Qin Kingdom! Blitzkrieg!

Everyone in the courtyard froze at the sight of the young man approaching.

"Brother!" Ying Si rushed out of the house, wild with joy.

Seeing the familiar figure beside him, Ying Zheng smiled and patted his younger brother's head.

Looking at his son, who stood a full head taller than him, Ying Yiren finally made up his mind.

He cupped his fists and bowed to his father-in-law. "Then I'll leave it in your hands, Father-in-law!"

Then he told his wife and children, "Wait for me at home. I'll be back soon."

Ying Yiren followed Lü Wei out through the gate with long strides. Another hard battle awaited them.

Over the next few days, Lü Wei went everywhere, scattering money as he went, only to be met with disdain.

Ying Yiren also swallowed his pride and went to the royal court to seek an audience with the King of Wei.

That evening, seeing the red marks on his father's face, Ying Zheng clenched his fists without a word. He wolfed down his dinner, then returned to the courtyard to practice martial arts.

A few days later, the King of Wei finally agreed to sell Ying Yiren the territory in the Han Kingdom that belonged to the Wei Kingdom, and announced it to the world.

Ying Yiren looked at his father-in-law with shame. Naturally, the territory had not come free. His father-in-law had nearly exhausted his fortune and sold countless formulas for new materials to the Wei royal family.

Ying Yiren had also endured every humiliation. The King of Wei had slapped him hard several times and ordered him to get out of the Wei Kingdom within seven days.

Seeing Ying Yiren's guilt, Lü Wei smiled. "We achieved our goal, so our painstaking efforts weren't wasted. Let's go. They'll regret this."

Back home, Ying Yiren told his family the news, and everyone packed their belongings.

Looking at the red marks on his father's face, Ying Zheng clenched his fists tightly. The chill in his eyes deepened as he gritted his teeth and spat out two words: "Wei Kingdom."

Returning to his room, Ying Zheng studied the territory belonging to the Ying family and dashed off several letters.

After watching several eagles fly into the distance, Ying Zheng picked up a book and resumed reading.

Since the Wei Kingdom had given them only seven days, Lü Wei spent his remaining money buying vast quantities of daily necessities and weapons.

He had spent years doing good and helping others, earning many friends. People from all walks of life were willing to help him.

Many retired soldiers also heard the news and came to join him.

Ying Yiren likewise had many friends. Some were skilled strategists, willing to follow him to the territory in the Han Kingdom.

Looking at the wagon full of weapons, Ying Zheng picked up a rifle with a faint smile, expertly chambered a round and took aim, then tossed it back onto the wagon.

A decent start.

Fifteen wagonloads of supplies departed in separate batches. More than three hundred people also split up to travel, quietly vanishing from Wei territory.

To reach their fief, they only needed to reach the Wei border and cross the Zhao Kingdom's fief.

Relations between the Wei Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom were fairly good. Both founders were sons of Xuanyuan Huangdi.

Ying Yiren also counted as a member of Wei royalty, and carried the territory's deed documents and travel permits.

The party passed smoothly through Zhao territory and reached the land that belonged to them.

After half a day's wait, everyone had arrived. Yet Ying Zheng did not move on, telling them to wait instead.

Both Ying Yiren and Lü Wei had absolute faith in this son.

Ying Zheng's presence was also why Lü Wei and Ying Yiren had dared make up their minds to venture out and build something of their own.

The boy had known his own mind since childhood. After that incident, he had entered the Xia Kingdom's strictest military academy. Twelve years later, he had completed his studies as its most outstanding graduate.

Ying Zheng was a born leader. They believed that, given an opportunity, his name would surely resound beneath the heavens.

They waited another half day, but no one dared complain. Having decided to join the Ying family, they had accepted him as their king.

A while later, several men came racing from the distance on velociraptors.

Seeing those three familiar faces, even the usually unsmiling Ying Zheng broke into a smile.

The man in front swung down from his mount and said between heavy breaths, "Brother Zheng, your message came far too suddenly! We ran for three days and nights before finally getting here. Give me some water!"

"Me too! I'm starving!"

"Brother Zheng, we aren't late, are we?"

Smiling, Ying Zheng took water and food from a guard and handed them over. "Not at all. You're just in time. Eat slowly!"

Ying Yiren watched them curiously. He had never seen his son so happy, and could not help wondering who these men were.

After they had eaten a little, Ying Zheng brought them before his family and introduced his relatives.

Then he pointed to one of them. "This is my good brother, Wang Jian. Even the military academy's instructors couldn't defeat him in simulated large-scale offensive and defensive exercises. He's levelheaded and steady in command, always skilled at building momentum rather than clashing head-on. He overwhelms his enemies through superior positioning, finds an opening, and strikes home in a single blow."

