Although it sounds unreasonable, it exists objectively, so it is actually reasonable.
Although it sounds magical to infer that these people were not their own soldiers because they were paid for their meals, Mao Xiang knew that this inference was indeed normal.
Although the military discipline of the official army of Dachen was not good in the past, there were many incidents of bullying men and women, robbing property, killing innocent people and claiming credit every year, but the court did not support such practices. If a victim came to complain, or the military judge found evidence, and the offending soldier had no reliable backing, he would definitely be punished by military regulations to set things right.
Of course, if there is no victim, or if the backing is strong enough, that would be another story.
However, since the crazy expansion of the army led to financial difficulties and the Ministry of Revenue complained directly to the court, the court decided to let local armies raise their own military pay, and the decline in military discipline became uncontrollable.
Just eating without paying can be considered as completely innocent.
The more common practice would be to clean out the restaurant right after dinner, and if the proprietress is pretty, she would naturally be taken care of in turns...
Thinking of this, Mao Xiang couldn't control his emotions and cursed inwardly, what kind of world is this and what a mess this war is.
In Mao Xiang's mind, the war should have stopped long ago, especially this kind of war that wastes resources and lives but fails to achieve any results. It is really meaningless to fight.
The great Chen Dynasty still seemed to be thriving and prosperous, but Mao Xiang knew that as long as they left Jiankang and a few major cities, the corruption of the entire Chen Dynasty would be as obvious as lice on a bald man's head.
Even in those big cities, that is, the wealthy areas in the inner city seem to be places where people live, but the slums are still like purgatory.
Over the years, the Jinyiwei attacked from all sides and put down a large number of rebellions. In the end, Mao Xiang had to admit that the main reason why most of the ambitious people who were described as evil in official documents rebelled was to eat. The remaining small number even simply wanted to die because living was too difficult.
"If Tang Tong's soldiers could do this without causing any harm, they would be considered a truly powerful army, and Dachen might still be saved."
Mao Xiang couldn't help but think.
"And now the Crown Prince's plan to swallow up Qinghe and use Qinghe's resources and manpower to fill the gaps in the Chen Dynasty seems problematic no matter how you look at it. If Qinghe was a friendly country, then why did the Khmer, who had fought the Chen Dynasty for hundreds of years, fall so quickly?
If Cambodia is truly a weakling, then what is the status of Da Chen, which has been battling Cambodia for hundreds of years without a clear winner?
After thinking for a while, Mao Xiang shook his head vigorously, as if trying to get rid of these unrealistic thoughts from his head. He could not make the decisions on national affairs. The only thing he could do was to do his best to make His Royal Highness's plan a success.
"Send someone into the city under my banner to see how they react. Then see if Tang Tong is still in the city. If he's dead, and the people on the other side are from Qinghe, then claim to be an envoy, say some nonsense, and then come back."
If Tang Tong is still here, then he's a traitor. He should just pretend he doesn't know and say he's not feeling well and the doctor recommends more exercise outdoors. He won't be entering the city, and I'll send someone to notify him if anything happens.
After saying this, Mao Xiang directly ordered to erase all traces of his presence here, and then rode away again.
While Mao Xiang made accurate judgments and took decisive actions, Xue Wuxia, who had been leading the team guarding the city gate, had a much harder time.
Before Mao Xiang's messenger arrived in Zhaoyang, Xue Wuxia could only firmly believe that Mao Xiang would come. After all, there was Tang Tong in the city, right? As a high-ranking official of the Chen Dynasty, when you go to the local area to do business, you should at least inform the local boss and arrange a welcoming banquet or something, right?
But after waiting for several hours, the troops ambushing in the woods withdrew in batches and had two meals, but still no creature called Maoxiang appeared within sight.
The intelligence officer, who was pretending to be a cleaner, had to take the risk and said to Xue Wuxia, "Boss, let's forget it. We should withdraw. Otherwise, I've been sweeping the ground in one place for several hours, and the ground at the city gate should be three feet thick."
Fortunately, the messenger arrived in time and saved most of the intelligence department agents. They can all go off work, except Xue Wuxia, who has to go to Wang Zuo to review her behavior.
Xue Wuxia, who was scolded by Wang Zuo, still couldn't figure out where Mao Xiang had gone.
This was the first time in Xue Wuxia's life that she missed a man so much and hoped that this man would appear in front of her. She even seriously considered whether she should go to the temple to pray to see if she was unlucky.
"Think carefully, where could this Mao Xiang go?"
Wang Zuo put enormous pressure on Xue Wuxia, but Xue Wuxia, whose mind was completely confused after guarding the city gate for a whole day, successfully transferred the pressure to his subordinates.
"Didn't they say Mao Xiang was coming to assassinate Your Majesty? If that's the case, he must have found a way to infiltrate the defenses. We'll definitely be able to stop him at the defenses."
This is Wolong’s analysis.
"Good idea. The defense line stretches for dozens of kilometers, with mountains on both sides that are difficult for birds to fly over. Go and try to block one of them. If you succeed, you can take my place."
Xue Wuxia said unhappily.
"Is it possible that Mao Xiang, seeing our tight defenses, decided to take another route? For example, we could go through Xinyuetu's territory, enter the former Khmer heartland, pass through Xiangyun to Xichuan, and finally reach Xijing City?"
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