Dream King - Chapter 65
Chapter 141 The Game
Upon entering the room, Zhao Gao sat down on the ground with a thud, utterly terrified by the scene before him. Just moments before, the once aloof and powerful Qin Shi Huang lay on the ground like a slaughtered chicken or duck, his back to the floor, the blood flowing from his neck staining a large patch of the floor red.
Moreover, Qin Shi Huang's eyes were wide open, clearly indicating that he died with his eyes open; his right hand was tightly gripping a long sword, on which was a bright red light that emitted a faint glow, and in front of Qin Shi Huang was a small pool of blood that emitted a glow, and there were also drops of blood on the ground that extended all the way to the open window.
"Your Majesty!" After about three breaths, Zhao Gao finally came to his senses and shouted. As soon as Zhao Gao shouted, the guards outside the door quickly entered the hall.
A few minutes later, a somber bell tolled from Xianyang Palace, its low, drawn-out sound filled with sorrow. Everyone who heard it paled instantly; with the exception of a few, the vast majority were filled with terror. This bell could only be emitted by a special bell in the palace known as the Dragon-Slaying Bell, and its ringing signified the death of the empire's ruler.
Soon, news of Qin Shi Huang's death reached the hands of various forces, and the Xianyang Palace was already in chaos. Li Si had rushed back from Sanghai overnight, but even with the help of Gongshu's flying bats, it would still take at least two more days to get back to Xianyang.
Three days later, in Sanghai, at Xiaoshengxianzhuang, Xunzi looked at the news in his hand, his whole body trembling with excitement: "I never thought he would actually kill the Qin Emperor. It seems that the great era of war is about to begin. I will follow in the footsteps of the sages and prove myself as a saint in this chaotic world."
Inside the Mo family stronghold, Yan Dan excitedly slammed his fist on the desk, shattering it into pieces. "This day has finally come!"
On a hilltop outside Sanghai City, Wei Zhuang stood proudly, saying, "When Zhou lost its throne, the feudal lords of the world chased after it, and finally Qin gained it. But now it's Qin's turn. Now chaos is about to break out, and heroes are vying for power. Who will rise in this chaos, and who will be buried by it?"
On another mountain, Shao Yu stared blankly at the receding, aged figure. At that moment, his mind was completely occupied by one sentence: "Even if Chu has only three households left, it will surely be Chu that destroys Qin."
At this moment, news spread that the Taoist Tianzong sect had closed its mountains. When the people of the Hundred Schools, who were on good terms with it, inquired about this, they only received one sentence: "Water benefits all things without striving, therefore no one can contend with it." It was not until the very end that they understood the meaning of this sentence: "Water encompasses all things, representing the Qin Dynasty, and 'without striving' implies that there is someone who will not contend with them, but they cannot contend with him, because this person is the already deceased Qin Shi Huang."
At this moment, in the Golden Palace, all the ministers were divided into two factions: one supporting Fusu's ascension to the throne and the other supporting Huhai. The two factions were arguing fiercely, their faces red and necks thick, and they were almost about to come to blows.
However, Li Si and Zhao Gao, who were in charge, did not express their opinions, while Meng Tian had already led troops to defend the border. Since the news of Qin Shi Huang's death spread, the Hu people had stationed troops on the border, and there was a possibility that they would cross the Great Wall and move south at any time.
Three days later, after a series of open and covert struggles, Fusu narrowly defeated Huhai. After all, Fusu's mother was a princess of Chu, and he had the power of Lord Changping as his backing. In addition, Zhao Gao did not help Huhai this time, so it was not surprising that he was defeated by Fusu.
Lord Changping, of the Mi clan and Xiong family, named Qi, was Fusu's maternal uncle. He once served as the Prime Minister of Qin. Later, the King of Qin sent Lord Changping to Yingchen to stabilize the situation and also used his special status as a prince of Chu to appease the local Chu people.
However, after entering the Chu territory, Lord Changping, using his status as a prince of Chu, rebelled against the Qin army from behind their lines. The people of the former Chu and Han regions near Yingchen responded. Although Yingchen was briefly recaptured by the Qin army after Li Xin's return, the Chu army ultimately defeated them. They not only recovered the lost territory centered on Yingchen, the former capital of Chu, but also took advantage of the situation to advance westward into the former territory of Han.
However, they were ultimately defeated by the Qin cavalry, and Lord Changping disappeared without a trace. But Lord Changping's power did not disappear. In this struggle for the throne, they suddenly emerged and dealt a fatal blow to Huhai. In the end, Huhai was demoted to a commoner and expelled from the palace.
