knife

Chapter 63 A Good Start

Wu De fell silent.

What Zhang Qingyun said is true.

Their focus is currently on the area outside the Great Wall. If they're inside the Great Wall, there's nothing else they care about. If they want to cooperate with us, it's just to lay the groundwork for the next few years or even decades.

On the contrary, if he were to refuse, the imperial court would once again be completely in the dark outside the Great Wall.

He looked up, but his gaze fell on Li Kaixin.

Zhang Qingyun has only been here for a few days?
The focus should be on Li Kaixin.

Li Kaixin smiled and said, "Chief Wu, the person in charge is Miss Qingyun. I'm just here to keep things under control. I'm mainly worried that Chief Wu might have a moment of weakness and want to take someone hostage or something."

Am I really that bad?

Li Kaixin's smile vanished: "In my memory, the people of Black Ice Platform are really that despicable."

Wu De immediately grasped the key point of the sentence: "Butler Li knew about some people in our Black Ice Station before, and these people must be of unusual status."

Li Kaixin immediately shut her mouth.

“Uncle Fatty, you should say less. People like Wu the Inspector are really shrewd. They can dig up someone’s ancestors for three generations just by following their scent,” Zhang Qingyun said with a smile.

"What does Zhi Qiuyuan want?" Wu De asked.

“We have no presence in the interior, so naturally we want to have some of our own strength,” Zhang Qingyun said. “Next, we will set up a network in the interior, with a focus on major cities like Chang’an and Luoyang. Without a powerful figure to hold the fort in these places, we probably won’t survive for long.”

"You want me to keep order for you?" Wu De laughed. "Isn't that like having a weasel guard a chicken coop? Are you sure these places will still be yours in the future?"

“If you dare to do this, you must have the confidence to do it!” Zhang Qingyun chuckled. “Perhaps in a few years, Wu Tixing will voluntarily become a member of our Zhiqiu Academy!”

Looking at Zhang Qingyun, who seemed completely confident, Wu De felt a little uneasy.

Having accompanied Zhang Ruo and her father for thousands of miles, I naturally have some understanding of Zhang Qingyun. This woman is extraordinary; she is not the kind of person who speaks loudly and arrogantly. In the past, she was just suppressed by worldly customs, prejudices, and etiquette. Now, it seems that she has received sufficient nourishment and support. Is this peony, which has been in bud for a long time, about to bloom in the wind?

"No matter how you look at it, I'm the one who benefited." Wu De nodded: "I agree to this."

"Alright!" Zhang Qingyun filled both of their cups with tea, picked up her own first, and said, "This humble woman does not drink alcohol, so I will use tea instead. Wu Tixing, from now on we are family. The future development of Zhiqiu Academy in Chang'an and other places will depend on Wu Tixing."

They clinked their teacups together and both drank it down in one gulp.

Zhang Qingyun pulled a gold medal from under the table and gently pushed it to Wu De.

"This is?"

“The citizens of Tai’an City are distinguished by their rank, holding jade, gold, silver, and bronze tokens.” Li Kaixin took a jade token from his pocket and placed it on the table. “This is mine. Wu, the Chief Justice, don’t underestimate the gold token. There are hundreds of thousands of people under Tai’an’s jurisdiction, including your subordinates, and there are no more than thirty gold tokens. The numbers on the gold token represent your rank within our organization and the manpower and resources you can mobilize. The different patterns and engravings on the gold token represent which department you belong to and what your job is.”

Wu De gently touched the gold medal in his hand. "I didn't do anything, yet I became the thirty-sixth person under the jurisdiction of Tai'an City?"

“Actually, the young master thinks highly of you and likes you very much!” Zhang Qingyun said, “A warrior who is willing to be lonely, doesn’t care about fame or fortune, and has spent most of his life immersing himself in darkness to silently protect the Great Qin. The young master said that the Great Qin has not fallen yet because there are still people like you. If one day, even people like you lose faith in the Great Qin, then the Great Qin will collapse.”

Wu De was somewhat moved, and his eyes welled up with tears. He never imagined that the person who truly understood and admired them was a bandit far away in the border region.

Within the Great Wall and in the imperial court, they were called lackeys and lackeys, and were verbally and in writing condemned by the scholar-officials and powerful families. They were never allowed to be in the public eye.

He silently cupped his hands in greeting. “Young Master said that he is willing to wait for someone like you, and in the process of waiting for you, we might as well carry out some cooperation that is beneficial to both sides,” Zhang Qingyun said. “You need information from outside the pass, while we need information from inside the pass. You want to curb Linghu Ye’s restless ambitions, while we want to replace Linghu Ye.”

