Chapter 126 The Stage

The entire Jin territory was actually in a state of recuperation. The devastation of war couldn't be restored overnight, but Yingdu was an exception.

Firstly, even when the barbarians and rebels were at their worst, Situ Lei's desperate final strike had ensured that the Situ family's capital city never fell into enemy hands.

Secondly, the refugees caused by the war instinctively flocked to Yingdu, creating a distorted sense of prosperity that made the city seem even more lively than before the war.

At this time, Fan Li, with a sack draped over his shoulder, silently walked along the streets at night. Yingdu didn't have a curfew, so even at night, it was still very noisy.

In front of a small tavern, Fan Li stopped. He saw a man with a sword sitting there, eating and drinking alone.

Yan people liked to wear knives, while Jin people liked to wear swords. Although the Jin territory was now Yan land, some habits of the Jin people couldn't be changed in a short time.

Fan Li stood silently outside, watching him eat his fill, pay the bill, pick up his sword, and prepare to leave.

The swordsman who left the tavern walked to a secluded alley, placed his sword aside, and began to unfasten his belt, looking like he was going to relieve himself.

Fan Li waited for a while, and when he was done and reaching back to fasten his belt, he stepped forward, grabbed the other man's neck, and lifted him up as if he were a chick. At the same time, he took out the sack with his other hand, ready to stuff him in.

Who would have thought that this swordsman would emit a faint blue light, and at the same time, press down with one hand, actually pulling out a dagger and stabbing it towards Fan Li's chest.

Fan Li was a little surprised and immediately raised his arm again.

Because Fan Li was too tall, his arms were naturally long, while this swordsman was slightly thin, causing his dagger thrust to fail to touch Fan Li. When he turned to prepare to twist his wrist and cut his arm, Fan Li exerted force with his palm.

"Crack!"

The swordsman's neck was directly broken, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his head drooped.

Releasing his hand,

With a "thud,"

The swordsman's body fell to the ground.

Fan Li looked at the sack, feeling a little helpless. He had originally wanted to find a swordsman to show Jian Bi (Sword Maid) for her illness, because he had hired several doctors in the city, but they still couldn't come up with any solutions. Moreover, Jian Bi's current physical condition couldn't adapt to traveling, so he didn't dare to forcibly take her back to Xuehai Pass.

Therefore, he could only find a swordsman in Yingdu to take a look. Since they both used swords, they should be able to see something, right?

A mistake.

Fan Li picked up the sack, turned, and left the alley, preparing to look for the next "doctor."

Not long after Fan Li left,

A group of armored soldiers swarmed in, led by Ran Min, who had once drunk with Xiao Liu Zi in the county office.

A subordinate checked the swordsman's body and reported:

"Captain, the man is dead. His neck was broken by a strong force."

Ran Min's gaze narrowed slightly, and he said:

"Interesting. We've been watching for several days, and he was taken out at this time."

"Captain, could it be that the people from the Secret Intelligence Division helped us?"

"Would the Secret Intelligence Division target such small fish?" Ran Min asked.

But in fact, he himself was a little unsure, because although he was valued by the former Minister of War and appointed as the city defense captain in Yingdu, he was after all on a different path from the Secret Intelligence Division. He didn't know whether it was the Secret Intelligence Division who did it, and he had no way to ask.

According to common sense, the Secret Intelligence Division mainly targeted spies from the Qian and Chu states, while their local captains were responsible for clearing out the Jin people's rebel organizations.

"Collect the body and check it again. The rest of you, follow me."

"Yes, Captain."

…

In the northeastern corner of Yingdu, there was an open area. Earlier, in order to cope with possible attacks by rebels and barbarians, the houses in this area were flattened for war purposes. Although new houses had been built sporadically here after the war subsided, there was still a large area of wasteland.

A steward under Prince Cheng's Mansion brought people over to enclose the area and build a very large, quiet, and elegant pavilion, doing business with celebrities.

After all, in a big city with so many people, it was difficult to find another place like this.

Yingdu, and even the Yan people, turned a blind eye to this act of enclosing land for business.

Because this was after all a property of Prince Cheng's Mansion. Prince Cheng's Mansion was now so obedient, giving up military power and the political influence that originally belonged to the Situ family. Shouldn't people have to eat and live?

As long as it wasn't particularly excessive, it was acceptable. What's more, before the Yan people took over here, the entire Yingdu belonged to the Situ family.

At this time, in a corner of the pavilion, a small pavilion, two men, one in white and the other in black, sat facing each other.

Each person had a maidservant serving them, and outside the pavilion's long corridor, there were dancers swaying.

