The news of the Kyung Clan's military base being invaded was blocked. Even after a whole day, there were no more crises.
According to Qing Yi's thoughts, the other party had destroyed the Kyung Clan's important missile troops for the follow-up war.
If the Wang Clan declared war at this time, the Kyung Clan would be like a cripple fighting with others.
Therefore, Qing Yi had been in a state of anxiety for the whole day. In his opinion, it was because of his negligence that the Kyung Clan's strength had been damaged. As the Kyung Clan's current highest military commander, he should take full responsibility.
If the Kyung Clan was defeated in the follow-up attack, Qing Yi should die to atone for his mistake.
However, the Wang Clan did not carry out a full-scale attack. It was as if the other party only wanted to destroy Base 012 and did not follow up.
This made Qing Yi feel empty, and he felt that something was missing.
Qing Zhen brought him to the Ginkgo Manor halfway up the mountain and asked someone to prepare hot water and food for him.
Qing Yi had no appetite at all. "Second Brother, aren't you worried at all?"
"Of course I'm worried." Qing Zhen took a pillow and laid it on the dark gray marble floor of the manor's hall. He sat on the pillow and felt as if he was sitting in the middle of a black lake.
For some reason, Qing Zhen had no feelings for this Ginkgo Manor that symbolized the Kyung Clan's authority. However, he had a special liking for the black lake in the hall.
He even asked someone to remove the unnecessary items in the hall, such as potted plants, rockery, paintings, sofas, and so on. There was only a grand piano and a gray cushion pillow left.
Qing Yi sat on the cold ground next to Qing Zhen and said, "Second Bro, why don't you scold me a little? You can even hit me. I feel a little flustered that you're not even reprimanding me for making such a big mistake."
There was a saying in this society: The leader scolded you because he valued you. When he didn't scold you, you were finished.
In fact, there was some truth to this statement. Therefore, when Qing Yi faced the calm Qing Zhen, he always felt that he was hopeless.
But Qing Zhen didn't answer his question. Instead, he said something else: "Qingyi, how many times did you come to this Ginkgo Manor when you were a child?"
"Once." Qing Yi said, "When I was 18 years old, my father brought me here. He said he wanted to bring me to meet the old man who used to be in charge of the Kyung Clan. Later on, the old man said I wasn't a genius, so my father rarely talked to me after he returned home. Later, when my father became seriously ill and was hospitalized, I was not allowed to visit him. "
The abnormal kinship between the rich and powerful families of these consortiums was shocking.
Perhaps many refugees would mutter to themselves that it was better to be refugees when they found out about these things. But if they were given the chance to become a new consortium, most of them would also forget all of this.
Qing Yi's father was very strict with him. When he was young, he urged him to study, socialize, and even learn military knowledge in advance.
Once Qing Yi did not do well, his father would beat and scold him.
Qing Yi used to think that it was because his father loved him, so he loved him deeply and was very strict with him.
Later, he realized that his father had always regarded him as a tool to obtain wealth and glory. Once the other party found that this tool was not useful, he abandoned him.
Qing Yi said, "Ginkgo Manor seems to be the place where the fate of every Kyung Clan member is decided. Just like children from ordinary families taking the college entrance examination, the watershed is decided at the age of 18. But what's even more despairing is that even if you fail the college entrance examination, others will not hit you when you are down, and there are still other opportunities. But if you go out from here, if you are said to be useless, you will be targeted by the 'hyenas and jackals' outside. It will only take a few years for all the power in your family's hands to be divided up. "
Qing Zhen said absent-mindedly, "Yes, those old men almost decided your fate with one sentence. This is why I used to hate this place. When they saw me, they smiled and said that I was suitable to be the shadow of the Kyung Clan, so I had to be the shadow of the Kyung Clan for them. "
Qing Yi looked at his second brother. To be honest, he had always been a bit curious about what Qing Zhen had said here that made him be chosen by those old men to be the new shadow of the Kyung Clan.
However, Qing Zhen did not intend to explain anything. "I came here more often than you, because after becoming a shadow, I have to report to the old men and receive their lessons. Every time I came here, I felt that the furnishings in this hall were too superfluous, as if to cover up the fact that they were stupid. "
In the eyes of Qing Zhen, the beasts' skulls, landscape paintings, and exquisite weapons in the manor were just useless decorations.
They were hypocritical and impetuous.
In fact, those old men did not have the strength to hunt, nor did they have the mind to paint. The grand piano placed in this hall had never been played by anyone.
Why would a truly powerful person need all these things to decorate themselves?
