Chapter 608: Abandoning a Pawn for a Rook, Exchanging Prisoners, and Scheming Against Zhao Duan (5k)
Inside the cold government office.
As Hu Xuezhai cursed with red eyes, Feng Ju and other officials who were about to stop the fight were stunned.
“Bang!”
Lin Susu slapped Hu Xuezhai hard on the face, leaving five clearly visible red finger marks.
"You dare to hit me!? Bitch...bitch..."
Hu Xuezhai was stunned by the beating, as if he was caught off guard. He covered his face and kept repeating it.
Lin Susu, who looked very similar to the concubines in the palace, also had red eyes and tears welled up in her eyes.
She bent her waist and tilted her head back, as if the slap had broken her waist. She stared at her husband, biting her lips almost to the point of bleeding:
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Hu Xuezhai felt the gazes of the officials around him, and his anger surged like a fully inflated gas tank, exploding upon ignition. He sneered:
"You want to hear it again? You're such a shameless whore!
When you first came to Beijing, you hooked up with Li Yinglong, and later you hooked up with someone named Zhao. Do you think I don't know? How dare you say you have no relationship with him?
Otherwise, with his status, why would he give you such great benefits as an imperial merchant?
Do you know what people in Jiangnan's business circle say about me, Hu Xuezhai? They all say I rose to prominence by offering my wife to them!
I was blind at the time, so I redeemed you, a whore! If it weren't for you, how could I have been dragged onto the pirate ship and now be held here as a prisoner?!"
He spoke these words with great relief, and it was obvious that he had been holding it in his heart for a long time.
Lin Susu looked at him in disbelief, the light in her eyes gradually extinguished, and she murmured:
"So, you look at me like this..."
"Otherwise?" Hu Xuezhai said sarcastically:
"She's a foolish woman. She was only attracted by your beauty, but she didn't want to go to the capital. Instead, she ended up in jail and offended the Li family.
If you hadn't been related to the Zhao family and held the title of Imperial Merchant, do you think I would have played along? Acting like a loving couple? Wearing a hat?
The light in Lin Susu's eyes completely went out, and she couldn't utter a word.
Feng Ju finally came back to his senses and said in a deep voice:
"Hu Xuezhai, are you treating me as if I don't exist?"
Hearing the sound, Hu Xuezhai turned his gun around and stared at Feng Ju and others in a mocking manner. Suddenly, he raised his foot and kicked over the iron pot on the fire!
"Bang!"
The hot water splashed over and several officials screamed in pain from being scalded.
Feng Ju retreated decisively, but half of his arm was soaked. He grimaced in pain and shivered, saying:
"You're crazy, crazy! The court is still here, waiting for Lord Zhao to come..."
Hu Xuezhai laughed wildly towards the sky:
"A bunch of idiots. Even at this hour, you're still trying to scare me with some pretty boy named Zhao?"
He doesn't pretend anymore!
Having been imprisoned for too long, and unable to get any news from the outside world, he had long since lost both hope and fear.
"With so many princes rebelling, the imperial court might be on the verge of collapse! Those with the surname Zhao might have already died! How dare you still count on us?"
Hu Xuezhai's face twisted as he laughed. He looked greedily at the official on the ground, his arms that were burned red. His Adam's apple rolled, and he actually bent down, picked up a brick from the ground, and walked over.
Feng Ju was horrified and quickly picked up the iron pot on the ground and tried to resist.
However, most of the officials in the yamen were quite old and dizzy from hunger. Hu Xuezhai, on the other hand, was young and strong.
Just when a fight was about to break out.
Suddenly, the locked door of the yamen was kicked open.
"Bang!"
The people in the room were stunned. They turned around and heard sporadic footsteps approaching from the yard outside the closed door.
Then, the door was kicked open.
“Woo woo—”
A cold wind blew in, causing the scattered charcoal fires on the ground to flicker and emit a red glow.
Several armored rebels walked in, holding their swords. The leading rebel glanced at them, frowned slightly, and then sneered:
"You still have the energy to fight? Looks like you're overfed. Lock them up and take them away!"
Hu Xuezhai, who was already half crazy, was like being poured with a basin of cold water. He calmed down immediately, dropped the brick in his hand, and his eyes were full of fear:
"Don't kill me... We are still useful... useful..."
Not just him.
Feng Ju and several other yamen officials almost subconsciously believed that the rebels were finally going to "interrogate" them.
Suddenly fear surged in my heart.
I don’t know what fate awaits me.
How could such a weak group of people resist?
