Red Lotus (5)

The saying goes, "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles."

Theory must be combined with practice.

Only then can we go further on the right path.

Otherwise, having only theory without practice is likely just empty talk.

Practice without theory will lead to a cycle of following the rules blindly.

Ye Qingcang and Han Fei traveled a very, very long way along this road until the sun set and the slightly reddish sunlight bathed the earth. The two horses and three people finally arrived at their destination, which was outside Xinzheng City. Standing on the relatively flat and straight official road, they looked out at the majestic city wall that looked a little weathered.

"It seems like a lot of people are paying attention to you!"

"The person has not arrived."

"The carriages and horses have already arrived."

Ye Qingcang patted the neck of his warhorse and activated his Mimicry Technique, transforming the horse's appearance into that of an ordinary warhorse. Apart from its slightly eerie red eyes, it was virtually indistinguishable from any other warhorse.

It's better to say something than to say it.

The red eyes are indeed a weakness.

But think about it the other way around.

Who would be so idle as to ignore Han Fei and these two living people, ignore Startled Salamander, this mysterious person wearing Bamboo Hat bamboo hat and black robe, ignore the magnificent white horse under Han Fei, and instead look at this ordinary warhorse that has no other special features except for its strangely colored eyes, and is even disguised as a human?

Are you out of your mind?

Therefore, Ye Qingcang did not waste his energy on such matters, nor did he think that such trivial matters were worth worrying about.

Look out into the distance.

Then, he pointed to the carriages and horses at the city gate.

He smiled and said to Han Fei beside him.

Han Fei's eyesight wasn't as good as Ye Qingcang's. Although he was Confucian School scholar and had practiced the Six Arts of a Gentleman, even to the point of being proficient, Han Fei had abs and his physical fitness was much better than those frail college students. It was just that in this era, there were too many people who could fight, which made Han Fei seem weak. In fact, within fifty meters, standing in a fixed position and shooting at a fixed target, with ten rings as the benchmark, Han Fei could at least hit seven out of ten targets. In other words, even if he couldn't make it in the military one day, he could become a technical soldier, namely an archer, with many career paths. However, seeing a carriage a kilometer away in the current environment, or in the bustling crowd at the city gate, was still beyond Han Fei's ability. Han Fei simply couldn't see clearly.

However, not being able to see clearly does not mean you can't guess correctly!

Han Fei couldn't help but give a bitter laugh.

After all, he never pretends to be his emotions in front of his friends.

Being happy means laughing.

Sadness is crying.

Helpless, he could only manage a bitter smile.

Just like right now.

It's worth mentioning that this sense of helplessness can also be heard in his tone.

After laughing, he said softly, "Xinzheng today is like a huge whirlpool, and I'm at its eye. Whoever gets close to me will be drawn in, and the closer they are, the harder it is for them to escape... My silly sister is really disobedient. Doesn't she ever consider whether her channels for knowing my whereabouts are reliable or have ulterior motives... But then again, what's done is done, and there's nothing we can do. Since they have the ability to persuade my silly sister to come and meet me, if I avoid them, it will only make them aware of my weakness... Rather than that, I might as well be open and tell them, 'I, Han Fei, am back.' You can guess whether my weakness is my silly sister. If you guess right, I'll admit defeat; if you guess wrong, then you can expect me to use this opportunity to drag you down with me!"

"Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose."

"How could a jade disc collide with a stone?"

"This is an open conspiracy, Brother Han?"

Ye Qingcang clapped his hands in praise.

On the trailer, Startled Salamander silently lowered her Bamboo Hat.

She is an assassin.

Take action without thinking.

Therefore, she doesn't like smart people.

Because spending a lot of time with smart people can give you the illusion that you're a fool. If your curiosity leads you to confirm that it's not just an illusion, but that you really are a fool, you'll probably get really angry.

Nobody likes to create problems for themselves.

She was the same.

Therefore, she chooses not to listen to conversations with such intelligent people.

This can be considered a crude man looking down on a scholar.

Although she couldn't beat Ye Qingcang, this scholar.

Of course, beating up Han Fei is still a piece of cake. At least before Han Fei gets the Reverse Scale Sword, Startled Salamander doesn't need to take it seriously when fighting Han Fei.

"It's not exactly a calculated scheme."

"It's just a little trick for understanding people's hearts."

Han Fei waved his hand modestly, then suggested, "Speaking of which... Brother Ye, would you like to come with me to see Hong Lian?"

"I am not afraid of this whirlpool."

"Ji Wuye is merely a Xiantian cultivator."

"Even if he has mastered hard martial arts, making him impervious to weapons, I think his hard martial arts are not truly hard when facing the Jing Ni Sword, one of the Eight Swords of King Yue. Moreover, it's certainly not as hard as my fist!"

