Chapter 315: Stop Acting (6,000-word chapter with additional update)
Chang Suining saw Zheng Chao off, and Yuan Xiang and his men followed not too far away to make it easier for the two to talk.
This is Cui Jing's temporary office. It has a simple staff but is heavily guarded. Apart from the patrolling Xuan Ce army, no other figures were seen along the way.
Zheng Chao thanked Chang Suining.
Everyone knows that he killed Zheng Ji for the sake of justice, but no one knows that it all started when General Ningyuan and Ling An appeared in front of him and she asked, "Will Mr. Zheng kill anyone?"
From then on, the fate of the Zheng clan and the descendants of the Luoyang gentry changed.
"General, I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life." Zheng Chao raised his hand to salute Chang Suining on a bluestone path: "If General Ningyuan can use me in the future, I will definitely not refuse."
Chang Suining helped the man up and said with a smile, "Mr. Zheng, you are too polite."
Being polite is polite, but she really likes this kind of politeness between people.
Looking back on her past, she had more or less used every person who had said to her, "If I could be of use to you," with the thought of not wanting to let them down.
She devoted her life to making good connections with people, and this was her fundamental motivation.
Facing the genuine smile in the girl's eyes, even though it was already noon in the beginning of summer, Zheng Chao suddenly felt a slight chill on the back of his neck for no reason.
He subconsciously asked, "Now that we have finished this matter, where will General Ning Yuan go next?"
Chang Suining continued walking forward and answered, "I will be ordered to return to Jiangdu soon to join my father and wipe out the remaining followers of Xu Zhengye in Jiangnan."
This was a plan that had been made before the flood, but it was delayed because of the flood.
The remnants of Xu Zhengye were not only in Jiangdu and Yangzhou, but also scattered in Jinling, Jiangning and other places. At the beginning, Chang Suining and Xiao Min led their troops to set up an ambush at the Bian River, leaving not many troops for Chang Kuo. In addition, the flood also affected the Jiangnan area to some extent, so the recovery of Jiangnan has not yet been completed.
"Xu Zhengye is dead, and the nobles in the Central Plains who colluded with him have also dispersed. It is only a matter of time before Jiangnan is pacified..." Zheng Chao said: "But after this disaster, Jiangnan has been severely damaged. I don't know if it can be restored to its previous state."
I don’t know whether this chaotic world will give Jiangnan a chance to catch his breath and recuperate.
When Xu Zhengye started the rebellion, he first attacked Yangzhou, Jiangdu. Therefore, most of the officials in Yangzhou were slaughtered by Xu Zhengye. The positions of the Chief Clerk and the Governor of Yangzhou were all vacant.
At this moment, Yangzhou is like a seriously injured giant. When a giant is weak, it is always more likely to be coveted by beasts who want to take advantage of the opportunity.
Therefore, in Zheng Chao's view, after conquering Yangzhou, who will take over these important positions, whether these people have the heart to rebuild this land, and whether they have the ability to defend this land, are crucial to the battered Jiangnan.
Zheng Chao spoke with emotion about the Jiangnan region in his memory, a place with picturesque scenery all year round, prosperity and stability, and a thriving cultural atmosphere.
He finally said: "In my childhood memories, the place I most longed for and loved to go was Jiangnan."
Chang Suining turned his head slightly, looked in the direction of Jiangnan, and said with a smile: "I like it there too."
The girl's tone was very casual, but it gave Zheng Chao a feeling that the "like" she said and the "like" he said had completely different meanings.
Zheng Chao subconsciously looked at Chang Suining, and seeing her expression, this feeling became stronger.
His liking for something is the kind of liking that goes, “This thing is wonderful, I like it very much.”
And her liking for it was more like... "This thing is wonderful, I really want it."
This subtle perception sounded an alarm in Zheng Chao's heart.
At this moment, he heard the other party say: "If Jiangnan is restored to stability in the future, Mr. Zheng can go there to give lectures and be a guest. I will entertain you then."
Being a guest?
entertain?
This is clearly the tone of the host, right?
The alarm bells in Zheng Chao's heart were ringing so fast that sparks began to fly.
