Chapter 206: no jade, negotiation, tit-for-tat

When Ziling Chu was secretly escorted to the main tent, he was in such a miserable state that Jinghong Shi was shocked.

His face was streaked with bruises and purple, one eye was bruised and red, swollen and bulging out, and a whip mark extended from under his eye to the corner of his mouth, so it was just a little short of a whip blade to pull his eye out.

Yuanzhao Yan and Yuanheng Yan are both in the main tent.

After Tingyun Shi left, Yuanzhao Yan wanted to call his horse to go with him, but Yuanheng Yan pulled him back: "Sixth brother, follow me to the main camp to see General Shi."

Yuanzhao Yan said urgently, " Yun Ting if you think wrong, run to release that Ziling Chu ......"

Yuanheng Yan replied, " Yun Ting has a good idea."

Now that he has seen Ziling Chu's tragic face, Yuanzhao Yan is relieved.

Luckily, Yun Ting didn't do anything stupid.

But Yuanheng Yan wrinkled his brow instead.

He looked at Tingyun Shi's excessively calm look from the side, and his palm, which was bloodied from the tight grip of the whip, and his heart ached with pain.

This Nan Southern envoy surnamed Kang Yang, Hmong, dressed as a scribe, wearing a pair of crystal glasses at a young age, appearance and eloquence are extraordinary.

He glanced at Ziling Chu, who had been beaten into a dog, and turned his head calmly, speaking Chinese with exceptional fluency: "The two princes, General Shi. General Muer Tie's letter has been read by all of you, but the peace talks still need to be agreed upon in detail. For the next few days, I will stay in your army to discuss this matter. As for ......"

He pointed to Ziling Chu : "...... This Ziling Chu, I have been entrusted with the task of making sure I take him back to Nan Southern."

Jinghong Shi: "By whom?"

Yang Kang said, "Best friend Sha Ai."

At that, Ziling Chu's blood-covered eyes turned slightly.

...... Sha Ai ?

Sha Ai crazy?

Why did he ask someone to come and take him away when he could still do something by staying in the Beifu Army?

Ziling Chu has always acted steadily, but he has imagined countless times in private that when he unveiled his face in front of the public, they would be shocked, distressed or angry, and he could accept it in peace, after all, by that time, he had already achieved fame and fortune, Yuanzhao Yan, Yuanheng Yan, and even Jinghong Shi, in front of himself, were only He is a prisoner in a prison, a turtle in a jar.

...... is never like now, their own nose and face kneeling in front of the hall, surrounded by people, life and death is difficult to determine.

Jinghong Shi did not move: " Ziling Chu , what do you have to say?"

Ziling Chu's heart has more fears, but at this time also put away all.

He raised his head and said firmly, "The last general was wronged!"

Yang Kang is calmly sipping tea with his cup in the air.

Yuanzhao Yan could not resist and said: "You say this person is collaborating with the enemy and traitorous, but he entered the general's house at the age of twelve, if his family is not clean, how could he be included in the house?"

Yang Kang put down his tea: "Scouts should be raised from a young age, such a simple truth, the sixth prince should know."

Yuanzhao Yan : "......"

While he had nothing to say, he thought the envoy was a bit odd.

It is reasonable to say that a spy planted in an enemy camp should either be kept or discarded after being discovered, but why did this person take the initiative to reveal Ziling Chu's identity and bring it back?

What are the intentions of this Nan Southern people?

Don't say Yuanzhao Yan, Ziling Chu is also confused.

What does he mean by this?

Ziling Chu doesn't care what Sha Ai's madness is, he has been a slave for years, just to be proud of himself, how can he let his efforts go down the drain?

He bowed his head and said, "General, my lord, Ziling doesn't know how to defend himself. I have been in the general's house since I was a child, and I have been spared the hardships of wandering, and I have been taught and brought up, so how could I have done that unfaithful and unrighteous thing?"

