Chapter 104 Revenge Xie Xuanlan in Xizhou.
The Xizhou military camp, which had experienced a riot, looked deserted and messy.
With the support of Wang Zhaoshen, five hundred Western Tatar cavalry bypassed the outpost, broke into and killed people in the main general's camp, and then left. Most of those killed were old subordinates who followed Xuan Zhiyuan.
Wang Zhaoshen wrote a memorial to the court to "apologize", saying that Xie Xuanlan resented being exiled, so he colluded with the Western Tatars and led the Tatar cavalry to attack at night; he said that Xuan Zhiyuan had just taken control of the military power and was too proud of himself to care about the enemy. On the night of the night attack, he and his subordinates were so drunk that they could not lift their swords, so they were slaughtered.
As for himself, Wang Zhaoshen said in his memorial: His fault was that he had lost his position as general. With only the authority of a captain of a thousand cavalry, it was difficult for him to lead the entire army to resist the enemy attack.
After writing the memorial and waiting for the ink to dry, the confidant came into the tent to report.
"General, we've searched Zhanzhou City, and there's no trace of these two people... no, one person and one corpse. I've sent men to Yunjing to continue the search. Could you please notify our master and have him keep an eye out for them there?"
Wang Zhaoshen asked, "Are you sure Xie Xuanlan is dead?"
The subordinate replied, "Yes. The men who dragged the body said the knife pierced his abdomen, and he was indeed dead. He was already cold when he was thrown into the mass grave. But before they could cut off his head, Xuan Zhiyuan snatched it away."
Wang Zhaoshen nodded with satisfaction and asked, "What about the Four Vajras?"
It tells the story of the four deputy generals under Xuan Zhiyuan in the past. Each of them was highly capable and very loyal to Xuan Zhiyuan.
"Except for the seriously injured Cai Jingang, the remaining three are being held in their respective tents awaiting trial and have not made any further movements."
Wang Zhaoshen nodded: "They can't die yet...at least not until the court returns the position of General of the Cavalry to me."
Wang Zhaoshen sealed the memorial and handed it to his subordinates for delivery to Yunjing, along with another secret letter addressed to the Wang family in Yunjing. He looked out at the snow outside his tent, feeling a sense of revenge and a hint of worry.
Did Xie Xuanlan, that beast, really die just like that?
Without noticing the flickering candlelight on the desk, a neat, light shadow flashed past from behind the curtain.
In the tent of Deputy General Zhao not far away, Zhao Mingchuan, known as "Long Spear Zhao Jingang", was pacing back and forth anxiously in the tent.
The Western Tartar cavalry launched a surprise attack, the general's whereabouts were unknown, his comrades were seriously injured and dying, and he himself was regarded as a suspect of treason and awaited trial... This sudden change overnight made him angry and panicked.
Suddenly, there was a very light sound of landing outside the tent, like snow falling from the top of the tent.
But Zhao Mingchuan, who had been tense all the time, still noticed it. He jumped up from the couch and tried to hook the spear in the darkness, but he missed it and the next moment the tip of the spear was against his throat.
The man who came was very skilled. Zhao Mingchuan knew that he was no match for him, but he was also sure that he was not one of Wang Zhaoshen's useless cronies.
I couldn't see his face clearly in the darkness, but I could hear a deep voice asking him, "Tell me the whereabouts of Xuan Zhiyuan."
Zhao Mingchuan said: "I don't know."
"Then tell me some secrets about him, or some evidence of his treason."
Zhao Mingchuan said coldly: "Kill me if you want, I have nothing to say!"
The tip of the gun suddenly thrust forward, and Zhao Mingchuan felt a sharp chill piercing his throat, and then stopped abruptly. He broke out in a cold sweat, but still said nothing.
The man put away his gun and said, "Good, you're a real man."
He took a step forward. In the dim light reflected from the silver-white spear tip, Zhao Mingchuan saw the outline of a young, sharp figure. He guessed, "Is it Third Young Master Xie?"
"It's me." Xie Xuanlan lit a candle and took out Xuan Zhiyuan's handwritten letter for him to identify: "Commander Xuan wants you to obey me. I need you to go to Wang Zhaoshen and gain his trust."
Zhao Mingchuan asked: "What do you want to do?"
"Kill him."
"This is not easy. If I make a mistake——"
"I'm the one who makes a big profit with a small investment. What? Are you afraid of death?" Xie Xuanlan's voice ended with a smile.
