Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 254

Leaving Yingbu in Licheng and letting Mi Lian return to Daze Mountain alone, since she would be coming back in a few days, it wasn't a bad thing to let Yingbu stay in the city as a mercenary.

After all, this place is not very far from Daze Mountain, and the people she will encounter on the way are all disciples of farmers. With the Three Star Pearl Grass hanging on her chest, she will not encounter any danger.

In the Siyue Hall at night, Ji Yan listened to his disciple's report on Mi Lian's whereabouts throughout the day, including her conversation with Hua Ying, and realized that the Chu princess was developing according to his expectations.

Half an hour later, after dismissing her disciples, Mi Lian returned from the Gonggong Hall clinic to report her findings to Ji Yan.

Xiao Yan'er listened calmly and with a smile as the person recounted the process she already knew. Before leaving, she said indifferently, "After you left Licheng, Hua Ying sent someone to Shennong Hall. The Zhu family will definitely come to visit tomorrow. You should deal with them yourself."

"Yes," Mi Lian was not surprised. She knew that Hua Ying would contact the Zhu family after she went to Zui Meng Lou, and she just wanted to have a chance to talk openly with her herbalist teacher. So this development was within her expectations.

Including Ji Yan's reaction.

The eldest princess felt that she could potentially gain more benefits by predicting Ji Yan's actions.

------

Compared to Daze Mountain, the population is sparse in the western Shu Mountains.

Yu Ziqi, who had a past friendship with Lu Wei in Shouchun, moved swiftly and nimbly through the dense forest, quickly setting up a witchcraft trap.

Last month, he and other high-ranking officials of Shushan received a stern demand from the Qin Dynasty envoys for the Fusang Divine Tree and for Shushan to accept the jurisdiction of the imperial court and county system.

For the people of Shushan, the county system was not unacceptable, but they would never compromise on digging up the Fusang Divine Tree.

The Qin envoy faced the rejection with composure, issued a final deadline, and left arrogantly, leaving the people of Shu Mountain with the understanding that war was inevitable.

Ever since learning that the Yin-Yang School was working for the Qin State, the Grand Elder of Shu Mountain understood that this was an inevitable outcome.

He waited quietly for decades, and that day finally arrived.

If they were to rely solely on the Shu Mountains to fight against the Qin state, their chances of winning would be extremely slim.

Even if it's a game they can't afford to lose, they can't just give up. The duty of the Yu Yuan Guardians is to protect the Fusang Divine Tree; there's absolutely no reason for them to hand it over without resistance.

This catastrophe at Mount Shu is unavoidable; we have no choice but to fight it!

Chapter 295 Creating Military Merits

In the 27th year of the First Emperor's reign, 220 BC, His Majesty the Emperor conscripted laborers to build the Changxin Palace south of the Wei River. Not long after, he suddenly renamed the Changxin Palace the Ji Temple, meaning that it corresponded to the North Star in the sky.

With the Yin-Yang School as his advisor, Ying Zheng hoped to emulate the stars in the night sky by building palaces on the earth to correspond with them one by one, thus demonstrating that the Qin Dynasty was a heavenly kingdom on earth.

As for the matter of building a special road from Ji Temple to Mount Li, the implications are self-evident.

As the Right Protector of the Empire, the Moon Goddess is responsible for selecting sites for the Extreme Palace and other star palaces in the surrounding area.

In the same year, His Majesty the Emperor ordered the construction of the front hall of Ganquan Palace, paved with bluestone, connecting Ganquan Palace with Xianyang so that he could come here to escape the summer heat.

From the Temple of the Supreme Emperor to the Ganquan Palace, the special road played its full role. As a result, Ying Zheng launched the third nationwide mobilization of laborers this year to build roads connecting the major cities of the country, with the aim of strengthening the connection between the local areas and Xianyang and consolidating his rule.

Because the Qin state had only recently unified the country, the people of the six former states were not yet accustomed to Qin law. As a result, a considerable number of people broke the law due to ignorance within a short period of one year, causing considerable unrest in the empire.

After Zhang Han discovered and reported this situation on his way back from Chu, Ying Zheng, considering the need to establish a new state and to win over the hearts of the people, as well as to appease the people who had been conscripted three times this year, bestowed upon all people a noble title of one rank, which could be used as a form of compensation for crimes.

With such generosity, the people should finally calm down.

After planning the conscription of laborers, Ying Zheng turned his attention to two places in the south: Baiyue and Shushan.

The campaign against the Baiyue was a follow-up to the conquest of the Chu state. The action plan had been set in advance, and 500,000 troops had been assembled in Chu territory. Food supplies were also prepared. Therefore, as soon as winter ended after the New Year, the commander-in-chief Tu Sui immediately set off south.

