Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1973 The Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon (Twenty)
"She has probably found the real source now, and it's hard to say which side she will side with."

"What do you mean?" Ehuang seemed to understand and asked back in confusion.

Gu Xun raised his hand and waved, "Don't ask everything!"

"After spending so many years in the Yin-Yang family, do you still think you know everything?"

Ehuang fell silent, finally suppressing her curiosity. But after the silence, she still replied:
"There are some things I really shouldn't know, but Master Moon God will definitely not harm you!"

She and Nuying have followed Yueshen for many years and are absolutely staunch Yueshen supporters. Their loyalty is in no way comparable to that of temporary workers like Da Shao Siming under Xinghun.

After saying this, Ehuang took Nvying and was about to leave her bedroom.

Gu Xun didn't care about it, but just lazily reminded, "Remember, don't tell anyone about me, including the Moon Goddess!"

"Don't worry, I won't go back on my promise!" Ehuang replied without turning her head.

………………

Lingnan, the main road of the Five Ridges, and Han Xin’s main camp.

Over the past few months, Zhongli Mei has really been helping Han Xin train his troops.

The main reason is that there is really nothing to do. It is winter now and it is not a good time to return to the Central Plains.

Although the winter in Lingnan is not easy to endure, Zhongli Mei feels that it is somewhat better than in the north.

You should know that before Zhongli Mei was appreciated and promoted by Gu Xun, he was already a middle-level officer in the imperial army.

He was not born in a poor family, but he was not the son of a wealthy family either. He could have had enough food and clothing, and he was able to climb to this position at such a young age thanks to his own abilities.

However, his abilities were not directly accepted by the army, and it was his military achievements that really helped him to rise to the top.

Zhongli Mei had participated in countless large-scale wars, including battles with the wolf tribe in the north.

Wolf invasions into the Central Plains often occurred on the eve of winter, and even when winter was just around the corner, the climate in the north was already extremely difficult for the soldiers to endure, let alone the cold winter that followed.

Zhongli Mei also suffered from the cold a lot in his past.

Compared with the compound torture in Lingnan, he still felt that the pure and direct cold in the north was more difficult to accept - at least in Lingnan, he didn't have to worry about freezing while peeing!
After Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo went to war on all fronts, Zhongli Mei was still looking forward to picking up some leftovers to taste.

As a result, the two men took steady and cautious steps and completely devoured South Vietnam, leaving him with no chance to even get a sip of soup.

Only some local Yue tribes were in turmoil because of the resumption of the war, but they were easily suppressed.

Zhongli Mei had no way of treating those basically unarmed tribal people as real enemies, and he could not bring himself to kill them. He simply suppressed them and strengthened supervision.

That day, after finishing the military training, the bored Zhongli Mei went to have a drink with Han Xin.

Although Han Xin didn't like drinking, he had nothing to do so he didn't refuse.

The two of them hid in the tent, drinking warm wine, eating snacks, and chatting about the situation.

"Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo's offensive has slowed down." Zhongli Mei said meaningfully after taking a sip.

Han Xin looked expressionless and replied calmly, "It's normal. The further west we fight, the stronger the support from Luo Yue will be, and the greater the resistance will be."

"Besides, the two of them are in no hurry to end the war in Lingnan."

Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo were sure to take home the great rewards of this great victory in Lingnan.

Therefore, the two were reluctant to end the war hastily.

Ending it early would have no meaning other than saving some military rations, and it would not raise their contribution to a higher level.

Instead, it's time for them to consider how to digest such a large piece of meat.

The empire’s military merits are tied to military ranks, and the higher the military merits, the higher the military rank.

This is set in stone and generally there will be no deviation.

But the empire's military rank is just a treatment.

The empire completely abolished the old feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty. The titles were elevated to the sky, which was just better treatment.

For ordinary people, this treatment was an incredible wealth that even their ancestors could not hope for. But for Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo, two serious imperial generals, it was nothing.

They had no interest or need to worry about how their titles would be promoted. What they cared more about was what kind of power they could get after the war, or in other words... promotion.

According to the imperial military system, generals are the ceiling of a soldier's career. Even generals like Meng Tian and Wang Li have no essential difference from generals.

They are all qualified to lead the army to fight outside as commander-in-chief.

In the past, there was a national commander, who was theoretically the leader of military officers and was superior to the generals, but the last national commander, Tu Sui, died in Lingnan.

