Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Gu Xun noticed Zhang Han's unhappiness and embarrassment, but ignored it. After giving the order, he left the general's mansion.

Ying Zheng continued to hide behind the scenes, which was both his choice and a necessity.

After the night of the assassination, Zhang Han had been focusing on two things.

One was to arrange the defense of the General's Mansion to ensure that the emperor would not be attacked again.

The second is to find out the truth about the assassination that night.

It is not uncommon for anti-Qin forces to carry out assassinations, even if they almost succeed.

If they are not keen on assassinating the emperor, how can they be called anti-Qin forces?
There is no need to check the mechanical Qinglong that appeared that night and the special state of Tianming, as they are both extremely low-probability events. It is enough to know that the Mohist school has such a powerful weapon.

What Zhang Han, or the emperor, cared about most was why the assassin was able to accurately find the emperor's carriage that night.

Based on a review of everything that happened that night, the Empire has determined that the assassins already knew which carriage the emperor was supposed to be in.

And this information is the most top secret in the East Tour Team!

Within the convoy, there are no more than a handful of people who know this information, and outside the convoy, there are only two people who may know it - Gu Xun and Zhang Han.

For various reasons, Ying Zheng did not doubt Gu Xun, but he did not trust anyone except Gu Xun.

Of course, Ying Zheng would not show up until this issue was clarified.

He hates betrayal the most and is also most afraid of betrayal.

Of course, on the day after the assassination, Zhang Han had already found the source of the intelligence leak - a close attendant of Ying Zheng.

Zhao Gao was Ying Zheng's most trusted attendant, but he was not the only one.

And the ones who knew which carriage Ying Zheng was in were basically these favored eunuchs.

There are too few outflow channels, so naturally one check will yield accurate information.

Ying Zheng knew the result, but he did not accept it - it was not that he did not believe that the attendant dared to betray him, but that he did not believe that the attendant dared to betray him without someone else behind him.

So Zhang Han had to continue digging deeper along with that person.

Not only Zhang Han, Zhao Gao is also focusing a considerable amount of his energy on this matter.

The two of them must give Ying Zheng a satisfactory answer on this matter, otherwise, this matter will not be over.

However, Ying Zheng dealt with Zhang Han and Zhao Gao differently in this matter.

Before, Zhang Han was working outside and Zhao Gao was protecting the emperor inside, so now the two of them had to be transferred over, with Zhang Han protecting the emperor inside and Zhao Gao having to go out to work.

This also means that Ying Zheng's degree of suspicion towards the two was not the same - he was more suspicious of Zhao Gao.

As for Zhang Han, Ying Zheng confirmed that he was fine through his own observation, but as for Zhao Gao, Ying Zheng wanted Zhao Gao to prove that he was fine.

Even though Zhang Han didn't have complete information, he could still guess most of the emperor's thoughts. However, he was probably too busy to figure it out at the moment.

Fortunately, no matter whether he figured it out or not, Zhang Han at least knew that he had to be honest and did not have any extra thoughts.

………………

While the entire city of Sanghai was under martial law and everyone was caught up in the tense atmosphere, there was peace and tranquility in Xiaoshengxian Manor.

No matter how much turmoil there is in the city below the mountain, the sound of reading aloud every morning in Xiaoshengxianzhuang has not changed at all.

The soldiers patrolling the city would never disturb the small Shengxian Village on the mountain.

If there is any change, it is that the students from Xiaoshengxianzhuang who used to go down the mountain to stroll around the city are gone.

The two sides maintain a certain degree of tacit understanding.

If the Empire does not look for Xiao Shengxian Manor, Xiao Shengxian Manor will never take any action at this time.

On the terrace of the villa, Zhang Liang stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the city below the mountain.

Even though he was several miles away, Zhang Liang could still feel the solemn and tense atmosphere emanating from this once prosperous and bustling city.

"I've been here for so many years, but this is the first time I've seen Sanghai City look like this." Zhang Liang couldn't help but sigh.

Beside Zhang Liang, the gentle Yan Lu, with one hand behind his back and the other holding a scroll, replied with a faint smile, "It's just a temporary turmoil. When the ripples on the water dissipate, it will naturally return to its former peace and bustle."

"Brother, you have a calm and indifferent mind, and have seen through worldly affairs." Zhang Liang replied calmly, "I just don't know how long it will take for the people in the city to wait for these ripples to dissipate."

Yan Lu couldn't help but shook his head when he heard this, "You should also be considerate of the eldest brother. As the head of the Confucian school, there are some things he must do."

