w.a.n.g Kai-tai turned his head and looked at the departing An Zhe with an unsightly expression.
He still didn"t know what was going on, but he saw corpses strewn all over the pavilion.
The people who had been killed in the end had their heads cut off by An Zhe.
w.a.n.g Kai-tai turned to look at the ashen-faced Xu Chao. ""What is going on?""
""Why did the war come to the Four Corridors?""
Only then did Xu Chao come back to his senses. He rubbed his head and explained what had happened.
When he heard that the members of the Four Sect Alliance had accepted the money to kill the people of the Heavenly Awakening Sect, w.a.n.g KaiTai immediately became furious. ""Motherf * cker!""
""Why did the Infantry Division recruit you animals?!""
A person not far away murmured, ""Who doesn"t do this for money? It"s just a matter of the martial world. It"s nothing.""
He grabbed that person"s clothes and held him up high with one arm, ""Let me tell you, once you enter the gate of the Infantry Division, you will all be soldiers. Even if you die, you will still be the ghosts of the Infantry Division.""
When I promised you that you would let bygones be bygones, you should know what you are willing to give in exchange for your past mistakes!
""Judging from your current att.i.tude, there should be less peaceful fights. I"ll add another one!""
He pressed his hand down, and the man"s head fell to the ground. The man"s head directly exploded.
w.a.n.g Kaitai tossed the body to the side. ""From today onwards, I will take care of everyone here.""
Bring them to the barracks at first light. I"ll train them myself.
If anyone doesn"t agree, I"ll kill one.
""If you don"t accept it, I"ll kill you all.""
He turned around and said, ""Go bring a team of cavalry over, take these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds to the barracks, transfer the officers and guards, if anyone dares to disobey my orders, kill them without mercy!""
His janissaries immediately went to transfer their troops. Those people were completely frightened, and all of them were completely silent. No one dared to speak carelessly anymore.
""Come back with me!""
w.a.n.g Kai-tai glared at Xu Chao, then strode away.
An hour later, Chen Zeyan, who had just slept in the military headquarters, was woken up. He had been working hard for an entire day and half the night.
He knew that his subordinates had a sense of propriety when doing things. If it wasn"t for something major, it would be impossible for him to disturb the few days of rest he had today.
Chen was lacking in some points of connection between his work and that of Hao Ping, the late military minister.
But the greatest advantage of this person was his diligence, which almost no one could compare with.
He hadn"t slept more than four hours a day since he had become a soldier.
When Chen put on his clothes and came out of the back room, w.a.n.g Kai-tai and Xu Chao and the new a.s.sistant minister, Ma Ziwei, were already waiting in the living room.
""What happened?""
Chen walked quickly out of the room, and when he sat down on the chair, he had already forced himself to wake up.
When it came to the military affairs, Duke Yan Mu Changyan was decisive. After upgrading Chen Zaiyan to become the Minister of War, he immediately promoted Hao Ping. The former member of the Household Department, Ma Ziwei, was the a.s.sistant minister of the military affairs, and did not give the empress dowager any time to warm up Su Qing.
Therefore, the King of Swallow still had a firm control over the troops.
w.a.n.g Kai-tai recounted the incident at the Four Corners Hall in as detailed a manner as possible.
Chen Zaiyan frowned as he heard this, his face turning cold, ""The Four Seasons Tower was personally prepared by the old Minister himself, and many generals were sent to the battlefield. But these people are of unruly origins, and most of them are not disciplined or disciplined.""
Even on the battlefield, resistance was not uncommon.
When the old Minister was present, he personally stared at the Four Seasons Garden, but the people there did not dare to cause a ruckus.
""The responsibility lies with me. After the old Minister left, I was still unable to find the time to manage the affairs of the Four Directions" Guest Hall. Who would have thought that it would erode to such an extent?""
Xu Chao knelt down. ""I have failed my duty. Please punish me, milord.""
Chen Zaiyan shook his head and said, ""You have too many things to do. The relationship between the Military Department and the Martial Arts Academy is all dependent on you alone. How could you have the time to bother about the Four Corridors?""
""It was my negligence. I have indeed forgotten about the Four Corridors.""
w.a.n.g KaiTai said, ""We have to deal with this matter as soon as possible. We can"t let the news leak out. Once this matter is known, the Military Department won"t be able to bear it.""
