008
Upon hearing this, Wei Yan, who was not far away, felt a chill in his heart. He saw that Governor Wang suddenly looked around at everyone present with an inscrutable expression and said with certainty, "With so much grain and gold, the soldiers guarding the city have not sent any news. It can be seen that this group of bandits has a clear objective and is well-organized. Moreover, they have not yet left the city."
"Why don't the two governors immediately send a message by carrier pigeon, close the city gates, and search every house? They'll surely get to the bottom of this!"
"Great idea!" The governor of Cangwu Prefecture, over fifty years old and the oldest of the three governors, now had a bristling beard and a flushed face. He was the first to stand up in support. What difference was there between burning down his mansion and trampling his old face on the ground? He now hated that villain to the core.
Wei Yan echoed the crowd, but in reality, he was trying to contact Song Ling on the women's side.
Governor Wang then solemnly instructed the coroner: "Examine the body, right here."
Half an hour later, the crowd saw the two coroners approach with worried expressions after stitching up the body.
"But what was discovered?"
"Your Excellency, two of these four people died by slitting their throats and the other two died by poisoning. There is nothing wrong with their causes of death."
"I have made another discovery, but I don't know if I should mention it."
Governor Wang paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Speak."
The coroner presented his record and explained, "Based on the facial features and bone structure of these people, I can preliminarily determine that none of them are from our Later Jin Dynasty. Instead, quite a few of them look like people from the Wuqi Kingdom."
"Why do you say that?" These words came from the governor of Shannan Prefecture. If this matter was truly done by the Southern Barbarians, wouldn't that clear him of suspicion?
“My master has investigated several murder cases. The victims were all from the Southern Barbarians. Their bones are different from those of the people of the Later Jin Dynasty.”
"I also discovered that the poison used by the two people who took the poison was extremely rare, called 'Nine Exhaustions,' made from a poisonous herb that grows on the cliffs of Jiuheng Mountain in the southern part of Wuqi Kingdom. It is extremely potent. The name was given by the people, meaning that this thing is extremely poisonous, 'even nine lives cannot save it.'"
"It seems this thief is from the Southern Barbarians," Governor Lin said, relieved. "Do you all still wish to wrong me?"
Could they really be people from the Southern Barbarians? Governor Lin's original train of thought was blocked, now tangled in a knot.
Such a meticulous operation, such a coincidental seizure of grain—how could it be that these governors were the ones whose grain was stolen just as they were leaving the prefecture? It seems like a trap was set specifically for them.
He turned around and looked at the tightly closed door. He had already seen General Yu's injuries; he was undoubtedly seriously injured and unconscious, with the arrow still stuck in his back.
His initial doubts were somewhat dispelled, but this only gave him more of a headache.
Before the order to seal the city gates could be given, someone else came to report.
"My lord! A message from a carrier pigeon reports that the gate guards spotted a suspicious group attempting to transport goods out of the city. They tried to stop them but were attacked. All the guards... were poisoned and fell unconscious. When they awoke, the group had vanished without a trace..."
The trusted aide who had rushed over was drenched in sweat and dared not look at Governor Wang's current appearance.
"Good, very good!"
Governor Wang suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
"grown ups!"
***
That night, because the accident had already occurred, apart from Governor Wang who had fainted again and General Yu who was still unconscious, the heads of each family had to take their families back to their residences as soon as possible to deal with this sudden change.
"Cough cough cough..."
The arrow behind Yu Baizhou had been removed by the doctor newly hired by Ji Yunchen, and he was still lying naked on the couch.
When I woke up, my head was spinning and my throat felt like it was on fire.
He reached for the teacup, but the movement aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to wince in pain. "Hiss..."
"Give."
Suddenly, a slender, fair hand appeared in front of her, gently holding a cup of water that was steaming slightly. "Drink."
Song Ling pressed his hand down, held the teacup to his lips, and he drank the water in one gulp.
"Want more?"
Yu Baizhou shook his head. "How did things go?"
"Nothing unexpected happened. Just focus on recovering." Song Ling placed a black pill near his mouth. "Why don't you use the chest protector I gave you?"
Yu Baizhou's lips were pale, but his eyes were firm. "It's just a few superficial injuries. It's worth it."
It was no mere superficial wound. Song Ling lowered his eyes, put down his cup, and remained silent. If that arrow had missed by even a fraction of an inch, he would have been killed on the spot. Truly, they were willing to risk their lives for the sake of provisions.
"General, you should always remember that nothing is more important than your own life." Song Ling's words carried a hint of reproach. If he were to lose his life, what would happen to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and what would happen to the people of the southern border?
"Is Miss Song angry?"
Seeing his cautious expression and the gauze wrapped around his back that was stained with bright red blood, Song Ling sighed inwardly.
Without saying a word, he reached out to untie the white strip.
"Girl, what are you doing!"
Yu Baizhou moved a few inches closer to the bed, which aggravated his wound, causing him to wince in pain. He also looked shocked.
Song Ling was puzzled and took out the silver needle kit that was placed beside her. "I'm here to give you acupuncture. Otherwise, how do you think you could wake up so quickly with your injuries?"
It turned out that Song Ling had secretly given him acupuncture while he was unconscious.
Yu Baizhou hesitated for a moment, "What if they find out? Let's wait... at least go back to the military camp."
That makes sense, Song Ling nodded and put away her tools. "In that case, I'll take my leave. General, please rest early."
"Sigh..." Yu Baizhou didn't know why he wanted to call out to her, but when he spoke, the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Governor Wang's room was brightly lit.
