My enemies became my companions

Chapter 434 Why Live (Two in One)

The capital of the Western Jin Dynasty was Xiangjing.

Cao Wenduo came to Beijing today to pay a visit to the Chen family and discuss the matter of reinstatement. However, not long after he arrived in Beijing, someone from the Wanyan family sent him an invitation. Upon closer inspection, he was surprised to find that the person who invited him to meet was none other than the current prime minister Wanyan Yong.

"I wonder why the Prime Minister summoned me today?"

When he was led into the study by the servant, Cao Wenduo bowed deeply even though he knew he was from the Wanyan family.

"It's just a reunion among former colleagues, why summon me?"

A man stood up to greet him, holding up his hand in a bow, with a kind face, unlike the other members of the Wanyan family who had the fierce looks of the Jurchens. This old man, who was approaching sixty years old but had the ambition to expand the territory, was none other than the prime minister of the current dynasty, Wanyan Yong.

"Wen Duo is just a commoner now, so he will naturally be summoned."

Cao Wenduo stood up and responded appropriately.

Now that the Prime Minister suddenly asked for a meeting, even though he had been an official in the capital for a long time, he was completely confused and could not sense the direction of the wind.

The Prime Minister asked slowly, "Why did Minister Cao demote himself?"

Cao Wenduo wanted to reply, but when the words came to his lips, he was held back by the three words "Minister Cao". As the prime minister, he must be careful with his words and would never make a mistake. Now he is called "Minister", is there any other mystery?
Cao Wenduo's mood was in turmoil. He thought about his recovery day and night. Even with the best Qi-cultivation skills, his hands could not help but tremble slightly.

"The Prime Minister invited me to reminisce about the past. What's the matter?" Cao Wenduo changed his tone.

The Prime Minister was not in a hurry to speak, but sighed and said: "In the third year of Yuanyou, I was fortunate to be favored by your majesty and was appointed as the Vice Minister of State Affairs, participating in the discussion of all matters in the Ministry of Shangshu. In the tenth year of Yuanyou, I was trusted by your majesty and appointed as the Prime Minister of State Affairs, acting as the agent of all matters in the world. In the past ten years, I have seen many officials in the court, but only a few of them can be used, probably because of the quarrel between the two families in the court."

Cao Wenduo said: "The Prime Minister cried blood for the country, and the world knows it. It's just that the court disputes... are the accumulated evils of our Great Jin. I dare not speak rashly, but in recent years, the court disputes between the two families should be a little... excessive."

The Prime Minister continued, "You also know that the court disputes are the accumulated evils of our Great Jin. If one family is suppressed by the other, the two families will inevitably be at a stalemate. Once they are at a stalemate, they will definitely be like water and fire."

Cao Wenduo also understood this. The crux of the current court struggle is that neither the Chen family nor the Wanyan family has an absolute advantage. The two sides are almost equal, and it is almost a fight between dragons and tigers, and neither can do anything to the other.

"For many years, I have tried to mediate and resolve the dispute between the two families, but unfortunately, I have achieved little success," the Prime Minister paused and said, "Now I have figured it out. As long as one family is the only one in power, there will be no disputes."

Cao Wenduo suddenly became alert. Was he asking him to betray the Chen family?

He couldn't help but ask:
"What the Prime Minister means is..."

The Prime Minister said, "There was a time when one family dominated the world. Do you know when it was?"

Cao Wenduo would certainly not forget that year, as he was appointed as the Minister of State. He said slowly:

"In the sixteenth year of Yuanyou, the daughter of the Chen family was designated as the future Crown Princess. The Prime Minister's intention was..."

At this time, Cao Wenduo realized something. The prime minister did not mean for him to betray the Chen family.

The Prime Minister slowly turned sideways and raised his hand to the side:
"Unfortunately, before inviting Minister Cao here today, I also invited an old friend to catch up."

Cao Wenduo's eyes slowly looked deeper and his breathing suddenly became rapid.

I saw a middle-aged man walking out slowly, walking like a dragon and a tiger, with an indescribable majesty between his gray temples and a very bright look in his eyes.

The left prime minister of the current dynasty was Chen Qingyang, whose courtesy name was Shanglian.

