The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 200 The princes got what they wanted, but why am I always the one who gets hurt?
Tian Yan pursed her lips and looked at Ying Zi who had an angry look on his face.

The scene of Ying Zi killing people with a sword in front of the Tingwei Mansion kept replaying in his mind.

The more she looked, the more frightened she became. Her lips trembled and the red and swollen circles under her eyes grew larger.

"Hey!" Seeing the Seventh Princess' nose twitching and about to burst into tears again, Ying Chengjiao approached her and said anxiously, "Don't be so quick to cry! Tell me why you are crying."

The words were not finished.

When Tian Yan saw him getting closer, her face turned pale with fear and she felt like she would be stabbed to death by the sword at any time.

She couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into tears.

Ying Chengjiao was speechless and stood there.

He looked up at the sky, held his forehead with his hands, and sighed deeply.

He considers himself to be a very quick-witted person.

But faced with a ten-year-old girl, I couldn't think of any solution for a moment.

[This little brat is clearly targeting me!]
[It seems that Qi State already knows my purpose and sent this woman to disgust me!]
[Lu Zhonglian...I shouldn't have been soft-hearted...]
Under the palm, the young man's face was gloomy, and he suspected that it was Lu Zhonglian, the man from Qi, who had informed on the secret.

I regret not killing him and shouldn't have trusted in Lu Zhonglianzi's reputation.

"The State of Yan is attacking! The State of Yan is attacking!" Outside the school, someone was shouting loudly.

Ying Chengjiao frowned, the actions of various countries were faster than he expected.

In my ears, the annoying crying sound and the duet of "The State of Yan is attacking" kept echoing.

The young man took his hand away, looked down at the Seventh Princess, his eyes lit up.

He has a solution!
[My current personality is a gentleman, who values ​​morality the most.]
[Yan State launched this unjust war, how can I not stop it?]
[If I am not allowed to gain reputation and favorability in Jixia Academy, then I will go somewhere else to gain it.]
[If you have the ability, send this woman to the front line to disgust me.]
[If you dare to send me, I dare to kill you.]
A fierce look flashed across Ying Chengjiao's eyes.

I don’t know if Tian Yan noticed something, she cried so hard that she was out of breath and fainted.

"The Seventh Princess has fainted! Call a doctor!" Ying Chengjiao took a half step back, raised his hands, and shouted anxiously: "Send her to the palace! Send her to the palace!"

With Ying Chengjiao's shout, the already restless school fell into chaos.

"Why did the Seventh Princess faint? I know how to treat it! Let me take a look!"

"The Kingdom of Yan is coming to attack, and the princess faints. Is this a warning from heaven?"

"Yingzi...are you serious about taking a half step back? I remember Yingzi knows medical skills..."

"Everyone sit down! How can you keep making so much noise?" Zou Yan, the chief academic officer of the Jixia Academy, maintained order and walked towards the seventh princess Tian Yan.

In order to listen to the will of heaven and improve his studies, he lived among mountains, rivers, beasts and birds all year round and became quite proficient in medicine.

"The State of Yan is attacking us! The State of Yan is attacking us!" The noises outside the school became louder and louder. I don't know who is shouting...

An hour later.

The Palace of the King of Qi, where the Queen Mother stayed.

"Queen Mother, the State of Yan is attacking..." King Jian of Qi confided in his mother's ear.

The Queen Mother closed her eyes, uttered an “hmm” and asked weakly:
"Son, what do you think?"

"I will do whatever my mother says." Qi Wangjian held his mother's hand and applied a little force: "Whether it is war or peace, it is up to you."

The Queen Mother opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at her son with a complicated expression.

King Jian of Qi ascended the throne at the age of fourteen, and it has been sixteen years since then.

In his early years, because King Jian of Qi was young, the Queen Mother acted as regent and governed the State of Qi.

This generation is sixteen years.

The Queen Mother once delegated power to King Jian of Qi after his coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 20.

She originally thought that her son would learn about 60% to 70% of what she had done after watching her governing the country for six years.

As a result, not a single cent was achieved.

The Queen Mother was furious and took back the power, and asked Prince Jian of Qi to continue to observe government affairs and learn.

What she was thinking at the time was that when her son was able to do so, she would hand over power.

Now she doesn't have much time left.

When encountering big things, her son still asks her for advice and has no idea of ​​his own!

Ten years later, her son seemed to have made no progress at all...

"I'm asking you." The Queen Mother said in a more serious tone, "Yan is coming to attack Qi. What do you think, the King of Qi?"

Qi Wangjian looked embarrassed and shrank his head:

"Yan'er fainted from crying in that boy's class today. The imperial physician said it was due to convulsions. She is still crying hard now. I'll go over to take a look..."

King Jian of Qi was wearing luxurious blue brocade and walked away in a hurry, almost running away.

The Queen Mother watched her son leave. Her face looked visibly more haggard, but her spirit was much better.

