Chapter 142: There is No Escape

Damn it, how did this Chu guy come back to life again? Not only is he alive, but he’s also still hung up on the careless words they just blurted out. They were just talking nonsense earlier—General Chu doesn’t need to take such foolish talk to heart; they could say whatever they wanted without care.

“It’s good that the general has awakened. Since you are awake, we shall take our leave and not disturb your rest,” they said politely.

No chance of slipping away. How could she let them go? This was a perfect opportunity to reform the Jingzhong camp.

Shen Zhao understood that even if the emperor gave her orders, truly subduing the Jingzhong army was impossible. Each deputy general had powerful backers; she could not easily shake their loyalty.

But now was an unprecedented chance—to start by reforming a few, laying the foundation for eventual unification.

“Not disturbing me? I’m deeply moved by your concern for me,” Shen Zhao said with a look of sincere gratitude.

The deputy generals exchanged glances—what gratitude? They had wasted their emotions for nothing.

Still, they had to play along politely.

“It is our duty, General. Your health is still fragile; with many people here, the air may become heavy. We shall withdraw,” they said respectfully.

They were eager to leave this troublesome place, not wanting Chu to twist their earlier foolish words into something more.

Their patrons were already displeased with them; another mistake now would spell the end of their good days.

“You need not leave. My tent is spacious and well-ventilated; even with many people, the air will not become heavy,” she said firmly. No escape.

“I heard many of you wanting to follow me earlier. I am truly gratified that you have finally recognized my worth and wish to serve under me. Let us take this opportunity to incorporate your troops under my command.”

The deputy generals fell silent. They hadn’t said anything like that—and even if they had, they wouldn’t admit it now.

Chu was daring to openly claim their allegiance, blatantly ignoring their own lords and poaching them.

“What’s this? Just moments ago, each of you was crying out to follow me, but now you’re all mute. Are you trying to fool me?” Shen Zhao’s tone sharpened.

“Do you think I’m so easy to bully that you can humiliate me again and again?”

The deputy generals were stunned. What new kind of grievance was this Chu playing at?

They were wronged! They were screaming inside they were wronged—how could they have bullied him?

Had they done anything? Nothing at all!

Yet somehow, they were accused of repeatedly humiliating him.

It was an injustice. If they had a great grievance, who would stand up for them?

“We dare not, General. You are the camp commander. Even if we had the courage of bears and leopards, we would not dare to humiliate you.”

They refused to take this blame. They would never accept such a thing.

“You still know I’m the camp commander. But do you truly regard me? You all wish me dead. Without informing me, you crowded into my tent. Afraid you’d miss out—or that I might not die thoroughly, so you could stab me twice over!”

“I haven’t even accused you of disrespect, yet you all cried louder than ever, acting like mourners for me. Is it because I have no heirs that you vie to be my dutiful sons?”

The deputy generals dared not breathe a word, their teeth grinding with rage.

Who were the dutiful sons? Most of them were older than Chu. Chu was blatantly taking advantage of them.

Chu was setting a trap.

When they entered, Chu was wide awake. With no threat to his life, he feigned death.

Waiting to watch their clumsy performance of tears and cries as they fell into his snare.

Inside, the deputy generals screamed: despicable, shameless!

Yet outwardly, they bowed deeply. “We dare not, we are wronged, we sincerely care for the general and waited anxiously for news outside the tent. It was only when Young Master Xie shouted that we forgot everything else and rushed in.”

They insisted that it was Xie Yuheng’s shout of the general’s death that drew them in.

No one cared about Xie Yuheng’s status now; survival was all that mattered.

“Hey! You bunch of sons without assholes, it was you who barged in first. When did I say Brother Chu was dead? Don’t try to deflect! I remember who said they’d follow Brother Chu.”

“Now get back and tell your subordinates to join under Brother Chu’s command.”

The Jingzhong army truly belonged to Brother Chu’s command. It was those overreaching hands who had turned the camp into chaos.

Now Brother Chu had the emperor’s backing—why fear those forces? Just do it!

“General Xie jokes. We are all already under General Chu’s command. How could we serve under another general? He is the commander of the Jingzhong camp; every soldier is his subordinate.”

This was a deliberate confusion. What Chu wanted was their genuine allegiance, not a facade of one master with another hidden behind.

“Deputy General Han, do you share this view?” Shen Zhao looked toward Han, who shrank back among the crowd.

Han stepped forward, troubled.

He had said what he had to say to survive.

Who could have imagined General Chu would still be alive?

“The general is commander of the army; naturally, the troops of the Jingzhong camp are under his command.”

He spoke without fault. Chu couldn’t pin anything on him.

“Well, Deputy General Han, how dare you disrupt the army’s morale! Guards, take Deputy General Han away to face military justice!”

The moment Shen Zhao spoke, Han froze.

What was happening? How was he disrupting morale?

He was wronged!

“I am innocent. Please, General, tell me what crime I have committed to deserve military punishment.”

Not only Han but the other deputies were baffled.

Han’s answer had been proper, with no fault to find.

How had Chu turned him into a troublemaker?

It was a fabricated charge—Chu was looking for an excuse to harshly punish these deputies.

In the past, they would not have pleaded for Han; they might have even enjoyed watching him punished.

But this was not the past. Han was the first to be singled out by Chu.

They believed Han would not be the last.

If they did not speak up now, they would be next.

“General, please calm down. We believe Deputy General Han is innocent and has not disrupted morale. Please give us a reason to punish him.”

This was exactly what Shen Zhao wanted to hear.

“Fine, fine, fine. You want a reason? I’ll tell you.”

All eyes turned to Shen Zhao, eager to hear the absurd excuse he would concoct.

“Deputy General Han said since I am the commander of the Jingzhong camp, naturally all troops belong under me. Did he not say this?”

Chu Mu’s sharp gaze swept over the deputies.

They nodded—Han had said nothing wrong. It was a perfectly normal statement.

Seeing this, Shen Zhao spoke again, but what he said next made Han’s legs weaken instantly.

Then Chu Mu said: