Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

"He drew his sword, intending to resist."

Chen Zhi stared at Ma Dai expressionlessly, then greeted him without turning his head, "General Jiang!"

Jiang Wei had already been waiting in the crowd with his bow and arrows nocked. Upon hearing Chen Zhi's call, he drew his bow to its full strength and, without the slightest hesitation, raised his hand and shot.

"middle!"

With a low shout from Jiang Wei, the arrow flew out of his hand in an instant. Under the sun, the arrowhead was like a streak of light, piercing through the air a dozen paces away in a flash. It pierced through Ma Dai's throat in the middle of his neck without the slightest deviation. The shaft was completely through, with only the snow-white fletching still trembling on the front of his throat. In just an instant, the fletching was stained red by the gushing blood.

"Heh...heh..."

Ma Dai's eyes shifted from anger to shock, then to unbelievable fear. The excruciating pain caused his hands to instinctively reach for his neck, but he could only lift them halfway before collapsing to the ground. He looked at Chen Zhi in despair, his hands twitching as if trying to grasp something, but he couldn't hold on to it.

Chen Zhi had witnessed countless bloody political struggles in his books, and had also seen and heard of many bloodless ones in real life. But this was the first time he had ever instigated a political struggle that resulted in death!

Chen Zhi remained silent for a moment, staring blankly at the scarlet blood gushing from Ma Dai's neck.

Fei Yi and Jiang Wei both looked at Chen Zhi. Seeing that Chen Zhi did not react, they assumed that Chen Zhi was plotting something and therefore remained silent.

The tranquility was broken only by a loud shout from Du Bozhou.

"Sima, Sima, we are innocent! We are innocent!"

The soldiers following Ma Dai were terrified, but now, with Zhou Li leading the way, they all knelt down and kowtowed, not daring to make the slightest move.

The soldiers were not unfamiliar with death. Most of the veterans who could enter the Tiger Cavalry Guard had fought in all five Northern Expeditions. What was there to be afraid of about dead people?

The execution in broad daylight was chilling, especially since it involved treason, which could bring punishment upon themselves and their families. This was what they feared most.

Chen Zhi then shifted his gaze from Ma Dai's neck, looked down slightly at the kneeling crowd, and sighed inwardly.

Physical solutions are always the fastest way to resolve political differences.

This is absolutely true!

Fei Yi took a step forward and whispered a reminder: "Feng Zong, we must return quickly. General Zuo should have arrived by now."

Chen Zhi did not answer, but simply nodded and pointed towards Ma Dai, who was not yet completely dead:

"Take this man's head and return to the Prime Minister's residence."

Just as Jiang Wei was about to call out to his men, Liu Yin beat him to it.

As soon as Chen Zhi finished speaking, Liu Yin strode forward from the crowd, pulling out a foot-long dagger from his right waist as he walked. He knelt down on one knee, pressed down on Ma Dai's back, and in front of everyone, first slit his throat and then pierced his bones, severing Ma Dai's head in a few quick strokes.

Liu Yin was also skilled. First, he threw away the hair ornament, then he held the hair bun in his hand, banged his head on the ground, and after a little blood flowed out, he stood up and bowed to Chen Zhi to report.

"Let's go." Chen Zhi didn't say anything more and walked back the way Fei Yi and the others had come.

Chen Zhi led the way, and the others followed. As they passed the twenty soldiers kneeling on the ground, Chen Zhi turned to Fei Yi and said, "Ma Dai is the commander of the Tiger Cavalry. He must have trusted confidants in the army. It would be better to transfer him to another post. There is no need to kill him again."

"Alright." Fei Yi nodded, waved his hand, and signaled to Jiang Wei's men to handle the matter.

This place is roughly halfway between the south gate of the Prime Minister's residence and the south gate of Mianyang, only a few hundred steps away from the south gate of the Prime Minister's residence. Just now, Zhou Li and his group of soldiers loudly begged for mercy, and the city was quiet, so those with sharp ears at the entrance of the Prime Minister's residence should have been able to vaguely hear some of it.

Of course, with Fei Yi and Jiang Wei taking the lead, no soldier, whether inside or outside the mansion, dared to act recklessly.

