High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

"Tang Ke, I have a few questions for you, and you must answer them truthfully."

Tang Ke bowed and said, "Lord Yuan, please speak. Ziyou dares not conceal anything."

"Even though we've already met, we still have to go through the motions and provide basic information truthfully."

Yuan Shao gestured to his clerks to prepare to take notes before asking, "Where are you from? When did you arrive in the capital? How come I've never heard of you before?"

“Ziyou is originally from Jizhou. He has been in the capital for less than a month. It’s not surprising that you haven’t heard of my name, sir.”

"His Majesty ordered you to go to the Beauty Pool yesterday, but you arrived ahead of time. How come you didn't notice the assassins lying in ambush there?"

"Well... I was in a hurry to set up the stage, and time was short, so I really didn't have the energy to observe anything else and didn't find anything unusual."

"I heard you hired the opera troupe? What's your relationship with those two assassins?"

After Yuan Shao finished speaking, he stared intently at Tang Ke, his expression slightly tense. After all, this part was arranged by He Jin, and if something went wrong, no one could escape responsibility.

"I did find the opera troupe. The Dong family troupe is a famous opera troupe in Luoyang. When I first arrived in Luoyang, I didn't have many options."

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple." Tang Ke shrugged. "If I were one of them, I could have easily coordinated with them during the chaos, or even done nothing at all, and the assassin would probably have succeeded already."

“I can testify to this. That woman from the opera troupe tried to harm me. If it weren’t for her, I probably would have been killed.”

Empress He spoke up to defend Tang Ke, saying that in the chaos yesterday, everyone's attention was on Emperor Ling of Han, but Tang Ke saved her in her time of need, which greatly changed her opinion of him.

Yuan Shao's serious expression immediately turned respectful. "With Her Majesty the Empress as a witness, there is definitely no problem."

Turning to Tang Ke, he asked, "Eunuch Feng said that you not only let the assassin go, but also stabbed him with your sword and hindered the pursuit of the murderer. Is this true?"

“Eunuch Feng is settling a personal score,” Tang Ke said decisively.

Yuan Shao raised an eyebrow, seemingly becoming more alert: "How do you know?"

“Yesterday I slapped Eunuch Feng, and he must be holding a grudge. That’s why he deliberately distorted the truth even though he knew I hurt him to save His Majesty.”

"What does your saving the emperor have to do with stabbing him?"

"His palm strike would certainly kill or seriously injure the assassin, but His Majesty would also inevitably fall victim to the assassin's poison. In my opinion, Eunuch Feng is probably the assassin's accomplice!"

"presumptuous!"

"How dare you slander Eunuch Feng! What a cunning scoundrel!"

The court was in an uproar. Some whispered among themselves, some jumped out to defend Feng Xu and criticize Tang Ke, while most remained silent, creating utter chaos.

"Silence!" Emperor Ling's expression grew increasingly serious, his face becoming terrifyingly gloomy.

The scene fell silent instantly.

Emperor Ling of Han shifted forward and said, "Yuan Shao, please continue your question."

Yuan Shao nodded, his eyes suddenly becoming incredibly sharp and deep, yet revealing a deep sense of hope and joy.

“Do you know that Eunuch Feng holds the position of Grand Attendant and enjoys His Majesty’s deep trust? If he wanted to assassinate someone, he would have had countless opportunities. Why would he need to collude with outsiders? Moreover, given his high position and power, how could he do such a treasonous thing?”

Tang Ke took advantage of the chaos to observe carefully and saw that there were many people siding with Feng Xu, and it seemed that there were also quite a few people who wanted to bring Feng Xu down.

He organized his thoughts and continued, "If Eunuch Feng were to attempt the assassination himself, he would surely lose his life and implicate his family, losing all his wealth and honor. How could he do something so foolish?"

After clearing his throat, he added, "If we're talking about high position and great power, how does Eunuch Feng compare to Zhao Gao?"

"You audacious madman, you yourself are not innocent, yet you dare to smear me." Feng Xu and Xu Feng walked out from behind the hall, Feng Xu's hands still wrapped in bandages.

The scene fell into a deathly silence, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Before Tang Ke arrived, Emperor Ling of Han had already organized a discussion among his ministers about whether anyone had colluded with assassins to carry out the assassination.

Some people doubted the outsiders Tang Ke, Chen Lin, and Kuai Yue, while others doubted the poor performance of Cao Cao's close bodyguards. But no one doubted Feng Xu, because it was too illogical.

However, when Tang Ke brought up Zhao Gao, this illogical situation seemed not entirely impossible, because by analogy, Feng Xu was no match for Zhao Gao in terms of power or trust.

But didn't Zhao Gao also commit regicide?

Tang Ke stared at Feng Xu without fear: "I am only speaking based on the facts."

Feng Xu was furious: "What facts? His Majesty was assassinated the moment you appeared. If you hadn't injured me with your sword, that assassin would have been dead long ago. Moreover, you knew that the umbrella was his weapon, yet you still returned it to the assassin, helping her escape with evil magic. You were clearly up to no good and did it intentionally."

After a long silence, Emperor Ling of Han finally spoke: "Tang Ke, I saw it clearly. Eunuch Feng did indeed risk his life to protect me. If it weren't for him, I would probably have been killed long ago. If you don't explain yourself clearly today, hmph!"

Although he didn't finish his sentence, it was full of threat.

"Your Majesty, the situation was chaotic at the time, and no one could understand what was happening. Please arrange a few guards for me to assist you, so that I may recreate the scene for you."

"What scene do you want to recreate? You can choose the actors yourself." Although Emperor Ling of Han was completely bewildered, he still made the arrangements with great interest.

After Tang Ke expressed his gratitude, he pulled three guards over from the left and right. He directed one of them to lie on the ground, the middle one to make a stabbing motion with his sword, and the last one to make a high-five gesture behind the swordsman.

"Your Majesty, please look. These three people are similar to those in that situation. If the swordsman was an assassin and the one who struck with his palm was Eunuch Feng, what would have happened if I hadn't used my umbrella to break the assassin's sword, and Eunuch Feng had struck the assassin in the back with his palm?"

Emperor Ling of Han gasped. Given the current situation, if Feng Xu were to strike, it would undoubtedly help the assassin's sword to stab faster and harder.

"Moreover, even if I broke the sword, the short sword still grazed His Majesty's face. If Eunuch Feng were to further assist the assassin with a palm strike, I'm afraid..."

Tang Ke's words came to an abrupt end, but the meaning was clear: if I, Tang Ke, hadn't intervened in time to injure you, Feng Xu would have already become an accomplice of the assassin.

Feng Xu grew angrier as he listened. He had originally planned to launch a major attack to demand an explanation, but Tang Ke had turned the tables on him with just a few words.

The ministers also agreed with Tang Ke's analysis, and their gazes toward Feng Xu became somewhat different, with some already starting to discuss the matter amongst themselves.

Emperor Ling of Han rose from his dragon throne, walked down slowly, and sighed, saying, "Feng Xu has served me for many years and I trust him. Both of you have your reasons, and you both showed your willingness to save me in times of crisis. This truly puts me in a difficult position."