If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1361 Working together
To be honest, Li Si and the other kings of the Ying clan, including the second emperor Huhai, were not very willing to let the former king join them.

The former king was, after all, their ancestor, the King of Ying, not a prime minister or a guest minister.

Let them in, and they can legitimately seize power.

But who would willingly relinquish their power and become a living puppet?

Unfortunately, they couldn't find a way to break the deadlock. Of course, if they had a choice, they would prefer to have Grand Tutor Yu appear and tell them the "standard answer" directly.

Are you guys stupid?!

As soon as he stepped off the stage, King Mu shouted angrily, "Why did you kill Chen Sheng?"

Having traveled through time so many times, haven't you noticed that Chen Sheng was indeed as the Grand Tutor said: lacking in magnanimity, talent, and, most importantly, virtue, an incompetent ruler who could not accomplish anything?

Such an enemy is incredibly rare.

Why do you always rush to kill this 'ally' every time you travel through time?

The kings were both angry and bewildered by his insults.

—We really shouldn't have let that old ghost join us. The dead should stay in their tombs; the Qin Dynasty now belongs to us living people!
They harbored resentment but asked aloud, "Ancestor, why do you say Chen Sheng is an ally? He's a rebel!"

King Mu looked on with a look of reminiscence and sighed, "You are all well-versed in the history of the Qin Dynasty, but do you know what I regret most in my life?"

Upon hearing this, Fusu immediately replied, "The thing that the Ancestor should regret the most is that before his death, he ordered that people be buried alive with him. Many pillars of Qin, virtuous ministers and generals were ordered by the Ancestor to commit suicide to be buried with him."

As a result, the Qin state suffered from a severe shortage of talent and a lack of successors.

There were no capable people to govern the country, and no capable people dared to serve the Qin state, for fear of being forced to commit suicide.

Ultimately, the Qin Dynasty declined and never recovered for thousands of years.

King Mu was a little embarrassed and stammered, "I do regret this matter, but it is not the one I regret the most."

Jiang Lü immediately added, "It must be that the ancestor ignored the advice of his wise ministers and insisted on launching the Battle of Xiao."

The annihilation of hundreds of thousands of troops and the capture of the commander-in-chief of the three armies emptied the Qin state's wealth accumulated over tens of thousands of years and broke the backbone of the Qin Dynasty.

The rivalry between Qin and Jin came to an end, and my Qin state was utterly reduced to a third-rate power.

King Mu looked even more embarrassed. "I truly regret this matter immensely. However, to say that Qin has fallen to a third-rate state is an exaggeration. Well, all things considered, the Battle of Xiao is not the most regrettable one."

Prince Gao suddenly realized, "I understand now. The old ancestor must regret listening to King Hui of Jin, Yi Wu, and being repeatedly deceived by him."

After the ancestor sent troops to escort him back to the State of Jin to ascend the throne, he did not keep his promise and did not cede the five cities west of the Yellow River to my Great Qin.

But the ancestor knew perfectly well that this man was untrustworthy. The following year, when Jin suffered a famine, he actually took out Qin's grain reserves to help Jin.

When my Qin state faces a food shortage, not only will Yi Wu not return the grain, but he will also send troops to attack. I bet my ancestor will be furious.

Having been deceived so many times, history books say our ancestor was foolish!

King Mu's face flushed red, increasingly embarrassed and annoyed. He shouted, "You fool! I was acting with benevolence and righteousness, demonstrating the magnanimity of a hegemon. Reputable historians would praise my broad-mindedness, how could they say I'm a fool?"

Prince Gao shrank back and said awkwardly, "So, Ancestor isn't angry or regretful?"

King Mu was momentarily speechless.

He was repeatedly tricked by Yi Wu, yet he didn't regret it or get angry. Wouldn't he really be a fool?

“Fool, good-for-nothing! I am talking about the thing I regret the most. What is Yi Wu? How could he be the one I regret the most?” he shouted.

The Ninth Prince, Ying Zhou, whispered, "Ancestor, what do you regret the most? Just say it."

You've done quite a few foolish things in the past. Well, what I mean is, you probably have many regrets, some of which weren't recorded in history books, so we don't know about them!

The princes nodded repeatedly.

Mi Yue was watching the commotion from the sidelines, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Seeing the princes' slow reaction, she couldn't help but exclaim, "You really are fools!"

The thing our ancestor regretted most was, of course, his efforts to ensure that King Wen of Jin, Chong'er, could return to the country and ascend the throne!

Those useless rulers of Jin, even though they shamelessly deceived the ancestor several times, did they gain anything?

No!

Yi Wu deceived the patriarch, who was furious and sent troops to capture dozens of cities in succession. Yi Wu himself became a prisoner.

At that time, our Qin state was the hegemon, and our ancestor was the 'bo zhang' (elder statesman) among the feudal lords.

Conquering the Central Plains is the fundamental interest. Being deceived or suffering defeats are minor matters; they cannot shake the foundation.

As a result, the ancestor had a mental breakdown and supported Chong'er, who had endured many hardships but remained steadfast and determined, to ascend to the throne.

