The Empress Kneels in Her Palace to Admit Her Mistakes After Slaying Her Ways in the Female-Oriented

Ruan Fei was still asking excitedly.

Zhou Mengyan almost kicked her out.

Why do I keep causing him trouble?

This time, it's not just any ordinary trouble; it's Zhang Shi!

A formidable reputation...

No, the infamous Zhang Shi!

But not wanting to embarrass Ruan Fei too much, he gritted his teeth, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said, "Xiao Fei, I know you mean well, but..."

"Have you considered this? Although Zhang Shi is very capable, he might not be someone we can use?"

"His defection may not be genuine!"

"After all, he was someone Ren Tianye personally mentored!"

Zhou Mengyan's words were reasonable, but they displeased Ruan Fei, who said, "Brother Mengyan, you are the commander-in-chief of an army, how can you be so cowardly?"

"Don't you know that a general must trust those he employs and not employ those he doesn't trust?"

"General Zhang Shi, although you were once a subordinate of that scoundrel Ren Tianye, you've now fallen out with him and Ren Tianye treats you badly. You might as well recruit you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mengyan was taken aback: "You've fallen out?"

"What, you broke up?"

"Zhang Shi and Ren Tianye, they really fell out?"

Ruan Fei asked in surprise, "What? Brother Meng Yan, you didn't know?"

He immediately slapped his forehead and said, "This just happened; the news probably hasn't reached us yet."

"But it should be soon..."

It seemed as if heaven was on Ruan Fei's side; he had barely finished speaking when the voice of a messenger came from outside the door.

"Report!"

"Grand Commander, something big has happened at the Jiangbei fortress complex."

Zhou Mengyan walked past Ruan Fei and asked, "What's the big deal?"

"Ren Tianye held a grand meeting to commend the generals who had made outstanding contributions since the southern expedition. He specifically praised Wang Ming, saying that Wang Ming was the greatest contributor."

"At the same time, it was also mentioned that Zhang Shi, who was also a general, was utterly incompetent. He marched south without achieving anything, wasting money and supplies. He also repeatedly gambled with Wang Ming, losing miserably and making a fool of himself!"

Zhou Mengyan was instantly excited: "Is this true?"

The messenger said, "It's visible to everyone, so it can't be faked."

Zhou Mengyan's solid judgment began to waver.

Discord between generals and commanders is common in the military.

He had experienced this situation before. In fact, on Ren Tianye's southern expedition, he wondered if Zhang Shi, who was under Ren Tianye's command, could easily submit to Ren Tianye, given his merit in plundering and eliminating the enemy.

It might create some kind of rift!

Unexpectedly, it actually came true!

"Brother Meng Yan, did you hear that?"

Ruan Fei quickly said, "Ren Tianye and General Zhang Shi have had a conflict. General Zhang Shi must be dissatisfied with Ren Tianye. Surrendering at this time is absolutely sincere."

"You'd better keep him in check!"

"If we can win over General Zhang Shi, it will not only enhance our military strength but also strike a blow against Ren Tianye. This is a win-win situation, and we can't miss it!"

This is a simple and obvious truth, which Zhou Mengyan certainly understood. In fact, he could see many other benefits from this matter.

However, doubts still lingered in my mind.

That's Zhang Shi, not some nobody under Ren Tianye's command. If he's not careful and something goes wrong, the result will inevitably be the annihilation of the entire army!

The Yangtze River is already a formidable natural barrier; with a little effort and dedication, he can definitely hold it. Now that things are stable, he can focus on bringing Zhang Shi under his control!

If there are no problems, then everyone is naturally happy.

If there's a problem, wouldn't we be shooting ourselves in the foot?

"Brother Meng Yan, what are you still considering?"

Ruan Fei was a little unhappy again: "Are you still doubting General Zhang Shi?"

"Don't you have any idea how frustrated General Zhang Shi was in Ren Tianye's army camp?"

"General Zhang Shi is a great hero who swept across the northern frontier, and his merits are enough to earn him a title and a high-ranking position. However, since the southern campaign, he has not made any contributions. All the credit has been given to Wang Ming by Ren Tianye out of favoritism!"

"At Wusheng Pass, General Zhang Shi attempted to flank the enemy, but Wang Ming was the first to capture him!"

