allonlinenovel Chapter 312: Xie Qian'an had already taken action?
Chapter 312: Xie Qian'an had already taken action?
"Did you manage to escape by taking the fake death drug?" Luo Xiyao asked.
Shen Qionghua shook her head and said, "No, Zhou Lingfu was afraid that her unexplained death would arouse Zhou Lingyi's suspicion. Plus, she might have wanted to take revenge on Zhou Lingyi. So she exposed Zhou Lingyi's past in front of Lin Xiyan and then committed suicide by stabbing herself in the chest with a dagger."
"Luckily, the An Yi faction followed us the entire time. After the people from Prince An's Mansion left, they immediately brought Zhou Lingfu back from the mass grave. If we had delayed any longer, I'm afraid it would have been hard to say what would have happened."
Shen Qionghua was not so cruel as to use Wu to force Zhou Lingfu to commit suicide.
The original purpose of the dagger in the bundle was to kill Zhou Lingfu if she was discovered by others while she was hiding near the study and the things had not been put into the study.
But I didn't expect that she would use the dagger on herself, in such an extreme way.
After all, it was the eldest wife of the Yongning Earl and Prince An who forced their family to death in the previous life, and the second wife was not aware of it.
Although the second wife's mother and daughter, as the beneficiaries, had verbally bullied her, it was obviously nothing compared to the hatred of the family being wiped out.
Now that this has happened, I have learned a lesson.
Luo Xiyao's eyes widened when she heard this, "She...she actually did such a thing?"
Luo Xiyao did not have a deep impression of Zhou Lingfu. She only remembered that she had some conflicts with Shen Qionghua and her personality was hard to describe. She did not expect that she would dare to commit suicide just for setting up a trap.
You have to know that if you are not careful, you may really die.
Shen Qionghua sneered, "Even a rabbit will bite when it's angry. Besides, although she was a little stupid before, she is not a kind person either. It's not surprising that she would do such a thing."
"Now I have learned my lesson and have become much calmer."
Luo Xiyao couldn't help but sigh in her heart when she heard what Shen Qionghua said.
Shen Qionghua's gaze fell on the empty space, and he murmured, "Now everything is ready. It all depends on how Prince An will make his move."
-
The cold wind blew, carrying the dry branches to dance in the dark night.
In just over ten days, winter had already arrived.
The drizzle in the capital was continuous, and the cold wind seemed to pierce into people's bones, and the people on the streets became even fewer.
In the past ten days, two military reports came from the border.
One defeat and one victory.
This is the result of large-scale wars, and there are countless small-scale battles.
After King Rui recaptured another city, he faced the stubborn resistance and surprise attack of the soldiers of the State of Chen when facing the last city.
Afterwards, the army seemed to be in a stalemate with the army of the State of Chen, and both sides were constantly testing each other's bottom line. Both sides did not act rashly and maintained a state of truce, but from time to time they sent out a small team of soldiers to fight.
The war dragged on into winter, and it was extremely difficult for both the soldiers and the horses.
A bonfire was lit in the military camp at the border.
Inside the tent, Xie Nanyuan, the Duke of Zhenguo, and General Lin were looking at the sand table in front of them.
"Your Highness, this war must be fought quickly. Now that winter has just arrived, the soldiers can still endure it. But if it snows, it will be really unbearable." The Duke of Zhenguo frowned.
As soon as the Duke of Zhenguo finished speaking, General Lin sneered, "Your Majesty, you are too worried. If it really snows, we won't be able to withstand it, and the soldiers of the State of Chen may not be able to withstand it either. They might even retreat on their own."
This is really not something a general would say.
The Duke of Zhenguo couldn't help but say, "General Lin, what are you talking about? The Chen State is holding on to Dai Viet's last city and refusing to give up. They are putting up a desperate resistance and have fought several stalemates with our army. How could they retreat just because of the snow?"
"We can't send soldiers to the battlefield in the middle of winter," General Lin said. "Duke, don't forget that the army only has enough food to last for half a month. If the court doesn't send us more food, we'll all starve to death."
"Instead of sending soldiers to die on the battlefield, it is better to let them stay in the camp. They can save some energy and hold out for a few more days."
