Chapter 70

Xiong Tingbi's subordinates had gathered an army of 180,000, but after deducting the guest troops from various regions, the number of truly capable troops was not many. He Shixian was the standout among the generals.

In the battles of Qinghe and Tieling, He Shixian led his troops to provide relief. Although the cities fell too quickly and the situation could not be salvaged, He Shixian managed to kill hundreds of enemies in both battles and was promoted to General through his merits. Among the generals in Liaodong, only He Shixian dared to engage the Jurchen rebels in open battle.

It was through solid achievements that He Shixian did not have to grovel like other generals.

He strode into the hall with a tiger-like gait, greeted Xiong Tingbi, and could not hide his joy, saying loudly, "General Xiong, I have important matters to report."

"Go ahead."

"Yes, my subordinates discovered many abandoned carts in a forest five miles east of Baita. The well-maintained carts were discarded in the snow-covered valley, which is quite puzzling!"

At the mention of Baita, Li Guangrong and He Guangxian's faces changed, and their lips twitched uncontrollably.

Ge Chunfang maintained a semblance of calm and said indifferently, "General He, with the chaos in Liaodong, it's not unusual for carts to be abandoned. Don't make a big deal out of nothing!"

"Ha ha ha, Lord Ge, He Shixian is not one to cause trouble, but I found this around the abandoned carts. Colonel He, open your eyes and take a good look!"

He Shixian pulled out a small triangular flag from his chest and threw it hard at He Guangxian's face.

He Guangxian, a general himself, stood up from his seat in anger and shouted, "Lord Governor, He Shixian is so disrespectful, please do something!"

"Ha ha ha, He Guangxian, look at the flag first before you start spouting nonsense!"

He Guangxian hastily unfolded the flag and immediately felt the world turn dark, his body collapsing to the ground...

He Shixian stepped up to him, grabbed He Guangxian by the chest, and sneered, "He, you said Zhang Feng detained the grain convoy! What does this flag mean? If you can't explain, I'll rip your head off!"

He Guangxian, in pain from being grabbed, couldn't catch his breath, his face turning blue.

Hong Fugao, standing nearby, was secretly delighted. Truly, heaven has eyes!

"General He, let him go. In front of Lord Governor, explain clearly what happened with those carts."

He Shixian threw He Guangxian aside and said with a contemptuous smile, "He, you won't fly away. We'll settle accounts later!"

In fact, over the past two days, whether it was Hong Fugao reviewing documents or Zhang Ke sending Wu Boyan to gather information, they had confirmed one thing: a grain convoy did exist.

With dozens of carts and so many drivers and auxiliary soldiers, they couldn't just disappear, so they dispatched hundreds of soldiers to search along the road between Shenyang and Fengji Fort.

Sure enough, they found the abandoned carts in a valley near Baita, along with a significant amount of grain and He Guangxian's flag.

With this evidence, He Shixian, who had been in a gloomy mood for over ten days, regained his "Live Zhang Fei" dominance.

"Lord Governor, I have found the grain convoy, which proves that Zhang Feng did not detain the grain carts. The true culprit is He Guangxian. Please order his arrest immediately!"

What was originally a sure thing suddenly took a turn. All the officials and generals involved felt a chill and were on edge.

Ge Chunfang did not dare to argue and could only steal glances at Governor Zhou Yongchun.

Zhou Yongchun's eyes darted around, and he smiled slightly, "General He, you found some carts and He Guangxian's flag. Even if this is true, it doesn't mean they are the ones Zhang Feng detained. Don't mix things up!"

He Guangxian, who was already scared stiff, perked up a bit upon hearing this.

"Lord Governor is right. My subordinates did lose a few grain carts, but it was five days ago. I believe this was done by He Shixian to exonerate Zhang Feng. He raided my grain carts, which is a despicable and malicious act..."

Before he could finish, He Shixian's fist, as big as a vinegar bowl, was already in front of him, striking his nose with a crisp sound, and two streams of blood spurted out.

This caused chaos. Generals Li Guangrong, You Shigong, and Li Huaxin all stood up, forming a protective barrier in front of Xiong Tingbi.

The old general Li Huaxin, gripping his saber, his white beard trembling, shouted, "He Shixian, you dare to use violence in the hall. Do you still respect Lord Governor? Are you planning to rebel?"

He Shixian, his face dark, let out a breath.

"General Li, I dare not, but I can't stand to see a scoundrel like He Guangxian twist the truth!"

"Stand down!"

Xiong Tingbi, expressionless, said, "General He, finding a few carts is not enough to exonerate Zhang Feng!"

"What else do you need..." He Shixian, his face dark, was about to argue when Hong Fugao pulled him back.

"General He, calm down. Let me speak."

Hong Fugao smiled at Xiong Tingbi, "Lord Governor, I have investigated the cart drivers and auxiliary soldiers in the city and found some victims. They were originally escorting the grain carts, but some people, in a fit of madness, killed them and destroyed the carts. They then turned Zhu Jinhai's convoy of old iron into grain carts to frame Captain Zhang Feng and exonerate themselves!"

