Chapter 35 – Who Can Be Enemy?

The old man rested the wooden spoon in his hand on the stone at the edge of the vegetable bed, and then sat down slowly, holding his waist, looking a little strained.

It had only just snowed, the weather was cold, and the vegetable field was full of residual snow and sludge, so where could there be any leaves growing, and where would there be any need for watering? But in this night, he subconsciously picked up the wooden spoon again, watering the ground with fresh water, as if he wanted to wash away certain things.

The old man is very old, after Sean and Zhuang Mo Han died, he became the only person in the world today who had the honor of witnessing the National Ceremony of Celebration, fifty years have passed, the deep wrinkles on his face and those yellow spots that are becoming more and more conspicuous are telling his own history and the history of this country.

Three dynasties? More than that. How many emperors had he served? The old master actually thought a little unclearly, but when the late emperor ascended the throne, he himself undoubtedly chose a correct path, and that’s why he sought an irreplaceable position in the military for his family, and now this His Majesty …… is undoubtedly the one that the old master admires the most among the monarchs that he has experienced for so many years, three times of the Northern Expedition, South and West, although he has been sitting in Kyoto with the authority of the military heavyweight, stabilizing the rear for His Majesty, but those sons and nephews of the military in the clan are going with His Majesty, some of them sleep long in a foreign country, and some of them return to their homeland with their clothes on their backs.

The kingdom of Qing, was fought with guns, swords, crossbows, on horses. The old man has also been dealing with these weapons all his life, and he has killed many people in his life, destroyed many tribes around Qing, and did not change his face when ten million people died in front of him.

This kind of history can’t be washed away with a few spoons of water.

In this long history, I don’t know how many famous generals and good ministers, Mingjun Zongshi in shining their own unique light, but let the old man is deeply impressed, in fact, is only a very young, very beautiful girl.

Every time he thought about that girl, the old master’s heart began to tremble. No matter how outstanding a character was, he could only try to change the course of history, and that girl, it seemed that from the very beginning, she was ready to overturn the foundation of Qing, and then overturn the entire world.

The old man never knew whether that attempt had any possibility of success, he only keenly perceived that if the situation was allowed to develop, the entire princely and noble class of Qing would be swept away by an undercurrent of darkness, and it was well known that the noble class of Qing provided the strongest manpower support for the military of Qing.

He was afraid of this kind of turmoil, this kind of turmoil that seemed to make Qing Guo strong, but made it less like Qing Guo.

The old man was a soldier, a soldier who was loyal to Qing, for him, continuing the existence of Qing was the supreme and noble mission, so he was involved in a secret and kept that secret until today.

That girl, or rather that demoness is dead.

That’s good isn’t it? At least the Kingdom of Qing was still strong, and this Kingdom of Qing was still the same Kingdom of Qing from back then, nothing had changed, exchanging the death of one person for the peace of the entire kingdom, the old master had never regretted that decision back then.

The old master sat on the stone in silence, looking at the sewage in the vegetable field, and did not speak for a long time. The matter in front of the Privy Council this afternoon, he has heard about it, two hundred heads ……

His Majesty treats himself not thin, thirty years of the Privy Council’s main ambassador, this is also a distinction that has not been seen in the history books.

But this military number one, still as many years ago, see themselves as an ordinary member of the military, see those sons and daughters of the army as their own brothers, as they grow older, then see them as their own offspring.

Although his face was cold but his heart was kind, so this old man’s prestige in the army was not something that ordinary people could compare with.

The two hundred good men in the army, is the old master’s most trusted team of private army, has been placed in the Banshanchong secretly trained, originally for the future attack on the Northern Qi used, but now but had no choice but to send out in advance, and used in the plot to snipe the imperial court Qinzhi adults.

The old master has never paid much attention to the political affairs in the court, but this time …… he must pay attention to it, no matter for the survival of his own family, or for the future of the Qing country that he thought, he must kill that young man.

But …… actually did not kill each other!

The old man coughed, I don t know whether the coolness of the stone under his hip seeped into his cotton jacket, or the coldness in his heart surged up.

Two hundred people ah.

The old master’s face grew older and older, with more than a hint of hidden sadness, those were his own sons and daughters, all of them were supposed to be the bright future of the Kingdom of Qing, but they died just like that, and there was no peace after their deaths, and their names would never be left behind, but instead, they would be written down in the history books to be scorned by the people and become the first rebel army of the Kingdom of Qing in decades.

The old master’s heart ached and chilled.

His Majesty was too thin-skinned, too chilling, allowing that young man to remain in the middle of Kyoto and to be empowered day after day, and looking at that trend, there was no day when it would stop. Even if that young man can’t move while His Majesty is alive, what about later on? After both himself and His Majesty died, wouldn’t that young man turn over old scores?

He himself was involved in the shocking murder of Ye Qingmei, could he expect her son not to reopen old scores?

Ever since that young man from Tanyuzhou was summoned to Kyoto by His Majesty a few years ago, there had been an extra chill in the old man’s heart. Aside from Chen Pingping and Fan Jian, no one had thought that the old master had long been clear about Fan Xian’s life.

