People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Lu Buwei frowned deeply. He had originally planned to have Yan Ri enter the palace under the alias Lao Ai, but the plan had fallen through again.

"Killed by Cao Ze."

"Cao Ze... isn't dead?"

Xuan Jian said hoarsely, "He's not dead."

Lü Buwei immediately picked up the intelligence report he had thrown aside and read it quickly again.

His eyes were fixed on the name Cao Ze on the intelligence report.

If Cao Ze hadn't died, then everything would make sense.

Cao Ze faked his death and secretly helped Crown Prince Jia. Together with Consort Ya, they launched a palace coup and helped Crown Prince Jia become the King of Zhao.

That's quite a tactic; they even managed to fool him.

But what good is it if Zhao Jia comes to power? How can one person alone save a corrupt Zhao state? In the end, it will be reduced to wasteland under the iron cavalry of Qin.

After calming down, Lü Buwei frowned as he looked at Xuan Jian.

"The men we sent are all dead?"

Xuan Jian remained silent.

But the next moment, Lü Buwei was almost startled into crying out.

On Xuan Jian's face, the faces of Yan Ri, Qian Sha, General Bi, Kun Po, and others slowly flashed by, finally converging into Xuan Jian's appearance.

"They're all dead. I inherited their power."

Xuan Jian's eyes were sinister, and a cold-blooded, murderous aura emanated from his body, causing the ever-vigilant Old Man Zheng to step in front of Lü Buwei.

He sensed the murderous intent and felt a life-or-death crisis.

Chapter 257 We're all family, aren't we?

Having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for many years, Lü Buwei, facing the mentally unstable Xuan Jian, asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to do?"

Xuan Jian's face was cold, and his eyes were sinister. "I want to become the leader of the Luo Wang."

After he obtained the power of the Eight Linglong of Qian Sha, he also absorbed the power of Yan Ri.

Absorbing two top-tier experts and a half-step grandmaster in a short period of time almost drove him insane.

It took several months of seclusion and adjustment to finally digest this power.

This made him stronger than ever before.

However, he still did not break through to the Grandmaster realm.

But he knew that although he did not have the level of a grandmaster, his combat strength was no less than that of a grandmaster, and might even be stronger!

Old Man Zheng gripped his sword tightly, ready to fight to the death to protect Prime Minister Lü if Xuan Jian showed even the slightest intention to attack.

Lü Buwei breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It's not the strength of these unruly people that's scary, but their lack of desire. Once people have desires, they can be bought off, controlled, and used by others.

"You want to become the leader of the Net?"

"That's right, Yan Ri is dead. Only I am qualified to be the leader of the Luo Wang!"

Xuan Jian made no attempt to hide his ambition.

Ever since he watched Qianqian die before his eyes, ever since he was manipulated like a puppet by Yanri Shen Leping, he has developed an uncontrollable desire for power.

If he had power, how could he have ended up in such a state!

Lu Buwei pondered for a few moments, then said, "Alright, but for now you can only be the acting leader."

Why?

Lu Buwei calmly said, "The Net is not a single entity; you should know about the Six Sword Slaves."

A hint of apprehension flashed in Xuan Jian's reddened eyes; this was the Luo Wang's trump card.

The Six Sword Slaves are a unified force; when they attack simultaneously, they can overwhelm and kill a Grandmaster.

"I plan to consolidate the Luo Wang before the King of Qin's coming-of-age ceremony. In order to avoid any unforeseen events, I will keep the matter of Yan Ri's death a secret for the time being. As for you, you will temporarily serve as the leader. When the time comes, I will make you the true leader of the Luo Wang."

Xuan Jian remained silent for a moment, then said, "Alright."

The King of Qin will be crowned next April; it's only a year, he can wait.

After Xuan Jian left, Old Man Zheng was already covered in cold sweat.

"Prime Minister Lü, do we really want to make him the leader of the Luo Wang?"

Lü Buwei said, "Why not?"

“Xuan Jian has always been unruly, and a few years ago he was even more so…”

Lü Buwei sneered, "Therefore, he is more suitable to be a knife to help me remove obstacles."

He would not easily allow Ying Zheng to be crowned.

Xuan Jian's strength is so great that it's hard for him not to be tempted.

With Ying Lao dead, the plan to support Ying Lao to become the King of Qin came to nothing.

However, if Ying Zheng were to die, he could join forces with Empress Dowager Huayang to support his eldest son, Fusu, who was just born and still in swaddling clothes, to ascend the throne.

He wants everything to be under his control.

……

The next day.

Zi Nu didn't drag Cao Ze out for a stroll in the donkey cart early in the morning; it seemed she had given up and let Cao Ze sleep in.

