Chapter 1486 – Cutting Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Pointing to the World (Twenty-Five)
Nie Liang’s blood-spitting unconsciousness was suppressed by Wei Ying; any soldiers daring to discuss it privately would face repercussions.
After a series of strict measures, the fluctuating morale of the troops was temporarily stabilized, but everyone knew this was only fleeting.
In broad daylight, there were seventy thousand soldiers fighting, and all of them had witnessed how the great fire at Zhanjiang Pass ignited, and equally how it was extinguished. Heaven showed no mercy, standing with the enemy, leaving them anxious and worried about their future.
Fighting with others is endlessly enjoyable, but battling against heaven is just courting death, right?
That night, many sleeplessly worried, including Nie Liang, who woke up groggily at dawn.
He clearly felt his body much heavier than before, devoid of energy all over.
As soon as he turned his head, he spotted his son slumped tiredly asleep by the bedside, while another boy named Nie Yang lay beside him, also deeply asleep.
“Is the Lord awake?”
Wei Ying immediately noticed the Lord had regained consciousness, and his restless heart calmed down instantly.
Nie Liang signaled with his eyes for Wei Ying to speak softly, lest it wake Nie Qing.
He closed his eyes and pondered his cause of unconsciousness, letting out a long sigh as he asked, “How has the situation been since my fainting?”
Wei Ying replied, “There’s been no movement from Liu Xi’s side; some soldiers within the camp were spreading rumors, which were handled promptly.”
Morale cannot waver; once it does, the fight will become difficult.
Nie Liang’s voice was weak as he said, “After countless calculations, how did I not account for heaven being on her side? I’ve calculated human emotions, yet missed a shred of heavenly intent.”
After all, he was from ancient times and didn’t understand how the great fire caused the heated air at ground level to rise, nor how the upper air would contract and descend, leading to condensation of water vapor into clouds. The recent weather was already close to rain; Nie Liang’s fire incident merely hastened the rainfall.
Not knowing these, Nie Liang would naturally, like everyone else, attribute this coincidental rainfall to “the will of heaven.”
Wei Ying said, “My Lord, why speak such disheartening words? What of heaven’s will? It’s man’s efforts that truly matter.”
Nie Liang gave a weak smile, “You have a point.”
He had never been a believer in fate, but this coincidence had shaken him.
“My Lord, rest a while; I’ll fetch the Young Doctor right away.”
Nie Liang’s camp was shrouded in a layer of gloom, while his opponent Jiang Pengji was hardly basking in sunshine.
On the contrary, she was furiously overturning a bronze table.
Bai Ning immediately stepped forward to plead, “I implore my Lord to temper your fury; I suspect there are many doubts in this matter. Perhaps we should return and investigate further.”
He had to stand up; this leak of secrets from the woodworking workshop involved his daughter Bai Yuexia.
Never had he seen his Lord so enraged; he was momentarily terrified.
Jiang Pengji suppressed her anger and ceased her chaos with the bronze table, perhaps realizing she might not have a chance to wreak havoc again.
Why?
That bronze table, marked with the fingerprints of the Lord, had been bent under her fury.
Besides Bai Ning, others gradually stood up to plead for Zhang Ping, Shao Guang, and the others as well.
Jiang Pengji’s temper was terrifying, and they genuinely worried that she might order the execution of the three.
Why would she execute them?
Because many secrets from the woodworking workshop had leaked, and Zhang Ping and the others were implicated.
Elder Sun Wen also wanted to interject, advising Jiang Pengji to impose a light punishment and spare the three, glancing at Wei Ci, who stood unmoved as a mountain, unable to suppress his frown. Zhang Ping and Wei Ci were close friends; the former was in trouble, while the latter showed no indication of support.
Either Wei Ci was “cleaning his hands,” abandoning his friend Zhang Ping, or he confidently believed nothing would happen to them. Sun Wen glanced at Qi Guanrang, who appeared equally steadfast, holding a newly crafted feather fan, deep in thought.
Hmm.
It seemed to be the latter.
Indeed, Jiang Pengji was angry but had no intention of punishing Zhang Ping and the others, let alone executing them.
She calmed her fury and cast her gaze at the messenger, instructing, “Detail the sequence of events to me!”
The tale was simple; due to the oversight of Zhang Ping and the others, a spy had infiltrated the woodworking workshop, and he was someone with an extraordinary memory who stealthily “stole” several confidential blueprints. For years, there had been no suspicion until recently when things began to unravel.
The spy prepared to plot his escape, claiming his elderly mother was ill, he requested a seven-day leave for visitation from Zhang Ping.
Yet after seven days, he never returned. Worried, Zhang Ping dispatched someone to investigate the spy’s residence, only to find it deserted.
Under such circumstances, it would be mere suspicion.
However, Zhang Ping discovered a piece of old yellowed paper near the spy’s residence.
Though it was just a small corner, he instantly recognized it as part of a newly developed crossbow design.
His suspicions flared, and he ordered a thorough search, finally finding several more complete designs in the home of a local idler.
The idler said, “That gentleman, when packing, tossed a pile of paper into the charcoal tub… I secretly took a few to hide at home. There were words on them; when my son grows up, he can learn a couple of characters… officer, I’m really not a thief!”
Hearing this, Zhang Ping felt dizzy.
The woodworking workshop had strict rules; no designs were allowed outside. Confidential content was backed up, hidden in secret storerooms. The storeroom had three locks, only he, Shao Guang, and Bai Yuexia had the keys to open it. The storeroom was guarded by heavy troops, and no unusual activities had been reported lately; the only explanation was the spy secretly recorded the designs and returned to replicate them.
Zhang Ping knew it was bad and immediately reported the incident to Xu Ke, Feng Jin, and others.
While sending troops to hunt down the spy, he also meticulously investigated the truth behind the matter.
This spy had joined Zhang Ping years ago out of the Mo family but was dismissed for his incompetence and never reused.
Later, the spy was assigned to Shao Guang’s side, where Shao Guang’s easy-going nature led him to occasionally give the spy work.
The spy was truly promoted because of Bai Yuexia; she recognized his photographic memory. Despite his weak talent and lack of creativity, he was honest and hardworking, gradually gaining experience and moving up.
Having accumulated enough experience, occasionally, Bai Yuexia would give him pointers, and he again caught the eyes of Zhang Ping and Shao Guang.
In the past year, he had participated in multiple design modifications and had access to confidential blueprints, quietly copying one.
Due to Zhang Ping and the others frequently updating their designs and making modifications to the details, the spy accumulated multiple copies of blueprints.
He took the final version, burning the rest, but didn’t expect some to be intercepted by the nearby idler.
Jiang Pengji continued to inquire about the spy, asking for his name, background, and hometown…
On the other side, Wei Ci’s frown deepened the more he listened.
Never would he have imagined that the spy was this person.
Shi Zhong, an ordinary name, typical of a life lived in obscurity.
Yet he had an extraordinary, notably famous wife, Bai Yuexia.
Yes, indeed, in the last life, Bai Yuexia’s husband was Shi Zhong.
Wei Ci had always wanted to matchmake Zhang Ping and Bai Yuexia so that his close friend could keep a lesser eye on the Lord, never thought of the feelings of Bai Yuexia’s husband from the last life. Why? Because Wei Ci also felt Shi Zhong was worthless; his close friend Zhang Ping was a thousand times better than him.
