Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 285

In the residence of the Imperial Chancellor Sanghai, Li Si summoned Meng Tian and Zhang Han to a meeting to discuss the matter of the Black Dragon scroll.

Zhang Han held the lowest official rank among the three present, but the special nature of the Shadow Guard meant that even Li Si and Meng Tian dared not underestimate him. Therefore, after Zhang Han finished speaking, Meng Tian immediately took over the conversation:

"I will personally lead the Golden Fire Cavalry to sweep away all the forests surrounding Sanghai City, and at the same time, impose martial law within the city. We must dig out this group of rebels!"

It would be a waste to send out the Golden Fire Cavalry, which had swept across the six kingdoms, with only a few dozen to a hundred Mo family remnants. However, they all knew how important the Mirage was to His Majesty the Emperor. If Xianyang found out about the loss of the Black Dragon Scroll, it would undoubtedly incur a thunderous wrath.

Zhang Han did not tell his two colleagues the truth that this was his own plan. The only direct superior of the Shadow Guard was His Majesty the Emperor. Even though Li Si and Meng Tian were both trusted by the Emperor, they were not qualified to command the Shadow Guard. As the commander of the Shadow Guard, he could not be suspected of colluding with the two superiors.

Li Simengtian didn't need to know the truth of the matter; their most genuine reactions were enough.

"This matter will definitely be handled by General Meng and the Golden Fire Cavalry without any omissions... General Zhang Han, do you have anything else to say?" Li Si nodded in agreement with Meng Tian's actions, while noticing Zhang Han's thoughtful expression.

"Yes, Your Excellency, General Meng." Zhang Han nodded, stepped forward, and cupped his hands, saying, "I think there are two points in this matter that require special attention."

"Firstly, the secret text inside the Black Dragon Scroll is written in the secret language of the Yin-Yang School, and is covered by the Gongshu family's Six Paths Jiazi Lock."

"The rebels are remnants of the Mohist school, and their mechanical skills are exquisite. These six Jiazi locks probably won't hold them off for long. However, the Thousand Secrets have added the principles of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams to the army's original secret language and grammar, resulting in millions of variations. Without the Thousand-Mechanism Copper Plate, it would be extremely difficult for outsiders to decipher them."

“I understand General Zhang’s meaning. The Thousand-Machine Copper Plate is currently in my general’s residence.” Meng Tian nodded, his hand resting on the sword at his waist. The thick armor made every movement of his body resonate with the chilling aura of an army. “I wonder if General Zhang intends to use this to lure the enemy or proceed with caution?”

The so-called safest course of action was to have Meng Tian keep the Thousand Machine Copper Plate close to his body. Given Meng Tian's caution, this was an even safer place to store it than the Thousand Machine Tower in the General's Mansion, which was full of traps.

As for luring the enemy, that needs no explanation.

"The Thousand Machine Tower is heavily guarded. My Shadow Guards failed to uncover the Mo family's plot to rebel earlier this time. They need a chance to make amends. What do you think, General Meng?"

"Then I will immediately raise the defenses of the Thousand Machine Tower to the highest level when I get back. General Zhang can arrange the actions of the Shadow Guards as he sees fit." Meng Tian smiled and nodded emphatically. Clearing the mountains and forests outside Sanghai City was easy to say but difficult to do. Therefore, he naturally agreed with the plan to lure the enemy.

"Thank you, General Xie Meng." Zhang Han bowed slightly. To lure the enemy, one must first throw out the bait, and throwing out the bait carries the risk of losing both the bait and the fish. If the Thousand Machine Copper Plate were truly lost, the crime Meng Tian would bear would be immense: after all, he was unaware that this was Zhang Han's plan.

For Zhang Han, this was a genuine attempt to lure the enemy: he would not let them get away with it, and regardless of whether the thieves sent by the rebels succeeded or failed, he had a plan for the next step.

"With the two generals working together, a mere rebel certainly won't cause any major trouble." Li Si smiled and stroked his beard, then continued curiously, "I wonder what the second point General Zhang thinks we should pay attention to is?"

“Mirage Shipyard!” In response to Li Si’s question, Zhang Han composed himself and seriously stated a location: “That’s a key location mentioned in the Black Dragon Scroll. We cannot rule out the possibility that those traitors have other means to decipher the Thousand Secrets Spell.”

“That’s right, but we should do this secretly.” Meng Tian pondered, “There are quite a few capable people among those rebels. If our actions are exposed, it might backfire.”