The words "since childhood" reminded Ziling Chu of his displacement in the past and the jade stone that was broken to pieces at the feet of Tingyun Shi.

His heart and stomach were pumping with pain, and even the small of his back was tangled in a ball.

Even so, his face is barely holding up, not impatient, but more helpless and heartbroken: " Nan Southern people just want to use this to sow discord, can there be real evidence? Ziling has grown up with you since we were children, our friendship is strong. But Ziling is innocent, his heart and blood can be seen by the sun and the moon!

Yang Kang's demeanor was as usual, not surprised or angry, but praised, "This is really good tea. If the peace talks go well, I wonder if I can bring some tea back to my friends to try?"

Jinghong Shi was also bashful and said with a smile, "If Envoy Kang likes it, there is no harm in taking some away."

Ziling Chu was so stretched by the two of them that her statement of innocence seemed feeble.

But it doesn't matter.

He thought, as long as there is no letter evidence, then there is still room for maneuvering.

Just ......

"...... clean and clear, dan heart and blue blood?"

While he was still under the illusion, Tingyun Shi picked up a pile of letters sitting on the table and handed them to him, his hands shaking a little and making a rustling and crunching sound: "...... You mean these?"

With that, he slapped the letter hard in Ziling Chu's face.

Ziling Chu see the pile of letters, white paper and black letters, do not feel a black eye, a heart fire burned him dizzy.

...... What are the Nan Southerners up to? Is it really about killing the donkey?

"Seven years of the Battle of the Twin Cities." Yang Kang played with his tea cup and narrated, "...... happened exactly when the Duke of Time first went to the border. The son was still young and stayed in the main city and did not go out to fight. The person who served him was this Ziling Chu. I remember that he also had a boy by his side, Yeshu Li, who stayed in the general's residence at that time and did not accompany him. I dare ask General Shi, if this letter is not the work of Mr. Shi, who is the most likely person to have sent it? If this matter is judged by the world, I don't know how many secret and strange stories will be revealed."

Yuanheng Yan, who was listening, changed his expression.

That's a really poisonous thing to say!

This Kang, with a smile on his face, is clearly a ruthless character, and in his words, he wants to involve Tingyun Shi!

Jinghong Shi Shi when the general's favorite son, everyone knows, at present, Ziling Chu may be a spy matter, only a few personal guards and they know, but if the Nan Southern people will spread this matter ......

Even for the sake of Tingyun Shi's reputation, Jinghong Shi also had to immediately find a reasonable offender out of the matter, otherwise once the matter spread, not to mention the identity of Tingyun Shi general's son for him to attract much criticism, even a "poor discipline" of the notorious, are enough to Tingyun Shi drink on a pot of.

To put it bluntly, this is a bare - blatant threat.

--If Ziling Chu is handed over, the matter will be known to God and to earth, and to you and to me.

-- If the intention is to shelter, it is not known who will be victimized once the rumor spreads.

Jinghong Shi understood the meaning of the words, but he only gave a gentle smile: "Envoy Kang has paid a lot of attention to my son, and he is also familiar with my son's sidekick."

"I am sorry to have offended. I was previously unaware of the family affairs of the general's house." Yang Kang looked to Ziling Chu , "All thanks to this man, who explained clearly in his letter."

Ziling Chu's eyes turned sharply and read the several letters that had fallen in front of him, and his heart sank even deeper.

This is not all of the letters, which were selected, but the bias seal to kill.

This includes his briefing several months ago on Feiru Wen's wounding, the military emergency in Dingyuan, and the Fusui affair.

If one pushes that it is a forgery, who can learn so many secret secrets?

What's more, he said something like that just now, which practically forced Jinghong Shi to convict him immediately.

But there is no reason why Nan Southerners should do this to themselves, especially Sha Ai, who has to point to himself to move up the ladder.

Moreover, if he wants to harm himself, he can send a message directly to cut off his life, and why should he take the extra step of offering to bring himself back to Nan Southern?

