The Sword Dynasty

Chapter Six: Tiger?

When Su Qin said these words, his eyes were emotional.

From this chaotic capital city which had no fighting spirit, more nobility and rich businessmen came out to the envoy, expressing their surrender and loyalty. Weak and fickle people always outnumbered people who had their own resolve.

Even though what he said were truths everyone knew, many people spoke of fate, so how many people had the bravery to persist and change their fate? How many people were in a dynasty? But commonly, a battle between millions determined the fate of a dynasty.

Just like now. The Nether Floats contained only a hundred thousand soldiers. If they defeated the guard army here, this meant winning. A pack of wolf cubs could frighten a herd of pigs. The key was that the pigs could help the world scare and control other pig herds.

At this time, in Su Qin’s eyes, these nobility who were born in peace but worried about losing peace were no different from pigs.

**

Embers of fire floated into an unpopulated courtyard, and on the neat stacks of firewood within the yard. The wood slowly started to smoke. After a while, some flames appeared. Then the entire stack started to burn, the tongues of fire going up the walls, and then the building at the side started to burn.

This was a scene that was happening all over the Chu capital, just like the fate waiting for the dynasty.

The Chu Dynasty had large numbers of soldiers around the Yin Mountain and Yangshan Commandery areas who were fighting the Qin armies. From the Chu capital and the northeast, there were many granaries, workshops and the lands of the aristocratic families. These could keep on providing new blood for the armies. But when the Chu capital was lost, many of the nobility lost their fighting spirit, and many families fell as well.

The center and northeast part of the Chu Dynasty would descend into a place with no leadership. Especially after losing Consort Zhao Xiang’s iron rule, people could not predict the choices the noble families would make.

What was most intriguing was the movements of the Yan.

Yuanwu and Zheng Xiu never worried about the losses of the Qin Dynasty. From the start of the war, Yuanwu and Zheng Xiu showed that they were going to use their decade of effort into this battle. So the Qin Dynasty armies which had retreated from the border would counterattack without regard for cost.

In this war, the Chu did not have much hope of winning, much less care for the borders with the Yan and Qi dynasties. Next, would the Yan move against the Qi, or feel that this could not be stopped, so they would take the chance to advance into the lands of the Chu, stealing resources for itself from the rich northeast and increase their own strength?

Su Qin thought the Yan Emperor would choose the latter. One, there were not too many choices. Also, this was a weakness in people’s personality. If the Yan and Qi both suffered losses, even if the Qin was weaker than before, they would be the ones to win in the end.

So the emotion in his eyes and the scorn in his mind was partly because of this.

**

“Where did these people go?”

An old person walked into a deep part of the imperial palace, roaring and causing the enormous candle lights on the walls to waver.

This was the imperial palace of the Qi. On the floor were black stones. The walls were also ordinary rough stone. This was not as grand as the Chu palace, and appeared dark and cold.

The Qi emperor sat on the throne, dressed in black robes. The long and wide black curtains on his two sides were embroidered with some strange seal scripts. These seal scripts caused the energies deep in the imperial palace to grow thin. Even if a realm seven grandmaster came here, they likely would only be able to use the power of a realm three or four cultivator.

“What do you mean?” hearing the shout of this old person, the Qi emperor said modestly and calmly.

This old person was Marquis Tianyang. In terms of relation, this was his maternal uncle. At this time, in the Qi Dynasty, he was likely the only person who would threaten his throne.

“Han Luoli, Qi Siren... Where did the grandmasters and generals of the Qi go?”

The marquis’s lips turned purple in his fury. “And your Huayin Sect and Seal Workshop. They went out on boats three-months ago... What, even now, you will conceal from me, how long do you want to hide this from me!”

“So Uncle, you already found so much.” The Qi emperor sighed softly and said, “But it is too late.” His words carried rare sincerity and seriousness.

Marquis Tianyang felt cold and said, “What do you mean?”

“They have already gone to the Chu capital.” The Qi emperor looked into his eyes and said, “If there are no surprises, the Qi and Qin envoys have conquered the Chu capital.”

While he already had a sense, when he heard the Qi emperor say such words, Marquis Tianyang still felt a chill come through his head.

“You are mad?”

“Have you not heard the story of scheming with a tiger?”

“Are you stupid?”

His mind was blank and he cursed, forgetting that he was the subject and the other the emperor.

The Qi emperor did not reply. The imperial palace was silent. The Qi emperor was not angry and just looked calmly at him, as modest as usual.

“You should not think that.”

When Marquis Tianyang’s breathing sounded heavy in the hall but he recovered his breath, the Qi emperor said, “You should ask me the true reason, and there is one thing you have forgotten.”

Marquis Tianyang took a deep breath, like a python sucking in water. His chest puffed out, but he did not speak and looked at the Qi emperor. He did not disguise his emotions and thoughts. If the Qi emperor could not give him a good reason, he would risk his life and get many people to rebel.

“The Qin Dynasty is very strong. After the reformation, after destroying three dynasties, they are terrifyingly strong. The Chu is very strong. Twenty, thirty years ago, who was a match for them?”

The Qi emperor looked at him and said slowly, “But many years ago, when there were seven dynasties side by side, the Qi was the strongest among the seven! Uncle, do not forget. After the Qi was the Chu, and after Chu was the Qin.”

“The Chu were the best in the world with their weapons, but that was because there was a subject of the Qi who fled to Chu with his retainers. The Qin’s swordsmen are the best in the world. Our Qi can only use our most skilled methods of yin and ghosts to fight others. But’ hundred years ago, the Qi had the strongest cultivation methods.

“Our Qi is weak because we have had internal conflict, have lost several important commanderies and also because we lost our most important thing, our inheritance. I just want to take back what belongs to us. Who says I am scheming with a tiger?” The Qi emperor looked at Marquis Tianyang whose eyes changed and smiled bitterly. “In the end, who is the tiger?”

The Marquis could not control his shock and said, “The Twelve Shamans?”