Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

At Li Yi's command, the entire delegation acted swiftly. The elite guards moved quickly, preparing the carriages and tightening their armor. In less than half an incense stick's time, the group was fully prepared and quietly broke camp, slowly heading towards Hangu Pass.

So far, things have gone smoothly.

As dawn broke through the thin mist, more and more merchants and travelers appeared on the official road in front of the pass. The scene was exactly the same as the scene reported by the scouts, with nothing unusual about it.

After entering the pass, everything was calm and peaceful. The guards checked the royal seal and the passage documents and then respectfully let them pass. The whole process was smooth and unimpeded.

Li Si breathed a sigh of relief.

At least... it wasn't an ambush from both sides.

Indeed, how could such a strategic pass as Hangu Pass, the throat of the Qin Dynasty, be easily infiltrated and ambushed by treacherous villains?

After traveling for most of the day, the city gate of Hangu Pass gradually receded into the distance behind us, the road ahead narrowed, the mountains on both sides suddenly converged, and the forests became increasingly dense—the Xiaoshan Road was approaching.

Li Yi rode at the head of the group, one hand firmly holding the reins, the other resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, constantly scanning the towering cliffs on both sides, a chill inexplicably rising in his heart.

wrong……

It's so quiet!

His gaze swept over the groves of trees, so dense that they blocked out the sun, and he heard hardly a bird call.

His heart tightened suddenly, and he immediately reined in his horse and stopped, raising his arm sharply to signal the whole team to halt their advance.

Immediately, someone stepped forward and whispered, "Commander, should we order the entire army to halt for now and send scouts forward to carefully explore the area?"

Li Yi shook his head.

This is the only feasible path we must take, no matter what. Exploring other paths would only waste time and divert manpower, and would be utterly pointless.

Perhaps... we could do it all at the same time.

"Order the whole team to speed up, put on their armor, nock their bows and crossbows, and send an additional group of scouts to the left and right flanks to search along the ridge. If anyone is found, do not engage in battle, but sound the alarm with arrows."

"promise!"

He spurred his horse lightly and relayed the order to the rear. The troops moved silently, armor clanging softly, bowstrings taut, and a tense atmosphere filled the air, ready to erupt at any moment.

Zhou Wenqing was awakened by a sharp whistle.

He was already sleeping restlessly, in a state between dreaming and waking, like struggling in deep water, unable to surface. The whistle was like a red-hot needle, suddenly piercing his consciousness.

His heart suddenly clenched, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand. He abruptly opened his eyes, only to be met with the swaying roof of the car and the dim light.

"Sir! Watch out!"

Fusu's voice was right beside him, sharp and filled with barely suppressed panic.

The boy gripped Zhou Wenqing's wrist tightly with one hand, while his other hand rested on the hilt of a short sword that he had somehow acquired. His fingertips trembled slightly as he prepared to draw the sword.

"Don't move."

Zhou Wenqing didn't have time to think. Almost instinctively, he lunged forward, leaning half his body forward and pressing his hand on Fusu's hand, forcefully pushing the sword, which hadn't even been drawn an inch, back into its sheath.

"Zheng—"

A crisp, metallic clang rang out as the sword struck its scabbard, the sound particularly jarring and startling in the cramped carriage.

"Do not use weapons that are not suitable for you, or you will only hurt yourself first."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly realized his heart was pounding—thump, thump, like a drum, each beat bringing a dull pain, making his eardrums buzz, so fast it didn't feel like his own, as if it would break down and stop abruptly at any moment.

That lunge had almost drained him of all his remaining strength. Cold sweat trickled down his temples, past his cheekbones, and dripped onto his clothes, leaving a small, dark, damp stain. The light red color on his face, which had been flushed from the fever, vanished in an instant, leaving him as pale as paper.

But he couldn't care less at that moment.

Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted outside the carriage, like thunder rolling down the mountainside.

Almost simultaneously, there was also Li's hoarse roar:

"Falling rocks! Rolling logs! Protect the eldest son and Zhou Neishi!"

The shouts still echoed through the valley when the carriage suddenly began to shake violently, as if it were about to be thrown off course.

