Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 166

After Lu Wei returned to Daze Mountain, his initial plan was to rest for two days and then take Xiao Duanmu south to visit the branch of Jinghu Medical Clinic.

However, the latest letter from the south said that the south was still being developed and there would be no major changes to the lake shore in the short term. With the Snow Woman incident, he simply postponed his trip until next year.

As for the selection of the person in charge of Mirror Lake, the first person the Hall Master would think of was still his fourth brother. However, he dismissed the idea in an instant: the four members of Shanyu Muye all had missions to perform at the moment.

While Amu planned to build a larger mechanical workshop in the south, his first priority was to properly resolve the follow-up issues regarding the mechanical oxen and crowing roosters in Bailuyan.

Lu Wei chose Yan Shen as the person in charge of the team that would coordinate the reclamation of Jinghu Lake.

Among the headquarters' trusted confidants, Lü Qing is already the head of the Gonggong Hall, so it is not appropriate to let his son Lü Chen take charge of the south.

The Yan brothers have been guarding the Daze Mountains for a long time. They can choose one of them to be sent out. Compared to Yan Bing, who is strong and brute, Yan Shen, who is more cautious in his actions, is the best choice.

Jinghu and Gonggongtang need time to develop, and the general trend of the world also needs time to move forward. Young Lu Wei has plenty of time to spare.

After so many years of ups and downs, it's time for him to stop and enjoy some peaceful days.

Lu Wei almost forgot that Peng Yue, who was summoned to Daze Mountain by Li Zuoche, was not going to see for the time being. He only assigned him to be a guard under Li Zuoche. He would summon him and reward him later when Peng Yue's abilities were demonstrated.

...

Life in the mountains of Daze was pleasant, but things in Jicheng were becoming increasingly dire.

This year, the Qin and Yan armies fought fiercely on the land, and the sun in the sky also seemed to be making a great show of it. As a result, under the scorching sun, the corpses piled up like mountains decomposed at an accelerated rate, and disease began to spread both inside and outside the city at the same time.

Both sides were forced to slow down and cease fighting, which gave the Yan army a rare chance to catch its breath.

A huge gap has appeared on the eastern wall of Jicheng. At first, the damage was so great that cavalry could pass through it. This was caused by the mechanical beast "Potu Sanlang" of the Gongshu family.

The Potu Sanlang, which imitates the pangolin in bionics, is a powerful weapon for breaching cities. As a heavy mechanical beast, its tonnage advantage allows it to gain a slight advantage when facing the mechanical White Tiger head-on. It is precisely because of this that the breach appeared in the Jicheng city wall.

However, the Qin army failed to breach the city through this sufficiently large gap, also because of Potu Sanlang.

Sanlang was both their strength and their weakness. Under Yan Dan's orders, the White Tiger pilots devised a plan that spared no expense, and the breach in the Jicheng city wall was mostly resealed by the remains of the two White Tigers and Sanlang, who perished together. Subsequently, the Yan army urgently filled the gap with bricks, stones, and mud, stubbornly defending the capital.

Just as the Yan state was exhausted, an epidemic broke out.

In the short term, the epidemic was beneficial to the State of Yan, as it halted the relentless offensive of the State of Qin.

However, in the long run, the Yan state was confined to a single city with extremely limited medical resources. Meanwhile, the Qin army outside the city could obtain aid from all directions. In the long run, the damage caused by the epidemic to Ji City would be even greater.

With this in mind, Meng Wu did not and could not intensify the offensive. Instead, he only maintained a certain level of pressure on Ji City while ordering his troops to accelerate their recovery and rest. His intention was to wait until the Qin army was fully recovered while the Yan army was still suffering greatly before taking the city in one fell swoop!

Liu Shawei, a shrewd strategist within the city, noticed the Yan army's demoralization. After sending Bai Feng to the Yan King's palace again, he received the reply, "Wait a little longer."

Now is not the time for Prince Dan of Yan to die.

While Wei Zhuang scoffed at Yan Dan's illusions, he was also ready to evacuate at any moment.

He learned from Bai Fenghuang that Yan Dan had prepared oil and flammable firewood in the palace. He knew that if the capital could not be defended, Yan Dan would abandon his initial plan and use self-immolation to gain Qin's trust.

This is not conducive to the Azure Dragon Plan, but it is also a strategy to preserve the Quicksand.

The quicksand could only achieve its goal of defeating Yan Dan and causing the city to fall by killing him when the Yan army's defenses were at their strongest and their morale at its peak. Only then could it leave no openings for Qin to exploit.

If the quicksand killed Yan Dan when Jicheng was on the verge of collapse, this act of adding icing on the cake would likely be interpreted as them cooperating with Yan Dan in a charade.

There are many intelligent people in the world, and among them, there are very few fools among the politicians in the Qin court, including the King of Qin.

If the situation truly cannot develop smoothly as planned, it would be better for Yan Dan to immolate himself rather than let the quicksand take action.

As for the rebellion plan in Xinzheng, we'll have to find another way.

