Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 257

Meanwhile, Xiaoyaozi, who had drawn away the Qin soldiers, and Yan Dan still had the leisure to chat during their escape.

Under Xiaoyaozi's guidance, the two began to talk about a name that they shouldn't have been discussing: Gai Nie.

"Does the Grand Master know of the strange rumors recently circulating about Gai Nie, the Empire's strongest swordsman?"

“The Mohists don’t know much about the affairs of Guanzhong, Brother Xiaoyao, please speak.” Yan Dan’s eyes flickered.

"It is said that Gai Nie and Ying Zheng have fallen out, and the Luo Wang is secretly investigating this disciple of Guigu."

The fact that Xiaoyaozi could detect the Luo Wang's movements was quite unexpected for Yan Dan. He gazed at the Daoist robes faintly visible beneath the black robes of the Human Sect leader and slowly said:

“Many righteous men have shed their blood under Gai Nie’s sword, but he is not a bad person. If what Brother Xiaoyao says is true, we might be able to bring him into our camp, which would be a huge blow to the Qin Kingdom!”

Gai Nie was Ying Zheng's swordsmanship instructor and often accompanied him. He also had the title of Sword Saint, so he enjoyed considerable prestige within the empire.

If he were to suddenly join the anti-Qin camp at this time, the implications would be self-evident.

Not to mention that as a disciple of Guigu, Gai Nie's personal abilities are also among the best in the world.

"The Grand Master thinks exactly the same way I do. It might be inconvenient for the Daoists to act on this matter, so the Mohists need to pay more attention to it."

"Brother Xiaoyao, rest assured, the Mohists will not let go of any opportunity to strengthen the anti-Qin forces!"

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"Lu Yu will succeed as the leader of the Lieshan Hall, and Dian Qing will succeed as the leader of the Chiyou Hall. Does anyone have any objections?"

At the Xiaogeng Mountain Villa meeting, after completing the formalities and appeasing the Zhu family, Lu Wei formally made appointments for the Lieshan and Chiyou Halls, which originally belonged to the Tian family.

Among them, A Yu in Lieshan Hall has been the acting hall master for a long time, so it is only right that he be promoted to the official position.

As for Dian Qing, the Zhu family would have no objection to him becoming the head of the hall, even if it were only considered from a fair perspective.

Since members of the Tian family can no longer hold high positions, and the original management of Chiyou Hall was also from the Tian family, the new hall master can only be transferred from an outer hall.

Dian Qing's strength is undeniable. Although he is large in stature, he has always been known for his kind character. Moreover, he is one of the very few members of the Farmer's Clan who personally farms the land and generously shares the vegetables and grains with his fellow disciples after the harvest.

The Zhu family rarely admired a person based on their character, with the exception of Dian Qing.

As for experience, Dian Qing had been the leader of the Armored Sect and had also commanded the Wei Wu Corps. His quiet nature did not prevent him from leading the Farmer's School disciples.

Both appointments were ultimately approved unanimously.

After the meeting, Chen Ping and the Zhu family stayed behind, while the other hall masters left first.

The Zhu family stayed behind for the sake of the Mohist school.

The Zhu family had long ago reported the secret agreement for mutual assistance with Lord Changping and the Mohists to Lu Wei, whose instruction was: 'The main body of the secret agreement can only represent the Shennong Hall, not the entire Farmer's School.'

Zhu Jia was not surprised. He even went a step further, stating that the secret agreement only represented his personal opinion and that Shennong Hall could get rid of the secret agreement by changing its leader.

He possessed an awareness no less than that of Tian Guang.

Getting back to the main topic, this time the content involving the Mohists is related to Gai Nie: The Mohists hope that the Shennong Hall can use its abilities to investigate the unusual behavior of this Imperial Sword Saint.

Similar findings have already been published by Quicksand. Shennongtang did indeed launch infiltration operations in the Guanzhong region after that, but the infiltration process was very cautious and the extent was insufficient. At least, it was far from being able to investigate the Qin Palace.

Logically speaking, it's perfectly normal for the Quicksand to investigate Gai Nie, but for the Mohists to investigate Gai Nie...

The Zhu family doesn't know the reason, but they can't go wrong by reporting it to the chief knight.

"Just do your best to investigate, as they said. This matter doesn't involve the interests of farmers."

Lu Wei said calmly, "There are still two or three years before Gai Nie leaves Qin, but all parties should take action in advance."

"Yes!" Zhu Jia decisively took his leave after receiving the instructions. Chen Ping stayed behind after him for two reasons:

First, the results of the handling of Tian's disciples need to be reported. This is a long-term task and cannot be resolved all at once.

Secondly, it was Wu Kuang's request.

After completing his interrogation of Tian Mi, Chen Ping handed the woman over to Wu Kuang for disposal, as her marital relationship with Wu Kuang was not theoretically over.

Wu Kuang's hatred for Tian Mi goes without saying, but there was another matter that concerned him even more:

That was his brother, Chen Sheng, who was imprisoned in the Qin state's death row...

Chapter 299 Abandoned Son

Chen Sheng, or more commonly known as "Black Swordsman Sheng Qi" in the martial arts world, was the issue that Wu Kuang cared about most after things settled down in the farmhouse.

Wu Kuang could easily kill his betraying wife, Tian Mi, but because of her schemes, he had become enemies with his brother, Chen Sheng. Now that the truth has come to light, he must rescue his brother.

Chen Sheng was tricked into a death row cell by Luo Wang while searching for his whereabouts. He broke into the prison of the Seven Kingdoms and suffered more than he had endured while infiltrating Luo Wang.

Wu Kuang himself could return to Dazeshan as an undercover agent and expose Zhou Wen in the end, but this would only make Chen Sheng's situation more dangerous.

Originally, both brothers were controlled by the Luo Wang organization. Although Wu Kuang openly turned against Chen Sheng, the importance of Wu Kuang's life and death to Chen Sheng was reflected in the tattoos all over Chen Sheng's body.

Since the two brothers are each controlled by the Luo Wang organization, the Luo Wang organization can use them separately.

Now that Luo Wang knows that Wu Kuang has been an undercover agent all along, and that Tian Mi has fallen into Wu Kuang's hands, the misunderstanding that caused the brothers to turn against each other many years ago will surely be resolved. Under these circumstances, if Chen Sheng is released, he will certainly no longer obey Luo Wang's orders and will only want to return to the peasant family. Luo Wang's handle on Chen Sheng has disappeared.

In this situation, the Luo Wang (a military organization) would either simply kill Chen Sheng to prevent the peasants from gaining further strength.

Alternatively, the Net of Heaven would use Chen Sheng's life to threaten Wu Kuang in return...

In either case, one thing is certain: there is absolutely no possibility that Chen Sheng will be released.

Wu Kuang had infiltrated the Luo Wang organization for many years and had a certain understanding of it. He knew that according to Luo Wang's methods, they would definitely threaten him first at a crucial moment, and in the end, whether or not they could achieve their goal, Chen Sheng would be doomed.

Even so, Wu Kuang felt he couldn't ignore the threat... It was his brother's life, not his own, and he feared he would have to betray the peasant family again in the future.

With a prior record, Wu Kuang's next betrayal will surely be firmly grasped by the Luo Wang, and he may not have the opportunity to notify Chen Ping or Lu Wei in time.

At this moment, Wu Kuang, having figured everything out, was actually glad that he hadn't become the head of the Kuiwei Hall.

"So, besides warning you of his betrayal, Wu Kuang is probably asking you for help with something else by telling you this?"

Lu Wei looked calmly at Chen Ping, who smiled and nodded: "No one is more shrewd than Xia Kuang, indeed. Wu Kuang has discovered a trap. The trap is obvious, but he will most likely have no choice but to step into it. At the same time, due to the characteristics of the trap, he hopes to get our help."

"As expected, this 'our help' is exactly what Luo Wang wants..." Lu Wei pondered. Luo Wang's actions would never have only one single purpose. Even though this organization had suffered many setbacks at his hands, its actual losses were not that great.

It has actually grown larger and larger. Upon closer analysis, it can be found that even when the main objective of the net fails, it can still extract benefits from other angles from the failure.

Combining the information about Wang Li that led to his return from Jing County, the chivalrous leader put himself in Zhao Gao's shoes and immediately came up with a plan: "The Luo Net will be moving Chen Sheng's place of imprisonment soon, and Wu Kuang has 'coincidentally' discovered this information. Therefore, Wu Kuang wants the Farmers to help intercept him halfway?"

"Not only that, Chen Sheng's new place of imprisonment is in Qi, in the Shiya Prison of Sanghai." Chen Ping confirmed Xia Kui's guess, and said, "Chen Sheng's transportation route happens to take the road built by our farmers."

"They want to gather evidence that our peasants are rebelling against the empire and plotting a rebellion!" Lu Wei bluntly revealed the purpose of the Luo Wang organization.

If this evidence is submitted to Wang Li, then there will be a basis for Wang Li's claim that he forced the peasants to rebel...

“If we rescue Chen Sheng, even if we succeed, the Luo Wang’s objective will have been achieved. Compared to that, it doesn’t matter if Chen Sheng is forced to join the Farmer’s Clan.” Chen Ping calmly continued to explain the Luo Wang’s plan: “But if we don’t rescue Chen Sheng, the Luo Wang can spread the news throughout the martial arts world, damaging the Farmer’s Clan’s prestige. Even if Wu Kuang understands us, won’t he feel resentful?”

"If we appease Wu Kuang, we'll be playing right into their hands. But if we don't appease him, his resentment might become a trigger. Even if Wu Kuang truly puts aside his resentment for the sake of the farmers, will we really trust him completely?"

“Choosing the third path, expelling Wu Kuang or simply killing him to avoid potential trouble, will allow Luo Wang to collect another piece of evidence.”

“The Net doesn’t require many resources in this operation, but it’s certainly going to annoy us.” Chen Ping sighed slightly. After pointing out the problem, he offered his solution. Such a subordinate was very considerate: “Between two evils, choose the lesser. Our choice to appease Wu Kuang and not rescue Chen Sheng is the lowest-cost option… This is my personal opinion, and I haven’t discussed it with Wu Kuang yet.”

