Chapter 22 Spit it out for me
The sun gradually set and it was soon evening.

Wang An and his group stood on the parade ground with their general and soon attracted many passing soldiers.

Many soldiers stopped to watch, whispering to each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

When Chen He and Zhao Yi's quartermaster came together, the surrounding soldiers quickly understood what had happened.

"Your Highness, the grain and fodder accounts have been checked." Chen He said as he handed over an account book with both hands, "Here is the account book, Your Highness, please take a look."

Wang An glanced at the quartermaster behind Chen He, who had an extremely unpleasant expression on his face, and waved his hand, saying, "I will not look at the account book. If there is anything that does not match, just tell me. I will check it while General Zhao is here."

Chen He nodded and immediately opened the account book: "Yongchang Year 8..."

As the accounts were listed one by one, Zhao Yi and his generals looked uglier.

In the end, Zhao Yi was even more angry and said: "Don't read it, there are indeed some discrepancies in the accounts, but this is already a routine. Don't worry about guarding Jizhou, even if it earns him some hard-earned money, so what?"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a slap suddenly hit Zhao Yi in the face, and the crisp sound of "pa" instantly spread throughout the entire teaching field.

At this time, hundreds of people had gathered on the parade ground, all with their mouths wide open in horror.

"General...General, was beaten?"

"My God, who is that person and how dare he hit the general?"

"Didn't you hear him call himself the king? He should be the prince sent by the court to be a vassal, right?"

"To take over the fiefdom, so you're here to take over? No wonder you want to count the grain and grass accounts!"

"Now we are going to have a good show. It's Zhao Yi's fault for always withholding our food and wages. He deserves to be beaten!"

Wang An glanced at the chaotic training ground and sneered, "How dare you call yourself a servant in front of me? If I don't teach you a lesson, won't you even disregard His Majesty in the future?"

"Wang An, you hit me again?" Zhao Yi's eyes were bloodshot and he was almost crazy with anger.

It was okay that Wang An slapped him in the face in the Jizhou government office before. After all, no one saw it except Chen He, so it was not too embarrassing.

But now, Wang An actually slapped him again in front of his own soldiers for a small verbal mistake, which undoubtedly made him look bad in front of the entire army.

Especially the faint sounds of gloating coming from the crowd made Zhao Yi feel that his face was being trampled under Wang An's feet.

Facing the furious Zhao Yi, Wang An flexed his wrists nonchalantly, "What if I hit you? Who gave you the courage to call yourself the old man in front of me, Fish Leong?"

Zhao Yi put one hand on the hilt of the sword. If the generals beside him had not held him back, he would have probably drawn the sword.

Wang An's eyes were cold. "If you dare to draw your sword, I will kill you for treason. Do you believe it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, dozens of black-armored guards who were eyeing them eagerly put their hands on the hilts of their swords and surrounded Zhao Yi and the others, ready to draw their swords and chop them down if they disagreed.

"You..." Zhao Yi calmed down instantly, knowing that the slap he received was in vain again.

Who made Wang An stand out in the open, not only having the advantage of status, but also being in the right?

If he really dared to draw his sword against the prince, Wang An would just kill him and the court would have nothing to say.

"You are so cruel," Zhao Yi said fiercely, "Now that you have fought, I can withdraw my troops, right?"

"Withdraw?" Wang An sneered, "You want to leave before we even have the accounts sorted out. There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

"Wang An, don't go too far!" Zhao Yi roared.

But just as he finished speaking, another slap came. This time Zhao Yi was smart and prepared. He raised his hand to block it with a triumphant smile on his face: "General, I have already prepared..."

But before he could finish his words, Wang An slapped him again with his empty left hand.

With a "slap", Zhao Yi was slapped again by Wang An in front of the soldiers.

"Wang An, I'm going to fight you to the death!" Zhao Yi completely exploded, grabbing the handle of the knife and rushing forward to fight Wang An to the death.

However, he was stopped by the generals around him again, "General, you must not do that. The enemy is Prince Xin. If you draw your sword, it will be tantamount to treason!"

"General, even if you don't care about yourself, you should think more about your parents, wife and children!"

Wang An looked at Zhao Yi, who was being held tightly by his generals, with some disappointment. He actually hoped that Zhao Yi would really draw his sword and attack him.

In this way, Wang An would have an excuse to kill Zhao Yi directly.

By then, the garrison at Shuangfeng Pass would be leaderless, and he could temporarily take over the army as a vassal king.

It would take at least one or two months for the imperial court to send someone to lead the troops to withdraw.

As for safety, Wang Anshi was not worried at all. Doctor Zhao was accompanied by several mid-level generals and was surrounded by his own black armor guards.

As for the soldiers under Zhao Yi, although there were hundreds of them on the parade ground at the moment, they were just standing in the distance and watching.

Moreover, seeing Zhao Yi being beaten, the soldiers even gloated over his misfortune. Wang An was almost certain that even if he really killed Zhao Yi, it would not incite a mutiny. These soldiers would even applaud.

Since Zhao Yi is so unpopular, Wang An has no worries at all.

After being persuaded by his trusted generals, Zhao Yi finally calmed down and said fiercely with a red and swollen face: "King..."

Seeing Wang An's eyes widened and his hand gently raised, Zhao Yi finally learned his lesson and quickly changed the subject: "Your Highness, what do you want?"

"You want me to continue to guard Shuangfeng Pass? This is impossible. Your Highness, don't even think about it!"

Wang An snorted coldly and said, "At this moment, even if you are willing to continue to stay here, I am still worried!"

"Then what does Your Highness want?" Zhao Yi said hatefully.

"Simple," Wang An sneered, "Those who have eaten the people of Jizhou, spit them out to me!"

"Okay, this general will return the silver to you at a discount!" Zhao Yi said hatefully.

After saying that, he turned around and told his generals: "Go to my room and find the box under the bed..."

"Wait!" Wang An suddenly raised his hand to interrupt, "I don't care about silver."

"Your Highness, do you want me to return the food and grass to you?" Zhao Yi said angrily.

Zhao Yi had already sold the difference in food and fodder. If Wang An insisted on having food and fodder, Zhao Yi would not be able to raise it for the time being.

Wang An showed a hint of ridicule, "I don't want food either!"

"Then just tell me what Your Highness wants!" Zhao Yi felt like he was being teased, but he didn't dare to get angry.

Wang An looked up at the sky and sneered, "I want weapons and armor!"

"Impossible!" Zhao Yi rejected immediately. "Weapons and armor are issued by the Ministry of War. Every sword and bow has a limited number. How can I report to the Ministry of War if I give them to you?"

(End of this chapter)