"And within the group of Night Curtain."

"Except for him."

"Bai Yifei is the most troublesome opponent."

"But no matter how you look at it, it's just a minor Innate Realm."

Even though his cavalrymen came and went like the wind.

"In fact, if we go even further... it would be as if Zhao Border Cavalry came."

"I can come and go as I please!"

"He?"

"You still can't keep me!"

"As for the remaining two... Emerald Tiger and the Tidal Nymph are nothing more than a second-rate martial artist who knows how to amass wealth, and a mere innate being who can only bewitch the weak-willed Han King!"

"If they know what's good for them."

"Don't mess with me."

"I can't be bothered with them."

"But if they're blind and mess with me... don't blame me for being ruthless. Unfortunately, these people are all talented!"

"If it weren't for differing stances."

"Some people have gone too far."

"I really want to bring them under my command."

"At least it's enough for me to act as my vicious dog."

Ye Qingcang sighed.

Except for Ji Wuye.

In his view, the things the other three did could be reasonably forgiven.

Because he judges whether a person deserves to die.

It's not about whether there's blood on a person's hands.

Instead, we should examine why the blood is present on this person's hands.

Perhaps Bai Yifei's consumption of human blood is cruel and he deserves to die, but if Bai Yifei consumed this blood to survive, then the definition of this matter changes from indiscriminate killing of innocents to survival. After all, it is understandable for living beings to take any cruel actions in order to survive.

Of course, understanding is one thing.

Sending you down is just that—sending you down.

The two are not in conflict.

If Bai Yifei is willing to submit, then he will give Bai Yifei a chance to live. But if Bai Yifei is unwilling to submit, then he will have no choice but to act on behalf of Heaven this once.

"The Four Fiend Generals..." Han Fei sighed. "The Blood Garbed Marquis, the Emerald Tiger on the Stone, the Sea -Tidal Nymph, the Straw Raincoat Guest Under the Moon... If we want to touch Ji Wuye, we must cripple these four capable henchmen. However, considering that the Four Fiend Generals ' relationship with Ji Wuye leans more towards cooperation than direct subordination, it's not necessary to kill all four of them... Of course, it's too far off to talk about these things now. Establishing a firm foothold is the first thing I should do right now. As for clipping wings and such, we can deal with that later..."

"Speaking of which, Blood Garbed Marquis is a talented general."

"Emerald Tiger is also a talented individual."

"If you want your country to prosper, you must have control over the military and the treasury, and it is best to have it in your own hands."

"There are many capable generals and talented people in the world today."

"And if we're talking about a place where good generals and talented people gather, the Qin Kingdom, with its tigers and wolves, is the first place to be mentioned."

"It's always useful to gather more talented people."

"You only realize how little you know when you need to use it."

"Brother Han, remember this!"

As Ye Qingcang and Han Fei walked and talked, the city gate was no longer far away. They had covered two-thirds of the so-called kilometer distance. Ye Qingcang then cut short his conversation to summarize and conclude. "Of course, the above is just my humble opinion. Anyway, I have always believed that it doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches Haozi, it's a good cat... However, compared with Brother Han Fei, my concerns are mostly based on experience, and are somewhat like theoretical talk. In short, Brother Han, just listen and take it with a grain of salt; the specific actions are up to you."

"A shallow opinion?"

"I don't think so?"

Han Fei and Ye Qingcang were kindred spirits over drinks.

He particularly admired Ye Qingcang's humility.

Some people's humility is just politeness.

But Ye Qingcang's humility was genuine.

He genuinely believed he had nothing to be proud of, hence his sincere humility. Such genuine humility often signifies that the person possesses a broader perspective, much like someone who has reached the summit of a mountain will never care about the potholes beneath their feet. Such a person often possesses greater strength and personal cultivation.

Therefore, after hearing Ye Qingcang's words, Han Fei did not deny them immediately. Instead, he retorted, "Although the saying 'black cat, white cat' is a folk saying, the saying about Neko catching mice is crude but reasonable. If victory is assured, I naturally wouldn't do something that would cause internal strife. Even if they deserve to die, there are many ways to die. Whether they die for their country, on the battlefield, or are convicted and imprisoned and executed is still uncertain..."

This can be seen from Han Fei's answer.

Han Fei had already entered his mature stage.

He no longer considers right or wrong when he does things.

Instead, it takes a more holistic and macro perspective, even transcending Han Kingdom itself, and extends to the world comprised of the Seven Kingdoms of the Qin Kingdom, Zhao Kingdom, Chu Kingdom, Qi Kingdom, and others, as well as other small states and their inhabitants, using this as a chessboard.

