Volu to Build a Secret Camp (1/2)

Volu to Build a Secret Carief He stepped forward and said, “rief and accept fate¹ If Master Li² were to find out that rief-stricken, he would think that this subordinate has not been taking care of the clear worry in his eyes, I faintly wondered, “Do you still hate Xiaoshunzi and this official?”

Chen Zhen calmly replied, “This lowly one has never blamed daren</ehtly bound with my life about to end If it weren’t for o Since this lowly one is from Shu and about my loyalty was justifiable This lowly one was uneasy at first, especially with my life and death in another’s hands But over these days, this lowly one has gotten the antidote without fail There have been no additional de as this lowly one is loyal and dutiful, I will certainly not be harmed Therefore, this lowly one has no complaints”

I looked at him He was actually quite astute I continued to ask, “The strategies I proposed captured both Ba Prefecture and Luocheng I also forced the King of Shu to commit suicide Do you not hate , “This lowly one was only a mere spy in Shu My entire life was dedicated to those with power and influence, riches and honor But until the day that Shu fell, I was still a mere spy without power over my own life When Shu existed, this lowly one did not betray it After Shu fell, nonentities like myself still needed to live For ies to defeat Shu is a h this lowly one is a citizen of Shu, I do not carry have the responsibility of taking revenge for Shu Although this lowly one is by nature, merciless, I believe that if a country cannot even protect its own citizens, then there is no need for that country to continue to exist”

I smiled faintly and observed, “Your temper matches ith h only at a later time When that happens, ill you do?”

Chen Zhen responded, “Although I do not knohat relationshi+p , I believe that when that time coh Chen Zhen is untalented and has experienced the sorrow of seeing ated, when that time comes, I only wish to be able to safely pass my days Chen Zhen is confident that I will not sell my master to seek honor”

I shookeven one tactful word He must have understood my temperament If he said these words while ere in Shu, he would have likely lost his life long ago In passing, I took out a pill from within my robes and said, “This is the antidote If you take it, it will coer have to take medication on a monthly basis”

Without any hesitation, Chen Zhen took the pill before declaring, “This subordinate is willing to vowhow frank and straightforward he was, as if he was forewarned, I asked, “Did you know long ago that I was the one who poisoned you?”

So that daren poisoned me Typically, those who use poison are all extremely self-confident If it was Master Li who poisoned me, he would not have left the restrictions on my body”

ht I realized that I needed to be candid with hiht as well be frank If I only wanted a personal guard, I would only need you to spare no effort to protect my life and not require your loyalty, as you are only a temporary replacement for Xiaoshunzi But if I want you to perform tasks for me, you must be trustworthy and loyal From now on, this official will be surrounded and watched by a pack of wolves I face er and if I ahtest, I could very well lose my life If a subordinate of mine is neither trustworthy nor loyal, there is no point having hi, I will have Xiaoshunzi re you to leave If you are wholeheartedly willing to serve me, I will treat you as a trusted aide After I have achieved success, I will also arrange so suitable for you and will not treat you unfairly However, I may not be able to provide you with hts?”

Chen Zhen kneeled again and replied, “This lowly one is homeless and has no dependents If I were to leave daren, I can only be a ain, sooner rather than later I have observed that difficult tasks with ease,⁴ soreat contributions⁵ If serve him for now I inquired, “If that is the case, I would like to ask you How should we proceed?”

Chen Zhen showed a look of exciteeance for the mistress,⁶ no matter hoe proceed, we require a force that we absolutely control Right now, other than this lowly one, Master Li is not free to do as he pleases Our strength is far too weak If we collaborate with others, in the event that our interests conflict, htly nodded ht now, of utmost importance was the creation of my own force to protectmy own oing to get thefew days, I hid in the study thinking over how to establish this force and h soination run wild This force could not be too large, as it would draw attention, and would require money and supplies At the same time, it could not be too small or it would not be of use Most importantly, I needed my own income

A few days later, Xiaoshunzi ca of my plans, he advised that we start ss of the rewards that we had received for the past caainst Shu We secretly purchased an estate near where I lived and brought over several twelve- or thirteen-year-old teenagers to train Following ers were basically orphans, and were obstinate and tenacious children These teenagers would first be trained by Chen Zhen in basictheto Xiaoshunzi, after two years of training, these trainees would be considered as second-rate martial artists Coe training, which was Chen Zhen’s specialty, these individuals could be of use

I also thought of a plan to earn ned, not only were the designs exquisite, but they also could be crafted by first-rate artisans, resulting in their approbation Although I was not particularly adept at these craft designs, I was knowledgeable, and had read books that onderful and exquisite In batches, Imechanisms, jewelry and apparel, and even some elaborate toys My favorite was a clock that was a modified pendulum clock that I had seen in a book I acquired frons were manufactured in partnershi+p with the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, fro the Pavilion was naues He had luckily escaped Chengdu after the fall of Shu Because of Great Yong’s strict governance, he had co in Southern Chu As he was a skilled assassin, plotter, and schemer, there weren’t er When Chen Zhen was searching for orphans, he found Han Wuji and saved hi that this person had a , I allowed hier of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets I had hins to find collaborators At first, he had to personally meet with others Afterwards, whenever I caanize a small auction and invite n and resources As long as they ed to keep this information strictly confidential, they would have exclusive production rights The reputation of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets spread in secret No one made its existence public, especially as the ht to bid in the auctions and a way to make money The invitations from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets becath and also a syood reputation, even if one possessed th, one could not receive an invitation

At first, this was all for ful Through the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, I could learn ns using all kinds of secrets Of course, Ithat he did not slip up and wasn’t followed Han Wuji perforer, I dispatched a group of twelve individuals to listen to Han Wuji Through this, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets becaanizations in Southern Chu

After an to reduce designs, only producing one perthose who had previously collaborated to bid Later on, these merchants established the Heavenly Secrets Trade association, whichwith the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets To join, the association required recommendations from three members and the approval of the Pavilion The Heavenly Secrets Trade association quickly became the h a share of the stock, I was able to receive ten percent of the association’s profits In the first year alone, I received six hundred thousand taels of silver The participating coood reputations, ah I wasn’t able to control their operation, to loseAs a result, I was able to ensure their cooperation as long as it wasn’t anything too overboard like rebellion