Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 200

"An uprising?" Xinghun was taken aback. This news was explosive, but he did not doubt Lu's source of information. Yueshen had told him about the strange behavior of Lord Changping when Jing Ke attempted to assassinate Qin: "This is indeed the way to cause the greatest damage to Qin in the short term. However, if he continues to serve as the Right Chancellor, he may be able to play a greater role in the future."

Given the prevailing circumstances, the State of Chu would not be able to survive for long because of Lord Changping's joining, and it was a pity that such a high-level anti-Qin ally was exposed in this way.

Then, as if suddenly struck by a thought, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Tell me, if we were to kill the King of Qin at this time, wouldn't..."

Xinghun didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: if the Prime Minister's betrayal, the Qin army's defeat, and the King of Qin's death were to occur simultaneously in a short period of time, the resulting turmoil within the Qin state would have unpredictable consequences...

“No.” Lu Wei decisively rejected his idea, and then, under Xinghun’s gaze, he revealed a gentle, fake smile: “At this time, the biggest beneficiaries of letting the King of Qin die would be the former nobles of the six states.”

"How can we work for someone else's benefit!"

"With such great ambitions, you should also know that opportunities don't come around all the time," Xinghun reminded him.

"You just need to trust me unconditionally." The Master's confidence in dealing with Qin is much greater than his confidence in dealing with Dongjun.

In this era, regardless of whether he helped Ying Zheng or not, the latter had the ability to unify the seven kingdoms. Conversely, after unification, whether he personally opposed Qin or not, the Qin state would also perish.

Lu Wei didn't think that his identity as a time traveler could change the general trend. He had a clear understanding of himself: the best result he could achieve without much effort was to go with the flow, seize the fruits of the era's victory, become a new aristocrat among the elite, and live a comfortable life.

Only by securing such a fruit in our own hands can we have the time to worry about other things!

Staring at Lu Wei for a full five seconds, Xinghun silently nodded and turned to leave.

Shortly after he left, the Moon Goddess leisurely entered the room.

"Did you convince Dongjun?" Lu Wei knew the chances were slim, but he still asked.

"No, if she could give in so easily, I wouldn't have needed to take advantage of tonight to capture her."

The Moon Goddess calmly sat down at the table. The two didn't need to talk much about their sudden encounter in Shouchun, but went straight to the point: "Yan Fei is a resolute person. It would be difficult to get her to join our plan using conventional methods."

"I can tell she's not afraid of death, and there's nothing on her that could threaten her..."

The Moon Goddess brought no good news. Before she could reveal the specific plan she hadn't said, Lu Wei calmly shared his insights: "From my perspective, it would certainly be more beneficial for your Mirage Plan to subdue Dongjun, but if she remains stubborn, we should make full use of her death."

Subduing is the Moon Goddess's business. Although the Moon Goddess must have devised a plan with a high success rate, another possibility cannot be ignored.

If the Moon Goddess fails, then Yan Fei must be killed, and after killing her, the Eastern Emperor will face an insurmountable obstacle.

Why not use Yan Fei as bait to get rid of her and the Donghuang we've caught... once and for all!

Even so, the Mirage Project will likely fail, the Yin-Yang School will probably split up, the River God and Mountain Spirit will become hidden enemies with the Zhou royal treasury of the Ji Dynasty, and the Qin State will also have to give an explanation.

But this does not hinder Lu Wei's grand plan.

At most, the value of the moon goddess to him will inevitably decrease slightly.

“No one is without weaknesses.” The Moon Goddess understood Lu Wei’s meaning and knew that this was the bottom line to be done, but since she had chosen to capture Dong Jun now, she would not let things develop to the point of no return: “The same goes for Yan Fei.”

"You should know something about her story with Yan Dan, right?"

"I've heard a little about it. A ridiculous love story between a crown prince and a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world eventually turned into a blood feud?" Hall Master Lu nodded.

"Yan Fei is the 'Number One Extraordinary Woman of Yin-Yang Arts'..." Mentioning this title casually, the Moon Goddess had now automatically reclassified her rival as Donghuang, the leader of the Yin-Yang School. As for her past rivalry with Yan Fei, she had already let it go.

“From childhood, Yanfei devoted all her attention to the study of Yin-Yang arts. Because of her focus on her talent, she obtained the title of ‘Dongjun’ at a very young age, second only to Donghuang.”

