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

Li Zuoche said leisurely, "The Bear Gang only practices two kinds of martial arts: one for fighting and one for taking a beating. When fighting, you have to be like a dog, biting hard and not letting go. When taking a beating, you have to be like a bear, as pathetic as possible."

"This is their survival rule, the Bear Gang."

Cao Ze understood: "To be arrogant at the beginning and then obsequious at the end is just bullying the weak."

"Who says otherwise? But that's precisely why they have the most members in the Bear Gang, making them difficult to take down. I can't think of any good ideas on how to help the Tiger Gang take down the Bear Gang without bloodshed. It's a real headache~"

What Li Zuoche didn't mention was that this was a test set by his father, Old Li, after he learned that Li Zuoche was helping Lian Cheng.

As Sun Tzu's Art of War states: "The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; next is to disrupt their alliances; next is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege their cities."

A skilled strategist can subdue the enemy without fighting.

His grandfather's meaning was clear: he wanted him to use his brain to solve the problem.

But subduing the enemy without fighting is not so easy, especially when the two sides are not much different, and the Bear Gang is even slightly stronger.

Given Xiong Er's shrewdness, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

Cao Ze blinked a few times and asked Li Zuoche about some people and things related to the Bear Gang.

Then he smiled and said, "Brother Li, why are you looking so worried? Come on, I'll help you solve this."

Li Zuoche was overjoyed and said, "Brother Cao, I knew you were quick-witted and eloquent. Go and persuade them to surrender!"

Cao Ze went up and gave Li Zuoche a flick on the forehead, "What nonsense are you talking about? Is there something wrong with your brain, or is it Xiong Er from the Bear Gang who has something wrong with his brain?"

Li Zuoche asked dejectedly, "Then what should we do?"

Cao Ze smiled faintly and said, "It's simple, I'll go tell Brother Cheng a story."

Li Zuoche asked curiously, "What story?"

"The people of Qi love brave men."

Chapter 61 Bringing the Moon Goddess Home

Cao Ze, while with the Fierce Tiger Gang, told Li Zuoche and Lian Cheng the fable "The Brave Man of Qi".

The story is simple: two simpletons from the State of Qi met on the road outside the city, hit it off immediately, and went to a nearby wine shop for a drink.

After getting a little tipsy, Hanhan, who lived in the east of the city, slapped his forehead and said he wanted to go to the city to buy some meat to eat.

The simpleton living in the west of the city said, "You're meat, and I'm meat too. Why buy anything? We can just each take a little."

Then Ju Ran, having already committed suicide, drew his knife, cut off a piece of his own flesh, and ate it until he died.

Originally intended to satirize foolish courage, it is better to have no courage at all.

However, different perspectives can lead to different answers.

If these two people weren't human, but rather two countries, two forces, two gangs...

As you can see, during the Warring States period, all the states were ruthlessly cutting off their own flesh and desperately squeezing out their own war potential.

Lian Cheng was completely bewildered. How could there be someone even more idiotic than him?

Li Zuoche seemed to be thinking, "Brother Cao, do you mean that if you want to subdue the enemy without fighting, you should let Brother Cheng fight?"

Cao Ze laughed and said, "That's right. You said that Xiong Er is shrewd, but the survival rule of the Bear Gang is to bully the weak and fear the strong. Would Xiong Er dare to fight against a tough guy like Brother Cheng?"

"Of course not, but... Xiong Er isn't stupid, he can just not compete, right?"

"What if he has no choice but to compete?"

Li Zuoche pondered for a moment and said, "You want Sister Yafei to step in?"

Cao Ze said, "That's right. We can use the excuse that fighting between the two gangs is too dangerous to have Ya Fei focus the conflict between the gangs on Xiong Er and Cheng Ge."

"In this way, we can also avoid the situation where, when Brother Cheng takes over the Bear Gang, he is taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives like Guo Kai, which could put Brother Cheng in a passive position or even cause him to be saddled with a bad reputation and imprisoned."

Li Zuoche nodded and said, "That's right. As the two largest gangs in Handan, the Fierce Tiger Gang and the Bear Gang could cause a bloodbath if they were to make a move, which might attract the attention of the King."

"Now that the Bear Gang has lost the protection of Guo Kai and others, as long as Sister Ya Fei steps in and uses her power to intimidate them, they have no other choice. After all..."

Li Zuoche smiled mysteriously: "We have people among the city guards."

Lian Cheng understood this time. "Is that all? Fine, watch me smash Xiong Er's dog head in!"

Cao Ze chatted with Li Zuoche Liancheng for a few more minutes.

Li Zuoche suddenly said, "Oh no, I forgot to tell Sister Yafei that you're alright!"

Lian Cheng stared blankly as Li Zuoche slipped away, then called out, "Che'er, don't forget to tell Sister Yafei about our matter."

A faint "I understand" came over, and Cao Ze stood up and said, "Brother Cheng, it's getting late, I have to go back now, I'll leave that matter to you."

Lian Cheng laughed heartily: "No problem, I guarantee those guys won't dare to go there again."

……

Cao Ze leisurely returned to his Qingping Residence courtyard.

It's just nightfall, and the moon is big and round tonight.

