Chapter 81 Li Pan! You are crazy!
The imperial eunuchs who came from the capital arrived at the northwestern frontier as scheduled.
Unaware that Li Pan already knew everything that had happened in the capital, they went to the General's Mansion first. The servant opened the door, not recognizing them, and asked who they were.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree said, "We have come to deliver a decree on His Majesty's orders. May I ask if Marquis Wu'an is present?"
The servant feigned surprise: "The Marquis is not here. The Marquis is in the military camp."
The eunuch who delivered the decree frowned and was about to leave when he saw another person come out of the mansion.
The woman had her hair tied up in a low bun, with a jade hairpin slanted at her temple. She wore a white embroidered cloak, looking both beautiful and aloof. Who else could she be but the Lady of the Marquis of Wu'an?
"His Majesty has issued a decree?" she asked gently. "What is it?"
The eunuch delivering the decree smiled and said, "Madam, this decree is for Marquis Wu'an. Marquis Wu'an must be present before I can issue the decree."
"Winter has arrived, and to prevent foreign tribes from causing trouble, the Marquis has been training troops in the military camp recently. Why don't you wait a moment, Eunuch, while I go and have someone invite the Marquis back to the manor?"
"No need to trouble you, Madam. It would take quite a while for you to go back and forth. I'll go to the military camp myself."
Lou Xueying's gaze shifted to what was behind him: "Why did you bring so many people with you when you came to deliver the imperial decree?" She looked at the man still on horseback outside the mansion, paused for a moment, and said, "That official seems somewhat familiar, I wonder who he is..."
"That is General Sun from the Imperial City Guard," the imperial eunuch announced.
Before Lou Xueying could speak, she saw General Sun kick his horse's flanks and slowly walk over.
"Greetings, Lady Hou." General Sun's gaze swept around the mansion. "Is the Marquis not here?"
Lou Xueying said, "The Marquis is training troops in the military camp."
“Then we can go to the military camp to issue the decree.” General Sun looked down at her. “However, there is one thing I need to ask of Lady Hou.”
"Please speak, General."
"These are my bodyguards. It's a military camp, and it's inconvenient to send so many people at once. I would appreciate it if you could take care of them and let them rest at the manor."
Lou Xueying smiled and said, "Of course you can. It's cold and windy, and you've all had a long journey. Please come in."
After watching the guards enter the general's mansion, General Sun nodded to her: "Thank you, Madam. We dare not delay the imperial decree. We will take our leave now."
Lou Xueying bowed slightly: "General, please take care."
She stood at the threshold, watching the imperial eunuch and General Sun ride away on horseback, and then ordered the gates of the general's mansion to be closed.
"Wu Zhao," she called out as she turned around, "serve some tea."
...
"Why is Marquis Wu'an in the military camp?" the eunuch delivering the imperial decree couldn't help but complain. "His Highness the Crown Prince has passed away, and His Majesty has summoned Marquis Wu'an back to the capital for questioning. Marquis Wu'an is likely to be dissatisfied, and if he causes a scene, it will be troublesome with so many people in the military camp. It would be better if he were in the General's Mansion, where there are fewer people and it would be more convenient to carry out his duties."
General Sun chuckled, "If it were before, I definitely wouldn't have gone to the military camp to deliver the decree. When you and I left the capital, His Majesty said that if Marquis Wu'an disobeyed the imperial decree, he would be killed on the spot. I would have to be crazy to do that in the military camp. But since His Majesty changed his mind, it's safer to go to the military camp to deliver the decree now. If Marquis Wu'an still doesn't comply, we can use his wife as leverage. He loses his mind when he's around his wife. Seeing that she's in our hands, even if he's still unwilling, he'll have no choice but to obediently return to the capital."
When the two men received the imperial decree, Emperor Jinghui instructed them that if Marquis Wu'an was willing to return to the capital and be questioned, they should treat him politely; if he was unwilling, he should be executed on the spot. For this purpose, a special detachment of elite troops was assigned to accompany him.
