Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing sighed, "That is indeed true."

"Although Bai Qi is strong, he has no merit in destroying a country. On the contrary, if the young general breaks through Daliang, it will be equivalent to destroying the Wei Kingdom with one hand. In terms of achievement, he has already surpassed the former Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi!"

Of course, if we're talking about people who were killed, that's a different story.

When it comes to killing, no one in this era can compare to Bai Qi, the "ultimate killer king".

Without saying much about Bai Qi, Xu Qing continued, "I came here today to inform the young general of the method to break through the city!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben immediately looked at Xu Qing seriously.

He is not a stubborn person; on the contrary, he is quite willing to listen to the advice of others at times.

This is also why he was persuaded by Luo Wang and Xu Qing back in Dongjun.

Xu Qing's words could still be interpreted as Xu Qing taking out the Qin King's imperial edict.

However, Luo Wang was different. You should know that Wang Ben didn't like Luo Wang very much, but when faced with Luo Wang's suggestion, he still listened to what they said and was willing to give Luo Wang a chance.

"If you can help me break through Daliang City, I will remember your contribution!" Wang Ben said to Xu Qing.

"I don't care so much about merit or merit. I just saw you besieging Daliang City for so long, but you were like a headless fly, unable to find a way to break through the city. So I decided to give you some pointers."

Xu Qing adopted an air of superiority.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben snorted again, but did not refute it.

After all, his previous words were a frank admission that he could not break through Daliang City.

"I have three strategies to break through Daliang City: superior, middle, and inferior!"

Xu Qing said calmly, and before Wang Ben could ask, he began to tell the story.

"Let's start with the worst option: continue to send a large army to completely surround Daliang City. Now, two of the six states in Shandong have been destroyed, and Yan has been crippled and is too busy to take care of itself. The remaining state of Chu is a problem, but it is currently being held back by Qin. As for Qi, it has always been neutral and obviously cannot help Wei. In other words, Daliang City is an isolated city. As long as you besiege it long enough, once the food in the city is exhausted, they will open the city gates on their own."

"I thought you had some brilliant ideas, but it turns out, this is all you've got!" Wang Ben sneered immediately after hearing Xu Qing mention the inferior strategy.

Of course, he had thought of this as well.

Xu Qing remained unperturbed by Wang Ben's sneer, simply stating calmly, "Therefore, this is merely a last resort!"

"Now that we've discussed the worst option, let's talk about the middle option."

Xu Qing continued, "Last winter, Wei experienced heavy rainfall, causing the water levels of nearby rivers to rise far above normal. Then, in the summer, there were repeated major floods..."

"Daliang City is surrounded by plains, and its location is by no means high. In order to defend Daliang City, the Wei people dug deep and wide moats around Daliang, which are connected to the Honggou Canal... If we can dam the Honggou Canal upstream, we can then breach the dam when necessary!"

"The raging floodwaters flowed along the Honggou Canal into the moat of Daliang City, and then surged towards the city..."

Xu Qing didn't finish her sentence, leaving it to Wang Ben's imagination.

Wang Ben could also imagine what that scene would be like.

While Daliang City could withstand the onslaught of a large army, it could hardly withstand the might of heaven and earth.

Under the flood, this city will surely be breached.

Similarly, Wang Ben also imagined the scene of floodwaters rushing into the city, turning it into a vast swamp, and causing widespread suffering.

"I never imagined you were such a vicious person!"

Wang Ben looked at Xu Qing with a strange gaze.

However, he didn't think Xu Qing was ruthless or anything like that. On the contrary, he greatly admired Xu Qing. After all, the purpose of going to war is to win, and in order to win this war, one can use any means necessary.

After Wang Ben considered the method proposed by Xu Qing, his doubts were easily resolved.

If this method is adopted, Daliang City will no longer be the most impregnable city in the world and can be breached very quickly.

As for the heavy casualties in Daliang City caused by this action? What does that have to do with him? All he seeks is to destroy the Wei Kingdom and achieve the glory of conquering a nation!

"This general admits that you do have some ability!"

Wang Ben began to sympathize with Xu Qing.

"Is it just a little bit of ability?" Xu Qing asked Wang Ben in return. "My abilities are far greater than you can imagine."

"Having discussed the worst and best strategies, now we can talk about the best strategy."

Xu Qing changed her tone and looked at Wang Ben, "Three days!"

"I can help you break through Daliang City within three days!"

Unlike before, this time Xu Qing did not reveal the specific method to break through the city, but only gave a deadline.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben was stunned once again.

"Three days? Are you kidding me?" It was because the timeframe Xu Qing mentioned was simply too shocking.

Whether it's the inferior strategy of besieging the city mentioned by Xu Qing, or the middle strategy of flooding Daliang City, both require time. The former takes the longest time, while the latter also requires a long time due to the need to store water.

"The Gongshu family's battering rams couldn't even break through the city walls. My 100,000-strong army attacked day and night for half a month, suffering thousands of casualties, yet we still couldn't cross that line. What makes you think you can take the city in three days?" Wang Ben was somewhat incredulous. Even though Xu Qing had previously proposed a concrete method to breach the city, he now questioned Xu Qing's superior strategy. Pointing to the thick city wall markings on the map, he said, "Daliang City is seven zhang high and three zhang thick, with a moat twenty zhang wide outside and three layers of barbicans inside. Unless the heavens and earth collapse, there is absolutely no possibility of it being breached quickly!"

