latelenovela Chapter 380 Do you plead guilty?
Chapter 380 Do you plead guilty?
"The State of Chen is well prepared for this attack. It's freezing cold, and continuing this battle will be of no benefit to either side and will only increase the death toll."
"Because I was seriously injured and missing, not only the Duke of Zhenguo, but even the State of Chen sent a large number of troops to try to take advantage of the opportunity to strangle me."
"When I was staying at your house to recuperate, several groups of Chen soldiers came to search. It was only thanks to your kindness that you had a cellar in your house, where you hid me, that I was able to escape."
"Later, when I was able to walk again, I secretly followed the Chen soldiers and actually discovered the location of their food and fodder."
"I originally wanted to burn it down, but then I thought, this is a good opportunity to use this incident to set up a trap and test General Lin's abilities."
"Then send a message to the Duke of Zhenguo, instructing him to inform General Lin that an informant hidden in Chen State has discovered the hiding place of Chen State's grain and fodder. Order him to lead his troops to destroy it immediately. Once the order is issued, there must be no delay, and no chance for the informant to report it."
"And I have calculated the time. When it arrives, regardless of whether General Lin arrives or not, I will follow the plan and burn the food and fodder."
"Later, General Lin really didn't come. After burning the grain, I returned to the barracks and met the Duke of Zhenguo. Only then did I learn that General Lin had led his troops out of the barracks and didn't go to the place where the grain was hidden."
"Instead, he led his troops in the opposite direction. Over there, General Lin, after receiving the order, had several of his trusted confidants improvise a dozen wooden carts filled with weeds."
"Because time was too short, there was no time to conceal it. He could only cover it with a thin curtain. He tried to take advantage of the darkness and ordered the fire to be set directly to confuse the soldiers. However, he was captured on the spot by the Zhenguo Duke and his troops."
"General Lin flatly denied the crime, claiming it was too dark and he took the wrong road. However, the Duke of Zhenguo apprehended the confidants who had fabricated the grain, and they all pointed out that they were ordered by General Lin."
"General Lin refuses to plead guilty, and the Duke of Zhenguo is concerned that Chen's food supplies have been burned. I'm afraid Chen will seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack to resolve the war as quickly as possible. I expect a fierce battle to ensue soon."
"There was no time to interrogate General Lin, so we could only detain him and put him under strict guard."
"When I returned to the military camp, General Lin had already been imprisoned. I led my men to search General Lin's tent, but found nothing."
"Later, the State of Chen ran out of food and supplies, and as expected, they were desperate and launched an attack. Without General Lin as their internal support, they didn't have enough food to feed their army, so they quickly retreated."
"It was freezing cold, and fighting was costly and exhausting. After retaking the city, I stopped pursuing them."
"I originally wanted to announce the good news to Father, but then I realized that the matter concerning General Lin needed his final decision, so I asked the Duke of Zhenguo to handle post-war affairs at the border, while I took General Lin and his men back to the capital."
"We rode at full speed all the way without stopping for too long. We just passed the city gate and entered the palace. If your Majesty doesn't believe me, General Lin is being escorted outside the palace gate. Your Majesty can summon him for questioning."
Xie Nanyuan's face was as cold as frost, but his dark eyes were filled with anger. He explained the whole process in a calm voice.
The moment the last word fell, Xie Rong was already furious.
He stood up suddenly and said, "Li Shunquan! Send for General Lin!"
"Yes!" Li Shunquan said tremblingly, turned around and walked out.
Things took a turn for the worse. With Xie Nanyuan's return, the development of the situation was beyond the control of Shen Qionghua and Luo Xiyao.
Luo Xiyao had sneaked up to Shen Qionghua at some point, gently poked Shen Qionghua's arm, and exclaimed in a low voice: "Qionghua, is this true? Is General Lin really colluding with the State of Chen?"
Luo Xiyao had heard of General Lin's deeds. He had worked his way up from a small private to his current position, which was a great honor to the family.
Luo Xiyao couldn't understand why such a person would do such a thing as treason. Could it be that the State of Chen had promised him a huge benefit?
What would allow him to risk his life for the State of Chen, risking all his years of life and death, and having all his achievements destroyed in an instant?
Shen Qionghua had already knitted her brows together and whispered, "Just keep listening. What's fake won't become real, and what's real won't escape either."
She knew Xie Nanyuan's character very well. He would not joke about such things just to strike at Prince An's power.
She glanced at Marquis Yongning and saw his eyes flickering. Concubine Zhou frowned and looked surprised and suspicious.
Shen Qionghua's gaze shifted to Xie Qian'an, who lowered his head.
Xie Qian'an and Lin Xiyan got married, and the Prince An's Mansion and the Lin Mansion had long been in the same boat.
Could it be that she just wanted to give the other person a taste of his own medicine, but ended up hitting the mark unexpectedly?
Shen Qionghua was muttering to herself as General Lin was carried up by two people.
Shen Qionghua took a quick look and found that they were familiar faces, Linze and Ji Bei.
At this moment, General Lin no longer had the prestige he had when he was confronting the Duke of Zhenguo at the border. His whole body was tied up with a hemp rope as thick as a finger.
His mouth was stuffed with coarse cloth, his hair was disheveled, his clothes were tattered, his hair was full of white, and he looked very miserable.
Linze and Ji Bei carried General Lin to the front of the hall. After untying him, Linze kicked General Lin in the knee, forcing him to kneel down. Then he took the coarse cloth out of his mouth and left.
Xie Rong looked at General Lin gravely, "General Lin, Prince Rui says you colluded with the State of Chen. Do you plead guilty?"
General Lin naturally refused to plead guilty. He ignored his paralyzed limbs and kowtowed to Xie Rong in a rather embarrassed manner, saying, "Your Majesty, there is no such thing as this. This is all... Prince Rui and the Duke of Zhenguo deliberately framing me!"
Xie Nanyuan didn't even raise his eyelids, simply stating the facts calmly: "General Lin, do you think that as long as you refuse to admit it, there's still room for improvement? It's useless. Forget it."
"Even if you deny it, there are plenty of people who will. Your confidants, the soldiers who followed you to burn the grain, and the two lieutenants who followed your orders to kill me—as long as they confess, even your eloquence won't distort the facts."
He looked at Xie Rong and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought back General Lin's trusted aides who created the fake grain, as well as the two lieutenants. They can all testify, and Your Majesty can summon them at any time."
"As for those soldiers, I think I'll have to wait until I return to court for your Highness to summon them. I have a list here that I can give to your Highness for your review. You can send someone to question them one by one."
As Xie Nanyuan spoke, he took out a list from his sleeve, his eyes clear and calm.
Li Shunquan took it and handed it to Xie Rong.
Xie Rong opened it, looked at the densely packed names, slammed it heavily on the armrest, and angrily said, "So many eyes have seen it, what are you still trying to argue about! You even dared to slander Prince Rui and the Duke of Zhenguo? What exactly did you do? Tell the truth!"
General Lin listened to the emperor's angry rebuke with a dejected look on his face. He glanced at Xie Qian'an and his heart tightened.
General Lin kept silent, but Xie Nanyuan would not let him go so easily.
Xie Nanyuan continued, "Don't worry, Father. General Lin was also instructed by someone. If you want to interrogate someone, you should interrogate the culprit."
As he spoke, he glanced at Xie Qian'an, who happened to be looking at him as well.
When their eyes met, they were both as cold as frost.
Xie Nanyuan took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Li Shunquan.
Li Shunquan took it and immediately presented it to Xie Rong.
Xie Rong looked at the words on it, his pupils shrank, and he opened it and started reading.