Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 144

Yan Dan is right.

If the mastermind behind this assassination plot against the King of Qin hadn't died, the King of Qin would certainly not have let the Fortress of Machines go. No matter how sturdy the Fortress of Machines was, in a fight to the death, it simply couldn't withstand the full force of an entire nation.

Moreover, this country was the most powerful state in the world, Qin.

Only if Yan Dan sacrifices himself can the Mechanized City gain a little breathing space.

"That's it!"

Prince Dan of Yan stood up solemnly, his eyes preventing his teacher Ju Wu from speaking, then raised his dark eyebrows:

"As for the next leader of the Mohist school, I already have someone in mind."

Amidst the confusion of the Mohist leaders, Yan Dan stated in an unyielding tone: "After the war, he will take this Mo Mei sword to the Mechanical City!"

"This..." Master Ban frowned, but neither Gao Jianli nor Dao Zhi stepped forward. He gritted his teeth and spoke up alone, "Master, this is too risky."

The Ink Eyebrow is the token of the Mo family's leader. If Yan Dan is determined to die, he should hand over this token to one of the commanders to take back to the Mechanized City before he dies!

Even if he already has a successor in mind, he can still mention that person's name and have them return to the Mechanical City together.

Such an important matter cannot be concealed!

“Master Ban, I know you are worried, but I have my reasons for arranging things this way.”

Yan Dan's voice, unusually tinged with a reprimand, said in a deep tone: "If you still have objections, let's hold a vote on the 'Will of Heaven' now!"

The so-called "Heavenly Will" is similar to the "Yan Emperor's Decree" of the Farmer's School; it is actually just a vote by a few high-ranking officials.

Currently, in the palace, besides Yan Dan, the Grand Master, there are several leaders of the Mohist school, including Gao Jianli, Kuang Xiu, Dao Zhi, Master Ban, and the newly promoted Da Tiechui.

Even after Yan Dan declared his readiness to sacrifice himself, only Master Ban still opposed his dying wish...

There's no need for a ceremony; the outcome is obvious.

Master Ban opened and closed his mechanical wooden hand twice, but ultimately shut his mouth and retreated back into the ranks.

This matter is now settled.

Chapter 164 Borrowing Troops from the Wolf Clan

Lord Changping received military reports from Zhao and secret letters from Yan.

He was mentally prepared for the development of the war situation in Zhao.

When the upper echelons of a country are divided and in civil war, how can they possibly sustain a large-scale foreign war?

Calmly setting the battle report aside, Xiong Qi opened the secret letter that Yan Dan had sent through someone.

This letter arrived on the same day as the battle report, while the secret letter arrived several hours earlier.

Even considering that the Mo family's mechanical beasts possessed the ability to transmit messages quickly, Ji City was located much further away than the Qin army's camp in Zhao.

Moreover, the letter was written in a very calm, clear, and orderly manner, and even began with a large number of meaningless polite sentences.

This letter was probably written by Yan Dan a long time ago and kept in Zhao territory, ready to be sent to him in Xianyang as soon as the Yan army showed signs of defeat.

After reading the text, he raised his hand and destroyed it over the candle flame.

Although its allies have put the Yan state in chaos, their preparedness and unwavering anti-Qin stance are commendable.

Lord Changping summoned his assassins, but did not give them any orders for a long time.

His long, slender fingers tapped the table slowly but firmly, the candlelight reflecting off the table, swaying in the still air...

The states of Yan and Zhao are about to fall; it seems the tide of history has turned to an irreversible point.

If there was any hope left, it was his homeland, the State of Chu.

In order to prevent his plans in Chu from being exposed prematurely due to risks, he should rationally and decisively abandon the layout in Yan and continue to serve as the Right Chancellor of Qin for the next two years without revealing any flaws.

The more significant the matter, the fewer steps should be taken in the planning process, in order to maintain secrecy to the greatest extent possible.

If I do too much work now, and something goes wrong at any stage, we might lose everything prematurely...

"The situation is already dire; we have no choice but to take a risky gamble!"

The tapping on the table stopped abruptly, and the flame reflected in Changping-jun's pupils rose three degrees higher.

He picked up his pen and wrote fluently on a piece of cloth: "Send this to Liu Sha!"

The assassin took it with both hands and quickly disappeared into the empty study.

Xiong Qi then wrote down a few more words and handed them to another assassin to reply to Ji Cheng.

Changping Jun never wants to gamble with small stakes when he can win by accumulating enough momentum to win big.

But now that things have come to this, the tide has turned against them, and he has no choice but to take the gamble...

Yan Dan's anti-Qin stance and the Mohist school of thought behind him are worth considering...

Let's wait and see!

...

Lu Wei was in Shouchun and received the battle report from Zhao several days late.

Zhao Di's situation was basically in line with his expectations and did not surprise the Hall Master.

But the additional losses suffered by the peasant disciples in Yan made him frown.

Lu Wei had been operating in Yan for many years. Even though he took many elite disciples with him to Daze Mountain when he retreated, many more ordinary disciples and some elites who were unwilling to leave their hometowns were scattered among the people and left to their own devices.

When the Qin army invaded Yan territory, the disciples' safe farmhouse identity, which they could rely on, became a meaningless joke. Some of them were captured by the Qin army, and some were forcibly conscripted by the Yan army.