If she just "wanted this thing" just now, this sentence now was like carrying a sack and starting to fill it with things! Seeing that he didn't speak, Chang Suining looked over and said, "Mr. Zheng?"
Zheng Chao was startled inwardly, then came to his senses and smiled: "... Zheng will not break his promise."
Chang Suining also smiled at him.
As their eyes met, Zheng Chao's mind turned to the young master of the Chang family whom he had just seen in his nephew's room... Could it be that the Chang family also wanted to get a piece of the pie in this chaotic world? But General Ningyuan seemed to act flamboyantly, but he was definitely not a careless person. If he really had such thoughts, why did he reveal it to him? Did he want to lay the groundwork in advance so that it would be easier to recruit him in the future?
Zheng Chao was suspicious when he heard the man beside him ask in a tone similar to that of discussing the weather: "Sir, what do you think of the general situation in the world in the future?"
Her tone was so casual, as if she was asking, "Guess whether it will be sunny or rainy tomorrow?"
Zheng Chao, who had just saved his life and was not yet warm, lifted his sleeves and subconsciously looked around, then he dared to sigh and said, "... the chaos has begun, and the current saint is only concerned with maintaining power and acting radically... Naturally, it is never wrong for the emperor to abuse power. The saint is a woman of a different surname, and if she does not take drastic and decisive measures, she will not be able to secure the throne."
"However, the emperor is only concerned with exercising power, so who is there to maintain peace in the world?"
Since the beginning of her reign, the saint has been suppressing dissidents, constantly purging them, beheading vassal kings and generals who are difficult to control, slaughtering clan members on real and fake charges, mediating in the power struggles of various parties, and all her policies are based on the stabilization of imperial power. In order to consolidate the throne, she did everything she could. However, the pros and cons of these measures are obvious.
The advantage is that she has indeed been firmly on the throne for 13 years, which is something that even the Li family might not be able to do under such circumstances. In the face of political struggles, she is alert and decisive, which Zheng Chao believes is admirable.
The disadvantage is that the hidden dangers hidden under its many measures are destined to explode one day.
His move to uproot the foundations of the aristocratic families exacerbated the outbreak.
Zheng Chao was worried: "The so-called riot of the nobles is only one of the problems... In Daozhou, farmers have revolted, and the princes of various places have long had different intentions, and there are also foreign tribes eyeing them covetously."
But just one of these rebellions by the aristocratic families was enough to make the imperial court extremely anxious. It was difficult to take over vacancies everywhere, and it was difficult to quell and deal with the counterattacks in various places, making it difficult to implement government orders.
If government policies are not implemented, it will be like a flood that blocks the flow. As the water accumulates, it will eventually break the dam.
Zheng Chao shook his head. The disease was difficult to cure and the general trend of the times might not be reversed by the emperor. He was not optimistic about the situation that would follow.
"If the world is bound to fall into chaos, we can only hope that after the fall, someone can gather the chaos as soon as possible, bring the world together, and save the people of the world from the dire straits." Zheng Chao said sincerely.
For the people, it doesn’t matter who owns the country; what matters is that they can live a stable life.
Now, he is just one of the countless people.
Hearing these heartfelt words, Chang Suining's words became bolder: "Mr. Zheng, do you have anyone in mind who can win the hearts of the people?"
Yuan Xiang and others were eight steps behind. Although the topic they were talking about was dangerous, their voices were very low. Under Chang Suining's relaxed tone, there was a sense of vigilance to ensure that no one could eavesdrop.
Zheng Chao smiled and shook his head: "I have been trapped in Xingyang for a long time. I have no chance to know people, so I dare not make a rash judgment."
Chang Suining also smiled and said, "Then your lecture tour this time is a good opportunity."
Zheng Chaolian said: "...General Ningyuan, please be careful with your words. I am just traveling."
What would happen if people misunderstood him as the kind of person who went out of his way to choose a leader to rebel?
"Mr. Zheng, don't panic. No third person will know this." Chang Suining said, "I just want to ask you a favor. If you really meet someone who can win the hearts of the people, please let me know."
Zheng Chao's heart started beating again.
Tell her, what does she want to do?
Seek support?
