Chapter 237: The difference is obvious
Yongwei, the main hall of the Xiliang Palace.
Lin Kui sat at the top, looking at Song Zhen standing at the steps with a forced smile, gently waving the feather fan in his hand.
He had someone make this feather fan.
He found that compared to Song Zhen, he really didn't look like a strategist. Song Zhen, apart from anything else, at least had done a good job of maintaining his appearance, even carrying a fan on rainy days. He looked more like a military advisor than he did.
But I'm not used to using this thing yet. The sky just cleared up and the wind feels very cold.
"Song Zhen, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked you to hunt down Xiao Zhuo, and you returned empty-handed. You can't explain it, right?" He stared at Song Zhen for a while, and seeing that he remained calm, he asked first.
Xiao Beiheng wasn't the type to be easily persuaded. He'd told Song Zhen to kill Xiao Zhuo, or at least bring back Shen Yuexi if he couldn't. He'd returned empty-handed, having even let Qiang Lin escape. Wasn't he really afraid Xiao Beiheng would chop off his head?
Song Zhen lowered his eyes, placed his hands at his sides, and said politely, "Mr. Lin, I have done my best. When Elder Ji went to look for Xiao Zhuo, dozens of soldiers suddenly appeared. I am just a scholar and not good at fighting, so I had no choice but to escape back alone."
"Nonsense! When we captured Qiang Lin, our sergeant mentioned that only Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi escaped. Where did these soldiers come from?"
Snap! Snap!
Lin Kui felt that Song Zhen was talking nonsense. He slammed his hand on the table in front of him, but forgot that he had an extra fan in his hand and broke all the fan ribs.
He threw away the broken fan and pointed at Song Zhen, saying, "I've long suspected you were feigning surrender, and now the evidence is irrefutable. Come here!"
Two Dingbei Army soldiers entered the hall upon hearing the voice: "Mr. Lin, what are your orders?"
"Drag this guy out here," Lin Kui waved his hand, "behead him!"
He planned to take advantage of the fact that Xiao Beiheng was still sleeping to get rid of Song Zhen so that he would not threaten his position in the future.
Xiao Beiheng seized the Yanque Sword, and the 70,000 defenders of Yongwei City surrendered without a fight, instantly increasing the Dingbei Army's strength to 100,000. Upon learning that Xiao Kai had been beheaded, the governor of Jingzhou was so horrified that he dispatched an envoy overnight to deliver a letter of surrender, expressing his intention to submit. The entire Liangzhou region was now under the control of the Dingbei Army, with the exception of the 30,000 Western Liang troops still south of Nanping City, who were without a commander and resembled a loose group of sand. Overall, Xiao Beiheng's victory could be considered a resounding victory.
After entering Yongwei City, Xiao Beiheng ordered the entire army to rest for three days and held a grand banquet for the generals. He had drunk a lot last night, and now it was already noon, but he still hadn't gotten up.
The two soldiers glanced behind Lin Kui and didn't dare to move.
Lin Kui was furious and pointed at the soldiers, saying, "How dare you, slaves, disobey orders!"
Song Zhen laughed and said, "Mr. Lin, you're being indiscriminate. You're accusing me of feigning surrender and wanting to kill me, yet you can't produce any evidence. Are you worried that I might outsmart you and take your place, so you want to get rid of me first?"
Lin Kui didn't expect Song Zhen to speak his mind directly. He couldn't help but get angry and shouted, "Even if I have a silver tongue, I can't save you!"
He was about to give another order to the soldiers when Xiao Beiheng's cold voice came from behind him: "Lin Kui, have you had enough of this?"
Lin Kui finally understood why the soldiers disobeyed his orders. It turned out that Xiao Beiheng had already stood up and was watching him from behind.
This is a big setback.
Now that Song Zhen knew what he was thinking, he would definitely be more cautious in the future. And after seeing all this, Xiao Beiheng's impression of him would definitely be discounted.
He turned around, bowed in the direction of Xiao Beiheng, and said without raising his head: "Your Highness, I was excited when I saw that he returned empty-handed..."
Xiao Beiheng walked up to Lin Kui with his hands behind his back and said slowly, "Stand with him. I have something to ask."
Seeing that Xiao Beiheng did not pursue the matter, Lin Kui finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly bent down to pick up the broken fan that had been thrown on the ground, walked to the steps, and stood side by side with Song Zhen.
Song Zhen turned his head and looked at him with an amusing smile.
Lin Kui was so angry that he wanted to curse, but he didn't dare to show it on the surface. He could only grit his teeth in his heart: there is still a long way to go.
After all, he has always followed Xiao Beiheng, so he can be called a "confidant" no matter what.
"Song Zhen, you asked someone to wake me up, didn't you just want me to watch you two bicker?" Xiao Beiheng sat down and yawned. "Where's Xiao Zhuo's head?"
"I am incompetent and failed, so I came back first." Song Zhen said.
