Chapter 1128 – In the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, I Demand One Hundred Percent (Twenty-Six)
After countless longings, Han Yu finally made his entrance.
However, upon meeting Han Yu, Xu Pei felt inexplicably uneasy.
“Yu greets the Lord.”
Han Yu cupped his hands and bowed, and the atmosphere in the tent dropped to freezing point. Even the blind could see how terrible Han Yu’s current mood was.
Xu Pei helped Han Yu up, earnestly saying, “Wenbin truly made me wait in agony—”
“Failing to alleviate the Lord’s worries is Yu’s fault. Your kindness is overwhelming, and I cannot accept it.”
Han Yu wore a cold expression, his voice stiff; those familiar with him could tell he was angry, and Xu Pei just happened to be one of those “familiar people.”
“Wenbin is this angry, it seems I have annoyed you.” Xu Pei awkwardly remarked, “No matter what, you must let me know where I went wrong.”
To sentence someone to death without a word of explanation? Even criminals have their rights!
“Is there anyone without faults?” Han Yu began, and Xu Pei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But before he could fully relax, Han Yu continued, “However, the Lord’s errors can be forgiven; a strategist’s mistakes cannot. If the strategist does not fulfill his duties or thinks of loyalty and honesty, is that not dereliction of duty? Allowing the Lord to stray onto the wrong path is to add sin upon sin! If I have erred, I beg the Lord to punish me—there will be no complaints—”
If one ignores the last line, Han Yu was outright criticizing the entire camp’s strategists!
With a shift in tone, he took all the blame upon himself.
The other strategists: “…”
It felt as if they were about to vomit blood, coughing mid-way and choking on it—such a bitter experience! Everyone knew Han Yu was pointing fingers at them, but they could not refute a single word since he claimed all the faults were his own. Why should outsiders rush in to seat themselves at the table?
Was this being overly sentimental?
Xu Pei blushed with embarrassment; he didn’t even care what wrong he had committed, soothing Han Yu was the priority.
He had already lowered himself to admit fault, and naturally, Han Yu could not hold onto it. With good timing, he built a platform to help Xu Pei out.
A minister taking advantage of the Lord’s trust, flaunting arrogance—this isn’t about having spirit, it’s about having issues.
Xu Pei said, “Fortunately, Wenbin has arrived. I feel more at ease.”
Every Lord has mastered the skill of sweet-talking.
The tricks of coaxing people are deep and extensive, like a pig wearing a bra—one set after another.
Jiang Pengji?
Now she was a peculiar exception; her sweet talk had a unique nature, binding when picked up.
“Yu has traveled a long way and the news is not comprehensive, but there is one thing…” Han Yu paused, stating directly, “I believe the Lord’s actions are somewhat reckless, lacking the demeanor of everyone. Liu Xi has borrowed troops to support Xu Fei; why would the Lord send troops to assist Liu Xi?”
Xu Pei was dumbfounded.
When did he support Liu Xi?
“Wenbin, what do you mean by this?”
Han Yu stated, “Liu Xi saved Xu Fei, so the Lord allowed her to save him. Now, pushing Shanweng City to its doom, is that not assisting Liu Xi?”
Xu Pei nearly choked on his breath.
This logic made no sense!
Han Yu continued to analyze, “Xu Fei is not a good person. By rescuing him, Liu Xi merely took on a hot potato. If the Lord were to halt at the right time, it would strengthen your brotherly bond with Xu Fei, preventing the world from labeling the Lord as unfeeling. Internal conflicts among brothers are ultimately just family matters. Liu Xi aided, but the Lord had no intention of putting Xu Fei to death. Her actions would instead earn her the reputation of a villain instigating brotherly disputes. The Lord could even write a proclamation denouncing Liu Xi, seizing the moral high ground. If Liu Xi were to send troops, her forces would be without justification, affecting morale similarly. But now, the Lord disregards familial ties and forcefully attacks Shanweng City, and the title of ‘cold-hearted and ungrateful’ is inescapable.”
