Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 828 The Bitter Meat Scheme

Duke Wei looked at the list in his hand. These were the officials that Marquis Changyuan had killed on his trip to the Northwest. When he saw a few familiar names, his fingers clenched involuntarily, and anger flared in his eyes.

"What?" Sensing the Duke of Wei's anger, Marquis Changyuan lifted his eyelids. "You think I did something wrong?"

Before the Duke of Wei could speak, the Marquis of Changyuan began to remove his armor.

The heavy armor was a gift from the late emperor and was usually very well maintained. Although it is now covered with bloodstains and dust, it only makes the armor gleam even more coldly.

Marquis Changyuan did not treat the armor well, throwing it carelessly on the ground, revealing the white undergarment underneath, which was stained with blood.

Duke Wei was taken aback.

"When I first arrived in the Northwest, I was ambushed by the He family army, and not a single person came to my aid," Marquis Changyuan sneered. "The nearest Xiang Army camp is only three miles away. What do they want? To watch me die? Or do they want me to fight the He family to the death?"

"I believe this was not your intention."

Duke Wei's face darkened. "Of course not. Without your troops, how can I get to Bianjing? But your killing spree might cause internal strife, and we still need to work together..."

Marquis Changyuan sneered: "You want to use these troops to attack Bianjing? Aren't you afraid that someone will suddenly rebel against you and use our heads to exchange for merit?"

“If that’s your plan, then we’ll part ways now. I’ll take my troops and my family and head north to join the Qi people to seek a way to survive.”

Marquis Changyuan even dared to suggest surrendering to Northern Qi, showing that even after killing someone, he still harbored deep resentment. It seems those people went too far.

"You," the Duke of Wei's anger subsided somewhat as a result, "have you gone mad?"

Marquis Changyuan sat down with an air of authority and looked at the waiting physician beside him. The physician immediately stepped forward to treat Marquis Changyuan's wounds.

When the clothes were removed, the Duke of Wei saw the long knife wound. Even after being stitched up, the wound was still oozing blood, and half of his arm was swollen, showing how dangerous it had been.

He had instructed his men to use Marquis Changyuan's power to weaken his troops as much as possible, so that the old scoundrel would obey his orders. He never expected that the old scoundrel would seize on his weakness.

Marquis Changyuan said, "If you expect me to be the vanguard in attacking Bianjing, then don't even ask. I have already lost thousands of soldiers in the process of marching to the northwest to annihilate the He family army. Now, if I come to join you without stopping, the soldiers in the army will be exhausted and have no fighting power. If we send them into battle in a hurry, we will be sending them to their deaths."

Duke Wei frowned. He had no intention of letting Marquis Changyuan lead the charge. This was a crucial battle; a victory would boost the morale of our army, while a defeat would inevitably cause trouble for those behind us.

Therefore, he would send someone he trusted more, fearing that Marquis Changyuan might not be willing to die for him at the crucial moment. But while he thought it was one thing, Marquis Changyuan's words made him particularly unhappy.

The Duke of Wei scoffed, "Does Marquis Changyuan still want to leave himself a way out?"

"fart."

Marquis Changyuan suddenly stood up. The physician beside him, not paying attention, pierced the wound with a bamboo stick used for applying medicine, causing blood to flow freely. Marquis Changyuan seemed not to feel anything and walked straight to Duke Wei, as if he was about to attack. The deputy general next to him immediately stopped him.

"I fought for you in the Northwest, and now you're saying this? Your son-in-law hasn't even ascended the throne yet, and you're already turning against your meritorious officials?"

"What? So far, the Jiang family has suffered the most deaths? If not, what gives you the right to accuse others?" Marquis Changyuan pointed to his own nose. "My family sent five hundred men to the Northwest. How many troops did you gather in the Northwest? Why did you ultimately have to send my family to besiege the He family's army?"

"I've risked my life countless times and haven't even had a chance to catch my breath. You keep saying I'm leaving myself a way out. Fine, since we don't trust each other, there's no need to stick together. Let's just part ways like this."

After speaking, Marquis Changyuan did not put on his armor, but simply put on his undergarments, dragged his bloodied arm, and walked out of the military tent.