She couldn't bear to leave knowing her son was like this!
"Is Tian Dan outside?" the Queen Mother asked the maid beside her.

She just summoned Tian Dan here.

The maid nodded in response.

The Queen Mother ordered her maid to bring Tian Dan in.

The maid followed him.

After a while, Tian Dan came in with the help of a cane, and his steps were somewhat difficult.

His leg injury has not yet fully healed and he still feels pain in his knee when he walks.

"Greetings, Queen Mother." Tian Dan bowed.

The Queen Mother did not reply, but just waved her hand as a response.

Today, the Queen Mother no longer wants to put her remaining energy into etiquette:

"The invaders are not Chu or Wei, but Yan.

"Tian Dan, have you ever thought about this?"

Tian Dan stood up and shook his head:

“I never thought that the first country to attack would be Yan State.

"Even if the manless Zhao attacked, Shan wouldn't be so surprised."

"This is a good thing." The Queen Mother said in a deep voice.

From the moment she sent an envoy to Qin, she knew that if Qin agreed to this matter, Qi would most likely have to fight a war.

The coalition forces attacked Qin, but Qi refused to leave.

Now Qi wants to form an alliance with Qin to break up the Five Kingdoms alliance. How can other countries just sit there and watch?
The difference lies in which country the war is going to begin with.

Yan State...it really couldn't be better.

Among the five countries, except for Han, which is a vassal state of Wei today and a vassal state of Qin tomorrow, Yan is the weakest!
"That's true." A smile appeared on Tian Dan's old face.

If the State of Chu attacked, the State of Wei attacked, or even the State of Zhao, which had no men, attacked, he would be very worried.

The Qi soldiers who had not been on the battlefield for a long time were too weak.

Yan State...haha.

Six hundred thousand men were defeated by 130,000 men, and Tian Dan didn't know how to fight this battle.

After inquiring about the news and reviewing the situation, Tian Dan still didn't know how the Yan army was defeated.

The two armies were defeated twice in succession.

"We must win this battle!" The Queen Mother warned: "If our country wants to stay out of the affairs of the Central Plains, we must show that we have the strength to fight! So that other countries will not dare to invade!"

The veteran nodded solemnly, his face serious:
"Tian Dan understands."

No one knew Qi's military strength better than Tian Dan.

Not to mention that the soldiers are not good at fighting, there are also very few decent generals in the country.

It is clear that the people of Qi were originally very good at fighting.

The only one who broke into Qin's Hangu Pass was Qi general Kuang Zhang!
Meng Ao, a famous general of the Qin State, was also from Qi.

But after Qi destroyed a country once, its focus shifted from military to economy, from going out to fight to finding ways to make money.

But the Queen Mother is about to pass away.

To prevent other countries from taking advantage of the power transition in Qi and looting it.

The Queen Mother chose to strike first.

Make an alliance with Qin to give other countries an excuse to attack and show the world that Qi is still capable of fighting!
The Queen Mother, who was deeply influenced by Confucianism, believed that the Qi soldiers' combat effectiveness in defending the country was far greater than their combat effectiveness in fighting unjust wars abroad.

The Queen Mother nodded and said earnestly:
"The attacking State of Yan is the weakest country." Our soldiers are fighting on our own land to resist foreign invasion.

"Our country has the right time, right place, and right people.

"If we lose this battle, Qi will become a fish on the chopping board in the eyes of other countries, and can be slaughtered at will.

"You have already saved Qi once.

"I am here, please save Qi one more time..."

The Queen Mother forced herself to get out of bed and bowed.

With cold sweat and gritting his teeth, he bent his waist 90 degrees.

Tian Dan accepted it with a serious look and returned the gift:
"Tian Dan obeys the order!"

The Queen Mother watched the old general walk out of the bedroom on crutches, then she sat down on the bed and fell down suddenly.

Her strength was exhausted.

"Queen Mother! Queen Mother!"

"Quickly call the imperial physician! Quickly call the imperial physician!"

"I will report to the king!"

The Empress Dowager could vaguely hear the urgent voice of the palace maid beside her ear.

She wanted to open her mouth and say "I won't die alone".

Open your mouth a little bit, and the sound will be so soft that it will only linger in your throat.

[That’s all…]
The Queen Mother closed her mouth and fell into a deep sleep.

In her dream, she shed tears, opened her mouth, and made a sound that she couldn't even hear:
"Father...Father..."

Linzi entered a state of combat readiness.

Qi appointed Tian Dan as general, holding the tiger talisman, recruiting soldiers to welcome Yan and defend his homeland!
The army will set out in half a month.

The next day.

The Jixia Academy was built by Ying Chengjiao.

Ying Chengjiao invited Lu Zhonglian to have a chat.

As soon as Lu Zhonglian walked to the door of Ying Chengjiao's house, he felt an extremely obvious murderous aura.

He sniffed and didn't smell any blood.

"That's what killed me..." he muttered to himself.

