Chapter 132: The Dispute of the Qin Hall

Realizing that the young master had misunderstood her, Nongyu hurriedly spoke again.

"Nongyu would not dare ask the young master to provide grain, but could the imperial fleet be sent over a little earlier?"

Lin Shu had not expected Han to be in such a rush, having already prepared more than two hundred thousand people in such a short time.

"Very well! Let the navy return to port to rest for two days and then set sail."

Consignia managed the carrier birds and answered out of habit, "As you command, Your Majesty. Though, let's wait until the broadcast ends."

"Alright, tomorrow morning works too. It's already dark now." With that, Lin Shu could not resist kissing Consignia, who was sitting in his arms.

*Hmph, doing that again!* Little Yan'er sighed softly and had no choice but to keep cuddled up in Fourth Mother's arms.

Seeing Sister Consignia constantly monopolizing their husband, Shaoshao began to wonder if she should also suggest holding their wedding ceremony sooner.

Nongyu did not dare to say another word, nor did she dare to look too closely! What had she just heard? The lady had actually addressed him as "Your Majesty"!

These were treasonous words! If the Northern Monarch were to find out, the young master would likely be in grave trouble!

Through this period of contact, Nongyu had also come to sense Lin Shu's sincerity.

He truly only appreciated the sound of her zither and had no intention of touching her at all.

The live broadcast continued.

"Zinv, do you have any news regarding Ambassador Jing Ke?"

With refugees growing in number and Ji Wuye beginning to stir restlessly, Han Fei wanted to get the migration started as soon as possible.

"Ambassador Jing Ke should be returning to Liaodong by sea with the Northern Army. Traveling day and night, they should arrive in Liaodong in a few days." The Zilan Pavilion's influence extended only through the states of Han and Wei; Zinv had no reach as far north as Liaodong.

Han Fei nodded. "Tomorrow, I shall send a trusted aide to Ambassador Jing Ke."

Not wanting Han Fei to have it too easy, Wei Zhuang smiled faintly and spoke up.

"The Northern Alliance has united the six states, but for Han, this is by no means a blessing."

Han Fei looked at Wei Zhuang, nodded indifferently, and said nothing more.

However, Wei Zhuang had no intention of stopping. "With all six states entering the alliance, the one most enraged is naturally Qin. While it is inconvenient for the Qin army to deal with Chu and Zhao, Han is already surrounded on three sides and will be the very first target Qin must take!"

Han Fei gave a bitter smile; this was precisely why he was so anxious about the migration! To break the Northern Alliance, Qin had to destroy Wei and Han first. Doing so would intimidate Qi and Chu, making them too afraid to act rashly or even causing them to withdraw from the alliance.

"What Brother Wei Zhuang says is true! Yet the Northern Alliance will not sit idly by. According to the alliance pact, for at least three years the Northern Kingdom will guarantee the current territories of all nations."

Zhang Liang could no longer sit still and immediately joined the analysis.

Wei Zhuang smiled faintly. "Wei is already incapable of rendering assistance, and Chu and Qi will not easily make a move. Though the Northern Army is strong, it is thousands of miles away!"

"Ji Wuye, the Blood-stained Marquis, and others are plotting with increasing frequency. I fear the White Armor Army may not be able to hold out for long, and perhaps even—"

Han Fei shook his head. "Ji Wuye is an ambitious chancellor, but his power also stems from Han. He would never dare let the Qin army cross the border."

Wei Zhuang smiled faintly and shook his head. Human hearts are unfathomable; who could say for certain?

Zinv also knitted her brows. With the flames of war threatening to descend at any moment, what would happen to her sisters in the future? Even with aid from the Northern Kingdom, the ultimate peace would last a mere three years.

Seeing Zinv's deep worry, Han Fei finally voiced what he had been holding back for a long time.

"Lady Zinv, have you ever considered traveling to the Eastern Peninsula a year from now? Perhaps the scenery and mountains there are not inferior."

Without much thought, Zinv immediately shook her head. "Young master, let us speak of this another day!"

With that, Zinv turned and walked away. Her heart had indeed been stirred! Her entire face slowly turned crimson.

"Ah! Sister's heart really has been stirred! But I wonder if the Ninth Young Master truly means it!" Nongyu sighed softly. Following Master Lin's introduction, she had come to feel that the Ninth Young Master was quite adept at trapping people!

Next came the segment where Han Fei drank wine, marking the end of the broadcast.

At this point, Lin Shu began to share his thoughts.

"This Han Fei is truly eloquent; in such a short time, both Zinv and Wei Zhuang have had their hearts stirred..."

