Chapter 530 Testing
(Thanks to Cai Yi for casting 2 monthly votes.)
Li Shiyue was in the Xuanjia Army camp outside Jian'an City, celebrating the New Year with her officers.
Liu Tan, who was far away in Jinzhou, also came to the garrison in Sanshan County. He brought Ma San and Zhao Da with him and sat down with General Ma, General Liu, and General Zhao (Zhao Laosan), several leading officers.
However, Liu Tan was sitting properly in his room, enjoying a grand feast of twelve main dishes—four cold and eight hot—along with a sweet soup and a savory soup, delivered by Junyoulai Restaurant.
It's not like Li Shiyue's place only serves stewed mutton and roasted whole lamb.
Moreover, the wine Li Shiyue was drinking at the table was tasteless.
The finest pear blossom wine on Liu Tan's table costs eight taels of silver for a small pot.
Two tables were set up in the hall, which was brightly lit, and the charcoal brazier was burning brightly, directly keeping out the chill of the winter night.
Liu Tan sat high in the main seat, smiling as he watched the officers clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table.
"General! This humble general offers you a toast!"
General Ma rose, holding his wine cup, his dark face flushed slightly from the alcohol. "May next year bring favorable weather and abundant harvests in Andong, and may the Xuanjia Army be invincible!"
Liu Tan smiled and raised his glass, but out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at General Liu, who was sitting opposite General Ma.
General Liu was the officer who had argued with Li Shiyue before about how to infiltrate the Turkic Khaganate and launch a surprise attack.
He was also a distant cousin of Liu Tan's father, a distant relative, so if you had to say, he could be considered a member of the imperial family.
Liu Tan glanced at General Liu out of the corner of his eye, then looked at General Ma. "Alright! Come on, bottoms up!"
Liu Tan downed his drink in one gulp, poured himself a full glass, stood up, raised his glass to the crowd, and deliberately raised his voice, saying loudly, "I, Liu Tan, am truly fortunate to have your help."
The Turks to the north are no longer a threat, thanks to you all!
Come, let me toast you all!
When Liu Tan, who was both a general and the Prince of Zhenbei, spoke, the officers who stood up with him naturally followed suit, offering their compliments one after another, praising Liu Tan's leadership and his skill in utilizing talent.
After everyone had drunk their fill, and Liu Tan sat down again, General Ma, whether he was truly drunk or because Liu Tan had mentioned the Turks, loudly held his wine cup and said, "Ah, General, mentioning the Turks reminds me of General Li."
I wonder how she is doing in Jian'an?
"These mountains are high and the roads are far, and that place is plagued by Japanese pirates, it's really..."
"Little Ma, why are you bringing her up?"
General Liu's words gave Zhao Laosan, who had a long-standing grudge against Li Shiyue, an opportunity.
"That's right! Brother Ma, Brother Liu is right, why are you bringing her up?"
"We brothers are enjoying a good drink, why do you have to bring up that female demon?"
Liu Tan sneered inwardly, but showed no sign on his face. He simply put down his wine glass slowly and deliberately: "Li Shiyue, what happened to her?"
If she hadn't seized the opportune moment in the Turkic Khaganate and killed many Turkic nobles, how could I dare to say that the Turks are no longer a threat?
The hall fell silent instantly.
Liu Tan could feel everyone's eyes focused on General Liu, which made General Liu's breathing noticeably rapid for a moment.
"this......"
General Liu seemed to realize that he had said something wrong, but his demeanor seemed to be feigning it.
He held the wine glass and looked at Liu Tan, "General, it's really nothing."
Li led his troops to Jian'an before the New Year. I wonder if he is doing a good job for the general now that he is in Jian'an.
Jian'an is quite far from Jinzhou, and now it's the dead of winter, making the journey difficult and the news hard to get through.
She was a fierce general, a sharp blade for the general on the battlefield.
I wonder if the knife will still be obedient after it goes to Jian'an?
Why should we bring her up tonight on New Year's Eve?
That way, I won't have to worry about how she's doing in Jian'an.
Liu Tan looked at General Liu, who was speaking below him, with a half-smile.
Three days ago, the contents of the secret letter brought by Li Shiyue's golden eagle resurfaced in Liu Tan's mind—Li Shiyue had discovered that Huang Wanchang, the governor of Jian'an, was corrupt, lawless, and had colluded with the enemy and Japanese pirates.
