High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

Xu Feng spread his hands: "It's very simple. You help us get rid of Tang Ke and obtain the presiding judgeship of the case, and we'll help Zhang Rang die unexpectedly so that you can inherit the marquisate ahead of schedule."

Zhang Feng's pupils contracted rapidly: "Do you think I'm a three-year-old? You've gained the upper hand just to mess with my father? If you bring him down, what will become of your title?"

"Your father represents a powerful force. If we bypass your father and strike at the force behind him, it will be the same. When you inherit his position, we can unite as one. Who in the court will dare to oppose us then?"

"What do you need me to do?"

“Go back now and write a secret letter saying that Tang Ke abused his power during the investigation and defiled your wife. Persuade your wife to bring him into the palace and present it to the Empress. We will also present it to His Majesty at the same time.”

"The Empress will never allow such a shameful matter to be leaked out. At that time, Tang Ke will naturally not escape death."

Deep in the dense forest west of Luoyang, a man was wildly wielding his sword, moving with lightning speed.

A man emerged from the bamboo grove, clapping his hands and exclaiming, "Eunuch Qu, what skill you have!"

The swordsman sheathed his sword and laughed loudly, "Lord Yuan, what brings you here to see me today? I heard His Majesty has released Zhang Rang. All your efforts have not only yielded no results, but you've also lost your position as Commander of the Imperial Guard. I feel sorry for you."

"It's alright, they're still fighting like dogs right now. I've come here today to ask you for a favor."

"What's up? I'm fasting right now, so I get extra money for killing people."

"You said last time that this person wouldn't be charged extra."

"Tang guest?"

"good."

"Things are different now. He's protected by the Imperial Guards, so it won't be so easy to catch him. It'll be very difficult!"

"How tall is it?"

"It will cost at least three thousand taels of silver."

"I'll give you four thousand taels. I, a dignified man and a commander of the Imperial Guard, cannot be priced the same as the top courtesan of the Grand View Garden!"

"..."...

"Lord Tang, please hurry up. I've been waiting for you for ages. His Majesty only gave us three days. If the case isn't finished by then, we'll both lose our heads."

Jian Shuo urged him impatiently. He had arrived at the yamen gate early in the morning and sent three groups of people to urge him, but to no avail. Only then did he personally come to Tang Kefu.

This Commander of the Imperial Guards had drunk an unknown amount of wine; he vomited all over the room, and even though the sun was high in the sky, he was still fast asleep.

"Here he comes." Tang Ke came out of the house while tying his belt and said with a smile, "You're just too impatient. Although His Majesty only gave us three days, you have to believe that the process will be tortuous, but the ending will be satisfactory. We will definitely be able to close the case smoothly by the deadline. Don't put so much pressure on yourself."

Jian Shuo shook his head helplessly. Looking at this man who was so unserious, he couldn't understand why His Majesty had taken a liking to him, so he simply went outside to wait.

By the time the two men finally took their turn to hold court, Ma Yuanyi had been kneeling below the hall for several hours, collapsing several times in the process.

Tang Ke gestured for Jian Shuo to begin. Although he was wearing a mask, his voice couldn't be concealed, so it was best for him to speak as little as possible.

Jian Shuo didn't stand on ceremony with him. He slammed his gavel and began questioning him about who had ordered him to assassinate the emperor—questions that had become tiresome.

Tang Ke initially forced himself to listen for a while, but eventually couldn't take it anymore. He quietly pulled Jian Shuo aside and whispered, "Eunuch Jian, why don't we try a few different questions? We won't get anything out of the same questions."

Jian Shuo disagreed, saying, "Lord Tang, you may not know this, but repeating the same question is one of the important methods of formal interrogation. As long as his answer is different even once, we can find a flaw and the case can continue to move forward."

"I doubt he could even recite the answers from memory. What could he possibly get out of that?"

"So what do you think?"

“You can ask him from other places, such as what position he holds in the Taiping Dao, how many accomplices he has in the church, and what his intentions are.”

Jian Shuo smiled bitterly: "Do you know that the Taiping Dao followers are now all over the world? Many court officials are their followers. There are simply too many to arrest. Moreover, the only thing that identified him as being related to the Taiping Dao was that secret letter. Hasn't that letter already been proven to be a forgery?"

"Well, the letter is forged, but that shouldn't affect our investigation of the Way of Peace, right?" Tang Ke was slightly annoyed. He should have made Hou Fu admit to being a member of the Way of Peace as well.

"Of course, you can look up whatever you want, as long as you like." Jian Shuo reminded him irritably, "Don't forget, we only have three days."

He seemed unaware that Feng Xu and Xu Feng were both followers of the Way of Peace, and he didn't take Tang Ke's words seriously, nor was he worried that Tang Ke could actually find anything out from this lead.

"Three days is more than enough. Just agree to the investigation." Tang Ke waved his hand confidently: "Just you wait and see!"

He walked over to Ma Yuanyi and circled around him. As a former brother, he knew all too well how stubborn this man was.

“This man is so stubborn, I think we should use torture.” He spun around three times before finally speaking in a strained voice.

Jian Shuo chuckled for a long time before saying, "Brother, you may not know me very well. In this city of Luoyang, if I'm second to none in terms of torture methods, no one dares to claim to be number one. People call me the Living Yama behind my back. Do you think I would hold such a wanted criminal against me?"

"Impressive, impressive!" Tang Ke clapped his hands vigorously and asked, "Lord Living Yama, have you ever used the mercury initiation method?"

Jian Shuo frowned: "What mercury infusion method? That's a thing for preserving corpses."

Tang Ke nodded and said slowly, "This method involves burying the prisoner in the ground, leaving only his head exposed. Then, a cross is cut open at the top of his head with a knife, the scalp is pulled open, and mercury is poured in little by little."

He spoke slowly and in a strained voice, gesturing as he recounted the story. The people around him turned pale, and even Jian Shuo gasped.

"After the mercury flows in, because it is heavy, it will pull the prisoner's muscles and skin apart. The person buried in the soil will initially feel itchier and itchier, and slowly will writhe in pain. Because they are buried in the soil and cannot break free, they will become very agitated."

"Twist and twist, twist and twist, and guess what happens in the end? There just happens to be a hole in the top of the head. When the prisoner exerts force, he will jump out of that hole, naked, leaving only his skin in the ground."

"At this time, the prisoner was not dead yet, only a skeleton of flesh and blood remained, and he could still walk around. The skin was very intact and could be made into a human skin lantern, so that the prisoner would never be reincarnated."

"Ugh~"

His vivid and expressive performance caused some people around him to vomit, while others felt a chill run down their spines in fear.

Tang Ke silently observed Ma Yuanyi's expression. This usually tough guy finally showed a hint of panic, especially when he mentioned that the human skin lantern would prevent people from ever being reincarnated.

Taiping Dao believes in reincarnation!