Wang Chen boasted without the slightest shame, even choosing to conveniently forget the urgent report he had rushed to submit to the Elder Council in Shangjing when the incident first occurred.
He wanted to display the bearing of the Strategic Department's highest authority before Jin Yangbiao, suppress this confrontation until Jin Yangbiao had nothing to say, and use this exchange to establish his standing in the military. If even someone as formidable as Jin Yangbiao fell short before him, there would be far fewer voices opposing whatever orders he issued during the war.
But just as Wang Chen believed he had achieved his goal and that Jin Yangbiao's arrival had become the perfect stepping stone for him, a Strategic Department member who had rushed over from the south burst into the room!
"The southern camp is in chaos!" The shout struck like five bolts of lightning!
Having hurried through the night to deliver this urgent report, the man had not noticed who was in the room, nor had he considered the impact his words would have—let alone the unbelievably coincidental timing.
The room immediately fell silent. Wang Chen, who had been sitting with one leg crossed over the other while speaking to Jin Yangbiao, shot to his feet in shock.
He grabbed the messenger by the collar, his face savage and filled with hostility. "What chaos? Are you trying to cause trouble for me?!"
Just seconds ago, he had been bragging in front of Jin Yangbiao, and before the echoes of his words had even faded, one of his own people exposed him on the spot?
Chaos?
What chaos!
How many people and regiments were even at the southern camp? From the commander-in-chief Zhuang Yan to Qi Kai, whom he had personally promoted, they were all his people. How could