Hu Xiaotian sighed. "Governor, you think too highly of your own position and too little of my horizons. I really have very little interest in framing you. I came today simply to make one thing clear: Eastern Liang Commandery's resistance against the Yong army had nothing to do with you. You want to kill General Li, claiming that he defied military orders and went into battle without permission, that his crimes are monstrous. I truly don't understand. Even if General Li disobeyed orders, that hardly makes his crimes monstrous. Even if he deserves punishment, he certainly doesn't deserve death. Aren't you delighting your enemies and grieving your friends by doing this? How bitterly disappointed must these generals feel?"
His gaze swept across the gathering. Seeing sympathy and bewilderment in every general's eyes, he knew his words had struck home. Hu Xiaotian said, "As it happens, I also brought a prisoner. Would you be interested in hearing what he has to say?"
He paused before raising his voice. "Bring Tang Boxi in!"
At his call, Xiong Tianba shoved Tang Boxi inside. Tang Boxi had lost every trace of his former grandeur. His hair was disheveled, his appearance wretched, and his eyes unfocused. Once inside, Xiong Tianba kicked him hard behind the knee, sending him to his knees with a thud.
Zhao Dengyun and Tang Boxi had been bitter enemies for years. Seeing the commander of the Nanyang Water Fortress appear before him in such a sorry state, Zhao Dengyun could not help feeling a measure of satisfaction. But then he remembered that it was Hu Xiaotian who had captured Tang Boxi. This young man was truly formidable, having defeated Tang Boxi's thirty-thousand-strong army with a mere three thousand men. Unfortunately, none of that glory had anything to do with him.
Hu