"Among her peers, no one could surpass Yan Fei, including myself back then..."

"It wasn't until she encountered obstacles in her research on the Azure Dragon's Seven Mansions that she met Yan Dan, who was a hostage in the Qin state, and she temporarily embarked on another path."

The Moon Goddess paused for a moment, then continued:

"Yan Fei's devotion to Yan Dan before she used the Yin-Yang Cleansing Technique could be called sincere love. However, now I think it would be more appropriate to describe it as 'overcoming the emotional barrier'."

"The hurdle of love, huh?" Lu Wei understood what the Moon Goddess meant and said thoughtfully, "So you think this Lord Dongjun has overcome the hurdle of love now?"

"No." The Right Protector shook her head. Although she no longer considered Yan Fei a rival, their past competition still made the Moon Goddess understand her 'good older sister' better than anyone else.

"Before Yan Dan died, this emotional hurdle was another way for her to hone her Yin-Yang skills."

“In the past, Yanfei was the most diligent explorer of Yin-Yang techniques in the Yin-Yang School.”

"Those years, when passionate love and hatred intertwined, were a testament to her courage to love and hate as a woman, a kind of illusion she created to deceive herself."

"If Yan Dan had really married her, she might never have woken up again. But now that the illusion has been shattered, Yan Fei has returned to her original state."

The Moon Goddess then concluded: "We share common interests with her; her weakness lies in her renewed pursuit of the highest level of Yin-Yang arts after being betrayed!"

"I see, but her pursuit... is in conflict with yours, isn't it!" If he remembered correctly, Lu Wei recalled that the reason why the Moon Goddess wanted to replace the Eastern Emperor was also for the supreme Yin-Yang arts!

“Indeed,” a faint, charming smile suddenly bloomed on the Moon Goddess’s usually cold face: “There can only be one supreme being in Yin-Yang arts, and that person can only be me!”

"But wouldn't it be more interesting to have such a pursuer on my journey to the summit?"

A confident woman is like a poison to men; the allure of the moon goddess grows ever more captivating.

Just as Lu Wei was about to make a move, she lightly stopped him with her Yin-Yang magic: "Wait, I haven't taken a shower yet."

"I don't have any either, we can go together."

The righteous tone coupled with the malicious words made the Moon Goddess shake her head involuntarily...

But he didn't refuse...

------

On the border between Qin and Chu, Xiang Yan personally experienced Li Xin's 'bravery'.

'Courage' has always been a positive adjective for an army, and the Qin army was known for its courage compared to the armies of the six states.

Different Qin generals, when commanding, would imbue the Qin army with their own unique tactical characteristics. Li Xin, in particular, was brave on top of bravery!

The unstoppable offensive caused the Chu army's vanguard forces, which had planned to feign defeat, to suffer a real defeat. This made Xiang Yan understand the cautious warning from Lord Changping even more deeply.

Without Lord Changping's follow-up plans, while the State of Chu might remain undefeated against Li Xin, defeating him would have been extremely risky...

The next step is not to engage the Qin army head-on, but simply to maintain distance and keep them unable to advance or retreat.

The State of Chu has a vast territory, allowing it to slowly wear down Li Xin through a protracted struggle.

Lord Changping of Chenying City kept a close eye on the progress of Li Xin's army every day. As the Qin army advanced deeper and deeper into the battle lines, he became increasingly calm.

He then launched an uprising and, in coordination with Xiang Yan, launched a pincer attack on the Qin army, ensuring Li Xin's defeat.

But defeat was not enough; they wanted to annihilate the entire 200,000-strong Qin army!

The cost of luring the enemy deep into their territory was somewhat greater due to Li Xin's bravery, which immediately caused a stir in Shouchun City. Rumors spread rapidly, even claiming a major defeat for the main Chu force, causing widespread unrest throughout the city.

In this situation, the Xiang clan's bestowal of the Seven Seas Dragon Armor upon their seven-year-old son, officially making him a soldier of the Chu state, became an effective means of appeasing the hearts of the Chu people.

Wearing the imposing Seven Seas Dragon Armor and patrolling the city on horseback to execute troublemakers, the young master of the Xiang clan quickly became known to all the people in the capital, thanks to the clan's reputation as the 'strongest'.

