Not long after Xue Shen arrived at the garrison, Qi Zhong came looking for him after hearing the news.
He entered the camp in his military uniform, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "The King of Qin has finally returned. I was sent by His Majesty to inspect the border and reward the soldiers there, but as soon as I arrived, I heard that the governor of Xizhou and the garrison commander had committed a crime and been killed. Such a big thing, and no one even reported it to the capital!"
Qi Zhong looked ready to confront Xue Shen, but Xue Shen remained nonchalant and indifferent.
He leaned forward slightly, supporting himself on his knees, and casually asked, "I have already written a report on the crimes committed by the Prefect of Xizhou and the Chief General and sent it to the capital. How come His Majesty has not seen it?"
He pretended to take a deep breath and said, "The governor and the garrison commander of Xizhou have colluded to bully the people and oppress the local people over the years, committing many serious crimes. According to the laws of our dynasty, they deserve to die. I originally intended to escort them to the capital and hand them over to the Dali Temple for trial, but unfortunately, they have committed too many evils and have aroused public anger. The people of Xizhou are indignant, and in order to appease the people, I have no choice but to execute them first and report later."
After saying this, Xue Shen clapped his hands, called Pang Lai over, and said, "After you go back, take the confessions and signatures of Cai Wenxuan, Xu Qiao, and the others to Supervisor Qi for review." He then turned to Qi Zhong and said, "Both of them were officials appointed by the imperial court. I did not dare to dispose of their bodies without authorization. They are still kept in the mortuary. Supervisor Qi, would you like to take a look?"
Qi Zhong was so choked by his words that he almost couldn't catch his breath. His face turned pale as he said, "Both of them are officials appointed by the court. No matter what, Your Highness should not have acted first and reported later. If this matter gets out, Your Highness will be suspected of overstepping your bounds and disrespecting His Majesty."
Xue Shen slammed the dagger onto the table. The metal dagger struck the wooden tabletop with a dull thud, startling Qi Zhong.
"These two have countless lives on their hands; killing them is not enough to appease public anger. If I forcibly protect them, there's no guarantee these people won't riot. The people of the Northwest are fierce; from ten-year-old children to seventy-year-old elders, they all dare to take up knives and kill the enemy. If we incur public wrath and they cause trouble, will I bear the responsibility, or will that incompetent Supervisor Qi bear it?"
Qi Zhong was speechless, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally said, "Your Highness is being unreasonable!"
Xue Shen didn't care: "I'm just telling the truth. The supervising official can easily convey my words to His Majesty and the court officials. I don't want to see the people on the border riot, so I can only act first and report later."
Qi Zhong couldn't win the argument, and finally, his face turned ashen with anger as he stormed off, uttering a harsh threat as he left: "I will definitely tell His Majesty the truth about this matter and ask him to make a decision!"
Xue Shen saw him to the door, bowing perfunctorily and saying, "Take care, Supervisor Qi, I won't see you off."
Qi Zhong was so angry with him that he stumbled again when he reached the entrance of the garrison, and was only able to fall because the guards helped him up.
After everyone left, Pang Lai asked, "Is Your Highness preparing to completely break ties with the Emperor?"
Qi Zhong was a trusted eunuch who had served Emperor Cheng'an for many years; in public, he represented the emperor. Xue Shen's words today would likely be relayed to Emperor Cheng'an overnight by Qi Zhong.
Xue Shen's expression darkened slightly. He didn't answer, but instead asked about the gold mine in Tatar Mountain: "How are things going at the mine? Don't let Qi Zhong hear about it."
Pang Lai said, "As per the prince's instructions, the soldiers who were forcibly detained by the Xu family have been released and paid their wages. We told them that the matter has been reported to the court and that the court will send people to take over the mining in the future. However, to prevent the Northern Rong and Tubo people from coveting the gold mine, they are not allowed to mention the gold mine in the Tatar Mountains outside. We have also drawn three thousand men from our ranks to go into the mountains to mine."
Xue Shen nodded: "Well done."
He gazed into the distance and said slowly, "The remnants of the Northern Rong have been wiped out. We can't stay in Xizhou for long, but Xizhou is a military stronghold, and with the gold mines in Tatar Mountain, we must hold it. I will write a letter back to the capital and try to persuade you to become the governor of Xizhou."
Pang Lai was taken aback: "Why does Your Highness still want to return to the capital? Why not just..."
Xue Shen raised his hand to stop him from finishing. He said calmly, "If I only wanted to reclaim the throne, there are many ways. But if I did, the history books would surely add the name of a traitorous minister who plotted rebellion and usurped the throne. My father was wise all his life, and as his son, I cannot let him be disgraced."
At this point, Xue Shen's expression turned somewhat gloomy: "I will not only reclaim the throne openly and fairly, but I will also ruin Emperor Cheng'an's reputation and expose everything he did back then."
"Therefore, I must return to Beijing."
Pang Lai straightened his expression, bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying, "Your subordinate understands."
Xue Shen nodded: "You've worked hard these past few days. Send more people to keep a close eye on Qi Zhong."
*
Qi Zhong returned to his residence indignantly. He paced around the room for a long time, still feeling that there were many strange things about Xizhou.
When he arrived in Xizhou the day before yesterday, he did not see Xue Shen. He asked Pang Lai, who said that Xue Shen had led troops to wipe out the remnants of the Northern Rong and had only returned today.
If Xue Shen had truly led his troops into battle and returned victorious, he shouldn't have been so low-key; it seemed as if he were sneaking around, afraid of being discovered.
Qi Zhong became increasingly suspicious and summoned his personal guards, instructing them, "Go and investigate where the King of Qin has been and what he has been doing during this period."
The guard was about to leave after receiving the order when he was stopped by him: "Wait!"
Qi Zhong squinted and pondered for a while, then said, "Something is still not right. There's something fishy about why the King of Qin killed the governor and the garrison commander of Xizhou so hastily. Go and investigate them together."
“The Xu family has deep roots in this area. Although the father and son were executed, there are still female relatives, servants, and collateral relatives who survived. Go and ask them.”
"I refuse to believe it. Surely we can catch him red-handed."
*
The next morning, Qi Zhong went to the governor's mansion again.
Now that Cai Wenxuan has passed away and a new governor has not yet been appointed for Xizhou, Xue Shen is temporarily in charge of all military and political affairs.
Upon seeing Xue Shen, Qi Zhong said, "I have come on His Majesty's orders to inspect the border and reward the soldiers. The Prince was not here the past two days, so it was inconvenient for me to travel alone. Now that everything is ready, please come with me, Your Highness."
Xue Shen naturally knew what Qi Zhong was planning, but he did not refuse and readily stood up: "Since Supervisor Qi has extended such a warm invitation, let's go."
After saying this, he had someone carry the horses and went with Qi Zhong to the garrison.
There are more than 20 garrison posts within Xizhou, with a total of 150,000 troops. However, in reality, due to the collusion between Xu Jia and Cai Wenxuan over the years, these posts were used to embezzle funds, and the actual number of troops is less than 100,000.
In addition, the Xu family accepted bribes, so anyone who did not want to serve in the military could go home as long as they paid enough money and found someone to take their place.
Therefore, most of the soldiers stationed in the garrison were old, weak, sick, or disabled, with very few able-bodied men remaining.
After taking over the military affairs of Xizhou, Xue Shen went to Tibet soon after, and did not have time to reorganize the military affairs.
Therefore, when Qi Zhong arrived at the garrison, all he saw was the mess left behind by the Xu family.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