"Hong Fugao!"

Zhou Yongchun stood up abruptly, pointing and shouting, "Do you know what you are saying?"

"Lord Governor, I know very well. I have already sent people to arrest all the families involved. They will be brought here soon, and we will know the truth!"

At this point, further argument was meaningless. Xiong Tingbi stood up abruptly.

"Lord Hong, I want your explanation in an hour!"

As Xiong Tingbi left, Zhou Yongchun, Ge Chunfang, and Li Guangrong also stood up, their faces pale as they hurried out.

"General He, see that? They are going to discuss a strategy."

He Shixian's eyebrows twitched, and he said urgently, "Lord Hong, should we detain them all?"

"No!" Hong Fugao waved his hand, "I'm not sure who else is involved. Don't make too many enemies for now!"

"But what if they take action against us?"

Hong Fugao said, "General He, are Yongzhen's subordinates reliable?"

"Absolutely, they listen to me, not even their fathers!"

"Good! I believe Yongzhen will find a way!"

...

Hong Fugao placed his hopes on Zhang Ke, who was under significant pressure. He had just interrogated Guo Yuntu, who confessed quite readily.

"That's right, someone told me to persuade Zhang Feng to confess and settle the matter. I know you are eager to save your brother, Zhang Erlang, but I must warn you, there are people you can't provoke, even General He can't!"

Guo Yuntu looked at Zhang Ke and sneered, "Listen, the person who sent me the message is Little Fifth Eunuch! He is from the palace. Are you scared now?"

"Ha ha ha, Guo Yuntu, a little eunuch wants to scare me?"

"Little eunuch? Little Fifth Eunuch is the adopted son of the imperial supervisor, Eunuch He Bian. Do you know who he is? He is the eunuch sent by the Emperor to Liaodong, the adopted son of the Grand Eunuch Chen Ju. He is the Emperor's man. Do you have the courage to arrest him, to interrogate him?"

Guo Yuntu laughed loudly, looking at Zhang Ke with disdain, clearly saying, "You are doomed!"

Zhang Ke suddenly laughed, "Guo Yuntu, the inner court is just a dog to the Emperor. Unfortunately, you are not even a dog, just a lackey of a dog. Look at yourself in the urine and see what you are like!"

Zhang Ke turned and left, saying as he walked, "Leave a few men to guard him."

As he left the room where Guo Yuntu was held, Zhang Ke's expression changed. Qiao Fu followed closely behind.

"Brother Ke, should we arrest Little Fifth Eunuch?"

"What do you think?"

Qiao Fu scratched his head, "Brother Ke, to be honest, I'm scared. Eunuchs are the Emperor's people. Who dares to arrest them easily? We found the families of the cart drivers, right? As long as we prove that Brother Feng did not detain the grain carts, the charges will be cleared, right?"

"Ha ha ha!" Zhang Ke laughed to the sky, "It's not that simple. If we don't take this opportunity to crush them completely, they will come back and we will be dead. I'm scared too, but to save my brother and to get out of this alive, we must take this step!"

Zhang Ke gritted his teeth, "But you're right, we can't act against the palace without solid evidence. How is the investigation going? Have you found Zhu Jinhai?"

Qiao Fu shrugged and shook his head, "Brother Ke, Zhu Jinhai has vanished. I spent a lot of money to find him through the beggars in the city, but there's no news at all!"

Zhang Ke was also worried. If Zhu Jinhai wasn't found soon, without solid evidence, any charge could crush him like a small ant.

Zhang Ke's face darkened, pacing back and forth, his mind a mess. Where could Zhu Jinhai be...

"Lord, Lord, I have something to report!"

Seeing Ma Biao, Zhang Ke's eyes lit up, and he asked urgently, "What did you find? Tell me quickly!"

"Lord, didn't you ask me to follow Jin Wanguan? After he arrived in Liaoyang, the next day he sent out two carts to Shenyang. I followed them all the way to Shenyang. The carts stopped at a house outside the North Gate. Two women, one in white and one in blue, got out of the carts. They were incredibly beautiful!"

Qiao Fu, hearing this, punched Ma Biao, angry and scolding, "Biaozi, I asked you to follow Jin Wanguan, not to follow the women. Are you blinded by beauty?"

Ma Biao, looking aggrieved, said quickly, "Lord Qiao, even if I am a scoundrel, I wouldn't forget my mission. I thought if Jin Wanguan is involved in the plot against your brother, the women he sends might reveal something."

Zhang Ke nodded, "That's right. Who did he send the women to?"

"No one. I saw a few people come out of the house. One of them seemed young and was dressed in fine clothes. He received the women. It was too far to see clearly."

"North City?" Qiao Fu frowned, "Brother Ke, should we investigate which official has a house outside the North City?"

Zhang Ke frowned, then his eyes lit up, and he laughed, "No need to investigate. I know who it is!"