"General Wang, what's your decision?" He was so kind that he seemed like a benevolent elder.
The deputy general's round face was also full of solemnity. "The general has been kind to me. How can I betray the general?"
“How can this be considered betrayal? General Yu is currently unconscious. How can the people survive without food? I only wish to ask Vice General Wang to temporarily take General Yu’s place and lead troops to help the three prefectures reclaim their grain.”
Governor Wang patiently persuaded him, "General Wang and General Yu joined the army at the same time. You are both incredibly brave on the battlefield, yet you have served as a deputy general for so many years. Don't you want to advance further?"
Deputy General Wang's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had been told something he was thinking. "Sir, be careful what you say!"
"Hahaha, what can't be said?" Governor Wang, clutching his throbbing abdomen, continued to add fuel to the fire. "Once General Wang has retrieved the grain, I will personally report to His Majesty about your achievements. At that time, I will personally arrange for my wife's daughter to marry you. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Deputy General Wang touched his armor with his hand at his side, seemingly persuaded by his words, "Is what you say true, sir?"
"Authenticity guaranteed".
“Then I’ll go contact the other deputy generals,” Deputy General Wang stood up to leave, but suddenly remembered something and frowned as he turned back. “But the problem of food supplies for my Southwest Army has not been solved yet. Right now, the food supplies are only enough to last for half a month.”
"Since the officials want our Southwest Army to send troops, they must make sure our soldiers are well-fed!"
"This..." Governor Wang hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
Deputy General Wang seemed to be a bit slow on the uptake, and at this moment he was all ready to get down to business, completely unaware of Governor Wang's unwillingness. "I'll leave this to you, sir. I'll go and contact the other deputy generals."
"Uh...this..." Before he could refuse, the deputy general left excitedly.
"Smack!"
A teacup was smashed to pieces.
The mystery in Governor Wang's mind grew heavier. Could it be that this matter really had nothing to do with the Southwest Army?
If I had known this would happen, why did I even bother testing them? He angrily slammed his fist on the table several times.
Several days later...
"General Wang, urgent report! The Xiongnu have suddenly launched a fierce attack and are now almost at the city's defenses!"
"Watch me slaughter them all!" said Vice General Wang, who was about to draw his sword and leave the camp.
"etc--"
Song Ling suddenly said, "Vice General Wang, please stay. Vice General Li, please go to the city wall to meet the enemy."
"yes!"
After hearing this, Lieutenant General Li led his men down. He had no choice but to listen. Who would have thought that this new girl was actually the strategist appointed by their general, and she even had a military order in her hand, not to mention that Military Advisor Wei was standing next to her as a witness.
"What am I supposed to do here? Miss Song, let me go and fight the enemy!" Vice General Wang was extremely annoyed, but Song Ling suddenly threw him a spear, "Listen to what I have to say before you go."
"What did Governor Wang promise you that night?"
The spear immediately fell to the ground, and Vice General Wang stood up in surprise. "How did you know?"
"I didn't betray the general, and I even managed to get supplies!"
wrong……
Suddenly realizing something, he looked at Song Ling and saw a half-smile on her face, which was so eerie.
***
"This is the territory of my Great Jin Dynasty. You barbarians, don't you know better than to retreat at once!"
Outside the city walls, the vanguard of the Wuqi Kingdom saw that the person who came out of the city tower was not the commander Yu Baizhou who had appeared before. They were already 70% convinced of the news from the spies that "the warriors of Wuqi have successfully assassinated the enemy and the commander of the Southwest Army is still seriously injured."
According to a secret letter from the warriors of the Wuqi Kingdom, the southwestern army's food supplies are insufficient to last seven days, and the fate of its commander is unknown. This is the perfect opportunity for the Wuqi Kingdom to conquer the southern border and trample the Central Plains!
The vanguard general had a hideous scar near his eye, the hand of Yu Baizhou, whom he hated to the core. Now, hearing that his mortal enemy was not long to live, the general grinned, revealing a wicked smile.
"Attack the city!"
With a single gesture, the army surged forward in coordination with the catapults. A dozen or so men pushed heavy battering rams to smash against the city gates, the deafening clangs drowned out by the shouts and sounds of battle.
"Archers, fire the fire arrows!"
"Hold on!" Lieutenant General Li roared hoarsely, picking up his long sword and furiously slashing at the enemy soldiers climbing up.
Soon, the area beneath the city wall was piled high with severed limbs and remains, accompanied by raging flames and groans of pain.
………
"General, when do we make our move?"
Deputy General Wang glanced at his excited subordinate and said, "Wait a little longer. Miss Song said she would have to wait for half an hour."
If the main force of the Southern Barbarians were here, they would surely discover that this army was lying in ambush not far from their main camp, which was also their base camp.
"Shh—" Deputy General Wang's ears twitched as he looked at the person next to him. "Did you hear the ventriloquism?"
"It seems so."
"Damn it, I've finally been waiting for this!" Deputy General Wang moved his stiff neck and mounted his horse. Miss Song said this was his only chance to redeem himself.
"Charge!"
"kill--"
Several groups of men suddenly appeared from all directions and rushed towards the camp not far away, making a deafening noise that startled the dozing general, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry—"
"Report! Enemy troops! Enemy troops!"
Upon hearing this, the Uchi Kingdom's chief general, with a full beard, grabbed the man by the neck and yelled, "What kind of work are you doing? Useless!"
After saying that, he cruelly strangled the person to death.
The man strode out of the tent, shouting, "Men! Beat the drums to meet the enemy!"
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