knife

Chapter 116 Some People Will Die in Chang'an
Walking on the empty street, the clattering of footsteps was exceptionally clear.

Wu De's heart was filled with confusion.

In some situations, what is the right choice?
Or perhaps, in this world, there are no right choices at all, only the most suitable choices?

He Qiku was a loyal minister.

The emperor knew this, and so did the court officials.

But whether He Qiku survived or not had nothing to do with whether he was a loyal minister.

It was because of the 80,000 troops stationed in the southern garrison.

He returned home in great distress only to be imprisoned, and his life hung in the balance for a time. It was only because of the unrest among the 80,000 garrison troops that the court had to abandon the idea of ​​using this old marshal to quell public opinion.

In contrast, there was another loyal minister, Zhang Ruo. Because he was only a civil official and his family was weak, he was thrown out and given to Linghu Ye.

This is actually a method of killing without shedding blood.

It can also be used to frame others, a tactic that kills multiple birds with one stone.

Zhang Ru was just lucky.

They encountered a change unprecedented in a century in the region beyond the Great Wall.

His existence was of great value to many people, so he survived.

If you were in this situation, what would you choose?
Wu De didn't know.

In Kou Zhong's view, He Qiku's choice was a huge mistake, as he disregarded the safety and danger of the country and the nation for his own selfish desires.

What does reputation matter? As long as you do things well and benefit the country, no matter how bad your reputation is, you are still a hero and people will remember you.

Conversely, no matter how good your reputation is, if the country falls, what use are you to it?

Twenty-five years ago, He Qiku made a choice, and he said he doesn't regret it.

He Qiku has made another choice this time, but I wonder if he will regret it in a few years.

However, he is already quite old and may not be able to wait many more years.

Reaching a conclusion on such important choices takes a long time.

Let history be the judge of a person.

Sometimes it really is the fairest thing.

Wu De shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off the dazed and confused thoughts that were swirling in his mind.

These are things I'm afraid I'll never understand or comprehend in my entire life.

What attracts me most is actually what happened 25 years ago.

Even the Black Ice Station couldn't find any relevant files.

What kind of force could have erased such a major event completely?

It's only been twenty-five years, yet this whole thing is happening as if it never happened at all—it's unbelievable.

Whether it was Kou Zhong, He Qiku, or Zhou Zhi, none of them really wanted to say much about what exactly happened that year.

Even with just a few words from these people, Wu De was still able to sketch out a general outline.

The only thing missing now is the identity of the person involved.

Wu De felt there was still someone he could explore and investigate.
Maybe you'll figure out something you're looking for.

However, before going to see this old man, I need to finish the tasks assigned by the Grand Magistrate.

This kind of thing should have been done by Zhang Quanyi, who was in charge of the operation.

However, Zhang Quanyi is clearly no longer on the same path as Da Yin.

Therefore, it was up to me, the newcomer, to do it.

However, Wu De had no obstacles in his mind.

Killing these bastards would be letting them off too easily.

The difficulty of this matter lies in how to achieve a high degree of consistency in timing. All the killings must be completed before the information about the Black Ice Guard's murders is fully disseminated. Otherwise, given the family backgrounds of these people, they will be unable to hide at home, and we will be helpless.

The Grand Magistrate has given the order, and he doesn't care how you complete it or what difficulties it may be; he only cares whether you finish it or not.

Because when he issued this command, he granted you the corresponding permissions.

Killing even one less enemy means the mission is not completed.

Moreover, Wu De believed that killing even one less person would be a disservice to the innocent soldiers who died in the Battle of Xiangcheng. In the side hall of the Qin Zheng Hall in the palace, Kou Zhong was wrapped tightly in a black robe with a hood, huddled in a large chair. Entering the palace to see the emperor dressed like this instead of in official robes—he was practically the only one in the entire land to do so.

The person sitting opposite him, although also with a full head of white hair, had a prosperous appearance, was plump and kind-looking, and was wearing a purple python robe. He was able to sit opposite Kou Zhong without being at a disadvantage. In the current Qin Dynasty court, only Prime Minister Wei Zhengdao could do that.

Kou Zhong's breathing was somewhat heavy. After leaving the fifth underground level of the Black Ice Platform and coming into contact with the free air outside, he saw the sun in the sky, which had no temperature. However, the fire poison in his body was still cheering.

“Some people will die in Chang’an in the next couple of days!” Kou Zhong said.

Wei Zhengdao's expression remained unchanged: "Chang'an is a large city with a population of over one million. People die every day. Outside the four gates of the city, there are villages for the dead. What's so strange about that!"

Kou Zhong chuckled coldly. The other party was pretending to be confused, but he was going to drag him down with him. Sure enough, after he rattled off a string of names, Wei Zhengdao's expression finally showed some change.

Wei Zhengdao certainly knew the truth about the defeat at Xiangcheng.

