Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 242

"The unification of the world is gradually taking shape, and your power in the peasant community has reached its peak. The next step is for the Mirage Project to be integrated with the power of the Qin state. I can help you gain another five years."

The Moon Goddess sat at the stone table, sipping bamboo leaf tea newly cultivated by the farmer's disciples, gazing at Xiao Qian'er practicing Yin-Yang techniques in the open space, and spoke softly to Lu Wei on the other side of the stone table.

The construction of the mirage cannot proceed on a large scale yet, but once Qin annexes Qi, construction will begin immediately, regardless of the cost.

The King of Qin's headaches seemed to be getting worse: from various perspectives, Ying Zheng, who was only thirty-nine years old, could not be described as being in good health.

It seems that ever since King Zhaoxiang, the health of several generations of Qin kings has been anything but good.

King Xiaowen reigned for only three days after ascending the throne before passing away, just as King Zhuangxiang reigned for only three years.

The current King of Qin is not yet forty, but a serious illness is already taking hold within him...

The need for power drove Ying Zheng to pursue immortality, and the experiences of his father and grandfather undoubtedly made this pursuit even more urgent.

“Five years should be enough.” Lu Wei tapped the stone table with his finger: “Once the external threats are eliminated, internal strife will become the new source of conflict in that country.”

"The power of the Net is gradually spiraling out of control."

Things are more complex in historical timelines and cannot be judged casually, but in this world, Ying Zheng's use of Zhao Gao was his biggest mistake.

Initially, Ying Zheng had little knowledge of Luo Wang's activities outside of Qin, but now, even within Xianyang, Luo Wang's influence has penetrated into important positions within Qin.

As his skills deepened, many fragmented memories in his mind began to become clearer. Lu Wei recalled the assassination attempt during the Spring Festival ceremony in front of the officials in Xianyang from the original novel:

This assassination attempt was a major case orchestrated by the Luo Wang organization after the Qin Dynasty unified China. They used the remnants of Lord Changping's faction to stage an assassination attempt on the King of Qin, but their ultimate goal was to expel or even kill Fusu.

During the annual spring festival, Luo Wang poisoned the river or the buckets of water beforehand, causing all the civil and military officials to fall into a coma after drinking the river water. Finally, assassins disguised as guards of the ceremony attacked Ying Zheng. Although several assassins were eventually captured by the Shadow Guards who had been prepared in advance, they failed to capture even one of them alive.

Although Ying Zheng had noticed clues and made some preparations beforehand, and even wanted to use the opportunity to test Fusu, he allowed officials, including Li Si, to be poisoned, and allowed the sacrificial ceremony, representing the face of the Qin Dynasty, to be wantonly disrupted by assassins. Furthermore, after the assassination attempt at the spring sacrifice ceremony, no evidence or suspicion could be found to dismantle the conspiracy...

Without a doubt, the King of Qin had completely lost control of the Luowang (Net of Heaven) at that time, a result that could not be changed even after he sent Zhang Han to investigate the Yinghuo Stone.

If the later Luo Wang organization simply wanted to kill Ying Zheng, it would have been much easier than imagined. Zhao Gao was just waiting for an opportunity for Hu Hai to succeed to the throne.

"The terrifying aspect of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) lies solely in its ability to gain the trust of the King of Qin." The Moon Goddess offered limited commentary on the Luo Wang, then changed the subject: "When do you want the Yin Yang School to attack Mount Shu?"

Attacking Mount Shu is part of the Mirage Plan, and this part can be coordinated with the Farmer's plan to gain allies from Mount Shu.

Although the power of Mount Shu is limited, it is still a force that can be utilized.

"Let's get it done sooner and bring the Yu Yuan Guards from Shu Mountain to the Central Plains."

"The sooner they become enemies with Qin, the greater the damage they will cause to Qin."

Chapter 278 First Encounter with Shao Siming

Besides visiting the farmhouses, the Moon Goddess also plans to go to Sanghai during her trip to Xianyang.