It was just that the old master was silent, even more so than in those previous years, so in the previous few years, the Qin family had actually become quiet and a bit odd in the court.

Because that young man was His Majesty’s flesh and blood, it was impossible for the old master to do anything ahead of time, he was just watching, watching to see just how His Majesty would arrange this young man.

Initially, the old master was very relieved because that young man seemed to be just a fop, spending his days hanging out in brothels with King Jing’s son, fighting over jealousy, boxing in the dark, and not showing anything special.

Then, the old master slightly worried, because that young man to marry the morning county princess, to prepare to take over the inner treasury, and in the temple a night of three hundred poems, famous, but he immediately put down his heart, because the district of the inner treasury, and how in the eyes of the military leadership figures, wealth and then have the power, always can not defeat the sword and gun, poetry how stunning, also can not help the horses hooves gusts.

But gradually, the development of things let has been cold-eyed old master alert, because …… of the spring exams, until this time he did not know, the original His Majesty secretly let this young man has the Supervisory Yuan’s mention of the waist plate.

The old master, as the first real power figure of the military, did not know how many times he had cooperated with the Supervisory Yuan in action during these past years, and of course he was most aware of the horrible strength of Chen Pingping and the Supervisory Yuan, so he felt a hint of uneasiness, and chose to take his first stand – to speak to His Majesty, and to let Fan Xian go on a mission to Northern Qi.

He knew that this mission was definitely not as easy as it appeared to be, because there was Sean, and there were many hardships. The old man was silent once again after his speech, secretly praying that it would be best for that young man to stay in Beiqi forever, never to return.

However, he was once again disappointed by the way things turned out, Fan Xian had returned to Qing, and had gained more power and fame.

Once again, the old master was silent, he quietly and stoically watched that young man, watched him fight with the second prince within Kyoto, watched the Imperial College, watched the Hanging Temple, watched the palace, and realized that this young man was just as he had expected, harsh, smart, unrelenting, and vindictive.

Powerful.

The old master felt a hint of fear, although the Fan Xian at this time was still far from enough to make him afraid, but every time he thought of that woman back then, thought of Fan Xian as her son, and saw that Fan Xian seemed to be walking the exact same path as that woman, gaining great power in a very short period of time, and being even more ruthless and venomous than that woman… …he was a little intimidated, and with the addition of not being clear on exactly what His Majesty was thinking, he began to try to find a gentle method outside of silence.

He was betting that Fan Xian would never know about the old Qin family’s connection to that year.

So the old master chose to back off and not ask questions, and even after His Majesty was enraged over Fan Xian’s matter and beat the imperial historian of the Duzha Academy with a court cane, the old master directly chose to call himself sick and not go to the Privy Council to see to his duties, and just stayed quietly at home in his old age.

His Majesty is supporting Fan Xian, the old master will have to back off, always back off to the end, in order to avoid the old stories of that year being rehashed.

The old master knew that His Majesty had this kind of ruthlessness.

This was not a gamble with His Majesty, but rather, he was showing His Majesty that he was at peace, and also subconsciously, did not want to deal with Fan Xian in the court. On the other hand, the old master had arranged for his own son to befriend Fan Xian, and had even invited him to his residence for a long time to observe him up close.

If things had gone on like this, perhaps the old master could have treated Fan Xian as a respectable junior, and the door of the Qin family could have been open to Fan Xian forever, but as we all know, plans are never as swift and overwhelming as changes.

The Ming family has the old man’s shares, the Qin family in the military, to get cash silver, than those ministers in the dynasty to be inconvenient, so many years ago, the Princess sent people respectfully took 10% of the dry shares to the Qin family, the old man was very reserved nodded, he always thought that the Princess is the royal family is a rare smart people.

Even if Fan Xian investigates Jiangnan, the Qin family is not afraid, but only in Jiangnan rich merchants have 10% dry shares, how can His Majesty because of such a small matter, come to punish always loyal to the military first high gate?

Yet there was the matter of the East China Sea island.

The private army, the slaughter of the island, this is what kind of shocking things, the old master as the Privy Council Minister, of course, is the court of the few people who know about this matter.

So the old master was silent again, fell into contemplation.

Chang Kun, the governor of the Jiaozhou naval division.

As Deng Ziyue of the Supervisory Court had reported to Fan Xian when he was in Jiangnan, this first-ranked governor lord was on good terms with the Ye family, but came from the Qin family!

The old master did not give instructions to Chang Kun, what Chang Kun did, the Qin family did not intervene, it should be the meaning of the eldest princess, after all, we all have too much interest in Jiangnan.

But the old master knows better, His Majesty knows clearly that Chang Kun is his own old Qin family!

Chang Kun is dead, and the Jiaozhou naval division has been purged, although the old master still has a few generals remaining in the Jiaozhou naval division, and his own nephew has already gone to take over the post of governor, so he is more and more puzzled as to what His Majesty is really thinking? Why did he still put his own family in charge of the Jiaozhou naval division?