This Ginkgo Manor could not represent the Kyung Clan. Wherever Qing Zhen sat, that was the center of the Kyung Clan.
Therefore, he asked people to empty the place, leaving only a piano and a pillow.
Qing Zhen smiled at Qing Yi and said, "My father was said by them to be 'too bookish,' that he studied too much until he became stupid. 'As a result, he was depressed for the rest of his life, and was even mocked by his relatives. You know how poor Luo Lan and I were when we were young. Those relatives took away all the property left by my grandfather. In fact, there was originally a piano at home, but when Luo Lan was born, he almost died. In order to treat his illness, my father sold the piano. Later, I always wanted to buy him another piano, but unfortunately, I did not manage to do so before he died. "
Qing Zhen's glorious life began at the age of 18. When he became the shadow of the Kyung Clan, all the relatives who used to mock and ridicule him turned around and tried to please him.
However, later on, when most people saw his bright and beautiful appearance, they forgot about the shadow's previous predicament.
This was the Kyung Clan, and this was the reality.
In this clan, whether one was rich or marginalized, it was just a matter of a word from the old men.
Unfortunately, when Qing Zhen was in glory, his father had already passed away.
Qing Zhen continued to recall, "When I was young, in order to teach me how to play the piano, my father directly carved the piano keys on the table. At that time, my fingers hurt from practicing, and I always begged my father not to let me learn the piano. I also wanted to go out and play every day like Luo Lan, but my father said that people like my brother would be able to make a living no matter what world he was in because he was capable, willing to endure humiliation, and willing to bow down. Only I made him a little worried. My father said that if he passed away, I could still be considered a craftsman, and I might be able to earn some money by performing. "
"No wonder you kept this piano, Second Brother," Qing Yi said.
"Yes." Qing Zhen said, "If my father could play such a good piano when he was still alive, he would definitely be very happy. Such a good piano should be played by someone like him."
Qing Yi nodded. "I understand about the piano. This is the first time I've heard you mention it, Second Brother. But why did you keep a pillow?"
Qing Zhen glanced at Qing Yi. "Because my butt will hurt if I sit on the floor for too long. Doesn't your butt hurt?"
Qing Yi was speechless.
Speaking up to this point, Qing Yi also went to the room to find a pillow and put it under his butt.
He did not dare to make a sound when he was sitting on the floor with Qing Zhen earlier. But now, he was really feeling a lot of pain.
For some reason, Qing Yi suddenly felt a lot calmer. Perhaps it was because Qing Zhen's tone of voice was affecting him, or perhaps it was because the black lake was too calm, which made his heart calm down as well.
It was no wonder his second brother liked to sit here. He seemed to have too many things on his mind, so he needed a more "quiet" environment to sort out his emotions. This place was just right for him.
The emptiness and monochromatic environment made it feel like he was meditating in the middle of a lake.
Qing Zhen said to Qing Yi, "Don't worry too much. We have to admit that the enemy is strong before we can have the courage to face them. The destruction of the military base was expected, so there's no need to blame ourselves too much. Even if the enemy did not destroy Military Base 012, they would still have destroyed the other bases. We can't defend against them at all. "
"Then what do you think they're trying to do, Second Brother?" Qing Yi asked.
Qing Zhen smiled and said, "We should know the answer soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Man ran in from outside with a satellite phone in his hand.
Xu Man said to Qing Zhen, "Sir, they really called."
Qing Zhen took the phone and put it to his ear. Wang Shengzhi's weak voice came through.
The other party chuckled and said, "You didn't turn up the last time I invited you. This time, I'll be waiting for you at Stronghold 61."
With that, Wang Shengzhi hung up.
Qing Zhen handed the phone to Xu Man. Both Qing Yi and Xu Man heard what Wang Shengzhi said.
So it turned out that the other party had destroyed Military Base 012 only to tell the Kyung Clan that they had the ability to crush the chips in their hands.
The last time the Wang Clan invited Qing Zhen to the Central Plains, Qing Zhen did not go.
This time, the Wang Clan had given Qing Zhen a reason to go. If the Wang Clan and the Kyung Clan went to war, the Kyung Clan would definitely lose. But now that there was a chance for peace talks, would he want it?
Qing Yi looked at Qing Zhen and said in seriousness, "Second Brother, you can't go!"
Qing Zhen asked, "Why?"