"General Zhang Shi was dissatisfied with the three strongholds of Qingfeng Post Station, Luoyan Ferry, and Pingling Village, so he made a bet with Wang Ming, only to have them taken by Wang Ming without bloodshed!"

"General Zhang Shi fought desperately for Zhenjiang, one of the fortresses in the Jiangbei region, but in the end... even the most crucial city of Zhenjiang was captured by Wang Ming."

"Brother Meng Yan, let me ask you, if this happened to you, could you tolerate it?"

"General Zhang Shi has made great contributions, but because of Ren Tianye's exclusion, he has not made any contributions. If it were me, I would have exploded long ago. The fact that General Zhang Shi has been able to endure it until now shows that General Zhang Shi has a very good character."

"Ren Tianye has gone too far, suppressing General Zhang Shi too severely. I don't know how much resources and information he allocated to Wang Ming, which is why Wang Ming has such a firm grip on General Zhang Shi!"

"General Zhang Shi could not endure it any longer, and only after I offered him a large sum of money did he surrender!"

In her letter to Ruan Fei, Ning Wanqin detailed the various grievances Zhang Shi suffered in Ren Tianye's military camp.

In an effort to persuade Zhou Mengyan, Ruan Fei practically opened the letter and read it aloud to him line by line, leaving Zhou Mengyan completely bewildered.

Zhou Mengyan must have investigated Ren Tianye, and naturally he would have investigated Ren Tianye's generals as well, including a considerable amount of information about Zhang Shi.

However, further investigations have made it difficult to uncover many core events. All that is known is that the renowned Zhang Shi did not achieve anything significant during his southward campaign to conquer Yun Jing, but no one knows the many twists and turns involved!

"This world...it's a bit tragic!"

After learning the information in Ruan Fei's letter, Zhou Mengyan couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Zhang Shisheng: "Wang Ming is far inferior to him, yet he's ahead of him in every way!"

"Wang Ming gets all the credit, while he goes around eating dirt?"

"Can't compare to Wang Ming in any way?"

"Even Zhenjiang City was taken by Wang Ming without lifting a finger; he has nothing left?"

"Now... in the military camp, everyone calls him the 'General Who Flanks Behind'?"

"hiss!"

"If this happened to me, I wouldn't have been able to tolerate it!"

As fellow soldiers, Zhou Mengyan could empathize with Zhang Shi's feelings. Moreover, Zhou Mengyan himself was ambitious, which made him even more deeply aware of Zhang Shi's predicament.

The more I think about it, the more I realize... Zhang Shi is so pitiful!

Even his opponent couldn't stand it anymore!

"Did they commit too many atrocities on the grasslands? Is this the retribution they're receiving?"

"or……"

Zhou Mengyan quickly thought of a possibility.

"It was Ren Tianye's deliberate arrangement!"

"Yes, it was Ren Tianye's deliberate arrangement!"

"Zhang Shi swept across the northern frontier, utterly destroying the barbarians and rendering them incapable of invading the south for at least twenty years. This immense achievement filled Ren Tianye with fear, dread, and even... jealousy!"

"Throughout history, it has been a grave taboo for someone to outshine their master in terms of merit!"

"Zhang Shi, this is a major taboo for Ren Tianye!"

"It was precisely because he violated Ren Tianye's biggest taboo that Ren Tianye suppressed him at every turn and deliberately cultivated Wang Ming to counter Zhang Shi!"

"That's why Zhang Shi has been getting humiliated like this all along!"

"That's why he was so rude to Zhang Shi at the ceremony!"

"That's why they deliberately embarrassed Zhang Shi!"

"And Zhang Shi... a renowned general, how could he suffer such a humiliation?"

"As it happened, Xiao Fei paved the way, and General Zhang Shi surrendered to Xiao Fei without hesitation!"

The more Zhou Mengyan thought about it, the more he felt that this possibility was extremely high, so high that he couldn't find any other reason!

"Brother Meng Yan, do you believe me now?"

"General Zhang Shi's loyalty is genuine and heartfelt!"

As the saying goes, the person next to you in bed knows your weaknesses best. Ruan Fei clearly understood Zhou Mengyan's current thoughts by observing the changes in his expression.

She continued to persuade him, "Brother Meng Yan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you can't miss it!"

"Besides..."

"General Zhang Shi is almost here!"

"He came alone, without even a change of clothes. Isn't that enough to demonstrate General Zhang Shi's attitude?"

……