Chapter 63 Qin: It doesn't matter whether it's pleasing to the eye or not.
Ji Yu urgently stopped this dangerous action. Could you touch the cannon barrel that had just been used? Touching it would immediately scald a layer of flesh.
Meng Aoren wasn't stupid. He stopped when he was about to touch it but was still a little too far away. The heat from the cannon was undeniable, and he still cherished his only pair of hands.
His eyes were glued to the cannon that had just finished working, and he couldn't bear to look away for a moment. Even Lü Buwei, who wanted to get closer, was pushed aside by him, and he occupied the good spot all by himself.
He rubbed his hands together, still staring at the cannon: "Granddaughter-in-law..."
Ji Yu sighed helplessly, having smoothly changed his address, and gently reminded, "Grandfather, I'm over here."
Most of the people present politely pretended not to hear the funny conversation, except for Lü Buwei who looked at Meng Ao with a mocking gaze, and 'Qin' who laughed out loud without any restraint.
Meng Ao pulled his gaze away from the cannon, which was almost dripping with ink, and then turned to his real granddaughter-in-law. He said, "Could I try to light it later? It doesn't look too difficult."
"That's easy to arrange. You can light it later." As long as they don't want to take the cannons away on the spot, it's fine. She'll work with the Mo family to improve these cannons after they're brought back.
She gestured for someone to adjust the next cannon, leaving only the ignition fuse to Meng Ao.
The decision to ignite the fire was made smoothly, and no one objected, but those present clearly wanted to try it out as well.
Ji Yu calculated the amount of shells he had brought and said generously, "Gentlemen, you are welcome to try anything you wish to do, but I cannot guarantee that every shot will be successful."
Only a few people were qualified to participate, along with a few future generals who had come to gain experience. The few boxes of artillery shells they brought were more than enough.
After making the arrangements, Ji Yu went to Qin's side and noticed that Qin was looking in the opposite direction, as if waiting for someone.
Before she could even stand still, she heard 'Qin' speak: "You're much later today. What, did you sleep in?"
Unseen by the crowd, Zhao rushed over. Her clothes seemed even more withered and worn. The dark green robe, which was originally a dull green, looked almost lifeless on Ling.
Ji Yu and many others who were watching followed Qin's gaze and saw that the open space there was completely empty and deserted.
The four empty spaces are enough to show that there isn't even a single flying insect there, let alone anyone who can communicate with spirits.
Then the only thing left is for the spirit to stand there...
Even with the dictionary as a medium, they couldn't see the extra people there. If it weren't for the fact that the dictionary was only sold by one store, they would have suspected that they had bought a fake, or that their dictionary was broken, which was why this was happening.
People like Lü Buwei have realized that if they hold the New Qin Dictionary in their hands, they can only see 'Qin'. The visitors must be from another country, most likely 'Zhao', since they are currently swaggering in front of the city of 'Zhao'.
The opposing side seemed to have no intention of coming out of the city to meet the enemy, and when their army halted, the Zhao state did not seem to react.
Zhao: "Of course not, I just can't be bothered with you."
Qin didn't care about the reactions of many people; she only cared about the state of Zhao.
"Oh? Could it be that spirits have also emerged in the north, making it so troublesome for you?"
Zhao reasonably suspected, "So you took advantage of the country's crisis and the fact that I was at war in the north to launch a sneak attack!"
They came to launch a sneak attack on her ancient country, which has existed for hundreds of years!
"Such a large commotion of mobilizing troops, don't tell me you didn't notice it, and what does your war with the north have to do with me?"
Lü Buwei agreed wholeheartedly. Not to mention troop deployment, the exam at Qingjiu School was quite a grand affair, with the majority of those from the former Zhao state passing. This news couldn't be kept secret.
He had automatically filled in the blanks in his mind with what 'Zhao' might have said, and extracted the key point: the State of Zhao was at war with the north.
In this era, fighting a war was no different from a nationwide mobilization. If there were even a few spies in the enemy country, they could detect it, so the two sides would often arrive at the battlefield at roughly the same time.
The most likely reason why the Zhao state did not send a large army to press on their border is that the timing was right, and their forces were tied up by the nomadic tribes to the north.
Zhao was in a bad mood recently, but after her frustration subsided, she noticed the different looks she was getting from the people around her. She was shocked to find that they were all looking in their direction.
This behavior was as if he had seen them and heard their conversation.
Zhao stepped forward and waved her hand in front of Ji Yu, who was closest to her. Ji Yu's eyes did not tremble as her fingertips approached; she blinked normally as usual.
His breathing was steady, and there was no image of her in his pupils.
Ji Yu would smile whenever Qin looked at her, deliberately adjusting her angle as if she wanted Guo Ling to see her from the most beautiful angle.
'Zhao': ?
"You old Qin people, do you even have built-in filtering and filtering abilities?" That feeling of being ignored constantly reminded her that she and humans were not the same kind of 'life', yet they coexisted in a symbiotic relationship.
