Li Yao said with a serious expression, "It's that simple. However, after you join the Mohist Guild, you must be absolutely obedient to me and must not have any disloyal thoughts. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Ruthless destruction of flowers?"
When Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi heard such a novel and vivid term, they were stunned for a moment, and then they couldn't help but laugh.
Shanrou was the first to pledge her loyalty, saying, "As long as the Grand Master is willing to help us get rid of Tian Dan, my sister and I will be loyal to the Grand Master for life."
Zhao Zhi also said, "Your Excellency, please rest assured. We sisters may not be able to speak for other things, but when it comes to loyalty, no one can compare to us."
Li Yao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good, but don't just talk the talk."
Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi said in unison, "Absolutely not!"
The reason Li Yao allowed Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi to join the Mohist Guild was because he valued Shan Rou's assassin qualities.
Since he wanted to transform the Mohist Guild into an organization similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he needed someone with assassin-like qualities like Shan Rou.
He planned to have Shan Rou train a group of elite Mohists, who would be responsible for assassinations, intelligence gathering, and other tasks.
Zhao Zhi is skilled in martial arts and can teach the Mohists martial arts.
Shan Rou suddenly asked, "Master, when do you plan to get rid of Tian Dan?"
Li Yao rolled his eyes at Shan Rou, as a way of returning the eye roll she had given him earlier.
He said irritably, "You're too impatient. I can't leave Handan yet, but I believe Tian Dan will come to Handan soon. When that happens, I will definitely not let Tian Dan leave Handan alive."
Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi were both surprised and delighted, and exclaimed in unison, "Really?"
Chapter 55: Using Both Soft and Hard Approaches to Take Control of the Wu Family Ranch
In name, Li Yao was the Grand Tutor of the State of Zhao.
In fact, he rarely went to the palace to teach martial arts to the young prince Zhao Yan.
Because he has more important things to do.
Originally, there were many Mohists holding various official positions in the Zhao court.
However, King Xiaocheng had previously worried that the Mohists would become too powerful, so he restricted them from holding important official positions.
Now that King Xiaocheng is seriously ill, Li Yao took the opportunity, through Guo Kai, to place many Mohists into important government offices as their leaders.
Soon, Li Yao took control of the entire Zhao state.
Once he had taken control of the situation, he set his sights on the livestock tycoon, Wu Shi Luo.
In this era, cavalry had not yet truly risen to prominence.
Battles between nations were still primarily fought by infantry.
Relatively speaking, Zhao's cavalry was one of the stronger among the seven states.
The main reason is that during the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, the "Hu-style clothing and cavalry archery" policy was implemented, which led to the significant development of Zhao's cavalry.
Today, the Wu family ranch controls the supply of warhorses for the Zhao state.
If the Uyghurs were to defect to an enemy state, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Li Yao planned to use the Zhao state as his base to gradually eliminate the other six states and achieve the unification of the world.
Of course, his main goal was to gain more attributes in the process of unifying the world.
Moreover, this can be considered a kind of experience.
Li Yao arrived at the Wu family mansion by carriage.
Having already received the news, Wu Shiluo and Wu Yingyuan were already waiting at the door to welcome Li Yao's arrival.
Who is Li Yao now?
That was the first person to control the entire Zhao state.
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan dared not be negligent.
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Yao entered the Wu family mansion.
As expected of the livestock king of Zhao, the Wu family mansion was as luxurious as a luxury villa in later times.
Nowadays, tables, chairs, and benches are popular throughout the Zhao state, and the Wu family is no exception.
After the guests and hosts were seated, Li Yao casually said while drinking water, "Old Wu, your Wu clan has Qin blood, right?"
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan were both startled and exchanged a glance.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be a secret that they have Qin blood.
However, the fact that Li Yao brought up this matter as soon as he arrived today must have a deeper meaning.
Wu Yingyuan's eyes gleamed even more.
Wu Shi Luo smiled obsequiously and said, "To be honest, Grand Tutor, our Wu clan does indeed have Qin blood. However, since we came to Zhao, we have been loyal to Zhao and dare not have the slightest disloyalty."
Li Yao sneered, "Is that so? But I've heard that your Wu family has been in frequent contact with a high-ranking official in Qin recently. I wonder why?"
Wu Shi Luo quickly denied it, saying, "Absolutely impossible. Our Wu family is loyal to the Great Zhao and would never do such a treasonous thing."
A look of panic flashed in Wu Yingyuan's eyes.
Li Yao looked at Wu Yingyuan and said with a half-smile, "Brother Wu, do you think so too?"
Wu Yingyuan suppressed his panic and said calmly, "Grand Tutor Li, our Wu family has always been loyal to the Great Zhao, as Heaven and Earth can attest."
Li Yao clapped his hands a few times and laughed, "What a perfect 'Heaven and Earth bear witness'!"
Then, he changed the subject and asked, "Then let me ask you, why have you been in frequent contact with Lü Buwei of Qin recently?"