He has a daughter who was once the future crown princess.
This is Chen Ruoshu.

As Cao Wenduo stepped into the door, he thought that the Prime Minister might want him to abandon the Chen family and work for the Wanyan family in the future. However, he never expected that the eldest head of the Chen family would appear in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Now two great men of the Jin Dynasty, second only to the emperor and above ten thousand people, stood side by side in this ten-foot space. Even Cao Wenduo, who was an assistant minister and sat in the front row during court, could not help but tremble on his knees. He touched his hands together and bowed deeply, almost to the ground.
"Meet Prime Minister Chen."

"Minister Cao, there is no need to be so polite."

Chen Qingyang made a false gesture.

Cao Wenduo slowly stood up. Seeing that two people who should have been at odds with each other were both here, he thought very quickly. He immediately thought that although the prime minister was a member of the Wanyan family, he had the merit of pioneering and enterprising, and this... coincided with what the Chen family wanted.

Combined with the previous conversation, could it be that...

Is it the Prime Minister himself who wants to betray the Wanyan family? !

Cao Wenduo was breathing rapidly when he saw Chen Qingyang glance at the Prime Minister and then slowly said:
"The Prime Minister worries about the country a lot. In this position, there are many things that cannot be said openly. In this case, let me say it. Now our Great Jin is growing stronger and stronger. When the previous emperor was alive, 6,000 elite soldiers conquered Danyang. However, now that Your Majesty has been on the throne for 27 years, Great Jin has not taken an inch of land. Not to mention the heroic deeds, even the disputes between the two countries that can be reported are just small fights on the border. In this way, how can we be worthy of our ancestors' foundation, and how can we be worthy of the millions of good men of Great Jin?"

…………

The chilly autumn wind blew across the mountains, and the figure that suddenly emerged on the mountain path was so conspicuous. Even though the strong wind blew past, he still stood firm. The multi-faceted ghost was on guard, and his hands had already reached into his sleeves. Behind him, all the people stared at the man, glancing at the donkey cart from time to time, ready to take out weapons from it at any time. The reason was simple, just that this man went alone to kill Huang Jing with a sword.

Huang Jing was also a powerful figure in the northwest underworld and a hero of the time. The Many-Faced Ghost thought that his chances of winning in a one-on-one fight with him were no more than 40%. But even so, Huang Jing still died at his hands, which shows how skilled he was in martial arts.

The multi-faceted ghost held one hand in front of him, put the other hand behind his back, and asked loudly:

"Captain Min, are you going out of the city too?"

Chen Yi raised his eyes slightly, and curled up the corners of his mouth in a playful manner, and the many-faced ghost's hair stood on end instantly. The man's eyes were fierce, like a dragon that was choosing its prey, stirring up trouble and turning into a dragon just for his own selfish desires.

The multi-faceted ghost slightly turned up his sleeves, as if he was about to spit out his hand, but he remained calm and asked, "Captain Min?"

Chen Yi finally found his voice at this time, and slowly said: "No need to act anymore, multi-faceted ghost."

The Many-Faced Ghost's expression suddenly changed. There was a rustling sound behind him. The spies looked alert. Several of them had climbed onto the car and cut the hemp ropes that tied up the soldiers.

The Jinmen Mountain Road was quickly engulfed in the bleak autumn colors.

The multi-faceted ghost's expression was uncertain, as if he was about to raise his hand, and there seemed to be a hidden weapon in his sleeves. Under Chen Yi's gaze, he showed a simple and attentive smile and said:

"What are you talking about, Captain? We don't have many surnames..."

"You killed Master Jiang Xin."

The voice, neither light nor heavy, cut off all the words of the Many-Faced Ghost. His face finally changed drastically, his drooping eyelids suddenly opened, he pulled out his sleeves, and a short knife went straight to Chen Yi's throat.

Chen Yi tilted his head.

The short knife tilted and fell into the cliff.

The attack failed and the many-faced ghost's eyes turned sinister. Amid the clanging sounds of swords clashing, the spies had already raised their weapons, leaving only five or six confused actors standing there, not understanding what was happening.

The multifaceted ghost looked into the distance, pursed his lips and blew a sharp whistle, then looked at Chen Yi and said slowly and draggingly:
"How did Captain Min find out?"

