Chapter 975: The Dagger
Chapter 975: The Dagger
September 25, 2017
What does it mean to speak with startling eloquence?
At this very moment, Li Yi delivered a stunning performance.
When he abruptly stood up, everyone present was already on edge, but his final words left the entire room dumbfounded.
Including Zhang He, everyone stared at Li Yi in confusion, their faces frozen in bewilderment, as if the words 'What did you just say?' were plastered across their foreheads.
Li Yi paid no heed to the stunned expressions of those around him. From the moment he stood up, no, from the moment Zhang He made his entrance, his gaze had never left the man.
Observing Zhang He's nearly flawless expression of bewilderment, Li Yi's face twisted into a cold smile. "Your abilities are quite impressive. In just six months, you effortlessly infiltrated the southern part of our Bingzhou, gaining our trust. After the locust plague broke out, you single-handedly guided our actions, and we owe our current success to you, Zhang He."
As Li Yi spoke, murmurs began to circulate in the room, but they were still relatively quiet, and everyone's attention remained fixed on Zhang He and Li Yi.
Everyone present knew that a grand drama was about to unfold, and they were all eager spectators, content to watch quietly from the sidelines.
Zhang He's eyebrows furrowed, and a hint of grievance appeared on his usually composed face. "Alliance Leader, I don't understand what you're talking about at all."
"You don't understand? You're just pretending!" Li Yi's cold smile deepened, and a hint of impatience crept into his expression. He had no desire to play mind games with this man and cut straight to the chase. "I'm saying, Zhang He, you, the sole surviving direct descendant of the Zhang family, our strategist, are actually Lu Hai Kong's man!"
Li Yi's words dropped like a bombshell, leaving everyone in the room utterly dumbfounded.
Although they had a vague idea that Li Yi intended to deal with Zhang He and might have even caught him in some wrongdoing, they never expected Li Yi to accuse Zhang He of being Lu Hai Kong's man.
Upon hearing Li Yi's accusation, everyone in the room, except for the aristocratic families who had been informed by Li Yi beforehand, expressed complete disbelief.
How could that be possible?
Who was Zhang He? He was the direct descendant of the late Zhang Yi, the former governor of Bingzhou, who had been killed by Lu Hai Kong. It was because of Lu Hai Kong that Zhang He had fallen from grace, and it was Zhang He who had guided their resistance against Lu Hai Kong, bringing them to their current state.
At this point, someone pointed at Zhang He's nose and exclaimed, "How could anyone believe that he is actually Lu Hai Kong's man?"
"Alliance Leader, are you sure you're not mistaken? How could Mr. Zhang possibly be Lu Hai Kong's man?"
"This must be a misunderstanding! Even if one of us here is Lu Hai Kong's man, it certainly isn't Mr. Zhang!"
...
At this moment, Zhang He didn't even need to defend himself, as half of the people in the governor's mansion suddenly spoke up in his support.
Witnessing this, Li Yi's face darkened. "Why is that impossible? Zhang He is indeed Lu Hai Kong's man!"
"I've already investigated this matter over the past few days, and it's true that Zhang He is the sole surviving direct descendant of the Zhang family. However, he doesn't necessarily hold an irreconcilable grudge against Lu Hai Kong.
The first person from the Zhang family to make contact with Lu Hai Kong was actually Zhang He, the then-governor of Dingxiang County.
It was Zhang He who collaborated with Lu Hai Kong to develop the livestock industry. Their partnership was initially very successful, and it was during this time that Lu Hai Kong first rose to prominence. However, when Zhang Yi, the senior Zhang, discovered his collaboration with the 'bandits,' he flew into a rage and stripped Zhang He of his governorship. That's when their partnership ended!
Although Zhang He's collaboration with Lu Hai Kong ceased, their connection remained intact, and he continued to secretly conspire with them. It was his actions that ultimately led to the Zhang family's downfall at the hands of Lu Hai Kong!"
Li Yi's words once again stirred up an uproar.
However, not everyone was shocked by this revelation, as Zhang He had presented himself with his own identity.
The fact that he could gain the trust of the southern Bingzhou aristocratic families within half a year under this identity indicated that there was no issue with his background.
Many people had investigated Zhang He's background and were well aware of the details Li Yi had just revealed, along with the accusations he had made.
Those who were expressing shock and surprise at this moment were either those who were siding with Li Yi or members of the smaller aristocratic families with limited knowledge.
"Alliance Leader, it's true that Mr. Zhang had collaborated with Lu Hai Kong in the past, but that was a long time ago. It's not just Mr. Zhang; many of us here have also done business with Lu Hai Kong before he showed his true colors. As for the claim that Mr. Zhang caused the Zhang family's downfall at the hands of Lu Hai Kong, that's completely baseless and a huge misunderstanding!"
Several heads of aristocratic families spoke up in defense of Zhang He.
