310: Chapter 310 He fooled me

"Even though I reside in the Cabinet, I feel inferior by comparison and would never dare to speak of 'offering guidance'."

Official Xie Tong said modestly, "To be honest, the reason I arranged to meet with you today, General, is largely just to seek peace of mind for myself and the Xie Clan."

"Oh?"

Lin Xiao thought to himself that this man was indeed a veteran of the bureaucracy who had started as a child prodigy. Facing a young newcomer like himself, there was not the slightest hint of condescension or moralizing. With just a few words, he made one want to keep listening.

"Why do you say that, Official Xie?"

Official Xie Tong sighed, "General Lin, just think about it. With my status and background, who would dare to attempt to assassinate me on the road while I am serving as an imperial envoy?"

Lin Xiao pretended to ponder seriously, "On that point, I am also deeply puzzled. I must ask you to enlighten me, Official Xie."

"Actually, there are only two reasons why someone would want me dead."

"First, I am blocking someone's path. Second, I possess something that makes people wary."

Official Xie Tong smiled, "General, take a guess. Which one do you think it is?"

Lin Xiao slapped the table, "That must be because you are blocking someone's path! If you go any higher, Official Xie, you would be the Chief Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. Who doesn't want to climb higher?"

"I understand now. Those who want to kill you must be the other Cabinet ministers. Oh my… the bureaucratic world is treacherous indeed!"

Official Xie Tong gave a stiff smile, stroked his beard, and lowered his head to take a sip of tea. This young man was deliberately disrupting his pace.

However, he quickly adjusted and shook his head with a smile, "The position of Prime Minister, while enviable, is not something that can be seized by one person's strength alone."

"Precisely because everyone is watching, any slight move affects the whole, so everyone is extremely cautious."

"My colleagues in the Cabinet would certainly not take such a great risk for something like this."

Lin Xiao looked surprised, "Oh? Then, Official Xie, is it possible you have some treasure on you that has attracted bandits?"

Official Xie Tong waved his hand, "I am a man of integrity, traveling light. What treasure could I possibly have?"

"General Lin, to be honest, the reason I am being targeted is because… I have discovered that there are people in the imperial court who wish to overthrow the imperial power and are plotting a rebellion!"

A thunderclap on a clear day!

Official Xie Tong played his trump card directly, not giving Lin Xiao a chance to continue playing games.

Lin Xiao cursed the old fox silently. Since he had already said this much, how could he not continue listening?

But the problem was, with such a major matter brought up, as a "loyal minister and good general," he had to show some kind of stance, right?

Back and forth, wouldn't that mean he had one foot on the Xie Family's pirate ship?

"Official Xie, regarding such an earth-shattering matter, you must have evidence."

Lin Xiao guessed that this guy didn't have any direct evidence; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to go in such a big circle. Once he said there was no evidence, he would just slip away!

Official Xie Tong said unhurriedly, "General Lin, are you familiar with the matter of Prince of Nanling destroying Western Shu at the beginning of the year?"

What the hell? How is Xiao Qingxuan involved in this?

Lin Xiao couldn't just walk away now. He shook his head with a calm expression, "I am not very clear on it, as it happened too far away."

"I suppose so." Official Xie Tong was not surprised, "In fact, most people only know that Western Shu fell, but they are not clear on the details."

"For instance, there are still remnants of the Western Shu imperial bloodline, the Empress of Western Shu has yet to be found, and the Imperial Jade Seal is nowhere to be seen."

"As long as this person and this object are not truly secured, the fate of Western Shu cannot be considered severed."

"Moreover, the Great General of Western Shu, General Leng Duo, is a famous general of this generation comparable to Lu Sanchuan."

"He leads an elite force comparable to the five great cavalry units, the 'Black Dragon Cavalry,' and has been harassing the army of the Prince of Nanling along the borders of Shun Prefecture and Du Province."

