Liao Dynasty.
The Khitan did not choose their heirs based on succession. In addition to the strength of the individual, they relied more on elections and the power of the maternal clan.
Both sons were born of the same mother, and their queens were from the same maternal clan as the two brothers. However, the eldest son was slightly weaker than the second son, so he needed the help of a foreign clan to seize the throne. Therefore, marriage was the best option.
The second young prince married the daughter of a high-ranking official. In order not to lose to his younger brother, he could only set his sights on the Turkic Khaganate. The Turkic royal family had a very favored princess. If he married this princess, the Turkic royal family would definitely provide enough troops to support his ascension to the throne.
But those people forgot that besides the two legitimate princes, there was also a prince born out of wedlock, Yelü Lie, whose presence was extremely low. His mother was just a lowly palace maid who suffered from the coldness of human relationships and torment from a young age.
But he had ambitions no less than his brother's, and even craved the power that came with authority more than they did.
In the past, the Khitan king, on a whim, favored a maid who washed his feet. Later, she became pregnant and gave birth to a prince, but he only gave her the title of beauty and then ignored her. The Khitan queen, however, disliked this maid who used to wash his feet in her room, believing that she had deliberately seduced and provoked her.
After that, she targeted him at every turn, making life extremely difficult for the mother and son in the palace.
At the age of eighteen, Duan Gan was sent as an envoy to the Liao Dynasty on behalf of the Celestial Empire. It happened to be the snowy season, and fifteen-year-old Yelü Lie, whose mother had caught a cold and was critically ill, rushed into the main hall where a banquet was being held.
The Khitan king at that time had long forgotten that he had a son. Even if he did remember, the fact that the son was born to a lowly maidservant offended the envoy from the Celestial Empire and nearly cost Yelü Lie and his mother their lives.
Duan Gan saved them; it was just a matter of a word for him, but for the mother and son, it was a life-saving grace.
From then on, Duan Gan secretly provided assistance to this illegitimate prince from time to time, enabling him to have the ability to contend with the legitimate prince. Now that the Khitan king is seriously ill, with the two sides fighting, if the Turks help, the fisherman will surely benefit.
He stood by the window, gazing at the gyrfalcon that flew towards the horizon and gradually became a black dot, his face indifferent and cold.
There are no permanent friends, nor permanent enemies.
At the right moment, even a dull knife can be a deadly weapon.
"Jinghe".
Chen Jinghe, who was outside the door, pushed the door open and entered.
"Fourth Master."
"How's it going in prison?"
Upon hearing the question, Chen Jinghe looked somewhat ashamed. "Fourth Master, Zhao Yinchen is very stubborn and hasn't confessed anything. But as long as we control Yao Liqian's daughter, we'll control the bloodline of the Zhao Kingdom. It's only a matter of time before we capture them."
"The remnants of the Zhao state are like rats in a gutter; once one nest is wiped out, another one springs up. If we don't eradicate them completely, the Luzhou Uprising will surely happen again."
Chen Jing nodded in sudden realization.
"The Ghost Festival is in two days. This is a good opportunity to let them go down and keep their ancestors company."
Duan Gan strode out, and he hurriedly followed behind.
"Fourth Master, where are we going?"
"Go and visit your old friend in prison."
The torture chamber.
He sat in front of the armchair, a hint of impatience already showing in his eyes, toying with a small paper kitten the size of his palm.
Chen Jinghe glanced at his master's furrowed brows and felt a little uneasy.
He had already used all the necessary tortures, and he didn't know that Zhao Yinchen could be so patient.
Duan Gan suddenly looked up at the blood-soaked figure on the wooden frame. The figure's extremely black eyes stared at him, revealing a dark and chillingly cold aura. The powerful, bloody aura enveloped him as if it were a tangible, overwhelming force.
Zhao Yinchen, who had been hanging his head, suddenly felt a chilling killing intent surge from his tailbone to his spine. He looked up abruptly, his disdainful expression freezing on his face, and a hint of fear involuntarily appeared on his face.
He began to tremble all over; he had a bad feeling, a vague sense that something bad was about to happen.
Chen Jinghe wished he could find a crack in the ground to shrink himself away, because he knew that Fourth Master was losing patience.
Sure enough, the next second, the man sitting in the armchair stood up, turned and walked outside, and a low, hoarse voice followed: "Chop off his limbs and his manhood and send them to his unborn child. Hang his body on the city wall for everyone to see as a warning to others."
"Yes, Fourth Master."
Zhao Yinchen was somewhat dazed. The voice seemed to be coming from a very far place, making it difficult for him to hear the content of the words clearly.
What is Duan Gan saying?
Does he even know he's of royal blood from the Zhao Kingdom? How dare he treat me like this?! It must be an illusion; he must have misheard.
Zhao Yinchen tried to calm himself down, but he couldn't control the panic and fear in his heart. He didn't want to die! He regretted it!
He thought Duan Gan would spare his life out of consideration for the remaining Zhao forces, but he never expected that Duan Gan would actually kill him...
No, that was torture a thousand times worse than death…
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