Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

The Flying Shadow Sword in her hand was made by Xu Qing.

Judging from the power of the swords we see today, there is no doubt that Xu Qing's sword-making skills have reached a new level over the past few years.

"The earlier sword was named Mo Wen, and it was forged during the last time in the Yan Kingdom," Xu Qing explained calmly. "The later sword is called Chunqiu."

He only told her the sword's name, without saying anything else. Jingni nodded, sincerely praising, "Truly remarkable!"

Xu Qing smiled and accepted the praise without hesitation.

The four continued their journey and soon arrived at the border of the Zhao state.

With their skills, they easily crossed the border and entered the territory of the Zhao state.

The states of Yan and Zhao were neighbors, but their internal situations were completely different.

The State of Yan remained peaceful and prosperous, while the State of Zhao was ravaged by war and devastation. Since Li Mu was stripped of his military command and unjustly killed due to a Qin counter-espionage plot, the Zhao army had lost its last line of defense. While Li Mu was alive, although he couldn't defeat the Qin army, he could at least hold them off outside the Taihang Mountain fortresses, preventing them from advancing. But now that Li Mu was dead, the Qin army, led by Wang Jian, advanced with unstoppable momentum, successively capturing several Zhao cities, spreading the flames of war, and causing immense suffering to the people.

As Xu Qing and his companions traveled through the territory of Zhao, all they saw along the way were displaced people, refugees everywhere, and corpses of the starving littering the fields—a truly heartbreaking sight. However, Xu Qing felt little emotion. Having spent many years in this chaotic world, he had witnessed too much devastation brought by war, and his heart had long been hardened to the point of being as hard as iron.

On this day, the outline of Handan City finally came into view of the four of them.

"I wonder if Guo Kai still remembers this nobody!"

Xu Qing spoke softly, recalling his experiences in the Zhao Kingdom years ago.

Not much happened during his time in the State of Zhao.

He met Guo Kai through an old customer who had once gifted him a sword, and helped Guo Kai forge an extremely magnificent sword.

Upon discovering Guo Kai's problem afterward, he immediately withdrew.

However, on the way out of Zhao, he did help Xue Nu.

So, where did the Snow Woman go?

Xu Qing thought about this problem again.

They couldn't possibly have simply disappeared without a trace.

While keeping one's identity is indeed a good approach, it can at least avoid many controversies caused by beauty.

Chapter 232 I only seek wealth, rarely take lives.

Guo Kai obviously couldn't remember Xu Qing, this "little guy." What happened back then might have made Guo Kai somewhat angry, but his anger stemmed from a craftsman who had successfully escaped his control.

Aside from that, I didn't have any other thoughts.

As for the Snow Woman, that's another matter.

Xu Qing had dealt with all the people chasing the Snow Woman, so it was impossible to connect the two events.

However, even regarding the Snow Maiden, Guo Kai's anger was short-lived.

Ultimately, these things only made him lose face, and he wasn't able to celebrate Zhao Qian's birthday perfectly.

Even after all these things happened, Guo Kai did not give up trying to please Zhao Qian.

His methods were indeed remarkable; he was an expert in dog training.

Zhao Qian was once the crown prince of Zhao and is now the king of Zhao. However, under Guo Kai's special taming skills, he is no different from a dog. He doesn't exactly obey Guo Kai's every word, but he trusts Guo Kai to the extreme.

Even a pillar of the state like Li Mu was stripped of his military power and executed by Zhao Qian because of a few words from Guo Kai. Keep in mind that this was during wartime, and changing generals on the eve of battle is a major taboo in military strategy, yet Zhao Qian did just that.

This is no longer simply following Guo Kai's advice; it's blind obedience.

Therefore, Guo Kai is indeed quite capable.

The King of Qi trusted Hou Sheng because Hou Sheng was his maternal uncle. The two were related by blood and had grown up together since childhood.

However, there is no blood relation between Guo Kai and King Zhao.

Now, the State of Zhao is in chaos, and its people are displaced.

King Zhao Qian, who was staying in the palace, was filled with fear and dread as he watched the bad news that kept coming back to Xianyang.

Even at this point, he did not believe that ordering Li Mu to commit suicide was wrong.

According to Prime Minister Guo Kai, Li Mu had long been dissatisfied with him as king and had favored Zhao Jia to succeed him. He had also been secretly colluding with the Qin state.

If Li Mu were to continue to be appointed as the commander-in-chief, the Zhao state would likely face the Qin army's rapid advance and the fall of Handan.

As for the claim that Li Mu clearly blocked the Qin army before?

That was just Li Mu negotiating with the Qin state.

Therefore, Zhao Qian heeded Guo Kai's advice and decisively stripped Li Mu of his military power.

As for the claim that the Qin army immediately breached the mountain city between the eight paths of Taihang after Li Mu was removed, that was simply due to the incompetence of the general.

