knife

Chapter 189 I'm Going Back to Chang'an
Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on Zhang Ruo, staining his pure blue robe with distinct stripes. He half-closed his eyes, enjoying the massage from his daughter behind him.

Back in Chang'an, whenever he was exhausted, his youngest daughter would always appear in his study to give him a massage, which would make him feel completely refreshed.

Almost a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

He was demoted from Chang'an and traveled thousands of miles to the border region. He thought he would die with regrets and his ambitions would be thwarted, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better and he was brought back to life.

This year has been filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and it has truly given me a deeper understanding of the world.

Things missed can be done again, but those who have passed away can never be brought back to life.

Fortunately, his youngest daughter was by his side.

He gently patted Zhang Qingyun's hand behind him and said softly, "Qingyun, come, sit down. Let's have a good talk, father and daughter. It's been several months since we last met in Tai'an City, hasn't it?"

Zhang Qingyun moved a stool and sat down next to Zhang Ruo. Looking at the rickety desk beside Zhang Ruo, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Even if Du County is poor, it shouldn't be so poor that it can't find a decent desk, right?"

“The desk is not important!” Zhang Ru shook his head and said, “Back in Chang’an, your father’s desk was probably worth over a thousand taels of silver, but what happened to it in the end? Material possessions are nothing to be mentioned!”

Zhang Qingyun nodded and said, "Father is right."

“When I came here last year, I was just a prisoner, but now I’ve established myself outside the Great Wall. This Du County may be small, but it will be the starting point for my resurgence. Qingyun, come and help me. I know your talents. Right now, what I need most is someone like you by my side!” Zhang Ruo said.

Zhang Qingyun smiled slightly: "I'm doing quite well now, and the work I'm currently doing is at a crucial stage, so I can't put it down."

"What you've been doing in Tai'an City, don't think your father doesn't know!" Zhang Ruo's smile vanished. "I've been in the Anxi Protectorate for quite some time, and Li Dachui hasn't deliberately kept it from me. What is that Zhiqiu Courtyard for? It's the same thing as the Black Ice Guard. What can a girl like you do there?"

Zhang Qingyun said, "What can I possibly do here?"

"The Inspectorate is about to be established, and your father now has a solid ally. From now on, I will truly fulfill the responsibilities of the Inspectorate. You will help your father, just like you did in Chang'an!" Zhang Ruo said, "Your expertise in analysis and summarizing these matters will be of great help to me!"

Zhang Qingyun shook her head firmly.

"Father, I will not come to the Inspector's Office!"

Zhang Ruo was somewhat surprised by Zhang Qingyun's attitude. He looked Zhang Qingyun up and down, and a hint of anger suddenly flashed in his eyes: "Qingyun, did Li Dachui do anything to you?"

Zhang Qingyun was taken aback at first, then her face turned red as she looked angrily at her father and said, "Father, what are you saying? How can you talk to your daughter like that? Don't you know what kind of person Deputy Protector-General Li is? Don't you know what kind of person your daughter is?"

Zhang Ruo sighed, "There are all sorts of rumors circulating outside. What did Li Dachui say when he took you away back then? For so long, you've been living in Li Dachui's mansion in Tai'an City, and look at you when you go out, you're even more impressive than your father! If you really like Li Dachui, and Li Dachui likes you too, I won't stop you. Even though he used to be a bandit, he has now reformed and become a court official, and a pillar of the Great Qin outside the pass!"

“Father, stop talking nonsense.” Zhang Qingyun said angrily, “I have no relationship with Deputy Protector Li at all. Even if I did, it would only be a superior-subordinate relationship.”

"Is there really not a trace of romantic feeling between you?" Zhang Ruo pressed.

Zhang Qingyun nodded firmly and said, "No, Father, even if you ask me a hundred times, I will still give the same answer. Besides, I have no intention of getting married in this life."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age!" Zhang Ruo said. "Since you have nothing with this Li Dachui, you should come back even more. Otherwise, the longer you stay, the more gossip will spread. Come back and help your father, and I will help you find a handsome young man later."

Zhang Qingyun sighed and said, "Father, when you established your government office in Dushan and won over Cai Qi of Xuanwu, were you trying to become a third-party force outside the Great Wall?"

“Of course!” Zhang Ruo said. “You chose to continue serving the Great Qin, but I don’t want to!” Zhang Qingyun’s soft words sounded like a bolt from the blue to Zhang Ruo.

"Qingyun, do you mean that Xiao Changche, Li Dachui, and Linghu Ye are the same kind of people who also want to wreak havoc on the Qin Dynasty?" Zhang Ruo asked.

“Father, you’re overthinking it. From what I’ve seen, Xiao Changche and Li Dachui are single-mindedly focused on defeating Linghu Ye first, and then launching a northern expedition against the Yuan Kingdom. Li Dachui’s plans alone extend ten years into the future. Who can even imagine what will happen ten years from now?” Zhang Qingyun said. “And you, on the other hand, are only thinking about how to restrain them and balance their power. Can’t you think about how to help them destroy Linghu Ye and the Northern Yuan?”

