I am not a seventh-generation descendant of Lord Wu'an from the Qin Dynasty.

Bai Qi watched the lively scene unfold, then quietly withdrew from the high platform, concealing his achievements and fame.

He walked to Lü Buwei's side and quietly handed him a bamboo slip concerning the inspection of military affairs at Shanglin Garden.

"Is Bai Qizi preparing to train eight hundred Iron Eagle Warriors for the King?"

Bai Qi didn't answer, because Lü Buwei's ashen face after opening the bamboo slip said it all.

"Bai Qizi, there's no problem with replacing a thousand sets of Iron Eagle Warrior armor under the guise of replacing the damaged ones."

"Using three thousand sets to select qualified soldiers is not a problem, but what you wrote on it..."

"Bearing three stones of weight, traveling a hundred miles a day, with a thousand fine steeds, used for daily training and combat."

"These are the finest warhorses from Longxi, and you're just giving them to these brutes for mounted combat training?"

Bai Qi: "Hmm!"

"Huh?" Lü Buwei said angrily, "And this, four meals a day, meat at every meal, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and fine clothes for spring and autumn, are you fucking supporting your father?"

Bai Qi tilted his head and glanced at him sideways, "As the Marquis Wenxin of my Great Qin, Prime Minister Lü, is it that you are unwilling to even allow His Majesty to possess a mere thousand elite soldiers?"

"you?"

"Prime Minister Lü, hurry! The King may be able to wait, but these future elite guards of Shanglin may not!"

"And these specially recruited weapon-making and crossbow-forging craftsmen, night-fighting scouts, intelligence agents, assassins..."

Lu Buwei's voice suddenly lowered as he suddenly remembered that Bai Qi still had an elite Black Ice Guard assassin team and a construction workshop.

Was this premeditated, or a pretext for a warning?

"If you don't provide the Black Ice Guard with intelligence, then they'll build their own."

For a moment, Lü Buwei felt that the half of the black ice token in his arms was extremely hot to the touch.

Bai Qi smiled mysteriously, "This is still a secret that can't be told. Prime Minister Lü, just pay the money."

Despite his heart-wrenching pain, Lü Buwei silently ordered his men to open the Qin state treasury.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi had already arrived beside a middle-aged Iron Eagle Warrior from the Qin Kingdom and extended his hand.

"Would Bai Qi have the honor of borrowing his uncle's armor for the new recruits of Shanglin Garden for a three-day trial?"

The middle-aged Qin soldier looked at him with surprise. "Bai Qizi is also going to Yongcheng in three days?"

Bai Qi's gaze was earnest. "I lost my family at a young age and was fortunate enough to gain fame in the Taihang Mountains. I am not skilled in military strategy, so I can only lead by example and be the first to charge into battle!"

"For a general to be like this is enough!"

The middle-aged Qin Ruishi decisively removed his armor, saying, "These new recruits are fortunate to have you as their general."

"It's fortunate that Bai Qi can become one of them." Bai Qi's eyes were sincere, and he laughed wildly in his heart.

"Rejoice! Be glad! From this day forward, all the generals and talents of Qin will be at our mercy!"

The middle-aged Qin soldier removed his armor and handed it over with both hands, as if it were some kind of succession.

"Wang Ben, from Pingyang East Township!"

Bai Qi was taken aback for a moment, but fortunately he had seen many familiar names recently, and subconsciously cupped his hands in a bow.

"Tian County, Bai Qi!"

Bai Qi took the set of Iron Eagle Warrior armor with both hands and looked at it with curiosity. It symbolized the pinnacle of the Qin army.

Perhaps sensing his unfamiliarity, Wang Ben did not leave, but instead explained and helped him put on his clothes.

"You are still young and thin, so you can skip removing your outer silk robe. First, wear leather armor, then bronze breastplate, and finally iron plate outer armor."

"The helmet has a steel visor that can be pushed up or pulled down to cover the face, providing protection against stray arrows on the battlefield."

"Needless to say, the long and short daggers were mostly crafted by Master Qin, made of copper-iron alloy, and were incomparably sharp."

"In close combat, one can use a three-meter-long halberd to hook and peck, or a longsword to slash and thrust, a broadsword for close-quarters melee, a dagger to the neck, and a leather shield to defend against enemy arrows."

"There is also a crossbow with a draw weight of twelve stones, which is drawn by pushing the rope loop at the top of the crossbow arm with your foot."

"The Wei crossbow is different from the Qin and Han crossbows. The draw weight calculation is halved, which is equivalent to the draw weight of six stones of Qin and Han crossbows, with a maximum range of 360 paces."

