Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wenqing felt a chill run down his spine.

Is this... the beginning of the process of unifying the world?

Li Si's expression also turned serious. He glanced at Zhou Wenqing without making a sound, a complex light flashing in his eyes.

He recalled Zhou Wenqing's "Remarks on Shortening the Period," which at first glance seemed wildly imaginative and full of ingenious ideas, yet it was also meticulously planned, with each step linked to the next, and demonstrating profound strategic thinking.

In a daze, the frights I experienced seemed like they happened just yesterday.

But now, every single thing has been put into practice.

He recalled the almost childlike scheming in Zhou Wenqing's eyes when he was joking with him earlier, a frankness that was easy to see through at a glance.

The two faces overlapped, yet they didn't seem out of place at all.

Li Si withdrew his gaze, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions.

Brother Zicheng...

He shook his head slightly, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Fortunately, they are friends, not enemies.

Zhou Wenqing, however, did not notice Li Si's scrutiny.

His heart was beating faster than usual, and an indescribable emotion surged in his chest—excitement, anticipation, nervousness, and a subtle feeling that was hard to put into words.

Is a historical empire about to unfold before my eyes?

He took a deep breath, straightened his back, tensed his shoulder blades, and looked up at Wei Liao with a solemn expression:

"Mr. Wei Liao, please speak frankly. Wen Qing is all ears."

Wei Liao slightly raised his hand, glanced out the window, and spoke in a calm and unhurried tone:

"Zicheng, don't be impatient. Tonight is just a private chat. I have some humble opinions, and I'd like to take this opportunity to share them with you all. That's why I invited the King here so we can all discuss them together. But we'll have to wait a bit longer—"

Before he could finish speaking, a rough voice came from outside:

"Where are they all? Wei Liao, I'm here!"

Zhou Wenqing peeked out the window and saw that familiar, burly figure. He quickly said:

"Here he is! General Wang is here too? Ah Yi, hurry up and open the door..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door was pushed open with a bang.

General Wang Jian, carrying a huge scroll of sheepskin map, strode in like a robber, followed by the smiling General Meng Wu.

"……Door."

Zhou Wenqing's lips twitched as he looked at the study door, which was still trembling slightly and almost unable to bear the weight, and struggled to complete the last word.

Fortunately, the king was here, guards were standing at the gate, and there were countless hidden guards around, so they hadn't thought of locking the door.

Otherwise, he would have witnessed the door bolt shatter tonight.

"Zicheng, quickly clear the table." General Wang Jian raised the parchment scroll on his shoulder, the huge scroll swaying on his shoulder and almost knocking over the candlestick next to him.

He turned to Wei Liao and grinned:

"Brother Wei Liao, I have brought what you requested."

General Meng Wu closed the door behind him, adding a final remark:

"It has to be this big. This thing is hard to carry. I had to distract several patrols on the way here—I was afraid they would think we were going to rob someone."

Upon hearing this, Wei Liao stroked his beard and chuckled, "Thank you for your trouble, Generals."

Zhou Wenqing quickly got up, took a few steps over, and carefully moved the folding fans on the table, especially the rare collectible with the ink still wet, to a shelf to the side.

Li Si also got up to help, muttering to himself as he moved:

"Brother Zicheng, you'd better keep your precious fan safe. If it gets swept away by this scroll, you'll have nowhere to cry."

Zhou Wenqing didn't even turn his head, and said irritably, "I don't need you to tell me!"

With the table empty, Wang Jian placed the huge parchment scroll on it with a muffled "bang," which made the candlelight flicker.

He quickly untied the leather straps binding the figure, and with a flick of his wrist—

The map unfolded with a "whoosh," almost filling the entire desk.

Mountains, rivers, cities, and passes are all marked.

As the candlelight flickered, everyone's gaze fell upon the painting, and a moment of silence ensued.

Ying Zheng slowly rose, walked to the table, and looked down at the map of the world. His gaze moved slowly eastward from Yongzhou in the west, across the Three Rivers, across Han, Zhao, and Wei, and finally landed on the distant land of Qi.

He didn't speak.

But her slightly taut jaw and her eyes, which shone even brighter in the candlelight, said it all.

Wang Jian and Meng Wu both looked eager to try. They took half a step forward, and Wang Jian rubbed his hands together, speaking impatiently:

"Your Majesty, Brother Wei Liao, who do you think we should attack first? Han? Zhao? Or Wei? I'll go back and muster the troops right away! Hahaha, I've been waiting for this day!"

Wei Liao stepped forward, placed his finger on the map, and gently tapped it.

"Your Majesty, gentlemen, please look."

His finger moved slowly eastward from the Qin region, finally stopping at the not-so-large piece of land in the center of the map.

"Han has long been in the hands of our Great Qin. Over the years, it has paid tribute every year and submitted to us every year. Its army is weak and its generals are few. It is no match for us. If we want to take it, it will only take a snap of our fingers."

Wang Jian raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but interject, "Brother Wei Liao, do you mean we should take Han first?"

"No."

Ying Zheng shook his head, his gaze unconsciously glancing towards Zhou Wenqing before turning back to Wang Jian and slowly saying:

"General Wang, please don't be impatient. Let Mr. Wei Liao finish speaking."

