The sounds of battle from the west gradually subsided, and the outcome there was decided. A moment later, the Peace Army surrounding the two suddenly dispersed, and Lü Wubing, covered in blood and with his helmet nowhere to be seen, strode over.
"General!" Before he could speak, a Soviet general behind him, bound hand and foot and unrecognizable, burst into tears. Meng Yuan's heart skipped a beat; the voice was so familiar—it must be his deputy, Mo Zidu.
His mind was thrown into disarray, giving Meng Yuan an opening. Meng Yuan swiftly twisted his wrist, his waist saber spinning violently in the air. Dong Cheng felt as if his spear was a small boat in a vast ocean, being tossed about by Meng Yuan's saber energy. He hurriedly tried to retreat, but Meng Yuan had already caught up and struck his right arm with a palm strike. Although protected by a wrist guard, Dong Cheng still felt as if his arm had been hit by a boulder, and he could no longer exert any force. Meng Yuan flicked his spear away.
With a "clang," the long spear was deeply embedded in the eaves of a house on the side of the street, the shaft trembling incessantly and emitting an annoying buzzing sound.
"Heavens! Heavens! Heavens! To save myself, they want to destroy me!" Dong Cheng sighed, withdrawing his gaze from the still swaying spear. Such is war: the victor enjoys everything, the loser faces only one path. He should have known the outcome after his defeat by Li Jun, yet he foolishly tried to change it, only to suffer defeat after defeat. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, drew his treasured sword, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.
"General!" Mo Zidu's exclamation struck everyone's hearts with a heavy blow.
Section 03
"So you already knew, sir."
Despite being filled with immense fear, and even feeling his thighs trembling beneath his robe, Lu Yuan maintained an unchanged expression on his face.
Since Wu Shu had so readily exposed his identity as a spy for the Peace Army, he must have already made thorough preparations. Even if Li Jun himself came here, let alone a mere scholar, he would likely find it difficult to escape from the heavily guarded Prime Minister's residence. To survive, he could only rely on his eloquence. Wu Shu expected him to launch into a lengthy defense, but instead, he deliberately misled him, readily agreeing to the offer. This would pique Wu Shu's curiosity and allow him to stall until he could devise a plan.
"It seems that Commander Li Jun and I both underestimated the Prime Minister." Lu Yuan's face was somewhat ashen. No matter how hard he tried to remain calm, in the eyes of the cunning Wu Shu, the changes in his heart were clearly written on his face.
"What else do you have to say now?" Wu Shu asked with a half-smile. He was already used to Lu Yuan's tactics. Having been in the officialdom for many years, Li Jun and his subordinates, who had just begun to use court intrigue, were far from being as adept at scheming and power struggles as Lu Yuan.
"I would like to know, when did Your Excellency find out that I was a spy sent by Yuzhou?" Lu Yuan swallowed and asked the question directly. On the one hand, he wanted to buy time to come up with a way to save himself, and on the other hand, he was genuinely curious.
“When you gave me the gift for the second time, I learned that Lu Boping, the wealthy merchant in the capital who was generous in connecting with officials, was actually Lu Yuan, the official in charge of rites in Yuzhou.” Wu Shu’s pupils contracted slightly. “Two years ago, Li Jun’s act of going up on the stage to pay homage to scholars was known throughout the land. Although you used the alias Lu Boping, I only needed to send someone to investigate and I would have known your background.”
Lu Yuan sighed softly. He and Li Jun thought that by changing their names and posing as wealthy merchants in Liuzhou, they would remain unknown. However, Wu Shu had seen through them long ago, precisely because of Lu Yuan's proud act of accepting scholars on stage. It seemed that everyone's greatest pride was also the reason for their downfall. "Your Excellency the Prime Minister saw through me long ago, yet you hesitated to expose me. What is the reason for this?" he asked, a question he already knew the answer to.
“There are two reasons. First, since you keep sending me gifts, if I expose you, why would that brat Li Jun continue to send me these treasures? Second, although you are working for Li Jun in Liuzhou, if I just pass some information to Li Jun through you, wouldn’t you be working for me?” Wu Shu said slowly, his eyes revealing a cunning and sinister glint like a cat playing with a mouse.