After Qin Shi Huang was buried, Fusu eventually became emperor. However, beneath this calm surface, there were turbulent waves surging.
On the very day that Fusu proclaimed himself emperor, Huhai led three thousand cavalry to capture the former capital of Chu and also proclaimed himself emperor, becoming the Second Emperor of Qin. He declared Fusu a puppet emperor and issued a proclamation throughout the land, which was met with widespread opposition. Subsequently, anti-Qin forces in various regions responded one after another, and in less than half a month, the Qin Dynasty had already fallen apart.
At this moment, atop the Sanghai Mirage, a man in black robes gazed into the distance and muttered to himself, "Fusu, I am utterly disappointed in you. You have squandered such a fine empire." The speaker was none other than Qin Shi Huang, who should have been lying in his mausoleum.
"Immortal Master, oh Immortal Master, what kind of person are you?" Qin Shi Huang touched his neck and couldn't help but murmur.
The actual events that day were as follows: After Zhao Gao and Fusu left, Mo Mo took out a world map, pointed to a small area on the map, and told Qin Shi Huang that this was the Qin Dynasty. Mo Mo then described the customs and traditions of the other areas on the map to Qin Shi Huang.
Upon hearing this, Qin Shi Huang's eyes lit up, and he said, "How can those barbarians beyond the borders compare to my Great Qin? Soon, I will surely let the glory of Great Qin shine on every corner of this land."
Subsequently, Qin Shi Huang wanted to appoint Mo Mo as prime minister and ask him to assist him in unifying the world. Mo Mo naturally refused without even thinking about it. He was joking. If he really wanted to unify the world of Qin Shi Mingyue, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. He could just go to another world and get a batch of modern weapons. He could probably unify the world in less than a month.
Although Mo Mo rejected Qin Shi Huang's suggestion, he did offer him one: Qin Shi Huang should feign death to lure out the rebels within the empire, wipe them out in one fell swoop, then recuperate, develop his strength, and finally take matters into his own hands. After all, Qin Shi Huang was already immortal, so they could play him slowly.
Finally, Qin Shi Huang agreed to Mo Mo's plan, allowing Mo Mo to kill him. The scene was a brief but intense fight between the two, in which Qin Shi Huang was killed by Mo Mo, who was also seriously injured.
As it turned out, their plan succeeded, and Mo Mo also managed to fulfill his promise to Yan Dan. It was a win-win situation.
"Your Majesty, did you call me?" Suddenly, Mo Mo appeared two meters behind Qin Shi Huang.
Upon hearing Mo Mo's voice, Qin Shi Huang quickly turned around and said with a smile, "I wonder how Great Qin is doing now. I imagine those clowns should have all come out by now. We can close the net in a while."
"It's almost time. Once your Shadow Guards have gathered all the intelligence, we can make our move."
Just then, a guard came out, whispered a few words in Qin Shi Huang's ear, and then walked aside. Qin Shi Huang smiled indifferently and said, "The time has come to close the net."
In Jiangdong, the land of Chu, Xiang Liang lifted the tent flap and walked in. He addressed Shao Yu, who was now Xiang Yu, on the command post, saying, "Young Master, for some reason, the Qin army's fighting strength has suddenly increased dramatically, and their troop strength has also suddenly increased. Should we avoid their sharp edge?"
Xiang Yu pondered for a moment, glanced at the map behind him, and said, "Let's avoid their sharp edge for now, probe their strengths and weaknesses, and then make a plan."
Just then, the tent flap was suddenly opened, and a messenger rushed in, anxiously saying, "Just half a day ago, no less than 50,000 Qin troops suddenly appeared around our army, and they are now less than ten miles away."
"What? How is this possible?" Xiang Yu and Xiang Liang were shocked.
What shocked them even more was yet to come. Less than three breaths later, a messenger rushed in again, fell to the ground, and said breathlessly, "General, our army has been surrounded by the Qin army. Three days ago, Hu Hai was wiped out by the Qin army. The leader of the army, the leader of the army, is none other than Ying Zheng."
"How is that possible? Isn't Ying Zheng already dead? And his body has already been buried. It's probably rotten by now. Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Xiang Liang questioned, grabbing the messenger's clothes.
At this moment, Xiang Yu suddenly spoke up, saying, "What he said must be true. It seems that all of this was just a setup. Hahaha, Ying Zheng, Immortal Master, it seems that you are tired of playing hide-and-seek with us, aren't you?"
At this moment, in Xianyang Palace, all the officials trembled as they looked at Ying Zheng, who was dressed in a black dragon robe. Li Si and Zhao Gao were no exception.
You guys really disappointed me!
