Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 807 Does the Truth Matter?
The weather in Northwest China is unpredictable and changeable. The temperature had eased up a bit, but it plummeted overnight. The blizzard, with its white-fleshed winds and ice shards, lashed against the tent, making it sway precariously. The stove inside seemed to provide little warmth, and both the atmosphere and the temperature were icy cold.

General Wang sat in the main seat with his eyes downcast and remained silent. The kings of the six kingdoms sat on either side, their faces showing extraordinary emotions, but none of them dared to utter the first word, for none of them knew how to deal with the current situation.

At this moment, Zhuo Heng finally finished reading the documents in front of him. He slowly raised his head and glanced at the people around him, still saying indifferently, "Your Majesties, I have come here on orders to mediate the war between the various factions. The main reason is that the chaos among the six kingdoms has seriously affected the stability of the region. The Western Regions do not belong to your six kingdoms, and the world does not belong to your six kingdoms either. Yet you are hindering the passage of countless merchants because of some petty interests. This is not a good thing."

Zhuo Heng's words caused the six people present to lower their heads, as if they were not the kings of six kingdoms but students who had made a mistake. However, some of them were almost the same age as Wang Shichong, and could easily be Zhuo Heng's father.

But you must know that Zhuo Heng at this moment is not Zhuo Heng. He is the angel of the Central Plains Great Wei, the border king who holds the power of life and death. His authority is very great, so great that sweeping across the Western Regions is just a matter of his mind.

“I sent an envoy to mediate, hoping for lasting peace and stability in the Western Regions, but he died before his mission was accomplished. If I don’t seek justice for my men, how can I lead this army, how can I manage this camp?”

Zhuo Heng's voice suddenly rose: "I have given you all time to find the truth, but it seems that none of you have done your best. So what should we do now? Can you give me an answer?"

"I……"

"The angel has probably misunderstood something."

"Yes...it must be a misunderstanding."

The kings of the six kingdoms below either stammered or looked troubled. It wasn't that they weren't trying, but that they were truly powerless. They investigated, but who dared to delve deeper into their own territory? If they found out that their own side was responsible, the sky would fall. The fact that the other party could still sit there and reason was because they were reasonable, but that was no excuse for setting fire to the envoy.

"The imperial staff is here, and the scorched robe is here. I, your messenger, carrying Your Majesty's insignia and acting on the orders of the court, came to seek peace between several families. Now, the man is dead."

"You think you've only killed one of my subordinates? You've killed the face of Great Wei, the banner bestowed by the Emperor!"

"With the envoy dead, peace talks are over. What follows will be endless war and corpses strewn across the land. All you seek is profit. But I can tell you, what you plot will be reduced to ashes because of this."

"My army has over 100,000 iron cavalry under my command, with ample provisions, yet we are eager for battle. We are just worried about not having anything to offer as a sacrifice to our banner! Are you going to use your own blood to offer a sacrifice to our royal army's banner?"

Zhuo Heng coldly surveyed the crowd, seeing the princes below sweating profusely. He then spoke again: "I will give you one last chance. You have three days to hand over the head of the ringleader and his accomplices."

After saying this, he turned to the adjutant beside him and said, "Pass down the order: all troops, prepare. If no head is found in three days, raze this place to the ground and leave no one alive."

Watching his departing figure, the resounding bugle call of the Northwest Army echoed outside. This was the bugle call for the soul sacrifice, both to summon the souls of the deceased messengers and to foreshadow the upcoming war.

This was a clear and terrifying countdown, pushing the pressure to its limit. The kings of the various countries present were simply unable to resist; their psychological defenses had already collapsed. A series of accusations began in the not-so-large tent, and the accusations even escalated to the point where they were about to come to blows.

Three days left. What kind of torment they will endure in these three days is unknown, but one thing is certain: they will definitely turn on each other. As for the final truth, it doesn't really matter anymore.

Because Zhuo Heng never expected them to actually provide a reasonable explanation, since they simply lacked the ability to seek the truth.

On the afternoon of the first day, the King of Gaochang personally came to the Northwest Army camp. He could clearly feel the murderous intent in the eyes of the soldiers around him. It was a living, breathing murderous intent, and the oppressive feeling was something that the soldiers of those small countries could not compare to. The grandeur and majesty of the superior country were truly unbearable to look directly at.

But this time, when he sought an audience with General Wang, he only managed to stand for two hours in the wind and snow, until his face turned pale and his body stiffened, but he still did not receive General Wang's approval.

On his way back, he saw several other kings from other countries arriving one after another. But the King of Gaochang was no longer alarmed, because he knew that these people were also destined to leave empty-handed.

Yes, their envoy died on their territory, especially since the envoy had come to mediate a war. This would be a great humiliation for any powerful Central Plains dynasty, and no one could tolerate it.

