Chapter 117: Lu Buwei

The thirty thousand naval troops had grown accustomed to life at sea, but the army needed a few days to recover from the ordeal of their first voyage. While the navy took a temporary respite, Jing Ke set off early for the State of Chu, and envoys from Yan, Zhao, Wei, Han, and Qi would soon follow to pay their respects to the King of Chu.

Paper cannot wrap fire; the fact that Wei, Han, and Qi had all joined the Northern Alliance gave Lü Buwei a massive headache. As the head of the Qin government, he had personally orchestrated the efforts to prevent the six states from forming such an alliance.

"Prime Minister, now that the State of Qi has joined the alliance and intends to exert military pressure on Chu, what shall we do?" The old General Lu Gong, who had long remained silent, formally challenged Lü Buwei on behalf of the King of Qin.

It was a sore spot indeed. Lü Buwei felt helpless. He had originally intended to capture the Northern King’s son to force the North into submission and uncover the secrets of the Northern Kingdom, but not only did the plan fail, it also resulted in the loss of most of the Net’s elite killers. At least, that was the situation on the surface; Lü Buwei had no way of knowing the true extent of the Net’s remaining strength. He did not care much about the "Kill" or "Earth" grade assassins—they could be replaced with a few years of training—but the "Heaven" grade experts were rare treasures. And then there were the Six Swordsmen, a once-in-a-century unit. They were a singular killing machine made of six parts, cold-blooded and ruthless master swordsmen. The Net had no guarantee of ever producing another generation of such warriors within the next few decades. These six were Lü Buwei’s trump cards, and now they were missing, presumed dead.

Facing Lu Gong’s interrogation, Lü Buwei remained unfazed; after all, most of the civil and military officials were on his side, and the key departments were controlled by his confidants.

Seeing that Lü Buwei would not take the bait, Wei Liao stepped in. "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has done his utmost. Given the Prime Minister’s advanced age, he truly lacks the energy to handle everything at once."

Ying Zheng nodded with a frown. "This is not the fault of my foster father! Our top priority is to prevent Chu from joining the alliance!" If Chu joined, the terrifying Northern Alliance’s next target might very well be Qin. Powerful Qin had been expanding eastward for nearly a century, sweeping aside all obstacles, but even a fierce tiger struggles against a pack of wolves. And the Northern Wolf King was someone Ying Zheng could not afford to ignore.

At the mention of Chu, the typically low-key Lord Changping had no choice but to speak. "Your Majesty, Chu lies in the south with vast lands and a large population; the northern alliance cannot affect them." Asking Chu to submit in exchange for some barren, desolate overseas territory was a joke. Chu did not lack land, nor did they need dubious, faraway overseas territories.

Chu was indeed strong. Ying Zheng thought the same, but he was not yet in power and could not speak too freely.

Lü Buwei smiled inwardly, clasping his hands behind his back and looking upward. Surrounded by mediocre men, he felt the loneliness of one who stands at the peak.

"Your Majesty, to win the heart of Chu, our Qin state can also propose an alliance. Such a Qin-Chu alliance would be enough to shake the world. Once we crush Wei and Han, the fickle State of Qi will naturally retreat from the North, and the Northern Alliance will exist in name only."

The ministers immediately nodded in praise. Ying Zheng had to admit that Lü Buwei was a man of great strategy, yet his obsession with power had caused him to forget his place.

"We shall proceed according to my foster father’s words. However, is this talk of overseas migration true?" Ying Zheng had received reports, but the truth was hard to discern.

In reality, even Lü Buwei did not know the truth, as no spy could get close to the heart of the Northern Kingdom. "Your Majesty, ignore it. These 'new overseas lands' are nothing but barren islands. When the winds of change blow, those islanders will not survive. The Northern King uses the pretense of granting principalities for three reasons."

Three reasons? Ying Zheng looked at him in confusion.

