knife

Chapter 380 There is only one way to go
Yan Su, the commander of the Black Ice Guard stationed in Luoyang, is also Zhang Quanyi's trusted confidant and has always been loyal to Zhang Quanyi.

Now he is also a general under Zhang Quanyi who is in charge of intelligence, and of course, he does all the dirty work for Zhang Quanyi.

"They're gone!" he said solemnly in a low voice.

He has this habit: no matter how many people are around, he always speaks in a low voice.

Zhang Quanyi nodded: "Is everything arranged?"

“I have been making arrangements for this matter ever since they arrived in Luoyang,” he said solemnly. “As soon as they leave our territory, we can take action, and afterwards, we can perfectly pin the blame on Yang Lixin.”

"Are you confident?" Zhang Quanyi asked.

"Yang Lixin is stationed in Huai'an. What kind of people are under his command? They are the same group of bandits who used to roam the east and west banks of the Yellow River. In Luoyang, they have also recruited a lot of local ruffians and wandering knights. What's so strange about such a group of people being tempted by money, robbing this batch of goods, and unintentionally killing a few people?" Yan said seriously.

"He Zudao and Han Tan are exchanging glances and flirting. No matter what he means, I'll make him give up that idea!" Zhang Quanyi said. "This Han Zheng is really bold, daring to come here and make a scene. Very well, then let's get rid of him. I want to see if Han Tan, who even had his own son killed by He Zudao's men, will still be so determined to turn him against him."

"The girl's identity has also been confirmed. Her surname is Jiang, the Jiang of Jiang Qian!" he said solemnly.

Zhang Quanyi was taken aback: "The Jiang family?"

“Princess Jiang Ping is deeply favored by Empress Dowager Jiang Qian of Southern Chu. In Danyang, she is a little devil that everyone fears, and no one dares to provoke her!” He said seriously, “This Han Zheng came with this woman.”

Zhang Quanyi laughed: "She really is a femme fatale. Can we capture Jiang Ping alive? If we can, we might be able to exchange her for something good from Southern Chu in the future."

"Try your best. Jiang Shiyuan is a ninth-grade Xuan Yuan expert. Once things go wrong, that old man will definitely protect Jiang Ping and help her escape."

"If all else fails, then kill him too!" Zhang Quanyi thought for a moment and said decisively, "If Jiang Ping also dies in Huai'an, both publicly and privately, Jiang Qian will never tolerate He Zudao again. Does He Zudao think he would kill Yang Lixin to please Jiang Qian?"

"Alright!" he said seriously. "Try to capture him alive. This time I detained dozens of members of the Cao Gang leader's family. If this guy wants his family to be safe, he'll have no choice but to obediently do things for us. This man is at the peak of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan. As long as he can restrain Jiang Shiyuan, we'll have a great chance to capture Jiang Ping alive."

“The Cao Gang is quite powerful, but he has always had unclear ties with the Southern Chu. This time we forced him to do this, so he will have no choice but to follow us wholeheartedly from now on,” Zhang Quanyi said. “With the Cao Gang, we will have more confidence in negotiating with He Zudao.”

He nodded solemnly.

Letting out a breath, Zhang Quanyi stood up and paced around the room a few times before asking, "Have you found any clues about He Bing's death?"

"The person who killed him was a master of innate level, there is no doubt about that!" he said seriously. "Moreover, judging from the situation at the scene, He Bing stayed with this murderer for a long time, talked for a long time, and drank quite a lot of alcohol."

"acquaintance?"

"It should be!"

"A master of innate skill who was acquainted with He Bing?" Zhang Quanyi tried hard to recall the past, but he couldn't come up with any ideas at all.

His own brother Zhang Quanli and hundreds of elite guards were all wiped out. Apart from some things left by the murderers to mislead them, there was nothing of value at the scene.

Li Tai was openly killed by a master of innate skill outside the east gate of Chang'an. Although the person was disguised as Hong Zhan, Zhang Quanyi could easily guess that the murderer was deliberately impersonating Hong Zhan.

"Are Fang Xiewen and the others okay?"

"They should be fine!" he said solemnly. "These men dare not return to Chang'an now. They are all skilled fighters. If Your Highness has no other objections, I intend to employ them, giving them a way out of this desperate situation. I imagine they will be willing to do anything for Your Highness from now on." "Since you judge them to be alright, then use them. I am also eager for talent right now. I have wiped out those powerful families and purged the army several times. There are indeed very few people I can trust!" Zhang Quanyi said.

"Then I'll thank Your Highness on behalf of Fang Xiewen and the others!" Yan Su rarely showed a smile: "Fang Xiewen and the others have some past acquaintances with me. I was really worried that they might have done something wrong. Fortunately, after several rounds of investigation, they are truly innocent. After all, even a master like He Bing is powerless against a master of innate level, let alone them."

Back at the main case office, Zhang Quanyi sat down and said seriously, "How many more people can we bring over from Chang'an? The people who can work at the Black Ice Guard headquarters are all quite capable. Now that He Bing is dead, those people he supported probably can't handle themselves either. Think of a way to bring over as many as you can!"

