Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 338

"Well..." Sima Xin paused, turning to look out the window, "What does Mr. Tian think?"

As he finished speaking, Tian Guang nimbly jumped out from outside, staring at the two of them with a big smile.

Dong Yi was not surprised, but he noticed a fresh wound on the neck of the old man whom Sima Xin referred to as 'Mr. Tian'.

It wasn't deep; it probably only scratched the other person's skin, and some faint redness remained nearby after the bloodstains were wiped away.

'This is the mastermind behind spreading rumors at Mount Li. Sima Xin is exceptionally capable; she managed to capture him, and apparently, there was a standoff, even involving the use of weapons...'

'I never expected that these would be people from His Highness the Prince of Qi, who is far away beyond the Great Wall.'

Dong Yi's mind raced, and he made some guesses about the reason why Sima Xin suddenly proposed to join the King of Qi: Although the murderer who instigated the prisoners had been caught, the fact that he had already been instigated could not be changed. Moreover, even if this undercurrent had subsided, who knew if there would be a next time.

Moreover, judging from the urgent transfer of the soldiers from Lishan, the King of Qi is indeed close to Hangu Pass. If he were to invade and discover that his subordinates had been killed, his fate would be...

Therefore, Sima Xin realized that the very person who had put her in danger had become the only one who could save her, and decisively chose to heed their advice and pledge allegiance to the King of Qi...

'First they used the convicts of Lishan, then they used them to coerce us—what a brilliant tactic!'

"Who is this?" Even though he had already figured everything out, Dong Yi still frowned and asked curiously.

The righteousness that his ancestors possessed, which was fearless in the face of swords and spears, was suppressed, leaving only the acting skills to try to survive.

"I am Tian Du, a mere nobody." Tian Guang gave a false name, and his whole demeanor was just like his appearance, that of an old man. However, the nimbleness with which he climbed over the window was seen by Sima Xin and Dong Yi.

"He was a former disciple of the Farmer's School and had some connections with His Highness Prince Qi, so he came to act as his envoy in Guanzhong."

Upon hearing this, Sima Xin and Dong Yi were filled with awe: Did he actually have a personal relationship with His Highness Prince Qi...?

"Please sit down, Elder Tian. It was thanks to Elder Tian's guidance that I was able to see the light after all the clouds have parted and my mind has been enlightened." Sima Xin eagerly stepped forward and helped Tian Guang to sit down in his seat. Tian Guang did not refuse: the more he put on airs with these two Qin army captains, the more at ease they would feel.

"Now Brother Dong Yi must understand Elder Tian's good intentions, and he will surely make the right choice."

As he spoke, Sima Xin looked at his colleagues.

Dong Yi watched as Sima Xin treated an elderly man dressed as a convict with such respect, and a strange feeling welled up inside him: especially since the man was a man of the King of Qi, fighting to the death against Qin, and both men were Qin generals from generation to generation...

But his heart was not affected by his actions; he bowed, clasped his hands, and nodded, saying, "We are loyal to King Qi. Please give us your instructions, Elder Tian."

The criminals of Lishan could threaten the Qin army's garrison commander, and the Qin army's garrison commander could also control these criminals. By taking advantage of the relationship between the two sides, Tian Guang successfully gained the trust of both sides by waving Lu Wei's banner, which greatly increased the success rate of the uprising.

'Sima Xin is driven by self-interest and follows the crowd, while Dong Yi has some principles. These two can be used to check and balance each other, and I can make good use of this.'

A thought flashed through his mind, and Tian Guang chuckled, "Very good. Your decisions today, once His Highness Prince Qi enters the pass, may very well lead to you being granted titles of nobility."

The promises made should be grand, but as for whether or not a marquisate will actually be granted... if Sima Xin and Dong Yi's contributions are truly sufficient, young Lu won't hesitate to offer the title.

...

Inside Hangu Pass, Zhao Yi already knew that the King of Qi outside the city was none other than Lu Wei, with whom he had been on good terms in the past. Lu Wei had taken him into the countryside and treated him quite well.

Now, he was to become their enemy, and as a Qin general at that, which made Zhao Yi feel somewhat guilty...

Chapter 429 I'm doing this all for the Empire

Back when I was in Handan, all I gave away was a sandalwood platform and a hundred or so musicians and dancers.

Lu Wei helped him become a minister of the Zhao state, and later facilitated his attainment of the status of a famous general of Zhao, which is enough to make him famous in history.

In comparison, Zhao Yi felt that he owed the other party too much.

Admittedly, a significant reason for this was that Zhao Yi saw the power of the State of Qi and dared not antagonize it.

He considered himself still a Zhao citizen. If he had just been enjoying himself in Qin without doing anything, that would have been fine. But now that he had been imprisoned for more than ten years and was only released by Zhao Gao, and his territory was about to be attacked by the powerful Qi army, Zhao Yi had no loyalty to Qin whatsoever.

