NFBE Chapter 144: What the King Wants, What the King Wants
Chapter 144: What the King Wants, What the King Wants
Gongsun Pu agreed deeply with what Zhan Haoyue said.
The next day, he told Zong Yanli about this matter, and after listening to Gongsun Pu's retelling, Zong Yanli fell silent, which was unusual for him.
"Prepare the wine and food, I'm going to meet General Yuan." After Zong Yanli gave the order, he went to the prison camp with Gao Feilin's cooperation.
In the prison cell, Yuan Heng looked haggard, old and exhausted, but he still maintained the posture of sitting cross-legged on the bed. He had not taken off his armor, but his helmet was lost somewhere. His body was dirty and smelled bad. Although he did not have a head full of white hair, he looked old with a lot of gray hair.
Probably hearing the sound of the cage chains opening, Yuan Heng squinted his eyes and looked up, then saw Zong Yanli bending over and walking into the prison.
The moment he saw Zong Yanli, Yuan Heng felt strangely relieved. His desolate eyes seemed to tell him that he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Zong Yanli raised his hand slightly, and Gao Feilin brought in the wine and food and placed them on the low table.
Yuan Heng didn't hesitate. He was already starving, so he got off the bed, sat down at the table, grabbed the meat on the table and put it into his mouth.
"Why don't you pour me a glass of wine?" Seeing Gao Feilin standing still, Yuan Heng looked up and called out.
"..." Gao Feilin frowned slightly and looked at Zong Yanli. Zong Yanli nodded. Gao Feilin snorted and walked forward to pour a bowl of wine for Yuan Heng.
Yuan Heng picked up the wine bowl and drank it down, laughing happily: "Haha! How wonderful!"
Zong Yanli did not say anything. He just sat opposite Yuan Heng and watched him drink and eat meat with big gulps. He ate up all the food and wine on the table like wind and clouds, and even wiped away the minced meat residue at the bottom of the bowl with his hands.
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, General. I'm now ready to set off after having eaten and drunk enough." Seeing that Zong Yanli had been waiting for so long, Yuan Heng raised his hand to wipe his mouth, straightened his clothes and said to Zong Yanli.
"The old general doesn't waste a single cent, which shows that he knows the suffering of the people." Zong Yanli said to Yuan Heng with his head slightly lowered.
Yuan Heng smiled but said nothing. From his attitude, it seemed that he didn't intend to say much.
Zong Yanli raised his eyes and said, "I have prepared a carriage for the old general. Since the old general is ready, please come in."
Yuan Heng was stunned: "What does this mean?"
"Send the old general home." Zong Yanli said with a smile.
"You're going to let me go?" Yuan Heng was really shocked. It was a little hard to imagine why Zong Yanli would make such a decision.
Zong Yanli turned around and asked Gao Feilin to take away the dishes on the table. When they were the only two left in the cell, Zong Yanli said, "General Yuan, do you know what the fundamental reason for Qing's defeat this time is?"
Yuan Heng frowned, turned his head away and said, "I am not as skilled as you, there is nothing to say."
"Is it true that the old general's skills are inferior to others?" Zong Yanli shook his head and said, "If our countries were equal in national strength and military strength, I might not be able to defeat you."
"It's simply a joke to make such an assumption now." Yuan Heng sneered twice, as if he had no interest in discussing this set of rhetoric. Since he was in the position of commander-in-chief, it was not a so-called equal fight. Most of the things that generals did were to win by military strategies.
"Yes, but Qing would never have gone to such a point." Zong Yanli looked up at Yuan Heng and said, "Do you think that the failure of Qing was Wu Liren's fault?"
Yuan Heng raised his eyes and looked at her, his solemn eyes hiding a bit of hatred and unwillingness.
Zong Yanli smiled and said, "The fault of Qing Kingdom lies with the emperor. Wu Liren is just a pawn who fanned the flames. If there is no Wu Liren, there will be someone else. Isn't the disaster of Qing Kingdom caused by the emperor's stupidity?"
Yuan Heng's face was tense, and he couldn't help but clench his hands on his knees.
"General, you said so much, do you want me to surrender?" Yuan Heng closed his eyes and looked at Zong Yanli, with a sharp look in his eyes and said in a cold voice.
"Of course not. I know that there is no way I can convince the general to surrender." Zong Yanli smiled, staring at Yuan Heng and said, "If you said you want to send the general home, it must be true."
"I just want to tell you, General, that Qing may not be your final destination." Zong Yanli lowered his eyes and said, "The Emperor of Qing blamed you for the defeat of Qing, saying that you betrayed your country and fled on the battlefield."
"Wu Liren has slandered the general to such an extent with his mean heart. Emperor Qing is convinced that the general has ulterior motives."
"General, this trip is full of dangers." Zong Yanli stood up and said, "This is all I have to say."
Yuan Heng looked at Zong Yanli who had stood up in astonishment, and asked in confusion: "You and I are enemies, why are you telling me this?"
Zong Yanli paused as he was about to leave, then turned his head to look at him. His dark eyes were so firm and sincere: "As a general, I only hope to have a clear conscience."
Zong Yanli was almost telling Yuan Heng clearly that she had a conspiracy in releasing him back to Qing State, and was also telling Yuan Heng that he would surely die if he entered Qing State, and that Emperor Qing would definitely put all the faults of the world on him.
“Ridiculous, ridiculous…”
"The king I serve loyally wants to kill me, but the enemy commander whom I hate wants to let me go."
"Hahahaha!"
Yuan Heng laughed out loud, and his hands, which were clenched on his knees, could not help but tremble.