“That’s easy to say. In fact, I’ve been contacted by people, but I haven’t dared to agree rashly!” He said seriously, “But Your Highness, besides He Zudao and Wei Zhengdao, haven’t you considered any other options?”

"You mean outside the Great Wall, in Beiting, Li Dachui?"

He nodded solemnly. "The Beiting Protectorate has now established itself as a force to be reckoned with. Whether it was splitting the Northern Yuan or this attempt to seize Shu, Li Dachui's performance has been truly impressive! In fact, Chang'an has now become a bulwark protecting Shu. In my opinion, the inevitable outcome will be that Chang'an will grow weaker with each battle, while Shu will grow stronger. You said that with the world in chaos, the Beiting Protectorate will inevitably send troops into the pass to contend for the world. Now, with Shu as a fulcrum, their efforts will be even more effective!"

Zhang Quanyi smiled faintly and said, "Because he already has Wu De!"

“Your Highness, although you have a conflict with Wu De, Wu De is merely Li Dachui’s subordinate. Moreover, with our current strength, if you were to ally with Li Dachui, would your status be any lower than Wu De’s?” he said solemnly. “Furthermore, judging from Li Dachui’s methods and style in seizing Shu County, he is a man of great ambition. Such a person must also be tolerant. And perhaps your conflict with Wu De will actually become the reason you are given an important position! Balancing the power of subordinates is what those in power love to do most.”

“Do you think I haven’t thought about this? If we join Li Dachui, then according to Li Dachui’s current plan, we must cooperate with Wei Zhengdao to fight Linghu Ye to the death in Luoyang and Chang’an! We must use our strength to wear down Linghu Ye’s strength.” Zhang Quanyi laughed, “This is the value of Wei Zhengdao’s existence, and it is also the value of our existence. The greater the losses of Linghu Ye, us, and Wei Zhengdao, the more Li Dachui will benefit.”

He swallowed hard, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

“I understand what you mean!” Zhang Quanyi laughed. “But think about it, if I lose all my resources in the fight against Linghu Ye, will we still be of any value to Li Dachui? At that time, who will be more important to him, Wu De or us? Wu De has the Black Ice Guard and now controls the military power of the entire Shu Commandery. In Guanzhong, he is the number one under Li Dachui.”

"I was mistaken!" he said seriously.

“For now, we can still navigate between different situations and have the opportunity to grow stronger,” Zhang Quanyi said. “Countless possibilities await us ahead, so why should we choose a path that inevitably leads to death? Wei Zhengdao had no choice; he was a target that Linghu Ye was determined to eliminate. So even though he knew that Li Dachui had dug a pit for him, he could only jump in without hesitation. We are different.”

"Understood!" he said seriously. "Let's take a gamble and fight for it. If we have the chance to be the one to take the lead, we should naturally take the lead and try to divide the world. If we fail, we can retreat to the south. It's not that we are weak. They will accept us and treat us well. Then we will have new opportunities."

“That’s exactly right!” Zhang Quanyi nodded. “I’ve considered all the paths, and the one we’re on now has the best chance of success. Yan Su, it’s always been a winner-takes-all story. How will we know if we’ll succeed if we don’t try?”

"I am willing to serve Your Highness as a lowly soldier." He bowed solemnly and said, "I would go through fire and water without hesitation."

"Next, we need to fight a battle!" Zhang Quanyi laughed. "The Qin family of Donghai looks down on us. They've been provoking us these past few days. Their vanguard scouts have even extended their reach to the outskirts of Luoyang. Hmph, then let's show our strength to Commander Linghu. We're worth his greater efforts to win over, and let those other forces that are gathering in Luoyang take a good look. Luoyang isn't a piece of fat meat to be trampled on, but a hard bone that can break their teeth."

"How badly will this battle destroy the Qin family? Will Li Guohua come to their rescue?"

“The Chen family of Qi County might be saved, but Li Guohua will never save them!” Zhang Quanyi laughed. “Both the Qin and Chen families are at a disadvantage in front of Li Guohua and need to unite to fight against him. So Li Guohua is eager for us to teach the Qin family a lesson so that he can smoothly take them over! Donghai is very wealthy.”

"Is Your Highness planning to personally lead this battle?"

"This battle is a battle to establish our authority; we can only win, we cannot lose!" Zhang Quanyi's smile vanished. "Now I have troops, but I lack generals who can stand alone! I must say, aristocratic families do have unique secrets in cultivating talent, but there's nothing we can do; we can't use these people! If these people were to take power in our army, you'd have to worry about them stabbing you in the back. Feng Congwen is a typical example of this."

"It's difficult for children from poor families to achieve great things; there's nothing we can do about it. But generals who have proven themselves in actual combat will be much stronger!" he said solemnly. "In war, there will always be some exceptionally talented people who emerge, and Your Highness is one of them!"

"Seriously, you've learned to flatter too!" Zhang Quanyi laughed.

(End of this chapter)