Chapter 68 Encountering Robbers on the Road [Two-in-One]
After this incident, the few of them were in no mood to visit the Spring Farming Festival. The Chief Secretary rushed back to Xianyang overnight with the inspection results.
After only two days of rest here, the group couldn't wait to leave.
After going out, the pedestrians and vendors were all very enthusiastic. Originally, this was a reflection of the superior customs of the people under the county magistrate's rule, but now, seeing it, I can only think of Lu Jia stepping on His Majesty to become famous outside the city.
When the incident first happened, several people gathered together to discuss. Wang Li and Meng Nanli insisted on personally escorting him back to Xianyang and letting the court judge try him.
But Wei Shengxue didn't want to go back.
This was just a small episode for her. Traveling all over the country was already a waste of time. If they were delayed again by going back and forth, they would not have to leave.
"Are you planning to escort him like this? Just identify yourself and arrest him?"
Wang Li looked up with an expression of "Isn't it?", and Meng Nan beside him nodded.
Wei Shengxue was silenced by them and turned to ask Fusu: "Can they just arrest people directly?"
Fusu considered the matter and said, "According to Qin law, no, but considering his identity and crime, it is not wrong to arrest him and bring him back to Xianyang."
Wei Shengxue understood. "It's just relying on status to pressure others."
"Have you ever considered the consequences of rushing in and arresting someone, given Lu Jia's reputation in the local area?"
This time even Fusu seemed a little confused.
"Wang Li's direct arrest of him does not conform to the trial procedures of Qin Law, but given his status, who would dare to do anything to him?"
Wei Shengxue suddenly turned her head and looked at him with an incredible expression.
How could you say such a thing? How could you say such a thing?
She looked from right to left, and from left to right, and found that no one understood the meaning of her words.
Slowly, her expression changed from incredulity to bewilderment. "Haven't you learned about the influence of public opinion?"
"When you were still the Qin State, weren't you known for your tactics of sowing discord? How could you not be able to wage a war of public opinion?!"
Public opinion war?
Yu means car; it also means earth and territory.
Lun means speech.
The war of public opinion is probably a battle for territorial sovereignty in words?
Fusu reluctantly deduced, "Does it mean to occupy the righteous position and make himself legitimate?"
Wei Shengxue nodded. "That's about right. Public opinion warfare is a military term. Its main purpose is to occupy the moral high ground, promote the justice of the war, win the support of as many people as possible, and at the same time put the opponent in an unjust position. In short, by spreading rumors, you can boost your own morale and undermine the enemy's morale."
"Later, it became widely used, and its meaning evolved. All confrontations that create, filter, and disseminate information and influence the audience's thoughts and beliefs can be called public opinion warfare."
Meng Nan seemed to understand something. "Lu Jia is taking advantage of this opportunity today to spread public opinion and influence the people's perception, making everyone think he is a great official."
Fusu went further: "The Zhou emperor called himself the Son of Heaven, using the name of God to guide public opinion and make himself righteous. All those who opposed him were against Heaven and should be punished by all the people in the world." However, no one believed him later, and the power of the Zhou emperor weakened.
"The so-called prophecies spread by the remnants of the six kingdoms, such as 'Even if there are only three households left in Chu, Chu will be the one to destroy Qin,' are also a form of public opinion."
Wei Shengxue handed him a cup of tea and said, "This young man is teachable."
"If they had more manpower and occupied some territory, they could artificially create a 'miracle' and use it to spread rumors that the Qin Emperor was about to die and the Qin Dynasty would fall."
The simple-minded kids were all dumbfounded: "Can miracles be man-made?"
"The concept of miracles is quite broad. A flower blooming in winter can be a miracle, and so can a stone falling from the sky. If you take the opportunity to carve a few words on the stone, such as 'The Qin Emperor dies, the Qin Dynasty perishes,' then it can be a message from heaven."
Fusu slammed the table in anger: "How dare you curse my father!"
Wei Shengxue retreated strategically: "I didn't curse him."
Fusu softened his tone, "Fusu lost his composure. I wasn't blaming the immortals, but the remnants of the six kingdoms."
