My vicious dog, my horse, I can do whatever I want with it

Chapter 227 Do 1 Things for Me

When there was a knock on the door, Zong Yanli just put down the book in his hand.

She was sitting at the table in a simple and capable martial arts coat. She looked up and saw Gao Feilin leading a group of people in. The leader was wearing a black robe, most of his body was soaked by the rain, and his legs and shoes were wet and muddy.

The person who came was none other than Prince Ping He Anxing. His face looked a little pale, and it was not known whether he was drenched in the rain or frightened. He walked into the house with a slight trembling. The moment he saw Zong Yanli, he knelt down in front of Zong Yanli with his knees softened without any hesitation.

Zong Yanli: “…”

He Anxing knelt down so smoothly that Zong Yanli didn't have time to react. Seeing that He Anxing was followed by a group of black-clad warriors, she thought that there would be a tough battle ahead.

Unexpectedly, He Anxing kowtowed and apologized: "General Zong Yan, I didn't mean to offend you. The people under my command are ignorant!"

He Anxing raised his hand and pointed at the assassins behind him and said, "These people are all involved in the assassination of Lord Wei."

Zong Yanli raised his eyes slightly, and then saw the assassins behind He Anxing. He drew out his long swords and put them at their necks. Gao Feilin, who was staring at He Anxing and his group, had just put his hand on the long sword at his waist when he saw those assassins commit suicide without hesitation.

???

Gao Feilin looked down at the dead men who had committed suicide and fell silent.

Before Zong Yanli could even say a word, He Anxing had already apologized for himself with his actions.

"If General Zong Yan still can't calm down, I can do anything as long as you open your mouth!" He Anxing knelt on the ground, looking very pious.

"What does your Highness mean by this?" Zong Yanli asked quickly. She stood up and frowned as she looked at the dead guards who had committed suicide on the ground. She was a little confused: "What is this for?"

"This is really an accident..." He Anxing spoke with great difficulty.

He never thought that his carelessness would allow Zong Yanli to get involved in such matters.

It would have been fine if he had intervened, but he was already making amends very quickly and preparing to withdraw.

But no one expected that Wei Songhe would come so quickly after receiving the imperial edict. While He Anxing was urgently thinking about how to get away, he thought that even if Wei Songhe went, he would not be able to find out about him so quickly.

He Anxing felt that Wei Songhe's current achievements were all due to Zong Yanli's help, and he definitely didn't have any special abilities.

This led to his momentary contempt, giving Wei Songhe the opportunity to find the stronghold set up by He Anxing in such a short time and luckily triggered the assassination plan.

By the time He Anxing learned about this, it was already too late.

"General Zong Yan, I have absolutely no ulterior motives!" He Anxing swore to the heavens, as he was well aware of the sensitivity of his identity.

Although he pretends to be an ordinary dude in front of others, he is also doing so to protect himself. He has no interest in becoming an emperor, but that doesn't mean he has no ambition.

He liked his royal identity because it brought him many conveniences, whether for money or sex. He privately controlled a lot of hidden funds and even secretly kept private soldiers. However, the preparations he made from the beginning to the end were all for self-protection.

If it weren't for what happened today, he would continue to be an idle prince, but...

When his subordinates came to report, He Anxing felt a chill in his heart when he learned that the stronghold had been discovered. He then learned that they had shaken off the pursuers, but their stronghold was suspected to have been leaked. He was not sure whether it had been discovered until the assassin mentioned that the assassination attempt on Wei Songhe had failed.

He Anxing just felt that the peaceful place he had planned for himself over the years was completely ruined!

He Anxing cried as he recounted his difficulties, saying that the dispute between the Crown Prince and King Xuan had been so terrible, and he did all this to protect himself. He also said that if he had any ulterior motives, he would not have sat idly by when the late emperor was seriously ill.

"I really didn't expect Lord Wei to be so powerful..." Before He Anxing could give the order to move, Wei Songhe was about to find out about him.

"If it was two days later, the assassination would never have happened. Those who defended this place would have been killed by me." He Anxing looked at Zong Yanli with a sad face, his heart full of despair.

He really didn't want to die, otherwise he wouldn't have disguised himself as an unlearned idiot.

Zong Yanli was at a loss for words. After calling He Anxing to stand up, he looked at this man carefully for the first time. In his two lives, Zong Yanli had not been able to remember his face carefully. As a prince, he disguised himself very successfully.

