Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Li Si paused, turned his head to look at him, and frowned slightly.

Zhou Wenqing carefully considered his words and lowered his voice even further: "Wenqing originally thought that it would be best to have two groups of carriages on this trip to Qi. On the surface, a large entourage of carriages would travel in a grand manner as a cover, while I would pretend to be a merchant, traveling light and quietly to make my way there and return as quickly as possible. Although this arrangement has risks, it can be managed if handled properly."

"Controllable my ass!"

Li Si was furious. He swore twice in one day, which was unprecedented for him.

He pointed at Zhou Wenqing's nose, gritting his teeth and shouting angrily:

"Zhou Wenqing, Zhou Wenqing, has your brain been sitting too close to the furnace all day? It's been heated and refined by the fire, and now it's full of boiling water. Just shaking it makes you spew out stupid ideas! Otherwise, how could you come up with such an absurd and ridiculous idea!"

He took a deep breath, then another, but he couldn't catch his breath; the more he spoke, the angrier he became.

"Your visit to Qi is already common knowledge. Spies from various states are everywhere in Guanzhong. Any interested person can easily investigate the passes, inns, and taverns along the way, or even launch a more radical attack. We won't even need to send out spies; we'll know everything!"

"And you, even if you travel light, you will still leave traces. When the time comes, you will have few guards, be unable to fight back, unable to escape, and have no one to call for help. Once you leave Qin, if other countries want to attack you, they won't even need to worry about diplomatic disputes, because you—are nothing more than a mere merchant!"

Li Si slammed his hand on the wooden frame, causing iron filings to fall down in a shower.

"Zhou Wenqing, do you think you've lived too long?"

Zhou Wenqing was so startled by this sudden outburst of rage that he jumped back a step.

Is it really that bad? He felt that his idea... still had some merit!

But now he would never dare to say that.

The shelf is still shaking!

By the way, Brother Gu'an, it looks like you just slapped an iron ingot with half your hand. Didn't it hurt?

Li Si: Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My hand is about to break, but I'm angry and can't lose face, so I'm even angrier!

Zhou Wenqing quickly raised his hands to prove his innocence and repeatedly said:

"No, no, I was just saying that casually, I didn't really intend to do it!"

"I guarantee that I will follow Your Majesty's arrangements completely on this trip, bring sufficient men, and never venture out alone!"

Li Si, still angry, looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Really?"

Zhou Wenqing nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a chicken pecking at rice.

The main problem is that plans can't keep up with changes. Fusu wanted to come along, which changed the nature of this trip.

With the eldest son of the Qin dynasty by his side, he really didn't dare to take too many risks and gamble.

Although Zhou Wenqing was completely unaware of his own body, he knew to care about Fusu. Children are not like adults, especially in this era, they are very fragile.

If it were to break accidentally, wouldn't all his plans be in vain?

However, this means that the originally planned departure date will likely have to be postponed.

He mentally counted the days, and his brows furrowed slightly.

With such a grand display and a large delegation, it's likely that before he even returns from Qi, General Wang will have already captured nine cities, completely securing the area south of the Zhang River.

At that time, the Qin army will be at its peak. While leaving troops to garrison, General Wang can lead the remaining elite troops south and easily deal with the state of Han.

After all, the state of South Korea is no longer what it used to be. Its national fortune has declined, and it has to cede territory and pay reparations to the Qin state every year. Its territory is pitifully small, not even as large as a single prefecture of the Qin state!

Under such circumstances, failing to seize the opportunity to destroy Han in one fell swoop would be a missed opportunity.

The matter of destroying a country is no small matter.

At least one suitable reason is needed—a suitable reason sufficient to destroy a country.

This prevented the other five countries from being provoked enough to unite and launch a full-scale attack, even though they disapproved.

This would also give the Qin Dynasty a buffer period to recuperate and digest the land.

To achieve this effect, the reason must not only make South Korea feel particularly guilty, but also make the other five countries feel uneasy.

In this way, they could come up with a common shield: even if they destroyed Han, they would only be grateful for quelling Qin's anger, rather than feeling uneasy.

He originally intended to handle the matter personally after returning from Qi, but now that his trip has been delayed, he might not be able to make it in time. So he decided to entrust it to his brother Gu'an so that he could prepare in advance.

"What mischief are you up to now?" Li Si asked warily, looking at Zhou Wenqing who had suddenly fallen silent.

