<h4>Chapter 618: Recognizing Qin Shi Huang</h4>
Yi Yan returned, bringing the battlefield dilemma and awaiting Zhongshan''s decision. Zhongshan pondered for an entire night before giving Yi Yan a single piece of advice.
"Let him be strong, as the gentle breeze brushes the hill; let him be fierce, as the bright moon illuminates the river!"
On his way back, Yi Yan repeatedly mulled over Zhongshan''s words. After some thought, he took a deep breath and showed a relieved smile.
"Indeed, as His Majesty said, our army holds the advantage. What do we have to worry about? As long as we proceed steadily and avoid mistakes, ultimate victory is assured. No matter how clever his tricks are, if I remain unmoved like a mountain, what can he do to me?"
Understanding everything, Yi Yan felt much more at ease.
Twenty dayster, in a pce within the Yongle Imperial Dynasty.
The pce doors were tightly shut, and numerous guards stood outside, protecting the hall.
Inside the hall, there were only four people.
The leader was naturally Fan Yipin, the person in charge of this region for the Yongle Imperial Dynasty. The other three were grandmanders from the three other imperial dynasties.
At this moment, the three grandmanders were all looking at Fan Yipin.
"Mr. Fan, we have arrived. Can you now tell us your n?" one of them asked.
Fan Yipin smiled slightly, his eyes shing with strong confidence, as if victory was within his grasp, making the three grandmanders even more eager.
"Gentlemen, given the current situation, how long can we hold out?" Fan Yipin asked.
"If we receive no external assistance, our dynasty can hold out for a maximum of three more years!"
"External assistance? That''s easier said than done. In this battlefield, the surrounding dynasties are just watching. We''re fortunate they aren''t taking advantage of the situation to attack us."
"Even a minor dynasty near us is frequently waging war against us."
The three grandmanders shook their heads after considering the situation.
"Hehe, the situation is indeed dire, but it''s not without hope," Fan Yipin said confidently.
"Oh? What brilliant idea do you have, Mr. Fan?"
The three grandmanders looked at Fan Yipin.
"Reinforcements!" Fan Yipin said.
"Reinforcements? How? Other imperial dynasties are just watching the show. How could we get reinforcements from them? Would they agree?"
"If reinforcements really dide, they''d have to pass through our territory. Would you dare let them pass? What if they attack us under the guise of reinforcements?"
Seeing the three shaking their heads, Fan Yipin didn''t lose heart. Instead, he gently shook his head.
"Gentlemen, do you think it would be useful to bring in troops from these imperial dynasties?" Fan Yipin asked solemnly.
"Uh?" The threemanders were slightly taken aback.
"What do you mean, Mr. Fan?"
"What if troops from a celestial dynasty helped us? What do you think the oue would be?" Fan Yipin smiled.
"A celestial dynasty? Troops from a celestial dynasty? How could that be possible? They''re so far away. Which celestial dynasty woulde to help us?"
"If celestial troops helped us, victory would be assured, and the imperial dynasties would undoubtedly make way. But would celestial troopse? Would theye south to help us?"
"Which celestial dynasty?"
The three grandmanders kept asking questions.
"The Great Qin Celestial Dynasty!" Fan Yipin said with absolute certainty.
"Oh? The Great Qin Celestial Dynasty?" The three grandmanders were slightly taken aback.
"How do we invite them?" A glimmer of hope shed in their eyes. Since Fan Yipin had summoned them, he must have a strategy.
Fan Yipin smiled slightly and pointed to a spot on the map in front of him.
"You all collect intelligence, correct? What is this ce?" Fan Yipin pointed to a location on the border of the dynasties, an ungoverned area.
"I remember now. Recently, news came that an envoy from Great Qin arrived there and has settled in," one person suddenly said.
"Yes, it''s a Great Qin envoy, but why is he here?" another person asked in confusion.
"No matter why he''s here, do you know who he is?" Fan Yipin smiled.
"Who?"
"Li Si!" Fan Yipin said solemnly.
"Li Si?" The three evidently had not heard of him.
"Prime Minister of Great Qin, Li Si!" Fan Yipin repeated.
"The Prime Minister? Great Qin''s Prime Minister? Why would hee here?" one person eximed in surprise.
"Mr. Fan, are you suggesting we ask for his help?"
"Will he agree?" another person frowned.
Fan Yipin shook his head, a cold gleam shing in his eyes. "Not ask him, but kill him!"
"Hissssssss..."
The hall was filled with the sound of the threemanders drawing sharp breaths.
Kill him? Eliminate him? Kill the Prime Minister of a celestial dynasty? The threemanders stared at Fan Yipin in shock. This... this...
"We... we kill the Prime Minister of Great Qin..." one person stammered nervously.
"No, not us. Zhongshan killed the Prime Minister of Great Qin!" Fan Yipin said confidently.
Upon hearing Fan Yipin''s words, the threemanders suddenly understood, their faces lighting up with excitement.
"Mr. Fan, what a brilliant n!"