In any case, the Azure Dragon Plan has been changed many times since its initial goal of uniting against Qin. How could this damned world easily follow one person's wishes as perfectly as a standard script?

The only way is to set goals and plans from the beginning. If something goes wrong along the way, the original plan should be modified appropriately to ensure that the direction is not deviated. Even if it becomes completely different from the original as it is modified, as long as the goal: to overthrow the Qin Dynasty remains unchanged, there will be no problem.

Whether it's Lord Changping, Yan Dan, or Wei Zhuang, they all came together because their enemy was blatantly climbing higher and higher...

Yan Dan dismantled the palace again, squeezing out gold and silver treasures, and prepared a large number of royal decrees for granting titles and land outside Ji City, hoping to inspire the Yan army to bravely endure the summer and autumn and enter the harsh winter.

The hotter the summers, the colder the winters. The Yan people were better adapted to the harsh weather than the Qin people, and Yan Dan had prepared ample winter supplies. If they could just get through the winter, the city's garrison wouldn't have to endure such hardship...

The only remaining mechanical white tiger in the city, Yan Dan, can now be activated. Although it can't be activated for very long, it can be used as a sacrifice at crucial moments...

Every two weeks, a battle report from the Jicheng battlefield would be sent to Xianyang. King Zheng of Qin didn't care about the casualty and kill figures of his own side; he only cared about the final result.

When the latest battle report from the north arrived, the trusted Lord Changping happened to be reporting the news nearby. He didn't say much about it and continued to talk about the logistical preparations for attacking Chu and Wei.

After capturing Jicheng, Qin was to immediately attack Wei, and after destroying Daliang, it would then move south to destroy Chu.

Conquering Han, Zhao, and Yan was not too difficult, and King Zheng of Qin realized that now was the perfect opportunity to unify the world. While he remained calm on the surface, he couldn't help but feel a understandable sense of urgency.

However, this urgency was perfectly understood by Lord Changping, who regarded the King of Qin as his greatest enemy.

Since Xiong Qi was in a weak position, if he wanted to win, he had to deeply understand the psychology of his "brother-in-law," the King of Qin, and then gradually exploit him.

King Zheng of Qin put the battle report aside and nodded to Lord Changping: "Go ahead and submit a report tomorrow on the situation of the people's pacification in Handan County."

"My lord, please retire."

Xiong Qi withdrew in a deep voice, and walked out of the main hall with meticulous care. Even after leaving the palace, he did not relax his vigilance in the slightest and showed no sign of impoliteness.

A carriage that had been waiting outside the palace took him back to his residence. Inside the Changping Lord's residence, there were two guests from afar to entertain.

"Greetings, Lord Changping."

Pushing open the wooden door to the study, two figures, one tall and one short, bowed in unison to Xiong Qi, who hadn't had time to change out of his formal attire.

It was the farmhouses of Tian Guang and Zhu Jia.

The two men came from the State of Chu, bringing with them important intelligence about the Xiang clan...

------

The Yin-Yang School, with the Moon Goddess being the only one among the Sun, Moon, and Stars who is actually doing something, received praise from the Eastern Emperor after bringing back a girl from the Taoist school.

This Taoist girl is exceptionally talented and is well-suited to become a member of the Five Elements Mysterious Harmony sect, cultivating the 'Ten Thousand Leaves Flying Flowers Stream' of the Wood element.

When her Yin-Yang skills reach a breakthrough, she will be able to succeed as the only vacant position among the five departments, the Junior Master of Fate.

With all five elders back in their positions, the mirage's departure is now only awaited by the mirage itself.

She instructed Yun Zhongjun to expedite discussions with the Gongshu family regarding the Mirage Project. When the Moon Goddess left the Gold Department, she encountered the River God and the Mountain Spirit, who had been guarding a certain area of ​​the Chu Kingdom.

Having some guesses about the purpose of the two people's long journey, the three of them, being of the same clan and surname as Ji, politely nodded to each other and passed by.

River God and Mountain Spirit are elders of the Yin-Yang School, and should be of the same generation as the Eastern Emperor.

Due to their special status, they do not participate in the Yin-Yang School's operations in the Qin State, but when the Mirage sets sail, these two will definitely escort those items onto the ship.

If I cannot peacefully succeed to the position of leader of the Yin-Yang School, then perhaps I should plot to eliminate the Eastern Emperor, the River God, and the Mountain Spirit together on the mirage...

These older generations are clearly old, why do they still insist on occupying their positions and refusing to die?

'Yan Fei can be used, and Xing Hun can be used, but they are ultimately outsiders. If they refuse to obey after being used, they must be eliminated.'

'Lu Wei's peasant clan has quite a few experts. Even disregarding the fact that the Yin-Yang School's knowledge was reserved for Qian'er, even without Qian'er, if he wanted to become emperor, he certainly wouldn't have missed out on those things carried by the River God and Mountain Spirit.'

'Have him gather five of the world's top martial arts masters as backup; this plan will succeed.'

'The day the mirage sets sail will be the day the Yin-Yang School is reborn.'

