Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 131

In short, Tian Guang can verbally support you, but it's impossible for him to actually put in the effort.

This would be considered a rogue act, but Tian Guang's status as a chivalrous leader was undeniable. If he truly chose to act shamelessly, only Yan Dan, who was of equal status to Tian Guang, could see through his act. And in the current situation, Yan Dan could forgo the allies of the Farmers, but he absolutely could not afford to become their enemy.

The tacit understanding preserved each other's dignity, and the banquet ended amidst the merriment.

When Tian Guang returned to his house, he could immediately sense the undisguised atmosphere inside as soon as he stood at the door.

"You little brat, I had to send five urgent letters before you'd come over."

Pushing open the wooden door, leaning back to close it, Tian Guang looked brightly at the familiar figure who had lit the candle at the same time.

"Don't misunderstand, Xia Kui. It's not that I'm delaying, but I just happened to go to Sanghai to attend the succession ceremony of the Confucian sect leader a while ago."

"Upon returning to Dazeshan, I received your third letter."

"I've rushed here to Jicheng at top speed. Your last two letters must have been delayed by some obstacle."

"A change of leadership in the Confucian school, Fu Nian?" Tian Guang didn't care about the speed of their arrival; the key was that they could arrive before he got into trouble.

He sat down opposite Lu Wei, picked up the tea that Lu Wei had poured in advance—which was at the perfect temperature—and drank it all in one gulp. Then, he casually wiped the remaining water stains from his beard with his sleeve: "How did it go about your initiative to associate with the Confucianists?"

"Fu Nian considers me a close friend."

This was clearly a lie, and both the speaker and the listener knew it. But Tian Guang laughed loudly and slammed his hand on the table. The unusual sound made Lu Wei raise an eyebrow and look at the hand on Xia Kui's table.

Tian Guang crossed his legs and slid the foreign object under his hand to Lu Wei's side: "Confucianism emphasizes propriety. Since you can be regarded as a confidant by Fu Nian, you should take over the peasant school."

The so-called foreign object is actually the Shennong Order Mother Plate, made of a special metal material that has remained intact for thousands of years!

There can be many sub-tokens in the style of the Shennong Decree, but there is only one master token. It is a truly indestructible sacred object of agriculture, passed down from Shennong, the ancestor of agriculture.

The token of the peasant hero that Lu Wei had been desperately trying to obtain when he first met Tian Guang six years ago is now within his grasp.

"Has your situation deteriorated to this point?"

Lu Wei rudely covered the metallic texture with his palm, gently rubbing the five grains pattern on the Shennong Token with his fingertips, while staring intently at the nine-star pearl grass on Tian Guang's chest.

"He accepted bribes but failed to get things done properly."

"They also became targets of surveillance by the Luo Wang and Yin Yang Schools."

What do you think my situation should be like?

Tian Guang stood up, took a few steps forward, turned his back to his chosen successor, and laughed heartily:

"Many people will not feel at ease if I do not die or am not completely controlled."

"Now that the farmhouse has been entrusted to him, the chivalrous Tian Guang has no more worries."

Upon hearing this, the hall master remained motionless, only a thoughtful look flickering in his eyes: "I will accept the Shennong Decree, but I cannot lead the Farmer Clan yet."

“Not just now, even if you... disappeared, I wouldn’t immediately take over the farm.”

Lu Wei didn't keep them in suspense. At this critical moment, some of his plans could be revealed to involve Tian Guang:

"The situation you are most worried about—a leaderless peasant family and internal strife among the six branches—is exactly what the peasant family's enemies want to see."

"If you want to contract something, you must first expand it; if you want to weaken something, you must first strengthen it; if you want to abolish something, you must first promote it; if you want to take something, you must first give it!"

Master Lu picked up the Shennong Token, tilted his head to gaze at it, and said in a low voice, "This is what is meant by subtle enlightenment!"

"The balance of power between the farmers and the farmers needs to change in recent years, but before that, the farmers need to weaken for a while."

Your idea is dangerous...

Tian Guang's smile vanished, and he turned around to meet Lu Wei's gaze with a stern expression for the first time: "You also believe that the peasants should rebel against the Qin state?"

"Whether the peasants rebel against the Qin state is not decided by the peasants themselves, but by the Qin state."

Lu Wei remained calm and composed: "What kind of person does the chivalrous leader think I, Lu Wei, am?"

