Chapter 70
Xue Jin'an had anticipated that Helian Yong would be convinced of the Northwest Army's rebellion, but he hadn't expected Helian Yong to be so convinced that he was almost out of his mind.
He fled into the main camp in a disheveled state. The moment he saw Helian Cheng, he shouted the whole thing out loud, startling the soldiers passing by. Some of them, lacking composure, even dropped their swords.
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Helian Cheng frowned and rebuked him coldly. Although he was angry, he still spoke in a very organized manner, saying, "Our Northwest Army consists of men of iron will. Han Qi and Chen Zheng have been in the army for more than 20 years, and they have risen to their current positions step by step through military merit. They have never made a mistake. They have a blood feud with the Rongdi people and would never betray the Northwest Army!"
Helian Cheng's meaning was simple: putting aside his two deputy generals' feelings for the Northwest Army, if they really wanted to kill him and take his place, then there would be absolutely no place for them in Daqi. Even though Helian Cheng didn't like to publicize his reputation and achievements too much, he still knew his position in Daqi and the Northwest Army. Even if he wasn't a national hero like Di Qing or Yue Fei who turned the tide, he was definitely a pillar of strength.
Everything leaves a trace, especially since the death of someone of his rank would undoubtedly alert the entire Northwest Army. Within three days, the truth would be revealed, meaning the murderer would no longer be able to live peacefully in the army. Therefore, they would only have two paths to take:
First, he seized power through a bloody massacre, completely destroying the Northwest Army and regaining his command. Leaving aside how difficult this was, just the question is how long he could hold onto this command, which he obtained through bloodshed. Whether the Northwest Army would accept it, and whether the Great Qi would accept it, was a question. In the end, he might only be able to take the path of a rebel.
Secondly, they could join the Rong and Di tribes. However, all the soldiers in the Northwest Army with more than two years of service had a blood feud with the Rong and Di. Whether they were willing to go or not was a question. Even if some people gritted their teeth and went to survive, the Rong and Di tribes probably wanted to kill them as soon as possible, rather than welcoming them with open arms.
Although the Rongdi established a great desert kingdom and had a Khan, they actually still practiced a tribal system, somewhat similar to the enfeoffment system during the Zhou Dynasty. The kings and nobles (tribal chiefs) had a high degree of autonomy over their territories, and were somewhat like those who obeyed orders but not proclamations. In other words, if there were too many dissenting voices, the Khan could only follow the will of the people.
Of course, the Khan's tribe was the most powerful in terms of military strength, capable of suppressing all other tribes by force. However, he had no reason to cause conflict with his subjects over an outsider, did he?
If Han Qi and Chen Zheng were to actually kill him, it would seem like they had two paths to choose from, but in reality, both of them would lead directly to death.
Even if it weren't out of trust and friendship, but simply from a purely self-interested perspective, Helian Cheng believed that his subordinates, whom he had used for so many years, would not be so foolish as to throw their lives away for no reason.
Helian Cheng understood, but the soldiers might not. Generally speaking, during wartime, commanders tend to give orders directly to their soldiers rather than letting them hear more. This effectively prevents soldiers from having random thoughts during battle, which could lead to slow actions and unnecessary deaths.
Helian Cheng then rebuked Helian Yong again.
Helian Yong knew that he had indeed lost his temper by saying these words in public. He was initially annoyed, but when he saw that his adoptive father not only did not believe him but also scolded him twice, he immediately felt wronged.
However, he still remembered the lesson he had just learned. Looking at the considerable number of soldiers nearby, he opened his mouth and then closed it again, his expression one of indescribable frustration.
Fearing that he might say something that would undermine morale, Helian Cheng immediately took him away.
Helian Cheng's treatment of Helian Yong's subordinates was exactly as Xue Jin'an had predicted. He ordered them to be taken away and kept under strict guard. In fact, if they hadn't been soldiers of the Northwest Army, they might have been subjected to torture and forced confessions.
Helian Cheng brought his good-for-nothing adopted son to the main tent. Doctor Chang was warming himself by the fire in the tent. Seeing Helian Cheng's sullen face, he joked, "You were fine when you went out. Why do you look so grim when you come back? Who upset our General?"
Before Doctor Chang could finish speaking, he saw Helian Yong who had followed him in. Seeing his disheveled state, he was startled and jumped up, knocking over the chair behind him. "Yong'er, what happened to you? How did you get like this?"
