Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

But when he thought of another person, his expression became serious.

Wang Jian!

He never imagined that Wang Jian would be able to hold out for so long when his retreat was cut off and his supplies were almost exhausted.

However, he soon became smug again.

He had already received news that Lord Changping had led his "righteous army" into Chu.

When Lord Changping launched his uprising in Huaiyang, he naturally did not choose to occupy Huaiyang in the same way as when attacking a city. His main purpose was to cut off Wang Jian's retreat and supplies, and to launch a pincer attack on Wang Jian.

After the order in Huaiyang was completely destroyed, Lord Changping immediately set off for Chu. He began to recover the "lost territories" occupied by Qin. The cities that Wang Jian had just conquered fell back into the hands of Chu because of Lord Changping.

Naturally, Wang Jian was left completely isolated.

In Xiang Yan's view, Wang Jian's current actions are nothing more than a final act of madness.

Chapter 349 The Crime of the Net, The Scheme of Sowing Discord

At first glance, Ying Zheng's three-step plan seemed surprisingly smooth.

After intense discussions among the court officials, the specific personnel for suppressing the rebellion, transporting grain, and rushing to the aid of the enemy were quickly determined, and a series of decrees were issued from Zhangtai Palace and rapidly spread to various parts of Qin.

Suppressing the rebellion in Huaiyang was not a particularly difficult task.

Ultimately, Lord Changping, Xiong Qi, had no intention of occupying Huaiyang for long.

His mind was never on this; what he wanted was merely to use the momentum of the rebellion to temporarily cut off Wang Jian's army's retreat and supply lines, thus gaining a time advantage for a quick victory.

Did he not know that the Qin state would retaliate swiftly?

Of course I know.

If we're talking about understanding the Qin state, Lord Changping is one of the most knowledgeable people. He once served as the Right Chancellor of Qin and had regarded Qin as his greatest hypothetical enemy many years ago. He openly and secretly gathered intelligence on Qin and held countless secrets and important matters of Qin in his hands.

Therefore, after disrupting the order of Huaiyang County and achieving his goal of harassing the enemy, Lord Changping led his righteous army and quietly rushed into Chu, leaving the Qin army no chance to encircle him.

The generals and soldiers dispatched by Ying Zheng quelled the unrest in Huaiyang with almost no effort and began to restore order within the prefecture.

But everyone knows that the real trouble never lies in Huaiyang itself.

The problem is that the grain route that Changping Jun had previously damaged is still under construction. Even if repairs are started immediately, it will take a lot of time to reopen it and transport the grain to the front line. More importantly, the grain route has been exposed, and continuing to use it will inevitably lead to unforeseen events.

After all, Lord Changping, Xiong Qi, had already arrived in Chu with the rebel army. No one could predict what kind of schemes the Chu rulers and ministers would devise or what actions they would take after obtaining the Qin intelligence in his hands.

In addition, the situation of Wang Jian's army at the front line has become a huge burden on Ying Zheng's mind. No one knows what the Qin army is in now after being besieged by Xiang Yan's army for many days. Can General Wang Jian still hold on?

Inside Zhangtai Palace, the candlelight flickered, casting dappled shadows, yet it could not dispel the melancholy and anxiety in Ying Zheng's eyes.

The Huaiyang rebellion has been quelled, new grain routes are under urgent repair, and reinforcements are ready to depart. The seemingly smooth three-step plan, in Ying Zheng's eyes, is like scratching an itch through a boot, failing to alleviate the immediate crisis in the slightest.

The chill in his heart intensified, especially when he recalled the urgent military report he had just received.

"Xiong Qi has led his rebel army into Chu, gathering up former Chu troops and scattered soldiers along the way. His strength is growing day by day, and he has already occupied several cities in southern Chu. The main force of the Chu army has made contact with Xiong Qi's troops, and it seems that they are poised to attack General Wang Jian from both sides!"

Everyone knows that Lord Changping, Xiong Qi, is currently in the rear of Wang Jian's army. The 300,000 Qin troops are already surrounded by Xiang Yan, their food supplies are running out, and their morale is waning. Now, with Lord Changping holding their throat, they are trapped in a pincer attack. Let alone breaking out of the siege, they may not even be able to hold out.

Once these 300,000 Qin soldiers are wiped out, Qin's path to conquering Chu will come to a complete standstill, and it may even trigger a counterattack by the remaining forces of the six states. All the efforts Qin has made to unify the world over the years will be in vain.

"Any news from Zhao Gao's side?"

Ying Zheng's voice was icy cold and filled with suppressed rage.

He pinned his hopes on the net, on the top-tier assassin Zhao Gao had mentioned, hoping to break the deadlock with Xiang Yan's death, but the news was slow to arrive.

Not long after receiving Ying Zheng's message, Zhao Gao rushed to the palace.

Upon seeing Ying Zheng, he immediately greeted him, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!"