Wu Shi Luo stood up in shock, staring at Wu Ying Yuan with a grim expression, and demanded, "Ying Yuan, did you really contact Lü Buwei?"
Wu Yingyuan's heart skipped a beat, unable to understand how Li Yao had learned this secret.
Because of the gravity of the matter, he kept this secret from even his father.
However, he maintained a calm expression and vehemently denied it, saying, "Grand Tutor Li, someone must be spreading rumors to frame our Wu family."
Seeing that Wu Yingyuan was stubborn, Li Yao was not in a hurry and continued to expose Wu Yingyuan's background, "Oh, then let me ask you, do you know Tu Xian and Xiao Yuetan?"
Wu Yingyuan was trembling violently and could no longer remain calm.
Tu Xian was Lü Buwei's chief steward, responsible for secretly contacting him, while Xiao Yuetan was the actual liaison sent by Tu Xian.
His contact with Xiao Yuetan was extremely secretive, and in theory, no one should have known about it.
Unexpectedly, Li Yao immediately named Tu Xian and Xiao Yuetan, which made him unable to remain calm.
Seeing Wu Yingyuan's drastic change in expression, Wu Shiluo guessed that the matter was true.
For a moment, his expression shifted between light and dark, his mind racing as he considered how to deal with the current situation.
Seeing that Wu Yingyuan remained silent, Li Yao continued to expose his secrets, "Tu Xian and Xiao Yuetan contacted you because they wanted to use you to rescue Qin's hostage Ying Zheng and Zhu Ji, right?"
Wu Yingyuan's face instantly turned as black as charcoal.
He stammered in terror, "How...how did you know all this?"
Li Yao smiled slightly and said, "Is that still important?"
Immediately, he slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Wu Yingyuan, how dare you! You dare to collude with the enemy and rebel against the Great Zhao! Aren't you afraid of having your entire family executed?"
Wu Yingyuan and Wu Shilu trembled with fear, their knees buckled, and they knelt on the ground, pleading, "Grand Tutor, I, Wu Yingyuan, was momentarily bewitched and committed such a grave mistake. I hope you will consider our Wu family's long-standing contribution of providing warhorses to the Great Zhao and show leniency."
They had long heard of Li Yao's fearsome reputation. Li Yao had once single-handedly killed hundreds of assassins, and the swordsmen recruited by their Wu family were no match for him.
Moreover, Li Yao did not bring troops to arrest them this time, which shows that Li Yao did not want to put the Wu family to death.
Therefore, the only way for the Wu family to survive is to beg Li Yao for mercy.
Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Li Yao pulled up Wu Shi Luo and Wu Yingyuan and smiled, saying, "I know that your Wu family has always been loyal to the Great Zhao. Brother Wu was only deceived by Lü Buwei for a time, which is why he made such a big mistake. As long as your Wu family remains loyal to the Great Zhao in the future, I will not pursue this matter any further."
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan exchanged a glance, both thinking: Li Yao will not let this matter go so easily; he must have a backup plan.
Sure enough, Li Yao changed the subject and continued, "However, in order to show the loyalty of your Wu family, you must show sufficient sincerity."
Wu Shilu quickly replied, "Grand Tutor, please speak frankly. As long as our Wu family can do it."
Li Yao said calmly, "Hand over your Wu Clan Ranch!"
"ah?!"
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan were shocked, never expecting Li Yao to make such a request.
The Wu family ranch is the foundation of their family's existence. If they hand over the Wu family ranch, it would be equivalent to handing over their entire fortune.
Li Yao then said, "However, don't worry, you will still be able to run the ranch. The imperial court will send a horse inspector to the Wu family ranch to prevent you from selling your warhorses to enemy countries."
Upon hearing this, both Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Li Yao doesn't take away the management rights of the ranch, they will have a foothold.
The reason Li Yao did not take away the management rights of the ranch was that the Wu family had rich experience in raising warhorses, and it was better to continue letting the Wu family raise warhorses than to let those outsiders raise horses.
Chapter 56 Using Tough Measures to Deal with the Iron Smelting King
After a series of tactics, including both persuasion and coercion, Li Yao finally won over Wu Shiluo and Wu Yingyuan, and took control of Wu Shi Ranch.
Before leaving, he took out a piece of silk cloth with the names of some people written on it.
He handed the list to Wu Shilu and said with a mysterious smile, "The people on this list are all spies planted in your Wu family by various forces."
After saying that, he left the Wu family in a carefree manner.
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan took a closer look at the list and saw that it contained the names of Lian Jin, Wu Hei, Li Shan, and others.
Lian Jin, needless to say, has already been proven to be Zhao Mu's lackey.
Wu Hei, Li Shan, and others were all stewards or retainers heavily relied upon by Wu Shiluo and Wu Yingyuan, but unexpectedly, they were all traitors.
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the list through a clandestine investigation.
They were immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.