Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

In the Qin state, there was no Minister of Justice, but there was a Court of Justice.

Upon hearing Ying Zheng's question, Li Si immediately stepped forward and replied, "There is already progress in this matter. After an overnight interrogation by the Court of Justice, the palace guards confessed that a stranger had recently bribed them with a large sum of money to give leniency to the Yan envoy."

"I'm sure we'll be able to find out who's behind this soon!"

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

After all, it's not easy to find out these things in such a short time.

He wasn't overly demanding of Li Si to find the real culprit, since the true mastermind was already quite clear: it was the State of Yan. This time, they absolutely couldn't let the State of Yan go.

……

The imperial edict for the court assembly was delivered from Xianyang at an urgent speed of eight hundred li, and the fast horse galloped across the official road on the border between Qin and Zhao, heading straight for the Qin army camp on the banks of the Yi River.

As the messenger dismounted and loudly proclaimed the imperial edict to "immediately attack Yan," a sharp glint flashed in Wang Jian's deep eyes. He then said in a deep voice, "Issue my order: the entire army shall break camp and march straight towards Ji City!"

Meng Tian accepted the order and turned to coordinate the various departments.

The Qin soldiers were already stationed on the border, ready to fight at any moment. Upon receiving the imperial edict, their morale soared. The sound of bugles echoed along the banks of the Yi River, banners fluttered, and the clanging of armor shook the heavens and the earth.

The 200,000-strong army, like a dormant beast awakening, spread out along the south bank of the Yi River, with supplies and provisions following closely behind. Rolling wheels crushed the land, raising clouds of dust, and sped toward the heart of the Yan Kingdom.

When the news reached Ji City, King Xi of Yan was in the palace feasting with his concubines, trying to drown his sorrows and alleviate his fear of the Qin state.

When the eunuch stumbled into the hall and shouted, "The Qin army has crossed the Yi River and is heading straight for Ji City," the wine cup in King Yan Xi's hand accidentally fell to the ground, and his face instantly turned ashen.

"Qin...Qin army is here?" His voice trembled, and his body swayed as if he were about to collapse.

No one knew better than him why the Qin state launched an attack on the Yan state.

Previously, the Yan envoy went to the Qin state to present a map and the head of Fan Yuqi. It seemed to be an attempt to seek peace with the Qin state, but in reality, it was a desperate gamble by the Yan state.

If the assassination of Ying Zheng succeeds, the crisis in the Yan state can be alleviated.

Unfortunately, the assassination attempt failed.

After the defeat, the State of Yan would face the wrath of the State of Qin.

How can they quell their anger?

Yan Wangxi immediately thought of his strategist Tian Guang, as it was Tian Guang who first proposed the assassination plan.

Furthermore, Tian Guang mentioned sending Crown Prince Yan Dan to carry out that task.

If the assassination plot had been stopped in time after Crown Prince Yan Dan's death, perhaps none of this would have happened.

But Tian Guang persuaded him, saying that he had made so many preparations, and if he gave up now, wouldn't all those preparations have been in vain?

So King Yan Xi let Tian Guang continue to carry out the plan, as he trusted Tian Guang very much.

But now it seems that Tian Guang has betrayed his trust.

The assassination attempt failed, and Tian Guang bears the primary responsibility. As the Prince of Yan, he was deceived by treacherous officials!

But when the Prince of Yan went to find Tian Guang, he discovered that Tian Guang had already disappeared.

This person could not be found in the entire Yan state.

As a smart man, Tian Guang certainly couldn't stay in Yan. After learning through secret channels that the assassination attempt had failed, he fled immediately.

Therefore, it was destined to be futile for King Yan Xi to try to find someone to take the blame; he could only face this sudden catastrophe.

Soon after, the court assembly of the Yan state was also convened.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the Qin army, the people of Yan were in an uproar, but could not come up with a good solution.

Ultimately, it was the Prime Minister of Yan who proposed a solution that was hardly a solution at all.

"Your Majesty, at this point, the only option is to mobilize the entire nation to resist! Sending envoys to Qin to sue for peace is now futile!"

However, the Yan state was already weak and had been confined to a corner of the country for many years. Its army was far less powerful than the Qin army. How could it withstand the fierce army led by Wang Jian?

Soon someone else raised the same question.

After some discussion, one minister proposed a solution to this problem.

“Your Majesty, the Qin army is powerful, and the Yan state alone can hardly resist it. However, there are still remnants of the Zhao state in the Dai region, led by Zhao Jia. Zhao Jia harbors a deep hatred for the Qin state and is determined to seek revenge. If we can send envoys to unite with the King of Dai, offer them benefits, and fight against the Qin army together, there may still be a glimmer of hope.”

This certainly cannot solve the predicament of the Yan state.

It should be noted that even the incredibly powerful state of Zhao was destroyed.

Zhao Jia of Dai was nothing but a stray dog. Although he had some men, they were just a small number of defeated soldiers he had gathered.

The idea that the State of Yan, along with Zhao Jia of Dai, could contend with the State of Qin was nothing short of a pipe dream.

But the same problem remains: the State of Yan has no other choice!

Soon, the states of Yan and Dai established contact and joined forces to resist the Qin army near the Yi River.

This was a war destined to fail, so there's not much to elaborate on.

……

In Xianyang, Xu Qing only paid a little attention to this war.