The rebels easily tied his hands with ropes and dragged him out like a grasshopper on a rope.
Lin Susu, on the other hand, didn't resist at all throughout the whole process, as if she had lost her soul and was just a walking corpse.
"Excuse me, who wants to see us?" Feng Ju asked, pretending to be calm.
The rebels didn't bother to answer.
He was escorting a group of people out. The moon was dim and the stars were sparse, so he couldn't tell whether it was night or early morning.
Outside the yamen gate, there were still rebels holding torches guarding. Feng Ju saw the rebel leader who was escorting him take out a token and hand it over to him, and then put his fingerprint on the document handed over by the other party, as if he was going through the interrogation procedure.
Then, the group was driven into a prison van and taken away.
The night was getting darker and darker, and Feng Ju estimated that it was more like dawn.
Everyone was trembling, except Hu Xuezhai, who kept begging. Later, a rebel blocked his mouth with a rag, and he finally stopped begging.
I don’t know how long it took.
The cart made many twists and turns, avoiding several patrols along the way - strangely enough, the rebels being escorted seemed to know the rebels' deployment and patrol routes.
It moves around like a ghost, sometimes stopping and sometimes walking.
The more Feng Ju looked at it, the more he felt something was wrong. If it was a normal interrogation procedure, why would he hide from the other rebels?
finally.
When the cart passed through an alley, a flash of fire suddenly appeared in front of it. It turned out to be another group of people holding torches who had been waiting for a long time.
"Sir, the people have been brought back safely." The leading "rebel" saluted.
"very good."
Song Jinxi nodded, stepped out of the darkness, his face gradually illuminated by the torch.
He walked to the prison car, raised his hand and gently placed it on the car, and then with a "bang", the wooden cage broke into pieces!
Then, under the dazed gazes of Feng Ju and the others, Song Jinxi smiled and grasped Feng Ju's hand:
"But Doctor Feng? The governor has specially ordered us to rescue you all. I'm sorry you have suffered so much."
Feng Ju was still confused and didn't recover. "Commander-in-chief? What commander-in-chief?"
Song Jinxi was stunned for a moment, then he understood, his eyes filled with emotion, and he smiled and said:
"It's Zhao Du'an, Lord Zhao. He is currently the commander-in-chief of the rebellion suppression on the front lines and arrived at Huting not long ago."
Zhao Duan... Lord Zhao... Lord Zhao has come to rescue us...
The officials in the prison van were almost fainted by this unexpected good news.
After Song Jinxi took out the waist badge of the Imperial Palace from his arms and revealed his identity, Feng Ju and other officials cried with joy!
“Woo…”
Many officials burst into tears. Feng Ju also burst into tears as he watched a group of officials come forward, remove their shackles, and help them off the cart. He choked with sobs and said:
"My Lord... where are you? You still remember us..."
Song Jinxi smiled and said:
"The governor is waiting for you all. He has prepared food and a warm stove. If Doctor Feng is able to move, he will come with us immediately."
"It can move! It can move!" Feng Ju said hurriedly.
Song Jinxi nodded, and suddenly seemed to remember something and said:
"I almost forgot. His Excellency also instructed me to ask Doctor Feng if anyone has betrayed His Majesty during the months since the fall of the government office?"
Feng Ju was stunned, and so were the other core imperial officials around him.
Immediately, they turned around almost at the same time and looked at Hu Xuezhai, who was pale and trembling like a sieve in the prison van, with gloomy eyes.
"I didn't betray him, but..."
Feng Ju looked at Lin Susu who was sitting in the prison van, and suddenly said:
"Mrs. Lin, you..."
Lin Susu was sitting like Guanyin, and now she seemed to come back to her senses. Hearing this, she turned her head and glanced at her husband next to her.
Hu Xuezhai became anxious, put on a smile, and tugged at her sleeve:
"Madam, I was so hungry I lost my mind. I don't remember anything I said. You..."
Lin Susu silently pried his hands apart, stepped out of the prison van, and walked forward expressionlessly.
"Madam, please don't abandon me. I am sincere to you, madam..." Hu Xuezhai grabbed her sleeve tightly.
Song Jinxi's smile faded and he waved his hand.
Immediately, a "rebel" stepped forward, suddenly drew out a knife, and chopped it with one blow. Hu Xuezhai screamed "Ah!" and his wrist was cut off. The severed hand that was holding Lin Susu's clothes also fell to the snow.
Lin Susu paused, but continued walking towards Feng Ju and the others.
