Zhang Heng was a little surprised that the person who tried to assassinate him was from the imperial guards.
Considering that he had been messing around here all this time, it was not surprising that a powerful force wanted to get rid of him in advance. However, if it was the imperial guards …
The biggest suspect was, of course, Clint. After all, Clint had a direct conflict of interest with Zhang Heng. Now, Commodus favored him. If Clint was recruited to work for him, it would undoubtedly affect Clint's status. If Clint died here, of course, it would be a good thing for Clint.
And Clint himself had a criminal record. Pannonax, who was sent to make things difficult for Zhang Heng, was from the imperial guards.
So this time, it seemed that Clint saw that Zhang Heng had improved the patrol team and decided to get rid of him once and for all.
However, Zhang Heng still had reservations about this. Although assassination was the simplest and most direct method, in political struggles, no one would usually resort to this method unless it was a life-and-death struggle. Once it was done, it would mean that they would fight to the death. And if the other party survived, they would have to bear the same risk.
After Zhang Heng came into contact with Clint, he also did a profile of him. He was indeed full of jealousy and desire for power. Once things developed to a certain extent, he might not refuse to resort to assassination. However, before that, he was still a relatively cautious and conservative politician.
This could also be seen from the means he used to deal with Zhang Heng. He preferred to hide behind the scenes and use some means within the rules to carry out this game of power. Assassination was not in line with his style, and once this kind of thing was done, it was easy to leave behind something that could be used against him. With Zhang Heng's current threat level to him, it was not worth taking such a big risk.
After that, Zhang Heng also got the portrait given by the Samaritan. He found that the person in the portrait was not Pannonax, but someone he had never seen before.
At this point, there was no way to investigate the matter any further. Zhang Heng could only ask the Samaritan to pay attention to whether the other party would come to see him again. However, Zhang Heng did not have much hope for this clue. No matter who the mastermind was, he obviously wanted to distance himself from the assassination. After discovering that the assassin failed, he would probably not contact the Samaritan again.
If he wanted to investigate further, he would have to wait until he was with Commodus. By then, he would have more opportunities to come into contact with the Imperial Guards.
Although the assassination did not bring any danger to Zhang Heng, it reminded him that someone else might be targeting him. However, this incident did not change his next plan. Zhang Heng's plan to integrate the big and small forces was still progressing steadily.
After the bottom-level forces took sides, Zhang Heng quickly provoked a new round of war. This time, he used the excuse of investigating a patrol member who was beaten up in the street as an excuse to attack a medium-sized force.
Of course, Zhang Heng knew that it wasn't that force that did it. The previous assassin had confessed how he planned the assassination, and after the assassination failed, the helpers of the bakery had fled. The patrol team members only suffered some flesh wounds, and nothing serious happened to them.
However, it would be a pity if he did not take advantage of this matter, especially when Zhang Heng noticed that one of the accomplices belonged to the medium-sized force. He immediately found the accomplice and planned the revenge.
After the patrol team failed to hand over the person, they directly attacked the territory of the medium-sized force. The latter was still thinking about how to figure out the situation, but they did not expect the patrol team on the other side to come to their door.
The current patrol team was no longer the mascot they were a month and a half ago. Not only had everyone seen blood, but they had also been recruiting. Including the people they hired, they had more than fifty people. With Zhang Heng taking the lead, their combat power was quite strong.
The medium-sized force had more than a hundred people, but each of them had their own jobs. They were scattered everywhere, and it was difficult to gather all of them in a short time.
At the same time, Zhang Heng had made it clear that this was a grudge between the two parties, and he did not call Soap's men. According to the rules, it was difficult for other forces to intervene. In the end, they could only watch as the medium-sized force was defeated by the patrol team. Fortunately, Zhang Heng did not go too far this time, sparing the leader's life.
But even so, he still received an invitation to have a drink in a tavern five days later.
Zhang Heng could not refuse this invitation because it was backed by one of the top three forces in the nearby area. And Zhang Heng estimated that the other two forces would be there as well. This also meant that their tolerance for him had reached its limit. If everything went well, they would have a showdown with him tonight.
And whether or not Zhang Heng could get past this obstacle would determine whether the patrol team could continue to develop in the future.
Of course, strictly speaking, he had already achieved most of his goals. With the current patrol team and the small forces under his control, he could already deal with the assessment in two weeks. However, if he wanted to complete all of his plans, he still needed to do something else.
To everyone's surprise, Zhang Heng went to visit Clint.
The two talked for about an hour in Clint's study. Clint's wife was a little surprised because she rarely saw Clint, who was known for his efficiency, talk to someone for so long. He even personally sent Zhang Heng to the door.
After that, Clint asked an old servant who served the two in the room, "What do you think of this matter?"
"Haven't you decided to suppress him?" the old servant asked. "In that case, why do you still want to help him?"
"Because I just realized that he is such an interesting person," Clint smiled. "And it's hard for me to refuse his offer."
"Why? Isn't he the one who needs your help now?"
"Yes, but not entirely. I believe he has a backup plan," Clint said. "People like him will not put all their chips on one person."
"But you've suppressed him before, and there's also that matter. Aren't you worried that he'll take revenge on you after he gains power? Besides, you've always said how much His Majesty values him. Didn't he ask you about his recent situation?"
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