It can even be said that this is no longer a disguise, this is his ability.

In his previous life, King Ping lived a peaceful and safe life, just like the path he had paved for himself. No one knew about his private soldiers or secret funds.

"If the general thinks I am a threat, I can stay away from the capital..."

"This is like letting a tiger go back to the mountains. Then should I go guard the imperial mausoleum?"

He Anxing wanted to cry after he finished speaking. What's the point of guarding the imperial tomb?

Those days were so hard!

He Anxing choked with pain. He wanted to live a comfortable life, to live a happy life with fine clothes and delicious food, and a warm and beautiful girl in his arms.

This is what he pursues in his life.

"Your Highness, please be at ease." Zong Yanli frowned and interrupted He Anxing's words. He raised his eyes and called Gao Feilin to ask people to clean up the corpses in the house. Then he invited Prince Ping to come in and talk.

"This matter has not yet reached the emperor." After the two sat opposite each other, Zong Yanli narrowed his eyes and stared at He Anxing and said, "Since I have suppressed this matter and will not investigate it anymore, I also want to wait for Your Highness to come and ask for a clear explanation. Since it is known that Your Highness did not do it intentionally, you can accept it."

"But..." Zong Yanliduan looked at Prince Ping and said, "I don't know if your Highness' words are credible."

He Anxing felt even more helpless after hearing this, and lowered his head slightly and said, "Since I dared to come here in person today, I just want to make a deal with the general."

He Anxing took out a tiger talisman and a red order from his arms and whispered, "I can give you soldiers, money, and everything else."

Zong Yanli raised his eyebrows slightly and stretched out his hand to play with the small tiger talisman. He learned from He Anxing that he secretly kept 5,000 private soldiers in Qianzhou and secretly controlled the salt and iron businesses, which could almost be said to be the most profitable things.

But he was not greedy at all and did not monopolize all the salt and iron businesses in Daqian, otherwise he would have been discovered long ago.

It was enough for him to just be greedy for some scraps. He was able to use his private treasury to support 5,000 soldiers and still have money to squander. It can be seen that the benefits were huge.

Zong Yanli was not moved by what he said. Instead, He Anxing's reminder reminded him of something very important.

Salt and iron are extremely important and indispensable things at all times. Zong Yanli remembered that after the new king ascended the throne in his previous life, he spent a long time maneuvering in order to completely turn salt and iron from private to public.

The first iron law was issued, which was to ban smuggling of salt and iron.

The introduction of new rules and regulations naturally affected the interests of many people, and encountered a lot of obstacles at the time, and even almost failed to be implemented countless times. In the end, Zong Yanli broke through an important barrier.

At that time, Zong Yanli had never thought about King Ping. He only thought that he was experiencing a battle of interests with merchants.

Now that I think about it, when the laws were promulgated in the previous life, King Ping might have secretly obstructed them, right?

"I don't want soldiers or money." Zong Yanli figured out the key and smiled. She could just make some conditions to He Anxing. She would definitely get abundant food and military supplies in the future, and even a team of death warriors and secret guards. This was a huge temptation for her personally.

"I want you to do something for me." Zong Yanli glanced at He Anxing and said with a smile, "If you do this well, I will pretend that I have no knowledge of your raising private soldiers."

"How about you just continue to be your Highness Prince Ping?" Zong Yanli said with a smile.

"...What does the General want me to do?" He Anxing didn't expect Zong Yanli to be so easy to talk to, and he was a little hesitant to believe it for a moment.

Zong Yanli raised his chin and said, "I want there to be no more private salt in the world, and I want the imperial court to control all the iron castings."

She glanced at He Anxing, her eyes full of determination and coldness, and said: "Your Highness Prince Ping, since you eat the people's food, you should do your best to serve the people."

"I think it would be best if this matter is left to Your Highness. What do you think?"

"..."

He Anxing sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling that all the preparations and speculations he had made so far, and even the way out he had thought of for himself, had completely collapsed at this moment. He had thought about many things, wondering whether Zong Yanli might use some crime to get rid of him, or might clip his wings, or might be moved by the benefits he offered.

He thought about many things, but he never thought about...

What she wanted was to push him out from behind the scenes. It seemed like she was giving him an important task, but in fact she was completely cutting off his retreat.

