"I don't think anyone would be interested in my story. It's probably because during those years of my life, I have been working hard for the late emperor. I was either on the road to repelling the barbarians and settling in Bian, or I was quarreling with the civil servants in the court. In fact, It’s not interesting.” Uncle Zong sighed.
"Only when I first served as the Emperor's retainer and during the years when I was about to die, did I have the opportunity to live with His Majesty the Emperor without any worries for a few years. In general, it can be called a pleasant life. It’s a pity that things backfire as expected. Often things that you don’t care about will become something that others preach about, while things that you really care about are ignored by no one. This may be the true meaning of life.”
Zhang Zongchang picked up the bowl and drank again.
"So this is why you are willing to be a servant in Zhang's mansion?" Qi Zhen asked.
Zhang Zongchang nodded and said softly: "You know, although the Zhang family master and the late emperor are very different in status, their personalities are very similar. As an emperor with a very competitive mind, the relationship between me and the late emperor is both a teacher and a friend. They always encourage each other, so although they are servants to the Lord and me, they complement each other and have fun together, which is also a good talk in the day."
"But after the banditry in Antai, Central Plains, was gone, the emperor began to become a bit militaristic, and it was difficult to listen to the outspoken advice of his subordinates, so there was much less talk between the emperor and his ministers."
"It is one thing to carry out large-scale construction projects internally, but externally His Majesty always thinks about coming from all directions. Is the whole world not the royal land? This creates some problems."
"Taking just a few places in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, they have not been taught the etiquette of the Central Plains, and the language is difficult to understand. In addition, the Miao territory is mountainous and densely forested, and the terrain is complex. The Miao people live here all year round, and they are extremely brave. Therefore, they want to rely on force. Conquering this place will naturally be extremely difficult.”
"It's a pity that Your Majesty did not listen to dissuasion and insisted on becoming a wise and wise king who will be remembered for eternity. So I can only accept the order in the face of danger and lead the troops to conquer."
"So, what Miao Zhu said about the Miao people's invasion of the border is just a way for the court to attract incense and show your prestige, Mr. Zhang?" Qi Zhen asked.
"That's not entirely true." Zhang Zongchang shook his head, "The Miao people live in a corner and seem to have an aloof temper. In fact, their inner ambitions are not small, but they are just unknown. And what I want to do The purpose is to stir up the hatred of the Miao people against the Central Plains so that the troops can be famous."
"You must know that whether sending troops is justified has a very important impact on guiding people's hearts and improving morale."
Qi Zhen nodded.
This is a bit like the several wars launched by the United States in the Middle East in the real world. They were nominally to combat terrorism, or even for the peace and prosperity of third world countries. As a result, one war lasted for several years or even more than ten years and supported puppets. Whether the government is assassinating the leader of the other party, in the end the resource extraction is busy and even makes a lot of money, but the country is devastated and the people are everywhere.
"But later, because the geographical situation of the Miao territory is very complicated, and the Miao people are brave and good at fighting, and have a very united nature towards the outside world, we successfully provoked the Miao people's hatred towards the Central Plains, but we were unable to conquer them at all."
"We started to encounter strong counterattacks from the opponent, and it only took a few decades until we were defeated step by step."
"We had to start to defend the city and rely on the geographical advantage to deal with the Miao people."
"The Miao people were not good at attacking cities, so the war ended in a stalemate."
"This war has left the treasury empty, and the whole country is gradually gaining momentum. His Majesty the Emperor finally stopped being stubborn and decided to embark on a risky beheading operation. And I am the leader of this beheading operation. "
Qi Zhen suddenly said: "Is this why Miao Zhu said that you led a battalion of soldiers and horses to deal with the Miao people for several months?"
Zhang Zongchang nodded: "That's right. At that time, we were prepared to have difficulty returning to our hometown. We had no supplies of food and grass, and no camp shelter. This lone army that went deep into the mountains thousands of miles away was to prevent the Miao people from invading again and delay them. The only hope to bring down the entire imperial court."
"Fortunately, we succeeded."
Although Zhang Zongchang did not elaborate, Qi Zhen could still imagine that at that time, he led a battalion of soldiers and horses deep into the mountains and forests, like a group of homeless ghosts, looking for the enemy leader and completing the one-shot kill. A kind of bravery and indomitable courage.
"Then we started running and eventually escaped."
"However, most of the few who survived were poisoned by the poisonous miasma in the forest. Even the comrades who were lucky enough not to be poisoned could no longer pick up the sword in their hands and go into battle to kill the enemy."
"But it was all worth it. Since then, the Miao people have never launched any large-scale attacks on the Central Plains. This is probably inseparable from the death of the Miao leader."
