Sun Langzhong took a deep breath and said, “I am from Dai County of Zhao State. I am a spy for Zhao State. I have been hiding in Anyi City for more than 20 years. I married and had children here. Now I am half buried in the ground. My family and descendants are all in Anyi City. I hope that you, Grand Commandant, will not go back on your word.”
The wicked man nodded slightly, signaling him to continue, seemingly without any surprise.
Sun Langzhong smiled bitterly, pointed to the headless corpse of Zhang Dahu on the ground, and said, "Zhang Dahu was the commander of the secret agents of Zhao State in Hedong Commandery. That day, he summoned us and ordered us to take advantage of the fact that Qin State had not made any news for a long time to spread rumors in the city, intending to incite a popular uprising and undermine the stability of Qin State."
"Just as I thought..." Tie Niu murmured, a murderous intent rising within him.
The crowd erupted into chaos, while the people of Anyi City looked relieved. If the mutiny had actually gone according to their plan, the wicked husband would not have come in such a friendly manner.
Now that things had come to this, Physician Sun simply told him everything he knew: “We usually keep our distance from each other and are very curious as to why this order was suddenly issued, even at the cost of revealing our identities. However, Zhang the tycoon remained silent and only told us to handle this matter as soon as possible.”
"Since I am the most senior spies from Zhao who have infiltrated Wei, and I enjoy the utmost trust from Zhang the Great, he once told me privately..."
"It is said that King Zhao sent Guo Kai to the Dongyi, Xiongnu, and Yuezhi tribes to inform them of Qin's calamities against these three tribes, and that he had already formed an alliance with them. The alliance will be formed when the great disaster fully erupts and the former inhabitants of the two states riot, at which point they will launch an attack on Qin..."
Upon hearing this, Tie Niu and the people present turned pale with shock.
We've only had a few days of peace, why are we going to start fighting again?
Not only that, but the King of Zhao actually chose this critical moment when disaster was imminent, and even went so far as to unite with foreign tribes to launch an attack.
How dare he?!
"That damned bastard, that King Zhao is a complete scoundrel... how dare he ally with foreign tribes?"
"For centuries, we've been fighting each other, but never before has a monarch ever allied with a foreign tribe... What a disgrace... What a disgrace!"
The crowd was outraged and angrily cursed and denounced King Zhao, using vulgar language that even insulted his ancestors.
"Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan... how could you do such a thing?" The wicked husband shook his head in regret, knowing that Zhao Yan had incurred the wrath of the masses this time.
Colluding with foreign tribes is intolerable.
It's a shame he previously had a fairly good opinion of Zhao Yan; he was truly driven to desperation and resorted to any means necessary.
From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty, the Chu-Han Contention, and the Three Kingdoms Period, the world was in constant flux, and warfare was commonplace.
No matter how chaotic or how fierce the fighting, everyone strictly adhered to the unspoken rules of the game, with the bottom line being that they could not collude with foreign tribes.
This unspoken rule was especially amplified during the Three Kingdoms period. No matter how fiercely the internal fighting was, if any foreign tribe dared to invade the border, they were truly doomed and would directly unlock a hellish level of difficulty.
If the Five Barbarian Invasions were the glorious moment for foreign tribes, then the Three Kingdoms and Warring States periods were their darkest moments.
Therefore, it is clear that if Zhao Yan dares to unite with foreign tribes to attack Qin today, the news will likely spread, and tomorrow the three families of Chu, Yan, and Qi will all have to raise troops to help Qin.
"Grand Commandant, you already anticipated this?" Tie Niu suddenly spoke, his face full of admiration.
The wicked man chuckled as he came to his senses. “This Zhao Yan is quite audacious. I thought it must be caused by another country, so I ordered the army to be on high alert, just to prevent them from taking advantage of the chaos. But I never expected that they would collude with foreign tribes.”
Tie Niu was so angry he could hardly contain his murderous intent. He roared, "Grand Commandant, instead of waiting for them to come, we should strike first and lead our troops to attack Zhao."
The wicked man fell into deep thought, and after a moment shook his head. "Zhao Yan chose the right time, but he may not be able to take the initiative."
Upon hearing this, Tie Niu immediately became anxious, his voice rising sharply, "Are we just going to wait for them to come like this?"
"Don't be impatient!"
"Since you made the first move, don't blame me!"
A cold glint flashed in the wicked man's eyes, and he said, "Immediately send someone into Han territory to summon Ba Liang to Anyi City."
Upon hearing that the person was looking for Li Balang, Tie Niu's indignation instantly vanished, and he sneered, "Yes, I'll go right now!"
He knew Li Balang's character well; that guy either didn't make a move at all, or when he did, he went straight for the vital points, and his moves were ruthless and despicable.
After Tie Niu turned around and quickly descended the city wall, the wicked man slowly said, "Qin army, listen to my command: spread the news of today's events and Zhao's plans throughout the world."
"All spies from the Zhao state within our territory shall be executed without exception. Anyone who dares to harbor or conceal them shall be punished the same!"
He paused here, then looked at Physician Sun, "Surely you have a way to help?"
Sun Langzhong nodded in agreement. As the most senior person, he could identify all the spies even without a complete list.
...
Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.
The Qin army acted extremely quickly, and all Zhao spies in Hedong Commandery were rounded up. Upon receiving the news, Cheng Jiao and Li Ba also acted swiftly, sending men to arrest Zhao spies in various parts of Han and Wei.
Early that morning, Li Balang, having completed the handover of all affairs, finally arrived in Anyi City.
Li Balang hadn't seen his wicked husband for some time, and now he could no longer contain his excitement. As soon as he entered the general's mansion, he shouted, "Commander, Balang is here!!"
"I miss you so much!!"
"Where are you, Commander?!"
The wicked husband, who was deep in thought in his study, was startled awake by the strange cry. After listening carefully, a smile immediately appeared on his face. "Eight Ounces has finally arrived..."
He got up, pushed open the study door, and strode towards the front yard from which the sound came.
"Eight Ounces, you've arrived?"
Hearing the voice behind him, Li Balang suddenly turned around, his face filled with emotion and his eyes brimming with tears.
The wicked man chuckled, strolled over to Li Balang, looked him up and down, and said, "Hmm, you've lost weight and look sloppy. You've had a tough time lately."
These words brought tears to Li Balang's eyes. Overwhelmed with grievances, he couldn't help but burst into tears. Already extremely ugly, the sight of snot and tears only made his wicked husband feel disgusted.
"Commander...Eight ounces...Eight ounces of bitterness!"
"Those overwhelming tasks... they're suffocating me!"
Li Balang wiped away his tears and snot while muttering to himself intermittently.
The wicked husband, suppressing his disgust, reached out and pulled Li Balang into the study. "Balang, don't cry. Let's get down to business."
Li Balang was merely venting her frustrations; she wasn't truly a resentful woman. She immediately wiped away her tears and snot. "Commander, are you planning to strike first?"
The wicked man nodded slightly and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"
"There are three strategies!"
Li Balang held up three fingers, a ruthless smile unconsciously appearing on his face.
The wicked man's heart skipped a beat. Seeing Li Balang's expression, he immediately knew that what he was about to say would surely incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
