knife

Chapter 279 Heartbroken
In the dense forest, a heavily wounded knight struggled to his feet, using his sword for support as he stumbled and staggered forward.

Behind him, the sound of hooves came again. The knight looked at his warhorse lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth, and despair appeared on his face.

When we set off from outside the pass, there were more than ten people in total. After entering the pass, the group split into three groups, and I was in the last group.

It seems likely that neither of the first two groups will be able to reach Chang'an successfully.

They were personnel from the Black Ice Guard stationed outside the pass, and this time they were ordered by Inspector Zhang Ruo to deliver important intelligence into the pass.

But once they set foot on the land within the Great Wall, wave after wave of pursuers came to kill them.
No one wanted Chang'an to know the specific situation outside the pass.

With his last breath, the knight quickened his pace. He was not far from Chang'an and hoped that his messengers would arrive soon. As long as he could send the message out, he didn't care if he died.

"Die!" A shout came from behind, accompanied by the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air.

The knight turned around and saw a dark shadow with a cold glint in the air, flying towards him.

He swung his sword to block, and with a loud clang, the knight fell backward, his back slamming heavily against a tree. When he slid to the ground, he was already limp and sitting down. Looking at the masked assassin approaching with a gun, the knight sighed, realizing that his efforts had ultimately failed.

He closed his eyes.

The spear hurtled through the air.

Then he heard a scream.

He suddenly opened his eyes, only to see a broad back blocking his way.

As the figure walked forward, the knight saw the man who had been chasing him lying on the ground.

A rustling sound came from the distant woods.
“Go back and tell your master that if you continue these shady dealings, don’t blame me, Wu, for breaking the rules! When it comes to assassinations, harassment, and sabotage, if our Black Ice Guard claims to be second, no one dares to claim to be first!”

"I will certainly convey Commander Wu's words! However, it is a pity that such a heroic figure as Commander Wu has to be buried with this declining dynasty!" A voice faintly came from afar.

"You can't talk about ice with a summer insect, get out!" The shout was like thunder in spring, and a muffled groan came from afar, actually causing internal injuries from the shock of the angry shout.

Commander Wu turned around, walked to the knight, and squatted down.

The knight was both surprised and delighted, looking at the familiar face before him: "Commander Wu, I didn't expect it to be you who came to meet me personally."

"Knowing the news came from beyond the Great Wall, and that three groups came at once, I knew it must be important. I didn't expect it was you who came back in person. Qi Lu, you've worked hard!" Wu De patted the other's shoulder and, smiling, picked him up in his arms: "Come on, let's go home!"

The intelligence that Qi Lu brought back shocked Wu De.

When Linghu Ye led tens of thousands of troops into Guanzhong, he occupied Hedong and Hexi, causing shock throughout the court and the country. Guanzhong and Longxi became unstable, and powerful families across the land followed suit, using the pretext of purging the court of corrupt officials and protecting their hometowns to recruit soldiers and establish their own independent regimes. It became difficult for the court's orders to leave Luoyang and Chang'an.

Even though these two places are where representatives of the most powerful families in the world gather, and even now, only some people remain in these places to maintain appearances, the power they can wield is still enormous. If they were to unite, they would be even more terrifying.

Even though the court knew that these people were staying here to gather information, or even to become spies for their own families one day, the court could not do anything to them. They had to treat them with courtesy and pay them salaries according to their official ranks.

Therefore, Wu De felt extremely frustrated.

Just like the people who ambushed Qi Lu today, Wu De knew who they were, but he couldn't reveal it, nor could he hold those in charge accountable afterward.

After opening the blood-stained metal cylinder, taking out the secret document, and quickly glancing at it, Wu De was completely petrified.

Thank goodness!
Originally, it was thought that with the outbreak of internal strife in the Great Qin and Linghu Ye leading tens of thousands of troops into the pass, the Yuan Kingdom would inevitably launch a large-scale invasion. Even if there were people like Xiao Changche and Li Dachui outside the pass who were deeply righteous, how could they possibly stop the elite army of the Yuan Kingdom?

Unexpectedly, Li Dachui ventured deep into the lion's den, cleverly plotted to assassinate the Yuan Emperor, sow discord among the three heirs to the throne, and plunged the Yuan Kingdom into internal strife.

The Yuan Kingdom, embroiled in internal strife, could barely defeat even Li Dachui from beyond the Great Wall, let alone have the energy to invade the Qin Dynasty.
This is a great blessing for the Qin Dynasty!

If the Qin Dynasty could quickly end its internal strife, gather its army, and march out of the pass, then it is possible that the Yuan Dynasty, which has been an enemy of the Qin Dynasty for hundreds of years, could come to an end.

Moreover, for the current imperial court, this news is enough to make the court stand up straighter.

There are still strong armies outside the pass loyal to the court, and they can still enter the pass to quell the rebellion at any time. Even if it is just for show, it can make some people wary, thus buying more time for the court.

Wu De rushed back to the Black Ice Platform, where he sent someone to settle Qi Lu, while he himself ran towards He Bing's office.

