The Emperor is Above

Chapter 236: No Way to Go Forward?
"The chief doctor of Yanjin City, Bao Bu Tong?"

Qing Yi was slightly stunned. He had heard of this man's name many times before.

Bao Bu Tong was not only the defender of Yanjin City, but also one of the most trusted senior officials of the king.

Yanjin City was an important financial center for the State of Xing. Especially during the ten years when Bao Bu Tong served as the city defender, the taxes he provided accounted for more than 20% of the total taxes from the 72 cities of the State of Xing. It could be said to be the purse of the State of Xing.

More than a month ago, Chongguo took advantage of the crisis that Xingguo was under siege by the Black Wind Tribe, the Guiwu Tribe, the Xianyu Tribe, and the wild people of Jiming Lake, and attempted to seize Yanjin City, a wealthy land on the banks of a big river.

It was Bao Bu Tong's decisive action that, on the one hand, he urgently mobilized the nobles and young and strong people in the area within a hundred miles of Yanjin City, and on the other hand, he firmly defended and fought back with an extremely tough attitude, which eventually made the Chongguo army return empty-handed after hesitating for half a month. He did not expect to meet him in such a situation.

Although he was surprised in his heart, Qing Yi's face did not show any surprise. He just bowed calmly and said, "It turns out that you are the defender of Yanjin City who beheaded 500 spies and scared off the Chongguo army. I am Guqiu Yi, a senior official of Jingji. I am honored to meet you, Senior Doctor."

There were strict etiquette regulations for a vassal to meet a senior official. Qing Yi's condescending behavior from behind the chariot could be considered rather rude, but Bao Bu Tong did not show any sign of being angry.

He was also startled when he heard Qing Yi's self-introduction, but then he smiled warmly, bowed and said in return: "So you are the sergeant Gu Qiuyi who defended the land alone, killed the strong men of the Black Wind Tribe and the Ghost Witch Tribe, and defeated the 50,000-strong coalition of wild people.

Compared with you, I am really unworthy of my contribution in Yanjin City. I only relied on the high and wide geographical advantages of Yanjin City to force the Chongguo army to retreat without a fight. It is nothing great.

On the contrary, you led 40 private armies and hundreds of people to defend the lonely hill, defeating and killing enemies that were a hundred times more numerous than you, which made people admire you. The king even sent a special order to spread your name among the vassal states. Even I in Yanjin City was familiar with your achievements. "

"Thank you for your praise, Master. This is truly a favor from the king. I was able to defeat an army of 50,000 barbarians because I was lucky enough to meet a group of friends from the Great Wilderness Dragon Eagles, who came to support me at the critical moment."

Qing Yi did not expect that the king would use him as a model to promote himself. He hid the Great Wilderness Dragon Vulture and the Dragon Claw Sophora Tree Spirit and packaged himself as a noble minister with outstanding military achievements in order to boost the morale of the military and civilians of Xing State.

He did not expect that Bao Bu Tong, as a senior doctor, would behave so modestly and politely. Since the other party took the initiative to apologize, he was not a vindictive person, so he returned the gift and apologized.

"I just had a little unpleasantness with your department. Since it's just a misunderstanding, let it go. I just feel that the soldiers and private army under the doctor's command are a little sensitive."

"sensitive?"

Bao Bu Tong couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"My Lord, you may not know that since I received the king's edict last month and returned to the capital from Yanjin City to meet the king, I have been assassinated more than ten times on the road in the past month.

The most dangerous time was when more than ten assassins approached me pretending to be noble officials and almost stabbed me in the chest with a sword. Thanks to the soldiers around me who fought for their lives, I escaped death.

The closer the men get to the capital, the more nervous they become. Now that they are only ninety miles away from the capital, they want to avoid any hidden dangers. That is why they were rude to the sergeant and his men. Please don’t blame me.”

"What? It's a distance of 3,000 miles from Yanjin City to the capital, and there are more than ten assassinations in one month? And there are assassins pretending to be noble officials to carry out assassinations?"

Qing Yi was shocked. He had never expected that the political struggle within the Xing Kingdom had become so intense. He immediately asked, "Do you know who dared to assassinate the senior doctor so arrogantly?"

These assassinations must have been carried out by vassals within the State of Xing. If the Black Wind Tribe or the Ghost Witch Tribe wanted to assassinate a vassal who was a senior official, there would be no need to send assassins, let alone specifically target a senior official.