After him, the imperial official system was changed, and the leader of military officers was changed to the Grand Marshal, who theoretically controlled the military forces of the world.

The reason why it was only in theory was because Ying Zheng felt that the Taiwei had too much power, so he set up the official position but did not assign anyone to hold this position.

Of course, whether it was fictitious or not was not important to Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo. Anyway, such a good thing would not be in the hands of the two "rising stars".

In short, for these two generals who are about to make great contributions, Xianyang, which seems to be the center of power of the empire, is not a good place for them.

There are no good pits left for them in Xianyang.

The best place for them to go is to stay in Lingnan, which they conquered with their own hands, and stay in this new land that has not yet been developed.

Although this place is considered poor and barren in the eyes of the Central Plains, it has no value except to satisfy the emperor's ambition to expand the territory and the military's need to gain military merit.

But they saw another possibility here - another way out for them.

Originally, they didn't need to worry about this.

As I said, Lingnan has no value in the eyes of most people.

If given a choice, almost no one from the Central Plains would come here willingly - those second-class citizens such as sons-in-law and merchants who were exiled here were mostly unwilling to come, and would rather be servants in the Central Plains.

If the two of them wanted to stay, there would be basically no one to compete with them, and there would be no resistance - the empire has a tradition of whoever conquers it governs it.

That year, Nei Shi Teng conquered Korea, and he stayed there to govern the country.

How long he stays in office depends on the court's subsequent needs. If it is long, it may be several years or even longer, and if it is short, it may be only a few months.

Like Wang Jian, he rarely stayed in one place for a long time.

Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo were both complex talents who were not only good at leading troops in battles. Besides, apart from Lingnan, there were no wars that required them to fight, so they could basically stay in office for as long as they wanted.

But Gu Xun suddenly showed up.

First, he arranged for Nei Shi Teng to intervene in the Lingnan War. Not only did he gain a lot of military merit, but he also governed the Minzhong County that was conquered in the early stage of the war.

Afterwards, Han Xin was arranged to guard the main transportation routes in and out of Nanling.

Although they didn't take much credit, they cooperated with Nei Shiteng in the rear, and seemed to be ready to swallow up Lingnan after the war. Ren Xiao Zhao Tuo certainly didn't want to provoke Gu Xun, but they were even more unwilling to let Lingnan be snatched away by the eldest son's faction.

What's more, they are more right in this matter.

When we hang out together, we always have to follow some rules. Even if it's Gu Xun, he can't just pick peaches out of thin air, right?

Zhongli Mei immediately understood what Han Xin said and said with a smile, "It seems that they are really determined to take Lingnan, and they don't even care about the attitude of the national teacher."

"The Imperial Master is now missing." Han Xin replied with a sluggish face and a fake smile, "No matter how powerful the deterrent is, it is useless if the person is missing."

"Power cannot be lost for even a moment. If you are gone, others will naturally fill your shoes."

Even if it was Emperor Ying Zheng, his failure to show up after the assassination would cause a violent shock to the entire empire, let alone a "powerful minister" like Gu Xun.

Zhong Li Mei curled his lips and disagreed with this, "Aren't they afraid that the national teacher will come back and settle accounts with them later?"

"After all, there is an emperor above them, so the Imperial Master still has to follow some principles and rules - that's probably how they see it." Han Xin took a sip of wine and said lightly, "In fact, it's almost the same. As long as the emperor is willing to come forward, the Imperial Master will most likely be willing to make concessions."

"So the Imperial Master really wants to take over Lingnan..." Zhongli Mei gestured curiously and didn't finish his words.

Gu Xun intended to get involved in Lingnan. This was the speculation of Zhongli Mei, Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo, but there was no conclusive evidence.

If there was anyone who knew the truth, it was only Han Xin and Nei Shi Teng - they looked like the nails planted by Gu Xun to clamp down on the arrogant Zhao Tuo. If Gu Xun planned to do something, he would not be able to avoid these two.

Han Xin waved his hand and said, "From what I can judge, our Imperial Master has no clear intention to get involved in Lingnan."

"What he did was just to ensure that the situation in Lingnan would not deteriorate to a point where it was difficult to handle."

"As for who owns this land... he doesn't seem to care at all, at least not yet."

Zhong Li Mei shook his head, somewhat confused about Gu Xun's train of thought:

"The actions of the Imperial Master... seem to indicate that Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo intend to establish their own regime with the support of the enemy!"

