Chapter 100
As soon as Zheng Liang said this, everyone frowned and felt depressed. Chu Xiuming asked, "Live people are taken care of, and corpses are also taken care of. Which one are you talking about?"
"Of course it's a living person." Zheng Liang said without hesitation.
Chu Xiuming put down the teacup and looked at Zheng Liang calmly. For some reason, Zheng Liang felt a chill in his heart, as if a knife was placed behind his neck. He broke out in a cold sweat and pinched himself hard. Then he suppressed his fear and said, "Could it be that the Yongning Marquis doesn't want his third brother to live?"
After hearing what Zheng Liang said, Chu Xiuming lowered his eyes slightly and said nothing. Zheng Liang, on the other hand, felt excited and continued, "That's right. There is an order of seniority. If our third brother Chu Xiuyao were still alive, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to take the title of Marquis of Yongning."
When these words came out, everyone's expressions were a little strange. Chu Xiuyuan sneered, "Could it be that this is how the Prince of England took the throne?"
Manager Zhao also spoke up, "I heard that when the King of England was still alive, he had three sons. Why haven't I heard about the other two now?"
Zheng Liang's expression changed, and he just said, "The two young masters were persecuted to death by Emperor Cheng."
"I remember that there was a young master who was only three or four years old at that time, right?" Manager Zhao seemed unsure. He thought carefully and said, "Emperor Cheng left the older prince alone and went to touch a three or four-year-old child who knew nothing?"
Zheng Liang said in a deep voice, "The young master was weak since childhood. If he had been well taken care of, he would have grown up safely. However, Emperor Cheng was chasing him closely at that time, and he had to travel all the way, so he unfortunately died young."
"What about the other one?" asked Manager Wang.
Zheng Liang narrowed his eyes, then reacted and said, "You are very interested in the family affairs of the King of England. If the Marquis of Yongning is willing to cooperate with the King of England, you can ask the King of England in person."
Chu Xiuming said, "Yue Wen, drag him away."
When Zheng Liang heard Yue Wen's name, his face changed drastically and he said, "Marquis Yongning..."
Yue Wen did not let him say the rest, and directly covered his mouth and dragged him away. After the people went down, General Lin said, "General, don't listen to what I say. I'm afraid the prince of Ying has other plans."
Chu Xiuyuan said in a deep voice, "Whether it's Third Brother or his body, we must get it back."
General Jin exhaled slowly and said, "That's easier said than done." They couldn't even confirm whether Chu Xiuyao was dead or alive.
Manager Zhao looked at Chu Xiuming and asked, "What do you think, General?"
Chu Xiuming took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp, chewing and swallowing the tea leaves in it, and said, "It doesn't matter if you spend a little time on it."
Regardless of whether Chu Xiu Yao is dead or alive, since he has been in the hands of the Prince of England for so long, there is no need to rush now, because it is useless for them to rush, as the Prince of England is waiting for them to rush.
Although Zhao Duan was there, he didn't speak. After all, this was more of a family affair of the general's mansion. But now Chu Xiuming's decision made him admire him. Is Chu Xiuming really not anxious? No, he is more anxious than anyone else, but he can't be anxious, and he dare not be anxious, because he can't be anxious.
Yes, it is impossible. Although Chu Xiuyuan is the legitimate grandson of the prince, in the final analysis, Chu Xiuming is the decision maker in this lineage. Anyone can be anxious and confused, but Chu Xiuming cannot, because every decision he makes is not only related to himself.
If Chu Xiuyuan didn't have these responsibilities, I'm afraid Chu Xiu would have given up long ago.
If he were in his shoes, Zhao Duan's heart would tremble if he heard his words. He felt that he might not be able to control himself. It would be fine if he didn't know, but if he knew... he would try every possible means even if it was just a corpse.
It was not only Zhao Duan who understood. Everyone present could feel Chu Xiuming's struggle. It was precisely because of this kind of Chu Xiuming that they were willing to surrender. Chu Xiuyuan's eyes turned red. He wanted to say something but couldn't. Everyone had a position to speak except him. If it weren't for him... if it weren't for him, none of this would be like this.
