Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 179

He reopened a brand new alchemy furnace, heated it with his inner energy, and then threw in the five types of medicinal herbs. He proceeded with practiced ease, occasionally distracted by discussing Yin-Yang techniques with Xinghun. Soon, a batch of twenty-eight Qingming Pills was produced.

Ordinary alchemists could never achieve Xu Fu's effortless skill and high success rate; he wasted almost no medicinal power.

"This pill is absolutely non-toxic. I examined it thoroughly during the pill refining process, and it is just an ordinary high-grade Qingming Pill."

He took out a medicine bottle and filled it with round pills, each the size of a little fingernail. To prove that what he said was true, Xu Fu even kept one and swallowed it in front of Xing Hun.

"Oh?" Xinghun took the medicine bottle from the other party. He knew very well that he had mixed the half bottle of colorless and odorless poison he had obtained from Lu Wei into the medicinal herbs.

That bottle of poison was extremely potent. Half a bottle of it killed two test subjects in the Star Soul experiment. Due to differences in individual constitutions, the types of poison they died from were also different.

Is it really true that Yun Zhongjun couldn't detect the poisoning?

Xinghun poured out a Qingming Pill; the round, white pill was quite cute. A thought flashed through his mind, and he personally swallowed one. To ensure he could poison the King of Qin later, the best test subject right now was himself!

After digesting the qi through exercise, no abnormalities were found...

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Lord Yunzhong, I have indeed been deceived."

Without waiting for Yun Zhongjun's reaction, Xinghun turned around and walked out of the alchemy room.

On the outskirts of the Yin-Yang School headquarters, he casually grabbed an ordinary Yin-Yang School disciple and used Yin-Yang Puppet Technique to force him to consume the bottle of Clarity Pills one by one. After consuming twenty pills, the disciple suddenly choked and died instantly...

The virus itself isn't the problem, it just can't be detected; it's impossible to guard against...

"Excellent! Excellent!" Having disposed of the body and having no further doubts about Lu Wei's poison, Xinghun now only needed to obtain the Qin King's physical condition data to calculate the dosage.

'That bottle of powder is all used up; the remaining six Qingming Pills will only be enough to poison ordinary people...'

Xinghun looked down at the medicine bottle, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly popped the remaining Qingming Pills into his mouth one by one...

During this time, he carefully examined his own body but found nothing unusual.

'The accumulation of the medicine's effects hasn't revealed any flaws, that's excellent!'

"I now hold the King of Qin's life in my hands—just as he once held the lives of my family in his hands."

Xinghun was calculating when he would have to go to Daze Mountain again to find Lu Wei. On the one hand, he needed to carry a bottle of poison on him so he could take action against the King of Qin at any time. On the other hand, he had taken a total of seven Qingming Pills of poison. Admittedly, this amount was not enough to kill the Left Protector of the Yin Yang School, but having poison in his body was always a hidden danger.

According to the order of the Eastern Emperor, he was to accompany the Qin army when it marched on the Wei state.

The purpose of accompanying him was to obtain the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions held by the Wei Kingdom. Although opposing the Yin Yang School was Xinghun's mission to avenge himself, for the sake of long-term considerations, he needed to do his best to compete for the Azure Dragon Seven Mansions.

This means I can't afford to be distracted by a trip to Daze Mountain; I can only wait for Qin to conquer Qi and seek an opportunity.

...

In the Mirror Lake Medical Manor, Xiao Yan'er, with her hair down, turned her head to look at the Immortal Doctor who was staring at her with her arms crossed. She smiled brightly, ladled out a bowl of White Crane Soup, and carefully carried it into the Snow Maiden's room.

"Little Yan'er is such a good girl!"

Under Lu Ni's care, the Snow Maiden drank a sip of the clear soup. After being pleasantly surprised by its delicious taste, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "What kind of soup is this?"

"White soup!"

Ji Yan put her hands behind her back, hooked them together, and answered seriously.

"White soup...? White soup!"

Strangely pronouncing the name, the Snow Maiden's face widened as if she had seen a white crane die, and Lu Ni was equally startled. Fortunately, she held the bowl steadily and no soup spilled.

"Yes, I saw in Sister Duanmu's medical book that White Crane Ginseng Soup is very nourishing, so I used Little White to make the soup."

The timid voice came from the little girl's mouth. After listening, Xue Nu glanced at the bowl of soup, feeling a pang of heartache, and reached out to touch Ji Yan's hair.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but your sister Duanmu has taken good care of me. I don't need this soup."

"This is what Xiaobai and I mean. Xiaobai must also hope that Sister Xue Nu is doing well!" Ji Yan said obediently.

Of all those present, Yuki-onna was the one who most regretted the death of the white crane that often played near the medical village and whose elegance she had incorporated into her dance.

