After dealing with Xin Xingzong, Li Bao and his soldiers dispersed at once.
As soon as they left, a detachment of soldiers from the Shengjie Army camp outside the city marched directly into the south gate, taking over its defenses.
"My lord, what is that?"
A quarter of an hour later, Wang Xiang finally led his main force towards the south gate.
However, before they could get close to the south gate, a follower next to Wang Xiang suddenly spotted a bloody, mangled man hanging from a flagpole not far from them.
Although the man was completely naked and still dripping blood, it was clearly visible that his chest was still rising and falling.
"Find someone to go and check!"
Seeing this scene, Wang Xiang's right eyelid twitched incessantly.
For some reason, he suddenly had a premonition. Could this fellow be Xin Xingzong?
"It's General Xin!"
Indeed, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, the soldier sent to scout ahead shouted.
"Save him!"
Just looking at his current bloodied state, Wang Xiang's heart sank.
Seeing him beaten to such a sorry state, one could imagine what he had gone through.
If he were in Xin Xingzong's shoes, Wang Xiang doubted he could have kept his secrets.
"My lord, are we still going to the south gate?"
Seeing Wang Xiang's ashen face, Chu Jianfeng quickly asked in a low voice.
"Hurry up and wake him up!"
After glaring at Chu Jianfeng, Wang Xiang spoke again.
"Yes!"
Hearing this, the accompanying military doctor hurried forward, administering acupuncture and pinching Xin Xingzong's philtrum. After half an incense stick's worth of effort, he finally managed to revive him.
"My, my, my lord..."
As soon as Xin Xingzong opened his eyes, he saw Wang Xiang's old face, and his whole body trembled. He almost fainted again.
"I'm asking you, did they ask you about the matter of Xikou Town?"
Wang Xiang had no time for pleasantries. To be frank, he didn't care about Xin Xingzong's life or death.
What he cared about was ensuring that the matter of Xikou Town left no evidence.
"I, I..."
Just as Xin Xingzong was about to complain, he suddenly remembered the blood letter he had written.
This was a deadly piece of evidence!
Furthermore, he wasn't a fool. Wang Xiang had gone to such lengths to protect him precisely to frame Han Mo for this matter.
If Wang Xiang were to know that he had leaked this information, it was not hard to imagine how Wang Xiang would deal with him.
"What are you saying? Think carefully. If you dare to conceal anything in this matter, then you'll have to face the consequences!"
Seeing his hesitant demeanor, Wang Xiang's heart sank further.
He said this with only a sliver of hope in his heart.
"I..."
Hearing Wang Xiang's naked threat, Xin Xingzong truly wished he could just faint.
"Damn it, did you say it or not!"
As Wang Xiang spoke, he drew a steel saber from the waist of a nearby guard and pressed it against Xin Xingzong's neck.
"I, I... wrote... wrote it..."
Feeling the cold edge of the blade against his neck and seeing Wang Xiang's reddened eyes, Xin Xingzong finally couldn't bear the tense atmosphere and stammered out his confession.
"You, you..."
Looking at the dying Xin Xingzong, Wang Xiang was speechless with anger.
A dignified Defensive Commissioner of Zhongzhou had been captured by a mere lieutenant, and more absurdly, he had inexplicably confessed everything he had done.
And if he had just spoken, it would have been one thing, but this idiot had actually written it down.
At this moment, Wang Xiang really wanted to chop off his head and see what was in his brain...
"My lord, please take care of yourself, my lord!"
Seeing Wang Xiang trembling with anger, Chu Jianfeng quickly stepped forward to support him.
"If you have any shred of shame left, then end it yourself!"
After giving Xin Xingzong a fierce glare, Wang Xiang gritted his teeth and threw the single-edged saber he was holding to the ground.
Facing such a useless teammate, he was truly at a loss for words.
How stupid could a person be to do something like this?
Wang Xiang could hardly imagine how Tong Guan had led such a group of idiots step by step to the position of the Privy Council's Bureau of Military Affairs.
Could it be that those Xixia and Liao people were even stupider than this idiot?
With things having reached this point, Chu Jianfeng was no longer foolish enough to speak up for Xin Xingzong.
If this fellow had only been slightly inferior in martial arts, it would have been fine. After all, in the military, there were those who were valiant and those who were mediocre.
But with such a poor mind, even he felt that the young man deserved his fate.
"My lord, should we still go..."
Chu Jianfeng spoke while pointing in the direction of the south.
"What's the point of going now? To be laughed at?"
Even if Wang Xiang were more foolish, he would know that since they had obtained such important items, the captors had surely already slipped away.
Even if he sent people to investigate now, he wouldn't find any useful clues.
If Wang Bing's men were easily swayed, Xin Xingzong wouldn't have met such a misfortune.
On the way back, Wang Xiang grew increasingly frustrated and depressed.
He had personally intervened this time to quickly take Han Mo's head.
However, since arriving in Mingzhou City, one unexpected situation after another had occurred.
What was originally a hand of excellent cards had been dragged into a mess by his incompetent teammates.
At this juncture, after much deliberation, it seemed that his only option left was to forcibly eliminate Han Mo.
However, Wang Xiang knew in his heart that if he did so, with countless loose ends to tie up afterward, even a slight oversight would lead to his family's ruin and his own extermination!
For civil officials in the Great Song Dynasty, political defeat usually only amounted to demotion and exile from the capital.
However, if one's hands were directly stained with the blood of an opponent, the situation would be entirely different.
Once the matter was exposed, he would immediately become the enemy of the entire civil official group!
After all, one who often walks by the river is bound to get wet.
Who could guarantee that they wouldn't stumble at some point in their life?
Even during the most intense period of Wang Anshi's reforms, when Sima Guang and others were below, shouting for war for so many years, they had never resorted to killing.
Even Su Shi, the top orator of the Great Song, was merely banished far away.
Limiting disputes to the realm of gentlemanly debate was the bottom line for all civil officials. Anyone who violated this line would become a public enemy!