I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1056 Substituting one thing for another
Shapur made the decision.

As the court secretary, he is the representative of the King of Kings.

His words made everyone's faces turn ashen, and Bahram clenched his fists so tightly that blood seeped from his palms.

How could he not know the implication of Shapur's words? The first of the "others" was his daughter, who was being fostered in the army—Safia, the niece of Prime Minister Suren and the apple of Bahram's eye.

This is retaliation, this must be retaliation.

That damned Shapur has always been at odds with the prime minister, vying for power, and he certainly won't let this opportunity to bring shame upon his family slip by.

"no!"

Bahram slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly. "Safia is of my Suren bloodline. How can she be humiliated like this? Send her to your own people!"

Upon hearing this, Chancellor of the Exchequer Denham shrank back and said sheepishly, "General, please calm down. My daughter is still young."

"I think you're just reluctant to part with your dowry!" Bahram glared angrily, spitting all over Denham's face.

Anmoti lowered his head at the opportune moment, but a barely perceptible sneer curled at the corner of his mouth. He had calculated the character of these powerful figures; in crucial moments, they would only fight amongst themselves, showing no awareness whatsoever of sacrificing themselves for the country.

But it doesn't matter, he and the Han army need time to prepare, the more these big shots argue, the better.

Time flies by.

It wasn't until nightfall that the choice of who to send off was finalized after a heated argument at the meeting of the Parthian leaders.

Shapur pulled a parchment scroll from his sleeve and slowly read aloud: "My two favorite concubines from Lord Denham's household, a cousin and a beloved concubine from the Suren family, the quartermaster's sister, plus two members of the Anmoti family, make a total of ten people."

In the end, Bahram managed to save his daughter by having a cousin who happened to have come with her take her place, but at the cost of offering her an extra concubine.

"Wait!"

"My Suren family will never forget the humiliation of today!"

Watching his beloved concubine and niece board the carriage in tears, Bahram roared with rage in his heart.

He turned back into the mansion, pushed aside the concerned servants, picked up the wine barrel, and drank it down with every gulp.

Almost simultaneously, this scene unfolded at the temporary residences of the various officials.

With heavy hearts, they sent their women or children onto the carriage and handed them over to the people of Anmoti, so that they could be fed to the wolves outside the city.

Soon, ten ornately decorated carriages gathered in the city square, each carrying a beautifully dressed woman with a fearful expression. Anmoti's "wife and daughters" were naturally among them, but he had secretly replaced them with two loyal maids. The real Tima and Sasha were now hidden in the cellar under the cover of the blacksmith shop, Tirnan.

His lowly wife and daughters, who had never caught the eye of important figures, now became their best protection.

Dark as ink.

Ten carriages, illuminated by torches, slowly made their way toward the city gate. The curtains were drawn low, and the figures of women inside could be vaguely seen.

Anmoti personally escorted the carriage, riding at the front, his face displaying just the right amount of exhaustion and humiliation, but his heart was already churning with turbulent emotions.

"Scribe, this time all the lords listened to you and paid a heavy price. If there are any more mistakes, you know the consequences, don't you?"

The speaker was Aspav, a trusted retainer of the secretary Shapur.

This was a matter of great importance, so Shapur specifically sent his trusted confidant to assist Anmoti in carrying out this gift-giving mission.

Although he was called an assistant, he was actually a supervisor. After all, it involved entering and leaving the city at night, so no amount of caution was too much.

Anmoti glanced at Aspaf out of the corner of his eye; the curved sword at Aspaf's waist gleamed coldly in the torchlight, and the man's eyes were full of arrogance. Anmoti sneered inwardly, but his expression became even more submissive:

"You flatter me, sir. I wouldn't dare to do anything wrong even if I had a hundred lives. Look, not only are my wife and daughter in the carriage, but General Bahram has even offered up his beloved concubine. This is the sincerity of the Suren family."

Anmoti deliberately emphasized the name "Sulun family," which made Aspav, who were envious of the Sulun family, feel quite pleased.

The owner really won spectacularly this time.

In exchange for a mere beautiful concubine, the Suren family offered up a concubine's daughter and a beloved concubine.

Aspav glanced furtively at the carriage behind him, a sudden surge of excitement rising in his heart: "I've heard that General Bahram's beloved concubine is a renowned beauty, with honey-colored skin and a slender waist that could drive countless men mad. He reportedly spent three thousand gold coins to buy her from Armenia?" Anmoti sneered inwardly, his expression respectful: "You're right, sir. It's a pity those Han Chinese are getting such a good deal."

Aspav licked his lips, a greedy glint in his eyes: "Since we're going to send it out anyway, why don't we check the goods first? If it's a fake, we can fix it in time."

"You jest, sir. How could the general's beloved concubine be fake?"

Anmoti tensed up at first, then suddenly an idea came to him: "What you said makes some sense, but it might not be convenient in the city. How about this, the centurion guarding the south gate is someone I know well. How about we do it this way?"

