The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

"Haven't you already accepted the seal I asked Xu Fu to give you? 'King of Chu, the Great Qin', this is the new identity I want to bestow upon you."

Emperor Yuanwu stood up and walked towards the inside of the Sword Viewing Platform, motioning for the other party to follow him. He used his spiritual sense to sense Li Lingjun's slightly trembling body and the panic that flashed across his eyes. He sneered in his heart, but did not stop there. Instead, he added more pressure and said in a deep voice:
"Since you have accepted the seal, you should know my intention. Right now, the Chu Dynasty is trying to consolidate power, eliminate dissidents, and persecute loyal officials, hoping to make Concubine Zhao the only one in power. The situation is becoming increasingly unstable. It is a great opportunity for you to return to your homeland and realize your ambitions."

"What I want you to do is to take this opportunity to call on those powerful families and local tyrants who are dissatisfied with your father and Concubine Zhao and have been repeatedly attacked, and point out to them the benefits of betraying Chu and joining Qin. Gather these opposing forces together, take the opportunity to start an uprising, launch a coup, and seize power!"

"You don't need to do too much. When you put on the name of clearing the emperor's side, I will personally lead a million troops to support you and contain the elite Chu troops stationed in the border counties."

"As long as you can incite some of the local clans to rebel, making them stay put, or directly turn against us, and start a war within the Chu territory, and then lead our Great Qin army to attack Yingdu together, you will be the founding king of the new Chu, the true ruler of a country, how do you say?"

"...How should the territory of this new Chu be demarcated?"

Li Lingjun was silent for a long time before he asked this question in a hoarse voice.

He knew very well that there is no free lunch in the world. Although Yuan Wu spoke passionately, it was impossible for him to mobilize a large number of troops to start a national war and spend countless money and lives just to help Xiong Han ascend the throne of King of Chu.

The real target of the Qin Dynasty was still the land and population of the Chu State.

Yuan Wu heard this, but did not answer directly, but asked: "Do you know how big the world is?"

Although Li Lingjun didn't understand why the other party suddenly asked this, he still answered along with the topic:
"If the Qin, Chu, Qi, and Yan dynasties were combined, their western part could reach the Leizhu Sea, and their eastern part could reach the Penglai Islands, which are 15,000 miles away. Their southern part could reach Borneo, and their northern part could reach the vast sea of ​​ice, which is also 13,000 miles away."

"And this is only the known world. In the more distant places of the far west, far east, far south, and far north, there are countless unknown countries and races. Their territories are so vast that they are almost incalculable. Even the most learned scholars may not be able to describe them all."

"I'm afraid that only the Emperor You, who unified the world in the past, can truly know all the secrets of this world, complete the surveying and mapping of the continents and seas, and see all the scenery in the world..."

At the end of his speech, Li Lingjun's face couldn't help but reveal a somewhat leisurely and fascinated look. Obviously, he also admired the Emperor You, who was said to have established supreme achievements and left behind countless mysterious myths.

Emperor Yuanwu nodded, expressing his approval of Li Lingjun's insight and vision, and then continued:

"In that case, why do you have to cling to this little piece of land in Chu? As long as you are willing to cooperate with me, after overthrowing the Emperor of Chu and eliminating Concubine Zhao, you can first choose three counties in Chu as your fiefdom, and inherit it for generations, enjoying eternal honor."

"Moreover, I can also promise you that one day when I unify the world and wipe out the three dynasties, these overseas countries and unknown lands can all be conquered and occupied by your army, the King of Chu, on my behalf. All the lands they gain will belong to you, and even the soldiers of the Great Qin can be at your disposal. How do you think?"

After hearing this, Li Lingjun couldn't help but be completely moved. He knew that Yuan Wu did not deceive him with false promises such as "I will leave half of the country to you" or "all Chu will belong to you", but gave him a relatively reasonable and more feasible plan.

In fact, considering the longer-term future and his own possible inflated ambitions, this was the greatest sincerity the emperor could show, and the "blueprint" drawn by the other party was indeed tempting enough.