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 142 The Great Sweep Before the Return
On that very day, Qin Shi Huang carried out a series of sweeping reforms, removing all those who opposed him from the court. He then ordered Gongshu Jia to devote himself to the research of war machines, while he personally led troops to suppress the rebels. The first target was Hu Hai, who refused to acknowledge him.
Three months later, under the iron cavalry of the Qin Dynasty, all anti-Qin forces disintegrated; of the 100,000 members of the peasant school, only 30,000 remained, and all their leaders were captured. The Mohist school fared even worse. Since they were already few in number, although Mo and Mo ordered them to be captured alive and not many died, almost all of them were captured, including Yan Dan, the leader of the Mohist school.
The Confucian school, though not besieged, was trapped in Xiaoshengxianzhuang. All their books written in the languages of the six kingdoms were confiscated. Afterward, except for books on medicine, agriculture, and industry, all the rest were burned outside Xiaoshengxianzhuang. The pile of bamboo slips that formed a small mountain took a whole day to burn completely.
As for the military strategists, apart from a few who died in battle, all the others submitted, including Xiang Yu. As for why the military strategists, including Xiang Yu, all submitted, it's actually quite simple. Mo Mo gave each of them a world map and promised that in the future, they could choose any territory within the conquered lands that accounted for 10% of their conquered lands and enfeoff it as a king, a title that would last for eternity.
Upon hearing this news from Qin Shi Huang, all the anti-Qin forces submitted and expressed their willingness to do the same. In the end, Qin Shi Huang agreed, but they could only contribute their own money and manpower; the empire would not send a single soldier to assist them, unlike military strategists who could obtain a thousand troops.
Mo Mo casually lifted Tianming's Six Soul Curse, and his sealed memories began to slowly return. As for Wei Zhuang and Gai Nie, they were both disciples of Guiguzi, who was proficient in the art of diplomacy and had studied the ways of heaven and man. Although the two only showed their high level of martial arts and did not show Guiguzi's unfathomable ability to command and plan, it did not mean that they were not capable of it.
After learning of Qin Shi Huang's policies, they began to scheme and found Mo Mo. Mo Mo then delivered a message to Qin Shi Huang, allowing them to each recruit two thousand soldiers. They then agreed that three years later, whoever conquered the largest territory and developed the best would become the strongest successor of the Guigu School, and the losing side would serve as the master of the successful side.
Three months later, Mo Mo finally met those familiar faces again: Yan Dan and several leaders of the Mo family, Shao Yu and Xiang Liang of the Xiang family, Zhang Liang of the Confucian family, and Jing Tianming, another chosen one of this world.
Mo Mo never expected their reunion to be like this. He was a distinguished guest in the imperial palace, while they were prisoners. Upon seeing them again, Mo Mo noticed that they had changed quite a bit, especially Tianming and Shaoyu. The two had matured considerably. Even Tianming, who suffered from ADHD, had become much more composed, suggesting that they had experienced a great deal in this short period of time.
When this group of people saw Mo Mo, except for a few, their eyes were filled with resentment. Mo Mo suddenly thought of a very appropriate sentence, so he said to the group of people: "Aren't you very dissatisfied? Don't you wish you could bite me to death?" Mo Mo looked around and then continued: "Yes, that's right. I like to see you hate me so much but can't do anything about it."
Meanwhile, Qin Shihuang, who had been quietly watching Mo Mo and his group, silently marked Mo Mo as someone he could never provoke in his mind after hearing Mo Mo's words. He thought, "Beware of fire, theft, and immortal masters." He felt sorry for these people just by looking at their faces, and he thought it would be even more pitiful if the same thing happened to him.
Yan Dan, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward. Suppressing her anger, she asked calmly, "Why did the Immortal Master break his promise?"
"Broken your promise? I've always been very trustworthy! Did I do something untrustworthy?" Mo Mo looked at Yan Dan with a puzzled expression.
"The Mo Family's Mechanical City," Yan Dan said, enunciating each word clearly, his fist, hidden beneath his sleeve, already bulging with veins.
"The Mo Family's Mechanical City? No way! I've already fulfilled all the promises I made!" Mo Mo's surprise deepened, but no one noticed the hint of a smile that flashed in his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Yan Dan trembled with rage. If there were such a thing as an anger value, Yan Dan could probably kill a god with just a few more points. Finally, Yan Dan took several deep breaths to calm down and said through gritted teeth, "Mo Mo, my wife and daughters are already in your hands. Why haven't you fulfilled your promise? Now that you haven't fulfilled our promise, I've decided to take them back. Please let them leave."
