The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

Chen Yu felt that he was fooled by Shusun Tong.

Although Chen Yu was famous in Zhao, he was from Daliang, Wei. Because he was a knight-errant and Confucianist, his friends included not only great knights like Zhang Er, but also great Confucianists like Kong Yu...

Kong Yu's hometown was in Lu, but he lived in Wei for a long time. When Wei was still in existence, Chen Yu was a frequent visitor to Kong Yu's home, and they often discussed knowledge together. Although their friendship was not as close as that with Zhang Er, they were regarded as good teachers and friends.

When Wei was destroyed, Chen Yu went to Yangwu County and tried to pick up Zhang Er's wife and children but failed. He tried to kidnap people but was annihilated by Hei Fu's design. Then he was hunted down by the Qin army everywhere and had to flee east in a hurry. He couldn't find Zhang Er's whereabouts for a while, and he didn't dare to go back to his home in Zhao, so he ran to Kong Yu's home in Lu for refuge.

It was during the month-long stay in Lu that he met Kong Yu's disciple, Shusun Tong.

Although Shusun Tong was young, he was talented, proficient in Confucianism, and well-spoken. He soon became friends with Chen Yu and the two had a good chat.

However, Chen Yu did not stay in Lu for long. He found out about Zhang Er's whereabouts and went to meet him.

When the two were worrying about what to do in the future, Qin attacked Chu for the first time. Li Xin went deep into the situation, but was defeated by Xiang Yan, and Changping Jun also rebelled against Qin and returned to Chu...

Upon hearing this, the two people's worried faces disappeared, hugged each other and laughed in joy!

This was not only a victory for Chu, but also the greatest victory of the six countries against Qin in more than 30 years! Seven captains, 70,000 people! The loss of Qin was so great that the patriots in various places were excited. They regarded this battle as a reversal of the Battle of Handan, and compared Changping Jun's uprising with Xinling Jun's stealing of the seal to save Zhao.

So, in the next year, Chen County became the base camp of anti-Qin forces. People from Han, Zhao, Wei, and even Yan gathered here, and Zhang Er and Chen Yu were no exception.

But what no one expected was that the King of Qin, who was regarded as Fu Chai and Zhi Bo by them, organized 600,000 people to attack again in just one year, and led by the famous Wang Jian, did not give Chu any chance...

When Xiang Yan retreated, Chen County was also captured by the Qin army. People from various countries in the city fled in panic. Chen Yu also wanted to leave, but Zhang Er persuaded him to stay.

Zhang Er said: "Xiang Yan has been defeated, Chu will perish, Pei, Si, Lu, Xue are all Qin territory, Qi closed its doors and refused to accept us, Dai is far away from Liaodong, where else can you and I go?"

Chen Yu was anxious: "Brother, although what you said makes sense, we can't stay here. Chen is an important town in Huaibei, and the Qin army will station a large army. It's too dangerous."

Zhang Er is worthy of being a county knight. Although he has enjoyed years of wealth and honor, his body has become a little fat and his ambition has been worn out. But since he was attacked by the Qin army, lost his territory, lost his guests, and his wife and children were captured, he has returned to the days of licking blood on the edge of a knife and has become more bold and shrewd.

Zhang Er smiled at Chen Yu's concern and moved the lit anointing lamp in the small lamp on the table to Chen Yu for him to see.

"What are you looking at?" Chen Yu didn't understand.

Zhang Er said, "When this lamp is lit, it will illuminate the area of several feet in the house."

He pointed to the lamp and said, "But, look at the size of the lamp!"

Chen Yu took a look. Indeed, although the flame was swaying on the wick and illuminating them, it was blocked by the lamp itself, so a small circle of dark area was formed under the lamp...

"There is a dark place under the bright lamp. Moreover, the Qin people have just acquired Chen and cannot immediately move the Qin system here. Instead of exiling in the wilderness, it is better to stay here. Not only is it safer, but I have a good network of people, and many people who have received my favor can be used by us. Once the situation changes, Chen County is a thoroughfare and it is convenient to act!"