When Zong Yanli informed his troops that he was going to release Yuan Heng, he was opposed by almost everyone. Everyone felt that Zong Yanli was letting a tiger return to the mountains. Zong Yanli calmly told them what Zhan Haoyue had said one by one.
The generals in the tent fell silent after hearing this. Only Kuang Xingquan couldn't help asking, "What if the Emperor of Qing doesn't kill Yuan Heng?"
Zong Yanli shook his head, his eyes firm and cold: "Zhuo Kangshun has created such momentum, Yuan Heng has now become a criminal of Qing State. If we want to stabilize the army and pacify the people, Yuan Heng will surely die."
"The general has informed Yuan Heng of this matter, but Yuan Heng would still be foolish enough to return to Qing Kingdom?" Pei Liang was puzzled by Zong Yanli's move.
“He has nowhere to go.”
"..."
As an old general, he had to go back, even though he knew it was a dead end, he would still go back because he had a family and children. Even though he knew that this trip would certainly fulfill Zong Yanli's conspiracy, Yuan Heng still wanted to go, because he might have been greatly disappointed with the king.
But Qing Kingdom is his home country after all!
Even so, Yuan Heng wanted to make a final effort, or perhaps wanted to find a way to survive for his descendants.
So when Zong Yanli learned that Yuan Heng had been released from prison and boarded a carriage back to Qing State, he was not surprised at all.
She seems to be righteous, but in fact she is extremely cruel.
How could Gongsun Pu miss this opportunity? He immediately praised Zong Yanli for such a righteous act. He praised him with compassion. He mobilized the hearts of people all over the world, and Zong Yanli, the commander-in-chief of the Wu State, gained a good reputation.
There was the enemy Jin State in front, and the three armies retreated to make way for the coffin of the old general of Jin State.
Later, today, the old general of Qing State was captured alive and sent back in such a righteous manner.
Such a loyal and righteous person, he is undoubtedly the number one!
"Your commander is incredible." After knowing this, Zhan Haoyue couldn't help but admire him in his heart, and seemed to have a better understanding of Zong Yanli.
"It was you who came up with this brilliant idea." Gongsun Pu said with a laugh.
After Yuan Heng returned to Qing, he found that everything was just as Zong Yanli said. The Emperor of Qing was not at all happy that Yuan Heng could return safely. Amid the angry rebukes of his ministers, Yuan Heng returned from the enemy forces in Wu in glory, only to be thrown into prison in Qing.
Yuan Heng was not a useless commander, he also had his own trusted soldiers.
After that, deployment began, or in other words, self-rescue.
But at this point, Zhuo Kangshun no longer trusted Yuan Heng, and Yuan Heng could only make a concession. He could no longer protect the country, so he could only protect his family.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, under huge public opinion, Zhuo Kangshun listed twelve crimes against Yuan Heng.
For those who desert on the battlefield, the punishment should be military punishment and beheading to boost the morale of the troops.
That day, there were lightning, thunder and dark clouds.
Zong Yanli stood in front of the camp and looked up at the sky. She saw the heavy rain pouring down in the direction of Qing State. The lightning in the dark clouds seemed to be venting, shrieking and roaring. Amidst the wind and rain, she could only sigh.
"The situation is settled, let's release Wu Liren and let him go back to celebrate." She felt like a cruel executioner.
"To make decisions through planning is to be a hero."
"Wujiu deeply admires it."
Zhan Haoyue straightened his clothes, took a step forward, and bowed to Zong Yanli as a subordinate, saying respectfully: "I am willing to follow the general and serve you."
Zong Yanli turned around and looked at him, bent down and stretched out his hand to help him up, saying: "It would be like adding wings to a tiger to have your help, and the overall situation of the world will be in my hands!"
Yuan Heng's death caused such a huge sensation that Wu Liren's return to Qing at this moment was like a drop of water falling into hot oil, which instantly caused the entire Qing Kingdom to explode.
This time, Zong Yanli did not send Wu Liren off in a carriage. She threatened him with extreme punishment, forcing him to kneel every three steps with shackles on his hands, and walk back to Qing State on his knees. She knelt and kowtowed to Wu Liren to tell him his evil plot, saying that he was a mean man who framed loyal people, and that he was afraid of death and slandered the generals.
It was also because he made inappropriate plans and made slanderous remarks for the sake of fame and fortune.
Wu Liren knelt down every three steps to tell the truth about his evil plot, which was like a sharp blade, cutting the King of Qing again and again.
"A foolish ruler ruins his country. He would rather listen to the slander of villains than trust loyal ministers and generals!"
"If a ruler is unjust, the people will suffer!"
Zong Yanli built up momentum three times and finally assembled his army to attack Qing State, showing off his power and vowing to save the people from danger.
Yuan Heng was not the only one who was punished. There were also soldiers under Yuan Heng's command. Some of them died in the battle of Wu State, while others who returned to Qing were almost all detained and beheaded without exception.
Now the Qing Kingdom has no chief commander, and only clan members can take on tasks in times of crisis.
The man who came to lead the army was named Zhong Jianxun. His origin was somewhat related to Zong Yanli. When Zong Yanli was fighting with Qing State to defend Yuanshi Pass, he killed a young general of Qing State, Zhong Ming, and took away his precious horse and sword. Zhong Ming was the nephew of Zhong Jianxun, and now this precious horse is still under Zong Yanli's saddle!
Zhong Jianxun knew that he could not defeat Zong Yanli, so when Zong Yanli sent people to challenge him, he hid inside the pass and did not say a word.
Zong Yanli had no choice but to force his way through the pass!