knife

Chapter 398 The whole world is changing

Zheyang, Nanyang, Huai'an, Runan, Fangling, Xiangyang, Chunling, and Yiyang were the eight southern towns of the Qin state.

As the starting point for the Qin Dynasty's preparations for its southern expedition, this place naturally became a hub for resources, technology, and capital.

Convenient transportation provided a necessary condition for the rapid mobilization of troops.

The large-scale military-agricultural colonies enabled the government to procure grain locally.
Countless artisans enabled the rapid replenishment of military equipment.

All these factors made the Eight Southern Garrisons another special place in the Qin Dynasty.

In fact, there was another such special place in the Qin Dynasty, namely the Beiting Protectorate.

However, Beiting was too far from the Central Plains and guarded by Yangguan Pass, so the Qin court had never paid much attention to it. From the Qin central government's perspective, no matter how Beiting caused trouble, as long as the central government began to financially strangle Beiting, it would face immense difficulties.
Moreover, Beiting also has the formidable enemy Beiyuan lurking in its sights. Without the support of the Central Plains, the Beiting Protectorate will collapse very quickly.

The situation was different in the eight southern towns.

From the very beginning of its founding, every emperor of the Qin Dynasty who aspired to achieve something considered it his mission to destroy the State of Chu and unify the world.

It doesn't matter that the Northern Yuan is a barbaric land, but the territory occupied by the Xiong clan of Chu was formerly the territory of Dayong. Legally speaking, it should belong to Qin.

With a large population, fertile land, convenient transportation, and well-developed water conservancy, whoever controls the Eight Garrisons of the South poses a far greater threat to the central government than the Northern Court.

However, in the past, the imperial court had extremely strict control over the eight southern towns. Anyone who tried to form a clique in the eight southern towns would suffer a terrible fate.

However, as time went on, Qin became increasingly powerless to destroy Chu, and even began to accept Chu's existence as the norm. At that point, things finally changed.

Large amounts of military farmland gradually turned into private land, and countless artisan workshops were also converted from public to private ownership by certain individuals over decades of dedicated management. In the south, some people colluded with officials and merchants, step by step turning the Qin Dynasty's long-standing plans into part of their own family businesses.

Even the armies of the eight southern garrisons showed a gradual trend towards privatization.

Just like Linghu Ye to the Beiting Protectorate.

The same principle applies to the Southern Garrison a few years ago.

Thus began Kou Zhong and Wei Zhengdao's grand plan to kill multiple birds with one stone.

The plan was largely successful.

He Qiku was abolished, the Southern Garrison disintegrated, and the powerful families in Hedong and Hexi were almost wiped out. These powerful families in the south also fought each other over the inheritance of the He family.

If everything had gone smoothly, Wei Yi or Zhang Quanyi should have led their troops to the south to take over the defense of the eight southern towns.

However, He Zudao did not die.

When Kou Zhong arrived in Luoyang, his original intention was to trap He Zudao in the north and kill him to prevent him from heading south again.

But Kou Zhong died, and He Zudao still managed to return to the south as he wished.

Although the Southern Eight Towns were no longer the unified Southern Eight Towns under He Qiku's command a few years ago, their foundation remained. In particular, the return of He Zudao gave most of the people in the Southern Eight Towns someone to rely on.

The enemies of the He family have truly been wiped out this time. The remaining centrists, who were originally opportunistic, immediately returned to He Zudao's side.

The Eight Garrisons of the South are indeed far inferior to what they used to be, after all, their elite troops suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Xiangcheng.

But when the remaining remnants are united again, their power is still enough to influence the overall situation of the world.

“General, the Demonic Sect is like a malignant tumor growing in your body. I don’t know when it will erupt and ruin your great plans. In my opinion, it would be better to break with them as soon as possible!” Sitting on the railing of the covered bridge, Linghu Zhishu grabbed a handful of fish food and scattered it into the fishpond below, watching countless koi swim over to snatch the food amidst the splashing water.

“Yesterday, Ke Wuji also advised me to break things off with you in time.” He Zudao laughed and said, “Brother Linghu, it has been several years since I returned to the South. This time, I really feel that things have changed. The development of the Demonic Sect in the eight towns of the South is like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. It has grown too fast.”

"In the Battle of Xiangcheng, Kou Zhong and Wei Zhengdao killed a thousand enemies but lost three thousand of their own!" Linghu Zhishu chuckled. "Of course, if we consider the Jiangnan situation within the grand scheme of the world, it's not a big deal. If they had won, it could have brought decades of peace to the land. However, an overly ambitious initial move and meticulously planned scheme are never a good thing. A single misstep can trigger a chain reaction, ultimately leading to a complete collapse." "That's exactly right!" He Zudao nodded. "Kou Zhong is too arrogant. He wants to solve the problems of the eight southern garrisons, the regional warlordism, and the Beiting Protectorate's self-importance all at once. Do they even consider whether they can truly control such a large-scale situation?"

“So when you, Brother He, broke the deadlock here, the whole world collapsed!” Linghu Zhishu said.

