Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Most of the rebel prisoners were held in a single camp. When the old general was brought out, his shackles dragged a long trail across the ground. As he was escorted forward, passing the main street of Youzhou, his gaze involuntarily followed the direction of the commoners, lingering for a long time without looking away.

The escort did not rush him, waiting until he finally averted his eyes before leading him to the military camp.

Inside the tent, when it was learned that the one willing to speak was the rebel commander, the imperial army commander was still somewhat incredulous. Once the man was brought in, he waved off the irrelevant personnel and cautiously glanced at Ying Fusheng.

The old general's eyes were clouded, and his frame seemed gaunt compared to others. Yet when he raised his eyes to look at Ying Fusheng, a sharp glint flashed through them, impossible to dismiss—as if only his outer shell had aged. Their gazes met, and the old general also studied this young crown prince. Some officers in the tent, fearing some scheme, moved to block his unrestrained stare, but Ying Fusheng raised a hand to stop them.

"I know why you’re here. Since you’re from Liangzhou, you must be connected to the current rebel forces there," Ying Fusheng spoke plainly, not mincing words. "Now that you’ve come, you must have conditions to discuss."

The old general had expected to exchange pleasantries with this crown prince, but never imagined he would be so direct. "I can tell you some things about Liangzhou, but I have a condition: release the prisoners captured at Natural Barrier Pass."

Several officers frowned immediately. "Prisoners of war who refuse to surrender should not be released. This condition itself is unbalanced."

"I’ll stay in Youzhou. Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll tell you—but one piece of information for one man released." The old general lowered his head, seeing nothing wrong with this trade, as if buying freedom for his comrades this way.

Ying Fusheng, however, caught the implication. For this rebel commander, doing so amounted to betraying the Liangzhou Army.

But why now, and not earlier? This man, though appearing a military figure, was still probing the imperial army’s stance at this moment.

Either he was here to gather intelligence, or there were key points he hadn’t yet touched upon.

Thinking of Qi Hanzhou’s report on Liangzhou, Ying Fusheng knew that if the matter truly connected to Youzhou City, Liangzhou had to be taken—and only through these old Liangzhou soldiers could he learn the past of Youzhou City. This wasn’t just about an old case; it also concerned the security of the northern border.

As he pondered, a voice came from outside the tent—Wu Lao’s voice.

"You can’t go in just yet."

"Let me see! They say it’s someone from Liangzhou—maybe I know him!"

Wu Lao had rushed over upon hearing that among the prisoners was a Liangzhou soldier. The moment he arrived, he saw the kneeling figure through the open tent flap. He stared at the prisoner, trying to recognize who it was.

The next moment, ignoring the guards’ obstruction, he pushed past on his cane and barged in. The officers, seeing that it was the crown prince’s physician, hesitated to stop him.

But Wu Lao didn’t head for Ying Fusheng; instead, he went straight to the old general. Before anyone could react, Wu Lao knelt on the ground, gripping the old general’s shoulders and forcing him to look up. Their eyes met, and a flicker of hesitation crossed the old general’s face. Wu Lao pointed at his right leg, his voice trembling: "I treated that leg of yours! I treated that leg!"

His voice was choked with emotion, and the redness in his eyes seemed to strike something deep within the old general. From the burned, distorted face, a hint of familiar recognition emerged. The old general stared in disbelief. "You’re… You’re Wu…"

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

"You can trust him. He saved the people of Jiangnan," Wu Lao pounded the old general’s shoulder. "Have you seen Jiangnan? Have you seen the people of Jiangling?"

This sudden turn left several officers in the tent baffled.

Ying Fusheng quietly watched the two before instructing his men to help them up. Once on his feet, the old general first looked at Wu Lao, then at Ying Fusheng, his eyes filled with astonishment. If the sight of the Youzhou commoners had already shaken him, now seeing Wu Lao completely unsettled his doubts—because in his mind, Dr. Wu had vanished without a trace years ago.

