My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 665

“I’m accused wrongly!” Chen Jiu shouted as he was arrested. He did not even know what was going on until he was dragged outside. He was then pressed down into a kneeling position in front of the angry mob.

“Chen Jiu. These people say you took men and slaughtered their village. Is this true?” Dai Yun asked.

“No General! I did not!” Chen Jiu would not admit it even if he was beaten to death. If he did, it would mean getting executed. Yangzhou handles such matters very strictly. If you kill the common people for merits, you would be executed and your entire family would be exiled. All of Yangzhou’s benefits would be taken away.

“No? Then why did you leave the barracks?” Dai Yun asked. Zhang De was also at the side and took out the records saying that Chen Jiu and four others left the barracks.

“General! That is to return the food to the common people!” Chen Jiu replied loudly.

“So you slaughtered the people along the way?” Old man Qiao shouted back.

“I did not! Slaughter? How could we do that? Only five us left the barracks! How could we have slaughtered the village?” Chen Jiu replied. The Jiangdong men were strong so even ten soldiers would have difficulty slaughtering a single village. It was quite likely that they would die in the attempt.

“That’s right. How could five people slaughter a whole village?” The common people started to discuss amongst themselves. Dai Yun furrowed his brows.

If five people could slaughter an entire village, the Jiangdong people would really lose face. After all, they were all from the Shanyue mountains. Some of them were also from Danyang who struggled their way in life. All of them were experts in fighting.

“Are you sure it is five people?” Old man Qiao asked Chen Jiu.

“How could I lie about this? Zhang De recorded everyone that left the barracks. We also haven’t even returned the food yet!” Chen Jiu replied. Dai Yun gave the order to only one group. However, Chen Jiu had to first find out the location of the villages so he haven’t returned the food.

“Go and see if we still have those things. Also bring out all of the officers that followed Chen Jiu out!” Dai Yun needed to give these common people an explanation or he would not be able explain things to his Lord.

“Yes!” Soon, the carriages were brought over along with four of Chen Jiu’s men.

Dai Yun interrogated all of them and found that their testimonies were the same. These five people only left to ask for directions. They did not dare to act too excessively because they were in Jiangdong.

“Old man Qiao. What do you think?” Dai Yun asked. Dai Yun would immediately execute his men if they were indeed responsible. However, he would not allow his men to suffer from false accusations.

“It would really be impossible for five people.” The old man shook his head. He knew what kind of people the Jiangdong citizens are after staying there for many years. It was not just Yangzhou. They would also rise in revolt if it was Jiangdong that irritated them.

“I think I’ve seen this general before.” Someone next to the old man said. Chen Jiu turned and smiled happily “It is you, brother! Do you still remember me? We asked you for direction and then you showed us the way. After that, we gave you ten large coins!” Chen Jiu was happy because this man can prove their innocence.

Dai Yun waved his hand, calling that person over. After the man was questioned by the old man, they found out that Chen Jiu’s words were true. They asked for directions, paid money and then left together.

“I think these are not the culprits.” Xiao Yi’s father stammered as he looked at the five Yangzhou soldiers that were kneeling on the ground.

“It is not these people? Look carefully!” Old man Qiao pointed at Xiao Yi’s father.

Xiao Yi’s father came here because of his anger but now he already calmed down. Xiao Yi also shook his head. “It is not this uncle. I want to find that uncle.” Xiao Yi was still too young and thought of the man that slaughtered his village as a playmate.

“Old man Qiao. Isn’t it now obvious that the one that slaughtered your people are not my men.” Dai Yun relaxed as the misunderstanding was solved. It would be problematic if the Jiangdong people became hostile.

The old man also nodded.

“General. It would not be good if this goes on.” One soldier behind Dai Yun said to Huang Gai.

Huang Gai also frowned. He did not expect that Dai Yun was able to peacefully solve this incident. He could not allow Yangzhou to keep the peace. “Have them act.”

