Chapter Eleven Strike First

  Here is the translation:

  It's said that Zhou Ke's relentless pursuit of the case of Hong Yi and Xiao Mozi has made someone uneasy, and this person is none other than Ma Haicheng, the local tycoon known as "Ma the Good Person". Only he knows that all of this was arranged by him. Originally, Ma Haicheng, although seemingly devoted to the country and the people, donating money and goods, actually wanted to use these opportunities to get close to government officials and military personnel in order to pave the way for his own ulterior motives, or rather, to create a false appearance. He had ways of secretly accumulating more wealth. Because he had long since chosen to collude with Western Xia. Ten years ago, he found out that the Shaanxi governor, Lord Hao, loved collecting famous paintings, and that Hong Yi, a local landscape painter, happened to have a genuine work by Gu Kaizhi, one of the "Six Dynasties Four Great Masters". So he approached Hong Yi and asked him to present Gu Kaizhi's masterpiece to Lord Hao, find a way to infiltrate the military camp, gather information and draw a map of the distribution of troops in Shaanxi. If successful, he would be rewarded with 10,000 taels of gold; otherwise, if he knew his secret but didn't carry out the task, there would only be one road left - death. Hong Yi was short on silver and feared for his life, so he agreed to do it. He presented Gu Kaizhi's masterpiece to Lord Hao, and soon became good friends with him, often entering and leaving the military camp. In just two years, relying on his painter's exceptional memory, he easily drew a map of the distribution of troops in Shaanxi.

  Just as he was about to hand over the distribution map, it so happened that the capital sent someone to inquire about the situation in Shaanxi and Western Xia. The imperial envoy unintentionally saw Hong Yi's landscape painting at Hao Daren's place and greatly appreciated it, intentionally recommending him to the palace. Upon hearing this news, Ma Haiqing immediately seized the opportunity, raising his original promise of 10,000 gold by five times, asking Hong Yi to find a way to get the national military distribution map. Hong Yi saw that the other side attached great importance to this military distribution map, so he raised the price, asking for 100,000 gold, and Ma Haiqing surprisingly agreed.

  Over the next eight years, Hong Yi was busy in the imperial palace, the Privy Council, and the Ministry of War, etc. With the help of others arranged by Ma Haiqing in Beijing, Hong Yi finally fulfilled his mission without shame, copied the distribution map of troops across the country, and successfully brought it back to Shaanxi. After meeting with the Ma family, Hong Yi disguised himself as a merchant and met with Xiao Mozhi, a young servant of the Ma family. Xiao Mozhi saw that he was dressed as a merchant but did not bring any goods, and stood under the wine flag waiting for him, so he scolded him a few words, but unexpectedly their meeting was seen by Zhou Ke.

  Zhou Ke's frequent visits to the Ma family to inquire about the deceased Hong Yi and Xiao Mozi made Ma Haiqing restless. Because not long ago, he had also lost track of He Tian, a key figure in the case. He Tian was someone he had personally asked Xiao Mozi to find and have a secret conversation with. Moreover, on the day He Tian delivered the painting to the designated location, it happened to be after Ma Haiqing ordered Shen Han to kill Xiao Mozi. Could it be that He Tian had overheard him? It was infuriating that he hadn't killed He Tian at the time, allowing him to escape first! According to his knowledge, Zhou Ke had already visited He Tian's home, and it was clear that he knew the landscape painting was created by He Tian. However, based on this alone, Zhou Ke couldn't conclude that the deceased was related to himself. But what if one day Zhou Ke found He Tian before him? If He Tian told the truth about himself, no matter how cleverly Ma Haiqing tried to argue his way out of it, he would still be guilty with Zhou Ke's intelligence. If his identity were exposed at that time, he might not even need Zhou Ke to kill him; the Western Xia people would likely silence him first.