"What do you mean by 'bad water'?"

Zhou Wenqing was speechless. He stepped forward, put his arm around Li Si's shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and whispered with a hint of slyness.

"Brother Gu'an, now that you have seen this Sin Mountain, you should know that the craft workshop is just a facade. All the core technologies are here—papermaking, salt production, iron smelting, glassmaking, and so on. They are all hidden in this mountain. What is displayed in the craft workshop are just semi-finished products. They will be processed and then transported to the Department of All Things. It's just to fool people."

Li Si's brows twitched slightly upon hearing this. He glanced at the distant furnace fire, then looked back at Zhou Wenqing, his gaze filled with admiration.

No wonder there were stacks of paper piled up in this mountain of sin, but not a single paper umbrella or folding fan; charcoal stones piled up like mountains, but no honeycomb briquettes, which were easier to burn, were found. It turned out that the core technology and the secrets to the finished product were all hidden in this secret place, and he never revealed a word of them.

Zicheng's meticulous and step-by-step planning was truly extremely thorough.

Zhou Wenqing continued, "I know that the Craftsman's Workshop has been coveted by spies from the six countries, but Mr. Wei Liao's precautions were very strict, which is why they have not succeeded."

"It's good that the defenses are so tight." He paused, lowered his voice even further, and said meaningfully, "However, Wenqing thinks it's possible to let one in, preferably from South Korea, and then..."

"And then, just like you framed the Crown Prince of Yan, catch him red-handed so you can frame the State of Han?" Li Si's eyes lit up, and he immediately chimed in.

"No way!" Zhou Wenqing shook his head and refused, "This kind of petty strife has not caused any real losses. In the end, it will only force South Korea to send another envoy to cede territory and pay reparations to apologize. It is not worth it for me to go to such great lengths to set up this scheme just for such a small gain."

"Then what do you want to do?" Li Si's brows furrowed again.

Zhou Wenqing leaned even closer, almost whispering, "What I mean is—put something real in the craft workshop and let him steal it, like... papermaking."

Li Si's gaze sharpened, his pupils contracting slightly: "You mean, deliberately let him succeed?" He paused, lowering his voice even further, "Then... should we give him the real thing?"

"It has to be real." Zhou Wenqing nodded, his tone firm. Seeing Li Si's expression change, he quickly smiled and pressed down on his arm. "But Brother Gu'an, don't panic."

"If we're talking about ways to make money, our Great Qin has long since moved beyond just papermaking. Besides, once I show Brother Gu'an the art of printing, you'll understand that papermaking is just the foundation, while printing is the finishing touch. The two complement each other to become powerful tools for education and communication. Even if they steal back the papermaking technique, it won't matter."

Upon hearing this, Li Si's tense expression eased slightly.

When it comes to these ingenious creations, he completely trusts Zhou Wenqing's words without the slightest hesitation, even if he says they surpass things like papermaking, which are worthy of being recorded in history, he still believes it.

After pondering for a moment, Li Si had already grasped the deeper meaning, but he still pressed on, "Even so, giving away the technology to Korea for nothing ultimately strengthens another country. What exactly are you plotting in doing this?"

Zhou Wenqing's lips curled into a smile as he slowly opened his mouth and revealed his entire scheme:

"South Korea is weak and is used to playing both sides among the states. It stole the papermaking technology, but dares not use it alone, yet is unwilling to give it up. If we let Mr. Wei Liao give it another push, it will surely be secretly distributed to Zhao, Wei, Chu, and Qi, in an attempt to win over the five states and confuse the public."

However, each of the five countries harbored its own selfish motives; they would only secretly rejoice upon acquiring the skills and would never genuinely cooperate with Korea.

He paused, his tone turning colder: "At that time, we will point the finger at South Korea and hold them accountable for stealing the technology and treason. The five countries already have their own agendas, and seeing that we only question South Korea and not the others, and that the papermaking technology has already been obtained and is difficult to take back, in order to gain this advantage and appease Qin's anger, they will definitely scramble to distance themselves from South Korea, and even speak out against it."

"With Han isolated and helpless, it would be perfectly justifiable for us to send troops to attack. The other five states would only stand by and watch, and would never dare to form an alliance against Qin. In this way, we could eliminate Han without any worries about the rear. The new land south of the Zhang River could also be integrated with Qin territory along with Han, and be steadily assimilated."