knife

Chapter 642 Wanting it but losing it forever

Xiang Zhuang drank alone, feeling dejected.

On his first day, Linghu Ye summoned him, which filled Xiang Zhuang with hope, but for the next ten days or so, there was not a single word from him.

He prepared gifts and wandered around Chang'an, visiting influential figures. However, the Chang'an of today was completely different from the Chang'an of the past.

It's truly a case of things changing and people being gone.

Those who had once had dealings with the Xiang family were either gone or had become frightened. When Xiang Zhuang came to visit, they were not lacking in food and drink, but when it came to serious matters, there was not a single person who could take responsibility.

It's not their fault.
The new elites in Chang'an today are mostly from the group of people from outside the pass.

But he didn't recognize any of these people, so he couldn't say a word to them.

I prepared gifts and shamelessly went to several homes to ask for an audience. They accepted the gifts, but they wouldn't let me in.

These arrogant and unruly soldiers from beyond the Great Wall truly disregard the rules.

Sometimes Xiang Zhuang really wanted to curse.

In terms of family background and personal ability, I am superior to all of them.
But now that we're under someone else's roof, we have no choice but to bow our heads.

Who told me I needed their help?

With each passing day, Tongan County becomes more dangerous.

Xiang Zhuang was not worried about Xiang Ying's safety. As a master of martial arts, Xiang Ying could leave easily if he wanted to. However, as the great general of Chu, leaving alone would not only cause him to lose face, but also his political prestige.

Especially political influence, which is hard to gain but very easy to lose, can be destroyed in an instant by a single event.

The 20,000 elite troops led by Xiang Ying were the old guard of the powerful families of the Great Chu. Most of the generals were the direct descendants and confidants of those families. If they were all lost in Tongan County, how would Xiang Ying face these families even if he returned?

Without a doubt, the Xiang family will lose the support of these people.

There was a few knocks on the door, then it was pulled open, and a familiar face appeared outside.

"Brother Xiang, what's the point of drinking alone? Want me to have a few drinks with you?"

Xiang Zhuang stood up and laughed, "I've looked for you several times, but you've never been home. I heard you're being highly valued these days!"

"What do you mean by 're-employment'? He's just wasting his time!"

The man walked in, carrying a jar of wine.

The man who came was Zhou Gang, and he was indeed an old acquaintance of Xiang Zhuang.

During Li Anmin's reign, the Zhou family enjoyed great success. Scholar Zhou was deeply trusted by Li Anmin, and Zhou Gang was a well-known playboy in Chang'an.

At that time, Xiang Zhuang would come to Chang'an every year and would naturally visit Zhou Gang as well.

However, this time when Xiang Zhuang came, he didn't actually go to see Zhou Gang.

As far as he knew, although Scholar Zhou was still a scholar, he was actually just a figurehead placed in the court by Linghu Ye, and did not have much real power.

Zhou Gang was indeed very busy, but he was currently just a mid-level official under Wolf Castle, a long way from Linghu Ye. It was difficult for them to even meet, let alone speak. "Is things not going smoothly?" Zhou Gang picked up the wine jar on the table, shook it, glanced at Xiang Zhuang's expression, and asked.

Xiang Zhuang nodded.

He knew perfectly well what the other party was doing in Wolfsburg and what he was planning to do in Chang'an. Moreover, the other party probably knew most of what he had been doing these past few days.

"Let's go back!" Zhou Gang filled the other person's glass with wine, then filled his own, raised it to show his appreciation, and drank it all in one gulp.

"What?" Xiang Zhuang didn't react at first.

"Commander Yan sent me to tell you this, now go back!" Zhou Gang said.

"Is this the Grand Secretary's intention?" Xiang Zhuang suddenly stood up.

“Of course, Commander Yan is a person with a strong sense of boundaries. He wouldn’t have said such a thing if it weren’t for the Prime Minister’s order!” Zhou Gang said.

"Why?" Xiang Zhuang slammed his fist heavily on the table. "Can't the Grand Secretary see that this is beneficial to both sides? If Li Dachui and Jiang Qian are not eliminated, they will become a major threat to both you and us!"

“That’s true, but there are priorities!” Zhou Gang said. “We only have so much power at our disposal. If we use more here, we’ll inevitably have to use less there. There’s nothing anyone can do about it!”

"The Grand Secretary intends to deploy troops there? He's even disregarding the threat that's right in front of him!" Xiang Zhuang roared.

"Yangguan!" Zhou Gang reached into the dish, grabbed a handful of peanuts, and popped one into his mouth, chewing it. "Tell me, isn't it more important than any of the Eight Towns of Jiangnan?"

"The Beiting Protectorate now has the capability to launch a large-scale invasion of the pass?" Xiang Zhuang didn't believe it.

“Xiao Changche has arrived at Yangguan!” Zhou Gang said, “Cui Ming, the head of the Cui family of Boling, has personally arrived in Chang’an. The Grand Secretary’s choice—no, the Grand Secretary has no choice. Now we must prepare for the Great Yu of the Beiting Protectorate. Compared to that, places like the Eight Towns of Jiangnan are really not that important.”

Seeing Xiang Zhuang's pale face, Zhou Gang continued, "Of course, Jiang Qian is indeed a great threat to you, but that's a problem you need to solve. If you can get rid of Jiang Qian, wouldn't you also solve our problem? So, Brother Xiang, instead of wasting your time here, you should go back and think of a way to break through. If General Xiang doesn't go back soon, I'm afraid he won't have a place to stand in Danyang!"

"Is there no way to turn this matter around?" Xiang Zhuang asked in a trembling voice.

"Brother Xiang, if there were still any room for maneuver, do you think I would be the one to come see you?" Zhou Gang chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I know my own limitations. The reason I was sent to say this is, to put it nicely, because we are old acquaintances and friends, and I don't want things to really fall apart. To put it bluntly, it's because the Grand Secretary doesn't value the Xiang family at all now. He believes that the Xiang family will have a hard time recovering from this defeat!"

"Then I'm afraid the Grand Secretary will be disappointed!" Xiang Zhuang uttered each word clearly.

"As a friend, I wish you both the best!" Zhou Gang stood up with a smile and refilled their glasses. "Brother Xiang, let me give you some news. Li Guohua is about to be transferred back to the north, and the one going to Luoyang is Cui Cheng, the eldest son of the Cui family of Boling. This man just lost to his younger brother Cui Shu in the family infighting, and now he must be planning to do something big to prove that he is better than Cui Shu!"

Xiang Zhuang paused for a moment, then raised his wine cup and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhou. These few words are worth a thousand catties, no, no, no, they cannot be measured in money! I toast you!"

Zhou Gang chuckled, picked up his wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, then turned and went out. But when he reached the door, he turned back and looked at Xiang Zhuang, saying, "Brother Xiang, you came to Chang'an and visited many people, but you didn't come to my Zhou family's door. I'm very disappointed! Actually, I had already prepared wine and food at home, and I thought you would come!"

Xiang Zhuang's face flushed, and he wanted to say something, but Zhou Gang had already laughed and strode away.

Reaching the doorway, Xiang Zhuang watched Zhou Gang's retreating figure and sighed. He knew that his connection with Zhou Gang would likely end today.

I never truly considered him a friend before; I only saw him as a resource that I could exploit.

But when he wanted to acknowledge this friend, he had already lost him forever.

(End of this chapter)