In the past two days, Fu Nian has strictly disciplined the disciples of Xiao Shengxian Manor and does not allow any disciple to leave the gate of the manor. Zhang Liang is the focus of his supervision.

"Brother, you misunderstood. I dare not blame you." Zhang Liang quickly defended himself and replied with a smile, "It was just a momentary emotion."

"I'm afraid there will be more chaos in Sanghai."

After Zhang Liang finished speaking, the two men's eyes simultaneously turned to the huge warship standing on the sea.

If nothing unexpected happens, the mirage should be the next center of the vortex.

However, Confucianism does not get involved in the matter of mirages - this is not only Fu Nian's attitude, but also Xunzi's attitude.

This was a rare thing where the uncle and nephew agreed on something.

"It's time for class, let's go." Yan Lu withdrew his gaze, his eyes full of indifference, as if he didn't care about anything, and turned to leave.

Zhang Liang chuckled when he heard this, and walked in a different direction from Yan Lu, "Master Xun wants me to play chess, so I won't go with you, brother."

"You are really good at being lazy." Yan Lu scolded with a smile, then parted ways with Zhang Liang and went to the school with the book.

Zhang Liang walked towards the bamboo forest at the back of the mountain. His eyebrows trembled slightly as he took steps, probably because he was thinking about something.

………………

Dongjun, the headquarters of the farmers in Daze Mountain, outside the tombs of the six sages of Emperor Yan.

Zhu Jia, with her bulging belly and short legs, walked leisurely into the valley located in the core of the headquarters.

After entering, he immediately saw Tian Yan standing under the statue of the great ancestor Shennong.

"Hehe, I feel relieved to see that the hero is safe and sound." Zhu Jia wore a bright red wedding mask and smiled as he bowed to Tian Yan, "I heard that the Mo family made a big fuss this time!"

"Thank you for your concern, Master Zhu." Tian Yan stood with her hands behind her back, looking like a quiet lady from a wealthy family, and replied softly, "I am just watching the fight from the sidelines, joining in the fun. It doesn't matter how intense the fight is."

Zhu Jia laughed and continued to ask, "I wonder what the result will be?"

"Failed." Tian Yan announced the result very straightforwardly, more decisively and confidently than the Mohist party members. "The Mohist party did try their best and pushed Ying Zheng to the brink of life and death twice. Unfortunately, they still failed at the last moment."

"The imperial master of the empire has not completely given up on Ying Zheng after all."

"Ah... that's such a pity!" Zhu Jia twisted the long beard of the mask and sighed in disappointment when he cut the 'sad' part. "We lost a lot of people this time."

In this operation, the Nong family lost thousands of people, which is not a small number that can be ignored by the Nong family. "At least it is not a complete loss. The Qinglong Project has successfully hurt the empire after all." Tian Yan didn't seem to care about it and replied calmly, "The chaos in various places should be increasing sharply."

Zhu Jia nodded, "Yes, yes, many places in Dongjun are no longer stable, and many people have even contacted us to seek a way out."

The Nong family is now basically the same as the anti-Qin forces, so the only people who can seek help from them are naturally the people of the imperial court.

"This is the case in Dongjun, which is located in the Central Plains. The situation in Liaodong, Jibei, Jingchu and other places will only be worse." Tian Yan said calmly.

Zhu Jia switched back to the happy face and asked with a smile, "What are the plans of Xia Kui?"

"Master Zhu, are you willing to cooperate?" Tian Yan asked back.

Zhu Jia laughed, "Xia Kui, you must be joking. The six halls of the Nong family must follow Xia Kui's lead. Isn't this the reason why we are cooperating with the Qinglong plan of the Mo family?"

Tian Yan looked at Zhu Jia with a smile, and naturally would not take his words seriously.

This man from Zhu Jia is not as inflexible and petty as Chen Sheng when it comes to his stance, but he is not someone who would easily submit and humble himself - he always has the ambition to be a chivalrous leader.

If Tian Yan's actions are in line with his interests, he will of course cooperate, but if not, he will immediately pretend to obey and work without putting in any effort.

"The Nong family is already conspicuous enough. We should keep a low profile from now on." Tian Yan assumed that he believed the Zhu family and ordered, "Evacuate all the disciples from Daze Mountain. Don't let too many people be concentrated."

Zhu Jia pinched his long beard, a little hesitant about this, "If the headquarters is too short-staffed, the Six Halls' ability to resist risks will be greatly reduced."

Tian Yan explained, "As long as the farmers are no longer conspicuous, no one will deal with us in the short term. When the time is right, we will of course call the disciples back."

