knife

Chapter 325 Thirty Years of Enduring Hardship and Perseverance

Li Shen sat cross-legged for a while, and it was obvious that he was running out of energy. He beckoned, and two pretty and charming maids came over and sat down with their backs against him. Li Shen leaned back and used the two maids' thin backs as chairs. He saw this and sighed again.

When Li Shen moved, the flesh on his body trembled like waves. When he spoke, the flesh on his face also trembled. His originally large eyes were squeezed smaller and smaller by the flesh, and his bright red bulbous nose became sunken.

"Daoist Master, I have no ambition whatsoever. I just want to live a peaceful life in Shu." Li Shen said, "No matter how hard the people of Shu suffer, they can still live in peace, right? You know what's going on in Hedong and Hexi, don't you? Bloodshed everywhere! Tell me, don't you think the people there envy the peace and tranquility of our Shu?"

This is true.

The people of Sichuan were indeed very poor, but at least they were still alive and could still beg for food. If all else failed, they could sell themselves into slavery to survive.

It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death.

"If the Wei clan were to truly invade Shu, and our forces were to clash, Shu's fate would be no better than that of Hedong or Hexi!" Li Shen, a very good persuader, seeing Liao Ran's somewhat tempted expression, continued, "Old Daoist, the Wei clan has killed the emperor and the crown prince, making them enemies of the world. If they were to reach Shu, would those who are punishing them let them go? I'm afraid Shu would never have a peaceful day again. The only feasible solution is for us to keep them out of Jianmen Pass! That would ensure Shu's safety!"

"Can it be guaranteed for a time, or for a lifetime?" Liao Ran shook his head. "When a powerful ruler unifies the world, will he allow you to remain in a corner of Shu? You are a man well-versed in history, you should understand this."

Li Shen said somewhat sadly, "If a truly great ruler were to unify the world, then Shu would simply surrender. Even if the new ruler only did it to put on a show for the world, he would at least ensure that I would have no shortage of wealth and honor. But now, old Taoist, we cannot allow Shu to be engulfed in war!"

"By then, are you truly willing to surrender?"

"Otherwise what?" Li Shen raised his hand.

Liao Ran nodded, "Alright, I'll go to Jianmen and hold off Yiming for you! But everyone's strongest combat power is tied down, meaning no one can help each other. The ordinary troops will decide the direction of the war."

"Neither side has any innate masters to assist them anymore. With my Jianmen Pass in Sichuan and the seven hundred miles of plank roads, it's truly harder than climbing to heaven for them to invade my heartland!" Li Shen said happily, "Old Daoist, you can rest assured!"

The old Taoist waved his hand, got up, and drifted away.

He left without a word. He had promised Li Shen, and he stood up and went straight down the mountain without leaving a single word for the people in the mountains.

However, everyone was used to his style.

Although he was still the leader of the Longmen Sect, Liao Ran had long since stopped paying attention to the sect's mundane affairs.

He struggled to his feet, and then a dozen burly men came flying from afar, carrying a specially made sedan chair on their shoulders—Li Shen's mode of transportation.

He was simply too heavy; any ordinary tools would collapse if he sat on them.

At the entrance of Guanhai Pavilion, Li Shen's son, Li Huimin, and son-in-law, Tang Xiaofeng, helped Li Shen into the pavilion, one on each side.

Leaning back on the soft couch, enjoying the gentle breeze blowing from the boundless bamboo forest below the platform, Li Shen smiled and said to Li Huimin and Tang Xiaofeng, "Old Daoist Liaoran has gone down the mountain to Jianmen!"

"With my father-in-law taking the lead, success was indeed achieved! It is said that Liao Ran is the most promising person in the past ten years to break through the Innate Realm and advance to the Divine Realm. With him in charge of the Dragon Gate, Yi Ming and the others will have a hard time surpassing the Sword Gate. More importantly, Daoist Liao Ran has a very high reputation in Sichuan. With him leading the resistance against the foreign army's entry, we can better unite everyone in Sichuan in their hatred of the enemy. We must spread this news widely!"

"Yes, yes!" Li Shen nodded and said, "Old Daoist Liaoran has many disciples and followers. If he goes to Jianmen Pass, I'm afraid many people will follow him. These people are all top-notch in terms of martial arts and medical skills. The strength of Jianmen Pass will reach a new level!"

Li Huimin took the plum juice from the maid and walked over. He inserted a bamboo straw into it and handed it to Li Shen, saying, "Let's observe the gathering and dispersing of clouds and the rise and fall of tides in Shu. When the time is right, the Shu army will march out of Jianmen Pass, conquer the Central Plains, pacify the world, and rebuild the universe. My Li family's empire will not be so easily taken away by outsiders!"

Li Shen slurped up his plum juice and finished it in one gulp. He smiled and said to the two of them, "That's something for your generation. I won't live to see that day! I'm already very satisfied with the little bit of wealth I've accumulated for you in my lifetime."

“Father is in good health and living to be a hundred years old is not a difficult thing!” Li Huimin said.

"Nonsense!" Li Shen casually threw away the soup cup in his hand. "Sichuan has always been a place closely watched by the central government. It was an accident that I was able to come here back then. If it weren't for the Chang'an Incident, I would either have been sent back or died mysteriously. An Ze's death has brought me decades of peace!"