Although it is only an area of ​​three counties, you should know that there are only five counties around Yingdu, the richest city of Chu. It governs more than 10 million people, has a vast territory, abundant resources, and is known as a land of fish and rice. It has always been coveted by other countries.

Therefore, this condition can be said to be quite generous, even beyond Liling Jun's expectations.

Because he knew very well that he did not have much choice. Either he agreed to Yuan Wu's conditions and fight for the title of a vassal prince and the foundation of three counties, or he would continue to stay in Changling City and waste his time until one day he was sentenced to death by an imperial edict from the Emperor of Chu.

In comparison, although the former is also full of unknowns and risks, and may even be cursed for eternity, it is undoubtedly much better than the latter and is more likely to make people yearn for it.

Normally speaking, with the status and position of a bastard prince like Li Lingjun, even if he returned safely to his country without being persecuted, it would be a blessing from heaven if he could get a few counties as his fief.

After several generations, it would be just an ordinary noble family. How could it compare to the real princes?

After thinking through this, Li Lingjun also felt certain in his heart, knowing that he had no other choice but to go all the way and try his best to complete the task assigned by Yuan Wu. He did not say anything more at the moment, but just looked at the other party deeply, bowed his head and said:
"The Chu people value their promises, and a promise is worth a thousand gold. Now that I have accepted the seal, I will naturally not regret it. From now on, Xiong Han is willing to follow you and plan great things together! I only hope that we will succeed in the future. Your Majesty, please don't forget the promise you made today."

"It's natural."

Emperor Yuanwu finally showed a bit of smile on his face, and he gave the other person a helping hand, saying in a gentle voice:
"My words are golden, and I will never regret them. You can rest assured. I hope you can start the cause as soon as possible and accomplish this great cause. Then I can prepare a ceremony for you to be crowned king and drink wine to celebrate your success!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Lingjun bowed once more, but this time, his expression and movements had become extremely firm, and his whole body was filled with sword intent, like a sword that had been sealed for many years suddenly being unsheathed, with its sharp edge revealed, without any hesitation or wavering.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Yuanwu nodded secretly, feeling satisfied with the mentality and fighting spirit shown by Liling Jun.

Only those who are truly unwilling to accept the status quo, have ambition, ability, and a certain degree of confidence in stirring up the situation can play a sufficiently important role and become a key chess piece in the upcoming drama involving the war and internal affairs of the two countries.

If he was just a waste, even with the identity of "Prince of Chu", it would be difficult for him to accomplish anything. Instead, he would only become a burden and a flaw, ruining his good deeds.

"Chu is a vast land with abundant resources and a large population. There are millions of armored soldiers and many cultivation sects. Even if there is chaos in the country, it will not be easy to break it from the outside."

"I wonder when Your Majesty is going to send out the troops, who will be the general, and where will the attack start from? What step does Xiong Han need to achieve to complete his mission and receive reinforcements from the Qin Empire?"

Now that he had made up his mind, Li Lingjun no longer wasted time. He leaned forward slightly and quickly took the initiative to ask about the next action plan and the tasks he needed to undertake.

"When the roads in Chunli are favorable for marching, our dynasty will formally dispatch troops. At least half of the Thirteen Marquises of the Great Qin will follow the army, and I will personally lead the troops. The troops will be divided into three groups to attack the State of Chu."

"What you need to do is to contact as many opposition forces in Chu as possible before that, and promise them huge benefits to form an alliance. At the same time, think of ways to spread rumors and instigate the Chu Emperor and Concubine Zhao's faction to suppress and purge those aristocratic families, forcing them to rebel and actively seek help from you."

"Only in this way can you accumulate enough strength in the shortest possible time, cooperate with the outside forces, and achieve success in one fell swoop."

Emperor Yuanwu looked at Li Lingjun deeply, then took out a scroll of silk from his sleeve and threw it to Li Lingjun:

"This is the plan that the Queen and the officials in the court have drawn up for your return. You can take it back and study it carefully. If you have any opinions or ideas, you can directly raise them. I will consider them as appropriate."