"How is the task I assigned you progressing?" Ying Zheng asked Zhao Gao directly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gao's expression immediately changed slightly, and he looked somewhat nervous. He knew that there was no point in hiding it, so he could only answer Ying Zheng truthfully: "The Luo Net has attempted to assassinate Xiang Yan several times, but each time his guards have stopped them. Two of the top-tier assassins have been killed, and they still failed to succeed. Your Majesty... Your Majesty deserves to die!"

Thinking of the intelligence he had received over the past few days, Zhao Gao's heart was bleeding.

Each of the top-tier Heavenly Rank members of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) is an extremely precious existence.

However, in the assassination attempt on Xiang Yan, two of them were lost. That was bad enough, but what was truly unacceptable was that after the whereabouts of the top-ranking assassins went missing, their swords were also lost.

Those swords are the most precious treasure of the Luo Net.

"Deserves to die?" Ying Zheng's voice was cold and tinged with displeasure. "You once said you could take Xiang Yan's head and present it to me, but what have you done? You've lost the elite of the Luo Wang, yet you haven't even harmed a single hair on Xiang Yan's head! Is the Luo Wang, which you claim is all-pervasive, really so vulnerable?"

Zhao Gao trembled all over and dared not utter a sound.

He was also extremely angry at this moment. He never thought that Luo Wang would be in such a sorry state.

Those top-tier assassins he was so proud of could hardly even get close to Xiang Yan under his tight defenses. Several assassination attempts failed, resulting not only in the loss of manpower but also in the loss of face in front of Ying Zheng. The existing barrier between them was now as thick as ice.

He wanted to defend himself, to say that Xiang Yan was overly cautious, and that Lord Changping had revealed the true nature of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), but the words that came out of his mouth were only, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and beg for punishment."

Ying Zheng looked at Zhao Gao, who was kneeling on the ground and could not get up, and his anger intensified, but he also knew that punishing Zhao Gao at this moment would be useless.

The snare has already been thwarted; further investigation will not bring back Xiang Yan's head, nor will it resolve Wang Jian's predicament.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "Get up! I'm giving you one last chance!"

"Your Majesty, I obey! I will do my utmost to live up to Your Majesty's trust!" Zhao Gao felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude. As he stood up, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

He knew this was his last chance. If he failed again, he would lose a large part of the favor he had earned over the years in front of Ying Zheng.

He secretly made up his mind that even if he had to use all the hidden power of the Luo Wang organization and pay a great price, he would kill Xiang Yan.

After Zhao Gao left, Zhangtai Palace fell silent once again.

Ying Zheng stood with his hands behind his back by the window, gazing at the deep night outside, his expression as solemn as iron.

With the assassination attempt by Luo Wang failing and Lord Changping poised to launch a pincer attack, Wang Jian found himself in dire straits. A tidal wave of problems overwhelmed him, leaving him barely able to breathe. He knew that his current strategy was insufficient to break the deadlock; he had to find a new way out, or Qin's grand plan to conquer Chu would ultimately fail.

"Summon Mr. Xu Qing to the palace." Ying Zheng slowly turned around and gave a deep order to Gai Nie, who was waiting in the shadows.

At this moment, the only person he could think of was Xu Qing, who always came up with brilliant ideas for him at crucial moments.

If Xu Qing hadn't suggested assassinating Xiang Yan, he might still be at a loss as to how to break the Chu army's siege.

Now that the assassination attempt has failed, he can only seek advice from Xu Qing again, hoping to find a way to break the deadlock.

……

Xu Qing was not at the Yin Yang School's stronghold today, but happened to be in Xianyang City.

When searching for people, Gai Nie always followed the principle of starting with the nearest and then moving to the farthest. Therefore, he found Xu Qing in no time, which was fortunate.

Upon learning of Gai Nie's purpose, Xu Qing inwardly grumbled, "When did I become a full-time strategist for your Qin state?"

Despite this, he did not refuse the King of Qin's summons and went to Zhangtai Palace with Gai Nie.

Before long, Xu Qing met Ying Zheng.

Not long after, he met Ying Zheng.

Judging from his complexion alone, Ying Zheng was still in good health. After all, the Longevity Sword that Xu Qing forged was a very useful sword. However, his expression was particularly worried. It was easy to guess that it was still related to the war against Chu.

For Ying Zheng, Changping Jun's betrayal was like a thorn in his side, causing him immense distress.

"Mr. Xu, you've arrived!"

Upon seeing Xu Qing, Ying Zheng spoke first.

"Yes, I'm here!" Xu Qing replied calmly.

Fortunately, Ying Zheng didn't say "You shouldn't have come" again, otherwise the following plot would have leaned towards the style of Gu Long, starting with a lot of opening nonsense.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ying Zheng told Xu Qing about the current situation in detail, his tone full of anxiety and urgency.

"So, the Net failed?" After learning the details, Xu Qing's expression was slightly strange, but he calmly said, "Xiang Yan's vigilance is certainly one of the reasons, but in my opinion, the Net probably didn't go all out."

Xu Qing was not about to miss this rare opportunity to sow discord between Zhao Gao and Zhao Gao.

As expected, upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's expression hardened, and he quickly asked, "What makes you say this, sir?"

