knife

Chapter 120 What’s the point?

Wu Dechang knelt outside the door, the oil lamp hanging on the black wall behind him casting a long, thin shadow on the opposite wall.

Tilting his head and sticking out his tongue, Wu De watched the movements of his shadow on the wall and laughed.

The door opened silently, and He Bing appeared in the doorway with a fierce expression. Wu De quickly knelt up straight, and his face also became solemn.

"You're really carefree!" He Kuan said, flicking his sleeves. "Do you even know how much trouble you've caused the Black Ice Guard?"

"It was my fault!" Wu De humbly accepted the criticism.

"You've handled the task assigned by the Magistrate so poorly, and all you get is kneeling as punishment? It seems the Magistrate really likes you!" A rare look of envy appeared on He Bing's face. "Go inside!"

"Vice Magistrate, where are you going? Am I going to see the Grand Magistrate alone?" Wu De asked somewhat guiltily.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm going to clean up your mess!" He Bing looked like she had a headache, put her hands behind her back, and shuffled away.

Looking at his back, Wu De didn't feel that he was in a difficult position at all.

In fact, He Bing was very happy.

Regardless, this time Black Ice Platform has rekindled everyone's awe of him.

Previously, the word "simple and indifferent" was no longer sufficient to describe their attitude towards Black Ice Platform.

Hmph, so what if I make a scene?
The commotion in the imperial court is just that—commotion!

Are you saying our Black Ice Station committed murder?
Show me the evidence!
If they can't produce it, then it's slander and false accusation.

He Bing doesn't have the guts to do such a thing, but he's a master at wrangling and pulling strings.

In matters like this, the higher-ups will handle it.

Da Yin is still alive!
Wu De slowly walked into the house.

He was greeted by the backside of the Grand Magistrate Kou Zhong.

Kou Zhong's face was turned inwards, as if he were sleeping!
Wu De walked over obediently and knelt down in front of the bed.

"The Black Ice Guard has at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, methods of assassination." Kou Zhong's voice reached my ears: "Although the Black Ice Guard is not what it used to be, the talents gathered in the capital are enough to instantly kill any Jianghu gang. So why did you make such a big fuss about this?"

"I have a grudge in my heart, and I can't get over it!" Wu De swallowed and said, "I investigated this matter from beginning to end. I found out everything clearly. But the Grand Magistrate forbade me to do anything before, so my anger only grew stronger. Now that I have the opportunity to act, I want them to die knowing why. Assassination, letting them die in confusion, makes me uncomfortable."

The sound of someone turning over came from the bed. Wu De looked up and saw a pair of eyes burning like will-o'-the-wisps.

"You actually broke through?" Kou Zhong's tone was somewhat surprised: "I originally thought you would be stuck for several more years, but it's a good thing, my Black Ice Platform has gained another Xuan Yuan Ninth Grader."

"I was determined to make a big splash, to stain Chang'an with their blood, and my heart was filled with anguish, but unexpectedly, these shackles have been broken!" Wu De said. "It has only caused trouble for you, Grand Governor, and I am willing to accept any punishment!"

"Why should I punish you?" Kou Zhong laughed. "The reason I made you kneel outside is because you didn't tell me before you did this. I can forgive you for keeping it from He Bing, but keeping it from me makes me very angry!"

"I'm afraid that if something really happens, I'll take the blame myself and won't implicate the Grand Magistrate and the Deputy Magistrate!" Wu De quickly said.

Kou Zhong burst into laughter, his shrill laughter echoing through the room.

"Implicate? What a trivial matter! So what if I killed him? Even if the ancestor of the Liu family stood in front of me, I could still stab his great-grandson with one blow, and he wouldn't dare utter a sound! Good riddance! This is a perfect opportunity to restore the prestige of my Black Ice Guard! You're done working in the Ministry of Justice, come back!"

"Yes, sir. But I wonder what my specific responsibilities will be upon my return?"

"Let him temporarily assume the position of inspector!" Kou Zhong said. "There's nothing wrong with being an inspector!"

"Huh?" Wu De looked up at Kou Zhong in shock.

"The Black Ice Guard needs to be purged. Chang'an City is relatively clean, but outside, those who need to be purged must be purged vigorously, those who should be killed should be killed, and those who cannot be killed should be sent away!"

"Understood!" Wu De suppressed his joy. With this imperial sword, doing things would be much simpler for him.

“Go to the fourth floor and take He Zudao away!” Kou Zhong pointed to the top of his head and said, “Next, those hidden guys will definitely make a move. Take He Zudao to the south and train a usable army! Since someone wants to give us a hard time, we will naturally eliminate them with overwhelming force.”

"Yes, sir!" Wu De kowtowed, stood up, and walked backward out of the house. The moment he closed the door, Wu De could no longer suppress the smile on his face.

It's truly unexpected that this seemingly reckless act would have such a positive effect.