"I was indeed poisoned at that time, but I did not die at the border. Instead, I received your Majesty's secret edict and returned to the court."
"I don't know whether it was because I was seriously injured and was about to die, and I didn't have much time left, or because my military power was on the sidelines, but in short, His Majesty was extremely lenient to me in those years, which made me feel a little flattered."
"Then I died, came back to life, and became the City God of Wuhu City."
Zhang Zongchang seemed to be full of memories of his previous life, but did not want to mention more about his experiences after becoming a city god.
"Okay, I admit that this story is very good. So, why are you doing what you are doing now?" Qi Zhen asked in confusion.
Logically speaking, there is no way that a pillar of the country who serves the country loyally and sacrifices his life can be connected with his current actions of disregarding human life.
"People probably only know the value of life after losing their lives. Even gods are not exempt from this."
Zhang Zongchang raised his old and wrinkled right hand, trembling slightly at this time.
"A city god like me, even if he has immortal energy to protect his body, is still a ghost. Although his life span is longer, he only has one term."
"The imperial court decreed that a city god has a hundred years of life, but my term has expired, and the end is approaching."
"A hundred years ago, I would have died after dedicating myself to my whole life, but fate is not as good as fate. During this period, I stayed anonymous and tried to live an ordinary life, but I met the master's family."
"I searched various places and finally found a way to extend my life. You must have guessed that, yes, it is a way to absorb the power of ghosts to replenish one's own yin energy."
Zhang Zongchang sighed, his words full of reluctance for the current life, and the helplessness of his own destructive and sinister tricks.
"You have told us so clearly, are you not afraid that we will tell Shushan about this and invite those immortal masters with strong Taoist skills to come here to kill the evil spirits?" Qi Zhen asked.
Zhang Zongchang smiled and shook his head: "Since you can come here, it means that only one of you and I can walk out of this wine cellar today, so why bother to test it again with such useless words?"
He continued: "What's more, no one can talk about these things. I would like to thank you for listening to my nonsense for so long."
Qi Zhen drank all the wine in the bowl and said, "Okay, we've finished talking about what we need to talk about. We also know what we need to know. If our companions hadn't died because of this, we could have opened our eyes to this matter. If we close one eye, we can still be considered the beauty of adults, but now...I'm sorry."
Qi Zhen stood up and her eyes transformed into blood chakra eyes.
Li Qiang took out his signature weapon M249.
The magical energy around Jiang Yan began to fluctuate violently, and the candlelight nearby began to sway.
Li San, on the other hand, had already disappeared silently.
"As for your companion, although it is a little late, I still want to say that his death was not intentional on my part."
Zhang Zongchang drank the wine in the bowl, stood up and said.
He looked at the five people who were facing formidable enemies, closed his eyes, and his aura gradually began to rise, and all the candles in the huge wine cellar began to tremble violently.
Feeling the coercion and suffocation that was much stronger than that of the temple blessing, Qi Zhen felt a chill in her heart and said, "Because of the loss of moral character, I understand, but I don't quite understand it now. You are not afraid of this now." Something happened?"
"I'm still afraid now, but as long as I control you and don't stop me from completing my next plan, then I won't be afraid anymore." Zhang Zongchang explained without opening his eyes.
Whether it is his outspokenness towards the team or the powerful coercion gradually exuding from him, they all represent Zhang Zongchang's absolute confidence in his own strength.
Just relying on the strength they showed in the battle of Jiuzi, they can't break their golden body at all, let alone prevent themselves from completing the next series of actions?
Not to mention that this is Wuhu, my home court!
His body was gradually enveloped in a layer of glaze-colored brilliance, which was no different from the radiance on Miao Zhu's body after absorbing the immortal energy.
Zhang Zongchang was originally a ghost and immortal, and the aura exuding from his body at this time gave people a very strange feeling.
Due to the absorption of Lin Xi's ghost power, probably because the immortal energy and ghost power could not maintain a relative balance, this strange feeling became more obvious as the aura on his body gradually became stronger.
This is the biggest difference between Zhang Zongchang and Miao Zhu. There is a very thick layer of gray on top of the glazed luster on his body!
Qi Zhen felt the aura emanating from the other party's body, and her expression became more solemn.
Finally, the aura on Zhang Zongchang's body stopped soaring. His eyes suddenly opened, and the black pupils suddenly dilated, filling the entire eye socket, as if they were occupied by some evil substance.
"In that case, we want to give it a try!" Qi Zhen felt the aura coming from the other party, her fighting spirit rose, and she said happily.
"Captain, can you beat me?" Qi Zhen asked Li Qiang through spiritual communication.
What answered him was the gunfire pouring from the M249!
This means – you won’t know until you fight!
