Chapter 1214, Clearing away hidden dangers

The news of the Qing Clan’s military base being invaded was blocked, and after a full day had passed, there were no more crisis events.

According to what Qing Yi thought, the other party had scrapped Qing Clan’s important missile force just for the subsequent war.

If the Wang Clan declared war at this time, then the Qing Clan would be like limping into a fight with someone else.

Therefore, Qing Yi was in a constant state of anxiety throughout the day, and in his opinion it was because of his own dereliction of duty that caused Qing Clan’s strength to fold. He, as the current supreme military commander of the Qing Clan, should take full responsibility.

In the event that in a follow-up attack, the Qing Clan lost as a result, he, Qing Yi, should thank him with his death.

However, Wang Clan did not carry out a full-scale attack, as if the other party simply wanted to destroy Base 012 without any follow-up.

This left Qing Yi’s mood empty, always feeling that something was still missing.

Qing Zhen received him in the Ginkgo Manor halfway up the mountain and had people prepare hot water and meals for him.

Qing Yi has no appetite at all, “Second brother, aren’t you worried at all?”

“Of course I’m worried,” Qing Zhen took cushions and spread them on the black and gray marble floor of the manor’s hall, he sat on the cushions as if he was sitting right in the middle of the Black Lake.

For some reason, Qing Zhen had no affection for this Ginkgo Manor, which symbolized the power of the Qing Clan, but he was fond of the black lake in this hall.

He even had people remove the superfluous items in this hall: potted plants, rockeries, paintings, sofas, etc., leaving only a grand piano, and a gray cushioned pillow.

Qing Yi sat on the cold ground next to Qing Zhen and said, “Second brother, why don’t you scold me twice, it’s okay to beat me, I made such a big mistake and you didn’t say a word about me, I’m a bit flustered.”

There is always a chicken soup circulating in this society: the leader says you are valuing you, when he doesn’t say anything about you, you are finished.

In fact, there is some truth in this saying, so Qing Yi, facing the calm Qing Zhen, always felt as if he was hopeless.

Only Qing Zhen didn’t answer his question, but talked about something else: “Qing Yi, how many times did you come to this Ginkgo Manor when you were a child?”

“Once,” Qing Yi said, “When I was 18 years old I was led here by my father, saying that he wanted to bring me to meet the old man who used to be in charge of the Qing Clan, but then that old man said that I wasn’t a great talent, and my father paid little attention to me after he returned home. Then when my father was seriously ill and living in the hospital, he wouldn’t even let me visit him.”

The monstrous kinship in this consortium’s mansion was shocking to watch.

Perhaps many of the stragglers would secretly mutter something about how it was better to be a straggler if they knew about these things, but if they were given the chance to become a new consortium, most of them would also put it all behind them.

Qing Yi’s father was very strict with him, urging him every day as a teenager to study, socialize, and even learn about the military ahead of time.

Once Qing Yi did not do well, his father would beat and scold him.

At one time, Qing Yi thought that this was because his father loved him so much.

Later on, he realized that his father had treated him as a tool to gain wealth and glory from the beginning to the end, and once the other party realized that the tool was not good, he abandoned it.

Qing Yi said, ”Ginkgo Manor seems to be a place where fate is decided in the eyes of every Qing Clan child. Just like a child from an ordinary family taking the college entrance exam, the watershed is decided from the age of 18. But what was even more desperate was that even if they failed the college entrance exams, others wouldn’t fall through the cracks and there were other opportunities. But walking out from here, if you are said to be of no great use, then you will be targeted by the ‘hyenas and jackals’ outside, and in just a few years’ time, all of the power in your lineage’s hands will be divided up.”

Qing Zhen said out of breath, “Yes, the old men almost decided your fate with a single word, that’s why I used to hate it here. They laughed when they met me on one side and said that I was fit to be Qing’s shadow, so I had to be Qing’s shadow for them.”

Qing Yi looked towards this second brother of his, to be honest he had always been a bit curious as to what Qing Zhen had said here back then that he had been chosen by those old men to become the new shadow of the Qing Clan.

However, Qing Zhen did not intend to explain anything: ”I come here a bit more often than you, because after becoming a shadow I have to come and report to the old men and also receive lessons from them. Every time I come, I feel that the furnishings in this hall are too redundant, as if they have been placed with so many attachments in order to cover up the fact of their stupidity.”

In Qing Zhen’s eyes, the specimens of beasts’ heads, the landscape paintings, and the exquisite weapons in that manor were nothing more than useless embellishments.

Hypocritical, and flimsy.

