Chapter 1664 – Conquering Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (72)
“Lord, please spare this humble soldier! I’m truly wronged!”
Lü Zheng rushed over upon hearing the news that the supplies had been robbed and just happened to witness two soldiers dragging the bound supply officer off to military justice. Realizing his fate was sealed, the officer refused to give up hope as he caught sight of Lü Zheng and shouted, “Military Adviser! Military Adviser! I’m innocent! I diligently oversaw the supplies and did not connive with the enemy!”
Lü Zheng halted, the sound of his clogs crunching on gravel echoed ominously.
The officer struggled again, saying, “It’s not my fault the supply information leaked… Military Adviser, save me! I’m truly innocent!”
“The supplies were fake, they had already been switched! I’m innocent!”
“Military Adviser, I beg for mercy!”
After just a brief pause, Lü Zheng regained his composure, lifted the tent flap, and entered.
He had arrived a bit late, and the tent was already filled with serious faces, most of whom were so absorbed they failed to notice his entrance.
An had just ordered the execution of the supply officer, and was still steaming with anger. Seeing Lü Zheng’s late arrival only added to his displeasure.
He hadn’t considered that Lü Zheng’s tent was set up quite far from the main tent, and even if Lü Zheng ran, he couldn’t possibly get there right away. Of course, as a qualified jerk, An would never admit fault.
For someone he disliked, calling them over and dismissing them like a servant was his typical play.
Ignoring Lü Zheng when there was nothing wrong, but suddenly sweet-talking him when there was, was just what jerkfaces did.
Suppressing his displeasure, he asked for countermeasures, his gaze seemingly brimming with pure trust.
Lü Zheng was long used to An’s antics; while lamenting that his Lord was quite the drama queen, he bowed deeply and said, “I rushed over upon hearing the news of the supply robbery but have yet to grasp the details…”
An was momentarily at a loss for words, his frustration building.
Seeing An silent, Lü Zheng turned to ask others for the events leading up to this.
An swallowed the reprimand that was bubbling up, forcing down his irritation as he waited for Lü Zheng to understand the cause of the incident.
Two hundred thousand stones of supplies was no small matter, crucial for the army’s sustenance in the days to come, thus the convoy was not to be lax. But no amount of precautions could prevent what happened: as the supply convoy was nearing, enemies suddenly emerged to ambush them.
With such execution capabilities, everyone believed it was Jiang Ji’s doing.
Jiang Ji’s status had risen dramatically, and everything she had done was scrutinized closely; a comprehensive analysis was made of her every action. As her foes, An and the others were well aware of how many shocking things she had done.
After their analysis, they collectively decided to shift the blame to her.
Little did they know, since Jiang Ji had turned over a new leaf, she hadn’t been on the front lines, let alone lead a raid on supplies.
The raid indeed involved people under her command, but the ultimate beneficiaries of those supplies were definitely not her.
Lü Zheng keenly sensed something was off, his brow furrowing as he inquired further from those present.
After a pause, he said to An, “Lord, this matter has its doubts; I humbly request you retract your orders and spare General Chai for the time being.”
An nearly choked on his anger, unable to contain his fury, he rebuked Lü Zheng for harboring ulterior motives in front of everyone.
Lü Zheng was right, calling for the death of General Chai, who was accused of colluding with the enemy, who else could possibly deserve to be executed?
Should it be Lü Zheng himself!
An never expected Lü Zheng would plead for the other side, fueling his rage even more.
“I earnestly request the Lord to heed my words; there are numerous uncertainties in this matter that must be treated with caution.” Lü Zheng maintained a formal demeanor, his tone indifferent, “As for the supplies, this is crucial military intelligence. How did the enemy know such specific details and catch General Chai off guard?”
An scoffed and retorted, “This traitor had letters proving his collusion; why do you question why Liu Xi knew the specifics?”
Seeing it was clearly planned, there had to be an insider leaking information.
Who else but General Chai, with such concrete evidence against him?
This foolish question left Lü Zheng baffled.
He countered, “If that’s the case, after the supplies were robbed, why didn’t he simply surrender to Liu Xi instead of leading his troops to break out, bringing the news to the Lord, ultimately inviting his own doom? Also, General Chai claimed the supplies were fake; what about that?”
An angrily replied, “He’s but a traitor desperate to survive and frame others!”
Yet Lü Zheng didn’t share that viewpoint.
When the enemy ambushed, General Chai did his utmost to protect the supplies, but the enemies had the advantage of surprise and ambushed with overwhelming force, leaving their protective soldiers dumbfounded. Though General Chai attempted to delay, he eventually determined to torch the supplies. If they couldn’t use them, then the enemy couldn’t either.
But as it turned out…
The top supplies were indeed normal while those below had been disguised, containing nothing but decoys.
General Chai, realizing this, was left in shock, far more horrified than by the enemy’s assault.
When An decided to kill him, General Chai revealed this information, yet no one believed him.
“Framing someone? Who’s being framed?” Lü Zheng said solemnly, “Lord, while you may wish to protect him, there should be no favoritism at such a time.”
The one responsible for the supplies was Hua Yuan.
If Hua Yuan prepared the actual supplies, it would mean General Chai was lying.
Otherwise, if those supplies were questionable, they were indeed Hua Yuan’s doing.
Perhaps it was Hua Yuan who leaked the supply details, prompting the enemy’s precision strike.
Through all of this, that massive two hundred thousand stones worth of supplies could be conveniently consumed by Hua Yuan without a hitch.
Of course, this whole maneuver would be met with disbelief from An and the rest.
What benefit would Hua Yuan even gain from doing this?
They didn’t know, but Lü Zheng was well aware.
This madman was utilizing “Liu Xi”, holding back supplies, and ruthlessly betraying his comrades, what benefit could he possibly see?
This child of chaos was hellbent on causing an uproar!
Naturally, even if Lü Zheng told them that Hua Yuan had split into “Liu Xi”, nobody would believe him; they’d assume he was just using shabby tactics out of jealousy towards Hua Yuan. Lü Zheng didn’t want to waste energy on this futile endeavor; let them decide for themselves! He felt utterly hopeless about these companions.
An was equally furious, almost enough to burst into flames.
What did Lü Zheng mean by that?
Scolding him publicly for being biased?
They were unaware that Jiang Ji was also infuriated, the fury levels of the two powerful lords achieving a precarious balance.
Jiang Ji glared at the supplies that Li had retrieved, her expression darkening.
“Hmph, Lü Shaoyin has gobbled up enough pig brains over the years; his head has been well stuffed, he can even plot against me now.”
She was grinding her back teeth in irritation.
The hard-fought supplies turned out to be fake, leaving her efforts in vain.
After thinking it through, she locked her sights on Lü Zheng, as that sneaky digging-a-hole tactic was definitely his style.
However, even with her wildest imagination, she could never guess that An’s subordinate, Hua Yuan, was harboring a “Liu Xi” within and secretly plotting chaos.
Meanwhile, the true mastermind, Hua Yuan, coldly stared at a small porcelain vial in his hand, smiling.
“What is that…” Xichang Princess asked, nervously.
Hua Yuan replied, “Poison.”
The Xichang Princess, visibly pregnant, trembled with fear, “For whom?”
Hua Yuan chuckled, “You guess?”
Princess: “…”
I can’t even guess!