“Yes!” The soldier replied and started giving secret signals.

“In that case, we have made a misunderstanding. We would definitely make things fair for you.” Old man Qiao was not naïve. He also did not want to let so many of the common people camp attack the barracks. If something goes wrong, there would be war between the common people of Jiangdong and Yangzhou’s New Armies.

“There is no need for that. It is better to quickly find the murderer and bring peace to the people. If there is anything you need, you can come to my barracks and find me.” Dai Yun replied. He also wanted to catch the real culprit. ŘΑꞐÔ฿ÈS̩

The old man’s words had brought cold sweat to Dai Yun’s face. It was clear that someone wanted to frame the Yangzhou Army. About eight villages were wiped out. That was over a thousand households. If it was not because of this old man, they would have already charged in. Because of this, Dai Yun was also angry. His desire to find the true culprit was greater than the old man.

“Of course. I will come again if needed.” The old man turned around to say it was a misunderstanding but someone shouted eccentrically.

“This is not a misunderstanding! They are murderers! They are simply hiding the murderers! Everyone! We need to take revenge for the others!”

Old man Qiao already noticed that something was wrong. He was not an official but after living for so long, he was wise enough to realize that this was someone’s scheme. It was clear that someone was fanning the flames.

Old man Qiao coughed to gain attention. He was older and his prestige was high. The others would listen to him.

“Everyone calm down. This is just a misunderstanding!” The old man began. Just as he was about to continue, his eyes grew wide and he looked down. An arrow was protruding out of his chest. Furthermore, he was shot from behind, where Yangzhou’s barracks was.

“Old man!” Dai Yun was shocked and could not help but shout. “Who is it? Who shot that arrow?” Dai Yun glared back at his men. “Zhang De! I want an explanation for this!” Dai Yun gnashed his teeth. The misunderstanding was already solved but then this happened.

Zhang De was also shocked. The arrow clearly came from his subordinate. He also wanted to cry. A short while ago he was looking for the culprit but now the problem came right to him. “General. I also don’t know!”

“It’s him!” Zhang De’s subordinates all reacted and grabbed one of the soldiers. This man had already put down the bow but the arrow was missing. He did not manage to escape in time before getting caught. If one were to look carefully, he was one of Huang Gai’s men.

“It’s not me!” The culprit shouted. His eyes glinted coldly and took out a sword to cut down the soldiers that grabbed him.

“Argh!” The arm of a soldier was cut off.

“You even dare to attack! Men! Go and capture him!” The Yangzhou New Armies also took out their sword. The culprit could no longer escape.

“Fellow countrymen! Look at that! This evil army enters our Jiangdong and kill our people! Now even Old man Qiao is killed to silence him! What are we waiting for? Let’s attack!” Someone shouted while the mob was filled with righteous indignation. Some of them in the crowd were angry while some were laughing happily. If common people were to look carefully, they would realize that none of them could recognize these people.

“General! They are going to charge in!” Zhang De said to Dai Yun.

“What about the murderer?” Dai Yun gnashed his teeth angrily. It was Zhang De’s men that caused this mess.

“We already caught him.” Zhang De replied. The culprit can be seen struggling while being restrained by the soldiers.

“Zhang De. How do you train your soldiers?” Dai Yun said angrily. If it was not because of this urgent matter, he would have already killed Zhang De.

“General. This is not one of mine!” Zhang De quickly replied, noticing Dai Yun’s killing intent. Even if they survive this, Zhang De would still need to report this to the Ministry of War. If things don’t go well, he would be sent to the Ministry of Justice where he would be finished.

“Not one of yours? Then whose soldier is that?”

“I do not know. He is wearing our clothes but not our armor!” Zhang De explained. The Yangzhou New Armies’ armor were forged using new metalworking technology. Though others could copy the shape of the product, there would still be a huge difference.

