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

Chapter 541, Targeting Xiong Qiyang

Xianyang, Zhangtai Palace.

With the arrival of Ying Zheng and Xu Qing, the banquet that had been prepared in advance began. However, this banquet to congratulate Ying Zheng on his coming of age and assuming personal rule was not as lively as expected. The ministers found the fine wines and delicacies that were constantly served tasteless.

However, the proper social interactions still had to be observed, and people took turns congratulating those who had been promoted and given titles during the rebellion.

Xu Qing sat in the front row, drinking alone and silently watching Xiong Qi surrounded by his ministers.

"Lord Zhaoming, come and have a drink with this old man."

Meng Ao's voice rang out, and Xu Qing turned around to see Meng Ao, dressed in a black and red court robe, carrying a jar of wine as he walked to his desk.

"Old general, let's have a drink."

Xu Qing chuckled, picked up his wine glass and clinked it with Meng Ao's, then drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Lord Zhaoming, life is a mixture of joy and sorrow. You are a Taoist disciple and understand the principles better than I am, but as someone who has been through it all, I still want to remind you that the court is not about short-term gains and losses, but about who survives to the end."

Meng Ao moved closer to Xu Qing and said in a low voice.

Is this to comfort me? Or...?
Xu Qing glanced at Meng Ao, who was trying to reassure her, her eyes darting around, but she maintained her smile and said...
"General, you must have misunderstood something. I am not disappointed that I have made contributions but received no reward. Whether there is a reward or not, as long as it is beneficial to Qin, a subject should do it without hesitation."

Meng Ao was taken aback for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. He patted Xu Qing's shoulder forcefully and said...
"You brat, I'm already over forty, and I'm still being lectured by a kid like you who hasn't even come of age yet."

"There is a sequence to learning, and those who attain enlightenment come first, hahaha," Xu Qing said with a smile.

Meng Ao is a wicked old man. He was just comforting him as a side effect; in reality, he was also fooled by the scheme he and Ying Zheng had set up today.

But this is a good thing. If Meng Ao can be captivated, then others will surely be too.

"The successful come first; for that very reason, I must have another drink with you."

Meng Ao smiled and poured wine for himself and Xu Qing again. He was indeed frightened by Xu Qing and Ying Zheng's actions today.

As a veteran minister who served four dynasties, Meng Ao had experienced and seen too much, especially during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. He had seen too many people who were all smiles with King Zhaoxiang one day, only to be thrown into the Tingwei prison and die tragically the next.

He believed that Ying Zheng would not let down someone as ambitious as Xu Qing, which was why he was flustered.

Today's scene is strikingly similar to the scene when King Zhaoxiang of Qin dealt with the Four Nobles. Ying Zheng is like King Zhaoxiang of Qin, and Xu Qing is like Fan Sui.

He fought for the Qin state for decades, and his loyalty to Qin was genuine. But everyone has selfish desires, especially someone like him who lived day to day, and he was very worried about the future of his descendants such as Meng Wu and Meng Tian.

That's why he thought of sounding out Xu Qing, but Xu Qing's answer reassured him quite a bit.

"Speaking of work, when will the military doctors finish their training? It's been almost three months already." Meng Ao placed his wine glass on the table and asked Xu Qing.

"No rush. This concerns the lives of my Qin soldiers, so I naturally dare not be disloyal. I plan to train the first batch of military doctors for six months, and then conduct an assessment. Those who pass will proceed to the next stage, while those who do not will continue their studies."

Xu Qing shook his head and said slowly.

In his plan, this group of military doctors would be trained for at least two years. Only in this way could he feel at ease letting these military doctors return to the army to treat the Qin soldiers.

"There's still more than a year left."

Meng Ao sighed. Although he was anxious, he understood that professional matters should be left to professionals, and even if he was anxious, he could only wait.

While Xu Qing and Meng Ao were whispering to each other, many people present were closely watching the two of them, or more accurately, watching Xu Qing's actions.

Changping Jun Xiong Qi looked at the two laughing and talking, then withdrew his gaze from his side, apologized to the people who came to congratulate him, and walked towards Xu Qing.

"Lord Zhaoming, old general."

Xiong Qi walked up to Xu Qing and Meng Ao, raising his wine glass in greeting.

"It seems Lord Changping has come to see you. I'll go take a look around somewhere else first. Don't forget our agreement," Meng Ao said with a smile as he stood up.

"Don't worry, General, I won't forget," Xu Qing nodded and said.

Agreement?

As Xiong Qi listened to their conversation, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed his curiosity.

"Lord Changping, please forgive my neglect. Congratulations on your promotion to the rank of Lord Changping. I truly envy you."

Although he was wary of Changping Jun, Xu Qing still put on a good show. After all, having been in the court for so long, it's hard for someone who doesn't know how to socialize to make friends.

"Lord Zhaoming, please don't make fun of me. You deserve the most credit for quelling this rebellion. The King hasn't rewarded you, probably because he has other plans. Please don't overthink it."

Xiong Qi maintained a humble attitude and raised his glass to speak.

Another one trying to get information out of me.

Looking at the humble Xiong Qi, it was hard to imagine that he was such a cunning old fox, given his upright and righteous face.

