It was normal for him to die. Even he, Wang Zhiben, was prepared to die in Taiyuan.
When he said "I must be dead", he thought he was being tactful enough, and the sigh was enough to express condolences.
"died?!"
Unexpectedly, Li Zhaocheng took a step forward and shouted with confusion and shock, somewhat losing his temper.
Wang Xun had no choice but to explain briefly, and finally said: "When I was in Huozhou, I heard rumors that Hao Laosan seemed to be dead. Maybe this is the reason why Zhang Hongfan stopped hunting us and rushed back to Taiyuan. I accept Taoist Master Yu's life-saving grace...
…”
"Then you didn't see my senior brother die?"
Wang Xun fell on Sun Deyu's face and felt helpless for a moment.
In addition to King Qin's brother, Dean Xiao Sun can also be regarded as one of the ministers who has met King Qin the most times.
None of them can afford to offend.
"Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I can infer that Taoist Master Yu will not be able to escape."
"Why?"
Wang Xun didn't want to admit it, but still reluctantly responded: "I am trapped alone in Taiyuan and being targeted by two dogs, Zhang Jiu and Hao Qi. Even I am not sure...even I have no way to escape, let alone
He also assassinated Hao Laosan in public."
Not only was he sure that Yu Dechen was dead, but he also saw that he was close to Li Zhaocheng and Sun Deyu, and he did not dare to let them have any more hope and then they would hate him even more, so he simply put his words to death.
"I couldn't bring him back, and I'm extremely ashamed."
After that, Wang Xun sincerely handed over his hands and solemnly apologized to Li Zhaocheng and Sun Deyu.
As for the Jiang Di siblings on the side, he simply ignored them.
Wang Xun can be soft to others, but not to those whose status is lower than him...
Li Zhaocheng was silent for a while, stepped out of the way, raised his hand slightly, and said: "Brother Muqiao, you have worked hard on this trip."
"It's not hard to do things for the king."
"please."
After Wang Xun left, the four of them stood on the side of the road for a while, all feeling a little depressed.
"Why did you just let him go?" Jiang Cang raised his fist and said, "Beat him to relieve his anger."
"He should be beaten up and he cursed my senior brother randomly. He didn't even see what happened to him." Although Sun Deyu said this, he still lowered his head and complained to himself in a low voice: "He won't take it seriously.
, I still have to show off every time, okay..."
Jiang Di stood there silently, always looking a little calm. After hearing Sun Deyu's complaint, she said: "When I was in Qingfu County, the whole county was searching for him, but he was still in front of me... Muyu
This guy just looks too stupid, which is why you all underestimate him."
After saying this, she actually smiled and said: "Don't worry, he must still be alive."
~~
Li Zhaocheng looked back and saw Jiang Di looking very free and easy. After comforting Sun Deyu, she went straight to Mokan Academy.
It seems a little cold and thin.
"Why is sister like this?" Jiang Cang muttered, "You don't even seem worried."
Li Zhaocheng said: "She believes that Muyu must still be alive..."
Having said that, Li Zhaocheng couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in Jiang Di.
He moved to Guanzhong from the south of the Yangtze River. It was because of these friends that he felt that this place was not a foreign land. Although he understood Jiang Di's attitude, it still made him feel that she didn't care that much about her friends.
Afterwards, he entered Prince Qin's Mansion and saw Li Xia in the lobby. Li Zhaocheng suddenly understood where Jiang Di's cool character came from.
Li Xia seems to be a person who does not need any emotional support, family or friends. Even if he is alone in a foreign land, he always looks so tenacious.
He will not be sad or discouraged, has a cold temperament, is alienated from others, and will remain unmoved by anything he encounters.
This may be one of the reasons why Li Xia is so powerful.
Li Zhaocheng knew that he would never be able to do this in his life. He was much more humane, but also much weaker. Even just seeing Jiang Di's strength and calmness made him feel uneasy.
He hoped that Li Xia would be a little softer sometimes.
…
Li Xiagang had just seen Hao Tianyi, who was marking something on the map with a charcoal pen. He also saw Li Zhaocheng coming in and giving official orders without raising his head.
