244: Chapter 244 Xiang Yu's Unwillingness

Fan Zeng said, "There are still too many people scrambling for Wool Sweaters nowadays; even I only managed to obtain one thousand pieces."

Xiang Liang said, "Brother Fan, you are being too modest. Given the current high demand for Wool Sweaters, it is truly not easy for you to have obtained one thousand pieces."

"Now that we have also received the intelligence on the Great Qin Empire's battle situation against the Xiongnu people, shall we set off for Fangling?"

Fan Zeng nodded slightly.

They had lingered in Xianyang not only to scramble for Wool Sweaters but also to wait for the battle reports between the Great Qin Empire and the Xiongnu people.

They had hoped the Great Qin Empire and the Xiongnu people would fall into a war of attrition, but the battle report they received left them deeply disappointed.

The Great Qin Empire did not even need to mobilize the 300,000-strong Great Wall Legion; with just the 10,000 cavalry that Zhao Fusu had taken with him, they had beaten the Xiongnu Royal Court into a steady retreat.

The Great Qin Empire not only did not pay a high price but also successfully conquered the Xiongnu Tribes within the territory of the Right Worthy King.

With the support of the Xiongnu Tribes in the Right Worthy King's territory, the Great Qin Empire had firmly established a foothold in the Southern Desert.

It would not be easy for the Xiongnu Royal Court to drive the Great Qin Empire out of the Southern Desert again.

In fact, after the start of spring, the Great Qin Empire would continue the war until the Xiongnu Royal Court was driven out of the Southern Desert.

From then on, the Southern Desert would fall into the hands of the Great Qin Empire.

In this way, the strength of the Great Qin Empire was not exhausted but had instead become increasingly powerful.

Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng both looked dejected; their wounded spirits needed comforting.

Qian'er!

They thought of one person: Zhao Qian.

They decided to sell the Wool Sweaters to Zhao Qian at a 3000% profit; only in this way could their wounded spirits feel better.

"Achoo, achoo!"

At Zhao Qian's residence in Fangling, Chu Region, he sneezed repeatedly.

Fangling was in the south, and the icy moisture penetrated right into his bones; he always felt that the clothes he wore were not warm enough.

After some preparations, Xiang Liang and Fan Zeng brought not only one thousand Wool Sweaters but also a steam rotary tiller.

After the start of spring, it would be time to cultivate the land and begin spring planting.

They believed that this steam rotary tiller would be relatively easy to sell.

Compared to the last time, the public security was much better this time.

They did not encounter any attacks from bandits.

Besides the fact that the bandits entrenched in the mountains knew they were not easy to deal with, it was also related to the significant decrease in the number of bandits in the mountains.

Not everyone wanted to be a bandit entrenched in the mountains.

At this time, the large number of bandits was mainly because the common people at the bottom were forced into it.

There were too many kinds of taxes; they couldn't pay them, so they had to dive into the mountains to avoid taxes.

They had no other work in the mountains, so they could only attack passing caravans to obtain supplies.

After Zhao Fusu significantly lowered taxes, many people chose to leave the mountains and return to their villages to continue farming.

Some went to resell grain to earn the price difference.

Xiang Yu walked along, feeling unhappy.

He wanted to become the Hegemon-King of West Chu who would shock the world, not a bodyguard escorting goods across the country!

The more Xiang Yu thought about it, the more stifled he felt.

But for him to raise an army to rebel, he dared not.

He had great confidence in his own strength; he could lift a tripod weighing a thousand jun, possessing the strength to uproot mountains and cover the world.

But after witnessing the striker shotgun take down a black pig with one shot and the artillery performance that leveled a city, he was a bit timid.

The current Great Qin Empire was too powerful, and even the Nobles of the Six Lands were deterred by the artillery fire, not daring to rebel.

If he dared to rebel, he would be the first bird to be shot.

In this "shoot the bird that sticks its head out" scenario, the Great Qin Empire would deal with him first.

