Chapter 579: A Chance Encounter with Zhang Liang

Xinzheng, the former capital of the Great Han. This was the site of the assassination attempt on the Qin Emperor, though who exactly was sitting inside the palanquin was hard to say.

Qin Mu, accompanied by Wei Zhuang and Zhao Yun, followed the Qin Emperor’s inspection tour.

They knew a great battle would likely erupt in the canyon ahead, and in all probability, Qin Shi Huang would emerge victorious.

However, Qin Mu did not mind saving a few talented individuals.

For instance, Zhang Liang; it was said that this assassination attempt was orchestrated entirely by him.

At night, the Qin Army actually set up camp; they had not entered the canyon!

Clearly, they must have known a battle would take place in the canyon ahead and were preparing to rest and recuperate here.

Qin Mu couldn't sleep that night, so, feeling bored, he went up to the top of the canyon.

"The scenery here is quite nice, isn't it?" A man in brocade robes suddenly appeared behind Qin Mu.

Even Zhao Yun and Wei Zhuang hadn't noticed him!

"I presume you are the wandering swordsman Wei Zhuang!" the man in brocade said, looking at Wei Zhuang's sword.

Wei Zhuang kept one hand on his sword; if the man didn't provide a satisfactory answer, he would be decapitated in the next second!

Yet, the man in brocade acted as if he hadn't seen it and continued speaking to himself.

"You must also be here to assassinate the Qin Emperor. He is truly worthy of being the one who unified the seven kingdoms; I fear he guessed we would come long ago.

What I admire is that he actually dared to come himself." After the man finished speaking, Qin Mu immediately guessed his identity.

With this attire, this tone, and this location—Xinzheng of the Great Han—this person had to be Zhang Liang!

"You must be Zhang Liang. I have no intention of assassinating the Qin Emperor; I am merely here to watch a good show."

Qin Mu smiled as he spoke, which surprised Zhang Liang. He wasn't surprised that the man guessed his identity, but rather that the man wasn't here to assassinate the Qin Emperor.

Not here to assassinate the Qin Emperor, just looking at the scenery? Could he be one of Qin Shi Huang's men?

Thinking of this, Zhang Liang placed his hand behind his back. He was not just a scholar; he was also skilled in swordsmanship!

Every Confucian disciple possessed decent swordsmanship. Taking advantage of Qin Mu's distraction, Zhang Liang drew the sword from behind his back.

However, he seemed to have overlooked Wei Zhuang!

Zhao Yun hadn't brought a weapon on this trip, but Wei Zhuang had!

In Wei Zhuang's own words, as long as a person lives, the sword lives, and now his sword had come into play!

The moment Zhang Liang drew his sword, Wei Zhuang had his own blade pressed against Zhang Liang's throat.

"As expected of Wei Zhuang, impressive. Zhang Liang admits defeat and is willing to accept any punishment, but do not expect Zhang Liang to betray the anti-Qin patriots!" Zhang Liang’s unyielding demeanor intrigued Qin Mu.

"Since you are an anti-Qin patriot, let me ask you: why do you oppose the Qin?" Qin Mu looked at Zhang Liang with an amused expression. ===== CHAPTER 1123 =====

"Need you ask? The tyrannical Qin deserves to be destroyed by everyone!" Zhang Liang turned his head, saying this with a touch of arrogance.

"Oh? And where exactly does the tyranny of the Qin lie?" Qin Mu smiled, neither mocking nor serious. Everyone spoke of the "tyrannical Qin," but no one could explain exactly what made it so tyrannical.

"They destroyed the seven kingdoms—is that not tyranny enough?"

"Pfft—apologies, apologies, I didn't mean to. I am curious: if the Han had destroyed the seven kingdoms back then, would it be the 'tyrannical Han'?"

After Qin Mu finished speaking, Zhang Liang was clearly stunned. This kind of hypothesis was something Confucianism hadn't taught him!

"Even so, they forcibly abolished the scripts of the seven kingdoms. Is that not tyranny?"