"It's just in time. It's already the end of September. The Guanzhong water conservancy project will start in early October, and the first batch of banknotes are already being packed. Everything is ready, and the interests involved are huge. You, the Integrity and Investigation Department, must keep an eye on it. Tell me.
What’s the situation? What’s the difficulty?”
After finishing speaking, Li Xia waited for a while, but did not hear Li Zhaocheng's report.
He then put down the pen in his hand and said, "What's wrong?"
Li Zhaocheng hesitated and asked, "Can you remember the past?"
Li Xia didn't understand it at first. After thinking about it for a while, he realized that he was asking about the memory before his rebirth, so he shook his head.
"Then...if I die, will you be sad?" Li Zhaocheng asked again.
Li Xia couldn't help but frown.
Even his wives and concubines at home don't have such pretentious problems.
"What? Seriously ill?"
"No, I just want to ask. If I die, you will still do whatever you have to do, right?"
"Um."
Li Xia nodded without hesitation. Later, seeing that Li Zhaocheng looked a little disappointed, he finally added, "But I will try my best to prevent you from dying."
Although there was only one sentence, Li Zhaocheng seemed to be quite comforted.
Li Xia was preparing to continue asking Lian Fangsi about the matter.
But Li Zhaocheng asked again: "Do you think Yu Dechen can survive in such a situation?"
Li Xia did not answer, but said: "Wang Xin told you everything? He thought that if the Taiyuan incident failed, he could tell it everywhere, right? He will break the pot when he encounters a slight setback. I think his temper is even more ruthless.
Knock it."
Li Zhaocheng felt Li Xia's displeasure and was a little frightened. He quickly responded: "He just... trusts me."
After that, he hesitated for a while, then faced Li Xia's stern gaze, he raised his head and asked, "Can you tell me how Yu Dechen is doing?"
Li Xia was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know."
He looked back at the pile of official documents on the case and sighed with some self-deprecation.
"I can't care about those many details. Not just Yu Dechen, but the lives of many people have become details that I can't care about..."
~~
That evening, Li Xia returned to the back house and sat in the room watching Zhang Wenjing change her son's diaper.
Talking about everything that happened today, there were some things that he could not say to Li Zhaocheng, but he could say them to Zhang Wenjing.
"Wang Xin came back from Taiyuan and he did a good job."
If Wang Xun heard Li Xia say these words with his own ears, he would probably be very surprised.
But this matter actually becomes clear once you think about it.
Hao Tianyi was returned to Taiyuan by Li Xia. As long as Kublai Khan was not a fool, there was absolutely no way he would have allowed Li Xia to control the Mongolian army on Taiyuan Road or the smuggling trade route in Shanxi with the help of Hao Tianyi.
In other words, Wang Xun's apparent mission on his trip north had no chance of success from the very beginning.
Li Xia actually used his arrogance and high-profile characteristics to attract Kublai Khan's attention.
Liu Yuanzhen, Lin Zi, Dong Wenyong and others were secretly operating in Henan and further secretly contacted princes from various places, especially the Zhang family in Baozhou, through smuggling. This was Li Xia's real purpose.
A very small example, if Zhang Hongfan stayed in Baozhou, Li Xia would not be able to achieve his goal.
There were many generals under Kublai Khan, but there were not many who were both civil and military, understood the situation in the Central Plains, could comfort and intimidate the princes, and were loyal. Shi Tianze was one of them, and Zhang Hongfan was also one.
As long as Wang Xun can make everyone believe that Li Xia is trying to open up Shanxi with all his strength and thus ignore Henan, the actual task has been completed. Zhang Hongfan has always stayed in Shanxi as proof.
"Your Ninth Brother has been dragged to Taiyuan, which should give us more opportunities to contact Baozhou."
Li Xia said this, thought for a while, and then said: "Of course, Taiyuan can turn into a mess and drag down your ninth brother because Yu Dechen killed Hao Tianju."
Zhang Wenjing asked: "Who is Yu Dechen?"