Chu Xiuyuan only felt a slightly cool hand gently patting the back of his hand. Chu Xiuyuan turned his head and saw Chu Xiuming's profile. Unlike everyone else, Chu Xiuming's expression was very calm, even so calm that it made people feel scared, but there was a sense of security in it.
Chu Xiuming said, "Since the Prince of England has thrown all these out one by one, it means that he has some important plans that cannot be avoided in the border town."
Everyone was startled. Their attention had just been focused on Chu Xiuyao. Chu Xiuming stood up and pointed at the map of mountains and rivers and said, "The border town is located northwest of the capital, and this side is..."
Following Chu Xiuming's voice, several people looked at the mountain and river map. General Lin suddenly understood what Chu Xiuming meant. "This means that the prince of England has a way to let the barbarians bypass the border town and reach Tianqi. However, this place is difficult to pass or only a few people can pass through. If there are too many people, it will be easy to be discovered or..."
"It's impossible to get through." General Wu also said in a deep voice.
General Jin suddenly thought, "I think I know where they passed through."
Not only General Jin, but Chu Xiuming also guessed it and pointed his finger at a place where the mountains were steep and dangerous and they needed to cross a turbulent river. Even because of the terrain, they couldn't build a bridge and could only pass through with ropes. Even with ropes, they could only choose the middle of the month when the river was relatively calm.
Chu Xiuming's grandfather had discovered this place, but because it was not of great value, he just marked it down. Chu Xiuming went to see it later and found that it was indeed a place that was only used by the people in the mountains. However, even so, Chu Xiuming sent people to guard it. If it really came from here, it would mean...
"Feian betrayed." General Jin said in a deep voice.
Steward Wang said, "It's not just Fei An."
Every few months, the people in the mountains would select strong young men to carry things to the market to exchange for the daily necessities they needed. Although the border town would not allow them to enter the city, they would not refuse them and they had always gotten along happily. If the barbarians really came from there, it would not only mean that the garrison commander Fei An had defected to the Prince of England and deceived Chu Xiuming, but the people in the mountains might have also defected to the Prince of England.
Several people looked unhappy. General Wu said angrily, "You are such a heartless person. General, go and arrest Fei An." Just a while ago, Fei An was drinking with them.
Chu Xiuming said, "General Jin, you lead the troops."
"Yes." General Jin said respectfully.
Chu Xiuming pursed his lips and said, "No matter life or death, remember to block the news." If Fei An had not betrayed, he would not resist when he saw General Jin bringing his men over. However, if he really betrayed, he would definitely not be willing to surrender, and some friction would be inevitable. If General Jin still wanted to capture him alive, he would inevitably be restrained, which would put him at a disadvantage and increase the casualties of the soldiers.
General Jin said with a serious expression, "Yes." Seeing that Chu Xiuming had no other instructions, he stood up and went out to check the troops.
Everyone felt heavy in their hearts. Although Fei An was not as close to them as the others, they had known each other for many years and had experienced many wars together. The possible betrayal of such a life-and-death friendship was particularly unacceptable.
When General Wu saw Chu Xiuming asked General Jin to go, he didn't say anything. Fei An had saved General Wu's life before, so he was particularly angry. It was inevitable that he would not be able to control his emotions if he asked him to go.
Chu Xiuming continued, "General Lin, you should also prepare yourself. I'm afraid there are still barbarians and the Prince of England hiding in the mountains."
After Fei An and his gang are captured, it would be great if we could get some information about the mountains out of them, which could also reduce casualties. If we can't get any information... Chu Xiuming knows in his heart that if they are in the mountains, his soldiers will certainly win, but there will probably be many casualties, after all, they are not familiar with the terrain there, and there is also the cable car.
"Then seal the mountain." Chu Xiuming said coldly, "Send soldiers to surround it and give them three days. If they are willing to come out, they can come out. If they don't come out, seal the mountain and burn it within five days."
