knife

Chapter 201 Game within a game
Hardship can always help a person grow quickly.

If you meet the right person at the right time and in the right place, the speed at which that person grows will amaze you.

Zhang Qingyun is a typical example of this.

From Chang'an to beyond the Great Wall, a journey of thousands of miles, this woman demonstrated her resilience, talent, and wit along the way, but in the end, she was still just a simple-minded girl.

However, after arriving outside the Great Wall, less than a year later, she entered the Zhi Qiu Courtyard and quickly transformed these qualities, presenting them in a different way.

Looking at her appearance, she seems to have not changed at all.

It was even more beautiful and radiant than it was back then.

But Wu De, a man who had seen it all, knew that this person had changed completely, inside and out.

The look in those eyes was no longer one of feigned composure, fear, and unease, but rather one of wisdom and cunning, as if everything was under control.

Wu De preferred the old Zhang Qingyun.

This one now seems more like a partner or a competitor.

Watching Zhang Qingyun and his group pass through the city gates without any checks or paying a single penny in entrance fees, led by that Young Master Zhou, Wu Dewei shook his head almost imperceptibly, then led his horse forward with the flow of people.

With a few clinking sounds, he dropped ten copper coins into the money box, then led his horse through the city gate.

If it's just a person, you only need to pay two coins, but if you bring a large animal like a horse, you have to pay ten coins.

Chang'an remains the same.

In Wu De's memory, it seems that Chang'an was just like this ten years ago, and it seems that it has not changed over the years.

The other places I've visited in the past two years have changed drastically.

What left the deepest impression on him was Jinyang City, which he had just left not long ago.

Jinyang was a key area of ​​focus for the Black Ice Guard after the defeat at Xiangcheng. Wu De made several trips there and made many arrangements. At that time, Jinyang was just as prosperous and bustling as Chang'an.

But this time when he went again, Wu De couldn't remember anything else in his mind except for the color red.

The black Star-Picking Tower grew increasingly majestic before Wu De's eyes.

Standing downstairs, Wu De looked up at the magnificent building and suddenly thought of the Dengxian Tower of the Dayong Dynasty hundreds of years ago.

The Star-Picking Tower was rebuilt on the original site of the Ascension Tower, which was destroyed in the great battle for the throne.

Wu De truly did not want the Star-Picking Tower to follow in the footsteps of the Ascending Immortal Tower at some point in the future, becoming merely a record in history books and a source of remembrance in poets' works.

On the fifth basement level, Wu De stood with his head held high, staring at Da Yin Kou Zhong on the black stone bed. In the past, Wu De had never dared to look directly at this senior like this, but now, he stiffened his neck and stared at Kou Zhong like a fool. He Bing nudged him several times, but he seemed completely oblivious.

Kou Zhong chuckled.

"Good lad, your martial arts cultivation has reached the ninth rank of the Profound Origin Realm, and your temper seems to have gotten along with it. What? Do you think this old man can't do anything with you?"

He Bing said with a forced smile, "Great Magistrate, please don't take this kid to heart. He suffered quite a shock during his trip to Jinyang!"

Kou Zhong sneered, "Speak, what's wrong?"

"So many people died in Jinyang. When I left, there were tens of thousands. I'm afraid there are even more dead now. Magistrate, the main branch of the Liu family is wiped out. Even Liu Chengdong was killed by He Zudao!" Kou Zhong said angrily. "He Zudao has completely changed. But do you know why he has become like this?"

Kou Zhong smiled at Wu De, "What he becomes is none of my business, even though we're thousands of miles apart."

"Grand Magistrate, you know!" Wu De said stiffly. "Are you and Prime Minister Wei really just using He Zudao?"

Kou Zhong smiled, nodded, and said frankly, "Exactly!" "Why?" Wu De exclaimed, "Shouldn't we try to win over a talent like him who is skilled in both literature and martial arts? If he truly serves us, he will become our most capable assistant. A person like him shouldn't be a discarded pawn after being used once!"

"Do you think just anyone can be used?" Kou Zhong exhaled. "Especially those who can be used by me and Wei Zhengdao, if they aren't exceptionally talented, how could they be qualified to be used by us? As for the talent you mentioned, is there a lack of talented people in this world? If one is gone, another will come along."

"But He Zudao is different!"

“Wu De, remember this: no matter how talented an individual is, if they don’t have a good platform to showcase their abilities, they won’t make much of a splash. Take He Zudao, for example. If I hadn’t sent him to the Southern Garrison to select men and cleared the obstacles on his way north, would he have been able to reach Hedong so smoothly? And if he had reached Hedong, would he have been able to destroy the Liu family so quickly?”

Before Wu De could refute, Kou Zhong continued, "Even if it wasn't He Zudao, anyone else could have done what He Zudao is doing now!"