However, the six kingdoms were not at peace; undercurrents were surging.

Three days later, the news that Zhao Jia would succeed as King of Zhao had spread throughout the land.

The State of Qin.

Ying Zheng listened expressionlessly to the reports from his ministers in the court, and was asked to choose one person to represent Qin to attend the ceremony in Zhao.

His son, Fusu, was only recently born and was clearly not up to the task.

Cheng Jiao didn't know whether he had truly betrayed them or had been framed, and now no one knew where he was.

After a moment's hesitation, he sent General Zhang Tang, who had fought against the State of Zhao and whose bounty had been publicly offered by Zhao, to the State of Zhao to observe the ceremony.

Qin and Zhao were already at odds, so the intention behind this was self-evident.

He won unanimous praise from all the officials in the court, except for Zhang Tang, who was secretly bitter.

Even though he knew that it was impossible to harm him during the King of Zhao's enthronement ceremony, he was still panicked.

The State of Yan.

On the same day, the Yan state also sent a representative to attend the ceremony, namely Crown Prince Dan of Yan, who was then the crown prince.

Yan Dan had only recently become the disciple of Six-Fingered Black Knight, and under pressure from his uncle Yan Chunjun, he was able to breathe a brief sigh of relief.

When Yan Dan learned that his father had ordered him to go to the State of Zhao to attend the ceremony, his mind began to race.

He felt like he was walking on thin ice, constantly on edge, as the crown prince.

Given how much the king trusts his uncle, Lord Yanchun, it's hard to say whether one day he might actually listen to his uncle, remove him from the position of crown prince, and send him back to the state of Zhao as a hostage.

Could I follow Brother Zhao's example and use the power of the Mohists and the State of Zhao to help myself rise to power?

Thinking back to the times when he was a hostage in the State of Zhao and met Zhao Jia, the once virtuous and upright Crown Prince Jia has become the King of Zhao, and Ying Zheng, who was originally the most bullied, has also become the King of Qin.

Only he remains, still barely surviving under the oppression of his uncle, Yan Chunjun.

Thinking of this, Yan Dan clenched his fists, and a look of unwillingness appeared on his handsome face.

He is stronger than Ying Zheng and Zhao Jia, so why can't he become the King of Yan!

Furthermore, the people of Yan were suffering terribly under the tyranny of Lord Yanchun, all because of the king's indulgence.

If he wants to change the state of Yan, he must ascend to the throne as soon as possible and become the King of Yan.

Otherwise, the fate awaiting the Yan state would be either destruction by the Zhao state or destruction by the Qin state!

Whether for personal gain or for justice, he was determined to seize the throne!

Zhao Jia made him realize this now.

There's more than one way to rise to power; there's another called the Xuanwu Gate Incident!

It's a pity Cao Ze is dead, otherwise he really wanted to learn from him.

The same situation also occurred in the states of Wei, Qi, and Chu.

The State of Wei sent Lord Longyang to observe the ceremony, the State of Qi sent its Prime Minister Hou Sheng to observe the ceremony, and the State of Chu sent its General and head of the Xiang clan, Xiang Yan, to observe the ceremony.

And South Korea...

In the imperial court, after discussing matters with his ministers, King An of Han summoned Han Fei, who had been silent since returning to Han.

"Han Fei, Crown Prince Jia is about to ascend the throne. Han Yu recommended you, so you will lead the people to represent the State of Han and me to attend the ceremony."

Han Fei paused slightly, not expecting his father to choose him to attend the ceremony in Zhao.

However, this conveniently allowed him to carry out his plans.

Having been estranged from each other for many years, Han and Zhao should have secretly kept watch over each other in the face of Qin's power, lest their fate be intertwined with that of their own.

"Your subject... obeys."

Ji Wuye's expression was somber, and somewhat disdainful.

To him, it didn't matter who went to Zhao to attend the ceremony; they were all worthless scoundrels who could be easily crushed with a flick of his wrist.

Fourth Prince Han Yu narrowed his eyes as he watched this scene, thinking to himself, "Ninth Brother, I've fought for this opportunity for you, so don't let me down. Your return has already touched the interests of the Crown Prince's faction, and I'm helping you become stronger."

Han Fei seemed to sense something and subconsciously looked at his fourth brother, Han Yu, who was smiling at him. He returned the smile.

He thought to himself, "Is Fourth Brother being so kind to stir up trouble between him and Eldest Brother, or rather, Ji Wuye, who is behind Eldest Brother?"

Representing South Korea, going to the State of Zhao to observe the ceremony, as long as you return safely, it will be a great achievement.