"You're the leader of the Kyung Clan. If anything happens to you, the Kyung Clan will collapse." Qing Yi said, "They've only destroyed one of our military bases. It's not like they've destroyed all of them. The Kyung Clan still has the strength to fight back! If the Wang Clan wants to attack, they'll have to build a huge supply line first. I'm confident they'll know the difference between the Kyung Clan, the Kong Clan, and the Zhou Clan. "
Qing Zhen smiled and said, "If it can destroy your first military base, it can destroy the second one too. I think the other military bases might've already encountered problems. It's just that the other party hasn't activated their plans to destroy them yet. Ah Yi, you can't rely on luck when playing chess with an artificial intelligence. "
"But Second Brother, it'll be very dangerous if you go. Will the Wang Clan treat you well? Will they still let you return to the Southwest? "Qing Yi said anxiously.
Xu Man, who had been silent all this while, also said, "Sir, you can't go."
Qing Zhen smiled and said, "Get the kitchen to make some more rice. I'm a little hungry. As for these serious matters, we'll have to wait for my brother to return. "
The other party had already made their move, so it was now the Kyung Clan's turn.
Qing Zhen sat in the middle of the black lake and looked out of the hall. He happened to see the ginkgo trees on the mountainside.
At this moment, the ginkgo trees had yet to turn yellow. They would only turn yellow in October, when Mt. Ginkgo was at its most beautiful. That fruitful season also carried many of Qing Zhen's memories.
Qing Zhen remembered his father telling him that these ginkgo trees were planted by the Kyung Clan's ancestors. At the beginning, no one had expected this place to become a ginkgo mountain.
Ginkgo trees were also known as Gongsun trees because it took more than 20 years for a ginkgo tree to grow and bear fruit. Therefore, it was said that "Gongsun trees grow and their grandchildren eat."
When he and Luo Lan were young, they would come to Mt. Ginkgo to secretly pick the ginkgo fruits from the trees when they were hungry. At first, they did not know that the ginkgo fruits were poisonous. It was their father who told them that they had to be cooked before they could be eaten.
Mt. Ginkgo was a closed area. Although there were no troops stationed here, very few residents were willing to take the risk and enter the mountain. That was because this was the "backyard" of the Kyung Clan.
Qing Zhen did not dare to steal the ginkgo fruits at first, but Luo Lan was very bold. He said that he was about to starve to death, so why would he care about the rules?
Later on, the two brothers even brought others here to pick the ginkgo fruits and secretly sold them to restaurants in the stronghold. If they sold a lot of them, the boss would even give them a bowl of ginkgo pork knuckle soup.
If they were lucky, they could even eat some leftovers. That would be a rare meaty meal for the two brothers.
Gradually, some people in the Kyung Clan found out about their act of stealing the ginkgo fruits and set up camp on Mt. Ginkgo to catch them.
Fortunately for them, Qing Zhen was a member of the Kyung Clan, so they were spared from punishment.
Later on, garrison troops were stationed at Mt. Ginkgo. But the battalion commander of the infantry battalion was a kind person. When he saw that Qing Zhen and Luo Lan were living in poverty, he turned a blind eye to the theft of the ginkgo fruits.
That battalion commander was Qing Yi's uncle, so Qing Zhen and Luo Lan got to know Qing Yi later on.
After they became familiar with each other, Qing Zhen once asked Qing Yi's uncle, "Why didn't you arrest us? Instead, you allowed us to steal the ginkgo fruits?"
Qing Yi's uncle said with a smile, "Do you know that ginkgo trees are also known as Gongsun trees?"
"I know. Father mentioned it before," Qing Zhen answered.
"Then have you heard that when the Kyung Clan ancestors planted these ginkgo trees, they told their descendants that if there came a day when the Kyung Clan couldn't survive anymore, they could come here to pick the ginkgo fruits and cook them to eat. That way, they might be able to tide over the difficulties," Qing Yi's uncle said.
"No, I've never heard of that." Qing Zhen shook his head.
Qing Yi's uncle smiled. "Your ancestors planted these trees for the future of the clan and to ensure that they would continue to live on. Even if you're a descendant of the Kyung Clan, so what if you pick a few ginkgo fruits? Who knows, these ginkgo trees might even have been planted for you. "
At this moment, Qing Zhen looked at the ginkgo forest and suddenly thought it was time for him to protect the Kyung Clan.
…
The news that the Wang Clan had invited Qing Zhen to Stronghold 61 was relayed to Luo Lan by Xu Man.
Luo Lan, who was rushing back to Stronghold 111, had actually taken a detour to Stronghold 114 with the special forces.
Luo Lan was already patrolling the Kyung Clan's strongholds and had just killed a group of people in the north. His sudden change of route to Stronghold 114 really made the officials there break out in a cold sweat.
