Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

However, with such a big situation created, it doesn't matter whether Ying Zheng is alive or dead. In other words, for those anti-Qin forces who didn't pay any price, success or failure doesn't matter.

In any case, the Qinglong Plan was implemented smoothly and caused great trouble to Ying Zheng.

If the emperor died as a result, the empire would immediately fall into chaos. Coupled with the issue of the crown prince being undecided, the empire might even reach the point of collapse.

Even if Ying Zheng had not died, or even if he had been unharmed, this assassination would still have dealt a heavy blow to the prestige of the empire.

Once upon a time, Ying Zheng was an invincible tyrant, and the empire was an indestructible war machine. But now, the empire's army has suffered successive defeats, and the emperor of the empire almost died at the hands of a group of scoundrels.

Everything clearly points to one thing: the empire has fallen into decline and the emperor is approaching the end of his days.

While people's hearts are still oppressed by the fear brought to them by the empire, the empire's rule is undoubtedly unshakable.

But when people's hearts begin to waver and the empire's power is no longer unbreakable, its collapse will be unprecedentedly rapid.

………………

That afternoon, Gu Xun, who was entrusted with an important task by Ying Zheng, did not busy himself with official business. Instead, he went to the beach to leisurely enjoy the sea view.

In contrast to the leisurely and relaxed Gu Xun, Zhang Han came over in a disheveled state:

"What? Have you cleaned up the mess?" Hearing the noise of Zhang Han coming, Gu Xun asked without turning his head.

The light armor that used to be clean and neat was now covered with a thick layer of dust and dirt. Zhang Han no longer looked calm and composed, but instead looked a bit bleak.

He replied in a rather heavy tone, "The important people in the convoy have been picked up in the city, but the clearing of the Xixiang Valley Road has not been completed yet, so many things cannot be transported out for the time being."

"Have all the people been settled?" Gu Xun ignored the question about the things and asked about the situation of the people in the convoy first.

Those people basically make up half of the imperial court, or even the majority. Their importance is definitely higher than things like carriages.

"Everyone has been properly accommodated in the general's mansion." Zhang Han replied with his head down.

"What about the casualties?"

"..." Zhang Han was silent for a moment when this question was raised, and then he replied in a heavy tone, "Six people died, almost all of them were injured, eleven of them were seriously injured, and all of them have been arranged for treatment, and are not in danger of life."

Six dead and eleven seriously injured may not sound like a big number, but the Imperial Guards alone suffered at least a thousand casualties last night.

But the soldiers of the Imperial Guards were obviously not comparable to these court ministers. Even the death of one of them would be a big deal, let alone the death of six at once.

Theoretically, these six dead people may include the empire's top leadership team including the Left Prime Minister Li Si, which is enough to cause the political situation to get out of control.

Of course, theory is theory, but in reality, there is definitely no official of the prime minister's level who died, otherwise Zhang Han would not be reporting the situation to Gu Xun with a heavy face, but would be kneeling in front of Ying Zheng's door with Zhao Gao to apologize.

"Is there anyone important in there?"

"The Grand Coachman is dead and the Guardian is seriously injured." Zhang Han immediately reported the two people.

Both of them are among the Nine Ministers, and their status is relatively high even in the East Tour Caravan. If we only judge by the rank of official position, there are no more than five people in the caravan who are higher in rank than them.

Gu Xun didn't really care about the lives of the two Jiuqings. He just laughed out loud after hearing this:

"Ha! Interesting."

"Your superior was seriously injured, and Zhao Gao's superior died. Do you think this is good luck or bad luck for both of you?"

Zhang Han was a military officer responsible for protecting the safety of the royal family. He was previously directly under the emperor and later obeyed the eldest prince Fusu. However, in theory his superior was the Weiwei, one of the Nine Ministers who was responsible for guarding the palace.

If he gets promoted, it will most likely be in this direction.

Zhao Gao's duty as the Minister of the Imperial Chariots was to be in charge of the emperor's chariots and horses. His actual title was "Ming of the Imperial Chariots". Because of his status as a close minister of the emperor, he had a special position and the privilege of entering and leaving the palace at will, so the word "Zhong" was added to his name.

But the official position of "Chefu Ling" was undoubtedly a subordinate official of Taipu.

Although Gu Xun took the initiative to bear most of the impact caused by the attack of the Mechanical Azure Dragon last night, it was impossible for him to bring the entire convoy under his protection, so he knew that there would definitely be casualties, and they would not be too few.

The number Zhang Han just reported to him was actually less than he expected.

