Chapter 161: The six directions united under one wind, the nine provinces joined by one bond!

Ten years is by no means a short span of time.

It was enough for the once-young Qin Wang to grow into a man.

Regrettably, even though Qin Wang had grown into a man, what Wang Jian harvested was only deep disappointment.

This Qin Wang, seemingly because his late father passed away early and he was raised by women, possessed a weak character and did not resemble a ruler of men. Not only did he leave all affairs of the court to be decided by Chancellor Lu Buwei, but in order to please his mother, he even enfeoffed the eunuch Lao Ai as Marquis of Changxin, granting him Shanyang Commandery as his fief, and further bestowing upon him the commanderies of Hexi and Taiyuan as his private lands.

To grant such extraordinary honors to a eunuch, even if that eunuch was a confidant of the Empress Dowager.

But for a general like Wang Jian, who had followed Bai Qi from the lowest ranks of foot soldiers and climbed to high office step by step through military merit, this was a tremendous insult.

What merit did Lao Ai have? How could he be enfeoffed as a Marquis!

Although the stated reason for enfeoffing Lao Ai was his merit in serving the Empress Dowager, in Wang Jian's view, such a reason was clearly insufficient to convince the masses.

In the final analysis, it was because that Qin Wang, raised by women, was weak, incompetent, and lacked the slightest bit of independent judgment.

Had he not been incompetent, one year ago, Lord Chang'an Chengjiao would not have chosen to rebel and incite chaos.

Lord Chang'an, perhaps precisely because he saw this point and felt unwilling to submit, took such actions. Regrettably, the matter of Lord Chang'an's rebellion ultimately failed.

Wang Jian did not have much of a reaction to the failure and death of Chengjiao's rebellion, but he still saw one thing from this event.

That was that even Chengjiao, the Qin Wang's own younger brother, had become disappointed in him.

At the thought of the Qin Guo being led for many more years by such an incompetent Qin Wang, and then thinking of the failures in Qin's military campaigns over these years, Wang Jian grew increasingly furious.

He absolutely would not allow the many territories and cities that Lord Wuan had conquered through his southern and northern campaigns for the Qin Guo to be handed back to the Six States of Shandong once again.

Yes, although he held a grudge against Qin Zhaowang for ordering the death of Lord Wuan, he had no complaints whatsoever regarding the Qin Guo itself.

On the contrary, he looked forward to the day when Qin's might would awe the world more than anyone else.

This was not only his own long-cherished wish, but also the long-cherished wish of Lord Wuan before his death.

However, in the hands of such a Qin Wang, all Wang Jian saw was despair.

Since he could see no hope at all.

Since the Qin Wang was so incompetent, then for the sake of the Qin Guo, he did not mind... replacing the Qin Wang.

In the past, when King Zhaowang's predecessor passed away early and King Zhaowang ascended the throne, the Qin Guo's might shook the world from that point on, suppressing the Six States of Shandong for several decades.

Although Wang Jian had grievances against King Zhaowang, he had never questioned King Zhaowang's ability.

And because there was such a precedent, he began to pin his hopes on the next King.

Therefore, when the person in the shadows handed him this blade, he resolutely grasped it in his hand.

Back when the late King passed away, the great general of the army, Meng Ao, had already died several years ago, and Pao Gong's health was also gradually failing; now, he was plagued by serious illness and it was clear he would not live much longer.

Of the three, only he could still lead troops into battle.

But Wang Jian also understood that he, too, was old and could not hold on for many more years.

In the final moments of his life, although he could not see the day when Qin's might would awe the world, he also did not want to see the Qin Guo decline just like that.

His feelings for this country were deeper than anyone else's!

After these thoughts flashed by, Wang Jian's gaze turned cold once more. "Who are you? Why should I know you?"

Hearing such treasonous words, Gainie was about to make his stance known and reprimand Wang Jian.

Li Si's heart also grew increasingly heavy.

Even after the King revealed his identity, it had not changed Wang Jian's determination, which meant Wang Jian had already decided to walk this path to the end.

Seeing Ying Zheng's expression was also solemn, but ultimately he did not fly into a rage out of shame. To be precise, he had actually been suppressing the anger in his heart, and the reason he was so restrained was because of the words Su Xuan had spoken earlier, which made him understand the purpose behind Wang Jian's actions.

"General Wang Jian, does Lord Wuan know you are doing this?"

Seeing Ying Zheng looked at Wang Jian, spoke abruptly, and asked a question.

Hearing the familiar title "Lord Wuan," Wang Jian finally lost his composure. Lord Wuan held an unusual significance for him, but because Lord Wuan had been ordered to die by King Zhaowang, ever since King Zhaowang, the successive Qin Kings had held no sympathy for him.

Because to sympathize with Lord Wuan was equivalent to denying King Zhaowang's actions and believing that what King Zhaowang did was wrong.

"What are you trying to say?" Wang Jian's voice was cold; he was forcibly restraining his emotions.

Seeing Ying Zheng said in a deep voice: "Whether King Zhaowang's decision to order Lord Wuan's death was right or wrong, it has been a long time, and it is not easy for me to judge; besides, King Zhaowang was the late King."

"What I want to say is that the things Lord Wuan did not complete, the great cause King Zhaowang did not complete, from now on, I will complete them for them!"

Seeing Ying Zheng organized his words and spoke of a concept he had heard from Su Xuan during their conversation on the way out of the State of Han.

"The six directions united under one wind, the nine provinces joined by one bond; destroy the Six States of Shandong, establish a dynasty unprecedented in history, and make the world—settled as one!"

Upon hearing these words, Wang Jian's aged body trembled slightly.

Seeing Ying Zheng revealed the ambition in his heart, which could not help but move him.

In the past, although Lord Wuan campaigned against the Six States and plundered many cities and lands from them, bringing the Qin Guo to an unprecedented height of prosperity, he had never thought of destroying the Six States.

Or rather, things like destroying the Six States and unifying the world.

Were still too far away for them.

They only thought of continuously weakening the Six States, plundering land from them, and subsequently strengthening the Qin Guo.

Seeing Ying Zheng's words allowed him to see a clearer path and a greater ambition.

This was an aspiration even more magnificent than that of King Zhaowang or Lord Wuan.

Wang Jian was nearly swayed by Seeing Ying Zheng, but soon, he forcibly cooled his heart again. "It sounds nice, but accomplishing this is not so easy."

"Do you have the ability?"

"Since you ascended the throne, although there have been some gains in Qin's foreign wars, they are ultimately not as good as in the time of King Zhaowang, and you have even suffered failures several times... I won't even mention those; even your own younger brother chose to betray you!"

"This is enough to prove that in his eyes, you are an incompetent person!"

Wang Jian's words were cold and very direct; however, Seeing Ying Zheng did not become angry because of it. At this point, Wang Jian finally acknowledged that he was the Qin Wang. ===== CHAPTER 163 =====