Chapter 681: Destruction from heaven and earth
It was already dawn when Qin Wei left Zhao Yuan's study.

Having not slept all night, he did not go back to his room to rest, but walked out of Tianji Pavilion alone and wandered around in the empty and cold streets like a lonely ghost.

The series of events that happened last night caused Qin Wei's mood to fluctuate greatly, making him extremely upset and unable to sleep or eat.

First, he broke up with his best brother and nearly died at the hands of Liu Xunyi. Then, Zhao Yu summoned an army to question him and nearly ruined his future. Then, Zhao Yuan lectured him, and he couldn't tell whether he was sad or touched.

Qin Wei was flustered and confused by all the emotions in his mind. Right now, he hadn't figured out how to face Liu Xunyi, so he walked alone on the streets of Lin'an in the early morning, hoping to sort out his situation and what to do next from his complicated thoughts.

At some point, a carriage approached from afar and slowly approached Qin Wei, which frightened him. He dodged to the side of the street and subconsciously reached for the dagger at his waist with his right hand.

"Master Qin!"

Before Qin Wei could figure out the purpose of the carriage, a deep and low voice suddenly came from the carriage.

"Who?"

"it's me!"

Along with a response, the curtain of the car was slowly opened to reveal a dark face covered with flesh.

Upon seeing this person, Qin Wei's face suddenly changed. He looked around hurriedly and saw that the streets were empty. Only then did his heart feel relieved.

Qin Wei walked quickly to the carriage and asked in a low voice, "What do you want from me?"

"The boss invites you!"

After saying that, the man lifted the curtain of the carriage high up, as if inviting you to get in.

"Now?" Qin Wei was full of surprise and hesitated, "Is it too..."

"Master Qin, please!"

The man ignored Qin Wei's hesitation and raised the curtain a little higher again.

Seeing this, Qin Wei's expression became more and more nervous. He looked around again and again, then made up his mind, jumped onto the carriage, and disappeared into the carriage in the blink of an eye.

"drive!"

The driver whipped the horse, and with the crisp sound of horse hooves and the squeaking sound of turning wheels, the carriage headed straight to the east of the city, passed through the city gate, and drove away.

Ten miles east of Lin'an City, there is a place where dignitaries often come to relax and go outings. There is a clear and tranquil lake called "Qiutang".

At this moment, Qiutang was heavily guarded, with soldiers standing in rows, each wearing armor and holding a gun or a knife. If any outsiders approached, they would be arrested and punished at the very least, or beheaded on the spot at the worst.

However, a carriage sped through the layers of soldiers as if it was in an empty space, and arrived directly at the shore of Qiutang Lake.

At this time, an old man in a purple and gold cloak was sitting leisurely on a bamboo chair by the lake, fishing with a long pole.

"Shut up!"

With a shout, the carriage stopped suddenly. The dark-faced man jumped off the carriage impatiently and waved to the dozens of soldiers waiting on the side. Seeing this, the soldiers quickly retreated a hundred meters away, and then turned back in unison, with their backs to Qiutang.

Seeing this, the black-faced man nodded slightly to the driver. The driver understood, carefully lifted the curtain and said, "Please, sir!"

After hesitating for a long time, Qin Wei, with a cautious look on his face, slowly got off the car. At this moment, within a radius of 100 meters, there was only him, the black-faced man, the driver and the old man fishing. Apart from him, there was no one else.

"Master Qin, please!"

The black-faced man pointed in the direction of the old man, and he and the driver quickly retreated to a distance.

Upon seeing the old man, Qin Wei's face changed immediately. He no longer cared about being cautious and ran forward. He knelt behind the old man respectfully and kowtowed, saying, "I am Qin Wei, and I pay my respects to the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council!"