"Almost everyone was fooled by you, even Zhao Yan from Lifeng Pavilion. Master Wei searched his soul and thought you were hiding somewhere else, but that was just a trick. You had already replaced him. Huang Jing would never have thought until his death that the Western Jin man he was looking for was in his Yuanfeng Tower."

Chen Yi spoke slowly, and finally said with a smile:
"You guys... are really cunning."

The multi-faceted ghost bowed slightly and actually smiled:

"It's an overrated praise.

But...how did you find the flaw?"

Chen Yi revealed the words layer by layer:
"The bodies of the two spies I killed in Yuanfeng Tower were taken away in a short time. Huang Jing in Yuanfeng Tower is not a stupid person, but his every move is under your control. In the end... Master Jiang Xin instinctively put out the fire with Taoism, but he happened to die in Yuanfeng Tower.

You are very cunning... but you are too cunning, leaving a lot of doubts. "

As he spoke, he turned his gaze and restrained his anger.
"Finally, you still want to plot against me."

The multi-faceted ghost's expression changed again, and an indescribable look flashed across his eyes. It was unclear whether he was regretting his plan or reviewing the overall situation.

Chen Yi opened his hands slightly and said:
"Xiao Tao and other innocent actors were all bought by you during your escape. You deliberately led them to anger Huang Jing, betting that I would kill Huang Jing. Then, when Xi Que Pavilion investigates Chongyang Temple, you will have cleared the last obstacle and can grow out of Shantong City."

After hearing this, the faces of the Western Jin Dynasty spies varied, some were terrified, some were wary, and the multi-faceted ghost's face changed several times, and then he sighed and said:
"Haste makes waste. It seems we should be more cautious next time."

Chen Yigou smiled and said:
"And next time?"

The multi-faceted ghost pointed with one finger at a tiny black shadow that was speeding along the mountain road in the distance and said:
"I've wasted enough time with you. He's coming."

The "he" mentioned by the Many-Faced Ghost naturally refers to the Lone Smoke Sword.

"It doesn't matter. He's gone far enough."

Chen Yi grinned, his eyes were filled with murderous intent, and the blade shone coldly when it was unsheathed. Have you wasted enough time?
"Before he comes, I will kill you first."

…………

Chen Qingyang's words confirmed all of Cao Wenduo's guesses. The latter had already understood and realized that his reinstatement was inevitable, because both the prime minister and Chen Qingyang wanted him to be reinstated and take back the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The duties of the Ministry of Personnel are to exercise the power of personnel selection, assessment and promotion of officials in the court. Because of this, the officials of the Ministry of Personnel are called "celestial officials". Now promoting him, the assistant minister, back will undoubtedly pave the way for great things.

After everything that needed to be explained was completed, Cao Wenduo was escorted out of the mansion by servants. Only the prime minister and the left prime minister were left in the reception hall.

Two like-minded people.

Chen Qingyang said slowly: "The border has been peaceful for a long time now, so it is not appropriate to start a war. Although what I said just now was passionate, we should still take it slow when it comes to implementation."

"What Zuo Xiang said is right. I used to think that the Chen family was just full of reckless people who wanted to fight, but I never thought that there was such a steady and cautious person as Zuo Xiang."

The Prime Minister paused, recalled a small incident, and said:

"Two years ago, I privately invited Master Zhang from the Inspection Office to help me expand our territory."

Chen Qingyang was slightly surprised and asked:

"That multi-faceted ghost? Is this true?"

"Yes, what I want is for him to meet the spies at the border and bring back the intelligence from the Dongyu border so that I can convince the Wanyan family and their people."

After the Prime Minister finished speaking, Chen Qingyang pondered for a moment and said:
“No, no!”

"No?"

"The timing was not right. You and I were not close at that time, so you, Prime Minister, don't know. Now, everyone in my Chen family misses the heroic deeds of our ancestors, and the desire to raise troops and mount horses has reached an unprecedented level! You, the Wanyan family, are also aware of this."

The Prime Minister frowned slightly and subconsciously argued:
"Even if they know, so what? As long as I'm here, the Wanyan family will never openly oppose me."

"Stupid!" Chen Qingyang raised his voice and said with a changed expression: "Although Your Majesty is an enterprising monarch, he is... too enterprising, almost eager for quick success.

