Chapter 1643: Chong Wu

General Chong Wu was eating.

The weather was nice this morning, so he practiced drilling the troops, not returning until the afternoon, so his meal was delayed by more than an hour.

The meal was simple; the army had hunted two wild boars in the mountains a few days ago, and they were almost eaten, but the cook had saved two good pieces of meat for the commander, so General Chong Wu could still eat braised pork, fatty and soft, with a mouthful of oil bursting out with every bite.

The dignitaries of Tianshui City had long since stopped loving this greasy taste, but on the northern border, being able to eat such a big mouthful of meat was like being a happy immortal. The only thing General Chong Wu was dissatisfied with was that the new cook didn't know his taste and made another portion of stewed fish with herbs for him.

The fish was freshly caught from a nearby ice lake, very large and fresh, but it was added with litsea cubeba oil and lemongrass, and General Chong Wu didn't like spices!

He was a native of Pixia, and had no love for the complex seasonings that the Yao people were deeply intoxicated by. Pixia people eat simply and clearly, not using complex seasonings.

Having been an official in the Yao Nation for many years, General Chong Wu's taste still couldn't be changed. Former colleagues in the army often played pranks on him with this.

"Reward this plate of fish to you all," General Chong Wu pointed at the fish to his personal guards. "Tell the cook not to make it again in the future."

He still ate this meal with a heavy heart.

The Emperor's Flowing Nectar was about to erupt, and the big show prepared by the Palace Master was about to be staged. General Chong Wu knew from the beginning that he had no choice, but when the time came, he still had a trace of hesitation.

What if the Palace Master failed?

Although she was extraordinary, this was the Yao Nation, not Beijia, where she was most familiar; the Yao officials had also just been won over by the King of Yao and were now tightly surrounding him.

The Palace Master's action indeed had a possibility of failure.

Once failed, she might not necessarily lose her life, but Chong Wu, as one of the important participants and a Pixia person, would have no way to survive!

But if the Palace Master's action succeeded, he wouldn't have to continue sitting on the cold bench in the Yao Nation, wouldn't have to be looked down upon by the Yao people, and wouldn't have to guard the cold northern pass! Success and failure seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance.

What should he do? The braised pork in his mouth had lost its flavor. Just then, there was a sound of flapping wings outside.

He pushed the door out and saw a peregrine falcon landing on a big tree in front of the house, speaking in human language: "General Chong Wu, urgent message."

General Chong Wu just reached out, and it spat out a small green tube from under its belly, placing it in his hand.

Green? Chong Wu felt a slight shock in his heart; this was an urgent message from Regent Qingyang, and it used the fastest bird of prey!

He returned to the room in three steps and closed the door before opening the green tube.

Inside was a note with only a line of small words: "King of Yao secretly ordered to replace you, Wang Sili headed north this morning, leading two hundred elite soldiers!"

Less than twenty words made General Chong Wu's pupils shrink.

The King of Yao wanted to replace him!

It had taken Regent Qingyang so much effort to help him fight for the position of guarding the north, and he had been in office for less than three months before the King of Yao wanted to send someone to replace him!

What did this mean? The King of Yao knew! The King of Yao not only knew that Qingyang was preparing to deal with him and overthrow his regime, but also suspected that Chong Wu would lead troops to cooperate, which was why he wanted to replace Chong Wu with Wang Sili, whom he trusted, before the Emperor's Flowing Nectar erupted!

How terrifying is it to be suspected by the Monarch? These dozen words made General Chong Wu's clothes soaked with sweat in the snowy weather.

He had no way out.

Since the King of Yao already had suspicions, regardless of whether Qingyang's uprising succeeded or failed in the end, and whether Chong Wu participated or not, he would not let Chong Wu go!

Chong Wu gained power because of Qingyang, and in everyone's impression, he had long been branded with Qingyang's mark.

If the King of Yao won, how could he miss Chong Wu when cleaning up Qingyang's remaining forces? "Do it!" He clenched his fists heavily, then swallowed the note, grabbed the plate of braised pork on the table, opened the door, and placed it on the ground, "Eat."

While the peregrine falcon flew down to feast, he also called several confidants into the room, set up a barrier, closed the door, and discussed matters.

These confidants were all Pixia people who had followed him from his hometown to the Yao Nation, followed him all the way to high positions, and were loyal to him.

So Chong Wu didn't beat around the bush and said directly: "The Monarch secretly changed generals and sent Wang Sili to replace me!"

Everyone was shocked and said angrily: "Unreasonable!"

"Once replaced, none of us will have a way to survive." Even if he obediently handed over military power, the King of Yao wouldn't show mercy. General Chong Wu didn't want to bet his life on how ruthless the royal family's methods were.

Without military power, he would be a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Everyone understood the seriousness of the situation and said in unison: "General, just give the order, we will obey without question!"

"If Wang Sili enters our northern camp and claims the imperial decree, I won't be able to move against him in full view of everyone." General Chong Wu had already thought it through and was determined, "We must kill him on the way so he can't reach here."

Regent Qingyang sent a message to him in a hurry, which meant the same thing.

Someone took out a map and spread it on the table.

"If Wang Sili wants to reach here as quickly as possible, he must choose a shortcut, which is—" General Chong Wu drew a line on the map with a red pen, "this route."

He knew it very well because he had come this way more than two months ago.

There were actually few places on this road suitable for ambushing two hundred elite soldiers. The group discussed it, and soon they had a plan.