But a day after they left the capital, a young eunuch, sweating profusely from riding a horse, caught up with them, saying that His Majesty had another decree. The two opened the edict and saw that Emperor Jinghui had changed his mind. He said that Marquis Wu'an had a fiery temper and was easily agitated, and instructed the two to try to persuade him with reason and emotion, and not to bring so many people to see him to prevent misunderstandings and a mutiny. At the same time, he also instructed them to arrange for people to keep an eye on the Marquis's wife; if Marquis Wu'an still refused to comply, they should use the Marquis's wife as leverage to force him to return to the capital.
"The second plan is better. No matter how many men we bring, how can we withstand the ten thousand troops of the Northwest? Once Marquis Wu'an leaves the Northwest and returns to the capital, he'll be at His Majesty's mercy." General Sun stroked his chin. "I happened to be on duty during the autumn hunt and didn't have a chance to see Marquis Wu'an's wife. But seeing her today, she is indeed a beauty. No wonder His Highness the Crown Prince was captivated. It's just a pity that this beauty is a jinx; His Highness the Crown Prince is not fortunate enough to enjoy her beauty and has instead brought trouble upon himself. Marquis Wu'an has gone mad; for a woman, he even dared to kill the Crown Prince!"
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree was puzzled: "Didn't His Majesty say that there were still doubts in this case and that the Marquis of Wu'an could not be directly convicted? Why is the general so certain that the Marquis of Wu'an was responsible for this?"
“Besides him, who else would want to kill the Crown Prince? ... Cough, His Majesty was possessed by an evil spirit before, so it doesn’t count.” General Sun said, “Besides, this is something that Marquis Wu’an would do. He beat the Crown Prince that day, and his wife committed suicide the next day. He hates the Crown Prince to the bone and must have wanted to kill him. It would be unthinkable for others, but it is entirely possible for him.”
As he spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Besides, if His Majesty doesn't intend to punish Marquis Wu'an, why did he make me take over the Northwest Army? If he's truly innocent, he'll naturally return in a month or two. I haven't even gotten a feel for the situation yet, and now I have to leave again. Isn't that just a waste of time?"
General Sun originally had two tasks on this trip: first, to escort the eunuch delivering the imperial edict; and second, to kill Marquis Wu'an on the spot should he disobey. However, the new imperial edict later stated that General Sun was appointed as the Grand General Who Conquers the West, and that he would take over the military affairs in the Northwest once Li Pan left.
The imperial eunuch delivering the decree said, “General, your thoughts are indeed thorough. However, you should keep these thoughts to yourself and not reveal them later. His Majesty said that Marquis Wu’an will be wary when he learns that he is to return to the capital, and may be unwilling to obey. We must dispel his wariness and make him understand that His Majesty does not intend to punish him, so that he can be at ease.”
General Sun: "I understand. If I can use gentleness to overcome strength and get him to return to the capital willingly, I would certainly be happy to save myself trouble. Unless I am forced to, I do not want to hold Lady Wu'an hostage. The entire Northwest is under the control of Marquis Wu'an. If things get too ugly, how will I continue to do my work?"
The two hurried to the military camp, reported their identities, and after being informed, were led to the general's tent.
A north wind swept through the gate, and the military flag fluttered in the wind. The flag was old, with some wear and fading along the edges, but the flagpole remained straight and upright.
As General Sun passed by the drill ground, the shouts of the soldiers during their drills were deafening, and the cold glint of their weapons was chilling. He happened to make eye contact with one of them, and the murderous intent in the ordinary soldier's eyes struck him like a dagger, making General Sun's heart tremble.
The appearance of this Northwest military camp... is indeed quite different from that of the Imperial City Guard in the capital.
When he came to his senses, he reluctantly withdrew his gaze and entered the main tent with the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree.
Li Pan sat imposingly in the tent, glanced at the two men, and without rising to greet them, simply smiled and said, "I heard His Majesty has issued an edict? What kind of edict could it be that General Sun would come along as well?"
