Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 134

"You know more secrets than I ever imagined."

"But that last remaining flame of vengeance is not worthy to be my opponent."

"However, His Majesty the Eastern Emperor hopes that you can remain rivals forever."

Lu Wei raised his hand, providing the final answer for the Moon Goddess, then gently grasped the icy blue teardrop pendant ornament on her forehead, removed it, and held it in his palm:

"And one more thing."

"After visiting Chu, I will go to Shu Mountain. Can I borrow this?"

Faced with such a rude act, the Right Protector of the Yin-Yang School only reacted to the words "Shu Mountain": "If you are going there for the Fusang Divine Tree, then I suggest you change your location to Sanghai City."

"Minister Kim, Lord Yunzhong, will be there."

...

After the head of the Gonggong Hall of the Farmers' Family and the Right Protector of the Yin-Yang School secretly made some kind of alliance, they left the small town of Wencheng one after the other.

Next, one of them went north and the other went south.

In Ji City, the moment news spread that His Highness the Crown Prince had sent an envoy to assassinate the tyrannical Qin ruler, the city's wandering knights were greatly excited and began to spread the story of Jing Ke.

This led the people of Yan to take pride in this, completely unaware of how perilous the impending crisis would be...

The morale of the Yan army was high. Although the assassination plan ultimately failed, their actions were in line with the heroic and tragic spirit of Yan and Zhao, and were inspiring!

Only King Xi of Yan and most of the nobles of Yan felt an overwhelming sense of fear after their period of confusion.

How could the Crown Prince dare to conceal such a desperate act from those in power on his own!

King Xi of Yan was furious and summoned Yan Dan to the palace, but this time Yan Dan was confident:

He is now not only the leader of the Mohist school with influence in the martial arts world, but he has also gained control of part of the army through marriage alliances. After the assassination of Qin, the situation of the deadly enmity between Yan and Qin has already been established.

Regardless of whether it is coerced or not, this country must continue on the path of resistance!

Faced with Yan Dan's repeated discussions about the correctness and righteousness of his anti-Qin actions, how could Yan Wang Xi not understand those simple truths?

But what he understood even more was that the state of Yan was now in a state of decline that was difficult to reverse, and that Yan could never defeat Qin.

After King Xi of Yan's first decade or so of struggle following his ascension to the throne resulted in the territory shrinking, his only purpose in resigning himself was to prevent the state of Yan from collapsing under his watch.

Therefore, after he increasingly displayed an aggressive attitude in the Qin state in recent years, he voluntarily retreated again and again.

But suddenly, his own crown prince pulled a fast one on him, catching him completely off guard...

"Very well," the King of Yan said weakly, waving his hand from his throne. "Since you have confidence, then go ahead and do it."

Looking up and back at Yan Dan, who solemnly accepted the order and took his leave, Yan Wangxi's eyes revealed a strong sense of ferocity, which turned into murderous intent in an instant.

If things really come to a standstill, I can abandon this crown prince and remain the Prince of Yan for a few more years!

Having reigned for twenty-five years, it's not surprising that Yan Xi would have this idea, but unfortunately, he never had the chance to put it into practice...

After the assassination attempt on the King of Qin, everything in Yan was proceeding smoothly according to Yan Dan's plan, which dispelled the gloom that had just arrived when the news of the failed assassination attempt.

For the first time, His Highness the Crown Prince has fully grasped control of the country; this is the power that belongs to a king...

Although the actions of the royal family and nobles in quietly transferring their wealth to Liaodong were somewhat obtrusive, they could be ignored. The most important thing was that good news came from the front!

Yan Dan did not relax, nor did he have a moment to relax; he focused even more intently on national affairs.

Since the Crown Prince himself could not lead troops into battle, the position of Grand General was firmly held by Yan Yi, who should have been the commander-in-chief of this expedition.

But this top military commander of a nation was mysteriously kidnapped and disappeared several months ago, and all his bodyguards were killed...

While this strengthened the Crown Prince's control over military power through the marriage alliance, the appearance of the dead guards from the General's Mansion also startled Yan Dan, who was personally investigating the case.

