"Did the defeat and death of Marquis Xie this time have any instructions from above?"
How can one tolerate another's snoring beside one's own bed! The Emperor's taboo against the Xie family is not a taboo of any emperor, and since Marquis Xie has so openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Emperor's demotion of his title, the Emperor naturally cannot tolerate him.
Qi Xiuwen sighed, "Although there is no concrete evidence, the truth is probably not far off."
"Who exactly colluded with Xie Ning to work from the inside? And what kind of person is Xie Ning?"
"The commander actually knows Xie Ning?" Although Xie Ning is the adopted son of Marquis Xie, Marquis Xie has not publicized this to the outside world.
Shenxi nodded and recounted the fight between Xie Ning and Xie Hou's wife before they entered the mountains.
"I see." Qi Xiuwen dispelled his doubts and continued, "Xie Ning has kept a low profile these past few years, but he was quite a prominent figure a few years ago. He came from a poor family and joined the army at the age of fifteen. He was intelligent and hardworking, which earned him the recognition of his superiors, who taught him martial arts. It was Xie Ning's turn to shine. Nanning has not been peaceful these past few years, with bandits frequently committing crimes. Xie Ning led his team in battle bravely and made many merits, gradually distinguishing himself."
Shenxi listened quietly. It was indeed not easy for a poor boy to rise to prominence at such a young age.
Qi Xiuwen took a sip of the water that Di Yingxue had poured and continued, "Lord Xie is over forty years old and has no children. Mo Yuhua is the mistress that the chief met at the foot of the mountain. She is not Lord Xie's first wife. Lord Xie's first wife died early and had no children. Mo Yuhua is his second wife. She comes from a military family and is the younger sister of Mo Ke, the current prefect of Zhonggui Prefecture."
Shenxi looked at the map and realized that Zhonggui Prefecture was further north than Jianming Prefecture, and some of the refugees came from Zhonggui Prefecture, where the disaster was more severe.
“The Zhonggui Prefecture must be in chaos by now!” Shenxi said with a rather certain tone.
"Yes, judging from the official documents exchanged in the past few days, the Zhonggui Prefecture is mainly a place where refugees cause trouble, and there are no large groups of righteous armies."
"After these days, it is unknown whether any rebel army has appeared."
Shenxi nodded, signaling him to continue talking about Xie Ning.
"Lord Xie is somewhat stubborn and self-willed. Although I am his advisor, I am not an important one. However, I know that Lord Xie rarely listens to the opinions of his subordinates and likes to personally lead troops into battle. Once, during a bandit suppression operation, the bandits were extremely fierce and surrounded Lord Xie and his personal guards. Seeing that his life was in danger, Xie Ning led his men to break in and rescue Lord Xie, but he was also seriously injured. Later, after Xie Ning recovered, he was adopted by Lord Xie as his godson."
"Does Marquis Xie intend to hand over the position of Marquis and military power to Xie Ning after his death?" Shenxi recalled what Xie Ning had said during that struggle.
Qi Xiuwen shook his head: "That's impossible. Even without Mo Yuhua's legitimate son Xie Zhaolun, there are still quite a few members of the Xie family. It would never happen to an adopted son."
Shenxi laughed. How laughable Xie Ning was, constantly thinking about the marquis position that Marquis Xie had promised him.
"Could it be that Xie Ning, simply because he couldn't inherit the marquisate and military power, conspired with others to destroy Marquis Xie?"
Qi Xiuwen shook his head again: "Xie Ning had not shown any intention of betrayal before, so his defection at the last minute caught Marquis Xie off guard."
"As for the attack on Marquis Xie, I haven't figured it out yet. Logically speaking, it's really strange that tens of thousands of troops suddenly gathered in Nanning Prefecture and directly attacked the city of Nanning Prefecture."
Qi Xiuwu interjected, "At that time, the enemy's slogan was 'Acting on behalf of Heaven, expelling the Tartars.'"
Expel the Tartars? The Tartars that the common people talk about in private, aren't they referring to the current emperor?
The Yelü family originally lived outside the Great Wall. They took advantage of the weakness of the Chu state, which was plagued by disasters and constant turmoil, to enter and rule the Central Plains.
So, is this army, which claims to be acting on behalf of Heaven to drive out the Tartars, a righteous army or someone instigating it?
It seems we need to set up a department specifically for gathering and collecting information.
If you want to conquer the world, you can't afford to be blind to information or lack timely access.
Shenxi shared this idea with them, and everyone agreed.
As for the candidate, we need to find someone who is literate, quick-witted, bold yet meticulous!
There isn’t a suitable candidate yet, and Shenxi is pushing for it again, saying that talent is scarce!
Talented people are not like a woman's cleavage. You can always create cleavage by squeezing, but you can't do that with talented people. No matter how much you squeeze, you can only crush those who are not competent, not get things done.
These matters had to be put aside for the time being, and the meeting was to end here. Chenxi prepared to dismiss them and let them go back to rest.
At this moment, Zang Huatian suddenly said, "Song Zhen, stand up for a moment."
This was the first time in so many days that Zang Huatian had taken the initiative to call him. Song Zhen was so happy that he immediately stopped and said, "Brother Zang, you've finally taken the initiative to talk to me."
The others also stopped. Zang Huatian would never call Song Zhen back when everyone was about to leave because of personal reasons.
Zang Huatian clasped his hands in a salute to Chen Xi: "Commander, from what you just said, there was a fight before you entered the mountain. A group of guards ran away with the young master and a girl, and Xie Ning led people to pursue them?"
Shenxi nodded, wondering what Zang Huatian meant by mentioning this.
Zang Huatian looked at Song Zhen: "Don't you think the young master, the guards, and the little girl mentioned by the commander look familiar?"
Song Zhen slapped his forehead, annoyed, and said, "That's right, that's exactly why we were forced to go into the mountains."
Upon hearing this, everyone realized something was indeed wrong and returned to their original positions.
Seeing that Song Zhen understood, Zang Huatian snorted and gestured for him to speak to the leader.
Song Zhen did not refuse, and cupped his hands to Chen Xi, saying, "Chief, Brother Zang and I escaped from Bian'ai County. We originally intended to go to Zhonggui Mansion to find Brother Zang's uncle, but we hadn't gone far when we encountered a group of people with a young master and a young girl running past. Our guards immediately took precautions, but the other side ignored us and went straight past. However, as soon as they passed, a group of soldiers caught up with them. Without exchanging words, the two sides started fighting."
Zang Huatian scoffed and interjected, "If you hadn't meddled, we would have left already, and so many of my elite guards wouldn't have been lost!"
Song Zhen bowed apologetically, and then Chen Xi continued, "The young master's group gradually weakened, and the leader actually tossed the young master to me, shouting, 'The young master is yours, take him away!'"
At this point, Song Zhen sighed, "It's also my fault for being soft-hearted at the time. I took the little boy, who was only six or seven years old, with terrified eyes. Naturally, the soldiers wouldn't let us leave and blocked our way, demanding that we hand over the little boy. I insisted on not handing him over, and Brother Zang had no choice but to have his guards protect me. That's when the two sides started fighting."
What happened next was actually quite simple, and you could guess what it was: both sides suffered heavy losses, and Song Zhen still managed to take the young master away.
Sure enough, upon asking, it was indeed the case.
Zang Huatian was still indignant: "To lose so many of my best guards for a boy, this is a huge loss."
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