Chapter 46: Undercurrents surge, the real intention is revealed
The people only then understood that it was not that the king had done nothing, nor that he was powerless to deal with the bandits, but that he had been acting in secret.
Those who originally thought that Russell had a connection with the bandits now shut up, and many even felt guilty.
Although rumors have been spreading in the royal city recently, saying that the bandits were supported by Russell, if you look closely, you will find that Russell really has no reason to support the bandits.
After all, Russell's prestige was very high two years ago, but his prestige has been greatly affected by the rampant bandits in the past two years.
Now that the bandits have been wiped out, although Russell has gained some prestige, there is still a gap compared to two years ago.
If the bandit was really supported by Russell, then what was he trying to do? Just to lower his own prestige? Even a fool wouldn't do that, right?
And some people were keenly aware of the information leak mentioned in the news.
Because Russell had sent troops to suppress bandits many times, but every time before the kingdom's army arrived, the bandits seemed to have clairvoyance and super hearing and escaped in advance, so that each suppression effort ended in failure.
Ordinary people know all these things, and everyone understood Russell at the beginning.
But as time went on, more and more people were killed by bandits, and they became more and more resentful towards Russell.
Now many people want to know who leaked the information in advance during the previous bandit suppression operations?
In particular, some residents whose family members had met with accidents or who had been persecuted by bandits themselves jointly wrote a letter to Russell, begging the king to help them find out the truth of the matter and give the people an explanation.
With Russell's deliberate publicity, this matter quickly spread throughout the royal city, and countless people were eagerly waiting to know the answer.
In a study room in the hall of Tule Mansion, there was a middle-aged man with a bald head, a hooked nose that almost touched his upper lip, a four-inch long goatee on his chin, and wearing a loose robe. His eyes were sinister and flashing with coldness.
This person is Tule.
"Father!" A young man in brocade clothes hurried into the study below and asked the middle-aged man anxiously, "All the pirate forces we supported have been wiped out now, and Russell's prestige is at its peak.
"Those untouchables want to find the mastermind behind the leak of the anti-bandit intelligence. Our years of planning have been destroyed in an instant. What should we do next?"
The person who spoke was Charles, the son of Tule and the current left prime minister of the kingdom.
"It seems that Russell couldn't hold back after all." Tule stroked his goatee, narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "But it's easy to fall hard after climbing high. Russell is now at the peak of his glory. Let him be proud for a few more days. The more proud he is now, the more miserable he will be later."
"Father, what do you mean?" Charlie asked.
"The higher you fly, the harder you fall. Russell's prestige is so high now because he wiped out the bandits. He intends to use this opportunity to recruit talents and expand his sphere of influence." Tule explained, "But what if the people suddenly find out that Russell staged this incident himself?"
"Father, will the people really believe it?" Charlie asked doubtfully. "You know, the people now say that Russell was the victim in the bandit incident. If he really supported the bandit forces, it doesn't make sense."
"So what if the people think that Russell's ultimate goal is to bring us down?" Tule asked, "Will he benefit from it if he succeeds? Wouldn't it make more sense?"
"Great!" Charlie immediately smiled and said proudly, "Then Russell will become the conspirator and we will become the victims. Then everyone will support us even more. Let's see how he ends up!"
Just when Tule and his son were preparing for a desperate counterattack, what they didn't know was that Russell had already grasped all the evidence of his crimes of training bandits and plotting to usurp the throne, and he had set a trap ready, waiting for them to fall into it.
Fu Ya and Lu Kai were invited to visit the palace while waiting for the final outcome of this matter.
Three days later, Charles, who thought he was fully prepared, suddenly accused King Russell of three major crimes in the palace:
Charge 1: Secretly supporting bandits, nurturing them for their own benefit, bullying the common people, taking human lives lightly, and playing with people's hearts.
The second charge: secretly colluding with Origi, giving Origi huge benefits, and cooperating with Origi to eliminate other bandits to earn prestige for himself.
Charge three: Luke is actually Origi's subordinate, a ruthless man with evil intentions. Russell knew this but still let him in to attack his political enemies and disrupt the government.
Charlie's accusation was extremely vicious. Even if it could not be proven, once it got out, Russell's reputation would be completely ruined.
By then, the father and son will take advantage of the situation to force Russell off the throne, which is also what they have planned.
What's more, Charlie did not make the accusation out of thin air, but instead produced three witnesses.
The first witness was the cavalry commander Lan Ning, who was the one who went to pick up the princess.
Lan Ning was not bribed by Charlie. He just objectively described what happened at the city gate, including Luke beheading Raj in public and the princess stopping them. He did not add any exaggeration, but it made people feel strange.
The second person was one of the guards who was protecting the princess at Bantou Mountain at that time, named Arthur.
Arthur stood up and distorted the truth, saying that Luke did not kill the bandits at all, but just drove them away. Then he whispered something to Faye Wong, and the princess asked Luke to escort them, which was very strange.
It was Raj who noticed the abnormality and alerted other guards including himself.
However, the other guards had been killed by Russell's men. He was lucky to escape and was rescued by Charlie's men, so he had to tell the truth.
The third witness was a man who claimed to be the head of a mountain bandit group and was accidentally arrested when he entered the city to make purchases.
This witness said that Origi was not dead at all. Luke often went to their village to have secret talks with Origi. They were old acquaintances. Charlie also said that if Luke killed Origi, he should hand over Origi's body to prove his innocence.
In addition, Charlie also took out a stack of letters between Russell and the bandits. The handwriting on the letters was exactly the same as King Russell's.
But just when Charlie was feeling smug, Olin showed up with nine witnesses.
Among them was the second in command of the Bantou Mountain bandits who knew where Origi's body was.
The other four guards who were said to have been silenced.
Someone who simulates Russell's note-writing.
As well as the bandit leaders from three other hills who were rumored to have been killed by Lu Kai but were actually brought back alive by him.