"However, before anything else, there is one most important thing you need to do."

"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions." Li Lingjun took the silk book, but did not unfold it immediately. Instead, he asked Emperor Yuanwu about the next task.

"It's very simple."

Emperor Yuanwu smiled slightly and slowly uttered four words:
“Gain people’s trust.”

"Gaining people's trust?"

Upon hearing this, Li Lingjun was stunned at first, but then he understood and frowned, saying, "Your Majesty wants me to show some "letters of surrender" after returning to Chu to prove to those aristocratic families that I have indeed betrayed Chu and sided with Qin, and that I am on the same side with them, right?"

"Not after returning to Chu, but now."

Emperor Yuanwu corrected him, "I want you to put on a good show at this sword meeting, openly 'exposing' the Chu people's sinister plot and ugly ambitions against our dynasty, arousing the indignation of countless sword masters and people in Changling, and finding a legitimate excuse to attack Chu."

"The Lushan Alliance is imminent. It is not easy to tear up the armistice agreement signed by the four dynasties in advance. We need a reason that is significant enough and shocking enough to silence the people. Your appearance and the 'truth' you revealed are the best reasons."

"When the time comes, I will personally come down and have a guiding sparring with you, showing the absolute difference in momentum, so that you will be 'oppressed' by the sword's will and 'speak out of turn' due to your distracted mind. This way, it will be absolutely safe, and no one will be able to tell that this is a deliberate fake."

After hearing this, Li Lingjun had completely understood what was going on, and knew that what he needed to do next was to cooperate with Emperor Yuanwu to put on a big show at this much-anticipated sword meeting.

Let everyone see how he, the "Prince of Chu", was "conquered" by the Emperor of Qin and thus "abandoned darkness and turned to light".

As a symbol of the humiliation of the Qin Dynasty's ceding land in exchange for peace, although his reputation as a virtuous man was well-known throughout Changling and even in the Qin territory, and his status was close to that of a king or a prince, there were countless Qin people whose relatives had been killed or injured in the great battle in Yangshan County, and they hated him deeply.

Seeing that their own emperor could actually transform the prince of the enemy dynasty from an "enemy" into an "ally" through such means would undoubtedly greatly boost the morale of the Qin army and people, while also severely damaging the reputation of the Chu State and laying the foundation for public opinion and popular support for the upcoming war.

In fact, compared with letting Liling Jun return to Chu and incite rebellion, this matter at hand seems to be just an initial "letter of surrender", but in fact it may be Yuanwu's real purpose.

As long as it is made clear that there is an adult prince of the Great Chu to act as a banner and a nominal declaration is obtained, those powerful and aristocratic families in the Chu territory who have already developed disloyalty will not care whether this prince will come to contact them in person. They can completely replace him with a professional Qin spy, taking the role of Lord Li Ling, to secretly collude and instigate rebellion.

In other words, when Li Lingjun really stood in his position and played his due role in this sword meeting, there was not much need for him to continue to exist. He was just a useless setting. With an order, it would not be a bad idea to replace him with a member of the Qin royal family to disguise himself and kill him.

Whether to replace it or not depends entirely on the mood of Emperor Yuanwu and whether this "original product" can still show more value in use.

Of course, Yuan Wu naturally couldn't tell the other party such an idea and plan truthfully, and point out the key points. He just looked at Li Lingjun who nodded in agreement with a warm expression, walked a few steps closer, and patted him on the shoulder gently, as if to express comfort.

But in those deep eyes, there was not a trace of emotion, only coldness and calculation.

Li Lingjun only felt a chill running through the other person's palm and penetrating into the depths of his meridians and qi sea. It seemed that some kind of control method was deployed. He couldn't help but shudder in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it. He just lowered his head and replied in a deep voice:

"I understand. I will not disappoint your majesty."