“He is not one of ours!” Dai Yun looked at the culprit. The culprit was swearing very loudly but could not hide his Jiangdong accent. Yangzhou also had many soldiers that originated from Jiangdong. However, they were not present on this mission since Liu Mang was afraid that they would meet a relative. It would become a repeat of what happened when Sun Ce sent the Danyang Troops to attack Wan Cheng. The soldiers climbed up the walls to realize that they were fighting their grand uncle. In the end, they still have to kowtow to their grand uncle.

“Someone wants to frame us!” Dai Yun gnashed his teeth.

“Since we already caught a culprit, how about we have General Huang Gai explain things for us. It should be feasible with General Huang Gai’s prestige.” Zhang De suggested.

Dai Yun thought for a moment before deciding that he did not have any other choice. The mob outside was already about to rush in.

“General Huang. We already caught the culprit. This is not one of our men. There is a conspiracy against us. I hope General Huang can help us explain ourselves.” Dai Yun said to Huang Gai.

“Haha, General Dai. Isn’t it just to explain yourselves? It is not difficult at all.” Dai Yun did not expect Huang Gai to agree so quickly.

Dai Yun said happily. “In that case, I will have to trouble General Huang. If we can pacify this mob, I will definitely report your contribution to the Lord.”

Huang Gai nodded with a smile then replied. “Then I hope General Dai can open the gates.”

“Open the gates?” Dai Yun hesitated. It is because of the gates that the angry mob could not charge in.

“Don’t worry, General Dai! I am here, there is nothing to be afraid of! Give me the culprit.” Huang Gai placated.

“The gate is open! The gate is open!” The angry mob shouted as they entered the barracks before laying their eyes on Huang Gai. Huang Gai’s prestige was high in Jiangdong as he was a general.

Dai Yun hoped for Huang Gai to help him clear the misunderstanding but instead, Huang Gai made a public appeal. “Fellow countrymen! This evil Yangzhou Army entered our territory and killed our people! Now they even killed Old man Qiao! Can you all accept this? No! Fellow countrymen! Follow me and seek justice!”

“What!” Dai Yun looked at Huang Gai and finally understood. “Huang Gai! You are despicable!” Dai Yun gnashed his teeth. He hoped for Huang Gai to help him but this was all Jiangdong’s schemes.

“Haha.” Huang Gai who noticed the gaze looked back at Dai Yun. “Soldiers can be crafty too! Men! Follow me and attack!”

“General! What do we do now?” Zhang De asked anxiously. The gates were already open so they could not hold their enemies off. They could only withdraw.

“Damn it!” Dai Yun gnashed his teeth. He has ten thousand men with him. They were not afraid of fighting against a hundred thousand of Jiangdong’s populace. But if they were to fight, there would be casualties. At that time, the hostility would become permanent. But with the gates open, they had no other choice besides direct confrontation.

“Withdraw!” Dai Yun thought for a moment before saying. This was the safest choice. They would withdraw from the riverbank with the warships. They could lose the barracks but not Jiangdong’s popular sentiment.

“General! Look at that fire!” Someone cried out in alarm. Looks like there was fire burning at the riverbank.

“Are those our ships?” Everyone’s eyes grew wide and their morale plummeted.

“General! Let’s fight!” Zhang De said to Dai Yun. Their escape route was cut off so they could only fight or die.

“Fight? What do you mean fight?” Dai Yun laughed bitterly. It was already night time due to his indecision. Everything was already planned by Jiangdong. Now that that it was night, everything was dark. On top of that, it was a cloudy night. So other than the burning ships, everywhere else was dark. If it was bright, then he could rely on the New Armies’ elite training to fight back or even crush the enemy. But since it was dark, everyone was on the same starting line. No one could see each other. It did not affect the angry mob that much since they were a disorderly band to begin with but Yangzhou’s combat effectiveness was severely weakened by this.

“General Dai Yun! Surrender! You cannot win!” Huang Gai’s voice was heard.