Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 501 My name is Xiang Yu, do you have a name?

"His Majesty."

"Such a reduction?"

Even Lin Dao was greatly surprised to see the First Emperor again.

The once majestic and domineering First Emperor, who commanded respect even without anger.

At this moment, however, there was an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, making one feel as if they were ascending to heaven.

"Are you back?"

Slowly opening his eyes, the First Emperor's gaze was very peaceful.

"It will be a long and arduous journey."

Zhao Gao and Fusu were dumbfounded.

Is this really the First Emperor?
"Immortal Master." The First Emperor glanced at them and finally looked at Lin Dao. "After I cultivated the Great Celestial Immortal Technique and took the elixir (a special medicine for heavy metal poisoning) bestowed by you, Immortal Master, I feel my body getting better and better."

You've been detoxified, so of course things are getting better.

Lin Dao rubbed his nose. "Medically speaking, the better your mood, the greater the relief it will have on your symptoms."

"Keep practicing! Keep practicing!"

"Good~" The First Emperor smiled with satisfaction and then asked, "Immortal Master, to what extent should one practice before it is appropriate?"

"I have a poem here."

Lin Dao solemnly told him, "If you cultivate your body to resemble a crane, you can sit beneath a thousand pines and read two volumes of scriptures. I come to ask about the Way, but there is nothing more to say; the clouds are in the blue sky, and the water is in the bottle."

"Practice until this level is sufficient."

“This poem is very strange.” The First Emperor pondered, “There is no such verse in the Book of Poetry.”

"But it's simple and clear, and you can understand the meaning."

Looking at the gentle-looking First Emperor, Lin Dao nodded repeatedly.

Without the torment of heavy metals, the First Emperor, whose mental state had calmed down, was definitely not the tyrant depicted by pedantic scholars.

"Your Majesty~"

"General Meng Tian has delivered an urgent military dispatch from the border, traveling 600 li!"

Zhu Lang's report immediately changed the atmosphere in the hall.

The First Emperor sat back down, his expression calm.

"Bring it up."

Thanks to the technology provided by Lin Dao, the not-so-complex technology of papermaking has been brought to the attention of the Qin Dynasty.

Nowadays, paper is replacing bamboo slips at an incredible rate.

Soon, the urgent military report reached the First Emperor.

After browsing through the documents, the First Emperor, who had previously maintained a stern expression, gradually began to smile.

"Meng Tian has won another battle."

"His caravan went deep into the grasslands, crushed the main force of the Donghu king, and even killed the Donghu king."

At this time, the true king of the grasslands was the Donghu.

The later Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Khitan peoples can all be considered remnants of the Donghu.

As for the Xiongnu, Modu had not yet killed his own father, and was still just a subordinate of the Donghu.

"Meng Tian said that the convoy was severely damaged, and many parts were beyond repair, so they had to be dismantled and transported back."

The First Emperor looked at Lin Dao and said, "Immortal Master, what do you think of this matter?"

"Transport what?"

Lin Dao immediately waved his hand, "If it's broken and can't be repaired, just throw it away. Why bother taking the time and effort to dismantle it and bring it back?"

"Your Majesty, just give me the money. Just tell me how much you need to add."

"In the celestial realm, they're never afraid of large orders, they're only afraid of you not paying!"

For an industrial Cthulhu that produces tens of millions of cars a year, the First Emperor's small order is truly a drop in the ocean.
The First Emperor twitched the corner of his mouth.

The product is useful, but it's expensive!

The immortal has almost plundered all the gold in the Great Qin.

Fortunately, Japan has begun shipping gold and copper ore back, which has somewhat made up for the losses.

We need to persuade Japan to increase the scale and pace of mining.

They're desperately short of gold.

The First Emperor smiled but didn't respond, continuing to read the military report.

"We have captured Zhu Huyuwan. What should be done with him?"

"What's the point of asking?" The First Emperor frowned. "Just cut them all down. Are you suggesting we keep them to waste food?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It's the same old routine; the First Emperor is still the same First Emperor.

"Wait a minute."

Just as Lin Dao was about to speak, Fu Su stepped forward to offer his greetings.

"His Majesty."

"Your subject had some conversation with the immortal on the way back."

"Besides gold, the immortal also collects other ores."

"We need all those giant trees from various places, as well as medicinal herbs and dried goods from the mountains and forests."

"Instead of killing these prisoners, wouldn't it be better to use them for mining, logging, gathering herbs, and harvesting fruit, and then hand them over to the immortals in exchange for technology and resources?"

"Oh~~~"

The First Emperor drew out his words, his gaze towards Fusu filled with admiration.

"Fusu, you've finally grown up."

"Those who are kings or emperors should act with tyranny."

"Only in this way can we deter the world."

"By the way, do you still think that the Confucian values ​​of benevolence and righteousness are useful?"

"Your Majesty," Fusu bowed, "I will continue to study Confucianism."

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor's face darkened instantly, and he lost his previous air of otherworldly wisdom.

"really."

Lin Dao, who was standing to the side, also smiled.

"The First Emperor was still the same pragmatic First Emperor."

"When it's useful, anything is negotiable."

"When you're no longer useful, just get rid of them."

"Your Majesty," Fusu said again, "I want to promote Neo-Confucianism."

"No, it's about restoring Confucianism to its original form!"

"Holding a knife in the left hand and a book in the right, that is the true Confucianism."

"Strengthening oneself is benevolence and righteousness; physical persuasion is morality."

"Those who listen to my words will believe in Confucianism."

"Those who do not listen to me will be punched first, then hammered."

"Until you understand what I'm saying."