Chong'er was wise and powerful, and immediately led the State of Jin to dominate the Central Plains, almost bringing the fate of our great Qin state to an end.

The old story is being brought up again to tell you why Chen Sheng was an ally, not an enemy.

With a good-for-nothing like Yi Wu occupying the position of ruler, Chong'er will never be able to return to Jin or lead it to become a hegemon.

If Chen Sheng is spared, it will be difficult for other rebel kings to rise up.

If any rebel king were to surpass Chen Sheng, Chen Sheng's reaction would certainly be even more intense than that of my Great Qin.

"Oh~~" The kings suddenly realized.

At the same time, Li Si and King Lieyang both realized the truth and showed expressions of annoyance: How come I didn't understand such a simple principle before? I didn't need the old ghosts to remind me. Judging from the expressions of the old ghosts, they all seemed to understand this principle.

King Mu gave Mi Yue a gratified look, his face losing its embarrassment and impatience, regaining its composure and pride, and said: "To be honest, you are much luckier now than I was back then."

Although Chong'er was resilient, he did not display the qualities of a great ruler. He was also old and seemed to be nearing the end of his life.

That's why I misjudged him.

At this time, Grand Tutor Yu will be there to oversee things for you. The Grand Tutor knows the will of Heaven and understands destiny, and knows who the truly mediocre are.

She said Chen Sheng was no good, then Chen Sheng definitely couldn't do it.

All you need to do is keep betting on him.

Mi Yue's husband said, "Actually, you can tell who the court should support and who should be suppressed by judging from the attitude of the Four Friends of Qionglin, who are all quasi-Daluo."

Why didn't the Great Immortal interfere much when you launched a fierce attack on Chen Sheng's forces during your first time travel?
Because Chen Sheng's destiny was only to be the "first uprising".

The immortal only obeys the will of Heaven.

They will help whoever is destined for them.

If you discover any hidden dragon on the Central Plains battlefield who receives the assistance of immortals, be careful.

If you notice that the number of powerful figures around Chen Sheng is decreasing, you should help Chen Sheng suppress his competitors.

Let Chen Sheng occupy the position and suppress the true emperor who will follow.

King Zhaoxiang shook his head and said, "Father, I think they are not capable of making accurate judgments. We should just listen to the Grand Tutor's arrangements."

Mi Yue's husband said, "Of course, we should follow the Grand Tutor's guiding principles, but they also need to use their brains."

They were granted fiefdoms by the Grand Tutor and assigned to various regions, directly facing every newly rising or soon-to-be-rising power. How could they possibly succeed without brains?

Jiang Lü was eager to try, saying, "Elders, let's go to the Samsara World and give it a shot!"

Older gingers are more spicy.

The first king of Qin not only pointed out the path of "supporting a useless person who occupies the position," but also personally taught the vassal kings of the Ying clan how to scientifically support a useless person so that he would neither fall from power nor improve himself to become a wise ruler who would threaten Qin.

This process naturally involved various "non-royal methods," such as spreading rumors, sowing discord, and heavy bribery. These tactics, common in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, remained effective and highly useful even after the Qin Dynasty.

With the former king acting as his personal grandfather, the Qin Dynasty persisted for five and a half years after the second time travel.

It was not as good as the "six-year reign" that the princes had achieved by figuring things out on their own.

This is because the kings were willing to act as living puppets, doing whatever their ancestors said.

The old methods our ancestors used didn't work.

At first, King Mu and other former kings were not convinced and tried seven or eight more times, barely managing to extend the reign of the king to eight years.

King Mu sighed helplessly, "Alas, indeed, fate is hard to defy. At this moment, even if we were to be resurrected, we could not save the Qin Dynasty."

Mi Yue was also quite frustrated. "The Grand Tutor is right. When fortune comes, heaven and earth lend their strength; when fortune goes out, even heroes are powerless."

We weren't without our mistakes back then, but while we made mistakes, the enemy made even bigger ones.

Now we make no mistakes, while the enemy continues to advance smoothly.

Ying Dang, the Qin Dynasty weightlifting champion, was so thoroughly defeated that he began to question his existence: "Did the Grand Tutor set the difficulty level too high?"

Li Si said calmly, "Does Your Majesty think that a painter can depict something that has never been seen before?"

The world that the Grand Tutor simulated could not possibly transcend her own understanding.

Can the Grand Tutor single-handedly determine the fate of the world?

No.

Therefore, even if the Grand Tutor anticipated a lenient outcome, her 'infinite world-traveling' scenario unfolding in her dream was theoretically far less significant than a real cataclysmic event.

King Lieyang nodded in agreement, saying, "I don't know if you've noticed, but in the dream world we travel through, our supernatural powers and Taoist magic can still be used normally."

This means that our Taoist methods and power have never broken through the Grand Master's limits.

For example, my 'Great Sun Golden Crow Small Heavenly Circuit Formation'.

In order to assemble this military formation, I searched the world and found thirty-six immortals who had either awakened or cultivated the talents of ancient demon gods.