The two stared at each other for ten breaths. Just as the atmosphere in the house reached a certain level of tension, Tian Guang's tense brows relaxed again, and he revealed his habitual big laugh: "From the moment I handed you the Shennong Token, you have been the leader of the Farmer's Clan!"

"The leader's orders determine the direction the farmers should take. Whatever you want the farmers to become is entirely up to you."

"One hundred thousand disciples of the peasant school are willing to die for him!"

"The earth nourishes all things, and Shennong is immortal. Are generals, ministers, kings, and nobles born with a special destiny?" Lu Wei recited the agricultural principles as his response to Tian Guang's concession.

------

Even though Tian Guang has acknowledged Lu Wei as the new leader of the Heroes, things won't be that simple once he has obtained the Shennong Token: Lu Wei has not yet gained the approval of the six elders of the Farmer's Clan within the Six Sages' Tomb, nor has he subdued the other five halls.

Tian Guang didn't mention this point, nor did he say it explicitly, because even if he did, it would be meaningless.

The vacancy of the Heroic Leader position will be a bait, but this bait won't catch big fish; it will catch spiders, though.

The Shennong Decree was merely a declaration of legitimacy made at the moment of victory; the actual process of legitimizing the victory had to be completed without the Shennong Decree.

In the farming community, the orders issued by the chief knight-errant are regarded as the supreme authority by his disciples. However, the supreme authority is never the chief knight-errant himself, but the chief knight-errant who holds the chief knight-errant.

After all, in theory, there are quite a few Shennong tokens. Although they are always only issued to the six hall masters, if one is lost, it could be counterfeited and indiscriminately distributed by those with ulterior motives.

It is essentially just a lifeless metal plaque.

Humans are always more proactive than inanimate objects.

After handing over the Shennong Token mother tablet, Tian Guang, though still having reservations about the direction Lu Wei intended to take the Farmer's Clan, had no regrets and let him proceed. He understood this person who had grown from a one-star Pearl Grass disciple to the successor he had chosen:

Would an ambitious person who prioritizes self-interest so easily send tens of thousands of disciples down the path of becoming enemies of the Qin state?

Impossible, unless rebelling against Qin would bring this kid more benefits than the entire farming family!

"Is there such a treasure in the world? A treasure more important than the lives of 100,000 people?" Tian Guang shook his head and scoffed.

Having safely handed over the farmhouse, he could now live a carefree life as a lone wandering knight-errant.

Even if Changping Jun or Yan Dan approached him again wanting to make some kind of agreement, Tian Guang wouldn't need to rack his brains to scheme against him anymore.

In any case, the promises made by the former leader of the martial arts school after his abdication only represent his personal opinion. As long as it involves the peasantry, the next leader of the martial arts school will undoubtedly break them without any qualms.

Lu Wei rarely returned to Jicheng, and he deliberately waited for some news, so he settled down in Luqiu Pavilion.

Lu Shan meticulously kept the written records of Lu Qiu Ge over the years. He was the eldest of the four younger brothers and had always been indecisive.

When this personality trait is applied to the workplace, Ah Shan will check a completed task repeatedly, for fear of making a mistake and not being able to explain it to his boss.

His abilities are now considered average, and after the New Year in a month, he can be transferred to the Dazeshan headquarters to keep Lü Qing company.

As for Luqiu Pavilion, it can be jointly managed by Ashan's confidant and Cai Hu, the head of the Ji Ran family who makes a living by trading.

Tian Guang had informed Lu Wei of the plan to assassinate the Qin emperor. Lu Wei was not optimistic that the Yan soldiers could defeat the Qin army by joining the battle, and that Ji City would soon become a bloodbath.

One's trusted confidants cannot remain in this dangerous place meaninglessly.

...

After half a month of dedicated martial arts training, two pieces of news indeed came from Mount Daze.

One is good news, and the other is good news too!

The first piece of good news is that Lü Qing, accompanied by Master Feng Hu Zi, successfully found Gan Jiang and Mo Xie at Mangzhong Ridge one night.

The second piece of good news was that Gan Jiang and Mo Xie were snatched away by Tian Meng, who suddenly rushed out with his disciples, just as they found them.

Tian Meng even threatened, "If you want your sword back, let your Hall Master Lu come to Lieshan Hall to retrieve it himself!"

Everything is going according to plan, which is great.