"Is this a good thing for the general?" He Anxing really didn't understand. He was even willing to offer the benefits with both hands, but Zong Yanli was not moved at all.

"Your Highness serves himself, and I serve the people."

"The harm caused by private salt is far more than what is happening right now. Casting iron into swords will eventually divide Daqian again." Zong Yanli looked serious, and it seemed that all she saw in her eyes was the situation of the world.

Zong Yanli, who was sitting beside the candlelight, looked so tall at this moment. She stared at He Anxing and said, "I have fought everywhere and finally got to the point where we can unify the country today. Your Highness, my brothers have shed too much blood. I don't want to see Daqian in trouble again."

Zong Yanli lowered his head slightly, then smiled and said, "Your Highness is not an incompetent person. If you can help me with this matter, it will be twice as effective with half the effort."

"If this is accomplished, it doesn't matter if Your Highness wants to embezzle a little bit from it." Zong Yanli said again. The light word "embezzlement" made He Anxing's eyes widen, and he was speechless looking at Zong Yanli.

"Really? Is that okay?" He Anxing looked at Zong Yanli uncertainly and said, "Is this a trap, waiting for me to fall into it?"

Zong Yanli smiled again, and said jokingly: "If I want to take action against Your Highness, why would I need to go through so much trouble? I can just charge him with treason and suppress him with heavy troops."

He Anxing's heart trembled, and he didn't know if it was because he thought of that scene, his face really didn't look good.

Zong Yanli said this, obviously hinting at He Anxing that if he disagrees this time, then the outcome will be...

"General, please give me some time." He Anxing closed his eyes with difficulty, raised his hand and said, "This matter is too important. Even if we want to perform it, it will take a lot of time."

"No hurry." Zong Yanli smiled, stood up and said, "It's already late today, Your Highness, go back and think about it slowly."

"I will stay here to accompany my brother-in-law to recover from his injuries, and wait for news from Your Highness at any time."

He Anxing choked again after hearing this. This meant that he was not allowed to leave Hezhang County!

He Anxing was exhausted and could only agree and leave in a hurry.

After leaving the inn, He Anxing immediately called his own people. However, when he met Zong Yanli, he felt that this was the most painful time he had ever lived.

He was a person who was extremely afraid of trouble and did not want to get involved in anything. But the current situation forced him to face the matter itself. He was completely devastated when he returned to his residence. He racked his brains for a solution but could not find a way out.

Zong Yanli was much stronger than he had imagined...

He Anxing thought that Zong Yanli's strength came from the use of force to suppress others, but he never imagined that a person like Zong Yanli, who held the military power to look down on everything, would see the situation so differently.

After Zong Yanli said that he wanted to ban private salt and serve the people, he thought that Zong Yanli was standing on the absolute "positive side"

But Zong Yanli could tell him easily that if this matter was accomplished, he could enjoy a little money. It turned out that she was not really "positive".

"Your Highness?" The secret guard in the room came over and bowed to He Anxing, saying, "I just heard that Lord Wei's injuries are serious, but they are not fatal."

"Hehe." He Anxing got angry just thinking about it. It was a good thing that no vital parts were injured, otherwise how could Zong Yanli sit down and talk to him calmly?

I'm afraid that long knife would have chopped off his head long ago!

He Anxing didn't know anything else, but Zong Yanli only had one sister, and he loved her very much. Now he hurt his sister's husband, it was really...

He Anxing stood up irritably and asked his men to start a large-scale cleanup of businesses and bases throughout Hezhang County. Zong Yanli, on the other hand, was indeed taking care of Wei Songhe wholeheartedly, as if he would not stop until he saw Wei Songhe recover with his own eyes.

"Are you writing a letter to your sister?" Zong Yanli crossed his arms and stood beside Wei Songhe, staring at him as he wrote the letter. He didn't seem to intend to avoid her at all, calling it close protection.

"Brother, do you have anything to say?" Wei Songhe was still wrapped in bandages. The first thing he did after he got up was to write a letter to his family to report that he was safe.

"No." Zong Yanli raised his eyebrows: "You write yours."

"..."

Wei Songhe smiled bitterly with some helplessness, and finally picked up the pen and wrote a brief letter with difficulty saying that everything was fine, emphasizing how much he was taken care of by his brother. He was relieved to see Zong Yanli's satisfied smile as he wished.

Without mentioning a word about his injury, Zong Yanli walked away leisurely.