The man in black was named Zhang Yiqing, a native Jin person. His father, Zhang Wentong, had served as the governor of Yingdu. After the Yan people came, the position of governor was naturally replaced by a Yan official, but his father could still be transferred to the position of deputy magistrate.

Although the official position was smaller and the rank was lower, in this chaotic world, being able to protect one's family and maintain an official position while the banner of kings changed on the city walls was already extremely difficult.

The man in white was named Chen Daole, and the Chen family had originally been a famous literary family in Jin, with several great Confucians in their ancestry, and had even been invited by the Jin Emperor to be imperial tutors.

However, unlike the Zhang family, the Chen family was greatly affected by the war two years ago, because the family had secretly hidden the Wenren family's bloodline and had their home destroyed by the Yan army.

Although the Chen family was not completely exterminated, the remaining descendants had to leave the main clan and disperse.

Chen Daole came to Yingdu this time with his mother and a book boy to visit Zhang Yiqing, a former friend, which was actually a kind of seeking refuge.

Zhang Yiqing was a good enough friend, and didn't look down on his former friend just because his family had fallen, and took the initiative to invite him to this pavilion to get together.

"Brother Daole, eat some fish. This fish is cod from Wangjiang River. There are a lot of them in the snowfields, but very few in Wangjiang River, making them extremely difficult to catch. And after waiting for a while, the river surface will freeze, and even if you want to eat them, you won't be able to."

Chen Daole stretched out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, nodded, and said:

"Indeed delicious."

Zhang Yiqing drank some wine, revealing a little arrogance, and said, "How could it not be delicious? This year, the fish in Wangjiang River are much fatter than in previous years. Brother Daole, do you know why?"

Chen Daole shook his head.

Zhang Yiqing answered himself, "Blood and flesh feeding it. Two great wars, hundreds of thousands of corpses lying in Wangjiang River, how could the fish in the river not be fat?"

Chen Daole nodded and smiled: "In that case, I have to eat a few more bites. In the future, I probably won't be able to eat them again, and I don't want to eat them again."

Saying that, Chen Daole picked up his chopsticks and grabbed some more fish.

Zhang Yiqing paused slightly, then nodded and said, "It's excellent that Brother Daole can figure this out."

Chen Daole knew that his friend was reminding him, so he put down his chopsticks, picked up his wine glass, and clinked it with the other party.

Said:

"Brother Yiqing, I can let go, and I can see through it. People always have to eat."

Zhang Yiqing drank his wine and silently put down his cup.

Chen Daole gently pushed away the maidservant's hand, picked up the wine pot himself, and poured wine, while saying:

"The Yan people are powerful. In fact, earlier, when the family was hesitant, I did place my hopes on the Situ family to carry the banner of Jin.

After all, to say something that might have been a taboo at the time, no matter who had the final say, whether it was the Wenren family, the Helian family, or the Situ family, or even the Jin Emperor;

In the end, it was still our Jin people who had the final say.

Unfortunately, the Situ family suffered such a catastrophe, and in the end, all three Jin lands fell into the hands of the Yan people, alas."

"Brother Daole, why does it sound like you still have some resentment?"

"Resentment, of course, there is. We are the fish on the chopping board, that's the situation. Today's situation can only be blamed on us Jin people.

Now, although I hear that the Qian and Chu states are watching on the border, wanting to create some trouble, it doesn't have much impact on the overall situation of the Yan people.

The Yan people hold imperial examinations, select Jin scholars to enter the court, and issue grace orders to appoint Jin people as officials. Although many government offices often have a Yan chief official paired with a Jin deputy official, in any case, it can be seen that the Yan people want to incorporate our Jin land, and our Jin people.

Because of this, even if someone occasionally raises the banner to restore the Jin land, it's nothing more than bandits and bandits pulling tiger skins to make coats, and nothing will come of it.

I, your brother, have seen through all of this, and decided to bring my mother here. Since I don't have the guts to not eat Yan grain, I can only bend my waist for five bushels of rice."

"Why must Brother Daole be like this? As the saying goes, good birds choose trees to perch on. Brother Daole is a descendant of the Chen family, and his family reputation is here. With my father's recommendation, you will surely become a civil servant. Now, outside of Yingdu, the lives of our Jin people are not very good. If Brother Daole has the opportunity to be assigned outside, you can do more for the people of the Three Jin."

"I appreciate Brother Yiqing's care."

"You and I are like brothers, why say such distant words?"

"Yes, I was too attached. Come, I'll punish myself with a drink!"

"Let's drink together!"

Next, the two didn't talk about official matters anymore, but instead began to talk about the scenery here and the romance of the past.

However, it belonged to the romance of the past.

As they talked, both men's eyes became moist and red.

