Warring States Odyssey

  Xianyang, in the palace of the King of Qin.

  "In the 17th year of Qin Wang Zheng's reign, a meteorite fell in Fanwu, with flames and sparks rising dozens of feet into the air, shaking the sky and earth, and startling the four directions..."

  Qin Wang Zheng placed the wooden slip in his hand on the case, pondered for a moment, and then said: "Li Si, the meteor fell from the sky, and the star approached the world. Do you think this thing is true?"

  King Zheng was thirteen when he ascended to the throne and twenty-two when he took personal control, this year he is exactly thirty-one years old, in his prime. Although he is kneeling on a couch, he still appears extremely tall. He is dressed in casual attire, without a crown, only with a hair knot on top of his head. His face is square-shaped, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, high nose bridge, loud voice, slightly sharp, with a short mustache under his chin. In his gaze, there is a fierce and cunning glint, showing an extremely arrogant and resolute character, not allowing anyone to question him, the air of a heroic outlaw.

  By his side, kneeling and sitting, was the minister most trusted by King Zheng of Qin, Li Si, who was about 45 years old, with a white face and long beard, eyes slightly narrow, showing extreme wisdom. At this time, he wore a formal official uniform, although he was kneeling and sitting, but his waist was straight, upright and proper, forming a sharp contrast with King Zheng's somewhat lazy and relaxed demeanor.

  Upon hearing the question from King Zheng of Qin, Li Si immediately said: "This matter was personally dispatched by General Huan, and according to what General Huan said, when the meteor fell, it shook the sky and earth, and more than 100,000 soldiers in the Qin army's camp could feel it and see flames rising tens of meters high. After dawn, General Huan personally went to the scene to investigate and found that the pit was over 60 feet deep and dozens of meters wide, with all the surrounding trees burned down. The facts are clear, I think General Huan would not dare deceive Your Majesty, so I believe the meteor falling from the sky is definitely not fake."

  The King of Qin nodded and said: "Then will the star's descent into the world be true as well?"

  Li Si said: "I don't dare to speak rashly about this matter. As General Huo said, that night there was a heavy guard patrol, and they encountered a person whose clothing was strange and different from our Xia people. The remaining Qin soldiers also saw it with their own eyes. Later, in Li Mu's camp, the rumor spread that the star of the general had arrived, but Li Mu is cunning and unpredictable, so it's possible that he deliberately fabricated this to boost the morale of the Zhao army."

  The King of Qin said: "So, is it false that a star will descend upon the world?"

  Li Si said, "That's not entirely true. According to what Yingqi said, this person has extraordinary martial arts skills and was able to single-handedly behead over 200 of our Qin soldiers, appearing like a ghost or god, striking fear into the hearts of men at just a glance. Yingqi is still one of our famous Qin brave warriors, he says so, I think we cannot take it lightly."

  "Even if one person can kill two hundred Qin soldiers, it is just a brave man and nothing more, and there is no need to worry about it."

  Li Si said: "I beg Your Majesty to take a look at something."

  As he spoke, Li Si beckoned to the attendants behind him. Two eunuchs accompanied an inner attendant, carrying a large tray which they placed in front of King Zheng of Qin. King Zheng looked at it and saw two broken swords inside. "What are these two broken swords?"

  Li Si said: "This is the sword that Ying Zheng rewarded to him during last year's autumn hunt. It was broken into two pieces during a battle with that person. According to Ying Zheng, the weapon used by that person was very strange, although it was only about two feet long, its shape was curved and extremely sharp, in that one battle, dozens of Qin swords were cut off."

  "Ah!" King Zheng of Qin was somewhat moved, because the quality of the Qin sword had always been stronger than that of the six eastern nations. The swords he rewarded to his ministers were all high-quality Qin swords. If they were cut in two by the opponent, it was indeed a matter that could not be taken lightly. The strong fighting strength of the Qin army, apart from the military merit reward system, also lay in their sturdy armor and sharp weapons. Therefore, King Zheng picked up the broken sword from the plate and examined it carefully, seeing that the cut was straight and smooth, and it was indeed cut off with one slash.