Then, as everyone staggered towards the fire, only Hu Xuezhai was left in the alley, swallowed by the darkness. After a scream, there was no sound anymore.
…
Provisional Governor's Office.
Zhao Duan sat behind the desk, flipping through military documents while listening to Song Jinxi's report.
Hearing about Hu Xuezhai's death, Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, raised his head, and had a strange expression on his face:
"Lin Susu's husband?"
"Yes." Song Jinxi explained:
"Doctor Feng said this person was cursing and slandering you, and wanted to kill them and eat them. Fortunately, we arrived in time."
Cannibalism... Zhao Duan snorted and said:
"You have brought this upon yourself. Send someone to give Feng Ju and the others a proper welcome. As for Lin Susu, tell them I will not punish them because of Hu Xuezhai, and the court will not treat them unfairly. Bring Feng Ju to see me later."
"yes."
"Has the military intelligence provided by Jiang Wangsun been confirmed?"
"Well, our people used the fake identities he provided and successfully rescued the people. We found the route back ourselves. The rebel patrol route was exactly the same as the one he provided."
Song Jinxi whispered:
"Sir, now that we have this intelligence, can we take the initiative and seize control of Huting?"
"But..." Zhao Duan almost nodded, but because of the uneasiness in his heart, he still shook his head.
"Wait a little longer."
Song Jinxi said happily, "The news of Feng Ju's rescue won't be hidden for long. Once the rebel leaders learn of it, they will most likely realize there's a spy among them and change their defenses."
Zhao Duan sneered:
"With Jiang Wangsun's status, if he were to be exposed because of such a small matter, he would be a complete loser. Let's continue to wait. Jiang Wangsun should send us new information soon."
…
…
When the sky in the east turns pale.
Ye Xin had finished washing up, put on his armor neatly, and stood in front of the full-length mirror in the room, staring at himself in the mirror with sharp eyebrows and eyes.
On the wall of this bedroom, above the mirror, are topographic maps nailed to the wall.
"Another day to live..."
Ye Xin muttered to himself in the mirror in a self-deprecating manner, turned around, raised his hand and grabbed the long sword lying horizontally on the weapon rack.
As the former deputy general of the Jiancheng Dao Military Headquarters, Ye Xin made great contributions in the early days of Prince Jing's rebellion, and as a result, he was promoted rapidly within Prince Jing's group.
If we say that Jiang Wangsun can now be ranked among the top ten civil servants.
Ye Xin can be ranked among the top five generals under Prince Jing.
Ye Xin's strength lies not in his personal cultivation, but in leading troops in battle. He is particularly good at small-scale battles, focusing on speed and flexibility.
This is also the reason why he can face Xue Shence and the Shenjiying and stand on the front line.
I took a step, pushed the door open, and walked out of the bedroom. There was a hint of white in the eastern sky, some snow remained in the corners of the wall, and the yard was swept quite clean.
This is his temporary residence and also the rebel headquarters.
At this moment, smoke was rising, and the cooks had already prepared breakfast.
Ye Xin walked into the cafeteria and ate alone.
Suddenly, a soldier outside the courtyard, bathed in the pale red morning light, hurried over and exhaled a breath of white air:
"General! This is bad! Feng Ju and other officials imprisoned in the Kaishi Yamen have been rescued!"
Ye Xin's fingers suddenly sank into the soft steamed buns, and he raised his head at the same time.
…
Inside the rebel "command center" meeting hall.
Ye Xin sat at the head of the table, glancing coldly at the people present: "Have you heard everything clearly? Tell me."
Besides Ye Xin, there were four other people sitting at the long table.
Two civil officials and two military officials are stationed on the left and right.
The two generals were both generals under Ye Xin. One was sturdy and strong, and the other had white hair, but he was a general with premature gray hair.
As for the two "civil officials", one of them was Jiang Wangsun who came in a hurry.
The other one was wrapped in a cloak and wore a monkey mask on his face. The only one who could attend the meeting in such strange attire was Xu Jianwen, the "military advisor" backed by Prince Jing himself.
"This matter couldn't be more clear!"
The burly general had a gloomy face:
"It was the imperial court that forged our tokens, took advantage of the night, and faked the order to trick people away. They even evaded all patrols and disappeared without a trace. Haha, if they were masters of cultivation who came to forcibly take people away, I would have accepted it, but they tricked them away..."
The white-haired general said calmly, "I'm afraid there's a spy in the army."