"Half an hour later, Yuwen Yong still wants to hold a meeting with me. We will set off after the meeting."

He and Yuwen Yong were stationed separately, with their armies several miles apart.

A confidant reminded: "Lord, could General Yuwen have already received the news and is waiting for you to enter the trap?"

General Chong Wu was startled.

It was indeed hard to rule out this possibility; Qingyang must have received the information later than the King of Yao issued the order. Now that the peregrine falcon sent by Qingyang had flown to the northern camp, who knew if the King of Yao's flying message had already reached Yuwen Yong?

After Xue Zongwu died, the generals guarding the north were Yuwen Yong and Chong Wu.

Unlike Chong Wu, Yuwen Yong was a genuine Yao Nation noble, a scion of a great family. When the King of Yao sent him to guard the north with Chong Wu, it was also to keep an eye on Chong Wu.

Now that the King of Yao suspected Chong Wu, would he secretly order Yuwen Yong to strike first and take Chong Wu, so as not to let him resist later?

Looking at it this way, the meeting half an hour later might be a trap set by Yuwen Yong to invite him in. But Chong Wu made an excuse not to go, and Yuwen Yong didn't dare to come over either, fearing that he would be ambushed as soon as he entered Chong Wu's camp.

If there was no intention to harm, why be so guarded?

This was having a guilty conscience.

The group asked: "General, what should we do now?"

"The original plan remains unchanged." Chong Wu made a prompt decision, his eyes filled with ruthlessness, "When it gets dark, we will sneak out of the camp and head towards Tianshui City, kill Wang Sili first, and everything else will be easy to handle."

For him, the curtain of this chaotic scene was finally slowly opening.

￥￥￥￥￥

Chaos.

When He Lingchuan sat in the Yongquan Villa, eating herb-baked eggs in a leisurely manner, a shocking riot suddenly occurred in Tianshui City:

A total of 1,200 refugees from four shacks in the south of the city raided two grain warehouses overnight, stealing more than 13,000 jin of grain, and attacked the famous noble Xie family in the north of the city. Not only were gold, silver, jewelry, and food looted, but even the herbs planted in the garden and the pet dogs raised by the owner were taken away!

In these two attacks, a total of more than 180 people were killed or injured among the warehouse staff, the Xie family, and the refugees.

Hearing this news, He Lingchuan sighed: "It has finally started."

Grain prices soared, and people's livelihood was difficult. The refugees living at the very bottom of Tianshui City bore the brunt of being the hungriest.

They worked themselves to death for a whole day, and the money they earned wasn't enough to buy a steamed bun.

Moreover, now the landlords had no surplus grain, and even the noble families were cutting expenses; who else would hire them to work?

Over the past few days, more than three hundred refugees had died of hunger, mainly the old, weak, and young.

Unable to earn money and unable to buy grain, there was only one last way—

Rob! In fact, refugees hadn't committed few crimes in Tianshui City recently, and the government even received three hundred reports in one day. It was just that before, they were all scattered, small-scale, small-scale robberies, which had no impact on the lives of the noble dignitaries.

The noble dignitaries and wealthy people of Tianshui City lived in the northern and northeastern districts, completely isolated from the commoners and refugees in the south, with elegant environments and peaceful years. Those people who were unkempt, ragged, and smelly were all blocked outside and couldn't take a single step in.

Naturally, there would be no refugee shacks here.

However, this night's robbery was the refugees gathering together, rushing into the homes of the nobles in the north, smashing, looting, and burning! This was an outrageous riot!

During the riot, nearly two hundred people were killed or injured, including warehouse staff, Xie family guards, and shack refugees.

Robbery! In fact, the refugees have committed no shortage of crimes in Tianshui City recently; the government has even received three hundred reports in a single day. It's just that these were previously scattered, petty disturbances—small robberies and minor violence—that had no impact on the lives of the wealthy and powerful.

The nobles and wealthy of Tianshui City live in the North and Northeast districts, completely isolated from the commoners and refugees in the south. The environment is quiet and peaceful, and those disheveled, ragged, and foul-smelling people are all blocked outside, unable to take a single step in.

Naturally, there are even fewer refugee shacks here.

However, the robbery this night was different; the refugees gathered together and charged into the homes of the nobles in the north, smashing, looting, and burning! This was an outrageous riot!

Nearly two hundred people died or were injured during the riot, including warehouse clerks, Xie family guards, and refugees from the shacks.

By the way, two nobles from the Xie family also died: the twelve-year-old young master and his mother.

But the supplies the refugees looted were truly abundant; they wouldn't have to go hungry for several days.

They had dug into a giant rat's nest in a year of famine.

The refugees who grabbed grain scattered and fled, no longer caring about their groups, desperate to find a corner to eat. Some couldn't even wait and started gnawing on raw flour and dough on the road.

The beautiful trees in the North District also suffered. The houses in Tianshui City are generally made of stone, so the precious ancient trees that had grown steadily by the roadside for over a hundred years were chopped down to be used as firewood.

Dinner, fragrant dinner! Beside every pile of wild campfires, one could see several mouths devouring food ravenously.

On this night when they had food to eat, at least for the first half of the night, they were even happier than most commoners.

The refugees' riot shocked the entire upper-class circle of the Yao Nation.

How could this bunch of lowly people, how dared they rebel against the heavens?

Is there no law left?