People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 517, Li Mu's Alliance, Pang Nuan's Question
On the other side, after returning to her room, Yan Lingji looked at the empty room with a hint of loneliness in her beautiful eyes. Her stunning face silently watched the snowflakes falling outside. Snowflakes continued to fall from the gray sky, as if they would never stop.

Looking at the vast white world, Yan Lingji felt a sense of loneliness, as if she were the only person left in the world.

Sitting on the small couch, Yan Lingji gazed at the gray sky with dreamlike eyes, murmuring to herself.
"It's snowing, and there's no need for court or lectures. Where have you been gallivanting off to this time?"

Springtime sadness, autumn melancholy, and winter desolation—the vast expanse of white snow, though beautiful, inevitably evokes feelings of loneliness, which intensifies with the arrival of the cold.

Although Yan Lingji had experienced many ups and downs, this loneliness didn't make her particularly sad, but it still made her feel somewhat lost, and she wanted to lean on Xu Qing.

Even if you do nothing, simply leaning against the other person is enough.

"As expected, I still hate the cold. The warmth of Baiyue is the most suitable for me," Yan Lingji muttered softly.

Just as Yan Lingji was gazing absently at the snowy scene, the door was suddenly pushed open, followed by a gentle voice that rang out from inside the room.

"Then I'll go to the Imperial Palace another day and ask Qin Mo and Gongshu's family to help you renovate your house, install a floor heating system, and apply warm pepper to make it feel like summer even in winter, how about that?"

Xu Qing walked in from outside the door, and a gust of cold wind blew in, carrying a few snowflakes that drifted in behind her and landed on the floor.

Yan Lingji turned to look at Xu Qing, a glimmer of light appearing in her previously disappointed eyes, and a look of surprise on her pretty face. She jumped up from the small couch and pounced on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing opened his arms and caught Yan Lingji as she lunged at him, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and holding her firmly in his arms.

"Oh dear, I still have snow on me, aren't you cold?" Xu Qing said with a light laugh.

"I don't mind it."

Yan Lingji wrapped her arms around Xu Qing's neck, buried her head in his chest, and locked her long, beautiful legs tightly around him, clinging to him like a koala.

Xu Qing used the Autumn Water of Ten Thousand Rivers technique to control his aura and close the door, shutting out the cold outside. He then carried Yan Lingji into the room.

"I originally wanted to come back earlier, but Lü Buwei asked me to come to his residence. We talked about quite a few things, so I was delayed a bit," Xu Qing said as he walked.

Winter can be lonely, which is why he wanted to come back early and spend time with his family.

Especially Yan Ling Ji, who has almost never seen snow.

"Yes, it's good that you're back."

Yan Lingji nodded obediently, withdrew her hands slightly, placed them on Xu Qing's chest, and said softly.

"Today I wanted to treat you all to hot pot. You know what hot pot is? It's all about a group of people."

Xu Qing watched the snowflakes slowly falling outside the window, holding Yan Lingji and telling her a story. Yan Lingji leaned peacefully against Xu Qing's chest, feeling completely at ease listening to his unhurried voice.

At this moment, Yan Lingji felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. This moment of tranquility and warmth surpassed all sweet words.

Meanwhile, snowflakes fell in Handan, the capital of Zhao, thousands of miles away.

In a small courtyard on the outskirts of Handan.

An old man and a young man sat under the eaves, enjoying the snow and sipping tea. A cool snowflake slowly fell into the old man's teacup, and in a moment it blended with the hot tea.

Whether old or middle-aged, both men were quite robust, with resolute faces, giving off an aura of authority without anger.

Despite the freezing winter snow, the two were dressed in ordinary clothes, their bulging muscles straining against their thin garments. Their posture was extremely dignified, like an unyielding sword.

"The evening is approaching and it looks like it will snow. Would you like a cup of tea? It's a pity that I'm too old to drink tea now. I wonder what tea with the first snow would taste like."

The old man chatted and laughed, then took a small sip of tea from his cup, closed his eyes slightly, and savored the taste.

The middle-aged man looked at the old man, a strange look flashing in his eyes, and said with a solemn expression.
"General, now that Han Fei, the ninth prince of Han, and the King of Wei have given clear answers, they will join forces with Zhao to attack Qin. What do you think of the chances of victory this time?"

"You are now the Grand General of Zhao, while I am just a retired old man. You might as well ask the Imperial Clan Court to burn a tortoise shell and perform divination before the former ruler of Zhao."

The old man opened his eyes and said in a calm tone.

The man in his prime was none other than Li Mu, the current Grand General of the State of Zhao, while the old man opposite him was Pang Nuan, the former Grand General, a veteran who had survived since the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, Xu Qing's senior brother, and the commander of the last coalition army.

“The Art of War says: ‘Tranquility leads to seclusion, and righteousness leads to order.’ Now, the war has not even started, and your mind is already in turmoil. This is not like you, Li Mu.”

Pang Nuan looked at Li Mu, who had a solemn expression, shook his head, put down his teacup, and continued speaking.

Li Mu clenched his fist slightly on his knees, turned to look at the snowflakes falling from the sky, and said in a deep voice, “General, this time is different from usual. In recent years, due to the internal turmoil in Qin, the frequency of Qin's external attacks has decreased significantly. But now, the King of Qin is about to come of age, and the internal strife in Qin will also come to an end.”