So Zhang Er and Chen Yu hid in Chen County and lived among the streets and markets. As they expected, the tens of thousands of people in the city, plus those who fled in the war, added up to nearly 100,000 people. The Qin people had no way to check them. They could only ask each village to report the native place and name of the residents and distribute new certificates and biography to them.

Zhang Er and Chen Yu had been in Chen County for a long time and spoke the local dialect fluently. They pretended to be from the nearby Yangxia County and fled here. They got the "good citizen certificate" distributed by the Qin garrison.

Zhang Er shaved his long beard under his chin, pretended to be the elder brother, and did the business of a peddler. Chen Yu grew a beard, pretended to be the younger brother, and used the identity of a Confucian scholar as a cover.

At that time, the two still had a little hope that Xiang Yan would create another miracle, but things did not go as they wished. Last month, news came that Xiang Yan died in battle, Shouchun fell, and the King of Chu was also captured...

The two did not know that Changping Jun succeeded to the throne, but thought that the State of Chu had completely perished.

But at this time, there was another opportunity before them: the King of Qin came to Chen County!

Zhang Er and Chen Yu had no idea at first, but a Korean who was also hiding in Chen County found them and made a suggestion:

"Qin's annexation of the five countries in the south was a victory for six generations, and it had accumulated momentum for a long time, but it still depended on the heroic strategy of King Zheng of Qin. He wanted to annex the whole world, and he was greedy and self-motivated. He sent counselors and generals like waving his arms and sent hundreds of thousands of troops like hunting. Therefore, within seven years, the five countries were destroyed. This is unprecedented in the ages, and Zheng is also a king who has never been seen in a hundred generations."

"Therefore, if you want to stop Qin's annexation and restore the five countries, it is no longer a matter of fighting between the two armies. You should follow the example of Prince Dan of Yan and kill the King of Qin with an assassin. I heard that the eldest son of the King of Qin is also underage. If the King of Qin dies, the ruler will be young and the country will be in doubt, and the annexation can be delayed."

After the Han guest finished speaking, he bowed to Zhang Er and Chen Yu and said, "Why did Liang leave Xinzheng, dismiss 300 servants, and not bury his brother after his death? I am willing to ask a brave man to assassinate the King of Qin! Not only do I want to avenge the Kingdom of Han, but I also want to win back some hope for the restoration of the country for people from all countries! I hope Zhang Xia and Chen Jun can work with me to achieve great things!"

…

Thinking back to this, Chen Yu felt a chill on his back. The Han Zhang Liang acted very meticulously and planned every step very well.

The three of them divided the work and cooperated: Zhang Liang was responsible for paying; Zhang Er was responsible for using his knight-errant connections to find strong and courageous warriors who had a grudge against Qin; Chen Yu was arranged to find out the whereabouts and defense situation of the King of Qin to see if he could find an opportunity.

Just when he was struggling to figure out where to start, he met Shusun Tong who was rushing into the city yesterday at the north gate of Chen County...

Chen Yu was overjoyed when he learned that Shusun Tong was going to see the King of Qin. Of course, he would not let this Lu scholar do the assassination, but just asked him to help find out the truth about the King of Qin.

Shusun Tong also agreed at the time, but when Chen Yu proudly told Zhang Liang and Zhang Er about this, Zhang Liang immediately stood up and asked him.

"How did Mr. Chen know Shusun Tong?"

Chen Yu honestly told Zhang Liang how they met, and Zhang Liang was furious: "As the saying goes, if things are not kept secret, harm will happen, so a gentleman is cautious and does not reveal it. The assassination of Qin was originally a secret, but Mr. Chen told the matter to a person who had only known him for more than a month. I am afraid that the matter has been leaked. I can't accompany you any longer, so I'll leave!"

After that, Zhang Liang unilaterally terminated the cooperation with the two and disappeared. Chen Yu scolded Zhang Liang for being timid, but he was also a little worried about Shusun Tong.

