Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 321

The caravan leader, who had transformed from the Great Master of Fate, gazed at the town ahead, which lacked any semblance of normalcy, and a famous saying belonging to the strategists inexplicably came to mind.

In Sun Tzu's view, a war is often very simple: the more conditions for victory one has, the more likely one is to win; otherwise, one will lose.

As for how to seize the winning conditions, that's another lesson.

Today's ambush seems to have put our side at a complete disadvantage in terms of timing, location, and manpower, with almost no chance of winning. It seems that the anti-Qin alliance has completely grasped the victory. However, all of this is a deliberate show of weakness. Xiang's generals, who are skilled in military tactics, have been drawn into the game by the very tactics they are best at: 'deception', even before the battle has begun.

However, the 'trick' that the Grand Commander was carrying out this time was not simply to kill the enemy in front of her. Otherwise, she would not have needed to act as bait, and it would have been Wang Li's army that came here.

As an elder of the Yin-Yang family whose hands move faster than their brains, Da Siming enjoys the process of simply executing orders without thinking, especially since she can kill to her heart's content during this process...

She licked her lips, determined the approximate time by observing the sun's position, and led her men into the ambush set up by the anti-Qin alliance...

In the distant mountains and forests, four beautiful figures watched as the disguised caravan entered the town as planned, but they showed no intention of following them in; they simply stood guard on the outskirts.

The two sisters, Shao Siming, the former Shao Siming, Hei and Bai, have only one mission today: to prevent any extra survivors from taking advantage of the chaos and escaping.

As for the fourth woman besides the three Lesser Fate Masters, she requested to come. She had the status of a representative of the peasant family, which even the Lesser Fate Masters could not refute, and they also had to take care of her.

From the town's center and in all directions, elite Qin army squads cautiously surrounded it at the appointed time.

Upon closer inspection, the gleaming silver armor and beast masks revealed them to be elite, battle-hardened armored soldiers belonging to Wang Li...

"The goal of this operation is not only to deal with these disobedient allies, but also to make Qin proud because of this great victory. To this end, we are willing to expose the anti-Qin intentions of the peasants. All we want is to shift all the blame to them in order to win the hearts of the people."

Han Xin learned to play Go during the years he followed Chu Nan Gong, and with his intelligence and talent in military strategy, he easily achieved success in the game. But today, his opponent is equally skilled in Go, and his strategy is even more profound and unpredictable than his own. The talented and extraordinary people of the agricultural class are indeed the foundation for success.

As a chess piece, the most important thing is to understand your position on the board. And as a chess player, the ability to "sacrifice" is one of the most basic common sense principles.

If we consider the Xiang clan as a node in the cross on the chessboard, abandoning this node would certainly allow the opponent to launch a major offensive and gain an advantage, but it would also free our own moves from being restricted by its existence.

Based on the current situation, Han Xin decided to act according to reality and be willing to make sacrifices.

As expected, his opponent launched an attack.

"The vision of the Lord of Heroes is beyond the reach of ordinary people. You and I are merely agents, and also just pawns in a game."

Chen Ping knew much more about the young man than Han Xin himself had imagined. In fact, Chen Ping had held several secret consultations with the old general Li Mu for Han Xin's sake. He determined that the young man's ambition was probably a bit too great. He was a person with great ability and a persistent pursuit of a status that matched his ability. Such a person was not only useful, but also had hidden dangers.

Chen Ping had seen through Lu Wei's ambitions over the years, and he knew that Lu Wei wouldn't push Han Xin to his limits. Since his lord was like this, Chen Ping needed to keep a close eye on this subordinate from time to time.

"Setting up an incident in Licheng to lure Wang Li into a confrontation is something the Farmer Clan had to do in accordance with the wishes of the Xiang Clan and other powerful figures from the six kingdoms. Because of the Yin-Yang School's prior warning, Wang Li will not only fall for the trap but will also actively make the performance more exciting. On the positive side, this will also make the Farmer Clan, which has been keeping a low profile for a long time, famous."

"The band of wandering knights and bandits that the Xiang family and the nobles of the six states have formed at most a few hundred people. This number is indeed difficult for the Yin Yang School team to deal with. However, Wang Li is going to draw on a hundred or so veteran armored soldiers as reinforcements, and the balance of power has changed."

"Since we are the local strongmen of Dongjun, we took the initiative to undertake the reconnaissance mission. The Xiang clan did not expect us to suddenly attack them, so they naturally trusted the strength of the peasants. As long as no one gave a warning, Wang Li's operation was naturally flawless." Han Xin sighed. Being betrayed by his own people was really painful to think about. Those old nobles of the six states were now pitifully suffering all of this.

“Fan Zeng is not so easy to deal with. He would not put all his bets on us.” Chen Ping smiled and placed a piece to continue the attack on Han Xin’s black pieces. He said calmly, “He has set up an extra layer of defense just in case. It’s just a pity that this layer of defense is also our people.”

"The princess of Chu? I've heard..." Han Xin guessed what Chen Ping was referring to, but before he could finish speaking, Chen Ping made a 'shush' gesture to interrupt him: "How can a subordinate pry into the private affairs of his lord? The chief of the knights will be angry if he hears this."

"Yes, Han Xin did make a mistake." Han Xin nodded, picked up the wine on the side of the chessboard, and drank three cups as self-punishment. Chen Ping did not say anything more about this, but he planned to record the matter truthfully and report it to Lu Wei.

As the eyes and ears of the farmers, Chen Ping knew very well that he had to be impartial and thorough in adhering to the principles of "not looking at what is improper, not listening to what is improper, and not speaking what is improper" in order to gain their trust and security in the long run. He could not afford to have any wishful thinking.

“No plan is foolproof, but as long as no one who shouldn’t have survived lives in that town today, and as long as the farmers are of invaluable importance to the anti-Qin alliance, no one will say much about the life or death of those high-ranking nobles.”

Chen Ping summarized the plot to murder the Xiang family.

“That’s right, and the remaining Chu representative will spare no effort to side with the peasants.” Han Xin, having just received a warning, had to change Mi Lian’s title from princess to the more neutral 'representative': “The apparent victims have given up the investigation, so what can outsiders say?”

The conversation was drawing to a close, and so was the game of chess. Unfortunately, contrary to Han Xin's expectations, he, who understood the art of 'sacrifice,' ultimately lost to Chen Ping, who relentlessly attacked.

Seeing Han Xin's slightly embarrassed expression, Chen Ping said seriously, "You lost this game, but don't forget that the real mastermind is Lord Xia Kui."

'But as far as I know, Lord Xia Kui's chess skills are not very good...'

Han Xin wisely refrained from saying this, after all, even those who are not good at chess have an invincible method: that is to simply flip the chessboard over.

Anyway, that person is strong enough that he is not afraid of the other party getting angry and taking action: although overturning the chessboard is a very low-level tactic, and if used too often, no one will be able to play chess with him anymore, if the goal is to gain the world, any means will be justified.

Moreover, as long as he wins in the end, he doesn't need to worry about anyone daring to refuse his invitation, and there will be people to defend his despicable past.

Although Han Xin didn't voice his thoughts, Chen Ping subtly noticed the clues in his expression: he also intended for the Lord of the Heroes to personally decide whether or not to harbor resentment.

------

In Sanghai City, Lu Wei only assigned tasks to the Daze Mountain area without keeping a close eye on it: both the Farmer's School and the Yin-Yang School were his people, and he only cared about the final result, no matter how the charades unfolded on both sides.

His curiosity about the process of exploration was no longer able to cover everything after he became the leader of the knights. At this level, there were far too many things in the world that he could see.

Moreover, due to his strong strength and influence, Lu Wei has enough room for error. Even if Chen Ping messes everything up now, he can easily cover for him.

Even when he was eating grapes fed to him by Ji Yan at the stronghold, Gai Nie's visit was not beyond his expectations...

Chapter 398 Betrayal

Gai Nie came alone. Since the battle at the Mechanized City, he had unusually separated from his junior brother Wei Zhuang, with whom he had reached an agreement, and he had also lost Yuanhong. He only had a standard longsword.

As the top-ranked swordsman in the martial arts world, one cannot be without a weapon, but this weapon does not necessarily have to be Yuanhong.

As Gai Nie walked up to the second floor of the farmhouse amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of the guards, he met the owner of the place in the reception room.