The Ji family, who are now in charge of Luqiu Pavilion, and Lu Shan's former confidants are completely unable to control the situation. Luqiu Pavilion's properties in Jicheng have been robbed by various forces multiple times.

Most of the layout within Jicheng suffered heavy losses.

It's basically useless.

Fortunately, in the later stages of Lu Shan's rule over Yan, he dispersed the power of Lu Qiu Pavilion to other small towns and even villages. The power of the peasants in Yan was still quietly developing, like sparks flying.

In any case, this is the first time that the Hall Master's forces have suffered such a blow, but it will certainly not be the last.

The territory of Zhao had already been attacked once, but the investment there was not large, so the losses were acceptable.

Rationally, Lu Wei was mentally prepared for this: of the tens of thousands of disciples of the Farmer's School, some would inevitably be lost in the chaos of war.

After the Qin state unifies the country, it will immediately conscript laborers to carry out major projects. It will also need to conquer the Baiyue tribes in the south and transport grain and fodder, which will also be a great drain on manpower.

It is impossible for all the disciples of the farming family to avoid conscription, and an astonishing number of people will inevitably be lost.

The number of disciples that Daze Mountain can protect is ultimately limited...

Despite being prepared, Lu Wei still felt a slight unease when it actually happened.

My own strength is still insufficient, and I am still weak.

Putting aside his unease, Lu Wei needed to expedite making more prudent arrangements for the disciples of the Gonggong Hall in Wei.

Simply withdrawing from Daliang City is not enough.

With strengthened communication with Ayu and Aye, the strategic deployment in Wei is proceeding at an accelerated pace.

After spending a month at Xiang Bo's residence, Lu Wei finally met Xiang Yan, the great general of Chu, by chance.

As the last famous general among the five states of Shandong after Li Mu's retirement, Xiang Yan's first impression is one of nobility and arrogance.

Almost everyone in the Xiang clan is like this. Even Xiang Bo, who is now on good terms with Master Lu, did not get along very well with him when they first met.

But the Xiang family's arrogance was not without its reasons. Perhaps it was this arrogance that cultivated the fierce and valiant style of the Xiang army's direct descendants from a young age.

Everything has its gains and losses; what will the Xiang clan lose as a result...?

Riding alongside Xiang Bo through a secluded mountain forest, Lu Wei drew his bow and shot at fleeing prey. Intentionally or unintentionally, he glanced at Xiang Yan and Xiang Yu, who were surrounded by stars on the main camp, before calmly withdrawing his gaze.

He was there to accompany Xiang Bo on this large-scale hunting trip and, incidentally, to get to know some of Xiang's generals.

For example, besides Ji Bu, there was Ying Bu, the commander of the Lei Bao Legion, and Long Ju, the young general of the Tenglong Legion, who was only a few years older than Xiang Yu.

Although he doesn't have the opportunity to meet and speak with these high-ranking figures now, recognizing their faces might be useful in the future.

Not only was Hall Master Lu observing Xiang Jun's generals, but several other pairs of eyes were also watching him closely throughout the hunt.

Lu Wei sensed something, but he didn't know where these eyes came from or what their purpose was.

They might just be regular guards from Xiang's army. After all, the Hall Master is an outsider to Xiang's army, so it's reasonable for him to have some people keeping an eye on things.

He had no illegal intentions and allowed himself to be watched.

Finding Chu Nan Gong in the Yunmeng Market was also easy. The old man's daily routine was very regular; he would always stroll around the Yunmeng Market after dark.

In the mornings, he would play chess with people at several city gates.

He disappeared during the day, and although Lu Wei was very curious, he did not follow Chu Nan Gong.

If Tian Guang and Nian Duan are seasoned foxes, then Chu Nan Gong can be described as a fox spirit.

The old man is incredibly shrewd.

Having spent a month circling around Chu Nan Gong, Lu Wei didn't manage to get any other benefits, but he repeatedly experienced firsthand the wisdom of living a life of seclusion in the city, which greatly accelerated his progress in practicing this skill.

Although Nan Gong had never directly mentioned the overall situation in Zhao over the past month, a few casual remarks would always remind Lu Wei of the situation in Zhao.

Master Lu's reaction was to ignore it. As long as the topic wasn't brought up directly, he would pretend he couldn't understand the metaphors.

------

Even when the Qin army broke through the Yan army's formation, the garrison of Zhao's city of Handan remained firmly in the city and did not venture out even a step.

Zhao Jun's attack might not actually be very effective, but if you are unwilling to provide assistance when reinforcements are already in place, then holding out will truly become a death sentence.

The hope of receiving foreign aid, which was already unlikely, has been completely dashed.

After defeating the Yan army, apart from a small contingent that pursued them into Yan territory, causing great panic in Yan, the main Qin army quickly re-encircled Handan City.

Simultaneously besieging the capitals of two countries would be a dangerous and foolish act. Wang Jian's military strategy remained unchanged; he chose to first destroy Zhao and then march north to destroy Yan.

The State of Zhao has been exceptionally resilient for many years; this time, we cannot allow them the opportunity to return to their former glory.

Inside the city, Guo Kai is also playing an active role.

While the main Qin army was attacking Yan, Prince Jia of Zhao secretly fled with more than a hundred of his confidants. A Qin cavalry unit pursued them, but the outcome is unknown.

Many of the people Gongzi Jia took with him were Guo Kai's opponents. Now that they've left, Guo Kai can exert even greater influence over King Zhao Qian.