knife

Chapter 754 Do you regret it?
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground. A gentle breeze swirled the fallen leaves, carrying them a few steps forward before the wind subsided and the leaves fell again. In the lower parts of the woods, however, many bamboo leaves lay scattered, the lower ones withered and yellow, while the upper ones still retained a touch of green.

Two old men sat facing each other at a stone table. One held a small purple clay teapot in his hand, taking a leisurely sip of tea from the spout. The other man held a white chess piece in the air, his brows furrowed, and he hesitated several times before putting it down.

Clearly, the elderly man drinking tea had gained the upper hand.

When Zhou Zheng saw the old man hesitating at the table, he raised an eyebrow and paused slightly. This old man was none other than Jiang Chong of the Jiang family of Jiangling.

After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs, Jiang Chong was lured into a trap by Jiang Qian, nearly losing his life. He then retreated to Jiangling, refusing to respond to any further invitations from the court. It is rumored that he lost his mind and began colluding with Li Dachui from beyond the Great Wall. However, the court lacked evidence and was powerless to do anything about it.

In fact, in Zhou Zheng's view, what good would it do to obtain evidence?

Right now, Na Wei is absolutely unwilling to add another formidable enemy like Jiang Chong.

Therefore, it's better to pretend not to know than to expose this veil; at least Jiang Chong didn't openly oppose the court.

Let's just let things take their course. Once the situation improves, we can start all over again.

Seeing Jiang Chong here today was a great surprise to Zhou Zheng, and at the same time, an extremely bad feeling immediately rose in his heart.

Jiang Chong saw Zhou Zheng, and his brows relaxed. With a snap, the chess piece fell from his fingertips and landed on the chessboard. It spun around and knocked away several other chess pieces, which in turn spun and scattered in all directions. In an instant, the chessboard was completely unrecognizable.

Hu Tianying, who had just swallowed a mouthful of tea, put down the teapot, looked at Jiang Chong, and shook his head, saying, "Utterly shameless, utterly shameless!"

Jiang Chong laughed and said, "A mistake, a mistake! Isn't Prefect Zhou here already? It's time to talk business. After we finish, we'll start another game!"

Hu Tianying curled his lip: "Ten more games and the result will be the same."

"Not always!"

The two of them stood up and turned around to straighten up while still bickering.

Zhou Zheng took a deep breath, put on a big smile, strode forward, and cupped his hands, saying, "Patriarch Jiang, it seems your injuries have healed considerably. Sect Leader Hu, I heard you were unable to walk for a while, but now you look so vigorous and energetic. This is a great blessing for the country!"

Hu Tianying chuckled and said, "If things improve a little, I can live a few more years. Prefect Zhou, I was worried I wouldn't be able to invite you. Right now is the spring planting season, which is the busiest time for you as the prefect!"

Zhou Zheng shook his head and sighed, "That was indeed the case in previous years, but this year, where can we even start spring plowing? Almost all the able-bodied men around Danyang have been conscripted, leaving only the elderly, women, and children at home. We can only plant as much as we can."

Hu Tianying was taken aback and said, "If a person makes a mistake in the land for a short time, the land will ruin a person's life for a year. If we can't win this battle, I'm afraid we'll have a hard time in the future!" "We can only hope to win this battle!" Zhou Zheng walked to the chessboard and said, "Lord Jiang, what brings you to Danyang? This place is a hotbed of trouble right now!"

"Given the current state of Great Chu, I am extremely anxious! If we don't handle this properly, the people will truly suffer. Prefect Zhou, I wonder what the court's current strategy is? What if we win? What if we lose? There must be a plan! To be honest, I am not at ease without knowing the court's next steps!" Jiang Chong shook his head and sighed.

Zhou Zheng was speechless. In the imperial court, everyone was talking about what would happen if they won, but no one really thought about what would happen if they lost. It wasn't that people didn't want to talk about it, but everyone knew that if they lost, it was all over!

"Sit down and let's talk!" Hu Tianying pointed to the stone bench and said, "Let alone a powerful family like the Jiang family head, even the entire Five Tigers Broken Gate Blade Clan is deeply worried about the current situation. However, with Na Wei's faction in power, we really can't say anything. Now that Na Wei has left the capital, I want to discuss with Prefect Zhou what we should do next to better protect the people and reduce their suffering, so that this beautiful land can be spared the ravages of war as much as possible!"

Zhou Zheng reached out and rummaged through a black piece on the table. He noticed that Hu Tianying had said "protecting the common people and the picturesque landscape," but hadn't mentioned the Great Chu Dynasty at all. This wasn't a slip of the tongue, but rather a deliberate choice.

"What do you two think we should do?" Zhou Zheng grabbed a handful of chess pieces, held them in his hand, stared at Jiang Chong and Hu Tianying, and asked in return.

Hu Tianying looked at Zhou Zheng, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He asked directly, "Patriarch Jiang, Prefect Zhou, you two were the key figures in overthrowing Empress Dowager Jiang. I just want to ask you one question: do you regret it now?"

Jiang Chong smiled bitterly: "Of course I regret it, but at the time, I had no choice but to do it. By then, I knew that Empress Dowager Jiang had fallen into a trap. If I hadn't betrayed her, the Jiang family would have been gone. The Zhou prefects were really good at planning back then!"

Zhou Zheng pondered for a long time before saying, "It would be a lie to say I don't regret it, but who could have imagined that things would turn out this way? If Jiang Qian and Li Dachui had died together in Yunwu Mountain, the world would definitely be a completely different place today!"

Hu Tianying nodded: "I know that Prefect Zhou is different from Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi. The Xiong and Xiang families claim to care about the world, but in reality, they are more concerned about their family interests. You, Prefect Zhou, have worked your way up from the bottom step by step through merit. You truly care about the common people and are concerned about the world. Otherwise, Jiang Qian would not have placed you in a position like Prefect of Danyang. If Jiang Qian hadn't transferred He Jiong and placed you in the crucial position of Prefect of Danyang, the Danyang Incident would not have happened."

"I must thank Sect Leader Hu for exonerating me!" Zhou Zheng smiled and shook his head. "It's just a pity there's no going back in this world! Now I can only do my best and say that man proposes, God disposes!"

"If there were a chance to turn the tide and reverse the situation, would Prefect Zhou be willing to take another chance for the sake of the millions of people in this world?" Hu Tianying asked.

Zhou Zheng placed the chess pieces one by one on the chessboard, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

"How does Sect Leader Hu intend to turn the tide and reverse the situation?"

Hu Tianying reached out and picked up a chess piece, slamming it onto the center position with a snap, then looked up at Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng's face was filled with horror.

“Of course, it’s aimed straight at the heart of the matter!” Hu Tian replied.

(End of this chapter)