If this were to happen, the sin of killing would be too great and would be against the harmony of nature. Chu Xiuming had always been unwilling to do so, but the current situation did not allow him to be merciful.
General Lin said, "Don't worry, General."
Chu Xiuyuan had been silent until now, and now he said, "General, should Xu Yuan's mission... be put on hold?"
Fearing that the British prince would suffer heavy losses and might even hurt Chu Xiuyao, Chu Xiuming said, "As usual."
Zhao Duan then spoke up, "General, I also think we can slow down a bit."
Chu Xiuming shook his head, "This opportunity cannot be missed."
Manager Zhao and Chief Steward Wang were a little worried. They knew about the general's struggle, but others didn't. What if some soldiers knew about Chu Xiuyao and thought that Chu Xiuming was unkind... Chu Xiuyao had a very good relationship with those soldiers when he was in the border town.
General Lin also said, "Should the army first..."
Chu Xiuming said, "Too many people, too many words."
No one said anything for a while. After the matter was discussed, they did not leave, but sat in the conference room.
When Shen Jin brought people over with food boxes, she saw everyone staring at each other. Chu Xiuming had given instructions early on that no place in the general's mansion should be guarded against Shen Jin, even the meeting room, so she didn't alarm everyone until she arrived at the door.
After coming in, Shen Jin smiled and said, "I think everyone is hungry, so I asked someone to make some food and send it over."
"Sister-in-law." Chu Xiuyuan said.
Shen Jin nodded with a smile and made way for him. The servants behind him began to carry things in and put them in place. They placed tables and chairs in the middle of the conference room. In addition, there were small stoves and pots. After pouring the milky white soup from a pot, plates of meat slices were also placed out. There were more meat dishes than vegetables, scattered around a large table. Even the small table next to it had a lot of beef and mutton slices.
Although they had eaten in the meeting room, there was a small hot pot in front of each person and they could choose their favorite dishes to eat.
Chu Xiuming has been looking at Shen Jin. If you look closely, you can see some sadness and helplessness in his eyes.
Chu Xiuyuan saw that everything was ready, and Chu Xiuming had remained silent, so he said, "I'm hungry too, thank you, sister-in-law."
Shen Jin smiled and said nothing.
After everyone washed their hands, they sat down. General Lin said, "Old Jin missed out on a delicious meal."
Shen Jin did not ask where General Jin had gone, because there was a round table and everyone was sitting around it, and Shen Jin was sitting next to Chu Xiuming. Although he was a military general, they were not rude when eating, but they did not have the habit of not talking while eating.
In fact, Shen Jin liked to eat this kind of pot, and she was used to drinking some soup before eating, so she filled a bowl of soup and drank it slowly. From time to time, she would take some of the cooked meat from Chu Xiuming's small pot and eat it with Zhao Ma's special seasoning.
After a few sips of hot soup and hot dishes, everyone calmed down a lot. They ate plate after plate of meat. Thanks to Shen Jin who informed the kitchen in advance and started preparing early, everyone was not left without meat. After they had their fill, everyone started to eat some vegetarian dishes and waited for the next dish.
Manager Zhao simply brought up what had just happened. At that time, everyone was in a state of unrest, so nothing could be discussed. Now that everyone has calmed down, they must be much clearer-headed.
Shen Jin was eating the cabbage that Chu Xiuming had placed in her bowl. As she listened to Zhao Duan's concerns, Chief Steward Wang also said, "That's true. This could easily lead to hidden dangers. The generals wouldn't doubt the general just because of someone else's words, but they could not help but have doubts in their hearts. We don't know what the Prince of England will do next. If these doubts accumulate, it could easily destabilize the army's morale."
Chu Xiuming did not finish his words, but stirred the noodles in the pot with chopsticks. Chu Xiuyuan said, "Why don't we talk about this first?"
Shen Jin bit the frozen tofu and nodded. She felt that after she finished this piece, she could eat a few more bites when the noodles were cooked.
Manager Zhao asked, "What do you think, Madam?"
Shen Jin looked at Manager Zhao with some confusion. He hadn't swallowed the food in his mouth yet and was trying to move his mouth, looking a little dazed. Chu Xiuming poured Shen Jin a glass of water and said, "Eat slowly."