This Huang Wanchang actually dared to sell innocent people!
In order to carry out the killing of bandits and protect the people of Jian'an, Li Shiyue had no choice but to act decisively and kill Huang Wanchang's entire family of more than thirty people.
The letter clearly stated what secret letters, account books, and how much gold and silver were found in Huang Wanchang's home.
Li Shiyue said that once the first month of the lunar calendar is over and the roads are easier to travel, she will personally arrange for her personal guards to escort all these things to Jinzhou and hand them over to Liu Tan.
Finally, Li Shiyue wrote down his plans for the future in Jian'an and raised a question—Huang Wanchang was the highest-ranking official in Jian'an when he was alive, and it could be said that everyone in Jian'an had to obey his orders.
It's understandable that everyone in Jian'an colluded with Huang Wanchang, but other officials might have done so to protect themselves or simply to get a share of the silver.
Even if the garrison commander was willing to collude with Huang Wanchang for money and agree to open up the coastal defenses for the Japanese pirates, it would still be somewhat understandable.
It should be noted that Huang Wanchang had already been serving as an official in Jian'an for three years when he was the Jian'an Prefectural Governor.
Later, he became the governor of Jian'an. Before Li Shiyue arrived, he had already served in Jian'an for more than four years, almost five years!
If you round it up, Huang Wanchang has been in Jian'an for eight years!
But why, over the years, neither the old Zhenbei King Liu Cong nor the current Zhenbei King Liu Tan noticed anything amiss in Jian'an during their annual border patrols?
How is that possible?
Therefore, in his secret letter to Liu Tan, Li Shiyue speculated that Huang Wanchang must have accomplices who tipped him off!
And this person must be in the military!
It has to be someone who is close to Liu Tan, and this person has to be qualified to know when each of the Zhenbei Kings patrolled the border!
So how could Liu Tan not be suspicious of every officer present tonight?
At this moment, it is unclear whether General Ma intentionally brought up Li Shiyue or because Liu Tan mentioned the Turks, which is why he brought up Li Shiyue.
In any case, General Liu took up General Ma's words and deliberately said a few ambiguous, scheming things to sow discord between Liu Tan and others.
So, at this moment, Liu Tan feigned surprise and asked, "Oh? How should I put it?"
The reason I agreed to let Li Shiyue go to Jian'an to kill the bandits was because I valued her ruthlessness in dealing with the Turkic tribes.
What exactly did General Liu mean by those words?
Do you think it was inappropriate for me to send Li Shiyue to Jian'an?
Liu Tan changed his self-reference from "I" to "this king," and even the most brainless and clueless officer in the room knew that Liu Tan was angry.
Upon hearing this, General Liu, who had been singled out by Liu Tan, trembled and dropped his chopsticks on the ground with a crisp sound.
He hurriedly bent down to pick up the chopsticks, and when he looked up, he saw him smiling at Liu Tanqiang and saying, "General, I misspoke!"
Today is New Year's Eve, let's not talk about these things anymore. I'll punish myself with three cups of wine! To apologize to the General!
Liu Tan watched as General Liu poured himself a full cup and drank from it. After doing this three times, General Liu fell silent.
After mentally making a note of General Liu's name, Liu Tan turned to Ma San behind him with a smile and said, "Hurry up, someone, bring General Liu a clean pair of chopsticks."
Liu Tan's seemingly considerate gesture was actually an insult.
Everyone here is a sensible person; how could they not understand?
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became even more subtle.
Thus, the vigil dinner ended hastily after midnight.
At Liu Tan's residence in the garrison, Liu Tan sat at the long table and read the secret letter that Li Shiyue had sent back by the golden eagle once again.
His suspicions grew increasingly apparent.
This is true of those who sit in high positions; power can alienate people.
But power is a good thing, and everyone wants it.
"Zhao Da!"
Starting tomorrow, you will have someone keep an eye on Liu Xiao (General Liu).
I need to know who he met and where he went.
Liu Tan's voice was as cold as ice, "We especially need to pay attention to whether he has had any contact with people from Jian'an!"
"Yes, General!"
Liu Tan walked to the window and pushed it open a crack.
A cold wind, mixed with snowflakes, swept in. Liu Tan stood alone by the window, letting the cold wind hit his face.
Outside the window, the snow fell heavier and heavier, covering everything in pure white.
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