Before they knew it, it was evening of the next day. The kings gathered together again, but this time they were not discussing how to hand over the culprit, but whether the six families could fight the Northwest Army together.

"They will certainly not give up easily. Rather than sit and wait to die, we might as well fight back."

The King of Gaochang slammed his fist on the table: "The combined military strength of our six kingdoms is nearly 200,000. Are we afraid of them?"

The other kings looked at each other, then all looked at the King of Gaochang with the eyes of someone looking at a fool. The King of Rouran even showed an ambiguous smile, pointed in the direction of the Wei army, and the meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

Me? Go and fight the elite Northwest Army of Wei?
"Lord Gaochang, do you know what the Northwest Army does?" The King of Kucha looked at the King of Gaochang with a hint of mockery. "If you don't know, then let me ask you all, what about the Western Turks?" Everyone was speechless for a moment, because a few years ago, when the old Turks marched westward, they had defeated the forty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions with their remaining forces. It was a truly devastating defeat. If the Western Regions hadn't been so vast, they would have all been wiped out.

However, the once-powerful Western Turks were utterly defeated by the Northwest Army at their peak, ultimately becoming one of the humiliating kingdoms of the Western Regions, with even a large military camp of the New Army stationed within their borders.

But that wasn't the end of it. The New Turks, who had defeated the Western Turks, were also crippled by the New Army's Central Plains and main forces, forced to cede territory and pay reparations for ten years without being able to cause any trouble. They were almost driven to Ulaanbaatar...

Now someone is actually suggesting that the six kingdoms unite to fight the Northwest Army?

What a cruel joke.

"If you don't give it your all, the outcome is predictable."

The King of Gaochang said with a gloomy expression, "They will definitely not let us go."

"Hey!" The Rouran king slapped his thigh: "Gaochang Jun has reminded me."

After saying that, he stood up: "You guys have fun."

After saying that, he left and headed straight for the Northwest Army camp...

The Rouran king surrendered.

He signed the official credentials on the spot to welcome the royal army, and he himself and his family immediately went to Jinling City to see his mother, the Heavenly Khan. Who wanted to wander around this bitter and cold place with those stinking horse breeders?

At the same time as he surrendered, he reported to General Wang that the King of Gaochang had contacted several other kings to plan a surprise attack on the Northwest Army.

But shortly after he voted, several other countries in the Rouran King's camp followed suit, leaving only the Gaochang King and his group, who had been fighting against the Rouran King, among the original six Western Regions kingdoms.

They soon received news that the Rouran and other tribes had surrendered without hesitation. At that moment, they only had two options left: one was to surrender to the Liang Dynasty before dawn, and the other was to fight their way out under the cover of darkness, break through the encirclement, and return to their homeland to fight to the death.

After much exploration and searching, the King of Gaochang proved to be a tough nut to crack and decided to break through!
Despite the ongoing wind and snow, he and the other two divisions each led several thousand troops and rushed towards the weakest point in the Wei army's northern defenses.

"Men, charge out! Charge out and you'll find a way to survive!"

The King of Gaochang raised his arms and shouted, and the snow waves kicked up by his horses' hooves spread out in all directions. But just as they were about to rush out of the encirclement of the new army, they suddenly saw twinkling torches in the darkness in the distance.

But now that things have come to this, further thought is futile. The only thing they can do is ride their horses with exceptional mobility to break through the enemy's defenses and then head back home to make further plans.

However, to the King of Gaochang's surprise, their journey was unimpeded, with no one stopping their horses. In fact, the torches they saw were beacons lit by the Wei army in the vast snow, and they even thoughtfully marked the turn ahead.

Upon seeing this, the King of Gaochang felt a sudden unease, sensing something was amiss, but with things having come to this point, he had no choice but to take a gamble.

So, taking advantage of the moonlight and the snow, and relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they sped quickly toward their hometown.

At this moment, General Wang, who was in the main tent, gently pressed the seal onto the sealed wax. Listening to the sound of horses' hooves still ringing in his ears, his eyelids slowly drooped, and a rather radiant smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The very next day, the Northwest Army's chief commander began reading a proclamation:

"The Gaochang tribe and others betrayed their promise and brutally murdered our envoys; their crimes are intolerable. Instead of surrendering, they went into hiding out of fear of punishment, demonstrating their cunning and cowardice, which arouses the wrath of both gods and men!"
Our army, acting on the mandate of Heaven, is determined to punish the rebels and swear to eradicate injustice. All who aid the rebels will be punished equally; those who abandon darkness and embrace the light will be pardoned; and those who capture evil and bring them to us will be richly rewarded.

The heavenly army has arrived! Make your choice quickly: bind yourself and plead guilty, or await your swift and merciful execution! Do not say you were not warned.

(End of this chapter)