Ye Xin said expressionlessly:
"Zhao Duan had just taken over from Xue Shence when he rescued Feng Ju. His intention was obvious, surely to boost morale. He had done this before in Yongjia City. I wonder who in our army is the true 'Zhao Shixiong'."
After the words fell, a light laugh suddenly emanated from under the monkey mask:
"The imperial court has spies in our army, is there anything surprising about this?
It would be strange if they didn't have even half of them.
This spy was probably infiltrated when Xue Shence was in power, but was never used and was left to Zhao Duan to establish his authority.
Feng Ju and his gang are just small characters. There are a lot of people who can find ways to rescue this person. If we screen them, it will be difficult.
In contrast, the most important thing is to adjust our deployment as quickly as possible to prevent further leaks of our military deployment."
Ye Xin agreed:
"I've already arranged for someone to change the defenses. Today's meeting isn't about screening for spies, but about discussing Zhao Duan's next move and how we should respond."
Jiang Wangsun coughed lightly and prepared to speak.
But Xu Jianwen interrupted him, laughing from under his monkey mask:
"In my opinion, if we remain passive, we will only be led by the other party, so it is better to take the initiative."
Ye Xin asked doubtfully:
"In Huting City, our army is not as strong as the enemy's, and we are relying on the city to defend it. Zhao Duan's arrival has greatly boosted morale. If we rashly start a war, I'm afraid the chances of winning are slim."
Xu Jianwen said quietly:
"This isn't a contest of military strength. Didn't he rescue Feng Ju? Why don't we send him a message and exchange prisoners with him? Not for Feng Ju, but for the rest of our captives in exchange for those captured by the imperial court."
The sturdy general was stunned for a moment: "Will the Zhao family change?"
Xu Jianwen smiled and said:
"Why not? He was willing to save Feng Ju, but not others. How would people around him view him? How would the army discuss him?
This man has just replaced Xue Shence, and his support in the army is not yet firmly established. This is the time to win people over. Why would he refuse?
The white-haired general frowned: "Even if you agree to change, then what?"
Xu Jianwen smiled and said:
"We can agree to exchange prisoners at Yansuo Lake outside the city, and arrange for experts to accompany us. At the same time, we can send experts and elite troops to randomly attack the various key locations of the imperial court stationed in the lake pavilions on the day of the prisoner exchange..."
We can even spread the word and secretly deploy troops, making the enemy think we are going to ambush in Yansuo Lake.
It is just right to use the spy to pass this false information over.
This way, the enemy will be distracted and lose sight of the big picture. If they go all out to deal with us at Yansuo Lake, the city's defenses will naturally be left open, and we can take advantage of this opportunity to attack their key locations... This is a combination of false and real, real and false."
After a pause, he said:
"The most crucial thing is that this matter was initiated by us. He won't know that we are trying to divert attention to the east and attack in the west. Therefore, no matter how we fight, we will seize the initiative. As long as we gain an advantage, we can undermine his prestige in the army and undermine the morale of the court..."
This method... Ye Xin fell into deep thought.
The white-haired general said:
"But what if Mr. Zhao doesn't fall for it? He might guess we're spreading the rumor on purpose and focus all his energy on defending the perimeter, ignoring Yansuo Lake."
Xu Jianwen said with a smile:
"If that's the case, then we can just eat up the people from Yansuo Lake and snatch the people from the other side. We will still win."
This... Ye Xin's eyes lit up, and he immediately smiled and said:
"This is a very good plan. Let's do as the military advisor says. The prince is not here now, and we are going to make a contribution and give him a surprise."
Jiang Wangsun was about to speak, but he saw that Ye Xin had made the decision without even asking for his opinion. The old man's face became even gloomier, and he said coldly:
"General Ye, is this the decision? No need to think about it anymore?"
Ye Xin seemed to have finally remembered that there was someone else at the table. He turned his head and frowned, then said in a calm tone:
"Master Jiang, do you think the military advisor's plan is bad?"
"Okay." Jiang Wangsun said calmly, "Let's do this."
After saying this, Jiang Wangsun stood up and walked out.
The other two generals also stood up and walked out, while Xu Jianwen was pulled by Ye Xin to stay and discuss the details.
After everyone left, Ye Xin looked at Jiang Wangsun's departing back, then suddenly looked at Xu Jianwen and said calmly:
"Is that all? Will he fall for it?"
Xu Jianwen adjusted the monkey mask on his face, and a gentle laugh came from behind the mask:
"Whether Jiang Wangsun believes it or not is irrelevant. It's enough to convey the message to Zhao Duan. After all... why bother about a discarded pawn?"
(End of this chapter)
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