Chapter 105 Slaying the White Serpent 17
Zhao Gao was worried that if he got too close to the troops, His Majesty would one day suddenly open his eyes and look at him with sharp eyes.
Even after learning of His Majesty's death, he was still filled with unease.
If Zhao Gao acted this way, then Li Si, who was listening to Zhao Gao's speech, was even more so.
“I didn’t have that thought, what you said today…”
Since Zhao Gao had spoken out, he wouldn't give up until he persuaded Li Si, otherwise keeping such a person around would be a threat to him.
He simply smiled and said, "I know that Prime Minister Li is determined to promote the rule of law, but the eldest son is someone who favors protecting relatives. Can you tolerate such a provision in the Qin law?"
Li Si's expression hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "In matters of law, it is one thing and two; the law does not tolerate leniency."
Zhao Gao nodded: "That's what I think too. If we support the young master to the throne, wouldn't Prime Minister Li be able to better implement his ideas without worrying about people interfering with the law one day?"
Li Si had to admit that he was very tempted. At this moment, he recalled the young master Hu Hai that Zhao Gao had mentioned, and he remembered how the other man was a bit unruly but also very serious when he was learning prison law from Zhao Gao.
Seeing Li Si's expression, Zhao Gao knew that things were half done, so he sincerely invited Li Si to write the edict of succession.
Li Si was a skilled calligrapher; the inscription "Having received the mandate of Heaven, may your reign be long and prosperous" carved on the Imperial Seal was his work. It was perfectly normal for him to write an edict on the orders of the First Emperor.
After considering the request, and especially after Zhao Gao persuaded him at length, Li Si acquiesced to it.
When the name on the edict of succession was changed from Fusu to Huhai, Li Dun paused, and suddenly felt a momentary unease.
Li Si clutched his heart; he was in good health and never had this problem before. He looked around and saw that there was no one else in the carriage except him and Zhao Gao.
Zhao Gao didn't care why Li Si suddenly clutched his chest; he was hoping the other man was unwell so he could retire and return to his hometown after the new emperor ascended the throne.
He took the edict from Li Si, stamped it with the imperial seal, and thus the edict became a genuine will.
"Next, I will trouble Prime Minister Li to write another letter to prevent future troubles."
Li Si's expression changed, but he ultimately said nothing. Whether it was due to political disagreements with the eldest son or other benefits promised by Zhao Gao, he had no reason to refuse the request.
Zhao Gao accepted the letter with satisfaction, affixed his seal to it, and then sent it to be immediately delivered to the north.
****
Zhu Qing'ai was not surprised at all by the two's conspiracy. Even if she used the "heart-piercing bone-carving" technique on Zhao Gao and Li Si, the two would probably still be able to get together.
But it doesn't matter, she still has her carefully nurtured students. Lü Zhi is much better than Fusu. Qin's reputation is already ruined in this era, so why not change its name and start a new dynasty? She believes that Lü Zhi and Liu Bang will not disappoint her.
This time, she needs to win faster than in history, otherwise all her years of hard work will have been in vain.
Regardless of what happened here, she was present when the messenger brought the letter to Fusu, not for any other reason than to see what Fusu's choice would be.
After the envoy finished reading, Fusu remained silent and pursed his lips.
Zhu Qing'ai thought for a moment and used her abilities to create a halo to influence Fusu. If Fusu rebelled now, she might be able to skip over the years of Hu Hai.
Yes, she believed that even if Fusu ascended the throne, Qin would not be able to stop its march to destruction, unless...
She touched her chin, thinking, "Unless a group of great men come together for a set."
Oh, that's not right either. Then the script wouldn't be about "suppressing the rebellion in accordance with Heaven," but rather about the feasibility of establishing a new state in the pre-Qin period.
Whether it was a historical correction or something else, Zhu Qing'ai stirred up Fusu's desire to survive and solidified this emotion, but Fusu's decision was still to obey the imperial edict.
Meng Tian couldn't dissuade them either, and neither of them knew that a spirit had secretly worked hard for them.
Fusu died in the place he was stationed, while Meng Tian was imprisoned on the spot for disobeying the imperial order.
