bookcurios Chapter 219 What a loss
Chapter 219 What a loss
Only when she arrived at the place did Qiao Jinlan realize how difficult it was.
Because the emperor of this country has a very good reputation and is deeply loved by the people.
It is a fact that when this emperor was a prince, he wanted to kill the old general in order to seize the throne.
But does it still make sense to bring it up now?
The old general is still old.
There are also many young and middle-aged generals in the army, who are the fresh blood of the country.
It can be said that the old general has really retired after accomplishing his mission.
So, when Qiao Jinlan and Lu Yunxu sat in front of the old general, the old general looked at them with great confusion.
"Gentlemen, do you know our benefactor?" General Zhao asked tentatively.
Qiao Jinlan directly took out Liu Shuiqing's token and showed it to General Zhao.
When General Zhao saw him, he was very excited: "After so many years, how is my benefactor?"
"Okay." Qiao Jinlan said with a smile.
Of course, she didn't need to tell General Zhao the details. She just needed to get what Liu Shuiqing had hidden.
"He asked me to take back the things he asked General Zhao to keep for me," said Qiao Jinlan.
"General Zhao, can you give it to us?"
General Zhao looked at Qiao Jinlan and asked, "Didn't my benefactor tell you how to take away the things I was keeping for him?"
"Of course." Qiao Jinlan nodded with a smile, "This is a time when General Zhao's life is about to undergo a major change."
"Yes." General Zhao nodded.
He didn't know why his benefactor would put forward such a condition, but since this was what his benefactor had said, he naturally had to obey.
"In fact, I think that with General Zhao's character, nothing should be able to easily shake General Zhao." Qiao Jinlan said with a chuckle.
General Zhao didn't say anything.
He has experienced too many life and death situations on the battlefield, and being calm in the face of honor or disgrace is the most basic thing.
Qiao Jinlan glanced at Lu Yunxu, and Lu Yunxu directly handed a booklet to General Zhao.
General Zhao took it and looked through it carefully.
He had just read one line of words when his whole body froze.
Then, General Zhao read through the booklet word by word carefully, then closed it and sighed heavily: "You two, every word you said is very rigorous, but..."
"There's really nothing I can do."
"Back then, the prince wanted to fight for the throne and did some things... I can understand that."
Qiao Jinlan smiled and said, "I admire General Zhao's loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism."
"But, General Zhao, have you ever thought about why none of General Zhao's descendants can inherit General Zhao's legacy?"
Qiao Jinlan's question made General Zhao shake his head helplessly: "They don't have good talents."
"Descendants of civil servants may not all pass the imperial examinations. It all depends on fate."
"I admire General Zhao for being open-minded. But, they have been poisoned since they were young, which has made them uncoordinated, lack endurance, and weak. This... is a man-made thing. Can General Zhao tolerate it?" Qiao Jinlan asked curiously.
General Zhao was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?"
"Are you trying to say that the descendants of my Zhao family cannot practice martial arts because your majesty has murdered them?"
General Zhao felt upset.
Those are all his children. His sons and grandsons have been sickly since childhood.
Not to mention that he had to hold medicine bottles every day, but his body was so weak that he couldn't practice martial arts at all.
Originally, he accepted his fate, thinking that he might have killed too many people on the battlefield and this was God's punishment for him.
For the sake of his country and his people, he accepted it.
If the Zhao family could bring peace to the entire country, he felt it was worth it.
However, now that he was told that all this was actually done by the emperor... General Zhao felt heartbroken.
He didn't expect that he didn't die on the battlefield, but his entire family was destroyed by his own people.
And their Zhao family has been fighting on the battlefield for the imperial court for generations, which is really... ironic.
General Zhao closed his eyes, apparently finding it hard to accept this fact.
However, General Zhao was silent for a while, then he calmed down, opened his eyes and said, "Since the Zhao family has done this, then let it be."
“This is our fate.”
"As long as Your Majesty loves the people, everything... is worth it!"
Qiao Jinlan admires people like General Zhao very much. She says that such people are stupid. In fact, they are a little stupid, but such people are the backbone of the country and the solid rock of the country.
If those in power knew how to use people well, they would not be afraid of military merit and power, and would make good use of loyal people like General Zhao. How could such a country not develop well?
It's a pity that the person sitting in that position doesn't deserve to have such a good general.
"General Zhao, we understand what you mean, but are you sure that the emperor you support is really worthy of your support?" Qiao Jinlan asked with a smile.
General Zhao's expression changed.
Qiao Jinlan said: "General Zhao can go to the mansions of several ministers to see if there are mountains of gold and silver in their mansions."
"And these ministers..." Qiao Jinlan didn't say the rest.
Lu Yunxu directly said a few names.
After hearing this, General Zhao's face turned extremely ugly.
Those ministers had one thing in common: they were either from the empress dowager's maiden family or the maiden family of the favorite concubine in the palace.
"They withheld military pay, including the soldiers' food and fodder, disaster relief money, and money for building dams and wells for the people... They took all the money, layer by layer," Qiao Jinlan said slowly.
"Not to mention, the people who hold the power in the army now are not the ones who followed General Zhao in the past. They are all appointed by the royal relatives."
"General Zhao can contact his former subordinates and ask about their situation in the army."
Qiao Jinlan's words hit upon what General Zhao was most worried about.
He could ignore his own family and let his descendants sacrifice themselves, but he would never allow anything to happen in the army.
If this is the case, then if other countries attack them, how will they be able to resist?
He sacrificed everything he could sacrifice. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if his family was destroyed in the end?
General Zhao said in a deep voice: "Can you two stay in the mansion for a few days? I want to ask about the situation."
"Of course." Qiao Jinlan had no objection.
Even if they presented evidence to General Zhao, it would be of no use.
General Zhao still wanted to ask in person. It was normal for him to trust his old subordinates.
Qiao Jinlan and Lu Yunxu were arranged to stay there by General Zhao.
When their lunch was delivered, Qiao Jinlan couldn't help laughing: "General Zhao really lost out."
"He is such a loyal and devoted minister, yet he lives such a simple life, while those parasites live in luxury."