"The expert sent by the Military Intelligence Department to protect Wang Xun..."
Li Xia said a few words briefly.
In fact, killing Hao Tianju has both advantages and disadvantages. Although it can turn Taiyuan into a mess and hold back Zhang Hongfan, it will also give many Central Plains people the impression that Li Xia only knows how to assassinate.
But after talking to Li Zhaocheng today, Li Xia no longer cares much about this disadvantage.
"Do you remember when we were in Luyi?" Li Xia suddenly asked.
"Yeah." Zhang Wenjing sat down next to Li Xia, held his arm, smiled softly, and said, "How could I forget? I will remember it forever."
"At that time, I was just a chess piece, a nobody, but now I control the fate of others. I sent them to dangerous places in the North, and the tasks I gave them were all fake and unimportant. As long as I let them go north, it doesn't matter even if they die.
…I am afraid that I have become the same person as those temple princes back then. Although I don’t want to treat anyone as a ‘little person’ or a ‘chess piece,’ but sometimes I do.”
Zhang Wenjing held his hand and patted it gently, saying: "You are different from those people. They don't care about the lives of the chess pieces. You do. Sometimes, some things can only be done that way, there will be sacrifices, and the people sent out will die.
, but you care...I know."
"Am I just too calm?"
"Well, you are just too calm."
"Do you want me to change it?"
"I don't want to." Zhang Wenjing turned her head and looked at Li Xia seriously, her eyelashes seemed to touch his face, "I still like you like this very much. I'm not tired of you yet, so I won't change it yet."
Li Xia then smiled and was about to speak, but the baby on the couch was already crying loudly, as if his parents were only talking and ignoring him and insisted on attracting attention.
Zhang Wenjing picked up the child and rocked it gently. Looking at the little face, she felt proud and asked Li Xia, "He is so cute. If my father could see it, he would definitely like it, right?"
The reason why she is worried about this matter is because she knows that after guarding Guanzhong, Li Xia has the qualifications to recruit Zhang Rou and has sent people to Baozhou to contact her, so she can't help but have expectations for the outcome of this matter.
However, Li Xia has only received information from the direction of Shanxi, and the specific situation in Baozhou has not yet come back, so he is not sure whether it will disappoint Zhang Wenjing.
~~
In the next few days, the Prince of Qin's palace was still busy with the issuance of banknotes and the Guanzhong Water Conservancy.
But on September 29th, a messenger from the east rushed to the Qin Palace.
"Report to the King, urgent message from Junzhou..."
Junzhou is located in Henan and is not under Li Xia's rule. In addition to the smuggled ironware, there are also letters coming from Junzhou, which shows that the activities of the Military Intelligence Department have made further progress.
The letter was encrypted and filled with numbers. Li Xia filled it out word for word in the deciphered book. After reading it, he frowned slightly, thinking that he might disappoint Zhang Wenjing this time.
The plan to connect Baozhou in series did not go smoothly.
Kublai Khan actually used one move to remove the salary from the bottom of the cauldron, directly granting an official position, and wanted to transfer Zhang Rou from Baozhou to Yanjing.
More specific news has not yet arrived, Dong Wenyong only said that he would stay in Zhang Mansion temporarily to look for a turnaround.
But once Zhang Rou left, it would be difficult for anyone in the Zhang family to have the courage to make the decision, the ability to do it, and the ability to secretly communicate with Li Xia without Kublai Khan's eyes and ears.
I'm afraid this turn of events will be difficult to come by...
~~
At the same time, Zhending Prefecture, Hebei.
A large convoy of carriages was being stopped in front of the checkpoint. Someone in the convoy hurriedly greeted the patrol in front and casually rewarded them with a bunch of copper coins.
"The Zhang family in Baozhou transported batches of Ding kiln porcelain to Kaifeng."
The patrol did not dare to neglect and quickly opened the road.
The convoy set off again and passed through the checkpoints. On one of the carriages, Lin Zi opened the curtain and took a look outside. Then he closed the curtain and said to his companions in the carriage: "I haven't checked. Just rest in peace..."