When Zhang Er arranged his men to see Shusun Tong swaggering in and out of the Chen County Palace with the King of Qin, wearing a doctor's hat, and bowing to a Qin official, Chen Yu thought that this guy had betrayed the revolution, so he hid in his residence, and this scene happened...

Chen Yu approached Shusun Tong's neck with a short sword: "Your teacher would rather be imprisoned than respond to the King of Qin's call. You are so good. After just one day, you put on the King of Qin's doctor's clothes and swaggered through the streets. You are really a person who deceives your teacher! Did you also betray us and exchange wealth with the King of Qin! My reward is worth 500 taels of gold!"

"If I did that, the Qin officials and soldiers would have broken into the door with me."

Shusun Tong explained: "When the King of Qin was offering sacrifices, there were a thousand Zhongchefuwei and Langwei inside and outside the temple, and another thousand people guarding the streets. When I went in, I was searched three times, and two of them almost stripped me naked."

"After that, the King of Qin went to the temporary palace, and there were more than a thousand people escorting him. There were guards and Qin soldiers who searched every street and alley that the King of Qin passed by in advance, especially the buildings facing the street, which were all cleared..."

"With such strict defense, Mr. Chen, you will never have a chance to do what you want."

Although Chen Yu did not say it directly, how could Shusun Tong not guess what they wanted to do?

So he gently pushed Chen Yu's sword away and sighed: "The King of Qin has a tight defense and there is no chance to take advantage of it. Mr. Chen, if you ask me, let's forget about this matter. Going to assassinate at this time is just like a moth flying into a flame. It is better to keep a useful body and wait for the time to change."

Chen Yu was silent for a while, but grabbed him and scolded: "You have already surrendered to Qin, of course you will say so!"

Shusun Tong became serious: "Although I, Shusun Tong, have been accused of being flattering, shameless, and disloyal. But I just keep the five constants of Confucian scholars, that is, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness. I think that in this turbulent time, these five things are more important than the so-called loyalty to the king and patriotism. Therefore, since I promised Mr. Chen, I will never regret betraying him!"

Chen Yu was silent after hearing this. The reason why he trusted Shusun Tong and asked him to help him explore the strength of the King of Qin's defense was not because of this?

Shusun Tong continued: "Besides, I have pleased the King of Qin today and was recruited by him as a doctor. If I had not responded, my head would have been hanging on the city wall..."

"But it is precisely because of this that I can go to Xianyang and serve as a doctor to be summoned, and be an insider for Chen Jun and others. The King of Qin is ambitious and has now captured Mount Tai. Maybe he will have a Fengshan ceremony in the future, and he will definitely summon the doctors to accompany him. I will also be there, and I may be able to inform you and help Zhang Xia and Chen Jun succeed..."

At this point, Chen Yu had lost his killing intent. He quickly pulled Shusun Tong up, bowed and apologized: "Chen Yu is stupid, and almost misunderstood you!"

What he didn't know was that Shusun Tong would not put all his eggs in one basket. He would flatter the King of Qin, and the anti-Qin heroes would not tear their faces and block the way...

Shusun Tong pulled his collar and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. Besides, although I found no chance to assassinate Qin during today's trip, I didn't gain nothing..."

"I remember that after the fall of Wei, Mr. Chen went to my teacher and said that when in Wei, the wife of the hero Zhang was killed by a Qin official. He also used a treacherous scheme to kill Wei Wuzu Zhou Shi and hundreds of righteous men. What was the name of the Qin official?"

"His name is Heifu!"

Chen Yu gritted his teeth. That was the biggest shame of his life. Since that incident, he always felt that he owed his brother Zhang Er, and he was also sorry for Zhou Shi and the dead knights and Wei soldiers.

"That's right!"

Shusun Tong clapped his hands and said with a smile: "I went to see the King of Qin today and happened to meet Heifu! He is also in Chen County!"