"Only in this way can it be considered the authentic version of Confucius's Confucian classics!" These words left the First Emperor speechless.

He looked at Lin Dao in disbelief and subconsciously asked, "Is he Fusu?!"

His voice was somewhat shrill when he spoke.

How did Fusu, who used to be so gentle and weak, always speaking of benevolence and morality, become like this?
"Immortal chief."

The First Emperor found it hard to accept Fusu, whose eyes shone with fanaticism, before him.

He took a deep breath and looked at Lin Dao. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Have."

Lin Dao stepped forward and gave instructions to Fusu.

"If you go fishing in the future, remember to wear a helmet."

Fusu looked puzzled.

Why wear a helmet?
He could only shake his head and say, "I don't fish, I only hunt."

"Your Majesty," Lin Dao looked at the First Emperor, "half of the matter is settled here; now only the descendants of the Chu nobles remain."

"Humph."

The First Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Just a bunch of petty scoundrels hiding in the shadows."

"Since the immortal is willing to give them a way out, then let him do it."

Lin Dao smiled but didn't explain anything, just that the remnants of the Chu Kingdom had defeated your Great Qin, and so on.

Lin Dao paused as he stepped out of the palace.

Frowning, he turned to look at Fusu and the others who had followed him. "Why are you still following me?"

"You have completed your apprenticeship."

"Immortal Master." Fusu stepped forward and cupped his hands. "We still have many shortcomings that we need to learn from you, Immortal Master."

"Please grant us permission, Immortal Master, to continue following you."

"Then you'd better think it through." Lin Dao waved his hand. "The place we're going to this time is very, very far away."

It is indeed very far. Lin Dao wants to send Chu Bawang to Europe to become a hegemon.

This will be a long journey.

"Could it be that it's farther than going to the ancient land of Yin Shang?" Fusu asked back. "The ancient land of Yin Shang is more than ten thousand miles away. We've already come this far, so we can go to the ends of the earth."

"Row."

"If you want to come, then you can come."

The First Emperor had a grasp of the general activity range of the remnants of various states. For example, the remnants of the Chu state mostly lived in Kuaiji Commandery.

Kuaiji Commandery was located in the Jiangdong area.

Before large-scale development, the environment here was relatively primitive and the population was small, making it a sparsely populated area.

Recently, the remnants of the Chu state have been in frequent contact.

The reason is simple: they lost contact with their families in various countries.

Some people have said before that the remnants of various ethnic groups wanted to go to the distant homeland of the Yin-Shang dynasty to restore their kingdoms.

But nobody here believed him; they just assumed he was drunk.

However, since then, they have been unable to contact the families of the deceased in various countries.

As time went on, it undoubtedly caused panic.

Everyone found it hard to believe; could there really be an ancient Shang dynasty homeland?

But why didn't you bring them along!

Then came even more shocking news: Xiong Xin, grandson of King Huai of Chu, summoned the remnants of the Chu clan from all over the country and gathered them at Yushan in Wu County, Kuaiji Prefecture.

Wu County is Suzhou.

Changshu is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou. Outside the city of Changshu is Yushan Mountain, and at the foot of Yushan Mountain is Yuxi Village.

Xiong Xin, in the name of the grandson of King Huai of Chu, summoned everyone to gather in Yuxi Village.

This identity alone is not enough to gather everyone.

Therefore, a message was also attached.

'The State of Chu must be restored!'

The nobles of Chu were the most conservative among the six states.

They were a true feudal system, with nobles controlling land, population, resources, and troops.

Within the territory of the State of Chu, they were similar to small feudal lords.

After the Qin state destroyed the Chu state, all the nobles lost everything they had ever owned and became thieves who had to hide in the east and west.

The huge difference in their social status was something they both found hard to accept.

Therefore, everyone firmly supports the restoration of the country.

Xiong Xin said, "Now that we have the opportunity to restore our kingdom, let's all come and discuss it."

The vast majority of Chu nobles chose to come.

Then they came upon the Qin army.

The Qin army covered the mountains and plains.

Some cursed Xiong Xin, while others drew their swords, ready to fight to the death.

However, the Qin army did not launch an attack. Instead, someone rode up and instructed them to just go to Yuxi Village.

The remnants of the Chu state were puzzled.

They could escape but couldn't, and they couldn't win a fight either.

They had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow the road cleared by the Qin army toward Yuxi Village.

Upon entering, they encountered the remnants of the Chu state who had arrived earlier, all of whom were constantly complaining.

Only a small number of people were able to calm down.

"This is strange."

Xiang Liang frowned. "If the Qin army wants to make a move, they don't need to let us in."

"Such a great deal of trouble must mean something is wrong."

"Who cares about all that?" the burly youth beside him immediately replied. "Just kill to your heart's content!"

Xiang Liang glared at him and said, "What kind of time is this to be talking nonsense!"

"Just wait!"

The boy, however, was someone who couldn't stay still.

Seeing the nobles gathered together discussing countermeasures, he simply picked up his sword and wandered around the village.

In the village, every household kept their doors and windows tightly shut, and no one dared to go out.

With the Qin army besieging them from the outside, the Chu nobles had no time to cause trouble for the villagers.

The village was very empty, and the boy, bored, was about to return.

They saw a young girl hurrying along, carrying a bag of rice in her arms, while wild dogs chased and barked behind her.

The boy rushed forward and cut the wild dog down with a few sword strokes.

He looked at the startled girl, whose rice bag had spilled onto the ground, and asked her a question.

"My name is Xiang Yu. Do you have a name?"

(End of this chapter)