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After General Liu and General Xu had discussed their plan, they immediately went to pledge their loyalty to General Cheng.
In order to demonstrate their loyalty, they even persuaded another officer who had a thousand soldiers under his command to join them.
This officer, blinded by the promise of a bright future from General Liu, was eager to rush to the capital and kneel before the fourth prince, the future Emperor, to pledge his loyalty.
General Cheng was extremely pleased as he looked at the three of them below him.
The three men gathered together to conspire.
An evil smile crept across General Cheng’s lips.
Weren’t those Fei family whelps showing off their dominance in front of him?
Hmph!
Before he left, he was determined to give them a parting gift they would never forget.
During these days in the western region, although the city wasn’t taken by foreign invaders, countless warriors were wounded or killed, and even the border defenses were thoroughly exposed.
Now, the Fei family is left with a pile of problems. Even though Fei Yunsong and Fei Yanchen showed great valor on the battlefield, they faced significant constraints.
Just as the Fei family was fully committed to the battlefield, planning to deal with the Cheng family after the war, General Cheng had already prepared to leave.
In a dimly lit room, General Cheng whispered, “Make sure your subordinates keep their mouths shut. If anyone dares to leak information before our departure, they will face military punishment.”
The others replied in hushed tones, “Yes!”
Currently, there are a hundred thousand troops in the western region, but General Cheng has only around twenty thousand under his command. Furthermore, the soldiers and horses under the Fei family are top-notch, even during the days when the Fei family was absent from the western region, and the Cheng family was left to command things in a chaotic manner, they managed to survive thanks to their formidable martial skills.
So, there’s no need to overthink it. Whether it’s the quantity or quality of troops, General Cheng dares not confront the Fei family head-on. When they join forces with the Fei family, it will undoubtedly be a one-sided situation.
In order to delay and buy time for their departure, the Cheng family used spies to steal the new defense plans set up by Fei Yunsong. They then covertly handed over the new defense plans to the foreign invaders.
The leader of the foreign forces, Wen Yunlan, was ambushed because the foreign invaders had advanced knowledge of the defense plans. He suffered serious injuries.
However, with the front lines in intense conflict, Fei Yunsong and Fei Yanchen left Wen Yunlan to recuperate in the city and returned to the battlefield.
Meanwhile, in the previously overlooked Wuding Prince’s Mansion, the Cheng family members were loading valuable items onto their carriages.
At a glance, all the valuable items placed there had been plundered, leaving nothing behind. General Cheng himself was still searching in the original study of Wuding Prince’s Mansion that belonged to Fei Yunsong.
With a furrowed brow, General Cheng was filled with bewilderment. In such a grand mansion, there had to be a secret chamber. When the Fei family was urgently summoned back to the capital and took away very few items, General Cheng began to suspect the existence of a secret chamber.
However, after searching the study and bedroom inside and out several times, he remained clueless. They were about to depart, and he could only take a handful of items, leaving General Cheng feeling frustrated.
Indeed, there was a secret chamber in Wuding Prince’s Mansion, but it was located in an abandoned courtyard within the mansion. General Cheng had been searching in the wrong place from the beginning.
As they were about to depart, General Cheng still hadn’t found the Fei family’s secret chamber. His twenty thousand troops had quietly gathered together, awaiting his command to leave the western region.
The journey to the capital would take quite some time. After General Cheng and his few subordinates conspired, they took advantage of the fact that Fei Yanchen and others were preoccupied with the battlefield, leaving little room for them to pay attention to their actions. They managed to steal a significant amount of provisions from the western region.
Carrying too much supplies with them would be disadvantageous for their departure. In case the Fei family realized it, these provisions might slow down their journey.
Therefore, aside from the necessary provisions for their journey from the western region to the capital, General Cheng did not take more than needed. However, he had no intention of leaving anything behind for the Fei family.
General Cheng turned to glare in the direction of the royal palace. If it weren’t for Fei Yunsong and his return, this western region would have belonged to his Cheng family, along with the over ten thousand troops.
Now, he could only leave with his twenty thousand troops. But, hmm!
When the fourth prince successfully ascends to the throne, his Cheng family will become part of the royal relatives, and they will be recognized for their contributions. At that time, he vowed to see all the members of the Fei family imprisoned.
With these vengeful thoughts in his heart, he sternly instructed his subordinates, “After we depart for two hours, set fire to the granary.”
“Do it well, and there will be rewards for you in the future.”
The person chosen for this task was an inconspicuous kitchen worker.
This young man, enticed by General Cheng’s promises of a better life, readily agreed. He had already planned to set a fire and then blend into the crowd. The ensuing chaos would ensure that no one would notice him.
Once this task was successfully accomplished, General Cheng would send someone to fetch him and reward him with a high position and great wealth. He could then marry a bevy of wives and live a luxurious life.
General Cheng looked at the unassuming kitchen worker with a greedy expression on his face and felt nothing but contempt. When this task was done, he would determine the man’s fate.