Ignored by their closest species, while their rivals, also national spirits, stand opposite them, laughing as they watch it all unfold.
It's hard, it's hard, my fist is hard.
As he said this, Zhao circled around Qin, as if trying to see through the entire country with his gaze.
“It’s not some extraordinary ability,” Qin said casually, but it was hard to say that she wasn’t showing off. As Zhao moved, she turned her head slightly and said insincerely, “It’s just that my child loves me and has made efforts for me.”
Lü Buwei, Meng Ao, Ji Yu, and Meng Tian all nodded in unison. This was what they should do; they were a little embarrassed to be mentioned by the Qin people in front of the national spirits of another country with such an intimate term.
Would you call this a unique kind of nationwide fame?
Zhao gripped the edge of his sleeve tightly; sometimes he really didn't want to listen to Qin's nonsense.
After looking around, Zhao understood. She guessed that this ability was not a selection process, but rather that one could only see Qin Yiling by using certain items.
"Ha, I get the feeling that you're showing off when you say that."
'Qin': It's not up to you to decide, it is.
Zhao couldn't understand. Surely they couldn't have stolen the Nine Cauldrons from Zhou? Zhou had already appeared in the world openly and legitimately, so what business did they have with him?
Thinking of the novel items that kept appearing in the Qin state, she couldn't immediately recall what they were.
Did the high yield of grain subtly enhance the Qin people's understanding and tolerance of non-human beings, or did the written records about 'Qin' subtly allow 'Qin' to appear before people?
Qin shook his head slightly, generously allowing Zhao to scrutinize him: "No, I was merely stating the facts."
Lü Buwei, Meng Ao, Ji Yu, and Meng Tian nodded again: Yes, yes, they love Qin.
It is a complex love, a love for the country itself, but also a love complicated by the entanglement of personal interests.
Zhao looked impatiently at the crowd, feeling they had been "contaminated" by Qin. Otherwise, why would they look so brainwashed? They were highly infectious to begin with, and Qin had found an opportunity to enter the world...
She felt that her guess was correct. So what medium did 'Qin' use? Grain seeds, writing, books, or something else?
The identity of 'Zhao' was not entirely certain, but the final suspects were narrowed down to the complete grain variety that only the Qin state possessed, and the Qin Dictionary, which had been published for about a year.
Upon hearing Qin's words, Zhao rolled her eyes without any regard for her image, since no one around could see her anyway, and she wasn't afraid of ruining her image.
"Then, if we can't even do the most trivial things, wouldn't we be beneath your notice?"
Qin smiled gently. She raised her hand and conjured a book. The pages were all blank except for the first chapter. She comforted Zhao, "It's okay. I'll write you into the book sooner or later. Whether you're good or not isn't that important."
Her intuition told her this wasn't a good thing: "Thank you, but I must decline."
Those around them could naturally see the two characters on the cover. Because of their different positions, their progress in learning simplified Chinese characters was generally slow, but they could still recognize the two simple characters.
The only entity that would dare to use the name "Guo Jing" (National Classic) is probably the country itself.
However, no matter who writes this book, it will not be recognized.
This was the first time they had ever seen a book written by the state. They suppressed their curiosity and waited until the dialogue between the states of Qin and Zhao ended.
Qin suddenly said, "We didn't plan to fire any cannonballs into the city. It would be best if the King of Zhao were willing to negotiate."
"It's just some experiments."
Zhao was speechless. Why couldn't you conduct the experiment within Qin's territory? Why did you have to wait until the gates of Zhao's city? She suddenly felt that Qin might be doing this on purpose, keeping those weapons that shouldn't be there hidden away, waiting until this moment as a deterrent.
Her tone was curt: "Then you can do your experiment here."
Since she couldn't stop King Zhao from negotiating, the city was almost certain to be ceded. Therefore, Qin would never attack the Zhao people inside the city, since it was almost their own city, and if they damaged the city walls, they would have to repair them.
Zhao vanished in a flash, actually sneaking off to the Qin army camp. She sensed the presence of Zhao people there and wanted to see if they could see her if they were Zhao people instead.
If she could see her, she might be able to plan something.
'Qin' looked in the direction 'Zhao' had left, then suddenly shifted his gaze to the direction of the military camp.
Lü Buwei stepped forward and asked respectfully, "Have you noticed anything amiss?"
"'Zhao' has passed away."
Lu Buwei was startled. He said, "Should we issue a notice that the entire army must be silent and not speak?"
Qin chuckled and said, "No need, let her be."
"It's good that she gave up on him."
"only."
Since the Qin state itself said everything was fine, then everything was fine. He figured that if he couldn't even find the character 'Zhao' in his dictionary, then everyone else in the military camp must be no exception.
Even if Zhao heard something, who could he tell? And where in the world could another person see Zhao?
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Author's note: At this point, the grandfather should actually be called the great-father, but it feels really strange to write it like that. So, for the sake of making it easier for modern readers to understand, I'll just have to make do with the ancients (?).
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