The Great Qin Empire's Iron Pagoda had not even set out to fight the Xiongnu people; they were holding striker shotguns and guarding Xianyang.

Even thick-skinned black pigs were knocked down by a single shot from the striker shotgun, let alone him.

Xiang Yu sighed.

He didn't know if he would ever have the hope of becoming the Hegemon-King of West Chu in this lifetime.

What a thrilling title that was to shout!

Zhang Liang, hidden in the shadows, was also holding a copy of the Great Qin Empire Weekly.

Looking at the content on it, his expression was complex.

He both wanted to see news of the Great Qin Empire's defeat, yet he also did not want the Great Qin Empire to be defeated.

Regardless, the Great Qin Empire now represented their Central Plains; if it were defeated by the Xiongnu people, it would still be them, the people of the Central Plains, who would lose face.

After two failed assassination attempts, the Anti-Qin Forces in Zhang Liang's hands had suffered a huge blow.

Cao Qiudao had developed psychological trauma from the revolver in Zhao Fusu's hands and had already quit Zhang Liang's faction, washing his hands of the business and no longer working as an assassin.

The Six-Fingered Black Knight was still with Zhang Liang, but the Mohist Disciples had also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Mount Li, and the Anti-Qin Forces he held were far inferior to before.

He and Zhang Liang both had to choose to lie low.

They were secretly accumulating strength, but their recruitment work was not easy to do.

After Zhao Fusu abolished corvée labor and lowered taxes, the oppression suffered by the common people at the bottom was reduced; having a way to survive, they no longer thought about rebelling.

Under these circumstances, they could only cooperate with hoodlums and mountain bandits.

These people were different from the Yanzhao Righteous Warriors.

Hoodlums and mountain bandits oppressed the people, while the Yanzhao Righteous Warriors stood up for the people and rebelled against tyrants.

For the sake of revenge, Zhang Liang could no longer care about that much.

To overthrow the Great Qin Empire, relying on his own strength alone was not enough; he had to cooperate with these hoodlums and mountain bandits to form an alliance and attack the Great Qin Empire.

Perhaps there was still some psychological burden in Zhang Liang's heart.

After all, he was a proper noble of the State of Han.

His grandfather, Zhang Kaidi, had served as the Chancellor for Marquis Zhao of Han, King Xuanhui of Han, and King Xiang'ai of Han.

His father, Zhang Ping, had served as the Chancellor for King Xi of Han and King Daohui of Han.

Their family had done things to support the state and bring welfare to the common people.

Now, however, he had become the leader of a criminal organization, specializing in sabotage.

This disparity made him feel uncomfortable inside.

But if he didn't do this, he would find it difficult to gather troops to oppose the Great Qin Empire.

Unlike Zhang Liang, the Six-Fingered Black Knight had absolutely no psychological burden.

From the moment the Mohists were founded, they carried the nature of an underworld organization.

Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, and other schools of thought were not as strictly organized as the Mohists; they were mostly focused on studying knowledge.

Meanwhile, while Mohist Disciples studied Mohist ideology, they also wore short clothes and straw sandals, personally participating in farming, herding, fishing, and hunting, taking pride in enduring hardship.

If any disciple violated the Mohist doctrines, the lighter punishment was expulsion from membership, and the heavier punishment was death.

The supreme leader of the Mohists was called the Mohist Giant, also known as the Juzi.

Everyone below the Mohist Giant had to obey orders and commands, known as "going through fire and water, without turning back even in death."

At the same time, under the command of the Mohist Giant, Mohist knights also participated in some political events involving the use of force.

For example, when the old nobles of the State of Chu murdered Wu Qi, who was carrying out reforms, the Mohist Giant Meng Sheng and Mohist Disciples were involved.

Therefore, the Mohist group had the characteristics of a cult, an underworld organization, and an assassin organization.

This was also why, even though there were Mo Techniques passed down, the Mohists disappeared so thoroughly.