"What?" Bai Zheng was caught off guard.
Feng Linyuan repeated, "Feng Linche is the mastermind behind the Purple Capsule Fruit incident."
Bai Zheng's complexion changed. It was hard to tell if it was because of Feng Linyuan's sudden willingness to talk or the unexpected identity of the person he named.
"Your Lordship means that the one who tried to harm you is the current Emperor?" Bai Zheng said in disbelief.
Feng Linyuan nodded.
Bai Zheng stammered, "Wasn't he always showing special care to the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion?"
A cold glint flashed across Feng Linyuan's face.
Bai Zheng immediately thought of a possibility. Covering her mouth, she whispered, "Could it be that the decline of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion was all due to Feng Linche?"
"Miss Bai is very perceptive."
Previously, Bai Zheng had been completely infatuated with Chu Feng. The few people she interacted with would not casually talk to her about Feng Linyuan's affairs. So she knew nothing about the Battle of Yan City.
The only information she got from Feng Jingyi was that the defeat in the Battle of Yan City was due to the so - called jealousy of the gods towards the talented. Although she didn't believe such nonsense, she would never have suspected Feng Linche.
After all, Yan City was the territory of the Great Zhou, and one hundred thousand soldiers had sacrificed!
What on earth could have motivated Feng Linche to bear such a grudge against the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion that he was willing to cooperate with the Western Liang, risking losing territory and sacrificing soldiers?
Wasn't that like seeking the skin from a tiger?
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng murmured, "How could this be? What exactly caused the defeat in the Battle of Yan City?"
Feng Linyuan stared straight ahead, his face cold and composed.
"At that time, Zhuo Yi, the Prince Xuanning of the Western Liang, personally led four hundred thousand troops towards Yan City. I accompanied my father with one hundred and fifty thousand Changping Army to fight. Although the difference in numbers was significant, the Changping Army had been established since the founding of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion. They were strictly trained and were known as the 'Great Wall of the Great Zhou'. While they couldn't fight a hundred with one, they could easily take on ten enemies.
I didn't take this battle seriously at first, but for some reason, my father suffered consecutive defeats. Feng Linche ordered the Marquis of Gaochang to lead three hundred thousand troops to Yan City for reinforcement.
One day, my father told me about a plan. He would lead three thousand elite soldiers to attack Zhuo Yi's main camp at night. Pretending to be defeated, he would lure out the Western Liang pursuers and then ambush them with one hundred thousand troops at Qinghe Ridge. He asked me to lead five thousand elite soldiers to steal their supplies during this time.
It was a foolproof plan. Even if we failed to ambush Zhuo Yi, once I stole their supplies, the Western Liang would surely be defeated without a fight. But the result..."
Bai Zheng fell silent. The result was that the one hundred thousand troops prepared for the ambush were all killed at Qinghe Ridge, and Feng Linyuan failed to steal the supplies. Instead, he was seriously injured.
"After my father died in battle, I was also severely injured. Although I wanted to investigate the Battle of Qinghe Ridge, due to the fierce attack of the Western Liang and the absence of the Marquis of Gaochang, I had to focus on defending the city. By the time we won the battle in Yan City, I passed out and didn't wake up until a month later. When I woke up and tried to investigate, I found that many clues were gone..."
Feng Linyuan told the story lightly, but Bai Zheng was shocked.
His beloved father died on the battlefield suddenly, and he was seriously injured in the war. Yet, he still had to struggle to hold on and repel the four hundred thousand Western Liang troops with only fifty thousand soldiers.
Perhaps the reason he was in a coma for a month was not only because of his serious injuries but also because he had lost the will to live.
Bai Zheng didn't know what to say. She felt a heavy weight in her chest.
Feng Linyuan's gaze seemed to penetrate the carriage and reach far into the distance. His expression was calm, but there was an indescribable desolation in it.
"After I woke up, I thought about this incident carefully. The more I thought, the more suspicious I became. This battle was a plan jointly devised by my father and me. Even if the enemy spies knew about our ambush and the entire four hundred thousand Western Liang troops came out to fight, our one hundred thousand Changping Army shouldn't have been completely wiped out."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng frowned. "There's something strange about this battle. Either there was a problem with the one hundred thousand Changping Army led by the old marquis, or..." She looked at Feng Linyuan.
Feng Linyuan nodded and continued, "I also suspected that the Western Liang might have brought more than four hundred thousand troops."
"Have you found any clues?" Bai Zheng grasped the key point and asked.
Feng Linyuan's face was as cold as ice.
"There was a personal soldier under my father named He Dong. He died in battle with my father. He Dong's wife was heartbroken. On the day she heard the news, she hanged herself. He Dong had a daughter. After burying her mother, she disappeared without a trace.
But once, my subordinate found that a concubine beside Zhao Yujin, the eldest son of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, looked exactly like He Qing, He Dong's missing daughter.
And Zhao Yujin was sent by Feng Linche to the Western Liang as an envoy six months before the Battle of Yan City."
"Do you mean that Zhao Yujin colluded with the Western Liang and lured He Dong to betray military secrets in exchange for marrying He Dong's daughter?" Bai Zheng quickly thought of a possibility.
A faint smile appeared on Feng Linyuan's cold face. "Zhao Yujin didn't have the guts."
"After that, the Zhao family rose to prominence again. They even outshone the Chu family. Zhao's daughter was promoted to a noble concubine, and the marriage between Feng Jingyang and the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion was also arranged at that time."
Bai Zheng was stunned.
"If the Zhao family hadn't made any great contributions, how could they have been so favored?"
Feng Linyuan's voice was extremely cold.
"There's only one possibility, which is that Feng Linche colluded with the Western Liang to deal with the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and the Changping Army."
"Do you have any evidence?" Bai Zheng asked, but she already had the answer in her heart.
Feng Linyuan glanced at Bai Zheng and smiled. There was a hint of desolation in his smile.
"I've had people keeping an eye on the Zhao family. There has been no further contact with the Western Liang. But an envoy sent by Feng Linche to the Western Liang was found to be hiding a secret letter."
"I understand." Bai Zheng said dryly.
There was no need to say what was in the letter. It must be about Feng Linche's secret deal with the Western Liang.
She sighed. She had thought that even the most fatuous ancient emperors were at most like Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, who listened to slander and killed loyal officials. But she never expected that human evil could go beyond imagination. The emperor of a country, in order to consolidate his imperial power, could even betray his own country!
Using such dirty means to kill the most loyal and heroic people of the Great Zhou.
It was simply...
Too cruel.
The loyal Dingyuan Marquis and the souls of one hundred thousand soldiers!
They were once the strongest defenders of the Great Zhou, roaming the battlefield all their lives. In the end, they didn't die in the war to defend their country but in political schemes.
Bai Zheng closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She clenched her fists to stop the slight tremor.
After a long time, she raised her eyes and looked at the man in front of her. She only said one word, "My Lord."