The Dagger Revealed; Old Su Has an Appointment

"I never expected Little Su to be so unwise."

Strong Crossbow General Wu Sheng shook his head slightly. "He could not endure even this brief moment of hardship. He is no material for a great general."

"Alas, if he backed down this time, no one would be willing to serve Little Su in the future. Though Little Su is young, I think his breadth of mind is not small." Cloud-Pennant General Li Liang looked toward Du Ling at the head of the hall. "But after all, an imperial envoy has died. Now that we know, should we first invite this Little Su to the Circuit Censorate?"

As the two miscellaneous-title generals spoke below, Du Ling of the Cizhou Branch Censorate merely slowly brought tea to his lips, saying nothing at all, looking utterly as though nothing had happened.

The two commanders below exchanged glances, each seeing complicated emotions in the other's eyes.

Great Liang had seized the realm by relying on the martial faction whose ancestral homes lay in Yongzhou.

Wei Huaiwen and Su Gui were both representatives of Yongzhou martial men at court.

Yet, by sheer coincidence, the three seated in the great hall had no connection with Yongzhou martial men whatsoever.

They could be said to be among the very few generals in Great Liang's military who did not come from Yongzhou.

The fact that the three of them had been gathered together itself revealed the court's unspoken intentions.

Perhaps the court had been waiting for today's change.

"Wu Strong Crossbow."

"This subordinate is here."

Du Ling lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers and asked,

"When you first arrived in Ci Prefecture, I recall that your military provisions were somewhat short, were they not?"

"The Circuit Censorate has an excellent memory. The court pressed