The murderer used Yin-Yang magic!

'It was Fei Yan who brought Yan Yi...'

This Yin-Yang Master Dongjun has always been a sharp knife hanging over Yan Dan's head. The fact that this knife has not yet been cut down does not mean that the knife no longer exists.

Now, the knife has finally moved, but its direct target is not itself...

Suppressing his intense anxiety, Yan Dan selected a highly respected veteran general from among the Yan family to succeed him as Grand General, thus calming the people's hearts.

As for the disciples of the Mohist school, being江湖人士 (jianghu figures), they were actually trusted more by Yan Dan. He organized them into separate units, equipped with strong soldiers, and led only by the Mohist leader, classifying them as elite troops.

Everything is going smooth.

However, after only two months in power, news of the complete annihilation of the Yan army's vanguard reached Ji City, immediately turning the apparent calm into a raging storm...

Just as Yan Dan was still considering how to deal with the questions raised by his father and powerful officials at the morning court the next day, an even more terrifying piece of news arrived, leaving him even more shocked and embarrassed than when he learned of the failed assassination attempt on the King of Qin:

His father, the King of Yan, had died.

He was stabbed to death by himself after an argument broke out when 'himself' entered the palace late at night to report an urgent message!

'So this is your revenge... Scarlet Smoke!'

After extreme shock came extreme calm. Yan Dan immediately guessed the truth, but the question was, would the people of Yan be willing to believe his explanation?

The outer walls of the Crown Prince's residence have been illuminated by thousands of torches...

------

The experience of dealing with the wandering knights of Chu is completely different from that of the wandering knights of Yan and Zhao.

Most well-traveled and knowledgeable native swordsmen of the Chu Kingdom were influenced by various cultural factors, including those from Bashu in the west, Baiyue in the south, and Wuyue in the east, resulting in a wide variety of swordsmanship.

The combination of these ancient martial arts from various ethnic groups with Central Plains martial arts has brought about a vibrant and diverse array of styles.

The rumor that "Young hero Lu Wei is challenging everyone and wants to win a hundred swords in the current martial arts world" has already generated a lot of buzz. As Lu Wei's winning streak gets closer and closer to a hundred, the wandering heroes are paying more and more attention to his next potential opponents.

Aside from the first few times, every subsequent sword duel between Lu Wei and others was conducted in public.

When he arrived outside Shouchun City, the number of consecutive victories circulating in the martial arts world had increased to seventy-five.

The further he progressed, the fewer swordsmen were willing to fight him.

In the first twenty games, Lu Wei had to take the initiative to ask others for guidance.

During the forty matches in between, people came one after another to challenge him.

After sixty wins, it becomes difficult to find an opponent again.

The Master was not in a hurry at all. He just wanted to make a name for himself. The Hundred Victories Plan had not been achieved, but the goal of making a name for himself had been achieved.

Lu Wei remained indifferent to whether anyone would challenge him next. After entering Shouchun City, he didn't rush to find Xiang Bo at the Xiang Clan's residence, but instead went to the Yunmeng Market first.

The original Gonggong Hall branch in Shouchun City ceased to exist along with the shrinking of Luqiu Pavilion in Yan State. Hall Master Lu was completely unaware of any changes in Chu State.

If he wanted to obtain information, he either had to investigate it himself or seek help from the Shennong Hall's branch in the city.

Given the relationship with Lord Changping, it would be best to have less interaction with Shennong Hall in Shouchun.

Chapter 155: Shadow Tiger Ji Bu

As the sun set and Lu Wei spent the entire day browsing the Yunmeng Market, he gained a general understanding of the major and minor events that had occurred in Shouchun recently.

This was enough to help him go to Xiang Jun's camp to meet Xiang Bo.

Lu Wei is now the head of the Gonggong Hall of the Farmers, and after four months of hard fighting, he has achieved a seventy-five-game winning streak among swordsmen, becoming a well-known figure in the martial arts world recently.

Even if he could no longer provide the Xiang clan with a steady stream of fine steeds from the grasslands, he should still earn a certain degree of respect from the Xiang clan based solely on their past relationship and his current reputation.