The capital was in turmoil, and the secret sentries dared not expose themselves. They had only gathered limited information and did not tell Li Pan that in addition to the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, General Sun from the Imperial City Guard had also arrived.
The eunuch delivering the decree solemnly said, "Please receive the decree, Marquis Wu'an."
Li Pan: "Please read, sir. I am all ears."
The eunuch delivering the decree frowned and exchanged a glance with General Sun.
General Sun coughed lightly and said, "My lord is far away in the Northwest and is probably unaware of the changes in the capital."
"Oh? What happened?"
General Sun said, "A few days ago, a fire broke out in the Qishan Imperial Garden late at night, and His Highness the Crown Prince passed away."
Li Pan raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Oh? This is good news."
The two men's expressions immediately changed.
Even if there is a deep grudge, he is still the Crown Prince. How can he react in such a public manner? It is simply outrageous!
"Marquis Wu'an!" The eunuch delivering the imperial decree took a deep breath and emphasized his tone, "According to the investigation, the fire at the imperial garden was deliberately set on fire. The arsonist claims that he was instructed by the Marquis. His Majesty has ordered the Marquis to come to the capital to report!"
Li Pan remained calm: "I didn't do it."
"His Majesty did not conclude that it was the Marquis's doing based on just one person's account. However, since someone has identified the Marquis, His Majesty cannot simply ignore it. The law stipulates that without a defense, it is considered an admission of guilt. If the Marquis feels wronged, he should return to the capital to plead his case. Otherwise, people will misunderstand that the Marquis is guilty, which will put His Majesty in a difficult position." The eunuch delivering the decree stepped forward and lowered his voice, saying, "To be honest, Marquis, His Majesty has actually prepared another secret letter for me to deliver to you."
Li Pan narrowed his eyes.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree took out a letter sealed with sealing wax from his bosom and solemnly handed it to Li Pan.
This was indeed a genuine imperial secret letter. Neither the eunuch nor General Sun dared to open it. However, they guessed that Emperor Jinghui might have been worried that the two men were not good with words and would not be able to persuade Marquis Wu'an, so he personally wrote a letter to persuade Marquis Wu'an to return to the capital with reason and emotion.
Li Pan read it carefully and remained silent.
This letter was quite unexpected. Emperor Jinghui didn't waste words with him, frankly stating that he knew the matter of the Crown Prince had nothing to do with Li Pan. This summons to the capital was merely to temporarily quell the criticism in the court. As long as Li Pan returned to the capital, he would definitely clear Li Pan's name, and at the same time, he would use the pretext of framing a high-ranking general to purge the Crown Prince's maternal clan. Once the matter was settled, there would be compensation.
In summary, Emperor Jinghui did not intend to harm Li Pan, but rather to take the opportunity to purge the entire maternal clan of the Crown Prince.
But is everything Emperor Jinghui said necessarily credible?
Emperor Jinghui used him and Lou Xueying to get rid of the Crown Prince, and now he wants to use him to get rid of the Crown Prince's maternal clan? If he were Emperor Jinghui, and wanted to make the plan even more perfect, he should have killed Li Pan halfway through, and then framed the Crown Prince's maternal clan. This way, they could be given heavier charges and the purge would be more thorough.
Then Lou Xueying became a widow again. It's perfectly reasonable for a widow to remarry.
Li Pan gave a slight, cold laugh.
Even if Emperor Jinghui truly had no intention of harming him and had completely abandoned Lou Xueying, he still couldn't keep treating him like a monkey, like a piece of soft dough, forcing him to shuttle between the capital and the northwest, exhausting himself.
This is absolutely outrageous!
Li Pan put down the secret letter: "Is the eunuch here to escort me back to the capital?"
“Your Excellency is joking. Your Excellency is innocent, so how can you say you are being ‘detained’? This servant is here on behalf of His Majesty to convey a decree summoning Your Excellency back to the capital,” the eunuch said, bowing.
