BSI Chapter 116 Why worry about so much?
Chapter 116 Why worry about so much?
Chapter 116 Why worry about so much?
"You may go back now; I will naturally report this matter to the Emperor."
Han Shizhong spoke, but Zhang Caihu was still unwilling to give up and stepped forward: "Commander Han, this matter is Qin—"
Before he could finish speaking, a spear was already pressed against his chest. Looking up, he saw Niu Gao, his eyes filled with rage: "Go back and tell Qin Hui, if he has the guts, tell him to take care of mine too!"
At this moment, Lin Zhou stood up and subtly gave Xiao'e a look: "Let's go!"
After saying this, Xiao'e and her party followed Han Shizhong's horse and began to walk into Lin'an City. Even the most skilled imperial guards would have to think twice before engaging with such a cavalry force.
Xiao'e glanced back at Lin Zhou, who nodded slightly at her, and then disappeared around the corner a short while later.
The only people left present were Zhang Caihu, Lin Zhou, and Xu Shang, all with gloomy expressions, as well as the Palace Guard spies who had sheathed their swords.
The scene became awkward for a moment. Zhang Caihu raised his eyes and glared fiercely at Lin Zhou. After a while, he raised his hand and pointed at Lin Zhou: "Take him down!"
"You're always going to take someone from me, aren't you?"
"He is accused of colluding with Yue Fei's faction; arrest him and bring him back to await judgment."
Lin Zhou spread his hands, showing no fear on his face. Anyway, his cooldown time was over, so what could Zhang Caihu do to him? But when he came again, Zhang Caihu's fate would probably be sealed.
"Haha, catch him? Let's see how many lives you have."
Just then, Cao Wenda's voice drifted over. He also walked over with a group of people, looking quite relaxed with his hands behind his back.
"Caihu," Cao Wenda said, pushing aside the Palace Guards' obstruction and going straight to Zhang Caihu. "The Prime Minister ordered you to arrest Yue Fei's followers, not to kill innocent people and claim credit for it."
"You! Cao Wenda, what do you mean by this?"
"What do you mean?" Cao Wenda waved his hand: "Men, tie up Zhang Caihu and hand him over to Commander Han for punishment."
The two sides immediately confronted each other. Cao Wenda took two steps forward towards Zhang Caihu and took out an order: "Look carefully, this is a warrant from the Imperial City Guard. If you have any grievances, go to the Imperial City Guard and tell them properly. But if you resist, heh—don't blame me for being ruthless."
As soon as he finished speaking, more than ten people quickly stood up from the surrounding bushes, holding crossbows and aiming them at Zhang Caihu and his group.
Lin Zhou then pulled out a pistol, cocked it, and pointed it at Zhang Caihu: "Kneel down, hands behind your head! You son of a bitch."
At this moment, Zhang Caihu gave Cao Wenda a deep look and a smile appeared on his face: "Good, good, Cao, you really are an old fox."
After saying this, he silently put down his weapon and had his men unload their weapons as well. He then had the Imperial Guards tie him and his men up and led them into the city.
Seeing that the crisis had passed, Lin Zhou stepped forward and asked Cao Wenda, "Brother Cao, what happened?"
"What's going on? You're incredibly audacious!" Old Cao sighed, glaring fiercely at Lin Zhou. "Don't think the Prime Minister doesn't know what you're thinking! This time, it was only thanks to Han Shizhong's intervention that you were able to save that girl."
"I'm a loyal friend, Brother Cao—"
"I know, I know," Cao Wenda said, patting Lin Zhou on the back. "If I didn't know you were loyal, I wouldn't have offered this advice to the Prime Minister."
On the way back, Cao Wenda began to tell Lin Zhou how he had gotten Zhang Caihu into trouble.
"This matter was never going to work out in the first place," Cao Wenda chuckled, still sporting his usual smiling tiger demeanor. "The Prime Minister didn't take these kids seriously either. Even if they were all descendants of Yue Fei's army, what could those skinny kids do?"
Lin Zhou knew this. Qin Hui's main goal was to get rid of Sihou Xu Ping through this incident. In fact, Qin Hui's main target was not Xiao'e and her group.
However, it wasn't that no one saw Xiao'e and his group as targets. One such target was Qin Hui's henchmen, led by Zhang Caihu. They were eager to prove themselves to Qin Hui, especially Zhang Caihu, who, from the very beginning, had colluded with the Imperial City Guard to betray the Commander...
The reason why Xiao'e and others even want to have a direct confrontation with Han Shizhong over this matter is all here.
This is when Cao Wenda makes his move. He is not good at finding clues; what he is best at is spreading rumors and gossip.
Who is Han Shizhong? He was the leader of the four major war factions. Even Qin Hui at his peak would avoid him. After his military power was stripped, he still served as the Privy Councilor in the capital, sitting on equal footing with Qin Hui in the court. Even after Yue Fei was dealt with, Qin Hui still had to give him a wide berth.
If that traitor hadn't died, Qin Hui could have weakened Han Shizhong's influence and power by attacking Xu Ping. But now that the traitor is dead, the whole thing has failed. There's no need to clash with Han Shizhong over a few insignificant orphans of Yue Fei's army.
"Brother, you must understand that those orphans are nothing more than dispensable to the Prime Minister, but to Han Shizhong, they are essential. Even if they reach the Emperor, he will simply let them go."
"How so?"