Along with Ziling Chu's eyes, his mind is also full of thoughts.

Sha Ai sent this person to meet him and showed all of his cards.

Could it be that there is a change in the royal family of Nan Southern? Or the King of Nan Southern asked about himself, Sha Ai had to reveal his true identity, so the King of Nan Southern wanted to see himself, and this envoy came here, explicitly seeking the truth, also because of the orders of his superiors?

The more Ziling Chu thinks about it, the more it makes sense.

Only then does everything make sense and make sense.

Thinking about this, he simply did not open his mouth to defend himself.

Yuanzhao Yan and Yuanheng Yan both heard the sinister words of Yang Kang and could not help but be a little anxious.

Yuanzhao Yan looked at Jinghong Shi, while Yuanheng Yan looked at Tingyun Shi, who looked uncertain.

As if oblivious, Jinghong Shi said, "Envoy Kang, then why should I return this man to Nan Southern? I only need to throw him out of the tent at this moment, and he will immediately be split into five horses."

Yang Kang laughed: "General Shi is a wise man, he should not want to make the matter of Young General Shi's lax rule to the point that everyone knows about it, right?"

Jinghong Shi's smile remained unchanged: "I am grateful to Envoy Kang for his trouble."

He picked up Muer Tie's book of peace talks, flipped through two pages, and ordered without raising his head: "Left and right, stab Ziling Chu to death with a sword, saying that Envoy Kang intended to commit murder and that Ziling Chu died defending me, and then drag Envoy Kang out and chop him up."

Yang Kang : "......"

As soon as the left and right lieutenants drew their swords, the Kang envoy's cold sweat sprang up a back in a flash: "When ......"

Jinghong Shi raised his eyes, and his long eyebrows were filled with a gentle smile: "Envoy Kang, if I respond in this way, how do you plan to publicize this matter?"

Yang Kang sweat, see left and right put away the sword, only reluctantly put down his heart: "General Shi, you joke."

Jinghong Shi said, "Envoy Kang, don't make jokes. We are having peace talks, so honesty is the first priority. If you want to take Ziling Chu away, you have to give me a reason not to kill him."

"He's been a little restless lately." I don't know if it's because he's been scared, but Yang Kang is unexpectedly honest, "He probably has a future in the Beifu Army and wants to make plans for his future. We really don't want to see Central Plains have another tiger general. He has rebelled against both Central Plains and Nan Southern, so we will bring him back and let him know how traitors should be treated. General Shi can rest assured that this man will not be treated well when he is returned to Nan Southern. In particular, Sha Ai, who asked me to visit him, has a blood feud with him and will not let him go lightly."

Yang Kang's attitude of not praising, but rather denigrating, makes Ziling Chu feel more at ease.

He really did come to pick himself up.

Jinghong Shi pondered for a while: " Ziling Chu, how do you want to choose? Do you want to stay or go back to Nan Southern?"

Ziling Chu did not expect Jinghong Shi to ask for his opinion, and cold sweat also shed - flow: "I ......"

Only this hesitation, his heart will be tossed ten thousand thoughts, a thousand thoughts.

His own identity, Yang Kang was publicly identified, there are letters to testify, although there is still room to defend, or take the right hand to write in public, to prove innocence, but stay here, is useless.

Even if Tingyun Shi trusts herself, once the seeds of doubt are sown, there is no room for return.

Instead, he went back to Nan Southern, where he had a chance to take another shot.

In Central Plains these days, he already has a lot of insights into Central Plains fortification, even if he can not make the Shi family father and son into a cast, take these information back, is not a loss.

And his hesitation was well received by all those present.

Jinghong Shi waved a hand: "Okay, I know. ...... Special Envoy Kang, please."

Yang Kang knew it was a done deal, and with a respectful bow of his hand, Ziling Chu was gagged and dragged out to an unused tent, where he was temporarily imprisoned.

Yang Kang settled down and continued to drink tea.