Unfortunately, it was all due to timing and fate.

This era produced a Ying Zheng.

The Qin Dynasty, having built up the legacy of six generations, finally reached its peak.

Otherwise.

Han Fei had a very good chance of unifying the country.

Because Han Fei never uttered arrogant words.

He said he wanted to control 99 percent of the world.

That means he really does have that talent.

Of course, the value of this statement can be seen from everything he does, because even Ying Zheng was half a step below Han Fei in terms of vision. If Ying Zheng were in the same situation, Ying Zheng would not get a higher score or result than Han Fei.

However, that's what they say.

However, the gap between these two and the rest is enormous.

Let's just say that.

The world is like a test paper.

Others are still hovering around the perfect score of ten.

Ying Zheng has already scored 98 points on this test.

Han Fei, on the other hand, scored 99 points on the test.

Compared to those who think they're amazing just because they got eight or nine points.

These two are truly formidable.

It's just that the two people had different approaches to solving the problem.

Han Fei leaned more towards Legalist School thinking, choosing to govern the country by law and using laws to control people's hearts. Ying Zheng, on the other hand, was a typical example of monarchical power, or one could say imperial strategy. He chose to control people's hearts by controlling them, and by controlling the military, he gained absolute power of speech and definition, ensuring the empire's longevity through a centralized system.

The drawback of the former is that it requires constant maintenance.

There is no such thing as a perfect law.

They too will be eliminated by the times.

The drawback of the latter is that it requires the emperor to be immortal.

The drawback of centralized systems is that all power is concentrated in one person; if that person dies, the power will immediately collapse and crumble.

This is what is known as the division of land after the death of the First Emperor.

Therefore, by not taking personal whims as the standard for legislation, not using ironclad laws as the reason for enforcement, and always placing humanity and reason above the law, if Han Fei's path had succeeded, it would have been a unique achievement in history, although it still could not guarantee lasting prosperity for thousands of generations.

As they chatted...

Before we knew it.

We had already arrived at the city gate.

A lively and agile girl, as pure and beautiful as a lotus Phoebe, wearing a pink and white dress, looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. She skipped and hopped over, ignoring the opinions of those around her, and threw herself into Han Fei's arms, headbutting Han Fei so hard that he stumbled back two steps.

"Elder brother!"

A chorus of joyful and excited voices rang out.

Han Fei could only manage a wry smile.

He coughed twice.

He then said bluntly, "You're such a grown man, you should know how to keep men and women separate. Even if I'm your brother, you should still be mindful of your surroundings, okay?"

"You're always talking about me."

"He scolded me as soon as I got back."

"You wicked Ninth Brother!"

The lively and spirited girl angrily pushed Han Fei away.

Of course, she couldn't possibly persuade Han Fei.

Han Fei was six years older than her.

He also practiced martial arts.

Even if she had also practiced martial arts.

It was impossible to push Han Fei away.

So, that push was merely a means to get up. Then, a quick glance revealed her spoiled nature; she waved her little fist at the staring pedestrians and threatened, "What are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

"Cough cough cough cough..."

Han Fei choked on his own saliva.

Helplessly, they stopped Hong Lian from threatening passersby.

He bowed to the pedestrians.

I apologize.

Anyway, the Hong Lian isn't very big.

At the age of fifteen or sixteen.

She would be considered a grown woman in this era, but it's common for her to be immature in handling affairs. The saying "a young man with no beard is unreliable" reflects a stereotype formed because people married too early in ancient times.

Because men typically start growing facial hair around the age of twenty.

Those who are full of energy are all fathers of three children.

There's nothing wrong with them; they're all fathers now.

Their interpersonal skills and conduct naturally improve.

However, since Princess Crimson Lotus is very favored, it is not a big deal if she does not get married in the short term. To quote what King An of Han said in a drunken state at a palace banquet, even if he raises her to the age of twenty, as long as Hong Lian does not want to get married, he will grant his daughter's wish. His bottom line is to see Hong Lian get married before he dies. Although she still has to get married, this deadline has given Hong Lian far too much time.

Compared to Hong Lian's sisters.

Hong Lian is truly one of a kind.

Therefore, even if Han Fei did not apologize, most of the people in Xinzheng knew about this special princess and would not go against the grain.

At worst, I'll just not watch the show.

There's no need to start a conflict.

Although this Princess Crimson Lotus only shouted slogans loudly.

Over the years...

I've never actually seen anyone's eyes gouged out.

I've never seen anyone actually get arrested and imprisoned.

At most, they would be driven away by the guards at the city gate.

In the eyes of the common people, she was a rather flamboyant but kind-hearted princess.