They had no idea that the Wu family had so many spies planted by various forces.
They were even more surprised that they hadn't discovered these traitors, yet Li Yao knew everything about them—this was simply terrifying.
In fact, Li Yao gave them this list to let them know that he was fully aware of the Wu family's every move and to warn them not to have any further disloyal thoughts.
He found this list in the Marquis of Julu's residence.
Having dealt with the livestock tycoon, Li Yao then set his sights on the iron smelting tycoon.
He wanted to develop cavalry, but warhorses alone were not enough; he also needed a large number of weapons.
Guo Zong, the iron smelting tycoon, was the largest weapons merchant in the State of Zhao.
Although Guo Zong was known as the "King of Iron Smelting," he also cast various bronze products, including bronze weapons.
In this era, iron weapons had not yet become truly popular; bronze weapons were the main type, and iron was generally used to make everyday utensils.
It wasn't until the Han Dynasty that advancements in iron smelting technology made iron weapons popular.
Li Yao, who came from a later era, had read many novels about iron smelting. Although he himself did not know how to smelt iron, he could use his knowledge of iron smelting from his later era to give pointers to the iron smelters of this time, which would surely greatly improve the iron smelting technology of this time.
Therefore, Li Yao decided to bring forward the Iron Age.
If you want the Iron Age to arrive sooner, you first need to win over Guo Zong, the iron smelting tycoon.
Guo Zong was a cunning and treacherous man, full of schemes, and often hid a knife behind a smile.
We cannot deal with Guo Zong using the same approach of combining soft and hard tactics as we did with Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan.
Because Guo Zong is too cunning and two-faced, you simply cannot guess what he is really thinking.
Therefore, Li Yao decided to use simple and brutal methods to deal with Guo Zong.
So Li Yao led a large group of soldiers and stormed into the Guo residence.
The servants of the Guo family were terrified by the sudden intruder and didn't know what to do.
Soon, Guo Zong, who had heard the news, arrived and hurriedly said with a smile, "I was unaware of Grand Tutor Li's arrival. I have failed to greet you properly and hope that you will forgive me."
Li Yao's face darkened, and he coldly demanded, "Guo Zong, do you know your crime?"
Guo Zong was startled, but still maintained a smile on his face, asking with some confusion, "Grand Tutor Li, what do you mean? I, Guo, have always been law-abiding and have committed no crime whatsoever."
"Upholding the law and obeying public duty?"
Li Yao sneered and said, "Is colluding with an enemy country also considered obeying the law?"
Guo Zong was startled, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.
Colluding with an enemy state is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of three generations of one's family; how could he possibly laugh?
He quickly defended himself, saying, "Grand Tutor Li, you must not say such things. I, Guo Zong, have always been loyal to the Great Zhao. How could I dare to secretly collude with an enemy state?"
"Yeah?"
Li Yao knew that Guo Zong would not confess easily.
So he gave a wink to one of the soldiers next to him.
The soldier immediately took out a stack of silk cloth and handed it to Li Yao.
Li Yao threw the silk cloth at Guo Zong and coldly shouted, "This is all evidence of your collusion with the enemy. You sold weapons to the enemy without authorization, which is tantamount to colluding with the enemy. What else do you have to say?"
Some of this evidence was found by him during a search of the Marquis of Julu's residence, while the rest was collected by members of the Mohist Guild.
Guo Zong immediately picked up the silk fabrics and quickly examined them.
The more he read, the faster his heart pounded, the paler his face became, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
He never expected that Li Yao would discover his secret sale of weapons to the enemy country.
These silk fabrics are evidence of his trade with enemy countries.
How did this evidence end up in Li Yao's hands?
There is considerable evidence suggesting that he colluded with Zhao Mu to sell a large number of weapons to the State of Chu.
Furthermore, he also colluded with Tian Dan of Qi, selling a large number of weapons to Qi.
If it were King Xiaocheng in power, this matter would have been completely covered up by Zhao Mu.
However, now that Zhao Mu is dead and King Xiaocheng is seriously ill, the power of the Zhao state has fallen into the hands of Li Yao.
Li Yao, however, did not seem to have a good impression of him.
It seems he's doomed this time.
His mind raced. He realized that Li Yao's visit this time was ill-intentioned and he would not let him off easily. His only chance of survival was to fight back and kill Li Yao.