"Shun Prefecture and Du Province are adjacent to the sixteen foreign states. The Black Dragon Cavalry has been obtaining various resources and supplies from the sixteen states, and it is said that they are constantly growing stronger."

Lin Xiao was stunned. Listening to this, his father-in-law of the Leng family actually had some substance? Was he playing guerrilla warfare there?

"Aren't the sixteen states just a bunch of barbarians? Why would they fund the Black Dragon Cavalry?" Lin Xiao asked casually.

Official Xie Tong explained, "There are two reasons. The Western Shu imperial family is a branch of the Great Zheng Dynasty imperial family from the previous dynasty."

"During the Great Zheng Dynasty, the sixteen states were vassal states, so they have had a friendship with the Xiao Clan for hundreds of years."

"After the founding of our Great Gan, although we have traded with the sixteen states through Nanling and Baiyue..."

"...most nobles of the sixteen states are still accustomed to dealing with Western Shu."

"Another more direct reason is that they worry that once Western Shu is completely annihilated, it will be their turn."

Lin Xiao suddenly understood. It made sense; Western Shu was effectively a barrier for the sixteen states. You don't have to be strong, but you can't really be gone!

"In fact, it is not easy to annex the long-standing Western Shu in one go."

"The people of Western Shu believe that they are the continuation of the glorious history of the Great Zheng Dynasty, and many of them look down upon the people of Great Gan."

Official Xie Tong continued, "The Prince of Nanling was forced to let a Western Shu prince serve as a puppet regent in order to appease the grassroots resistance forces in Western Shu."

"Hiss…" Lin Xiao scratched his head, "Official Xie, what does all this have to do with the rebels in the imperial court?"

"Could it be that someone in the imperial court is colluding with the Western Shu rebels?"

Could that guy Minister Liu Zongfu have been exposed!? That's impossible; a third-rank Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices without a clan background would just be a small fry in Official Xie Tong's eyes!

"General Lin, are you aware that during the great battle between Prince Bai and Prince Qing, someone in the imperial court proposed to the Emperor to open Yucheng Pass, allow the Prince of Nanling's Red Flame Iron Cavalry to pass through the Capital Region, head straight to Yong Province, and seize the opportunity to take down Prince Bai in one fell swoop?"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but be stunned, "There was such a thing? That's bold. Weren't they afraid the Red Flame Iron Cavalry would refuse to leave?"

"Indeed, but later, because Prince Bai was insane and spread the plague directly along the route, the Red Flame Iron Cavalry turned back halfway."

"However…" Official Xie Tong changed the subject, "There is a problem here. Since Prince Bai's Silver Armor Army was clearly in Gan Province, why was it necessary to have the Red Flame Iron Cavalry attack Yong Province?"

"Logically speaking, the ordinary Nanling army would have been enough, as cavalry is not the primary force for sieging cities."

Lin Xiao caught on, "Official Xie, do you mean… the person who made this suggestion did so intentionally to divert the Red Flame Iron Cavalry?"

Official Xie Tong smiled, "General, you are indeed sharp-witted."

Lin Xiao had no time to listen to his flattery, "Could it be for the Western Shu rebels?"

Official Xie Tong nodded, "In fact, to resolve my confusion, I specifically hired someone to investigate and learned that during that period, the Red Flame Iron Cavalry had intended to go to Du Province to completely annihilate a group of the Black Dragon Cavalry that had been surrounded."

"But because of the matter in Yong Province, the Red Flame Iron Cavalry did not head south in the end, thus missing the opportunity, allowing that General Leng Duo to lead his troops out of the encirclement, and they have not been found to this day."

Lin Xiao was truly interested now, "Who was the person who made the suggestion in the imperial court?"

"A person who dared to offer such a bold strategy and was not afraid of the suspicion of the court officials… who do you think it would be, General?"

"Prime Minister Yang… Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong?!"

Official Xie Tong did not speak, smiling as he calmly took a sip of tea.

Lin Xiao felt his scalp tingle. Damn it, he had been outplayed!!