Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 342

The Moon Goddess didn't know what Xiang Yu and Tianming could achieve in the current situation, but since they were destined for greatness, she decided to throw them into the most dangerous place.

This is why Xiang Yu and Tianming came to the Northern Army and were selected as raiding cavalry.

However, Yan Bing did not give the two important positions entirely because of Yue Shen's words. He also conducted a detailed investigation along the way and only entrusted Xiang Yu with the important task of leading two hundred cavalrymen after confirming that the two young men were indeed extraordinary.

The Great Wall Army had no idea that a Qi cavalry would appear in their rear. The supply convoy was not specially protected, and most of the iron cavalry in the Anbei Garrison Army had been transferred to the front line. The few remaining cavalry were not only at a disadvantage against the Qi cavalry, but also not vigilant enough.

The makeshift granary camp, with its lax defenses, had its gates wide open to allow grain convoys to enter, and the campfires used for illumination trembled slightly in the dim night.

These days, the grain transport teams have had to increase their grain transport efforts day and night due to the advance of General Wang Li at the front. Although it is very tiring, it is not worth mentioning compared to the cost of failing to meet the general's requirements.

The guard at Yingkou shook his head wearily, chatting idly with his companion about the battle at the front:

"I heard that the rebels launched another offensive not long ago, but were easily defeated by the general."

"Yes, I heard it was a great victory." Another guard was equally concerned about the battle ahead: "This time, the general secretly mobilized reinforcements from Shangjun to ambush on both sides of the battlefield. Taking advantage of the situation, they launched an attack, and the rebels were immediately unable to resist. They had no choice but to abandon their forward positions and retreat behind the Ouyi River."

“Of course, of course.” The previous guard nodded: “Although the General may not have a good temper, he is still a famous general of the empire. He inherited the position of the old Marquis Wu Cheng and defeated the main force of the wolf tribe, which even General Meng Tian could not defeat quickly. His military strategy is unmatched in the world.”

“How could a mere bandit possibly be his match?”

"It is said that the original order from Xianyang was for us to retreat, but since the general has won this battle, he might be able to continue the pursuit and completely wipe out the rebels, which would give us a lot of military merits!"

"Hehe, that would definitely be the best..."

Before they could finish their answer, a sudden tremor in the ground made the two look curiously in the direction of the sound: they judged that the approaching party was a troop of cavalry, but they didn't know what their purpose was.

After all, a cavalry force of this size at this location must be one of their own.

However, when they got close enough, they realized that the approaching force under the cover of night was a troop of cavalry in completely unfamiliar armor, and their expressions froze instantly: "Enemy...enemy attack!"

"Drink!" Xiang Yu, the leader, gripped his spear and coldly watched the guards shout. With his other hand, he took two short spears from the side of his horse and hurled them, instantly killing two enemies.

The entire Qin army's supply camp only realized what was happening by then, but it was too late; they had taken far too long to react and set up defenses...

Xiang Yu charged into the camp, his spear sweeping across and instantly killing several Qin soldiers who had rushed over. Turning back, he saw a grain convoy trying to block the camp gate with its own bodies. He spurred his horse forward, killing the driver first. Then, with a furious glare, he thrust his spear into the wheel of a grain-laden wagon, unleashing all his muscle power. With a powerful swing, he sent the wagon and its horses flying.

In mid-air, the mournful cries of the two nagging horses were terrifying, but when they crashed to the ground and were crushed by the carriage behind them, their cries instantly ceased...

This display of immense strength stunned the Qin army that arrived later. After ensuring the camp gates were wide open, Xiang Yu turned and swept his gaze across the enemy. The latter gaped open, completely terrified. Faced with the charging spear tips, they instinctively tried to flee, without giving in to the slightest thought of resistance.

Xiang Yu continued his pursuit, charging forward with unstoppable force.

Seeing their commander so brave, the other two hundred cavalrymen felt their adrenaline surge, their blood boil, and their morale soared to its peak.