He immediately strode forward, grabbed Helian Yong's hand, and began to take his pulse. The latter's expression turned strange for a moment, but he quickly composed himself.
"Fortunately, it only looked scary; there were no serious injuries." Dr. Chang breathed a sigh of relief.
During the time that Doctor Chang was seeing patients, Helian Cheng dismissed everyone else, leaving only two of his best bodyguards to protect him as a precaution.
As soon as the man left, Helian Yong spoke up impatiently, "Father, it's too late. Han Qi and Chen Zheng's troops are hiding outside, just waiting for the right opportunity to attack..."
"Shut up." Helian Cheng slammed his hand on the table with a loud bang, startling Helian Yong so much that his entire face trembled. He then heard his godfather say, "What you're saying is absolutely impossible. You don't need to say anything more."
Helian Yong said in disbelief, "Father, you don't believe me? Everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to the place I mentioned to investigate. Their wolfish ambitions will then be exposed!"
As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times. Helian Cheng had already said everything he could. Looking at his still-confident adopted son, he pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression helpless, and at the same time, he was somewhat disappointed.
He could tell that his adopted son had clearly fallen into a trap set by someone else. In his opinion, Helian Yong had fallen into such a trap entirely because he hadn't been paying attention in class. If he had any deeper understanding of the Northwest Army, he would never have believed such a simplistic deception.
Helian Cheng ordered his men to take Helian Yong away and keep him under guard, so that he could calm down before continuing the conversation.
Little did Helian Yong know that he was also very disappointed. He had gone through so much trouble to come back, only to find that his adoptive father did not believe him at all and even locked him and his men up. He felt that his sincere heart had been completely broken.
"No, I can't just sit here and wait to die. My godfather has been deceived. I have to find a way to get out of here..." Helian Yong started to think, while cursing the three traitors in his heart, especially his hatred for Long Aotian, which grew stronger and stronger.
Doctor Chang watched as Helian Yong was dragged away with an incredulous expression, rubbed his cold hands, and sat back down by the fire. "I think Yong'er still doesn't seem to understand. You should explain things to him in detail. He's still quite naive..."
Helian Cheng lowered his head and fiddled with the battle on the small sand table, saying in a calm tone, "What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand." A thousand words are not as memorable as experiencing a direct setback.
"So ruthless? It seems he's really suffered a heavy blow this time. What exactly happened?" Doctor Chang asked.
Helian Cheng recounted the general situation, and Doctor Chang was shocked. It took him a while to process what he had said. He had been colleagues with Han Qi and Chen Zheng for a long time and was quite familiar with their character. However, he couldn't help but show a worried expression: "As the saying goes, it's better to believe it than not to believe it. I'm afraid there's something fishy about this."
"What kind of trick is this? A trick to the Yellow Springs?" Helian Cheng denied it without the slightest hesitation. "It's just a scheme against me."
Not only that, he also easily saw that this was not the work of Han Qi or Chen Zheng. He had a feeling that it was the work of Long Aotian. While amazed, Helian Cheng was also full of fighting spirit and wanted to compete with the person who set up this scheme.
Doctor Chang had absolutely no talent for military campaigns, but he was very confident in his assessment of Helian Cheng. He simply said, "As long as you have a way to deal with it," and then continued to warm himself by the fire.
Helian Cheng shifted his gaze to the large sand table. Instead of thinking about how to break the trap set by the other side, he directly targeted the red and blue teams' camps.
Since the main force has gathered nearby, it proves that their main camp is weak. Now is the perfect time to strike while they are down. We should attack their camp and seize their flag. Even if they take the flag, it doesn't matter. We can occupy their tents directly, leaving them with nowhere to go but to wander outside. Then we can defeat them one by one.
—It must be said that foolish coaches each have their own foolish tricks, while smart coaches think in roughly the same way.
The reason they are so united is because it is currently the dead of winter in the north. People's hands get frozen if they stay in the snow for too long, and their fighting ability will be much lower than usual.
Helian Cheng pondered who to attack first.
Originally, it should have been easier for the blue team to fight, since based on his understanding of Vice General Han, he would definitely send out all his men, leaving only a few in the camp. Helian Yong was a member of the red team, so it would be easier for the red team to trick him. Long Aotian was very likely stationed in the red team.
However, Helian Cheng's intuition led him to choose to play the red side, and he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Alright, it's lunchtime already. Stop thinking about it. We'll talk about it after we've eaten," said Doctor Chang.