However, Xiao Yan'er's feelings were clearly much more important than a dead crane. After drinking another sip of crane soup, Xue Nu patted her stomach and looked up at the silent hall master beside her:

"Yan'er is such a good girl, how about we name this child He?"

Chapter 201 Aid to Chu in Preparation for War

Lord Changping, carrying the expectations of the King of Qin, led the Xianyang army toward Xinzheng.

Although he didn't bring many troops with him on this mission, his authority was considerable. He could not only appropriately deploy the garrison troops of the cities in Han, but also request reinforcements from Wang Ben's army, which was preparing to attack Wei, at crucial moments.

The main purpose of this campaign to quell the rebellion was to appease the people, eliminating only the ringleaders and disregarding their followers.

At least for the time being.

After all, this rebellion was doomed to fail. None of the top nobles of Han who had fled abroad returned to participate. In essence, it was just a group of cannon fodder trying to force Qin to restore their power as it had been in the past, under the instigation of Liusha.

Perhaps some of them were genuine idealists who wanted to restore their country, but they lacked the ability and were only acting on impulse.

Perhaps among them were lower-class commoners who were extremely unaccustomed to the harsh Qin laws. Life in the former state of Han was indeed difficult, but it was not as easy as it is now for people to become criminals, and if they had no money to pay their fines, they could only join the army or become laborers to pay off their debts.

In the eyes of the King of Qin, the rebellion was doomed to fail because it was too small, consisting of only one city. It was precisely because he feared that the rebellion would spread to other nearby towns and even to the Zhao and Yan territories that he advocated a certain degree of appeasement.

In Lord Changping's eyes, this rebellion was destined to fail simply because its purpose was to allow him to gain merit in quelling the rebellion, and then, when Qin attacked Chu in the future, he would force the King of Qin to remember this lesson by instigating unrest in the former occupied territories of Chu, thus forcing him to set foot on Chu soil once again to 'appease' the people.

The leader of the rebellion, Quicksand, will likely conduct some probing after arriving with his army, but will ultimately abandon those old nobles who have already met their demise and push forward with the next step of the Azure Dragon Plan.

The subsequent chaos in Xinzheng, with no leader among the officials, can be easily resolved by Changping Jun by meticulously unraveling the complexities.

Four years ago, when the state of Han was destroyed, Wei Zhuang, the master of the quicksand, was approached by Changping Jun's assassins for cooperation and had been wanting to meet him ever since.

This suppression of the rebellion will also be his first meeting with this disciple of Guigu.

Speaking of which, another disciple of Guiguzi, Gai Nie, has always served the Qin dynasty.

Although Lord Changping and his colleague did not talk much in Xianyang, they were fairly familiar with each other. Lord Changping, who was trying to find out Ying Zheng's flaws, discovered early on that Gai Nie had a ridiculous, pathetic, and admirable idealism in his heart. This man and the Qin state were destined not to be together in the end, but at least before the Qin state was unified, he would stick to his duty.

Only when Gai Nie truly discovers, with disappointment, that Qin is not the peaceful land he envisioned, a land without war where people could live in peace and prosperity, will he voluntarily leave the King of Qin.

Although we cannot utilize this sword saint now, if the Azure Dragon Plan of Chu also fails and I die in battle, the future successor of the Azure Dragon Plan can unite with Gai Nie when facing the unified Qin state.

Even the most cunning and strategic thinkers like Guiguzi can cooperate...

It's like being caught in a web!

Thinking of this, Lord Changping, inside the military chariot, lifted the curtain and stared at the black-armored Qin army outside. His belief in defeating Qin grew even stronger.

He was unfamiliar with Zhao Gao, the leader of the Luowang (Net of Heaven), which had always been a powerful tool for the Qin state to suppress anti-Qin forces and had once belonged to Marquis Wenxin, Lü Buwei.

After Lü Buwei's death, the different factions within the Qin government's inner circle engaged in a major internal power struggle and purge, with Zhao Gao, the eunuch who firmly supported the King of Qin, ultimately emerging victorious.

The internal strife caused significant losses to the Luowang organization, and Gan Luo, the child prodigy who was sent as an envoy to the Zhao state in his youth a few years ago, was one of the victims of the infighting.

However, the core of the network, having paid the price, has become more cohesive, and its development potential is now even more terrifying than before.

From that time onward, this force openly belonged only to King Ying Zheng of Qin, who later entrusted the increasingly favored minister Li Si with the control of the Luo Wang operation. Therefore, Lord Changping always regarded the Luo Wang as the greatest enemy of the anti-Qin forces at the grassroots level.

During this rebellion in Xinzheng, the defenses against the Luo Wang network, which was described as an "all-encompassing and all-pervasive net," were raised to the highest level even before the plan began. However, to the surprise of both Liu Sha and him, the Luo Wang network not only failed to become an obstacle but also seemed to be deliberately covering for them.

This made Changping Jun realize that Luo Wang had a disloyal heart!

Regardless of what these two intentions are, knowing this will make the subsequent formulation of the anti-Qin plan more advantageous to our side.

Xiong Qi had no direct contact with Luo Wang, nor could he have had any direct contact with it.

However, after the matter in Xinzheng is settled, the other party will begin to suspect you.

But as the Lord of Changping of the Great Qin, this suspicion could only remain a suspicion.

After all, even Xiong Qi himself could not have imagined that nearly twenty years had passed since he started planning the agricultural community and the Chu region before Ying Zheng took power.

This twenty-year infiltration required the blood of at least two hundred thousand Qin soldiers in black armor.

...

The imposing army that had been suppressing the rebellion arrived at the gates of Xinzheng City. The old capital of Han, with its four gates tightly shut, now looked even more desolate.

The hastily made "Han" character flags drooped listlessly, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

On the city wall of Xinzheng, the rebel general in charge of defending the city was a captain who had once served under Wei Zhuang in the Battle of the Yellow River. He survived that battle and has lived to this day.

However, facing the overwhelming Qin army once again, he couldn't help but swallow hard, a sense of fear rising in his heart...

The Qin army has really come again!

In Shouchun, the capital of Chu, the King of Chu was overjoyed at the rebellion in Han. Just a few months earlier, he had been arrogantly threatened by a Qin envoy, and now that Qin was in trouble, Chu immediately held a banquet to celebrate.

General Xiang Yan knew that the rebellion in Xinzheng was actually Changping Jun's scheme, so he calmly continued to prepare for war.

The state of Chu was strong enough to fight Qin, but that was all it could manage. Under normal circumstances, Xiang Yan had no confidence in defeating Qin head-on.

The younger generation calls him "the strongest Xiang family," but at his age and status, he must be realistic.

The State of Chu can only focus on war preparations from now on, and everything else that is not conducive to war preparations must be eliminated.

The Zhu family, who came from Xianyang to the State of Chu and were willing to use their agricultural resources to help the Xiang family, were personally received by Xiang Yan.

In terms of status, Zhu Jia was at most equal to Lu Wei, and even slightly lower in the ranking of the Six Halls. However, he also represented Lord Changping, and this identity as Lord Changping's envoy was what Xiang Yan truly valued.

The greatest support that farmers can provide is food resources, but did the State of Chu lack food? The answer is, of course, yes. Food is the most important hard currency at any time.

Even the Qin state, with its strongest national power, suffered considerable losses after a major battle. However, its opponents did not have its deep-rooted resources, so often, before Qin's supplies ran out, its opponents had already collapsed.

In a war, food supplies must always be stored in an endless reserve.

Compared to Gonggongtang's continuous external investments, such as building Chungu Town in Wei State this year and Jing County in Chu State next year, Shennongtang has maintained a frugal lifestyle for the past twenty years, with grain reserves far exceeding those of other halls.

Although some of it was consumed in the Dai region five years ago, it did not fundamentally damage the plant.

This time, when the Zhu family came to aid Chu, they only left a small portion of emergency rations in Daze Mountain, and the majority of the rest was continuously transported to the Xiang family.

In addition, taking advantage of their close relationship with Situ Wanli, Siyuetang would also send some of its grain to the State of Chu.

In return, Xiang Yan could not offer much in kind; the money had to be given to the soldiers as rewards during the war and could not be spent recklessly. Therefore, he could only give the green light to the expansion of Shennongtang and Siyuetang in Chu in the name of the Xiang family.

"The number of Chu cavalry is still too small. In previous years, we were greatly helped by Gonggongtang's smuggling of fine horses from the grasslands."

After obtaining the grain, Xiang Yan made even more demands without any hesitation: "Although the Yan region is now occupied by the Qin state, the influence of the Gonggong Hall has not diminished. Could Hall Master Zhu ask Hall Master Lu Wei for a favor?"

At this critical juncture of life and death, this general of Chu needed to ensure the survival of Chu and could not afford to give up even the slightest opportunity to strengthen the Chu army for the sake of saving face.

"Since the Xiang family and the Gonggong Hall have a long-standing relationship, why does the General need me to contact the Gonggong Hall..." Zhu Jia did not immediately agree to the request. He could be in charge of the Shennong Hall and the Siyue Hall, but the Gonggong Hall would not listen to his orders...

"Horses are quite valuable, and the Xiang family cannot afford to pay the purchase price originally agreed upon with Gonggongtang," Xiang Yan said frankly. "Even if we acquire the fine horses from the grasslands at the price of ordinary horses, we still cannot afford to pay too much."

"Therefore, we can only purchase the horses on credit and repay the debt slowly after the war. I am ashamed to say this, and I can only ask Master Zhu and Master Lu Wei to discuss it."