"You make it sound like I, He, should just obediently die!" He Zudao reached out, and the largest koi in the pond broke out of the water and landed in his hand, struggling and wagging its tail.

"That's the truth. If He Zudao really had died in Hedong, then our Linghu clan wouldn't have dared to enter the pass. If we hadn't entered the pass, Li Dachui's schemes wouldn't have been able to be implemented, or wouldn't have achieved such good results. Of course, the world would have been much more stable!" Linghu Zhishu sighed, "Sometimes man proposes, God disposes!"

"For me, this world is now the best world ever!"

“That’s true!” Linghu Zhishu nodded in agreement: “You were a fish in a net before, and no matter how you struggled, you couldn’t get out of the net. But now, you’ve transformed from a carp into a dragon.”

He Zudao laughed loudly, stretched out his hand and tossed the koi carp in his hand. The koi carp drew a beautiful arc in the air, and countless water droplets shimmered with seven colors under the sunlight. The koi carp then fell into the water with a thud.

“I’m not unaware of the dangers of the Demonic Sect, but Jiangnan has been suffering these past few years, and the Demonic Sect has taken the opportunity to invade on a large scale. They have already infiltrated the lower levels. You’re asking me to eliminate them at this time. That’s not eliminating the Demonic Sect, that’s self-harm!” He Zudao said with a smile, “Brother Linghu, you have ulterior motives. I don’t believe you can’t see the connection here.”

Even after being exposed by He Zudao, Linghu Zhishu remained unfazed: "A short pain is worse than a long one."

"No, no, no, actually, I've been studying what Ke Wuji and his ilk are really up to all along. The poorer the people are, the easier it is for them to manipulate them, and the more people will join them. But the Eight Southern Towns weren't like that before, so what I need to do now is very simple: make the people of the Eight Southern Towns rich again, just like before, and then the people will naturally stop believing their fallacies and heresies. You did a good job in Boling, didn't you? I heard that when you left, you even received the 'Ten Thousand People's Umbrella' and the 'Hundred Families' Clothes'!"

“You are changing, and the Demonic Sect is changing too!” Linghu Zhishu shook his head and said, “Things are not as simple as you think. Didn’t you say that Ke Wuji has joined forces with He Yiming and is preparing to go into the open? This is their change.”

"Is a demonic cult that goes into the open still a demonic cult?" He Zudao chuckled.

Linghu Zhishu nodded. People like He Zudao are not much different from Kou Zhong in essence. They are both extremely confident and always think they can control everything.

"Your subordinates will clash with Ke Wuji and his group sooner or later," Linghu Zhishu asserted. "No matter how Ke Wuji and his group change, their hatred for the powerful and wealthy and their hatred for consolidation will not change. Although you have killed many powerful and wealthy families in the past, new powerful and wealthy families are forming under your command, such as Yang Lixin, Feng Kuan, and Chen Jianren."

"It's a test to both keep the new powerful figures like Yang Lixin and Feng Kuan in check and to make good use of Ke Wuji's group. It's not impossible!" He Zudao said calmly.

“It’s very difficult!” Linghu Zhishu said.

"I know someone who's doing this, and doing it quite well!"

"Li Dachui?"

"Isn't that so?" He Zudao laughed. "The area outside the pass is now thriving. If that brat Li Dachui can do it well, why can't I, He Zudao, do it?"

"I never imagined that you, General He, would admire Li Dachui so much! You even want to emulate his governing methods!" Linghu Zhishu was somewhat surprised.

“Brother Linghu, you don’t need to worry that I will side with Li Dachui!” He Zudao sighed softly. “You must have heard the rumor that Li Dachui is the posthumous child of Li Zemin and He Qingqiu, right?”

Linghu Zhishu laughed out loud: "Of course I know, because I'm the one who started this rumor. Brother He, it's just a rumor."

"Rumors and such don't matter at all!" He Zudao sighed. "As long as it's useful to Li Dachui, he will definitely use it. So I, He Zudao, will definitely be the one Li Dachui wants to kill in the future. Do you think I would side with him?"

The betrayal of Li Zemin and He Qingqiu by He Qiku and his son He Zudao led to the Crown Prince's disastrous defeat and a dramatic change in the world. Such deep-seated hatred is indeed beyond forgiveness. If Li Dachui is to inherit the former Crown Prince's political legacy, he will naturally also inherit the corresponding hatred.

Therefore, He Zudao had no choice but to fight Li Dachui to the very end.

"Li Dachui will definitely come to the south to cause trouble!" Linghu Zhishu said. "He has already established two footholds in Beiting and Shujun. Now he just needs to establish another foothold in the south. That's why I came to General He's place. General, Li Dachui is as cunning as a fox. We must not underestimate him!"

"If they really come, then let's have a good fight!" He Zudao said calmly, "We'll meet force with force and water with water, that's all."

"I humbly request that the General grant me some favors. My purpose in coming here is solely to defeat Li Dachui, which would be mutually beneficial. I wonder if the General would grant my request?"

"Since it benefits both sides, why not?" He Zudao laughed and said, "Go find Jianren!"

(End of this chapter)