The fifth basement level was the residence of Grand Chancellor Kou Zhong, while the fourth basement level was the prison where the Black Ice Guard held important criminals.

The stone gate, several feet thick, slowly shrank into the wall before Wu De's eyes. The long, dark alleyway, with its cold, green-glowing lights, made people look like ghosts.

If someone is locked up here, the chances of them getting out are extremely low.

Wu De walked to the second cell on the right, where an old soldier, so old he could barely stand up straight, opened the cell door for him.

“General He!” Wu De stood at the door, looking at a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged inside. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, a bulbous nose, wide ears, and a big mouth. Judging from his appearance alone, he looked about 80% like the old General He Qiku, as if they were carved from the same mold.

Even in prison, his clothes were still neatly arranged and his hair was combed meticulously.

This is an extremely self-disciplined person.

It's so sad that he became famous so late, got married so late, and had children so late.

His son, He Zudao, was born when he was forty-five years old.

For ordinary people, forty-five years old is basically the age of a grandfather, or someone who is already at home waiting to die. The average lifespan in the Qin Dynasty was only fifty years.

But for He Qiku, this was just the beginning of his meteoric rise in his official career.

At the age of fifty, he became the commander of the Left Battalion of the Imperial Guard.

He Zudao is thirty-five years old this year, which is the prime of a person's life.

Upon seeing Wu De, He Zudao smiled slightly.

"Brother Wu, may I go out now?"

He Qiku served as the commander of the Southern Garrison Army for more than 20 years. The Southern Garrison Army was filled with generals from the He faction. After the defeat last year, why did the court order He Qiku and He Zudao to return to the court to report on their duties?
It is because although He Zudao is young, his personal martial arts skills and military command ability are close to those of his father, and he has a huge influence in the Southern Garrison Army.

Why should we return? Why should we not return? The Southern Garrison Army will still belong to the He family.

He Zudao was unwilling to return.

The best strategy would be for one person to return, demonstrating the loyalty of the He family to the court, while the other person stays, also exerting appropriate pressure on the court.

It should be noted that Kou Zhong had directly sent someone to tell He Qiku that not returning to Chang'an was the best way to show loyalty to the Qin Dynasty.

But he couldn't go against his father's wishes, and He Qiku not only returned, but also brought him back with him.

In the following year, just as many had hoped, morale in the Southern Garrison collapsed, with some becoming disillusioned, some angry, some betraying, and some leaving.

A year is enough time for a lot to happen.

“The Southern Garrison Army is no longer the Southern Garrison Army it used to be!” Wu De said directly.

"Once I return, it won't be long before I can rebuild a Southern Garrison Army!" He Zudao said confidently.

Wu De sighed: "A year is enough time for things to change. If you go back to the Southern Garrison, I'm afraid it will cause the Southern Garrison to split up again. That would make their strength drop another level."

He Zudao's smile vanished: "What does Brother Wu mean?"

"What the Grand Magistrate means is that General He, you should just take a few thousand trustworthy people with you from the Southern Garrison. Next, we'll probably have to fight a few battles, some big and some small," Wu De said with a smile.

"Understood!" He Zudao nodded and said, "Start afresh and train a new army?"

"Let's talk as we walk!" Wu De said with a smile, stepping aside to open the door.

He Zudao stepped out of the prison gate and strode out without even looking back once.

“Some time ago, I went to the area outside the Great Wall and saw the army there for the first time!” Wu De said. “General He, if I may be frank, the fierce army outside the Great Wall is much stronger than your Southern Garrison Army. And I’m talking about the level of the ordinary army outside the Great Wall, not their elite troops.”

He Zudao stopped, his body tensed slightly, he clenched his fists, then relaxed them and continued forward.

"This is also the reason why the Grand Chancellor wants to rebuild the army!" Wu De followed closely beside him and said, "Because simply revitalizing the Southern Garrison Army is meaningless."

Is Linghu Ye planning a rebellion?

"That's not it!" Wu De didn't tell He Zudao the truth: "It's just that when you see such an army that can't be controlled by the court, no one is sure, right? If you can train three to five thousand soldiers like that, then resources will flow to you endlessly."

“I will!” He Zudao nodded.

“Let’s go, I’ll go home with you! The old general has had a tough two years!” Wu De said. “Not only are you out, but you’ve also regained command of the army. This is a joyous occasion for the old general!”

As they spoke, the two had already stepped out of the Black Ice Platform. He Zudao squinted, somewhat unaccustomed to the glaring light outside. After a moment of adjustment, he turned to Wu De beside him and bowed respectfully: "I won't be going back. Please ask Brother Wu to pass on my message to my father. Please take care of yourself, Father. I will return once I have trained this army."

Wu De paused for a moment, then shook his head and laughed, "I must say, you two really are like father, like son, both equally stubborn."

"I'm different from him!"

He Zudao shook his head, affirming it firmly.

(End of this chapter)