sbdcsierra Chapter 130: Which prince will be the king?
Chapter 130: Which prince will be the king?
"Who!?" Lei Jiliang was stunned when he heard that.
This time Zong Yanhongtu did not stop him. Lei Jiliang hurried to the military camp. Zong Yanli was already having people interrogate the captured spy.
Since he has been able to lurk in the army for such a long time, he must have some skills.
"You're still quite tough." Seeing that he had been unable to pry open the man's mouth for a long time, Zong Yanli couldn't help but look a little angry.
"General, I'll try." Wen Nian walked out and leaned over to Zong Yanli.
Zong Yanli glanced at him and waved his hand. When he went to interrogate the spy last year, Lei Jiliang came in a hurry.
After entering the tent, he greeted Zong Yanli first before turning to look at Lei Qimei standing next to him. He turned back to Zong Yanli with some disbelief and said, "General, I heard that you have captured an enemy spy?"
Zong Yanli nodded and smiled: "Yes, my little sister has made a great contribution."
Lei Qimei raised her chin with a little pride and said, "I've noticed that this person is sneaky. He is obviously from another account, but he often wanders around and often gets close to Generals Monchi. It looks like he's trying to get information."
However, Lei Qimei remained calm. Although she realized something was wrong, she also knew that arresting and convicting someone required evidence.
She did not alert the enemy, but instead played the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole was waiting behind.
While keeping an eye on the spy, he also found out the other few people. This time, more than one spy was caught!
Zong Yanli deliberately sold the information in order to hand the knife to Lei Qimei in the end, and Lei Qimei really lived up to Zong Yanli's trust and really caught the spy who was about to send the letter out, and captured him red-handed on the spot.
Zong Yanli told this matter to Lei Jiliang, and his words were full of praise for Lei Qimei. Lei Jiliang even felt a little dazed and uncertain after listening to it. Is this really his daughter?
"My little sister is thoughtful and observant. General Lei has taught her well." Zong Yanli gave affirmation.
"General, you are too kind..." Lei Jiliang quickly leaned over to thank him and turned to look at Lei Qimei. In his eyes, his daughter was always playful and willful, but she actually had such a talent?
"Father is convinced now?" Lei Qimei was quite excited and happy, and said with a little pride: "The general praised me."
Lei Jiliang snorted and said, "It's only because of the secret help of the general that you can do it. Otherwise, how could you do it so smoothly on your own?"
Lei Jiliang changed the subject and said seriously and admiringly: "However, since you can do this, it is indeed good. Your father is not as good as the general in identifying people and using them. Since you are following the general, you should learn well and watch carefully."
Lei Qimei stood up straight and said firmly, "I will!"
Lei Jiliang's expression was a little complicated, but after a moment he saw Wen Nian coming back. He saw that Wen Nian had a fierce look in his eyes, and there was a fierceness and murderousness in his eyes that had never faded. He was holding a handkerchief in his hand and wiping the dirty blood stains on the joints of the back of his hand.
"General, speak now." Wen Nian lowered his head slightly to hide the expression in his eyes.
"Okay." Zong Yanli immediately stood up and went to see the spy. When he walked into the interrogation tent, he saw that the guards in the tent all looked pale, with fear on their faces.
The spy who had been fine just now was now lying on the ground like a bloody man. The only intact part of his body was his head.
Next to the spy was an iron cage, with a few squeaking mice in it. They seemed to have been locked up for so long that they were banging their heads against the cage out of hunger. Next to the spy's mouth was a dead mouse. It looked like...
When Wen Nian was interrogating the man, it seemed that he wanted to stuff these mice into his mouth.
Zong Yanli frowned slightly. No wonder the guards in the interrogation room were so frightened. They were probably frightened by Wen Nian's brutal methods of interrogating the prisoners.
"You all go out first." Zong Yanli didn't feel anything and waved his hand slightly.
The guards in the tent felt as if they had been pardoned. They thanked him hurriedly and retreated quickly.
Wen Nian had clearly wiped his hands clean, but he was still squatting outside the tent washing his hands. In such a cold winter, he seemed to be completely unconscious as he rubbed the backs of his hands over and over again until his hands were frozen red.
Lei Qimei seemed to be hesitant to speak as she watched this scene. She wanted to step forward and talk but she felt that this person was difficult to get along with.
At least during the time when Lei Qimei was Zong Yanli's adopted sister, the other generals in the tent were all polite and friendly to her. Only Wen Nian, as Zong Yanli's deputy general, never looked at her straight in the eye, or it could be said that he never looked at anyone straight in the eye.
Except Zong Yanli.
He is only gentle when facing Zong Yanli...
"What a weirdo." Lei Jiliang muttered softly. He thought Zong Yanli would be gone for a long time, but he came out in a moment.
Lei Qimei and her daughter were about to go forward to meet him, but they noticed that Zong Yanli didn't look well.
Then he heard Zong Yanli turn his head and say to the guard outside the tent: "Deal with the body inside."
Lei Qimei's heart skipped a beat. From what she heard, was the spy directly killed by Zong Yanli?
She was suddenly speechless. She didn't expect that Zong Yanli was not much better than Wen Nian...
