Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 78

Tian Meng, or simply his changed name Zhou Wen, walked openly to Lu Wei, sat down cross-legged, and looked him in the eye.

"It's understandable that the Net would accept you; they've always had a keen sense for hatred. But how did you gain their trust?"

“Because I showed my sincerity, and the last Tian Meng did a terrible job.” Zhou Wen displayed his Luo Wang sword ‘Autumn Toad’, his voice softening: “If they still need that face, then I will be the only one to take over.”

"What kind of sincerity did you show them?" Lu Wei asked, his eyes fixed intently.

"Isn't openly killing my own grandfather enough to show sincerity?"

"It might be enough for an ordinary person, but for the Net, it's not enough."

“Not bad, it seems you have a lot of awareness. You might be more suitable to infiltrate the Net than I am.” Zhou Wen joked, but it didn’t look good on Tian Meng’s face. “Back when we were in the Luqiu Pavilion caravan, we parted ways in the Chu Kingdom, right?”

Although he was asking a question, he didn't wait for an answer, but continued, "After we parted ways, I joined the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) on one hand, and the Chu army on the other..."

"Serve the Xiang family!"

He kept stroking the 'Autumn Toad' with his right hand, his eyes sharpening: "So, actually, we've met a few times in the Xiang Clan's camp, you just didn't know it."

“The Xiang family…” The steward met his gaze, as if he had thought of something.

Zhou Wen nodded, following his gaze: "You should have guessed by now that my mission in the Luo Wang organization, upgraded to the 'Killer' level, was to plan a mutiny..."

"Kill Xiang Dong!"

Chapter 100 Disaster Relief Plans

"The hatred of the Xiang clan is not something the peasant family can easily accept."

Lu Wei quickly incorporated this information into his strategic analysis, combining its advantages and disadvantages with Zhou Wen's perspective. As for whether it was true or not, he could only say that lying about this matter would not benefit the other party at all.

"The Xiang clan's influence is limited to the State of Chu. Even if they know this, it's just revenge against the Zhu family's Shennong Hall. Your Gonggong Hall won't suffer any losses."

"As for the entire peasant family, the one who orchestrated this mutiny was the spy Qiu Chan from the Luo Wang network, and the peasant family was also a victim of this Qiu Chan."

Zhou Wen knew the significance of what he was doing, but he didn't care: "Originally, I should have continued to lie low in Xiang Jun until the Qin-Chu war broke out in full force before starting the sabotage... It was the back-and-forth between Luo Wang and Xia Kui that made me, this pawn, moved by both sides at the same time."

Lu Wei pursed his lips, his lips dry from not eating or drinking all day: "Even so... if I were Luo Wang, I wouldn't completely trust you based on just these two points of sincerity."

“I think so too, but the Net has never operated on the ethereal concept of ‘loyalty.’ The intertwining of hatred and interests is the cornerstone of the Net’s infiltration into the Seven Kingdoms.”

"Then you'd better wrap yourself up even tighter in this intertwining of the two things~"

"This is my business."

"I have another question," Lu Wei continued, "How did you gain Tian Hu's trust during the day?"

As he asked the question, his gaze drifted toward the other person's left hand.

“I can’t change the fact that I was born with both hands.” Noticing Steward Lu’s gaze, Zhou Wen made no attempt to hide it, twisting his wrists in front of him:

"The only way to improve my left hand is to practice a lot, just like the first guy, Takeshi Kada."

"It's just a temporary measure. Someone as meticulous as you will still be able to spot the anomaly over time."

"But as for Tian Hu... hehe."

"As for how I gained his trust, it was because the Xia Kui sent a member of the Tian clan to give me rigorous training in disguise!"

"Right now, with my eyes closed, all I can think about are Tian Meng's daily behavioral guidelines..."

“The leader of the Xia clan…” Lu Wei recalled Tian Guang’s rugged face: “The Tian clan member who taught you Tian Meng’s daily habits, was he the second fake Tian Meng? The one who deceived the Zhu family hall master?”

“Not bad.” Zhou Wen nodded, his face showing approval: “The first fake Tian Meng will forever remain in the lake waters of the Wu and Yue lands.”

“I think I understand what Xia Kui did,” Lu Wei said slowly as he stood up, turned and walked to the door. “One last question.”

"Do you really think your plan can fool Luo Wang?"

"Then what do you think Luo Wang wants?" Zhou Wen paused for two seconds before asking in return, "With most of its forces confined to the 100,000 farmers in Qi, does Luo Wang really want to completely control it?"

