novelhk Chapter 216 I'll fight for you even if I only eat the king's food.
Chapter 216 I'll fight for you even if I only eat the king's food.
When Tao You was escorted to the government office, he was still in a daze. At that time, a group of soldiers rushed into the post station, and the clerk said something to him.
"Tao Zhiyi, you've been exposed!"
Before Tao You could even process what had happened, the soldiers swarmed in and took control of the entire caravan without a word. The whole process was swift and efficient. The caravan members, having already made more than a dozen trips to the outhouse, were too weak to even put up a fight.
Thus, Qi Shang and his caravan of about a hundred people were thrown into prison, while Tao You was taken separately to the back hall of the government office to handle official business.
"Tao Zhiyi, how dare you! You actually colluded with the enemy and betrayed your country, conspiring with the Xuan Army to attack Panshi Pass!"
Song Heng slammed his gavel, his gaze sharp, his imposing presence, cultivated from governing a region, directly overshadowing Tao You.
Tao You's heart skipped a beat, and she looked horrified. In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind: Who leaked the news?
But no matter what, this is something that absolutely cannot be accepted.
"Why do you say that, Your Excellency? There must be some misunderstanding!"
Song Heng snorted coldly, "Bring the person up here!"
The aide understood and waved his hand, sending a servant away. Soon after, the servant returned with a disheveled soldier.
Tao You recognized the soldier's uniform as that of the garrison at Panshi Pass and felt a chill run down his spine. He thought to himself, "It's over. Is this where his unfulfilled ambitions will end?"
“Say what you just said again, so that Third Master will be convinced.”
"Yes," the soldier saluted, glaring at Tao You before continuing, "This humble general is Shi Kai, a personal guard of General Yue. That day..."
Shi Kai recounted the details of Xuanjun's breach of the city in a heavy tone.
"The general was already wary of the Tao family's business and secretly sent people to keep an eye on them. When the Xuan army launched a night attack using sky lanterns, the guards left behind indeed took the opportunity to cause chaos and cooperated with the Xuan army from the inside!"
Shi Kai glared at Tao You, wishing he could tear him apart. "The situation was too chaotic at the time. The general ordered me to ride a fast horse from the west city to Chishan City. Fortunately, I made it in time, otherwise they would have been able to use the same trick again."
"Tao Sanlang, what else do you have to say?" Song Heng looked coldly at Tao You.
Shi Kai's appearance initially gave Tao You a fright, and she barely managed to stand up. However, after hearing what he said, she calmed down, straightened her back, and laughed heartily.
Hahahaha~
Song Heng frowned and shouted, "Playing tricks won't save your life!"
Tao You stopped laughing, but the smile on her lips didn't disappear. In contrast to her usual gentle demeanor, she adopted the arrogance of a nobleman, "My lord, is such a big matter something that a mere illegitimate son like me can handle?"
Song Heng's expression hardened. "The Tao family of Andu was indeed involved!"
"It's not just the Tao family~" Tao You smiled meaningfully, "The Yao family, the Yang family, the Wei family... even your own family, the Song family, can't escape involvement!"
As he listened to the revelations about one powerful family after another, Song Heng's brows furrowed more and more. It wasn't until the Song family was named that Song Heng realized he had been tricked, and he slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage.
"Tao You! Stop making baseless accusations!"
Realizing he had lost his composure, Song Heng shook his sleeves and sat back down. "Think carefully before you speak, or you won't be able to handle someone like Sanmu!"
Upon hearing this, Tao You indeed toned down his arrogance somewhat. "Whether it is nonsense or not, Your Excellency should know in your heart."
"This government has its own plans; I will only tell you what you know."
The two engaged in a tactful exchange, one thinking, "If I knew, would I need to ask you?" while the other thought, "What do you know? I don't know anything."
But circumstances dictate that, since he was on someone else's turf, Tao You didn't want to suffer physical pain in the torture chamber. So he straightened his expression and adopted a proper attitude, knowing that face was a matter of mutual respect.
"My lord, a dynasty that lasts for a hundred years and a family that has lasted for a thousand years, with the fall of the Great Qian Dynasty and the disintegration of the world, isn't our great family taking refuge in Anguo to cultivate our reputation?"
Tao You left it at that and didn't go into any further detail; intelligent people would fill in the blanks themselves.
Song Heng narrowed his eyes. It's true that powerful families are like ironclad clans, while dynasties come and go. It's also true that Tao You's words were exaggerated, and that each powerful family has its own ulterior motives.
Although Song Heng knew that Tao You wanted to drag other aristocratic families into the mess, there was one thing he believed: this was something that Tao You or even just the Tao family wouldn't dare to do. There must be other aristocratic families behind it. The relationships between the major aristocratic families were intricate and intertwined. If a real purge were to take place, the Song family might not be able to extricate itself completely.
"Guards, take him away and keep him under strict guard."
Tao You followed the person in compliance. After the person left, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely tense. Shi Kai didn't quite understand the veiled meaning between the two people just now, but he felt that the situation seemed a bit bad, so he quickly spoke up.
"My lord, although the situation was critical at the time, we were able to find out that the Xuan army only had 30,000 troops. Now that we have Tao You and his party under control, as long as we take precautions against the Tian Deng, they will find it difficult to repeat their old tricks."
Seeing Song Heng remain silent in thought, Shi Kai became somewhat anxious and added, "Before I left, the general instructed me that in order to preserve our strength, he would lead his troops to feign surrender. As long as Chishan City is held and the Xuan army is delayed, he will seize the opportunity to counterattack, trap the Xuan army in the heart of Anguo, and annihilate them!"
Seeing this, the staff member stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "You must be tired from your journey, brave warrior. Take a rest first. This matter needs further consideration."
"The prefecture..." Shi Kai finally gave up and withdrew as instructed.
"My lord, shall we send someone to Andu?"
Upon hearing this, Song Heng sighed deeply, "So be it, let's do our best and leave the rest to fate."
Why be so pessimistic, sir?
Song Heng smiled bitterly. Anguo was originally a prefecture, and with its mountainous terrain and limited land, it could only support an army of less than 70,000. Last year, it suffered heavy losses in the attack on Pingshan Pass, and now its entire army numbered less than 50,000. Panshi Pass alone had 20,000 troops, and the garrison of Chishan City had less than 10,000. It was not that there was no chance of victory, but it was very difficult.
"Someone, pass down the order: fortify the city, scorch the fields, and put the entire city on high alert!"
Those in positions of power should fulfill their duties; those who receive the emperor's salary must do their utmost for him. If we can successfully keep the Xuan army outside Chishan City, An Du will naturally be safe.
However, he had to make two preparations, which is why he didn't just kill Tao You and his group to sacrifice to the flag, but only imprisoned them. If he really couldn't win, he would have a way out. After all, who doesn't have a family to support?
Meanwhile, Qi Shang was locked in a cell with only a small skylight in the stone wall for ventilation. Tao You was not imprisoned with him. The arrest had happened so quickly that he didn't even know when his group had been exposed or what the current situation was.
Qi Shang even thought that it would be good if someone could interrogate him, at least they could find out some information. Of course, in this situation, even if they found out something, they couldn't pass it on.
Looking at the light streaming through the skylight, Qi Shang felt very anxious. General Shen didn't know that they had been captured. If they continued to act according to the original plan, they might fall into An Jun's trap!
What should we do?