Lü Buwei smiled and laid out his deductions. "First, the granting of titles is merely a way for the Northern King to integrate into the Central Plains and gain moral legitimacy. It is a clever ruse to save face for the other states while deceiving the ignorant. Second, he needs labor. Though the North has expanded by tens of thousands of miles, it is vast and sparsely populated, inhabited only by wild, untamable barbarians. He needs mass migration to hold the land; the 'granting of states' is just a cover to move people to the north. Third, it is to unite the power of the six states to encircle our Qin’s path of eastward expansion!"

Lü Buwei had many more thoughts, but he did not bother to voice them.

"Foster father’s foresight is deep!" Having no reason to argue, Ying Zheng could only nod.

Wei Liao frowned; he felt Lü Buwei was underestimating the North. "Prime Minister, the Northern envoy Jing Ke once promised that the Northern Kingdom has no intention of blocking Qin’s eastward expansion, nor will they raid our borders!"

Speaking of the northern border situation, Wang Jian could not help but sigh in silent admiration. Since the rise of the Northern Kingdom, the threat from nomadic tribes had vanished entirely. Even the Dayuezhi did not dare provoke Qin at this time, as they were being squeezed by the Northern Kingdom and needed to use Qin to resist the expansion of the Yan-Huang Empire.

"Ha! A promise worth a thousand gold? Just the words of a naive youth! For a man like Wei Liao to take the words of a foreign envoy seriously... if an envoy’s words were reliable, the world would not be divided into seven warring states!" Lü Buwei sneered. These high-minded officials lacked vision. "I suggest we send Lord Changping to Chu to negotiate the alliance."

Lord Changping did not wish to see the King of Chu, but this was a chance to distinguish himself, and he could not refuse.

...

Han Fei had been quite successful lately, not only gathering a hundred thousand refugees but also forming a militia of twenty thousand. Once they were trained, he would continue to recruit. In truth, he no longer needed to search for them; nearby refugees began to come to him of their own accord. Knowing these refugees were destined for the North, Ji Wuye dared not interfere. The Northern Alliance was now a more terrifying entity than Qin, and the weakened State of Han could not afford to offend them.

Han Fei was reliable; he spent his days training the refugees and overseeing land reclamation, and his nights enjoying the Zilan Pavilion.

...

Lin Shu had not visited the Zilan Pavilion in days, yet he knew every move made by Zi Nu and Wei Zhuang.

"Sigh, husband, if you want to go see them, just go. You don't have to peek at them every day!" Yan Fei was feeling a bit jealous; there were two beauties at the Zilan Pavilion who were no less than her. The proprietress was enchanting, and the delicate Nong Yu was a master of music and dance.

"Yan Fei, I am not peeking! Aren't you all watching with me?" Lin Shu hurriedly explained, not wanting to take the blame for "peeking."

Shao Shao was also speechless. "Husband, it is one thing to look at beauties, but why do you always focus on Han Fei and that Wei Zhuang?"

Little Yan'er shook her head. "Fourth Mother, it is better to watch the drunkard than those two women. That 'Guigu' pair looks very annoying." Little Yan'er had not forgotten her mother's instructions; she did not want any more mothers.

Lin Shu frowned. "Little Yan'er, that Han Fei is a scheming scoundrel. Don't trust people like him in the future!"

Han Fei appeared pure and kind, but he was actually quite sinister. Zi Nu had expressed her feelings, yet Han Fei kept her on a string, all while maintaining ambiguous relations with Nong Yu and Yan Lingji. He lacked true power yet loved to act the hero, always relying on others at critical moments—even going so far as to sacrifice Nong Yu to achieve his goals. In the end, he insisted on going to Qin to show off, only to be killed by the even more cunning Li Si and Donghuang Taiyi.

"Husband, if you dislike Han Fei so much, why do you keep watching him?" Yan Fei knew their Northern King was jealous; after all, Han Fei was truly handsome.

Seeing Han Fei and Zi Nu putting on another performance, Lin Shu grew weary. "Enough, I don't want to watch anymore! Yan Fei, let us rest early tonight."