Seeing the crowd buzz about like headless flies, Cao Pi let his gaze settle on Zhu Shuo, who commanded the imperial guard.
Zhu Shuo's heart sank at once. Could His Majesty be growing suspicious? As Central Army Commander, his chief duty was to safeguard Luoyang. As for the spy camp Jia Xu had entrusted to him, it had already completed its mission of turning Nanzhong against the enemy; the rest had been all but spent in the great battle in Northern Jing. There was simply no manpower left to send agents into the heavily guarded Guanzhong. Your Majesty, don't look at me like that...
"Your Majesty, how did Inspector Liang obtain this information? North of Bing Province lies grassland and the Gobi. By all rights, there should have been no way to learn matters in such detail." Zhu Shuo stepped forth from the ranks and pressed the question quietly.
"How else could he have learned it?" Cao Pi snapped. "Zhang He fled in defeat to Xiao Pass and was pursued by Huang Zhong all the way to Lingzhou. They trekked through the desolate Gobi, facing the bitter wind for an entire month. How could you even ask such a stupid question?"
"Er... I..." Zhu Shuo stood there, dumbfounded and at a loss.
Zhu Shuo was hot-tempered. Relying on his closeness to Cao Pi, he got along poorly with many of the officers in the camp. Seeing him rebuked in public by Cao Pi, the others all inadvertently showed faint smiles. Yet Cao Pi remembered only Cao Hong's smug delight.
Liang Xi's memorial was passed around among the civil officials. Having just finished reading it, Minister over the Masses Wang Lang hastened to offer his opinion. "Though General Zidan has withdrawn to defend Wuwei, his forces have not suffered heavy losses.