While the others were working, Xu Yun was in the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence talking about his meeting with Gao Xiang after arriving in Chenggu yesterday. He recounted how Gao Xiang greeted him, what they said inside and outside the city, how the troops were deployed in Chenggu, what worries and grievances Gao Xiang had, how Gao Xiang had a close personal relationship with Wei Yan, Gao Xiang's intention to gather troops for self-defense, Gao Xiang's intentions... He rambled on and on, successfully keeping Yang Yi inside the main hall.

When everyone returned to the Prime Minister's residence, General Wu Yi had already entered from the west of the city. Wu Yi, Liu Ba, Wang Ping, Deng Zhi, and Meng Yan were all veteran generals who had led troops in battle during the Northern Expedition.

Seeing Chen Zhi, Fei Yi, and Jiang Wei followed by a group of armored soldiers, walking silently and menacingly, how could they not know that something terrible had happened?

They looked at each other in bewilderment.

Chen Zhi, holding a staff in his left hand, walked at the head of the group. Wu Yi exchanged glances with several colleagues, then stepped forward and, knowing the answer already, asked with a smile:

"Imperial Censor Chen, what has happened?"

"General Zuo," Chen Zhi bowed to Wu Yi, then bowed to the other generals, "I have come to Hanzhong on the Emperor's orders, firstly to inquire about the circumstances surrounding the Prime Minister's death, secondly to coordinate the withdrawal of the various armies, and thirdly to investigate the details of Wei Wenchang's rebellion."

"Today!" Chen Zhi's voice rose a few decibels, his tone becoming increasingly resolute: "Wei Wenchang is a high-ranking official of the state, and even if he were to commit treason, His Majesty should issue an edict and the Court of Justice should investigate and punish him, not let him be unjustly killed. I, the Imperial Envoy, summoned Ma Dai, the Tiger Cavalry Supervisor and Lieutenant General, to the court for trial. This man resisted stubbornly with weapons and has already been executed."

"Do any of you generals have any objections?"

Liu Yin moved swiftly and quickly, finding a lacquered wooden tray in the gatehouse and placing it behind Chen Zhi, holding Ma Dai's head.

With your head already laid out here, what else can you say?

Wu Yi chuckled and shook his head. Deng Zhi nodded in approval, saying, "He deserves to die." Liu Ba and Meng Yan remained silent.

On the contrary, Wang Ping, the general who was ordered by Yang Yi to lead his troops to confront Wei Yan's detachment, was pale-faced, clenched his fists, and remained silent.

Chen Zhi paid no attention to these matters. Seeing that no one spoke, he continued, "Today, I, the envoy, am here with the imperial credentials to request that the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary, Yang Wei, return to Chengdu for questioning. I would like to ask all of you generals to come in with me and serve as witnesses."

After saying this, Chen Zhi strode inside. Fei Yi gestured for him to enter, and Wu Yi cooperated by smiling and beckoning everyone to come over. He then put his arm around Wang Ping's shoulder and whispered in his ear that he should not worry.

Chen Zhi walked slowly but firmly, holding an eight-foot staff, a distance of a hundred paces.

Fei Yi, standing to the side, kept inviting his colleagues from the Prime Minister's office, who held positions of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measurement), to come along.

As Chen Zhi continued to move forward, more and more people followed behind him.

After walking about two-thirds of the way, Chen Zhi's gaze fell upon a young official in the crowd. After a brief recollection, Chen Zhi walked over to him.

"Secretary Huo, please come to the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence and be a witness with us."

Huo Yi's expression was resolute. He bowed respectfully and then followed behind Fei Yi.

Huo Yi was Huo Jun's son and one of Emperor Liu Shan's few trusted confidants. Since he was present, Chen Zhi naturally had to address him.

"Qiao, the official!" Chen Zhi called out to another person.

"Greetings, Your Excellency." Qiao Zhou also bowed and stood in the crowd quite consciously.

The constant greetings, responses, and footsteps coming from the courtyard finally brought Yang Yi, who was talking with Xu Yun, back to his senses.

"Who is making a scene outside?"

Yang Yi frowned and asked angrily, then stood up. When his gaze returned to the hall door, he could see Chen Zhi, Fei Yi, Wu Yi, Jiang Wei, Deng Zhi, Wang Ping, and others standing just outside the threshold!