The reason why Luo Wang (a powerful organization) infiltrated the peasant family in later generations was because they discovered the relationship between the peasant family and Lord Changping. In order to eliminate the potential support of Lord Changping's nephew Fusu in the martial arts world, the peasant family became a necessary target.

This is a power struggle within the Qin state that has spilled over into Daze Mountain. Currently, the Farmer's Clan doesn't have the strong incentive to have the Net go all out; the current skirmish is merely a habitual maneuver in their game of chess...

For the other schools of thought during the Hundred Schools of Thought period, the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) design was likely similar, but the Farmer School was too large and obvious, making it easier to infiltrate.

...

The assassination attempt on Zhou He and the return of Tian Meng had different impacts on Daze Mountain. A month later, Tian Mi and Situ Wanli received news of the changing situation in Daze Mountain and hurriedly put down their work and rushed back.

Thus, the five hall masters, who had been absent from the upper echelons of the farmhouse for the past year, were once again in charge of their respective halls, and the hearts of the farmers quickly stabilized.

Once things stabilized, the three leaders of the Tian family began their internal power struggle and coercion against the three branches of the outside family again...

Tian Hu had maintained a relatively harmonious relationship with the Zhu family and Lu Wei during the period after Zhou He's death. Now that the "real Tian Meng" has returned, the Tian family mark on him has decisively regained its dominance.

To deal with this situation, the Zhu family summoned Situ Wanli and Lu Wei to discuss the matter once again at Shennong Hall.

"Brother Zhouhe has just passed away, and the Tian family is already so impatient. They really don't value the bond between fellow farmers."

Situ Wanli had only recently returned and could only rely on his impressions to make meaningless remarks, serving as a starting point for discussion.

"It doesn't matter if we fight it out; we've gotten used to it over the years."

Zhu Jia sat at the long table, and despite his height, he did not appear out of place.

"Judging from the disciples' reports, the Tian family's attack this time is not very big and the damage is even smaller. Nothing major will happen before the Autumn Harvest Conference."

Zhou He's coffin has been laid to rest, but Lu Wei has not changed out of his white robes these past few days. Tian Guang, the chivalrous leader far away in Jicheng, had his disciple deliver the Seven Star Pearl Grass to Gonggong Hall a few days ago. Lü Qing is currently preparing for the upcoming succession ceremony, while the head steward has been quite leisurely lately.

"That's right, so the main reason I called you all here today is to discuss a few more detailed collaborations between the three departments."

Zhu Jia's tone was full of smug satisfaction: "As long as we don't split internally, the struggle with the Tian family will only be superficial."

He exchanged a glance with Situ Wanli, who then turned to Lu Wei and said, "Brother Lu, since Master Zhu has said this much, I will speak frankly as well."

Compared to Lu Wei, who came later, the Zhu family had several years of experience dealing with Situ Wanli and were more familiar with each other: "Brother Lu, did you subdue Tantai in Zhao last year?"

The steward nodded: "Yes, is there a conflict of interest between Tantai and Brother Situ?"

"It's not Brother Situ, it's from my Shennong Hall."

Zhu Jia's tone remained unchanged from before: "Last year, I entrusted Brother Situ to help me establish Zuimenglou, a subsidiary of Shennong Hall, in Wei. However, we had some minor friction with Tantai, which was expanding in Zhao."

"It's not serious. After both sides discovered that they were both from farming families, they restrained each other. It just so happened that Brother Situ was nearby. After investigating, he found out that it was an internal misunderstanding."

"Last year in the State of Zhao, I had some contact with Prince Yi, the 'Lord of Little Pingyuan.' The expansion of Tantai was indeed a coincidence... However, as far as I know, Brother Zhu's Zuimenglou is not a music and dance hall?"

"Hehe, Zui Meng Lou isn't as elegant as Tan Tai, but it does a little bit of everything."

"It's true that having more skills makes it easier to make money, but..." Lu Wei smiled, raising the corner of his eye slightly, "Is a mere pleasure house worth Brother Zhu discussing with me so solemnly in this setting?"

“Indeed, nothing can be hidden from Brother Lu Wei.” Zhu Jia smiled bitterly upon hearing this and told the truth: “Actually, there are no big secrets. It’s okay to be frank.”

"Shennong Hall's business has never included such places of entertainment. This Drunken Dream Pavilion was arranged by that nobleman when I was in the State of Chu last year."

"On the surface, Zuimenglou is affiliated with Shennongtang, but in reality, it has a cooperative relationship with me."

