"this……"
"It was my cousin who asked me to send people to investigate the unusual activities in Xiyao Kingdom."
He found out the news and reminded Xu Liang, who then sent someone to check it out in person. Sure enough, they saw that there were quite a few people gathered there.
"this……"
"So, the Crown Prince should already know the news, or perhaps he has had that idea for a long time."
In fact, Wu Linghua was more convinced of the second possibility.
"This... shouldn't be the case."
How could a prince of such high status do such a thing?
"General, there's no use worrying about this now. My cousin has already set off and should be here soon."
"We must defend this area well, as for the former crown prince..."
Wu Linghua's eyes turned cold. He had wanted to kill this man before.
"If he still wants to come in, just let him in. Lock him up and that's it."
A traitor, no matter the reason, does not deserve forgiveness.
Xu Liang nodded, still feeling uneasy. Few people knew about the Crown Prince's deposition, and he worried that someone might be being used by him. And the two people beside him—he knew without a doubt they were no ordinary individuals.
"Young Master Wu, I think the former crown prince should not be allowed in."
Xu Liang hesitated for a moment, then said:
"None of us know what they're planning to do. If he gets in, there are too many uncontrollable things that could happen."
"Besides, the former crown prince isn't stupid. He came back knowing we already suspected him. Do you think he would be completely unsuspecting?"
After thinking about it, Wu Linghua wholeheartedly agreed.
"Then we won't let him in. We just need to guard this place and wait for Prince Zhen to come."
"He's already on his way and should be here soon. We just need to wait patiently."
Xu Liang nodded, then suddenly thought of something:
"Oh, right, a soldier just said he knows the former crown prince and he's going to go down and open the door for him."
There weren't many soldiers here who recognized the Crown Prince, which he found strange. Besides, even if he did recognize him, would this little soldier dare to open the door without orders from above? He was incredibly bold!
Wu Linghua frowned, his face full of displeasure: "This can be dealt with according to military regulations. They must be trying to curry favor with the Crown Prince!"
So many people didn't go down to open the door, only that little soldier was capable, look how powerful he is.
Xu Liang nodded, deeply agreeing. Military discipline is strict; if everyone acted like a lowly soldier, wouldn't his unit descend into chaos?
"By the way, my cousin got me a batch of pork. He said the soldiers have worked hard, and once the meat arrives in a few days, he'll treat them to a better meal!"
Xu Liang's eyes lit up when he heard this. There were so many people in their army that they hadn't seen any meat scraps for more than half a month.
In the past, it was considered good to have one meal a day. Now, there's even meat in it, which is incredibly luxurious.
"That's wonderful! Please thank Prince Zhen for me. Look at my mouth, I still can't get it right. It should be His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The orders from above hadn't arrived yet, but the Wu family had their own methods. Xu Liang trusted the Wu family in this matter; changing the crown prince was no small thing, and the Wu family had no reason to resort to deception. News would arrive soon.
...
"That person really is His Highness the Crown Prince! I just wanted to go down and open the door for him; I had no other intentions!"
Inside the prison, Lu Xiaonan was still trying to explain himself. Unfortunately, the guards didn't believe him, and no one came to pay him any attention.
Lu Xiaonan wanted to go out, so he shook the door hard and shouted until his voice was hoarse. Finally, he heard footsteps coming from the doorway.
He scrambled to his feet, ran to the cell door, and stared intently outside.
"General, he was the one who was about to go down and open the door!"
Upon hearing that the visitor was a general, Lu Xiaonan's eyes lit up.
He's been here for so long, when has he ever seen a general in person? This is the first time he's met such an important figure.
"General, I'm innocent! I do know I've seen His Highness the Crown Prince before, in our town. I recognized him just now, that's why I wanted to go and open the door for him!"
"I'm not a spy, I really just wanted to open the door for Your Highness!"
Xu Liang walked in, and the jailer quickly brought over a chair. Xu Liang sat down calmly.
Lu Xiaonan was forced to kneel on the ground.
"May I have your name?"
"Lu Xiaonan!"
"You said you've met His Highness the Crown Prince before?"
Lu Xiaonan nodded hurriedly, "Yes, General, His Highness the Crown Prince visited our town before, and he even took a fancy to my niece!"
Xu Liang's lips twitched violently; he had indeed heard about this before.
The prince took a fancy to a woman in town. At the time, the woman was about to get married, and the prince wanted to steal her away and bring her into his household.
Unfortunately, the woman was not happy and ran away. The crown prince even sent people to chase after her for a long time.
Judging from Lu Xiaonan's expression, he still looked smug. What was there to be smug about? Would the Crown Prince treat him any differently just because he was that woman's relative?
"Even if you've seen the Crown Prince before and recognized the person before you as the Crown Prince, didn't you have any suspicions that he came from an enemy country?"
Xu Liang was in a good mood today, and he asked with a kind expression.
"General, I... I didn't think that much at the time!" Lu Xiaonan said in a low voice.
"Heh...you're just thinking about opening the door as soon as possible to please the Crown Prince, aren't you?"
"As a soldier, you tried to open the city gate without your superior's permission. Lu Xiaonan, are you sure you're not a spy?"
"I'm not, I really am not!"
Lu Xiaonan was so frightened that he crawled on his belly; at this moment, he knew fear.
"Someone come here! Loosen his muscles!"
Before Lu Xiaonan could understand what was happening, two soldiers came forward, dragged him up, and carried him directly to the rack outside.
"I...I really didn't do it! General, I don't know anything!"
Lu Xiaonan panicked at this point, but unfortunately, Xu Liang wouldn't give him the chance.
He waved his hand, and a soldier came over with a leather whip and lashed it at Lu Xiaonan.
Crack! Crack! Crack! The leather whip struck his body with a crisp sound. Lu Xiaonan screamed in pain, looking utterly miserable.
Xu Liang watched indifferently until the person was beaten unconscious, then he waved his hand and said, "Wake him up!"
A bucket of cold water, freshly drawn from the well, was poured over Lu Xiaonan's head. He felt both pain and cold, and his lips trembled.
"I, I really..."
Unfortunately, no one listened to him at this time, and he was given a whip instead.
...
Han Jinghua suffered a lot along the way with Lu Xiaonan, and the two girls became so thin that they were skin and bones.
Back when I was at home, although we didn't always have enough to eat, we could at least eat something. We would just stay on the kang (heated brick bed) and didn't burn much energy.
But ever since he joined the army with his father, he has to walk a lot every day, and he doesn't get enough to eat or drink.
If you get sick in the middle, you can only rely on yourself. If you can get through it, you will live; if you can't, you will die.
I've encountered men like them who joined the army along the way, and about half of them have already died.
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