Chapter 1089

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said: "Commander, you overestimate your own position and underestimate my vision; I really have little interest in framing you. I came today simply to clarify that Dongliang Jun's resistance against the Da Yong army has nothing to do with you. Commander, you want to kill Li Jiangjun, claiming he defied orders and acted on his own, a crime of immense wickedness—I truly don't understand. Even if Li Jiangjun disobeyed orders, he cannot bear those four words 'heinous crime'. Even if he should be punished, he does not deserve death. By doing this, Commander, aren't you making enemies glad and kinfolk hurt, leaving all the generals feeling chilled?"

His gaze swept over the scene, seeing each officer's eyes filled with sympathy and puzzlement, knowing his words had struck a chord, Hu Xiaotian said: "I happen to have brought a captive; does anyone want to hear what he has to say?"

After a pause, he then raised his voice: "Bring Tang Boxi in!"

Xiong Tianba, hearing the voice, shoved Tang Boxi inside; Tang Boxi no longer bore his former imposing appearance, his hair disheveled, his look wretched, his gaze scattered. Upon arriving at the scene, Xiong Tianba kicked him hard in the knee, and with a thud he fell to his knees.

Zhao Dengyun and Tang Boxi could be considered longtime enemies; seeing the commander of the Nanyang Water Fortress, Tang Boxi, in such a sorry state before him, Zhao Dengyun couldn't help feeling a bit of satisfaction, but recalling that Tang Boxi had been captured by Hu Xiaotian, this fellow was truly formidable—he had defeated Tang Boxi's 30,000-strong army with just 3,000 men—yet this honor had nothing to do with him.

Hu Xiaotian said to Tang Boxi: "General Tang, in front of everyone, please repeat what you just said."

Tang Boxi said: "I… I…" his dull gaze fixed on Zhao Dengyun.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Why did you suddenly send troops to attack Dongliang Jun?"

Tang Boxi said: "Because I wanted to capture Dongliang Jun and present it as a congratulatory gift to the new ruler."

Hu Xiaotian said: "A mere Dongliang Jun hardly seems weighty enough."

Tang Boxi said: "Besides, there's Wuxing Jun; Zhao Dengyun promised that after I take Dongliang Jun, he would lead his forces to submit to Da Yong."

Zhao Dengyun stared agape, then shouted angrily: "Tang Boxi, you're full of shit!" Tang Boxi's words made him unable to help cursing.

All the officers felt a jolt in their hearts upon hearing this.

Tang Boxi said: "You said you and Hu Xiaotian have long-standing grudges; you let me take Dongliang Jun and kill Hu Xiaotian to avenge you, and you claimed Wuxing Jun was exhausted, with soldiers about to run out of grain; you said you would surrender to Da Yong, and to show sincerity you even sent me the deployment map of the southern bank of the Yong River..."

Zhao Dengyun, hearing this, flew into a rage, drew his sword and shouted: "A lowly wretch dares to slander me—I'll kill you, this old crook who twists black and white!" As he was about to charge at Tang Boxi, Vesa stepped in front of Tang Boxi and blocked him. Zhao Dengyun's gaze turned to Vesa; seeing her ice‑blue eyes, his mind went blank, and a voice echoed in his head: "You clearly did it, so why won't you admit it?"

Zhao Wusheng took advantage of Zhao Dengyun's momentary stupor, rushed forward, grabbed his arm, and shouted loudly: "Commander, please calm down; you must not act rashly!"

Zhao Dengyun said: "So what? Even if I did, what then? The troops can barely get a meal; if this continues, they'll collapse without fighting—what resources do we have to wage war? Dakang is doomed; if we want to survive, our only recourse is to surrender to Da Yong; the wise know the times."

The officers never expected Zhao Dengyun to say such a thing; to admit outright his collusion with Tang Boxi, they all stared agape.

Hu Xiaotian sneered: "Zhao Dengyun, you indeed harbored rebellious intentions all along—no wonder you watched Dongliang Jun fall into war without lifting a finger; it turns out you've been in league with Da Yong all along."

Zhao Dengyun bit his lip hard, seemingly struggling; although Vesa's soul‑seizing technique had improved, Zhao Dengyun possessed extraordinary willpower—having just fallen into her trap through a moment's inattention, he now relied on his strong self‑control to desperately regain his consciousness.

Seeing Zhao Dengyun's expression, Hu Xiaotian inwardly cursed; Zhao Dengyun suddenly flung his eyes open and shouted: "A vile wretch actually schemed against me!" He shook off Zhao Wusheng's arm, swung his side‑blade at Vesa, Hu Xiaotian grabbed Vesa and pulled her away, then in the same motion shoved Tang Boxi aside.

Tang Boxi's hands were bound, and his consciousness was already muddled; Hu Xiaotian's shove sent him straight flying out.

Zhao Dengyun had intended to stab Vesa, but Tang Boxi suddenly lunged forward; his long sword, unable to dodge in time, pierced Tang Boxi's chest and went straight through. Tang Boxi's eyes widened, his face filled with resentment and pain; in his final moment he finally saw who had killed him, and through gritted teeth he spat: "Zhao Dengyun, you scoundrel… you actually dared to kill me……"

Now everyone heard clearly that Zhao Dengyun had killed Tang Boxi, and they all chose to ignore Hu Xiaotian's shove that had sent Tang Boxi flying.