In warfare, fighting is a must, but having justification versus no justification makes a significant difference.
Xu Pei’s series of actions led to an unwarranted assault on Shanweng City, completely surrendering the initiative of battle.
He could only hope Xu Fei would be fine, or else Xu Pei would be splashed with mud by the cunning old rogue Liu Xi, earning the infamous title of fratricide.
Brotherly conflict is not uncommon, but bloodshed is a rare occurrence—
Except for that bunch of oddballs in the Dongqing royal family.
Han Yu’s words felt vaguely familiar to Xu Pei, as if he had heard them somewhere before.
He scanned the surrounding military tent and caught sight of Cheng Xun sitting upright on a mat, making him feel a twinge of regret.
“Wenbin, do you have any strategies to break the deadlock?” Xu Pei asked obediently, humbly seeking advice.
Han Yu replied, “If the Lord can shake hands and reconcile with Xu Fei and treat him well, this predicament will dissolve without conflict.”
Shake hands and reconcile?
Xu Pei’s expression stiffened.
That’s an unreasonable demand! He would rather fight Xu Fei three hundred more rounds.
“When a thousand hearts unite, they can summon a thousand powers; when ten thousand hearts differ, there will not be one to use. The Lord and Xu Fei come from the same clan, both are direct descendants. If they can abandon past grudges and join hands, both would be able to work together—what’s there to fear in achieving great ambitions? The Xu clan would prosper?”
Such words, in the past, Han Yu would not have said, nor would it have been useful if he did.
The two brothers are like two fighting roosters; who could he persuade?
Now that the Lord’s influence dominated Xu Fei, forcing him to the brink, the possibility of forced cooperation arose.
If they could resolve the current standoff between the Xu brothers, terminating the internal struggles within the Xu clan, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome from misfortune.
Thinking of this, Han Yu really wanted to give Xu Pei’s grandfather a good greeting—
Favoritism is one thing, but favoritism leading to sibling strife is a whole different story.
Xu Pei hesitated for a moment, feeling it difficult to outright reject Han Yu’s suggestion.
He could only use the word “delay” to send Han Yu off, planning to return to his den and think carefully about the pros and cons.
However, before Xu Pei could decide whether or not to resolve matters peacefully with Xu Fei, an unexpected piece of bad news arrived.
Xu Fei… was dead…
Xu Pei’s eyes widened in shock, his right hand gripping the messenger’s shoulder tightly, exclaiming, “What did you say? Who died?”
“Xu, Xu…” The messenger’s heart raced in fear, seeing Xu Pei’s demeanor and quickly corrected himself, “Lord Wen, has passed away.”
“What happened?” Xu Pei seemed to struggle to accept it.
The messenger stated, “Hanged himself.”
At the side, Han Yu’s expression changed drastically.
If he had been assassinated, it could be explained away by blaming it on a soldier’s mistake, manipulating public opinion to cleanse the “stain.”
If it were a suicide, that would indicate he had been driven to despair!
Who was responsible? It was clear as day.
Han Yu was horrified but his mind was exceptionally clear.
He not only had to worry about Jiang Pengji’s troops but also the dirty water Jiang Pengji might splash onto him.
“What about the body?” Xu Pei pressed on.
The messenger replied, “Lord Wen’s corpse has already been collected by his eldest daughter.”
Xu Pei exhaled in relief, but Han Yu felt a chill run down his spine.
A father committing suicide, and the one collecting the body was not his wife or male heirs, but his daughter?
Unless—
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a voice from outside shouted.
“Report! There is a messenger seeking an audience outside the camp.”
Xu Pei remarked, “Let him in—”
Cheng Yuan was eager to be the messenger, venturing into Xu Pei’s camp.
Yang Si felt it was too dangerous, but Cheng Yuan’s words put him at ease.
“In the clash of two armies, messengers are not harmed; Xu Pei is not the Lord.”
Xu Pei still cares for his face; unless in special circumstances, he would never do anything to harm his own castle.