Then, Guo Zong suddenly whistled.
Suddenly, dozens of swordsmen wielding sharp swords appeared from the vicinity.
These swordsmen were his trained assassins, each highly skilled and fearless of death.
"Kill him!"
Guo Zong gave the order with a sinister look on his face.
As soon as he finished speaking, the swordsmen pounced on Li Yao with menacing expressions.
The soldiers around Li Yao immediately rushed forward and engaged the swordsman in battle.
Li Yao shook his head slightly and smiled gently, "Guo Zong, I originally did not intend to let you die, but by doing this, you have essentially driven yourself to your death."
Guo Zong snorted coldly, not believing Li Yao's words at all.
He sneered, "I'm going to die either way, so I might as well take a gamble and maybe there's still a glimmer of hope."
Li Yao said, "Then don't blame me for showing no mercy."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched out his right hand, and with a thought, the Embroidered Spring Blade immediately appeared in his hand.
Before Guo Zong and the others could react, Li Yao had already charged into a group of assassins.
Puff puff puff...
With a swift stroke, the knife fell, one kill after another.
In the blink of an eye, a large number of the assassins' corpses lay on the ground.
Guo Zong knew Li Yao was formidable, but he hadn't expected him to be this formidable.
Guo Zong was so frightened that his knees buckled and he knelt on the ground, begging for mercy repeatedly.
Li Yao's eyes turned cold, and he swept his sword across the ground.
puff!
Guo Zong's head rolled to the ground.
Li Yao glanced at the ground and collected the attribute light orbs on the ground.
Subsequently, Li Yao handed over all matters related to iron smelting, including the Guo family's ironworks, ironworkers, iron mines, and so on, to the Mohist Guild.
Next, Li Yao handed over the iron-smelting knowledge of later generations, as well as some drawings of weapons from later generations, to the iron-smiths, so that they could forge a batch of divine weapons suitable for cavalry warfare.
(PS: The title was deleted, so I changed the title and reposted it.)
Chapter 57 Is Lian Po, now old, still able to eat? (Revised)
King Xiaocheng eventually succumbed to his illness and died.
After King Xiaocheng died, the young ruler Zhao Yan took over the administration of the state.
Of course, the Zhao royal palace is now under Li Yao's control.
Furthermore, because Zhao Yan witnessed Li Yao kill Lian Jin with a single blow, he was left with an indelible shadow in his heart and was extremely afraid of Li Yao.
Moreover, Li Yao was also the Grand Tutor.
Therefore, Zhao Yan obeyed Li Yao's every command.
The government of Zhao remained firmly in Li Yao's hands.
The news of King Xiaocheng's death quickly spread to the other six kingdoms.
The other six countries all sent envoys to offer their condolences.
Meanwhile, Li Mu and Lian Po, who were stationed on the frontier, finished their military affairs and rushed back to Handan City one after another.
Li Yao basically handed over the affairs of the Mohist guild to Yuan Zong, Shan Rou, and Zhao Zhi.
He mainly handled important matters, as well as affairs of the imperial court.
Of course, he also needs to set aside some time each day to practice his swordsmanship.
Now, he has completely integrated the Mozi Breathing Method into his life, and his true qi attribute is slowly and steadily improving.
Although the improvement was not rapid, it had already brought about tremendous changes for him.
Sometimes he gets so engrossed in practicing his sword that he practices for one or two hours straight, and instead of feeling tired, he is full of energy and vitality.
One day, he was practicing his sword in the courtyard when he suddenly heard a series of chaotic footsteps and noises outside.
"Prime Minister Lian, please have a seat in the reception room. I'll go find the Grand Master and inform him of this."
"Your tycoon is so arrogant. It's so difficult to even see him. No need for you to announce my arrival. I'll go in and meet him myself."
"Prime Minister Lian, our Grand Prince is very busy and it is really inconvenient for us to be disturbed. Please do not make things difficult for us."
"Busy with affairs? Hmph, I'd like to see what exactly your tycoon is busy with?"
...
Prime Minister Lian?!
Is this the Lian Po who asked, "Is Lian Po old and still able to eat?"
A thought flashed through Li Yao's mind, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his face.
Soon, a general dressed in full armor broke into the courtyard, ignoring the obstruction of several Mohists.
Although the general's temples were gray, his eyes were bright and piercing, and he exuded an aura of majesty.