"There are some things I cannot explain in detail, but since you were in Liangzhou, you know that the Liangzhou garrison troops were reassigned to Western Shu posts due to the fault of the Prince of Qin," Ying Fusheng had Weng Yanqing bring over a dossier and handed it to him. "If I’d shown you this earlier, you’d probably think it was fabricated by the court to fool you. Now, you can look again."

The old general looked up angrily. "What about the secret letters sent to the capital? The letters we sent denouncing the Western Shu prefectures—no one responded!"

"A few years ago, the Xu Faction dominated the court. The Secret Faction, led by the Deposed Crown Prince, infiltrated the Six Ministries. The letters you sent to the court never reached the Minister of Personnel or the Censorate." Ying Fusheng laid the evidence before him—the high-ranking officials of that time were already dead or exiled. "Look at this list. See if there’s any official you once wrote to, or tell us who you sent the letters to. If it’s true, the court will not spare any who deceived superiors and their subordinates."

The tent fell into dead silence. No one spoke.

The old general stared unblinkingly at the dossier and the list of punished officials, spotting a former Ministry of War official. He had heard about Jiangnan—how the flood relief in Jiangling was so well-handled that the people’s reputation spread to Western Shu. But back then, they didn’t believe it. If the Prince of Yan could save Jiangnan, why wouldn’t he save Western Shu?

"Your Highness," the old general said nothing, but Wu Lao couldn’t hold back. His eyes red with urgency, he said, "Let me speak for him. He is from Liangzhou, a former Liangzhou garrison commander. He fought alongside the late emperor in the Western Shu campaign, driving the barbarians to the northern borders. He was a hero of Dayuan! He barely survived the Western Shu battlefield—I saved him, I saved him."

He pointed at the old general’s leg, desperately trying to prove something. "He is a hero of Dayuan! He was merely deceived by the Secret Faction, acting for the people of Western Shu!"

Weng Yanqing rushed to support Wu Lao. The old general was overwhelmed by this succession of revelations. Now they were telling him that their petitions against the Western Shu prefectures had never reached the emperor’s desk, that the court had not abandoned the people of the southern border—from Jiangnan to Western Shu, even now trying to rescue them through a letter urging surrender, first suppressing then pacifying… How could they believe this?

"I know that some things are hard to accept all at once," Ying Fusheng said, trying to explain as concisely as possible. "In recent years, the former Secret Faction infiltrated the court and countryside—Jiangnan, Western Shu, even the northern border all bear their traces. The current chaos in Western Shu was instigated by them, inciting the Prince of Qin’s faction. The court will not betray its heroes. But now we need to understand the situation inside Liangzhou City."

"I can tell you about Liangzhou, but you must promise me—can you promise me?" The old general spoke incoherently. "If you truly take Liangzhou, you must not harm the innocent commoners inside, nor execute the rebel officers…"

Ying Fusheng asked, "Have you seen the imperial army kill rebel officers?"

No—from Natural Barrier Pass until now.

Apart from those who took their own lives, the court had not executed even the most defiant rebel commanders.

"After the Western Shu prefectures disbanded us back then, the Prince of Qin wanted to expand his power. He secretly replaced the garrison forces at several key locations around his fief with his own men. We were assigned to peripheral prefectures—most to southern Western Shu, a few to the north." As the old general recalled these events, he couldn’t help but dwell. Most of these old soldiers were already dead; fewer than a hundred remained. Those around him were soldiers’ families oppressed over the years or commoners who couldn’t bear the prefectural abuses. "It was the Prince of Pingnan’s household that took us in, giving us a place to settle."

At the mention of the Prince of Pingnan’s household, some officers were about to speak, but Ying Fusheng stopped them.

The old general continued. These old soldiers were mostly stubborn; after offending the prefectures, some became bandits in the mountains, others fled far away. Most of those who remained in the central and northern areas stayed near Liangzhou. This rebellion began when drought in Liangzhou and collusion between local gentry and officials drove the people to revolt. When Liangzhou rose up, former comrades who had fled south gathered together, hoping to follow the late emperor’s example and overthrow the corrupt government.