Or... kill him as soon as possible? This question was too exciting, but Zheng Chao immediately felt that it was too early to consider this. Perhaps it was more worthwhile to think about what would happen if such a person did not appear? Chang Suining was also thinking about this question.
It seems that none of the famous ones nowadays are very good.
Some are like Crown Prince Li Zhi, who is not capable enough to hold power; some are like those big hands who manipulate the situation behind the scenes and are afraid that the world will not be in chaos, who have poor moral character and are not willing to be loyal to their subjects; some are like those who have not yet had a chance to occupy a position, whose starting point and foundation are not strong enough to turn the tide before the country is destroyed by foreign races.
Since no one is very capable and there is no one she likes for the time being, and it is not worthy of entrusting the country and the people of Dasheng to her, then she has to seriously consider other possibilities.
Zheng Chao wasn't sure what she meant by "let me know", but he agreed anyway.
This topic made him feel more and more dangerous, so he changed the subject in time: "By the way, Zheng has a letter here that needs to be delivered to General Ning Yuan."
While Zheng Chao was speaking, he reached into his lapel and pulled out a few silver bills. He blushed for a moment, but there was nothing he could do. His nephew had given him too much, so he had to find a bag to put them in.
After searching for a while, Zheng Chao took out a letter and handed it to Chang Suining.
The letter was received by Zheng Chao on his way here after he left the Zheng family. The person who delivered the letter came from Luoyang.
It was a thank-you letter from Yuan Miao - the little girl from the aristocratic family who had been rescued by Chang Suining.
Yuan Miao's grandfather and parents died in prison. She wrote a letter to express her happiness that her brother survived despite losing two fingers. She, her brother and the Yuan family were about to be sent away from Luoyang, so she could not thank Chang Suining in person. She only hoped that they would have a chance to meet in the future and repay this kindness.
That night, when Chang Suining, Cui Jing and Zheng Chao were discussing the plan, Yuan Miao was always there. Others didn't know, but she was very clear about how much favor she and the Yuan family owed to those three people that night.
Of these three people, one was cursed, one was expelled from the clan, and no one knew what the other had done.
But she will remember, and she will tell her brothers, and they will always remember.
After reading the words "see you later" at the end of the letter, Chang Suining put the letter away.
"Come to think of it, I also have something to thank Mr. Zheng for." Facing Zheng Chao's puzzled gaze, Chang Suining looked at the Wanmin Umbrella behind him and said, "If you hadn't held me to pray together that day, I wouldn't have gotten the Wanmin Umbrella for nothing."
An umbrella was not a big deal, but it made her a legendary figure in the eyes of storytellers.
Zheng Chao: "As the saying goes, happiness should be shared."
In fact, it is false to share happiness, but it is true to share difficulties. After all, he was not thinking about praying for success at that time, he just wanted to have someone who could fight to protect him.
This was of course a joke, but the latter sentence was sincere: "The general has done much more than Zheng."
And there is Ling An. Ling An has done too much and even bears the blame.
Thinking of his unfortunate but still wealthy nephew, Zheng Chao sighed about his nephew's experience with ulterior motives, and described the majestic commander-in-chief as a rare poor man in the world.
"...General Ning Yuan must also know that Ling An has been without a mother since he was young."
"His father has never been able to tolerate him..."
"Now I've been expelled from the clan, and I'm all alone from now on..."
All in all, it would be great if this unfortunate child could be sympathized with by more people.
Chang Suining nodded sympathetically.
Seeing the gate right in front of him, Zheng Chao stopped feeling sorry for his nephew and bowed to Chang Suining to say goodbye.
Chang Suining also bowed to him and watched him leave.
A Che, who was waiting outside, stepped forward and said, "General, are we going back?"
Chang Suining nodded subconsciously, not knowing what he was thinking, and then came back to his senses: "No, I forgot someone."
Having said that, he turned around and went back.
A Che also suddenly realized, yes, there is also Lang Jun. He hasn't seen Lang Jun for a long time, and he has become accustomed to the girl going in and out alone.
Little did he know that when Chang Suining came back to his senses, he didn't even think of Chang Sui'an for a moment.
It was not until she returned to Cui Jing and entered the outer hall that she heard her brother's voice - yes, she still had her brother here and hadn't taken him away.