****
During this period, Zhao Gao, together with Li Si, eliminated Fusu and others. Liu Bang was not idle either. The main reason was that when he was escorting criminals to Lishan to build his mausoleum two years ago, he accidentally lost a lot of people. He knew that he would not have a good end if he lost people, so he hardened his heart and released all the criminals.
As a result, he committed a serious crime and could not return to Pei County. Most people fled at that time, but only a dozen or so people stayed behind and were willing to follow him. So he led his men to hide in Mangdang Mountain.
The Mangdang Mountain area is a vast expanse of marshes, with Xuehu Lake and Luanhu Lake running around it to the south, Fengxi Marsh and Pei Marsh to the north, Mengzhu Marsh to the west, and Sha Marsh and Yu Marsh to the east. Rivers such as the Dang River, Huo River, Gu River, Sui River, and Pao River crisscross the area, and the entire area surrounding Mangdang Mountain is covered by virgin forest. *1
If someone hides inside, it's even harder to find them. Only Empress Lü remembered him and would occasionally come to help everyone.
If we were to explain why Lü Zhi was able to pinpoint everyone's location so accurately...
Chu Ching-ai said, "Take a look into location systems."
While the officers and soldiers who were investigating couldn't find her, finding her was a piece of cake for her.
When Zhu Qing'ai went to find him, he had already brought more than three hundred people with him.
Of course, she didn't go there voluntarily. She was packing her bags with her host, preparing to run away and find a safe place to farm, when she sensed that the secondary target wished to see her, which is why she appeared in Mangdang Mountain.
When she stood inside Liu Bang's stronghold, she paused, for Lü Zhi was also there...
Let her see what those two fish she caught are saying behind her back...
Zhu Qing'ai appeared silently beside the two. There were only the couple talking in the room, but she overheard a few words after she entered.
"We can't neglect the publicity," Lü Zhi said earnestly to Liu Bang, "so we'll declare him to be the son of the Red Emperor..."
Liu Bang nodded, clearly agreeing with what Lü Zhi had said earlier. The two ambitious men hit it off immediately and decided what rumors to spread next.
Of the two, only Lü Zhi knew about the First Emperor's death; Liu Bang had not yet received the news. To avoid appearing too unusual, Lü Zhi did not tell Liu Bang about it.
It was merely a subtle hint that the current world situation was turbulent and unpredictable, and chaos could erupt at any moment, so it was better to prepare in advance and spread the information they needed.
"Oh~" Zhu Qing'ai realized what the two were talking about, but they didn't hear her.
She never actually appeared before Liu Bang. If she came just because someone invited her, wouldn't that be a huge loss of face for her?
Zhu Qing'ai smiled. Since they had all agreed, she really had no choice but to cooperate.
After making the decision, Zhu Qing'ai immediately sent a message to Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu: 【Be careful, take the hoe I enchanted for you, find a place where you can leave easily and settle down. I might need you to come over here later.】
Having settled things with her host, Zhu Qing'ai rolled up her sleeves and prepared to start arranging things for Liu Bang.
Wasn't he supposed to slay the white snake while drunk at night?
It would be so unsatisfying without the White Snake.
She had no motivation to copy books, but she was very enthusiastic about causing trouble, all for the sake of making the effect realistic. She hoped that Liu Bang would understand her afterwards.
Hands clasped together (jpg)
After learning the time it would take for Liu Bang and Lü Zhi to stage their play, Zhu Qing'ai headed south. Since she had no physical form, she was fast; she traveled from East Asia to Southeast Asia in five minutes.
A giant reticulated python was easily caught in the vicinity. It was about 15 meters long and weighed 450 kilograms.
It didn't matter that the snake wasn't white; Zhu Qing'ai immediately waved her hand and gave it an 'epic skin,' turning it into a giant white snake.
She spent a long time comparing them before finding the largest python among many others, hoping that Liu Bang would be alright... no, I mean hoping that Liu Bang would like it.
After disguising the snake, she took it back to the vicinity of Mangdang Mountain, before night had even fallen.
Liu Bang, under the pretext that Lü Zhi had come to visit him, was drinking with Lü Zhi and a group of his brothers.
Meanwhile, Zhu Qing'ai stroked the white snake beneath her in the mountains and forests, wondering if Liu Bang would be so frightened that he would faint.