The reason for waiting until winter was that after the Qin Dynasty was established, according to the Five Virtues theory of Yin and Yang, the Zhou Dynasty was associated with fire, and Qin, which succeeded Zhou, should be associated with water. Under the requirements of the Five Elements of water, the empire set the first day of the new year as the first day of the tenth month.

Before the army even set out, King Wuzhu of Minyue sent a letter of surrender to Xianyang. Therefore, Tu Sui naturally assumed the Yue people were cowardly and underestimated them from the outset...

Compared to the vast army of Yue, the army that conquered Shu Mountain, led by Meng Tian, ​​was much smaller, numbering only 50,000.

During the conquest of the six states, the Meng family was completely suppressed by the Wang family. Even though they managed to kill Xiang Yan on the battlefield in Chu, when they later led their army to conquer Qi, they were blocked by the Qi army, so the first credit was taken by Wang Ben, and Meng Tian only got the second credit.

After eliminating the Shu Mountain bandits, Meng Tian regained the emperor's trust, and he was determined to please him.

The Yin-Yang School's Dongjun and Yunzhongjun will accompany them and be responsible for dealing with the Yuyuan Guards.

Three conscriptions of laborers and two wars were the attitude the empire presented to the world in the second year after its establishment...

Upon hearing that his future empire was being squandered in this way, Lu Wei, far away in Jing County, couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. However, this feeling only lasted for a moment before he hoped that His Majesty the First Emperor would persevere.

Without massive construction projects and constant warfare, how could they possibly have any opportunities?

We have no choice but to make the people suffer even more, and let the Qin Dynasty bear the blame!

Although the Farmer Clan was not immune to the situation that year, and was required to undertake several sections of the imperial road within the Qi territory, for the 100,000 disciples of the Farmer Clan, as long as they were well organized and looked after each other during the construction process, it was not an unbearable pressure.

Lu Wei meticulously copied down everything that happened in Xianyang, and then met with Ouyang Yao, the ruler of Dong'ou, and Wuzhu, the ruler of Minyue, who had surrendered.

Although these two men were recognized as rulers by the Qin Dynasty, they wisely regarded themselves as subordinates in front of Lord Xia Kui and respectfully addressed Lu as "Lord Jing".

The two Yue tribes have become increasingly dependent on food and other necessities from Jing County, especially Dong'ou, which relies almost entirely on Jing County caravans for food. A large number of Yue people under its jurisdiction have also voluntarily come to the surrounding areas of Jing County as laborers.

Luxurious residences were also built for the two rulers in Jing County. Compared to the remote Dong'ou and Minyue, Ouyang Yao and Wuzhu preferred to live here...

Lu Wei summoned them today because he wanted to kindly appoint officials from the two Yue tribes to serve as prime ministers in Jing County.

Jing County has outstanding talents, and their ability to govern Yue can greatly relieve the burden on the two rulers. Ouyang Yao and Wuzhu naturally could not refuse Lord Jing's good intentions.

The appointment documents were written on the spot. After Ouyang Yao and Wuzhu affixed their official seals, Lu Wei picked up his pen and wrote the character "可" (approved) and his own name at the bottom. From then on, the selection of the officials in charge of the two places had to be approved by "Jing Gong".

Satisfied, Lu Wei handed the document over to Xiao He for execution. The cooperation between the two rulers led Lu Wei to send a luxurious 'reward' to their residence that very night.

The land of Yue is now free from worry.

Although it's a small country, the feeling of having power over two small nations is really great!

In the mountains of Daze, Mi Lian first got up early to pay her respects to Ji Yan and report her travel plans before heading out to Licheng.

With practiced ease, Princess Chang mounted her horse. Today, she had gathered all the former Chu troops who were still loyal to the royal family, and she needed to step forward to establish her position.

Having a complete grasp of Mi Lian's actions, Ji Yan listened with a smile to the departing hoofbeats, calmly gripping the Jing Ni sword as she went to the backyard for her morning exercise.

With graceful and elegant movements, she drew her longsword, the pink sword energy arcing like willow catkins dancing in the spring breeze. Her delicate movements were like the gentle murmur of a stream, warm and fluid...

Mi Lian's role with Lu Wei is to win over the hearts of the people of Chu, so Ji Yan needs to make this tool accumulate prestige as soon as possible.

There is still no hope of the restoration of the Chu state, and there are no sufficiently influential figures among the Chu nobles to step forward, so those former subordinates can still keep up with Mi Lian's antics.

However, if other options were available, such as the Xiang family, how many of Mi Lian and Mi Xin's former subordinates could they retain on their own?

Female leaders in this era are ultimately unreliable; people trust strong leaders who can lead them to victory and leave long-term benefits for future generations.

Neither Mi Lian nor Mi Xin are qualified for this position. At that time, they can only rely on the peasants, or be willing to become puppets of the Xiang family.

