Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 94

Chapter 116 The Egg-Laying Hen

The residence of Prime Minister Zhao.

Guo Kai picked up a bamboo scroll, wrote the words "Gathering two hundred gold coins from all the people" on it, closed it, and personally placed it on a nearby bookshelf.

In the reflection of the maidservant waiting at the door, the Prime Minister's bookshelf, which had been carved out of an entire wall, was densely packed with bamboo slips. These were scrolls filled with the Prime Minister's own handwriting over the years, word by word...

"Has our Lord Wu'an made any moves lately?"

After leaving the study, Guo Kai went to the main hall of the mansion, where a trusted confidant had been waiting for him for two hours.

"The evidence of Li Mu's secret dealings with the peasants is conclusive. I sent people to Qi to collect evidence, and there is now irrefutable proof that he secretly transferred thousands of peasant disciples into Zhao."

"His intention to rebel is blatantly obvious!"

“It seems Lord Wu’an was really careless.” Guo Kai sat down with a smile and picked up another bamboo scroll on the table. The contents of the scroll were Li Mu’s own handwritten memorial to the King of Zhao, which detailed the reasons for his association with the peasants.

Such trivial matters need not be reported to the king. Therefore, last year, the patriotic and concerned Prime Minister Guo replied to Li Mu with a single word, "Approved," in the king's voice.

“Li Mu has committed such a crime that even if the King remembers his past merits, he cannot tolerate him!” The confidant, without needing the Prime Minister's instruction, readily took a seat to the side. He knew that the Prime Minister never cared about propriety; the Prime Minister only cared about money.

"Yes, you're right." Guo Kai nodded slightly, tapping his palm casually with the bamboo slip. "But Lord Wu'an is so noble; he deserves a hefty price."

"Let our people continue to keep it a secret for him, and even firmly protect him."

"Wait until someone offers a suitable price, then listen to my instructions."

"Yes!"

...

Lu Wei and Zi Wu had only been staying at the inn for a short while when the stars began to twinkle. On such a beautiful night, the Hall Master must have something to do.

So he decisively brought Ziwu to Tantai, where they sat down on the first floor as ordinary guests, among a host of other guests.

"Zhao Wu is unparalleled in the world, and this is my first time visiting this Tantai."

Ziwu sat upright, his right hand moving slightly awkwardly. He was not wearing a sword at his waist, as ordinary guests were not allowed to bring weapons into this 'elegant place'.

"Then you must enjoy Zhao's dance performance tonight."

Lu Wei poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip, and found that the taste was not much different from the regular wine in the VIP room on the second floor.

His gaze, following the act of drinking, subtly scanned the faces of the guests in the outer rooms on the second floor, except for a few private rooms, into his mind.

Combined with the portrait album of Zhao State nobles that A Yu had previously shown him, the Hall Master immediately understood the identities of these people.

However, what interested him even more were the shadows of the two distinguished guests in the southeast corner private room.

According to the rules of Tantai, there are a few special private rooms that can only be entered by those holding the token of Zhao Yi, the "Little Lord Pingyuan". That private room is one of them.

In the past two years, Tantai has sent many outstanding dancers to various countries to open branches, but the level of singing and dancing in the Zhao Kingdom headquarters has not declined much. Several young girls whom Hall Master Lu had never seen before have stepped onto the stage to show their beautiful figures to the powerful and wealthy merchants.

Although it doesn't feature the top-tier performance of the Snow Woman's Flying Swallow, its quality is still quite high.

Ziwu watched with great interest, and Lu Wei, after glancing at the guests on the first floor, also settled down to enjoy the performance.

When the party ended, the hall master deliberately slowed down a few steps and finally saw clearly the two men who came out of the private room he was looking at.

One was Zhao Cong, whom he knew; the other was not in Lu Yu's picture album. But judging from Zhao Cong's attitude, he was extremely friendly with this person!

He sent Ziwu, still savoring the memory of Zhao Wu's dance, back to the inn, while Lu Wei's figure vanished in a few swift movements into the streets and alleys of Handan City...

That night, Ziwu didn't know when Master Lu returned. He only knew that in the following days, Master Lu took him to visit several taverns, a small auction, several casinos, and two brothels.

He simply enjoyed himself, occasionally practicing swordsmanship with Master Lu in the evenings, without asking any questions.

After seven or eight days of such corrupt living, Lu Wei finally brought Zi Wu to Zhao Yi's residence openly and legitimately.

It hadn't been more than a few months since their last parting when Zhao Yi warmly received the two of them. From him, Lu Wei learned the identity of the person who had been with Zhao Cong that day.

“A general named Yan Ju has come from the State of Qi. He is an elite member of the Yan clan, a prominent family in Qi and Lu. In just one or two months, he has become a favorite of the king.”

Zhao Yi was somewhat indignant and disliked Yan Ju: "He's just a boy from Qi who couldn't stay in Qi anymore and came to my Zhao for refuge."

"As a result, not only did he not behave himself, but he also bribed the treacherous minister Guo Kai to gain control of the army!"

"The people of Qi are so weak, while we people of Zhao have many elite soldiers and fierce generals. It is a disgrace that we let him gain the upper hand!"

It's clear that Zhao Yi has a strong prejudice against people from different countries, perhaps also because he himself has never been able to fulfill his dream of becoming a general, and now it has been easily taken away by a foreigner.

"How did Yan Ju get involved with Zhao Cong?"

Since Yan Ju had already been mentioned, Lu Wei took the opportunity to ask.

Lord Xiaopingyuan was disgruntled upon hearing this: "Yan Ju is now the Commandant of the East Gate of the capital, which happens to be under Zhao Cong's command. The two are now almost inseparable."

"I have a good relationship with Zhao Cong, but I can't easily sow discord between him and Yan Ju, and I don't want to see him either, so I've been going to Zhao Cong's place less often lately."

Zhao Cong and Yan Ju were the two generals who were sent by the King of Zhao to take over the military power of Li Mu and Sima Shang after Qin used a counter-espionage tactic during the war to destroy Zhao.

As a result, the State of Zhao was destroyed, and the fate of these two men was self-evident. They were people Lu Wei still cared about, so Zhao Yi still needed to continue to cultivate relationships with these two generals.

After offering him a few words of comfort and suggesting that Zhao Yi could take the initiative to invite Zhao Cong to banquets at his residence several times, the head of the hall went to visit Li Mu again.

Unfortunately, according to the soldiers at the gate, Lord Wu'an had secretly gone out to inspect the military camp and was not in the capital.

The gathering of Qin troops in Nanyang, the former territory of the State of Han, forced the State of Zhao to take precautions. Although strategically, Qin was very likely aiming to destroy Han, who knew whether the Qin troops' true intentions were merely a pretense?

Moreover, even after conquering Han, there was still a considerable possibility that the Qin army would turn around and launch a surprise attack on Zhao, as Han was too weak and would not require much effort from them.

Therefore, not only Li Mu, but also Sima Shang went north to inspect the troops near Fanwu to prevent the Qin state from launching a two-pronged attack like last time.

Thinking about returning from the Wu'an Jun residence, Lu Wei decided to have Lu Yu prepare a hundred taels of gold for him. Zi Wu then drove him to Guo Kai's Prime Minister's residence.

At the side gate, he respectfully clasped his hands in greeting to the arrogant gatekeeper and said, "My name is Tian Yi. I wish to see Your Excellency the Prime Minister. I have prepared a small gift and hope you can inform him of my presence."

As he spoke, Ziwu opened the box and showed it the hundred gold coins inside.

The gatekeeper glanced at it, gestured for the other two to carry the hundred taels of gold into the mansion, and then asked, "What position do you currently hold in the imperial court?"

"I am a disciple of a farmer, a wandering knight-errant, and hold no official position."

"Pfft," the gatekeeper scoffed upon hearing Lu Wei's reply, his eyes filled with disdain. "A wandering swordsman needs five hundred gold coins to be qualified to see the Prime Minister. You don't have enough money, so get lost!"

Ziwu's eyes narrowed instantly, and his hand was about to grasp the sword hilt, but then he sensed the hall master's internal energy touching the back of his hand, so he didn't make a move.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir. I shall take my leave now."

Without asking any further questions about what to do with the hundred gold coins that had already been carried inside, Lu Wei left with Zi Wu.

As soon as they left the premises of the Prime Minister's residence, Ziwu immediately asked, "Why would the Hall Master willingly endure such humiliation?"

"Insults are always a superior's contempt for a subordinate. No word from a doorman is worthy of being called an insult to us."

Lu Wei smiled as he looked at the blue sky, his mood unchanged: "That was just his ignorance. Ignorance can be killed or ignored. It is the tragedy of the ignorant, not ours."

Ziwu remained silent for two breaths, then pressed on, "Giving a hundred taels of gold to the household of a powerful and wealthy person is too wasteful..."

"My favors aren't something you can accept so easily~" The hall master laughed even more heartily, stroking his chin, "Perhaps this prime minister will repay me a hundredfold in the future~"

"Oh~" Ziwu didn't understand what Hall Master Lu was planning, but he knew that this 'hundredfold return' was most likely something Hall Master Lu would personally retrieve... just like the reason given that night in the abandoned village when 'the bandit leader himself ran into my sword'...