Li Pan: "Then what brings General Sun here?"
The imperial eunuch delivered the decree: "Winter has arrived, and there is a risk of trouble from foreign tribes at the border. Furthermore, the Marquis still has suspicions against him that have not been cleared, and according to regulations, he should not continue to perform official duties. To prevent unrest at the border, His Majesty has specially appointed General Sun as the General Who Conquers the West to assist him. After the Marquis has handed over military affairs to General Sun, he may return to the capital with me."
General Who Conquers the West? Li Pan looked at General Sun and scoffed.
This is absurd! The secret letter promised to compensate Li Pan, yet they've already planted a General Who Conquers the West in his army? Is this compensation or a threat? Does Emperor Jinghui think he's a fool?
Even setting aside personal grudges, has Emperor Jinghui gone mad, sending a general from the capital to fight on the border? Does he think he's also a reborn person who can foresee the upcoming battles, so he can just send anyone to handle them?
Li Pan: "It's not that I underestimate General Sun, but even if I'm not here, shouldn't my deputy general take my place? During the past six months in the capital, they've managed the borders very well, haven't they? Why bother transferring General Sun all the way here? A chef who can cook southern cuisine might not be able to cook northern cuisine."
General Sun was furious, but he said on the surface, "I know that you are resentful, but I am only acting on orders and temporarily taking over your duties. Once you are exonerated, you can return."
Li Pan narrowed his eyes: "Is it really necessary for me to go?"
"This matter involves the Crown Prince and is extremely urgent. I urge you, Lord Marquis, not to let momentary anger ruin everything. If it is not your fault, why should you bear the blame? Return to the capital immediately to prove your innocence!" the imperial eunuch advised.
Li Pan: "What if I refuse to go?"
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree exclaimed in astonishment, "Could it be that the Marquis intends to solidify the charge of murdering the Crown Prince?"
Li Pan sneered, "I only beat up the Crown Prince, but I never killed him. Have you all forgotten who truly wanted to kill the Crown Prince?"
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree was dumbfounded.
General Sun was shocked and exclaimed, "Marquis Wu'an! Do you know what you're saying?!"
"Men!" Li Pan slammed his fist on the table, and several burly men rushed in. "Take those two down!"
"Li Pan! You've gone mad!" General Sun shouted as he struggled, "Are you planning to defy the imperial decree?!"
General Sun's appointment as a general in the Imperial City Guard was not solely due to connections; he possessed genuine ability. However, upon entering the military camp, he was forced to remove his sword, and now, surrounded by four burly men wielding knives, he found it difficult to cope and was subdued in no time.
Meanwhile, the eunuch delivering the imperial decree had already been bound and was terrified, his face ashen.
Li Pan ordered his men to throw the two of them into the training ground.
The soldiers stopped their drills. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, General Sun felt as if his whole body was on fire. He roared furiously, "Li Pan! Disobeying an imperial edict is a capital offense! I am the General Who Conquers the West, personally appointed by His Majesty. In terms of military rank, I am equal to you. How dare you treat me like this!"
Li Pan sneered, tossed the imperial edict to his adjutant beside him, and said, "Read it, read it to everyone and let them hear what kind of edict they are conveying!"
The lieutenant then read it aloud.
Before he could finish reading, the soldiers below began to stir.
"What? The Crown Prince is dead? Our soldiers are in the barracks, the Crown Prince died in the capital, what does that have to do with you, General!"
"So that's what the general ordered? I could say it was ordered by a celestial being! Why don't you send a celestial being down to answer?"
"Hmph, good riddance! If he hadn't taken liberties with the lady, he wouldn't have been confined and burned to death. This is retribution!"
General Sun vaguely heard a few words and his eyes widened in horror: "Li Pan! How dare you—"
Before he could finish speaking, he was drowned out by an even louder shout of anger.
"Why should the general be allowed to return to the capital? Why should this person be chosen to replace the general?"
"Can this person even distinguish between the Quanrong, Wusun, and Di-Qiang people? Yet he dares to command us?"
