Chapter 265: Publicly Tearing Off the Mask

What is to be done?

Jiang Xuan felt extremely stifled inside.

He looked at Changzhou City, at those people who had been looking at him with eager eyes, at the light appearing in the eyes of those who had originally been in despair.

He had an urge in his heart to tear this Wen Yang into ten thousand pieces!

Why?

Why were these people so narrow-minded? Why did these people have so little reverence for life, doing everything just to fight for power and profit for themselves?

The situation in Changzhou was already critical; what was the point of you coming over to snatch the credit?

He knew that Liu Zheng had sent him here to let him handle things on his own. But he had not expected to run into this kind of matter directly.

If the Young Master were here.

What would he do?

He gritted his teeth hard; he would surely have saved the people first without hesitation!

"General, General, this is the order of His Highness the Crown Prince..."

Wen Yang said with a bitter face.

Jiang Xuan was so angry he grabbed him by the collar and shouted coldly: "What of the Crown Prince? Official Wen, a general in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign; you should have heard of my, Jiang Xuan's, reputation, right?"

"You, you, you, what do you want to do!"

Jiang Xuan said angrily: "Where is the Yinzhou Army?"

"Here!"

The ten thousand Yinzhou troops' voices shook the heavens.

Jiang Xuan ordered: "Wen Yang has failed to act against the epidemic; detain him temporarily, take over Changzhou, and begin rescue and treatment efforts!"

"Yes!"

Wen Yang's face changed: "You dare, you dare... The Crown Prince will not let you off, absolutely not! What are you all doing? A mere ten thousand people, drive them out for me, drive them out!"

However.

Those Changzhou officials all turned their heads to the side; the Changzhou army was about to disband, so who still cared about you? The point was that these people had come to save lives, and you insisted on waiting three days?

In three days, no one knew if these people would even be alive!

The ten thousand Yinzhou troops began to take over Changzhou.

This matter soon reached the ears of the Crown Prince, Xie Fang, who was on his way.

He had still been dreaming his pipe dreams, thinking that since he had arrived in Changzhou earlier than Xie Ling, he could use this Artemisia annua of his to establish an unparalleled merit!

In this regard, Xie Ling had no advantage whatsoever.

He would soon be able to gain the upper hand!

Never expected...

These Yinzhou troops were actually so reckless and lawless!

"Unreasonable, simply unreasonable, do they not even dare to listen to my words! Presumptuous, presumptuous!"

Xie Fang was so angry his mouth became crooked.

The deputy general beside him also sneered: "Your Highness, we are bringing an army of thirty thousand this time; why don't we..."

A flash of murderous intent also crossed the Crown Prince's eyes.

To actually ruin his plans?

This was completely disregarding him! He was bringing thirty thousand troops this time, while Jiang Xuan had a mere ten thousand; should he wipe him out? He had long hated this Yinzhou Army to the bone!

He gritted his teeth hard: "Ignoring the Crown Prince, imprisoning the Prefect, a crime upon a crime; I will see how he explains this time!"

He gave a cold smile: "Jiang Xuan is a great general of Liu Zheng; if we could..."

"Do you understand?"

"Your Highness, your subordinate understands!"

Over here in Dunhuang.

The situation was basically under control.

The whole city was celebrating, cheering and jumping for joy.

There were still seventy thousand cases, which had been gathered and treated by Liu Zheng's Yinzhou Army. As for the water source, Liu Zheng had also poured in quite a bit of Artemisia annua; he did not know if it was useful, but it was better than nothing...

At the very least, in two days, no new cases had appeared in Dunhuang.

"Prefect Liu, this is something to be happy and proud about!"

Chang Shuwen came over to congratulate him.

Liu Zheng rubbed his temples and laughed: "Official Chang, the plague is not over yet; do not let your guard down. The aftermath work will still be a very important task."

Chang Shuwen nodded quickly: "That is of course, that is of course; Prefect Liu, can we hold a banquet today?"

He had not expected.

This Prefect Liu was still a workaholic. After entering Dunhuang, he had absolutely no time to rest, plunging headfirst into the work of fighting the epidemic, attending to every detail, and doing everything himself...

If he had previously had some misgivings about Liu Zheng plotting for Dunhuang, now, Chang Shuwen was completely filled with admiration for him.