Wei Shengxue was more open-minded about this than he was. "Your father destroyed the six kingdoms. Don't even think about scolding him for being dead. If he could do that, the people of the six kingdoms would want to dig up your ancestral graves and bury a few cursed dolls in them. He's even used to assassinations. He won't take such words to heart."
Seeing that their faces were still gloomy, she managed to say something that seemed to comfort them, "The strong are never afraid of rumors. These words will hurt him less than your failure to perfectly meet his expectations."
"Puff!" Fusu felt as if a huge knife had stabbed into his heart.
"Anyway," Wei Shengxue brought the topic back, "Let's leave this matter to the people in Xianyang City. We'll rest for two more days before setting off."
Having said that, no one else had any objections, so the caravan sold some of Xianyang City's specialties here and then set off to leave Dong County.
------
The caravan's route did not completely overlap with theirs, and even the caravan was not on the same trade route. When they reached a fork in the road, Shao Lan said goodbye to everyone and returned to the caravan.
The small caravan that was going to travel with them for a while had quite a few people, about a hundred or so, and they even had a team doctor.
"He is somewhat related to the immortals. He is a student of your student."
Of course, after just a few months of study, his abilities cannot be said to have improved by leaps and bounds. He can only be considered to be learning while applying. It is not as practical as the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" copied by Xia Wuqie.
Wei Shengxue saw the book in his hand and smiled, "If you can really put your knowledge into practice, the medical knowledge in this book will be enough."
The team doctor didn't expect that he would be noticed by the immortal, and he also received encouragement from the immortal!
"Yes! I will definitely study hard, work hard to improve my medical skills, and strive to save more people!" His voice was excited, and his tone rose several degrees, which immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the team.
"Ahem." The caravan manager coughed lightly a few times to remind him to pay attention to his attitude.
It was almost time for dinner, and the convoy stopped at a suitable place to stay after exploration. In order to take care of these distinguished guests, they did not make do with dry food and cold water as usual, but set up a few pots and prepared to cook a hot meal.
The guards who were traveling with them also unloaded a few bags of materials from the carriage and began to prepare lunch using the makeshift stove they had set up.
[Host! Good news! Very good news!]
Wei Shengxue was originally sitting with his eyes closed, resting his mind while communicating with the newly born weeds, absorbing some fresh plant spirit from them, but the system suddenly started to make a noise.
"What good news? Are your abilities finally complete? Or can you give me the Ten-Wholesome Tonic Pill that will take me straight to the Tribulation Crossing Stage?"
System: [Uh... Host, can you stop dreaming? ]
[But this is really good news, free benefits, so tempting! ]
Free of charge!
Upon hearing these two words, Wei Shengxue's eyes immediately lit up.
Isn’t this a good opportunity to make some money!
Ding ding ding, it's instant noodles, one of those junk foods! I asked my best friend to snag them for me. Twenty-four boxes, and they only cost one energy point! Rounding it up, that's like free!
Wei Shengxue was shocked by the price. She knew that the purchasing power of one energy point was almost equal to one star coin, and it could only buy the cheapest bottle of water.
Then she realized—
Instant noodles?!
This junk food has been passed down from the time of the Mother Planet! It's a must-have for many otakus and housewives. People who can't cook and don't like robot food rely on it to satisfy their stomachs!
Most importantly, it’s full of flavor!
Having had a bland taste for decades, Wei Shengxue suspected that a bag of spicy strips could make her cry with joy.
'Present it to this host quickly!'
[Okay~]
[Ding! Dress-up System 333 is giving you a snack gift pack*1. Do you accept it?]
"Accept, accept, accept!" Important things should be said three times.
Crash——!
The friction sound of the instant noodle packaging bag was heard, and Wei Shengxue's eyes blurred, and countless colorful colors filled her sight.
The system's reminder finally arrived: [Airdrops received directly by the host cannot be directly stored in my system space.]
Wei Shengxue looked at the instant noodles that almost buried her, recalling the delicious fragrance, and was in a good mood and didn't care about its hindsight.
She looked up and saw the surprised looks and expressions of the group. She raised her hand a little embarrassedly and said, "A friend sent this. It's delicious. Let's have this for lunch today."
It suddenly appeared, it must be a gift from another immortal, they were uneasy,
"Can we eat it too?"
