knife

Chapter 655 Detention
Na Wei's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. He looked at Xiong Yi and Zhou Zheng and said, word by word, "Gentlemen, I have just received the latest intelligence. Tong'an County has fallen! But you two don't seem surprised?"

Xiong Yi cupped his hands in greeting, his words carrying a hidden barb: "Ever since the naval defeat and the Prince's withdrawal of troops from Ruyin County back to Danyang, Tong'an County was left to fight alone, so its fall was only a matter of time. We were prepared for this, so hearing this news is not surprising at all!"

Na Wei laughed angrily: "So, I'm also responsible for the fall of Tong'an County?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Xiong Yi said calmly. "I am not knowledgeable in military affairs, but Your Highness is a military expert and will have your own judgment!"

Na Wei snorted, stared at the two men, and said, "If Tong'an County had consolidated its forces and held its ground for reinforcements, it could have been relieved once tens of thousands of reinforcements from the southwest arrived. However, Xiang Ying did not heed my advice and forced a breakout, which was exploited by Li Dachui and Jiang Qian, who defeated him in one fell swoop."

Zhou Zheng looked at Na Wei with some anger.

Na Wei clearly has tens of thousands of Southwest Wolf Soldiers under his command, yet he uses these men to firmly control Danyang and its surrounding areas. The so-called tens of thousands of reinforcements are still gathering in the Southwest. Are they going to wait for them to travel thousands of miles to come and rescue Tong'an County?
Na Wei simply didn't want Xiang Ying to return to Danyang.

“Now that Tongan County has fallen, Yan Cheng has surrendered, but Xiang Ying was intercepted by Li Dachui and others during his breakout attempt and died in Tongan County!” Na Wei said.

"What? Impossible!"

"Where did Your Highness hear this rumor?"

Xiong Yi and Zhou Zheng didn't believe Na Wei's words at all. The defeat and fall of Tong'an was expected, but Xiang Ying had already decided to leave. A master of innate talent, leaving the main force alone, who in this world could stop him?

"Rumors?" Na Wei sneered. "I have already confirmed that Xiang Ying is dead. Do you think I would joke about something like this?"

Zhou Zheng suddenly remembered Chen Yan, whom he had met outside the palace.

They recalled the frequently mobilized southwestern wolf soldiers they had seen before entering the imperial city.

Zhou Zheng's eyes widened suddenly as he looked at Na Wei in disbelief.

"Is the Regent King mobilizing the wolf soldiers to deal with the Xiang clan?" Zhou Zheng shouted.

"Losing troops, territory, and national humiliation—can death atone for these sins?" Na Wei's voice was so cold it seemed to have frozen solid. "Tens of thousands of men in Tong'an County fell into enemy hands, and our navy suffered a crushing defeat, causing us to lose control of the Yangtze River. Shouldn't Xiang Ying be held responsible for all of this? You must understand that these battles were all personally arranged by Xiang Ying."

“Your Highness, I believe you should consider this more thoroughly!” Zhou Zheng said, enunciating each word clearly. “You have been in the Southwest for a long time and may not know the influence of the Xiang clan in the Great Chu. Putting aside whether the General is really dead or not, even if he is, the Xiang clan’s strength in our Great Chu is still second to none. To make trouble for the Xiang clan is to shake the foundation of the country!”

Na Wei laughed loudly, "All I know is that the emperor of Great Chu is surnamed Xiong. If the Xiang family wants to shake the foundation of the country, then I will wipe them out completely!"

"No!" Xiong Yi shouted, "Your Highness, the Great Chu is in dire straits right now. We should be working together and supporting each other. How can we kill each other? This will only cause pain to our friends and joy to our enemies!"

"His Majesty's decree ordered Xiang Ying to defend Tong'an County to the death. Xiang Ying acted recklessly and disobeyed the order, causing serious consequences and plunging our Great Chu into an extremely unfavorable situation!" Na Wei said calmly, "According to the law and regulations, this should be investigated thoroughly. Otherwise, how can we explain to the families of the tens of thousands of soldiers who were trapped in Tong'an County? After such a great defeat, is no one going to take responsibility?"

Xiong Yi and Zhou Zheng bit their lips tightly, speechless.

Na Wei occupied the moral high ground.

Na Wei, who had rushed back to Danyang, issued an order in the emperor's name for Xiang Ying to defend Tong'an County to the death and not to retreat.
At the time, neither Xiong Yi, Xiang Ying, nor even Zhou Zheng cared.

They believed that everything would be resolved once Xiang Ying returned; they never considered the possibility that Xiang Ying might not come back.

Judging from Na Wei's current completely shameless attitude, it seems that Xiang Ying has truly died in Tongan County.

“However, considering the Xiang family’s generations of service to the country, I don’t want to go too far!” Na Wei looked at the two of them, but then suddenly changed his tone and said, “Although the operation to arrest the Xiang family must be carried out and the investigation must be launched, I intend to have Lord Xiong take charge of the presiding judge. I wonder if Lord Xiong has the same idea?”

Xiong Yi raised his head angrily.

Na Wei smiled and said, "If Lord Xiong feels that he is too old and lacks the energy to take on this task, that's fine too. Vice Minister Zhu Chi has volunteered to take on this position."

"This old minister is willing!" These four words seemed to be uttered one by one from the depths of his chest.

Na Wei harbored malicious intentions.

Sowing discord between the Xiong and Xiang families is secondary. The two families are not as deeply entangled as Na Wei, nor can they be so easily swayed by Na Wei's simple divisive tactics. The key issue is that if Xiong Yi is appointed as the official in charge of handling this matter, it will give everyone in the Xiang family the illusion that the matter will be dropped.

But Xiong Yi knew that things were never that simple.
I'm afraid my position as the head official is just a figurehead; the one who actually does this is Zhu Chi, whom Wei just mentioned.

This idea must have been given to Na Wei by Zhu Chi, with the aim of delaying things for a few days.

The Xiang family reacted too slowly, and this time they will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

In Xiong Yi's view, the loss of the Xiang family was the loss of the Great Chu.

Upon hearing Xiong Yi's agreement, Na Wei laughed heartily: "Lord Xiong is indeed a man of great wisdom and righteousness. Excellent! I have already prepared a place for Lord Xiong to rest and work in the palace. I will be grateful for your hard work in the next few days."

"Inside the palace?" Xiong Yi was both surprised and furious. Was he going to be trapped inside the palace?
“Of course, the Xiang family is incredibly powerful, and none of the people involved are ordinary people. So we need to gather together so that we can discuss and make decisions whenever things happen, without wasting time or delaying important matters!” Na Wei said, “Lord Xiong only needs to make the big decisions. As for the specific actions, let Zhu Chi and the others handle it. Hahaha!”

Zhou Zheng took a deep breath and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, Tong'an County has fallen, and Xuan'an County has become the front line of resistance against the witch. As the prefect of Xuan'an County, I should immediately go to the front line to take command!"

Na Wei waved his hand: "There's no rush. Lord Xiong is getting old, and sometimes his energy is inevitably waning. Prefect Zhou has always been deeply trusted by Lord Xiong, so he can help him out first. Don't worry, it won't take more than a few days. This time, the capture of those Xiang family members in the capital will involve not only Zhu Chi but also Chen Yan, and with Jiang Chong providing military support, there will be absolutely no mistakes. It will be over quickly. After the capture is completed, Prefect Zhou can go back to his post!"

Zhou Zheng lowered his head in dejection.

This summons of Xiong Yi and Zhou Zheng to the palace was a premeditated detention.

Zhou Zheng just couldn't understand why Xiang Ying died. Why did Na Wei get the news so quickly? Theoretically speaking, it was more likely that Xiong Yi and he received the news first.

unless……

Zhou Zheng suddenly looked up at Na Wei, only to find that Na Wei was also looking at him and smiling.

That smile was extremely smug.

(End of this chapter)