Lu Yuan calmed down slightly, and a plan began to form in his mind. He said, "Your Excellency is indeed a man of great skill. Now that my identity has been exposed, I wonder what unexpected methods Your Excellency will use to deal with me?"
"Heh, heh, ha, ha, ha!" Wu Shu chuckled visibly, his face as dark as a sky filled with gloom. He gently stroked the handle of his fingers and said slowly, "Use unexpected methods? No need for such trouble. A strongman can cleanly and efficiently deal with you."
“With the Prime Minister’s wisdom, he naturally understands that such a treatment of me is neither helpful nor beneficial to anyone. Therefore, the Prime Minister has allowed me to live in this precarious state until now.” Knowing that life and death were hanging by a thread, Lu Yuan seized the opportunity to speak. If he could not move Wu Shu with his words at this moment, then everything would be over.
"Oh, what do you mean by being of no use or of no benefit to others?" Wu Shu stopped stroking the jade ring and glanced at Lu Yuan.
"The Su army has invaded Chen through Mengze and Danyuan, and their feud with Liu Guang is now established; Commander Li is advancing on Yunyang. Although Dong Cheng is a renowned general, his forces are too weak to hold out. At this moment, he will either have to abandon Yunyang or be defeated and captured, and perhaps his head is already hanging on the city wall. Killing me will not change anything," Lu Yuan said slowly, his eyes fixed on Wu Shu, hoping to glean something from his face.
"So this is what you mean by 'it's useless,' ha, ha, ha!" Wu Shu still smiled coldly, as if Lu Yuan's words had not had much effect on him.
“And there’s something that’s of no benefit to people.” Lu Yuan’s eyes flashed, and suddenly he noticed something: on the other side of the screen behind Wu Shu, a figure moved slightly.
“That person has been sitting there for a long time, and only now has he moved. It is said that Wu Shu has a shrewish wife who is greedy, violent and ruthless. The plan to get rid of Marshal Lu was devised by her and Wu Shu. Even Wu Shu, who is so cunning, is afraid of her. She must be behind that screen.” In his haste, he quickly judged that this was the only way to escape, so he slowly said, “What is of no benefit to others is naturally of no benefit to the Prime Minister and your wife.”
When he mentioned his wife, Wu Shu, though cunning, couldn't help but be taken aback for a moment. Even though it was only a momentary surprise, it was enough for Lu Yuan to see.
"In your opinion, Prime Minister, which general of the Su Kingdom can compare to Li Jun?"
Lu Yuan's question slowly raised doubts in Wu Shu's mind. If it was just a simple delay, Lu Yuan's words would be meaningless. But besides delaying, could Lu Yuan really have something that would not benefit him?
"Your time is limited, so don't beat around the bush. You still have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If you can't persuade me, you'll only have one way out: death." Determined not to give Lu Yuan any chance to get away with it, Wu Shu said aggressively. In his mind, as long as Lu Yuan begged for mercy, he would torture him to death with the cruelest punishment.
“Then I will speak frankly: Commander Li’s advance will be entirely beneficial to the Prime Minister!” Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered a few times before settling on Wu Shu’s face.
Lu Yuan didn't beg for mercy; instead, he continued his train of thought, which surprised Wu Shu. The fact that Lu Yuan could maintain the initiative despite Wu Shu's imposing presence showed that Dong Yuan was indeed worthy of the renowned scholar Li Jun had invited.
"Li Jun thinks he's avenging Lu Xiang by eliminating the traitorous officials of the Su Kingdom and advancing his troops. Haha, who is this traitorous official?" Wu Shu let out a strange laugh. For some reason, Lu Yuan heard a hint of self-mockery and self-pity in his laughter. Did he think he was wronged by being called a traitorous official?
"Whoever the Prime Minister thinks he is referring to, then he is referring to." Lu Yuan shrugged, indicating that he really couldn't answer the question.
"Of course it refers to me." Wu Shu's expression returned to normal, and he narrowed his eyes, saying, "Li Jun marched under the pretext of eliminating me, how could that be beneficial to me? Lu Yuan, if you think you can survive by sophistry, you've miscalculated."
"Does the Prime Minister believe that Commander Li can destroy the Su Kingdom in one fell swoop?"