"Yeah." Shen Jin nodded and continued eating.
Chu Xiuming looked at Manager Zhao with a warning in his eyes. Chu Xiuyuan lowered his head and said nothing. After Shen Jin finished eating, he took another sip of water and said, "Manager Zhao, what are you asking?"
"I saw that the madam nodded in response to the young general's words just now." Manager Zhao said.
Shen Jin responded, and under the table, he gently pinched Chu Xiuming's fingers and said, "Because I think Xiuyuan is right."
Chu Xiuming picked out all the cooked noodles, put them in his bowl, added some seasoning, and his expression eased a little. In Chu Xiuming's mind, Shen Jin's willingness to say it and others asking her to say it were two different things, so Chu Xiuming did not say anything at this time.
General Lin actually likes Shen Jin, the general's wife. If the old general were still alive, he would also like such a daughter-in-law. "Why does the madam agree?"
Shen Jin held the cup with both hands, but his eyes fell on the bowl of noodles that Chu Xiuming had just mixed, and said, "Between the words of the Prince of Ying and the words of the General's Mansion, they must believe the words of the General's Mansion more." In fact, it was that simple, "Just say that Emperor Cheng and the Prince of Ying joined forces, and the third brother was in the hands of the Prince of Ying, and I don't know what the situation is, and then the Prince of Ying used this to threaten the General's Mansion to let the barbarians into Tianqi."
In fact, Chu Xiuming had thought about it, but he was worried that the soldiers would be restrained when they really met Chu Xiuyao because they were in the hands of the Prince of England. Moreover, if the Prince of England got the news, Chu Xiuyao's situation would be even more dangerous, so he was inevitably hesitant, and so were everyone else. Did Shen Jin really not know?
Shen Jin knew it, and it was precisely because of this that Shen Jin was unwilling to let Chu Xiuming speak, as this would be too cruel to Chu Xiuming. Chu Xiuming knew what Shen Jin was thinking, so he reached out and held her hand tightly, and said without hesitation, "As long as the Prince of England has some concerns, then he will not touch the third brother in order to retreat."
Chu Xiuyuan looked at Chu Xiuming and said, "Brother, just give me your orders!"
Just now, everyone was discussing official business in the conference room, so Chu Xiuyuan naturally called Chu Xiuming "General". But now that everyone was sitting together eating hot pot, Chu Xiuyuan naturally changed the way he addressed Chu Xiuming.
Chu Xiuming said, "When General Jin comes back, General Lin, you will lead your troops to Yucheng immediately and write a letter to Xi Yunjing to make preparations. Once Prince Rui arrives at the border town, you will start the action there. Ask Emperor Cheng in the name of Shen Xuan why he forced Prince Rui to leave the capital, and then take people..."
Following Chu Xiuming's words, everyone took note of their duties, and Shen Jin suddenly said, "I'm going to Beijing."
"No." Chu Xiuyuan said, "Sister-in-law, if you go to Beijing..."
Shen Jin said, "We must give Emperor Cheng some reassurance."
Chu Xiuming reached out and held Shen Jin's hand and said, "No need."
Shen Jin had actually thought about it a long time ago. "My husband, you know this is the best way, because Shen Xuan questioned Emperor Cheng on the one hand, but led his troops to clash with the Prince of Ying. Emperor Cheng is not sure whether my father has come to the border town. The Queen Mother will protect me."
Chu Xiuyuan said, "Sister-in-law, you shouldn't take risks."
Shen Jin laughed. The dimples on her face made her look nothing like a mother. She reached out and rubbed Chu Xiuyuan's head. "It's not for you."
In fact, Shen Jin was telling the truth. Even if Chu Xiuyuan was the prince's grandson, Shen Jin would not make such a choice for him. Rabbits are timid and cautious, and they have three burrows. Just like when Shen Jin was in Prince Rui's Mansion, she wanted to hide herself behind everyone so that no one would notice her and no one could hurt her.