In recent days, he tried to use fire to attack, but the city's defenders extinguished it with water; he tried to use ladders to launch a strong attack, but was repelled by rolling stones and logs from the city walls; he even had the Gongshu family build a giant battering ram, but it only left a few shallow dents on the city walls.

Daliang City was like a tough bone that he couldn't gnaw on, leaving him exhausted.

This is also why his doubts were dispelled after hearing Xu Qing mention the water attack method.

"Whether you're joking or not, you'll know in three days." Xu Qing still didn't explain what the best strategy was, but instead said to Wang Ben, "Even if I can't help you break through Daliang City in three days, haven't I already given you two methods to break through the city?"

That's true.

While the worst option is still an option, Xu Qing's middle-ground strategy is indeed a solution that Wang Ben had not yet thought of.

This was a one-time favor he had to owe Xu Qing.

So he asked Xu Qing again, "What do you want?"

Xu Qing had previously said that he didn't care about merit or anything like that, but Wang Ben thought that Xu Qing had other motives.

Regardless, he wanted to know Xu Qing's needs so that he could repay Xu Qing when the city fell.

Xu Qing calmly said, "What I seek is neither gold and silver nor official titles and salaries. I only ask that after the young general breaks through the city, he restrain his soldiers from indiscriminately killing innocent people and give the people in the city a way to survive."

Wang Ben was stunned. It wasn't that he couldn't agree, but rather that he simply couldn't imagine that such words would come from the extremely ruthless person who proposed "flooding Daliang City."

He couldn't help but give Xu Qing a deep look before finally saying, "Okay, I can agree to that!"

"Therefore, our deal is considered done!"

Xu Qing then spoke to Wang Ben.

After that, he left quietly, just as he had come.

Seeing Xu Qing suddenly disappear, Wang Ben remained silent for a while before decisively summoning the guards stationed outside the tent and asking them if they had noticed anything unusual.

The answer from the health department was that everything was normal.

The fact that everything is normal is itself the biggest abnormality.

Because Wang Ben had just met Xu Qing, and combined with the words of his personal guards, he was even more able to sense how terrifying Xu Qing was.

……

After leaving Wang Ben's place and making an appointment with him, Xu Qing returned to the vicinity of Daliang City.

The night had not yet faded.

Looking at the towering city wall ahead, Xu Qing simply touched the ground with his toes. Instantly, a gentle breeze blew, lifting his body and soaring upwards. During this process, he used a little trick, blending in with the light and dust, merging himself into the natural world.

Unless one possesses a profound level of spiritual attainment or is born in harmony with heaven and earth, no one would discover Xu Qing's existence.

The city of Daliang was high, but it could not stop Xu Qing's footsteps.

Just as he had leaped off the walls of Daliang City, he was now back on the walls of Daliang City once again.

Then, he decisively went to find the garrison commander of Daliang City.

In the first battle, Dian Qing earned the reputation of "bronze head and iron arms, unharmed in a hundred battles," but he was only a centurion. The real commander of the troops was someone else. At this moment, Xu Qing quietly found the Wei army's commander and then cast an illusion on him.

The false illusion, like the one performed by Lady Mingzhu in the past, requires the use of special incense to ignite it each time. The incense puts the person in a dazed state, and then they are tortured. However, it can only be used to torture the weak-willed. It has no effect on the determined.

Xu Qing's illusion magic, however, is not so complicated.

After meeting countless illusion masters and mastering the Yin-Yang School's techniques, Xu Qing's illusion skills have reached a new level. With his powerful mental strength, he can forcefully break through the mental defenses of anyone whose mental strength is weaker than his.

Once someone's defenses are breached, Xu Qing can plant a seed in their heart and then quickly nurture it to take root, occupy their mind, and even modify their memories.

In the state of Qi, even assassins from the Luo Wang network could be turned into obedient puppets.

These generals of Wei, in terms of strength and mental fortitude, were naturally inferior to the assassins operating in the shadows.

In a short period of time, Xu Qing had no idea how many people he had forcibly brought under his control.

When necessary, he can directly manipulate these people to open the city gates of Daliang.

Even if someone in the city reacts and clashes with the rebels to suppress the rebellion, as long as the city gates are open for a short while, Wang Ben can seize this moment and tear a hole in the seemingly impregnable city of Daliang, and then break through the city.

However, all of this will have to wait until three days later.

Even though Xu Qing could open the city gates of Daliang City right now, he and Wang Ben had agreed to breach the city three days later.

As a person, one should always keep one's word.

Taking advantage of this last bit of time, Xu Qing decided to visit the royal palace of the Wei Kingdom.

The treasures of the royal palaces of Korea and Zhao once filled Xu Qing's system space. Now that Wei is about to fall, it's better for Xu Qing to keep these rare treasures for himself than to wait for them to fall into the hands of others.

Chapter 320 The fall of Daliang City: Please, King Wei, accept your fate!

Xu Qing had no acquaintances in the State of Wei, so his infiltration of the Wei royal palace was simply to steal treasures.

The process went incredibly smoothly.

After all, Xu Qing's strength has improved considerably since his time in Zhao.

In the state of Zhao, he still needed Guo Kai's help to successfully enter the royal palace, but in the state of Wei, he had no such concerns.

Xu Qing could come and go freely even from the towering city of Daliang.

Although the royal palace of the Wei Kingdom was located on high ground in the city, its walls were definitely not as high as those of the city walls of Daliang.

Xu Qing moved back and forth between them with ease. As for finding the treasury, that was not a difficult task either; Xu Qing had his own methods.

As dawn broke, cries of alarm from the Wei Kingdom's palace shattered the city's deathly silence.