Chapter 57: Lure the Snake Out of Its Hole [Update 1]

Ji Tian Lingcheng picked up the tea, took a sip, put it down, picked up the tea, took a sip, put it down, picked up the tea... and couldn't drink it anymore.

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

"Your Majesty, how dare you make such a fuss!"

"Are you their accomplice?"

Liu Ji had been calmly listening to him rant with his head down, but he didn't expect the tail end of the typhoon to hit him. He hurriedly distanced himself from the matter:

"It's not me! It has nothing to do with me! I just have a lot of friends and overheard their conversation."

Ji Tian Lingcheng turned and stared at him: "You, keep an eye on them. Report any signs of trouble immediately!"

Liu Ji lowered his eyes to hide all his thoughts and bowed in response.

Who knew that this stare would last until the beginning of next spring.

When the spring breeze takes off the coat of winter snow and the slightly warm sunshine sprinkles on the earth, the green wheat seedlings have grown to thigh height, and each plant is hung with heavy ears of wheat.

"This wheat is growing so well," the veteran farmer said, vaguely sketching the shape of the wheat ears, tears streaming down his face. "Each ear can hold dozens of grains, and they're all solid!"

"If I had this kind of wheat, my granddaughter wouldn't have starved to death."

The people around him also fell silent, their faces, once filled with joy, now shrouded in a thin layer of sadness. Grain production was limited, and in years of disaster, people would starve. Who hasn't had someone starve to death? Who hasn't seen someone die of starvation?

If only I had this immortal seed earlier, if only...

"Don't be greedy. We can eat it now. When this batch is ripe, we will take the seeds back home and share them with our family, the villagers, and the whole town."

"In the future, our land will be full of fairy seeds. One acre will produce 600 to 700 kilograms of them. I want to eat two bowls of them dry every day!"

Thinking of the bright future, everyone said, "Two bowls of rice, what a promising future! It should be four bowls at least! Two bowls in the morning and two bowls in the afternoon!"

"If he eats four bowls of dry food every day, he'll be so strong and sturdy, like a calf."

The farmers chatted for a while while distributing farm tools, then walked a few steps and dispersed into the part of the field they were tending to.

These are a group of ancestors. If something really happens to them, I'm afraid they will jump out of their coffins and beat us up.

After greeting everyone, Liu Ji led his share towards the river. He was a sociable person and soon after arriving here, he established a good relationship with the clerk in charge of dividing the land. Although he could not do much, he was able to get the land near the river and the resting place with shade from trees when the land was divided.

There is shade here and it is close to the river, and the tall wheat stalks just block people who bend down.

As soon as Liu Ji walked over, he found someone waiting there. The familiar face of the other person was the one who spread rumors in the house that night.

The first time Liu Ji saw him, he wanted to turn around and leave. But thinking of the important people behind him watching him, and the wealth and glory they represented, he hardened his mind: It doesn't matter where I work, it doesn't matter where I work.

After preparing himself mentally, he immediately put on a smile and walked over enthusiastically: "Brother, why did you come here alone? There are so many guards watching us. If we get caught, it will be inconvenient for our future work."

The man squatting on the ridge of the field cursed: "These damn Qin dogs."

Then he muttered a few curse words in some unknown language. Liu Ji didn't hear it clearly and didn't understand it, but he could guess what it meant. It was just some swear words.

After listening to him, Liu Ji let him vent for a while, and then stopped him. He couldn't keep cursing like that. If he got a stomach problem and brought bad luck to someone else, he would be implicated.

"Brother, time is of the essence. What do you want from me?"

Interrupted by Liu Ji, the man stopped cursing and lowered his voice, "Let's postpone our action for now. We can only start when the wheat is almost ripe. Then we'll make sure those Qin dogs get nothing."

"Hey, the news has been spread, but when the wheat is ready, there's no wheat to harvest. Let's see what they'll do. By then, everyone in the world will know that the so-called immortal is a figment of the imagination and that the tyrant is a monstrous lie."

