nashuaworldcup Chapter 237 The Hypocritical Lord Zhang
Chapter 237 The Hypocritical Lord Zhang
The deputy generals present looked at each other, speechless for a moment, the atmosphere in the hall strangely eerie.
Li Qingqing glanced at Zhang Haoyi and saw that his expression was completely calm, and she immediately understood.
Zhang Haoyi and Wei Duhu are clearly birds of a feather.
I'm afraid it's not just them; the members of the border patrol mission might all be in cahoots.
After a brief recollection, she realized that the position of the Xuanjia soldiers was extremely clever, both blocking her and Li Feng's view and facilitating Wei Duhu's crime.
The hard-won witness testimonies and physical evidence were easily destroyed in an instant.
Li Qingqing's anger flared up instantly, but she had to forcefully suppress it.
She had no idea that in just over a decade, the Great Yuan court had cultivated such talented individuals.
No wonder Xie Xuan'an preferred to be a merchant rather than pursue an official career.
If it were her...,
She now longs to raise her arms and forcibly detain these border patrol officers, just like Qiu Wufeng did, and seize control of this border town.
Of course, she was only thinking about it. If she were to actually do it, the Li family, located in the capital, would be the first to be implicated.
Li Qingqing pursed her lips and remained silent, coldly watching Zhang Haoyi.
Zhang Haoyi was inwardly pleased, but outwardly he feigned kindness with remarkable naturalness.
He glanced at Li Feng, whose face was ashen, and Li Qingqing, who was expressionless, and secretly applauded himself.
Seizing the initiative leads to victory in every battle. Over the years, he has relied on this belief to clear countless obstacles for Prime Minister Qin!
These two young people are still a bit too green...
Zhang Haoyi tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and slowly began to speak.
"Lord Wei's act of putting righteousness before family is admirable! Although he has been cleared of suspicion of treason, he still made the mistake of oversight."
Now that the battle to defend the border city has been won, Protector-General Wei should also be credited. Let's balance the merits and demerits!
Before anyone could react, Zhang Haoyi looked at Protector Wei with a friendly expression.
"Lord Wei, I will petition the court to incorporate the border city into your Protectorate. I hope you will act prudently in the future, share the court's burdens, and atone for your crimes through meritorious service!"
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.
He was acquitted with just a few words, and even the entire border was placed under his jurisdiction, giving him even more power!
Deputy General Chi's eyes widened, and he almost stepped forward to defend the cause, but was secretly pulled back by Deputy General Xu standing to the side.
Li Feng clenched his fists even tighter under his sleeves in anger.
He went to great lengths to capture Wei Zhida, but to his surprise, Wei Zhida was completely useless and went straight to the Western Paradise!
Oh, it did have some effect; at least it revealed the true nature of the border patrol mission.
Li Feng's face was terribly gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and roared angrily.
"Lord Zhang, isn't it premature for you to draw such a conclusion? Could it be that you deliberately instructed the destruction of evidence?"
Thinking back to how foolishly he had handed over the evidence yesterday afternoon, Li Feng felt like he had been played.
"How dare you! You question Lord Zhang!"
Governor Wei immediately rebuked him, then turned to Zhang Haoyi, "Lord Zhang, Li Feng, relying on his military power, fabricated false evidence to frame me. He should be severely punished according to the law!"
"You've colluded with foreign enemies, the evidence is irrefutable, do you still want to deny it!" Upon hearing this, Li Feng's eyes burned with rage, and anger rose from his heart.
His handsome, jade-like features now appeared even more sharp and intimidating.
He glanced at the smug Wei Duhu, and on a whim, he took a step forward, but Li Qingqing secretly pulled him back.
Seeing Li Feng's pent-up anger with nowhere to vent, Zhang Haoyi immediately spoke earnestly.
"General Li, you grew up in a sect since childhood, so it's understandable that you have a straightforward personality. But with such impulsiveness, how will you get along with your colleagues in the capital in the future?"
He sighed again.
"If it weren't for your personality, we could have sent Li Qing out of the city to fight earlier during this siege, and the casualties of the defending soldiers could have been reduced by at least 30%!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy generals became restless, all secretly worried for their general.
In fact, no one expected that Li Qingqing would have such skills and courage at the beginning.
After all, she had never even entered the training ground to train, let alone sneaked into the enemy camp at night, and yet she was able to fall into a deep sleep for several days and nights.