Now Shen Jin is willing to stand up just for Chu Xiuming. After Shen Jin heard Zheng Liang's words at the beginning, she was actually hesitant. She was also afraid. Shen Jin has never been a hero, the kind of person who can take the world first. What she cares about is her relatives and her own small family.
At that time, Shen Jin hesitated and was struggling in her heart. Chu Xiuming also saw it at that time. He was afraid that Concubine Chen did not understand Shen Jin as well as Chu Xiuming, so Chu Xiuming told Shen Jin not to interfere anymore. Shen Jin agreed, but when Shen Jin personally brought people to deliver food, Chu Xiuming knew that Shen Jin had made a decision.
Because the Prince of Ying has Chu Xiuyao and his son in his hands, Chu Xiuming's original plan has changed. At the beginning, Chu Xiuming intended to seek a balance between Emperor Cheng and the Prince of Ying. Now the situation has reached the point where he and the Prince of Ying are incompatible, so it is not good to break off relations with Emperor Cheng. Of course, he can also choose to send Prince Rui back, but this will make it difficult to carry out the following plan.
Now they cannot fall out with Emperor Cheng, so sending Shen Jin to the capital as a hostage is the best option. Not only will it make Emperor Cheng believe that Prince Rui is not in the border town, but in the hands of Prince Ying, it will also make Emperor Cheng have concerns. Not to mention joining forces with Chu Xiuming to deal with Prince Ying, at least he will not stab them in the back while Chu Xiuming is dealing with Prince Ying.
The benefits are not limited to these. The Prince of England will also be wary of Chu Xiuming and Emperor Cheng joining forces, so he dare not use all his troops to deal with Chu Xiuming. He also has to guard against Emperor Cheng taking advantage of the situation. Then Chu Xiuming can also allocate most of his troops to guard against the barbarians.
In fact, this was also the reason why no one mentioned that method at the beginning. It was the best choice, but there would also be work to do to clean up after it. No one of them could suggest letting Shen Jin be a hostage, let alone letting Dong Dong go, so everyone was silent and felt annoyed and irritated.
If it was at the earliest time, they would have brought it up long ago, but now, even though Shen Jin has only been married for a few years, everyone still has feelings for Shen Jin.
So even if Shen Jin brought it up himself at this time, everyone remained silent.
Shen Jin understood it very well. Everyone couldn't eat anymore at this time. This matter would ultimately be decided by Chu Xiuming and Shen Jin. Chu Xiuming didn't say anything else. He just took Shen Jin's hand and left first. It was not the first time that Chu Xiuyuan saw his brother like this. At that time, after his third brother left in his place, Chu Xiuming was like this after he woke up. Everyone thought Chu Xiuming would be angry or vent, but he just sat there quietly, with helplessness and pain. Chu Xiuyuan didn't know how to describe Chu Xiuming at that moment. That feeling was just unbearable to watch.
"Husband, please carry me on your back." After leaving the yard, Shen Jin suddenly said.
Chu Xiuming gritted his teeth, let go of Shen Jin's hand, walked in front of Shen Jin and squatted with his back to her. Shen Jin lay on Chu Xiuming's back skillfully and sighed, "I'm a little full from eating just now, and I don't want to move."
"Then don't move." Chu Xiuming said, "I'll carry you on my back."
Shen Jin's eyes turned red, and she whispered, "No." She understood the meaning behind Chu Xiuming's words, "Husband, I'm waiting for you to pick me up."
Chu Xiuming paused for a moment and said, "Be obedient."
Shen Jin's nose was sore and he said, "You should be obedient. Dongdong will be left to my mother to take care of. You must pick me up early."
Chu Xiuming shook his head. Shen Jin opened his mouth and bit his ear and said, "And you are not allowed to have any more cousins!"
"No." Chu Xiuming's voice was a little hoarse, "Just you."
Shen Jin then said with satisfaction, "Husband, if you help me arrange it, it will be safer. If I run away secretly by myself..."
"No." Chu Xiuming said, "I understand. Wait for me in the capital."
Shen Jinen said.
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