knife

Chapter 317 The Post-Black Ice Platform Era
He Bing stood behind a flowering tree, looking at a stone house not far ahead.

That was Wu De's public housing.

In recent years, with the support of Da Yin Kou Zhong, Wu De has risen rapidly. Before Da Yin's death, Wu De's strength in the Black Ice Platform was actually second only to one person and above ten thousand others.

The magistrate's order to inspect the entire realm allowed Wu De to legitimately begin expanding his power, and at that time, I enthusiastically provided him with countless forms of assistance.

Who would have thought that Da Yin would die?
One had one foot in the Divine Realm, and the other had stayed in the Innate Realm for decades. Although he looked sickly, He Bing always believed that even if he died, Da Yin would still live in such a sickly state.

As long as Da Yin lives, neither he nor Wu De will ever be anything more than a knife in Da Yin's hand.

Now that Da Yin is dead, the Black Ice Bureau needs another leader.

After he finally became the Grand Yin, he discovered that the most powerful person in the Black Ice Bureau was actually Wu De.

In his early years, Wu De traveled the world and set up hidden agents. When the Black Ice Guard's open organizations were being eroded by powerful families in various regions, these hidden agents, set up as a precaution, became the true eyes and ears of the Black Ice Guard.

These people were under Wu De's control.

Upon returning to Chang'an, Wu De established an inspection team. He had initially thought it would be a difficult task, but Wu De managed to do it smoothly. The inspection team of 5,000 people was formed in just a few months, and after the situation changed drastically this year, the inspection team expanded to 10,000 people in a very short period of time.

He Bing made a special trip to investigate and found that Wu De's expanded inspection team was not just a bunch of random people recruited to fill positions, but an extremely elite force. In particular, the officers were clearly not novices; they were obviously veterans who were very familiar with military affairs. Moreover, as a senior member of the Black Ice Bureau, He Bing had a very keen sense of smell, and these newly recruited officers possessed the dual characteristics of soldiers and secret agents.

This puzzled He Bing.

How did Wu De find these talents in such a short time?

Moreover, how did he manage to obtain sufficient military equipment and supplies from the Ministry of War so easily?

Zhang Songlin has never been interested in the Black Ice Guard. In the past, whenever he wanted to get the military equipment and supplies that the Black Ice Guard was entitled to from there, he would always make excuses.

Whether or not he can understand these things, Wu De is currently ranked second in the Black Ice Station, but his strength is firmly number one.

Those who work at the Black Ice Bureau are all shrewd and cunning, always quick to judge people. He claims to be the Grand Magistrate, but when it comes to words, he's not nearly as effective as Wu De.

He had already reached an agreement with Grand Secretary Wei Zhengdao: he would cooperate with him, and Wei would help him seize power from Wu De. The two had finalized their plan to send Wu De to Sichuan to expand the territory and create an escape route for the court.

When Wu De enters Sichuan, he will take half of the inspection team with him, so the remaining half will naturally fall into his hands.

Although it's only half, it's still much better than my current situation.

However, the situation has changed drastically, and he has to reconsider his relationship with Wei Zhengdao.

Once he falls out with Wei Zhengdao, he can't withstand the other party's anger and retaliation. Only by joining forces with Wu De can he contend with him and even do more.

Right now, He Bing felt quite uncomfortable having to swallow her pride and go to Wu De.

After much deliberation, He Bing decided that the bigger picture was more important than saving face. He dusted off non-existent dust, coughed lightly, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked toward Wu De's office.

Wu De's place was far from quiet; it was bustling with people coming and going.

Upon seeing He Bing arrive, everyone showed surprise, but also bowed respectfully.

Stepping into Wu De's office, one could only see half of Wu De's head. Wu De was engrossed in writing, while in front of him, an officer was rambling on about the distribution of supplies, saying that a certain regiment had received more and better supplies, while others felt it was unfair and so on.

Wu De coughed lightly, looked up, saw He Bing, and immediately stood up to greet him. He waved for the officer to leave, then smiled and said, "What brings you here, Deputy Governor? Oh, no, no, you're the Governor now, I just used to call you that, please don't mind!"

He Bing smiled and pulled over a chair to sit down on his own: "Hearing you call me Deputy Yin really makes me feel close to you. It's a pity that the First Yin was assassinated and died so mysteriously."

"I will settle this score with the Yang family of Hongnong one day!" Wu De poured He Bing a glass of water and handed it to him.

“There must be something fishy about this. How could Yang Jian alone kill Da Yin?” He Bing shook his head and said, “But we’ll probably never find out the truth behind it.”

“Since we can’t find out, then let’s go after the Yang family of Hongnong!” Wu De said in a deep voice. “Grand Magistrate, is there something important you want to tell me today?” He Bing nodded, put down his teacup, and looked at Wu De: “His Majesty is gone. We were both present at this, so there’s not much to say. But Wei Zhengdao’s audacity in the death of the Crown Prince is truly outrageous.”