Bao Bu Tong shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Those assassins are all deadly. If the assassination fails, they will immediately commit suicide. Before committing suicide, their appearance will be completely destroyed. It is impossible to tell who ordered them to do so."

At this time Gongsun Wu said softly behind him thoughtfully: "My lord, since the senior doctor's surname is Bao, he must be a relative of the Shaoqing Bao Yu. Those who don't want him to return to the capital may have ideas about the position of Shaoqing of the Bao family." "Huh? Old Man Shi mentioned last month that two Shaoqings unfortunately died in the Battle of Sheri City. Could they be the family members of the senior doctor?" Qing Yi frowned slightly.

Bao Bu Tong nodded solemnly and said, "This young man's guess is correct. During the battle of Shooting Sun City, no one expected the High Priest of the Black Wind Tribe to appear. My uncle, Shaoqing Bao Yu, and Shaoqing Chu died in this battle.

Among all the ministers in the court, my family has always agreed with the monarch's ideas. Although the junior minister is not as prominent as the senior minister and the second minister, he also has the power to lead the army to fight. My uncle often offended other ministers because he strongly supported the monarch.

The king summoned me back from Yanjin City to the capital to make an appearance. In addition to asking about the situation in Yanjin City, he also wanted me to succeed my uncle as Shaoqing.

I didn't expect this secret information to be leaked. I was assassinated more than ten times in one month. Obviously, someone doesn't want me to return to the capital smoothly and succeed the position of Shaoqing."

"He's really good at internal fighting, but not good at external fighting!"

Qing Yi's eyebrows were full of anger. He held down the five-foot-long sword of the sergeant at his waist and said angrily, "Xing State has just defeated the conspiracy of the Black Wind Tribe's high priest and survived a difficult time, but some people are starting to fight for power again.

The mastermind who doesn't want the senior official to return to the capital must be someone who wants to fight for the two junior officials. After returning to the capital, we can see who wants to fight for the junior official position and guess who is the mastermind."

"Sergeant Guqiu Yi, I have thought about this matter over and over again. I am afraid it is not that simple. The dozen or so waves of assassins may not even be sent by the same company."

Bao Bu Tong recalled seriously, "Five days ago when we passed through Ji Ze City, there were three assassination attacks in one night, and those three groups of assassins were very powerful.

If the three groups of assassins were all sent by the same company, they could have coordinated with each other to kill me. But they acted separately, and because of a misunderstanding, they fought each other for a while, which allowed me to escape."

Bao Bu Tong was still frightened when he said this, and he continued with a bitter smile and a heavy heart, "So, in these dozen assassinations, it was impossible to guess who was behind it.

It is possible that some senior officials who have won many military merits are plotting to become junior officials. It is more likely that some of the officials do not want my family to continue supporting the monarch.

It is even possible that Chongguo was angry that I killed five hundred spies and thwarted his plan to seize Yanjin City, so he deliberately disrupted the situation in an attempt to fish in troubled waters."

"I didn't expect that the capital city, despite being so prosperous, is so corrupt and filthy. It almost makes me stay away." Qing Yi shook his head helplessly. The last time he went to the capital city, he was just a commoner and had no contact with the complexity of the political struggles among the upper class.

Just the aftermath of the struggle between the nobles and the king made Qing Yi helpless at the time. If he did not have endless trump cards, he would have died in the solitary hill beside the Jiming Lake. He didn't know what situation he would face when he went to the capital this time.

"Haha, Sergeant Guqiu Yi, this is the power of authority!" Bao Bu Tong actually laughed in the face of such pressure. His eyes became more determined at this time and he said, "The more people don't want me to return to the capital, it means they are afraid of me going back.

Power is like a Tai'a sword. If an incompetent and foolish person holds it in his hands, he will only use it to seek his own personal gain. However, if one wants to benefit the country for the monarch and the people, he needs this Tai'a sword to cut through the thorns.

The lesson of the two destructions of the State of Xing in the past three hundred years is still fresh in people's minds. Now there is the Xianyu tribe in the north, the Guiwu tribe in the northeast, the Black Wind tribe in the southeast, and the Chong Kingdom has evil intentions. It is a precarious time. How can a noble minister sit idly by?

"A real man should sleep on the lap of a beauty when drunk, kill people when sober, and achieve unparalleled achievements. Do you think I'll be scared and stop moving forward because of a mere assassination? Don't even think about it!"

(End of this chapter)