"Men like me from Liangzhou back then—most are probably still in Liangzhou now," the old general said. "We aren’t many. Over the years, it was the Prince of Pingnan’s household that helped us train troops. If nothing has changed, Liangzhou’s garrison should number around forty thousand."

At the mention of troop numbers, several officers immediately began to document.

The Liangzhou army currently numbered about forty thousand—more than the imperial army. But they had to estimate on the high side; if they said forty thousand, they should consider it fifty thousand.

"What about the current commander defending Liangzhou? Do you know him?" the imperial commander asked.

They needed more information to provide clues to the front line. Most imperial army commanders now were young, rarely having fought alongside these veterans who had conquered the realm. It was hard to gauge their tactics.

Hearing this, the old general suddenly smiled. He scanned the people in the tent, finding their faces far younger than his own—these were the current pillars of the court. "So you don’t know… Not surprising."

"The main commander of the Liangzhou army—his surname is Pei."

The old general said, "This man was one of the main generals who followed the late emperor in the uprising, and also fought on the northern battlefield."

Surname Pei…?

Weng Yanqing immediately looked at Ying Fusheng, a thought striking him.

The commander defending Youzhou City, Qi Hanzhou’s senior brother, also bore the surname Pei—Pei Zhuiyun.

Ying Fusheng turned his gaze to Ye Xuanqi, who had stayed by his side and was most familiar with the Pei family from the Qi army. Ye Xuanqi quietly explained a few words about the Pei family of Mobei.

The Pei family originally hailed from Mobei. When the Northern Barbarians invaded, they migrated south to Liangzhou in Western Shu. Later, the late emperor led the Liangzhou army to counterattack the northern barbarians, overthrowing the previous dynasty. Among the main generals who first rebelled against the former dynasty from the Liangzhou garrison, one had the surname Pei.

After Ye Xuanqi’s explanation, Ying Fusheng’s gaze tightened. His mind was filled with the splinter force mentioned in Qi Hanzhou’s secret letter, and he immediately asked, "Do you know which men from the Liangzhou camp went north with the Qi family back then?"

"Those who went north with the late emperor were the ones close to the Qi family. The Pei branch was one; I’ve forgotten the rest."

The old general paused, thinking Ying Fusheng would ask about present-day Liangzhou, but instead he inquired about the late emperor’s era. "As you can see, I was severely wounded and did not accompany the army to the northern front. Some matters are military secrets. If you ask about Liangzhou-related things, I can answer, but for these, you’d have to ask the Qi family."

At the mention of the Qi family, his expression stiffened.

Wu Lao, seeing this, quickly grabbed his hand and shook his head in a warning gesture. The old general then continued, "That man from the Qi family at Natural Barrier Pass—he uses the Pei Family Spear. You’d better ask him."

When the Qi family was mentioned, these men became cautious.

Weng Yanqing suddenly remembered that it seemed Wu Lao had also been overly cautious with Junior General Qi before. But it couldn't be helped—both had fought alongside the first emperor, yet the Qi family now stood as the northern shield, while they in Western Shu had been left without proper placement.

"The General Pei he mentioned, who marched north with the army, should be General Qi's sworn brother."

After hearing this, Ye Xuanqi explained to Ying Fusheng: "I know this. General Pei died in battle during the northern campaign. General Qi gathered his remains and later adopted General Pei's young son, who became Pei Zhuiyun, the later defender of Youzhou City."

In the accounts of the Ministry of War and others at court and in the country, Pei Zhuiyun was once Qi Shen's foremost general.

He was Qi Shen's adopted son, only later becoming Qi Hanzhou's senior martial brother.

"After General Pei died, the Pei Family Army was merged into the Qi family's main force, but they still called themselves the Pei Family Army and maintained their own camp. Later, they made a name for themselves under General Pei Zhuiyun." Ye Xuanqi continued. Matters concerning the Pei family were well known among the northern soldiers, but his tone grew somber: "Later, Pei Zhuiyun became a general under General Qi. He and the Pei Family Army defended Youzhou City until they fell victim to the Secret Faction's schemes and the city was massacred... the Pei Family Army was completely wiped out."