  Ma Haiqing thought for a moment, no way, he had to take the initiative! So he immediately called Shen Han, a killer he had raised and trained since childhood. Because Shen Han looked like a zombie, with a missing finger on his left hand, he was abandoned by his parents. Ma Haiqing saw that the child's physique was good, suitable for martial arts training, and could be useful to him in the future, so he took him as his adopted son. However, due to his frightening appearance, everyone who saw him would lose their courage, so he always covered his face and only contacted Ma Haiqing alone. Hong Yi and Xiao Mozi were his masterpieces. But Ma made a mistake, he actually let He Tian escape.

  This time, he was summoned by his adoptive father again. After meeting, Shen Han asked, "Adoptive father, are you asking me to kill Zhou Ke?" Because he killed Hong Yi and Xiao Mozi, he was also very concerned about the progress of this case. However, Zhou Ke seemed to be uncovering his true face step by step, making him unable to intervene.

  But unexpectedly, Ma Haiqing immediately waved his hand and denied what he had just said.

  "Isn't Zhou Ke responsible for this case? If we kill him, won't it become a permanent cold case and no one will be able to interfere with our plans again?"

  Ma Haiqing sneered, saying: "You've followed me for so many years, yet you still only know how to kill! What we need to do now is not to kill, but to gather! I ask you, although we have the deployment map of the Western Xia army in our hands, can't we just hand it over to them like this?"

  "Foster father is worried that this military map can't be sent out? With my martial arts skills, I'm not underestimating those good-for-nothings in the army camp. It's not difficult to send a map out, is it? Besides, aren't Xia soldiers often coming to meet with foster father? Just hand it over to them when the time comes."

  "I say, how can you still be so reckless and impulsive! At a time when Western Xia and the Song Dynasty are at war, haven't you seen how strict the checks are inside and outside the city? If you take this map out and get caught, not only will our decades of hard work go down the drain, but also the lives of our entire family will be forfeit. Even if we're lucky enough to escape, the Western Xia people are unpredictable, and if they get their hands on the military deployment map, who knows what they'll do? Moreover, in the recent battle between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty, although they had the upper hand, that Qin Wei kid managed to turn the tide and come back. Can we really trust the strength of Western Xia at this point? We need to observe for a while longer before making a move."

  "Haha! Uncle, after all, you still don't trust anyone."

  "If it were you, you would be the same. This military deployment map is something I risked my life to get, and I absolutely won't allow any mistakes! Nor will I easily trade it with others. I haven't even told the Western Xia about this yet, so you must keep it a secret too. I need to think carefully and come up with a foolproof plan, one that ensures Western Xia gets the map and fulfills their promise to me, while also ensuring the map safely reaches the hands of the Western Xia people, allowing them to annihilate these incompetent officials of the Song Dynasty!"

  "Uncle is right! But uncle, you'd better hide this military deployment map well. I think Zhou Ke doesn't seem like an ordinary person. What if he finds it before we come up with a foolproof plan? It would be a waste of all our previous efforts."

  "You're wondering where I put the military map, right? Don't worry about it, I'll tell you when the time comes! It's in a completely safe place now, and no one can find it. This time I called you here, I need you to do something else first, go investigate Hu Yong and Zhou Ke's weaknesses, the more the better! The faster the better!"

  "Is Godfather trying to take advantage of their weakness and gather them for us?"

  "Haha, it's about time you didn't waste my time! I've been observing these two people for a long time! Hu Yongli has always been at odds with Qin Wei, and now that they're here, they don't have any real power. They've hated Qin Wei for a long time, and I heard that just the other day, they tried to win him over by offering their own daughter as a bargaining chip, but ended up losing face instead when he rejected them. Now is the perfect opportunity to win them over! And as for Zhou Ke, don't be fooled by his loyalty to Qin Wei - he's got too much ambition and won't be content with being just a deputy general forever! Investigate him immediately and report back to me! Let's use their common enemy, Qin Wei, to our advantage! Hahaha!"