"Although the Song Dynasty is not known for its military prowess, it cannot do without it. If even these orphans are to be dealt with, the morale of the army will collapse, and there may even be a mutiny." Cao Wenda said in a low voice, "Back then, hundreds of thousands of Yue Family Army soldiers were scattered and put into service. In addition, there are many people in the army who advocate war. In recent days, there has been some panic among the people. The Prime Minister has no choice but to avoid this sharp edge."
"But Zhang Caihu is like a wild dog, once he bites down he won't let go, even at the risk of offending Han Shizhong."
"Can't Your Excellency order that they not be investigated?"
"You, you," Cao Wenda patted Lin Zhou's back forcefully, looking around at the green hills and clear waters. "In the court, the worst thing is to change orders frequently, and this applies to both the emperor and the prime minister. The prime minister said to investigate Yue Fei's faction, so we must investigate Yue Fei's faction, including those young lads. But there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. Those skinny young lads are useless. Dealing with them won't deter anyone; instead, it will embolden Yue Fei's faction to fight to the bitter end. So, this fishing net needs to be spread out a couple of inches."
"What do you mean?" Lin Zhou scratched his head.
"Tsk, brother, you should read some books." Cao Wenda sighed. "In the imperial court, everything has to be done in moderation—"
"We brothers won't hide anything; if there were no Yue Fei faction in the world, the Prime Minister wouldn't have lived to fifty-five."
"Isn't the Prime Minister fifty-five this year?"
"Yes!" Cao Wenda said in a low, heavy voice, "The Emperor will deal with the Prime Minister."
"what?"
"Don't ask, you'll know later." Cao Wenda patted Lin Zhou on the shoulder. "Brother, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. That's why the Prime Minister instructed me to deal with Zhang Caihu, who's so stubborn, to bring him to his senses."
"So, Brother Cao, you mean that the Prime Minister is both cracking down on Yue Fei's faction and supporting it at the same time?"
"Yue Fei is dead, what are his followers? They're just a bunch of brutes, capable of anything but assassinations. What the Prime Minister is truly afraid of is—" Cao Wenda coughed at this point, then stopped speaking, simply waving his hand: "Alright, brother. Don't speak so confidently."
Lin Zhou looked Cao Wenda up and down: "And what about me? What I'll do today is—"
"Let's pretend nothing happened." Cao Wenda chuckled. "The Prime Minister won't even ask a question, but you've caught the eye of that Zhang Caihu."
"That doesn't matter," Lin Zhou waved his hand and said, "That jerk obviously doesn't have much of a brain. By the way, Brother Cao, who's watching me on the Prime Minister's side right now?"
Cao Wenda glanced at him, smiled, but didn't say anything.
"You!"
"Brother, the Prime Minister doesn't trust anyone, remember that." Cao Wenda's expression turned serious at this moment: "No matter who you're working for, always keep some things to yourself."
"Then what about establishing a livelihood for the people?"
Cao Wenda was clearly taken aback. He gave Lin Zhou a deep look, and after a long while, he smiled and said, "Just live your own life."
"Just kidding, I'm just using what I've learned. I've heard them saying that a lot these past few days." Lin Zhou quickly caught up with Brother Cao: "Come on, Brother Cao. I'll treat you to roast lamb."
"I don't have time," Cao Wenda waved his hand. "I still have to report back to the Prime Minister."
At this point, he turned to Lin Zhou and said in the softest voice, "I didn't tell the Prime Minister that your tenant went to inform Han Shizhong this morning."
Lin Zhou's body stiffened, as if he had been electrocuted from head to toe.
"Tell Han Shizhong that the Prime Minister intends to poison Niu Gao. If the Prime Minister finds out, you will be dead."
Lin Zhou pursed his lips and didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly to Cao Wenda.
"I'll say it again, I hope that if my brother ever falls into trouble, you can come to his aid." Cao Wenda cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Lin Zhou: "I have no other request."
"Don't worry, Brother Cao."
The two parted ways at the city gate. Lin Zhou squatted by the roadside and lit a cigarette. When Cao Wenda said those words to him, Lin Zhou was so cold that his underwear was soaked with sweat.
No wonder Qin Hui valued Cao Wenda so much. Even though he didn't believe in Cao Wenda's loyalty, he still believed in his abilities. He even managed to infiltrate Han Shizhong's side. You can imagine how intricate and powerful this guy's network was.
At this moment, Xu Shang handed Lin Zhou a small sweet potato stalk that he had picked from the riverbank and gestured with his chin.
"Thank you, Brother Leopard."
Xu Shang glanced at Lin Zhou and chuckled, "Little immortal, don't be discouraged. What's Cao Wenda's nickname?"
"I don't know, I've always called him Brother Cao."
His nickname was "Eight-Faced Golden Buddha".
Xu Shang straightened up, chewing on a blade of grass: "He's also from Nancheng. He's very shrewd and worldly. The fact that he's being friendly with you means he probably needs your help soon."
"What do you want from me?"
Xu Shang's expression was serious: "It's hard to say, but he would never make a choice because of friendship; it must be for personal gain."
"Understood." Lin Zhou nodded vigorously. "Then what about those children now?"
"We can't completely trust that Cao guy." Xu Shang looked around for a while. "We need to be prepared for both possibilities, especially regarding Yue Fei's daughter. Qin Hui might let the others go, but after Yue Fei, he will definitely do everything he can to deal with her."
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