Instant noodles are only suitable for occasional eating. She will get tired of eating them after two meals. Moreover, they contain too many impurities and are not suitable for frequent consumption.
As for delicious food, the best destination is to satisfy your stomach.
So Wei Shengxue invited generously, "Of course."
"There are seasoning packets and bread inside. If anyone knows about wild vegetables, they can dig a few and put them in."
There are so many people, and they are all adult men who do manual labor. They cannot be full just by eating instant noodles.
Immortal! Please! Treat! Me! to! Dinner!
This sentence immediately flooded the minds of the people in the caravan.
It took him a long time to come back to his senses. He hurriedly pulled out a bag, picked up his bow and arrow, and went into the woods.
Cuckoo.
Wei Shengxue looked around in confusion. Are there frogs?
Then Wang Li was seen covering his stomach with one hand and his face with the other, looking like he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
"Hungry?"
Wei Shengxue signaled the guard to boil some water, "Let's boil a few packets first to fill our stomachs."
Meng Nan also quietly touched his stomach, he was hungry too.
Thinking of that bastard Lu Jia, he lost his appetite even for the meal in Dong County. He hadn't eaten much for breakfast, and now he had digested it all after half a day. However, his stomach didn't growl like Wang Li's did.
"Wait until the water boils, tear open the package and add the noodles, then add all the seasonings in the seasoning packet, and cook for two or three minutes."
The water started to boil as soon as the stove was set up. It was already boiling and a continuous white mist was rising.
Under her command, the guards carefully tore open the package, revealing the beige pancake. Before it started cooking, the unique aroma of fried food began to spread.
Add the noodles and then the seasoning packet. The moment the oil packet melts, the overbearing aroma of the instant noodles will come over.
The price of spices in Daqin was higher than gold, and seasonings were in short supply. Apart from salt, sugar and sauce, other seasonings were extremely rare.
The rich aroma of heavy oil and salt spread quickly, making everyone's saliva automatically secrete.
Gulp!
The sound of swallowing saliva was so obvious.
They sniffed their noses vigorously, took out a piece of cold, hard dry food from their arms and took a big bite. They chewed hard and sniffed at the same time. It seemed that even the dry food in their mouths had a flavor when they smelled the scent.
"Such a rich and mellow aroma, so rich and rich, I've never seen or heard of it before. Is this the food used by immortals?"
This is definitely not something from this world. How can ordinary food have such a fragrance?
Wei Shengxue also sniffed.
Ah, it’s her favorite braised beef noodles.
From childhood to adulthood, this is the only flavor that I never get tired of.
It still tastes familiar.
She glanced again at the almost invisible diced beef in the pot.
Still a familiar recipe.
"When you see the noodles turn translucent, you can fish them out."
Wei Shengxue taught them a little trick for eating instant noodles: "You have to scoop the noodles quickly, otherwise they will get overcooked."
"First, scoop out the noodles, then scoop out the soup. It's a pity there's no egg or greens. Otherwise, a poached egg and two greens would be perfect."
The guard handed her the first bowl of noodles out of the pot. She took the bowl, blew gently along the edge, took a small sip of the soup, and the boiling hot soup fell into her mouth, bringing her an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
Wei Shengxue narrowed her eyes, enjoying the long-lost taste.
Several packets of instant noodles were cooked at one time, and a lot of water was added. After the noodles were taken out, others couldn't wait to cook another pot, and they all scooped up the soup and had some dry food.
Wang Li watched eagerly, the immortal, the prince, and the princess finally had their turn.
He held the bowl of noodles and saw the immortal's expression of enjoyment, so he took a sip without hesitation.
Hiss, hiss, hiss—
It’s so hot. So hot.
He took a deep breath, but was reluctant to spit out the soup.
The refreshing aroma instantly conquered his taste buds, and the rich fragrance that hit his nose gave him double the enjoyment and double the happiness!
Wang Li's eyes widened, he even forgot to speak, and buried his head in slurping the soup.
Before I even took a bite of the noodles, the soup had already filled my stomach.
"This noodle soup is delicious enough to soak shoe soles in!" said Wang Li after he finished three big bowls of soup.
