Chapter 191: Deputy General Sha Answers fluently

At dawn, Deputy General Sha cooperated with Xiao Bao to take control of the officers and soldiers under Song Wuji of the Right Guard Front Camp one by one.

Outside the city, the Khitan army suffered an inexplicable defeat. Luo Wuzheng, trusting his Snake Spirit allies, chose to break camp and return north.

As the Khitan army retreated, the Zhou army soldiers in the city, who had been pent up in panic due to the large-scale arrest of officers, seemed to have found an outlet for venting and were quickly comforted and calmed.

Since Su Honghui and Song Wuji were still alive, there was no need to fight to the death, so there was no more trouble in the army.

In the lobby of the Pingzhou Governor's Mansion, Zhao Ji once again sat on the governor's throne and looked up and down at the deputy general Sha.

This guy seemed to have appeared in the original plot, when Li Yuanfang was shot by an arrow.

The man followed Su Honghui's order and went forward to take Li Yuanfang's life, but Li Yuanfang used his last bit of strength to cut the man into pieces with a chain knife.

Judging from his words and actions, he is most likely a member of the Snake Spirit faction.

Deputy General Sha was completely unaware of Zhao Ji's ill intentions, and he cupped his hands and said, "Commander-in-chief, as per your instructions, Su Honghui, Song Wuji, and the officers who mutinied with them have all been arrested."

"Su and Song are locked in separate cells, guarded by your personal soldiers. No one can approach unless they have your warrant."

Zhao Ji came back to his senses and praised him endlessly, "Good, very good. Deputy General Sha, I was angry last night and you refused to let me in. I had to make things difficult for you and handed the problem to you. I didn't expect you to handle it so well. You are really capable!"

Deputy General Sha forced a smile and said, "You are too kind. You personally led a large army to rescue Pingzhou, but I refused to let you in. I am guilty. I am grateful that you did not punish me."

Zhao Ji did not comment, but asked with a smile: "I heard from your soldiers earlier that General Wang defected to the Khitan. What's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Deputy General Sha's face immediately changed to one of deep hatred and bitterness: "Commander-in-chief, this is a long story. Wang Xiaojie and Deputy General Sun secretly colluded, secretly opened the north gate, and led the Khitan army into the city."

"If the governor and General Su had not arrived in time, Pingzhou City would have already fallen into the hands of the Khitans. When he and Deputy General Sun saw that the plot was exposed and the Khitan army was defeated, they fled the city and defected to the Khitans."

"Did you see with your own eyes Wang Xiaojie ordering the city gates to be opened? Did you see with your own eyes him defecting to the Khitan?" There was a hint of doubt in Zhao Ji's tone.

Deputy General Sha did not feel guilty at all and answered loudly: "I saw it with my own eyes! He and Deputy General Sun went to the north gate together and ordered the soldiers to open the city gate, saying that they would send another messenger out of the city to ask for help."

"As soon as the city gate was opened, Khitan spies sneaked in and seized the city gate. Wang Xiaojie not only did not lead his troops to resist, but he and his spies obstructed me and others from defending the city."

"There are witnesses to his and Lieutenant General Sun's escape from the city. General Wang's face is very recognizable, and there were at least 800 soldiers who saw it with their own eyes. If the commander-in-chief doesn't believe it, he can ask the soldiers under the Right Guard."

At the end, Deputy General Sha spoke very quickly and his face turned red.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji couldn't help but laugh: "Don't worry, when did this commander say that he didn't believe you? I have already asked several soldiers before, and what they saw and heard is consistent with you."

Upon hearing this, Deputy General Sha heaved a sigh of relief and said, "The Commander-in-Chief is very perceptive. I admire you very much!"

Zhao Ji smiled and took out three letters: "But there is another strange thing. I have three letters from General Wang asking for help. When I received the first letter, I still had some doubts and thought it was a trick of the Khitan people."