This naturally included Zhang Han.

The Shadow Guards have made considerable progress in their investigation of the Farmer's School over the past few days, even learning that a large number of Farmer's School disciples have joined the Chu army. However, this alone is not enough to determine whether the Farmer's School is rebelling against Qin.

After all, besides their identity as a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world or a江湖江湖义气, a code of honor among ...

Since the world is not yet unified, it is only natural for people of all nations to fight for their own nations and for their own parents and children.

This only applies to people from Chu and Qi. If someone from the former Zhao or Wei wanted to revive their country, then in Zhang Han's eyes, they would be an unforgivable traitor.

There is no news of any high-ranking members of the Farmer Clan appearing in Shouchun, and most of the Farmer Clan disciples who joined the Chu army are Chu people belonging to the Shennong Hall. For the time being, there is no evidence that the Farmer Clan is trying to resist Qin.

Among the various schools of thought, the one with the largest number of disciples is very peaceful, which is good news.

Next, the Shadow Guard should focus their attention more on the Mo family and the young master of the Xiang clan...

Chapter 224 Yanfei's Conversation

After being captured, Yan Fei quickly calmed down, aside from the initial shock and anger.

What happened that night seems unbelievable, but upon closer examination, it's not entirely unexpected.

When Xinghun joined the Yin Yang School, she was still in Ji City. After returning, she investigated this exceptionally talented young man and realized that he harbored hatred.

A person seeking revenge is capable of anything... and she knows this best herself.

As for the Moon Goddess, well, the Moon Goddess knows her very well, and she knows the Moon Goddess the same way!

From childhood to adulthood, Dongjun has only had this one rival, so how could she not pay attention to him?

Both of these guys were capable of betrayal, but the fact that they both had connections with the Farmer Clan and would betray them at this time was something Yanfei hadn't expected.

That Lu Wei, the head of the Farmer's Clan, has connections with the Mohist School on one hand, and also has the means to cooperate with the Moon Goddess and Star Soul on the other. Does he also harbor ambitions towards the Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon...?

'Your Majesty the Eastern Emperor will regret sending the Moon Goddess to contact that special star...'

Yanfei was not worried about her situation; she simply sat in meditation and contemplated.

The wooden door imprisoning her creaked open, deliberately making noise: the Moon Goddess wouldn't do such a thing; Star Soul was merely an accomplice in this incident, so...

Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that the person who walked in was indeed Lu Wei, the head of the Farmer's Hall!

Today is the fifth day, and the other party has finally arrived.

"It seems that Lord Dongjun has already made plans for his next move regarding his situation."

As Lu Wei stepped into the room and the wooden door behind him closed automatically, Yan Fei remained motionless, calmly saying:

"Neither Hall Master Lu nor Lady Moon Goddess are benevolent people. The reason they are keeping me alive is naturally because there are greater benefits to not killing me than to killing me."

"Besides, my acupoints are sealed, and I cannot resist. What use would it be if I had any plans?"

“Of course it’s useful.” Lu Wei sat down at the table and chair in the room. These past few days, the Moon Goddess had been chatting with Yan Fei for some time every day. After the other party showed a certain willingness to cooperate, the Hall Master came over today.

Dongjun's fierceness is genuine, but she can hardly be considered loyal to the Yin-Yang School: Yanfei betrayed the Yin-Yang School once for Yan Dan. Now, as long as she can see hope for progress in the Yin-Yang arts, would this woman mind betraying them a second time?

"If Lord Dongjun is willing to cooperate with our plan, we can get out sooner..."

"Is that so?" Yan Fei smiled faintly and said leisurely, "Then what can I get?"

Last time she betrayed the Yin Yang School, the sect leader Donghuang easily forgave her after she repented. But this time, there will be no turning back.

If forced to become someone else's slave, Dongjun would willingly die.

She knew she still had value, which stemmed from the possibility that if she didn't cooperate, the other party's plan would suffer some losses or even be completely destroyed.

If they cooperate, the other side's plan can not only advance further, but they can also gain a powerful ally.

Dongjun believes he should receive an equal share of the benefits derived from these differences.

That is, she also wants to be a collaborator... even if she is just a prisoner now.

"Given your current situation, does Lord Dongjun still want to negotiate?"