------

"Today, the Tian family, a farmer's family, sent someone to give me a hundred taels of gold. What do you think of that?"

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, Guo Kai squinted, with three trusted confidants sitting below him.

"It must be quite an achievement for a martial arts organization to come up with so much money." The first confidant made a few jokes before analyzing, "The Farmer's School has expanded in various countries, but its influence is weak only in our Zhao and Qin states."

"From this, it's possible that they want to expand their territory further. That's why they took the initiative to go to Dai for disaster relief last year and cooperated with Li Mu."

"Therefore, sending gifts to the Prime Minister is naturally within their consideration."

“That’s right,” another confidant agreed with this view and seized on the point about the ‘Tian family’: “According to intelligence from Dazeshan, the three halls that went to Dai last year were Shennong Hall, Siyue Hall, and Gonggong Hall from the six halls of the Farmer’s Family. These three halls happen to be the halls of non-Tian families.”

"The struggle between the peasant Tian family and outsiders has intensified in recent years. If outsiders chose to rely on Li Mu, then it is not hard to understand why the Tian family chose to rely on the Prime Minister."

"A江湖 (jianghu) organization is having internal strife that resembles the imperial court?" Guo Kai chuckled, resting his left hand on his forehead. "Let's see what they do next. Sending money to me is ultimately a sign of good manners."

"The Prime Minister is wise!" the third confidant immediately exclaimed.

In Guo Kai's eyes, everything has its own price, whether it's Lord Wu'an Li Mu, or even King Zhao Qian and the entire Zhao state.

When farmers entered Zhao territory, they were naturally also priced and ready to be sold at any time.

However, as long as a chicken can still lay eggs, it can be raised a little longer. Only when it stops laying eggs will it not be a waste to slaughter it...

After creating the illusion for Guo Kai that farmers could still lay eggs, Lu Wei did not stay in Handan for long. He gave Lu Yu a few instructions, left a bottle of cultivation pills, and then continued south with Zi Wu, intending to first take a look at the fields that Li Mu had allocated to farmers.

The main purpose of the Hall Master's visit to Zhao was to see Li Mu, but due to military matters, the plan could not be carried out. So, he had no choice but to go and see how Xia Kui was planning things in Zhao.

Then, I had to hurry to the State of Wei, as there were many matters to attend to there...

Chapter 117 The War Is About to Begin

Lu Ni, Xue Nu, and Xiao Yan'er's carriage departed from Ji City, and their journey was quite fast.

As a carriage modified with mechanical arts, it is slightly more comfortable than an ordinary carriage, but it is still not a pleasant experience for long journeys.

Xiao Yan'er also had to study various subjects inside every day. The physical jolting and the torment of the complex knowledge made her look very unwell.

However, her learning efficiency did not decrease much; it was just that she could not persist for long due to the doubled loss of energy.

Therefore, whenever the three women encountered a proper inn in a small town along the way, they would assess the situation and decide whether to stop and rest properly before continuing their journey the next day.

It is dangerous for two beautiful women to travel in the martial arts world with a child, because not everyone with eyes can see clearly.

When a person is consumed by lust, they are often unable to make rational judgments, resulting in Lu Ni and Xue Nu's swords being stained with a lot of blood, which is a real eyesore.

Lu Ni was alright; she was experienced and could handle things calmly. But Xue Nu was different; this was her second time venturing into the martial world, and she couldn't control her emotions well.

So much so that when their carriage stopped at a country inn, a wandering swordsman, his eyes shining, was about to introduce himself and try to befriend the two rare and beautiful women when the icy-faced Snow Woman chopped off his head...

The wandering swordsmen in the inn were furious. They rushed out with their swords, demanding an explanation, but before they could finish speaking, they were stabbed to death by the Snow Maiden at the inn's entrance in a few moves.

They were currently within the territory of the Zhao state, and in name, wanton murder was a serious crime under any law. However, in this world, the law had always only governed lawless large towns.

For some agile and nimble wanderers, even in big cities, as long as they can run fast, the cost of committing crimes will not be very high.

However, in most cases, people will tacitly abide by the law: from the perspective of everyone's long-term interests, order is more suitable for survival than chaos.

Moreover, if one commits many bad deeds, there's no guarantee that one won't accidentally die at any time.

The Snow Woman's methods were far too cruel. Several slightly stronger individuals in this small inn were itching to intervene and were considering whether to uphold justice. Lu Ni glanced at them, her icy killing intent instantly sending a chill down everyone's spine...