"Indeed, Liao also thought it was unacceptable."

Wei Liaochong nodded slightly to Ying Zheng, but instead of moving his finger away from the map, he slowly drew a circle around the state of Han:

"Although the six states each have their own ulterior motives, if our Great Qin were to truly destroy Han in one fell swoop, it would inevitably cause the other six states to panic. They would fear that if their lips were to fall, their teeth would be cold, and the alliance could be formed in an instant, which would be disadvantageous to us."

"And..." He pointed to the area east of South Korea on the map:

"Han occupies the throat of the Central Plains. If we destroy it, our territory will directly connect with Wei and Chu. At that time, we will have the enemy Wei in the east and the fierce Chu in the south. We will have to divide our troops to guard the line of thousands of miles, which will be exhausting and not worth the effort."

Wei Liao looked up and saw that Ying Zheng was focused, so he placed his finger heavily on the two characters "Handan":

"Therefore, I believe that we can deal with Han later, but we must attack Zhao first."

"The State of Zhao was the backbone of the six states. Ever since King Wuling adopted the nomadic dress and mounted archery, the people of Zhao have been the most fierce and brave among the feudal lords."

"In the past, Zhao She defeated Eyu, which dampened our morale; later, Lian Po held out at Changping, fortifying his position and refusing to come out. Although Changping suffered heavy losses, its vitality was not broken. In the Battle of Handan, it was still able to rally the army and the people and repel our strong army."

"Therefore, as long as the backbone of the Zhao state remains intact, the desire of the six states to form an alliance will be difficult to sever."

Wei Liao's gaze met Ying Zheng's, his voice deep and powerful:

"Therefore, I believe that rather than taking Han as easily as picking up a mustard seed, it would be better to remove this thorn in our side and crush Zhao like a broken pillar, so that when it is completely defeated, the world will be like a pile of loose sand."

"By then—"

He withdrew his hand, placing it behind his back, his tone revealing a cold, sharp edge:

"Taking Han back is as easy as taking it out of a bag; attacking Wei in the south and taking Yan in the north will be as swift as a whirlwind. Even if Wei and Chu want to unite, they have already lost the initiative and can only cower and watch helplessly. It is even possible that they will be intimidated by the might of our Great Qin and submit to us."

"In this way, the six kingdoms can be conquered, and the world can be unified!"

Wei Liao bowed slightly and greeted Ying Zheng:

"This is my humble opinion; I beseech Your Majesty to decide."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room became so quiet that the crackling of the candlelight could be heard.

Instead, everyone was stunned by Wei Liao's words. Every word was like a knife, every sentence cut to the bone, clearly dissecting the general trend of the world and arranging the order of conquests.

Ying Zheng remained silent.

He simply stood before the map, his gaze fixed on the vast landscape. After a long while, he slowly raised his hand, placed it on the edge of the map, and his fingertips tightened slightly.

"Excellent! Excellent! The six kingdoms can be conquered, and the world unified! This is the day I have been waiting for!"

Wang Jian slapped his thigh suddenly, leaped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply, his voice strong and clear:

"Your Majesty! Your subject, Wang Jian, is willing to serve as the vanguard. I beg Your Majesty's permission to lead the army to raze Handan and capture the King of Zhao alive!"

Not to be outdone, Meng Wu stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Wang Jian, clasping his hands in a fist salute and loudly proclaiming:

"Your Majesty! Your subject Meng Wu is also willing to go to war, vowing to flatten the land of Zhao and wipe out the Zhao army. Please grant my request, Your Majesty!"

The two old generals stood side by side, one with wide, fierce eyes and the other with an excited expression, as if they were about to muster their troops for battle the next day.

Seeing this, Li Si stepped forward:

"Your Majesty, I also deeply agree with Mr. Wei Liao's strategy. First, crush Zhao's backbone, then take over the six states. It is indeed a superior strategy."

He paused, his gaze lingering for a moment on the two characters "Handan" on the map, then changed the subject:

"However... it would be more prudent to send troops to Zhao if we could find a suitable opportunity."

Wang Jian frowned: "Opportunity? What opportunity?"

"The teacher is famous."

Li Si said slowly, "If we attack Zhao rashly without a just cause, the other six states will form an alliance, which would be disadvantageous to us."

"Not bad." Wei Liao nodded in agreement, lightly tapping his finger on the map.

"If we are not sure of the plan, I think we should first intimidate the state of Han before attacking Zhao, so that it will not dare to act rashly and may even be put to our use. In this way, our army will have no worries about the rear when we march east."

"This is also why I chose today to discuss this with you all. The envoys from the six kingdoms are all in Xianyang now. If we can make some progress..."

His words, though unfinished, carried a profound meaning, which Ying Zheng, Li Si, and the others understood, their faces showing thoughtful expressions.

Wang Jian and Meng Wu exchanged a glance. Although they were somewhat impatient, they knew that what these strategists said made sense, so they had no choice but to suppress their impatience, lean back in their chairs, and look longingly at these people who were good at... cough! good at this kind of thing.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Just then, Zhou Wenqing, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved.