Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 60

Chapter 60 Offer Advice to Protect Oneself
All kinds of evidence were tossed out by Lu Zhen. Even those subordinates and fellow robes who wanted to plead for Xiao Mo’s forgiveness finally gave up at this moment, knowing that no one could save him this time. Not only was it impossible to save him, but if he really spoke up for him, he would probably be implicated.

The corruption in the army has been growing in recent years. However, it is still hidden under the water. Everyone is trying their best to hide it from them. Now that Lu Zhen had exposed this abscess, if they appeared now, it was very likely that Lord Commander-in-Chief would suspect them. This would be too dangerous.

Therefore, everyone could only remain silent at this moment. However, the expression on their faces was extremely complicated. There was both resentment towards County Magistrate Lu and general sympathy for Xiao Ba, but most of them were worried about themselves. Looking at Xiao Mo, who was still being tortured, many people’s feet felt a little weak. They were really afraid that they would follow in the footsteps of this person.

However, Hu Sui, who was looking at the unusually furious expression earlier, had completely calmed down. There was no trace of anger on his face, and there wasn’t even any killing intent in his eyes. He just looked at Lu Zhen calmly and said, “Looks like the evidence is really conclusive this time?”

Only the few people he was closest to and understood General Hu the most would know how angry he was and how strong his killing intent was!

In order for generals to lead thousands of troops, their psychological qualities were naturally extremely excellent. Most of the time, they had to achieve the goal of collapsing the Tai Mountain without changing their expressions. Especially when he wanted to make a final decision, he needed to completely calm down, otherwise, a mistake in a decision would cause irreparable losses.

As a soldier of the Great Harmony for many years, Hu Sui’s temperament was naturally indescribable. When the matter was so serious, he no longer had the anger he had before, but he had already made a decision in his heart. However, this decision made his body unconsciously emit an aura that made one’s heart palpitate.

Lu Zhen could also clearly feel this intense killing intent. He was alarmed, but he still forced himself to remain calm. “If the main soldier wanted to investigate, the lowly officials could call out all of these evidence one by one.”

“Is that so?” Hu Sui answered thoughtfully, but his gaze landed on the two soldiers who were reprimanding Xiao Mo with their staff. He pressed down on the chair with his right hand.

This action was very inconspicuous, but it was already seen by the two soldiers. Without saying a word, the strength in their hands increased exponentially, and the position of the attack changed slightly compared to before.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, after eating more than 30 sticks and seeing that the punishment was about to be exhausted, Xiao Mo’s voice, which had been screaming repeatedly, suddenly softened. Then, he only left behind a soft groan. In the end, he couldn’t even hear this little movement.

When the fifty batons were full, the two sergeants pretended to stoop down and inspect them. Then, with a surprised expression, they reported, “Report to the main soldier, the guilty general, Xiao Mo, was beaten to death because he couldn’t stand the torture!”

Everyone’s faces changed again, and many of them were even more pale. Who would have thought that Xiao Mo would end up like this? This made the fear in their hearts thicken even more. I wonder if Lord Commander-in-Chief would take advantage of this to attack them as well.

Not to mention the generals in the army, even Lu Zhen could see the problem.

Fifty batons could kill a strong man with a healthy body? This was simply joking! The only explanation was that the person who had used the torture had struck Xiao Mo’s vital point and taken his life while the staff was reprimanding him.

As such, they dared to do so because of General Hu’s instructions. Thinking of this level, Lu Zhen felt a chill run down his spine. Only then did he know that the Commander-in-Chief in front of him was indeed a ruthless character.

This was indeed a ruthless move, beating Xiao Mo to death on the spot could not only intimidate the soldiers below, but also give everyone an explanation. Not only did he show General Hu’s attitude, he also made it impossible for him to continue investigating this matter. After all, everyone was dead, and the deceased was great. Lu Zhen couldn’t continue to hold on to this point. No matter how much so-called evidence he had, if he didn’t even have a criminal, what tricks could he make?

Decisiveness, opportunity, ruthlessness … This was Lu Zhen’s final impression of this Commander-in-Chief, making him even more wary of him.

Actually, this is also the result of being a military attach é. If a civil servant commits a crime, even if his superior hates him, even if the person who wants to deal with you is the head and assistant of the Cabinet, and you are just an ordinary county magistrate, he will not take a person’s life so easily. Instead, he will use all sorts of methods and excuses to retaliate.

However, a military officer was different. A general soldier didn’t even need any excuse to take a general’s life. He could directly kill him with just a glance. In the end, no one dared to say anything.