Their supernatural abilities are different, but when combined, they can activate the power of the Zhou Tian Star Array.

As a result, this formation was broken three times by the rebels, three different opponents, and three different methods of breaking it.

At first, I was so shocked and angry that I didn't realize the key point.

After calming down and carefully recalling the process of how the 'Heavenly Fire Crow Formation' was broken, I was drenched in sweat and filled with fear.

Because every flaw the enemy general found was real.

Having patched up those flaws, my military formations immediately improved to a higher level.

Ying Dang asked in shock, "Were all the Dao techniques we encountered while traveling through different worlds real? Can we learn and use them in reality?"

King Lieyang said, "It should be said that all of these are powers that have already been controlled by the Grand Tutor."

In my dream, the enemy general was able to break my army's formation, but in reality, it was Grand Tutor Yu who broke it.

But this does not mean that the difficulties in the dream world are greater than those in reality.

The reality is that Grand Tutor Yu's power is even less than that of the Quasi-Great Luo who supports the rebels.

If she can break my army's formation, then the Quasi-Great Luo can definitely do the same.

The true love we meet in the future will definitely be more powerful than the 'Wang Er,' 'Li San,' and 'Hu Si' from other worlds.

Feng Quji comforted him, saying, "At least the difficulties we encounter next year will not be more than those in the dream world."

If we pass tonight's test, we can guarantee in our dreams that the Qin Dynasty will not fall for ten years.

Next year, when facing various rebel kings, they will definitely feel relaxed and at ease.

On this day next year, the Grand Tutor will surely hold another 'year-end summary meeting' and deduce an even newer 'future world'.

King Mu agreed, saying, "Prime Minister Feng is absolutely right! The struggle for the Mandate of Heaven cannot be resolved overnight."

The Investiture of the Gods war spanned several decades, from the signing of the Investiture of the Gods by the three religions to the complete overthrow of the Shang Dynasty.

If we do our best every year, and continue for five or ten years, we're sure to see amazing results.

The late king and the other kings reached a consensus, rallied their spirits, and began their journey through time once more.

This time, the late king no longer clung to past "old experiences".

They only offer advice when it comes to areas and events they are familiar with.

The kings of the Ying clan took "Grand Tutor Yu's ideology" as their highest principle, and under the leadership of military ministers such as Li Si in Xingyang, they insisted on implementing the policy of "benevolent governance to win the hearts of the people," supplemented by military defense and intervention.

With the combined efforts of the old king and the other kings, and through just one time travel, they broke through the passing grade set by Grand Tutor Yu—making the Xingyang court hold out for ten years.

Afterwards, a group of former kings and vassal kings held another summary meeting.

Jiang Lü was both excited and regretful. "Chen Sheng was indeed our ally, but he was not the best ally."

He harbors a deep-seated hatred for our Great Qin.

Could he truly be a demonic star reincarnated with the mission of 'destroying the Qin Dynasty'?

Mi Yue pondered for a moment and said, "We probably can't bribe Chen Sheng, so we can only identify his generals and then recruit them to our side."

However, the Tian family of Qi still had the same familiar characteristics.

Like their ancestors, they have very weak knees and are easily subdued by my Great Qin.

King Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Next, we need to carefully examine each of the rebel kings. As for troublemakers like Chen Sheng, we should help them discreetly, without letting them know that we want them to hinder the 'Anti-Qin Alliance'."

He will feel humiliated, which will have the opposite effect.

For those like the Qi Tian clan, who are only interested in vying for power and have no natural hatred for the Ying clan, we must spare no expense to win them over, and even secretly promise them the title of king.”

"To confer a title of king?" Hu Hai was somewhat excited. "Ancestor, if a rebel is conferred a title of king, how will the people of the world view our Great Qin?"

King Mu roared, "Fool! You've traveled through time so many times, haven't you noticed yet?"
These rebel kings are not, in themselves, fatal enemies of our Great Qin.

Our enemy is 'God,' who has taken away our destiny.

We must wrest our destiny back from the hands of God!
As long as we can regain our destiny, it would be entirely worthwhile even if we had to give up all the land east of Mount Xiao.

You can even promise them that you will never break your oath, for all eternity.

Mi Yue's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "Second Emperor, your greatest mission in this life is simply to help the Great Qin reverse its fate."

As long as you do this, no matter how many hidden dangers you leave behind, you will have done right by your ancestors.

—If we really want to solve the problem of the vassal kings, we can let Qin III or even Qin IV do it.

Every generation has its own mission, and the Second Emperor's mission was to save the Qin Dynasty.

These words are meant to be understood, not spoken. If spoken, they will be known only to heaven and earth, to you and me, and will reveal a divine secret.

King Lieyang understood the ancestor's meaning and immediately changed the subject, saying, "Let's try a few more times. Ten years of national lifespan is just the passing grade set by the Grand Tutor, not an excellent one."

"Alright, let's keep up the good work!" Everyone, including the ghosts, was in high spirits and full of fighting spirit.

(End of this chapter)