Anmoti was worried that this annoying person would affect his important handover, but he didn't expect that this person would be blinded by lust and give him an opportunity.

Soon, the two agreed to use their positions to secretly switch the beauty with a maidservant, and then give Bahram's beloved concubine to this retainer.

In return, he would turn a blind eye to Anmoti's later actions and allow him to switch his wife and daughters as well.

If you ask why the two were so bold, the reason is simple: such deception and embezzlement of public funds have long been the norm in Anxi's officialdom, especially among the protégés of these powerful families, who are well-versed in this practice.

Normally, when important figures exchange gifts, these subordinates would always profit from it. Now that these women are being sent to the enemy camp, where they are certain to never return, they are even more unscrupulous.

"You actually have a connection with the goalkeeper?"

Aspav was initially alarmed upon hearing the plan, but his mind was quickly filled with the image of Bahram's beautiful concubine, and with Anmoti's silver tongue, he temporarily dispelled his doubts.

Soon, the convoy arrived at the south gate. Aspaf, already impatient, urged Anmoti to put the plan into action. Anmoti feigned compliance, having his servant bring out a leather wine flask, and said with a smile, "My lord, please wait a moment. How can such a fine occasion be without wine? Allow me to first inform the centurion that we need to rest for a while in the guardhouse next to the city gate."

Aspav, his mind completely occupied by the beauty, couldn't discern the truth from falsehood and waved him away. Anmoti turned and walked towards the city gate tower. By the light of the torches, he indeed saw the centurion dozing against the wall. He stepped forward, patted the man's shoulder lightly, and whispered, "Old buddy, your chance to strike it rich has arrived."

The centurion awoke with a start, and upon seeing it was Anmoti, a flicker of tension crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by resolute determination: "Is everything arranged?"

“Yes, proceed as agreed.” Anmoti took out a small bag of gold coins from his sleeve and stuffed it into the bag. “This is a deposit. The Han army will reward you handsomely after the deed is done.”

It turns out that while the important figures were arguing amongst themselves earlier that afternoon, Anmoti had already sent his trusted confidants to secretly contact potential individuals who could be used for defection.

Among these, he paid particular attention to Bahram's former subordinates, who were also under the Suren family and had personally experienced the disastrous defeat of the central army.

Having witnessed Su Yao's prowess, many of those people, even with Bahram's strict orders, still spoke recklessly upon returning to the city, spreading things that significantly undermined morale.

Therefore, everyone realized that this city was absolutely indefensible, and they would rather humiliatingly send money and women than dare to start a war.

Thus, his defection operation proceeded very smoothly, and the centurion guarding the gate was his greatest achievement of the day.

Often, to get things done, you don't need to waste your energy on big shots; the real key to success or failure lies with these seemingly insignificant people at the grassroots level.

"Can the Han army really guarantee our safety?" The centurion gripped the gold coin tightly, his voice trembling.

Anmoti patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, the Han army only kills those who resist stubbornly. As long as you follow the plan, you'll not only survive, but you'll also receive a settlement allowance."

The centurion took a deep breath and nodded. Anmoti then turned and gestured to the shadows. Several shadowy figures immediately approached the city gate silently; they were his trusted men whom he had arranged beforehand.

“Sir, everything is ready.” Anmoti returned to Aspav’s side and lowered his voice. “The centurion agreed to let us use the guard room for half an hour. What do you think?”

Aspav, unable to contain himself any longer, eagerly approached the third carriage: "Quick! Bring that beauty here!"

Anmoti's lips curled into a cold smile as he personally stepped forward and lifted the carriage curtain. Inside, a veiled woman trembled; it was Bahram's beloved concubine. Anmoti roughly dragged her out of the carriage and shoved her toward Aspav: "My lord, please enjoy yourself. I'll go arrange other matters."

Aspav grabbed the woman and, leering, dragged her towards the duty room. The woman struggled and cried out, but he slapped her unconscious: "You slut! Serving me is your good fortune!"

Anmoti watched coldly until the door to the guardhouse closed before quickly walking towards the city gate. The centurion, already with his trusted men, had taken control of the gate's mechanisms. Seeing Anmoti approach, he immediately whispered, "Everything is ready. The gate can be opened at any time."

"Can the Han army really guarantee our safety?" The centurion gripped the gold coin tightly, his voice trembling.

Anmoti patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, the Han army only kills those who resist. As long as you follow the plan, you'll not only survive, but you'll also get the opportunity to serve the Han army or a substantial settlement allowance. However..."

Anmoti glanced back at the convoy behind him: "They've temporarily assigned me a supervisor, and I need your help to handle things, brother, to prevent it from ruining our plans."

“You don’t need to worry about that.” A cold glint flashed in the centurion’s eyes. “My brothers are all around the city gate. Now that he’s here, he won’t be leaving.”

(End of this chapter)