Some officials were speaking outside when they saw this scene and stood there stunned.

Marquis Changyuan shouted, "All Zeng family soldiers, straighten your ranks and leave with me!"

Before Zeng's army had even set up camp, many of them sat together on the spot. Their clothes were mostly torn, their faces were full of exhaustion, and they hadn't even had a sip of hot water before they were about to leave.

Everyone was saying that Marquis Changyuan had made a great contribution, but before the credit could be awarded, he was about to leave.

Why did you leave?

Everyone looked towards the central command tent. Recently, the Duke of Wei had been in charge of all affairs, and even the King of Qin had to defer to the Duke of Wei's wishes; some people already harbored resentment.

Of course, this excludes the employer's people.

They didn't need to compete for the King of Qin's favor; they only needed to obey their master's orders.

As Marquis Changyuan walked out, an official stepped forward to advise him, "Marquis Changyuan, you can speak slowly. You are still injured..."

Marquis Changyuan brushed the official's hand away: "My mind is made up, there's no need to say more."

Some officials and generals were exchanging messages while others placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Duke Wei lifted the curtain of the military tent and gestured for the Liao and Lu families to persuade Marquis Changyuan to leave, no matter what.

Just as the two families were about to walk toward Marquis Changyuan, King Qin stepped forward first.

"Lord Changyuan," the King of Qin said in a low voice, "let the physician in my military tent examine your injuries first."

When the King of Qin intervened, Marquis Changyuan naturally stopped in his tracks. The King of Qin then advised, "It's such a cold day. The soldiers have been traveling all night, and they are both cold and hot. I have had food prepared so that everyone can warm themselves up first."

Marquis Changyuan's complexion improved somewhat.

The King of Qin took off his cloak and personally put it on Marquis Changyuan: "Come, let's go into the main tent to talk."

After the King of Qin and Marquis Changyuan had gone far away, the Duke of Wei glanced at the official beside him, who understood and hurriedly followed to find out more.

Half an hour later, the official returned to the main tent to report: "The King of Qin promised that after he firmly established himself on the throne, Marquis Changyuan would be enfeoffed as Duke Changyuan, and would be granted a certificate of merit. He would also select a woman from the Zeng family to enter the palace as a concubine."

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Wei felt relieved. Since the Duke had something to ask for, he was determined to support the King of Qin. As long as Marquis Changyuan thought this way, there would be no trouble for the time being.

“That old scoundrel has two worries: one is that the founding emperor did not grant the Zeng family a certificate of merit, and the other is that the Zeng family has no one in the harem,” the Duke of Wei said coldly. “He is deliberately using this as an excuse to make demands on the Prince of Qin.”

The official said, "Otherwise, take him..." He waved his hand downwards.

Duke Wei nodded: "Since Marquis Changyuan has no ill intentions towards the King of Qin, let's keep him for now. When the war is almost over, we can get rid of him in the chaos of battle."

This way, no one will criticize you.

Duke Wei frowned in thought: "Even if that old scoundrel stays, he won't risk coming to my aid."

Thinking of the potential problems that Marquis Changyuan might pose, Duke Wei said, "I am not at ease leaving him behind, as he might flee if things get bad. Let's position his troops in the middle, so that he can only advance and retreat with us."

The officials also thought this was the best option: "But what if Marquis Changyuan doesn't agree?"

Duke Wei said, "He will agree. If he wants something, he can't afford to break ties with us. Even if he wants to replace our Jiang family, he has to wait for the Prince of Qin to successfully ascend the throne."

Marquis Changyuan entered the large tent prepared for him, and Cao Bin immediately stepped forward.

Marquis Changyuan asked, "Have you seen everything clearly?"

Cao Bin nodded: "Those guys with murderous looks on their faces must be from the boss's side. We'll take care of them first after the battle starts."

As for the officials who followed the King of Qin, most of them were opportunists, and a few were spies planted by Wang Yan.

Cao Bin asked with concern, "How is your arm injury, Uncle?"

Marquis Changyuan shook his head: "It's alright."

Lady Xie asked him to stage a self-inflicted injury, which sounded easy, and in fact... wasn't difficult either, but it really hurt!
(End of this chapter)