"And then what? With no more constraints, will you lead your fierce army from beyond the pass into the pass and turn the beautiful land within the pass into a scene of war?" Zhang Ruo asked rhetorically.

Zhang Qingyun laughed: "Without the forces outside the pass, would the interior be peaceful and prosperous? Besides, if they could really do that, if they could really send troops into the interior, what's wrong with that? Look at Tai'an City, look at Baoping Prefecture now, and you've also been to Helan Plain. Aren't those people living much better than the people of Chang'an, which you are so proud of? Father, I can't forget the way Mother died in fear and worry, I can't forget how my elder brother was tortured to death in prison. Have you forgotten all of this? Or is it because of Wei Yi's 'I'm sorry,' 'I had no choice,' that you chose to forgive them?"

“Your elder brother died a worthy death for the sake of the Great Way!” Zhang Ruo said. “Your father was loyal and righteous all his life and never thought of changing his allegiance.”

“So Father, I won’t try to persuade you, because I know you,” Zhang Qingyun said, “but I have no intention of taking this path.”

Zhang Ruo let out a breath of stale air. "If that's the case, then what are you doing here today?"

"Father, I'm going back to Chang'an!" Zhang Qingyun's words left Zhang Ru speechless.

"Going back to Chang'an?"

“Yes!” Zhang Qingyun said, “I won’t hide it from you. Zhi Qiu Academy has decided to deploy forces within the pass. I have been in charge of this matter. After half a year of efforts, it has begun to show results. I need to go back and take charge of the overall situation.”

"You still say that Xiao Changche and Li Dachui have no intention of rebelling? Zhi Qiu Yuan has even extended its tentacles to Chang'an!"

“Father, deploying our forces in Chang’an doesn’t necessarily mean we’re rebelling against the court! Firstly, the Anxi Protectorate has many businesses within the pass that need people to manage. Secondly, we need to understand the court’s movements and know in advance about its policies and even personnel changes so we can prepare for any eventuality.” Zhang Qingyun said, “Li Dachui and the others never really focused on managing things within the pass until I joined the Zhi Qiu Academy. Only then did I begin to take charge of it. Now I’m going back to reap the rewards of my efforts!”

“We have no relatives left in the interior of the pass. Your father is outside the pass. How can you go back alone?” Zhang Ruo knew his daughter’s personality. At this point, he was afraid that anything he said would be in vain.

Fortunately, Zhang Qingyun said they had no intention of rebelling, which was the greatest comfort to him.

It's just about gathering intelligence. As long as we can hold off the army from outside the pass and prevent them from entering, how can a few intelligence agents shake the overall situation?
"When you're poor, no one hears you in the bustling city; when you're rich, even distant relatives come calling from the deep mountains!" Zhang Qingyun said calmly, "Believe it or not, when I go back this time, I guarantee my door will be overflowing with relatives, and it'll be a bustling marketplace! You're now a third-rank Vice Censor-in-Chief. With the merits you've made outside the Great Wall, once you return to the capital, the position of Censor-in-Chief will be a sure thing. You might even go back to your original post and become the Minister of Revenue!"

Zhang Ru fell silent.

“Father, I’m afraid you won’t be able to go back anytime soon. If I go back, I can sweep and repair the graves of Mother and Brother. I won’t stop you from serving the court here. But I want to advise you that no matter how hard you work, in the end, it will all be for nothing!”

"Why do you say that?"

“Because the Qin Dynasty is rotten to the core!” Zhang Qingyun sighed. “You can see this from your demotion for your outspoken remonstrance. The Qin Dynasty is now merely clinging to life. The slightest disturbance will ignite a raging inferno. This fire won’t start outside the Great Wall, but from within. I learned the true reason for the defeat at Xiangcheng from Wu De, and I know that the Qin Dynasty is beyond saving!”

"The defeat at Xiangcheng? Wu De was just a judicial officer, what did he know?"

"Hehe!" Zhang Qingyun laughed: "Father, Wu De is the fourth-ranking figure in the Black Ice Guard that you despise. Outside Xiangcheng, our Great Qin suffered tens of thousands of elite casualties, not because Southern Chu is so strong, but because within our Great Qin, they hope that Great Qin will lose, because only if Great Qin loses can they divide up this huge body of Great Qin!"

"This is impossible, this is impossible!" Zhang Ru murmured.

"The situation outside the pass is stable for now, but war will break out inside the pass soon!" Zhang Qingyun said. "If Father doesn't believe me, you can wait and see. The court will definitely issue an official report, and you can roughly guess who died by looking at the reports. However, Li Dachui said that Wei Zhengdao and his group want to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, but I'm afraid it will backfire in the end. The world will be in chaos within the next two or three years."

(End of this chapter)