Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

After asking about the situation of her own side and friendly forces, the Snow Girl then asked about the most critical issue, which was also the last party involved in the Azure Dragon Plan:
"Have you found out about Ying Zheng's situation?"

Gao Jianli was silent for a moment, then shook his head, "The specific situation is still unclear."

"Sanghai has been maintaining the highest level of martial law, and the General's Mansion has been surrounded by the Shadow Secret Guards like an iron barrel, with no loopholes."

It is wishful thinking to ask the Shadow Secret Guards to guard Sanghai City impenetrably.

Even without considering the coast on the east and the mountains on the west, the length of the city walls on the east and west sides alone is more than five miles.

How many people does Zhang Han need to mobilize to guard every corner day and night?
But it is much easier to guard the general's mansion alone.

Zhang Han directly drew two defense circles, one large and one small, inside and outside the general's mansion, and arranged people to form a circle to stand guard non-stop for twelve hours a day. There was no problem of gaps caused by overlapping patrols, there was only fixed-point shifting.

In other words, unless one flies in from mid-air, even if Dao Zhi comes, he will certainly alert the sentries.

As long as the Shadow Guards are alerted, the chances of breaking in will be very slim.

Gao Jianli continued, "Based on the various news circulating so far, Ying Zheng is probably safe and sound."

Hearing this, Big Hammer could not help but hammer the wall angrily and cursed, "This can't even kill the tyrant!"

"Mr. Zhang San doesn't know the inside story either?" The Snow Girl remained calm and continued to ask.

Gao Jianli shook his head, "I didn't get in touch with him."

"After he returned to Xiaoshengxianzhuang, he never showed up again."

"Is he in trouble?" Big Hammer calmed down and asked curiously while scratching his head.

"It's hard to say." Gao Jianli did not confirm Da Tiechui's idea, and then put forward his own guess, "Perhaps the Confucian leader Fu Nian did something."

No matter what, as the third in command of Xiaoshengxian Manor and Fu Nian's junior brother, Zhang Liang would inevitably be controlled by Fu Nian, the head of the manor.

Sanghai is currently in the most turbulent and dangerous moment, and Fu Nian himself has always been conservative in his style of doing things, so he is likely to restrain the disciples of Xiaoshengxianzhuang at this time.

Zhang Liang must be the one he paid special attention to, so it was normal that he couldn't spare the time.

Gai Nie, who was sitting in the corner resting, interrupted at this time:
"Ying Zheng is fine."

Da Tiechui looked at Gai Nie and asked blankly, "How did you know?"

Everyone has been staying in Xuanwu, why can you still obtain information from the outside world?

Gai Nie explained, "If Ying Zheng died, it wouldn't be so peaceful."

"It's hard to say, right?" Da Tiechui questioned. "Ying Zheng is dead. If the people of the eldest prince Fusu want to nominate Fusu to ascend the throne, it would be reasonable not to announce the death for the time being, right?"

I have to say that Da Tiechui has been thinking a lot about Ying Zheng these past two days. With his brain he can actually analyze it to this point.

But that's all we can do.

It is of course reasonable to speculate that the emperor kept the death a secret and secretly brought back Prince Fusu to inherit the throne.

But such an unacceptable act is not something that can be done just by wanting to do it.

Gai Nie calmly explained further, "Zhao Gao and Zhang Han are both in Sanghai. It would be impossible for either side to conceal the news of Ying Zheng's death."

"Is Luowang still functioning normally?"

As he said this, he confirmed with Gao Jianli.

Gao Jianli nodded. "Luowang's men are raiding and clearing the Sanghai region, and Zhao Gao occasionally shows up."

"In that case, Ying Zheng must be fine." Upon hearing this, Gai Nie was completely certain of his guess.

Gai Nie had no idea how Gu Xun would react if something happened to Ying Zheng, but the eldest prince's faction would definitely immediately start the most brutal fight with Luo Wang.

It could be Luowang who instigated the war, or it could be the eldest prince's faction that took the initiative, but a war would definitely break out.

If Fusu was still in Xianyang at this time and had not been banished from the capital, the throne would have fallen on him even if he had not been appointed as the crown prince.

It was difficult for Zhao Gao to struggle any further.

But the reality is not so.

Fusu was demoted, which gave all the princes an opportunity, and Zhao Gao would never be willing to give up this opportunity.

Hearing Gai Nie's firm tone, everyone understood that he was not speaking without purpose.

Due to Gai Nie's consistently reliable performance, they immediately believed this reality.

After thoroughly confirming that Ying Zheng was not dead, Da Tiechui sat down against the wall dejectedly, "In this case, all our efforts were in vain, right?"

Gao Jianli replied in a more serious tone, "Of course it won't be in vain!"

