Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Gu Xun replied generously, "That's about right."

"Then how long will we drift?" Ehuang became excited instantly. "Ying Zheng is already several dozen years old, but he doesn't look much older than you. He must have lived for at least a dozen years!"

"First of all, I have to correct something. Ying Zheng doesn't just look a few years older than me. In fact, he is not a few years older than me." Gu Xun first corrected the mistakes in the other party's words.

Then he continued, "As for how long he can live... After all, he is an elder of the Yin-Yang family. Didn't Yun Zhongjun mention Ying Zheng's physical condition to you?"

"I'm not familiar with him, why is he telling me this?" Ehuang asked back with a roll of her eyes.

Gu Xun smiled and could accept this.

The sisters Ehuang and Nvying live a very secluded life on weekdays because of the Yin-Yang magic they practiced and their own personalities.

Not to mention others, even the Moon Goddess, who was their direct superior, rarely communicated with them.

It is normal not to know Ying Zheng’s current situation.

"It's okay if you don't know. Just keep waiting." Gu Xun replied leisurely, "I don't think it will take too long... at least much shorter than you think."

………………

In Xianyang, Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng's bedroom, he was lying on the bed with a grim expression.

Zhao Gao stood aside with his hands behind his back, his head lowered, not daring to make any sound.

Just now, he served Ying Zheng a pill made by Yun Zhongjun. The purpose was naturally to treat... or suppress Ying Zheng's physical discomfort.

Since the unification of the country and the establishment of the empire, Emperor Ying Zheng's health has been deteriorating, and no doctor can do anything about it - including Gu Xun, who is unable to cure the root cause in a way that satisfies Ying Zheng.

Fortunately, there are still some ways to treat the symptoms and help Ying Zheng temporarily relieve his physical discomfort.

But as Ying Zheng's physical condition continued to deteriorate, there were fewer and fewer ways to help him relieve his discomfort.

To this day, there are only three people who can help him - Gu Xun and Nian Duan's medical skills, and Yun Zhongjun's elixirs.

Pills have always been used by Ying Zheng for emergency situations. If possible, his best choice is to find Gu Xun.

Unfortunately, Gu Xun is gone now, and he can only rely on the power of the elixir.

Of course, he would not ignore Nian Duan, the assistant of the medical master, but...

In the dead silence, a eunuch led Nian Duan into the bedroom.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Nian Duan simply bowed to the emperor in a cold manner.

Ying Zheng didn't care about it.

Nian Duan is just like this, he treats almost everyone the same, it's not directed at him.

Ying Zheng... or anyone with a normal mind would be very tolerant of the miracle doctor. After all, Nian Duan didn't clamor to open his head.

"Thank you, Master Nian Duan." Although he tried his best to maintain the dignity of the emperor, Ying Zheng's voice still revealed weakness.

Nian Duan was being polite while moving closer to Ying Zheng to examine him without any hesitation.

The method of mind-checking is not just a simple pulse taking, but a whole set of procedures, including pupils, tongue, heartbeat, breathing and other aspects.

After a complete set of examinations, Ying Zheng was exhausted.

Nian Duan shook his head at Ying Zheng with a heavy face, "Your Majesty, your physical condition has deteriorated to a new stage. Ordinary medical methods are no longer effective..."

Upon hearing this news, Ying Zheng's expression remained unchanged, as if he was not the one who was going to die. He replied calmly:

"Master, is there nothing you can do?"

Nian Duan explained after hearing this, "There are still some usable medicines, but they are not much different from directly taking the pills contributed by the Yin-Yang family."

"If Your Majesty feels that the Yin-Yang family's elixir is not effective enough, it can be used as a substitute."

"Besides..."

Nian Duan shook his head again, and then changed his words:

"Taking medicine is the worst option. I suggest that Your Majesty should rest more in the near future. When Gu Xun comes back... it will be much easier."

Nian Duan couldn't stand what Ying Zheng did, and could even be said to hate it, but as a doctor, she would not have any reservations towards her patients.

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, "I understand... Zhao Gao, please send the master off for me."

When Zhao Gao heard that there was work to do, he immediately perked up from his sleep while standing, and said to Nian Duan with a smile:
"Master Nian Duan, please!"

"If Your Majesty needs anything, please send someone to find me at any time." After Nian Duan said a few polite words, he followed Zhao Gao away.

Ying Zheng was the only one left in the room. He had been trying hard to hold back his coughing, but finally he couldn't help but started coughing violently.

After a violent coughing fit, Ying Zheng's originally pale face turned red, but fortunately he did not cough up blood.

He covered his chest, gasping violently, his eyes full of pain and madness.

The worse his physical condition deteriorated, the more intense and overwhelming his desire for immortality became.

He understood all the difficulties and troubles the empire was facing now, but he didn't care, and couldn't care.

For him, the most important thing now is to keep himself alive!
If he dies, no matter what happens in the world, it has nothing to do with him!

………………

In the north, there is the Fushi City in Shangjun.

"Mr. Han Fei, there is news from Xianyang that the emperor's northern tour convoy set out yesterday."

At Han Fei's home, Mo Ya, dressed in black, reported to him.

Han Fei looked at the intelligence on the tribes in the northern grasslands and replied with a smile without looking up, "I know."

"Sorry to bother you. I just came back and didn't even have time to rest."

"It's my job." Mo Ya responded humbly.

"Where is Brother Chen Ping? Has he rested enough?" Han Fei asked.

Mo Ya pursed his lips, looking like he was smiling, "Mr. Chen Ping... Anyway, I haven't seen him show up, so he should still be recuperating at home."

A few days ago, Chen Ping and Mo Ya, who had been "exiled" to the far north, and Li Zuoche and Sima Shang, who had gone out to assist in the war, all returned.

Liusha is now gathering all its strength. Not only are the grassroots personnel being gathered, but the top leaders also need to gather.

The wolf tribe was severely damaged by Meng Tian, ​​and the situation in the north was temporarily stabilized.

Of course, the loss suffered by the wolf tribe this time was far less serious than when they were tricked by Li Mu that year. The wolf tribe's vitality was not completely destroyed, and they still had the ability to devour many tribes on the grassland.

For example, the Donghu tribe.

The Wolf Clan, which had suffered a great loss in the Central Plains, was seeking compensation from the Donghu and was accelerating their encroachment on the Donghu tribe in order to recover their losses.

By now the King of Donghu had fully reacted and understood the danger posed by the wolf tribe, but Donghu was no longer able to resist the wolf tribe.

He couldn't even fight against the wolf tribe that had just been crippled by the empire.

At the same time, the wolf tribe did not stop their invasion of the Yuezhi Kingdom.

It has to be said that the Yuezhi Kingdom was very lacking in martial virtues and the battles they fought were hard to describe.

Sima Shang and Li Zuoche have a say in this regard. For Liusha, giving up all strategies for the northern grasslands at this time will undoubtedly help the wolf tribe to regain its strength and even grow further.

But things have their priorities.

For Liusha, all the arrangements made on the grassland can only slow down the development of the wolf tribe.

Before the situation in the Central Plains changes sufficiently, Liusha does not have the real power to defeat the wolf tribe.

And now, a dramatic change is about to happen in the Central Plains, so Liusha will naturally focus here first.

As for the wolf tribe... we can only leave them alone for now.

Anyway, no matter how smoothly they develop, it will take at least ten years for them to grow strong enough to threaten the Central Plains.

As for the changes in the empire, they will probably only happen within a year or so.

Hearing Mo Ya's answer, Han Fei nodded and said, "Okay, let him rest for two more days."

Rest, Chen Ping must have had enough rest. He has been hiding from people just because he is being lazy.

But Han Fei had no intention of making a fuss about it.

Life on the grassland was undoubtedly very painful for the people in the Central Plains.

Chen Ping had been in the north for a year and had been tortured terribly. When he came back that day, Han Fei and the others almost didn't recognize him.

Having endured so much hardship and made enough contributions, Chen Ping naturally wanted to take a break for a while - he certainly wanted to make more and greater contributions, but in this case, too much is as bad as too little.

Take a break, it's good for him and for others too.

Besides, now is not the time for an expert in espionage like him to show his abilities.

Han Fei felt that it didn't matter whether Chen Ping took a break or not. Since Chen Ping was willing, he naturally had nothing to say.

"In that case, let Brother Chen Ping continue to rest." Han Fei put down the intelligence in his hand, "For the next period of time, Brother Mo Ya will take Bai Feng with Xiao He and Cao Shen to deal with the hidden dangers in various places."

"The emperor is coming, we have to give him some face and clean up."

"I understand." Mo Ya accepted the task first, then asked hesitantly, "Should we inform the eldest master about this matter?"

"Of course." Han Fei nodded. "The specific arrangements are up to you."

Hearing this, Mo Ya's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything.

He had just returned and only had a preliminary understanding of what happened in the Central Plains, but the destruction of Xiaoshengxianzhuang would obviously become his primary focus.

