Chapter 60 How Are We Supposed to Rebel Now?

Emperor Qin Shi Huang suddenly realized a terribly serious problem.

That was, when Fusu said the Great Qin would perish in five years, it was very likely because the nobility exploited the common people, driving them to utter misery and forcing them to rise in revolt...

At that time, with a single call, a hundred would respond, and the entire Great Qin would instantly plunge into the flames of war.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang then thought of the soldiers guarding the borders. If they knew their parents and families were living such miserable lives, would they still harbor a shred of loyalty toward the Great Qin?

Would they still fight to the death for his Great Qin?

The answer was a definitive no!

Thinking up to this point, Emperor Qin Shi Huang immediately commanded, "Have the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers come for a meeting. I want to ask them: the time of life and death for our Great Qin has arrived!"

"If they are of no use, they can all step down!"

Zhao Gao shivered violently, scared out of his wits.

How was it that ever since they started plotting against His Highness Fusu, everything had been veering out of control?

Zhao Gao wore a bewildered expression.

He truly could not comprehend why things had turned out this way.

Had not the Great Qin just achieved unification, standing invincible and peerless throughout the world?

How on earth had it reached a crisis of life and death???

Zhao Gao felt his head spinning.

Yet Zhao Gao did not know that ever since Fusu exposed the fact that Emperor Qin Shi Huang had only three years left to live, the emperor had begun to act with far fewer restraints.

Especially upon learning that the Great Qin would cease to exist in five years, Emperor Qin Shi Huang found no peace day or night, constantly searching for a way to break the deadlock.

Gradually, from Fusu's proposals, he found the root cause of the destruction of the Great Qin.

That was the hearts of the people!!!

Fusu was right: he who wins the hearts of the people wins the empire!!!

...

Kuaiji Commandery, Wu County.

Deep within the secluded mountains, the sound of metal being forged echoed from time to time.

"Hah!"

Shouts could also be heard.

Chen Sheng woke up from a hazy sleep and walked out of the makeshift wooden cabin he had built.

"Come over here!"

"Xiang Sheng!"

"Get over here!!" Wu Guang shouted, waving from afar.

Chen Sheng grew irritated at the mere sight of Wu Guang. If not for this black-hearted fellow, would he have ever ended up in this place?

At that moment, a man in his forties walked over, followed by several burly men.

The middle-aged man glanced at the hundreds of retainers training, then looked at a plump man beside him and asked, "Canmu, when will the new batch of armor arrive?"

Canmu smiled and replied, "Old Liang, you can rest assured when I handle things!"

"It will definitely be delivered in three to five days!"

"The new batch of grain will be sent along with it. It's just that our numbers have grown lately, and I'm afraid there might be a risk of the news leaking."

Xiang Liang nodded. "Strengthen the precautions and stop recruiting new people for now!"

"To avoid exposing ourselves prematurely!"

Canmu nodded.

At this time, Xiang Liang and the others walked up to Chen Sheng and asked, "How is it? Have you settled in comfortably over the past two days?"

Chen Sheng immediately nodded. "If Lord Xiang had not taken us in, the two of us brothers would likely have been captured by the bandit soldiers by now."

"I, Xiang Sheng, am willing to do anything for Lord Xiang to repay your kindness!"

Xiang Liang patted Chen Sheng on the shoulder, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. "Good, you stay here and train well with everyone else."

"When the time is ripe, we will emerge from the mountains!"

Chen Sheng nodded immediately.

Canmu smiled and said, "Nowadays, the Great Qin wages wars in all directions, corvée labor is heavy, and militarism runs rampant, plunging the people into deep misery!"

"Even if no one rebels for a short time, as days drag on, the Great Qin will surely perish!"

Xiang Liang pointed at Chen Sheng and said, "Even honest and law-abiding men like them are slapped with criminal charges; is there anyone left in this world who can escape injustice?"

"The world has suffered under Qin for far too long!"

Xiang Liang sighed, wearing a look of deep concern for the country and its people. "When the day comes that we raise the banner of rebellion, we can allow everyone in the world to live like human beings!"

"Uncle!" Xiang Yu walked over with a dozen robust young men and said, "These people have come to seek refuge with us!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Liang immediately stepped forward to welcome them. "Gentlemen, since you have come here, from now on we are family."

"As long as you train diligently, a day of prominence awaits you in the future!"

The dozen robust men nodded immediately and cupped their fists toward Xiang Liang. "We simply cannot go on living like this anymore."

"The few of us didn't want to go serve as corvée laborers, so we fled with our families."

"From now on, we hope Lord Xiang will look after us!"

"Easily done, easily done!" Xiang Liang looked at these men; each of them was sturdy and capable, and they would likely become a major asset to him in the future.

In particular, the tallest and stockiest man among them looked at Xiang Yu and said, "They all say you possess great strength!"

"Once you let me eat my fill, let's have a contest!"

Hearing this, Xiang Yu boldly replied, "Don't wait for later."

"Let's contest right now."

"I have an empty stomach too!"

"We'll compete on empty stomachs!"

The plump man seemed eager to prove his worth and immediately pointed to a tree as thick as a man's thigh nearby. "I can pull that up!"

Xiang Yu smiled.

He looked at the tree and said, "If you pull it up, how about I lift that bronze cauldron over there?"

The plump man glanced at the heavy bronze cauldron placed beside the tree, walked over to the small tree, and began to exert his strength.

As his face gradually flushed red, all the power within his body was poured into the tree trunk.

This tree—neither exceptionally thick nor particularly thin—was forcefully ripped right out of the ground by the plump man!