"What does the chivalrous leader think we should do?"

In the scheming and confrontation between the two forces, the most dreaded thing is that one side is too greedy, wanting the benefits but unwilling to pay the price.

Chen Ping's choice was already a relatively safe option, but human nature led Lu Wei to consider several other possibilities. After putting himself in the shoes of the Net and realizing that none of them were entirely secure, he decisively abandoned those ideas and nodded to his subordinates:

"Let's do it your way. Even if this is the only chance to save Chen Sheng, we can't give ourselves away."

To put it bluntly, whether it's Chen Sheng or Wu Kuang, they are merely pawns to Lu Wei and the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven). Some pawns are crucial, key to victory, while others have already fulfilled their purpose and are destined to be discarded.

Wu Kuang was no longer as useful after the Chun Gu Zhuang incident. Although Chen Sheng's martial prowess had once helped Lu Wei, he was no longer as useful.

The Net and the Farmer's Clan devised a plan against these two former sworn brothers, while the Farmer's Clan countered it. To put it bluntly, from the very beginning, neither side really cared what the two brothers thought.

"Yes, I will use a reasonable reason to make Wu Kuang feel as better as possible." Chen Ping had already guessed Lu Wei's choice, so he prepared his explanation to Wu Kuang.

Even when abandoning someone, one should gently and kindly offer reassurance and try to give them hope: for example, 'The Tooth-Eating Prison is far from Xianyang. Compared to the possibility of being ambushed by the Six Sword Slaves when rescuing someone halfway, waiting for the right moment to rescue them in the Tooth-Eating Prison will be more of a surprise attack.'

After all, if you're too ruthless, it wouldn't be good if the scapegoat really turned against you and hurt you in return.

Just as Chen Ping thought everything was settled and was about to leave, Lu Wei suddenly called out to him:

"Wait, there's another possibility, which might make things even more embarrassing for us. We must be prepared!"

"The Heroic Leader refers to..." Seeing Lu Wei suddenly draw the Devouring Sea Sword, Chen Ping shuddered; he had also realized...

After Lu Wei and Chen Ping prepared for the worst-case scenario, the latter immediately stepped back to arrange everything.

The small probing move by Luo Wang calmed Lu Wei's mind, which was starting to get a little cocky after a series of successes: this organization still had a lot of cards to play, and if he wasn't careful, even a small matter could cause a mishap. He had to continue to be extremely attentive and vigilant until the very end!

Regarding how to deal with Wang Li's focus on the 100,000 heads of the farmers, I was indeed a bit too arrogant before. After all, Wang Li's background is what it is: if he has an idea, he will naturally have a lot of resources to mobilize and a lot of people wanting to curry favor with him.

Those who advocate war are not necessarily brave, and those who advocate peace are not necessarily cowardly. Ultimately, everything must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis when faced with a situation. For the time being, Wang Li's social status is still low, and he can act impulsively because he does have the capital to act impulsively and a large margin for error.

Regardless of right or wrong, based solely on this fact, we still need to take the initiative to stabilize Wang Li: Zui Meng Lou, since Wang Li wants to obtain this chess piece, then the farmers should cooperate with him to devise their own scheme.

Thinking of this, Lu Wei sent his disciple to summon Mi Lian, who was in charge of Zui Meng Lou.

Under Xiao Yan'er's tutelage, this princess of Chu has made considerable progress over the past year and is now quite capable of serving...

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Chen Sheng was able to escape easily from the death row prisons of the six states in Shandong each time, but after being captured by Gai Nie in Qin, he was never able to leave the dark and gloomy prison again.

The quiet dripping sound was the sound Chen Sheng heard most often. He was completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world: including the fact that the Qin state had conquered the six states, and of course, the various changes in the farmers' homes.

As a death row inmate isolated from the world, he had no idea how much time had passed in the outside world. But one day, a red-haired eunuch suddenly came to see him alone and recounted everything that had happened in his farmhouse over the years as if telling a story. When Chen Sheng heard the name of his brother, Wu Kuang, his eyes trembled, and the chains binding him jingled involuntarily...

He was then taken away from the prison. After many years, when he saw the sunlight, Chen Sheng had to close his eyes and slowly readjust to the fresh air and bright light.

But the jailers didn't care about any of that. They tied Chen Sheng up tightly and threw him onto the prison cart, and the convoy set off quickly.

During an unintentional conversation among the escorts, Chen Sheng learned that he was to be transported to Sanghai City, the easternmost city.

Besides their conversation, Chen Sheng also heard another sound: the clanging of his own Giant Sword chains!

These Qin people actually escorted me and Juque together!

Feeling his body gradually regaining its strength, Chen Sheng had an idea...

At the entrance to the death row, Zhao Gao stood with his hands behind his back, watching the departing escort team with a silent, sinister smile on his face.

The six sword slaves behind him remained silent. They did not need to accompany him on this escort mission: the Net's plan was to release Chen Sheng, so there was no need to be overly vigilant.

Therefore, whether the farmers rescued him or not, as long as Chen Sheng escaped from prison on his own once he reached the Dazeshan area, everything would proceed according to plan.