Chapter 9 Qin 9

In the 52nd year of the Qin Dynasty, as recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, the people of Zhou fled east, and their nine tripods were taken to Qin. The early Zhou Dynasty had fallen.

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Upon receiving this news, Zhu Qing'ai was initially pleased, the implications of which were self-evident. However, she later realized that it wouldn't be good if only Qin were to be triumphant in this situation; other countries also needed to help themselves.

The Xia and Shang dynasties had no chance; the small states died too quickly, not even having time to develop consciousness. But the six states today have a chance.

It wasn't that she was thinking of switching sides temporarily; she was just too bored during the Warring States period and wanted to try raising Gu worms.

A fine sword needs a whetstone. A good sword will not break because the whetstone is too strong; it will only shine even brighter.

If we can't solve the problems we encounter with the countries we face now, how can we help nomadic peoples become prosperous and strong in the future?

Zhu Qing'ai smiled and made a few more disguises, refusing to admit that she was somewhat addicted to acting.

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The Zhou dynasty is gone...

But Zhao was not happy.

Although she had previously wondered why that old fellow 'Zhou' wasn't dead yet—human records show that the Xia and Shang dynasties only lasted a few hundred years before dying, while 'Zhou' had lived exceptionally long—things were different now; the Nine Tripods had entered Qin…

Zhao looked towards the place where Zhao Ji and her son lived on the outskirts of Handan, and then towards the direction of the Zhao King's Palace.

She had to try to save herself. She hadn't seen any records of self-rescue during the Xia and Shang dynasties in historical books, but she couldn't just sit and wait to die.

The sense of crisis that 'Qin' gave her was unmatched by any other country before, not even 'Zhou'.

She had witnessed countless rises and falls of states. The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, in particular, resembled a massacre, with some states rising and falling without even having a chance to develop consciousness.

Currently, only six countries are capable of attempting self-rescue, and some of them are still...

Thinking of this, Zhao sneered. For a weakling, just being able to survive would be good enough, but she absolutely did not want to die before the fusion.

She could sense that the world was destined to be unified, but so what? It didn't stop her from wanting to live.

So she floated straight to the Zhao royal palace. Even when she realized that 'Qin' had come to see her little brat again, she showed no emotion and didn't bother to find the smuggling country that had long since left.

She cursed inwardly, vowing that if she really got in touch with the King of Zhao, she would make him put forward a law that would prevent the Qin from visiting her home at will.

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Unfortunately, the ideals were beautiful, but reality broke the nation's heart.

It took Zhao a long time to finally utter a complete sentence in King Zhao's dream, asking him to reform and strengthen the country. Moreover, this sentence was not filtered out by the brain's protective mechanism, and King Zhao still remembered it when he woke up the next day.

Zhao happily knelt beside the low table where King Zhao handled affairs, resting his chin on his hand, ready to listen to him summon his ministers to discuss state matters.

What I never expected was...

King Zhao assumed he was simply having a vivid dream, and did not consider that the speaker might be from the state of Zhao itself. Furthermore, he did not believe that the nobles within the state would agree to him touching their interests.

He sighed, feeling increasingly powerless, but seeing that the King of Qin in the neighboring Qin Kingdom showed no signs of dying, he felt utterly suffocated.

That pressure came from the international situation and the question of where this vast country was headed.

He rubbed his temples and ordered his attendant to summon Gongzi Yan.

Zhao listened as the current King of Zhao and the next King of Zhao instructed him not to arbitrarily change the government's decrees after his departure, and they also explained the relationships between the court officials.

The smile on her face gradually faded. Although she really wanted to understand the other person's difficulties, she was about to die.

'Zhao' turned her gaze to Zhao Yan, who seemed somewhat absent-minded, and suddenly felt a sense of suffocation. At that moment, she understood how King Zhao felt.

“If a son is not taught, it is the father’s fault…” Zhao stared at Zhao Yan and spoke softly, but her gentle tone, which carried a murderous aura, was not heard by the father and son.

The father and son were still talking, mainly King Zhao lecturing Zhao Yan.

As night finally fell, Zhao stood by the bedside, looking at the sleeping King Zhao, and let out a cold laugh.

The beds during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were extremely large. In fact, they were more like multifunctional living spaces, equivalent to a living room plus a dining room in later times, hence their enormous size.

The wooden bed was surrounded by railings on all four sides, and the bed surface was raised off the ground by the bed legs. She was not actually standing at the head of King Zhao's bed, but kneeling beside him and looking down at him.

She closed her eyes and entered the other person's dream again, still with her back to the other person, leaving only their silhouette. This time, she was forced to mute after saying two words, which made her furious and she cursed the human brain's protective mechanism.

So the question arises: why didn't Ying Zheng have a brain protection mechanism? 'Zhao' reasonably suspects that it might be because the other party had a problem with his brain (not an insult).

The next day, Zhao's mood worsened.

Because she saw that not only did King Zhao not summon his ministers to discuss how to destroy 'Qin', but he also saw that the other side had hired a shaman to exorcise evil spirits.