"However, this depends on factors such as wind speed, timing, and the condition of the crossbow. Even for ordinary Qin soldiers, 240 paces is already their limit."

"Therefore, in every battle, Qin crossbows often utilized wind power, enabling teams to conduct long-range, clustered attacks!"

Wang Ben seemed to be in a great mood for conversation, or perhaps he had a very good impression of him, because he started talking non-stop.

Seeing that Bai Qi was dressed neatly and ready to go, Wang Ben patted him on the shoulder and sighed.

"Do not disgrace the name of Lord Wu'an!"

Bai Qi nodded vigorously, "Definitely!"

The war drums of the Lishan camp resounded with a thunderous boom.

Bai Qi, dressed in the standard black armor of the Qin elite soldiers, carrying a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, strode to the registration desk and shouted, "Bai Qi, register at Shanglin!"

Bai Qi's personal appearance naturally caused a stir.

It's one thing for those in power to shout slogans, but the greatest shock comes when the grandson of Lord Wu'an actually appears before everyone in Qin armor, intending to compete with ordinary Qin soldiers.

For a moment, Old Qin felt a surge of emotion in his chest, as if he had seen that familiar figure return.

As luck would have it, the person standing in front of him was Wang Ben's son, Wang Li.

He quickly wrote down Bai Qi's name, took a wooden tag with a special number, hung it around Bai Qi's neck, and quickly reported back.

"Five thousand people have already signed up for Shanglin Garden, while Qin Ruishi only has more than three thousand sets of armor. There is a rest stop every fifty li along the way to replenish salt water and eat dry rations."

He carried a ration bag enough for three days and a water bladder, both hanging around his neck.

"Take care on your journey!"

Bai Qi grinned and said, "I'll be waiting for you in Yongcheng!"

At this moment, the second drum sounded.

Under the eager gazes of all the Qin soldiers and civilians in the Lishan camp, Bai Qi jogged all the way to the camp gate.

There, a vast number of future recruits and elite soldiers of Shanglin Garden had already gathered.

At a glance, there were at least a thousand people.

These are the first wave of applicants for the Shanglin Garden Trial, and also his future companions who will share life and death with him.

Bai Qi silently jogged to the last line of the group and stood still, waiting for the third drumbeat.

soon.

He had just stopped at the end of the line, with only two or three people in front and behind him, and had barely caught his breath when he heard the loud thumping of war drums in his ears.

The person at the front shouted and strode into the night, where bonfires burned on both sides.

It was like the sound of a bugle call; without the need for passionate words of encouragement, everyone was saying their final goodbye to their past selves.

"Charge! For wealth and status!"

"I want to be a general!"

"I want to marry ten women with big butts!"

Bai Qi silently closed his mask, began to move his feet at a steady pace, and silently recited in his mind.

"I will control all the armies of the world! I will become the Prime Minister of Qin! I will unify these seven kingdoms!"

"I will forge a magnificent and unprecedented golden age for the Qin Dynasty!"

On the high platform of the Lishan camp, Lü Buwei stood quietly on the stockade wall, shadows looming around him.

"Have you thought it through? If you don't make a decision soon, this young wolf cub will do more than just bite people!"

Lü Buwei's gaze swept calmly over the men in black, and he asked indifferently, "Who are you?"

"Lü Buwei, dwelling on the past is pointless. Your time is running out."

"I am the Prime Minister of Qin, the strongest of the seven kingdoms. What right do you, a bunch of rats hiding in the gutter, have to cooperate with me? Is it just assassination?!"

As soon as Lü Buwei finished speaking, four strange and mysterious blades suddenly appeared behind him. After the clanging of the weapons, the man in black retreated in a fit of rage.

"Lu Buwei, when your destiny fades, someone will come to see you off!"

"A bunch of rats from the gutter!"

A deep, gloomy voice suddenly came from behind Lü Buwei, "Prime Minister, should we send someone to warn Bai Qizi?"

"Hmph, meddling!"

Lu Buwei snorted coldly, turned his head to look at the sunset glow, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

"We're not taking action against him only because of his help in assuming power."

"But if he cannot dodge the cold, poisonous arrows lurking beneath the bright surface of the court and the public, what is the point of saving him?"

"Even the most noble ideals of a dead man are ultimately just a skeleton in a tomb!"

"Heaven abhors fullness, and humanity abhors perfection. Deep affection is short-lived, and extreme wisdom is bound to bring harm. A true gentleman is gentle and refined, like jade."

"Bai Qizi was lustful and promiscuous; though precocious, he died young, and ultimately his lifespan was short!"

"Let him be!"