  At this time, Li Si said: "I have ordered people to use this broken sword for a test, and it can still cut off two branches of swords. This sword was one of the best in Qin's swords before it was broken."

  King Zheng of Qin nodded, regardless of whether the arrival of the stars was true or false. However, if this casting technology were to be mastered by Zhao, it would certainly be extremely unfavorable for Qin. At this time, both high and low in Qin had already unified their understanding, which was to sweep away the six nations and unify the world. Moreover, both high and low also unanimously recognized that the greatest opponent of Qin's unification was indeed Zhao, whose military strength was not inferior to that of Qin, and with a general like Li Mu commanding, if the quality of their weapons were to surpass those of Qin, then Qin's plan for unification would encounter no small variables.

  Qin Wang Zheng thought for a moment and said: "Li Si, what do you think should be done?"

  Li Si said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter should be thoroughly investigated."

  "Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. As soon as there's any news, report it to me immediately." The Qin state had spies and informants in all the other states, who were responsible for gathering intelligence, buying off and sowing discord among others. Li Si was in charge of these matters, which is why King Zheng of Qin ordered him to investigate this matter.

  "Your servant obeys."

  King Qin Zheng asked again: "How is the war situation on the front line now?"

  Li Si shook his head and said, "The progress is not going smoothly. This time, the Qin army divided into two routes to attack Zhao. Yang Duan and led an army of 100,000 from Yandu, crossed the Zhang River, and attacked Handan, forcing King Zhao to recall Li Mu to reinforce Handan. Then, Huan Yi led an army of 200,000, taking advantage of the emptiness, exited from Sanggan and advanced on Fanwu, attacking the north of Handan, forming a pincer movement with Handan in the south and north. Moreover, except for Handan, all other Zhao territories are under our control. Even if Li Mu were to be reborn as Sun Wu or Wu Qi, it would be difficult for him to turn the tide."

  King Zheng of Qin said, "That's right, I've also seen this plan, it's really brilliant. If it succeeds, not only can we avenge the defeat of our great Qin in the battle of Changping last year, but we can also destroy Zhao state at one stroke."

  Li Si smiled bitterly and said: "But Li Mu did not return to rescue Handan."

  King Qin Zheng was greatly surprised and said: "Did Li Mu not come to reinforce Handan?"

  Li Si nodded and said, "King Zhao Xie issued five decrees in a row to summon Li Mu back to the army to rescue Handan, but Li Mu refused to send troops. He only sent Sima Wang with 30,000 soldiers to garrison the north bank of the Zhang River, while he himself led 150,000 Zhao soldiers to build fortifications at Fanwu and defend firmly, leaving no opportunity for Huan Chu."

  The King of Qin slightly raised an eyebrow and said, "Bring me a map."

  He hastily took out the map and spread it on the table. Qin Wang Zheng looked at the map and said, "What about the situation along the Zhang River?"

  Li Si said: "Although the Zhao army has only 30,000 troops on the Zhang River line, General Sima Wang was once Li Mu's deputy general and is also a skilled military strategist. Moreover, south of Handan, there are the Zhang River and the Great Wall supporting each other, so for now, our Qin army will also find it difficult to break through the Zhao army's defense lines."

  Qin Wang Zheng sank into thought for a moment before saying: "What about our spies in Zhao? Don't we have any moves to make?"

  Li Si said: "We have done our best in the undercover work in Zhao State, King Xiaocheng of Zhao has issued five decrees to recall Li Mu's army, at least three of which are the result of our undercover activities. However, Li Mu is well-versed in military strategy and knows that a general on the outside cannot be ordered around by his lord. In his early years when he was defending against the Xiongnu in the north, he had repeatedly disobeyed King Xiaocheng's orders. Moreover, at present, both routes of our Qin army have not achieved anything, the situation is stable, and neither the upper nor lower ranks of Handan are showing any signs of panic. How could it be that after the Battle of Changping, Zhao State would dare to easily change its commander?"