She couldn't stay outside indefinitely. She had already helped Xiao Qian'er solidify his Yin-Yang skills foundation, and the next practice would be a repetitive deduction process that he could handle on his own.

After a while, the Moon Goddess would send her trusted confidants to deliver Yin-Yang items to Xiao Qian'er to help him improve his cultivation. This time, she had a clear grasp of Xiao Qian'er's various cultivation data, and then she specially spent time calculating his entire cultivation plan from now until he is fifteen years old. Xiao Qian'er no longer needs to figure it out on his own; everything is readily available.

Lu Wei felt that the Moon Goddess was being a bit too indulgent with this, which was not like her normal personality at all.

The Moon Goddess was aware of this, of course, but she still insisted on doing so: If it weren't for this chaotic world, and if the Eastern Emperor hadn't been so determined to revive the Zhou Dynasty, the Yin-Yang School, focused solely on pursuing the Great Dao, wouldn't have needed to endure unnecessary hardship to hone their combat skills. Given Qian'er's background, he didn't need to personally fight outsiders; he could simply focus on perfecting the Yin-Yang arts...

Two months after the Moon Goddess left, Wang Ben returned to Yan after the Qin-Qi battlefield. He led his army south from the north without any obstacles and soon arrived at the city of Linzi.

Linzi was the most prosperous city among the seven kingdoms, with not only tall and sturdy city walls, but also countless reserves inside the city.

But when the black-armored Qin army, which the people knew should still be trapped in Gaotang and unable to cross the river, suddenly appeared at the foot of the capital, the entire city of Linzi was thrown into chaos, regardless of the number of Qin people.

Compared to the large armies on the front lines in Gaotang and Pinglu, these people in the rear lacked courage, which was more in line with the Qin King and Wang Ben's own imagination of the cowardly Qi people.

Even so, it was impossible for Wang Ben to capture Linzi with 50,000 men. This number would be difficult to even completely besiege the city. Therefore, he decisively sent Chen Chi, a guest sent by the King of Qin, into the city to persuade him to surrender.

From a military perspective, at this point, the magistrate of Jimo offered King Jian of Qi two options:

The first option is to keep the city gates closed and stall Wang Ben: Wang Ben has penetrated deep into Qi territory, and the amount of food he has brought with him is certainly not much. Moreover, the food transport teams behind him are being severely harassed by the garrison troops of the Qi cities that have not surrendered. Before long, he will have to retreat. At that time, whether the Qi army in Linzi follows up with an attack or continues to hold the city safely, they will be able to resolve the crisis of the Qin people approaching the capital.

This choice is very similar to the standoff between Wang Jian and Xiang Yan a few years ago, except that at this moment, it is the Qin army that cannot afford to waste time.

The second option is to mobilize a large number of troops from Gaotang, Pinglu, and other rear cities to form an absolute numerical advantage and overwhelm Wang Ben: fighting under the walls of Linzi, the Qi state is on the side of the Qi state regardless of the weather, terrain, and popular support. Without city walls to defend the plains, a mere 50,000 troops would be doomed to defeat, let alone Wang Ben, or even Wang Jian!

Both of these options could have repelled the Qin army. However, to the astonishment of the magistrate of Jimo, King Jian of Qi decisively chose a third option: surrender.

The King of Qin offered generous terms to Hou Sheng and the King of Qi, promising that if the King of Qi surrendered, he would be granted 500 li of land as a fief so that he could live out his old age in peace.

This condition would be quite ordinary for a ruler of a country, but for King Jian of Qi, it had crossed his psychological bottom line...

...

In the Daze Mountains, upon learning that Wang Ben's army had crossed the Ji River, Lu Wei immediately ordered the Six Halls to accelerate the erosion of Qi's assets in Pinglu. He didn't offer many reasons for his actions; he simply didn't want these assets to become an asset to Qin after Qi's surrender.

Although this might lead to increased oppression in Qi after Qin failed to reap sufficient benefits, causing suffering for the people, what does this have to do with the peasants? The more the people are oppressed, the smoother their future anti-Qin cause will be.

