Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

At the foot of Mount Jiumai, Zhuque had stood on the summit for two full days and two nights without moving.

For the past two days, she has been thinking about how to enter Blackwater City.

After a long silence, Zhuque snorted softly, "Perhaps I should go back and ask Huang Shiying again, instead of wasting time here."

Just as she was about to turn and leave, the sound of rapid hoofbeats interrupted all her thoughts.

"Ok?"

Zhuque withdrew her foot after taking a step, and quietly watched as a horse team sped rapidly towards the depths of the Nine Veins Mountain at the foot of the mountain.

"A cavalry caravan appearing at this time? Perhaps..."

A plan instantly formed in her mind, and she immediately darted off like an arrow, closely following the cavalry...

On the other side, the ruins of Bingzhou Beacon Tower, located on the frontier, are scarred and broken, as if telling the story of a thrilling battle in the past.

Liu Wu stood there quietly, his deep gaze fixed on the ruins, his eyes lingering there for a long time.

He would sometimes bend down and carefully examine the tire tracks on the ground that had been blurred by the passage of time.

He would occasionally stroke the remaining wounds and knife marks on the dilapidated city wall.

It seems that they want to touch the intensity and cruelty of the battle back then through these mottled marks.

The heavy snow has stopped today, and the sun is shining brightly, casting a long shadow on him.

A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the hem of his clothes, but it couldn't dispel the heavy thoughts in his heart about the history this site carried.

Time passed second by second, and Liu Wu remained immersed in the experience, tirelessly exploring every corner that might hide a story, trying to piece together the scene of that long-gone but still heart-wrenching war.

The guards beside him were shivering and their faces were turning purple, but they dared not disturb Liu Wu's investigation.

It wasn't until Liu Wu dug out a small piece of dark clay from the snowdrift with his bare hands that he wondered what it was like and then sniffed it.

"I understand now, Duke Zhenguo, you are truly innocent!"

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he immediately dropped the clay, turned around, and jumped onto the carriage.

"Go back to camp."

Before the guards could react, Liu Wu uttered a single sentence and directly ordered the coachman to spur the horse toward the Bingzhou camp.

Two days later, in the main tent of the Bingzhou camp, Commander-in-Chief Wang Zhongsi was intently flipping through the military manual in his hand.

Suddenly the curtain was lifted, and Liu Wu's thin figure stood upright in front of Wang Zhongsi.

Wang Zhongsi glanced at him, warmed his hands on the charcoal brazier beside the table, and casually asked, "Has Minister Liu found anything out?"

Liu Wu found a stool and sat down in front of him, asking directly, "General Wang, I want to know, what exactly happened inside the Sharp Knife Battalion back then?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhongsi seemed to have expected it. His weathered face didn't even twitch. He continued to quietly rub his palms back and forth, roasting the charcoal over the fire.

Liu Wu stared at him with a sinister look in his eyes, not blinking.

After a long silence, Wang Zhongsi finally spoke: "You can all go out now."

After his personal guards bowed to him, they withdrew from the main tent.

After making sure there were no eavesdroppers behind the wall, Wang Zhongsi slowly spoke: "Minister Liu, you can ask whatever you want now, and I will answer you without reservation."

But there is one request: whatever you have heard today, you must not speak of to anyone after you leave this tent.”

Liu Wu: "Do you want me to deceive His Majesty? His Majesty ordered me to investigate the case of the Duke of Zhenguo's cannibalism. If I don't speak up, how am I supposed to report back?"

Wang Zhongsi: "With His Majesty's wisdom, he may not be unaware that the Duke of Zhenguo is innocent. Perhaps everything you have investigated is something His Majesty does not want to know?"

"That's a matter between His Majesty and the Duke of Zhenguo!" Liu Wu replied proudly. "As the Minister of Justice, I naturally have the right to make everything investigated public."

"Publicly?"

The atmosphere inside the tent instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Wang Zhongsi's cold gaze was fixed directly on Liu Wu.

But Liu Wu showed no weakness and remained motionless, confronting Wang Zhongsi.

After about ten breaths, Wang Zhongsi said, "Go ahead and ask."

"Did something unexpected happen inside the Sharp Knife Battalion back then?"