This "backfiring" naturally refers to the fact that if the Qin army's movements were discovered, they might inadvertently reveal the secrets of the Black Dragon Scroll to the rebels.

“Yes, but even if we prepare for the worst, the Six Paths of the Jiazi Lock and the Thousand Secret Language Technique will buy us enough time,” Zhang Han calmly replied to Meng Tian.

"We cannot underestimate them. It would be best to deal with these rebels before the young master arrives." Li Si summarized the meeting. Finally, he suddenly said to Zhang Han, "By the way, I suddenly remembered something. The intelligence of the Black Dragon Scroll is extremely well-hidden. Even we don't know much about it. How could these rebels be able to ambush us halfway? We must investigate the reason."

"Could it be that some force in Sanghai City is helping the Mo family?"

Li Si's question, though seemingly unnamed, actually pinpointed Xiaoshengxianzhuang: as a Confucian territory, Xiaoshengxianzhuang would undoubtedly be the first place to investigate the power within Sanghai City.

As for whether Xiaoshengxianzhuang could withstand the investigation of the Shadow Guards, Li Si believed there were definitely some problems: it was said that a certain important figure from the Confucian school was involved in the destruction of the Mo family's mechanical city.

Even though rumors in the martial arts world have implicated almost all the schools of thought in the Mechanical City, he thought the Confucian school was the most likely candidate.

Besides, even if it's fake, Li Si won't suffer any loss. This is a matter between the Shadow Guard and the Confucianists, not something for him, the Prime Minister, to retaliate against.

"Your Excellency, rest assured, I have made preparations for this, and I do indeed intend to have a talk with the leaders of the various factions in the city."

Zhang Han answered calmly. Having achieved his goal, Li Si said nothing more, smiled and nodded to see his guest off.

------

"I wonder if Lu Wei, the leader of the Farmer's Swordsman, is here?"

After leaving Li Si's residence, Zhang Han did not rest but went straight to the farmhouse settlement.

"The leader of the bandits has not yet rested. Please, General, go up and discuss the matter."

Ji Yan observed the Shadow Guard commander discreetly and carefully, concealing his aura, and softly made an inviting gesture.

Lu Wei arrived in Sanghai in Li Si's carriage, while she arrived much later, having finished dealing with some unresolved matters in Daze Mountain.

Lu Wei and Zhang Han had talked about Zhang Han's visit two hours earlier. The visit itself was not hard to guess, but the two of them did not know much about the theft of the Black Dragon Scroll. The Farmer's Family really had no clues this time, and could only wait and see how the situation developed to make inferences.

"Oh? Hall Master Ji Yan knows me?" After easily seeing Lu Wei, Zhang Han did not immediately go up to the second floor. Instead, his eyes sharpened and his tone was interrogative.

At the same time, he did not hide the fact that he recognized Ji Yan's identity.

"General Zhang Han is a trusted confidant of His Majesty the First Emperor. The peasant family has considerable strength, so it is only natural that he was not unaware of the arrival of the Shadow Guard in Sanghai."

Zhang Han is meticulous and thoughtful. Being somewhat honest with him will make him feel more at ease. This is the result of Lu Wei and Ji Yan's analysis of Zhang Han's personality.

As for Ji Yan's statement that the Farmers' Clan "has quite a bit of strength," it was based on Zhang Han's actions: Zhang Han went straight to the Farmers' Clan's stronghold after leaving the Prime Minister's residence, which shows Zhang Han's opinion of the Farmers' Clan.

Staring directly at Ji Yan, who was both beautiful and spirited yet humble, Zhang Han smiled faintly: "The 100,000 disciples of the Farmer's School are indeed extraordinary."

Having said that, he strode up the stairs.

Using her keen observation skills, Ji Yan could sense several unfamiliar presences outside the stronghold. These newcomers were all skilled members of the Shadow Guard, possessing exceptional abilities.

'Zhang Han's behavior seems to suggest that the lost Black Dragon Scroll is genuine, but we cannot conclude that yet; we still need to observe further...'

Only one room on the second floor of the farmhouse had a lit candle, so Zhang Han didn't need to distinguish it and went up to knock on the door. After receiving a loud "Come in," he reached out and pushed open the unlocked wooden door.

A table, two cups of tea—though simple, it was clear that the farmer had made preparations to receive him.

This made Zhang Han lower the likelihood of the peasants rebelling before the conversation even began, but Lu Wei's name still rose directly to the first page of the danger list.