However, this respect would only be limited to the level of Xiang Bo, as Lu Wei ultimately lacked noble blood and official status.

Moreover, if we disregard the influence of the hundreds of thousands of disciples of the Farmer's School, he is essentially still just an unregistered vagrant without any nationality: he owns no land, does not engage in production, and spends his days fighting and brawling, and occasionally even kills people—a petty thug.

To be honest, outsiders don't even know what country Lu Wei is from.

Born in Zhao, raised in Yan, and settled in Qi.

Master Lu himself was quite open-minded about this: in Zhao, he was a Zhao person; in Yan, he was a Yan person; and in Qi, he could naturally identify himself as a Qi person.

The next morning, Lu Wei and Xiang Bo met again, this time not in the army, but at Xiang Bo's mansion in the city.

The Xiang general and Lu Wei met again after many years, and they were not unfamiliar with each other. After a brief chat about their recent situation, they put their arms around each other's shoulders, picked up two good horses, took their powerful bows, and went out of the city to hunt as usual.

It was springtime, but the area outside Shouchun City was already quite hot.

With a single arrow, he killed two rabbits that were mating—two rabbits in one shot. Xiang Bo stepped forward, his legs tightly gripping the horse's belly, and scooped up the chain of rabbit carcasses still connected together, laughing heartily.

"Brother Lu traveled from north to south, and he was invincible along the way, becoming quite famous!"

Lu Wei drew his bow and nocked an arrow, but his slightly clumsy shot missed the sword branch, causing the target to escape into the bushes and disappear. Lu Wei shook his head awkwardly, saying, "To roam the world with a sword is the wish of a chivalrous knight."

"Although I set a goal of 100 wins, I don't really care about winning or losing. It's all about exchanging ideas and learning from each other."

"Victory is always more satisfying than defeat." Xiang Bo was in excellent form today, and he even attempted to shoot down a pair of birds flying overhead with a single arrow. After successfully doing so, he was delighted with his improved archery skills. "Brother Lu, are you representing yourself or the Farmers' School this time in Chu?"

"What difference does it make whether I represent myself or the farmers?"

Hunting often takes up a whole day, so there will be a lot of free time today. Lord Hall Master, you can talk a lot of nonsense with Xiang Bo's personality.

"If Brother Lu is representing himself, I will host a welcome dinner for you at my residence tonight. Brother Lu, please do not stay at any inn outside. You can stay at my residence with peace of mind. My residence has many guest rooms."

"If you are representing the farmers, I will take you to visit the general later."

They had already scared away the prey in this area and needed to move to other areas. The two horses' heads were placed side by side; Xiang Bo looked triumphant, while Lu Wei wore a smile.

"I came to the Chu Kingdom to make my way in the world alone, but I also represent the Gonggong Hall to go south and check out the mineral deposits."

The land of Chu has a large number of metal deposits, and the raw materials for Gonggongtang's workshops were originally purchased from Chu.

With the expansion of the workshops in recent years, the amount of minerals required in the White Rock has increased significantly. In addition, it is now sufficient to prepare for a rebellion, and the demand for producing a large quantity of various lethal weapons is an even more terrifying figure.

In short: Gonggongtang is broke again.

With the income of a farming family, it is barely enough to support tens of thousands of disciples, but it would be extremely difficult to prepare for any more treasonous acts.

The wealth that Lord Yanchun acquired from Dazeshan is visibly being depleted, and even half of Lord Yanchun's treasury is barely enough to support Gonggongtang.

However, given our limited resources, it's not urgent. Although the demand for minerals is high, it's more than enough to support the research and development of the mechanical beasts in the workshop.

The real purpose of bringing up the mineral deposits with Xiang Bo was to incur a small favor from him. Previously, selling horses for the Xiang family had created a debt the Xiang family owed to the farmers.

By owing each other money, the relationship between the two sides can be brought closer, making it easier to utilize the Xiang family in the future.

"In that case, you may stay at my residence during your stay in Shouchun."

Xiang Bo patted his chest and assured him, "As for the mineral deposits, leave it to me."