In particular, Lu Wei's letter was shot in from outside the city today. The contents of the letter were not a letter to persuade him to surrender, but a simple letter reminiscing about the past. This made Zhao Yi, who had not felt warmth for more than ten years, recall his encounter with Lu Wei. Feeling sad, he also prepared to write a simple reply to Lu Wei.

Although the two sides are currently at war, Zhao Yi does not see anything wrong with it: setting aside his own inclination towards Lu Wei, past wars have been too bloody and lack any noble spirit. Now that he and Lu Wei are each other's commanders, exchanging letters is a demonstration of the virtuous conduct of ancient benevolent people.

Besides, my reply was really just a simple greeting.

But for the rest of the Qin army at Hangu Pass, especially Zhou Wen and Wu Chen, it was of extraordinary significance!

Zhao Gao sent two men to monitor Zhao Yi, but Zhao Yi openly colluded with Lu Wei without any pretense, which surprised the two men.

They were all seasoned veterans skilled in undercover work, yet they had absolutely no idea what Zhao Yi was planning...

Such blatant actions do not seem like defection, but what they are doing is clearly an attempt to undermine the morale of the Qin army and destroy the trust among the Qin generals.

Could it be that he is doing something of 'great wisdom appearing as foolishness'?

Shaking his head, Zhou Wen didn't interfere further. He continued to win over the generals of Hangu Pass, infiltrating his own forces into key positions within Hangu Pass, ready to cooperate with the actions of the bandit leader below the city at any time.

Luo Wang's identity as the one who cut off the water supply allowed him to carry out everything smoothly, but because he dared not alert the enemy too much, the progress was slow.

Wu Chen, unusually, didn't concern himself with the matter. He had a different perspective on his situation: as a mercenary, Wu Chen's greatest skill was to repeatedly shift positions to seize the greatest benefit.

With the situation in the world already settled, Zhao Yi and Zhou Wen, the main generals guarding Hangu Pass, both had their own schemes. Naturally, he couldn't be foolish enough to let himself be betrayed.

But for Wu Chen, was the greatest benefit to be the first to surrender the pass before Zhao Yi and Zhou Wen? Of course not!

He did indeed sense something was amiss with his two colleagues based on his intuition while they were together, but that did not mean that these two colleagues were about to betray Qin and join Qi.

The reason is simple: although Zhao Yi's actions were the most obvious, he was timid and lacked both the courage and the ability to lead an uprising in Hangu Pass, which was full of Qin troops.

More than a decade of imprisonment seems to have worn down all the sharpness of Zhao Gao's last famous general, making him humble. This is probably the biggest reason why Zhao Gao used him: a self-humble person will not have the desire to devour his master.

As for Zhou Wen, needless to say, everyone knows about his feud with the peasants.

It can only be said that the empire's decline has caused unrest among the people, and there are not many who actually have the courage to betray it.

If his two colleagues refuse to surrender, then organizing the surrender of the pass would be somewhat dangerous and should not be undertaken lightly.

Compared to surrendering the pass, Wu Chen had greater ambitions, and before putting his ambitions into practice, he did not want to meddle in anything related to Hangu Pass.

The three most powerful generals had little interest in opposing Qi, so one can imagine how the ordinary soldiers were not.

Even before the Qi army had officially launched its attack, morale within the pass plummeted...

"Brother Lu, if you understand, all my brothers perished in the Battle of Handan, only you..."

Ji Yan sat cross-legged at the table, carefully reading Zhao Yi's reply to Lu Wei. Her first feeling about this Hangu Pass general who was so cooperative was surprise: how could such a person have survived from the Warring States period to the present day and be entrusted with such an important task by Zhao Gao? She wondered what kind of coincidence it was.

As the letter was being read aloud, Zhao Yi even lamented that he wondered when he could return to Handan, raise his retainers, and return to a carefree life.

"Zhao Yi should be well over fifty years old, how could he be so naive?"

After putting down the letter, Ji Yan leaned back and found herself in the arms of Prince Qi.

She looked up at Lu Wei, her eyes sparkling, her delicate nose twitching slightly, and her pale pink lips exhaling softly, drawing his attention to her face.

The composed Mr. Lu consciously raised his hand and placed it where it should be. As the latter's breathing became heavier, he said in a serious tone, "Don't you think his behavior is actually the most advantageous choice for him?"

"Oh?" Ji Yan's gradually hazy eyes flashed with a hint of clarity: "Given Zhao Yi's status, if he survives until after the war, could he possibly obtain a marquisate out of thin air based on his status?"

Zhao Yi is a representative of the former Zhao royal family, the son of the famous Lord Pingyuan, the last famous general of Zhao, and a friend of the King of Qi before he gained power. If he were to also acquire the status of a surrendered general from Hangu Pass, with these advantages, whether for the sake of appeasing the people or for practical reasons, it is indeed very likely that he would be granted a title of nobility as a consolation.