Zhao Mingchuan muttered angrily, "Bullshit! Why fear death? A man's reputation should never be tarnished! But given the current situation, I really can't think of a way to gain Wang Si's trust."
"I have an idea."
"What?"
"Sell me."
Half an incense stick later, the fire in Zhao Mingchuan's tent became brighter and the sound of fierce fighting was heard, which quickly attracted the attention of the guards in the quiet snowy night.
Wang Zhaoshen had just lain down in his bed when he heard the noise. He suddenly opened his eyes and jumped up, shouting, "What's going on? What's the noise?"
A subordinate hurried in to report, "Report, report, report, report... General! There's a ghost! Xie San's ghost has returned and is fighting with Zhao Jingang!"
Wang Zhaoshen kicked him: "Asshole, where did this ghost come from?"
He walked around a few times, put on his armor and took his sword to go out to see what was going on. By the time he was dressed, the noise outside had subsided, and several of his trusted associates brought Zhao Mingchuan to the tent.
Zhao Mingchuan was stabbed in the ribs and was bleeding profusely, his teeth clenching and making a creaking sound.
Wang Zhaoshen asked, "What's going on?"
Zhao Mingchuan said, "Xie San knocked out the guard in front of my tent and sneaked into my tent to bribe me. He said he would take me to Yunjing and let me bite Captain Wang—"
Before he could finish his words, he was kicked in the back. Wang Zhaoshen's confidant scolded him: "Call me General!"
Wang Zhaoshen raised his hand to stop him and asked Zhao Mingchuan, "Why don't you agree?"
Zhao Mingchuan stiffened his neck and said, "Although I've always disliked you, I'm not one to make unwarranted accusations! Xie Sanben was already guilty, and his actions were sneaky. I think he's the most suspicious. It's a pity we couldn't catch him, and he got away."
Wang Zhaoshen listened to his words, looked at his wound, and after a moment's reflection, he ordered, "Quickly release Lieutenant General Zhao and bring him to my tent. I'll have the best military doctor treat him! Lieutenant General Zhao is a loyal and meritorious man. How can you treat him like this?"
The confidant quickly did as he was told and helped Zhao Mingchuan into Wang Zhaoshen's tent.
Although Xie Xuanlan was not dead and dared to sneak into the military camp alive and well, which made Wang Zhaoshen angry, he was very satisfied with Zhao Mingchuan's attitude.
Zhao Mingchuan is Xuan Zhiyuan's confidant. If he can win him over and make him testify that Xie Xuanlan is colluding with the Tartars, then his plan will be one step closer to success.
As long as Xie Xuanlan can be charged with treason, he will be close to death even if he doesn't die.
Zhao Mingchuan stayed in Wang Zhaoshen's tent.
The two of them drank and chatted at night, and after several rounds of toasts, not only did their relationship improve, but they even felt that they had met too late.
Zhao Mingchuan's attitude struck the perfect balance, neither humble nor overbearing, with a touch of awkwardness. He successfully convinced Wang Zhaoshen that he was a simple, unassuming man. Wang Zhaoshen didn't doubt he was a Huang Gai willing to be whipped, but he didn't consider him a confidant either. He simply allowed him to rest under the pretext of recuperating, occasionally allowing him to lead patrols, so that others would know that he, Wang Zhaoshen, was not one to seek revenge and had never framed Commander Xuan or his subordinates.
Zhao Mingchuan was actually very meticulous. Although he didn't ask much, he still deduced an important piece of information from clues: tomorrow evening, Wang Zhaoshen would host a banquet for an important guest at Chunfeng Tower in Zhanzhou City.
He pretended to be drunk, walked to the gate and kicked it twice, pretending to "accidentally" shake off the lantern hanging on the gate, quietly stuffed the note with words under the lantern, and hung the lantern back up in a different direction.
So Xie Xuanlan knew about this.
At nightfall the next day, Xie Xuanlan swam upstream through the canal and sneaked into Zhanzhou City. He followed the disguised Wang Zhaoshen, turned left and right, and finally arrived at the backyard of Chunfeng Tower.
Wang Zhaoshen walked from the backyard up to the private room on the third floor, while Xie Xuanlan, confident in his agility, swung up the brackets under the eaves, avoiding the plainclothes patrol's blind spot, and landed lightly on the corner window sill outside the private room. This window sill was originally used to hold small flower pots and was only a foot wide. No one had expected anyone to be able to stand there.