At this point, Li Shen sighed and shook his head repeatedly: "What a pity about that child, he was such a good man! If he had become emperor, I could at least have been a peaceful prince. As soon as Anmin came to power, I knew things would take a turn for the worse, and sure enough, in just thirty years, the Qin Dynasty collapsed!"

"Father, these past thirty years have been incredibly fruitful!"

"What fruitful results?" Li Shen sneered: "We had to keep a low profile, eat and drink like crazy, and turn ourselves into this fat pig, becoming a laughing stock among the royal family. On the other hand, we were greedy and lustful, exploiting the people and committing all kinds of evil."

"If it weren't for this, the court wouldn't have allowed my father-in-law to stay in Sichuan for thirty years, and Sichuan wouldn't have accumulated so much wealth today!" Tang Xiaofeng said with emotion, "My father-in-law sacrificed himself, but he won the capital for future generations to compete for the world and protect the country."

"If you want to accomplish great things, someone has to make sacrifices. In my whole life, I can only lay the foundation for you. Whether you can compete with them from here on out depends on yourselves!" Li Shen said with some sadness.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, our Shu region now has ten years' worth of grain, countless soldiers and armor, and overflowing coffers!" Tang Xiaofeng said with boundless pride. "Now that a large number of refugees are appearing, our recruitment path has become incredibly smooth. With just one order, there will be an endless stream of recruits. Moreover, with the fighting raging outside, some people have already begun to seek refuge in Shu. Among these people are many elite talents. Every day that passes, our strength will grow stronger."

Li Shen narrowed his eyes, a smug look finally appearing on his chubby face. A full thirty years!

He endured humiliation and hardship, sacrificing his health and reputation, desperately accumulating wealth, all while waiting for the world to descend into chaos!

Now that Li Anmin and Li Tai are dead, the Wei family has installed an eight-year-old child as emperor, which will inevitably lead to attacks from all over the country.

If the Shu army defeats the Wei clan's vassal army outside Jianmen Pass this time, and then takes advantage of the victory, they can march out of Jinniu Road and head straight for Chang'an.

What is Linghu Ye?
And they even went so far as to protect the emperor?
Does Li Shen from Sichuan have a legitimate claim to this?

"You guys go ahead and get busy, I'm going to take a nap!" Li Shen said with a smile.

Li Shen was not much older than Li Anmin, but he was a whole generation older. After being enfeoffed in Shu, he began his path of cultivating virtue and talent. Thirty years of hard work finally allowed him to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He's already planted the tree; whether he can eat the fruit it bears is no longer important.

As a member of the royal family, he felt that his life had not been in vain.

He outlived all those more qualified than him.
Having accumulated enough resources to contend for the world,

When the Shu army appeared on the Central Plains with overwhelming force, when they swept across the land as if it were empty, everyone would realize what a far-sighted person the fat pig prince they despised was.

History will remember me.

Snoring filled the air as Li Shen slept soundly.

The Zhang Family Mansion in Chengdu.

Zhang Songlin is hosting a banquet.

Since Zhang Songlin returned to Chengdu, he has not paid much attention to the duties of supervising tribute and taxes assigned to him by the imperial court. Instead, he has been holding lavish banquets every day. Almost everyone in Chengdu who has some standing has received his invitation. Whether they attend or not is another matter, but he has always fulfilled his obligations.

This has always been consistent with Zhang Songlin's public persona throughout his life.

They are cautious and unwilling to offend anyone.

And everyone in the Zhang family mansion has been adhering to this principle over the years.

Therefore, in Sichuan, there were many people who looked down on the Zhang family, but very few who actually disliked them.

Who could dislike a spendthrift?

Zhang Songlin, who was already a little unsteady on his feet from drinking, stood up and looked at everyone at the table, laughing loudly: "I can't hold my liquor anymore. Everyone, please help yourselves, drink and eat well. I'm going to take a nap first to sober up. No one is allowed to leave. We'll have another three hundred rounds tonight!"

The guests in the hall burst into laughter and cheered.

Supported by the maid, Zhang Songlin walked to the back hall. His face was flushed, but he stood straight and strode into the inner room without swaying or staggering.

The girls weren't surprised, but they all chuckled and jogged behind him, barely managing to catch up with Zhang Songlin.

There were already people waiting inside the house.

"Minister Zhang!" Upon seeing Zhang Songlin, the man stood up.

"Where have Commander Wu and the others gone?" Zhang Songlin asked anxiously.

"At most ten days, we should reach Jianmen Pass!" the man said.

"It's going to take that long?" Zhang Songlin shook his head and said, "Li Shen has started assigning tasks again."

He pointed to the outer room, "Today, everyone in the hall was collectively charged 500,000 taels of silver by Li Shen. This is the second time this has happened in just over half a year. Everyone is angry but dare not speak out. It seems that Prince Ji is preparing to expand his army again. His actions are not about defending the territory of Shu; he probably has ambitions to expand outwards!"

The visitor laughed and said, "In the end, it's just a dream. When the army arrives here, the dream will naturally end."

(End of this chapter)