High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

"Hahaha, that's hilarious."

A burst of shrill laughter came from the room, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

Who dares to be so bold? Everyone turned to look and saw He Jin's younger brother, He Miao.

He Jin said angrily, "What's so laughable?"

He Miao said, word by word, "Brother, I laugh at you for being so rich and powerful as a subject, yet still not satisfied and wanting more. As a member of the imperial family, you bribe officials. Aren't you just giving people something to talk about?"

"Outrageous!" He Jin was furious and slammed his hand on the table, knocking the bowls and chopsticks to the ground.

"It's not that I'm being presumptuous, it's that you're being presumptuous. I'm afraid my entire He family will be wiped out by your hand." After saying this, He Miao covered her face and burst into tears.

This created an extremely awkward situation. Since the two men were brothers, helping one would inevitably offend the other. No one responded, and even offering a word of advice seemed inappropriate.

A cold glint flashed in He Jin's eyes: "Then, in your opinion, what should be done?"

He Miao sighed, "If it were up to me, brother, you might as well settle down and be the emperor's brother-in-law like me. Everything can be handled by Zhang Changshi and Zhao Changshi. Don't you think that if it weren't for their help back then, how could we brothers be so wealthy today? We must not forget our roots!"

"You bastard!" He Jin never expected to lose face in this situation because of his younger brother. With a "slap," he slapped him hard across the face.

Five bright red marks immediately appeared on He Miao's face, but she still didn't back down: "Brother, it doesn't matter if you hit me or scold me, but if you offend Eunuch Zhang, you will definitely not have a good ending. I advise you to turn back before it's too late."

He Jin took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and slowly said, "Who instructed you to be so bold today?"

He Miao shook his head: "I was just offering good advice, why would I need someone to instruct me? Don't make wild guesses."

He Jin sneered, "What a cunning move! What a cunning move! You instigated my brother to undermine me in public. Haha, I never thought that all my painstaking efforts would result in such a traitor as you."

He Miao seemed to be getting angry too, and retorted loudly, "Does that mean my sister is also a traitor, since she supports Zhang Changshi as well?"

These words were like an ice dagger piercing He Jin's heart.

Tang Ke felt a great sense of unease. He Miao’s behavior was extremely abnormal. If he had no support, even if they were brothers, he would never dare to contradict He Jin like this, especially in this situation. This was equivalent to forcing He Jin to deal with him. Otherwise, how could he explain himself to everyone present?

He quietly slipped out of the crowd and out through the back gate of the He residence.

A cold wind was blowing, and the officials' expressions gradually became solemn, as if they too were chilled by the biting wind.

He Jin's act of bribing officials today was already beneath his dignity, and if He Miao were to blurt it out later, everyone present would be implicated.

The deathly silence of the night, like a primordial beast capable of devouring everything, silently watches over all.

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of light, orderly footsteps approached from afar, accompanied by the rapid running of a large group of people and carriages.

A large number of Imperial Guards escorted an eight-bearer sedan chair, which rushed swiftly and orderly toward the He residence.

The officials inside the He residence began to stir, some were already uneasy, and some even came to the door to greet him. A man stepped out of the sedan chair with an air of nonchalance; it was Zhang Rang, who had strongly recommended Huangfu Song for the position of Grand General.

Tang Ke had already come out from the inner hall. He glanced behind Zhang Rang and saw a densely packed Imperial Guard that stretched as far as the eye could see. There must have been at least a thousand of them, and each of them was wearing armor and robes, looking very imposing. Such a display of power and grandeur was truly frightening.

The officials gathered here were already regretting that they had come to take sides when the situation was so unclear. Judging from Zhang Rang's demeanor, he probably had ill intentions.

He Jin composed himself and shouted, "What is the purpose of Eunuch Zhang bringing his troops here in the dead of night?"

Zhang Rang stepped out of the sedan chair with a smile: "Minister He, I heard that there is a grand opera being performed at your residence, so I came here to see if there is anything I can do to help."

"So it was you!" He Jin laughed instead of getting angry: "I was wondering why he dared to contradict me in public again and again. It turns out he was instigated by you."

Zhang Rang's smile grew even brighter: "Your brothers' family affairs shouldn't involve our family, right?"

He strolled over to the box, casually scooped up a handful of jewels, and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, Your Excellency, you are truly generous, spending so much for a position as a general."

He picked up the jewelry and walked around the room, handing it out to everyone one by one: "Look carefully, everyone. These are all good things. No wonder you were all so infatuated when the Imperial Brother-in-law offered you bribes. Even someone like Grand Commandant Yang couldn't help but be tempted."

While the other officials were already pale with fright, Yang Ci remained calm and said with a smile, "Attendant Zhang is joking. This is just a common item that the Imperial Brother-in-law brought out to broaden everyone's horizons. There is no intention of bribery."

“Yes, yes, yes, just to broaden our horizons, that’s all.” One of the officials quickly chimed in.

Zhang Rang casually put the jewelry back into the box and laughed, "Since you've broadened your horizons, can you leave now that you've seen it all?"

The officials looked at He Jin, then at Zhang Rang, and were at a loss for what to do.

"Don't panic, everyone! We were just having a private gathering of friends and did not break any laws. Even if we go to His Majesty, I will have something to say. But Zhang Changshi, you are leading so many Imperial Guards around in the middle of the night. People who don't know the situation might think you have ulterior motives!"

Seeing that things had already fallen apart, He Jin decided to lay everything out in the open.

Zhang Rang's smug demeanor finally subsided somewhat as he recalled his recent involvement in a suspected treason case.

After a moment, his emotions calmed down: "Whoever has ulterior motives, we will find out when we speak to His Majesty."

After saying that, he shouted, "Guards, take the evidence into the palace and present it to His Majesty. Anyone who refuses to leave now, lock them up and hand them over to His Majesty for punishment."

"Let me see who dares?"

Before the Imperial Guards could make a move, He Jin roared, "Without any evidence, you dare to come to my residence to arrest someone?"

"No evidence?" Zhang Rang smiled again: "These gold and silver treasures are the evidence, and your brother is the witness. There are so many people here, I don't believe everyone can be so stubborn. Those who want to leave, this is your last chance. I will count to three, and those who are still here, regardless of their official rank, will be arrested!"

"Yes!" the crowd answered in unison, their voices quite intimidating.

Seeing that things were not going well, some officials were so frightened that they ran away as fast as they could. They kept looking back, but in the end, they sighed and hurriedly left the He residence.

Once someone took the lead, others felt less guilty, and more and more people left; soon a third of them were gone.

He Jin's face turned ashen, and he remained silent. He knew that the situation was beyond his control, and if he forced his way through, he feared he would lose face.