At this time,

Chen Daole got up,

Said:

"Brother Yiqing, my mother is still at the inn, and I really can't go back too late to worry her."

"That's natural, that's natural. Anyway, you and I will have the opportunity to meet again in the future. Oh, yes, Brother Daole, this sword is a gift I'm giving you;

Brother Daole is now a famous sword in its scabbard, and one day, it will surely have its day to shine!"

"Brother Yiqing's kindness is engraved in my heart!"

After saying goodbye,

Chen Daole left the pavilion,

First stood on the road for a while, using the cool breeze to sober up.

Then,

Noticing his surroundings, he walked straight ahead,

Then,

He changed several roads in a row,

Finally, he entered a small house.

After closing the door, Chen Daole clapped four times, and the sound of a crossbow string immediately came from the house. Obviously, as soon as he came in, there were already several crossbows aimed at him through the paper windows.

"Squeak…"

The door was pushed open,

A man wearing an iron mask walked out.

When Chen Daole saw this man, he didn't salute, but said calmly:

"I can settle down now. What should I do next?"

The masked man said:

"Next, you don't need to do anything. In the past year, there are fewer and fewer Jin clans willing to support us. Now that you can get an official position, you should cherish it and save it for future use."

Chen Daole's face showed a look of doubt, and he said:

"Then what did you come here to do? I thought I needed to cooperate with some actions in Yingdu."

"Prince Cheng's Mansion has completely become a slave to the Yan people. There is no place for us to act in Yingdu. We are just temporarily staying in Yingdu and will leave here soon.

After you get an official position, you should manage it well. The Yan dogs are now in high spirits, and we need to avoid their edge for the time being;

But the Yan dog emperor's body should not last too long. One day, when the situation changes, we can immediately take action and restore our Jin lands.

Chen Daole, I only hope that you adhere to your original heart, remember that you are a descendant of the Chen family, and remember that you are a Jin person."

"I don't need you to remind me of these things. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

"Okay."

Chen Daole left the small house. Although he looked like a scholar, it was obvious that his skills were really good when he was walking swiftly with a sword.

No one said that the descendants of the Chen family, who had always produced great Confucians, must not practice martial arts;

No one said that the descendants of the Chen family, who had suffered military disasters and the destruction of their homes for sheltering the Wenren family's bloodline, must submit to reality.

Chen Daole had always had an obsession in his heart, which was to drive the Yan people out of Jin and restore the Three Jin.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Chen Daole took a preemptive dodge, flipped over the courtyard wall, and hid himself in a locust tree in the courtyard.

Then,

A team of armored soldiers passed by the location where he had been earlier.

It's already this hour, and the Yan people still aren't resting, running around at night. Something must have happened.

Chen Daole didn't rush down, but waited in the tree for a while.

In fact, in the past two years, when the Helian and Wenren families had just been exterminated, the resistance movement and various sects in Jin were actually very active.

Because at that time, the Yan people had just arrived, and the Yan army was only stationed in large cities. Their control over other places was very weak. At the same time, the Situ family was still there, and the Jin people still had hope.

But with the implementation of the imperial examinations and the Yan people's reform of the Jin official system, these resistance organizations, which could have received support from the Jin clans' walled villages, were gradually cut off from supplies.

After that, the Situ family also surrendered to the Yan people, and the pillar collapsed;

And after the war, the Yan people began to focus their attention on cracking down on them, arresting those who should be arrested and killing those who should be killed. The situation, for people like Chen Daole, had reached an extremely critical moment.

Even he sometimes felt confused in the middle of the night, wondering if his persistence was right.

But when he saw those Yan people during the day and heard those Yan accents, the revulsion and rejection from the bottom of his heart made him very uncomfortable.

He was different from other organizations. Some were remnants of the Wenren family, some were remnants of the Helian family, and even some were remnants of the Situ family, because not everyone under the Situ family's power was willing to follow Prince Cheng to surrender to the Yan people.

He was a maverick. He had contact with many families, but he was not truly a member of any one family.

He didn't care who was in charge of Jin after driving out the Yan people,

As long as he didn't have to hear the Yan accents when entering and leaving the city gates or at the checkpoints, he would be satisfied.

After confirming that the previous team of armored soldiers had gone far away,

Chen Daole jumped down from the tree,

Clapped his hands,

While looking down at the sword that Zhang Yiqing had given him,

He felt a sense of emotion and murmured to himself:

"Hide the sword in its scabbard, wait for the time to act."

"Bang!"

Chen Daole only felt a heavy blow to his head, and his vision immediately blurred and he fainted.

Then,

A tall man took out a sack and stuffed Chen Daole into it.

"What a chatterbox."

——————

There will be another chapter before 1 a.m.