Chapter 438: Is it wrong to speak, and wrong not to speak?

In the commander's large tent, Li Shen's face was covered with a thick cloth, his eyes blood‑red, filled entirely with anger.

"Report!" a personal guard ran in, voice trembling, "Today twenty‑seven have died, and one hundred seventy‑three new cases have appeared; among them, thirty‑nine from the Archery Camp, the Infantry Camp…"

"Shut up." Li Shen's voice low, "Get out!"

The personal guard turned and ran.

The deputy general beside him said cautiously, "General, if this continues, let alone attacking the enemy camp, we might not even be able to defend ourselves."

"More and more are dying each day from this illness—how, how can we explain this to the Imperial Court?"

Li Shen glanced at him, slowly rose, went around the commander's desk, and walked straight out of the tent.

The deputy general shouted urgently, "General! The wounded soldiers' camp is full of patients—you can't go there!"

Li Shen did not stop his steps: "I'm not going to the wounded soldiers' camp; I'm going to the prison."

The earthen prison holding the captives lay west of the Main Camp; it was actually just a crude cellar.

Seeing the commander arrive, the guards hurriedly saluted, opened the door, and let Li Shen enter.

Inside the cellar it was dark and damp, with moldy straw piled in the corners.

Gongsun Heng was chained by iron chains to a wooden post in the center of the earthen prison; his robe was already torn to rags, and the exposed flesh was crisscrossed with whip marks and bruises.

Hearing the footsteps, Gongsun Heng slowly lifted his head.

His cheekbones were swollen and bruised, the corner of his mouth split open with blood, yet his eyes shone astonishingly, burning with fierce madness.

"General Li," he said, baring his mouth with blood strands clinging to his teeth, "you've finally come to see me? Are you planning to listen to me and send out troops?"

Li Shen removed the cloth, stood before him, and silently gazed at him.

"I know what you're thinking," Gongsun Heng panted, "you think I'm crazy, that I'm harming you."

"Do you know what a once‑in‑a‑thousand‑years opportunity is? What is Xiao Jieyun's Main Camp like now?"

"Corpses litter the ground! Morale has collapsed! If you now lead troops to charge over, Ning Prince's head will be yours! The Emperor's head will be yours! The imperial seal…"

Li Shen suddenly spoke, cutting him off: "My subordinates lost twenty‑seven today."

Gongsun Heng's words got stuck in his throat.

Li Shen calmly recounted: "Yesterday fifteen died."

"The military doctor says the illness begins with fever and cough, then red rashes appear on the body, followed by vomiting and diarrhea, bloody discharge, and finally death by convulsions."

He paused, looking at Gongsun Heng's eyes: "You guess, how did this disease come about?"

The fervor on Gongsun Heng's face froze bit by bit.

"A few days ago, two dead rats were found in the Main Camp."

"The corpses were rotting; the military doctor examined them and found they were exactly the same as the infected soldiers."

In the cellar it was so quiet that the two men's breathing could be heard clearly.

Li Shen stepped forward: "Do you think Xiao Yuanhang is a fool?"

"You threw diseased rats into his camp—would he not exterminate them? Would he not root out their nests?"

"Those diseased rats ran all over the place and ended up in my Main Camp!"

Gongsun Heng's lips began to tremble: "No, it wasn't me…"

"So," Li Shen interrupted again, "those of my men who died, those brothers now feverish and coughing blood—are all your doing!"

"It's an accident!" Gongsun Heng shouted, "If it weren't for you delaying the battle opportunity, hesitating to send troops, the epidemic would have already broken out and ended in Xiao Yuanhang's Main Camp!"

"Li Shen! All of this now is still because of your cowardice! Your incompetence! How can you blame me for it?"

"I've told you before—if you dare not send troops, once the situation changes, how will you answer to Jingcheng?"

Li Shen stared at him for a long time.

Then he smiled: "How am I to answer?"

He turned and walked toward the cellar exit: "You'll find out right away."

After a while, the Main Camp was filled with a dark mass of people.

Of the thirty‑thousand strong army, aside from the sick, those on duty, all who could stand came.

Li Shen stood before the crowd, with Gongsun Heng tightly bound kneeling beside him, and his three aides already slumped limp on the ground.

Li Shen proclaimed loudly: "Today I have gathered the whole army to make you understand how this epidemic that has killed so many of our brothers in the Main Camp over the past few days came about!"

Hearing this, the soldiers all wore faces full of doubt.

"How did it come about?"

"Wasn't it brought by diseased rats?"

"Or could there be some other cause?"

Li Shen raised his hand slightly, and the crowd fell silent.

He looked at Gongsun Heng at his feet: "Mr. Gongsun, were those diseased rats brought by you?"

Gongsun Heng looked around at the countless doubtful faces.

That day he himself had already spoken of it in the Main Camp; how could he now retract his words?

He gritted his teeth: "Yes! But I did it for…"

Li Shen gave him no chance to finish: "Are you a member of the Da Xia imperial clan?"

Gongsun Heng's pupils contracted.

The soldiers were all startled—Da Xia people, or even royalty?

Li Shen demanded sternly: "Is it so?"

Gongsun Heng's voice lowered: "Yes, but this has nothing to do with me…"

Li Shen interrupted again: "Have you been constantly pressing me to launch a fierce assault on Xiao Yuanhang's Main Camp, hoping to put my thirty‑thousand troops to death?"

This time, Gongsun Heng said nothing.

He looked around; everyone's faces changed, turning to anger and fear.

He no longer wanted to answer Li Shen's questions; it was obvious that the more he said, the more wrong he would be.

But.

Li Shen, however, had no intention of letting him off: "You dare not admit it?"

Gong Sun Heng was so angry he almost spat blood: "If I speak, it's wrong; if I don't speak, it's also wrong?"

But he understood he must defend himself, otherwise he might die a wrongful death today; he came to achieve merit, not to throw away his life!

He had just opened his mouth to speak.

"Soldiers!" Li Shen, already facing the entire army, raised his arms and shouted, "You all heard! This man has personally admitted he is of the Da Xia imperial clan! This plague was brought by him!"

Gong Sun Heng panicked and shouted loudly, "I have a token! I am an envoy of the Imperial Court!"

"Token?" Li Shen pulled out the token he had brought and threw it to the ground, "Brothers, this is his token!"

"A token whose authenticity is hard to discern, and you want to force me to lead you to your deaths!"

He suddenly pointed at Gong Sun Heng: "He kept saying those sick rats were brought by him for the enemy troops, so why have they all run into our Main Camp now?"

"Why are the dead and wounded all our brothers?"

A roar like mountains collapsing and seas surging erupted:

"Traitor!"

"Dog of Da Xia!"

"Beat him to death! Avenge our brothers!"

Many soldiers thought of the comrades who had died of illness and been burned, leaving not even a whole corpse!

Thinking of those companions still struggling in pain, their eye sockets turned red.

And then thinking, who knows when they themselves might meet the same fate!

The soldiers were utterly enraged, all shouting, "Beat him to death! Beat him to death!"

Gong Sun Heng was completely panicked, struggling hard, but the iron chains on his body held him fast.

He bellowed hoarsely, "Li Shen! You framed me! I am truly an envoy of the Imperial Court! That token is genuine!"

Li Shen shouted, "Spies who cause chaos and harm the entire army shall be punished by law! They shall suffer the punishment of being cast upon rocks!"

He stepped back several paces and roared sternly, "Carry out the execution!"