Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 161

The King of Qin was very patient with the State of Yan, and Meng Wu was not worried about being urged to start a war from the rear, so he could gradually accumulate and advance.

How long until the new siege equipment arrives?

After withdrawing today's attacking force and selecting the main attacking force for tomorrow on the map, Meng Wu asked his deputy general.

"The Gongshu family has developed a type of mechanical beast specifically for siege warfare, but it is too heavy and will take another ten days to be delivered for testing on the battlefield."

The deputy general walked to the left side of the military tent, where a map of the entire Yan Kingdom was hanging, and pointed out the current location of the siege mechanical beast.

"Ten days..." Meng Wu closed his eyes and deduced the approximate outcome of the battle in these ten days before slowly opening them: "The Gongshu family's siege equipment always brings surprises, but I remember the intelligence indicated that there are also some mechanical beasts hidden in Ji City?"

"Yes, there are three Mo family mechanical white tigers." The lieutenant nodded: "One of them was severely injured by us on the battlefield in Zhao. The extent of the injury has been reported to the Gongshu family. According to their calculations, that white tiger is 90% likely to be crippled, so at most two can be deployed."

"Since the start of the siege, our army has prepared contingency plans for the two possible white tigers. However, the Yan people are not stupid either; they still retain the white tiger mechanical beast as a trump card."

"Once the Gongshu family's mechanical beast arrives, they will have no choice but to play this trump card."

"With the White Tiger mechanical beast disabled, our army will have no more worries about the rear and can deliver a more fierce blow to the Yan people!"

After listening to the deputy general's report, Meng Wu pondered the strategy and added a few more points to note: "The defense against the mechanical beasts of Jicheng cannot be calculated based on two heads. We must maintain a defense against the three complete white tigers. The defense cannot be withdrawn until the three white tigers are completely destroyed."

"Send more scouts in the three directions of Dai, Liaodong, and Qi, to prevent these three countries from having ulterior motives."

"In addition, the Mo family has a mechanical beast called the Vermilion Bird, which can fly in the sky. This point cannot be ignored."

"We absolutely cannot let Yan Dan escape through the air!"

"Yes, General, I'll give the order right away." The deputy general dared not be careless. If Yan Dan died during this siege, that would be fine, but if he escaped, the King of Qin would be furious, and all the leading generals would pay a heavy price...

Outside the city, the Qin army was impenetrable, while inside, Yan Dan was focused on studying the Mo family's mechanical arts and personally repairing the white tiger that the Gongshu family had deemed crippled.

The white tiger's appearance was horribly gruesome; its metallic body was deformed in many places, its head was almost flattened, and three toes on one of its paws were missing.

The most fatal damage was caused by a boulder striking its waist, creating a crack. In addition, during the retreat, as it ran wildly back to Ji City from Zhao, the crack extended to the entire spine of the white tiger.

If there is any major movement now, this white tiger could fall apart completely.

Before leaving, Master Ban commented: "The cost of repairing this white tiger is almost enough to build a new one."

Yan Dan has a decent talent for mechanical arts, but he's definitely no match for Master Ban. Even Master Ban had a hard time repairing the White Tiger, so Yan Dan has even less of a chance.

However, Yan Dan did not expect to be able to completely repair the white tiger; he only hoped that the white tiger could move for a short time.

Whether it's an hour, half an hour, or even the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, as long as they can move, the defenses of Jicheng will be strengthened.

This city will ultimately be betrayed, its safety sacrificed for the sake of its own feigned death and the smooth execution of the Azure Dragon Plan...

Since it's going to be abandoned anyway, its abandonment should be even more valuable to be worthwhile! Killing more Qin soldiers under the city walls now will slow down the Qin army's southward advance!

As for the possibility that heavy casualties might lead to Qin retaliating against innocent Yan civilians... then let them retaliate...

The harsher the retaliation, the more the people will hate Qin and the more they will miss the less-than-ideal former state of Yan...

In this way, even if the country is destroyed, his chances of restoring it will be greater...

Chapter 180 Jun Jinxuan

The Mohists paid the most attention to the Battle of Jicheng than any other school of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought.

While the Grand Master was in Ji City directing the Yan army to fight against the Qin state, the leaders and ordinary disciples were observing from the sidelines in the Mechanical City. As various messages came from the north, the Mohists were in turmoil.

Whether they are willing to admit it or not, the Mohists have been firmly labeled as anti-Qin, and this label is mentioned by various states, the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the general public whenever the Mohists are mentioned.