Without even thinking about it carefully, he found it difficult to imagine what Han Fei's attitude towards the imperial court and Emperor Ying Zheng was now.

At the same time, what kind of attitude Han Fei would have towards the eldest prince Fusu, the son of Ying Zheng, is another big question.

Although everything seemed peaceful at the moment, he was really afraid that something might happen.

The key point is that Gu Xun, the stabilizing force, is not here, and Mo Ya is caught in the middle, feeling unsure at all.

If something happened, who would he help?
In principle, the Crow will definitely not help either side, but many times, whether you can sit on the fence or not does not depend on whether you want to or not.

What's even more terrible is that at the critical moment when Xiaoshengxianzhuang was destroyed, problems arose within Liusha, and Gu Xun disappeared, the emperor suddenly came to the north for inspection.

If he found out what Liusha was doing, it would not only trigger a conflict between Liusha and the Empire, but also lead to conflicts within Liusha...

With a heart full of worry, Mo Ya walked out of Han Fei's room.

Outside, Bai Feng was leaning against the wall with her arms folded, waiting for him.

"You seem to have a lot of concerns?" Bai Feng spoke first

"Is there something wrong with my expression?" Mo Ya asked back with a wry smile, touching the corner of his mouth.

"Others may not be able to see it, but I can't hide it." Bai Feng replied coolly, "Did you receive any troublesome mission?"

"It doesn't matter whether the mission is troublesome or not. What's troublesome is the human heart." Mo Ya said as he pulled Bai Feng away from here, "Let's go and get to work."

………………

As Ying Zheng's northern tour began, the attention of the major forces in the world finally shifted away from the farmers.

Everyone's attention was focused on the north, waiting for the clash between the imperial court and the emperor.

The thirty-sixth year of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s reign, early June.

Ying Zheng's northern tour convoy entered Taiyuan County.

At this point, you have officially stepped into the sphere of influence of the Quicksand.

After years of governance by Fusu and Liusha, the North, which was originally sparsely populated and short of resources, has become much richer.

Of course, Taiyuan County is quite special and is not considered a northern border area in the strict sense. After all, it is surrounded by several counties such as Shangjun and Yanmen County.

As the core of the Three Jins, Taiyuan County was already much richer than other counties in the north. It was also the region that benefited the most from the vigorous development of Liusha, and was no worse than Guanzhong, Hedong, and Hexi.

Ying Zheng was naturally very satisfied with this.

Of course, he also had some areas that he was not satisfied with.

Liusha and Fusu had too much influence on Taiyuan, or on the entire north.

In Jinyang City, the common people seemed to only know the eldest prince and had no idea of ​​the emperor's intention. Even the local officials could not stop mentioning the words "eldest prince Fusu" in their words.

Ying Zheng handed over the governance of the North to Fusu many years ago, so he understood and accepted the influence of the North.

But as an emperor, there was a limit to what he could accept, and the North... at least Taiyuan had exceeded this limit.

Moreover, his keen political sense told him that there might be many more dangerous problems hidden behind the local officials.

………………

In Jinyang city, Ying Zheng's temporary residence.

As the largest and most prosperous city among the northern counties, Jinyang prepared a luxurious manor for the emperor's visit.

This is an old manor that has existed for decades, and its origin can be traced back to a great nobleman of the State of Zhao.

After several twists and turns, it has no owner now and is considered to be owned by the imperial court.

After the local government of Jinyang stepped up a wave of renovations, the palace was decorated in a decent manner and was barely acceptable for entertaining the emperor.

So when Ying Zheng entered the city, he rarely did not live directly in the carriage.

In Ying Zheng's temporary study and office, Zhao Gao stood at the bottom and reported to his superiors respectfully:

"According to what I have found so far, in the past year, a large amount of materials have been transported to and from Jinyang, Taiyuan, and the entire Northland."

"The transportation of these materials seems to have been taken care of by local governments and has been strictly protected and blocked. Outsiders know very little about this and don't know where they belong to or what specific materials they are."

"You haven't found out what it is? Whose it is?" Ying Zheng asked indifferently.

Zhao Gao quickly replied with a smile, "Your Majesty, I sent someone to get some information from some local officials in Jinyang."

"They said that most of those things were ordered by the eldest son to help them transport, and they were mostly supplies such as food and clothing."

"It is said that the eldest prince was concerned about the bitter cold winters in the north. In recent years, the north has been frequently harassed by prairie wolves. In winter, many people suffer from disasters and hunger and cold. Therefore, he stockpiled a large amount of supplies in advance to provide relief to those in need." (End of this chapter)