"No matter what, the successful implementation of the Azure Dragon Plan will shake the rule of the empire. This has already become a reality. How can we say that our efforts are in vain?"

Da Tiechui also knew that he had said something wrong, and he nodded repeatedly to correct his words, "Yes, yes, I spoke without thinking."

"But... it's still very frustrating. Even after the Mechanical Azure Dragon was deployed, it still failed to kill that dog emperor!"

Gao Jianli remained calm and said calmly, "The possibility of success is already very small. At least we didn't suffer too much damage."

"Hmph..." Big Hammer sighed unwillingly, then asked, "What should we do next?"

"Wait." Gao Jianli replied calmly, "Wait for news from Mirage."

The storm caused by the Qinglong Project is just the beginning of all the turmoil that is about to happen in Sanghai.

There will be more excitement next.

………………

In Sanghai City, in the General's Mansion, Ying Zheng's residence.

After two days of recuperation, Ying Zheng had already recovered as normal, no longer as embarrassed and exhausted as he was on the day of the assassination.

Gu Xun sat opposite him, with a chessboard in front of them.

Gu Xun can play Go, but his level is very low.

This kind of brain-intensive board game is not within his interest.

Ying Zheng knew Gu Xun's level, so he didn't take the game too seriously and his moves were not random.

"What's the situation outside now?" Ying Zheng asked casually while playing chess.

Ying Zheng had been resting for the past two days and had not asked about the situation in the outside world at all. Apart from the servants who took care of his daily life, Gu Xun was the first outsider he had met.

"It's quite lively. It won't calm down until His Majesty actually shows up." Gu Xun looked at the chessboard, his mind not on the chess, and answered casually.

"Master, do you think I should show up?" Ying Zheng asked as he made his move.

"It depends on your Majesty's choice. Showing up earlier has its own advantages, and showing up later has its own advantages."

If Ying Zheng does not appear, his life and death will be like Schrödinger's state to the outside world.

Even if all signs indicate that Ying Zheng is actually fine, people outside can still spread the word that he (most likely) is dead.

Anyway, as long as Ying Zheng doesn't refute the rumors, they can make up rumors at will.

If the emperor's "death news" spreads widely, it will further shake the imperial court's control over the local areas.

If Ying Zheng showed up in time and quelled the rumors that he was dead, the storm could be extinguished as soon as possible and the empire's political situation could be stabilized.

This is the benefit of showing up early. If, on the other hand, Ying Zheng had not shown up for a long time, the chaos in the empire would have spread rapidly, but at the same time, many people who had been lurking and waiting for the opportunity would have surfaced.

The court can take this opportunity to eliminate many deep-rooted "chronic diseases".

That’s the benefit of showing up late.

Weighing the two benefits, choose the more important one. However, it is difficult to say which of the two benefits is more important. It depends on which result Ying Zheng wants more.

Ying Zheng then asked, "Which one do you think I should choose?"

"Hasn't Your Majesty already made his choice?" Gu Xun asked casually in a frivolous tone, as if he was in a trance.

Whether you choose early or late, you must be decisive.

If he wanted to show up earlier, Ying Zheng should have appeared on the same day to stabilize the situation.

Since he delayed for two days, he had already made his attitude clear.

"Master, do you think I shouldn't do this?" Ying Zheng seemed to hear dissatisfaction in Gu Xun's tone, so he asked again.

"The whole world belongs to the king." Gu Xun chuckled, his tone becoming more and more indifferent, "How the emperor governs the country has nothing to do with me."

The two choices of early and late represent different routes - playing it safe or taking risks.

There is no difference between the two in terms of high and low, but there is a difference in suitability.

In Gu Xun's opinion, the current empire is actually more suitable for stability, but Ying Zheng has always liked to take risks.

But he really didn't say anything dissatisfied.

The empire belongs to Ying Zheng, so naturally he is the one who makes the decisions - and of course, Ying Zheng should also bear the consequences.

Ying Zheng did not comment on Gu Xun's answer and changed the subject:
"How's the situation on the Mirage?"

"Everything is calm." He picked up a chess piece and fiddled with it, saying calmly, "Of course, I didn't ask about the specific situation inside. If Your Majesty wants to know, you need to ask the people of Yin Yang School."

"Who should I ask?" Ying Zheng followed up with a rather unreasonable question.

"Uh..." Gu Xun was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and replied, "It depends on what kind of question your majesty wants to ask."

"If the problem is related to the mirage itself, then naturally go to Yun Zhongjun, the ship owner. If you want to ask questions beyond the ship itself, then you have to go to the Moon God Star Soul."

“I can’t guarantee that the latter can get a satisfactory answer.”

Ying Zheng should have known all the information about the mirage long before he set out from Xianyang, so there was no need to ask at this moment.

But the reality is that he is going to ask, and it sounds like he plans to ask in private.