In the past, when the Mohists interacted with various forces, neither side had to worry too much and they could just discuss the matter at hand. Mohist knights were always very popular.

However, now, due to the assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, the Mohist school is isolated and helpless. Before the situation becomes clear, the Mechanized City has truly become an isolated city.

I want to change this:

They could either adhere to the anti-Qin line and become a banner against Qin, in which case those forces that also harbored rebellious intentions against Qin would naturally take the initiative to secretly contact the Mohists.

Alternatively, they could simply surrender to Qin, rebuild relations, and become Qin's lackeys. They could then take advantage of Qin's power to further promote the Mohist school.

If you choose the middle path, you'll have to stay in the city of machines and live a solo life for at least several decades to let time wash everything away.

Among the nine leaders of the Mohist school, those who held a firm anti-Qin stance were all from the Yan state: Gao Jianli, Da Tiechui, Kuang Xiu, and Dao Zhi.

Master Ban and Master Xu remained neutral, while Butcher Ding was far away in Sanghai City.

The remaining two were originally elders of the Mohist school. They stayed in the Mechanized City and initially, like the former leader, Six-Fingered Black Knight, did not support the assassination plan against Qin. However, since the event had already occurred, these two elders did not want to create division and voluntarily resigned from their positions.

From a high-level perspective, it's clear which path the Mohists will take.

However, they do not have the power to make decisions now. The Grand Master Yan Dan is still alive, and they need to wait for the next Grand Master to be born before they can lead the Mohist school forward.

Since returning to the Mechanized City, Gao Jianli has played the zither less and less, focusing his energy on the Water Cold in his hands.

As a close friend, Kuang Xiu would play the zither to accompany Gao Jianli whenever he practiced swordsmanship, thus calming Gao's restless mind.

"Brother Xiu, I've figured it out."

That day, after wielding the sword and unleashing the "Yi Shui Han" technique, Gao Jianli stood up straight, calmed his inner energy, sheathed his sword, sat down beside Kuang Xiu, and nodded softly:

"I understand why Brother Xiu stopped me from stopping the Grandmaster when he chose to sacrifice himself."

Sometimes, even if a theory is correct, if a person is unwilling to accept it from the bottom of their heart, they will still come up with many reasons to justify it in their mind.

Kuang Xiu simply smiled as he played the zither, while Gao Jianli continued to speak eloquently: "From Brother Jing Ke to the Grand Master, their belief was to resist the tyrannical Qin and not allow the world to fall into the hands of Ying Zheng alone."

"I couldn't persuade Brother Jing Ke on the banks of the Yi River, nor could I persuade the Grand Master in Ji City. They both died for their beliefs."

"What remains is the spark of hope."

“This spark must be protected by someone. After Brother Jing Ke and the Grand Master, I will be the new sharp blade to protect the Mohist school and the ideal of anti-Qin.”

"What do you want to do?"

Kuang Xiu remained noncommittal about Gao Jianli's words. He was a purer musician, believing that there was no right or wrong in music, only the choice itself.

Once you've chosen a path, you must steadfastly follow it. Whether others consider that path right or wrong is merely a matter of differing perspectives.

For Kuang Xiu, what matters is always who accompanies him on the path he chooses, rather than whether the path leads to sunshine or daggers.

"The Qin dynasty is too powerful. The alliance between the Yan state and the Mohists is simply not enough to resist the Qin army. We need more allies."

"There are quite a few forces in this world that despise the tyranny of the Qin state. Rather than waiting for them to come to us, we should take the initiative!"

"The Grand Master has diverted Qin's attention in Ji City. I'll take this opportunity to find more allies!"

Gao Jianli was always aloof from outsiders and disliked associating with vulgar people. The fact that he made such a change and actively sought out diverse social interactions reveals the unwavering conviction he held.

"The first target is a farmhouse?"

Kuang Xiu stopped playing the zither and turned to look at his confidant.

“No,” Gao Jianli shook his head: “There is a deep friendship between the leader of the Farmer’s School and the Grand Master, but judging from what happened in Yan, Tian Guang has not made up his mind to resolutely oppose Qin.”

"The 100,000 disciples of the Farmer School are just spectators."

“I had a conversation with Brother Lu of Gonggong Hall in Jicheng. His explanation was that the doctrines of the Nong and Mo families are different. If we want the Nong family to change their minds, we should start with their leader.”