After thinking about it, she felt that it shouldn't be like that. Based on her experience of watching many similar movies like Anaconda in her early years, she felt that as a candidate for emperor, or even the kind who was preparing to rebel, his mental fortitude should at least be stronger than that of the movie protagonist, right?
If you can't even kill a snake, what kind of rebellion are you going to have, what kind of emperor are you going to be? You might as well go home and farm!
Although that's what she thought in her heart, she still prepared all kinds of emergency measures, including but not limited to what would happen if Liu Bang couldn't defeat the snake...
****
Liu Bang was unaware that a real white snake had actually been added to the original script, and he was still drinking happily with his many brothers.
When the time was right, he led his men to escort Lü Zhi down the mountain.
There was no danger on the way down the mountain, and Zhu Qing'ai did not release the snake, because she knew that in the script they had agreed on, the scene of slaying the white snake should take place after Lü Zhi 'went down the mountain'.
This way, Lü Zhi could find an opportunity to return to the scene and act as the slain 'son of the White Emperor,' saying things that seemed plausible but were actually true.
Because it was a dangerous job that could cost them their lives, no one offered to escort Lü Zhi home. They simply took her to the foot of the mountain, and Liu Bang, along with a few drunken brothers, headed up the mountain.
These men weren't worried about Lü Zhi, because when Lü Zhi first came, she 'inadvertently' displayed her strength and martial prowess, and it was the first time Liu Bang had realized that his wife seemed terrifyingly strong.
However, he didn't care. No matter how powerful she was, she still married him. The more powerful Lü Zhi was, the more pleased he became.
Just as the group was staggering up the mountain, with Lü Zhi trailing far behind, the bamboo mist stirred.
There was indeed a white snake that had been released at the original location, and it was also restrained to prevent the white snake from leaving. But now that Zhu Qing'ai has arrived, there is no need for this small and thin white snake that was used for acting.
She put the snake away and released it back into the wild, while the giant python that had been stored in the host's personal space was released from a distance.
She was grateful for the ability to freely access space in both locations; otherwise, she would have had to find a way to airlift a snake, which would have been too troublesome.
Some grain seeds were still stuck to the scales of the white snake. Before they fell to the ground, Zhu Qing'ai used her mind to collect them back into Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu's personal space.
After releasing the 'white snake', Zhu Qing'ai controlled the snake to move towards Liu Bang and his group.
Controlling a human might be a bit more troublesome, but controlling a python with lower intelligence is a piece of cake. The 'white snake' is moving along the designated route as planned, and the two are about to meet...
****
The closer Liu Bang got to the agreed location, the more uneasy he felt. It wasn't that he was uneasy about doing something 'treasonous,' but rather that he felt something was gradually slipping out of his control, and this feeling was very unpleasant.
His unease didn't stem from his own premonition; he simply noticed that something was amiss with his surroundings.
It was so quiet all around; not only were there no birdsong, but even the chirping of insects had completely disappeared.
In this quiet environment, Liu Bang could only hear the laughter and commotion of the two drunkards beside him. But Liu Bang's expression became serious. He heard rustling sounds in the woods. If it were the snake that Lü Zhi had placed here, it really wouldn't have made such a commotion.
Then there's only one possibility: they were saying they'd slay wild beasts to make a name for themselves, and now it seems there really are wild beasts lurking around.
Liu Bang quickly stopped the two people beside him, looking warily at the bushes over there. He was still reciting the same lines he had discussed with Lü Zhi before, but his state of mind was different.
"Did you hear that noise over there? There's something in the woods."
After Liu Bang's reminder, the two drunkards sobered up a bit and looked intently in the direction Liu Bang was pointing.
Without realizing it, the three of them held their breath...
Zhu Qing'ai sat on a branch of a tall tree nearby, looking down at the three of them. She could see not only Liu Bang's side but also Lü Zhi in the distance.
She smiled and first used her illusion to create a rabbit that jumped out of the grass, and the fat rabbit appeared in front of the three of them.
The two drunkards immediately exclaimed, "Oh dear, it was just a rabbit after all..."
The two even discussed catching it back to provide extra food for their brothers. Liu Bang relaxed for a moment, but then he became puzzled again. Where was the snake? Why did a rabbit come out instead?