But even though he knew that his identity was different from the other party’s, Lu Zhen was still vigilant in his heart. As long as Xiao Mo was eliminated and the Imperial Court and the army were warned, his goal today would be achieved. There was no need for him to entangle himself. Thus, he cupped his hands again, “Since General Xiao is already dead, this lowly official will naturally not bring up this matter again …” The implied meaning was to bid farewell.

“County magistrate Lu” He wanted to leave, but Hu Sui had no intention of letting him leave. “Someone did commit an offence in our army today, so I will punish him severely according to the law. However … it is not appropriate for a small county magistrate to barge into the barracks. The barracks is not a place that a small grade seven county magistrate can come and go as he wishes!”

After resolving the problems around him, Hu Sui finally pointed his finger at Lu Zhen, who had caused trouble. Not only him, all the soldiers present stared at him with hostile gazes.

This time, Lu Zhen had greatly humiliated these soldiers, and it was also related to the problems in the army. Once he was allowed to publicize this, not only would he lose face, but even Li Zi and the others would also lose face. Therefore, no matter if it was an ordinary soldier or a general like Hu Sui, they would not let him off easily.

Lu Zhen’s heart sank, but his expression remained calm. Lin Lie, on the other hand, was shocked. He was too clear about the thoughts of these people. He was afraid that his master would soon suffer as well. However, just as he was about to step forward, he discovered that the soldiers around him were staring at him with ill intentions. No matter how skilled he was, he wouldn’t be able to resist under the siege of dozens of soldiers.

Just as everyone was eager to try, waiting for Commander Hu to give the order, Lu Zhen said again, “Commander Hu, besides exposing Xiao Mo’s crimes, Xiaguan has another important matter to report.”

Once these words were spoken, the hearts of the soldiers were shocked once again, especially the hearts of Xiao Mo’s subordinates. Just now, because of what this person said, his family had been beaten to death in public. Now, he actually had something to say. Could it be that he wanted to harm someone else?

Even Hu Sui unconsciously frowned, “What else do you have to say?”

‘”Just now, Xiaoguan said that trespassing on the barracks today was for the safety of our Great Ming Border Region and Guangling County. Now that the root of this danger has been removed, Xiaoguan wants to offer something to Lord Commander-in-Chief to ensure the safety of the Northern Region!” Lu Zhen calmly cupped his hands.

“You want to offer something to protect the border?” Hu Sui looked at him with a faint smile, “County Magistrate Lu, don’t boast like this in front of me.”

The surrounding soldiers were also stunned and began to whisper. The meaning behind their words was very uniform, that was, they didn’t believe it. This should be just a lie that Lu Zhen had casually made up to protect himself!

The veterans who had been guarding the border for several decades couldn’t believe that a rank seven county magistrate who was young and didn’t know anything about soldiers could bring out something miraculous to ensure the safety of the border.

Even Lin Lie was at a loss. Even he didn’t know this. When did the county magistrate bring such a treasure? However, his entire body didn’t look like he had something important with him.

Under everyone’s suspicions, Lu Zhen put his hand into his sleeve and took out a piece of paper, “Lord Commander, after looking at the things on it, naturally, you will understand.”

After receiving Hu Sui’s nod, a QinBing stepped forward and took the paper. When he pinched it, he discovered that there was indeed no hidden weapon inside. He carefully opened the paper that was only a foot long and a half wide, and then presented it in front of General Hu. At the same time, driven by curiosity, he looked over to see what Lu Zhen was talking about.

At this moment, Hu Sui also turned his attention to the paper. When he saw it, he raised his eyebrows and said, “This is …”

What entered his eyes was a painting. Different from those freehand landscape paintings of this era, this painting is very vivid. Although it was only a few simple strokes drawn with a charcoal brush, the contents could be recognized at a glance.

It was a section of the city wall, and there were some soldiers standing on it. This wasn’t something that mattered. What mattered was that there was a circular ball floating above the city wall. There was even a basket beneath the ball. There seemed to be two or three people standing inside, looking into the distance.

In the distance, rows of soldiers were drawn in simpler strokes. Judging from this posture, it was time for the enemy to attack this section of the city wall.

Commander Hu had experienced many battles for a long time, so many things naturally came to light at the same time. After only a few glances at the scene, he had already completely absorbed the meaning that he wanted to express. Immediately after, his face turned red, and he even showed a hint of excitement.

A moment later, he suddenly looked up at Lu Zhen and said, “County magistrate Lu, can you really create this painting?” There were doubts in his words, but at the same time, it was urgent!