Yuanzhao Yan, however, could not sit still, approached Jinghong Shi and said softly, "General Shi, what is the point of letting him go back? Killing him on the spot is the best way to preserve Yun Ting's reputation."

"I thank the Sixth Prince for his concern for my son." Jinghong Shi replied, "But no one in the personal guard camp knows the connection between Ziling Chu and my son, so killing him without giving a reason will only increase the rumors. "

Yuanzhao Yan disagreed: "It's better to execute him secretly, because only a dozen people know about it. What if they bring Ziling Chu back and then use those letters with similar handwriting to Yun Ting to make a story? Besides, that Chu knows a lot of Central Plains military information ......"

"Sixth prince, don't worry." Jinghong Shi was still gentle and courteous, "You can rest assured that Ziling Chu has been transferred to the primus battalion for many months, and that the deployment has been adjusted. Besides, they will not believe anything Ziling Chu says. Ziling Chu will definitely die when he goes to Nan Southern."

Yuanzhao Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Yang Kang seemed to have sensed Yuanzhao Yan's doubts and took the initiative to explain his sincerity.

He pointed to the letters scattered on the ground and said: "General, you have read all the letters, they are all originals. You can burn all the letters, and after you leave this tent, Kang will not mention another word about the letters. Consider that Ziling Chu stole the army's belongings and was dismissed and expelled from the army."

"Envoy Kang is really thoughtful, and I would like to thank you here, Shi."

After Jinghong Shi gave the signal, Tingyun Shi, who had been standing at the side with his head hanging, began to collect the secret letters scattered all over the floor.

At the same time, Jinghong Shi spoke again, "Envoy Kang, I also have a matter here that I would like to ask you to know."

Yang Kang was courteous: "What is it?"

Jinghong Shi said, "Ding Yuan Feiru Wen, has never been wounded."

Yang Kang didn't know why he brought it up and smiled politely, "That's not very ......"

Before the word "good" could be uttered, Yang Kang understood the meaning behind the words and immediately got goose bumps.

Yuanzhao Yan and Yuanheng Yan did not quite understand why Jinghong Shi would bring this up at first.

Feiru Wen was not seriously wounded before the battle of Dingyuan ......

Jinghong Shi looked at Yang Kang's white face and said slowly and deliberately, "My son had sensed that there was a traitor in the house, so he played a small ploy to inform his close people of two very different messages, one was that Ding Yuan Feiru Wen was wounded, and the other was that Vice General Bai of Yong Zhou City was wounded. And soon after that, Dingzhou was attacked by your army."

Yuanzhao Yan also gradually came to understand and looked at Tingyun Shi who was packing up the letters with astonishment.

The sadness on Tingyun Shi's face was no longer there, and he picked up each page of the letter and threw it into the fireplace with a raised hand.

As the fire burned the corners of the paper and curled them up, Jinghong Shi smiled and said, "Since we have already identified the traitor, please help Envoy Kang to send the traitor back to Nan Southern for us and take care of it."

......

Ziling Chu, in the other tent, knew nothing of what was happening in the main tent.

He curled his knees and touched the object in his arms.

The broken piece of jade is still there.

After the jade was shattered by the enraged Tingyun Shi, he wrapped the broken jade and put it back in his arms under the pretext that it was his mother's relic.

Broken jade can also be repaired, put together, it is not difficult to see the original appearance.

...... still works and works well.

Ziling Chu could only console herself with this, leaning her head on the hardwood to one side and enduring the burning pain all around her.

In the next few days, Yang Kang stayed in the Beifu Army to discuss the peace talks. Ziling Chu heard from his guards who were chatting outside that Yang Kang admired General Shi and the young general after spending these few days together, and that he was more humble than when he first arrived.

But Ziling Chu's life was not so good.

The body of the pain of the whip injury is another story, the daily lack of water and food, occasionally sent by the guards of a meal or rancid, even if not to smell it, swallowed whole, in the mouth that the taste of powder and greasy also call people sick.

