knife

Chapter 347 Panic
Zhou Gang, son of Scholar Zhou.

He Bing never expected that it would be this kind of person who came to see her.

Several months ago, Scholar Zhou and his family left Chang'an, and it was Wu De who pleaded for them.

It is common knowledge that the Zhou family is now working for Linghu Ye.

Zhou Gang's trip must have been on Linghu Ye's orders. If it weren't for that position, his own brothers probably wouldn't have bothered with this once-famous playboy from Chang'an.

"Why did Linghu Ye send you back?" He Bing didn't mince words and asked bluntly, "To persuade me to surrender? Your father would be more likely to come back. Do you think you're qualified to sit down and discuss matters with me?"

Looking at He Bing, who sat down with an air of superiority and stared coldly at him, Zhou Gang felt somewhat ashamed and annoyed. He wanted to retaliate with insults, but in the end, he swallowed his anger.

In fact, He Bing was right. In terms of status, he was indeed far inferior to the other party.

“Magistrate, I have come on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. I’m sure you understand the current situation. You should consider your options carefully!” Zhou Gang bowed and said, “I am certainly not qualified to be a lobbyist, but I can certainly fulfill my mission as a messenger!”

He Bing sneered: "You left, so what are you doing back? Aren't you afraid I'll capture you and throw you in the Black Ice Platform? Now that the two armies are facing off, the fate of spies and agents is not good."

Zhou Gang shrugged: "Of course I didn't want to come back either, but I had no choice. Once you've eaten the Marshal's food, you have to obey his orders. Even though I know the future isn't looking good, I have no choice but to come back. The only thing I can gamble on is that someone like He Dayin won't hold a grudge against a junior like me."

He Bing glanced at Zhou Gang, who was talking eloquently, and suddenly burst into laughter: "You seem to have improved a lot. The naive boy from before is now starting to understand things."

“People always have to grow up!” Zhou Gang said, “The Zhou family has gone through such a big storm, and as its son, I have to shoulder some responsibility in order to live up to the indulgence and pampering my family has given me over the years!”

He Bing nodded: "That makes sense. Scholar Zhou's calligraphy, poetry, essays, and paintings are all top-notch, but when it comes to politics, he inevitably seems naive. I don't know how much you gave Wu De to get him to speak on your behalf, but since you've entered this line of work, I still want to advise you as an elder: don't be as foolish as your father!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Magistrate!"

"Alright, now tell me, how do you want Linghu Ye to convince me?" He Bing leaned back, looking at Zhou Gang with a half-smile.

"The commander-in-chief only asked me to pass on a message. He said that the governor is a sensible man and there is no need to say more!" Zhou Gang said, "Asking me to act as an advocate and speak in front of the governor would only make me a laughing stock."

"Do you know we've already taken over Sichuan?" He Bing laughed. "Is Commander Linghu getting anxious?"

“It was Li Dachui who took over Sichuan, not you!” Zhou Gang shook his head and said.

"It seems Commander Linghu is quite well-informed!" He Bing laughed. "Having heard it's Li Dachui, Commander Linghu, are you even more anxious? We've already reached an agreement with Protector Li of Beiting and formed an alliance. The Beiting Protectorate's army will soon enter the pass and march south to rescue the emperor. Commander Linghu, how will you deal with this?"

Zhou Gang laughed and said, "Why does the Grand Magistrate need to use empty words to intimidate a junior like me! If it weren't for the General's personal instructions before I left, I would have truly believed your words."

"What? You don't believe me? If we hadn't formed an alliance with Beiting, how could Li Dachui have joined forces with us to take over Shu? Zhou Gang, let me tell you the truth, in order to form an alliance with Beiting, the court has decided to promote Li Dachui to the rank of King, the King of Zhenbei! In the hundreds of years of history of the Great Qin, he is the first person who is not of royal blood to be granted the title of King."

Zhou Gang glanced at He Bing, just smiled, and didn't say anything.

"Don't believe me? Do you want me to take you to see Chief Minister Wei and ask him personally? Or go to the new Imperial Edict Drafter and see the freshly issued imperial edict. You should know that place well!"

“I believe it!” Zhou Gang laughed, “but I don’t think Li Dachui cares about this worthless Prince of Zhenbei!”

Seeing Zhou Gang's confident expression, He Bing couldn't help but feel a little strange: "How do you know that Li Dachui doesn't care? This is an unprecedented honor since the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty, a one-of-a-kind event."

Zhou Gang leaned forward, lowered his voice, and asked, "Magistrate, do you know who Li Dachui's parents are?"

"Huh?" He Bing looked at Zhou Gang with a puzzled expression.

"Li Dachui's biological father is Li Jimin, and his biological mother is He Qingqiu!" With a crash, the teacup in He Bing's hand fell to the ground and shattered. The sturdy chair beneath her made a dull thud before turning into a pile of fragments. He Bing remained seated, one hand still holding the cup.