Zhu Qing'ai knew how to scare people. After the group relaxed instinctively upon seeing the rabbit, she immediately controlled the giant white snake to leap out of the bushes.
Even when it was only half-erect, this giant snake was taller than anyone present. Its first action after leaping out was to open its blood-red maw and swallow the rabbit whole.
From the moment the white snake darted out to the moment the rabbit was devoured by the snake, the entire process took less than three seconds.
This scene greatly shocked everyone present, and the two drunkards immediately sobered up.
Sitting on the tree, Zhu Qing'ai chuckled softly. It turns out that people don't need to drink hangover soup to sober up; the sobering effect from nature is better.
With such a commotion, Lü Zhi naturally noticed it as well. She always carried the sword He had given her whenever she came here, so she was now armed.
Without bothering to conceal herself, she immediately headed towards Liu Bang's group. When she got nearby, she also saw the giant white snake.
A sudden tremor ran through her, and as she gripped the hilt of her sword, she couldn't help but ask herself, could she really defeat this snake...?
Without even recalling her first lesson, she shouted towards Liu Bang, "Run!"
The two drunkards, who were stunned in place, along with Liu Bang who was carrying a sword, quickly ran up the mountain.
When Lü Zhi saw that the white snake seemed to have turned around and glanced at her, she ignored her and turned to chase after Liu Bang and the other two.
Lü Zhi figured that the snake demon probably didn't want her little bit of flesh, so she decided to go after the three men.
Liu Bang suddenly stopped running. Behind him was a 'white snake' that followed them at a leisurely pace, like a cat teasing a fleeing mouse. In the distance in front of him was their stronghold.
The two men, now sober, quickly asked Liu Bang, "Why did you stop running? It's about to catch up!"
Liu Bang gritted his teeth and said, "I can't run anymore. My brothers are ahead of me. How can I lead this monster there?"
The two men were deeply moved, but even more so, they were touched. Their chosen leader truly cared about them. So they stopped running, took out their makeshift weapons, and stood with Liu Bang to face the giant white snake together.
Liu Bang also saw Lü Zhi catching up and said urgently, "Why did you follow me? Hurry up and get out of here!"
Lü Zhi pursed her lips and said, "I'll come and help."
Liu Bang remained silent. He remembered that his wife was indeed more skilled in martial arts than him, so it was alright.
Seeing this, Zhu Qingai raised an eyebrow. Really? Is Liu Bang really that brave?
Is it possible that the historical record of kicking his son off the car is all false?
No way... After observing them for so many years, Zhu Qing'ai believed that the other party was truly capable of doing such a thing...
Who gave him this inexplicable courage? It couldn't have been Liang Ru, could it?
She soon learned the answer from Liu Bang's rambling: it turned out that his courage came from her!
She found it a little funny, and a little disappointed that she couldn't bear to see Liu Bang make a fool of himself, but she quickly cheered herself up.
All that could be heard was Liu Bang shouting something like "May you protect me" as he charged forward with his sword, followed by two of his followers who were so moved that they were filled with righteous indignation.
Zhu Qing'ai heard Liu Bang's prayer and understood the source of his confidence. Her expression became even more subtle. If Liu Bang knew that she was the one who released the snake, what a wonderful expression he would have.
Watching Liu Bang charge, Zhu Qing'ai felt slightly gratified. Even at a time like this, he didn't forget to win people's hearts; he truly lived up to his reputation.
However, when she saw Liu Bang about to feed the 'white snake' with a sliding tackle, she couldn't help but facepalm. Forget it, she shouldn't have expected a human to win against a 15-meter-long python.
Empress Lü's lips twitched as she watched, and she picked up her sword, trying to distract the snake so that Liu Bang wouldn't lose his temper and get himself killed.
Before Lü Zhi could rush forward to save the person, the sword Liu Bang was carrying suddenly gleamed with golden light.
Zhu Qing'ai added special effects to the sword he was carrying, but it was just a visual effect and had no practical function.
Liu Bang was delighted and abandoned any fancy feints like sliding tackles, instead swinging his sword straight at the 'white snake'.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 20:24:23 and 23:12:21 on June 19, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Mo Shangshu (30 bottles); 64251685 (2 bottles); Chenfeng Muyu (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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