Jingni was holding Xiaoyan'er in the courtyard.

Li Wu moved a wooden table to the center of the courtyard, placed fresh fruit on it, and lit incense.

Cao Ze asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Li Wu said speechlessly, "Don't you know today is the Autumn Equinox? The Moon Festival?"

Jingni, holding the sleeping Xiaoyan'er, said to Cao Ze, "I want to pray to the Moon Goddess for Xiaoyan'er's well-being."

"Forehead……"

Cao Ze then realized that today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the ancients celebrated according to the lunar calendar.

During the pre-Qin period, it was known as the Moon Festival.

Compared to the later meaning of family reunion, the current Moon Festival focuses more on praying for blessings and warding off disasters, and for children, which is somewhat reminiscent of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Li Wu pulled Cao Ze over, "What are you standing there for? The incense is lit, hurry up and worship the Moon Goddess."

Cao Ze was speechless, and snorted, "Just wait until I bring the Moon Goddess home and let you worship her to your heart's content."

Li Wu smiled gently: "You think you can fly to the heavens?"

Cao Ze smiled without saying a word, and together with Jing Ni and Li Wu, they paid homage to the Moon Goddess.

It must be said that in modern times, he had absolutely no interest in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.

But now, by staging a ceremony to transport him to a distant time and space, one wonders if his beautiful boss will be sad and heartbroken in the days without him.

Li Wu had been watching Cao Ze closely, or rather, coveting him. Seeing his sudden sadness, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Cao Ze snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, I'm hungry. Hmm, I'll go make you something to eat."

He can't resist making some mooncakes to try now.

Making mooncakes isn't difficult. He made them for his beautiful boss several times in exchange for overtime pay, and he was quite skilled at it.

In addition, Qin Shili had no shortage of various raw materials. After working for most of the hour, they made six mooncakes, simply writing the character "福" (fortune) in large seal script on them.

Cao Ze and Jing Ni Li Wu were enjoying the moon and eating mooncakes in the courtyard, a rare moment of peace without any distractions.

Meanwhile, in another part of Handan, at Guo Kai's Prime Minister's residence, a web-web assassin dressed in a spiderweb outfit arrived.

Guo Kai stared directly at the somewhat cynical young man before him. "A member of the Luo Wang?"

"My name is Shen Leping. I have just met Your Excellency. Prime Minister Lü has asked me to convey his congratulations to you."

Shen Leping clapped his hands, and a black-clad man from the Net of Law brought over a wooden box and opened it.

"A thousand gold pieces are presented as a congratulatory gift to the Prime Minister."

Guo Kai waved his hand, dismissing the crowd, leaving only one of his loyal retainers by his side.

"The Book of Poetry says: 'A gentleman who receives a salary without merit shall not be allowed to advance in his career.' Tell me, what does Prime Minister Lü want from me?"

Shen Leping laughed and said, "Cao Ze killed my Luo Wang members. I hope that Your Excellency can send men to help us capture Cao Ze."

He did not reveal that there was a traitor in the Luo Wang organization, as the defection of a top-ranking member would have a significant impact on the Luo Wang's reputation.

Guo Kai couldn't help but laugh, "You think you can get me to help you take down Cao Ze with just this thousand taels of gold?"

"If it were a few days ago, I might have considered it, but now take the money back. I can't help with this."

Shen Leping was somewhat surprised. Cao Ze was just a nobody, so why would he make Guo Kai feel embarrassed?

"Your Excellency, money..."

Guo Kai snorted coldly and said, "Enough! You Luo Wang didn't even bother to investigate properly. Just yesterday, I recommended Cao Ze, who presented his 'Theory of the Six States' in court. His Majesty greatly admired him. Now you want me to help you capture Cao Ze? Are you trying to make fun of me?"

Even if he had no interest in money, he wouldn't use it to cause himself distress.

Shen Leping never expected that Cao Ze would gain some influence so quickly.

He had only been away for a few days to meet up with Xuan Jian, who had been sent by his superiors to hunt down the traitor Jing Ni.

The thought of this guy who was a little mentally unstable gave Shen Leping a headache.

Who could have imagined that Jingni was in Handan, and that he happened to be in Handan investigating the He Shi Bi jade?

However, based on his observations over the past two days, Cao Ze probably obtained the He Shi Bi jade, otherwise he wouldn't be so pleased with himself.

Now, of the two treasures from the Spring and Autumn Period, only the He Shi Bi remains. It would be such a pity if we couldn't examine it.

"It was my fault. Please accept this thousand pieces of gold as an apology to the Prime Minister."

Just as Shen Leping was about to leave, Guo Kai raised his hand and said, "Wait a moment."

Guo Kai paced back and forth a couple of times. Zhao Qian had been driving him crazy ever since he returned from the palace today.

He hadn't expected that the Empress Dowager truly appreciated Cao Ze's talent, which was why she allowed him to go.

What's even more puzzling is that the Empress seems to intend for Cao Ze to replace him as Zhao Qian's teacher, which would affect his interests, even if they aren't core interests.

"I cannot send anyone to help you, but tomorrow night, I can have the city guards go there a little later. Just don't cause any big commotion, understand?"

Shen Leping understood immediately.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency!"

……