All he wanted to know was whether the Yan state would be destroyed.

Or rather, will King Xi of Yan die in this way?

If the Prince of Yan Xi might die, he wouldn't mind personally going to his death to send him on his way. After all, he had a sword in his hand that had already killed the rulers of two countries. To make it even stronger, he needed to kill more rulers.

However, it is clear that the Qin state did not intend to destroy the Yan state in this war.

The main reason was that the State of Yan was too remote.

Although the Qin state was able to destroy Yan, governing Yan after its destruction was not an easy task.

In Qin's strategic objectives, Yan was never Qin's first choice. They planned to first destroy the surrounding states and then deal with those in the peripheral regions one by one.

The states of Yan and Qi were Qin's next targets.

The same was true this time. Even though the Yan state sent envoys to assassinate Ying Zheng, Ying Zheng did not make up his mind to destroy the Yan state.

The real reason is that a war of annihilation requires much more preparation.

Of course, the Yan state also had to pay a price.

In this battle, the Yi River was stained red.

The combined forces of Yan and Dai were routed by the Qin army led by Wang Jian and Meng Tian. In particular, the remaining forces of Zhao in Dai were completely wiped out. Ji City of Yan also fell in this battle. Only King Xi of Yan, with some remaining strength, temporarily moved the state to Liaodong.

In name only, the State of Yan still existed, but in reality, it was practically extinct.

Now, the Yan state's strength has been weakened to the point that it is not even as strong as the once weakest state, Han. As long as Qin is able to free up its resources, a single detachment of its forces can easily destroy the Yan state.

The Qin state was naturally very satisfied with this result.

However, some people are not so satisfied.

"You mean, there's a problem with the farm?"

Changping-jun looked at Tian Guang in front of him with a somewhat displeased expression.

After the failed assassination attempt on the King of Yan, Tian Guang learned of the news and immediately left the state of Yan. King Xi of Yan wanted to find a scapegoat but couldn't find one, so he had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill.

As for Tian Guang, who instigated King Xi of Yan to carry out the assassination attempt on the King of Qin, he traveled thousands of miles to the State of Qin.

He first went back to his farmhouse, and then came to Changping Jun's place.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he brought bad news to Changping Jun.

For Changping Jun, the Farmer's Family was an extremely important part of his "Azure Dragon Plan". In the past, he secretly funded Tian Guang and helped him rebuild the declining Farmer's Family, so that the Farmer's Family would become his helper and a strong ally in the martial arts world.

Later, everything went as he had planned. The Farmers became his ally, and with their members spread all over the world, he possessed an extremely powerful intelligence network.

Even though the assassination plot against Qin by the State of Yan was thwarted by the sudden death of Yan Dan and the timely withdrawal of the Mohists, he could still rely on the Agriculturalists to salvage the situation.

But now, Tian Guang tells him that the assassination attempt failed because of problems with the peasants.

How could Changping-jun possibly accept this?

"After Yan Dan's incident, in order to ensure the assassination went smoothly, I decided to have someone from the Farmer Clan carry it out. The person I chose was from the Tian Clan, a direct descendant of me, sharing the same bloodline..."

Tian Guang, his voice grave, recounted the whole story.

According to Tian Guang, the person he chose was Tian Meng, the head of Lieshan Hall, a direct descendant of the Tian family. He trusted Tian Meng greatly and once groomed him as his successor.

The Tian family had enjoyed the benefits of the growing strength of the farming family, and at this time, it was also necessary for them to make sacrifices.

Tian Meng verbally agreed to carry out the assassination plan.

As a result, when news of the failed assassination reached Tian Guang's ears, after learning the details, he suddenly realized that the two assassins who died in Xianyang Palace were not Tian Meng at all.

Tian Meng simply vanished without a trace.

Before that, he went back to the farm headquarters and learned that not long ago, Tian Meng had returned to the farm, taken some things with him, and then disappeared without a trace, his whereabouts unknown.

All these strange occurrences have revealed a truth.

"Tian Meng has betrayed the farming community!"

"You betrayed me!"

Tian Guang's voice was filled with deep anger.

After learning the whole story, Lord Changping did not comfort Tian Guang, but instead said to him in a deep voice, "This matter must be treated with utmost care. We must find Tian Meng!"

"I will find him and take care of him!"

Tian Guang certainly knew the crux of the matter.

Right now, the most important thing is not the failed assassination attempt on the Qin emperor, but Tian Meng's betrayal, which may implicate the peasant family.

Originally, in the plan devised by Lord Changping and Tian Guang, the assassination of Qin was to be led by the State of Yan, and carried out by the Mohists.

Even if they failed, it would be the Yan state and the Mohists who would suffer Qin's retaliation.

However, due to the changes in the Yan state, in order to prevent the assassination plan from being interrupted, Tian Guang chose to take a risk and let the peasants carry out the task. He thought it was safe, and the people he chose were not even outsiders, but his own people like Tian Meng.

Unexpectedly, this very person, one of their own, became the biggest problem.

Tian Meng's betrayal was something Tian Guang had never anticipated.

If Tian Meng had simply deserted in the face of battle, that would be one thing.

Unfortunately, two so-called envoys from the Yan state actually appeared in the Qin state and launched an assassination attempt on King Ying Zheng of Qin in the Xianyang Palace.