"But when the last two letters arrived, they mentioned Su Honghui's mutiny. Pingzhou was in danger, so this governor ordered thousands of light cavalry and borrowed food and grass from the Xi people, abandoning the main army to come to the rescue. If he wanted to surrender the city, why did he write these letters to ask for help? Isn't this superfluous?"

Upon hearing this, Deputy General Sha's expression changed slightly, and he immediately responded: "Maybe Wang Xiaojie has another conspiracy!"

"Oh? What conspiracy?" Zhao Ji looked at Deputy General Sha with a smile. Deputy General Sha was speechless and hesitantly said, "This... this general doesn't know."

"Since Wang Xiaojie is colluding with the Khitan, he must have some dealings with the Khitans. You are by Wang Xiaojie's side, don't you have any awareness of that?" Zhao Ji asked again.

Deputy General Sha took a deep breath and explained, "Most of Wang Xiaojie's affairs were handled by Deputy General Sun. Most of the important military affairs were also discussed with Generals Su and Zong. I was not aware of them."

"Besides, Wang Xiaojie is my immediate superior, and he has a bad temper. Even if I were to have the courage to do so, I would not dare to interfere in his affairs."

Zhao Ji nodded and said, "That's right. What about Wang Xiaojie's personal guards and confidants? Call two of them here. I want to question them."

Deputy General Sha looked embarrassed and replied, "Reporting to the governor, all the guards and confidants under Wang Xiaojie were either sent to deliver messages, or defected with Wang Xiaojie, and some were killed in the chaos of last night's battle. I'm afraid we can't find them now."

Zhao Ji smiled when he heard this: "Oh? You know you can't find any if you stay here?"

Lieutenant General Sha was sweating profusely at the question and quickly explained: "General, this is it. After I defended the city last night, I knew that Wang Xiaojie had defected to Khitan. I had the same idea as the general and wanted to ask Wang Xiaojie's guards about the situation. That's how I learned about it."

"It is precisely because of this that I left the North Gate last night and went to the Governor's Mansion, causing the troops at the North Gate to offend the Governor. The soldiers under my command can also testify to this."

When Zhao Ji heard this, he couldn't help but laugh, and he really made it up for him.

He immediately stood up, walked to Deputy General Sha, patted him on the shoulder, and praised: "I was right, you are really a talent!"

"How dare I, how dare I." Deputy General Sha quickly responded with his head down.

Zhao Ji shook his head and said, "Forget it. This matter is not something we can make a final conclusion on. Di Gong is known for his divine judgment. Let's wait for Di Gong to arrive and ask him to investigate in detail."

"That's a good idea, Governor." Lieutenant General Sha wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling relieved.

Zhao Ji ordered again: "According to the schedule, Lord Di should arrive in Pingzhou in the next few days. The ceremony of welcoming Lord Di into the city is left to you. You must not make any mistakes. If you do it well, I will commend you for the achievement. Go down."

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief. I will take my leave now." Deputy General Sha retreated obediently.

Zhao Ji watched Deputy General Sha's departing back, his expression gradually becoming solemn, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

Wang Xiaojie is now probably in the hands of the Khitan, his life or death is uncertain, and he cannot speak to defend himself.

In Pingzhou City, he used a human skin mask to disguise himself as Wang Xiaojie, opened the city gate in full view of everyone, let the Khitan army in, and then defected.

All the people in the city who could speak for Wang Xiaojie were purged. Later, perhaps a few witnesses who were unfavorable to Wang Xiaojie would emerge and in turn prove that Wang Xiaojie was colluding with the Khitan.

Then he ordered the Khitans to cooperate with Su Honghui to stage a farce of meritorious service to atone for their sins. The Snake Spirit really spent a lot of money on Qiu Jing and Su Honghui.

The power of internal support has been proven by Zhu Xu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the Battle of Feishui, and by Su Honghui in Dongxiashi Valley before.

The Snake Spirit's goal is probably not only Pingzhou City, but also Di Renjie's newly arrived 100,000 troops.

(End of this chapter)