"Zhu Ping'an?! Are you the newly crowned number one scholar, Zhu Ping'an, who inspected the Taicang Treasury naked?!"
When Eunuch He heard Zhu Ping'an's name, his eyes widened immediately. He looked Zhu Ping'an up and down and asked with his index finger raised.
"Ahem... Yes, I am the one... Zhu Ping'an who inspected the Taicang silver vault naked..."
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help coughing, his old face slightly reddened. Why did these words make him sound like a pervert
"Eunuch He, you just said that there was a mutiny in the Zhenwu Camp, and that the Minister of the Imperial Guard, Huang Maoguan, was killed by the rioters. Is this true?!"
Duke Wei asked anxiously. He seemed to still have a glimmer of hope and found it difficult to accept the fact that the Zhenwu Camp had mutinied.
"Hey, Duke Wei, Duke Wei, do you think I am in the mood to play such a joke on you? The blood on my body is the blood of Mr. Huang!" Eunuch He slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "If you don't believe me, reach out and touch it. Mr. Huang's blood must still be warm."
"How could it be? How could the Zhenwu Camp mutinied? This shouldn't happen... They were all very obedient... They didn't mind the reduction of silver, they didn't mind the suspension of their wives' food, they didn't mind the delay in their military pay... Why did they mutinied today? This shouldn't happen..."
The Duke of Wei found it hard to accept the fact that the Zhenwu Camp had mutinied, and he muttered to himself like Xianglin Sao.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an could not help but roll his eyes. It turned out that what the soldiers were shouting and cursing in the distance was true. The silver was really reduced, the soldiers' wives' food was stopped, and the soldiers' salaries were still in arrears...
"Uncle, the most urgent thing is to quickly gather the personal soldiers and guard the tent while the mutinous soldiers are still some distance away from the general's tent, so as to prevent the mutinous soldiers from attacking the tent and losing control of the Zhenwu Camp!"
Zhu Ping'an once again reminded the State of Wei of justice.
"Yes, Old Xu, my nephew is right. You should quickly gather your personal soldiers to guard the general's tent. If the general's tent is attacked by the disorderly soldiers, it will be a disaster. There will be no way to save the situation."
After Zhu Ping'an's reminder, Linhuai Hou reacted, nodded repeatedly, hurriedly pushed Wei Guogong's arm with his hand, and said anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan.
Where is the slightest demeanor of a veteran general in the army? He is not calm at all. He is even a million light years away from being "unchanged in the face of Mount Tai, and as calm as a mountain even in wind and rain."
The Duke of Wei's mind was blank at this moment. He came to his senses after being reminded by Zhu Ping'an and Linhuai Hou. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, summon the personal soldiers, summon the personal soldiers..." Then he hurriedly summoned the personal soldiers on duty, tore off a tiger-head seal from his waist, handed it to one of them, and ordered him to use it to quickly summon the personal soldiers to guard the commander's tent.
At this time, the shouting and cursing of the mutinous soldiers outside were getting closer and closer. Zhu Pingan could hear it more and more clearly, and Duke Wei and Marquis Linhuai also vaguely heard the shouting and cursing of the mutinous soldiers outside. As a result, Duke Wei and Marquis Linhuai became more panicked and their faces became paler. They were like ants on a hot pot, circling around in the general's tent, while turning around, looking up to pay attention to the movements outside the tent, "What's going on? Why haven't the personal soldiers come yet?"
Compared to them, Zhu Ping'an was much calmer, standing there like a stabilizing force.
Eunuch He also sat there, but his legs were still shaking and he couldn't move.
"Stop turning around, it makes me dizzy!" Eunuch He held his forehead with his hand and shouted to Duke Wei and Marquis Linhuai.
"Eunuch He, what on earth is going on?! Aren't you supposed to be at the garrison? Why are you here at Zhenwu Camp?! And why is Minister Huang here too? Why are my soldiers suddenly mutinying..."
After Eunuch He stopped Duke Wei, his brain seemed to work again and he asked Eunuch He questions one after another.
"Ask me! I want to ask you something else!" After hearing the series of questions from Duke Wei, Eunuch He immediately became Spartan.
"Ah?! Asking me?! Why do you say that, Eunuch He?!" Duke Wei was stunned when he heard that.
"Didn't you send someone to invite me and Huang Shilang here? You even asked me why I was in Zhenwu Camp? Duke Wei, please tell me why you invited me and Huang Shilang to Zhenwu Camp this morning! You even said that you had something important to discuss! What important matter do you want to discuss with me and Huang Shilang?!"
Eunuch He spoke word by word, staring at Duke Wei with an unfriendly look on his face.
"I invited you to discuss important matters this morning?!" Hearing this, Duke Wei couldn't help but said excitedly with a wronged look on his face, "Eunuch He must have made a mistake. I made an appointment with Zihou the day before yesterday to hand over the military equipment sponsored to Zihou's militia at Zhenwu Camp this morning. Linhuai Hou and Zihou can both testify for me. Since I already had an appointment this morning, why would I invite you and Minister Huang to come over to discuss important matters?!"
"Yes. We can testify." Zhu Ping'an and Linhuai Hou nodded at the same time and testified for Duke Wei.
"Ah?!" Eunuch He was stunned when he saw this, then he said with certainty, "But it was indeed someone from Zhenwu Camp who came to invite me and Minister Huang with a sealed document this morning?! It was Captain Wang from your Zhenwu Camp. I have seen him before, so there is no way I could have mistaken him. And there is no way I could have mistaken the military seal of your Zhenwu Camp."
"Ah?" Duke Wei was also confused, and said with a look of injustice, "But I did not send Captain Wang to invite you and Mr. Huang, nor did I issue an official document inviting you and Mr. Huang."
"It's possible that Captain Huang privately carved a carrot seal, or secretly stamped a military seal while you, Old Xu, weren't paying attention..."
Linhuai Hou concluded.
As soon as Marquis Linhuai finished speaking, Eunuch He and Duke Wei spoke in unison, each holding his own opinion and refusing to give in to the other.
"It can't be a radish seal. I won't make a mistake." Eunuch He insisted, "As the garrison commander of Yingtian Prefecture, I am the military commander of Zhenwu Camp. I know every stroke, length, depth, position, spacing, etc. No radish seal can deceive my eyes."
"It's impossible to use the official seal secretly. My official seal is locked and I am the only one who has the key." Duke Wei also insisted, "I am the only one who can use the military seal. No one else has the chance to use it secretly."
The reason why the two insisted on doing so was because it involved the issue of "responsibility". If it was a fake seal, then Eunuch He would be held responsible for not conducting a thorough investigation and being credulous. Similarly, if it was a stolen military seal, then Duke Wei would be held responsible for poor management. Both of them were very clear about this.
Pass the buck!
This is a skill. The two have been in the officialdom for so many years, and they are very familiar with the skill of shifting the blame.