However, since Xiong Qi had come to try and extract information, it would be a disservice to Xiong Qi's eager and humble demeanor if he didn't give him something in return. "Hahaha, Lord Changping, what are you saying? It's all for the sake of Qin. As long as we've fulfilled our duties as subjects, that's enough. As for rewards, what do we subjects care about?" Xu Qing said, raising his wine cup.

"The realm of Emperor Zhaoming far surpasses that of Emperor Qi."

After clinking his glass with Xu Qing's, Xiong Qi praised him and then downed the wine in one gulp.

Xu Qing also drank the wine in his cup, and at the same time, he used his internal energy to stimulate his acupoints, making his face much rosier and revealing a bit of drunkenness.

"Not at all, Lord Changping, we are both officials in the same court. You are older and a senior to me, so I should learn more from you," Xu Qing said with a smile.

"You are too kind, Lord Zhaoming. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask, and I will certainly not refuse."

Xiong Qi remained humble and spoke in a calm tone, which unconsciously made people feel good about him.

"I do have a problem right now, and I hope you can help me."

Xu Qing's lips curled up slightly, a glint of light in his eyes, and he continued speaking.

At this moment, Ying Zheng was receiving congratulations from his ministers and did not notice Xu Qing and Xiong Qi, but Gai Nie, who was accompanying him, did notice the two.

When did Changping Jun offend Xu Qing?

A hint of doubt flashed in Gai Nie's eyes as he thought to himself.

He was very familiar with Xu Qing's expression; Xu Qing would do this whenever he was about to trick or scheme against someone.

"whats the matter?"

Xiong Qi looked at Xu Qing, who had a handsome face and a sincere expression, and did not suspect anything. He asked with some doubt.

"His Majesty has entrusted me with the responsibility of overseeing the Palace of Scholars, to receive scholars from various schools of thought who are coming to Qin as disciples of the Daoist Tianzong sect. This shouldn't be a troublesome matter, but now I not only have to train military doctors, but also lecture to the Gongyang Confucian scholars. Recently, Daoist scholars have also been preparing to come to Qin, and I'm really overwhelmed."

"You were the one who led the Gongyang Confucian and other schools from Taiyi Mountain to Xianyang before, so I suppose you are quite familiar with receiving people from all walks of life."

"Therefore, I hope that you, Lord Changping, can lend a hand and help me receive the Hundred Schools of Martial Arts who are about to enter Qin."

Xu Qing sighed softly, a hint of weariness on her face, and said with a touch of helplessness.

A look of surprise flashed in Xiong Qi's eyes. He had thought it was something difficult, but receiving scholars from various schools of thought was just a matter of making an appearance, and it was a trivial matter for him.

The recruitment of scholars from various schools of thought to Qin was a national policy of the Qin state, and Xiong Qi also believed that Xu Qing would not use this matter to set a trap for him.

Furthermore, he urgently needed to build a closer relationship with Xu Qing and find a way to extract more information from him, so he didn't suspect anything and nodded in agreement.

“It’s just a small favor. If you, Lord Zhaoming, are truly too busy, I’m willing to help you with the reception, but you must first get the king’s order before I can intervene.”

“Of course, I will report to His Majesty after the banquet,” Xu Qing said.

"May I ask which sect I need to receive? And who is in charge?" Xiong Qi nodded and continued to ask.

"It's not some difficult sect to approach, so you don't need to be nervous. It's the Farmer's School, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought."

Xu Qing looked relaxed, his smile and intoxication deepening.

You cunning old fox, you tried to trick me into revealing information, are you ready to fall into my trap?

"farmhouse!?"

Upon hearing those two words, even the extremely shrewd Xiong Qi was not at peace. A look of surprise appeared in his eyes, his expression changed slightly, and his tone became a few decibels higher, but he quickly returned to normal.

The word "farm" has always been Xiong Qi's most sensitive topic. How could Xiong Qi remain calm when Xu Qing mentioned the word "farm"?

"Yes, it's the Farmer's Clan. The leader of the Farmer's Clan in Taiyi Mountain said he wanted to go to Qin, and I agreed at the time. But then I got busy with things in Nanyang and winter came, so I put it aside for the time being."

"The spring plowing ceremony is just around the corner, and the farmers are called 'commoners' by the Confucianists because they don't understand the classics."

"But he is very proficient in farming, casting, sericulture, water conservancy and other agricultural matters. Just then, the Guanzhong irrigation canal was about to be completed, so I thought of writing a letter to the leader of the Farmers' Heroes and asking him to enter Qin before the Spring Ploughing Ceremony."

"In this way, we can increase the yield of crops and agriculture in Guanzhong, and also help farmers gain a foothold in Qin, leaving some people speechless."

“I originally intended to do this myself, but I was tied up with other things, so I had to leave it to you.”

Xu Qing seemed oblivious to Xiong Qi's odd behavior, his face full of sincerity and regret, as if he had given Xiong Qi a huge credit for it, his words implying that Xiong Qi should hurry up and thank Brother Xu Qing.

Xiong Qi gave Xu Qing a deep look, tightening his grip on the wine glass slightly. This wasn't giving him credit; it was putting him on the hot seat.

Now that things have come to this point, if he refuses, it will only arouse Xu Qing's suspicion. Besides, Xu Qing has brought up Ying Zheng, so he has no choice but to accept it.

“In that case, I thank Lord Zhaoming for entrusting me with such a great task.”

Although Xiong Qi felt bitter inside, he still maintained a smile on his face, appearing flattered, and said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)