"Once people are in chaos, it will be easier for us to act. Then we can follow my brother and enjoy the best of everything!"

Liu Ji cursed inwardly after hearing this: "What kind of tyrant is this? I think you're the worst! I've been working so hard here for months, and you're going to destroy my food with just one word!"

You bastard! When it comes to being immoral, who can compare to you?

Liu Ji coaxed him a few more words, and when the matter in the field was over, he sneaked into Ji Tian Lingcheng's house under the cover of night and told him about this matter.

"Sir, I am definitely not in cahoots with them. Sir, you must bear witness for me!"

When Ji Tian Lingcheng heard the news, he no longer looked as angry as before, wanting to jump up and kick someone to death.

He just said, "I already know about this matter. You can go back and wait for news."

Seeing that he was well behaved, he gave him two words of advice before leaving, "Tongwu Hou will be coming over in a few days, so be careful not to hang around in front of him."

Liu Ji was shocked. Who?

Which one is the Marquis of Tongwu? !

Ji Tian Lingcheng looked at him like a fool and said, "Of course it's General Wang Ben of the Wang family. Is there another Tongwu Marquis in the Great Qin?"

Liu Ji's face almost turned green.

Are they putting the five countries' arch-enemies on this powder keg, fearing that they won't explode?

The next day after dinner, Liu Ji approached a clerk he knew well and casually said, "I saw they were cleaning up the house over there. Could it be that some important person is coming?"

The clerk smiled and said, "Just so you know, it's our Tongwu Marquis who's coming. I heard that His Majesty is worried, so he sent someone to keep an eye on him."

Liu Ji's mouth twitched. Worried? I think he was too confident!

But the other party's chattering did not hide the fact that Tong Wu Hou was coming, as if he wanted everyone to know the news.

Liu Ji touched his chin, thoughtfully.

Another person came over and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry too much. Our Majesty is already aware of this matter. We will definitely be able to resolve it. We will never let those remnants of the six kingdoms succeed."

Liu Ji looked at these people who were completely devoted to the emperor and believed everything he said was true. His Majesty was invincible and omnipotent, and his mouth twitched. He decided not to say anything more to them.

I thought to myself, it would be worse to rely on real or fake gods than on the old emperor.

-----

The day before, Zhangtai Palace.

The news from Hualin Garden has been passed on, and Ying Zheng discussed the matter with several trusted ministers.

"Your Majesty, I thought they would wait until the wheat is ripe.

Firstly, months of hard work would be wasted, and the people in Hualin Garden would be outraged, and once incited, they might do something unwise.

Secondly, a single fire can burn a mature wheat field in large swaths, which is more destructive than other methods."

This statement was echoed by the others. Of course, when dealing with an enemy, one must seize their weaknesses and exploit them. If they were in their shoes, they would do the same.

"Your Majesty," Li Si stepped out and suggested another possibility. "I believe that destroying the wheat fields is one purpose. Another purpose is to lure Your Majesty out of the Xianyang Palace and head to the Hualin Garden."

Hualin Garden covers a large area and is not within the city of Xianyang. The defense along the way is relatively weak. If you want to take action, the nearby forests and villages are good hiding places.

"It's a trap to lure you into a trap," Ying Zheng said slowly, "but who knows if it's not a trap to lure the snake out of its hole."

As soon as these words came out, all the ministers changed color and urged: "Your Majesty, don't do this!"

"Your Majesty's life is worth a ton of gold. You must not put yourself in danger!"

Some even said directly: "Why not let Tongwu Hou go? The father and son will join forces to destroy the five kingdoms. The remaining evildoers of the six kingdoms would hate to eat their flesh and drink their blood. They are perfect bait to lure the snake out of its hole."

Being used as bait so bluntly, Wang Ben couldn't help but glance sideways at the left prime minister who made this suggestion.

