Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

With the Qin army about to reach Linzi and the Qi state about to perish, and with no achievements to show for it, the proud Han Xin was very frustrated.

War should never be fought like this.

In Han Xin's mind, war should involve both open and covert schemes, employing all sorts of methods.

As a result, Qin's war against Qi was completely ineffective; it was simply carried out openly, like an adult bullying a child.

This war overturned the worldview of Han Xin, who was young and inexperienced at the time.

Fortunately, although he felt somewhat disappointed, Han Xin did not think of running away. Instead, he remained dedicated to his duties as a halberd bearer.

"Looks like you're adapting quite well!"

A familiar voice rang in Han Xin's ears.

Upon hearing this, Han Xin gripped his halberd tightly and stared intently.

Then he saw a figure that shouldn't be there, and his body trembled. He then lowered his head.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!"

Han Xin's nominal master was Chu Nan Gong, and now that Chu Nan Gong has returned to the Yin Yang School, Han Xin can be considered an outer disciple of the Yin Yang School. So, calling him "Master" is not wrong.

"You're surprised to see me?" Xu Qing's gaze fell on Han Xin, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

"I wouldn't dare!" Han Xin quickly replied.

Even so, deep down, I was naturally very curious.

In Han Xin's mind, someone like Xu Qing, as the leader of the Yin-Yang School, should stay in the Yin-Yang School and rarely go out. How did he suddenly appear here?

"I have something I'd like to discuss with Wang Ben. Is he in his tent right now?" Xu Qing asked Han Xin.

Han Xin snapped out of his reverie, hesitated for a moment, and then answered the question, "The general is currently inside the camp!"

Han Xin was very pragmatic. Although he was now Wang Ben's halberd-bearer, the reason for this was Xu Qing's arrangement.

Could it be that by placing him next to Wang Ben, he intends to use him to monitor Wang Ben?

It just goes to show that young people have too much free time and like to daydream here all the time.

"Since you're inside, take me in!" Xu Qing instructed Han Xin.

"This..." Han Xin hesitated for a moment upon hearing this request.

Xu Qing glanced at Han Xin, knowing what Han Xin was hesitating about, and said, "Never mind, I'm too lazy to trouble you."

"I'll go in by myself."

As he spoke, he took a step forward.

Han Xin didn't even see how Xu Qing moved. By the time he came to his senses, Xu Qing had already disappeared and entered the camp.

Even if he wanted to stop it, he couldn't stop it at all.

Inside the tent, Wang Ben appeared remarkably relaxed.

This scene caught Xu Qing's eye, reminding him of a past event.

The last time I saw Wang Ben in the camp was on the eve of Qin's conquest of Wei. Because Daliang was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Wang Ben was very worried. This time, perhaps because the battle against Qi went too smoothly, Wang Ben seemed a little relaxed.

"General, you seem to be in high spirits, unaware that Linzi City is already in complete chaos." Xu Qing made no attempt to conceal himself and walked straight to Wang Ben's side, speaking to him.

Upon hearing the sudden sound, Wang Ben immediately became alert and instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. However, after seeing the appearance of the person who came from behind, he released his hand.

"It is you!"

Wang Ben's brows relaxed, and his expression became calm.

He and Xu Qing were old acquaintances.

Without much nervousness, Wang Ben smiled at Xu Qing and said, "Mr. Xu is a rare guest. What brings you to my military camp today? It's been quite a while since we last met in Daliang."

Although Han Xin was sent to Wang Ben's army by Xu Qing, the two never actually met in person, but only corresponded through letters.

Xu Qing walked to Wang Ben's side, found a place to sit down, glanced at the map of Linzi on the table in the tent, and smiled slightly: "General, your campaign against Qi has been unstoppable. If I hadn't come, I would have missed the chance to congratulate you."

Wang Ben laughed heartily, his tone tinged with self-satisfaction but not arrogance: "It was just a fluke. Qi has been at peace for many years, its soldiers are out of practice, and it has no capable general to command them. How could they possibly stop the iron cavalry of my Great Qin?"

"So, sir, you've come here not to try and get involved in the war to destroy Qi, have you?"

It's not surprising that Wang Ben would have such a conjecture.

The real reason is that Xu Qing interfered in the war to destroy Wei.

Of course, in terms of the outcome, it's definitely a good thing.

Without Xu Qing's help, the war to destroy Wei would not have gone so smoothly.

"I do intend to get involved."

Xu Qing met Wang Ben's gaze and said calmly.

"Oh?"

Wang Ben was astonished.

Xu Qing didn't keep them in suspense and said directly, "King Tian Jian of Qi is dead, and now, Chancellor Hou Sheng of Qi is in charge of everything."

Wang Ben's eyes narrowed, and he finally understood what Xu Qing meant when he said that Linzi City was in complete chaos.

Recalling his several encounters with Xu Qing, Wang Ben immediately had his answer: "Is this matter related to you, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Qing shook his head. "The death of the King of Qi has nothing to do with me."

"As for Hou Sheng, he is indeed an old friend of mine. I served as his retainer when I was in the State of Qi. Now that Qin is attacking Qi, I thought of this opportunity, so I took the initiative to find the King of Qin and asked him for an imperial decree, which was to persuade Hou Sheng..."

"Hou Sheng accepted my persuasion and planned to surrender the whole country, but the King of Qi disagreed with this."

"Perhaps there was some conflict between the two."

"Anyway, King Qi died after that."

Xu Qing spoke casually, but to Wang Ben, it was a completely different story.

