Chapter 796: Wasted Chess
"Song Jinxiu is fine, but what about Zhang Bin? Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on the Zhang family? How could you let him get away?!"
Wu Ya smashed the things in front of her in anger, and the people kneeling below trembled.
The man didn't dare to dodge at all, and just took two hits, with his head hanging down.
"Our people are indeed keeping an eye on the Zhang family, but the Prince Consort said that the Zhang family has complicated relationships with the powerful and influential people in various tribes, so we shouldn't touch them lightly. Zhang Bin hadn't behaved abnormally before, and that day, he even paraded through the city with a group of people under the pretext of delivering goods..."
So many people from powerful families followed him, and the huge Zhang family was still in the imperial city.
Who could have thought that those shops would change owners overnight, and that the seemingly unscrupulous Zhang Bin would just run away?
Who wouldn't run away secretly? How could someone run away like him, dragging so much goods and so many people through the city?
Wu Ya did not let it go after hearing this. Instead, she whipped the man hard on the back, knocking him to the ground.
"Are you blaming the Prince Consort?"
"I dare not!"
The man endured the excruciating pain on his back and hurriedly climbed up and knelt on the ground again: "Princess, please forgive me. I spoke out of turn."
Wu Ya's face was extremely ugly. She had suffered repeated failures in the past few days. She had originally thought that if she could capture Zhang Bin and Song Jinxiu, she could at least save some face. Moreover, with these two bitches in front of her, she could also explain the previous affairs of Southern Qi to the various tribes. But who would have thought that she didn't catch any of them.
Wu Ya gritted her teeth. These two mad dogs raised by the Emperor of Wei made her fall hard.
They'd better pray that she doesn't catch them, otherwise she'll skin them, pull out their tendons, chop them up and feed them to the dogs!
At the Imperial Master's Mansion, Xiahou Ling's eyes were filled with gloom when he learned that the Zhang family had "gone deserted" and Song Jinxiu was nowhere to be found, but he was well prepared.
He stroked the eye mask on his face, his face full of gloom.
"That Zhang Bin was able to hide behind Song Jinxiu for such a long time without me noticing. It's no surprise that he was able to prepare in advance and escape unscathed. But as for that Song Jinxiu, I really underestimated this stray dog..."
Song Jinxiu seemed to be conspiring with Zhang Bin, but in fact he was just a chess piece that the Emperor of Wei had already laid out.
Ever since the Song family was wiped out and he fled the Wei Dynasty capital in a panic, Song Jinxiu probably had already become a chess piece buried by the Wei Emperor in Beiling without even realizing it, and a useless chess piece that could be thrown away at any time after use.
Zhang Bin left because he had known the overall situation for a long time, and he knew that no matter whether the Emperor of Wei's plan succeeded or not, he and Song Jinxiu would be exposed. Staying in Beiling would only mean waiting for death, so he had made preparations long before taking action.
But what about Song Jinxiu?
When he colluded with Wu Ya and Ji Rongqing to backstab the Imperial Master's Mansion, he was obviously unaware of the situation he was in.
Even yesterday he received a reward from the Khan, which attracted a lot of attention. However, in just half a day, the people sent to capture him at night had lost track of him. He was able to escape in advance and even disappeared without a trace. This was what surprised Xiahou Ling.
"National Master, do we still need to send people to arrest them?"
"No need."
Xiahou Ling said in a deep voice, "That Zhang Bin has many paths. Even if he hasn't left Beiling, he's probably already hidden somewhere safe. It won't be easy to find him. As for Song Jinxiu, he's not worth our attention right now."
It was just a useless piece of chess, even worse than the stray dog.
He abandoned his motherland and betrayed Beiling.
There is no place for him in this world.
Xiahou Ling said, "The most important thing right now is the Wei Dynasty. The Khan has ordered the troops to be dispatched tomorrow, and all the tribes are gathering food and supplies in preparation for the march south. You should also prepare the things I mentioned earlier and take them with you when the troops set out tomorrow."
"Also, have all twelve Divine Guards accompany us this time. Have Lanshan and all the Blood Shadow men hide behind the main army, ready to respond to deployment orders at any time."
The man below was filled with astonishment. The Twelve Divine Guards were the top killers trained by the National Master, and the Three Thousand Blood Shadows were the biggest trump cards of the National Master's Mansion. Those blood shadows were all born out of killing, and each one could fight ten enemies at once.
Over the years, the imperial teacher was only used once when the old Khan died of illness and the Beiling Civil War broke out.
But now...
The man whispered, "This time the army has gathered the elite troops from all over the country, so Blood Shadow shouldn't be needed, right?"
Xiahou Ling: "The Emperor of Wei is difficult to deal with, and there are no guarantees that there won't be any unexpected events during the march. Bringing Blood Shadow with you may not be necessary."
"Yes." The man said, "Then here in the Imperial City..."
"You and Luo Ya are in charge of the Imperial City."
Xiahou Ling's eyes were cold and gloomy. "This time, sending troops to Wei is a matter of great importance. Hu Yanmin won't do anything rash. The Wanhu tribe won't take the initiative to intervene. Only the Zongyu tribe needs to be more cautious."
"However, the Zong Yu tribe spent so much money to exchange for a deputy general this time. What they are planning cannot be achieved by Sang Qina alone. Therefore, there will definitely be others accompanying the princess's residence. Wu Ya is too impulsive and not smart enough. This person will most likely be Ji Rongqing."
"As long as Ji Rongqing isn't in the Imperial City, Wu Ya and the other old guys from Zong Yu's tribe are nothing to be afraid of."
Xiahou Ling's eyes were full of fierceness when he mentioned Ji Rongqing. He had been helping Huyan Min suppress the Zong Yu tribe over the years. If Ji Rongqing had not suddenly appeared, the Zong Yu tribe would have been inferior to the Wan Hu tribe long ago.
In the entire princess's mansion and the Zong Yu tribe, the only person he was afraid of was Ji Rongqing.
"During wartime, all tribes will restrain their actions. No one dares to risk public outrage. After I leave, you and Luo Ya will handle the mundane matters at the royal court. If there's anything you're truly undecided about, send someone to inform me."
The man nodded: "I understand, but it's just that the Imperial Master, Ji Rongqing is as cunning as the people of Wei..."
"He is originally from Wei, how can he not lose?"
Xiahou Ling snorted coldly, his words almost confirming Ji Rongqing's identity. He said expressionlessly, "If he dares to plot against me, I will not let him off."
He was a sickly man who often suffered from headaches. If he stayed in the imperial city, he would not be able to do anything to him for a while.
But once he leaves the imperial city with the army, he might suffer a headache and die one day.
"And the Emperor of Wei!"
Xiahou Ling was very smart all his life. Except for the time when he was careless and lost an eye to that shameless old man Shi Chang'an, he had never been schemed against and played tricks by anyone else in his life.
Didn't the Emperor of Wei want to delay Beiling's dispatch of troops? Did he want to take advantage of the civil unrest in Beiling to conquer Southern Qi first?
Okay.
Since he dared to take such a risk, Xiahou Ling would let the Emperor of Wei see the consequences of the risk.
The war in Southern Qi was at a stalemate, and the Wei Dynasty's troops were tied down in the southern border. He wanted to see what the Wei Emperor's expression would be when the Beiling army marched south and flattened Luoyan Pass, and the Wei Dynasty's troops were unable to cope!
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