Chapter 334 Li Rong can be someone else, but soldiers cannot be traitors.
Li Rong shook his head: "I remember that winter morning clearly. Although it didn't snow in October, the ice had frozen over very early. How did he manage to travel by water?"
Li Rong's expression turned cold: "Even just the ice makes travel difficult, let alone transporting military supplies? Perhaps he didn't even take the waterway."
General Wan frowned deeply: "Then how did they get to Cangshan so quickly with so much military pay? The military pay was burned when they were resting at the foot of Cangshan. It was only half a day's journey from Cangshan to the main army. It would have been impossible if they hadn't taken the waterway."
Li Rong narrowed his eyes: "Why is it impossible? As long as the carriage travels normally and without delay, it will arrive in six days."
General Wan was stunned for a moment, then his pupils suddenly contracted: "General, do you mean that the food supply was already in trouble before we reached Junling?"
Li Rong frowned: "Perhaps, even earlier."
As if he had just realized something, General Wan's face turned pale instantly.
"So, General, please recall what Lord Lin said after he came to see you?"
General Wan pursed his lips: "At that time, I was just a garrison soldier. When he passed through Yuguan, he rested outside the city and had a drink. I can guarantee that he had no problem with food supplies before Yuguan."
Li Rong narrowed his eyes: "I can also guarantee that the grain he claimed was burned was already switched when it was at the foot of Cangshan Mountain."
If there hadn't been a shortage of food supplies back then, and the 500,000-strong army of Le Rong was facing a desperate situation, why would they have feigned surrender and attacked the enemy's grain depot?
Recalling the bloodshed of those years, Li Rong's pupils became bloodshot, and his fists clenched tightly under his sleeves, his fingertips turning white. He stood up, his dark eyes falling on the sand table on the table, and picked up a small flag, placing it on it: "So, the problem is very likely to lie here."
General Wan looked over and exclaimed, "Lucheng!"
Li Rong nodded: "Lucheng is surrounded by towering mountains, making it difficult to take action. Behind it lies Lindu, which is very close to Cangshan Mountain, also not a good place. Furthermore, Lucheng is General Zhao's hometown. If I remember correctly, the current city garrison commander of Lucheng is his relative."
"General Zhao? Zhao Xiuyuan's father?" After saying this, General Wan wanted to slap himself. Why did you have to bring up that sore spot? Who else could it be but that person? You have to understand, the Zhao family was promoted by General Li. If Zhao Xiuyuan weren't now practically the Regent's lackey, wouldn't this be tantamount to pointing a finger at General Li and saying he'd been betrayed?
He swallowed hard. "Heh, if you ask me, he doesn't look like a good person. General, don't take such a person to heart."
Li Rong remained noncommittal: "I will visit Lucheng in a few days."
Upon hearing this, General Wan immediately jumped up: "General, you've gone to Lucheng, so when are we going back to the capital?"
Li Rong lowered his eyes: "I can return to the capital, but not now, and not as a staff member."
"General, why are you doing this? The Emperor has finally spoken up; what a wonderful opportunity! You can make amends and everything will be alright." General Wan knew his general was wronged. His general, the invincible war god of the Great Jing, was now his advisor, even though he himself might be the puppet. But he felt sorry for his general. Now, just being able to go back was better than being a slave outside, wasn't it?
Li Rong stood up and patted General Wan on the shoulder: "General Wan, Li Rong may not be Li Rong. But tens of thousands of soldiers cannot be traitors."
Upon hearing this, General Wan couldn't help but look up at Li Rong. Meeting his calm and composed face, he felt a lump in his throat and said, "General."
"Alright, you must be tired from your journey. Let's rest first, and we can chat later."
Li Rong sighed inwardly. General Wan probably didn't understand Xiao Yuanshan. By destroying the gold mine, he had cut off Xiao Yuanshan's source of income. Xiao Yuanshan had hated him to the bone before, and now he probably wanted to kill him as soon as possible.
The Emperor likely only wants to keep Xiao Yuanshan in check; he may not actually tolerate him. Facing Xiao Yuanshan now, his future is uncertain. In the past, when Li Rong was alone, it wouldn't have mattered, but now his wife and children are waiting for him. Therefore, no matter what, now is not the time to go back.
"General, could it be that you've already left by the time I finished resting?" General Wan continued, his eyes still red as he looked at Li Rong.
Li Rong glanced at him and then reassured him, "Go ahead without worry. I plan to go home soon to settle my wife and children before heading to Lucheng."
When Shen Junshi entered, he saw his general with a full beard wiping away tears like a wronged little wife, while General Li, who was more than twenty years younger than his general, was patting his general's shoulder comfortingly.
Strangely enough, the expressions on their faces were quite natural, which suggested something was amiss.
The strategist was stunned, his mouth agape, and he remained speechless for a long time. He even thought it was a hallucination.
"Why are you taking so long, kid?"
General Wan wiped away his tears and glanced at Strategist Chen with great displeasure.
"Ta Xue is not very safe right now. The veterinarian is a little scared and wants his subordinates to come up with a plan," Chen Junshi said, bowing to the two men as he spoke.
"Ta Xue?" General Wan's eyes widened when he heard that his beloved horse had a problem: "What's wrong with Ta Xue?"
"General, please don't worry, it's just that I haven't been eating much these past two days."
"Bullshit! How can he not be anxious if he's not eating enough?" General Wan stood up abruptly. "Ta Xue's belly is already so big. How can he give birth to a healthy foal if he doesn't eat? You guys are really useless; you can't even take care of one Ta Xue."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Li Rong: "General, shall I go and take a look?"
Li Rong nodded naturally: "Please do as you please, General."
General Wan vanished in the blink of an eye.
Shen Junshi was stunned for a moment before looking at Li Rong: "General Li, what is the matter that you two summoned your subordinates here?"
Li Rong: "You should ask your general about that."
The military advisor responded and, without saying another word, ran off to find their general.
With no one inside the tent, Li Rong picked up the longsword from the table, and the next second, the sword pierced sharply into the curtain beneath the table.
"Was eavesdropping enjoyable?"
A gasp of cold air suddenly came from under the table.
"General! Spare me! It's my doing!"
A trembling sound came from under the table, and Li Rong narrowed his eyes.
The man crawled out from under the table, carefully pulled off his face mask, and said with a mournful face, "General Li, it's me. You've seen me before. I'm Sun Wu. Look at my face, do you remember me?"
Li Rong glanced at him, then sheathed his longsword, took a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his blade, and sat back down in his previous spot.
Sun Wu was terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. He secretly took out a handkerchief to cover the wound on his neck, and unconsciously forced a smile: "General, our Duke is concerned about your health, so he sent me to check on you."
Li Rong slammed his longsword on the table with a clang and said in a cool voice, "Take out what you stole from my bag."
Strategist Shen: I dare not open my eyes, hoping it's just my imagination~~~
(End of this chapter)
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