This spectacle left Chen Sheng dumbfounded!

Such a mighty hero actually existed?

Wu Guang also gathered around, clicking his tongue in wonder and wearing an expression of utter disbelief.

However, before the two of them could recover from their shock, Xiang Yu walked up to the heavy cauldron and thrust his hands beneath it.

His body sank slightly, and his feet planted firmly into a horse stance.

"Yaaahhh!!!"

With a roar, Xiang Yu hoisted the cauldron straight up, then slowly lifted it higher until it was raised above his head.

At that moment, everyone was dumbfounded!

It wasn't until Xiang Yu lowered the giant cauldron that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang snapped back to reality.

Followed by enthusiastic applause and cheers.

The tall and stocky man immediately dropped to one knee, indicating his willingness to submit.

Xiang Yu looked at the big man, immediately helped him up, and asked, "What is your name?"

"My name is Dazhuang!"

"Good!"

"Dazhuang, from now on you shall be my personal guard!"

Dazhuang nodded immediately.

Xiang Liang also burst into a hearty laugh, saying, "The world has suffered under Qin for long. Even a powerhouse like Dazhuang cannot be tolerated by them."

"How much longer can that tyrannical Qin endure?"

"Our chance for revenge is about to arrive!"

As soon as Xiang Liang finished speaking, Canmu nodded immediately. "The tyrant is devoid of the Dao; every person has the right to slay him!"

"The tyrant is devoid of the Dao; every person has the right to slay him!!!"

As more and more people joined in the cry, Chen Sheng and吴 Guang secretly exchanged glances, feeling as though they had walked into some sort of brainwashing cult...

The two men had already made up their minds: the moment an opportunity presented itself, they would flee this place immediately.

Rebel against the state?

Even if they had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough to squander.

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had already decided that once they returned this time, they would honestly and obediently tend to their own business.

Never again would they indulge in wild fantasies or wander about blindly!

Just as the atmosphere reached a feverish pitch, a retainer hurried over: "Lord Xiang, the county magistrate is distributing grain!"

"Distributing grain???" Xiang Liang's expression froze in confusion.

The retainer nodded immediately. "Indeed, they have already started distributing grain to every household."

"Furthermore, Magistrate Lord said that the first batch of corvée laborers who left earliest last year are about to return."

"Moreover, from now on, regarding everyone's farming, any household whose harvested grain falls short of fifty percent can mutual-report!"

"Anyone who dares to withhold grain or arbitrarily extort will be executed without mercy!"

"Furthermore, officials from the Imperial Censorate have been dispatched to visit every single Old Qin household, listening to their hardships and resolving their problems."

"There are even officials from the Imperial Censorate specifically recording all this, reaching directly to the ears of the Son of Heaven!"

At these words, the dozen newly arrived robust youths lit up, immediately asking, "Is this true?"

"Absolutely certain!" the retainer replied decisively.

A flash of coldness crossed Xiang Liang's eyes, and he was about to issue a reprimand.

However, those dozen robust youths directly headed down the mountain without even bidding farewell to Xiang Liang.

Canmu watched this scene, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Should we deal with them..."

Xiang Liang waved his hand directly. "No need. These people won't talk nonsense; they hate Qin even more than we do!"

Canmu nodded and said nothing more.

Xiang Yu, however, picked up a long spear and strode down the mountain.

Seeing this, Xiang Liang did not stop him.

When Dazhuang, the tall and burly man, saw Xiang Yu leave, he followed closely behind.

Before long, the sounds of combat echoed from the foot of the mountain.

...

Pei County.

Outside the Sishui Pavilion.

Liu Ji held a bronze gong, striking it vigorously as he shouted, "Fellow villagers, hurry and come claim your people!"

"The men of your households have all returned!"

"When claiming your people this time, remember to take a bag of millet back for each person!"

"Calculated by head count!"

"No scrambling, no fighting, everyone line up!"

"A wonderful event, a wonderful event!"

"A once-in-a-millennium wonderful event!!"

As Liu Ji shouted and struck the gong, a crowd of over a hundred people quickly gathered.

"Fan Kuai, you've come just in time. You have a loud voice, you do the shouting!"

"I'll distribute the grain to everyone!"

Liu Ji handed the bronze gong to Fan Kuai, then immediately went to grab bags of millet and began distributing them.

After bustling through the entire morning, once everyone had received their millet, Liu Ji shoved a large sack of grain into Fan Kuai's arms and said, "Let's go, let's go chat with the people on this roster."

Fan Kuai took the grain with a beaming smile, scratching his head in puzzlement. "Chief, what is going on?"

"All these labor-service men suddenly returned, and now they're even distributing grain to everyone!"

Liu Ji smiled and said, "I heard it was proposed by His Highness Fusu, and His Majesty agreed to let the subjects of our Great Qin rest and recover, sparing them from such grueling labor."

"His Highness Fusu?" Fan Kuai wore a blank expression.

Liu Ji pointed at the paper bag and said, "See this? The sack you're using to hold the grain is a product of His Highness Fusu's enterprise."

"Sunan Paper Industry..."

Fan Kuai looked at the paper bag in his hands, freezing in place for a moment.

"Let's go!" Liu Ji called out with a smile.

The two arrived before the gates of an independent courtyard, knocked gently, and a servant soon opened the door.

Liu Ji and Fan Kuai walked inside.

The moment the gate closed, the smile on Liu Ji's face instantly vanished, replaced by a gaze filled with worry. "Xiao He, what on earth should we do now?"