""General w.a.n.g"s considerations are correct,"" said the a.s.sistant minister, Ma Zi. ""The empress dowager is keeping an eye on our military. Once the empress dowager finds out about this, they"ll immediately use it to cause trouble.""
Gather prisoners and bandits from all over the country, and those by the empress dowager"s side can even try to rebel against our Military Department.
""If this matter is not handled properly, I"m afraid it will be difficult to deal with.""
Fang Dao replied straightforwardly, ""I originally planned to send these people to the battlefield as soon as possible, but I didn"t expect that after Tie Liuhuo went to the border of Youguo, Youguo would suddenly completely retreat, contrary to normal.""
Although the battle was still ongoing, the situation was stable, and they didn"t have the chance to send these people away.
In the past, it was always the front line that sent people to request for more troops, while sending these people over at the same time.
""Since the beginning of the year, there hasn"t been an increase in the number of troops, so these people have been staying idle.""
Chen Zaiyan frowned and thought for a while before saying, ""General w.a.n.g has thought it through thoroughly by keeping these people in the barracks.""
""None of those people can show their faces, otherwise, I"m afraid all of us will have to bear the heinous crime of gathering our forces to rebel.""
w.a.n.g KaiTai said, ""Thankfully, it"s night time. If it was daytime, this matter would have already been blown up.""
Chen Zaiyan nodded his head, ""How"s the situation over at the Four Corners" Union Hall?""
w.a.n.g Kai-Tai said, ""Let me think about it, we can"t leave anyone alive. We"ll take them all with us.""
The smell of blood was so strong that the dogs" noses would smell it.
""Before I came here, I sent people to the Gathering Merchant House and had Zhuang Fei Fei Fei come to the Infantry Division immediately.""
While he was speaking, Zhuang Feifei, dressed in a man"s attire, walked in from outside, ""Greetings Lord Shang Shu, the Vice Minister, and the generals.""
Chen Zaiyan waved his hand, ""Don"t be so polite at this time.""
""Sit down first. You know what happened?""
Zhuang Feifei did not sit down, but stood to the side and replied, ""Your subordinate knows. I heard about it from General w.a.n.g"s personal army on the way here. Your subordinate thought of some countermeasures, but I do not know if they can be used.""
Chen Zaiyan said, ""Go ahead.""
Zhuang Feifei sorted out her words and said, ""Subordinate believes that not a single person from the Four Seasons Hall can be left alive.""
w.a.n.g Kai-Tai said, ""I"ve already taken the men into the barracks to keep an eye on them.""
Zhuang Feifei shook her head, ""I"m not saying that no one can stay in the club, it"s that no one can stay alive.""
Chen Zaiyan"s expression changed drastically, ""Those are hundreds of lives.""
Zhuang Feifei replied, ""Your subordinate knows that there were hundreds of deaths, but if this matter were to leak out and the empress dowager finds out, how many lives would that be?""
The empress dowager"s side could be said to have gathered a large group of fugitives and wanted criminals. If this wasn"t rebellion, then what was?
The entire military would most likely be in h.e.l.l.
Forgive this subordinate for speaking bluntly … Lord Shang Shu, the lords and generals who know of this, none of them will be able to escape.
""If the crime of rebellion goes to the nine clans, how many people will die if everyone is counted in?""
When he finished speaking, no one spoke. They looked at each other, unable to retort.
Zhuang Feifei said, ""This matter will never end, and we will suffer from its chaos.""
""Milords, you are all merciful and do not wish to commit murder. However, right now, you are all being merciful. You are all being cruel to even more people.""
After the room was quiet for a long time, Ma Ziwei said to Chen, ""Let"s do as Zhuang Feifei says. We … can"t afford it.""
Chen looked at w.a.n.g Kai-tai and w.a.n.g Kai-tai looked at the square road. The two men looked at each other and nodded. ""Alright then, I"ll call them both out when I get back, and then kill them all.""
Zhuang Feifei replied, ""It"s not that this subordinate is ruthless, but the camp looks safe and sound, but with so many eyes and mouths, how many people are there in the Infantry Division?""
""We can"t rule out the empress dowager"s presence. With so many people in the barracks, if one of them is one of Her Majesty"s spies and sees the cavalry bringing those men into the camp, she"ll definitely find a way to find out what happened.""