Qin Wei revealed the identity of the old man, who was one of the people in power in the West Palace, the Deputy Privy Envoy Qian. As for the black-faced man who had just brought Qin Wei here, he was the Minister of the Privy Council, Bai Jin. Qin Wei was the Junior Guardian of the Tianji Pavilion in the East Palace and one of Zhao Yuan's most trusted people. Today, he had a secret meeting with the important officials of the West Palace by the Qiutang. If this matter was not seen with one's own eyes, I am afraid that no one would believe it if it was told to others.

"The weather is not as important as the location, and the location is not as important as the people." Facing Qin Wei's trembling, Lord Qian remained calm, neither happy nor sad, and said without turning his head, "There is a saying that 'Those who are righteous have many supporters, and those who are unrighteous have few supporters. When they have few supporters, even their relatives will betray them. When they have many supporters, the whole world will follow them. Use what the whole world follows to attack what your relatives betray. Therefore, a gentleman will win even if he does not fight.' The Prime Minister and Zhao Yuan would never have thought that it was not external troubles but internal troubles that ultimately led to their disastrous defeat. Since ancient times, those who know the current affairs are heroes. Qin Wei, everyone says that there are many well-educated people in the East Palace, all of whom are extremely smart Confucian scholars and bachelors, and there are many talents in the Tianji Pavilion, especially Liu Xunyi. I don’t think so. I think the well-educated people in the East Palace are all pedantic and dull, short-sighted, and not worth a laugh. As for Liu Xunyi and his ilk, they are brave but not wise, and only know foolish loyalty, not worth mentioning. Only you are the smartest, most visionary, and most aware of the current affairs in the East Palace. "

Hearing this, Qin Wei was mixed with joy and sorrow, and a hint of bitterness flashed across his eyes. He bowed and said, "Thank you for your praise, sir."

"You have done a great job with the princess." Lord Qian added, "Prince Rong and the Privy Councilor asked me to tell them that they are very satisfied with your performance."

"Thank you, Prince Rong! Thank you, Lord Privy Councilor!" Qin Wei bowed to the sky and thanked them one by one.

"This time, the West Palace used marriage as an intermediary to negotiate peace with Mongolia and stop the war, which saved the court and the people from a disaster. You have made an indispensable contribution!" Lord Qian said with a smile, "I know what you are thinking, and I will never break my promise to you. After the princess marries away, Prince Rong and the Privy Council will jointly impeach the prime minister. Prince Rong will take this opportunity to replace the prime minister and become the new master of the East Palace. At that time, whether you want to switch to the West Palace or continue to stay in the East Palace, Prince Rong and the Privy Council will entrust you with important tasks and promote you out of turn. At least... you can be guaranteed to be promoted twice. After you have been tempered for ten or eight years and given the opportunity to make achievements, they will promote you again. Lord Qin is young and promising, with a bright future. I envy you very much, hehe..."

Lord Qian's words made Qin Wei unable to suppress the surge of ecstasy in his heart.

In fact, Qin Wei transferred to the West Palace because he was not valued in the East Palace, and staying in the Tianji Pavilion for a long time made his future even more bleak. As everyone knows, Zhao Yuan, the master of the Tianji Pavilion, is just a servant of the East Palace. As a servant of Zhao Yuan, wouldn't Qin Wei's future career be even more bleak?
In order to realize his ambition, Qin Wei had long wanted to change his flag and seek another wise leader, but he had no choice but to find a suitable opportunity.

It was not until Prince Rong and the West Mansion proposed the idea of ​​marriage that Lord Qian took the initiative to find Qin Wei, who had a close relationship with Liu Xunyi, and promised him a high position and generous salary, asking him to alienate the relationship between Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin in order to facilitate the marriage.

At present, compared with the East Palace, which only knows how to write, the West Palace, which holds military power, has an advantage in both strength and status in the court. Therefore, Qin Wei thought about it again and again, struggled again and again, and finally compromised with Mr. Qian against his conscience.

