knife

Chapter 829 Southwest Affiliation
Thousands of miles away in the jungle, Cheng Zhen swung his knife, slicing a snake that suddenly dangled from a tree branch and lunged at him in two. With a flick of his blade, the snake's head flew off and, with a snap, firmly bit into a distant tree. Immediately, bluish venom flowed from the two fangs.

Qian, who was next to him, must have run over happily, carefully collecting snake venom in a small white porcelain bottle.

"Dr. Qian, collecting these things again? Who are you trying to harm this time?" a captain passing by asked with a grin.

"You can't talk about ice with a summer insect!" Qian Yiding raised his head and said disdainfully, "In your eyes, these things are just poisonous creatures that harm people, but in my eyes, they are also good medicines that can save lives! Do you know that last time you were stung by that poisonous insect, the medicine I used to save you contained this kind of venom?"

The captain leaned closer, looked at the bluish marks on the tree, and couldn't help but gasp: "I'm really lucky to have survived, Dr. Qian, I'll have to be careful of you from now on!"

"Don't come looking for me when you're only half alive!"

Don't jinx it!

The two bickered as they slowly made their way through the jungle, followed by over a thousand elite soldiers. Among them were several hundred disheveled men and women, tied together with ropes, staggering along the way.

This was a tribe in Xiangshan that had always resisted the administration of the Southwest Pacification Commissioner's Office. In just a few years, they actually killed three envoys sent by Shang Rong, which finally brought about their own demise.

After half a year of planning, Cheng Zhen, who was skilled in jungle warfare in the southwest, led more than a thousand elite soldiers, hiding by day and moving by night, and suddenly attacked the tribe. The entire tribe of several thousand people was almost completely wiped out, except for the few hundred young men and women in front of them.

And the fate of these boys and girls who were taken back is also predetermined.

Although neither Qin nor Chu officially allowed slavery, the slave trade continued in private, and these eleven or twelve-year-old children were precisely the ones who could fetch a good price.

In Danyang, Shang Rong was a gentleman, highly respected among scholars, and considered a capable minister. However, once he arrived in the southwest, his murderous intent surpassed even that of Cheng Zhen.

Shang Rong believed that only by killing off most of the older generation of barbarians who were rigid in their thinking and inflexible, the reform of local administration would proceed more smoothly, since young people were more likely to accept new things.

Holding a butcher's knife in one hand and controlling commerce in the other, supplemented by education, this is how Shang Rong has been doing things for the past few years: first kill once, then bribe once, and finally start to educate and convert.

He has become even more unscrupulous now.

Because the elite troops from the Southwest had all followed Na Wei to Danyang, Cheng Zhen and Qian Yidu both believed that by doing this, they would inevitably be crushed to dust by Na Wei in the future. However, Shang Rong was certain that Na Wei would not return.

Even though Na Wei had enjoyed immense prestige over the past year and had become the regent of the Great Chu, Shang Rong still held this view.

Cheng Zhen and Qian are definitely on the same page as him, and can only follow him to the bitter end.

The knife was stained with blood, and no matter how much you wash it, it still smelled strongly of blood.

"The three of us will probably be infamous for eternity in the southwest!" These were the words Qian Yiding said to the two of them.

Shang Rong scoffed at this.

"History is written by the victors. Perhaps in the future, the three of us will be commemorated by the Southern Barbarians with statues, and they will say that we were the pioneers who opened up the southwest!"

Cheers erupted from the front, and Cheng Zhen and Qian must have exchanged a knowing smile.

This means we've finally left the mountains.
Every time they enter such deep mountains and forests to fight, they are walking on the edge of a knife. They have to fight not only enemies, but also various poisonous insects and snakes, as well as all kinds of diseases.

Fortunately, Cheng Zhen was an expert in fighting in the southwest, and Qian Yiding was a former imperial physician, whose greatest interest was in studying all sorts of strange and unusual things in the old forests of the southwest.

It must be said that the three-person task force that Jiang Qian sent out back then each had their own strengths, yet they were able to cooperate perfectly, bridging each other's weaknesses and becoming an extremely sharp attack team. The sound of hooves was rapid, and a captain spurred his horse and galloped quickly to Cheng Zhen and Qian Yiding's side.

"General Cheng, Physician Qian, the Imperial Envoy demands that you two return immediately!"

Qian Yiding's face changed color: "What happened in the county town?"

"It's not our county seat, it's Danyang!" The captain looked bewildered. "This humble general doesn't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing!"

Just after the third watch gong sounded, in the Xuanwei Si Mansion in Guilin City, Shang Rong sat alone under a peach tree in the courtyard. In front of him, a small table was set with four or five kinds of snacks to go with wine, and three sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Hearing hurried footsteps outside, Shang Rong smiled, picked up the wine pot, and filled all three wine cups with wine.

Cheng Zhen and Qian Yiding hurriedly stepped into the courtyard.

"Sit down, the wine is ready, let's moisten our throats first!" Shang Rong said with a smile.

The two men didn't stand on ceremony. Although there was a hierarchy among the three, they had shared life and death in this den of wolves and tigers over the years, and it was hard to tell who was superior to whom.

"What should we do?" Cheng Zhen slammed his wine glass down on the table and stared at Shang Rong.

On the way, the captain had already explained the general situation to him and Qian Yiding.

Na Wei's 70,000 to 80,000 men were wiped out in a single day, Chang Lei's tens of thousands of elite troops vanished into thin air, and Jiang Qian, after a great victory, did not enter Danyang. The Chu Kingdom existed in name only, and this heavy fruit could be picked at any time.

"Someone came to me and said that if I was willing, they could enthrone me as the King of the Southwest, allowing me to reign supreme in this land, no less than Na Wei!" Shang Rong said with a smile.

Cheng Zhen stared at Shang Rong in astonishment.

What do you two think?

Qian Yiding glanced at Shang Rong and said, "I can't control if you become the second Wei, but I'm going back."

"I, Cheng, object!" Cheng Zhen shook his head vigorously, saying, "For the past few years, we have devoted ourselves to the reform of the native chieftain system, transforming this barbarian land in the southwest into our Han dynasty. Brother Shang, forgive my bluntness, but if you want to become the second Wei, that is a path to death. Once the Empress Dowager stabilizes the situation, I'm afraid it will be the time for you to be beheaded!"

Are you that afraid of her?

"I'm actually afraid of her!" Cheng Zhen said.

“But she’s no longer the Empress Dowager of Great Chu. She’s become Li Dachui’s woman. Everything we’re doing now will only benefit Li Dachui in the future!” Shang Rong said.

"Whether it's Qin or Chu, Li Dachui or Jiang Qian, they are all still Chinese people. Hundreds of years ago, during the reign of Dayong, the world was unified. Later, Qin and Chu were divided, but what is united for a long time will eventually divide, and what is divided for a long time will eventually unite. Now it should be time for the world to be unified again! Ambassador, you should think this through!"

Shang Rong laughed loudly, "Good, as expected of my good brother, you think the same way. Who cares who becomes emperor in the future? Let's focus on doing our job well, assimilating the barbarians into China, and leaving our names in history! I've already sent people back to Jiang Qian to ask for money, people, and policies!"

"It's the Empress Dowager!"

"What 'Empress Dowager'?!" Shang Rong shook her head. "Even if you asked her to acknowledge the title of Empress Dowager now, she probably wouldn't accept it!"

(Because it's nearing its end, updates will definitely be less regular. There aren't many chapters left, so please come back in a few days to finish reading.)
(End of this chapter)