"Its real person in charge, codenamed Flower Shadow Girl, is about twenty years old and is the daughter of a nobleman from the State of Chu."

"That's strange," the steward thought to himself, but on the surface he sneered, "To let a young noblewoman in the prime of her life run a brothel? Is such an insult acceptable to the powerful and wealthy of Chu?"

“This is not something I can control,” Zhu Jia shook his head. “Zui Meng Lou has just settled in Wei, and your Tan Tai has already expanded there. When this Hua Ying girl saw that the local farmers’ disciples were not cooperating with her, she sent a letter to Da Ze Shan.”

“Shennong Hall and Gonggong Hall cooperated seamlessly last year. If it weren’t for the involvement of that powerful figure in Chu, I certainly wouldn’t have asked you for help with such a trivial matter.”

"Since we're both here now, I'll take the liberty of asking for your opinion, brother, so we can have a discussion and avoid any conflict."

"Don't worry, brother. If you have other plans for this matter, I'm not an unreasonable person. Giving up a mere Drunken Dream Pavilion won't affect the overall situation."

“Since Brother Zhu has said so, I will naturally give you face.”

Steward Lu remained calm and composed, as this matter was truly insignificant.

Situ Wanli spoke first, followed by Zhu Jia, seemingly with a sense of coercion. However, the conflict between the Wei Kingdom branch of Tantai and Zuimenglou was, in essence, just a dispute over entertainment.

The benefits they derive from are not essential for the more than 30,000 disciples across the two halls. Unlike the Yan Kingdom's Feixue Pavilion, which boasts the Flying Snow Jade Flower Terrace and the Snow Maiden, there's nothing like that!

"What are the requirements of this noblewoman, Huaying?"

"She took a fancy to those Zhao dance dancers in Tantai."

The speaker now is Situ Wanli, who was in Wei last year and has a better understanding of the details of this matter: "I've met this Hua Ying. Although she's young, still a girl, she's very skilled with the women under her command..."

Situ Wanli pondered his words: "...very...noble demeanor."

"Brother Situ's description is quite apt," Lu Wei smiled, not giving it much thought. He had already made up his mind and slowly said, "Since both families hope to dominate Wei, I can give Zhao Wuji to her."

"However, Tantai should also have some say in the Drunken Dream Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jia's mask turned to joy: "I understand what you mean, brother. I'll give the order right away!"

"Brother Zhu, aren't you going to ask Hua Ying if she agrees?"

"Hehe, Brother Lu Wei is willing to make concessions and even attribute the name to 'Drunken Dream Pavilion,' I am very grateful. I cannot allow a young girl to have any other greed!"

...

That's the end of the story; it's just a small part. The main course is what they're going to talk about next.

This year, a massive earthquake, worthy of being recorded in history, struck the Dai region of the Zhao state!

The earthquake created a massive fissure in the earth's surface, causing countless houses to collapse, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. The disaster area was instantly transformed into a scene of hell...

In previous years, the State of Zhao was constantly at war. This year, there was a slight respite as the State of Qin went to harass the States of Han and Wei. Natural disasters have once again struck this land that has suffered many calamities.

The King of Zhao was unable to provide disaster relief and completely ignored the situation. The Dai region, bordering the Yan state to the north, was ignored by Zhao; therefore, Yan would certainly not provide aid to the hundreds of thousands of disaster victims.

These people, who had lost everything, could only rely on themselves to fight against natural disasters, hunger, and cold, and the death toll continued to soar...

Currently, the only person who still has ideas about these disaster victims and the ability to provide some small amount of relief is Chief Steward Lu Wei.

"Alas, the people suffer so much..."

After reading the letter sent from Zhao, Zhu Jia sighed and said, "The foundation of a farmer's livelihood lies in these suffering people. Although Shennong Hall and Dai are far apart, I can transfer grain and doctors from Chu to you two brothers."

“I will also try my best to purchase and transport some grain from the Han and Wei regions…” Situ Wanli nodded in agreement.

After the two expressed their opinions, Lu Wei suddenly shook his head under their gazes: "Relying solely on the three halls of us, it is truly beyond our power to rescue hundreds of thousands of people... Even if the three halls of the Tian family were to join us, it would still be a drop in the ocean."

"What does Brother Lu Wei mean?" Zhu Jia frowned slightly behind his mask.

"Brother, don't misunderstand. The ancestor Shennong was compassionate and merciful, so we disciples naturally have to have a heart that loves the people and help with disaster relief. Of course, we should help within our capabilities."

"But the methods must be planned in advance; otherwise, it might lead to another disaster..."