As the commander-in-chief of this campaign against Qi, he was aware of some aspects of the situation in Qi.

Hou Sheng was not only the prime minister of Qi, but also the maternal uncle of King Tian Jian of Qi. The two were related by blood and had a very close relationship in the past. However, they ended up fighting to the death, and King Tian Jian even died. This was no ordinary conflict.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Ben asked Xu Qing, "So, what does Hou Sheng mean?"

Xu Qing's sudden outburst, along with his earlier remarks, clearly conveyed his meaning.

Wang Ben was not a fool; he was quite clever and understood perfectly well why Xu Qing had come here.

Xu Qing flipped his hand, and a wooden box appeared in his palm. "Inside is Hou Sheng's letter of state!"

Even though Wang Ben had some suspicions, he was still stirred by the sight of it.

Then, he took the wooden box, opened it, and began to read. He then picked up the silk book inside and began to read it carefully.

Wang Ben examined it very carefully, and it took him quite a while to finish reading the letter.

Then he carefully put it away and closed the box.

"Mr. Xu, you've really given me a wonderful surprise!" Wang Ben exclaimed sincerely.

"If we can take Linzi without bloodshed, it will reduce our casualties and protect the people of Linzi. It's a win-win situation, so I have no reason not to accept it!"

He knew that although the Qin army was advancing rapidly, Linzi was the capital of Qi. If they forced an attack on the city, even if they eventually succeeded, the Qin army would pay a heavy price.

Now that Hou Sheng has submitted his letter of surrender, everything has become simpler, and the achievement of destroying a country will come even more smoothly.

In any case, all he wanted was to destroy the country; he didn't particularly care about the method of destruction.

Xu Qing calmly said, "I have already made an agreement with Hou Sheng that when the Qin army arrives at the gates of Linzi, he will open the city gates and surrender the city. At that time, General, you only need to lead your troops into the city, take over Linzi, and you can declare the destruction of the Qi state."

"Good! Good! Good!" Wang Ben said three times.

After that, he talked with Xu Qing for a while.

However, the conversation didn't last long, and Xu Qing, having achieved his goal, showed no intention of lingering there.

After leaving the tent and greeting Han Xin at the entrance, Xu Qing drifted away as he had come.

Not long after Xu Qing left, Wang Ben immediately summoned his generals and issued an order for the army to slow down its advance and wait until it had reorganized its formation before proceeding towards Linzi City in an orderly manner, in order to avoid chaos and ruin the surrender of the city.

At the same time, he specifically instructed his soldiers not to burn, kill, or loot after entering the city, and to treat the people of Qi and the surrendered officials well. After all, Hou Sheng had promised to surrender, and if he lost his promise, it would be detrimental to his subsequent rule.

The next morning, the Qin army finished its preparations and marched in a grand procession toward Linzi. Banners fluttered and the army was magnificent. The people along the way avoided them, filled with fear and a sense of bewilderment.

They didn't know how this impending war would end.

Thus, over the next few days, the Qin army arrived at the walls of Linzi.

Contrary to expectations of a tense standoff, the city gates of Linzi were not closed; instead, soldiers were seen rushing about, seemingly preparing to open the gates.

Wang Ben reined in his horse, his eyes fixed on the direction of the city gate, a sense of certainty forming in his heart.

Sure enough, a moment later, the city gates of Linzi slowly opened. Hou Sheng, dressed in the robes of a prime minister, led a group of Qi ministers, holding the Qi imperial seal and a map of the territory in his hands. He stood bowing below the city gate, his expression respectful, even somewhat obsequious.

The soldiers behind him also laid down their weapons to show their surrender.

"Qi's Prime Minister Hou Sheng, along with all the ministers of Qi, surrenders the city and submits to Great Qin. We hope the General will accept us!" Hou Sheng shouted loudly, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension. He was afraid that Wang Ben would go back on his word, and even more afraid that Xu Qing's promise would not be kept.

Upon seeing this, Wang Ben was overjoyed. He immediately dismounted, stepped forward, took the imperial seal and map, and said loudly, "The Prime Minister is a man of great righteousness. He surrendered the city, sparing the people of Linzi from the suffering of war. I will certainly petition the King of Qin to seek rewards for the Prime Minister and all the ministers!"

After saying this, he waved his hand and ordered the Qin army to enter the city in an orderly manner and take over the defense of Linzi, the national treasury, and the royal palace.

The Qin soldiers were disciplined and did not commit any offenses after entering the city, which gradually put the minds of the people of Linzi at ease.

Thus, the last of the six states in Shandong, the State of Qi, was officially destroyed, and the Qin state's great cause of unifying the six states finally came to an end.

Xu Qing, the mastermind behind all of this, did not appear at the ceremony of surrendering the city.

Before the Qin army arrived at the city of Linzi, he had already quietly left Hou Sheng's residence, concealing his merits and fame, and did not try to seize the glory that belonged to Wang Ben.

For him, getting the State of Qi to surrender was just a matter of doing it casually.

Instead of these, he went to see someone else.

He had met Princess Honglian before, but within the Qi Kingdom, Princess Honglian was not the only one he knew.

In the original novel, Honglian was later renamed Chilian, and she was a complete demoness.

In the Korean setting of "Nine Songs of the Sky," there is another enchantress, Lady Myung-joo, a renowned and famous enchanting woman.

After Nightfall disbanded, she followed Xu Qing to the State of Qi, where she took charge of the remaining Nightfall forces and helped Xu Qing manage his power.