"This man is the same. He and Wang Jian have traded blows evenly, neither able to overcome the other. They still haven't settled who is better. He excels at field battles and large-scale flanking maneuvers and surprise attacks. His tactics are cunning, fierce, and ruthless-Bai Qi."

"This is Shang Yang. I won't explain his identity. In time, you'll understand what kind of man he is."

Ying Zheng immediately distributed weapons and ammunition. Of the 230 soldiers, he kept thirty for himself.

He divided the remaining two hundred between Wang Jian and Bai Qi, giving each a hundred men to command.

Chatting and laughing, the party headed toward their territory. They witnessed several gunfights along the way, but no one approached to provoke such a large procession.

Shang Yang kept observing their surroundings. This place really is just as the rumors say-beyond the reach of all three authorities, with fierce, unruly people.

He was not surprised that Ying Zheng had left his identity unexplained. His background was somewhat like Ying Yiren's, unsuitable for public disclosure. He was the King of Chu's most neglected grandson and, in a fit of anger, had enlisted at the Xia Dynasty's military academy.

The four of them had been the closest of friends at the academy, eating and living together like brothers. As its most ambitious students, they had talked at length, dreaming of one day making their names resound throughout the world.

When they received Ying Zheng's letters, they trembled with excitement and set out overnight from the Xia Dynasty's military academy toward the Han border.

After several days of settling in together, all the soldiers admired Bai Qi and Wang Jian immensely.

The two ate and lived alongside their men, explained battle tactics to them, and drilled them during breaks. Whatever methods they used, not a single soldier refused to cooperate.

Was this the charisma of great generals?

After another two days of travel, they finally reached their destination. Wei had a garrison here. It was Wei territory, after all; however harsh the conditions, three thousand soldiers still guarded the city.

After discussions, the garrison agreed to give them only one month before withdrawing to the Wei Kingdom.

Even that was only because Lü Wei had wielded his money-powered abilities to bribe the commanding general. Otherwise, they would have withdrawn that very day.

Guard a city with fewer than three hundred men? Ha!

After half a day of inquiries, Ying Zheng's party finally understood the city's general situation.

Previously called Lodi City, it had an official population of around three million.

Crime was rampant, with gunfights every day. Its various factions were tangled together in a complicated web, all of them local tyrants.

Ying Zheng dismissed these factions, large and small, with contempt. If he could not even deal with these sesame seeds, how could he contend for the world?

Wang Jian, Bai Qi, and Shang Yang went into action. In just twenty days, they brought every corner of Lodi City under their control.

Ying Zheng ordered Wang Jian and Bai Qi to begin recruiting troops, leaving the numbers entirely up to them. If they recruited five hundred, they would command five hundred.

If they recruited fifty thousand, they would command fifty thousand. They only needed to recruit and train soldiers; he would handle everything else.

At Ying Zheng's command, Lodi City began a population census. Shang Yang completed the assignment in just three days.

The final figures left everyone stunned. Lodi City actually had more than 6.7 million people, over twice the official count.

This was good news. Population determined everything.

Shang Yang began his work, winning the people's trust and drafting laws. One order after another went out from the City Lord's Office.

Lodi City underwent earth-shaking changes. The most immediate change its residents felt was the plummeting crime rate.

The smashing, looting, burning, and gunfights once seen everywhere disappeared.

Lü Wei also displayed his formidable business talents. Money began flowing back in, turning into goods that were then sold onward.

After several rounds of buying and selling, the City Lord's Office's treasury gradually filled.

Everyone took up their duties. Ying Zheng became their undisputed leader. Ying Yiren chose to manage logistics, Wang Jian and Bai Qi commanded the army, Lü Wei headed the Commerce Department, Shang Yang oversaw the rule of law, and Ying Zheng's younger brother Ying Si headed the Research and Development Department.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed. The Wei commander prepared to withdraw with his three thousand troops, casting a mocking glance at Ying Zheng before leaving.

In his view, the day Wei's army withdrew would be the day Lodi City fell.

But as they were leaving through the city gate, they looked up at the walls and were dumbstruck.

Soldiers in matching uniforms stood solemnly atop the walls, steel rifles on their shoulders. There appeared to be no fewer than ten thousand.

The commander hurriedly led his three thousand troops away with his tail between his legs.

Ying Zheng chose not to publicly announce the founding of a kingdom. He developed quietly, intending to give everyone a surprise.

As Shang Yang put it: build high walls, stockpile grain, and delay claiming kingship.

Time flew, and soon it was year 116 of the Xia Era.

The Chu Kingdom publicly announced that it had developed a new form of energy, naming it "electricity."

It also made the experimental principles public and began selling generators.

Ying Zheng attached great importance to this new energy source. The previous emergence of petroleum energy had brought enormous changes to human society.

If they caught this favorable wind, Lodi City might rise rapidly.