After eating the hot soup noodles, I felt warm all over in the cool spring breeze.
"Have they come back? Why are they so slow? If it were my family, we would have been kicked out long ago." After eating the last mouthful of noodles, Wang Li stared at the boiling water in the pot and looked towards the exit of the forest from time to time.
The caravan manager ignored his bad attitude and echoed, "Marquis Wucheng is right. They are too slow."
On the hill behind the forest, a young man in a tiger-skin coat lay in the grass, sniffing hard, licking his lips and swallowing the saliva that was about to reach the corner of his mouth. He cursed inwardly, "Damn, this fat sheep is really delicious. It's so damn delicious!"
The older young man next to him couldn't help but pull out a blade of grass and stuff it into his mouth to chew, saying fiercely: "Boss, when we get to our village, all these good things will be ours."
"I'll go back and call for help. You stay here and keep an eye on them so they don't find you." The young man patted his shoulder and used his lower limbs to retreat step by step into the forest behind.
Just as he was leaving, Weishengxue, who was holding the bowl of noodles, seemed to have sensed something and looked over here.
"They're back!" Wang Li saw the direction of her gaze and quickly stretched his neck to look over there. His eyes were sore from staring, but no one came out.
Wei Shengxue looked away speechlessly.
He wasn't so unreliable when I saw him before. Could it be that he was letting himself go because he went out alone without any elders to supervise him?
Her spiritual sense spread over there, and a young man lying in the grass was clearly visible in her perception.
Hunter?
There must be a lot of insects in the grass. Could it be that they are setting traps to catch prey?
Weishengxue looked around a few more times and found no danger. However, he saw a guard walking back carrying a sack of wild vegetables and a few pheasants and rabbits.
"They're back."
The hot water is ready and waiting for you to come back and cook. If you don’t have eggs and vegetables, you can use meat and wild vegetables instead.
But before that, Weishengxue went back to the carriage to get three copper coins, and then handed them to Fusu for him to throw.
The feeling I had just now was definitely not an illusion. Something unexpected will definitely happen within the next two days.
Fusu is the person who is most protected by the destiny of the Qin Dynasty besides Ying Zheng, so letting him handle the divination can ensure the most accurate results.
If she hadn't been so bad at divination, she wouldn't have had to rely on these external objects.
"Tong, when will I be able to calculate everything in the world with just a few clicks?"
The system wanted to roll its eyes at her. How could she not have any points at all? She couldn't even predict good or bad luck, and she wanted to know everything in the world with just one thought?
[There is a way to know what is happening in any corner of the world with just a thought, without even having to count on your fingers.]
Wei Shengxue's eyes lit up, "What method?"
【Become an immortal.】
[As long as you become an immortal, your life level will be higher than this world. Not to mention knowing the world with a single thought, you can even trace back time.]
Wei Shengxue: ...
If she had this ability, why would she be running around here suffering so much?
The divine consciousness manifested in the sea of consciousness, and with a slap, the small light ball of the system that was residing here was slapped into the corner. Then he withdrew the divine consciousness and looked down at the result of Fusu's throw.
She had no talent in divination, but with her excellent memory she could still tell the most basic good and bad luck. This hexagram... there was a narrow escape, a ray of hope, and an unexpected gain.
There is no danger and there are unexpected gains. Isn’t this a lucky omen?
Wei Shengxue nodded, confirming her own judgment: "It's an auspicious hexagram."
As for the thrills, with her around, these little setbacks are nothing.
After a hearty meal, there were still a lot of instant noodles piled on the ground. Weishengxue distributed about ten bags to the caravan, and the guards carried the rest back to the supply cart.
When she returned to the carriage, a huge amount of merit came from nowhere and almost enveloped her completely.
Even though the system reacted quickly and collected all the merits into the merit storage slot, Wei Shengxue had already absorbed a lot as his spiritual power circulated.
His cultivation, which was already one step away from the Great Perfection of the Golden Elixir, could no longer be suppressed after receiving the tonic. Wei Shengxue only had time to give a few instructions to Princess Yangzi who was in the same carriage, and then to paint a few barriers on their respective carriages before he had to enter the state of cultivation to digest the excessive merit.