This person was secretly summoned to the palace. Almost no one in the previous dynasty knew about this, but Zhao knew about it and was very clear about the reason.

Alright, alright, this is the State of Zhao, the one who should get lost is 'Zhao', right?

'Zhao': *********** (omitting 500 words of profanity from the Zhao state)

The word "Zhao" almost exploded with a sharp sound. She hadn't expected that her two serious sentences would be censored, but the loud insults that followed were heard by the King of Zhao.

Zhao, enraged, laughed and knelt upright in front of the shaman, watching her, or perhaps it was him, perform a ritual around him.

Very well, today she'll see how this man drives 'Zhao' out of the Zhao state.

She stared coldly at the other person, and even the wind in the world seemed to calm down because of her anger, as if afraid of offending her in the slightest.

King Zhao did not think so. He looked at the man with admiration and said, "Your cultivation is indeed highly advanced. I feel much more comfortable now."

Zhao: Hehe.

The shaman, having finished his performance, knew he didn't have the skill, but he wasn't foolish enough to confess to King Zhao. He respectfully accepted the king's reward and even said a few humble words.

Zhao: Hehe.

Neither of them seemed to realize that the dance had been performed around a small open space, as if something were actually sitting there, and that even the most unintentional dance steps would never cross that open space.

In comparison, Ying Zheng's previous behavior seemed even more audacious, daring to overlap with her without changing his expression or showing any alarm.

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'Zhao' walked out of the Zhao King's palace. Whenever she was in Handan, she would resist the urge to teleport and walk step by step through the city.

Look at the nobles enjoying themselves, and also look at the common people struggling to survive every day.

Before she knew it, she had reached the outer city. Looking at the ignorant Zhao people, she suddenly felt that she could try a little harder.

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Another night

She went to someone to appear in her dream again, but this time she changed the target and went to Zhao Yan.

Although she looked down on Zhao Yan for being a complete wastrel, considering he was the next King of Zhao and the current King of Zhao's son, well...

Whether we convince him and encourage him to work hard after he takes the throne, or we wait until he believes us and then tell his father, it would be an excellent outcome.

Before entering, Zhao paused. In the past, King Zhao would sometimes sleep alone because he had to deal with state affairs, which made her forget that there might not be only one person in this room.

She remained silent for a while and decided to try again at a different time.

As a result, after waiting for several days, Zhao Yan indulged in pleasure every day, and she did not find an opportunity.

After a long and difficult wait, when King Zhao finally took someone to reprimand him, Zhao Yan was quiet for a few days. Then, 'Zhao' finally got the chance to appear in his dream.

She was relieved that there was a King Zhao in charge, so she wouldn't have to wait forever.

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Zhao Yan's dream was surrounded by chaos, with messy buildings flying everywhere, many of which were clearly not built in a normal way.

However, this was perfectly normal for a dream. 'Zhao' closed his eyes, sensed the situation, and quickly located Zhao Yan's location.

She continued to turn her back to Zhao Yan to avoid stimulating the brain's protective mechanisms.

Zhao Yan looked at the slender figure in front of him; the withered green blouse looked exceptionally beautiful on this unfamiliar beauty.

It was a deathly color, yet he felt it was exceptionally resilient.

It's like the last struggle of withered grass before it dies...

But that didn't matter. Zhao Yan didn't pay attention to what the beauty was saying; he simply followed his own desire and reached out to touch her.

'Zhao': ?

Zhao took a deep breath, resisting the urge to turn on the other person in their dream and beat them up. He exited the dream as if he had seen something dirty.

Although she had previously insulted King Zhao's brain in front of him, she felt she could try again.

Who is Zhao Yan? She didn't know.

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So Zhao repeatedly went to the current King of Zhao, testing the limits of the protection mechanism time and time again.

Finally, one day, the King of Zhao realized that the person he was talking to was 'Zhao', but he did nothing more.

Zhao: Hello, I don't think you're very filial at all.

After some struggle, she had to admit that the reason the nobles of Zhao did not reform was not because they had nothing to copy, but because they did not want to.

Besides, she also understood that time was running out, so what would be the point of starting to change things now?

She stood at the highest point of the Zhao King's Palace, where the wind howled fiercely, yet her dress remained perfectly still.

She stood here overlooking the city of Handan, tracing the land inch by inch with her gaze.

After a long silence, a sigh escaped...

I'll go see Ying Zheng again tomorrow.

A note from the author:

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While writing this, I specifically searched for information and found artifacts unearthed from the Warring States period. Judging from the photos, that bed was at least three times the size of a modern double bed.

It looks so cool to roll around on it, like a real CEO's bed (though not as exaggerated as 50 meters long and wide).

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As of April 6th, when I wrote this chapter, I've already received 1000 nutrient solutions. According to my plan (one extra chapter for every 1000 nutrient solutions / one extra chapter for every 100 landmines), I owe one chapter, sob sob. I'll talk about it after the extra chapter is released.

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