Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 109

In an effort to revitalize his family, Gan Luo's father sought refuge with Lü Buwei, the former prime minister of Qin, and helped him wield some power within the Qin regime, leading to a slight revival of the Gan family.

Gan Luo was born when his father was over sixty years old, and he was the hope of the entire clan from birth.

And he lived up to expectations, displaying exceptional talent from a young age. At the age of four, while playing, he encountered Lü Buwei, and his clever responses made the then-powerful prime minister laugh heartily. Lü Buwei publicly accepted Gan Luo as a retainer, showing him off everywhere, saying: 'My four-year-old retainer is no less capable than a seventy-year-old scholar.'

But a few months later, Lü Buwei fell from power...

However, Gan Luo's situation was not bad in the years before Marquis Wenxin's death, as his father still held some power within the Luo Net:

He is one of the members of the highest decision-making level of the Luo Wang organization!

Therefore, Gan Luo lived a comfortable life until he was ten years old. In his spare time, he enjoyed watching puppet shows and even cleverly taught himself how to make and manipulate wooden puppets.

In addition, his knowledge far surpassed that of his peers, and his reputation as a child prodigy spread throughout the Qin Dynasty and even gained some fame in other countries.

If nothing unexpected happens, as he grows older, he will be able to enter the Qin court and follow in the footsteps of Gan Mao. He will also be able to leverage his father's influence to join the Luo Wang organization and serve as a guard for the King of Qin.

But unsurprisingly, the accident still happened...

The top brass of the Luo Wang organization engaged in a power struggle and a covert internal conflict, ultimately leaving only two winners in the entire decision-making team, while the rest were eliminated.

Gan Luo's father, already over seventy, was not out of the game...

From then on, the Gan clan, which had shown signs of improvement, fell back to rock bottom and was framed by the new leader of the Luo Wang organization: the entire clan was inexplicably involved in a fabricated rebellion and sentenced to death.

The reason the new leader of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) did this was because Gan Luo's father had deep ties to the Luo Wang. With Gan's father dead, many secrets were at risk of being exposed if the Gan clan members were not eliminated...

For example, Gan Luo had learned from his father long ago that Luo Wang was never loyal to the Qin state, let alone to Marquis Wenxin, Lü Buwei!

A web is being woven, creating a new world that belongs only to them...

In order to save the Gan clan from imminent destruction, twelve-year-old Gan Luo resolutely volunteered to go to Zhao to persuade the King of Qin to surrender.

He needed an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities. Only then would the King of Qin recognize his outstanding talent and have a reason to pardon the fabricated death sentence against his family.

"Displaying my talents is not difficult, but if I'm not mistaken, the assassins sent by the Luo Wang to silence me must already be in Zhao territory..."

Since his family was convicted, Gan Luo's mind has been constantly overloaded, and his eyes are glazed over: he not only needs to use Guo Kai to obtain territory from Zhao, but he also needs to evade assassins from the Luo Net and return home safely...

...

"What has that Qin kid been up to these past few days?"

In the Prime Minister's residence, Guo Kai's expression was no longer calm; he was somewhat uneasy. The envoy from Qin had never come to see him since entering the Zhao capital. Even at the last banquet, when he helped the envoy out of a predicament, Gan Luo hadn't even glanced at him...

This is not a good sign. Qin wants the Zhao court to sell out their country, so why don't they come to us? As long as they're willing to spend the money, we can sell them however we want!

Does this mean the Qin state no longer likes me?

For the first time, Guo Kai, who was always greedy for money, stopped thinking about the value of others and started considering his own value instead.

"Ganluo's envoy visited the residences of many high-ranking officials. Judging from the visiting cards he sent, he intended to visit all the high-ranking officials in the capital."

Even behind Gan Luo's back, his confidants held him in high esteem, simply because Gan Luo was an envoy from the Qin state.

They were far away in the State of Zhao and knew nothing about Gan Luo's family affairs. They simply assumed that Gan Luo had been entrusted with great responsibilities by the King of Qin at a young age and that he would surely become a marquis and prime minister in the future.

Gan Luo's performance at the royal banquet seemed to illustrate this point: Shao Hua was exceptionally talented and capable of serving as an envoy for the Qin state, so his future was undoubtedly limitless!

"Still no visiting card sent to me?"

Guo Kai stood up, put his hands behind his back, walked to the door frame, and looked up at the sky.

"Not yet. Should we send someone to deliver an invitation to Gan Luo's envoy?"

Who was the last person he visited?

"Zhao Yi".

"Then let Zhao Yi subtly remind him: In the State of Zhao, without my permission, no one can help him!"

"Yes!"

------

"Lord Pingyuan, Zhao Yi?"

Examining the information on the bamboo slips in his hand, Gan Luo carefully made his own judgments based on the vague information.

Aside from the name of the King of Qin and the standard chariot for envoys, he received no financial or human support for this trip.

So, it wasn't that he didn't want to visit Guo Kai, but rather that he had no way to do so...

Gan Luo could only achieve the greatest gain with the least cost by raising the banner of the 'Qin State' very high.

This is exactly the kind of personal ability that the King of Qin wanted to see...

All the intelligence in the embassy was written down by Gan Luo after he silently memorized it during his conversations with the various doctors.

