Chapter 1280 – Defeating Huang Song, Unification of Dongqing (Part 22)
Yuan Xin returned in disarray and immediately sent someone to find Hua Yuan to hold him accountable.
The outcome—
“General, the person is missing.”
Yuan Xin had been waiting for Hua Yuan, never expecting to hear that—Hua Yuan was missing!
“Missing? How can someone just disappear? Search everywhere! Alive, I’d like to see him; dead, I want to see his corpse!” Yuan Xin’s brows knitted tightly, a cauldron of anger with no outlet to escape. He felt like an injured, furious beast, flames of rage blazing.
The soldiers stood with their heads bowed, trembling with unease, not daring to slack off, and hurriedly went off to look for Hua Yuan.
Naturally, they couldn’t find him because Hua Yuan had already left.
“Still haven’t found him?”
Yuan Xin, waiting aimlessly for most of the day, felt his fury gnawing at his insides. As time passed, an ominous feeling settled deeper in his heart.
The soldiers trembled in fear, almost shaking like leaves in the wind.
“N-no one found… We’ve searched everywhere, but there’s not a shred of trace, as if he vanished into thin air.”
Really gone?
Yuan Xin slowly absorbed this news, his mind a chaotic jumble, various conspiracy theories clashing in his head.
Why would Hua Yuan run away?
Could it be he was a spy sent by the enemy, pretending to offer strategies while actually helping the thieves escape?
If so, then everything would make sense!
Yuan Xin’s face grew pale with anger. “Quick, search his temporary residence and see if anything is missing. Also, issue an announcement to capture Hua Yuan!”
The soldiers searched Hua Yuan’s temporary residence, while Yuan Xin busied himself checking his military tokens and various documents—
The results were perplexing: Hua Yuan had left without taking any valuables, not even the new clothes he’d tailored.
Yuan Xin had lost nothing either—military tokens, private seals, documents… not a single item was out of place.
If Hua Yuan were indeed a spy sent by the enemy, why wouldn’t he take these?
Yuan Xin was both puzzled and relieved.
Puzzled over Hua Yuan’s actions, relieved that he hadn’t seized this opportunity to loot.
“Could it be… he knew he was incompetent and was afraid I’d blame him, so he left first?”
Yuan Xin thought to himself, feeling this guess fit best.
Though letting Hua Yuan slip away was unpleasant, the current situation was better than the worst-case scenario.
Yuan Xin seethed, “He got away too easily—”
If he could catch Hua Yuan, he would definitely flay this guy alive to vent his frustrations.
Where was Hua Yuan at this moment?
The wheels of the cart rolled forward, and the jolting cabin faintly echoed Hua Yuan’s light humming.
“Huang Song’s defeat is a certainty; he’s probably no match for Liu Xi.” Hua Yuan was still clad in his previous shabby attire, legs awkwardly crossed, slouching forward lazily as the cart jostled. A young boy, around eleven or twelve, sat inside the cart. He was dressed simply but exuded a noble presence, with refined, handsome features that anyone would admire—a promising young talent indeed.
The boy asked in surprise, “Sir, how can you be so certain?”
Hua Yuan snickered coldly, “According to Huang Song’s plans, he assigned Chenzhou to Yuan Xin to deliberately sideline him. With the war heating up in the front lines and Liu Xi gravely ill, the rear just needed to maintain stability. Yuan Xin isn’t the best character, but being an old general, he is experienced and can manage to hold his ground. However… no matter how he calculated, Huang Song didn’t foresee that Liu Xi, instead of being ill, had actually brought troops to Chenzhou!”
“Liu, Liu Xi brought troops…” The boy’s eyes widened in disbelief, “She came to Chenzhou at this time?”
Chenzhou was Huang Song’s rear base; it was one thing for her to feign illness as the leader, but to lead fifty thousand troops deep into enemy territory?
If things went awry, it would be a colossal blunder for Huang Song; he could laugh in his dreams over this!