She looked at w.a.n.g Kai-tai, ""I would like to ask the general to go right now and bring them back to the Four Corners Hall. Arrange for Lieutenant Qian Ji to take action and kill everyone who enters.""
Then the body would be put in a cart in the Gathering House overnight and left the city at first light.
This subordinate has already arranged for the staff of the Gathering Department to enter the Four Corners" Hall as soon as the sun rises. I told them that it was the newly purchased shop in the Gathering Department. ""
w.a.n.g Kaitai nodded, ""Then let"s do it this way. Lieutenant Qianji is completely trustworthy, so we"ll leave this matter to him.""
Chen said, ""Since you have already decided, there is no need to delay.""
""Zhuang Fei Fei, you go arrange the matter with the Gathering Shang Manor. w.a.n.g Kai-tai, you go arrange the matter with the Four Corners" Hall.""
Zhuang Fei Fei said: ""This subordinate has already arranged everything. After Lieutenant Qian Ji finishes his task, the staff from the Gathering Merchant House will be able to enter.""
""My janissaries will clean the yard overnight,"" w.a.n.g Kai-tai said.
Zhuang Fei Fei said: ""Tomorrow morning, the carriage will leave the capital. No one will suspect it.""
Chen Zaiyan nodded, ""Before dawn, we have to finish everything.""
w.a.n.g KaiTai stood up. ""Then I"ll be going to work first.""
Fang Dao also stood up. ""I"ll go with you.""
The two men bade farewell to Chen and then walked out of the Ministry, side by side.
These two people were the pillars of the Military Department. If it weren"t for them, the Military Department would have already fallen into chaos.
As long as the military power of the capital was in their hands, the military was stable.
However, if this matter were to spread out, none of these men from the Military Department would be able to escape.
At that moment, Ma Ziwei, the a.s.sistant minister of the military, suddenly asked, ""So... what should we do with the Celestial Sect"s dispute?""
""This matter was caused by him. If he doesn"t manage it well, it might be the root of the disaster.""
Zhuang Feifei"s heart skipped a beat. She understood the meaning behind Ma Zi"s words, so she couldn"t help but feel a little regretful.
If it wasn"t for the fact that he said he wanted to get rid of those people from the Four Corners Union Hall, Ma Ziwei probably wouldn"t have thought of it.
Without waiting for Chen Zhiyan to speak, Zhuang Feifei immediately said, ""There won"t be any problems with the dispute, I can guarantee it.""
Ma Zi narrowed his eyes and glanced at Zhuang Feifei, ""I believe in your loyalty, but how can you guarantee it?
With your mouth or with your life?
Zhuang Feifei, even if you use your own head to guarantee it, leaving behind a war of attrition won"t make you feel safe in your heart. ""
He looked at Chen Zhiyan and said, ""Sir, since things have come to this point, we might as well wipe them all out now that we have already started.""
Once all of us are dead, who in the imperial court can resist the empress dowager?
Who can maintain the authority of the King?
The people of the Four Corridors can die, and so can the struggle for peace, but we cannot die.
""If the soldiers die, the king will lose everything.""
Chen Zaiyan"s face kept changing. After being silent for a while, he said, ""Let"s put aside the dispute for now. The old Shang book looks at him in a new light. We have already destroyed the Four Corridors Hall. We can"t even destroy the old Shang book"s blood and sweat.""
Ma Zi opened his mouth slightly and Chen Zeyan waved his hand, ""This matter is in advance. Go to the Four Seasons Hall and keep an eye on it yourself.""
Ma Zi let out a long sigh and got up to leave.
Zhuang Fei Fei Fei clasped her hands and said: ""Then this subordinate will take his leave.""
Chen Zaiyan nodded and asked, ""How"s the city?""
Zhuang Feifei replied calmly, ""It"s much better than before. I"ve seen it from the doctor, he said he might wake up soon.""
Chen Zaiyan said, ""You … pay more attention to what the empress dowager might do.""
""It"s best if you can send the Capital out safely … You go first, I"ll go rest for a while. The imperial court will be arriving soon.""
Zhuang Feifei bowed her head, ""This subordinate shall take his leave.""
She left the army and got into the carriage. The driver asked, ""Mister, shall we go home?""
Zhuang Feifei shook her head, ""No, to the Heavenly Ascension Sect.""