Chapter 240 Traitors in Chaotic Times (Sixteen): How to Become a Super Strategist...
Song Ce turned around and said softly, "Next, the snipe and the clam will fight it out. Let's just wait and watch the show."
Gao Chengfeng frowned. "I still don't understand. Where... is there any excitement to be seen?"
Song Ce smiled, gazing at the flickering shadows of the trees inside the government office. "Prince Liang is inherently suspicious. Once those few secret letters arouse his suspicion, it won't be long before he does something foolish."
Gao Chengfeng was still puzzled after hearing this, so Song Ce simply patted him on the shoulder and walked towards the study.
Three days later, Chu Xiaoer, disguised, hurriedly entered from outside and bowed to Song Ce, who was writing, saying, "My lord."
"explain."
Chu Xiaoer cleared his throat, his face beaming with undisguised joy. “My lord, not only has the King of Liang deployed 20,000 elite troops to guard the Tu Hui Mountain Pass, but he has also sent nine trusted spies to investigate whether the news of the 100,000-strong army is true or false.”
Upon hearing this, Song Ce looked up, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Just as I expected, the King of Liang is both suspicious of the authenticity of the secret letter and afraid of a real attack by a large army, which is why he's been making such frequent moves. What about the Wu army? Have they made any preparations?"
Chu Xiaoer nodded. "The Wu army closest to Tu Hui Mountain has split off. Xiang Wende, a former general of the Dali era, has declared himself their leader. Since the King of Liang has mobilized such a large army, Xiang Wende naturally wouldn't be outdone and has also gathered 10,000 troops to be stationed a hundred miles away. As for those spies, I'm ashamed to say that I only managed to capture one alive."
"Waiter, you did a great job." Song Ce put down his brush and smiled. "Where is he?"
"Reporting to you, sir, I used the powder you gave me to drug him and then threw him into the woodshed in the west courtyard." Chu Xiao'er straightened his back, clearly very proud of his work.
Gao Chengfeng, who was listening nearby, was slightly moved. He couldn't help but step forward and ask, "I wonder what you intend to do with this spy, sir? If you want to kill him, I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."
Song Ce shook his head slightly and pondered, "Killing him would be easy, but it would be a pity." As he spoke, he looked at Chu Xiao'er, "Does this person carry anything?"
"Yes!" Chu Xiao'er quickly pulled out a mountain-shaped seal from his pocket. "I searched his body carefully and finally found this."
Song Ce took the seal and examined it carefully. He saw that it was engraved with several intricate cloud patterns, and there was a small "Qi" character on the back.
"Since he is a trusted and distinguished guest sent by the King of Liang, we should at least inform him."
Chu Xiaoer was taken aback at first, then he understood what Song Ce meant: "Does Your Excellency want to use him to... send a message to the Prince of Liang?"
Song Ce smiled faintly and placed the mountain-shaped seal on the wooden table. "Waiter, at midnight tonight, you will personally release this person."
"Yes! I understand!" Chu Xiaoer grinned and turned to walk out.
After Chu Xiaoer left, Gao Chengfeng couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what do you mean by this? Why leave this prisoner alive? If he goes back and tells everything, wouldn't it be easy for Prince Liang to discover the flaws?"
Upon hearing this, Song Ce glanced at Gao Chengfeng and asked gently, "Chengfeng, if your only biological son, filled with fear, risked everything to escape from a dangerous place and return home, would you believe what he said?"
"Of course I believe it! And I have no doubt about it!"
“That’s it.” Song Ce picked up the warm tea on the table, took a sip, and said softly, “Prince Liang is already suspicious, and he will only become more uneasy from now on.”
"Could it be that the only survivor is the King of Liang's own son? But, sir, how can you be so sure that this man will go back and report the message exactly as we intend?"
Song Ce put down his teacup, took out a copper coin from his sleeve, and gently shook it. "What's so difficult about that?"
Gao Chengfeng was truly bewildered. He wanted to say something more, but Song Ce waved his hand, signaling him to stop talking. Although Gao Chengfeng was full of doubts, he had no choice but to suppress his desire to investigate further and stood quietly to the side.
As darkness fell, Song Ce slowly walked to the woodshed in the west courtyard, pushed open the half-closed wooden door, and went inside.
In the corner, Liang Ziqi was still unconscious, curled up. Song Ce crushed an antidote and waved it near his nose. After a short while, Liang Ziqi suddenly shivered and opened his eyes groggily.
The first thing that catches the eye is a tall, slender figure in blue and... an ordinary square copper coin.
After an unknown amount of time, Liang Ziqi slowly woke up again. He was startled and struggled to sit up, only to find that his hands and feet were tightly bound, and the smell of musty firewood lingered in the air.
Where is this?
Just as Liang Ziqi was cautiously looking around, a black figure covered in blood slipped in through the window and whispered to him, "Young Master Qi, I've finally found you! Quick, let's go!"
Liang Ziqi was startled by the sudden appearance of his subordinate and took a few steps back. "Who...who are you? How do you know my identity?"
The disguised Chu Xiaoer spoke rapidly, "I am Yang Feng! Hurry up and leave! It will be too late if you don't leave now!" As he spoke, he swiftly cut the ropes binding Liang Ziqi with his knife. "This is Dali territory! Young master, your life is precious, you cannot stay here any longer!"
Upon hearing this, Liang Ziqi broke out in a cold sweat and quickly nodded, saying, "Okay, let's go!"
Just as the two were about to rush out of the city gate, Chu Xiaoer suddenly collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. Liang Ziqi turned around and saw an arrow embedded in the other man's leg, its fletching still swaying slightly.