The wheels rolled over the gravel, and the vehicle suddenly tilted to one side, the hard interior wall of the carriage slamming hard against Zhou Wenqing's back.

"Well……"

He was already weak and frail due to a cold and fever, and his internal organs were already in a state of disarray. This heavy blow made his vision go black and a metallic taste rose in his throat. But he could only endure the excruciating pain, let out a muffled groan, and pulled Fusu next to him into his arms, pressing him down in the safest corner inside the carriage.

Fortunately, the carriage was covered with thick soft cushions and brocade quilts, so even though the carriage was shaking, no hard objects flew out and injured anyone, thus avoiding the pain of being bumped and knocked.

Outside, there was a cacophony of noise: the muffled thuds of rolling stones, the whistling of arrows piercing the air, the shouts and screams of soldiers, and the crisp sounds of metal clashing together.

The originally well-organized team was slightly thrown into disarray by the falling rocks, but half of the guards still bravely gathered around the carriage, raising their shields and forming a layered formation to protect the carriage in the center.

"Close the shields! Don't panic!"

Li Yi's voice pierced through the noise, carrying a chilling and resolute certainty:

"Archers, fire upwards to suppress the bandits on the ridge! The remaining soldiers, hold the chariot and do not yield an inch!"

Fortunately, the scouts sent out earlier noticed the ambush in time and sounded the alarm with arrows. This not only allowed them to discover the hiding place of the ambush troops on the ridge early on, but also prevented the convoy from completely entering the ambush set up by the bandits. This gave everyone room to regroup and fight back, and prevented them from becoming lambs to the slaughter.

Once the order was given, the archers in the guard immediately drew their bows and shot arrows. The bowstrings rang out in unison, and a dense rain of arrows, accompanied by a strong wind, whistled and flew towards the cliffs on both sides.

Stones and wood collided violently with the cascading arrows in mid-air, sparks flying. Broken arrows and arrowheads clattered and fell to the ground, suppressing the ambush troops on the ridge and temporarily halting the mountain's offensive. This gave the precarious mission a brief respite.

The carriage continued to jolt. Zhou Wenqing gripped the seat beneath him tightly, his back pressed against the trembling carriage wall. He barely managed to keep his balance with sheer willpower. Cold sweat poured from his forehead and slid down his chin. His vision blurred and his eyes were spinning. He felt his strength rapidly draining away.

Taking advantage of this brief moment of peace, he forced himself to stay conscious, reached into his robes with one hand, pulled out the ceramic bottle, bit off the cork with his teeth, and without even counting the number of pills, knocked out a handful, stuffed them into his mouth, chewed them a couple of times, and swallowed them.

The guards were ultimately few in number. Even if they fought to the death, their arrows would eventually run out, and their manpower would eventually be exhausted. How could they withstand the rolling rocks and falling trees that rained down from the mountaintop?

With a crisp "crack," a huge boulder was deflected by the shield array, but it grazed the corner of the carriage's roof. The already shaky carriage, nearly falling apart, groaned under the strain, and a thin crack appeared in the wooden wall, clearly on the verge of collapse.

"Fusu".

Zhou Wenqing swallowed hard, his voice still hoarse, but as steady as a stake driven into the wind.

"This carriage won't last much longer. I'll count to three, then you'll jump with me. Don't be afraid, the master is here."

"yes!"

Fusu gritted his teeth and nodded forcefully, his face full of determination, with no fear in his eyes, quietly waiting for Zhou Wenqing's command.

Zhou Wenqing squinted and focused his gaze, searching for a place to stand. He managed to find a spot amidst the flesh and armor, the rocks and logs, and pulled Fusu to his feet, facing the carriage curtain that had already been torn off.

"three--"

"two--"

"Boom!"

The chariot, meticulously crafted at Ying Zheng's personal command, shattered into pieces under the impact of the rolling stones and was crushed into a mud pit. The hind legs of the two fine horses also sank into the pit, neighing mournfully. Even an exhausted soldier beside them was crushed underneath. Wood chips, fragments of armor, and blood and mud were mixed together, a gruesome sight too painful to behold.

"gentlemen--!"

"Zhou Neishi—!"

"Zhou Neishi has been attacked! Protect the eldest son!"