“Great Magistrate, He Zudao has seen through your and Prime Minister Wei’s intentions. So, he has wiped out the Liu family of Hedong. He will kill even more people. When I left, he was already preparing to attack Taiyuan.”

“The Wang family of Taiyuan has been wiped out!” He Bing took out a file from his sleeve and said, “Wu De, the intelligence arrived at Black Ice Platform at almost the same time as you. He Zudao has wiped out the Wang family again.”

"Great Magistrate, do you still think your strategy was successful? That was a fierce tiger, but now you have not only released him from his cage, but also aroused his beastly nature. He has lost control, and next, he will become a scourge to this world!"

Kou Zhong and He Bing exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.

He Bing shook his head and sighed, "Wu De, Wu De, you still lack experience. What kind of person is the Grand Chancellor? What kind of person is the Prime Minister? How could He Zudao so easily see through their thoughts?"

Wu De was taken aback: "Vice Yin, what do you mean by this?"

Kou Zhongshu lay down comfortably and said, "Zhang Quanyi should now be coordinating with the local garrison and powerful families in the Hedong area to form a coalition, and has begun a counterattack against He Zudao."

"So fast?" Wu De asked in surprise. "I sent someone to tell Zhang Quanyi, but it will probably take quite a while to persuade those families in Hedong. Why so fast?"

"Because many things had already been arranged before this," He Bing said. "Regardless of who wins or loses this battle between the powerful families of Hedong and He Zudao, in the end we can only reap the benefits."

“I don’t understand!” Wu De shook his head.

"There is an army hidden in the Taihang Mountains, and it has been there for three months!" He Bing said. "A full 20,000 men, they are resting and preparing for battle, waiting for us to fight to the death. After this battle, the east and west banks of the river will truly fall into the hands of the imperial court, and will no longer be controlled by powerful families."

"Twenty thousand men, hiding in the Taihang Mountains for three months!" Wu De could hardly believe his ears. "Where did this army come from?"

“Wu De, do you think Kou Zhong and Wei Zhengdao are just people who eat and do nothing? We didn’t know that the Chang’an Imperial Guards were corrupt and hollowed out by powerful families? We didn’t know that the Southern Garrison Army was showing signs of becoming the He family’s private army? So for the past few years, we have been secretly training a new army, and the money for training the new army was naturally not obtained through normal channels. Much of it was obtained through embezzlement, deception, and fraud.”

Wu De swallowed hard.

“Zhang Ruo, that hothead, investigated the accounts and ended up on my father and Wei Zhengdao. He thought all the money went to the Northeast, but in fact most of it went to this new army. If he continues to investigate like this, this big secret will be exposed, and then things will really go wrong. That's why we had no choice but to take him down.”

"Many members of the Zhang family have died!"

"In my original opinion, I should have just killed his whole family, but Wei Zhengdao couldn't bear to do it. So he sent him to serve in the army outside the Great Wall and secretly asked someone to spare his life. Speaking of which, Zhang Ruo is quite capable. He actually managed to make a name for himself outside the Great Wall. If he can return alive from there in the future, he will definitely be given an important position in the court. After this incident, he will no longer be that kind of reckless young man who only knows how to rush forward when faced with trouble!"

Wu De blinked at Kou Zhong, feeling that there seemed to be a hidden meaning in his words.

He Bing also said meaningfully, "Wu De, it's not difficult to be an honest official, nor is it difficult to be a corrupt official, but it's very difficult to be a truly capable official. Sometimes, you simply can't distinguish whether a person is good or bad, honest or corrupt, capable or mediocre. Most such people can only be judged by time and history. So, the only thing we can do is to stay true to our original aspirations, never forget our roots, and be worthy of heaven and earth and the nation. We can't worry about anything else. If you use the same moral standards you use to judge ordinary people to demand of people like us, then the Qin Dynasty would be doomed in no time."

"So, does this mean that we're going to wipe out He Zudao and all those powerful families in one fell swoop this time?" Wu De asked, looking somewhat dazed.

"If everything goes well, that should be the case!"

"Let's not talk about those wealthy and powerful families. They can run away, but they can't hide. But what if He Zudao escapes from this hunt? That man is no ordinary person."

“If he really runs away, so be it. Without a platform, he’ll just be a bandit. He might cause some trouble in one area, but as long as he doesn’t shake the overall situation, it doesn’t matter!” Kou Zhong said, “At that time, in this vast world, will there be a place for him to hide? The imperial court will arrest him, and powerful families will hunt him down. Either he will die, or he will go into hiding and never show his face again. Is such a person still worth our attention?”

Wu De nodded. Perhaps this was a good ending for He Zudao.

(End of this chapter)