The next day, Yeshu Li came, without saying a word, grabbed him and was a beating, the attack was even more ruthless than Tingyun Shi, if not outside the garrison of personal guards heard the voice is not right, Ziling Chu was afraid that he would be beaten to death.

Seeing Yeshu Li's red eyes, kicking and punching, with a vicious cry in his voice, a tall guard simply carried him on his shoulders and sent him out to young General Shi.

Now Ziling Chu is hurt even more, and he is retching and vomiting when he drinks water.

The Yeshu Li seems to have missed him, and when he had time, he would come through the window to beat him up, and even brought a knife with him, and every time he ended up being racked out by his own health student.

Ziling Chu was living a wretched life, it was like a year.

Day and night, it was finally time for Yang Kang to leave the camp.

The Nan Southern mission had to take Ziling Chu out secretly, so they chose the early morning hours to leave. Ziling Chu's head was covered with a black pocket to keep out of sight.

While being blindfolded, Ziling Chu caught a glimpse of Tingyun Shi, who had come to see him off.

When it was time to part, Ziling Chu's heart was filled with a different kind of melancholy, saying, "My lord, perhaps when we meet again, we will be enemies.

On the other hand, Yang Kang bade farewell to Jinghong Shi and informed him of one last thing: "General Shi, Ziling Chu has a gray-necked pigeon. Take my advice, it is useless to keep it, so kill it."

As the peace talks team made its way along the Cangjiang River, hearing the sound of waves and moving away from the main camp of the Beifu Army, Ziling Chu on horseback moved his sore body and said, "That's enough. Since we have gone far, let go of me."

The peacemaking team responsible for escorting him looked at each other for a while and snickered.

Ziling Chu was really uncomfortable being tied up and frowned: " Where is Yang Kang?"

Yang Kang came on his horse and ripped the black cloth off his head with one hand.

When he was able to open his eyes, he moved his tied arms and thought that perhaps Sha Ai had not told anyone about his status as a royal son, and Yang Kang was the only one who knew about it. Therefore, he moved closer to Yang Kang and whispered, "How is Sha Ai doing?"

Yang Kang looked at him: "Not very good. One eye was injured, and it took nine lives to recover a life."

Ziling Chu wondered, "He is a civil servant, how can he hurt his eyes?"

"...... civilian minister?"

Yang Kang watched his smiling eyes and the slightly upward tone of his question, which made Ziling Chu vaguely aware that something was wrong.

He asked, "Didn't Sha Ai ask you to pick me up and take me back to Nan Southern?"

"'Back'?" Yang Kang pondered for a while and smiled, "Yes, 'back' to Nan Southern, from now on, Nan Southern Sha Ai government, is your home. You used to be a slave in Central Plains, and you have been a soldier for a while, so you have enjoyed your happiness.

"...... what old job?" Ziling Chu heart of bad premonition grows stronger, " Sha Ai told you what?"

Yang Kang said, "Vice Admiral Sha Ai asked me to tell you that since you love to be a slave, he will reward you with a lifetime of servitude."

Sha Ai ? ...... Vice Admiral?

Ziling Chu opened his mouth for a while and finally realized that the situation was very different from what he had imagined.

He did not dare to hide anymore, the blood in his chest hissed and boiled against the flow, causing his head to buzz: "I am the Prince of Nan Southern! I have a token on my chest!"

Yang Kang raised an eyebrow, reached into his arms, and really felt a pile of broken hard objects.

He took the packet out and gave it a squeeze in his hand.

After Ziling Chu's expectant look, Yang Kang waved his hand and the packet of broken jade fell into the Cangjiang River, where it was swallowed up in the river, floating and sinking for a few seconds without a trace.

Facing Ziling Chu's face, Yang Kang's eyes under the crystal glasses were flushed with a cold smile: "...... Whether it was before or not, it's not now."