"Ugh! I'm not watching anymore, it's always just drinking, nothing interesting to see!" Having watched too many broadcasts, Little Yan'er was growing a bit weary of it.

Knowing that a good show outside the city was about to begin, Lin Shu said, "Then tomorrow we'll head out of the city for a few days."

"Alright, let's go play in the mountains and watch Master play the zither on the mountaintop along the way." Little Yan'er had genuinely grown to love the ancient zither, especially since even her father couldn't help strumming away randomly on one every day!

...

Just as Wei Zhuang had predicted, the entire court of Qin at this moment was shocked and infuriated.

What shocked them was the entry of the six states into the alliance; what infuriated them was the betrayal of Chu and the threat posed by the Northern Kingdom.

The failure of the Chu strategy had severely undermined Lü Buwei's prestige, and many neutral factions throughout the Qin court began to waver.

Today's morning audience in the Qin palace was unusually quiet, and even Lü Buwei was forced to keep a low profile.

"Lord Changping! You have disappointed Us greatly!" Upon seeing Xiong Qi, the young King of Qin could no longer contain his fury.

Lord Changping immediately dropped to his knees, knowing that the King of Qin was truly enraged this time.

Not only the King, but the assembled civil and military officials all wore icy expressions.

"I beg Your Majesty to punish me! It is this subject's incompetence!"

Lord Changping did not plead for mercy, as if he had already prepared himself to accept death.

Ying Zheng's anger slowly subsided; he could not afford to punish Lord Changping at this moment! This man was not only a royal prince of Chu but also the leader of the Chu faction within Qin.

Lü Buwei sneered inwardly. He was in no position to punish Lord Changping either, and ideally, he wanted the King of Qin to break completely with the Chu faction.

*Hmph!* An angry snort from the veteran General Lu Gong instantly broke the King of Qin's awkward silence.

"Your Majesty, Lord Changping is guilty, but Chancellor Lü is the one who orchestrated this."

*Hmph!* Lü Buwei was irritated, yet for a moment he could think of no good excuse.

Wei Liaojzi immediately spoke up, "Your Majesty, Chancellor Lü is an official entrusted by the late king with the care of the orphan; he too must not be heavily blamed!"

Several of Lü Buwei's subordinates immediately chimed in.

"That's right, Your Majesty! You must on no account impose a heavy punishment!"

*What?!* Lü Buwei was so enraged he felt like vomiting blood. These pig-headed allies of his were in such a hurry to convict him!

"Enough! We know our own mind!"

Once Ying Zheng spoke, the ministers fell silent.

"Lord Changping, recount the changes in Chu in detail once more!"

Ying Zheng was already aware of many of the particulars, but numerous civil and military officials were still in the dark.

"As you command!" Lord Changping breathed a sigh of relief. For now, he remained the balancing pivot of Qin; neither the King of Qin nor Lü Buwei dared to punish him lightly!

"The King of Chu's resolve to ally with Qin was as firm as a boulder! He even angrily drove the Northern Ambassador out of the court and mustered an army of two hundred thousand to block the Northern Army from landing!"

*Ah!* At the mere thought of that battle, Lord Changping felt even more profound disappointment!

The mighty state of Chu had proven to be so utterly fragile!

"The Northern land and naval forces numbered only one hundred thousand, but they possessed hundreds of gigantic iron warships and hundreds of mechanical beasts! The iron ships and mechanical beasts could both project dense waves of fireballs, and neither Chu's repeating crossbows nor catapults could scratch them by so much as an inch."

"Thousands of chariots were reduced to a sea of fire in an instant, and tens of thousands of elite cavalry could not withstand even a single charge from the arrow formations and the Northern heavily armored troops!"

"The King of Chu's orders to sink ships and stretch heavy cables failed entirely to stop the iron warships crossing the river. Despite having hundreds of thousands of troops, the state of Chu could do nothing against the Northern navy, which came and went as it pleased!..."

Upon hearing Lord Changping's account, the anger of the civil and military officials faded significantly.

Hearing this for the first time, Wang Jian and Meng Wu were utterly shocked.

Ying Zheng sighed inwardly. The very thing he had feared had come to pass! The Northern Kingdom now possessed the strength to contend directly with the Qin army!

"To keep wrangling over blame is useless. The most urgent priority is how to respond to the six states entering the alliance!"

Lü Buwei lowered his head with a bitter smile. Although the King of Qin had not made an example of him, he had invisibly suppressed him all the same.

He had to admit, this was an extremely dangerous young king!

Lord Lu Gong frowned and retreated back to his position.

As for how to respond, Wei Liaojzi glanced at Lü Buwei and kept his mouth shut. Even if he were to speak, Lü Buwei and his factional cohorts would not necessarily agree.