Professional Ethics of a Concubine

This kind of beheading thing is not something that scholars should do, it needs to be done by military men.

Moreover, as long as this task is accomplished, it will be a huge military achievement, no less than killing an enemy general.

Therefore, everyone else volunteered to kill Xiong Dayong, fearing that the credit would be taken away by others.

“Xiong Dayong was originally a fierce general under the command of King Wei. I have met him several times and am quite familiar with him. Although he is a reckless man, he also has the instincts of a wild beast.

If you approach him with murderous intent, he will only notice you. He already has something on his mind, so he will be even more alert. Add to that his superb martial arts...

Think about it carefully. If you go to his territory, it's like a lamb entering the wolf's territory. Nine times out of ten, you will be the one in trouble."

Xie Wenyuan's objective and reasonable words were like a basin of cold water poured on everyone's heads, calming down their overheated minds.

"Don't rush to think about killing Xiong Dayong. As I said before, he hasn't been summoned yet. You can't convict him just like that."

After Xie Wenyuan finished speaking, he prepared to go to Yancheng to deliver a letter to Xiong Dayong, telling him to come here to see him by noon tomorrow at the latest.

"Okay, let's wait patiently until tomorrow noon. If Xiong Dayong doesn't come, we will discuss it again." Xie Wenyuan made the final decision.

Everyone knew that what the general said made more sense, so they could only suppress their anxiety, disperse, and wait for news.

Xie Wenyuan asked Xie Jin to go back to the county government office first and not stay in the military camp. It would be better for them to leave quickly as they were alone in the deep enemy territory.

He is the prince of Zhao, and staying in the Chu army camp, he is under a lot of pressure. He can't even sleep well at night.

In fact, it takes less than half an hour to ride a horse from the camp to the county government office in Yongchang City. It is very close.

Xie Jin returned to the county government office from the military camp. Zheng Qinghe was so excited to see that the Crown Prince had returned safely that he almost shed tears.

"My Lord, next time, please do not go to the Chu army in person. If something goes wrong... we cannot bear the consequences!"

Zheng Qinghe had never felt that half a day could be so long and so torturous.

Not only him, but anyone who knew what the prince was doing would be driven crazy with anxiety.

While waiting for the prince to return, Zheng Qinghe couldn't help but worry more than once: What if the former prince also turned against him? What if the prince was imprisoned?

Although the King of Qi had previously verified that the former crown prince's heart was still on the side of Great Zhao, it did not mean that he did not want to kill the crown prince and take power back into his own hands.

Zheng Qinghe really didn't understand why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince trusted the former Crown Prince Xie Wenyuan so much, and even took the initiative to come to him and hand his life over to him.

"That's right! Your Highness, if you have any plans, just tell the others and let them pass on the message."

Others all advised.

"I understand. I won't go tomorrow. Let Li Anping go to negotiate. He speaks the best Chu dialect." Xie Jin was not the kind of person who would act on his own will and not listen to advice.

However, everything is ready except for the east wind. He is worried and wants to create this east wind himself.

It was also because he and Xie Wenyuan discussed it personally that the strategy could be made more perfect.

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince listened to the advice, the others were relieved and asked him what to do next.

"Is there any unusual movement in Yongchang City? Are those people still obedient?" Xie Jinxian asked.

Xie Jin only temporarily controlled the county government and did not touch anyone else in the city. Once someone discovered that there was a problem with the officials in the county government, trouble would arise.

"Your Highness, not yet. It will be fine to hold on for two or three days." Zheng Qinghe said.

"Okay." Xie Jin nodded with satisfaction.

All he needed was two days.

-

The next day, noon.

Xiong Dayong naturally did not show up.

The deputy generals in the military camp had foreseen this result long ago. They cursed Xiong Dayong when they talked about him and wanted to kill him with their own hands.

Xie Wenyuan rejected all objections and mentioned the Yongchang County Magistrate, saying that he would give him three days. If he could cut off Xiong Dayong's head within three days, all would be well.

If that doesn’t work, think of another way.

Although the deputy generals did not think highly of the noble scholar county magistrate, they felt that three days was enough time, so they had no objection.

Unexpectedly, Xiong Dayong’s head was delivered the next morning!

The one who was given the head was naturally Li Anping.

The head of Xiong Dayong was chopped off by Li Anping. Since he was the one who sent the Buddha to the west, it was natural that he should send the head away as well.

When the deputy generals saw the head delivered to them and confirmed that it was really Xiong Dayong, they were all stunned!

"How did you do it? You just kill people when you say so?!" This is to get to the bottom of the matter.

"If Xiong Dayong was so easy to kill, we could have done it ourselves!" It was too late to regret.

"Huh? Where is your county magistrate? Why isn't he the one offering the head?" This was a puzzled person.

…………

Anyway, everyone has a lot of question marks on their heads and a lot of questions in their minds, and they all want to get to the bottom of it.

Xie Wenyuan asked everyone to be quiet so that the county magistrate could respond properly.

