"Itās just that the training demands are quite high, so itās easy to get injured." The person speaking is an official who went to the Capital Garrison, surrounded by soldiers from the Cavalry Battalion asserting that Chu Heng is innocent.
An official hearing this retorted, "Who knows if itās truly accidental or if there was neglect towards these soldiersā injuries? After all, isnāt it said that Chu Heng himself has great strength? He might have known before the training began how severe the injuries would be."
No one actually countered this statement, since Chu Hengās prowess is indeed outstanding. Everyone had to admit this, which made him seem somewhat overly indifferent at the moment.
"Lord Chu considered this beforehand, so those injured soldiers didnāt become completely paralyzed. I heard these soldiers got injured by falling off horseback. Imagine, when a horse runs, a fall could be fatal. That soldier who became lame was injured because he was accidentally trampled by a frenzied horse. Just think, if we get crushed under horse hooves, it wouldnāt just be limping." An official quietly defended.
"But..." Another official listened, feeling something was amiss: "In previous soldier training, nothing like this ever happened before stepping onto the battlefield. Lord Chuās training methods seem too harsh and cold."
Lord Zhou tiredly rubbed his forehead: "Anyway, letās first interrogate these soldiers. As long as they themselves donāt mind, thereās no issue."
Lord Zhouās words reminded everyone, indeed, no matter why this case occurred, itās no longer a simple case. It involves disputes from several sides. They just donāt want to get drawn in, and as for who wins or loses, it surely depends on the Emperorās decision.
After a while, Lord Zhou ordered the soldiers to be brought to the interrogation room.
The first to enter was the lame soldier.
"Are you Zhao Wen?" Lord Zhou looked at the frail soldier, resembling someone more from the logistics unit than someone capable of entering the Cavalry Battalion.
Zhao Wen sat on the interrogation chair and nodded, "Yes, itās me."
"Good, during the fifteen days of your training in the Cavalry Battalion, did you experience any coercion?"
"No." Zhao Wen said without hesitation.
Lord Zhou thought he might have misheard, rubbed his ear, looked up at him, "You werenāt harmed?"
"No, sir, what are you talking about?"
Other officials nearby heard this and their eyelids twitched.
Lord Zhou frowned, calmly and sternly said, "Zhao Wen, you must tell the truth, or donāt blame me for using these instruments on you."
Zhao Wen panicked upon hearing this and hurriedly explained, "Lord Zhou, everything I said is true, please believe me."
"Then how did you get injured?" Lord Zhou deliberately narrowed his eyes, interrogating harshly.
"Sir, I got injured by falling off horseback." Zhao Wen quickly explained without delay.
Lord Zhou faintly felt something was wrong, continued to question, "These injuries were caused during training after entering the Cavalry Battalion, the training content was very dangerous, right?"
"Correct." Zhao Wen looked at him hopefully.
"Then, your injuries arenāt an accident but an inevitability. Did Lord Chu have any threats, using your entry into Cavalry Battalion to justify training with these hazardous contents?"
Zhao Wen frantically shook his head, "No, Lord Zhou."