knife

Chapter 349 A cunning rabbit has three burrows

He Bing has locked himself in his study for three whole days.

The family was anxious and worried.

Because something like this has never happened before in all these years.

If it weren't for something extremely difficult, someone of He Bing's rank wouldn't be so indecisive.

Those waiting outside could occasionally hear things breaking and even He Bing's suppressed roars.

He Yu chased everyone away and waited outside alone.

Only he had a general idea of ​​why his elder brother had lost his composure.

The person who came that day was Zhou Gang, representing Linghu Ye.

Zhou Gang's purpose in coming was naturally to persuade them to surrender.
He Yu thought that his elder brother was now undecided about whether to follow the Wei family to the end or to join Linghu Ye.

This is a dilemma.

By joining forces with the Wei family, He Bing still had a certain degree of initiative and could be considered a partner.

However, if He Bing were to join Linghuye, he would likely become a subordinate to him completely.

But the reality is that Chang'an is indeed indefensible, and Linghu Ye's power is undeniable.

But once they entered Sichuan, Wu De had already become too powerful, so He Bing would definitely have to step aside.

Let alone the eldest brother having to consider the advancement and retreat of the entire clan, even if he only considered the honor and disgrace of his own family, he would still feel a headache.

The door was suddenly opened, and He Yu looked up to see her older brother.

He Yu was somewhat surprised by He Bing's condition.

With disheveled hair, sunken eyes, high cheekbones, and bloodshot eyes, he looked extremely haggard. The anxiety and unease in his eyes shocked He Yu even more.

For many years, He Bing's impression of him has always been that he is confident and has everything arranged properly. As a veteran of the Black Ice Station, He Bing has always been extremely thorough in his considerations, and basically no one can find any obvious loopholes.

"Big brother!"

"Come in!" He Bing turned and walked into the room.

Stepping into the study, he turned and closed the door: "Brother, I've already persuaded my sister-in-law and the children to go back home."

He Bing nodded: "There are some things I need you to know. They concern the life and death of our He family. There are many things that need your attention."

"Big brother, is it that serious?" He Yu asked cautiously.

"Li Dachui of the Beiting Protectorate is said to be the posthumous son of Li Zemin and He Qingqiu!" He Bing's words stunned He Yu, who stared at his elder brother in disbelief and stammered, "Wait, weren't they all dead?"

"This is the message Zhou Gang gave me about Linghu Ye that day!"

"Is it true or false? Or is it just empty threats?" He Yu asked.

“We have no way of verifying its authenticity, nor can we verify it,” He Bing shook his head and said. “Whether it’s true or false is not important. What’s important is the impact this news has on many people.”

"Brother, if this is true, we, our He family..."

"May he die without a burial place!" He Bing said, "You know more or less about what happened back then. Tell me, if Li Dachui really is the son of those two, would he be any better off than the He family?"

He Yu swallowed hard and said with some difficulty, "Brother, shouldn't we tell Prime Minister Wei about this?"

He Bing smiled and said, "Tell him what the benefits are for us."

"Back then, the Wei family was the main player in that incident; we were at most just helping out!"

"Is there a difference?" He Bing shook his head. "More importantly, will telling Wei Zhengdao about this help our current situation?"

“No help! Only despair!” He Yu thought for a moment and said, “Huoyi has been lost, and Linghu’s army will probably enter Guanzhong soon and be at the city gates. Originally, everyone thought that there was a way out through Shu, but now it seems that this is not a way out at all, but another dead end. Li Dachui is too terrible. He is trying to sell out Wei Zhengdao and make the Wei family count the money for him.”

"If that's the case, why should I tell him? If I do, he'll probably drag me down with him, trying to tie me to him, and even if he dies, he'll want to take me with him!" He Bing sneered.

"Brother, do you mean we should join Linghu Ye?" He Yu whispered, "When Linghu's army arrives in Chang'an, we can act as inside agents to open the city gates and welcome Linghu's army?" He Bing looked at He Yu, but the smile on his face slowly disappeared, and his eyes made He Yu feel a little scared.

"Brother, I was just saying!"

"Second brother, you must carefully consider the causes and consequences, the gains and losses, before you speak!" He Bing scolded.

He Yu immediately stood up, bowed his head and said, "Brother is right to teach me a lesson, I will remember it."

"Sit down and let's talk!" He Bing sighed.

"Brother, what should we do? If Li Dachui's side is unreliable, do we have a third option besides seeking refuge with Linghuye?"

