Chapter 196: Detecting Lies (Part )

Di Renjie, along with his guards, Zeng Tai, Di Chun and Wang Tiehan, entered the governor's residence and eventually caused some noise.

Just as Zhao Ji was having a secret conversation with Di Renjie, he heard Ruyan's voice calling from afar.

"Uncle!" Before she finished speaking, Ruyan had already run quickly into the threshold, and Li Yuanfang followed closely behind her.

Zhao Ji and Di Renjie happened to be walking out of the inner room. They saw Ruyan bowing to them, with a bit of coquettishness in her voice: "Uncle, how are you?"

Li Yuanfang stood behind Ruyan, smiling and bowing, saying, "Sir."

Di Renjie was delighted at first, but then he calmed down and said with a reproachful but caring tone: "Ruyan, your uncle has promised to take you to Pingzhou. How can you leave home without permission? Your uncle is worried sick."

Ruyan lowered her head embarrassedly and stuck out her tongue.

Li Yuanfang stepped forward to help at the right time when he saw this: "Sir, Ruyan has been with me most of the time since she left Luoyang, and has never acted alone."

Di Renjie frowned slightly: "I heard from Chengyuan that Yuanfang was injured in order to protect Ruyan?"

"It's just a minor injury. Besides, I was the one who made the mistake first, which gave the bad guys the opportunity to take advantage of me. Ruyan was actually a great help." Li Yuanfang helped to defend himself.

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie pretended to be helpless and said, "Well, since you are all safe, let's forget about this matter. Ruyan, don't act so willfully in the future."

Ruyan lowered her eyebrows and bowed gently: "I will follow the instructions of my uncle."

At this moment, Qiu Jing arrived late, walked to Di Renjie, knelt down respectfully, and said in a melancholy voice: "The prisoner pays homage to Lord Di."

Di Renjie turned his gaze to Zhao Ji and asked, "Who is this?"

"This is Qiu Jing, the former governor of Pingzhou, Lord Qiu," Zhao Ji introduced.

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie nodded slightly and gestured for him to stand up: "Master Qiu, please stand up."

However, Qiu Jing did not stand up, but bowed his head and said: "The criminal has been wrongly accused, please judge for yourself!"

Zhao Ji and Di Renjie looked at each other and said inwardly, "Here it comes!"

Li Yuanfang took out two memorials from his sleeve and handed them to Di Renjie: "Sir, these are two memorials that were snatched back from the purple-clothed men who kidnapped Ruyan. They were sent by Governor Qiu and General Su Honghui."

Di Renjie remained calm as he took the memorial and said to Qiu Jing gently, "Master Qiu, please stand up first. If there is any injustice, I will handle it impartially and give you justice."

"Thank you, Mr. Di." Qiu Jing bowed again and finally stood up.

Di Renjie casually flipped through the two memorials, while Qiu Jing stood aside with his hands behind his back.

"These two are memorials in which you and Su Honghui defend your own crimes, and at the same time, they accuse Wang Xiaojie of being tyrannical and seeking revenge for personal gain." Di Renjie quickly finished reading the memorials and made a summary.

"Can you tell me in detail about your grudge with Wang Xiaojie? Why did he report you for not being able to provide rations for the army?" Di Renjie asked again.

Qiu Jing heard this, sighed softly, and slowly said: "This matter is quite strange. Since the war began, the criminal officer has been diligent and conscientious in delivering military rations and clothing to the army."

"When Governor Zhao was in office, the grain route was unobstructed and there had never been any problems. But since General Wang took office, the Khitan army has begun to frequently attack our grain route."

Having said that, Qiu Jing bowed to Zhao Ji, and everyone in the room couldn't help but look at Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji was not grateful and explained, "I established the Dongxieshigu stronghold. But when I was there, our army had no more than 10,000 people at most, and the Khitan army on the opposite side had even fewer people, so they stayed in hiding and naturally had no worries about food being robbed." Qiu Jing then said, "Maybe. In any case, in the month before the battle in Dongxieshigu alone, four consecutive military supply shipments were robbed. The Khitans seemed to know our route, the number of people in the food transport team, and the departure time, so they were always successful."

