Zhang Fei's seemingly very reasonable explanation made some of them feel uneasy in the eyes of the distinguished guests.

What happened?

There must be a story happening during this lunch.

Because of the interrogation in the morning, most people believed that Zhang Fei was indeed biased, but as soon as the afternoon began, these questions caused the case to take a turn for the worse.

In particular, it was confirmed that the edict was false.

Coupled with Zhang Fei's change in attitude towards Zhong E, this will inevitably make people think.

Zhong E is naturally very angry, but he can only endure it. If he gets angry with Zhang Fei at this time, it will be a dead end. As long as Zhang Fei finds him guilty, those civil servants will definitely support Zhang Fei with all their strength, and then he will be killed. To the point of death.

Zhang Fei did not care about their feelings, but continued to ask Li Shui: "Master Li, you don't need to care about what Deputy Zhong said. You just answer the questions of the president of the court and tell what you saw and heard."

"yes."

When Li Shui first went to court, he was still very nervous. Now that he saw that the president of the court was very nice and full of gratitude and respect for him, and since he was already facing Lu Shen, he was naturally less afraid.

Zhang Fei asked again: "Do you have anything to add to the question just now?"

Li Shui had finished speaking, but Zhong E interrupted him and actually added: "As far as I know at that time, Vice Envoy Zhong was deployed in Suizhou and was preparing to fight without any sign of retreat. It can be seen that he had no intention of retreating. Plan to withdraw our troops."

Zhang Fei nodded and turned to look at Zhong E, "Deputy Envoy Zhong, after you occupied Suizhou, did you receive any orders from Prefect Lu?"

Zhong E was still a little resentful in his heart, but he just nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei said: "Then did you listen at that time?"

Zhong E shook his head and thought, I can't fight with him, this will be a disadvantage for me. He quickly added: "But there is a reason why I did this."

"What's the reason?" Zhang Fei asked.

Zhong E said: "As Director Li said, the first order from Magistrate Lu did not involve the Weimingshan Division, so I wrote back to ask for clarification. As for the second order, I have considered General Zhe and other The deployment of the army is by no means as simple as Chief Li said, which is just to withdraw the troops and horses to Qingjian City."

Zhang Fei yelled: "How do you say this?"

Zhong E said: "During the initial inducement to surrender, the commanders of the surrounding armies knew about this, because we also thought that once Suizhou was recaptured, Xixia would never give up. Generals such as Zhe Jishi and others had all made arrangements in advance.

If I choose to withdraw my troops suddenly without consulting them, this will make them very passive, and I must communicate with them first.

Secondly, the enemy troops came at that time, and they were all part of our plan. I was prepared to fight, and the chance of victory was very high. Even if I did not withdraw, there would not be any danger."

Zhang Fei nodded and said to Li Shui: "Master Li, I don't have any other questions at the moment. You can go down and rest first. If necessary, I will ask you to come up."

"yes."

Li Shui stood up, bowed his hands, and then retreated.

Zhang Fei suddenly looked aside and said, "Mr. Guo, I have to trouble you to go to court again to help the president of the court clarify a problem."

Guo Kui was stunned, as if he didn't understand why Zhang Fei asked him to appear in court again, but he still came to court.

Zhang Fei explained: "Did Mr. Guo Xianggong listen to Mr. Li's confession just now?"

Guo Kui nodded.

Zhang Fei said: "Then Xianggong Guo should also hear that the deputy envoy Zhong also involves the issue of correcting the imperial edict. Mr. Guo has led troops for many years and has rich experience. Can you tell me how to deal with the situation of deputy envoy Zhong?

It’s the most appropriate.”

Guo Kui first looked at Zhang Fei depressedly, "It's really embarrassing for you to ask this question."

He thought for a while and then said: "Under normal circumstances, we should strictly abide by orders and should not send troops without authorization, let alone send troops on the basis of an imperial edict."

Having said this, he paused for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "But under special circumstances, this kind of thing has happened. It is not limited to military generals. Some civilian officials have also behaved similarly, even in military affairs."

