knife

Chapter 7 A Disagreement
Zhang Ruo's face darkened. She stared at Li Dachui and said, word by word, "Then what difference is there between me and being dead?"

"Master Zhang, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."

"The name Zhang Ruo represents a righteous spirit. Brother Li, I believe that righteousness will never be extinguished. As long as I live, I will make those scheming and despicable people uneasy and inspire ambitious people in the Great Qin to dare to follow in my footsteps. Even if I am to die, I will die honorably and gloriously. Do you know why I must go to Zhenwu City? If Linghu Ye really kills me in Zhenwu City, then the world will truly see his wolfish ambitions, which will prove that what I did and said before was not wrong at all."

Looking at the impassioned Zhang Ruo, Li Dachui remained unconvinced.

"Lord Zhang, the situation beyond the Great Wall is far more complex than you imagine. Are you truly fully aware of the situation beyond the Great Wall while you are in Chang'an? I'm afraid not. Linghu Ye and the 100,000 troops stationed beyond the Great Wall cannot be simply described as loyal or treacherous."

"He commands an army of 100,000, spends tens of millions of taels of national treasury annually, yet he cannot advance to expel the Yuan invaders, nor can he retreat to pacify the land. A million territories have become his private domain. He holds military power and coerces the court. How can Brother Li say that such a person is not a treacherous minister?" Zhang Ruo was furious, completely disregarding the fact that Li Dachui had just saved his life. His face flushed red as he angrily questioned him.

This made Yuan Rong somewhat worried.

They've been operating in Chang'an for a long time, and they're not just ordinary江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world); they always have some connection with the imperial court. Judging from the implication, Li Dachui's identity is probably quite complicated. If Zhang Ruo angers this person, and the other party turns hostile, things could be very dangerous.

Judging from the abilities the opponent has shown so far, these few are probably no match for them.

Fortunately, Li Dachui wasn't angry. Instead, he carefully wiped the wine cup he had thrown on the ground clean, poured another cup for Zhang Ruo, and said gently, "Zhang Gong is a loyal and upright minister, I know that much. Linghu Ye has his own plans and wants to amass power, which is not wrong. But one thing is also clear: as long as he is here, at least this million-acre territory outside the pass still belongs to Great Qin, flying the banner of Great Qin, and the Yuan barbarians haven't taken an inch of it. As far as I know, there are voices in the court advocating abandoning this land outside the pass, arguing that it doesn't contribute a single ounce of revenue to Great Qin, but instead becomes a bottomless pit for the treasury. These voices have been growing louder in recent years!"

“In recent years, the court has faced increasing difficulties. Rebellions have broken out one after another within the country, and the invasion of the Southern Chu has become increasingly fierce. Compared to the Yuan invaders outside the pass, the Southern Chu is the court’s number one enemy! It is understandable that some people in the court want to transfer elite troops from outside the pass to quell the rebellion,” Zhang Ruo said.

"In my opinion, such people should be beheaded!" Li Dachui sneered. "The Yuan invaders are the real threat to Great Qin. Once we abandon the area outside the pass and lose this strategic buffer zone, the Yuan invaders will advance unimpeded. At that time, not only Great Qin, but also our glorious Central Plains culture will be in danger of collapse. Lord Zhang, forgive my bluntness, but the conflict with Southern Chu is like brothers fighting among themselves, while the Yuan invaders pose a threat to our country and our race."

"A mere million or so Yuan barbarians, how can it be as serious as you say?" Zhang Ruo was somewhat dismissive: "Ten people make one soldier, and the Yuan barbarians can only muster a hundred thousand soldiers. How can they compare to the Southern Chu with a million armored soldiers?"

Li Dachui chuckled: "Master Zhang, it seems that the big shots in Chang'an all think this way. Well, now that you're outside the pass, you'll naturally understand the situation here after you stay a while. It's far more complicated than you imagine!"

"The fact that people like Linghu Ye are in power outside the Great Wall is the source of the chaos there. In my opinion, it's not that he can't quell the unrest, but that he's unwilling to do so, and he's just keeping the enemy around to maintain his own power. I actually hope that he dares to kill me, so that the court can more legitimately replace him with a new general."

"Who should we replace them with?" Li Dachui retorted. "Who can command these arrogant and fierce soldiers from beyond the Great Wall?"

“Ma Dacheng, the garrison commander of Yangguan!” Zhang Ruo blurted out. “I know him. He is skilled in military strategy and tactics, and is also extremely loyal to the country.”

Li Dachui slowly shook his head: "Master Zhang, the affairs outside the pass are not just about military matters! More importantly, they are about checks and balances. I don't know if Linghu Ye will rebel in the future, but I do know for sure that if Ma Dacheng really becomes the commander outside the pass, it will inevitably lead to chaos outside the pass, and it will be uncontrollable."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The affairs beyond the Great Wall cannot be handled well simply by loyalty. Sometimes, loyalty can actually make things worse!"

This is a classic case of "when two people don't see eye to eye, a few words are too much." At this point, Zhang Ruo's face had turned as black as paper, and Li Dachui had lost all interest in talking.

Now he finally understood why this Scholar Zhang had stirred up such a storm in the imperial court.

He was indeed a loyal and upright official, or rather, a capable minister in matters of finance.
However, their grasp of the overall situation was far from adequate.

They were being used without even realizing it!
He was specially sent to the area outside the Great Wall by someone with ulterior motives.

Thinking of the person who had told him to protect Zhang Ruo's life no matter what, Li Dachui couldn't help but smile bitterly.