The horse Xiang Yu rode was an extremely valuable grassland horse king in the army. For a cavalry general, the importance of a horse is equivalent to life. A good horse is matched with a good general, and other cavalrymen could hardly keep up with Xiang Yu's speed.

Fortunately, Tianming is still here.

Tianming calmly ordered the fifty best riders to follow Xiang Yu to kill enemies and disrupt the camp, while the rest took out small buckets hanging on the side of their horses, which contained special fire oil processed with Mohist techniques.

These are all produced in the workshops of Daze Mountain. Yan cannot produce them on its own in a short period of time, so they are very precious.

However, for this surprise attack, Han Xin handed it all over to Yan Bing.

They poured kerosene along the way, and a fire quickly rose from the Qin army's supply camp.

The belated Yan Bing and his hundreds of cavalry had just completed their flanking maneuver. He had only intended for Xiang Yu to use his bravery to draw the enemy's attention from the front, but he never expected that they would succeed on their first try.

The scorching heat of the fire invigorated him, and he ordered a full-scale charge, heading straight for the Qin army, who had finally managed to recover and organize their resistance...

"It's heading in the direction of the supply depot!"

On a hillside twenty kilometers away, a contingent of Anbei garrison troops, originally stationed to support the front lines, watched in horror as flames soared into the sky. The military commander immediately mustered 5,000 troops to provide support, and the remaining 20,000 troops would also set off immediately after being neatly arrayed.

The supply depots that need to be replenished to the front lines every day cannot afford to be damaged... Although judging from the height of the flames, it is probably too late, we can still salvage some supplies.

The mountain road was difficult to traverse at night. The 5,000-strong army advanced rapidly in a long, serpentine formation. Just as they passed through the forest and reached the flatlands, only a few kilometers from their destination, the thunderous sound of galloping hooves rushed from the side, causing the Anbei garrison commander to turn pale.

Upon closer inspection, the leading cavalryman was helmetless, his long hair flowing behind him, and he charged towards him like a demon god, brandishing his lance...

It was Xiang Yu who astutely estimated the speed of the Anbei army's reinforcements. After disrupting the supply camp, he quickly led his more than one hundred cavalry to the only road ahead to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and launch the second charge that night.

Chapter 437 The Final Scene

In Guanzhong, after defeating the Great Wall Legion that had broken into the Qi army's encirclement, Lu Wei did not stop. After cleaning up the battlefield, he continued to advance, and thereafter his journey was smooth and he did not encounter any obstacles.

The security situation in the counties of Guanzhong deteriorated due to the scattering of the criminals from Mount Li. However, even the most daring bandits, who had become vicious because of their predicament, dared not attack the well-organized army, regardless of whether the army belonged to Qin or Qi.

On the contrary, the Qi army did not harm the people in the counties and prefectures it passed through. His Highness the King of Qi even sent Li Shiqi and his brother Li Shang to assist in maintaining local order, exempting them from harsh policies and temporarily abolishing corvée labor. This caused the fearful Qin people to immediately abandon the Qin court and switch to the Qi government.

The Qin Empire's rule left the land in a state of disarray, leaving behind a trembling populace.

The result is that Lu Wei only needs to show a little favor to win the hearts of the people: they have been used as machines for too long, and even loosening the ropes a little and treating them as servants who need to eat and wear normally can be regarded as a benevolent policy that deserves gratitude.

Such a grand gift is a shared legacy of the First Emperor Ying Zheng and the Second Emperor Hu Hai, and Lu naturally accepted it with a smile.

He did not try to dissuade the elders of Qin from welcoming him with food and drink, and accepted all the rewards for his soldiers: Although the Qi army entering Guanzhong was mainly composed of peasants, they were still ordinary people, and it was inevitable that they would covet wealth and rewards.

Lu Wei forbade them to massacre the city and harm the people, so he had to use the Qin government's treasury along the way as rewards, rewarding them every time they passed a key place to boost morale.