Occupying a high position with a far-reaching reputation, yet remaining so humble—how many such people could there be in the entire Longyan Dynasty?

He truly wanted to host a banquet for Liu Zheng to repay his kindness.

Liu Zheng, however, shook his head with a smile: "Official Chang, Dunhuang is improving, but Changzhou is still in the midst of fire and water. How could I have the heart to enjoy myself? A banquet at this time would be against reason, and the people of the world would sneer. It will not be too late to wait until the plague subsides."

Just then, Qin Zhangfeng ran in with a grave expression: "Young Master, something has happened in Changzhou. Jiang Xuan has tied up the Prefect, Wen Yang!"

"Oh?"

Liu Zheng frowned slightly.

Qingyang Shuo, standing to the side, also drew a breath: "I have been so busy lately that I actually forgot about this matter. Lord Chang, is that Wen Yang one of Chen Ping's Crown Prince men?"

Chang Shuwen nodded.

This is bad!

This Crown Prince is definitely going to snatch the credit! Jiang Xuan, however, did not leave him even half a shred of face. This will inevitably lead to a conflict with the Crown Prince Army!

If it were anyone else, that would be fine. But this is the current Crown Prince! Although Liu Zheng looks down on him quite a bit, defying the Crown Prince first and foremost means disregarding the majesty of the imperial family!

This matter could be big or small.

Liu Zheng now holds a high position and has a booming reputation; he does not want to bring trouble upon himself.

Qingyang Shuo suggested: "Young Master, at this time, you must absolutely not have a conflict with the Crown Prince!"

During this plague, Liu Zheng has earned a massive wave of reputation, which will be a great help to his future plans for the world. If he offends the Crown Prince at this time, it is not a good thing. There are still many in the world who revere the Emperor; the name of Contemporary Sage must not be ruined lightly.

This is the overall situation.

It is also the Great Trend.

Liu Zheng also nodded and said: "What does Sir think?"

Qingyang Shuo pondered and said: "Send a letter to Jiang Xuan, telling him he must hold Changzhou and not come out, blocking the Crown Prince outside. We will then collect evidence. Changzhou is the source of the plague; the Prefect cannot shirk his responsibility for failing to seal the city! If we insist that Wen Yang and Chen Ping are colluding in the shadows, this matter can be resolved!"

Liu Zheng was overjoyed to hear this.

Only in this way can Jiang Xuan stand on the moral high ground.

However...

Liu Zheng still had a bit of a headache.

Collect evidence?

Is it really that simple?

If this plague was truly released on purpose by Chen Ping and Wen Yang, the two of them would certainly not leave any evidence behind. But for now, this is the only thing to do.

With an order, Liu Zheng dispatched Qin Zhangfeng to lead twenty thousand troops to reinforce Jiang Xuan in Changzhou.

And he announced it to the world.

Jiang Xuan's occupation of Changzhou was forced by the situation. Regarding the Changzhou plague, Prefect Wen Yang failed in his governance, and Chen Ping of Liangzhou Prefecture had an ambiguous attitude; it is suspected that the two deliberately released refugees, and this matter is under investigation. With the plague at hand, treating the plague comes first, and disciplining officials comes second. Changzhou has entered a state of war; in extraordinary circumstances, one may act first and report later, reporting to the imperial court to ensure the campaign is justified.

The world was immediately in an uproar.

No one had expected this.

Just when the Dunhuang plague was improving, this matter actually occurred.

And...

This Crown Prince is also courting death. When the plague was at its most severe, people would not have cared why it was raging so much. But now... the plague has been brought under control, and both Changzhou and Chen Ping of Liangzhou Prefecture will slowly surface, waiting for the questioning of the world.

At a time like this, you still want to hand others a handle? Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this time, Governor Liu has his sights set on the entire Liangzhou!

Stupid!

The Crown Prince is too stupid!

And this Governor Liu...

... is also too fierce.

Not only did he go head-to-head with the Crown Prince, but he also pulled the rug out from under the Crown Prince!

You want to snatch the credit?

You cannot.

Not only can you not, but I will also pull out all these rotten roots of yours in Liangzhou!

It is getting interesting.

The situation in Liangzhou is becoming more and more interesting.