Even if Zhao Yi does nothing, he only needs to wait for the Qi army to invade and surrender.

"But the emotions in those letters didn't seem fake."

"How could someone possibly gain so many benefits through sheer luck, with the price being only a decade or so in prison?"

His Highness Prince Qi gave a soft hum, but Ji Yan had been looking up for too long. She turned around and snuggled closer to him, even boldly biting his neck lightly.

Such flirtatiousness gave Lu Wei a fresh perspective.

"Zhao Yi has many flaws, but he is very good at discerning which actions will truly benefit him. These are subconscious and can even deceive his own surface thoughts."

"However, it doesn't matter. The vast new empire of the future will also have to keep some beautiful vases. His cooperation is also beneficial to me. There is no need to discuss the calculations behind this cooperation. In many cases, my current status is enough to judge by his actions rather than his intentions."

He lifted Ji Yan's delicate face, and the latter obediently closed his eyes, but waited for a long time for the king's next move.

Upon opening his eyes, Lu Wei looked towards the doorway and saw someone push the door open and come in.

The fact that someone could enter the King of Qi's study without permission speaks volumes about their special status.

"Well..."

Duanmu Rong, who had followed the transport team to Caoyang with high expectations and was there to report on the serious matter of medical reserves, saw Lu Wei and Ji Yan fooling around. Her pupils trembled, her face flushed, and she hurriedly turned to leave.

Although she and Xue Nu had spent many times playing and joking with Lu Wei in the Daze Mountains, she still found it hard to imagine herself in such a situation in front of Xiao Yan'er...

But once it's under control, how can one escape?

Lu Wei, with his pent-up inner energy finding no outlet, easily slammed the door shut from a distance...

Different combinations of dishes will produce unique flavors. As the Prince of Qi, he needs to strengthen his confidence in the stability of the new empire.

The prosperity of the harem was not his sole responsibility; for the sake of the empire, Lu Wei had to work harder and be more diligent.

Chapter 430 A Promise to All People

Three days after the mutual trust was established, the Qi army's strong attack on Hangu Pass officially began. On the first day, the Qi general in charge of the attack was Ying Bu, who was known for his bravery. After arranging the formation, he personally went into battle and charged with his soldiers.

The brave generals played their part perfectly at this time. The morale of the Qin army was low, and they quickly lost the river position in front of Hangu Pass, leaving only the last layer of high wall in their defense line.

The Qi army sent men to clear away the scattered obstacles, allowing them to directly charge the city walls.

The news that the first to charge into battle would be rewarded with a title of nobility was announced to the entire army before the battle. Ying Bu was determined to obtain this merit: after the fall of Chu, he had always stood firmly on the side of the Chu royal family, and even the news of the destruction of the Xiang clan did not move Ying Bu.

The relationship between the Princess and the Prince of Qi is no secret in the peasant community; it is much stronger than ordinary cooperation.

With no male bloodline remaining in the Chu royal family, and the Xiong Xin that is rumored to be the true nature of Mi Xin, under such circumstances, it would be easier to succeed than to revive the Chu state by simply following the agricultural Qi state to the end. This was also the long-cherished wish of the former Chu princess.

As a confidant of the eldest princess, Ying Bu represented the old Chu faction in the Qi army. The greater his merits, the higher the status of the Chu faction in the new empire.

The higher the status of the Chu faction, the more it would benefit Ying Bu himself; he could easily understand this principle.

However, since departing from Licheng, the general with the highest merit under His Highness Qi is Dian Qing, the leader of Chiyou Hall: relying on the special nature of the armored gate, Dian Qing, who is not afraid of ordinary people's swords, spears and arrows, always takes the lead in battle and charges into the enemy. Not long ago, he also captured Aocang, and his reputation in the army is quite high.

Furthermore, because of his calm and unassuming personality, and because his advanced age would not hinder the advancement of his generals, he enjoyed the support of other generals.

Most importantly, Dian Qing was originally from the State of Wei, and Ji Yan, a descendant of Lord Xinling of Wei, was greatly favored by the King of Qi and had the right to accompany the army, something that even Mi Lian of the Chu faction could not obtain.

Under this woman's covert manipulation, Wei's forces have enabled Dian Qing, Zhang Er, and Chen Yu to firmly grasp a great deal of power in the most crucial central army.

If he hadn't volunteered for the attack, Dian Qing would probably still have gotten the chance to attack Hangu Pass.

'It's a rare opportunity to receive encouragement from His Highness Prince Qi; I must not let him and Princess Mi Lian down!'

Thinking this, Ying Bu swung his double axes even faster...

The old forces of the six fallen states are all distributed among the peasants, so the peasant uprising can receive the widest support. However, the price they have to pay is collusion with their own faction and competition with other factions.