Chapter 561: Chapter 148: Adviser Ma Liangcai (Two in One)_2
“Such disobedience to the summons might lead outsiders to believe that Upper General Mansion harbors ulterior motives. You should all know that Upper General Mansion has no shortage of enemies at court, right?”
“If these people take advantage of this situation and cause the Monarch to misunderstand, leading to a sudden fury that strips the Upper General of his duties, all of you will be the sinners!”
Upon hearing these words, the soldiers became restless, and each of them grew anxious and started to hesitate.
Ma Liangcai continued, “You, members of the Upper General Mansion, have fallen to such a state, should think of striving forward, to accomplish great deeds and restore the honor of the Upper General Mansion!”
“General Mu Lan has fallen ill due to overwork. As subordinates, do you not know General Mu Lan’s ambitions?”
“Without the Main General, do you plan to go into battle on your own? If you suffer another defeat, wouldn’t it tarnish the Upper General Mansion’s reputation?”
“Only under my leadership, by obtaining military merits, can we stabilize the situation. When General Mu Lan eventually awakens, your performance will surely comfort her, will it not?”
The soldiers from Red Flower Camp became increasingly unsettled.
Ma Liangcai’s words struck at the deepest fears in their hearts—without the Main General, going into battle was akin to courting death. How could they possibly achieve greatness and restore former glory?
Shuangjing descended from the sky: “What General Ma says is highly reasonable.”
“I agree as well,” Sun Gan also descended.
“However,” Sun Gan suddenly changed his tone, “compared to General Ma, I, Sun Gan, have worked with General Mu Lan for a much longer time and understand Red Flower Camp even better. I am more suitable to lead this army!”
Shuangjing: “Before this, General Mu Lan had entrusted me, saying that if anything discordant happened, I would take charge of Red Flower Camp.”
Everyone was taken aback.
Ning Zhuo suddenly nudged Liu Er with his elbow.
Jolted, Liu Er had an epiphany and shouted, “Strange! General Mu Lan had previously said the same thing to me.”
The crowd was stunned once more.
Ma Liangcai’s expression darkened again, he looked at Shuangjing, then Sun Gan, and he glanced at Liu Er, his gaze lingering on the demon blood traits with undisguised disgust and contempt.
Ma Liangcai communicated with the messenger using Divine Sense.
The messenger shouted, “What chaos are you three creating? General Ma Liangcai has been personally appointed by the Monarch to take over Red Flower Camp! Do you have the King’s Order?”
Liu Er gritted his teeth.
Sun Gan immediately said, “The King’s decree only mentioned appointing Ma Liangcai as an adviser to join Red Flower Camp, how has it turned into a takeover?”
Shuangjing also spoke up, “Although Red Flower Camp is a regular army of our country, it was personally established by General Mu and belongs to the Upper General Mansion. How can you, an outsider like Ma Liangcai, take over it?”
Ning Zhuo transmitted his thoughts using Divine Sense, giving directions to Liu Er.
Liu Er bit his teeth: “Gentlemen, you may not know, but General Mu Lan and I share a deep, mutual affection, almost to the point of discussing marriage. If we consider closeness and kinship, I am also half a person of the Upper General Mansion.”
“The Monarch is wise and cares for his loyal servants. If he knew the details, he certainly wouldn’t have sent you, Great Sir Ma, to come here.”
Upon these words, everyone stared at Liu Er.
Eyes full of shock, anger, as if spitting fire.
Ning Zhuo subtly moved a few steps, putting distance between himself and Liu Er.
Liu Er’s breathing briefly stalled, feeling the immense pressure filling the air.
Whether it was Ma Liangcai, the Royal Capital’s messenger, Shuangjing, Sun Gan, or even Zhang Zhongyi and the soldiers of Red Flower Camp, they all wanted to crush this indiscreet Liu Er to dust.
What are you?
A mere human-demon hybrid dares to tarnish General Mu Lan’s purity?! Dares to meddle in this political strife? Dares to lay hands on the General Seal?
Preposterous!
Who gave you the confidence?
In the tense atmosphere, Sun Gan suddenly looked up and laughed loudly, “General Liu Er is indeed sharp-witted, I understand now. Honestly, General Mu Lan has admired me since childhood, desiring to marry me in exchange for my aid in joining the Upper General Mansion and revitalizing its glory.”
Shuangjing, not to be outdone, said, “What you are speaking of, all happened recently. In fact, General Mu Lan and I have been exchanging letters for a long time. Initially, she reached out to me for guidance on Cultivation, but gradually, we started sharing our innermost feelings. Our relationship is closer than outsiders can understand.”
“Now that General Mu Lan is unconscious, as her dear one, half belonging to the Upper General Mansion, I should indeed take charge of Red Flower Camp.”