Wang Zhongsi nodded, his silence tantamount to acquiescence.

Liu Wu pressed on, "Was the Northern Yan's surprise attack on Fengsui Fort also arranged by you, General?"

Wang Zhongsi nodded: "Yes, I received intelligence long ago that Northern Yan planned to use Fengsui Fort as a breakthrough point to eventually swallow up the Bingzhou camp."

So I deliberately withdrew 9,000 elite troops from thirteen fortresses near the beacon tower.

He left only the beacon tower fortress to lure the Northern Yan army into attacking, hoping to seize the opportunity to annihilate the main force of Northern Yan in one fell swoop.

Liu Wu: "Then why did you send the elite vanguard to patrol the beacon towers?"

"Wei Shuyu of Northern Yan was a renowned general. If he discovered that more than a dozen fortresses near Fengsui Fort were unguarded, he would surely suspect a trap."

To ensure the plan's success, I used the elite vanguard battalion as bait to lure the Northern Yan forces into an attack.

"The Sharp Knife Battalion is a renowned unit in Bingzhou. Back then, the Duke of Zhenguo was one of your top generals. How could you use him as bait?" Liu Wu's tone was tinged with indignation.

"Warfare is based on deception. A general must make decisions from afar. The Bingzhou camp, with its hundreds of thousands of troops, is the gateway to the north."

No matter how outstanding Shen Lang is, compared to the common people living across this vast land, how insignificant he is.

Moreover, at that time, no one in the Bingzhou camp was more suitable as bait than the Sharp Knife Battalion.

As he spoke, Wang Zhongsi added a few pieces of charcoal to the charcoal basin.

Liu Wu frowned: "So, you knew all along that the elite sniper battalion soldiers harbored rebellious intentions, and you wanted to use the Northern Yan forces to eliminate them?"

Wang Zhongsi smiled and said, "You guessed right, but not entirely. Although the Sharp Knife Battalion has an outstanding record, it has also caused dissatisfaction among the other battalions."

Private conflicts were frequent, and over time, the morale of the elite vanguard battalion had long since shifted away from the Chu camp. It was only natural for Northern Yan to try and buy them off.

After all, the allure of having a home is immense for these battle-hardened warriors.

I tried to talk to them, but I failed. Although they tried to hide their expressions well, the disgust and resentment in their eyes were impossible to conceal.

Since something bad was bound to happen sooner or later, it's better to die a quick and painless death at the hands of our own people.

Liu Wu suddenly stood up: "I understand, you want to use the Duke of Zhenguo to get rid of them? How dare you!"

Wang Zhongsi's cold expression remained unchanged: "I'm sorry, as the commander-in-chief, I have no choice, but even if we could do it all over again..."

I will still send them to the beacon tower as bait, regardless of whether the beacon tower can be defended or not.

"From the moment they cross the beacon tower, Northern Yan is destined to step into the trap that I, Wang Zhongsi, have laid in advance."

After a pause, Wang Zhongsi suddenly added, "However, I didn't expect Shen Lang to once again impress me."

He showed no mercy in killing his ninety-nine subordinates with whom he had worked day and night, and even annihilated Wei Shuyu and the entire Northern Yan cavalry outside the beacon tower.

With Wei Shuyu dead, there were no more threats to the border.

Liu Wu frowned: "So, the Sharp Knife Battalion betrayed the Great Chu? Why didn't you report such an important matter?"

"Report it?" Wang Zhongsi glanced at Liu Wu. "Minister Liu, what do you think the consequences would be if this matter were reported to the court?"

Liu Wu was taken aback, but immediately understood what Wang Zhongsi meant.

Yes, what will happen if we report it?

Not only will the reputation of the Sharp Knife Battalion be ruined, but the hard-won achievements of the Bingzhou Camp will also be wasted due to the machinations of those with ulterior motives.

Even more frightening is that this incident will cause unrest within the Bingzhou military camp, and Wang Zhongsi is very likely to be dismissed from his post.

Thinking of all this, Liu Wu sighed, shook his head, and closed his eyes.

If I were in Wang Zhongsi's position, I probably would have made the same choice.

(Ten chapters completed)