These words were plain and shameless enough, and would never be uttered at any other time. Even if they were full of evil intentions, these civil officials would always embellish their words to make them sound particularly righteous.

Now that such words are spoken directly, it can be seen how panicked they are.

"My mind is made up, no need to say more."

Once Ying Zheng made a decision, they could never be persuaded and could only obey.

But it can still work a little in other places.

Wang Ben stepped forward and requested, "Your Majesty, the matter of the immortal seeds is of great importance. Hualin Garden only has the Secretary of the Ministry of Land and Resources, which is insufficient to deter the scoundrels. I would like to request permission to temporarily stay at Hualin Garden to ensure the smooth storage of the immortal seeds."

Since we can't stop His Majesty from going over, we can only let him go and attract some energy first.

Ying Zheng looked at him solemnly for a long time before saying, "Yes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will definitely fulfill your mission."

That evening, the messenger arrived at Hualin Garden with only one request:

Before the sun sets tomorrow, even the dogs in Hualin Garden will know that Tongwu Hou is coming!

-----

While Liu Ji was worried, more than half a month passed. The wheat, which was supposed to take more than a month to mature, showed an amazing growth rate. It turned yellow in just a few days. After another ten days, the wheat grains that were originally a little shriveled became round and full. It was obvious that the yield was exceptionally good.

Liu Ji noticed that many convoys had arrived in the past few days, each loaded with heavy boxes. He suspected they might be sickles from the previous autumn.

The old emperor is so brave that he dares to bring in something that can be used as a weapon.

Time passed day by day, and the harvest was about to begin, but those people still did not move. Liu Ji was so anxious that he wanted to go and urge them on himself.

Keeping him hanging all day long made it difficult for him to sleep, for fear that if he closed his eyes one day he would be mistaken for an accomplice and chopped to pieces.

"Old Fan, you're very strong. If anything goes wrong, I'll be counting on you to protect me."

The tall man he called Lao Fan patted his muscular chest and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, Boss. Leave it to me. I, Lao Fan, will definitely protect you well."

Liu Ji patted his shoulder and lowered his voice, saying, "I've already established connections with the minor officials, and they'll leave some seeds for us. If they're really distributed layer by layer, we don't know how long it will take for them to reach Pei County. We might not get them until the winter of next year."

There was a smile in his words, but his eyes were extremely serious.

I filtered out all the ways I wanted to sabotage, and only one remained:

Fire.

Only this can explain why action had to be taken only at the last moment. There was not much moisture left in the wheat that could be harvested. Once ignited, it would burn in large areas. Even if it was saved, it would no longer be able to be used for seed.

This strategy is very vicious and effective.

屮!

Liu Ji couldn't help but swear.

You destroyed all the crops that Naigong worked so hard to grow.

He looked up and realized that he had already received the news. The guards would not allow them to burn the food.

The sky gradually darkened, and just as the sunset met the night, flames shot up into the sky.

"The fire is——!"

Liu Ji's face changed drastically. He pulled Lao Fan and ran a few steps outside, but found that something seemed wrong. That was not the direction of the wheat field.

He glanced left and right, and saw that everyone was running towards that side in panic. He pulled Lao Fan and continued to run, with a panic expression on his face, shouting: "My wheat! My wheat!" This fully demonstrated the professionalism of an atmosphere group.

The flames shot up into the sky and illuminated half the sky, even the city of Xianyang, which was dozens of miles away, was clearly visible.

Several groups of people in the city observed at different points and then went back to report.

One team, consisting of only two or three people, circled around and came back to a small courtyard. They knocked on the door several times regularly and immediately slipped in.

"Master, someone is contacting us. Should we take this opportunity to..." He didn't say the rest of the words, but just gestured at his neck with his hand.

The light in the room was dim, reflecting the owner's overly beautiful profile. The young man's clear voice was gentle and sarcastic:

"This is bound to fail. Let our people withdraw immediately."