The old general sprang to his feet upon hearing this, shouting angrily: "Impossible!"

This sudden outburst caught everyone off guard, as if those words had triggered something in him.

They had worked so hard to persuade this man to reveal Liangzhou's intelligence—they couldn't afford any more trouble now!

"Why?" Ying Fusheng turned to look at him.

Wu Lao quickly held him back, but the anger on the old general's face had already surfaced: "What we know is that the Youzhou City tragedy was caused by the court's delay, leading to the deaths of the entire city's population and the defending general. No one responded to the distress signals sent to the Qi family. Even Qi Shen didn't go to save them. The whole of Youzhou City was slaughtered, and the Pei Family Army was annihilated."

"Impossible!" Ye Xuanqi's temper also flared. He retorted: "When we received the urgent report and rushed there, Youzhou City was already surrounded by the Northern Barbarians. Later investigations showed that before the disaster, General Pei Zhuiyun first requested reinforcements from the court! By the time General Qi arrived, Youzhou City was already gone..."

At that time, the northern border was simultaneously under attack by the Northern Barbarians. The Qi family's main army was at the front fighting them, and Youzhou, being in the rear, was considered relatively safe. Pei Zhuiyun, sensing that frontline supplies and troops might be insufficient, had first requested reinforcements from the court. But that very night, a sudden attack caused the city to fall. Later, the Ministry of War claimed the distress signal was received too late, and it was precisely because of this that Qi Hanzhou later entered the capital to investigate the old Youzhou case.

The case of Youzhou City weighed heavily on every northern soldier.

The sea of corpses and blood from that time was something those who went to help still dared not recall.

The Qi family had rushed there without stopping... but in a single night, Youzhou City was gone.

"It was clearly the court and the Qi family's inaction!" the old general stammered. "Clearly!"

Ying Fusheng, pale-faced, turned back to look at the red-faced old general: "You're so certain—why?"

"Of course I know. The general of the Liangzhou Army is surnamed Pei, the one who escaped from Youzhou back then. Barely surviving, he was hunted along the way until he fled to Liangzhou, where we saved him." The old general stood up excitedly, ready to argue, his voice trembling by the end: "He knows exactly what happened in the Youzhou tragedy! They held out through the night, and when the city fell and everyone died, he was the sole survivor!"

At the words "sole survivor," Ying Fusheng's mind went blank. Countless thoughts converged on a single point.

Not only had the Emperor's northern expedition started, but the truth of the Youzhou massacre had apparently taken on a different form when passed down to Western Shu.

Was the defender surnamed Pei a member of the Secret Faction, or a pawn being used by them?

No... if the Secret Faction wanted the Youzhou tragedy to be a seamless case that started the Emperor's northern expedition, they couldn't leave a single survivor.

Leaving one witness would create a flaw in that seamless plan.

Qi Hanzhou might have been the only survivor of that massacre.

"Who told you he was the only survivor of Youzhou!" Ying Fusheng stepped closer, his face pale as he couldn't help but press his hand on the old general's shoulder. "If he was the only survivor, why didn't he confront the issue, why didn't he investigate the truth?"

The old general trembled, saying: "He said someone was hunting him."

"You remember that person who wielded the Pei Family Spear. You remember his surname is Qi. Do you know who he is? He is the only son of Qi Shen, the current General of the Northern Garrison. When the massacre happened, he was in Youzhou City with the Pei family."

The old general was stunned.

"If Qi Shen truly hadn't come to rescue them, why would he have left his own son there? Qi Hanzhou was just a child back then. It was he who carried Pei Zhuiyun's corpse out from the sea of blood. He became famous as a youth fighting alongside his father against the Northern Barbarians. Instead of staying in the north to build his career, he came alone to the capital at fourteen and has been here ever since..."

Ying Fusheng looked into the old general's eyes, trying to unearth the long-buried truth.

Back then, the soldiers of Youzhou held out to the last, and the entire city's population perished. To this day, this could not become an excuse for the Secret Faction to sow discord.

Even after so many years, he still thought of giving the truth to the innocent souls of Youzhou.