Lin Kui was secretly delighted and quickly said, "Your Highness, you sent him, but he didn't accomplish anything. Your subordinate..."
"Shut up first," Xiao Beiheng raised his hand and waved, saying to Song Zhen, "Aren't you afraid that I will chop off your head?"
Song Zhen said, "Your Highness, please allow me a moment to speak. After I have finished speaking, it is up to Your Highness to decide whether to kill or chop me up."
Xiao Beiheng chuckled and said, "Speak."
Song Zhen calmly opened the folding fan in his hand and waved it slowly: "Your Highness, do you think that I can defeat Xiao Zhuo alone?"
"No." Xiao Beiheng replied.
"What about Mr. Ji?"
"That's even more impossible. Master Ji is Xiao Zhuo's teacher." Xiao Beiheng held his forehead and said, "No need to say more. I already understand."
Song Zhen closed his fan and bowed, saying, "Your Highness is wise. Taking Xiao Zhuo's head was originally the job of Elder Ji. It is definitely not the job of a weak scholar like me. If Elder Ji can't defeat Xiao Zhuo, how can I possibly be competent?"
Xiao Beiheng smiled and said, "Now that the two states have been settled, what use are you to me, my prince?"
"I was once the governor of Yuzhou. As far as I know, Yuzhou did not respond to the Second Prince's call to arms. Instead, it firmly supported Emperor Yongde. I am very familiar with the area and can help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince pacify Yuzhou..."
As Song Zhen was speaking, a military officer in full armor hurried up the hall and saluted Xiao Beiheng, saying, "Your Highness, I just received news that Ji Zhong was killed by Xiao Zhuo."
"What?" Xiao Beiheng stood up suddenly, and his head, which was originally groggy due to a hangover, suddenly became clear.
He hadn't expected Song Zhen to do anything, but he hadn't expected Ji Zhong to be killed by Xiao Zhuo. With Ji Zhong's skill in snatching the sword from Xiao Kai's hand with a single move on a rainy night, it shouldn't have been possible for him to be defeated by Xiao Zhuo, who was at the lowest point in his life.
"What about the cavalry that followed?" He asked again, somewhat unwillingly.
"When the cavalry arrived, Xiao Zhuo had already left."
Xiao Beiheng waved his hand irritably and asked the generals to retreat.
Ji Zhong's family was still under his secret surveillance. He had originally used Ji Zhong's family to threaten him to kill Xiao Zhuo. If Ji Zhong could not retrieve Xiao Zhuo's head, he would kill Ji Zhong's family. Now that Ji Zhong was dead, what would happen to his family?
As a confidant, Lin Kui naturally knew Xiao Beiheng's concerns about this, so he stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, since Ji Zhong is dead, we should kill his entire family to prevent any future troubles."
Xiao Beiheng said, "You go ahead and do it. I still need to arrange some troops to kill Xiao Zhuo."
Just as Lin Kui was about to turn around, Song Zhen blocked him with his fan: "Wait, Your Highness, Ji Zhong's family members cannot be killed."
Xiao Beiheng was stunned for a moment, then he showed a look of sudden enlightenment and said to Song Zhen:
"Indeed, thank goodness you reminded me. Send down the order to inform Ji Lao's family of his murder. Ji Lao's family will receive a monthly salary in accordance with the official rank of Grand Tutor of Dayan, which I will pay myself."
After giving the order, Xiao Beiheng's mood improved again, and he said to Song Zhen: "From now on, you and Lin Kui will assist this prince together. As long as you are loyal, he will become the crown prince, and you will all be rewarded."
Fortunately, Song Zhen reminded him and he came up with a vicious plan.
After letting the two men leave, he returned to the back house and ordered the maid to spread out paper and pen for him. He then wrote an urgent letter to the King of Qi at a speed of six hundred miles.
If he couldn't catch Xiao Zhuo... it seemed like there was no hope now, so he had to plant a seed of disgust in his father's heart in advance, just to be prepared for a rainy day.
After instructing someone to send the letter, he breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.
Ji Zhong’s death originally made him extremely disappointed, but unexpectedly it succeeded in a plan.
As for Chen Lan, who was imprisoned in the backyard, she was originally used to threaten Qiang Lin. Now that Qiang Lin has escaped, they need to find someone to threaten her, so it is useless to keep her.
"Xia Lan?" he called out.
He slept all night and a whole morning. After getting up, he went to the front hall to meet Song Zhen. He didn't pay any attention to Chen Lan.
Xia Lan was in charge of guarding Shen Lan. He planned to let Xia Lan kill Shen Lan and that would be the end of it. The two of them had similar names, so it was a bit of fate.
After another shout, a maid ran out in panic and said, "Your Highness, Madam Shen and Xia Lan are missing."
"Gone?" Xiao Beiheng couldn't believe it. "How is that possible? Who let him go?"
"No need to look for it," Su Mo lifted the curtain and stood at the door with a cold expression, "I put it there."
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