Who Cheated? That Was So Unsportsmanlike!

Li Shimin was cursing Liu Che under his breath. He'd thought the man was all brawn, but it turned out he was pretty crafty.

Liu Che sidled up to Li Shimin with a cheeky grin. "You're not going to go back on your word, are you? Come on, show some spirit. Don't embarrass yourself."

Li Shimin glared at him. Why was this Emperor Wu of Han so annoying?

Li Shimin said nothing and went straight back to his own camp. There was no way he'd publicly go back on his word. So he'd just have to do it quietly.

Even though they knew the book wasn't suited to them, they had no intention of returning it to Liu Bing. After all, Liu Bing had recommended it, so it had to have some value. If they took it back and studied it carefully, perhaps they'd find some other inspiration in it.

"All right, that should about do it. How you complete the mission from here is up to you." Once Liu Bing had finished making the arrangements, he vanished from the spot. He wanted to check out some other places.

Now that the Qing dynasty in this world had been dealt with, someone had to take up the banner of China.

Meanwhile, in the Forbidden City, Qianlong saw that the people in the Chat Group had stopped talking. He knew they must have gathered together. He gave a cold snort and prepared to order his men to find those treacherous rebels.

"Those treacherous rebels! What Chat Group? What emperors? They've even gathered an army to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming. I'd like to see just how far these traitors can carry on their act."

Just then, someone entered the hall.

"What treacherous rebels?" A woman walked into the hall carrying a tray. On it sat a bowl of soup she had made herself. She'd heard Qianlong muttering to himself. Though she hadn't caught the details, she had heard the words "treacherous rebels," so she asked curiously.

When Qianlong saw the woman enter, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and some of his anger faded.

He smiled at her fondly. "Consort Li, have the servants been disobedient again? Why else would I have you personally bring me soup?"

Consort Li glided over to the table and gently set down the tray. She replied softly, "Your Majesty, please don't blame the palace servants. I was thinking of you, so I wanted to bring you this soup myself and let you know how much I care for you."

With that, Consort Li lifted the delicate bowl from the tray and picked up the jade spoon beside it. She scooped up some soup and slowly brought it to Qianlong's lips. "Your Majesty, it's time to have your soup."

Qianlong smiled and obediently opened his mouth, swallowing the warm, savory soup.

Seeing how readily Qianlong went along with her, Consort Li happily continued feeding him. Then, as if she'd suddenly remembered something, her beautiful eyes filled with puzzlement. "Your Majesty, just now you mentioned treacherous rebels and an army being gathered. Have rebels risen up again?"

Qianlong furrowed his brow slightly, but soon broke into a hearty laugh. "It's nothing. They're just a bunch of clowns."

"These rebels have gotten clever this time. They've cooked up some sort of smokescreen, making a Chat Group. They even claim that several emperors have joined forces and gathered a large army to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming.

"Hmph. I'd like to see what tricks these rebels can come up with..."

But before Qianlong could finish, Consort Li's face changed dramatically. The bowl slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor with a sharp clatter.

She stared at Qianlong in shock, eyes wide. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Your Majesty, is that really true? There's actually a Chat Group?"

"Hmm? Consort Li, you know about this Chat Group?" Qianlong narrowed his eyes at her reaction.

Consort Li asked urgently, "Your Majesty, is the Chat Group a strange box with lots of people sending messages and chatting inside it?"

Consort Li, you really do know about it. Are you in the Chat Group too? I didn't see you there." From her description, Qianlong knew she had seen the Chat Group, but she wasn't in it.

Suddenly, Qianlong thought of something. His gaze darkened. "Consort Li, what do you know? Tell me everything."

How could Consort Li even think about explaining? Her mind was full of one thought: Who gave him cheats? That's so unsportsmanlike. How did they end up here?

All she wanted was to be a beloved imperial consort. Why was that so hard?

She wondered if it was too late to run.

Unfortunately, when she'd arrived, the system had given her the identity of an imperial consort and an ability to charm people, then left. Now she had no idea where she could run to.

"Consort Li, Consort Li..."

When Qianlong saw that she'd suddenly fallen silent and seemed lost in a daze, he called out to her with concern.

Consort Li came to her senses and immediately said, "Your Majesty, we have to run!"

"What did you say? Do you know something?" Qianlong's expression darkened at her urging him to flee. He was an emperor. Who could make him run?

"Your Majesty, those emperors might really be emperors from different dynasties." Consort Li felt like this was a disaster. Did they hate the Qing that much? They'd actually formed a group of emperors to take down the Qing dynasty. She didn't even know which emperors they were. She hoped they wouldn't be too powerful.

If they weren't, perhaps they could still put up a fight.

"Um, Your Majesty, can you tell me which emperors they are?"

"Real emperors? How is that possible?" Qianlong couldn't believe it, but soon his confidence returned. Who was he? He considered himself the greatest emperor in history, both in civil and military achievements—not just of all time, but of all eternity.

Under his rule, the Great Qing had already surpassed every dynasty and every emperor that had come before. So what if they came as a group? He, Qianlong, would show them that his Great Qing was invincible for all eternity!

He curled his lips in contempt, as though he'd been possessed by the Dragon King, and a pie chart flashed through his eyes. He scoffed, "Hmph. It's only Old Zhu of Great Ming, Erlang of Great Tang, Liu Che, and the tyrant Ying Zheng. Let them come. My Great Qing will sweep everything before it."

Consort Li's eyelids twitched. Those four were a bit much. She asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, can you tell me exactly which emperors they are?"

Qianlong frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "One is called Old Zhu of Great Ming, one is Erlang of Great Tang, one is Liu Che, and the last is the tyrant Ying Zheng."

"Gasp!" Consort Li's legs nearly gave way. All four were emperors of the caliber of rulers remembered for all eternity. They were teaming up to take down Qianlong? Did it have to be this intense?

She felt there was no hope. They might as well wait for death. Any one of those four might be able to take down Qianlong alone.

Though Qianlong's reign was now the Kang-Qian Golden Age, she'd been here long enough to understand the basics. The Great Qing looked splendid on the surface, but was already rotten within.

In truth, there weren't many Manchu troops fit for battle, and the Han soldiers were even worse. The Qing emperors guarded against the Han People as if they were some kind of threat. The Han troops' fighting ability was practically at the level of a militia.

And not even a well-fed militia—a militia of nothing but skin and bones.

What kind of fighting strength could anyone expect from them?