Chapter 91: Various Forces Rise (Part 2)

  Tong Guan stepped forward and reported to the Emperor, "According to what I know, things are not entirely as they seem. There is another side to this story." He raised his eyes, with a hint of disdain in his smile, and glared at Zhao Zhe before continuing, "What Lord Zhao said is true. Meng Zongwu is not colluding with the bandits, nor is he slack in commanding the troops. However, under Meng's command, the soldiers are fighting to the death, but the governor of Huazhou, Wang Yuantong, has been secretly undermining the military's support. Not only did he fail to provide sufficient food and supplies for the army, but even the soldiers' pay was not fully prepared. Such a major failure in military logistics aside from embezzlement, just talking about the damage to morale and the loss of military spirit, it is already difficult for Meng Zongwu to command the troops with all his might and set up this eight-sided ambush!"

  While speaking, Tong Guan turned to face the civil officials and said: "You all only say that Meng Sen's military strategy is not beneficial, but you don't know that all the charges you've brought against him are due to the lack of food supplies. Throughout history, the impact of food supplies on the military has been extremely important. If our soldiers lack food, how can they have the strength to fight the enemy? And if we deduct their food allowance, it may even lead to a mutiny! Now it seems that Meng Sen not only shouldn't be punished, but should be rewarded! If all of you officials truly care about the people's suffering and want to heavily punish someone, then you should thoroughly investigate the responsibility of the Huazhou prefect."

  As soon as Zhao Zhe saw Tong Guan stand up, he knew that things were going to go wrong. Now it seems that a dog's mouth can't produce ivory, and this fierce mouth had actually used the "乾坤大挪移" move, not only rendering his previous efforts useless but also changing the emperor's expression once again. No wonder Tong Guan hadn't spoken in days; he was waiting for these opposing party members to lay the groundwork for his final plea. However, Zhao Zhe didn't want to give up yet because he still had a trump card left.

  At this moment, he lowered his head and glanced sideways at the Taibai Li Mu Ran standing beside him. As their eyes met for a brief moment, Li Mu Ran understood Zhao Zhe's hint and stepped forward, making a bow: "Your Majesty, as to who is right or wrong, it still needs to be investigated clearly. However, I observed the celestial phenomena last night and saw that the Heavenly Wolf Star in the southwest was shining brightly with an unusual glow. Moreover, the nearby General Star also showed signs of movement, which is an ominous sign."

  Tong Guan's heart sank as soon as he heard it, and he thought to himself that things were not going well. He never expected that Zhao Zhe would be so meticulous and leave such a good move behind. Although Emperor Renzong was also quite intelligent, since his spiritual journey in the sky, he had become extremely interested in astrology and divination, and was almost infatuated with them.

  Now Zhao Zhe's party member Li Mu Ran has actually brought up such a mysterious and abstruse topic, isn't this hitting the Emperor's weak point?

  Indeed, Renzong was extremely interested and hastily asked him: "What misfortune is there? My dear, speak quickly!"

  Li Muyan bowed and said, "The Heavenly Wolf Star is the main culprit. I see its light shining brightly in my eyes, which is an omen of war and rebellion. Its position belongs to the southwest, coinciding with Huaizhou's location, it can be seen that the bandits have already formed a trend. Next to the Heavenly Wolf Star, there is a General Star, which normally shines brighter than the Heavenly Wolf Star, but now its light is gradually becoming dim and has an ominous sign of defeat for the government army. What surprises me even more is that although this General Star is dim, it has a slightly reddish color, and its position has also changed slightly, moving towards the direction of the Heavenly Wolf Star, which is an omen of treachery! With such heavenly signs, Your Majesty must not ignore them."

  Ren Zong nodded after listening, his expression somewhat hesitant. After a pause, he slowly said: "In that case, how should we deal with this?"

  What to do with this? Zhao Zhe didn't teach him how to respond, and Li Mu Ran didn't dare to make a reckless move, so he could only sneak a peek at Zhao Zhe.

  Upon seeing that Li Mu Ran had already led Ren Zong onto his own path, Zhao Zhe bowed again and said: "I think that for this bandit, there is no need to mobilize a large army. Your Majesty does not have to worry about this, just arrange for an imperial envoy to go and investigate the cause of this matter, and in no time the truth will be revealed, and those who should be rewarded or punished will be dealt with accordingly."

  Ren Zong listened and thought this method was reasonable, so he nodded and said: "Who do you think can take on the great responsibility of this trip?"

  Zhao Zhe was delighted, glanced at Tong Guan and said loudly: "I think that the Remonstrance Official Zhao Ding is a straightforward person, with a keen eye for detail, suitable for this position!"

  Renzong nodded, and hastily ordered the Hanlin scholar to draft an imperial edict. The emperor personally wrote it with his own hand, appointing Zhao Ding, a censorial official, as the heavenly envoy to investigate this matter in Huayin County on a specified date.

  Tong Guan heard the emperor's decree and couldn't help but snort in disdain. What nonsense about being a straightforward and keen-minded person? It was clearly Zhao Zhe's loyal follower, Huazhou Prefect Wang Yuan Tong, who had gone to investigate this matter. Now Meng Sen's situation is not looking good, someone needs to be sent to guide him, if he can get even a small military achievement, then the power of speech will fall into my hands again.

  When the Emperor announced the withdrawal of the court, Tong Guan returned to the Zhongshu Institute and immediately summoned a fine military officer, Zhu Ning. Tong Guan whispered a few words in his ear, and saw that Zhu Ning nodded vigorously. After Tong Guan finished speaking, Zhu Ning smiled and said: "Your Excellency's plan is unparalleled, I will go and do it now!" He then hurried like a shooting star towards Huayin County.

  Shi Jin lit three incense sticks, joined his hands together and bowed three times respectfully. He then deeply inserted the incense into the incense burner. Amidst the swirling smoke, he gazed at the spirit tablets of Wu Song and others on the offering table, arranged in a row like geese. Shi Jin couldn't help but recall their appearance as they marched towards the enemy lines.

  With a pang of sadness, Shi Jin's eyes turned red again. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, blinked hard to hold back his emotions, and only then did he turn around.

  Looking at the silent and mournful faces of the young leaders of Mount Liang, Shi Jin picked up a bowl of wine from the long table and said loudly: "Drink this bowl of wine, let our brothers have a good journey!" After that, he slightly tilted his wine bowl with the people of Mount Liang, and the white wine flowed along the direction of everyone's bowls, drawing a crescent shape and spilling onto the ground.

  Shi Jin gazed at the wine water on the ground, slowly seeping into the earth. He then raised his eyes again, and Shi Qian picked up the wine jug to refill it for Shi Jin and everyone else.

  "This time, Shi Jin raised his wine bowl and faced the spirit tablets of Wu Sanlang and others, saying in a low voice: "Brother... I... Ah, you can rest assured and go, leave the rest to me... This bowl, brother, is for you!" After speaking, Shi Jin raised his head and drank the bowl of wine in one gulp."

  The strong wine went down his throat, leaving a fragrant aftertaste. The same official wine, but Shi Jin didn't know that Wu Sanlang could drink it even more smoothly in front of the enemy's formation.

  At this time, Shi Yan again poured a full third bowl of wine for everyone. Shi Jin turned his head to face the crowd, raised the bowl over his head and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, although the government troops have retreated, the siege has not been lifted."