The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 174 Personality Betrayal

Upon entering Qingzhou, Chen Er and Zhao Yun felt a difference between Qingzhou and Jizhou. Looking at the farmhouses and cooking smoke on both sides of the road, Zhao Yun said to Chen Er, "From what we see, I can see Lord Deng Ting's ability to govern the region."

"Well, I just wanted to give Deng Ting a chance. After all, Wu County under his rule was quite good, especially in maintaining the normal lives of the people even during the war."

“I think such an official is worthy of being promoted exceptionally. Moreover, this guy was quite fearless back then. I asked him, if I gave you two choices, one is to be the prefect of a county, and the other is to be the deputy leader of a state, which would you rather be?”

“He chose the deputy leader,” Zhao Yun said.

"That's right. This kid said that people often say it's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix, but I think a phoenix will always be a phoenix, and a chicken will always be a chicken and will never become a phoenix."

Chen Er smiled and said to Zhao Yun, "Although Deng Ting is not very famous, I have seen his abilities and I have also directly felt his ambition."

Chen Er always held the view that it was a good thing for a person to have ambition, as it showed that he was motivated to improve himself. Moreover, Deng Ting's ambition was normal, so Chen Er decisively sent Deng Ting to Qingzhou to serve as the deputy leader of Qingzhou.

“This is a man of ambition,” Zhao Yun said with a heavy nod. From Chen Er’s words, Zhao Yun could clearly sense the ambition in Deng Ting’s heart.

“Only those with ambition have a future,” Chen Er said.

After entering Qingzhou, Chen Er suddenly felt playful and wanted to make a real incognito visit. He had Zhao Yun lead the Dragon Cavalry Battalion to follow behind him, while he himself only took a few personal guards and Wang Hui, and separated from Zhao Yun and the others. The whole group changed into civilian clothes.

He only carried a few pistols and swords for self-defense. According to Chen Er, Qingzhou could now be considered a true rear base. If there was still danger in this place, then he was really unlucky.

Hearing Chen Er's words, Zhao Yun also felt that they made sense. Where would there be so much danger on his own territory? Did anyone know Chen Er's whereabouts? If Chen Er really encountered an assassination attempt this time, then Zhao Yun might start to wonder if he had a split personality, or if the other split personality had betrayed him.

"drive!"

After parting ways with Zhao Yun, Chen Er deliberately chose a road that was not a main road. He had plenty of time, so he decided to take a good look around Qingzhou. After all, the powerful clans in Qingzhou were probably the largest in the entire region, especially with the presence of a special family like the Kong family. Chen Er had to be extra careful.

"Wang Hui, from now on, call me Manager. You are my steward, and the rest of you are my guards. You must not reveal our identities, understand?"

After traveling for more than an hour, Chen Er and his group arrived at the first town they had separated from. Upon entering the town, Chen Er specifically instructed his followers to keep their identities secret and not to reveal their official status. They were told that they were fur merchants from the north and were traveling south to do business, and that the goods were still being transported.

"Yes, my lord," Wang Hui and the others replied habitually.

"Huh?" Chen Er immediately glared at Wang Hui, who quickly changed his address to "shopkeeper."

"Yes, that's right." Chen Er nodded, then glanced at his own attire. Finding nothing wrong, he led the group into a place called Huai Shu Township.

"Grandpa, I'm very grateful for your kind words." As Chen Er entered the village, he saw an old man, immediately walked up to him, and politely greeted him.

"Young men, what's the matter?" The old man wasn't too surprised by the men's attire, after all, Huai Shu Township was located by a road, and merchants would pass through from time to time.

"Grandpa, how far is it from here to Beihai?" Chen Er asked the old man, pretending not to know the way. The old man was a little stunned when he heard this.

The old man looked up at Chen Er and said, "Young man, the North Sea is still a long way from here. If you keep going east along the road outside, it's still more than two hundred li away."

"Two hundred li is not too far," Chen Er replied.

"Young men, where do you come from? You look like you've traveled a long way," the old man asked casually.

“We’re from Yuyang,” Wang Hui said.

Upon hearing Wang Hui's words, the old man exclaimed in surprise, "Yuyang? That's not far!"

“Yes, it’s a very long distance.” Wang Hui said to the old man while asking about some local policies in Qingzhou.

Chen Er remained silent, observing the surrounding houses and people. He found it strange that this place, called Huai Shu Township, was not wealthy, which seemed illogical.

Although Huai Shu Township isn't a particularly large town, it's still located next to a road. In such a busy place, there should be places to stay and eat, or at the very least, a roadside tea stall. But Chen Er didn't see any of these, which was rather strange.

Chen Er casually asked the old man, "Uncle, is there any place to stay and eat in town? It's getting late, and I don't want to camp outside in the dead of winter."

The old man was clearly stunned when he heard Chen Er's words, but he quickly realized that it was normal for Chen Er and his group to be unfamiliar with the situation here, as they came from Yuyang.

The old man hesitated for a moment and said to Chen Er, “Young man, you come from the north and don’t know the situation here. Our Huai Shu Township, although it is located next to the official road, and it is a relatively busy official road, the villagers here are not doing well at all.”

Perhaps because it had been a long time since anyone had chatted, the old man started talking and didn't stop. However, this allowed Chen Er to quickly understand the situation in Huai Shu Township and the surrounding towns, which was actually quite simple.

It's because there's a large family in the surrounding towns—the Chen family. This Chen family has a history of at least two or three hundred years, at least that's what the old man said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Er roughly understood that the melodramatic plot was about to unfold again. The Chen family was too powerful, and all the surrounding towns and villages were under their control. The leaders of several towns and villages were all members of the Chen family. The Chen family would collect so-called management fees from everyone, whether they were doing business, trading, or hunting in the mountains.