The case in Jiaozhou was investigated by Fan Xian.

But even so, it was not enough for the old master to make up his mind to strike a thunderous blow against Fan Xian, because he knew clearly that assassinating an imperial minister, a de facto prince, if it leaked out afterward, it was thought that His Majesty would bestow a cup of poisoned wine upon himself, and the family would surely wither away.

The last straw that truly crushed the old man’s heart and defenses was a piece of news that came from the Supervisory Academy.

The Qing military and the Supervisory Board with decades, has long been part of the mutual infiltration, especially the Supervisory Board to recruit officials, the first choice is not successful candidates from all over the world and the military retired generals, decades past, I do not know how many retired military officers and generals have become the Supervisory Board of the real power figures.

As the first person in the military, of course, the old man would not be stupid to give up these opportunities, and had already arranged for his own people to enter the Supervisory Yuan.

The Supervisory Yuan naturally has spies in the military, this is something that both sides know in their hearts, but no one will reveal, and His Majesty has tacitly allowed his two hands to keep an eye on each other.

It was also the old master’s most powerful man in the Supervisory Yuan who passed on a somewhat odd piece of news to the Qin family.

There was a force in the Supervisory Court that was above the eight offices, and was secretly investigating certain things that happened twenty years ago, although those things investigated seemed unrelated, the conversion of Kyoto’s clothings, the logistical supply during the Western Expedition back then, and the defense of the palace, and even some trivial matters like the allocation of food and herbs, in bits and pieces, not systematic at all.

However, the old man smelled a hint of danger because of his vigilance for so many years. When he looked at that dossier, he couldn’t help but frown, these trivial matters, if someone weaves them up in detail, I’m afraid that in the end, they will all gradually point to the truth of the bloodshed in the Taiping Villa back then, that bloody truth. The Qin family that was sitting in Kyoto at that time, responsible for stabilizing the rear for His Majesty who was on imperial expedition, the dishonorable role they played in this matter would also come out in the open!

That force investigated very carefully for fear of alerting someone, but it investigated extremely intelligently, and I’m afraid that it won’t be long before it tears through the layers of camouflage and touches the real history.

Who is checking the things of that year?

What is the power of the courtyard that can override the eight offices?

The returns from the people in the courtyard, coupled with the old man’s judgment, all pointed that force toward the Qiyian group led by Fan Xian himself.

The final straw was crushed.

The old master issued the order to kill Fan Xian.

He was confident that he could keep the truth of the sniping from the world and from His Majesty for the time being, but he simply didn’t want to face Fan Xian, who would be madly avenging that woman once he knew the truth, so he chose the simplest, crude, and direct …… kill.

Perhaps he had misjudged Fan Xian’s interest in revenge.

However this mistake could no longer be changed.

Tonight, hearing the news of the defeat, hearing the news of the tragic death of those two hundred sons and daughters, the number one person in the Qing military, the Privy Council’s main minister, Old Master Qin, like suddenly aged a dozen years or so, he rubbed his old bark-like cheeks, but gradually calmed down.

Twenty years of hidden worries, a hint of reverence and fear for that woman’s ghost, allowed the Qin family’s old master to make a most straightforward decision under pressure.

However, after the matter failed, this old soldier, who had been in the sand for half a century and proudly stood in the imperial court without ever retiring, finally noticed a hint of a problem.

The person who was able to use so much power to find traces of what happened twenty years ago and override the Supervisory Court was not just Fan Xian alone, but also Chen Pingping, that old black dog.

Let Changkun slaughter the island, seemingly for the sake of the Jiangnan matter, in fact, it is a turn of eighteen will be their old Qin family dragged into this mess of mud, this is the eldest princess that crazy woman’s favorite means.

Master Qin sat on the big stone and coughed twice, finally thinking clearly about the causes and consequences of this matter, this matter has nothing to do with Fan Xian, nothing to do with His Majesty, and nothing to do with the East Palace, but there are only two people for different purposes, both wanting to let their own old Qin family also get involved in this matter.

Chen Pingping, President of the Supervisory Academy, and Princess Li Yunrui.

The two people who are the most adept at weaving conspiracies in Qing, and even the entire world, for different reasons, for a common purpose, skillfully weaving their hands for a whole half year, finally achieving the effect they wanted.

Faced with the mindless cooperation of these two people, even if it was a great man like Master Qin, what could he do?

“Father, it’s getting cold, go back to your room.”

Qin Heng, the second son of the Qin family and now the Kyoto Guardian, came behind the old master and draped an overcoat over the old master’s body, respectfully asking for instructions.

Elder Qin glanced back at his son, a sour feeling suddenly welled up in his heart, he was already so old while his son was still only in his thirties, once he died, would he still be able to maintain the dignity and status of the Qin family?

“If only the eldest son hadn’t died.”

Qin old man thought sourly, remembered that year that some impulsive eldest son, if his temperament is not so fierce, it will not be picked by a colonel in the army to take advantage of the military chaos, if he is still alive …… why do you need to work so hard?