Mo Mo then seemed to suddenly realize something, a hint of mockery flashing across his face. He said, "Sorry, I don't have your wife and daughters, and I've already fulfilled my promise to you! I did kill Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng! He's already been buried. Even so, doesn't our promise count as fulfilled?"
"Then who is sitting on the dragon throne now? Don't tell me it's not Ying Zheng. I would recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes." Yan Dan finally couldn't help but roar, attracting the attention of even the guards nearby.
“That was indeed Ying Zheng.” But just as Mo Mo was about to continue, Yan Dan interrupted him, “Then why do you say you fulfilled your promise to me?”
Mo Mo smiled slightly and looked at the furious Yan Dan, saying calmly, "First of all, I did kill Qin Shi Huang, and I did fulfill my agreement with you; secondly, I don't have your wife and daughters, so I can't return them to you, but I do have a woman named Yan; finally, and most importantly, I did kill Qin Shi Huang and buried him, but I dug him up and brought him back to life! Do you have any objections?"
Hearing Mo Mo's somewhat willful words, everyone was speechless for a moment. Killing someone and then digging them up and bringing them back to life was completely beyond their imagination. Not only Yan Dan, but everyone else was also unable to accept this fact.
After greeting everyone, Mo Mo walked to the side, while Qin Shi Huang finally stood up, his imperial aura radiating, and said majestically, "Submit, or die."
In fact, Qin Shi Huang's question was somewhat redundant. If they hadn't submitted, would they have even made it this far? They would probably have been killed long ago. So, naturally, all of them submitted. Even the most unwilling people had no choice but to submit in the face of absolute force.
Ultimately, although the Mohists submitted, they no longer participated in the empire's battles, nor did they manufacture weapons for the empire. The Mohists had anticipated this, and Qin Shi Huang was also prepared, so there was no surprise. Therefore, the Mohists were established as the empire's eyes and eyes for researching and manufacturing civilian machinery, especially agricultural machinery.
The Mohist philosophy is based on the idea that "all under heaven is white, only I am black, and we advocate non-aggression and simplicity." Their greatest ideal is to establish a utopian society where everyone is equal. Having them specialize in researching agricultural machinery to improve farmers' productivity and people's livelihoods is in line with their mission.
The agriculturalists, who revered the ancient Shennong, were skilled in the art of farming and adhered to the belief that "the earth nourishes all things; if Shennong were not dead, would generals, ministers, kings, or nobles be born with their titles?" Therefore, Qin Shi Huang entrusted them with the responsibility of the empire's agriculture, and they could choose to accompany the army. If they successfully cultivated large tracts of fertile land outside the empire, they could be granted titles and high positions based on their merits.
As for the Confucian school, after Qin Shi Huang announced his intention to open academies throughout the empire to educate the people, the Confucian scholars had already taken the initiative to approach him before he even spoke. Xunzi even shamelessly asked for the title of "Confucian Master," which was similar to an honorary principal today, but much more powerful than a current principal. This is because a principal can only manage one school, while Xunzi could oversee all the academies in the country.
Qin Shi Huang also made arrangements for the other members of the Hundred Schools of Thought according to their respective strengths. However, Mo Mo had no interest in listening anymore. After yawning, he stood up and slowly walked out of the hall amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.
After leaving the main hall, Mo Mo entered the small world. To his surprise, the small world was incredibly lively; everyone had come out. Upon seeing this group of beautiful women, each with their own unique charm, Mo Mo couldn't help but sigh, "I came here hoping to pick up a few pretty girls and fulfill my old otaku dream, but I ended up finding so many! What am I going to do when I get back? This is worrying!"
Mo Mo is clearly acting innocent after getting a good deal. This kind of girl is a rare resource, not to mention a pretty one. Others would treat her like a treasure if they got one, but he's complaining. If others knew, they would definitely stab him to death with envious and jealous looks.
Seeing a large group of exceptionally beautiful girls chatting and laughing, Mo Mo decided to tell them. Surprisingly, when Mo Mo said that he was not from this world and was preparing to return to another world, the girls just glanced at him indifferently and then went back to doing their own thing.
Mo Mo: "..." What does this mean?
Finally, Mo Mo got tired of it and started to unseal the small world after leaving. He then flew into the starry sky. In the end, Mo Mo used his powerful divine sense to thoroughly plow through the Earth of Qin's Moon. It has to be said that although the level of this world of Qin's Moon is not high, there are many good things. Not to mention the Fusang tree on the mirage, he also found an egg in the eye of the North Sea, an egg with a diameter of more than a hundred meters. Moreover, he also found a Heaven-Opening Axe in Mount Shu. It was not tall, but unfortunately, the divine power inside had been completely lost. Only the materials were acceptable. However, if he wanted to use it, he would have to remelt and decompose it, which was extremely troublesome. Therefore, Mo Mo did not plan to take it.
