"Good!" The Emperor glanced at the Crown Prince and the senior officials. Compared to them, the Marquis of Dingbei seemed more loyal.
He immediately issued a secret decree, instructing the Marquis of Dingbei to mobilize 3,000 troops from the riverside military camp, and granting the Marquis of Dingbei full authority to act as he saw fit in all matters.
Marquis Dingbei was almost ecstatic. That last sentence was enough for him to pull off and take over the military power of the Jiangbei camp!
Even if Marquis Xinting defeats the barbarians and returns in triumph, the Jiangbei camp, which serves as his stronghold, will have already become his territory.
Just thinking about the Marquis of Xinting's expression made him want to burst out laughing!
He let these people look down on him, but in the end, he still lost to them!
Filled with immense pride and anticipation, Marquis Dingbei led a dozen personal guards, escorting the chief eunuch and two junior eunuchs, and rode swiftly to the dock camp.
But things often don't go as planned; the more beautiful your vision, the crueler the reality!
At the dockside barracks, soldiers were feeding horses, patrolling, and training in an orderly manner.
Suddenly, an imperial edict arrived from the palace, and soldiers immediately went in to deliver the message.
Li Dayong personally greeted the Marquis of Dingbei at the camp gate, and upon seeing him, he knew things were not going well.
Sure enough, once inside the main tent, Marquis Dingbei took the seat of honor, acting as if he were in charge.
Li Dayong's eyes flickered, then he said coldly, "My lord, that is our lord's seat. Please take a seat in the guest area."
Marquis Dingbei, who was feeling quite pleased with himself, turned pale upon hearing this and replied, "This will be my seat soon!"
“That’s right now, not immediately! Please rise, Lord Marquis!” Li Dayong said firmly, not backing down in the slightest.
Marquis Dingbei was so angry he wanted to overturn the table, but when he saw the imperial edict in the eunuch's hand, he decided to hold back and deal with Li Dayong after things were settled.
So he got up and left the seat of honor.
In the first round, Li Dayong emerged victorious.
The generals who rushed to the scene after hearing the news felt relieved, but were also worried.
Nowadays, even the children of Xindu probably know that the person in the palace has fallen out with the Marquis. That person no longer trusts the Marquis and doesn't even mention or think about such a big event as the Northern Expeditionary Army driving the barbarians out of the border.
The fact that they suddenly sent their enemy, Marquis Dingbei, here today is clearly not a good thing.
Sure enough, the eunuch unfolded the imperial edict, and everyone knelt down to receive it. After listening to a few words, their expressions changed.
Mobilizing thousands of people to arrest the bandits is not a big deal, but why is the bandit Li Jiayi?
And that sentence, "The Marquis of Dingbei is permitted to act at his own discretion in all matters."
Does this mean that the dock camp will now be under the control of Marquis Dingbei?
Seeing everyone's reaction, Marquis Dingbei wanted nothing more than to burst into laughter.
These ruthless killers, who are usually so proud and boast of their great military achievements, will eventually fall into his hands!
Seeing that Li Dayong remained silent, the eunuch urged him in a low voice, "General Li, receive the imperial decree!"
Li Dayong remained silent, and the Marquis of Dingbei lost his temper and shouted, "Li Dayong, do you intend to defy the imperial decree?"
Li Dayong slowly stood up, but replied with a sullen face.
"We will not accept this imperial edict!"
"Insolence!" The eunuch and the Marquis of Dingbei shouted almost in unison.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree looked terrified, but the Marquis of Dingbei was even more excited.
Li Dayong showed no fear whatsoever and spoke calmly as usual.
"The dock camp has always been under the control of Marquis Xinting, and we only obey his orders! Even if the imperial court makes any deployments, it should first notify our Marquis, and then our Marquis can order the troops to be dispatched."
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree tried to persuade him, saying, "General Li, you know the Marquis is at the northern border and can't possibly issue the order. Even if we were to notify him and then relay the order back, it would take at least five or six days. And the rioters are right there at the dock outside the new capital; there's simply not enough time!"
Li Dayong coldly shook his head, "I'm sorry, sir, you've made a wasted trip. We only obey the Marquis's orders!"
Having said that, he took out half of the military tally from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said, "The other half of this military tally is with the Marquis. I can only send out troops when the military tally is completely put back together."
"Furthermore, we have no way of verifying whether this imperial edict is genuine or not. What if someone has altered it privately to frame us, and then accuses us of secretly sending troops with the intention of rebellion? Wouldn't we then have no recourse for justice?"
The eunuch was speechless, after all, this was the first time he had encountered a questioning of the authenticity of an imperial edict!
But Marquis Dingbei was not having it. Li Dayong was clearly suspecting him of interfering.
He glanced at the military tally on the table, something he had longed for for so many years, so close yet still out of reach.
He couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and his right hand immediately went to his sword.
Li Dayong, seemingly lost in thought, walked behind the table, shielding everyone from view. After searching for a while, he finally said, "The Marquis didn't leave any additional letters, so we can only follow orders."
Having said that, he actually stepped forward and patted the Marquis of Dingbei on the shoulder, as if they were old friends, and advised, "My lord, it's not that I look down on you! You've been a coward for half your life, with no ability whatsoever. The soldiers in our camp are all tigers, and even if you scheme and plot to seize military power, you won't be able to control them."
"In the end, he was still ridiculed by everyone and had to go back to Xindu to be a watchdog!"
He spoke and laughed, but his words were incredibly hurtful and insulting.
The Marquis of Dingbei's eyes turned red as he listened, his back teeth grinding together. For some reason, all that flashed before his eyes were the faces of those who had once mocked him.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
But then Li Dayong stepped aside, and the military tally seemed to glow, constantly tempting him...
In a moment of impulsiveness, he lunged forward and snatched the military tally.
Everyone was startled. Before they could speak, Li Dayong shouted angrily, "How dare you, Marquis of Dingbei, steal the military tally! You deserve to die!"
The gleaming longsword fell almost as soon as the words were spoken.
Rolling around!
The head of the Marquis of Dingbei rolled away instantly, and blood from his neck spurted out two feet away, splattering the entire tabletop with bright red blood!
For several breaths, everyone was frozen in place as if under a spell.
What exactly happened?
How did he end up with his head on the ground?
This is the Marquis of Dingbei! No matter how incompetent he is or how much the emperor does not favor him, he is still a dignified marquis!
He just died like that?
Dead!
The eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree was timid. He mechanically twisted his neck, trying to say something, but no sound came out at all.
Fortunately, Li Dayong was kind enough to wipe the blood off the knife from Dingbei Hou's clothes and said to him with a faint smile.
"My lord, when you return to the Emperor, you must tell him the truth. The Marquis of Dingbei went mad and seized the military tally—a capital offense! I feared it would cause chaos, so I took drastic measures to rid the country of this scourge!"
The eunuch made two sounds in his throat, then his eyes rolled back and he fainted!
At this moment, the generals finally came to their senses and shouted loudly.
"General, how can you kill someone?"
"Should we see a doctor? What should we do?"
Everyone panicked and didn't know what to do!
Meanwhile, the guards of the Marquis of Dingbei outside also sensed something was wrong and rushed to the door to take a look.
"My lord, my lord!"
But even faster than them were Li Dayong's personal guards, who quickly knocked the outsiders to the ground and tied them up!
Today's update is here!
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