Chang Suining walked in and said to Cui Jing, "I want to borrow someone from General Cui."
Cui Jing nodded, looked at Yuan Xiang behind Chang Suining, and said, "Send the person there secretly."
“?” Yuan Xiang was confused.
Who is it? Who? The Grand Commander and Madam Chang had an unspoken understanding, as if they had communicated in their hearts, but he didn't have the ability to hear it.
Cui Jing came back to his senses and explained, "The living person."
Yuanxiang suddenly realized it, agreed and immediately went to make arrangements.
"Then I will go back first." Chang Suining said to Cui Jing: "You should take good care of your injuries. I will tell you the result of the trial."
Cui Jing nodded: "Okay, I understand."
"Brother, let's go." Chang Suining turned and left.
Chang Sui'an responded with "OK" before coming to his senses, standing up and bowing to Cui Jing to say goodbye.
The reason why he was distracted just now was that he felt that the Grand Commander Cui had a different and gentle temperament in front of his sister. It was weird, how could the Grand Commander Cui be associated with the word gentle?
Chang Sui'an glanced at Cui Jing again with an expression that said "I'm not sure, let me take another look secretly".
Just then, Cui Jing also looked at him, and meeting those eyes that were still hard to look at, Chang Sui'an quickly retracted his gaze, bowed, and left to chase his sister.
…
Two days ago, the people sent by Chang Suining returned to the Bianzhou camp.
Upon hearing that Xiao Min had sent someone to escort a "traitor" to Xingyang, Deputy General Dong volunteered to go: "... since this is the person General Ningyuan wants, there must be no mistakes. I am willing to go and escort him."
Before this, when they were in the Shouzhou camp, he often followed Xiao Min, but when Xiao Min and Chang Suining set out for the Bian River, they did not take him with them.
He originally followed Chang Kuo to pursue Xu Zhengye from behind, but he came to Bianzhou not long ago on Chang Kuo's orders to deliver a message to Xiao Min.
Hearing his self-recommendation, Xiao Min, who was busy with other important matters at hand, agreed without hesitation: "Okay, go quickly and come back quickly, and remember not to make any mistakes."
Deputy General Dong agreed and soon left the camp with a group of more than ten people.
The traitor had a cloth bag covering his head and was stuffed into the carriage, with almost no struggle.
"Who are you escorting here?" Deputy General Dong asked in a casual tone on the way.
"General Dong was not there during the Battle of Bianshui, so he didn't know anything about it. This is a lieutenant in the central army, and his surname seems to be Zhong..."
A soldier whispered, "When the deputy general Jin beside General Chang was surrounding Xu Zhengye, this man suddenly seriously injured Deputy General Jin and let Xu Zhengye go... thus exposing the identity of the traitor."
Deputy General Dong tightened the reins slightly.
It was indeed Zhong Si.
No wonder he hasn't seen the other person since he came to Bianzhou.
It turned out that he did not die accidentally in battle, but was exposed.
"So he was Xu Zhengye's spy." Deputy General Dong looked back at the carriage behind him and asked, "Xu Zhengye is dead and his accomplices have been cleared out. This kind of spy should be killed. Why did they have to be taken to Xingyang and handed over to General Ningyuan for interrogation?"
"This is General Ning Yuan's instruction. The brothers don't know either."
"Yeah, let's just follow orders."
The soldiers on the left and right said.
Deputy General Dong nodded and said no more, but he was weighing the options in his mind.
Zhong Si had obviously been detained and tortured for many days, and was probably in a trance. If General Ning Yuan had "other arrangements"... Zhong Si might say something he shouldn't have said during this trip.
Thinking of the information he had secretly received before Li Yi's death, Deputy General Dong quickly made a decision in his heart.
…
"Dead?"
Back to today, in Xingyang City, Chang Suining had just returned to her residence after leaving Cui Jing and met Deputy General Dong and his party. However, she heard that the traitor she was looking for accidentally died on the way.
"How did he die?" She asked, looking at the corpse with its head and face covered.
A soldier knelt down and trembled, "Reporting to General Ningyuan, this man has been detained for many days, and he has not had much food or water every day. He is very weak. He must have been unable to withstand the bumpy ride, and the shock..."
The others followed suit and knelt down.