"They...they've discovered us! Young Master Qi! You must leave quickly!"
Liang Ziqi felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at the sharp arrow. He could almost hear a jumble of footsteps and faint shouts, but he couldn't think straight. He could only grit his teeth and run wildly out of the city on instinct.
Soon, the sounds of clashing weapons and shouts of "Yang Feng" came from behind. Liang Ziqi dared not turn around and ran forward desperately until he could no longer run. He collapsed into the grass by the roadside, panting heavily.
It wasn't until dawn that Liang Ziqi finally left the territory of Shiguan County. He dared not linger and trudged towards Tu Hui Mountain.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Liang Ziqi finally encountered the Liang King's personal guards who had come to meet him. The moment he saw the familiar guards, he could no longer hold on, and his vision went black as he fainted.
When Liang Ziqi woke up again, he found himself lying in Liang Jun's main tent.
"Qi'er! You're finally awake!" King Liang felt a pang of pain in his heart when he saw his only son's haggard appearance. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Liang Ziqi shook his head, struggled to get out of bed, his face full of fear and resentment: "Father! Something terrible has happened! The news of the 100,000-strong army is true! I heard someone say with my own ears that the new emperor of Dali is eager to wipe out the Wu army that is in the south of the Yangtze River, and plans to divide and conquer them one by one!"
Upon hearing this, King Liang was greatly alarmed and grabbed Liang Ziqi's arm: "My son, are you telling the truth?"
"Absolutely true!" Liang Ziqi said with a mournful face, and continued, "Father, please be careful of Guo Xiaotian and Li Shizheng. They may have rebellious intentions!"
Upon hearing this, King Liang became even more agitated. His eyes widened in disbelief as he asked, "Qi'er, do you know what you're saying? Guo and Li have rebellious intentions?"
"Yes, Father! I saw and heard it all with my own eyes and ears!" Liang Ziqi said with tears streaming down his face, recounting how he was rescued by "Yang Feng" at the cost of his life and how he was chased during his escape.
"They must be trying to silence me by doing this! If it weren't for Yang Feng's loyalty to his master, I'm afraid I would never have seen you again, Father!"
Looking at his only son, covered in wounds, and listening to his tearful accusations, the King of Liang's suspicions were instantly ignited by a surge of rage. He had already harbored suspicions towards Guo and Li, and now that his only son had suffered such a calamity, how could he possibly remain calm?
"Good, good, good Guo Xiaotian!! Truly excellent!"
King Liang slammed his fist on the bedpost and said angrily, "I have never treated them badly, yet they dare to betray me!"
Seeing this, Liang Ziqi quickly patted the back of Liang Wang's hand and said coldly, "Father, Guo and Li have deep roots in the army. You should make plans as soon as possible to avoid raising a tiger to cause trouble in the future!"
The King of Liang's face turned ashen, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. "My son is right, these two cannot be allowed to live. However, this matter requires further consideration..."
After discussing it all night, the father and son decided to start by examining the Liang army's grain and fodder accounts. Guo Xiaotian was the chief granary officer in charge of the Liang army's entire grain and fodder.
Two days later, the Prince of Liang sat imposingly on the high seat in his main tent, flipping through the grain and fodder accounts sent by Guo Xiaotian page by page. But the further he read, the more his brows furrowed.
Li Shizheng, sitting at the lower seat, dared not utter a sound until the Prince of Liang slammed the account book onto the table. Only then did he cautiously ask, "Your Highness, is there something wrong with the accounts?"
"Hmph, not appropriate?"
King Liang sneered and swept the account book to the ground. "We've been at Tu Hui Mountain for less than a year, and there's been no war. Why is my Liang army's food supply 30% more than last year? Does Guo Xiaotian really think I'm a fool?"
Li Shizheng hurriedly knelt down, picked up the account book, glanced at it, and frowned, saying, "Your Highness, in my opinion, this may not necessarily be General Guo's embezzlement. There may be a reason behind it..."
"What's the reason?"
"Perhaps those garrison troops are exaggerating their numbers to try and get more rations." Li Shizheng lowered his head. "General Guo has always been kind-hearted, and I'm worried that he's been deceived by some unscrupulous people below him!"
King Liang paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. He knew that Li Shizheng and Guo Xiaotian were on good terms, and Li Shizheng's words were likely an attempt to deflect blame for him. But he had finally found such a loophole, and if he didn't seize the opportunity, how could he weaken Guo Xiaotian's power?
“Compassionate?” King Liang sneered and said angrily, “I think he is wicked! Tu Hui Mountain has not increased its troops at all, but the grain and fodder have increased by 30% for no reason. What is this if not embezzlement? Li Shizheng, you take your men to the granary immediately to investigate. If you can’t find out the truth, don’t blame me for punishing you as well!”
No sooner had the King of Liang finished speaking than Liang Ziqi lifted the curtain and entered from outside, calling out loudly, "Father, wait!"
"Qi'er?"
Upon seeing that it was his son, King Liang relaxed his muscles and slowly leaned back in his chair, saying in a calm voice, "Why aren't you staying in your tent to recuperate? What are you doing out here?"
"Father, please forgive me."
Liang Ziqi stepped forward and bowed respectfully, explaining earnestly, "I believe this matter was not done by Mr. Guo. Father, why don't you invite Mr. Guo over first and let him explain himself clearly in person? If, if he really did embezzle the grain, then it's not too late to punish him!"
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Author's note: [covers face and peeks] Revisions will be quick, I'll change it right away (smoothly kneels down)
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