knife

Chapter 321 It's not a pity that Sun sold off his grandfather's land.

On one side of Ba Bridge, the Zhou family's convoy was parked, while on the other side, Zhou Gang was bidding a reluctant farewell to Zhang Qingyun.

An elder-looking man from the Zhou family anxiously peered out from the other side of the bridge, clearly wanting to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible, but not daring to disturb Zhang Qingyun. The Zhou family was able to leave this time because of this woman.

Zhang Qingyun smiled and broke off a willow branch, placing it in Zhou Gang's hand.

"Three years ago, you broke off a willow branch to see me off; three years later, it's my turn to see you off. Brother Zhou, take care on your journey!"

Zhou Gang's eyes reddened slightly as he took the willow branch and held it tightly in his hand: "You must take care of yourself too. Chang'an is about to become a battleground, and war is dangerous. You must be careful."

Zhang Qingyun smiled and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. As long as the Wei family doesn't fall, I'm safe here. Even if Linghu Ye breaks through Chang'an and attacks, you're still here, aren't you? Can you just stand by and watch me get bullied?"

Zhou Gang said solemnly, "If that day ever comes, I will risk my life to protect you."

Seeing the other party's solemn expression, Zhang Qingyun felt a little guilty and said softly, "Brother Zhou, let's go, your elders are getting impatient!"

Looking back, Zhou Gang mounted his horse, took a few steps, then turned back again: "Qingyun, I know that I am not good enough for you right now, but I still have the right to like you, don't I? Don't be angry. Unless I can rise to prominence and stand confidently in front of you in the future, I will not express my feelings to you again. Otherwise, I will never bother you again. I'm leaving!"

After saying this, without waiting for Zhang Qingyun's reply, he spurred his horse, crossed the Ba Bridge, reunited with his family, and then headed north.

Watching the smoke and dust gradually disappear into the distance, Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but sigh softly.

“Miss, this young master Zhou is quite the romantic, I think he’s very good! He’s handsome, talented and skilled in martial arts, and deeply in love with you, Miss. He’s someone you can entrust your life to!” Luo Ying said to Zhang Qingyun with a smile.

"What do you know?" Zhang Qingyun spat at him: "You're so young, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!"

“Miss, you’re only a year older than me!” Luo Ying said. “When I left the border region, my mother told me that I was getting old and that I should take care of my own marriage. She even asked my uncle to find me a match!”

"What did your mother say?" Zhang Qingyun asked with great interest. Her mother had passed away early, and her father had never remarried. There were some things that her mother should have taught her, but no one in the Zhang family had told Zhang Qingyun. Although there were many nannies and maids in the past, there were some things that these people dared not speak up about.

Luo Ying thought for a moment and said, "My mother said that if you want to find someone to spend your life with and rely on, you must find someone who likes you."

"Ok?"

"Only when someone likes you will they care about you, be concerned about you, cherish you, think what you think, be anxious about what you are anxious about, and make you the center of their world!" Luo Ying said.

But the person who likes you isn't necessarily the person you like!

“Mutual affection is wonderful, but such people are hard to find.” Luo Ying shook her head and said, “If you find someone you like but who doesn’t like you back, or someone who doesn’t care much about you, then you’re doomed for life! That’s what my mother told me. She didn’t study and only knew how to fight, but I think her words make a lot of sense. It’s probably from her own painful experience! My father had several concubines besides my mother!”

Zhang Qingyun didn't speak, but her expression wasn't good.

"Miss, don't take it to heart. I was just talking nonsense!" Luo Ying looked at the other person's expression, feeling somewhat uneasy.

“No, what you said makes a lot of sense. It’s just that sometimes people always want to fight for mutual affection. Only when that doesn’t work out will they settle for second best!” Zhang Qingyun said.

"Life is full of disappointments, and it's rare to find even one or two things that bring satisfaction!" Luo Ying sighed, as if she had experienced many hardships.

Zhang Qingyun suddenly remembered when he met Luo Ying. He had just arrived outside the Great Wall. At that time, Luo Ying was just fifteen years old. He launched an attack on someone whose martial arts skills were far superior to his, in order to avenge his sister.

In the end, he did get his revenge, but his sister remained depressed afterward and eventually became a nun. Whenever Luo Ying talked about these things, he would feel sad.

"Luo Ying, you must also be careful. In this battle of Chang'an, the remaining inspection team will definitely be incorporated into the defense of the city. Moreover, since you are not direct descendants of the Wei family, you will definitely be sent wherever it is dangerous. You must be careful to protect yourselves first. We are cooperating with the Wei family, not risking our lives for them. If we can do it, we will do it; if we can't, we will leave! We are not part of the Wei family and have no way out, understand?"

“I understand, Miss!” Luo Ying nodded.

