The teacher and the student parted on bad terms once again. Lin Zihan knew that he couldn't persuade his teacher for the time being, so he had to suppress those negative emotions. Then he went to visit his teacher's wife and his fiancée. He behaved politely and stayed in the prime minister's mansion for a long time before taking his leave.
Meanwhile, the young emperor in the imperial city was in a dilemma.
Since his enthronement, his greatest wish had been to get rid of Shang Mozheng and become the real emperor. Now he was almost one step away from this goal. As long as he issued an imperial edict now, the title of the Regent King would disappear from the world forever.
The evidence was also sufficient to convince the common people of his decision. However, when it came to the crucial moment, he suddenly hesitated!
The root cause was the troops Shang Mozheng had hidden outside.
When Shang Luoshu found out that the Regent King had been secretly recruiting troops, he immediately told Shang Luoze. But the young emperor never expected that in such a short time, the number of troops under his good uncle's command had expanded to more than 200,000. If the more than 100,000 troops that he had previously dispersed through a scheme were added...
Shang Luoze didn't dare to think about the consequences.
Just then, the spies sent by Shang Luoshu outside sent a message that the 200,000 troops were heading towards the capital from all directions. Their purpose was self - evident.
That was why Shang Luoze was even more afraid to deal with Shang Mozheng.
Almost all the troops in the court had been taken away by General Feng. Therefore, once the 200,000 troops arrived in the capital, the only forces that could resist them were the imperial guards in his hands and the 10,000 soldiers stationed near the imperial mausoleum.
At this moment, only if Shang Mozheng was alive could he play his greatest role and make those 200,000 people not dare to act rashly. If he died, the capital would be in danger.
He clenched his fist and tapped the table rhythmically with his knuckles. After a long time, Shang Luoze finally spoke.
"Decheng, summon Prime Minister Lu to the palace."
The fierce wind howled and the yellow sand filled the sky. This was the important defense line of the Great Qi to stop the Xirong from going south - Yuheng Pass. Shang Luoshu, Lu Yinxi and others rushed on their journey frantically and finally arrived at their destination within the scheduled time.
Before the two of them set off, Uncle Su had sent a letter to his eldest son first. So as soon as the group entered the city, they were taken to the military camp.
There was no need to mention the greetings when the two sides met. After resting for a while, Shang Luoshu immediately turned the topic to the main reason for coming to Yuheng Pass this time, the Xirong spies.
"Coincidentally, just before your arrival, my men just destroyed a Xirong stronghold inside the pass."
Discovering the traces of spies inside the pass, combined with the arrival of His Highness the King of Jing, these two major events made the soldiers not dare to be careless at all. So the city was under strict martial law at all times, and the patrols were on duty day and night. Finally, they found the exact whereabouts of the Xirong spies.
After multiple deployments and careful planning, Su Anhe led his men to attack the enemy's lair last night, completely destroying the stronghold and capturing all the spies alive.
Shang Luoshu didn't expect that there would be good news as soon as he arrived. "What about those spies? Have you found out anything, Captain Su?"
His question stumped Su Anhe. It was true that the people had been captured, but after interrogating them all night, they couldn't pry a single word out of those spies' mouths.
"I'm ashamed, Your Highness."
Shang Luoshu seemed to have expected this. He smiled slightly. "I wonder if Captain Su would be willing to let my men interrogate those spies?"
Su Anhe was of course willing. As long as they could dig out useful information from the spies' mouths, he had no objection to whoever interrogated them.
With Shang Luoshu's signal, Fang Qinhu turned around and followed the person away. Lu Yinxi frowned as she watched from the spot. "Shang Luoshu, what have you taught him in the past half - year?"
In her impression, Fang Qinhu had always been a rough - edged man with a bit of finesse. Although he was smart, he was still a bit of a fool at times. So it was no wonder that Lu Yinxi would ask such a question when Shang Luoshu asked such a person to interrogate the spies.
"Do you really think he's just a rough - edged man, Xi'er?"
"Isn't he?" Looking at the disappearing figure, Lu Yinxi suddenly felt a bit uncertain. Seeing this, Shang Luoshu suddenly leaned over to her ear and said in a soft voice.
"Do you remember, Xi'er, that he was the one who spotted your Speech Spirit at a glance..." If Fang Qinhu really had such abilities, how could he be just a rough - edged man?
These words were like a blow to the head. When she first came to this world, if it weren't for the fact that he was the savior of the original owner, she would surely have made this person shut up forever.
Seeing that she understood his meaning, Shang Luoshu continued to explain.
"Since he came to my mansion, I've indeed intended to cultivate him as my confidant, so I wanted him to learn more things. It was he who proposed to me that he wanted to learn those underhanded interrogation methods."
Because only these things could make people tell the truth and bring the things hidden in the dark to light. In this way, there would be one less person like that in the world.
Shang Luoshu saw what was on his mind and didn't stop him.
As they were talking, Fang Qinhu's figure reappeared in their sight. His expression was the same as when he left just now, but Lu Yinxi could feel the killing aura on him, which made her shiver.
Thinking like this, he had already walked up to Shang Luoshu, bowed and said, "Your Highness, I've found out something."
The man nodded slightly. Everyone tacitly entered the tent. There was a circle of his personal guards outside, so no one would dare to come and eavesdrop.
"Your Highness, although two of them died and one went crazy, your subordinate still managed to find out something. The Xirong do have a plan to attack Yuheng Pass."
Since the Xirong and the Great Qi had fallen out, there had been a clear order from above that the common people inside the pass were not allowed to trade with them.
But as the saying goes, where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure. Every year, there are still many Xirong people who manage to sneak into the Great Qi by various means. Their appearance is similar to that of the people of the Great Qi, so they are not easy to be discovered.
But not long ago, a Xirong man who couldn't make a living in the Great Qi returned to his hometown. And during a casual chat, he mentioned the discord between the emperor of the Great Qi and the Regent King.
Coincidentally, this news was heard by Tuotuo'er, the third prince of the Xirong. He thought this was an opportunity, so these Xirong spies appeared.
"A fight between the snipe and the clam benefits the fisherman. Tuotuo'er wants to be the fisherman?"
Shang Luoshu's expression turned cold, and the temperature in the tent dropped a few degrees. "Have you found out their specific plan?"
"Not exactly. That person only knows that Tuotuo'er has already assembled 100,000 troops, and they are likely to arrive outside the pass in a few days."
100,000 people?
This was no small number. The total number of soldiers in Yuheng Pass, including the whole - people - as - soldiers policy, was only 100,000. If Tuotuo'er forced an attack on the city, Yuheng Pass might not be able to hold out!
If possible, Shang Luoshu still wanted to repel the enemy with wisdom.
Just then, Su Anhe lifted the curtain and came in from outside. He had already got the information he wanted. Keeping the spies alive was just a waste of food. He had just been dealing with this matter, so he came a bit late.
"Captain Su is just in time. Do you know the situation on the Xirong side?"