The distribution of rewards was handled by Xiao He and Chen Ping: they did not seek 100% fairness, as that was impossible in this era, but as long as there was more than half fairness, the soldiers' occasional complaints would not be a major problem.

Lu Wei himself wasn't very interested in those gold and silver treasures, after all, he was about to gain control of the whole world. However, due to his status, he would definitely get the largest share first, and other generals would get theirs first. So, over a long period of time, he had accumulated a considerable amount of personal wealth in the army.

Not all Qin army treasuries were well-stocked. When the reserves in the treasuries were insufficient or when a battle was won, Lu Wei would allocate a portion of the wealth from these private treasuries to his subordinates. This act not only made the entire army grateful to King Qi through Chen Ping's dissemination, but also had the accompanying historians record King Qi's noble character for posterity.

The army stopped to rest at Ba Shang, only fifty kilometers from Xianyang. Lu Wei sent an army south to take over Yaoguan and Wuguan, which was further southeast, while preparing to attack Xianyang.

He had no need to actively persuade them to surrender. The Qin garrison in Xianyang numbered only 50,000, and the city was in a state of panic because the Second Emperor, Huhai, had been killed recently, and shortly after, the new prime minister, Zhao Gao, had his entire family executed...

...

Several days before the Qi army arrived at Ba Shang, Hu Hai got up early that day, dressed in a black dragon robe and wearing the twelve-tassel crown belonging to the emperor, with the help of his servants. He then rode in a carriage to the East Market of Xianyang to watch the punishment of the criminal ministers.

Following the suggestion of Li Si, who died under the Five Punishments, in order to ensure the authority of the emperor, the Qin law in the court was to impose severe punishments for minor offenses and extreme punishments for major offenses.

Under Zhao Gao's enforcement, this was taken to an extreme and became the most severe punishment for any wrongdoing. As a result, the number of people in the court decreased sharply, and no one dared to be a successor. Consequently, many state affairs were handled by the Prime Minister's office.

Chancellor Zhao Gao was not the emperor, yet he wielded even greater power than the First Emperor of Qin... limited to the Xianyang region.

However, Zhao Gao was far inferior to the First Emperor in both his ability to handle government affairs and his diligence. All the accumulated affairs of the country were judged by the assassins of the Luo Wang organization whom he trusted... The result was predictable.

From Xianyang to Guanzhong, government affairs were in complete chaos.

Fortunately, fewer and fewer areas are still under Xianyang's jurisdiction. As the Qi army advances, more and more counties in Guanzhong stop sending official documents to Xianyang, which greatly reduces Zhao Gao's burden.

He should thank Lu Wei properly.

Hu Hai was completely unaware of all this. All his sources of information were controlled by Zhao Gao. Without Zhao Gao's permission, Yan Le would not release any information into Wangyi Palace.

Earlier, at the execution ground in the East Market of Xianyang, he had run over six of his brothers and ten sisters with a carriage, killing them all at once. The bloodstains of the imperial family had long since turned into black stains that seeped into the cracks between the bricks and stones. Today, the blood of the ministers will continue to cover them.

Hu Hai wanted to use severe punishments to warn the people and other ministers, so the executions were not only carried out in front of the people, but also required certain ministers to come and watch.

However, for some reason, there were an unusually large number of ministers observing today.

When the Second Emperor saw the assassins from the Luo Wang organization standing guard at the execution ground in broad daylight dressed in night clothes, he immediately understood that this was Zhao Gao's arrangement and was very satisfied with it.

The more audience members there are, the more spectacular the performance will be.

Shusun Tong's official position in the court was not high, but because all the important officials had been killed and there were no candidates to fill the vacancies, and because he had the trust of Huhai and Zhao Gao, he was placed in a more prominent position.

Unable to focus on the brutal executions, Shusun Tong was more struck by the sorrow, pain, despair, and even indifference of the other ministers watching around him...

Without a doubt, Hu Hai completely lost the support of the court. If Zhao Gao hadn't still been using force to control Xianyang, another king with the character 'Hu' in his name would have served as a cautionary tale for him.