  King Qin Zheng laughed and said, "Since no one in Handan is panicking now, I'll give them a little more to worry about. Pass down my order: add 100,000 troops to Yang Duan's army and see if Handan will panic this time."

  Li Si said: "Your Majesty, please wait."

  "Qin Wang Zheng said: 'Li Si, do you have anything else to say?'"

  Li Si said: "I beg the king to think thrice, rather than increasing troops to attack Zhao, it is better to take advantage of the current situation where Zhao has no power to look outside and send troops to destroy Han. Last year, after Han general Han Tong surrendered the land of Nanyang to Qin, now the state of Han only has the land of Yingchuan, with an area of just a few hundred miles, the country is weak and the army is exhausted, and also has Han Tong who is familiar with the internal affairs of Han. Therefore, sending troops to attack Han will surely succeed in one move, and when Han is destroyed, the remaining five states will not be able to last long."

  After listening, Qin Wang Zheng also fell into deep thought. Although the guideline for the Qin dynasty to destroy the six nations had already been set, there were two different views on the overall plan. One was proposed by Li Si, which was to first destroy the State of Han and then destroy the other five nations. Among the six nations in the east, the State of Han was the weakest and almost invincible. It was also in line with military strategy to attack weak enemies before attacking strong ones. Moreover, after destroying the State of Han, the territory of Qin would greatly expand eastward, bordering the State of Qi, and isolating the southern state of Chu and the states of Wei, Zhao, and Yan, making it impossible for them to unite against Qin again. Therefore, this plan was very much in line with the actual situation of the Qin state.

  Another view is that Han Fei proposed to the State of Qin, first eliminate Zhao, because among the six nations in the east, Zhao's strength is the strongest. If Qin eliminates Zhao first, then the other five nations will also be powerless to contend with Qin, and unifying the world will naturally be a success. Although Han Fei's plan was made from the standpoint of the State of Han, trying his best to preserve the State of Han, it also has considerable rationality.

  Up to now, Qin Wang Zheng has not made a decision on which plan to adopt. Due to the Battle of Changping, although more than 400,000 Zhao troops were eliminated, and Zhao Guo was severely damaged, but Qin Guo also suffered heavy losses, with a loss of 300,000 troops, and all males over 15 years old in Xianyang were recruited into the army. In fact, Qin Guo only won a tragic victory, but Qin Guo's national strength was strong, and it could recover after a few years, so Qin Guo had some reservations about Zhao Guo, although Qin Guo had been fighting against Zhao Guo for several years, but the scale of the troops sent out was not large, and there was no full-scale war to destroy Zhao, at the same time, also wanted to test the current strength of Zhao Guo.

  "Alright, let me think for a moment."

  Li Si also nodded and said: "This is a matter of great importance for the unification of the world, so I beg Your Majesty to be cautious. I, your humble minister, will withdraw."

  After Li Si withdrew, King Zheng of Qin looked at the memorials from his ministers for a while longer. After he had dealt with all official business, he left the palace and returned to the rear palace. By this time, it was already dark. King Zheng stopped in front of a palace gate. The female attendants and inner attendants guarding the gate immediately knelt down and said: "We pay our respects to Your Majesty."

  The King of Qin asked: "How is Hua? Is she asleep now?"

  "Report to the king, the princess has already fallen asleep. The imperial physician just examined her and found that she is no longer in serious condition. With a few days of rest, she will fully recover. Please reassure the king."

  King Qin nodded and said, "Since Hua has already fallen asleep, don't wake her up. I'll come see her again early tomorrow morning." He turned around and left, returning to his own palace, while the female attendants hurriedly knelt down on the ground and said, "We bid farewell to Your Majesty."

  King Qin Zheng walked with his hands behind his back, thinking as he went: the shooting star falling from the sky and the general's star descending to the world, is this good fortune or bad luck for Great Qin?