Chapter 1561: Rumors
Chapter 1561: Chapter 1561: Rumors
"Where are the people? Quickly take me there!" Duan Changling hurriedly ordered, grabbing Housekeeper Dai and rushing to find the unconscious guards.
The guards, along with the leading squad captain, totaled eleven and were all lying in the neighboring inverted house.
When Duan Changling saw them, the doctor hired by the Dai Family was checking their pulse.
Looking at these guards, Duan Changling saw their faces were greenish-black, with one or two guards even showing a pale gold complexion, seemingly on the brink of death. He asked the doctor with a frown, "What poison did they get? Can it be cured? Why do they seem much worse than General Dai?"
He had just seen General Dai in the main yard, and despite that coward being unconscious, his face appeared normal without the greenish-black hue.
The doctor shook his head, saying, "I’ve been practicing medicine for many years and have treated many poisoned people, but I’ve never seen the poison they have."
"Can’t identify it?" Duan Changling was shocked and quickly asked, "Then what about General Dai? Is it the same poison as theirs?"
Housekeeper Dai replied, "The doctor employed by the Dai Family said that General Dai’s poisoning is different from theirs and not as severe, so Vice Magistrate Duan can rest assured."
Surely not!
Duan Changling was feeling extremely uneasy now. How did this sudden incident happen? Who did it? Who has the capability to possess such deadly poison and infiltrate the Dai Family’s yard to poison all Dai Family’s guards like this?
General Dai, afraid of death, came to the Northwest merely to earn accolades; win or lose, he could safely return to the Capital and be promoted into the Ministry of War with Minister Dai as his uncle helping.
Thus, the batch of guards General Dai brought along were quite skilled, comparable to assassins.
Duan Changling couldn’t understand who could have the skill to harm General Dai without a trace?
It was Xu You!
Since Duan Changling didn’t get along with General Xu, he thought Xu You was worried General Dai would seize his power in the Northwest, so Xu You sent people for a preemptive assassination of General Dai!
"Investigate, conduct a thorough investigation! If this matter isn’t clarified, we will all be killed by Minister Dai!" Duan Changling brought up Minister Dai, determined to thoroughly investigate this matter.
Ha, if it’s found that Xu You is responsible, the Xu family will be found guilty, lose the position of the Kangrong chief commander, and Duan Changling would become unopposed, make meritorious service in the Northwest, and finally return victorious as a hero. Apart from promotion, he might also receive land and become a king!
Thinking thus, Duan Changling felt a rush of blood, instructing Housekeeper Dai to cure General Dai, then took his leave.
He directly dispatched troops to seal off the city and transmitted orders to Commander Hu outside the city, instructing him to lead the garrison stationed outside the city and thoroughly investigate suspicious persons, sparing no one!
Due to this matter, the city gates were closed, and messages were tied to arrows and shot from the city wall to Commander Hu.
Commander Hu and the others had heard of the deaths in the city, but didn’t expect it was Vice General Ye. This frightened them immensely but soon brought glee... Ha, Vice General Ye was dead, so didn’t the Dasheng Prefecture City Guard Camp army become his?
Commanders led individual Military Office soldiers, and the Deputy Generals in Northwest commanded garrison soldiers. These troops numbered at least two hundred, which was decent.
Commander Hu felt he greatly benefited, cried audibly, set up a mourning tent at the camp to pay respects to Vice General Ye, and conducted a show of grief before starting a thorough investigation into the assassination of Vice General Ye and General Dai.
Commander Hu stood before Vice General Ye’s mourning tent and shouted to the soldiers, "Soldiers, General Dai and Vice General Ye were Kangrong leaders yet were harmed by evil people. We must find the culprits, and chop them into mincemeat, avenging General Dai and Vice General Ye!"
"Find the culprits and avenge General Dai and Vice General Ye!" The soldiers shouted, and those unaware thought General Dai was also dead.
The next day and night was extremely chaotic, people inside and outside the city were disturbed and unrested.
The soldiers outside the city, long grown unscrupulous, upon entering the villages outside the city, saw some farmer’s daughters and young wives were quite good-looking, harbored evil intentions wanting to assault them.
Unfortunately, in the Northwest, long plagued by war, folk customs are fierce, soldiers didn’t profit and almost got hacked to death.
The villagers outraged went to seek people from Lei Family’s Manor, Kunzi represented Lei Family’s Trading Team, warning Commander Hu and led a fight against soldiers harboring evil intentions, "If you want to catch the culprits, do so, but if you dare cause trouble in Yongcheng Prefecture, don’t blame our Lei Family Trading Team for being rude!"
Many farmers here are tenants of the Lei Family Trading Team, touching them means touching Lei Family’s Trading Team.
After warnings, soldiers dare not act recklessly and were honest during searches.
However, they not only found no culprits, but a rumor spread outside the city: "It’s said that General Dai and Vice General Ye were killed by the Juntian Guards."
"What? What are Juntian Guards?"
"Ha, you mud-legged peasants don’t know the Juntian Guards? They are the Emperor’s troops, specially helping the Emperor kill people!"
"Helping the Emperor kill people? Then why kill General Dai and Vice General Ye? Aren’t they the Emperor’s people, ordered to resist the Rong? Does the Lord Emperor even kill his own men?"
Eh, good question, doesn’t Duke Wei’s faction also guard the frontier for the Emperor but were also slain?
But everyone dared not speak these words, for the annihilation of Duke Wei’s faction is forbidden in the Northwest.
When Duan Changling heard this rumor, he was so shocked he stood from his chair and nearly fell due to legs turning feeble.
"General!" The Deputy General hurriedly supported Duan Changling, saying, "General need not be enraged, I will capture the evildoers spreading rumors and slaughter them all."
"Slaughter? Ha!" Duan Changling cursed.
Deputy General puzzled by the cursing, incomprehensibly asked, "General, shouldn’t we investigate? This rumor is provoking relations between the Emperor and us, logically we should capture and slaughter those people to affirm the Emperor’s dignity."
Ha, is it really that evil people are trying to provoke?
Perhaps the assassination of General Dai and Vice General Ye was indeed done by the Juntian Guards dispatched by the Emperor.
Duan Changling believed so because he was uneasy... they’ve lingered in Yongcheng Prefecture for so long, inevitably someone reported it to the Emperor. The Emperor, though having no stipulated timeline for the Kangrong army to reach the Northwest, is highly concerned with Kangrong matters. If he learns they’re halted, his anger will ensure their entire clan’s extermination.
Now just sending Juntian Guards for assassination, perhaps still due to the Northwest’s troop shortage.
Duan Changling had heard of Juntian Guards, knowing in Emperor Jingwu’s era, Juntian Guards were akin to Yama, assassinating many ministers and noble families. He enjoyed hearing it then, but now was so scared, almost fainted.
Yet Duan Changling was unyielding, momentarily silent before saying, "Go and investigate who spread the rumor?"
"Eh." The Deputy General complied, hurrying to make arrangements.
But the rumor that Juntian Guards assassinated General Dai and Vice General Ye came from outside the city, outside being vast, with many villages, manors, and wastelands, thus impossible to track.