"It is our fault that we did not do our job well. Please punish us, General Ning Yuan!"
"Did he really die of exhaustion?" Chang Suining used his sword to pry open the cloth bag covering the corpse's head. His face was pale, his cheeks were sunken, and there were no new wounds on his body. Apart from being a dead person, there seemed to be nothing unusual about him.
"How dare we deceive the general!" To prove his innocence, a soldier quickly suggested: "If the general has any doubts, you can ask the coroner to come and check!"
They were the ones who escorted the people all the way, and no one else approached them during the journey.
"Please ask the coroner to perform an autopsy..." Chang Suining nodded. She didn't need them to remind her. If she hadn't been so careless, this would have been what she should have done.
"But this will delay us for at least half a day." She turned the tip of her sword and pointed it at the kneeling man: "Wouldn't that give him a chance to escape?"
When these words were spoken, more than ten people were shocked.
Someone said in panic: "General Ning Yuan, we are not lying at all!"
They thought the sword was pointing at all of them, but they heard the girl say calmly, "You guys step back."
Everyone looked up and saw clearly that the tip of the sword in the other party's hand was pointing at Deputy General Dong.
They looked confused, but didn't dare to say a word and retreated immediately.
"General Ningyuan suspected that I killed this man?" Deputy General Dong frowned. "If I killed him, why didn't I try to escape on the way, but instead came to General Ningyuan to fall into his trap?"
Chang Suining looked at him with amusement: "Do you think I'm stupid? The person being escorted died, and none of you want to take the blame alone, so you will subconsciously keep an eye on your companions. How can it be easy for you to escape? No matter how good your skills are, you can't defeat more than ten of them."
"And according to common sense, there are more than ten of you, and everyone is suspicious. If I hadn't suspected you beforehand, I would naturally not have guessed that it was you. The person is dead, even if the coroner found that he was murdered, without evidence, who can conclude that it was you who killed him."
Chang Suining looked at the man in front of him with a slightly changed expression and said, "He is just a ninth-rank lieutenant, but you are a sixth-rank general. It is naturally worthwhile to exchange you for him. I believe you have also made the worst-case scenario plan. Your status is higher than his, and you are worried that he will say something he shouldn't say... You are willing to exchange him, right?"
Hearing the word "change", Deputy General Dong's eyes were shocked. Sure enough, she had planned all this from the beginning! She had long suspected his identity and was just waiting for him to come to her!
Before he could think more, murderous intent suddenly flashed in his eyes. He slapped the scabbard on his waist with his right hand, and the long sword was knocked out of the sheath. He drew the sword and then retreated. When he stood up, he slashed at the girl in front of him with the long sword in his hand.
The girl's reaction was faster than he thought. She did not dodge, but knowing her weakness due to lack of strength, she held the sword with both hands and blocked the attack head-on.
As the swords collided, Deputy General Dong actually felt a slight numbness in the palm of his hand and took a half step back.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the girl suddenly put away her sword. As he lost his strength and swayed, he saw the other party leap up and kick him in the heart.
Deputy General Dong frowned and groaned, but did not fight with her. He turned around and tried to escape, but saw people rushing towards him from both sides of the door. He was alone and could not defeat them, and his weapon was soon removed. He was forced to kneel in front of the girl again.
He was still pretending to struggle.
Chang Suining had put away his sword and sat down in the chair. Seeing this, he said, "Alright, stop pretending. You know that I deliberately lured you here, so I can't let you escape."
"If you want to kill me, go ahead!" Deputy General Dong sneered, as if accepting the fact: "The lord is dead, there is no point for us to live!"
"Lord? Are you talking about Xu Zhengye?" Chang Suining also laughed: "Xu Zhengye has taken so many scapegoats for your real master. If he knew about this, do you think he would be so angry that he would come back to life?"
"The person you are truly loyal to is not Xu Zhengye at all. If you are not risking your life to protect Xu Zhengye's escape, then you must be Xu Zhengye's accomplice." Chang Suining looked at him with a smile: "If I am so easy to fool, why would I go to so much trouble to bring you here?"
This chapter has 6,000 words. Good night! (And quietly ask for a monthly ticket)
(End of this chapter)
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