"You think the Wei family did this?"

“Hong Zhan is a retainer of the Wei clan. He committed murder in broad daylight outside the East Gate. He was so blatant. With the death of the Grand Chancellor, the Wei clan is no longer restrained. Their ambition to seize power and disrupt the government is obvious. I think his next step will definitely be to install an ignorant little emperor and then use the emperor's name to command the princes! Should our Black Ice Guard still cooperate with such a person?”

Wu De was taken aback: "Magistrate, what do you mean?"

“Of course we must sever ties with him!” He Bing said, “This matter has now spread throughout the world. Linghu Ye’s army is coming south, one of which came from Yuncheng, and the other, which had already reached Luoyang, has now turned back towards Chang’an.”

Wu De said, "It's not just Linghu Ye. Now, nearly twenty prefectures and counties have issued proclamations denouncing the Wei clan, and five groups have directly raised troops to attack Chang'an. In total, there are more than 200,000 troops. If we include the laborers and able-bodied men, the number is probably as high as 600,000 or 700,000!"

“The Wei family has already incurred the wrath of the masses. Can our Black Ice Guard still be tied to them?” He Bing said, “If we don’t sever ties soon, I’m afraid it will implicate the Black Ice Guard!”

"Great Minister, the Emperor's death was entirely his own fault, and you can't blame Wei Zhengdao. I was there at the time; if a mad Emperor had escaped, the entire Qin Empire would have suffered!" Wu De said. "As for the Crown Prince's death, heh heh, do you believe Wei Zhengdao sent someone to kill him? Such behavior makes it seem like he's afraid people won't know it was the Wei family who killed him. Anyone who isn't blind can see through such an obvious frame-up!"

Upon hearing this, He Bing's expression darkened: "Does it matter whether the Wei family killed him or not?"

"Isn't it important?" Wu De countered.

He Bing exhaled a breath of stale air and his face darkened.

"Grand Magistrate, did those people really come to Chang'an to avenge His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince?" Wu De sneered, "They are all ambitious and want to replace the Great Qin. Bah! They want me to cooperate with them? Dream on!"

He Bing angrily said, "Even if our Black Ice Platform helps him, can the Wei family withstand the attack of all the heroes in the world this time?"

“They are called heroes of the world, but they are nothing more than a rabble, each with their own agenda!” Wu De said. “We only need to guard against one or two of them. In my opinion, the rest are just a hindrance. With them around, Chang’an can actually be defended for longer.”

"Without external reinforcements and without any defensible cities within," He Bing said, "the Wei family has incurred the wrath of the people, and this time they are destined to lose."

"Whether we lose or not is a matter for the future!" Wu De said, "Grand Chancellor, right now, the only ones truly supporting the Qin Dynasty are the Wei family. We, the Black Ice Guard, have always been loyal dogs of the Qin Dynasty. How can we abandon those who truly fight for the Qin Dynasty and instead fawn over traitors who want to overthrow the Qin Dynasty!"

"Who said I'm going to fawn over these traitors? I just don't want the Grand Chancellor's life's work to be ruined!"

“The Black Ice Platform cannot be destroyed!” Wu De walked to the window, looked at the towering Star-Picking Platform in the distance, and said calmly, “The Black Ice Platform in Chang’an is just a symbol. As long as we are still here, it cannot be the Black Ice Platform.”

"Are you still going to Shu to build a backup plan for the Wei family?"

"It's not for the Wei family, it's for the Qin Dynasty!" Wu De said, "Minister, the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released. I'm about to leave. Whatever your plans are, I suggest you wait and see. Chang'an won't be so easily captured. And what about us old Black Ice Guards? If we really join those who are heading to Chang'an, will we have a good ending?"

He Bing lowered his head and remained silent.

"Great Magistrate, don't forget that we killed all those powerful families in Hedong, Hexi and Bohai. You were the one who issued those orders one by one."

He Bing suddenly looked up.

"Minister, we have no way out. I will go to Shu, and you will stay in Chang'an to fight for the Qin Dynasty!" Wu De turned and walked back behind the desk, sitting down. "The thousands of inspectors remaining in Chang'an are now in your hands. At this time, we must not be half-hearted. Minister, I am only being so frank with you because of how good you have been to me over the years and how you have always taken care of me. It is also for this reason that I have not exposed your actions behind the scenes these days. The Black Ice Guard now needs the two of us to work together closely. You are good at paperwork, so continue with that; I am good at action and practical matters, so I will do what I am good at."

After saying these words, Wu De buried himself in reviewing documents. He Bing stared at him blankly for a long time before standing up and walking out.

Watching He Bing's retreating figure, Wu De sighed.

He genuinely didn't want to fall out with He Bing.

I just hope he doesn't make a mistake, otherwise the Wei family will definitely not hold back at such a critical moment.

In order to secure Chang'an, a major purge is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)