Han Xin shrugged. "I don't understand it either, but he made this judgment."

Han Xin had previously told Zhongli Mei that Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo were not honest, partly because he noticed that there was something wrong with what the two men did, but more because Gu Xun had concluded that there was something wrong with them.

He chose to trust his boss.

"Maybe he knows something that we don't know, or maybe... he just guessed it?"

Zhong Limei smiled and put down the chopsticks in his hand. "The former is more reliable. As for the latter... I would rather believe that he is deliberately looking for trouble with Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo."

"They are just the same." Han Xin replied casually while eating his snacks.

Zhongli Mei turned the topic back to the recent activities of Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo. "By the way, the two of them have been very active recently. Are they trying to take advantage of the emperor's northern tour?"

"It's not just them!" Han Xin sneered, "I wonder how many people in the world are waiting to see this excitement."

Zhong Limei unconsciously lowered his voice, and asked stealthily as if someone was eavesdropping, "So what do you think, will the eldest son Fusu do this again..."

At the end, he didn't dare to say it explicitly, but just made a gesture.

As newcomers who were absorbed into Liusha later, they both knew limited things, but they were not completely ignorant.

At least they both knew that Liusha had been making big moves in the North in recent times.

With such a large-scale operation, the probability of not violating taboos is extremely small.

If Ying Zheng caught some clues during his northern tour, it would likely cause a new storm. And as the eldest prince Fusu, the only student of Gu Xun, the leader of Liusha, it would be difficult for him not to be affected by this storm.

As the eldest son of His Majesty the Emperor, he had been banished from the imperial capital, Xianyang, away from the center of power of the empire, and had almost received the most severe punishment.

If the emperor remembered this, he would probably be exiled to Lingnan, where he would watch giant pythons baring their teeth in the jungle, or exiled to Liaodong, where he would dig ginseng in the ice and snow.

Zhongli Mei didn't care about the fall of his backer - he didn't even have an official position now, so these things didn't matter to him.

He just couldn't bear to see the emperor persecuting Fusu - he was a die-hard member of the eldest prince's faction, even before he was discovered and appreciated by Gu Xun.

In comparison, Han Xin was not as cautious as Zhongli Mei.

He had no feelings for Fusu, or rather, he had no feelings for all the princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials in the empire, even Emperor Ying Zheng was no exception.

The only exception is Gu Xun, because Gu Xun can completely destroy him physically, and he can't even run away.

You have to give in.

"No one can say for sure now." Han Xin replied calmly, "It is basically impossible for Ying Zheng not to notice what happened in the north, and it is difficult to predict how he will react - he is a reckless emperor."

Zhong Li Mei couldn't help but sigh, "What a trouble... At this moment, the Imperial Master has disappeared!"

"Maybe..." Han Xin shrugged, "He has more important things to do."

"What could be more important?" Zhongli Mei was at a loss.

The situation in the empire was deteriorating, and the emperor was now pointing his finger at the north. Even someone like Zhongli Mei, who was not sensitive to the political situation, felt that the collapse of the world might be imminent.

At this critical moment, what more important things could Gu Xun be busy with?

Han Xin pulled the corner of his mouth and replied with a half-smile, "How can you and I see clearly the calculations of the big shots?"

This is not a gap in ability, this is a gap in information.

Zhong Limei smiled bitterly and shook his head with emotion, "Big shot... forget it, it's not our business to worry about it!"

"Spring is almost here, and I'm leaving too."

"After this farewell, I don't know when we will meet again. Come, drink!"

"Drink!" Han Xin raised his glass in response.

………………

In the thirty-sixth year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s reign, it was the second month of spring.

The cold winter that has raged for months has finally dissipated, spring has returned to the earth, all things have revived, and people can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

And Ying Zheng also began to prepare for his new round of tours early.

As Ying Zheng's western tour began, the war in Lingnan also came to an end.

Because Ren Xiong and Zhao Tuo slowed down their offensive, the war, which was supposed to end in the early Yin month, was delayed until a month later.

However, the Baiyue tribes have basically completely lost their ability to resist.

Nanyue and Xioudu had completely fallen, and Zhao Tuo's troops had already invaded Luoyue's territory.

But the war ended there. Luoyue's territory was too far to the south, and there was no point in conquering it all.

In ten days at most, the Lingnan War, which has dragged on for many years, will officially end.