"The general was in the capital for half a year before the commander-in-chief was changed. Why change him now? Are you not planning to let the general come back?"
"We disagree!"
"We disagree!"
"We disagree!"
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree knew that Marquis Wu'an was highly respected in the Northwest, but he had never imagined such a scene. This was only a few thousand men in this military camp, yet it had already created a massive, overwhelming force. What about the hundreds of thousands of troops in the Northwest?
His hands and feet were bound, and he stood frozen in place, completely dumbfounded.
"Li Pan! I think you're plotting a rebellion!" General Sun roared. "I advise you to think this through. I went to the General's Mansion before I came here. Your wife and your mother are in my hands! If you don't want anything to happen to your family, untie me right now, and then return to the capital immediately to explain your actions! Perhaps His Majesty will spare your life!"
Li Pan looked at him coldly, then surveyed the soldiers around him and said, "Did you hear that? My wife was humiliated and nearly committed suicide in the capital, but because the instigator was the Crown Prince, she was only confined for three months and it was considered that nothing happened! And yet, her death has become my fault, even though I am thousands of miles away! How can I prove something I didn't do? If I didn't go, they even took my family hostage and forced me to comply! Is there any justice in this world?!"
The crowd below the stage immediately erupted in anger.
"I, Li Pan, joined the army at nineteen, took command of the Northwest Camp at twenty-five, beheaded two successive Quanrong leaders at twenty-seven, and recovered the lost territory of the late emperor at twenty-eight, forcing the Quanrong to submit! In the end, this man who has been stationed at the Imperial City Guard for years without ever fighting a single battle can replace me! Then, for whom have I, Li Pan, suffered so many wounds and shed so much blood all these years? For whom have I been wounded and for whom have I shed blood!" Li Pan grabbed General Sun's collar and said sternly, "Let me ask you, in the midst of winter, when foreign tribes are most prone to causing trouble, which tribe should we be most wary of now?"
General Sun stared at him in shock, and after a long while, he finally spoke angrily: "Now, now we must be wary of the Di and Qiang! The new king of the Di and Qiang has ascended the throne, and his territory borders the Quanrong. He wants to borrow a route from the Quanrong to attack Dayue in order to boost his own prestige! Li Pan, do you really think I don't understand?!"
General Sun remembered that after leaving the capital, the young eunuch who had caught up with him to deliver the imperial edict had verbally told him some things that might happen on the border, urging him to prepare in advance. It was precisely because of this that he was convinced that His Majesty intended to eliminate Marquis Wu'an; otherwise, why would he have been given such military secrets? Months ago, when His Majesty urgently summoned the newlywed Marquis Wu'an back to the Northwest, it was because of a secret report from the border! This time, it must be the same!
He glared at Li Pan, wanting to see him speechless, but Li Pan sneered and said, "Ridiculous! Don't you know that Wusun is currently training its troops? The Quanrong are declining, Wusun is rising, and the Di and Qiang are following closely behind. The new king of the Di and Qiang has taken the throne, and the most worried is the king of Wusun! What's it to you! We, Dayue, will remain inactive and reap the benefits!"
General Sun was greatly surprised.
Li Pan slammed him down hard, raised his head again, and shouted, "Do you see this? This is the emperor, this is the court! To send such a person to guard the frontier, what about the soldiers, what about the people, what about the world! If the future of Da Yue is in the hands of such a court, then my present is your future!"
The training ground was deathly silent, save for the soldiers' heavy breathing, scattered in the cold, howling wind.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "General, you may return to the capital, but you must not be escorted back! We swear to follow you to the death and fight our way back to the capital!"
"We are willing to follow the general to the death and fight our way back to the capital!"
"Charge back to the capital! Charge back to the capital!"
"Fine!" Li Pan looked at the boiling faces below, a cold glint in his eyes. He picked up his spear and aimed it at the two terrified men in front of him. "Didn't you want me to return to the capital? Then let's use your blood to send me back today!"
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