Xu Qing did not answer directly, but instead asked Ying Zheng, "What does Your Majesty think of Xiang Yan compared to Lord Xinling of the past?"

This was a question that required no thought, and Ying Zheng almost blurted out: "Of course, it is far inferior."

Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji, was the leader of the Five States Alliance in the past. He led the allied forces and advanced with unstoppable momentum, reaching Hangu Pass and nearly capturing the capital of Qin. His prestige and ability were recognized by the world.

Although Xiang Yan was entrusted with important responsibilities by the nobles of Chu and even given the title of "Lord Wu'an," this title was merely a copy of others' ideas and was nothing more than an empty name.

It should be noted that in history, only three people were officially granted the title of Lord Wu'an: Bai Qi, Li Mu, and Su Qin. Each of them was a figure who stirred up the world, and none of them could be compared to Xiang Yan.

In this light, Xiang Yan is worlds apart from Lord Xinling.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Xiang Yan is indeed far inferior to Lord Xinling." Xu Qing nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, "But even such a man of great talent and ambition as Lord Xinling was assassinated by assassins from the Luo Wang organization in his own fiefdom of Xinling, under the strict protection of thousands of retainers. As far as I know, those who assassinated Lord Xinling were not even the top-ranking assassins of the Luo Wang organization."

At this point, Xu Qing paused and then brought up another matter: "Besides, Zhu Hai, the former general of Wei, was also killed by assassins from the Luo Wang organization in his own residence. Although the guards around him were not particularly strong, Zhu Hai himself was a rare master in the world, with unparalleled external martial arts skills, making him impervious to swords and spears, as well as water and fire. Even so, he still could not withstand the sword of the Luo Wang assassins."

"The strength of the Luo Wang is evident to all; it is indeed an extremely powerful organization." Xu Qing's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable force. "I do not believe that the defenses surrounding Xiang Yan are more formidable than those of Lord Xinling back then; nor do I believe that Xiang Yan's martial arts are superior to Zhu Hai's. In this way, the answer is obvious."

"It's not that Luo Wang can't kill Xiang Yan, but that Luo Wang is unwilling to put in the effort."

After saying this, Xu Qing sighed softly and added, "That's not surprising. As far as I know, every top-tier assassin of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) wields an ancient and famous sword, and those who wield the sword are all masters selected from among thousands. If such a top master were to perish, he would certainly lose his famous sword along with him. If I were in charge of the Luo Wang, I'm afraid I wouldn't be willing to pay such a heavy price for assassinating Xiang Yan."

Although Xu Qing's words did not directly name Zhao Gao for not working hard, they were sharp and incisive.

Logically speaking, upon hearing Xu Qing's undisguised slander of Luo Wang, Ying Zheng should have suspected that he had ulterior motives.

However, Xu Qing's examples were all true, and Ying Zheng was also aware of Luo Wang's many past achievements.

Yes! The Luo Wang (a secret police organization) was able to successfully assassinate figures like Lord Xinling and Zhu Hai, so why did they repeatedly fail when dealing with Xiang Yan? Even if they couldn't kill Xiang Yan, were they incapable of assassinating other generals of Chu?

Ultimately, it was because Luo Wang (the government) hadn't done its best.

With the predicament remaining unresolved, Ying Zheng was already distraught. Now, with Xu Qing pointing out the key to the problem, his frustration found an outlet, and his anger towards Luo Wang and Zhao Gao intensified.

However, he could not reveal these emotions to Xu Qing and could only suppress them in his heart.

Seeing that Ying Zheng's expression changed slightly, Xu Qing knew that his words had worked. So he stopped dwelling on the matter of the Luo Wang and changed the subject, offering his own idea: "Since the Luo Wang's assassination attempt on Xiang Yan has failed, why don't we change our approach and start with Lord Changping, Xiong Qi? Perhaps we can find a way to break the deadlock."

"Xiong Qi?" A hint of doubt flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes as he looked at Xu Qing with puzzlement, not understanding why he would focus his attention on Lord Changping.

"When Lord Changping, Xiong Qi, launched the rebellion in Chenying, he used the name of the son of King Kaolie of Chu," Xu Qing explained calmly. "He is indeed the son of King Kaolie of Chu, that much is undeniable. But the key point is that he has never lived in Chu since birth, and has always held the position of Right Chancellor of Qin. Even if he suddenly rebels against Qin and joins Chu, with no foundation or prestige in Chu, why would the nobles of Chu genuinely trust him?"

Xu Qing paused for a moment, then continued to speak eloquently: "In addition, the current King of Chu, Fu Chu, came to power through a coup and has accomplished nothing since taking the throne, so his prestige is not high to begin with."

"Under these circumstances, if Lord Changping, this half-brother, suddenly returns to the country with the force of a rebellion and achieves nothing, that would be one thing; but if he joins forces with Xiang Yan to wipe out Wang Jian's hundreds of thousands of Qin troops and establish great military achievements, and all of this has never been authorized by King Fuchu of Chu... Your Majesty might as well consider how King Fuchu of Chu would view this brother who has achieved great merit and whose bloodline is purer than his own?"