In fact, those old men neither have the strength to hunt, nor do they have the heart to splash ink, and the grand piano placed in this hall has never been played.

Why would a truly powerful man need all this to groom himself?

This Gingko Manor cannot represent the Qing Clan, where he, Qing Zhen, sits, where is the center of the Qing Clan.

Therefore, he had the place emptied, leaving only a piano and a cushion.

Qing Zhen laughed at Qing Yi, ”My father was told by them back then that he was ‘too bookish and read stupidly’, and as a result, he was depressed for the rest of his life, and was also squeezed by his relatives. You also know how poor Luo Lan and I were when we were young, those relatives took away all the family business left by my grandfather. In fact, my family had a piano, but when Luo Lan was born, he almost died, so my father sold it to cure him. I always wanted to buy him another one later, but unfortunately I couldn’t do it even before he died.”

Qing Zhen’s glorious life began at the age of 18, and when he became the shadow candidate of the Qing Clan, all the relatives who had once sneered at him came back to curry favor with him.

Only, later on, most people looked at his glorious appearance and forgot the embarrassment this shadow had once felt.

This was the Gyeong clan, this was reality.

In this family, to be rich or marginalized was just a matter of the old men’s words.

Unfortunately, when Qing Zhen was in his glory, his father had already passed away.

Qing Zhen continued to reminisce: “When I was a child, my father in order to teach me to play the piano, directly on the table carved the keys, at that time I practiced my fingers raw pain, always begging my father not to let me learn the piano, I would like to go out every day to play with Luo Lan, but my father said, my brother kind of people no matter what the world can beg for a meal, because he has the ability to be willing to tolerate insults and humiliations, and is willing to stoop down to bow his head. I’m the only one who puts him a little at ease, and father says that in case he goes away, I’m considered to have a trade, so maybe I can earn some money to live on by selling my trade.”

“No wonder you left this piano behind, Second Brother,” said Qing Yi.

“Well,” Qing Zhen said, “Father would have been very happy if he could have played such a good piano when he was alive, this kind of good piano should be played by someone like him.”

Qing Yi nodded, “I understand about the piano, it’s the first time I’ve heard you mention it, Second Brother, but why do you want to keep another cushion?”

Qing Zhen looked at Qing Yi, “Because sitting on the floor for a long time will make your butt hurt, doesn’t your butt hurt?”

Qing Yi: “……”

Speaking of which, Qing Yi also went to the room and looked for cushions to come out and pad under his butt.

Don’t say, just now he accompanied Qing Zhen to sit on the floor also didn’t dare to say anything, now he feels that it does hurt quite a bit ……

I don’t know why Qing Yi suddenly felt much calmer, perhaps it was Qing Zhen’s unflinching tone that was affecting him, or perhaps it was that this black lake was too calm for his heart to follow.

No wonder his second brother likes to sit here, the other seems to have too much on his mind, so he needs a more “silent” environment to sort out his emotions, and this place is just right.

The empty space and monochromatic colors are like sitting in meditation in the middle of a lake.

Qing Zhen said to Qing Yi: “Don’t worry too much, we have to recognize the enemy’s strength before we can have the courage to face it. The destruction of the military base was expected, there is no need to blame yourself too much. Even if the other party didn’t destroy military base 012, they will still go and destroy the others, we simply can’t defend against it now.”

“Then what do you think they want to do now, Second Brother?” Qing Yi asked.

Qing Zhen laughed, “We should know the answer soon.”

Just as the words fell, Xu Zou ran in from outside, holding a satellite phone in his hand.

Xu Zou said to Qing Zhen, “Sir, the call really came.”

Qing Zhen took the phone and put it to his ear, and Wang Shengzhi’s weak voice came from inside.

The other party laughed softly, “Last time I invited you to come, you didn’t come, this time, I’ll wait for you at Barrier 61.”

After saying that, Wang Shengzhi hung up the phone.

Qing Zhen passed the phone to Xu Concealment, and both Qing Yi and Xu Concealment heard what Wang Shengzhi said.

It turned out that the other party had destroyed the 012 military base just to tell Qing: I have the ability to break the chips in your hands.

The last time Wang invited Qing Zhi to the Central Plains, Qing Zhi didn’t go.

This time Wang then gave Qing Zhen a reason why he had to go: if Wang went to war with Qing, Qing would definitely lose, but now there is an opportunity for peace talks, do you want it?

Qing Yi looked at Qing Zhen and said seriously, “Second brother, you can’t go!”

Qing Zhen asked, “Why?”

