Chapter Forty-Seven: The Gathering Mist

Li Zisheng was pondering how to deal with Mr. Zhong. But before the two of them could leave the tent, a soldier suddenly rushed in without announcing himself.

"General, disaster has struck! Disaster has struck!"

Deng Qing naturally noticed the soldier who had burst in. In the military camp of Lingzhou, discipline was strict. No one was allowed to enter at will, let alone run amok so recklessly. The consequences for such behavior in the Lingzhou camp were undoubtedly severe; at the very least, it would be punished with fifty strokes of the military staff. These fifty strokes were nothing like the light taps administered in a county magistrate's court; a military flogging could easily beat an ordinary man to death, and even seasoned soldiers found it difficult to endure such harsh punishment. Under this crushing pressure, all the soldiers regarded military law as sacred, and none dared to violate it.

However, for this soldier to barge straight in, something extraordinary must have occurred. Something unusual had surely happened, especially since he was crying out in panic; the matter was bound to be grave. Mr. Zhong and Li Zisheng lost all inclination to leave. They stood near the entrance of the tent, waiting to see what could have thrown the soldier into such a panic that he would violate military law and barge in.

Looking at the soldier who had burst in, Deng Qing was in a foul mood.

"What is it? Why are you in such a panic? Speak quickly," Deng Qing said, his face dark.

"General, Captain Zhang has killed someone!"

Deng Qing's anger flared. He had only promoted Captain Zhang to his rank because he saw some talent for leadership and a basic understanding of military tactics in him. The man was usually honest and simple, and Deng Qing had never expected him to commit murder. This was truly outrageous. In the Great Tang, the law was extremely strict; murder and arson were capital offenses. Even he would not be able to save the man's life.

"Whom did he kill?" Deng Qing's expression grew even darker as he questioned the soldier in a low, heavy voice.

"He killed the Turkic deputy commander," the soldier answered tremulously.

But this answer exploded in the tent like a bolt from the blue.

"You say Zhang killed the Turkic deputy commander?" Deng Qing suppressed his rage, but his fury was palpable, on the verge of erupting.

Seeing Deng Qing in such a fury, the soldier was momentarily speechless. Suddenly recalling General Deng's punishments for offending soldiers, he began to tremble all over. Both Li Zisheng and Mr. Zhong could feel the storm that was about to unleash.

"Tell me exactly how he killed him, and why he killed the Turkic deputy commander," Deng Qing said coldly, though his underlying anger was unmistakable.

"Report, General. The stable master you ordered executed was Captain Zhang's brother. While the stable master was indeed responsible for the stampede of horses in our camp, anyone could see that the Turks must have been behind it. First, Captain Zhang couldn't bear the grief, and second, he felt guilty because he was the one who had recommended the stable master in the first place. Since this incident happened, Captain Zhang lost his temper and went straight to confront the Turks. Who would have thought the Turkic deputy commander was also a hot-tempered man? After only a few words, they came to blows. A few of us rushed in to pull them apart, but out of nowhere, Captain Zhang snatched my blade and stabbed the Turkic deputy commander. The Turk died on the spot, breathing his last right then and there."

The soldier kept his head low, not daring to look at Deng Qing, as he tremblingly recounted the entire incident of Captain Zhang's killing.

Having heard the soldier's account, Deng Qing now had a general understanding of the situation.

"Where is Zhang Hongde now?"

Zhang Hongde was Captain Zhang's full name, and in his fury, Deng Qing naturally would not address him with any warmth.

"Report, General. He has been detained by the Turks. We felt we couldn't let the situation escalate further, so we didn't try to rescue him and came straight to report to you."

Deng Qing glanced at the soldier, the look in his eyes unreadable.

"The Turks are detestable! He was merely a deputy commander, yet they dare to detain an officer of our army. They have absolutely no respect for the prestige of our Great Tang! This is utterly intolerable. General Deng, why don't we go to the Turkic camp, demand the return of Zhang Hongde, and then deal with his crime? After all, even if Zhang Hongde committed murder, he is still an officer of the Great Tang. How can we allow foreign barbarians to detain him at will?"

It was Mr. Zhong who spoke. Hearing that the murderous Captain Zhang was being held in the Turkic camp, he too was furious. A mere Turkic barbarian, nothing more than an uncivilized foreigner, dared to act so insolently on the soil of the Great Tang. They must have a death wish.

Li Zisheng stood silently beside Mr. Zhong, his eyes fixed on the reporting soldier. He observed the changes in the soldier's expression and the structure of his words; everything seemed as though it had been rehearsed. Logically, the soldier's behavior appeared normal for someone in his situation—trembling in fear of punishment after witnessing trouble before his superior was indeed expected. However, there was something too deliberate about it. Li Zisheng knew that the camp had not recruited new soldiers in recent years, so this soldier must have been in the Lingzhou camp for some time and was well aware of Deng Qing's methods.

Furthermore, the soldier's logical coherence was far too strong. Under such circumstances, after a major foreign figure had been killed, how could a mere low-ranking soldier recount the entire process so concisely and without any superfluous words? It was somewhat bizarre. A more logical explanation was that it had been arranged in advance, and he had simply memorized what he was supposed to say.

If that was the case, did it mean that Zhang Hongde had provoked and killed the Turkic deputy commander under Deng Qing's instructions? Or was Deng Qing unaware, and Zhang Hongde had been instigated by someone else? If so, the factions within the Lingzhou camp were far too complex, a veritable den of dragons and snakes. What was the ultimate goal of the people behind this? And what was the relationship between Deng Qing and the mysterious figure behind the scenes?