"What kind of organization is Linghu Ye?" He Bing asked with a cold smile. "The Linghu clan is a powerful clan. When Linghu Ye entered Guanzhong, many people responded to his call. The Yang family of Hongnong has also clearly sided with them. After taking Huoyi, the Guanzhong aristocratic group will probably also join them. To put it bluntly, they are a union of powerful clans and families, which is why they are so powerful so far. As for our He family, in the past few years, how many powerful families and clans have we destroyed in cooperation with Huo Dayin and Wei Zhengdao? Especially in the battles in Hedong and Hexi, these powerful clans hate us to death."

He Yu said with a long face, "Who knew it would turn out like this?"

“The strong never need to cry, they only think of solutions!” He Bing said, “Linghu Ye needs me now, so he is trying his best to win me over. But once he has truly settled the situation, he will inevitably betray me in order to win over those big clans and families. When that happens, our He clan will still be unable to escape the fate of extermination! Because we have already offended these people, and these people are the most vengeful.”

“Wei’s family is unreliable, Linghu’s family is not dependable, and Li Dachui is a deadly scythe. What should we do?” He Yu asked.

“This is exactly the problem I’ve been pondering for the past three days!” He Bing said. “No matter how difficult the problem is, there is always a solution. It’s just a matter of whether we can find the key to solve it.”

"So, Big Brother has found the key to solving this problem?" He Yu suddenly became excited.

"Tell me, besides Linghu Ye, whose territory in this world can the He family have a place?"

"Zhang Quanyi?" He Yu shook his head before the words were even out of his mouth. "Luoyang is a battleground, and Zhang Quanyi can temporarily establish a separatist regime, but he doesn't have the bearing of a ruler. In the long run, he'll inevitably lose power and even fail. Brother, speaking of which, the only one we have dealings with who also possesses the potential to be a powerful figure is He Zudao in the South. Although he seems to be facing some difficulties in the South right now, I believe those bumpkins there are no match for him. Dominating the South is only a matter of time!"

He Bing laughed and nodded: "This analysis is quite accurate."

"Should we seek refuge with He Zudao? But he also has a grudge against us. We've schemed against him too!"

“That’s a matter for Magistrate Kou,” He Bing said with a smile. “Besides, He Zudao is also someone who is irreconcilably opposed to the powerful clans. He shares common enemies and interests with me, and my joining will greatly increase his strength. I believe that someone like him, who can calculate everything so clearly, cannot fail to see this. Therefore, the South will be the next stop for our He family!”

"Then, brother, we'll secretly arrange for our family to head south!" He Yu said.

“This is no difficult task!” He Bing said. “I’ve been with the Black Ice Bureau for so many years. Arranging for my family to leave is a small matter that I can easily handle. You don’t need to worry about this. I have other important matters to arrange for you to handle.”

"What does my brother want me to do?" He Yu asked.

He Bing stood up, walked behind the large table, opened the bookshelf, opened the hidden compartment, took out a small box from inside, and pushed the small box in front of He Yu.

He Yu opened the small box with some doubt, but after flipping through only two pages, he looked up at his older brother in shock.

“These are the moles that the Black Ice Guard has planted in Southern Chu over the years. The lists of both the overt and covert lines are on this,” He Bing said.

He Yu's lips trembled slightly, "Big, Big Brother, what, what are you doing?"

"Take this box and head to Southern Chu!"

"Brother, do you want me to use this as a pledge of loyalty to go and join the Southern Chu?" He Yu said in a panic, "If I really do this, the matter will definitely be exposed. In the land of Qin, where will our He family have a place to stand? At that time, I'm afraid everyone will want to kill us unless our whole family goes to the Southern Chu!"

"Who said you were to use this as a pledge of allegiance!" He Bing retorted angrily. "I only asked you to take these things and hide them in Southern Chu. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. He Zudao's place is one of ours, but I naturally need to set up another one as a backup plan!"

"What to do?"

"You just need to hide well, I'll take care of the rest!" He Bing said, "This is just our last resort to save our lives. If we can't stay in Da Qin, going to Nan Chu won't make us look like trash. But as long as there's a way out, we naturally won't take this path."

"Okay, then I'll leave tomorrow."

"When you go to Southern Chu, try to keep a low profile. Southern Chu's Tianluo is not easy to deal with."

“Don’t worry, brother. I’ve always had an identity established in Southern Chu. When I go there, I’ll just be an ordinary small merchant; no one will know I’m your brother!” He Yu said. “Then, brother, what are your plans for dealing with Linghu Ye?”

Let's stall for now.

"Arranging for family members to leave is not difficult, but it's not easy for you, brother, to leave Chang'an. A tall tree catches the wind. It's easy to hide it from others, but you can't hide it from Wei Zhengdao!"

"I'm planning to go to Luoyang under the pretext of meeting Zhang Quanyi!" He Bing said. "Zhang Quanyi is ambiguous and needs to be sounded out. No one else has the authority to do it, so only I can go!"

(End of this chapter)