"Using a borrowed knife to kill! Mr. Fan, your strategy is impressive."
"Mr. Fan, this n will definitely bring Great Qin''s reinforcements. Even if their army doesn''te, their experts will be enough to destroy Zhongshan!"
The threemanders looked at Fan Yipin with excitement. This n was both vicious and ingenious. Killing Li Si and framing Zhongshan would surely cause Great Qin to trouble Zhongshan. Then, with some additional provocations, they would have drawn a celestial dynasty into the conflict.
"Once Li Si is dead, our grand n can seed!" Fan Yipin dered.
"We await your orders, Mr. Fan!" The threemanders quickly reached a consensus.
"Of course, there is one precondition. If it''s not met, our dynasties will copse even faster, possibly leading to our total annihtion!" Fan Yipin added.
Hearing this, the threemanders were immediately rmed.
"What precondition?"
"If Li Si doesn''t die, it will greatly benefit Zhongshan. So, you must go all out, dispatch your strongest warriors, and ensure absolute sess. Otherwise, we will all perish!" Fan Yipin warned.
Indeed, Fan Yipin''s words left the threemanders in silence. This matter was of great importance, no wonder Mr. Fan had summoned them in person instead of sending a letter.
"Rest assured, our dynasty will send our elite warriors!"
"And ours as well. I will even petition our emperor to personally intervene if necessary for the sake of our dynasty!"
"Indeed, this must be foolproof."
Thus, the three grandmanders signed a military pledge, each returning to prepare for the n to assassinate Li Si and bring down the Great Zong Dynasty.
Within the Celestial Pavilion, in Zhongshan''s study at Tianyuan Pavilion,
Zhongshan sat at his desk, reviewing numerous memorials. Upon seeing a purple memorial, his expression changed, and he abruptly stood up.
"Your Majesty!" The eunuchs immediately stepped forward.
"Summon themander of the Jinyiwei!"
"Yes!"
After issuing the order, Zhongshan took several deep breaths to calm himself, reading the memorial over and over, his eyes shing with intensity.
Soon, Liu Wushuang was brought in.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
"Hmm, Wushuang, did you deliver this memorial?"
"Yes," Liu Wushuang replied with a hint of confusion.
"Is the Prime Minister of Great Qin really named Li Si?" Zhongshan asked, staring intently at Liu Wushuang.
"Absolutely. The court of the Great Qin Celestial Dynasty is very secretive, and many officials'' names are not widely known. This Li Si''s name only surfaced recently. The Prime Minister of Great Qin is currently residing near the Qingshui River region, though his purpose is unknown," Liu Wushuang responded respectfully.
"Li Si? Li Si? Xu Fu? Ying Zheng?" Zhongshan muttered to himself.
"Your Majesty!" Liu Wushuang called out respectfully, seeing Zhongshan''s absent-minded expression.
"Leave," Zhongshan shook his head.
"Yes!" Liu Wushuang immediately withdrew.
With a wave of his hand, Zhongshan dismissed all the eunuchs from the study, leaving him alone.
Zhongshan looked at arge map-like terrain table on the other side of the study. He located the Qingshui River region.
"Ying Zheng? Great Qin? Xianyang? What was once just a guess now seems to be true. Qin Shi Huang?" Zhongshan said, taking a deep breath.
"But, Ying Zheng on Earth lived over two thousand years ago, and this Ying Zheng has been dormant here in Shenzhou for two thousand years. The timelines don''t match. Different? Maybe there''s something I don''t know. Qin Shi Huang? Having such an opponent will indeed be interesting!" Zhongshan revealed a cold smile.
"Great Qin? Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Meng Tian—so many powerful figures!" Zhongshan took a deep breath.
Calming down, Zhongshan reviewed the geographical details.
"Fan Yipin''s strategy must involve this Li Si, right? Heh! Since you''re in such a hurry, I''ll let you test Li Si for me!" Zhongshan smiled slightly.
In Fan Yipin''s grand hall,
Several experts were seated.
Among them was Bing Xuan, along with five other peerless individuals.
Fan Yipin nced at the group, a strange expression in his eyes. The emperors of the three great dynasties were indeed anxious; they had all sent their top experts, and there were two unfamiliar faces who seemed to be of the Heaven Extreme Realm as well.
With five Heaven Extreme Realm experts, this n was almost certain to seed.
"Gentlemen, I assume your grandmanders have informed you of the details. Although sending five peerless experts to kill one person may seem like overkill, this task cannot afford any mistakes," Fan Yipin said solemnly.
"We understand your point. Hasn''t Gu Xuane?" Bing Xuan asked coldly.
"Are five of you not enough?" Fan Yipin smiled slightly.
The five nodded, though they were displeased that Gu Xuan hadn''te, it wasn''t worth waiting any longer.
"Let''s go!" Bing Xuan said.
"Please," Fan Yipin gestured.
As they walked out of the hall, they suddenly saw a figure in the distance—a person with tattered clothes and a severed arm, looking extremely wretched, flying towards them. Fan Yipin''s face changed, showing a hint of panic.