“Even if he had twice the troops, he still wouldn’t be able to destroy the Great Su. There are fewer government troops in the border areas, and most of them have been transferred to Danyuan and Mengze counties. Li Jun may be able to be proud for a while, but as the battle lines are stretched out and he goes deeper into enemy territory, the more miserable his defeat will be in the future.” Wu Shu said in a sinister tone, his gray eyebrows twitching slightly.
"Then Li Jun is no longer a major threat to the Prime Minister." Lu Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They had previously underestimated this treacherous prime minister, thus falling into his trap without realizing it. Now, if he wanted to get out alive, he could only hope that this treacherous prime minister was not only a schemer but also a shrewd strategist. He could only hope that Wu Shu was even more capable. Judging from Wu Shu's analysis, he also had considerable insight into military strategy.
He brought over the tea that had remained untouched on the small table, took a small sip, and the tea was still warm, providing a welcome respite to his parched lips and tongue. He said, "The Prime Minister's problem lies not in external matters but in internal ones. Now that the Prime Minister holds great power, there are still arrogant individuals who frequently submit memorials criticizing him. As far as I know, in the past five days alone, seventeen officials from both the capital and the provinces have submitted memorials requesting Your Majesty to punish the Prime Minister. Some of these individuals are even people whom the Prime Minister personally promoted and made his confidants."
Wu Shu nodded slightly. He knew he had made many enemies, so he controlled the court and always made sure that officials had no opportunity to meet the emperor alone. All the memorials from the court officials had to be sent to him for review before they could be presented to the emperor. In the past, people dared not speak out against Li Jun's rebellion, but now that Li Jun had raised an army outside, these discontented ministers thought the time was ripe to launch an attack from within. Fortunately, he had seen the memorials first, and those who dared to call him a treacherous minister were either exiled or dismissed and had their property confiscated.
"This is precisely the problem that troubles the Prime Minister. The officials in the court seem to be laughing and chatting on a daily basis, but there are quite a few who harbor treacherous intentions. As the Prime Minister has said, Commander Li's military campaign abroad poses no threat to you. However, these people with ulterior motives are plotting against you from within, which is why you are caught off guard. They are waiting for an opportunity, and now that Commander Li has raised an army, they have created that opportunity for them. Therefore, they are eager to jump out and try to overthrow you and take your place. So, in order to expose those who are most deeply hidden, Your Majesty, it would be best to give Commander Li and myself a little leeway."
Wu Shu remained silent. Although Lu Yuan's argument was pure sophistry, he had to admit that it was plausible. Seeing that Wu Shu's mind was starting to wander, Lu Yuan seized the opportunity and said, "Even if the Prime Minister doesn't think of himself, he should think of your wife and children. Don't leave them with a fatal disaster!" He deliberately emphasized the words "your wife," which made Wu Shu glance at him and a mocking smile appeared on his face.
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With a soft "ding," Meng Yuan blocked Dong Cheng's sword, which he had raised to slit his own neck, with his waist knife.
"No matter what you do, I will never surrender!" He glared at Meng Yuan. Although his opponent's martial arts skills were superior to his, he showed no sign of defeat or dejection, as if he were not the one facing the road to death.
"General, why are you in such a hurry? As the saying goes, 'Where there's life, there's hope.' Is your eagerness to die a sign that you're afraid to face defeat?" Meng Yuan said solemnly. He knew that Dong Cheng was determined to die and that only by provoking him could he be persuaded to change his mind.
"Enough! Enough!" Dong Cheng threw down his sword, raised his head, and didn't even glance at Meng Yuan. "I can neither live nor die. Since you all insist on making me suffer this humiliation, then so be it!"
Meng Yuan sheathed his sword and gave Lü Wubing a wink: "Untie this general. Pass on my order: the entire army is to wait patiently for General Dong Cheng and his men!"
Soldiers quickly came up and untied the ropes binding Mo Zidu. Mo Zidu groaned, shook his arms a few times, and knelt on one knee in front of Dong Cheng: "This humble general deserves to die. The enemy soldiers are truly brave and cunning. Their strange formations made our army uncomfortable. Although I fought bravely, I was still captured by the enemy soldiers' scheme. Please punish me, General."
"Get up." A bitter smile flickered across Dong Cheng's lips. "If I punish you, then who will punish me?"
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