Although only a few spoke, the rest mostly maintained a detached and indifferent attitude, indicating that Li Yi's previous accusations had little effect.
Li Yi scanned the room and noticed that most of the aristocratic families remained calm and supportive of Zhang He, albeit subtly. He couldn't understand why this was happening.
These people clearly shouldn't be leaning towards Lu Hai Kong, but why are they all choosing to side with Zhang He at this moment? Li Yi couldn't fathom it, but now wasn't the time to ponder this.
However, Li Yi knew that if he wanted to gain the recognition of these aristocratic families, it was time to present hard evidence.
Li Yi, his face darkening, spoke up, "Let's set aside the matter of whether the Zhang family was brought down by Zhang He and Lu Hai Kong. There's something I think you all should know. I have ample evidence to prove that the military leader, Tai Shi Ling, whom Zhang He brought along, is actually a pawn in Lu Hai Kong's hands!"
The moment Li Yi revealed this piece of information, his words carried a powerful weight. Those who had just defended Zhang He were startled by Li Yi's cold tone.
"Where's the evidence?" one of the family heads asked urgently.
A cold glint flashed in Li Yi's eyes as he commanded, "You want evidence? Bring the evidence to me!"
Li Yi's words were filled with determination and confidence, and everyone could sense it.
Many who had spoken up for Zhang He now had a change of expression, their gazes toward Zhang He becoming complex.
However, minutes passed, and the so-called evidence Li Yi mentioned still hadn't arrived. Instead, a guard whispered something in Li Yi's ear, causing his expression to shift. He glared at Zhang He, "You're quick on your feet!"
"Alliance Leader Li, what's going on? Where's the evidence?" asked one of the family heads.
In the 6th month of the 19th year of the reign of Emperor Ling, the first edition of the book was published without error!
"His people killed them!" Li Yi roared, pointing at Zhang He in anger.
Hearing this, the family head was taken aback, then looked deeply into Li Yi's eyes, remaining silent for a while before speaking, "So, you have no evidence? In that case, let's put this matter aside for now. Alliance Leader Li, when you find the evidence, we can discuss it further."
"Put it aside?" Li Yi was infuriated by these words, "What are you all thinking? Zhang He is Lu Hai Kong's man! Can we afford to delay on this matter? If we do, we'll all be finished!"
Li Yi's face was filled with sorrow and indignation, looking at the people before him with confusion, unable to understand what was going on with them.
Just then, Zhang He, who had been silent until now, sighed and stepped forward.
"Alas, when the birds are gone, the bow is hidden. Alliance Leader, I've said this before. I can help you with that matter, but there's no need to bring it up now. Although our current situation is favorable, it hasn't truly stabilized. At this moment, our full attention should be on Lu Hai Kong. We can't let your personal matters disrupt the current stability. Why won't you listen?"
Li Yi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Zhang He, now it was his turn to be perplexed by Zhang He's words.
But it didn't take long for him to understand.
Zhang He turned to the family heads beside him and said, "Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you all.
Some time ago, the Alliance Leader approached me, subtly hinting that he wasn't content with just being the leader and wanted to further become the Governor of Bingzhou. I had firmly rejected him based on the reasons I mentioned earlier, and he hadn't brought it up again since.
Zhang He thought the Alliance Leader had let go of this ambition, but it seems that in this period, he has been frequently making moves, constantly placing his people within the army. It appears your ambition hasn't completely faded..."
Li Yi's eyes widened in anger, "Shut up! When did I ever say such a thing?"
As Zhang He spoke, Li Yi suddenly understood the atmosphere of the day. He realized why so many people were defending Zhang He.
It was entirely because, in this period, Li Yi's attention had been solely focused on Zhang He.
He was too eager to take down Zhang He and stabilize the situation, considering the sentiments and thoughts of the aristocratic families.
His recent bold actions, especially those related to the army, were seen as blatant displays of ambition by the families. Combined with Zhang He's secret arrangements, it was clear to many that Li Yi was trying to exclude Zhang He.
Therefore, his confrontation with Zhang He was viewed by many as a disagreement, an attempt to eliminate a rival.
In this situation, the aristocratic families naturally defended Zhang He fiercely.
This alliance of aristocratic families was united when they shared a common enemy in Lu Hai Kong, but with Lu Hai Kong's threat diminishing, the slightest issue among them could spark intense internal conflicts.
This was precisely the situation at hand. Li Yi realized that whatever he said now would be futile.
Today, he couldn't hope to convince the families to let him take down Zhang He.
This realization filled Li Yi with sorrow, but he wasn't completely hopeless. He had never naively believed that he could defeat Zhang He without resorting to strength.
Looking at Zhang He, Li Yi's gaze turned cold. He no longer wanted to say anything, "Don't be fooled by him. Zhang He is Lu Hai Kong's man. Take this traitor down!"
As he spoke, a large number of soldiers rushed in...
(End of Chapter)
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