A few days ago, Wu De led 5,000 elite inspectors on their journey into Sichuan, with Li Dachui accompanying them. The first group of people who returned with Zhang Qingyun stayed behind this time because they were more familiar with Chang'an. Some assisted Zhang Qingyun in intelligence gathering and coordination, while others participated in combat within the inspectors.

The remaining thousands of men were nominally under He Bing's command, but because the lower and middle-ranking officers were all people like Luo Liang and Luo Ying, they could easily sideline He Bing's troops at crucial moments and make decisions that were most beneficial to them.

This is one of the reasons why Wu De felt at ease leaving.

The Wei clan is indeed in dire straits, but their strength is still extremely formidable. At least in Li Dachui's view, with the population and reserves of Chang'an and its surrounding areas, they can easily hold out for a year or two if managed properly.

A year or two is enough time for many things to happen in this world. This is why, despite the shock and anger at the successive deaths of the emperor and the crown prince, Wei Zhengdao did not lose his composure.

Unlike the Kou family, the Wei family is a local power in Chang'an. For many years, they have held the reins of government. The strength that the Wei family has shown on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg.

The situation is now pressing, and there's no longer any need to hide their strength. The Wei clan is finally about to show their fangs.

One month after Li Tai's death, while Wu De was leading his troops toward Shu, Wei Zhengdao brazenly installed Li Anmin's youngest son, Li Ping, who was only eight years old at the time, as emperor in Chang'an, and changed the era name to Dazhi.

Didn't you say that Lao Tzu used the emperor to command the feudal lords?
Then I'll show you.
What can you do to me?

If you're so capable, come to Chang'an and have a showdown with me.

Upon assuming the throne, the new emperor immediately issued an edict granting amnesty to the entire realm and lavishly rewarding heroes from all walks of life.

Of course, those who are heading towards Chang'an cannot be considered heroes; they can only be considered rebels.

The imperial court's rewards were given to those who were still observing the political climate, or to those who were truly loyal to the court.

In the past, the Qin Dynasty was very stingy with titles of nobility. Basically, it was impossible for a living person to be made a king, it was impossible for someone without military merit to be made a marquis, and it was impossible for someone without great merit in supporting and protecting the king to be made a duke.

But this time, when Li Ping took office, the Duke and the Marquis generously distributed the money.

The most insidious move was the granting of fiefdoms to these dukes and marquises. In the past, these fiefdoms were merely nominal; you would simply receive money, but you would never actually be allowed to govern the land. Now, however, they were no longer nominal but were genuinely bestowed upon those who received them. The imperial decree even required those who received the fiefdoms to take up their posts as soon as possible.

This is clearly a scam.

For example, the young Emperor Li Ping enfeoffed Ke Zhen, the governor of Xindu County, as the Marquis of Jibei. However, Jibei was not in Xindu, but in Qi County. But who was actually in control of Qi County now?

The hand of the Chen family.

Will the newly appointed Marquis of Jibei be able to go to Jibei to obtain his fiefdom?
We'll have to ask the Chen family if they agree.

If we don't agree, the Ke family will definitely be unhappy.

You agreed, so how about letting the Ke family carve out a gap in your territory?

It's naturally uncomfortable.

Taking advantage of his control over the central government, and by using the young emperor's name, Wei Zhengdao offered up titles of nobility and dukedom without hesitation. Would anyone refuse such a reward?

Are you kidding me?
This is a legitimate imperial decree. From now on, our family will be people with noble titles, worthy of being recorded in local chronicles or family histories. When someone in our family dies, the scale and ceremony of their burial will be vastly different.

How could I possibly refuse such an honor?

As for what trouble might come up after we take it, we'll see when the time comes!
It must be said that Wei Zhengdao was indeed shrewd. With just this one move, he immediately reduced the number of heroes marching towards Chang'an by half. His own backyard was already on fire. If he wanted to cleanse the world and bring peace to the land, he had to deal with his own troubles first.

With the world in turmoil, the only territory that the central government in Chang'an could control was Chang'an and its surrounding areas. Now, even Zhang Quanyi in Luoyang was just humming and hawing.

Since the land in this world isn't theirs anyway, Sun didn't regret selling his grandfather's land, so why would the Wei family feel bad about selling the Li family's property?

Wait until they themselves become a mess due to their own conflicts of interest, then come and reap the benefits.

When the time comes, even the position of prince can be usurped by a few.

Then, we can even use two peaches to kill three warriors.

On the road to Sichuan, Li Dachui looked at the densely packed list of rewards in his hand and couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

“In just a few short days, the number of dukes and marquises bestowed by our new emperor has already matched all the titles conferred since the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty. Tsk tsk tsk, Wei Zhengdao is really generous!” Li Dachui stared at the list.

(End of this chapter)