"Very good! As the first step of cooperation, after the sword meeting is over, I will let Xu Fu give you a batch of rare elixirs collected overseas and secret cultivation books in the palace to help you break into the seventh realm as soon as possible..."

"To be the 'New King of Chu', you must complete the tasks I assign to you one by one and improve your strength. If you don't have sufficient cultivation, how can you recruit truly powerful subordinates and subdue those unruly Chu clans and tyrants?"

Yuan Wu was obviously very satisfied with Li Lingjun's "knowledge of the times". He immediately made several new promises and gave him some earnest words of encouragement and comfort before letting him leave.

It was not until he walked out of the sword viewing platform and breathed the free and somewhat cold air outside again that Li Lingjun finally came to his senses. Looking at the seal in his hand that symbolized "King of Chu of Great Qin", his expression became extremely complicated.

Then, he clenched his fists tightly, and his nails dug deeply into his palms, as if he wanted to firmly grasp the seal and his own destiny in his hands.

"My fellow citizens of Chu, please don't blame me for being cruel and ruthless and for inviting the Qin army into the country... I am just a weed that stubbornly survives in the cracks of the rocks. I don't want to wither and die in obscurity, and I also want to bloom with my own brilliance! What's wrong with that?"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He looked up at the sky and saw leaden clouds hanging low like a gray curtain. Waves of cold air continued to fall from the sky. It seemed that it was not yet the true winter solstice, but a snow was about to fall.

The next moment, at the end of the distant horizon, a huge round stone ball covered with dust suddenly appeared and moved towards the direction of Nie Yuan in the west of the city. Its outline became larger and larger, allowing Li Lingjun to immediately see its extreme heaviness and terrifying destructive power!
"Enemy attack!"

In a moment, winds and clouds surged on the many high platforms and pavilions in the surrounding area. After noticing the stone ball that was about to fly over, dozens of seventh-level masters immediately moved and attracted the vital energy of heaven and earth from afar, making a rumbling and shaking sound.

The sword-fighting competition scene, which had been so lively and attracted much attention just now, was completely in chaos at this moment.

Countless guests and spectators stood up in panic, looking at the huge stone ball that was getting closer and closer, and the torrent of vital energy that was constantly gathering in the sky, with expressions of disbelief and horror on their faces.

Where did such a huge stone ball come from? Who has the power to move it?
No one had expected that when the grand event was being held in Changling City and sword masters were gathering, someone would actually dare to risk the world's condemnation and launch an attack on this majestic city that symbolized the Qin people's military fortune and glory!
This is no longer a simple provocation or demonstration, but an outright declaration of war!
With his own strength, he declared war on the entire Qin Dynasty!

Gazing at the stone ball that seemed near but was actually far away and seemed to have the power to overwhelm everything, Li Lingjun summoned his natal object that he had cultivated hard. However, in his heart, he seemed to vaguely feel that he was squeezed in the cracks of the stone and constantly being sharpened, just like the "weeds" he had previously mocked himself as.

Every time the boulder rolled forward, it was as if he, trapped between Qin and Chu, was being severely crushed and ravaged, almost unable to breathe. There was even a kind of fear rising from the bottom of his heart, as if reminding him that this was the fate he would face next.

If you stand in the way of this mighty trend, you will be ruthlessly thrown into the millstone and ground into powder, and your hopes and ambitions will be annihilated and destroyed in an instant!

It turns out that the illusory power and status based on the promises and favors of others are so vulnerable and fragile in front of the truly powerful people, which is so frightening.

Even though he was a prince, possessing amazing power and resources, and having all kinds of plans and calculations in his mind, at this moment, he was still as small as an ant and could be easily killed.

"The Grindstone Sword Technique? The Grindstone Sword Technique has reappeared in the world!"

After struggling to break free from the suffocating horror and immediately choosing a way to escape, Li Lingjun opened his eyes wide in disbelief and almost cried out in surprise, but immediately suppressed the impulse, knowing that this attack was really a big violation of Emperor Yuanwu's taboo.

...(End of chapter)