In an emergency, you can't contact your superiors, or you haven't waited for orders from your superiors, and you don't have the authority. When faced with a crisis, you can only make up orders and command your troops to fight first."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Then how does the court usually deal with this kind of situation?"

Guo Kui said: "Not necessarily, it depends on the specific situation."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Based on Xianggong Guo's experience, do you think it was a military emergency at that time?"

Guo Kui started sweating as soon as he came up. How can you ask a question like this? Why don't you be more reserved and more direct than a general like me? This answer seems wrong no matter what. He hesitated for a while and then said: "I personally thought

It is relatively sudden, but the best way to deal with it is to discuss it with Magistrate Lu."

This old driver is different. He tries his best not to offend both parties.

Zhang Fei continued to ask: "If Magistrate Lu does not agree, how will Mr. Guo deal with it?"

Guo Kui said directly: "I was not in Yanzhou at the time, so I had no way of knowing the specific situation at that time, and I dare not speak nonsense."

"fine!"

Zhang Fei said again: "Thank you again, Mr. Guo for your help."

Guo Kui nodded and looked at Zhong E with a slightly apologetic look.

Zhong E still nodded gratefully.

Su Zhe suddenly frowned and whispered: "It's really strange to say that even if Deputy Zhong knew that Magistrate Lu would refuse, he could still send a letter and let him know first. In this way, even if he didn't wait for Magistrate Lu's reply, he could

, if we send troops immediately, we won’t make Magistrate Lu so angry.”

Wang Shen whispered: "Actually, there has been a rumor about this."

Su Che asked: "What rumors?"

Wang Shendao said: "It was because Zhonge actually had secret edicts from the officials at that time that he decided to send troops."

Su Che said in surprise: "Really?"

Wang Shendao said: "I heard this rumor before when I was the manager under Mr. Han."

Chen Qi frowned and said: "But according to our investigation, Deputy Ambassador Zhong never admitted that there was such a secret edict. There was no mention of it in the files at that time, and the officials never mentioned it. In addition, at that time,

The official has just ascended the throne, how could he issue a secret edict to Deputy Envoy Zhong?"

Wang Shen said: "So this is a rumor, and I only heard it through hearsay."

Su Che frowned slightly.

Suddenly I heard Zhang Fei say: "Pass on Chen Xiaowu."

Chen Xiaowu?

who is it?

Everyone present looked confused again.

Chen Qi smiled bitterly and said: "Whether he is the president of the court or the Erbi, the witnesses he hears will always confuse people."

But I saw a man in his twenties, wearing short brown clothes, walking forward. As he stood there, his legs were trembling uncontrollably. He was hesitant and didn't know what to do.

Lu Shen looked at this man's attire and couldn't help but secretly glance at Zhong E opposite him. He found that Zhong E was also looking at this man. He didn't seem to recognize him and was extremely curious.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Chen Xiaowu, please sit down."

"Oh oh oh!"

Chen Xiaowu nodded, supported the back of the chair, and sat down slowly.

Zhang Fei asked again: "Are you a little thirsty?"

Chen Xiaowu was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer.

Zhang Fei ordered: "Bring him a cup of tea."

When the tea was delivered, Chen Xiaowu held it in both hands and took a sip, feeling a little calmer.

Zhang Fei waited for a moment and then asked with a smile: "Chen Xiaowu, what do you do?"

Chen Xiaowu raised his head and said, "I am a soldier."

Zhang Fei asked: "Where do you serve as a soldier?"

Chen Xiaowu said: "Currently he is in the Yongxing Army."

"How many years have you been a soldier?"

"Eight years."

"Eight years? You look as old as me, so you have been a soldier very early."

"hey-hey."

Chen Xiaowu scratched his head and smiled honestly, "It's quite early, but I should be older than the officials."

Zhang Fei said: "Really? How old are you this year?"

"I'm twenty-seven."

"You are indeed two or three years older, so I have to call you Brother Chen."

"Ouch! I don't dare! I don't dare!"

Chen Xiaowu waved his hands sheepishly.

The people next to me saw it with their eyes popping out. Are you trying a case, or are you calling each other brothers?

As the president of the court, you must be very easy-going.
To be continued...