However, he really didn't expect that the casualties included Zhao Gao and Zhang Han's superiors.

Faced with Gu Xun's teasing, Zhang Han could only respond with a wry smile.

What a coincidence indeed.

As for the possibility that someone was deliberately targeting the two of them...it was almost non-existent.

What Gu Xun said about good or bad luck was purely a joke.

Theoretically, if something happened to the Imperial Guards, who were Zhang Han and Zhao Gao's superiors, their chances of promotion would increase and the time would be advanced. After all, there is only one place for each carrot, and if you don't pull out the old carrot, you will never be able to plant a new one in the same place.

But the reality is not that simple.

Putting aside other conditions, what happened last night alone was enough to make the two of them drink a pot.

At this time, let alone taking advantage of the boss's accident to get promoted, it would be good enough to keep the current position.

"Sir, what should I do next?" Zhang Han took the initiative to change the subject to business.

Gu Xun asked casually, "You ask me about this?"

What the secret guards should do after the emperor was assassinated should not be a problem for Zhang Han.

"I understand, but..." Zhang Han felt a little embarrassed.

Of course he knew what to do, but he was really unsure at the moment, and couldn't help but have wild thoughts and worry about things that might not happen.

At this time, he could only hope that Gu Xun would give him some clear and safe instructions.

Gu Xun heard his hesitant tone, shook his head helplessly, and replied:
"Until the emperor issues clear orders, Songhai will not be at peace."

This incident was too serious and Ying Zheng's attitude was very ambiguous, so before he gave clear orders on how to deal with it, neither Zhang Han nor Zhao Gao could do anything extreme. The most they could do was to intensify the hunt for the Mohists.

It is hard to guarantee that other anti-Qin forces will not take this opportunity to do something.

If they took any action, it would most likely revolve around the emperor.

"What you have to do next is to completely take over the defense of the general's mansion. Make sure that no one in the convoy will suffer any harm. At the same time, make sure that the emperor will not see any assassin again." Gu Xun continued.

"Zhao Gao should be happy to assist you in this matter, but please be careful not to let Luowang get involved in the defense of the general's mansion."

"You can do all of these, right?" Gu Xun finally confirmed.

Zhang Han nodded without hesitation, "I will do my best!"

What Gu Xun said was what he had originally intended to do. He came to ask Gu Xun just to seek peace of mind, so naturally he would not have any objection.

As for the question of whether he could do it…at this moment he could only express a positive attitude.

At this time, neither he nor Zhao Gao had the power to say no, and they had to agree to any request, no matter how difficult it was.

Moreover, Zhang Han felt somewhat confident about the request raised by Gu Xun.

"We also need to clarify what happened last night. You'd better have something to say when the emperor asks you about it." Gu Xun added. "I understand." Zhang Han nodded and replied.

He still didn't know the details of the Mohist Qinglong Plan, but he had a rough idea of ​​what happened last night. At least he had information about which forces were directly involved, which forces were indirectly helping, and which forces were trying to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the situation.

If the emperor asked, he would definitely be able to give a thorough analysis.

"If there are enough manpower, it would be better to continue to look after Mirage as well." Gu Xun reminded again.

Zhang Han hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will do my best."

"Hmm..." Gu Xun hummed and nodded slightly, his eyes still focused on the endless green waves in front of him, and said softly, "As I said before, just do your job well according to the rules."

"What happened last night had a great impact on the emperor, but this is Songhai, and there is something here that the emperor cares about more than anything else."

As Gu Xun spoke, his gaze shifted to the huge mirage next to him, and he continued in a gloomy tone:
"Whether it's the Mohist School or the Mechanical Azure Dragon, no matter how close they bring the emperor to death, as long as the emperor is not dead, this is the only thing he cares about the most... Everything else is unimportant."

"...I understand. Thank you for your guidance." Zhang Han also looked at the mirage, and after a moment of silence, he nodded and thanked him.

Gu Xun said nothing more, and Zhang Han tactfully left.

………………

Two days later.

With sufficient manpower input, the Xixiang Valley Road was cleared as quickly as possible, and the East Tour convoy was also rescued and finally arrived in Sanghai intact.

These two days were indeed not peaceful, just as Gu Xun and the others had expected.

Since the day Ying Zheng arrived in Sanghai, the highly martial law-bound city of Sanghai has always been... turbulent.

No matter how we strengthen patrols and enhance defenses, there are always people from other forces trying to sneak into the city and cause trouble.

Some failed directly and didn't even get into the city, or they got in but were quickly exposed.