"It may be as short as an hour or as long as a day. Thank you for taking care of me during this time." After saying that, Weishengxue closed his eyes and sank his mind into his inner palace.
This was the first time Yang Zi saw the immortal practicing. She closed her eyes gently as if she was sleeping, and an extremely comfortable and friendly aura was brewing around her. Apart from that, there was nothing unusual.
Is this the way immortals practice?
Princess Yangzi's eyes sparkled with envy. She lifted the curtain and ordered, "Your Highness needs to rest. Please drive the carriage steadily and don't shake me."
The curtain was lowered, and she moved a little towards the door, opened the secret compartment in the car, took out a dagger and held it in her palm.
The immortal is practicing, and no one else should disturb her.
After a brief rest, the convoy set off again.
The carriage was moving slowly on the mountain road. This place was so remote that there was not even a cement road. If it were not for the fact that the detour would take nearly half a month longer, they would not have taken this road at all.
It must be difficult for a carriage loaded with goods to move on the dirt mountain road. Everyone in the caravan has become accustomed to the slow and muddy road. If they are unlucky and the carriage gets stuck, they have to get off and push the carriage.
But this time, since I am traveling with the immortal, I don’t have to worry about this problem at all.
The immortal returned to the carriage and gave them a few pieces of yellow paper. As soon as they stuck them on the carriage, the originally heavy carriage suddenly became very light, as if there was no cargo at all. The caravan manager was so scared that he opened the cargo package and checked it several times before he felt relieved.
…
Rumble——
Along with the rumbling sound, a noticeable vibration came from the side, and howling sounds came from the mountains and forests.
This is a wonderful position. The loud shouts echoed through the valley, as if there were people everywhere.
"They are bandits, be alert!" the caravan manager shouted.
The guards in the caravan were well-trained and drew their weapons, quickly setting up a protective circle with both offensive and defensive capabilities around the convoy.
"Take your men and protect the people at the back. Even if all of you die, they won't get hurt at all."
Outside the carriage in the middle of the convoy, the guards who were originally scattered immediately gathered in front of the three carriages when they heard unusual noises around them.
"Young master, come out quickly." The guard knocked lightly on the carriage, and did the same on another carriage.
The enemy is numerous and we are few, so it is safest to stay near the immortal at this time.
Fusu lifted the curtain and came out. When he got off the carriage, he suddenly paused. He felt as if an invisible membrane passed through him, no, he walked out of an invisible membrane.
He shook his head and laughed. He was really stimulated by the tense atmosphere and even had such a fantasy.
Fusu shook off the strange feeling he had just had and, protected by three guards, moved towards the carriage in front. Behind him, Wang Li and Meng Nan walked quickly towards him, consciously separating to protect him on either side.
Knock knock.
Fusu knocked on the carriage and whispered, "Immortal?"
Unexpectedly, the immortal did not come out, but Princess Yangzi stuck her head out. She opened the curtain with one hand and held a dagger inlaid with black jade tightly with the other.
When Fusu saw the dagger, his pupils shrank and his hand subconsciously rested on the sword at his waist.
This was a gift from her father to Yang Zi the year she got married. She used this dagger to kill her first son-in-law who participated in the rebellion.
Now she has taken out the dagger again...
She thought the situation was dangerous.
Fusu came to this conclusion.
He raised his head and looked at his sister in the carriage. The exchange of information was completed between their eyes.
She said that the immortal needed protection now.
Fusu turned and drew his sword, saying in a loud voice: "Everyone, today we have the honor to fight side by side. I hope you will follow me to kill the enemy and enhance the prestige of our great Qin."
"I will follow the young master till death!"
"Brother."
Princess Yangzi jumped down from the carriage, holding a waist pendant in her hand. It was made of extremely transparent white jade with a smooth surface, and only the inside was green and outlined with a familiar large seal character - Zheng.
Fusu's pupils trembled, and even the hand holding the sword trembled. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva to moisten his dry throat, and then he struggled to let out a low, hoarse sob:
"This is the jade pendant that my father never takes off."
Princess Yangzi reached out and tied the jade pendant around his waist. "Father said that if necessary, I can put it on you to report your safety."
She looked up and smiled very lightly, "Brother, protect yourself."
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