"The Mohists urgently need an ally with a natural reason to resist the Qin state. The Farmers do not meet this condition. Only the Chu state has the answer we want."

"The Xiang clan, is it?" Kuang Xiu guessed Gao Jianli's target: "I'll go with you."

"However, the stability of the Mechanized City is also very important. This matter needs to be discussed with Master Ban and the others."

------

After weathering the initial chaos following the Qin-Yan War, the Mohist school prepared to resume its activities in the martial arts world.

On Qi State's side, after inspecting the Sanghai branch and learning about Xia Kui Tian Guang's additional plans, Lu Wei set his sights on Wei State as his next target.

The Gonggong Hall branch there was much larger than the one in Sanghai, and it also held the merchant secrets that Zhang Liang had mentioned, which were suspected to involve Xiao He. He had to go and see for himself.

In addition, the armored disciples that Mei San Niang recruited in Wei State have been incorporated into the Wei State branch for many years. It would be a waste to leave this force in Wei State, so it is necessary to bring it back to Daze Mountain.

However, considering that Dianqing is still alive, Mei Sanniang herself will not leave for the time being.

The current leader of the Armored Sect, the Hall Master, would never allow himself to miss him.

The layout of the Wei Kingdom was both numerous and important.

During the journey from Dazeshan to Wei, in addition to bringing Lü Qing along for work, Xue Nu also accompanied them.

The three of them had just stepped out of the border of the Daze Mountains when they had to separate due to their travel plans.

Lü Qing traveled alone southwest, heading straight for Daliang City.

Lu Wei then took Xue Nu westward to check out the new location of Zui Meng Lou.

At the strong request of the manager, Hua Ying, and with the permission of the Zhu family, Zui Meng Lou moved from Daliang City to a location very close to Da Ze Shan.

Behind this must be Changping Jun's request.

Since Daliang City would eventually become a battlefield, relocating it to Daze Mountain would allow Zuimenglou to receive closer protection from the local farmers.

Moreover, according to Tian Guang, Lord Changping secretly dug tunnels all over the world, and there was a tunnel near the new site of Zuimenglou that went straight through the Tomb of the Six Sages.

There were many underground passages like these within the Qin and Chu states, and only Xiong Qi knew the layout of these tunnels.

Lord Changping went to great lengths to oppose the Qin Dynasty.

To obtain this map of the tunnels, we need to start with Changping Jun's daughter, and Xiong Qi's daughter, Mi Lian, will be hiding in this Drunken Dream Pavilion in the future.

Considering that his appearance had caused many changes, big and small, the Hall Master was originally unsure whether Mi Lian would come to Zui Meng Lou again, but now that Zui Meng Lou had moved to the vicinity of Da Ze Shan, this matter was almost certain.

Even if something unusual does happen, there's no doubt that the Drunken Dream Pavilion Master, Hua Ying, is Ji Bu's sister. Following this lead, there's still a good chance of catching Mi Lian.

To deal with Hua Ying, Lu Wei had no intention of personally taking action. He decisively declared the matter a mission and entrusted it to Xue Nu, formally bestowing the Jade Soul Sword upon her.

Having followed him for many years, the Snow Maiden has always been obedient. Whether practicing swordsmanship or doing accounting, she always diligently followed Lu Wei's instructions and exceeded expectations. She was extremely easy to use.

After the Moon Goddess gave birth to Lu Qian, the Snow Maiden stammered and whispered that she also wanted a child. The Hall Master planned to take this opportunity during his trip to Wei to accomplish this as well.

Overjoyed at obtaining the Jade Soul and the promise, the Snow Maiden relinquished half of the Gonggong Hall's power in the Drunken Dream Pavilion, intending to completely dominate the confrontation with the Flower Shadow.

This seems to have caused the entire Drunken Dream Pavilion to break free from the control of Gonggong Hall and fall completely under the control of Shennong Hall and Huaying.

This den looks safe now. Next, Huaying will clean it up thoroughly, just waiting for the frightened 'little beast' to come and hide.

At that time, hunter Lu Wei will personally take action to capture the target and bring him back to Gonggong Hall!

As long as the person ends up in their hands, even if the Zhu family comes to demand their return, Shennong Hall will have to have the strength to do so.

After using a simple act to relinquish actual power in the Drunken Dream Pavilion, retaining only nominal control, the Hall Master did not linger and continued his journey southwest in pursuit of Lü Qing.