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

Zhang Shi, with his hands behind his back, exuded a sense of world-weariness, and said calmly, "What does it matter if I, Zhang Shi, sacrifice my own petty personal honor for the sake of the greater plan?"

"As long as the army can win and capture the Yangtze River defense line, it's just a counter-espionage plot. What is there that I, Zhang Shi, cannot bear!"

To be fair, everyone has a tendency to show off and be proud, and Zhang Shi, even as a general, was no exception. However, he usually didn't bother to show off in front of ordinary soldiers.

But this time was different. The stone in front of him, though just a personal guard, was a personal guard under Zhou Mengyan, a member of their opposing military camp. Since he respected the Duke so much, he naturally couldn't help but want to put on a show in front of this stone.

As it turned out, this act was very effective. After being shocked for a long time, Shi Tou finally understood Zhang Shi's meaning, but he couldn't believe it and said, "Impossible, impossible..."

"You're clearly a traitor who sided with Zhou Mengyan, how... how did you become an undercover agent?"

"Are you an undercover agent?"

"No, you're trying to trick me into revealing other brothers who, like me, yearn for the Duke!"

Zhang Shi was slightly surprised.

This stone looks like a burly man, almost identical in appearance to his personal guard, Bangchui, but he is quite clever, as he actually came up with these ideas.

But Zhang Shi wasn't unhappy. Instead, he smiled slightly and casually took out a letter from his pocket.

This was given to him by the Duke. When he gave it to him, Lord Su Jin was present, and Su Jin's handwritten signature was on the letter, allowing him to contact the spies that the Demon Suppression Division had already planted along the Yangtze River defense line through this letter.

This can be considered as some assistance to his undercover life.

This also serves as proof of his undercover identity.

Now is the perfect time to show it to Stone, so that Stone can understand his true situation!

He then handed the letter to Shi Tou, before turning his back and saying calmly, "Open it and see if what I, Zhang Shi, said is true!"

With his back to the stone, Zhang Shi looked up through a gap in the top of the tent and gazed at the sky beyond the Yangtze River defense line. His gaze was distant and his expression was deep, perfectly conveying the weight and pressure of being an undercover agent, while also showcasing his extraordinary abilities.

They were just waiting for Stone to exclaim in surprise and kneel down, but they waited for ages and nothing happened!

Only then did he turn around.

Then he saw the stone holding the letter, and in that instant, Zhang Shi broke down!

"No way, Holy crap, Stone, you've got the letter upside down!"

"Damn it, can't you read?"

Seeing Shi Tou nod, Zhang Shi became even angrier: "If you can't read, what are you pretending to know?!"

He snatched the envelope back, pointed to the seal on it, and said, "Can you understand this?"

"The imperial seal was stamped on me personally by the Duke!"

"And this, this is the exclusive seal of the Demon Suppression Division, personally stamped for me by Demon Suppression Envoy Su Jin, granting me the authority to mobilize all Demon Suppression Guards along the Yangtze River defense line!"

Stone couldn't read, but he believed the letter Zhang Shi presented. After standing there stunned for two seconds, he knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face, "General Zhang Shi, I, I, I wronged you, General..."

"It was my fault!"

"General Zhang Shi, why don't you give me a beating?"

"I wouldn't complain even if you killed me."

"I shouldn't have wronged General Zhang Shi, and I shouldn't have doubted that someone would give up a promising future with the Duke to surrender to Yun Jing!"

Zhang Shi had lost the mood to pretend earlier and was somewhat dejected, but he still helped Shi Tou up and said, "Forget it, I won't argue with you anymore."

"Perfect timing! This general is in dire need of manpower right now. If you..."

"Thump!" Stone knelt down again: "General Zhang Shi, I, Stone, am willing to obey your orders. I will do anything you command, even at the cost of my life!"

Zhang Shi had no choice but to lift the stone up again.

Seeing the expression on Stone's face, he became even more convinced of the honest man's loyalty and said, "Alright, alright, it's not that exaggerated. However, there are some things I really need you to do right now!"

"General, whatever your command, none dare disobey!"

"Hmm!" Zhang Shi nodded and said, "From what you just said, I heard a piece of information: there are quite a few people in this military camp who want to pledge allegiance to the Duke."

"Based on your judgment, write down the names of these people for me, according to their level of loyalty to the Duke..."

"Never mind, you can't write anyway."

"Tell me everything one by one."

"Nothing should be omitted, but if you are unsure, you should still make it clear."

Shi Tou replied excitedly, "Yes, General Zhang Shi."

Immediately, Shi Tou began to recount the stories one by one. Zhang Shi listened at the side, initially taking notes on paper, but later he became less and less willing to write them down, because a large number of people, at least hundreds, were coming out of Shi Tou's mouth!

They were mostly military officers of all ranks!

"The Duke's influence is still terrifying!"

"With such influence, once the Duke has trained his navy to attack, taking over this natural barrier of the Yangtze River will not be difficult at all. Even without me as an inside agent, the Yangtze River is already in the Duke's hands!"

"but……"

"Now that I'm here, I'll lower the bar!"

"Otherwise, how would I highlight my contribution?"

Zhang Shizhun pondered the matter and made a decision in his mind.

With so many people, he would find opportunities to slowly test them and then win them over to his side, forming a force of his own within the military camp.

However, after Shi Tou finished speaking, Zhang Shi discovered another problem.

"I see two factions within this military camp."

"One group belongs to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan, and the other group belongs to Zhou Mengyan's wife. These people you're talking about... I have a feeling they all belong to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan!"

"But not much of it belongs to Zhou Mengyan?!"

Shi Tou quickly said, "General Zhang Shi, you don't know this, but the lady has done many great favors for the army. They trust her implicitly and rarely acknowledge the Duke."

"Those who yearn for the Duke are only us common soldiers and those who are not valued or trusted under the Grand Commander!"

Zhang Shi nodded, finally understanding.

He let out a slow breath and said, "Since that's the case, then I can't show any mercy to Madam's people."

"Alright, Stone, you just mentioned a string of names. Go pick the ones who most respect the Duke, the ones who are willing to go through fire and water for him, and summon them all to me. But..."

"We can't tell them why!"

"Do you understand?"

Shi Tou didn't understand, but Zhang Shi's words were a military order to him, so he immediately accepted the order and left.

He had just taken a step when Zhang Shi stopped him.

"No, you're just leaving like that?"

"Ah? General Zhang Shi, is there anything else?"

Zhang Shi was somewhat speechless: "Have you forgotten my current status as a general? Have you forgotten that you were brought to my side because you disobeyed me and were to be punished by me?"

"You swagger out like that, all smiles on your face. Even a dog on the street would know that my surrender is ill-intentioned."

Shi Tou then realized his mistake and quickly said, "General Zhang Shi, yes, it was my oversight. What should I do?"

"How about you give me a good beating first, then I'll go out?"

Zhang Shi nodded and said, "That's a good idea!"

……