If Zhang Ruo knew who this person was, would he be furious?
Contrary to Zhang Ruo's guess, the person who wanted to save Zhang Ruo's life was precisely one of the key targets of Zhang Ruo's attack in the court this time.

Zhang Ruo's friend?
Li Dachui shook his head.

Someone wanted to use Linghu Ye's name to kill Zhang Ruo, thereby stirring up trouble again.

Linghu Ye did indeed want to kill Zhang Ruo to test the court's bottom line regarding him.

Of course, you can't kill them in Zhenwu City.

It would be best to die outside.

That way, he'd have something to say.

His allies in the court could also be used to wage a chaotic war against his political enemies.

Naturally, it is easier to gain benefits during times of chaos. When the government is efficient and just, it is far too difficult to seize the greatest benefits, and often the results are much less than expected.

Such an opportunity should naturally be seized.

There are more than one group of people offering bounties in Tai'an City.

Zhang Qingyun looked left and right. Her father's face was ashen, and he remained silent with his eyes closed. Li Dachui was absent-minded, poking at the fire with a stick. Yuan Rong and Yuan Tong couldn't understand anything and sat there in a daze, looking completely bewildered.

Wu De understood, but he didn't dare to speak. He sat there with his head down, trying to listen carefully while pretending to be as clueless as the Yuan brothers. It was quite a challenge for him.

They just saved our lives, after all. Father is being too disrespectful. If we just go along with what they said, it won't cost us anything.
Zhang Qingyun felt a little resentful in her heart, as she would still need to rely on them for the rest of the time!
“Brother Li, that guy just rushed down from the sky, he was so fierce! But Brother Li is even more amazing, I didn’t even see it clearly, how did you defeat him?” Zhang Qingyun broke the somewhat awkward silence.

When this topic came up, everyone in the temple perked up immediately, except for Zhang Ruo who wasn't interested and Fang Xiaomao who was focused on grilling meat.

After all, that Ao Hu was capable of fighting two against one, and was basically on par with the Yuan brothers.

The assassin who appeared out of nowhere was easily subdued by Li Dachui.

The Yuan brothers are at the seventh rank of Xuan Yuan, so what rank is Li Dachui?
Everyone couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.

“It wasn’t difficult at all. He thought I was a weakling!” Li Dachui said with a smile, “So he didn’t care about me at all, and only thought about taking Zhang Gong’s life with one strike. I am just a sneak attack. That guy is a typical case of misjudging the enemy and losing the initiative, which is why I was able to catch him off guard. If it were really a face-to-face confrontation, it wouldn’t be so easy.”

The group of people in the temple all looked unconvinced.

Li Dachui shrugged, meaning, "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

"I've heard Uncle Yuan and Uncle Yuan talking about ranks all the way here. Brother Li, what rank are you?"

Seeing the other party's efforts to liven up the atmosphere, Li Dachui couldn't help but laugh: "The so-called martial arts grades are not really a real boundary. They have only become popular in the last hundred years or so. When it comes to actual combat, it is common for a lower-grade martial artist to kill a higher-grade one."

"Can a third or fourth-rank cultivator kill a seventh or eighth-rank cultivator?" Zhang Qingyun asked, his eyes wide.

“That’s impossible!” Li Dachui explained, “There are four levels of martial arts: solidification, qi control, profound essence, and innate. It’s not impossible to defeat an opponent of a higher level, but if the difference is too great, it’s like a child trying to compete with an adult. If the difference is too great, it’s meaningless. Of course, I’m talking about martial arts skills and competition. If we include scheming and trickery, then it’s a different story.”

"I heard that the city lord of Tai'an City is a master of the Innate Realm?" Yuan Rong asked. "Aren't you in Tai'an City? Is he really so?"

"I think so!" Li Dachui said.

"That's really impressive. It's because of people like him that Linghu Ye doesn't dare to provoke him, and that's why Tai'an City is so prosperous today." Yuan Tong said with no small amount of envy, "Only when people live to this level can they be truly free and do whatever they want!"

“You’re wrong about that!” Li Dachui said, “It’s not that Linghu Ye is afraid to provoke the Lord of Tai’an City, it’s just that it’s not worth it.”

"I've heard that Linghu Ye is only at the ninth rank, yet he dares to face a master of the innate realm?"

"Does he need to face him himself? No matter how powerful a master of innate cultivation is, can he contend with an army of tens of thousands?" Li Dachui laughed. "Linghu Ye doesn't need to lift a finger. He only needs to send out a thousand of his personal guards. If they can surround a master of innate cultivation, they can wear him down to death."

"Can a master of innate level be surrounded?"

“That’s true! However, even a master of innate level wouldn’t be foolish enough to provoke Linghu Ye amidst a massive army.” Li Dachui said, “Besides, the Lord of Tai’an City has Tai’an City to worry about, so it’s even less likely that he would provoke Linghu Ye. In fact, the two of them have a tacit cooperative relationship.”

Are there many forces like those in Tai'an City outside the pass?

"There are many. As far as I know, there are no fewer than ten forces that can negotiate with Linghu Ye. Of course, none of these forces have any innate masters, or even a single ninth-rank master. Their ability to survive is not based on mere military strength. Just like Linghu Ye, even though he commands an army of 100,000, scattered across this million-mile-wide territory, he can't do whatever he wants. There are too many things involved."

Li Dachui's words silenced everyone in the temple.

Previously, they thought Linghu Ye was the local tyrant of this place beyond the pass, but now it seems that's not entirely true.

(End of this chapter)