“You are the leader of the Qing Clan, if anything happens to you, this Qing Clan will collapse,” Qing Yi said, “They only destroyed one of our military bases, it’s not like they destroyed all of them, the Qing Clan still has a fighting chance! If Wang wants to attack over, he will have to build a huge supply lifeline first, five hundred kilometers of road, I’m confident that I can show them the difference between the Qing Clan and the Kong Clan and the Zhou Clan.”

Qing Zhen laughed, “If it can destroy your first military base, then it can just as easily destroy the second, I think it’s very likely that the other military bases are already out of order, it’s just that the other side hasn’t activated the destruction plan. Yi, you can’t be lucky when playing chess with an AI.”

“But you’ll be in danger if you go, Second Brother, will Wang treat you well? Will he still let you return to Southwest?” Qing Yi said urgently.

Xu Conceal, who had been silent, also said, “Sir, you can’t go.”

Qing Zhen smiled and said, “Have the back kitchen cook some more food, I’m a bit hungry. As for these business matters, we’ll have to wait until my brother returns.”

The other side had already dropped their pieces, and now it was Qing’s turn.

Qing Zhen sat in the black lake and looked out towards the hall door, just in time to see the ginkgo trees halfway up the hill.

At this time, the ginkgo trees had not yet yellowed, and would really have to wait until October, when the Ginkgo Mountain was at its most beautiful, and that fruitful harvest season also carried more memories of Qing Zhen.

Qing Zhen recalled his father told him that these ginkgo trees were planted by the ancestors of the Qing family, and at first they did not think that this place would turn into a ginkgo mountain.

Ginkgo trees are also called Gongsun trees, because it takes more than twenty years for a ginkgo tree to grow to fruition, so it is “Gong planting the tree and Sun getting the food”.

When he and Luo Lan were young and hungry, they would come to Ginkgo Mountain to secretly pick the white fruits on the trees. At first they didn’t know that the white fruits were poisonous, or their father told them that they had to be boiled before they could eat them.

Gingko Mountain is a closed area, although there are no troops stationed there, but few residents are willing to venture into the mountains, because this is the Qing clan’s “backyard”.

Originally, Qing Zhen did not dare to steal the white fruit, but Luo Lan was bold enough to say that he was starving to death and still cared about the rules and regulations.

Later, the two brothers also brought other people to pick, and then secretly sold to the barriers in the restaurant, sold more boss will also give them a bowl of white fruit pig’s knuckle soup to drink.

If you are lucky, you can also eat some trimmings, that is the two brothers rare meat.

Gradually, some people in the Qing clan learned of their behavior of stealing white fruit, they squatted on Ginkgo Mountain to catch them.

Fortunately, Qing Zhen is a son of the Qing Clan, so they are exempt from punishment.

Later on, Ginkgo Mountain began to station garrison troops, but the battalion commander of the infantry battalion was kind-hearted, and seeing that Qing Zhen and Luo Lan were in dire straits, the other side turned a blind eye to the theft of the white fruits.

The battalion commander was Qing Yi’s uncle, so Qing Zhen and Luo Lan met Qing Yi later.

After getting acquainted, Qing Zhen once asked Qing Yi’s uncle, “Why don’t you arrest us, instead of allowing us to steal the white fruits?”

Qing Yi’s uncle smiled and said, “Did you know that this ginkgo tree is also known as the Gongsun tree?”

“I know, father said so,” replied Qing Zhuan.

“Then have you heard that when the ancestors of the Qing Clan planted these ginkgo trees, they told their children and grandchildren that if one day the descendants of the Qing Clan couldn’t survive, they should come and pick the white fruits and cook them for dinner, and perhaps they would be able to make it through the hard times,” Qing Yi’s uncle said.

“Never heard of it,” Qing Zhen shook his head.

Qing Yi’s uncle smiled, “Your family’s ancestor planted the tree for the future of the family, to preserve a burn of incense. You are the descendant of the Qing Clan, so what can you do if you pick a few white fruits? Maybe this ginkgo tree was planted for you.”

At this moment, Qing Zhen looked at the ginkgo forest suddenly thinking, one drink, one peck, it’s his turn to preserve the Qing Clan.

……

The news of Wang’s invitation to Qing Zhen to go to Barrier 61 was passed on by Xu Concealment to Luo Lan.

Luo Lan, who was originally rushing back to Barrier 111, actually took the special battalion and turned to Barrier 114 first.

Luo Lan himself was patrolling the Qing Clan’s barriers and had just killed a group of people in the north, his sudden diversion to the 114th barrier really made the officials there break out in a cold sweat.

When they learned that Luo Lan would be arriving, the officials gathered together to discuss strategies, they couldn’t figure out if they had done something wrong to cause this killing billet to suddenly change his itinerary.