The old troops that Mi Lian has now subdued will ultimately be used by the peasants.

Even if these people's help might free the Chu princess from his control, so what?

The Four Mountains Hall Master will never be Ji Yan's pinnacle. If nurturing Mi Lian's growth satisfies Lord Xia Kui, then she and Mi Lian are destined not to be on the same plane!

...

Upon arriving in Licheng, Mi Lian did not immediately go to see Ying Bujibu and the others. Instead, she first took a thorough bath at the Siyuetang stronghold within the city.

She changed into a brocade robe embroidered with phoenix patterns representing the State of Chu, styled her hair, and adorned it with a fiery red phoenix hairpin. The Chu princess in the mirror then gave herself a striking, heroic look, and added a beautifully crafted longsword to her waist as an accessory.

Although her swordsmanship was terrible, as long as she didn't draw her sword, none of her former subordinates would know about it.

For her, the only thing that could command the respect of the former Chu troops was her status as the eldest princess, so today she had to demonstrate her royal dignity.

Licheng was deeply influenced by the peasant faction, but the capabilities of Qin's spies should not be underestimated.

Wearing such a flamboyant outfit full of Chu culture would inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. To ensure safety, Mi Lian wore a simple long dress over her elaborate attire as a cover before leaving home, which she could then remove upon arrival.

As she walked along the road, she kept thinking about the list of her former subordinates that she would have to face. The fact that there was not a single member of the Xiang clan on the list made her frown.

Through Ji Yan's deliberate actions, Mi Lian learned that many elite members of the Xiang clan, including the young master Xiang Yu, had survived the Qin-Chu war.

They also knew that compared to King Xiong Qi of Chu, Xiang Yan, who died in battle, garnered more sympathy from the people of Chu, and the former Chu army members constantly missed the Xiang family.

When Ji Bu requested to gather his old troops, he couldn't find any members of the Xiang clan. This was actually good news; otherwise, with the arrival of the Xiang clan, could his prestige as a princess compare to that of the Xiang clan's young master who had gone to war at the age of eight...?

For Mi Lian, the Xiang clan is a hidden danger, or even an enemy.

This shows that Mi Lian is not as enthusiastic about reviving the Chu Kingdom as she told Ying Bu and Hua Ying. She wants to follow Ji Yan's example and become the leader of a powerful force in the martial arts world, so that she and her sister can have a decent life to live out their days.

Mi Lian lacked the confidence to confront the powerful Qin state. Moreover, her father was dead, and with a new queen after the restoration of Chu, she would no longer be the eldest princess of Chu...

From a selfish perspective, Mi Lian believed that after her father's death, maintaining the status quo and gradually gaining support was the most important thing: to climb to a high position among the peasants by utilizing the old Chu forces, just as Ji Yan used the retainers of Xinling. This was the most promising future.

Having come to understand her own heart, Mi Lian knew what she needed to do next:

Suppress the remaining influence of the Xiang clan among the former Chu officials, and then bind them to the peasantry for your own use!

'What Ji Yan can do, I can do too...'

Upon arriving at the location of the secret gathering, Mi Lian's eyes turned cold. She knocked on the door rhythmically, following the pre-arranged signal...

------

Wang Li, who was in Xianyang, was furiously waving his spear, his whole body exuding a violent aura.

As the eldest son of Wang Ben and the eldest grandson of Wang Jian, Wang Li attracted the attention of the most powerful and influential people in Qin from birth.

Especially after Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben led the army to eliminate five of the six kingdoms, Wang Li became even more sought after.

However, compared to his grandfather's and father's military achievements, Wang Li never had the opportunity to lead troops on his own.

The two most prominent families in the Qin military were the Wang and Meng families. Wang Jian and Wang Ben were able to keep the Meng family’s rivals firmly in check. However, in his generation, Meng Tian, ​​who was close to him in age, received far more trust from the emperor than he did.

Although Meng Tian did not achieve the greatest merit in leading the army to attack Qi, this clearly shows that in His Majesty the Emperor's heart, Meng Tian was already of equal status to his father!

This year, he led his army to attack Shu again. Even though the attack on Shu was not a large-scale war, it still received the emperor's personal attention, which undoubtedly increased its importance.

He himself could only remain trapped in Xianyang, praised by others as "the grandson of Wang Jian" and "the son of Wang Ben".

This disparity left Wang Li feeling resentful.

He needs military merit, military merit that can earn the Emperor's praise!

Only in this way can I live up to the reputation of the Wang family as a military clan. The title of the empire's foremost general can only be passed down through the Wang family.

But the empire doesn't have enough enemies right now:

The Baiyue region is under the command of the veteran general Tu Sui; he cannot go and seize it.

He had even less of a chance with Meng Tian in Shushan.

For a time, the empire's long-term stability made Wang Li very uncomfortable.