He Bing is a peak ninth-grade Xuan Yuan expert, but he is completely out of control right now.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" After a long while, He Bing slowly straightened up, glaring at Zhou Gang. Gone was her previous composure; now she looked like she was about to devour him, making Zhou Gang feel a chill. "Linghu Ye sent you back just to spread this rumor?"

However, considering his current status, he still mustered up his courage and stood straight in front of He Bing.

“Back then, during the Chang’an Incident, He Dayin should have been a high-ranking official in the Black Ice Bureau. On the contrary, Wu De was just starting out at that time and had neither the qualifications nor the ability to participate!” Zhou Gang said, “So Li Dachui’s partner after entering the pass was Wu De, not you, He Dayin. I suppose he also knew about what happened back then.”

“That person has no descendants!” He Bing’s voice was very low, as if it came from the deepest hell. The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and Zhou Gang involuntarily shrank his head.

“He Qingqiu had a close friend back then named Zhou Xingxing!” Zhou Gang said, “With the Black Ice Guard’s capabilities, they should have been able to investigate this matter thoroughly back then. After the Chang’an Incident, Zhou Xingxing disappeared, right?”

He Bing stared intently at Zhou Gang.

"But in the same year, a martial arts master named Zhou Zhi, a peak eighth-grade Xuan Yuan expert, appeared outside the pass. He brought a small baby with him and entrusted the baby to a small village before starting his struggle outside the pass!" Zhou Gang muttered to himself, as if telling a story from a long time ago. "This Zhou Zhi was very powerful. He quickly cultivated to the ninth grade of Xuan Yuan, seized a place, and built Tai'an City. Later, he cultivated all the way to the Xiantian realm, becoming the only Xiantian expert outside the pass at that time. Tai'an City officially became a force outside the pass, and their young city lord was named Li Dachui! You said Zhou Zhi's surname was Zhou, so why is the young city lord of Tai'an City surnamed Li?"

With two cracking sounds, He Bing crushed the blue bricks beneath his feet.

"If this Li Dachui is really a descendant of Li Jimin, would Linghu Ye have tolerated him growing up all this time?" He Bing sneered.

"What is there to worry about, Commander-in-Chief!" Zhou Gang said, "Back then, during the purge outside the Great Wall, you were just a mid-level general, acting under orders. You didn't have any deep-seated hatred for Li Dachui. Besides, by the time you investigated these matters, he had a master of innate cultivation backing him up. What could you do? You certainly didn't expect things to develop to this point. So, He Dayin, do you still think Li Dachui cares about this so-called Prince of Zhenbei? Or rather, do you really think Li Dachui will ally with you?"

He Bing's face turned extremely ugly.

"Da Yin, you're already standing on the edge of a cliff!" Zhou Gang said, "Our commander sent me here to help you out. You should think this through carefully. Wei Zhengdao was personally involved in planning that incident back then, and Li Dachui will definitely not let him go. Everything now is just Li Dachui making the most of Wei Zhengdao before killing him. It's truly admirable; isn't this the most ingenious method of revenge in the world?"

He Bing felt a chill.

If Li Dachui's identity wasn't fabricated by Linghu Ye to sow discord between them and the Beiting Protectorate, then Li Dachui's cunning is truly terrifying.

Currently, the Wei clan is preparing to defend Chang'an while simultaneously formulating a contingency plan to systematically transfer funds and technology to Shu. If Chang'an can be defended, it will be defended; if not, they will retreat to Shu. The first step to be taken is to evacuate all members of the royal family, concubines, and of course, a large amount of wealth from the inner palace. Only one emperor will remain in Chang'an.

Once Chang'an falls and is captured by Linghu Ye, Linghu Ye will not be able to find a powerful member of the royal family to install as a puppet. The Wei family, who have retreated to Shu, can still use the emperor to command the feudal lords.

However, if Li Dachui is indeed a descendant of Li Jiming and He Qingqiu, then the Wei family, who retreated to Shu, would be walking into a trap. At that time, Li Dachui would not be polite at all, and it would be considered merciful of him not torturing Wei Zhengdao to death.

But what about himself? Would Li Dachui let him off the hook?

Kou Zhong is dead. Of those who participated in this incident back then, very few are still alive.

And I am one of those people who are alive.

Although he didn't personally participate in the siege of He Qingqiu and Li Jimin, he was involved in everything from intelligence gathering and planning to contacting various experts and even persuading He Qiku to betray the Crown Prince. It was precisely because of these things that he eventually rose to become the Deputy Director of the Black Ice Guard, second only to the Crown Prince.

“Great Magistrate, the Wei family is doomed, whether in Chang'an or Shu, they are doomed. Do you really want to stick with them?” Zhou Gang said, “In this world, there are very few people who can protect you. Our Commander is one of them. Of course, you can go and wander the world, but what about the rest of the He family? They can run away, but they can’t hide!”

He Bing's breathing quickened, and after a long while, she said with some difficulty, "How can I be sure that Commander Linghu is telling the truth or that he is telling a huge lie?"

“You can ask Wu De!” Zhou Gang said.

(End of this chapter)