King Li of Zhou and Ji Hu were driven out of the capital by a rebellion launched by the people.

"His Highness the King of Qi's army reached Hangu Pass last month. My teacher is in Linzi managing the rear for the King of Qi. My talents can still be used by the new dynasty; I cannot die now."

Thinking of his teacher Kong Fu, Shusun Tong suppressed the sadness that naturally arose from witnessing the tragedy and forced himself to remain calm and composed: In the past, His Majesty the First Emperor had summoned him to be a scholar and even bestowed upon him the title of Wentong Jun, which could be considered a favor done to him.

However, Shusun Tong had no attachment to the Second Emperor. He considered witnessing the fall of the Qin Empire as a Qin subject as his way of repaying the First Emperor's kindness, and there was no need for him to do anything more.

Hu Hai noticed Shusun Tong's performance and was overjoyed. At the same time, he felt a growing disgust for those ministers who were too stern to look at: "It's not like I'm going to skin you alive, why are you so upset?"

Let's see how you look when it's your turn!

The violence in his heart was still growing, so Hu Hai temporarily suppressed his displeasure. But when he looked back at the screaming minister being tortured, happiness immediately welled up in his heart again.

Ziying was also among the ministers watching. He had long been disappointed in Huhai, and now his mind was entirely focused on Zhao Gao at the front.

But in the end, she didn't dare to openly hate him; she could only lower her head and carefully memorize Zhao Gao's figure out of the corner of her eye.

The more trust he gains from Zhao Gao, the more opportunities he will have to take action against Zhao Gao.

Little did he know that his supposedly well-hidden hatred was clearly seen by Zhou Wen, a military officer under the Luo Wang organization who closely monitored the movements of the court officials.

'This person is usable!' The two, with ulterior motives, harbored their own thoughts...

At the forefront, Zhao Gao's attention was also focused on one person today: Hu Hai.

He deliberately staged this grand spectacle to make the court officials despair of His Majesty the Emperor, so that he would not be accused of regicide for killing the tyrant.

'Yan Le has already made arrangements. Your Majesty will witness another punishment upon your return to the palace.'

'Since you enjoy watching about punishments so much, I'm sure you'd be very interested in the punishments inflicted on the emperor!'

Chapter 438 The Death of Hu Hai

"I...no, I wish to abdicate and be granted the title of King of a prefecture, is that possible?"

"The Prime Minister said, no."

"If I cannot be king, then let me leave Xianyang and become a marquis of ten thousand households in another place."

"The Prime Minister said, no."

"Please spare my life, Prime Minister. I am willing to live as a commoner with my wife and children, without taking any servants or valuables from the palace."

Inside the Wangyi Palace's sleeping quarters, the golden silk curtains were torn off and placed on the ground. A sharp arrowhead was stuck in the headboard of the black wooden dragon bed. Hu Hai sat slumped in front of the bed, his right cheek swollen and red, and his voice gradually became whimpering and pleading.

Just an incense stick's time ago, Hu Hai, who had just returned from the execution ground in the East Market of Xianyang, enjoyed a grand performance and was about to take a nap when he was caught off guard by the arrows that were suddenly shot in and Yan Le who rushed in.

"Hu Hai is licentious and tyrannical, and the whole world has rebelled against him. Now the Prince of Qi has entered Guanzhong and will soon arrive at the gates of Xianyang. Your Majesty should make plans."

Yan Le immediately launched into a tirade of anger. The second emperor, who possessed considerable internal strength, tried to rise up in resistance, but he was no match for the newly formed Six Sword Slaves and had his right arm dislocated with ease.

Then Zhou Wen destroyed his dantian by cutting off the water.

The moment he took action, Zhou Wen felt a surge of satisfaction at avenging his family: the tragedy of his life began twenty-two years ago when he was framed by Tian Zhong, but the root cause was the Luo Wang (a web of intrigue), and further investigation revealed the tyranny of the Qin state.

It was because they wanted to unify the six kingdoms that the peasants became the prey of the net.