Before Chen Huai called out to their camp, Yesen had never doubted Ala Zhiyuan.
Since setting out on the campaign, Ala Zhiyuan had not only obeyed orders but also repeatedly won extraordinary merit. Yesen did not believe Ala Zhiyuan would ruin his grand undertaking.
But... if Ala Zhiyuan still remained loyal to Toghtogha Tumur, that was another matter.
Yesen asked his confidant, "To Toghtogha Tumur, who is his greatest enemy?"
His confidant replied, "Naturally, it is you, Great Khan."
Yesen fell into thought. "So if they are allies, the person they most wish to eliminate is me. They want to kill with a borrowed knife."
"But that birdman was dressed in Dzungar clothing and carried their waist token. Isn't that openly telling us they killed him?"
"Look, just by dressing like that, he has made even you suspect that someone framed Ala Zhiyuan. What if they intended to do the opposite of what one would expect?"
His confidant could not refute him. After a moment of silence, he said, "It is a pity there is no evidence..."
Yesen's expression darkened. "Send people to watch Ala Zhiyuan's movements. That bird most likely came from the Crying Eagle Sect. Ala Zhiyuan has close ties with them; perhaps they will be in contact soon."
They truly did make contact. Pan Yun took out the letter tube bearing the Crying Eagle Sect's mark. Once Xue Shao had copied a letter in the handwriting on it, she hung both the letter and the waist token back onto an eagle's claw.
The eagle was enormous and could carry considerable weight. With an eagle delivering letters, traveling six hundred li by night was no problem.
Judging by the letter's contents, the Crying Eagle Sect had also received news that the Ming Dynasty Emperor had been shot dead