"Wen Nian." Zong Yanli called Wen Nian and said, "Call Pei Liang, Gongsun Pu and others to discuss the matter in the tent."
"Yes." Wen Nian lowered his head and responded.
Zong Yanli's eyes were cold, and even Lei Jiliang could feel Zong Yanli's hidden anger.
Zong Yanli paused, looked at Lei Jiliang and said, "There is nothing to do here for now. General Lei, please take my little sister back first."
Lei Qimei opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but was stopped by Lei Jiliang, who replied respectfully, "Yes, I will take my leave."
After watching Zong Yanli leave, Lei Qimei asked in confusion, "Father, since we are discussing military matters, why don't you let me go with you?"
Lei Jiliang shook his head and said with some helplessness and amusement: "Silly girl, your father is not a member of the Zong Yan clan, nor is he a soldier under Zong Yanli's command. What the spies found out during this interrogation must be very serious. We are just outsiders, so we should not know what we should not know."
Lei Qimei was stunned after listening to this, and seemed to understand but not quite.
Pei Liang, Gongsun Pu and others were summoned and hurried over. After everyone entered the military tent, Zong Yanli waved his hand and signaled Gao Feilin to guard outside the tent and not allow anyone to enter.
"What happened?" Pei Liang and Gongsun Pu looked at each other. The two had already developed a lot of tacit understanding by now. Just looking at Zong Yanli's expression, they knew that it was a serious matter.
"Today, with the help of my sister, we have captured all the enemy spies hiding in the city." Zong Yanli said in a low voice with cold eyes.
Gongsun Pu lowered his eyes and responded, thinking to himself that this should be a good thing.
It seems that this spy dug up something extraordinary during the interrogation.
This was indeed the case. Zong Yanli thought a lot about why the enemy army of Qing State was able to break through Yuanshi Pass and capture Changfeng County so quickly, causing the entire army guarding the pass of Zong Yanhong to be annihilated.
But she never expected that...
"The governor of Changfeng County colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and sent all the defense maps of Yuanshiguan to the enemy."
"They planted spies to send word of our army's retreat route, so that the troops guarding Roundstone Pass were completely annihilated."
Zong Yanli almost gritted his teeth as he uttered these words, and the moment the words fell, everyone in the tent gasped.
Her anger was burning, and her eyes were cold as she said, "How could a mere county governor easily obtain the city defense map, and how could he easily find out the withdrawal route? There must be something bigger involved."
Zong Yanli had already had some thoughts in her mind. During this period of time, Zong Yanli had not been idle for a single day. The army guarding the Yuanshi Pass was completely wiped out. She checked and verified the number of people bit by bit, and finally found that a reserve team was missing.
Zong Yanli raised his eyes and looked at everyone and said, "This matter is of great importance. I am afraid that our army is in a very dangerous position now."
"Or perhaps, the person who collaborated with the enemy was not just the governor of Changfeng County."
"Since they have the confidence to betray the country at this time, they must have some plan..."
Zong Yanli's eyes were a little strange, and he said boldly: "I suspect that the person behind the scenes... is King Xuan."
Pei Liang and the others felt as if their breathing had stopped at this moment. They looked at Zong Yanli in shock, their heartbeats beating violently.
Even with Gongsun Pu's composure, he was shocked by Zong Yanli's successive words. Regardless of how Zong Yanli associated the matter with King Xuan, if this matter was really related to King Xuan, then it would be a big deal.
"What is your plan, General?" After thinking quickly, Gongsun Pu looked at Zong Yanli calmly and asked.
"My closest family members nearly died here..." How could she possibly swallow this?
"In the absence of absolute evidence, this matter should not be publicized." Huo Wenqi said quickly, fearing that Zong Yanli would do something impulsive.
Pei Liang thought for a moment and said, "Now that things have come to this, I think the general called us here not just to discuss King Xuan's treason. Now that the crown prince of Wu State has not been decided, the general called us here to help him appoint a new crown prince?"
Pei Liang recalled what Zong Yanli had said when he tried to persuade the White Eagle Army. Although so much time had passed, Pei Liang still remembered it clearly.
Seeing that all the princes in the court are dying or being deposed, even King Xuan, who has the most chance, is now on the opposite side.
It was obvious that Zong Yanli no longer intended to hide it.
"Yes." Zong Yanli's answer also confirmed Pei Liang's guess.
"General, which prince do you plan to make your king?" Seeing that Zong Yanli was so frank and seemed to have made a choice long ago, Gongsun Pu asked with a focused look.
"Ninth Prince, He Honglang." Zong Yanli lowered his eyes slightly and said in a low voice.
"The son of Concubine Gao? He's still a child..." Gongsun Pu was slightly stunned. Apart from King Xuan, there were few options left in the royal family.
Instead of choosing, it is better to cultivate.
Now Zong Yanli is still young. Although it is difficult to make a young son the crown prince, it is not impossible with capable ministers and brave generals to protect him.
After everyone thought about it for a while, surprisingly, no one said anything to refute it. Compared to Gongsun Pu and Pei Liang who thought deeply, Kuang Xingquan and Meng Qi's expressions did not change from beginning to end...