Xie Xuanlan's back was pressed tightly against the back wall, and he thought to himself that compared to a general commanding thousands of troops, he was actually more suitable to be an assassin who took small risks for big gains, a gambler who made a huge profit.
If this succeeds, the Tartars will suffer a heavy blow, and Wang Zhaoshen will never be able to swallow this humiliation even after his death.
But what if he died?
The cold night wind blew through his heart, and Xie Xuanlan inappropriately recalled the experience that he didn't know whether it was a dream or a supernatural one.
After his death, will he become King Jin again to see her?
How would she react to the news of his death? Would she shed a few sad tears, and then feel relieved and stay with Prince Jin forever without any worries?
He wasn't willing to accept that answer, so it was best not to ask the question to her.
Xie Xuanlan closed his eyes and concentrated, tightening his grip on the long sword in his hand.
A few hearty laughs came from the private room by the side window, and the voices didn't sound like those of people from the Central Plains.
Xie Xuanlan heard Wang Zhaoshen say, "This time, thanks to General Guzha's help, I have reported the situation to the court. If the court can reinstate my position as General of the Cavalry, our armies can continue to coexist peacefully as before."
Another man spoke in Western Tartar, "I am also doing this out of kindness for my own soldiers and the lifelong happiness of my sister. Why should we, the generals, risk our lives on the frontier while those in power rest easy in the capital? Only General Wang can share my aspirations and maintain this balance. Otherwise, if it were those mad dogs of the Xuan family, it would really be... well, I won't say anymore."
The two people in the room were toasting each other.
Xie Xuanlan understood quickly. No wonder the Western Tartar commander dared to enter the city of Da Zhou to attend the meeting. It turned out that he and Wang Zhaoshen had a deep connection and had secretly become brothers-in-law.
In the past, Wang Zhaoshen controlled Xizhou and fought against the Western Tartars only symbolically. He exaggerated his military achievements, extorted military pay, food, and court rewards, and then divided the money with the Tartars, bribing them to continue acting with him. From time to time, he pretended to attack the city to deceive the Great Zhou court.
Therefore, the military expenses of Xizhou have been very heavy in recent years, and the taxes paid by the people of Dazhou have increased year by year.
Therefore, the morale of the Xizhou military camp was low, and the soldiers worked all day long to open up wasteland, without any trace of the high-spirited spirit of an ever-victorious army.
With this evidence in hand, Xie Xuanlan had a smoother path ahead: join forces with Xuan Zhiyuan's "Four Vajra" lieutenants to collect evidence of Wang Zhaoshen colluding with the Western Tatar generals to sell out the country and deceive the court, and present this evidence to Yunjing. This would also allow him to bring down Wang Zhaoshen without risking his life.
But... this is too slow.
Emperor Fengqi was so wary of Xie that he asked him to fight Wang Zhaoshen. Even if he killed Wang Zhaoshen, Emperor Fengqi would not make him a general.
Unable to be a general, without soldiers and power, how could he return to Yunjing and fight with King Jin?
Unless he dug out the old wounds, tore apart the whitewashed peace, and let the northwestern border fall into complete chaos, he would lead the garrison troops in Xizhou to fight the Tartars happily. By then, the arrow would have left the bowstring without obeying orders. Forced by the situation, Emperor Fengqi had to rely on him.
A matter of life and death.
Xie Xuanlan took a deep breath, and while Wang Zhaoshen got up to go to the toilet, he kicked open the side window and rolled into the house. When he stood up, he drew his long sword and slashed towards the Western Tatar general with a silver light as fast as lightning.
The Western Tatar general was frightened and dodged sideways, at the same time he swung up the armchair with his left hand to block the blade. There was a "crack" sound, and wood chips from the chair flew everywhere. The blade was still powerful, and it fell along the side of his face and cut into his shoulder bone.
Before the Western Tatar general could let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered, Xie Xuanlan flipped behind him, a dagger flew out of his sleeve, and stabbed him in the back. The general instantly turned into a puppet with the red string pulled out, his throat spasming and he couldn't make a sound.
Xie Xuanlan slowly laid the dead body down, drew out his knife, picked up the wine jug on the table, and washed the blood off the blade.
Then he walked gently towards the door with his own sword and the Western Tatar general's sword. From three steps away, he threw them out suddenly. The two swords pierced through the two guards outside through the door panel.
Blood flowed down the crack in the door and dripped to his feet.
Xie Xuanlan had a cold expression on his face. He took back the Yanzhi knife and walked slowly towards the direction where Wang Zhaoshen was going to the toilet.
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