"Did Lu Xiaokui send people to monitor the Prime Minister's residence?"

From the very beginning, they went straight to the point, without any wasted time with introductions. Zhang Han sat down in front of Lu Wei, whose face was resolute, with a serious expression. He took a small sip of the tea without any concern for its safety, and habitually scrutinized this important figure in the martial arts world whom he was meeting for the first time.

Lu Wei met with Zhang Han more than once: "The Prime Minister's residence is heavily guarded, and it is the residence of a great figure in the empire. How dare a peasant family monitor it?"

Although he said he dared not, Zhang Han did not hear any real "dare" in the tone of this peasant chivalrous leader.

"However, there has been quite a disturbance near the farmhouse recently, so Lu simply sent more disciples to monitor the surrounding intersections."

The Farmers' Clan is merely a江湖 (jianghu) organization; according to the laws of the Great Qin Dynasty, how could they be qualified to monitor the crossroads of Sanghai?

But now is not the time to scrutinize Qin law for these Jianghu organizations. Zhang Han would not arrest the peasants over such a trivial matter, even if His Majesty the Emperor knew this. Therefore, he smiled and said, "I see. Then I suppose Chief Lu also understands why I am here?"

"I knew that General Zhang's Shadow Guard had transported dozens of corpses from outside the city into Sanghai earlier, so I had some guesses, but I didn't know much about what exactly happened outside the city."

With questions and answers, and words that were half true and half false spoken casually, Lu Wei's expression did not reveal the slightest flaw.

"Is that so..." Zhang Han paused for two seconds and said in a deep voice, "The Empire's Black Dragon Scroll has been stolen by a rebellious force!"

'Very good, this Black Dragon Scroll incident was a conspiracy orchestrated by Zhang Han.'

Chapter 339 Thousand Machine Tower

After leaving the farmhouse stronghold, Zhang Han gestured to withdraw the Shadow Guards in the vicinity: they had all been discovered, and continuing to guard here would not yield any useful clues.

Each Shadow Guard is an elite, and their numbers are limited. Sanghai City is too large, and Zhang Han cannot monitor it all by relying solely on his own subordinates. Therefore, he can only use his members where they are most needed.

As for the peasants, although Sanghai City is the territory of the Confucian school, ever since he learned that Lu Wei had followed Li Si here, the person he most wanted to visit was this chivalrous leader.

The number of Farmer Clan disciples has never been known to outsiders except for this leader. However, based on the timeline, the number of Farmer Clan disciples was not this many when the previous leader, Tian Guang, took office more than 30 years ago. It was only at the end of Tian Guang's tenure that the title of "100,000 Farmer Clan disciples" became known.

Lu Wei's experience, after careful investigation, can certainly be said to surpass his predecessors. Although the expansion of the Farmer's Clan in the Jianghu has slowed down in recent years, according to Zhang Han's latest investigation, it has never stopped.

Now that he has arrived in Qi, after eliminating the Mohist rebels for His Majesty the Emperor, he will also collect clues about the Agricultural School and gradually uncover the details of this school of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought once the Mirage sets sail.

Judging from the conversation with Lu Wei just now, the other party is not easy to deal with, but he should not have any connection with the Mo family.

According to the rumors about the Battle of the Mechanical City that Zhang Han investigated, some said that Ji Yantang, the head of the Farmer's Clan, joined the anti-Qin front, while others said that Lu Wei himself appeared and led the anti-Qin forces to preserve their strength during the retreat, and used the Farmer's Clan's power to help the rebels escape to Sanghai.

Zhang Han couldn't find any evidence for these two rumors, and his intuition tonight also roughly suggested they were false. So, he could temporarily postpone the investigation of the farmers' homes.

If we consider the forces that could help the rebels escape to Sanghai, rather than the peasantry, then the Confucian Xiaoshengxianzhuang would be the place to go.

Back at his residence, Zhang Han thought of this and took out a coverless book from a compartment in his study:

"Of the three outstanding figures of Qi and Lu, Fu Nian was a virtuous gentleman who received Confucian education from a young age and whose upbringing was marked by exemplary conduct. The other two, however, are less certain."

'Yan Lu appeared suddenly in Sanghai as a young man and was taken in as a Confucian disciple. Even with the Shadow Guard's intelligence capabilities, they could only ascertain his name and basic background; nothing else was known. There must be something seriously wrong here.'