Besides these, there were many other good things, such as the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk (which improves physical fitness and cleanses the marrow) and other rare and precious materials. After locking onto these things with his divine sense, Mo Mo began to go on a shopping spree. Although he didn't leave nothing but barren land, he still took everything he could, and with a wave of his sleeve, he took away all the good things.
Just as Mo Mo was moving the Fusang tree from the mirage, a seven-colored ray of light descended from the sky and stopped in front of him. Then, this seven-colored ray of light transformed into a huge gate of light, which was hundreds of feet high. On the gate were only two strange characters. Although they could not understand them, everyone who saw them knew that the two characters meant "Immortal Realm".
Finally, I'm free! Building this house has been a nightmare for me for over a month, and tomorrow is finally the last day. I haven't had a single good night's sleep since construction started. I've been woken up as soon as it's light every day, and my grandma keeps nagging me. It's driving me crazy! But I'm finally free, and I can finally focus on writing.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 143 Return to Refuge
"The Immortal Gate, the gate to the Immortal Realm, the only passage into the Immortal Realm. A person can only open it once in their lifetime. Stepping into the Immortal Gate and entering the Immortal Realm allows one to attain immortality and eternal life." This was the information Mo Mo received after seeing this illusory gate of light.
Upon seeing the gate of light, Mo Mo became extremely excited and became incoherent, exclaiming, "Immortals, immortals! From now on, I will make sure that the sky can no longer obscure my vision, that the earth can no longer bury my heart, and that those stingy old men who tried to deceive me will become penniless."
Meanwhile, in a vast world, the smiles on the faces of several white-haired, youthful-looking old men who were looking at Mo Mo through the portal suddenly froze. Then one of the old men angrily said, "Don't stop me, I'm going to beat him into a pig's head."
Then the old man spoke eloquently, as if his words contained divine authority. His words first transformed into golden symbols, and then these symbols connected to form golden chains that pierced the void in front of him.
Just then, golden chains suddenly shot out from the portal in front of Mo Mo and quickly wrapped around him. The chains were extremely fast; Mo Mo was still hundreds of meters away from the portal, but the chains had already reached him in the blink of an eye.
"Oh ho, so you're resorting to force after your seduction fails? But this world is quite fragile! Aren't you afraid of messing things up?" Mo Mo smiled as he looked at the golden chains binding him.
At that moment, the smiles on the faces of the people who were happy to have captured Mo Mo froze again when they heard Mo Mo's words. The old man who was driving the chains sensed something was wrong and hurriedly tried to pull Mo Mo into the portal. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of this world, the power of the golden chains posed no threat to Mo Mo at all. So the old men could only watch helplessly as Mo Mo easily broke the chains binding him.
Just after Mo Mo broke the chains, a majestic voice came from inside the portal: "You brat, I'm your sworn enemy. Don't let me catch you, or I'll show you what it means to have many suitors."
It's no wonder these sages were so angry, because what Mo Mo did was truly despicable. You see, the treasures like the Fusang Tree in this world were planted by them at the beginning of this world's cycle of reincarnation. They painstakingly cultivated them for tens of thousands of years, and the harvest season was just around the corner, but unexpectedly, Mo Mo came out halfway and stole the fruits of their labor.
Moreover, Mo Mo took away almost all the female protagonists of this world, which caused a great loss to this world. After all, each protagonist was the darling of this era and world, and was blessed with great fortune. However, Mo Mo took them away, which is equivalent to intercepting a part of the world's fortune. Fortune is not only important to people, but also to the world itself.
With so much fortune lost at once, this world can hardly expect to produce any treasures in the short term.
"Peach blossoms? I have plenty of peach blossoms! You should have just said you wanted one! I'll just give you one directly, no need to thank me!" With that, Mo Mo really took out a peach tree full of blossoms and casually threw it into the portal.
Mo Mo clapped his hands, then waved with his back to the Immortal Sect, saying, "Goodbye, old men, goodbye, never to see you again!"
Meanwhile, the powerful beings in another world looked at the exceptionally beautiful peach blossoms in front of them, bewildered. What they found most unbearable was that they could only watch helplessly as Mo Mo slowly disappeared before their eyes and left this world, yet they were powerless to stop it.
The next second, Mo Mo appeared in his villa. After handing over the women he brought back from the Qin's Moon world to Rei Ayanami and the others, Mo Mo decisively disappeared. He also realized that almost a day had passed in the real world during his absence. And after a day, he had brought back so many people. Even if Rei Ayanami and the others were very generous, he would still be in a miserable state.