"If you can take their place, you won't have any ambitions towards the interior?" Wu De asked the question that concerned him the most.

“Not for now!” Zhang Qingyun said decisively. “Once we replace Linghu Ye, we will be more concerned about the situation inside the pass than about the Northern Yuan outside the pass. Linghu Ye cannot stop the Northern Yuan’s southward advance, so we want to give it a try. Of course, if one day even someone like you no longer has any hope for the Great Qin, then we will naturally march our troops into the pass.”

"How can I prove this?" Wu De tucked the gold medal into his pocket.

“Let’s keep Wu in Tai’an City for a while longer!” Zhang Qingyun said. “Something very interesting is going to happen. Once this matter is settled, I think Wu will understand our thoughts and know whether what I said today is true or false.”

“Something interesting?” Wu De pondered. “I suppose this matter will inevitably change the power structure and influence distribution outside the Great Wall, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth me staying here to see it.”

"The truth will come out in a month at most!" Zhang Qingyun said.

“Alright, then I need to have a good discussion with Miss Qingyun about the details of our future cooperation over the next month.” Wu De said, “Since you want to form an alliance with our Black Ice Platform, there are many things that need to be clearly explained beforehand.”

"We are cooperating with you, Inspector Wu, not with the Black Ice Bureau!" Zhang Qingyun corrected with a smile, "Inspector Wu must make this clear."

“Alright, besides me, no one else in the Black Ice Guard will know about this!” Wu De said immediately.

The next day, Wu De and his three men moved.

They moved from that ridiculously expensive inn with terrible conditions and service to a secluded courtyard. Although small, the courtyard was fully equipped, and importantly, it was staffed with servants and maids. The meals and drinks were varied every day, making the three constables extremely happy.

The young girl they had been escorting all the way to the border region had suddenly become incredibly wealthy, a rich woman in Tai'an City, and her husband was a powerful figure there. This left the three constables deeply impressed. They secretly felt fortunate that they had served the father and daughter so diligently throughout the journey; otherwise, if anything had gone wrong, they might be facing a bloody knife instead of fine wine and delicacies.
woman!
Especially beautiful women!

They really shouldn't be offended.

One of the constables tilted his head back and downed a glass of fine wine, then said to the other two with a sigh.

"Yes, yes!" The other two were also slightly tipsy.

Isn't Zhang Qingyun a living example right in front of them?
What they knew was that Zhang Qingyun was now the woman of Li Dachui, a powerful figure from beyond the Great Wall. Li Dachui was someone who could speak for himself even in front of Linghu Ye, Xiao Changche, and others.

After Zhang Qingyun learned that they had arrived in Tai'an City, she invited them to enjoy the city and return home the following spring to thank them for their care along the way, so as to avoid the arduous journey through ice and snow. All expenses during this period would be covered by the young girl.

Moreover, the brothers who died in battle were given generous compensation. After seeing what was inside those few light little boxes, they honestly wished they were dead.

Anyway, I can't earn that much money for my family in my lifetime.

The families of those brothers who died will have nothing to worry about for the rest of their lives.

"They're very happy!" Looking through the window at the three constables playing drinking games outside, Wu De said, "And very grateful!"

“They ended up like this because of my daughter and me. Some of them even lost their lives, and I don’t even know their names.” Zhang Qingyun said, “Wu, after we go back, I hope you can get a reply as soon as possible regarding the matter I mentioned. Young Master cares a lot about this matter.”

"What major event happened in Chang'an twenty-five years ago?" Wu De frowned and said, "Twenty-five years ago, I had just entered the Black Ice Guard. Although I was just a low-level figure, I was still quite well-informed than the average person. In my memory, nothing major happened! Does Miss Qingyun have any clues?"

“I don’t have it. Butler Li and the city lord have it, but they won’t say!” Zhang Qingyun said, “But something must have happened. And the Black Ice Guard must have records of such things. You weren’t qualified to see them in the past, and now you are, but you know nothing about the past, so naturally you won’t look at them. Therefore, I hope that after you go back this time, you will investigate this matter thoroughly.”

“That’s easy!” Wu De said. “As long as it’s not a document sealed in the No. 1 Pavilion of Heaven, I have the right to look it up at will.”

"That's good!" Zhang Qingyun smiled. "I want to see what earth-shattering things happened twenty-five years ago!"

(End of this chapter)