Right now, we are not ready. If those people knew about this, they would definitely arouse our ambitions and praise us to death. If we rashly send troops and then interfere, all our plans would be in vain."

The prime minister's face was a little stiff, but he came to his senses.

Although he is the prime minister, he may not be able to suppress all members of the Wanyan family. Even if he can, there will definitely be people who pretend to obey him but actually disobey him.

Thinking of this, the Prime Minister sighed and said, "If that's the case, then what was a brilliant move back then has now become a mediocre move. If we really bring this information back, we'll be roasting you on the fire."

"That's the truth, Prime Minister, please don't blame me for being excited just now."

Chen Qingyang sighed.

The Prime Minister waved his hand and continued, "Don't blame me, don't blame me. We are all ministers who care about the country. Why should we be surprised?"

Chen Qingyang continued, "I can understand why the Prime Minister is like this, but it was possible back then, but not now... These border spies have become a hot potato... How should we deal with them?"

He paused and said:

"I heard that the Prime Minister doesn't like black and white, but loves the Chu River and Han River. Why don't you and I play a game of chess? We can discuss this while we play?"

…………

The blood overflowed on Jinmen Mountain Road.

There were corpses all over the ground.

The swords were stained with blood.

Chen Yi's hair was disheveled, his clothes were torn in many places, and he was covered with wounds of varying sizes, which caused a dull pain.

However, these spies of the Western Jin Dynasty hardly felt any pain.

There will be no pain when you die.

The donkey's head rolled to the ground. Chen Yi didn't remember when the beast was beheaded, but he saw blood all over the place, with donkey's blood and human blood mixed together on the cart.

In the pool of blood, only half of the body of the multi-faceted ghost remained. He was struggling violently, breathing, trying to grasp the weapon again.

Chen Yi walked forward slowly, pointed directly at his throat and said without any distractions:

"Aren't you dead yet?"

In the fight just now, the Many-Faced Ghost's strong desire left a deep impression on him. He tried to let his disciples die while he went alone, but was caught up by Chen Yi and failed; then he tried to cover the spy and die himself, but also failed; in just a few moments of fighting, he used almost killing moves frequently, but still ran out of ammunition and food, and fell in a pool of blood.

Even though he fell in a pool of blood, his last breath was still there.

"I really want to ask you, how did you come up with the idea of ​​scheming against me?"

Chen Yi wiped the blood off his face and looked coldly at the many-faced ghost struggling to breathe.

"We... have heard about... Qingfeng Pavilion, and we have also heard of your reputation as a righteous man... If Xiaotao died, you would... sympathize with her, and would not doubt us..."

The multi-faceted ghost had a hoarse voice and exhaled once after uttering a word.

"Unfortunately, God disposes, but man disposes... She didn't die, she just broke a leg..."

Chen Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.

When he seemed to be distracted, the many-faced ghost suddenly raised his sword and slashed with all his strength.

The sword shines like a rainbow, and the blade breaks into pieces!
The multi-faceted ghost's eyes widened as he met Chen Yi's calm face, and finally said sadly:
"Alas! I will die today!"

His face seemed to be both crying and laughing. Before the sword fell, he sighed for the last time:
"I feel sorry for the kindness of the Prime Minister..."

People always have a reason to live.

With a "puff", the sword light pierced his throat, crushing all his words into pieces.

The killing sword.

…………

Prime Minister's Mansion.

The two most distinguished persons sat in the pavilion, with a chessboard on the table depicting the Chu River and Han River.

"In that case," the Prime Minister said after thinking for a long time while twisting the chess pieces, "it is better not to accept this intelligence."

"What the Prime Minister means is..."

"If it's a hot potato, then just throw it away and it won't be hot anymore."

The prime minister smiled heartily, and immediately sent a chess piece across the Chu River and Han River.

After hearing this, Chen Qingyang also knew that this was the best way to deal with it, and immediately laughed and said, "The Prime Minister is indeed dignified."

"No, no, let's finish this game."

"Okay, take your pawn."

"It's just an abandoned pawn."

The pawn was thrown casually and fell into the chess tomb.

Face the sky quietly.

As quiet as death.

(End of this chapter)