He comforted himself: "Betraying Liu Xunyi is not selling out a friend for fame, but for the safety of the Song Dynasty and for the benefit of the people of the world."

Therefore, Qin Wei secretly accepted the order from the Western Palace and decided to alienate the two. At this time, Zhao Yuan accidentally revealed his idea of ​​"marriage", which made Qin Wei come up with a plan. In order to leave a way out for himself, he took the initiative to tell Zhao Yuan the "strategy of alienation" and lied that everything was his idea.

The result was also within Qin Wei's expectations. As a royal relative, Zhao Yuan's loyalty to the Song Dynasty far outweighs his feelings for the Eastern Palace. Zhao Yuan's agreement to Qin Wei's plan was undoubtedly a natural result, making everything Qin Wei did next go more smoothly and without fear.

No matter what the cost, no matter who you step on to get to the top.

From the beginning to the end, Qin Wei, who came from a humble background, had only one long-cherished wish, which was to occupy a high position, hold great power, achieve success and fame, and look down on the world.

"Mr. Qian, I will never forget your kindness!" Qin Wei kowtowed and thanked him solemnly. "Without Mr. Qian's kindness in recognizing me and cultivating me, I would be nothing but a stray dog ​​on the roadside, bullied all my life, and never have a future. In the future, I hope Mr. Qian will give me more guidance. Qin Wei is willing to regard Mr. Qian as my teacher and father, and learn from him humbly throughout my life, and strive to learn even one ten-thousandth of what you have learned as soon as possible. In this way, Qin Wei will die without regrets!"

"Very good." Lord Qian smiled with satisfaction, "Qin Wei, there are countless talented people in the world, and even the three yamen of the Western Palace are full of talents. Do you know why I ignore them and have a special liking for you?"

"Because... because I'm lucky, and Lord Qian is kind-hearted. He feels sorry for me and is willing to help me..."

"No!" Lord Qian shook his head slowly, "I am not a monk, and I never express those false kindnesses."

"That... is because I have some insignificant abilities..."

"Not really." Lord Qian shook his head again. "In terms of martial arts, you are not outstanding. In terms of talent, you are mediocre. In terms of killing enemies in battle, you are also mediocre. In terms of strategic planning, you are far from it. However, there are too many people with real talent and knowledge in the world, but there are only a few who are truly worthy of my cultivation and support."

"This……"

"Let me tell you." Lord Qian said meaningfully, "I admire you not because of your ability, nor your methods, but because of your ambition."

"Ambition?" Qin Wei was stunned.

"Yes, ambition!" Lord Qian said solemnly, "I like ambitious people the most, because only when your ambition is big enough, your future will have unlimited possibilities. If you are like Zhao Yuan, who only works quietly as a 'military officer instructor' in Tianji Pavilion, you will never be able to make a name for yourself in this life. For those who want to accomplish great things, if they don't have any skills, they can learn them; if they don't have any methods, they can practice them; if they are not cunning, they can dig them out; if they lack experience, they can grind them out. Only ambition is something that is integrated into your bones and blood. If you don't have it in your mother's womb, you will never have it in your life. Therefore, a person's ambition is more valuable than anything else. You must remember that only by being insatiable can you obtain satisfaction continuously."

Qin Wei hesitated for a moment, then suddenly rolled his eyes and said hurriedly, "In front of you, I dare not have any ambitions..."

"Hey!" Lord Qian said unhappily, "I have been working in the court for half my life, and I am used to flattery, so you don't have to act cute in front of me. Whether it is the prime minister, the privy envoy, or even me, we are all old. The future backbone of the Song Dynasty and the pillars of the court are you young people. You must take good care of yourself and don't let me down."

"I will remember every word of your teachings, and I will never forget them!"

Qin Wei's heart was surging, his eyes sparkling with excitement. The last time he was so excited was when Qin Wei went through numerous hardships and successfully passed the test and officially became the Golden Sword Captain.

……

(End of this chapter)