"If we have to fight, let your national defense army do it. My soldiers will never fight! Humph!" General Lin snorted coldly.
"You!" The Duke of Zhenguo was about to say something else, but Xie Nanyuan raised his hand to stop him.
Xie Nanyuan looked at General Lin with grave eyes and said, "General Lin, please don't worry about the food and fodder. I have already written a memorial and sent it to the capital at full speed. I believe that the imperial court's food will be delivered soon."
Facing Xie Nanyuan, General Lin did not put on airs, but simply said, "If it is as Your Highness says, then that would be the best."
"I still have something to say to the Duke of Zhenguo. General Lin, please leave first." Xie Nanyuan said.
"Yes." General Lin agreed, and a strange look flashed in his eyes the moment he left the tent.
As soon as General Lin left the tent, the Duke of Zhenguo couldn't hold back any longer. "Your Highness, General Lin's words do make some sense, but if the soldiers of the State of Chen have sufficient food and fodder and continue to fight us, and the food and fodder sent by the court never arrives, I'm afraid our soldiers will go to the battlefield hungry, and then they will be attacked from all sides."
The Duke of Zhenguo's worries are unfounded.
Ever since hearing that the emperor had ordered Prince An to dispatch food and fodder, the Duke of Zhenguo had been feeling uneasy.
It's not that he has a mean mind, but he has seen Prince An's true face after what happened to the Shen family. He knows that under Prince An's gentle appearance, there is a shameless and vindictive villain.
It was originally thought that after Prince An was transferred back to the capital, the emperor would make other arrangements, but he did not expect that Prince An would be allowed to dispatch food and grass.
At this moment, the Duke of Zhenguo had no time to think about what the emperor, who was thousands of miles away, was thinking. He was just worried about whether the food and grass would be delivered on time.
As expected, the army only had more than a month's worth of food left, and the food from the court had not yet been delivered.
I wrote a memorial to the capital, but it took several days for the emperor to see it and ask Prince An about it.
In response to this, King An explained that Dai Viet had just suffered a flood at the beginning of the year, and now food prices have skyrocketed, making it difficult to collect food. It takes time to negotiate an agreement, otherwise a lot of extra money would be wasted.
He also said that it would take at least ten days to transport grain from the capital to the border. He repeatedly assured that the grain would be transported out of the capital before the last fifteen days and would not delay the border war.
Although Shen Qionghua donated three million taels of silver during the previous flood, there was not much left after the disaster relief and resettlement of the victims.
In addition, the war was particularly protracted and the national treasury was already in crisis. Although Prince An's words were suspected of being selfish, they were true and just touched the emperor's lifeline.
After much hesitation, the emperor agreed to let Prince An negotiate the price and ordered him to ship out the grain no later than the last fifteen days.
But now, there is only half a month's worth of food left in the army, and it is not known whether the food and fodder have been shipped from the capital. How can the Duke of Zhenguo not be anxious?
According to the Duke of Zhenguo's idea, if Prince An was destined to be an obstacle and would not be able to wait for food and grass and would eventually starve to death, it would be better to accumulate strength within these fifteen days to capture the last city, directly defeat the army of the State of Chen and return to the court.
No matter what Prince An wants to do, it will be in vain.
But if we do this, a rash attack will only result in a huge price to pay.
It was because of this incident that General Lin had a disagreement with the Duke of Zhenguo.
The Princess Zhenguo advocated a strong attack, but General Lin thought it was too radical and wanted to wait for the food and supplies to arrive before taking it step by step.
Because of this matter, the two have been arguing for a whole day.
"Your Highness, we all know Prince An's methods. We can't be too passive."
Xie Nanyuan listened to the words of the Duke of Zhenguo and fell silent, his expression dim and unclear in the dark tent.
After a long while, he suddenly said, "Uncle, do you feel something is strange?"
"What?" The Duke of Zhenguo was a little confused after hearing this sudden remark.
"Why were Chen's assassins able to sneak into our camp successfully several times before, and before that..."
"You mean..." the Duke of Zhenguo hesitated.
Xie Nanyuan sneered: "Maybe Xie Qian'an has already taken action!"