The appearance of the River God and the Mountain Spirit made the Moon Goddess think of many things. She realized that she needed to find an opportunity to communicate with Lu Wei.

It concerns the deeper origins of the Yin-Yang School after its separation from Taoism, and the underlying secrets of why that bloodline is continuously connected with the culture of Chu. Who wouldn't be curious about this?

"The Moon Goddess is truly diligent, bringing back the important 'Lesser Master of Fate' for our Yin-Yang School."

Xinghun seemed to enjoy wandering around the Yin-Yang family. Yueshen would always run into him whenever she walked a little further from the headquarters.

With a flick of his sleeves, the short-statured Left Protector said with a forced smile, "With the five elders gathered, the Yin-Yang School's power will grow even stronger."

"What I did was merely going with the flow, and it's still not as good as Lord Xinghun's suspended puppet technique, which has improved again."

The Moon Goddess may want to use this little dwarf in the future. It's just right that the River God and the Mountain Spirit have met him now. They can treat him kindly and plant an interesting seed: "However, cultivating only one Yin-Yang technique is ultimately a bit of a low achievement."

"Lord Xinghun might as well try to learn a 'Repentance Technique' as well; it will definitely speed up your cultivation considerably."

"What do you mean by that, Moon Goddess?" Xinghun was surprised that the Moon Goddess would actually say something useful to him. He stared intently at the Right Protector, who was ranked above him, without blinking.

"Hasn't Lord Xinghun always harbored resentment? I'm just speaking out for Lord Xinghun; I have no ill intentions."

The Moon Goddess smiled knowingly: "The technique of washing away hatred can transform the hatred in one's heart into one's own power. However, hatred that has been thoroughly washed away will disappear from one's emotions."

"Like fleeting clouds and smoke, they disperse and never gather again."

"Lord Xinghun must have accumulated a lot of hatred before joining the Yin Yang School. You should think carefully about which one to choose as the target to avenge that hatred."

She said all she had to say. After Xinghun’s secret was revealed, her face turned fierce, but she had already walked away leisurely, leaving only her back view: “Lord Dongjun has also cultivated the Cleansing of Hatred, so her strength has improved by leaps and bounds, surpassing Lord Xinghun’s current Suspended Puppet Technique.”

"This Yin-Yang technique can only be practiced once in a lifetime. I sincerely hope that Lord Xinghun can make the right choice."

Chapter 186 Waiting for opportunity

He Bo was a tall, thin, and almost withered old man. He wore a large blue robe and a tall hat similar in style to that of ordinary disciples of the Yin Yang School, but the tip of the hat was turned 180 degrees backward, and an ice-blue teardrop gemstone was set in front of the brim.

This gemstone is the same type as the one the Moon Goddess originally wore on her forehead, except that the River God's gemstone is much larger, like a pigeon's egg.

Upon closer inspection, the Mountain Spirit is an old woman dressed in a black robe similar in color to the Eastern Emperor's, but without the gold trim that the Eastern Emperor possesses. The pure black robe, coupled with her perpetually stern face, makes this elderly woman with her thick silver hair appear rather unfriendly.

The wrinkles that have crept onto her face cannot obscure the beauty of the mountain spirit in her youth. If a young master were to look at her from afar in the mountains, he might very well mistake her for a young and beautiful girl.

The mountain spirit had no hat on its head, but it wore a silver hairpin in the shape of a camellia, with an ice-blue teardrop gemstone at the center of the camellia.

The two stood before Donghuang, the leader of the Yin-Yang School, and their respectful bows surpassed even those of Dongjun and Yueshen.

As was his habit, Donghuang recited two lines from "The River God" and "The Mountain Spirit." Although the two elderly people bowing to him were tired of listening, they did not show the slightest impatience.

"We've received the initial design drawings for Project Mirage, including the Yin-Yang magic layout..."

"We will come up with a plan as soon as possible and submit it to His Majesty the Eastern Emperor."

The River God and the Mountain Spirit each spoke a sentence, thus conveying their complete meaning. Compared to their appearances, their voices were surprisingly young.

The three were old friends and of the same lineage. Donghuang nodded, and the star map behind him and above his head suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the entire secret room with a dazzling galaxy: "The Mirage cannot be lost. Your guardianship mission will soon be freed from its shackles."

“We are the ones who have broken free of the shackles,” the River God said first, as was customary.

“It is this world that has been locked up again,” the mountain spirit added.

"The spirit dances gracefully in its beautiful attire, its fragrance filling the hall; the five tones resonate in a riotous ensemble, and the ruler rejoices in peace and joy." For the first time, the figure shrouded in the black robe of the Eastern Emperor bowed slightly: "The Confucian 'restoration of Zhou rites' serves only those rebels. If the Zhou emperor is not established, what use are Zhou rites?"

...

With the deaths of Six-Fingered Black Knight, Jing Ke, and the absence of Yan Dan, the Mohist school lacked its core combat force to guard its headquarters, the Mechanized City. This made it seem much easier for outsiders to infiltrate this 'paradise on earth'.