He immediately had Lü Wei buy it at a high price and handed it to his younger brother, Ying Si.

Watching the dazzling electrical sparks, Ying Si wore an entranced expression. He was deeply captivated.

After intensive research and extensive experimentation, he reproduced the generator the Chu Kingdom was so proud of within a few weeks, then improved it further.

As Chu frantically sold electrical appliances abroad, Lodi City bought them all. Ying Si extrapolated from each one to create improved, cutting-edge versions, then quietly sold them through Lü Wei, claiming they were the latest products from Chu.

Several months later, even Chu was bewildered. Do we have this version of the generator? Why don't I know about it?

They assumed some department in Chu had developed a new product. Models were changing so quickly that they paid it little mind.

Three years passed like this.

Lodi City improved the many electrical appliances Chu took such pride in, developing newer products.

Drawing on these products, Ying Si led his team in applying what they learned to develop still more inventions. They swept across the continent, always said to have been purchased from Chu.

Most importantly, in the military field, Ying Si improved various firearms, then developed a series of entirely new and terrifying weapons of war.

These included cannons, tanks, more advanced heavy machine guns, mortars, and more modern cars and trucks.

Tanks, in particular, were issued to the army in large numbers.

After three years of iron-and-blood training, Lodi City's army was equipped with the finest gear in the entire Human Race. Its combat strength soared, making it an unquestionably elite force.

Year 120 of the Xia Era.

When Ying Zheng heard that Chu had declared war on Zhao and Yan, he immediately realized that Lodi City's opportunity had arrived.

Chu launched ferocious attacks against Zhao and Yan, its powerful firepower shocking the continent.

Chu's offensive went smoothly, capturing one city after another in both kingdoms. Its ambitions swelled, and it went on to declare war on Xia as well, fighting on three fronts at once.

With a wolf's ravenous ambition, Chu sought to swallow all three kingdoms in a single bite, then unite the entire continent.

With the lips gone, the teeth would feel the cold. Faced with this danger, the six kingdoms chose to join forces against Chu's army.

At that very moment, Ying Zheng swept his hand out and publicly announced:

From that day onward, Lodi City would be renamed Xianyang, and a kingdom would officially be founded under the name Great Qin. Ying Zheng proclaimed himself King of Qin.

Busy fighting their wars, the great kingdoms gave contemptuous smiles at the news. It was merely children playing house, and they paid it no mind.

Their greatest priority was resisting Chu, yet the six kingdoms were not united in purpose.

A few days later, Chu breached the capital of the Yan Kingdom in Jing Province. Yan fell, shocking the continent.

Wei struggled desperately to hold on. Fortunately, troops from the Zhao Kingdom in Yan Province and the Xia Kingdom in Yu Province arrived in time to prevent its destruction.

With the Yan Kingdom in Jing Province destroyed, the Shang Kingdom in Xu Province and the Qi Kingdom in Yang Province combined their forces to resist Chu's invasion in Qi.

The Qin Kingdom.

In just three years, Qin had trained two hundred thousand elite troops. Wang Jian and Bai Qi each led an army of one hundred thousand, striking swiftly from the northwest and southwest.

Ten days later.

The continent was shaken once more as news arrived that no one could believe.

Shang and Zhao had been destroyed by Qin. Qin now possessed three provinces.

Since Shang had sent its army to support Qi, its rear was empty. Bai Qi launched a Blitzkrieg, covering a thousand li a day. He left only a few soldiers to guard conquered territory before continuing his advance.

Zhao's situation was much the same. Its army was supporting Wei, leaving the kingdom undefended. Under cover of cannon fire, Wang Jian carried out a Decapitation Strike, first knocking out command centers, then bombarding the cities. One after another, they fell.

Above all, no one had any real impression of Qin. Hadn't it only announced its founding a little while ago?

Everyone had treated the news as a passing amusement. That land lay in the buffer zone between three kingdoms, and no one had taken it seriously.

Who could have expected a hundred thousand troops to suddenly appear, armed with exceptionally advanced weapons? Apparently their rifles could fire continuously? Their firepower was tremendous?

Since when could smoothbore cannons shoot so far? And with such devastating power?

And those iron boxes-apparently they were called tanks? They used Chu's internal combustion engines?

Blitzkrieg? Decapitation Strike?

They had never heard of such things. Even Chu was dumbfounded.

Brother! I'm the one waging a war here. What are you doing?

I've only just gained one province, and you've taken three??

War across the continent abruptly paused. Chu withdrew its troops, and every kingdom pulled back to defend its strongholds. Blue Star fell into peace once again.

At this point, only five kingdoms remained on the continent: Chu, Xia, Wei, Qi, and Qin.

Everyone knew this peace was only temporary. War could erupt at the slightest spark.

But none of them expected that, in just six months, Great Qin's sword would point straight at Wei and Qi.