“Although there’s no concrete evidence, it’s not far off!” Hua Yuan said, “I wasn’t sure until I saw the news—Feng Jin personally leading troops across the Xia River. Just imagine, given Feng Jin’s background, without Liu Xi, how could he muster such extraordinary motivation?”
Holding troops at the Xia River is something anyone could do well.
In comparison, Cangzhou was more vital to Feng Jin.
And yet?
Feng Jin didn’t hold down Cangzhou; instead, he chose to stay at the front lines of the Xia River. Something’s definitely fishy about that!
The one commanding fifty thousand troops to stir up trouble in Chenzhou must be worth more than Cangzhou; who else besides Liu Xi would dare such a feat?
It was precisely because the one leading troops was Jiang Pengji that Hua Yuan was sure Yuan Xin wouldn’t stand a chance.
If Yuan Xin played his cards right, even if he couldn’t severely injure Jiang Pengji, at least he could deplete half of her forces.
However—
Hua Yuan pondered Yuan Xin’s character and didn’t hold out much hope.
After all, a dog can’t change its nature.
To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, he slipped away early.
Moreover, his goals had already been achieved; there was no need to waste more time with Yuan Xin.
“Because of this unpredictable variable called Liu Xi, Yuan Xin maintaining the rear becomes his greatest blunder. Liu Xi is cunning; how could she miss this golden opportunity?” Hua Yuan turned to the boy, patiently explaining, “Even if Yuan Xin doesn’t die by Liu Xi’s hands, his days are numbered.”
The boy asked, “Why is that?”
Hua Yuan replied, “Nie Xun has the intent to kill Yuan Xin. Soon enough, he’ll make his move. Yuan Xin may evade the external knives, but can he defend against internal ones?”
Even if Nie Xun acted impeccably, Hua Yuan still saw familiar fury in his eyes—a hatred for enemies to the bone. He knew this look too well; Nie Xun was no benevolent soul and would not easily forgive Yuan Xin—
Once he found the opportunity, Nie Xun would orchestrate Yuan Xin’s demise.
The boy hung his head, pondering for a long while before saying, “The situation in Dongqing seems simpler than Nan Sheng, but the depths of this water run deeper.”
Hua Yuan said, “Once Huang Song falters, it won’t just be Dongqing that’s complicated; it could very well involve the whole Five Nations.”
The boy asked, “The Five Nations? Including Nan Sheng?”
Hua Yuan nodded, “Including Nan Sheng.”
The boy showed a hint of fear, softly saying, “Sir, I have some concerns—”
Hua Yuan replied, “The one worried about this matter is the Lord, not the Young Master.”
The boy said, “I am one with my father; what he worries about is what I worry about.”
This boy was An Huan’s son.
Due to the disaster from the southern tribes, An Huan’s children had all perished. Later, after fleeing to Dongqing, he suffered greatly, injuring his body and struggling for heirs.
In desperation, he adopted a child from the same clan as his heir, naming him Young Master to stabilize the people’s hearts.
Hua Yuan did not respond to the boy’s words.
After a while, the boy said, “With this batch of supplies, my father will no longer have worries.”
Hua Yuan mumbled an acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, Nie Xun had also learned of Hua Yuan’s disappearance.
He frowned, recalling his brief encounter and conversation with Hua Yuan, a sense of foreboding rising in him.
He—
Seemed to have overlooked something.
Nie Xun called someone over and inquired carefully about Hua Yuan’s movements and the strategies he’d suggested to Yuan Xin.
After a detailed inquiry, Nie Xun had to admit that Hua Yuan’s strategy was indeed clever, but Yuan Xin, this pig teammate, had hindered it.
“Fortification and wasteland clearing? I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn’t listen; he listened to Hua Yuan instead—”
Nie Xun felt increasingly frustrated, dark thoughts of silencing Yuan Xin deepened.
“…Wait—say back what you just said!”
After hearing, Nie Xun felt a jolt in his heart.
“Oh no, a plot within a plot!”