"At that time, the Qin state will surely rekindle its idea of ​​expanding eastward. If the Qin state wants to expand eastward, it must first take over the Han state, which is a land of constant warfare. And if it wants to take over the Han state, it must first seize the entire Shangdang region."

"If war breaks out between Qin and Zhao again, Zhao is no match for Qin in its current state. Therefore, this alliance of the three Jin states, in coordination with Marquis Changxin of Qin, is Zhao's only remaining chance."

“I am not worried about Wang Jian, Meng Ao, Biao Gong and others in Qin, nor am I afraid of the Qin army. What I am worried about is the country.”

Li Mu was also a renowned general who had fought in countless battles, so his mental fortitude was naturally exceptional. Back then, at Yanmen Pass, he faced a combined force of hundreds of thousands of cavalry from the Wolf Clan and the Hu people with only tens of thousands of infantrymen, yet he was not afraid. He even gradually lured the enemy deeper into his territory, and in one fell swoop, he deterred the grasslands from advancing south for more than a decade.

But this time, the alliance of the three Jin states to attack Qin was not only a gamble for the fate of Han, but also for Zhao.

In the last Battle of Changping, the State of Zhao lost. If it loses again this time, there will be no chance to change the fate of the State of Zhao.

Pang Nuan looked at Li Mu and understood why the other man had come to find him despite the heavy snow, so he spoke.

"You're worried about Guo Kai, aren't you? So you came to see me this time hoping I'd return to Handan and help you suppress Guo Kai?"

“That’s right. Your Majesty favors Guo Kai, who has always been hostile to me. Once I lead troops to attack Qin, Qin will bribe Guo Kai, and he will surely slander me to Your Majesty. In order to seize this last opportunity, I hope you can temporarily return to power and help me buy some time.”

Li Mu also acknowledged his purpose and solemnly bowed to Pang Nuan.

In the Battle of Changping, the State of Zhao lost because of Qin's counter-espionage plot. Although Zhao did not change its generals, it could not have changed the outcome of the defeat, but it could have dragged Qin down with it, resulting in a mutually destructive outcome.

This time, he was going to lead the troops of the three Jin states to attack the Qin state. Regardless of the outcome, he could not allow the Zhao state to stumble again in the same place where it had already fallen.

"Well, since you're willing to try again, I'll help you out. But I can't guarantee whether Your Majesty will still listen to me."

Pang Nuan shook his head helplessly and sighed.

Seeing Pang Nuan readily agree, a look of surprise appeared in Li Mu's eyes.

After the failure of the fifth coalition against Qin, a disheartened Pang Nuan returned to the State of Zhao and immediately resigned as Grand General, retiring from the court to live out his later years in the mountains. King Zhao and many ministers repeatedly invited Pang Nuan to return to service, but he resolutely refused each time.

He had prepared a lot of arguments in the hopes of persuading Pang Nuan, but he did not expect Pang Nuan to agree so easily, which rendered all of Li Mu's prepared arguments useless.

"Are you curious why I've decided to come out of seclusion again?" Pang Nuan said with a light laugh.

“That’s right, I always thought you had given up completely,” Li Mu said in a deep voice.

“The six states are indeed hopeless. Since the last alliance was defeated, I have realized that the six states in Shandong, including Zhao, have no hope of turning the tide. That is why I have retired and am thinking of using the remaining time to write down my skills.”

As Pang Nuan spoke, his expression became sentimental, and a look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.

When he was eighty years old, he was reinstated and first led his army to resist the attack of the Yan state, killing the Yan general Ju Xin and 20,000 Yan soldiers. Later, together with King Yan of Zhao, he traveled to various states and finally persuaded the four states of Han, Wei, Chu, and Yan to form a five-state coalition to attack Qin at Zui.

Everything was going smoothly until the allied forces of 400,000 were utterly defeated by the 200,000 Qin troops led by Lü Buwei. The reason for the defeat was quite simple.

Lü Buwei led the Qin army to launch a preemptive attack on the allied forces. Pang Nuan was actively deploying his troops to prepare for a decisive victory over the Qin army. However, when the Chu army saw the Qin army launch an attack, they were so frightened that they fled. When the Han and Yan states saw the Chu army flee, they also fled without hesitation.

The two sides did not even engage in battle, because the Chu, Han, and Yan armies fled in fear, resulting in a major defeat for the allied forces, who were pursued and killed by the Qin army for dozens of miles.

The moment Pang Nuan saw the Chu army flee, he realized that the states could no longer work together. It was only a matter of time before the six states were destroyed by Qin. So he was disheartened and didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"Then you?" Li Mu looked at Pang Nuan with a puzzled expression.

"Since you've already come to me of your own accord, if I refuse again, you probably won't leave easily anyway. I might as well just agree, so you won't bother me anymore," Pang Nuan said helplessly.

Li Mu chuckled to himself; he hadn't expected this reason.

One can only say that Pang Nuan truly deserves to be the disciple of the Taoist master He Guanzi. Even though he specializes in military strategy, his mindset remains so unpredictable; he does whatever comes to mind, making him completely unfathomable.

"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have prepared so much. Now I can rest assured," Li Mu said.

Seeing Li Mu let out a long sigh of relief, Pang Nuan stroked his white beard and said meaningfully.

"Are you really at ease? Are you sure this alliance of the three Shanxi states will succeed?"

Li Mu was taken aback, staring blankly at Pang Nuan, wondering why the other party suddenly said this.

(End of this chapter)