'Next, I should travel to the six kingdoms, challenge the world's best swordsmen, and make a name for myself.'

'By the way, complete the planning for the trips to Chu and Shu~'

Chapter 152 Jing Ke and Gai Nie

With nimble footwork and deft sword thrusts and parries, Gao Jianli showed no mercy; he had clearly come prepared.

He took off his outer robe as a musician and put on a set of tight-fitting clothes that he had specially prepared in advance. His sword aura was sharp and delicate, and he was a swordsman of the fine sword style.

Lu Wei had encountered many opponents like this, and the Jingni Sword was one such sword, so he was very familiar with the possible directions of the fine sword's moves.

Although Gao Jianli's strength has improved rapidly in recent years, especially from his several exquisite but still unrefined sword moves, it can be seen that this musician, whose reputation in the martial arts world is slightly higher than that of Master Lu, has made a breakthrough in the past month.

It must be the emotional turmoil of parting at the Yi River, but unfortunately, the sword in his hand is not Shui Han.

Lu Wei easily parried another attack from his opponent, using dazzling sword techniques from the Butterfly Swordplay to go head-to-head with Gao Jianli.

The move of attracting butterflies through flowers, when applied with the Sea-Swallowing Sword, has a somewhat incongruous feel of 'whales playing in the water,' but we should never underestimate the power of a whale's seemingly slow tail slapping the surface of the sea!

This was just a friendly match. The Hall Master wouldn't rely on his profound inner energy and the advantage of the Devouring Sea Sword to bully his opponent. Nevertheless, the difference in strength between Gao Jianli and him at this moment was simply too great.

Even if Gao Jianli were to obtain the Water Cold Sword in the future and refine the 'Yi Shui Han' technique through sword comprehension, he would still be powerless to defeat Lu Wei today.

After estimating that the musician had used all the sword techniques he was good at, the Devouring Sea Sword easily bypassed the opponent's sword techniques with a move called "Flower Beard Butterfly Strike" and pointed at the opponent's throat.

With one hand clenched into a fist behind his back and the other holding a sword to his throat, Lu Wei turned to the side with a smile. After a brief silence, he sheathed his sword, turned around, and went to the stone table at the edge of the arena. He picked up the still-warm tea and took a leisurely sip.

"Brother Lu, have you come to Ji City for the upcoming great battle?"

Gao Jianli stood there reflecting on his defeat for a while, then sat down opposite the stone table and asked with concern.

He was no longer the simple musician who secluded himself in the mountains to study music, but had become the leader of the Mohist school who was highly valued and cultivated by Prince Dan of Yan.

Moreover, he held an official position in the Yan army, which could even be considered the title of a general.

This is exactly the result of the seeds that Lu Wei had planted with good intentions.

The Master of the Hall saved Gao Jianli's life, gifted him the zither twice, and recommended him to the Qin Kingdom to find a kindred spirit. The favors he bestowed were so great that even asking him to commit suicide would not be an unreasonable request.

This musician, aloof yet deeply sentimental, has now become a capable pawn capable of influencing the decisions of the Mohist leadership.

However, Weiwei is still a bit lacking and needs more watering. That's why Lu Wei, who came to Jicheng, asked the disciples of the Farmer's Clan to invite him to Luqiu Pavilion for a sword duel to deepen their friendship.

Gao Jianli indeed came here alone.

“No.” Lu Wei shook his head: “All matters of the Farmer’s Clan must be carried out under the command of the Hero Leader. Before the Hero Leader gives an order, the Farmer’s Clan disciples will not make any rash moves.”

"Why doesn't Brother Lu persuade Tian Guangxiao to join this righteous cause?"

Gao Jianli said this without any specific instruction from anyone; his experiences over the past few years have truly and completely immersed him in the anti-Qin cause.

“Xiao Gao, the doctrines of the Mo Nong sect are different, which is why I have never invited you to join the Nong family.”

Master Lu posed a riddle-like question, leaving Gao Jianli, who had donned his musician's robes once more, somewhat puzzled. However, this reminded him of the kindness Lu Wei had shown him in the past...

During their subsequent casual conversation, the two reminisced about several past events, without mentioning the current state of affairs. To be honest, while Gao Jianli wasn't stupid, he was essentially just a small boat adrift on a vast, turbulent sea. Like most people, he couldn't see many of the bigger picture.