Chapter 267 Concealment
The emperor held the memorial tightly, staring intently at the two lines of text in the middle.
General Meng Xingyuan led his troops deep into the bandit stronghold, but was no match for the bandit leader. He was killed by Blood Wolf, the leader of the Headless Gang, his face disfigured and his head hanging from a tree—a gruesome death. With their commander dead, the five thousand soldiers were pursued and slaughtered by the bandits, their ranks scattered and they fled for their lives.
Meng Xingyuan is really dead?
They died with their bodies and heads separated, their heads hanging high in the air.
The Emperor sent Meng Xingyuan to suppress the bandits, never intending for him to return alive.
But the way he arranged for Meng Xingyuan's death was not like that. He planted several spies among the five thousand old, weak and disabled soldiers. Once they discovered that the King of the Northern Frontier had sent people to rescue Meng Xingyuan, they would take advantage of the chaos to end Meng Xingyuan's life.
The Northern Frontier King, enraged by his failed rescue attempt, engaged in a fierce battle with the bandits, ultimately annihilating them, though the Northern Frontier King also suffered losses in his forces.
This is the result he expected.
However, he did not expect that the King of the Northern Frontier truly did not care about Meng Xingyuan's life or death, and did not send anyone to rescue him, leaving Meng Xingyuan to die a tragic death.
The Emperor's eyes darkened as he looked up at Eunuch Chu.
"Have any messages been sent back by the people I dispatched?"
Eunuch Chu lowered his head and said, "It is consistent with the news in this memorial. Lord Meng has passed away. Apart from the soldiers that Lord Meng led, there are no other troops in Guandu Prefecture."
"Could it be that the Northern Frontier King's men haven't arrived yet?" The Emperor frowned deeply. "Is there anything unusual about the Tiger Soaring Army?"
Eunuch Chu shook his head and said, "According to the Tiger Soaring Army's inside source, everything in the Tiger Soaring Army is normal. Not only does the Northern Frontier King act as usual every day, but even his dozen or so generals and commanders are in the camp. No soldiers have been found to have left the camp without permission."
If the King of Northern Frontier were truly willing to save people, even if he didn't go himself, he would certainly entrust the task to his most trusted subordinate.
It seems that the King of the Northern Frontier truly doesn't care about the Meng family or Meng Xingyuan at all; both he and Eunuch Chu were wrong.
He gained none of the three benefits he should have achieved, and even lost a loyal civil official.
The emperor was in a very bad mood.
My favorite tea used to taste different; it now tastes bitter and hard to swallow.
"Where is the Tiger Soaring Army of the Northern Frontier King now?"
Eunuch Chu, usually the most composed person around the Emperor, was unusually cautious today. He lowered his head and whispered, "According to the information from our inside agent, they've reached Fengling Town. Although the army's progress is slow, I estimate they'll arrive in about five or six days..."
"What are you stammering about?" The Emperor glanced at Eunuch Chu. "Where did your confident and arrogant demeanor go when you were advising me to send Meng Xingyuan to suppress the bandits? What can the Northern Frontier King do even if he arrives in the capital? My forces far surpass his. If the Northern Frontier King dares to come, I will make sure he dies in the capital!"
The Emperor didn't speak with much confidence, after all, the King of the Northern Frontier had brought him far too many surprises and shocks.
He plotted against the King of the Northern Frontier several times, but never succeeded.
This young man possesses both the bravery and skill of the King of Anshun, and is even more cunning and shrewd than him. He is the strongest opponent he has encountered in all these years.
Even the usually composed and steady Eunuch Chu was now flustered. The Emperor was filled with regret, lamenting that he shouldn't have hesitated and instead had simply silenced everyone from the Prince of Anshun's residence; otherwise, this situation wouldn't have arisen. He also despised the Meng family for their incompetence, having wasted his efforts bringing the three Meng daughters and the young master into the palace. The Prince of Northern Frontier didn't even care about Meng Xingyuan's life or death, let alone the rest of the Meng family.