Some of them succeeded and successfully sneaked into their target location - the General's Mansion.

But that's about it.

Those who tried to sneak into the General's Mansion were basically stopped by the Shadow Secret Guards. The very few who successfully broke through the outer defense line were intercepted by Zhang Han halfway. No one succeeded in approaching their ultimate target - Ying Zheng.

The purpose of these people is basically the same, which is to find out Ying Zheng’s current situation.

Ying Zheng has not been seen since he entered the city, and all anti-Qin forces, including the Mohist School, are unaware of his current physical condition.

And this is important for everyone.

All they could do was send people to infiltrate and investigate regardless of the cost.

While Songhai was in constant turmoil, even greater waves were brewing outside Songhai.

The news that the Mohist assassination attempt on Ying Zheng was suspected to be successful spread at an extremely fast speed. In just two days, even among the people alone, it had spread to more than six counties. As for the news that spread in the martial arts world, it was even more widespread, almost equivalent to being known to the whole world.

Although it was only suspected that Ying Zheng was assassinated, and even the rumors spread specifically emphasized that the probability was very low, the news was still incredibly destructive to the order that the empire had struggled to maintain.

The imperial central court's control over local areas began to deteriorate rapidly, and the disconnect between the central and local governments became increasingly serious.

………………

While the entire empire was in turmoil because of the Qinglong Project, under the East China Sea, a huge, nearly circular shadow floated leisurely across the seabed.

Then the shadow rose quickly, creating a wave and breaking through the water surface, revealing a turtle-like figure.

This shadow was none other than the Black Tortoise, one of the four spiritual beasts of the Mohist mechanism.

Xuanwu floated to the surface of the water and quickly approached the shore. Then a square chain extended from under its back and rolled towards the sky.

Just at this moment, a figure jumped from the shore into the sea and was caught by chains.

Then the chain immediately retracted under the turtle's back, taking the man in with it.

Gao Jianli walked quickly into the interior cabin of Xuanwu.

He was the one who just entered Xuanwu.

The Mohist School has been unprecedentedly quiet these past two days, especially in the Sanghai region.

Outside of Sanghai, Mohist disciples were actively spreading the news of the Azure Dragon Project, but in Sanghai itself, it was basically impossible to find an active Mohist member.

Gao Jianli is one of the few people who is still active outside.

Seeing Gao Jianli coming back, Da Tiechui touched his head and asked anxiously, "How is Master Ban doing?"

Gao Jianli's face was serious, and he replied in a deep voice, "I'm afraid it will take quite a while."

Snow Girl frowned and asked worriedly, "Will there be any accidents?"

Gao Jianli hesitated for a moment and shook his head, "Probably not, it just takes some effort."

Master Ban is not at the Mechanical Xuanwu at this time, but is working outside.

At this point in time, he, a master of mechanisms, shouldn't be out on the move, but there is something that only he can do, and he must do it.

That is to take back the Qinglong mechanism.

Regardless of whether the Mechanical Blue Dragon is out of control or not, it will quickly move away from its current position after launching an attack and fly to another place and fall.

And this position is basically random and not controlled by the Mohists... Maybe there is a pattern, but the Mohists have not mastered it.

Obviously, the Mohists could not leave the Azure Dragon wandering around, so as soon as the Azure Dragon was activated, it would be recovered and moved to a suitable storage location selected by the Mohists.

In order to ensure smooth recycling, it is natural that Master Ban, the master of machinery, has to lead the team personally to complete the recycling.

However, there is no guarantee of success in controlling the Azure Dragon, even though the trouble of recovering it is far less than controlling the Azure Dragon to launch an attack.

Therefore, if Qinglong loses control again during the recovery process, another recovery will be necessary.

All in all, it's a very troublesome thing.

However, compared with the power of Azure Dragon, all the troubles in using it are not considered flaws. The only real flaw is that it cannot be used at will - according to the ancestral teachings of the Mohist school, the more times Azure Dragon is activated, the more dangerous it will be.

"I hope everything goes well." Big Hammer sighed.

Even he knew the importance of the Mechanical Azure Dragon.

Only by successfully recovering the Azure Dragon mechanism can the Azure Dragon Project be considered to have come to a truly successful conclusion... although the other links were not particularly smooth either.

"Where are the farmers?" The Snow Girl then asked another question.

"They have all been evacuated successfully." Gao Jianli's expression relaxed a little, and he replied softly, "We have almost returned to Daze Mountain now."

"The casualties this time were not beyond our expectations, so there shouldn't be any problems with the farmers." (End of this chapter)