This information contains both truth and falsehood, and some fact and some fiction. He must be extremely cautious about what to believe and what plans to make based on this information.

"He had no ambition in his youth, only squandered his family fortune in adulthood, and only recently repented?"

Gan Luo meticulously searched for flaws in the text:

"After repenting and awakening, he suddenly decided to expand his subordinate music and dance troupe to the six kingdoms of Shandong, and achieved good results, gaining more than a thousand retainers to join him?"

"He even took the initiative to seek refuge with Guo Kai and gained the favor of the King of Zhao?"

"This information is too general!"

Gan Luo's head started to ache again. He held a pen in one hand and rubbed his temples with the other.

"You can tell what a person will be like at three years old. If he was a complete spoiled brat in his youth, what would change Zhao Yi after he matured? Either he would encounter a life-changing event, or he would meet a benefactor who would appreciate his talents..."

"I have no understanding of the affairs of the Zhao state. Only by communicating with Zhao Yi face to face can I know his character."

Putting down his pen, Gan Luo got up and picked up the puppet he had made himself from scrap materials, and began to play with it casually:

He only finds true peace when he is manipulating puppets.

The puppet figures were completely under his control, unable to muster the slightest thought of resistance. This feeling of absolute control fascinated him...

It was for this reason that Gan Luo aspired from a young age to learn from his grandfather Gan Mao, and aspired to be a prime minister of a great nation, and to control the people of the world.

Therefore, before setting off for Zhao, he refused the offer of the Grand Master of Fate sent by the legendary Eastern Emperor from the Yin-Yang School.

The Yin-Yang School employs bizarre methods, including the ability to control people's minds like puppets, but ultimately can only control one or ten people.

Gan Luo certainly didn't want just this little bit of vanity:

The best puppet show is one that uses the world as its backdrop!

A terrifying expression appeared on the innocent face of a twelve-year-old boy...

...

"Young Master Yi, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Stepping down from the carriage, young Gan Luo spoke politely, but his demeanor was arrogant, with his head held high, displaying extreme haughtiness.

"Not at all, Envoy Gan, please come in!"

With just one gesture, Zhao Yi allowed Gan Luo to analyze from his eyes that this person did not seem to be an outstanding individual, but to be sure, they still needed to observe him carefully at the banquet.

However, the steward's gaze towards Zhao Yi lacked respect...

Having noted this information, Gan Luo entered the mansion without making a sound.

The banquet began at dusk and ended at the end of the 7 PM. After several hours of conversation, Gan Luo saw Zhao Yi clearly and concluded that while he was not a fool, he was certainly not the kind of virtuous man who could win the support of thousands of retainers!

Those retainers seemed to hold the steward in even higher regard.

"Has this guy been sidelined?"

Refusing Zhao Yi's offer to see him off, Gan Luo looked up at the moon, trying to figure out the suspicious points one by one.

Just as he was about to board the carriage to return home, a voice suddenly called out to him:

"Envoy Gan Luo, my eldest son wishes to see you."

Turning his head, he saw it was the steward who was suspected of having sidelined Zhao Yi.

"Didn't I just part ways with your eldest son at the banquet?"

With a faint smile, Gan Luo showed some respect for the man: "Why do you want to see me again?"

“Zhao Yi is not worthy to be my master!” Following his brother’s instructions, Lu Yu recited the words in a measured tone: “My master is someone else.”

"Who?"

"If the envoy is interested, he may come with me."

Having said that, Lu Yu ignored the Qin envoy and turned to leave.

Gan Luo's eyes darted around, he stopped climbing into the carriage, jumped back to the ground, and followed straight after them:

The forces behind Zhao Yi have at least a presence in six kingdoms!

Chapter 132 First Class of Heaven

Gan Luo followed Lu Yu, turning left and right, and somehow ended up in Zhao Yi's mansion again, arriving at a room in the guest area.

Inside, the room was brightly lit by candlelight. After Lu Yu pushed open the door, he stood to one side of the entrance, acting as a doorman.

Gan Luo did not hesitate and boldly stepped into the room. As soon as he entered, he met the piercing eyes of the young man in the green robe sitting at the table.

'He's definitely not someone like Zhao Yi.'

With a creak, Lu Yu closed the wooden door from the outside. Gan Luo glanced at it, then calmly sat down in front of the man inside.

"May I ask who you are, and what brings you here?"

“Gan Luo was only twelve years old when he was entrusted with a great mission by the King of Qin and sent to Zhao. He must be extremely intelligent.”

The man in the green robe smiled faintly, swirling the teacup in his hand. The scalding hot tea, steaming hot, was tossed steadily onto the edge of Gan Luo's table.

Why don't you take a guess?

Gan Luo rested his hand on his lap, staring at the tea in front of him. After a moment of distraction, he carefully examined the details of the man in front of him, then shook his head.

"You are a person of the martial arts world. May I ask whether you belong to Taoism, Confucianism, or Mohism?"

He picked up the teacup the man had thrown at him without flinching, but the moment his fingertips touched the cup, he jerked back as if he'd been electrocuted.

Looking down, he noticed the tea slowly freezing in front of him, and only when the ice was completely solidified did the steam rising from it seem to have been carelessly dissipated...