Hu Xiaotian pointed at Zhao Dengyun, feigning shock: "Oh! You certainly have a guilty conscience—you actually killed to silence him!" In truth, it was he who personally shoved Tang Boxi onto Zhao Dengyun's blade; now everyone's hands are clean.

Zhao Dengyun pulled his long sword from Tang Boxi's chest, staggered a moment, then came to his senses from the shock and bellowed: "Men! Men! Seize that traitor Hu Xiaotian!"

The officers exchanged glances, and then a few more stepped forward.

Hu Xiaotian gave Xiong Tianba a look—when it's time to act, act; the only way to control the situation now is to restrain Zhao Dengyun, otherwise if outside troops surge in, the scenario would be unimaginable.

At that very moment, a sharp sword thrust from behind pierced Zhao Dengyun's chest; he shuddered, lowered his head, and saw the blood‑stained tip of the blade protruding from his front chest. It was Zhao Wusheng who, from behind, drove his sword through Zhao Dengyun's heart, shouting furiously: "Traitors and villains deserve death—though you are my uncle, you have betrayed Dakang, colluded with foreign foes, harmed our compatriots; how could I tolerate you? Today I will uphold righteousness by sacrificing kin, rid the state of harm, and purge our Zhao clan!"

The scene changed too fast; the officers stared agape, already overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, yet they never imagined that Zhao Dengyun's own nephew, Zhao Wusheng, would ambush him at the critical moment. Zhao Dengyun, utterly unprepared for the blow from behind, tried to turn, his eyes filled with terror and unwillingness, and his body slowly collapsed to the ground.

Two officers rushed forward from the crowd, one saying: "Zhao Wusheng, you actually rebel……"

Those two had just rushed out of the crowd when Zhao Wusheng gave them a look; several officers behind them simultaneously drew their side‑blades and, in a volley, cut the two down on the spot.

Hu Xiaotian shouted loudly: "Zhao Dengyun colluded with the enemy, betrayed Dakang's interests, framed his comrades, poisoned the populace—deserving of death by all!"

At that moment a clamor arose outside, as the garrisoned soldiers, hearing the shrieks within, swarmed in.

Hu Xiaotian gave a look, and Xiong Tianba strode out, hoisting the bronze lion outside the gate that weighed a thousand jin with one hand, standing like a demon god descended, fierce and imposing on the steps outside the martial training hall, he bellowed: "Everyone stay right there—whoever dares to step forward, I'll smash his skull!" His roar was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, making the soldiers' ears ring; they stared at each other, intimidated by Xiong Tianba's might, and not a single one dared to step forward.

Inside the martial training hall, Li Yongfu also broke free from the two warriors' grip and shouted loudly: "Brothers, you all heard clearly—Zhao Dengyun colluded with Tang Boxi, intending to betray Wuxing Jun and surrender to Da Yong; his heart deserves death, this old scoundrel got more than he deserved!"

Zhao Wusheng drew the blood‑stained side‑blade from Zhao Dengyun's back, held it horizontally with both hands, approached Hu Xiaotian, bowed his head grimly, and said: "Sir Hu, it was my momentary impulse that killed Zhao Dengyun; please punish me."

Hu Xiaotian took the blood‑stained side‑blade, nodded to Zhao Wusheng, then scanned the officers; some among them already understood that today's situation had been pre‑planned. Setting aside whether Zhao Dengyun had colluded with Tang Boxi, Zhao Wusheng gave Zhao Dengyun no chance to explain—based solely on Tang Boxi's earlier testimony, he thrust a sword through his heart from behind, killing him. Now handing the side‑blade to Hu Xiaotian, he clearly signaled that he would henceforth obey Hu Xiaotian's orders. In fact, many officers resented Zhao Dengyun, especially after his refusal to aid Dongliang Jun, leading many to suspect he was pursuing a private grudge, given that Hu Xiaotian's past kidnapping of Zhao Dengyun, using him as a hostage to flee Wuxing Jun, is widely known.

Zhao Dengyun had always considered it a great disgrace; this time, Tang Boxi led troops to attack Dongliang Jun, and Zhao Dengyu refused to send troops— to many, that seemed the reason—but few suspected Zhao Dengyun of secretly colluding with Da Yong. Now Tang Boxi is dead, Zhao Dengyun is dead; it's a case of death without proof, and the label of rebellion on Zhao Dengyun may well be confirmed.

Hu Xiaotian had originally intended to act personally and subdue Zhao Dengyun; his reason for daring to come to Wuxing Jun was that, from Li Yongfu, he learned that most commanders of the Yong River navy were puzzled by Zhao Dengyun's refusal to dispatch troops, and that Zhao Dengyun suffered serious shortcomings in civil administration—because supplies were low, he even began to deduct the soldiers' rations, naturally arousing heaven's wrath and popular resentment. After arriving at Wuxing Jun, Hu Xiaotian did not rush to reveal his true purpose to Li Yongfu; even upon meeting Zhao Wusheng, he merely sounded him out, probing his intentions, while Zhao Wusheng gave no clear answer. Just now, Zhao Wusheng's actions gave him firm support—indeed, Zhao Wusheng's killing of Zhao Dengyun carries more persuasive weight than if Hu Xiaotian had done it himself. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to come.)