That evening, after finishing his six daily tasks, Lord Xia Kui was preparing to return to his backyard to enjoy his rest when a disciple suddenly reported that intruders had broken in from the direction of Qiufen Ridge.

Since the Chun Gu Zhuang incident and the withdrawal of Luo Wang, no one has dared to cause trouble in Da Ze Shan. Therefore, Lu Wei was quite interested and decided to take a look: the fact that they were able to cross Qiu Fen Ridge quietly before being discovered meant that they had already crossed the territory of Chi You Tang and entered the sphere of influence of Gong Gong Tang.

This suggests that the intruders were either in cahoots with Chiyou Hall and were deliberately let in by Tian Hu, or that the intruders possessed exceptional martial arts and agility skills!

After all the elite personnel in Gonggong Hall had been assigned different tasks, only Yan Bing remained to carry out the defense work.

He possessed immense strength and was a renowned strongman among the farmers. Compared to his exquisite martial arts skills, Yan Bing, who could uproot a large tree, received just as much respect from ordinary disciples.

But facing this intruder today, Yan Bing was somewhat overwhelmed...

With a whoosh, a dozen or so leaves flew towards him. Yan Bing crossed his arms in front of him to block them. Although the leaves tore his clothes, they failed to scratch his skin, which was honed by his hard skills.

The girl in the violet and moon-white dress, standing on the treetop, showed no change in expression beneath her semi-transparent veil. Her eyes were calm, and she extended her slender white index finger and gently twirled it. Dozens of leaves spun in front of her finger following her movement. After feeling that she had controlled the new force, the girl thrust her finger forward, and the sharp leaves shot out again, cutting towards Yan Bing.

This time, the leaf sliced ​​through the latter's stubborn resistance and cut through the flesh, but the wound was not deep.

"Damn it, are you trying to humiliate me?!" Sensing that the other party was clearly holding back, Yan Bing clenched his fists, used the muscles in his legs to leap high into the air, and swung his fist at the purple-haired, veiled girl high above.

Without uttering a word, the girl lightly stepped on her delicate purple shoes, leaving only a slight tremor in the leaves beneath her feet, and instantly moved to a treetop in another direction.

Based on her demonstrated agility, it would be difficult for Yan Bing to hit her with his fighting style...

Upon seeing this, the other patrolling farm disciples immediately drew their bows, aimed, and fired arrows, but the girl easily dodged them.

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and the purple-haired girl hesitated: the Moon Goddess had asked her to visit Lu Wei, the leader of the Farmer's Clan, at Daze Mountain. The cautious tone in her words indicated that she should not kill anyone, but these guys were too annoying and were all obstacles.

With that thought, the girl formed a hand seal, and the surrounding trees instantly began to sway gently in response...

"You guys stand down."

Just then, a deep voice rang out in the forest. Before the words were finished, Yan Bing, who was about to continue his attack, was grabbed from behind and had his shoulder pressed down.

"Hall...Chief of the Knights!" Yan Bing almost mispronounced the title. The other disciples, seeing Lu Wei arrive, also perked up and put down their bows and arrows: with the Chief of the Knights here, this intruder is doomed!

The girl atop the tree stopped what she was doing as soon as she saw the newcomer's face: This person was the target in the portrait!

After Lu Wei used his internal energy to stop the bleeding of Yan Bing, whose injuries were minor, Lu Wei nodded to him. Yan Bing then gestured to the patrolling disciples to quickly leave the area.

Soon, only Lu Wei and Shao Siming, a girl from the Yin Yang School, remained in the forest.

Autumn orchids and wild herbs grow in abundance beneath the hall. Green leaves and white blossoms, their fragrance wafts towards me.

The Yin-Yang Secret Technique flashed once more, and Shao Siming landed lightly in front of Lord Xia Kui. The small red bell tied to the heel of her purple patterned stocking jingled with her movements.

Without speaking, her translucent purple pupils beneath the small white flower ornament on her forehead stared unblinkingly at Lu Wei.

"Did the Moon Goddess send you?" Upon seeing that the intruder reported by his disciple was Shao Siming, Lu Wei immediately guessed the girl's purpose.