Lord Zhang bringing this up is probably a sign that he's starting to pick a fight with the general!
Li Feng retorted without hesitation, "Since you say so, sir, you must be well-versed in military strategy. This humble general can recommend you to the court to command the troops!"
"You—!" Zhang Haoyi's face stiffened, then he laughed heartily.
"General Li is joking. How could I dare to discuss military affairs? I just feel sorry for the soldiers who have suffered losses."
"Let's get back to the main point. If you, General, cannot provide any further evidence, I will have to find you both guilty!"
As soon as Zhang Haoyi finished speaking, Deputy General Chi finally couldn't hold back any longer, "Lord Zhang, there is also the enemy commander, General Zhao, who can testify."
After finishing his speech, Deputy General Chi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In that short time, his thoughts were racing, and he had almost figured out what would happen to Li Feng and Li Qingqing after their deaths.
If he didn't speak up now, he was afraid he wouldn't have another chance.
Wei Duhu was startled and quickly glanced at Zhang Haoyi. The two exchanged a quick look.
Li Feng and Li Qingqing looked at each other but remained silent.
Both of them knew that the shadow guards sent to Qi'an Kingdom had not yet returned.
Without physical evidence, relying solely on General Zhao's one-sided statement, this hypocritical Lord Zhang will surely distort the truth again.
Sure enough, when Zhao Dipu entered the hall and pointed out that Protector-General Wei had written him a secret letter, Zhang Haoyi immediately said...
"General Zhao, if you have no solid evidence, I have reason to suspect that you are colluding with Li Feng and intend to harm an official of my Great Yuan Dynasty!"
Protector-General Wei immediately added, "That's right! I also suspect that Qi'an Kingdom's surrender this time is just a pretense!"
Zhao Dipu: "...Lord Wei, I was almost poisoned to death by you! If you were only pretending to surrender, would you have risked your life?"
Wei Duhu refused to be outdone.
"After you were captured, you were ashamed to see your king and even tried to commit suicide by poison. How can you falsely accuse me? Don't forget, only your royal family has that poison. You must have hidden it on your person before you came here!"
"You!" Zhao Dipu was speechless with anger.
He traveled thousands of miles to fight, and at this age he should be enjoying his life. What could have driven him to carry poison for suicide?
Zhao Dipu immediately looked at Zhang Haoyi, speaking with righteous indignation.
"My lord, I was unfortunately poisoned because I drank the tea given to me by Lord Wei. If you don't believe me, you may find the cup and examine it. Even after many years, the traces of the poison will still adhere to the cup!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy generals whispered among themselves, their expressions varying.
Li Qingqing immediately said, "I have already found this cup, my lord. Please have the physician examine it."
Li Qingqing took out a cup and a silver needle from her bosom. Upon seeing this, Wei Duhu's expression changed slightly.
This Li Qing seems a bit strange, carrying all sorts of things on her!
Zhang Haoyi had no choice but to agree.
He summoned the physicians he had brought along, as well as the physicians already stationed in the border city.
Everyone watched as the two physicians examined the cup, which was half-filled with water. They then tested it with a silver needle and found it was indeed poisoned!
Zhang Haoyi glanced at Protector Wei, then quickly looked away and turned to Zhao Dipu, speaking slowly.
"Even if it is poisoned, there is no proof that it was poisoned by Lord Wei. Is there any witness?"
A moment of silence fell over the surroundings.
Li Feng felt a chill in his heart, never expecting that his momentary carelessness would lead to such a situation.
He glanced at Li Qingqing apologetically, secretly pondering whether it would be more appropriate to capture the entire border patrol delegation or to take all the blame upon himself.
Li Qingqing shook her head slightly at him, implying that he should not act rashly.
She glanced at Zhang Haoyi and sneered inwardly. This border patrol officer was truly shameless!
Now that things have come to this, if she can no longer prove her innocence, she and Li Feng will likely be arrested soon!
It seems the only option is to take out the letters we found in Protector Wei's secret room.
These letters were written by Qin Heng to Governor Wei. She originally intended to keep them to use against Qin Heng, but now she had no choice but to expose them prematurely.
Just as Li Qingqing was about to take out the letter from her personal storage space, Vice General Xu stepped forward.
"My lord, this humble general must accuse Lord Wei of murdering the commander-in-chief and stealing military merits!"