"But without manpower, it will be inconvenient to do anything." The Zhu family raised the question again.

"Farmers don't need to do anything next, nor should they do anything. Just wait for the opportunity." Tian Yan replied.

This can be translated into two words - dormant.

No one could see the expression under Zhu's mask, nor did anyone know what he thought of Tian Yan's decision. After a long silence, he nodded and responded:

"Since it is Xia Kui's wish, Zhu will naturally do as he says."

Then he said goodbye and left, "If the hero has no other instructions, I will leave first."

Tian Yan did not try to persuade him to stay, but nodded slightly, "Master Zhu, please do as you please."

The Zhu family immediately turned around and left.

Tian Yan watched the Zhu family leave in silence.

Although the true emotions of the Zhu family could not be seen on their masks, Tian Yan knew that the Zhu family would not lie dormant according to his orders.

For Tian Yan, the best option is to lie low and wait for the right time, but this is not the case for the Zhu family.

Lying dormant does him no harm, but it does not do him any good either. And having no benefit is almost a disadvantage to the Zhu family. With only the strength of Shennong Hall, he is at an absolute disadvantage facing Tian Yan. He must expand his power as soon as possible, otherwise, he will soon be completely swallowed up.

But Tian Yan didn't care about it.

The Zhu family is not an easy person to deal with, but they are also easy to deal with.

The former refers to Zhu Jia's ability, while the latter refers to Zhu Jia himself.

If he really wants to deal with the Zhu family, Tian Yan has plenty of tricks to kill them directly.

Five of the six Nong clan halls are already under her control. Once the Zhu clan dies, the leaderless Shennong clan hall will be unable to resist her methods.

But for now, it is not yet time to kill the Zhu family. Maybe they will be of some special use.

………………

Another two days passed, Ying Zheng still did not show up, and the turmoil in Sanghai had not subsided.

However, the city-wide martial law blockade in Sanghai has been lifted with Gu Xun's intervention, with only patrol soldiers retained. People can move freely - but entering and leaving the city still requires strict inspection.

However, even if the ban is lifted, there are very few people going out, and even fewer setting up stalls. Basically, people only go out because they have to have a reason to go out, such as purchasing necessities.

After all, none of the patrolling soldiers withdrew, and there were soldiers walking on the main road almost every moment.

The people of Songhai are not afraid of soldiers, but they don't like to have contact with them.

Overall, the city is still deserted.

Gu Xun, who pushed for the lifting of the ban, doesn't care.

He intervened with Songhai officials to lift the ban in order to prevent the people from lacking daily necessities. As for the deserted streets... it was just a minor problem and would be restored sooner or later.

As time went by, not only did the anti-Qin forces become more active and radical, but even the imperial officials accompanying the convoy began to become restless.

There were many people who knew the exact situation of Ying Zheng after the attack by the Mechanical Qinglong. After all, there were nearly a thousand soldiers around him at that time.

However, among these insiders, the proportion of convoy accompanying members is almost zero.

After they were escorted by Zhang Han and transferred to the General's Mansion, they basically lost the ability to obtain information from the outside world, and naturally could not learn about Ying Zheng's situation from people who knew the situation.

Ying Zheng didn't see anyone in the general's mansion.

As time goes by, it is inevitable that some people of lower status will have evil thoughts.

It’s not to say that they dare to do anything obvious right now, but it’s true that many people are not being honest.

Zhang Han could only carefully deal with the continuous attacks from the outside world while carefully suppressing the internal unrest.

None of the accompanying members of the convoy are small figures. If we ignore the actual power and include Zhang Han, he is basically the person with the lowest status.

Zhang Han was not afraid of offending this kind of people, and he dared to offend them, but if possible, he thought it was better not to offend dozens of such people at once.

As Sanghai City became more and more "lively", the mirage that was supposed to be the next focus of everyone's attention was temporarily ignored - it seemed.

There are many forces interested in Mirage, but compared to Ying Zheng, Mirage's priority is still one level lower.

However, for a small number of people, the mirage is much more important than the unreachable emperor.

………………

On the outskirts of Sanghai, two figures shorter than adults walked side by side on a path.

The taller one held a pistol of awkward length in his hand, while the shorter one had a half-broken sword on his waist.

The two people using such unique weapons must be Tianming and Shaoyu.

The two chatted as they walked towards Sanghai.

"It's finally out. It's been delayed for three or four days." Tianming said with emotion.

"Ms. Xue Nu and the others are also considering our safety. I'm afraid that Sanghai is not a good place to go now." Shao Yu continued. (End of this chapter)