"We should report to His Majesty for permission before taking action!"

"There are some things Your Majesty need not know, lest it hurt Your Majesty's benevolent heart!" Kou Zhong said calmly.

"In the eyes of the Grand Magistrate, should I be a ruthless and vicious person?" Wei Zhengdao was somewhat dissatisfied. Kou Zhong only cared about killing people, but the mess that followed would inevitably fall on his shoulders.

He was satisfied, but now that I have to clean up his mess, I'm still a little annoyed.

Kou Zhong looked at Wei Zhengdao and chuckled.

Do I need to determine whether you are a ruthless person or not?

"Kou Zhong, your vision is too narrow. Killing a few people, besides venting your anger, what else can you do? Warn those people? What a joke! I'm afraid they'll cause an even bigger mess to teach you a lesson!" Wei Zhengdao dusted off non-existent dust from his clothes and said calmly.

What do you think they will do?

“It’s their old trick!” Wei Zhengdao sneered. “Naturally, they’ll instigate a riot somewhere, and the size and extent of the damage will depend on how much excrement and urine they want to throw in our faces.”

“We would have tolerated it before, but now that things are stable outside the pass and nothing will happen, will you still tolerate it?” Kou Zhong said, “We can take this opportunity to strike hard and eliminate one or two ringleaders. Maybe then we can stay stable for a few more years!”

"The key question is who will pull it out? And which troops will be deployed?" Wei Zhengdao sighed. "If things go wrong, we could see a repeat of the defeat at Xiangcheng."

"I recommend someone to you!" Kou Zhong chuckled. "How about He Zudao? He's currently locked up in the Black Ice Guard's dungeon. Send him there, and he'll cure your ailment in no time!"

"Where's the army?"

“Naturally, let He Zudao choose from the Southern Garrison! We don’t need many, three to five thousand men will be enough!” Kou Zhong said. “Unless those swordsmen personally step into the arena to fight He Zudao, how can they be a match for He Zudao with those messy swords they wield? Once one of them personally steps into the arena, hehehe.” Kou Zhong’s black robe fluttered.

"So you had already thought of this!" Wei Zhengdao nodded. "That is one way, but we have to keep the news from outside the pass under control. If outsiders find out, I'm afraid the person in charge won't take action."

“Not everyone can travel all the way back from beyond the Great Wall in ten days!” Kou Zhong said, “You didn’t see that child from my Black Ice Guard. When he came to my side, he didn’t even look like a human being anymore.”

"I know your subordinates have worked hard and made great contributions. If you want any reward, just draft a note and send it over!" Wei Zhengdao said somewhat helplessly.

"Be generous!" Kou Zhong nodded in satisfaction: "This kid has bought us at least twenty days, and I have already ordered the blockade of all communication channels from outside the pass to the capital. This will delay things by at least another ten or twenty days, enough for us to remove a few thorns in our side!"

"Even if there are any, they're just a few small nails. The real big fish will never surface at this time!" Wei Zhengdao shrugged, looking somewhat helpless.

"Kill a few today, kill a few more tomorrow, and eventually there will be fewer and fewer of them!"

"Are you sure there will be more good news like this from outside the pass in the future?" Wei Zhengdao said dismissively. "It's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause; it won't solve the fundamental problem."

“Governing the country is your duty as prime minister. If the country is in chaos, you cannot shirk your responsibility!” Kou Zhong said bluntly.

Wei Zhengdao smiled bitterly: "Of course I won't shirk responsibility, but Kou Zhong, could you have imagined His Majesty would become like this? Think back to when His Majesty first ascended the throne, how spirited and ambitious he was!"

At this point, both of them fell silent.

The emperor at that time was young and ambitious, full of vigor and vowed to take the Qin Dynasty to a new height. However, dreams are often grand, but reality is always harsh.

After only a few years on the throne, the emperor was bent over by one setback after another.

So what if you're the emperor?
Can you stop Linghu Ye from amassing troops outside the pass?
Can you prevent the defeat at Xiangcheng?

Can you stop natural disasters from happening one after another, the people from being displaced, and the bandits from spreading all over the world?
You can't.

Even if you are the emperor, when your wishes conflict with those of the powerful clans of the land, they have plenty of ways to make you helpless.

More than twenty years later, these powerful clans felt that they could no longer absorb enough nourishment from the Qin Dynasty's riddled body, so they unanimously began to plan to completely abandon this largely useless body and prepare to start anew.

Whether it's Kou Zhong, Wei Zhengdao, or Zhang Ruo who is currently outside the pass, they are all just trying their best to prolong the life of the already decaying body of the Great Qin.

The owner of this body, however, seems to be indifferent to the state of this vast empire.

Kou Zhong and Wei Zhengdao's eyes met in mid-air.

Or was it a wrong choice back then?
What would things be like now if we had chosen the other option?

(End of this chapter)