Ignoring the room's decor and layout, he cut to the chase: "Lu Xiaokui, I've come here for my friend's son, Tianming... to remove the sealing curse mark on his body."

Whether Lu Wei himself could remove the curse seal from Gai Nie was unknown, but he guessed that it was highly unlikely: Yin-Yang Arts was a niche art that was more professional than swordsmanship.

However, given the strength demonstrated by the peasant faction, and the inability to obtain assistance from the Qin state, only Lu Wei was able to establish complex connections with various forces.

Meeting that calm expression, Gai Nie then proactively offered his bargaining chip: he raised and straightened his arm, holding the sword horizontally in front of him...

As Ying Zheng's former swordsmanship teacher, Gai Nie can only offer one value.

This was not a fair deal, because Tianming's importance to Gai Nie was not on the same level as the benefits Gai Nie could bring to the Farmer's Clan, but Lu Wei still agreed to the Sword Saint's request.

Whether it's fair or not is a question Gai Nie needs to consider, but for Lord Xia Kui, the way to save Tianming that this 'Sword Saint' has been desperately seeking can be solved by Yan Fei with just a word from him.

The results and symptoms of the sealing spell vary depending on the method of casting it. Therefore, unless one is a master of Yin-Yang arts with far superior strength to the one who cast the spell, it is extremely difficult to break through its key points. And Yan Fei happens to be the one who cast the spell. No one knows Tianming's spell casting method better than Yan Fei, and no one is more familiar with the way to break the spell than Yan Fei.

The 'problem' itself is not the problem; it is the inadequacy of the responder that makes it a 'problem'.

In a remote town hundreds of kilometers west of Sanghai City, Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng encountered such a 'problem'...

The barrage of arrows coming from all directions threw the alliance of nobles from the six kingdoms surrounding the Yin-Yang School team into chaos. When the battle-hardened soldiers in their gleaming silver armor came into view, the arrogant crowd immediately showed expressions of fear:

The images of the Qin army's destruction of cities and families, the ruins and devastation, resurfaced like the most cruel flames in their hearts. The sheer power of the Qin army would never be erased from their minds unless they experienced a defeat on the battlefield.

What's more, the army that appeared this time was the Wang family's veteran armored soldiers... the veteran armored soldiers who once followed Wang Jian and Wang Ben to destroy five kingdoms!

"What's going on..." Standing on the high ground, Xiang Liang stared wide-eyed as his carefully laid ambush scattered, allowing the Yin-Yang School disciples, including the Grand Master of Fate, who had been holding out in their true forms, to not only escape danger but also launch a counterattack against the fleeing remnants of the nobles from the six kingdoms. In an instant, the balance of power completely shifted.

"We...we've been betrayed!" Fan Zeng, who was standing behind him, turned pale and said in anguish.

The old man, who had served the Xiang family for many years, eliminated all possibilities in an instant, leaving only the most unbelievable result as the only possible answer.

"The peasants have colluded with the Qin state!" Fan Zeng clenched his fist and slammed it against the wall. His mind was racing, and he could easily imagine how Qin would launch a flawless annihilation if they knew all their actions in advance.

The only question is why they would need to send such a decoy force into the town, but the real crisis left Fan Zeng no time to figure out all the details. Even in a life-or-death situation, he had to do everything in his power to find that last chance of survival.

Their priority now is to reorganize the chaotic people in the town to resist and prevent them from being slaughtered by the enemy. They also need to arrange for Ji Bu, who is skilled in light-footed martial arts, to escape immediately and spread the news of what happened in the town throughout the martial arts world!

Shortly after leading the fake merchant caravan into the town, Da Siming deliberately created an opening by resting at a tavern. As expected, she was quickly attacked by the remnants of the six kingdoms' noble families. Initially, she managed to suppress her murderous intent and hold her ground alongside her Yin-Yang School disciples, following orders. However, once reinforcements arrived, Da Siming, unable to contain her killing intent any longer, decisively abandoned the defensive line she had formed with her disciples and charged into the enemy ranks...

In fact, among the wandering knights summoned by the nobles of the six kingdoms, there were indeed those who could stop this Yin-Yang elder who was popular in every way: as long as they could face the Grand Master of Fate's unpredictable and treacherous Yin-Yang arts.

The Grand Master of Fate's overall strength isn't particularly high, certainly not reaching the top tier of the martial arts world. However, the blood-red skull handprints are truly terrifying, and those whose blood has been burned away by Yin-Yang magic suffer gruesome deaths, easily causing those with weak hearts to falter before even engaging in battle...

With a wave of his hand, he took the lives of several enemies. Based on the movements of these rebels from the six kingdoms, the Grand Master of Fate aimed his sharp gaze at the inn room on the third floor where Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng were hiding.

That must be where the key leaders of these rebellions were located.

With a cruel smile, she leaped towards her target, but was stopped halfway by a young general of similar fiery temperament wielding a long spear: judging from the armor, the Grand Commander recognized that her opponent was Long Qie, the new commander of the Chu Kingdom's Tenglong Legion, who was listed on the bounty order.

"We'll all end up the same way, but since someone insists on cutting in line, I'll deal with you first~" The Yin Yang Elder, his crimson palm radiating internal energy, sneered as he charged at Long Qi again.

In the instant they clashed, Long Ju sensed that he was no match for his opponent, but as a soldier of Chu, he understood his duty and resolutely engaged the Great Master of Fate in battle using military tactics and combat techniques...

...

escape!

With gritted teeth, Ji Bu's mind was filled with only the last order issued by Xiang Liang. As the commander of the Shadow Tiger Legion, he had already escaped once on the Qin-Chu battlefield in the past, and today was the second time.

Unlike last time, after Chu's defeat in the Qin-Chu war, Ji Bu knew that Chu still had manpower abroad and hope of recovering its lost territories. But today, he witnessed Long Ju being killed by that woman with red hands, and Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng were also being targeted... If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the only survivor of Qin's ambush in the town this time...

With the main force of the Xiang clan, the strongest clan in Chu, completely wiped out, to whom can he place his hopes? That's right, there's also the young master of the Xiang clan in Xiaoshengxianzhuang!

That's right, the Xiang family still has one seed!

A glimmer of light returned to Ji Bu's empty eyes, but the thought of Fan Zeng's final words filled him with despair once more...

'The peasants actually colluded with the Qin state...'

Ji Bu had glimpsed a bit of the power of the peasants. The most powerful force in the martial arts world was colluding with the tyrannical Qin, and the world was about to be plunged into darkness.

'Regardless, my elder sister and the two princesses are still with the farmer. I must bring them out and take them to Sanghai to explain everything to Master Zhang Liang, the Confucian scholar!'

Shaking his head, he encouraged himself to cheer up: if there was anyone in the anti-Qin alliance he could trust, Zhang Liang, who had performed exceptionally well in the Mechanical City, was Ji Bu's only choice.

"Ji Bu".

After fleeing eastward for several miles, Ji Bu suddenly heard a familiar voice calling his name.

Upon recognizing the owner of the voice, he stopped in surprise and turned around to see that it was indeed Princess Mi Lian.

"Your Highness, we're from a farming family..."

Ji Bu hurriedly tried to approach Mi Lian, who was there for some unknown reason but was smiling gently. However, he had only taken a few steps when three murderous auras from the forest instantly locked onto his figure. Shao Siming and the Black and White Sisters blocked all escape routes for Ji Bu, who had just relaxed.

This chivalrous thief, renowned for his unwavering integrity and exceptional lightness skills, lost his most prized weapon after the fall of Chu...

Upon seeing this, Mi Lian's smile vanished, and she turned and left without hesitation, leaving the now-realized Ji Bu alone to face his death in anguish...

Chapter 399 The Greatest Traitor in the World

"Your Majesty, urgent reports from Dongjun and Baiyue."

The serving eunuch bowed as he entered the First Emperor's bedroom and presented two important military reports to the imperial desk.

After dinner, Ying Zheng spent an hour reviewing official documents. Feeling somewhat exhausted, he took a restorative pill sent by the Mirage Tower and went to the window to enjoy the sea breeze. The moist air on his face was particularly refreshing.

For this empire, the place where the emperor is is the capital, especially since officials are well aware that the current emperor has an exceptionally strong desire for power.

Every day, official documents from the entire empire were sent to Sanghai instead of Xianyang. Even matters in Xianyang itself that were difficult to decide on were sent to Sanghai. Everything in the world would pass through Ying Zheng's hands.