Helian Cheng responded, "Okay."
Doctor Chang ate very quickly today. After finishing, he got up to leave: "Yong'er is a bit stubborn. I'm afraid he'll be too angry to eat. He also has some injuries. I'll go take a look."
Helian Cheng did not stop them, and even gave an order, "Tell Yong'er and the others to get a good night's sleep."
They were naturally referring to Lingding's men whom Helian Yong had brought back. He knew Helian Yong's personality; he might not be able to get out of his rut for a while and might still be planning to do something. So he simply drugged him and knocked him out. By the time he woke up, the exercise would be over.
Dr. Chang was not surprised. He immediately responded and went out to prepare the sleeping potion.
Everyone else's medicine was given to them by others, but Helian Yong's bowl of medicine was delivered by Doctor Chang himself. When he saw the disheveled boy sitting on the ground, he couldn't help but sigh: How could he be so stubborn?
"Have something to eat." Doctor Chang placed the food box on the table and laid out all the dishes inside. It was just two dishes and a soup, not exactly lavish, but certainly not a neglectful meal.
Helian Yong glanced at the food laid out in front of him, but did not reach for it immediately. Instead, he asked, "What did my godfather say?"
Doctor Chang remained silent, and Helian Yong understood. "He still doesn't believe me!"
"Yong'er, don't think about it anymore. Your godfather has more experience in this area, and he will naturally make his own judgment," Doctor Chang advised.
Helian Yong didn't speak again, but picked up the soup bowl, looked at the crystal-clear wild vegetable soup, and suddenly laughed, "Did you put a sleeping potion in it? Are you planning to let me sleep until the end of the exercise?"
Doctor Chang did not deny it, but lowered his head and sighed inwardly: At this time, Yong'er has reconnected with his godfather.
However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred. Helian Yong suddenly grabbed Doctor Chang and, as Doctor Chang stared in astonishment with his eyes wide open and mouth agape, poured the entire bowl of medicine down his throat. After that, Helian Yong covered his mouth, forcing him to swallow it all.
"Cough cough, you—" Doctor Chang had specially prescribed a medicine with a fast-acting effect. As soon as the medicine was swallowed, the world started spinning before my eyes, I began to lose all my strength, and my eyelids drooped.
Doctor Chang tried to pinch his own flesh to wake himself up and even called for help, but Helian Yong thwarted all his attempts. He could only helplessly close his eyes, his consciousness completely swallowed by drowsiness.
After Helian Yong waited until his breathing gradually stabilized and he was sure that he had fallen into a deep sleep, he laid him flat on the ground. He then searched his body for something like a sleeping potion, or any medicine that could help him leave this place.
However, he found nothing.
Doctor Chang usually carries some medicine with him so that it can be helpful in case of trouble. However, when he came to see Helian Yong this time, thinking about Helian Cheng's overly cautious attitude, he took off all the medicine powder and sachets he was carrying before entering. He even laughed at himself, thinking that he had been infected by Helian Cheng and was worrying too much and starting to be a worrier.
He never expected that his casual, spontaneous idea would actually stump Helian Yong for a moment.
Helian Yongmo examined Doctor Chang thoroughly, and finally discovered that a strange little bamboo tube was hanging from the imperial physician's jade pendant at Doctor Chang's waist. The bamboo tube was very simple and crude in design, but it was sealed very well, as if afraid that something might crawl out from inside.
Helian Yong turned the bamboo tube upside down and heard some rustling sounds inside. He widened his eyes slightly and thought for a moment before realizing what it was.
Doctor Chang came from a family of imperial physicians. He entered the palace as an imperial physician at the age of 18 and his medical skills were better than many old men. In just a few years, he became the second-in-command of the Imperial Medical Academy, second only to Hu Yuanzheng. Just when he was about to be promoted to the top position, Doctor Chang suddenly resigned from his position as an imperial physician and went to the Northwest Army to become a military doctor without a rank.
That said, it is said that when Doctor Chang was a royal physician, he had a good friend who was from Dianzhou and was skilled in using Gu worms. Two years ago, the friend came to the Northwest to seek medicine. It is likely that the Gu worms in this bamboo tube are the Gu worms.
Helian Yong actually had some aversion to Gu worms, but he gritted his teeth and thought that there was no other way now. He had to use extraordinary means in extraordinary times and pulled out the plug.
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