"Replying to the general, my county magistrate is still in Yancheng to control the situation. The main purpose is to conceal Xiong Dayong's death. He said he was afraid of chaos in the army, so he wanted to keep it a secret and wait for the general to rush to Yancheng to take over the army."

Li Anping paused for a moment before continuing,

"After all, it was only Xiong Dayong who rebelled, not the entire Chu army."

"That's right! Your county magistrate is very thoughtful." Xie Wenyuan nodded, slapped the table, and said immediately,

"Deputy General Lei, notify the troops to break camp and immediately advance towards Yancheng. March quickly and try to arrive before dark.

You guys will ride fast horses with your personal soldiers and 5,000 cavalrymen, and follow me to Yancheng to read the imperial edict, take over the army, and then use Xiong Dayong's head as a sacrifice to boost morale!"

"Yes, I obey your command!" Deputy General Lei immediately rushed out of the tent.

The other generals also took action in full swing, putting aside all the doubts and the killing of Xiong Dayong.

This is how marching and fighting work, you have to race against time.

Many generals would act without knowing what was going on when they received orders, and then figure out what was going on later.

-

Yancheng.

"Your Highness, the Chu army has set out. It seems that they are marching quickly. They should arrive by evening. Their cavalry should arrive around 1:15 pm."

The spies responsible for monitoring the movements of the Chu army used carrier pigeons to deliver messages, so Xie Jin received the information shortly after the Chu army broke camp and set off.

"Well, give the order to slaughter pigs and sheep, add a feast to the military camp tonight to celebrate, and let the people of Yancheng, whom we have selected, come out to welcome the army."

Xie Jin said,

"Those of you soldiers who cannot speak Chu language fluently should shut up and not speak easily."

Since taking Yancheng, the first order Xie Jin gave to the soldiers was to learn the Chu official language like crazy. They not only had to understand it, but also had to be able to speak it.

In fact, there is not much difference between the official language of Chu State and the official language of Zhao State. If you speak slowly, you can understand most of it, because before the split, they had the same ancestor and the writing is the same.

Therefore, it was not that difficult for the soldiers of the Great Zhao to learn the official language of the Chu State, and the smart ones could even learn some of the Chu dialect.

After more than a month of talking non-stop every day, I finally learned most of them and spoke them fluently. Only a few stupid ones spoke poorly.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I have given instructions many times. Military discipline is strict and no one will act recklessly." Zheng Qinghe suppressed his excitement and spoke.

Xie Jin nodded, sat down, and went over all the recent arrangements again to check if there was anything missing.

"Your Highness, Xie Liuyuan is here and said he has something to report." At this time, the personal guards passed the message.

"Let him in." Xie Jin said.

Xie Liuyuan always stayed by Ye Qingzhi's side, helping her run errands and pass on messages.

So, when Xie Jin saw him, he asked, "What's the matter with your Master Ye?"

"Your Highness, when the master was riding a horse in the military camp, the horse suddenly got startled and caused the master to fall off the horse..."

"How are you injured?" Xie Jin stood up suddenly, suppressed the urge to go see her immediately, and asked with a very grim expression.

"When the master fell, he grabbed the horse rope tightly and was not thrown off the horse directly. He was dragged by the horse for a few steps before he chose to let go and rolled to the ground.

Fortunately, the master was not trampled by the horse, so he had many scratches on his body and his left foot was sprained, but the rest was fine."

Xie Liuyuan lowered his head even lower and spoke quickly without daring to raise his head, let alone breathe.

Because he could already feel his master's anger, coldness, and murderous intent.

If he fails to serve his master well, he will also be punished.

"Why were the horses frightened?" Xie Jin sat down again, took a few deep breaths, suppressed the various emotions churning in his heart, and asked in a cold voice.

"It was Shen Chunyuan and his gang who were testing new firearms. Because the noise was too loud, the horses got scared. Not only the horse the master was riding got scared, but many other horses were also scared."

Xie Liuyuan spoke up.

"Where are the princess and the others? Are they injured?" Xie Jin frowned and asked again.

"The princess and the others were not riding horses, nor were they nearby. They are all safe and sound." Xie Liuyuan added.

"What did the imperial physician say? How serious is the abrasion? How serious is the foot injury? Are there any internal injuries?" Xie Jin asked again.

"The imperial physician diagnosed that the master's abrasions were not serious, and his lungs were not injured. It was just the foot injury that was a bit troublesome. He had to rest for more than ten days and should not move around."

Xie Liuyuan bowed again and continued,

"Before I came here, my master specifically asked me to tell Your Highness that she is fine and you don't need to worry about her. I want Your Highness to focus on your own affairs and not let her delay important matters. She can't bear the reputation of being a national evil concubine."

When Xie Jin heard Ye Qingzhi's words, his cold expression eased a little. He suppressed his anxiety and quickly wrote a letter and handed it to Xie Liuyuan.

"Give her this letter, and tell her that if everything goes well, I will be back tomorrow after I finish my work, so she can lie down and recover from her injuries."

Xie Liuyuan agreed, took the letter and left quickly.

Xie Jin sighed and rubbed his brows. He couldn't concentrate on his work for a while and felt upset.