When they learned that Luo Lan was about to arrive, the officials gathered together to discuss countermeasures. They could not figure out if they had done something wrong to cause this damned person to suddenly change his route.
But after taking a closer look, the officials found it a little baffling. There were no loopholes in Stronghold 114's management of their ordnance and food reserves. They were different from the previous strongholds that had temporarily restocked the granaries. They were really conscientious and did not pull any tricks.
Everyone thought that since they had not made any mistakes in their work, they would first see what the second-in-command of the Kyung Clan was up to.
When Luo Lan was about to arrive, all of the officials ran to the entrance to welcome him.
They had all heard that Luo Lan had not been nice to the officials when he went to the various strongholds. He did not even get out of the car when he passed by the city gates.
But while Luo Lan could not get out of the car, they could not refuse to welcome him.
As expected, Luo Lan sped past with his convoy without any intention of stopping at the entrance.
But after Luo Lan's convoy entered Stronghold 114, they did not drive to the office building. Instead, they headed straight for the official residence of a Kyung Clan member.
This member of the Kyung Clan had quite a good reputation within the Kyung Clan, but he was not on the same side as Qing Zhen.
Logically speaking, Qing Zhen should have gotten rid of this potential threat after he took over. However, the other party's reputation in Stronghold 114's political circles was relatively high, and Qing Zhen had more important things to do. Seeing that the other party was quite peaceful, everyone got along well with each other.
This time, Luo Lan led his troops and charged over. When they arrived at the other party's official residence, they immediately put it on lockdown. Then they rushed in with the elites of the special forces.
The middle-aged man named Qing Huan stood in the middle of his courtyard and looked coldly at Luo Lan. "What do you want?"
Luo Lan chuckled as he strode towards the other party. Then he suddenly took out his pistol and shot the other party dead on the spot. He did not even give the other party a chance to say a second word.
This turn of events happened so suddenly that many of the security personnel in the official residence could not react in time.
By the time everyone wanted to resist, the soldiers of the special forces had already started clearing the entire official residence with their automatic rifles equipped with silencers.
The security personnel here were all veterans of the Kyung Clan and could be considered Qing Huan's old subordinates. They were all elites as well.
Under normal circumstances, they would be fully capable of dealing with a surprise attack.
But they were only armed with pistols and did not even wear bulletproof vests. How could they possibly be a match for the elites of the special forces?
Luo Lan took a look at the bloodied official residence before returning to his vehicle without any hesitation.
Zhou Qi lamented, "Isn't he a little too bloodthirsty?"
Luo Lan said nonchalantly, "This guy might seem to be staying in Stronghold 114 quietly, but he's been secretly manipulating the officials of Stronghold 114 and even trying to collude with the other members of the Kyung Clan. In the past, I would've kept him around to show my brother's benevolence. But now that the Wang Clan is stirring up trouble, how can I continue to keep him around? "
Luo Lan's sudden change of schedule and ruthlessness was all because of the Wang Clan's invitation.
At this moment, Luo Lan was abnormally clear-headed. A major change was imminent, and what he had to do was not rush back to Stronghold 111. Instead, he had to get rid of all the unstable factors around Qing Zhen first.
He had to help Qing Zhen get rid of all the hidden threats in the Southwest within three days.
In this way, he could focus his attention elsewhere without any distractions.
Zhou Qi said, "Then what's the crime of killing him? How will the outside world judge you if you kill someone without any evidence? "
"Hehe." Luo Lan realized a drop of blood had splashed onto his face. As he wiped it away with a tissue, he said with a smile, "When did I, Luo Lan, need to make up a crime for others when I kill someone? So what if I've killed him? Whoever wants to scold me can scold me all they want. I don't need a good reputation. "
Extraordinary times called for extraordinary people to do extraordinary things.
This was Zhou Qi's current evaluation.
The Special Forces had thoroughly cleaned up the entire official residence. When it was over, the officials had just arrived. When they saw the blood all over the courtyard, they kept quiet out of fear. It was as though they did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
Luo Lan sat in the vehicle and looked at them coldly. He said, "There's a reason for today's incident. Just focus on your own work. The internal affairs of the Kyung Clan have nothing to do with you. I'm very satisfied with the management of Stronghold 114's ordnance and food reserves. "
After that, the convoy set off for Stronghold 115 again. In Luo Lan's plan, there were still a few more people he had to kill.
The officials standing at the entrance of the official residence behind the convoy looked at one another. When they looked back at the corpses in the official residence, they heaved a sigh of relief.
An official said to his subordinate, "Get someone to clean it up. Remember, keep this under wraps. If anyone asks about this, just tell them you don't know. "
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