Without stopping, he walked straight into the gate that exuded a murderous aura.

Call to meet you at the door.

After Lu Zhonglian stepped over the threshold and took three steps, he immediately closed the door.

Lu Zhonglian looked back, actually smiled, and walked much faster.

"Are you in a hurry to die?" Hu muttered in confusion.

Lobby.

Lu Zhonglian stepped in and bowed to Ying Chengjiao, who was sitting in the middle with a black tiger under him.

Ying Chengjiao touched the black tiger's head and looked up with a complicated expression:
"I thought you were the one who leaked the secret.

“But since you came here so openly, I felt that maybe I was overthinking it.

"Sir, I am really in a dilemma. I don't know whether to kill him or not."

Lu Zhonglianzi looked calm:
"I'm not sure what Yingzi is talking about, so I'll make a bold guess... Is it about the Seventh Princess?"

"Who else could it be except her?" Ying Chengjiao was very gloomy. "She has been in the Jixia Academy for more than two months, which has made me very uncomfortable. There are more and more people attending the class, but how many of them are really here? They are all here to watch the fun! They think I am a coward! What a joke!"

"Yingzi is worrying too much." Lu Zhonglianzi laughed: "A little girl can't shake Yingzi's reputation. Those people are just like what Yingzi said, they are just looking for fun, not many people really think so."

Ying Chengjiao doesn't think so.

Having experienced the information explosion, he is well aware of the power of rumors and public opinion:

"Three people make a tiger, and accumulated criticism destroys them.

“More and more people are talking about it, and they are talking about it for a long time.

"The real can become fake, and the fake can become real.

“They didn’t think of me that much at first, and it was just for fun.

“But if this matter doesn’t end.

"It won't be long before my reputation as a cheating scumbag will be solidified!"

Lu Zhonglianzi didn't believe it and looked Ying Chengjiao up and down.

He gestured at Ying Chengjiao's head with his two hands in the air and said speechlessly:

"My son, you are only eight years old... How can the phrase 'seducing and abandoning' be applied to you?"

Ying Chengjiao didn't want to get serious about this topic.

It didn’t matter whether Lu Zhonglian believed him or not; it was meaningless to him.

He pinched his chin and narrowed his eyes:
"lets change a topic.

“I suddenly had another idea.

"Did you deliberately come in so openly just to dispel my doubts and not kill me?
"... Actually, it was the master who reported it, right?"

The master wanted to kill.

The black tiger bent over and stretched out its claws, ready to pounce, hoping to get more food.

Lu Zhonglian turned a blind eye, pondered for a long time, and then said:
"If I were to speak to others, I would explain the reason and get rid of suspicion.

“But with Yingzi, the principles I’m best at are useless.

“I guessed what Yingzi was thinking.

"Yingzi guessed what I guessed you were thinking.

“It’s like the sky, it never ends.

"I can only say that I didn't tell anyone, but I can't convince Yingzi to believe me.

"Killing me or not is a trivial matter. It's up to Yingzi to decide."

"Great." Ying Chengjiao applauded and praised: "Sir, you have convinced me. Sir, you are not afraid of death, so why are you afraid of death?"

The young man slapped the black tiger with all his strength, barely able to penetrate the highly defensive fur, making the black tiger feel a little bit of being hit.

The black tiger's bright eyes drooped, and it lay down at the boy's feet again, as if it had no energy.

Ying Chengjiao rubbed his aching right hand:
"Qin used Qi to divert the attention of other countries.

"Yan State took advantage of the dissatisfaction of other states with Qi State to attack Qi State, hoping to demonstrate Yan State's fighting power and avoid being cannibalized by surrounding states.

"Qi State used Qin State to give other states an excuse to attack, and also wanted to show its fighting power. It wanted to let other states know that Qi State was not so easy to conquer, so as to ensure a smooth succession of power.

"The Three Jins and Chu did not send a single soldier, and I think they should be happy to see Yan and Qi fighting each other."

The young man sighed deeply and said helplessly:
“Everyone got what they wanted, except me.

"As a gentleman who pursues justice, how can I not go there when I hear that Yan has launched an unjust war against Qi?

"Sir, why do I always get hurt?"

Although Ying Chengjiao asked, he did not give Lu Zhonglian time to answer, and said to himself:
"I want to follow the Qi army to defend my country. Sir, will you come with me?
"This way, if I change my mind, I can just kill you, sir. It's very convenient."

Lu Zhonglian looked at the lazy black tiger.

This was the first time he looked at Hei Hu directly since he entered the door.

"Can I refuse?" He smiled bitterly.

"I'm afraid I can't." Ying Chengjiao sighed: "I can't help myself, and you can't help yourself either."

Half a month passed quickly.

Tian Dan led the army and was accompanied by Jixia scholars Ying Chengjiao and Lu Zhonglian.

Another six days passed.

Diyi.

The two armies met.

(End of this chapter)