Qin Mu laughed again. This was also called tyranny?

"Have you ever considered that if the scripts of the seven kingdoms had continued to exist, wouldn't commoners from different states have needed to learn each other's languages to communicate?

Over time, wouldn't rifts have formed in their hearts? By then, even if unified countless times, wouldn't civil war have broken out again?"

Qin Mu's argument left Zhang Liang deep in thought; clearly, he had begun to doubt his own worldview.

Zhang Liang realized that it seemed the other party had a way to refute everything he said.

"Do it then. Kill me. I will absolutely not betray the anti-Qin patriots!"

Qin Mu smiled. In his view, Zhang Liang was just flustered, but it was a pity, as he still had many things he wanted to ask him.

"I will not kill you. You may go. The Qin must be overthrown, but not because it is cruel and inhumane." Qin Mu waved his hand after speaking.

With a *shing*, Wei Zhuang sheathed his sword. Zhang Liang wanted to speak, but after thinking about it, he didn't know what to say.

In the end, Zhang Liang left.

Qin Mu looked at the waning moon, unable to help but think of his own wife.

"I wonder how Yu Ji has been faring these past few days while I've been away. By the way, will Xiang Yu also come for this assassination?"

"I'm truly curious how Xiang Yu would get by without Yu Ji." Qin Mu looked at the night sky, lost in thought.

Slowly, he fell asleep, and Zhao Yun, seeing this, covered him with a blanket.

.......Begging for flowers...0

Wei Zhuang and Zhao Yun stood guard by his side the entire time.

Elsewhere, Xiang Yu was discussing the next day's assassination mission with a group of people.

"If you ask me, once he enters the canyon tomorrow, we'll just block him in. I'll take the front, and you all cover the rear—that'll be the end of it!" Xiang Yu said, picking his nose. In his eyes, whatever Qin Shi Huang or his great army was, they were all just "clay chickens and pottery dogs," unable to withstand a single blow.

"We cannot act recklessly. We should push boulders down from the top of the canyon to block their path forward and retreat first.

Then, we can use archers from above to shoot them down," Zhang Liang said with great composure.

However, Xiang Yu looked down on such timid people.

"Hey, aren't you looking down on everyone here too much? Our Xiang family will charge straight in; who can stop us?

Plus, with the help of the Mohist patriots, how could we possibly lose? Right, Gao Gao Jianli?"

After speaking, Xiang Yu winked at a tall, handsome man carrying a zither on his back.

"I'm fine with anything. I'll listen to the Master. As long as we can kill the Qin King, that's all that matters!" Gao Gao Jianli said without even lifting his head.

The "Master" he referred to was an old man with a white beard, whom Xiang Yu dared not underestimate.

This fellow was the current leader of the Mohists, and the entire Mohist faction took orders from him!

It was said that Gao Gao Jianli had once fallen in love with a dancer, and when that dancer was killed by the Qin King, he sought to assassinate him.

Unfortunately, he failed, but he was saved by the Mohists.

It was said that a man named Jing Ke had also participated in that assassination attempt with him.

Jing Ke eventually died in the Qin King's palace, but his descendants survived.

It seemed their potential was quite good; they were the top choice for the next leader of the Mohists!

What was his name? Jing Jing Tianming?

Xiang Yu didn't quite understand; he only knew that if he killed the Qin King, destroyed the Qin state, and restored the Chu state, that would be enough.

Just then, Fan Zeng, whom Xiang Yu trusted most, spoke up.

"Let us follow Mr. Zhang Liang's plan!

Once they are all deep in the valley, we block their path and use archers from above to rain down arrows; we can easily wipe out the Qin Army!"

After Fan Zeng finished speaking, Xiang Yu could only nod helplessly. In his heart, he actually wanted a real, head-on clash with blades and spears.

Otherwise, the resentment in his heart would be hard to vent. Yes, resentment!

The frustration he had suffered in Bashu earlier hadn't faded yet! ===== CHAPTER 1124 =====