This means that Ying Zheng was on guard against Donghuang Taiyi - almost all the information he knew before came directly or indirectly from Donghuang Taiyi.

Even if there were problems, it would be difficult for Ying Zheng to verify them.

But now that he has arrived in Sanghai, thousands of miles away from Xianyang, and in a place that Donghuang Taiyi cannot control, he can try to bypass Donghuang Taiyi and obtain possible more real information from other members of the Yin-Yang School.

Gu Xun didn't react at first to what Ying Zheng wanted to do, but after he figured it out... he felt that it didn't seem like a big deal.

It is normal for Ying Zheng to be on guard against Donghuang Taiyi, and it is also normal for him to want to obtain more intelligence.

However, Gu Xun was deeply skeptical about whether he could gain anything.

The people of the Yin-Yang School are simple-minded and basically know nothing, but those who know a little more have their own little thoughts, and their purposes are likely to have nothing to do with Ying Zheng.

Under such circumstances, the possibility of expecting them to be willing to reveal information to Ying Zheng is very low.

No matter how powerful Emperor Ying Zheng was, he was in a completely passive position when it came to the Mirage's voyage.

After playing a few moves in silence, Ying Zheng suddenly made a request, "Master, can you handle some of the matters concerning Mirage on my behalf?"

"Your Majesty knows that I am not on good terms with the Yin-Yang Family. I'm afraid this is not convenient for me." Gu Xun rejected the request without hesitation.

Seeing this, Ying Zheng did not force it and returned his attention to the chessboard.

………………

Half an hour later, Gu Xun left Ying Zheng's residence.

As soon as he left the yard, Zhang Han came up to him, looking a little anxious and hesitant, and asked:

"Your Majesty, he..."

Before he could finish his words, Gu Xun interrupted him directly, "The emperor was frightened by the assassination before, and he still needs to recuperate. You should all continue as usual, and don't let anyone disturb the emperor."

"...Yes." Zhang Han's words were all forced back, leaving only one word.

Zhang Han actually just wanted to ask when the emperor would show up.

Although he had built the entire General's Mansion into an iron barrel, it still required a lot of manpower to maintain this status quo, and almost all the Shadow Secret Guards on hand were occupied.

Of course, consuming a lot of manpower is not a problem. The problem is that the manpower is still relatively tight, so that every member of the Shadow Secret Guard is under high-pressure working conditions - there is rest time, but not much.

This state of high-intensity work around the clock is obviously unsustainable.

In contrast, those who wanted to invade the General's Mansion came in wave after wave, without any rest, and no need to rest.

Who can keep fighting with them?
But no matter how difficult it was, Zhang Han couldn't complain.

Since Gu Xun said that the emperor still needs to recuperate, he has to continue to hold on.

However, Zhang Han felt somewhat aggrieved - not because of the difficulties he faced, but because while he was trapped in the general's mansion and was in a dilemma, Zhao Gao was killing people happily outside.

The task of protecting the emperor fell entirely on the shoulders of the Shadow Guards, and Luowang only provided very limited manpower assistance.

Instead, Zhao Gao took advantage of the turmoil in various places caused by the emperor's absence and led the main force of Luowang to search everywhere, killing those who should be killed and arresting those who should be arrested, and took away a lot of credit.

Zhang Han did not care about the issue of merit, because no matter how you look at it, protecting the emperor was the greatest merit, far more important than arresting and killing people.

The fact that Zhao Gao could kill people without restraint while he could only be trapped in the small general's mansion was too frustrating in itself.

Especially since he was the one who created the conditions for Zhao Gao to kill so many people...

Of course, much of the world's unhappiness stems from dissatisfaction.

While Zhang Han was feeling aggrieved that he could only be trapped in the general's mansion, Zhao Gao might also be secretly gritting his teeth for being completely unable to participate in the great achievement of protecting the emperor.

Seeing him like this, Gu Xun thought for a moment and then ordered:

"Transfer the outer defenses of the General's Mansion to Luowang, retaining only the defense of the core area and freeing up a portion for Mirage."

"...Yes." Zhang Han once again turned thousands of words into one word with mixed emotions.

Gu Xun had told him before that if he had the energy to spare, he could look after Mirage. Unfortunately, he really didn't have the energy to spare, and it was too late to temporarily mobilize manpower, so he had to give up.

I didn't expect Gu Xun to emphasize the matter of the mirage again.

Zhang Han didn't mind sending people to guard the Mirage Tower, but they had already held out for two days, and the defense of the General's Mansion had been honed and perfected, but at this time they gave up halfway and suddenly gave part of the credit for protecting the emperor to Zhao Gao...

I feel even more depressed.

But he still couldn't say no.

Moreover, Zhang Han also knew that Gu Xun must have his reasons for making such an arrangement, and it would probably benefit him more. (End of this chapter)