“Ma Liangcai, since you’ve come under the King’s Order, I won’t make things difficult for you; just quietly assume the role of adviser.”
The situation evolved to this point, and only then did the soldiers of the Red Flower Camp and Zhang Zhongyi react.
Ma Liangcai was acting under a King’s Order, desiring to take over the Red Flower Camp, which on the level of righteousness, held the advantage. The Monarch’s reasoning was clearly stated in the royal decree, and it was very legitimate—for the victory of the war, for the greater good!
Whoever defies this command will not have a leg to stand on and will be severely punished.
Being part of the Righteous Path, naturally, one must abide by the rules.
But if Liu Er, Sun Gan, Shuangjing, and others had a secret relationship with Mu Lan, amounting to half of the Upper General Mansion’s people,
Then according to the rules of family, country, and then the world, with family first followed by country, and the world last, Ma Liangcai would have to be ranked after these three individuals—Liu, Sun, and Shuang.
The soldiers of the Red Flower Camp realized this and began to believe that these three generals wanted to help their own side, and had no choice but to slander themselves for having a secret relationship with Mu Lan.
They looked at these three generals without enmity, little knowing the trio was also plotting for their own benefits.
Indeed, they wished to lay their hands on the Upper General Mansion!
Ning Zhuo observed the whole scene and estimated in his heart: “The Monarch of Liangzhu Country ordered a direct takeover of the Red Flower Camp. His action was too ‘timely.’ It hasn’t been long since Mu Lan was secretly attacked and fell unconscious, yet Ma Liangcai has arrived.”
“So it seems, the ones targeting Mu Lan are not Shuangjing, Sun Gan, but rather the upper echelons of Liangzhu Country.”
“What is the true intent of Liangzhu Country’s Monarch? Is he the leading force in this matter, or merely a cooperating player?”
Ning Zhuo pondered secretly.
He tried to view the situation from the standpoint of Liangzhu Country’s Monarch.
Then, the takeover of the Red Flower Camp and the dismissal of the Upper General Mansion were in the interests of the Monarch.
The Monarch had a strong motive to act.
Ning Zhuo then observed Sun Gan and Shuangjing covertly: “These two must have heard the wind and known the inside story; that’s why they took action in advance to force Mu Lan.”
“They wanted to grab the Red Flower Camp and the Upper General Mansion into their own pockets before the Monarch made his move.”
“That’s why they took the initiative to prevent Ma Liangcai’s arrival this time.”
As Ning Zhuo was estimating the overall situation, Sun Gan and Shuangjing both inwardly sighed a relief and began to see Liu Er differently.
It was fortunate that Liu Er reacted swiftly and thought of this idea!
Liu Er looked at Ning Zhuo, praising in his heart: “Having an adviser by our side is really excellent. I’ve benefited so much! Now, with Mu Lan unconscious, we three can make any claims we want, standing in front of Ma Liangcai.”
“The beauty of it is, if Ma Liangcai wants to expose us, he will inevitably have to wake Mu Lan up for the person concerned to deny any secret relationship face to face.”
“However, once Mu Lan awakens, it will be hard for Ma Liangcai to genuinely take control of the Red Flower Camp and will only be reduced to an adviser. With Mu Lan above him, he won’t have an iota of real power!”
As for why the Monarch of Liangzhu Country didn’t simply appoint Ma Liangcai as the Main General of the Red Flower Camp in the royal decree?
Quite obviously, that would be contrary to the rules of the Righteous Path.
Once the Monarch of Liangzhu Country did so, it would definitely arouse the alert of many families, greatly disappoint people, and he would be met with countless admonitions and earnest counsels from the veteran loyalists.
And if he really were to do it, it certainly wouldn’t be successful. This could be confirmed by the reactions of the soldiers of the Red Flower Camp.
The situation was at a stalemate.
Ma Liangcai stared intently at Liu Er, and his contempt for this Golden Core level half-demon, half-human surged tenfold in his heart.
Seeing that things had developed to this stage, Liu Er simply met Ma Liangcai’s eyes directly, without any fear.
Shuangjing and Sun Gan, seeing this, regarded Liu Er slightly more favorably, thinking this half-demon, half-human actually had the courage of a rash warrior.
Both of them also stared at Ma Liangcai, subtly exerting pressure.
Neither side gave ground, and just as they were about to fall into a deadlock, the tent’s flap was suddenly lifted.
Mu Lan walked out!
Once again, both sides were taken aback, and even Ning Zhuo’s color changed, feeling a strong surprise. He instantly realized: “What a move by Mu Lan, she was pretending to be unconscious all along!”
Mu Lan gave a slight smile to the shocked crowd: “Gentlemen, please enter the tent for a discussion.”