Knowing that the Emperor disliked servants being flustered, Eunuch Chu quickly composed himself.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. However, the fact that Lord Meng was brutally murdered by the bandits cannot be kept secret for long. In addition, these bandits are inhuman and slaughter officials everywhere. This will surely arouse the condemnation of all civil and military officials. I'm afraid the matter of suppressing the bandits can no longer be delayed."
When Meng Xingyuan was sent to suppress the bandits, many officials in the court did not understand and impeached him many times. The matter has not been completely suppressed yet. If the news of the bandits abusing and killing officials and the tragic death of Meng Xingyuan spreads, many officials will definitely be agitated and will keep remonstrating to demand the suppression of the bandits.
Normally, we could simply send tens of thousands of elite troops to Guandu Prefecture to wipe out the bandits and resolve the matter.
In any case, the emperor also deeply hated these bandits and intended to eliminate them.
But now that the Northern Frontier King has invaded, based on Eunuch Chu's understanding of the Emperor, no matter how important or urgent the matter of suppressing the bandits is, it is not as important as the safety of the capital, nor as urgent as his throne and the country.
The Emperor will definitely wait until the threat from the King of the Northern Frontier is resolved before he has the resources to deal with the bandits.
The remaining 200,000 troops in the capital were his only source of strength in confronting the Northern Frontier King. He would not be willing to waste a single soldier on bandit suppression before dealing with the Northern Frontier King.
However, if Meng Xingyuan's matter is not handled properly, the officials in the capital will be dissatisfied, and the people will be suspicious. I'm afraid that before the King of the Northern Frontier even enters the city, internal strife will break out.
So even though the emperor didn't like hearing this, he had no choice but to say it.
Eunuch Chu's guess was correct; upon hearing this, the Emperor's eyes darkened further.
He looked at Eunuch Chu and said slowly.
"Then let's keep this a secret for as long as we can. Let's delay the officials' remonstrances for a few more days. When the King of the Northern Frontier comes to our door, they will naturally stop forcing me to send troops to suppress the bandits if they want to live."
He also wanted to wipe out these arrogant bandits as soon as possible, but the situation was turbulent and the Northern Frontier King was coming with great force, so he could only deal with them with all his might for the time being.
“But…” Eunuch Chu wanted to persuade him further, but when he looked up and saw the warning in the Emperor’s eyes, he had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words and nodded, saying, “This servant understands.”
Just as Eunuch Chu was about to leave, a young eunuch rushed over, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, Grand Master Sun, Grand Secretary Zhang, Minister of War, Minister of Works, and Censor Feng request an audience."
Since the Emperor sent Meng Xingyuan to suppress the bandits, officials have frequently come to the Emperor to plead for him to recall Meng Xingyuan as soon as possible and send another military general and elite troops to suppress the bandits.
These officials were the most proactive.
However, they usually come alone, occasionally in pairs, but never in such a large group.
The Emperor sensed something was wrong and frowned, asking, "Did they say what it was about?"
The young eunuch bowed and said, "It was originally Grand Secretary Zhang who came to see the Emperor, but he happened to meet the soldier who had previously delivered a memorial to the Emperor. The two talked about something, and Grand Secretary Zhang became very excited, so he summoned the other officials as well."
The person who delivered the memorial earlier was the one who rushed back from Guandu Prefecture to inform the Emperor. It seems that he had already told Grand Secretary Zhang about Meng Xingyuan's tragic death and the bandits' inhumanity. Grand Secretary Zhang then informed several other officials about this matter.
Clearly, this matter can no longer be concealed.
The Emperor glanced at Eunuch Chu and complained that he hadn't handled the matter properly.
Eunuch Chu lowered his head guiltily. He hadn't been sure of the Emperor's thoughts, so he had the messenger wait outside. Who knew that in such a short time, he would run into Grand Secretary Zhang.
And Scholar Zhang's mouth was so quick that he spread the news to everyone.
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