'Zhang Liang, the eldest son of the Zhang family, who served as prime minister of the state for five generations, it's only natural that he would be associated with treason!'

"However, the Little Sage Manor holds a high position, making it difficult to investigate them. Furthermore, my status prevents me from visiting Fu Nian, so we need to increase the number of people monitoring the Little Sage Manor."

...

On the Mo family's side, with two explosions in succession, Master Ban successfully found the only remaining Black Dragon Scroll. For the next two days, he worked day and night to break the Six Jiazi Locks.

The secret hidden by this lock is very important. According to the investigation, the number of Qin army spies in Sanghai City has doubled, and Meng Tian has also personally led the Golden Fire Cavalry to sweep through the surrounding mountains and forests, making quite a scene.

The message from Mr. Zhang Liang in the city is that even outside Xiaoshengxianzhuang, there are secret agents and members of the Shadow Guards everywhere. It is certain that he has been suspected. Now, even Tianming, Shaoyu, Gaoyue and others cannot leave the village, let alone leave the city.

Nowadays, the transmission of messages inside and outside the city relies entirely on the three individuals with exceptional lightness skills: Bai Feng, Dao Zhi, and Ji Bu. Even the Spywing Bird is very likely to be exposed, let alone the Mechanical Wooden Kite.

Based on all these developments, the Black Dragon Scrolls are very likely genuine and contain significant information!

The sooner the anti-Qin heroes uncover the secrets, the sooner they will know what Qin is plotting in Sanghai. The longer the delay, the more time-sensitive and valuable the information becomes.

The Six Paths Jiazi Lock is an ingenious combination lock made by combining domineering mechanical techniques with Qimen Dunjia and the principles of Yin and Yang. Master Ban's good fortune lies in the fact that he had the assistance of two masters, Guigu and Zongheng, as advisors in Qimen Dunjia when he cracked this domineering mechanical technique.

In the realm of Yin-Yang arts, there is a new companion: Shi Lan, the guardian of Yu Yuan from Mount Shu, who serves as a reference.

Shushan was destroyed by Qin, so there is no doubt about their attitude. After Shilan proved her identity with witchcraft, she easily gained the trust of the Mohists.

Moreover, prior to this, Long Ju of the Xiang clan and the remnants of the Chu army had been attacked by the Qin army led by Shao Siming of the Yin-Yang School. It was only thanks to the timely appearance of the people of Shu Mountain and their deployment of a maze along the Shu Road that vital forces were saved.

The Flowing Sands had also gained some control over Shushan's whereabouts over the past three years and knew that they had been pursued by the Yin-Yang School in Sanghai a few years ago. Therefore, even Wei Zhuang, who was the most suspicious, did not question Shi Lan's anti-Qin stance.

Finally, with the combined efforts of multiple forces, the lock was cracked!

But this is only the first hurdle. Even Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang cannot understand the contents of the cloth inside... The two from the Horizontal and Vertical Alliance do know that it is a kind of encrypted text, but the encryption method is obviously a new trick.

"The combination of these characters has the style of the Yin-Yang school, and may be related to the astrological laws of the Yin-Yang school."

At this moment, the Shu Mountain girl Shi Lan gave everyone a surprise.

"I would like to hear the details." In the secret chamber of the Mo family, Gai Nie looked calmly at Shi Lan, who was frowning as she took the cloth, and asked humbly.

Gai Nie is very knowledgeable and has some understanding of Yin-Yang philosophy, but his level is quite limited. Wei Zhuang is the same. As for Master Ban, his role was completed after the Six Paths Jiazi Lock was unlocked, and he went to sleep and rest.

"It somewhat resembles constellations on a zodiac chart, but I don't know the specifics of how to decipher it; I can only try." Shi Lan stiffened slightly under the gaze of two top-tier experts: her skill level was far inferior to theirs, not to mention she had to act now...

If Shi Lan hadn't been given intensive acting training by Lu Wei beforehand, she believed she would definitely have appeared unnatural and been noticed by the two of them. However, in terms of aura, there was a significant difference between Zong Heng and Lu Wei. As long as Lu Wei declared her qualified, she could barely deceive Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang.

“I can copy them down, and let other members of the alliance who understand Yin-Yang philosophy take a look at this original.”

"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Shilan." Gai Nie withdrew his gaze and nodded, and Wei Zhuang's suspicions lessened slightly.

They walked out of the secret room side by side, in perfect harmony, leaving Shi Lan alone to copy the copy.