But after careful inventory, the officials felt a bit puzzled ah, they 114th barriers in ordnance management, reserve food management without any loopholes, they and those barriers before the temporary replenishment of grain silos behavior is not the same, they are really conscientious not to engage in any cattiness.

Everyone thought to themselves, since they have no mistakes in their work, let’s first see what this Qing Clan’s number two person is really up to.

When Luo Lan was about to arrive, all the officials ran to the door to give them a welcome.

They had all heard that Luo Lan didn’t give the officials a good look when he went to the various barriers and didn’t even get out of his car when he passed by the city gates.

But while Luo Lan could not get out of the car, they could not refuse to welcome him.

As expected, Luo Lan sped through with his caravan without the slightest intention of stopping at the gate.

However, Luo Lan’s convoy did not drive to the office building after entering Barrier 114, but directly killed its way to a Qing Clan member’s official residence.

This Qing Clan member’s prestige within the Qing Clan was quite good, but the other party and Qing Zhen were not of one mind.

In theory, Qing Zhen should have cleaned up this potential threat after he took the throne, but the other party’s prestige in the 114th Barrier politics was relatively high, and Qing Zhen had more important things to do, so he saw that the other party was quite peaceful, so everyone was sort of at peace with each other.

This time, Luo Lan brought his troops and charged straight over, arriving at the other party’s official residence without saying a word and directly carrying out a complete blockade, and then rushed in with the special battalion’s elites.

The middle-aged man named Qing Huan stood in the center of his own courtyard and looked at Luo Lan coldly: “What can I do for you?”

Luo Lan hehehe smiled and walked towards the other party in big strides, and then suddenly took out his pistol and shot the other party dead on the spot, not giving the other party a chance to say a second word.

This change happened so suddenly that many of the security personnel inside the residence did not react.

When they tried to resist, the soldiers of the Special Battalion had already begun to clear the entire residence with automatic rifles equipped with silencers.

The security personnel here were all Qing’s original veterans, Qing Huan’s old men, and they were all elite.

They were all fully capable of responding to a surprise attack under normal circumstances.

But they only wore pistols on a daily basis, they didn’t even wear bulletproof vests, where were they a match for the Special Battalion’s elites?

Luo Lan glanced at the official residence that was covered in blood, then returned to the car without any delay.

Zhou Qi lamented, “The killing nature is also too heavy.”

Luo Lan said unconcernedly, “This guy seems to be staying quietly in Barrier 114, but in private, he has been manipulating the officials of Barrier 114 and trying to collude with the rest of the Qing Clan. In the past I would have kept him to show my brother’s benevolence, but now that the Wang Clan is going to cause trouble, how can I continue to keep him?”

Luo Lan’s sudden change of itinerary and his violent behavior was all because of Wang’s invitation.

At this moment, Luo Lan was exceptionally sober, a big change was coming, what he had to do was never to hurry back to Barrier 111, but to first clear out all the unstable factors beside Qing Zhen.

He had to help Qing Zhen eradicate all hidden dangers in the southwest within 3 days.

That way, he could focus his attention elsewhere without any distractions.

Zhou Qi said, ”Then what is the charge for killing him? What will the outside world say about you if you kill someone without any proof like that?”

“Hehehe,” Luo Lan realized at this time that drops of blood had just splattered onto his face, and while he took a paper towel and wiped the blood away, he smiled and said, “When did I, Luo Lan, kill a man, when did I need to make up a crime for someone else? Killing is as good as killing, whoever wants to curse can go ahead and do so, I don’t need any good reputation.”

Extraordinary times, extraordinary people, doing extraordinary things.

This was Zhou Qi’s internal evaluation at this time.

Special battalion will be the entire official residence for a thorough cleanup, to be the end of those officials just arrived here, everyone looked at the yard full of blood silenced, as if even the atmosphere did not dare to utter a sound.

Luo Lan sat in the car and looked at them coldly and said, “Today’s matter, there is a reason for this, you guys do your own work at ease, the internal matters of the Qing Clan have nothing to do with you.The ordnance management and food reserves of the 114th Barrier are doing a great job, I’m very satisfied with it.”

After saying that, the convoy once again set off to rush to Barrier 115, in Luo Lan’s plan, there were still several people to kill.

The officials at the back of the caravan who stood dumbfounded at the entrance of the residence looked at each other in disbelief, they glanced back at the corpses inside the residence, but their hearts suddenly sighed with relief.

One of the officials said to his subordinates: ”Get someone to come and clean it up, remember, block the news. If anyone asks about this, answer that they don’t know.”