However, there was no one in the office. The clerk told Wu De that He Bing had gone out on official business and would not be back for at least three to five days.

Wu De headed straight for the fifth basement level of the Black Ice Platform, only to be turned away once again.

Kou Zhong actually went to Luoyang. No one knows what happened in Luoyang that required Kou Zhong to handle it personally.

In the past year, Kou Zhong only went out of the fifth underground level of the Black Ice Platform three to five times at most, but today, in just the last three months, Kou Zhong has gone out five or six times.

With neither the top leader nor the top leader present, Wu De couldn't help but feel a little dejected.

"Commander Wu, you are also qualified to request an audience with His Majesty directly!" Seeing Wu De pacing anxiously, the old scribe who was helping Kou Zhong with official documents kindly reminded him.

"Me?" Wu De didn't react for a moment.

"Of course, Commander Wu, although you are only a fourth-rank official, the Black Ice Guard is not an ordinary government office. With the Black Ice Guard's commander's badge, you can directly enter the palace to see His Majesty!" the old scribe reminded him.

"Thank you for the reminder!" Wu De turned and dashed out. He had always spent most of his time handling foreign affairs, traveling all over the country. Back at headquarters, he habitually relied on He Bing and Kou Zhong, never imagining himself to be a figure of importance, a true high-ranking official in the eyes of others.

With his Black Ice Guard badge, Wu De entered and exited the palace as if it were empty, coming and going freely until he was close to the palace city, when someone finally stopped him.

"This humble servant is Wu De of the Black Ice Guard. This is my waist token. I have extremely important and urgent business to attend to Your Majesty!" Wu De said urgently, looking at the eunuch in front of him.

"What important official business is it? Why isn't Magistrate Kou of the Black Ice Bureau here?"

"The Grand Chancellor has gone to Luoyang!" Wu De said with a forced smile. "As for official business, please forgive me, but I can only report to His Majesty!"

Hearing Wu De say this, the eunuch's expression changed slightly. He flicked his sleeve and said, "Since that's the case, Commander Wu, you can wait here. I'll go and report to His Majesty. However, I can't guarantee when His Majesty will see you. Daoist Yiming just refined a batch of pills for His Majesty today. His Majesty has been refining the pills since taking them, and I don't know when he will have time."

Wu De bowed slightly, but said nothing more.

But to his utter surprise, he waited until dusk, and instead of being summoned by the emperor, someone came to drive him out of the city.

Because the imperial city is about to be locked down.

Even though he was the commander of the Black Ice Guard, he was not allowed to spend the night in the imperial city.

As he left the imperial city, Wu De looked back at the majestic city and sighed. He truly hadn't expected that a mere eunuch could turn away a dignified commander of the Black Ice Guard.

He figured that the damned eunuch hadn't even reported his request for an audience to the emperor. Now, people's hearts were truly scattered; anyone dared to cause trouble.

The eunuch chief who was beaten to death earlier actually dared to steal the imperial seal and have Scholar Zhou, the drafter of imperial edicts, falsely convey the imperial decree. His audacity was truly boundless.

Eunuch Huang was beaten to death, but Scholar Zhou is still alive and well in Chang'an. There's nothing we can do about it; after all, he has connections with Linghu Ye! No one in the court wants to offend Linghu Ye to the death, and besides, this matter is really not easy to bring up openly. So they could only find another charge to dismiss Scholar Zhou.

Such is the way of the world, what more can be said? Not only was I turned away today, but even the magistrate was once refused entry.

However, these eunuchs dared not stop him; it was Yiming and his men who stopped the Grand Magistrate.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the world is in such a state, and you are still in the deep palace, dreaming of entering a divine realm by taking drugs?

Even if you enter a state of spiritual wandering, what difference will it make?

Could that save the Qin Dynasty from its dire straits?
If that's true, how could He Qingqiu have lost and died back then?
Wu De suddenly stopped in his tracks. Why did he think of He Qingqiu at this moment?
Oh, right, He Qingqiu, Li Dachui!

He pulled out the blood-stained metal cylinder and gripped it tightly in his hand.

The Anxi Protectorate and the Inspectorate of the Pass jointly petitioned to establish the Beiting Protectorate, but the Protector-General was not Xiao Changche, but Li Dachui.

In other words, those outside the Great Wall have already determined their own leader.

We are simply asking the imperial court for confirmation.

Li Dachui is also a descendant of the Li family.

Wu De took a deep breath, shuddering at his own crazy idea.

He had met Li Dachui and had known him for a long time.

Only someone like that is worthy of ruling the world and being the master of the world!

Wu De stuffed the tube into his pocket, took a deep breath, then mounted his horse and galloped straight towards a place in the city.

That direction leads to the residence of Zhang Ruo, the Inspector General of the Outer Pass, which is also the headquarters of the Zhi Qiu Academy under Li Dachui in Chang'an. The person in charge is naturally Zhang Qingyun.

(End of this chapter)