"At first, the Pingzhou government sent people to transport military supplies together with the frontline soldiers. However, General Wang suspected that there was a traitor in Pingzhou and stopped the Pingzhou government from interfering in the transportation of military supplies."

"We only handed over the food and clothing to General Wang's Youwei guards halfway through the journey. They were responsible for escorting the food and clothing, but they were still robbed like the first time."

"The number of grain escort teams transporting military supplies has increased each time, but the results have never been satisfactory. I don't understand. Can I be blamed for this?"

After hearing this, Di Renjie nodded slightly to show his understanding: "In this case, Lord Qiu is indeed somewhat wronged."

"Is there any evidence for what Governor Qiu said?" Zhao Ji asked suddenly.

Qiu Jing replied sternly: "What the criminal said is known to all officials in Pingzhou government, both big and small. Even in the Right Guard, there are many people who can testify!"

"In the subsequent escort missions for military supplies, which general's subordinates did General Wang send? Was it General Yan, General Zong, or Su Honghui?" Zhao Ji asked.

Qiu Jing hesitated a little and shook her head: "Well, I'm not sure about this prisoner."

"It's a pity that General Zong is unconscious now. If he were awake, he would surely be able to answer this question for us." Di Renjie said with regret.

Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Sir, there is no need to go through so much trouble. Su Honghui is currently detained in Pingzhou Prison, so it is a good opportunity to bring him out and try him together."

Di Renjie had no objection and nodded, saying, "That's great."
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Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhao Ji suddenly suggested that the group move to the main hall. Di Renjie sat on the governor's seat, Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang were on his left and right, and Zeng Tai and Ruyan were also listening.

Qiu Jing stood in the center of the hall, while Su Honghui was held down by Zhao Ji's soldiers and knelt in front of Di Renjie to salute.

Zhao was well prepared. He gave a wink and someone soon brought Su Honghui into the room. He was tied up and looked haggard, with a bruised face and nose. It seemed that he had suffered a lot in the past few days.

When Qiu Jing saw this, her face immediately turned ugly. Zhao Ji's malice was hardly concealed.

Di Renjie glanced at Zhao Ji and did not allow anyone to untie him. He asked directly, "Su Honghui, I heard that you also have grievances to appeal. What do you have to say in front of me?"

Su Honghui first glared at Zhao Ji with resentment, and then said in a deep voice: "General, now Wang Xiaojie has already defected to Khitan. Governor Qiu and I were both brought down by Wang Xiaojie, so we are naturally wronged. What else can we say?"

Zhao Ji heard this and sneered even more. He immediately retorted: "Wang Xiaojie's defection does not mean that you are wronged."

"You shameless villain, you fled without fighting in front of Dongxishi Valley, causing the army to be cut off from retreat and failure. General Yan died for his country. What injustice have you committed?"

Su Honghui's eyes flashed with hatred, and he angrily retorted: "This is all Wang Xiaojie's one-sided statement. At that time, the Khitan camp where I was located had been captured once and had a big hole in it."

"I clearly tried my best to stop them, but Wang Xiaojie's internal support disrupted the formation, and there were too many Khitans behind us, so I had no choice but to retreat. How could I have fled from the battlefield?"

"On the contrary, it was Wang Xiaojie who acted on his own will, advancing lightly and recklessly, deliberately putting the army to death. He is the culprit for the defeat in Dongxiashigu!"

Zhao Ji heard this and a playful smile appeared on his lips: "Oh? You mean, Wang Xiaojie was so stubborn and stubborn that he marched forward with light troops and put the large army to death?"

Su Honghui's confidence was evident in his words: "Of course!"

Zhao Ji's tone was a little more provocative: "Do you think that since Wang Xiaojie is trapped in Khitan, General Yan died for his country, and General Zong is missing, no one can confront you?"

Su Honghui looked puzzled when he heard this, and looked at Zhao Ji in confusion: "This is the truth, why would I be afraid of confrontation?"

(End of this chapter)