On the contrary, people like Zhao Qian are simply brainless, or rather, that's why Guo Kai spared no expense to put Zhao Qian on the throne of Zhao.

It is precisely because they lack intelligence, independent thinking, and the ability to think for themselves that they can be better controlled, obeyed without question, and thus maintain their power, wealth, and status.

On the other hand, unlike the fearful and uneasy Zhao Qian.

Guo Kai, on the other hand, stayed in his meticulously built manor, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Simply because he had already prepared a way out for himself.

Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, let alone a human.

Years ago, Guo Kai actively accepted bribes from the Qin state and secretly cultivated good relations with Qin, because he knew very well that it would be difficult for the Zhao state to fight against Qin on its own.

The Battle of Changping in the past is the best proof of this.

If the State of Zhao couldn't defeat the State of Qin back then, how much more so would the State of Zhao be now?

Li Mu is indeed very capable, and even Guo Kai admires him, but the key is that Li Mu is not on the same path as him at all.

Years ago, the two had a deep-seated grudge, and Li Mu hated him to the core.

The conflict between the two sides was prevented from erupting only because Li Mu had been stationed on the border.

But when Li Mu made great contributions on the border and returned to Handan, the conflict between the two became public.

In particular, Li Mu made great contributions in the war against the Qin state, which made Guo Kai even more restless.

He admitted that if Li Mu were still alive, Qin might have had a hard time conquering Zhao in a short period of time, but what good would that do him?

The greater Li Mu's achievements, the more likely he is to threaten Li Mu's position.

Therefore, when the Qin envoy came before him, he readily accepted the Qin bribe.

That's when Zhao Qian ordered Li Mu to be executed.

As for the fact that after Li Mu's death, the Zhao army suffered repeated defeats and the cities of Zhao fell one after another.

Guo Kai remained calm.

He had such a good relationship with the Qin state.

Even after the fall of the Zhao state, he was still able to obtain high-ranking official positions and generous salaries in the Qin state.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the fact that one can live to see that day.

Within the state of Zhao, there were many who disliked him, especially those who were on good terms with Li Mu, who blamed Li Mu's death on him.

During this period, Guo Kai's travels were always protected by many experts, with close protection around the clock, and no one dared to relax their guard in the slightest.

It mainly concerns other countries, and it sounds absolutely terrifying.

South Korea is gone, so I won't go into that.

Take the neighboring state of Yan for example; even in his own residence, Lord Yanchun was able to be killed.

Now that the State of Zhao is in chaos and bandits are emerging everywhere, it is precisely at times like these that we must be cautious.

……

"This is Guo Kai's residence?"

At the foot of the mountain, Jingni looked at the hill in front of her, her eyes gleaming.

She had naturally visited the State of Zhao when she was on a mission for the Luo Wang organization, but she had never interacted with Guo Kai, nor had she paid any attention to his daily life.

Night fell.

She followed Xu Qing to Guo Kai's mansion to keep watch. She was quite surprised to see the mansion standing on the hilltop, brightly lit even at night.

"It is said that this place is even more luxurious than the royal palace."

Xu Qing calmly explained, "Although the palace is very large, it also houses many people. This place is different; it is a place specifically for Guo Kai to enjoy himself."

"Besides that, this is also a military fortress, housing nearly a thousand elite soldiers!"

As he spoke, Xu Qing observed the buildings on the hill.

Compared to back then, these buildings seem to have grown considerably in size.

Upon closer reflection, it becomes understandable.

Although both were prime ministers and feudal lords of the Zhao state, the power of Guo Kai today is quite different from that of Guo Kai in the past.

During the reign of the late King Zhao, he still had some reservations.

However, after Zhao Qian succeeded to the throne, Zhao Qian listened to him without question, and his power expanded again, naturally making him even more greedy for pleasure.

"If what you say is true, the defenses here are probably extremely tight, and it won't be easy to infiltrate!"

Jingni looked solemn.

She didn't know what kind of grudge existed between Xu Qing and Guo Kai.

But since Xu Qing had come all the way to Handan, she decided to follow him.

“I’ve noticed that you still tend to think like an assassin or killer.” Xu Qing sighed suddenly, then added, “Even though you’ve escaped the Net.”

Jingni remained silent.

As Xu Qing said, her style of doing things still did not deviate from the principles of Luo Wang. After all, she had been in Luo Wang for so many years, and that influence was not so easy to eliminate.

"Guo Kai's mansion is heavily guarded, but that doesn't mean we can't get in at all. As long as Guo Kai isn't isolated from the world and still has contact with the outside world, we have a chance."

Xu Qing explained calmly.

In terms of stealth capabilities, the most powerful in the original work is undoubtedly the "Ink Jade Kirin," whose ever-changing and unpredictable disguises allow him to easily infiltrate most places.