"..." Nodding slowly, Shao Siming stretched out her palm. Although she had cultivated the Yin-Yang Jade Hand Seal, she had not actually transformed her hand into jade. However, her palm, as smooth as mutton fat jade, was more beautiful than the green dragon-patterned jade in her palm.

Is this the Yin-Yang artifact that the Moon Goddess mentioned before she left?

He raised his hand, intending to use his inner energy to draw the dragon-patterned jade from a distance. However, as soon as he made the movement, Shao Siming sensed the suction force and quickly closed her palm again, stopping Lu Wei and shaking her head.

"?" The chivalrous leader withdrew his inner energy and frowned slightly as he watched the girl's actions.

Communicating with a semi-mute character is really difficult...

"It seems that Master Lu, or rather, Master Lu the Hero, can deduce the whereabouts of the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations of Chu from vague clues, but he can't fathom a woman's heart~"

Another figure emerged from the dense forest with a smile, her dark blue dress revealing her identity as Dongjun Yanfei.

Upon seeing the other party, Lu Wei made no move, but Shao Siming's pupils shrank, and she immediately formed a hand seal, unleashing the Myriad Leaves Flying Flower Stream in the form of a flying leaf storm, attacking her fellow disciple Dong Jun.

'We mustn't let the Moon Goddess's plan be discovered by the Eastern Lord!'

Having anticipated the attack, Yan Fei remained calm and composed. She raised her hand and threw out a three-legged golden crow with the power of a dragon, whose wings flapped flames, easily breaking the attack.

"Don't worry, although I was sent by Lord Donghuang to monitor you as you complete your mission, I will not interfere with you in any way. I have my own things to do as well."

The leaves that had gathered into a ball in Shao Siming's hand were still spinning and gathering power. She did not listen to Yan Fei's words, but only glanced at Lu Wei from the corner of her eye: she was definitely no match for Lord Dongjun by herself. However, according to what the Moon Goddess said, she was to obey the orders of this peasant hero after arriving at Daze Mountain. This person was in cahoots with the Moon Goddess.

Why not attack together with yourself?

Noticing that two women, one near and one far, were staring at him, Lu Wei's mind raced:

The matter is complex, but it can be addressed by analyzing it step by step:

Shao Siming came on the orders of the Moon Goddess. Although she didn't know why the Moon Goddess wouldn't hand over the item to her, she could resolve the matter later.

Dongjun Yanfei appeared later. Judging from her words, Shao Siming's trip was actually on the orders of Donghuang, probably for 'that matter'.

Although Dongjun was responsible for monitoring the completion of her mission, she was definitely more concerned about her own internal energy and would continue to go to the Mo family to attend to her own private matters.

I'll get rid of Dongjun first, then make arrangements for Shao Siming!

Chapter 279 The Purpose of Shao Siming

As the head of the Four Mountains Hall, Ji Yan naturally held a certain status in the martial arts world due to this identity.

Before gaining power, she worked hard to secure the opportunity to become the head of the hall, even going so far as to betray Zhang Er and bluntly reveal to Lu Wei that he only favored the bloodline of Lord Xinling.

Even if this Lord Xinling's bloodline is his own.

However, after Ji Yan officially became the head of the Four Mountains Hall, he only established the general direction of development within the hall, leaving all other matters to Zhang Er and his Xinling retainers.

It seems her passion for power has vanished?

However, Xiao Yan'er, who was reading and enjoying the sight of Princess Chu peeling grapes, clearly understood one thing: she did not have the ability to become the head of the Four Mountains Hall on her own. The reason she had achieved her current status was because she relied on Lu Wei, a powerful figure, and also because of her bloodline.

Becoming the head of the Four Mountains Hall in the past two years was by chance. If I want to go further and succeed Gonggong Hall in the future, I must have real talent and learning.

Therefore, instead of wasting too much time doing those complicated things yourself, it is better to strengthen your reading and learning while observing how Zhang Er specifically manages the affairs of the hall.

I'm only fourteen years old now, and I have a lot of time ahead of me. I need to learn more now!