The lofty status of the Daoist School in the pre-Qin era stemmed not only from its influence over the royal court but also from its grip on the very pulse of the common people's lives.
The calendar, meticulously adjusted and refined by each generation of Daoist leaders, was no mere academic exercise. Every change to the calendar directly impacted the livelihoods of the masses—dictating when to sow seeds, when to harvest crops, and governing the cycle of the five grains. The twenty-four solar terms, a system both awe-inspiring and indispensable, held sway over the rhythms of the world. Thus, mastery over the calendar secured the Daoist School's enduring prominence among the Hundred Schools of Thought.
Consequently, when the leaders of the Daoist School's Heavenly and Human Sects announced their wedding, every feudal state, whether willingly or not, was compelled to send envoys to offer congratulations. You could scoff at the heavens or spirits, but dare to dismiss the calendar and its solar terms? The peasants would rise in revolt—a basic maneuver of rebellion.
With the wedding still ten days away, envoys from various states, noble representatives, and key figures from the Hundred Schools began converging on the small town at the foot of Taiyi Mountain. The Daoist principle of wuwei (non-action) meant that, except on the wedding day itself, outsiders were not permitted to reside within the mountain. Naturally, Daoist disciples would arrange accommodations and logistics for the visitors. Prominent figures would also be received in advance.
The most intriguing situation involved the state of Qin. Taiyi Mountain lay deep within Qin's heartland, yet Qin sent not one but multiple delegations: an official envoy representing King Qin and Lü Buwei's faction, another from Queen Dowager Huayang's faction led by Lord Chang'an, Chengjiao, and—curiously—Lord Changping, who was nominally aligned with Queen Dowager Huayang's faction.
Queen Dowager Huayang represented Qin's Chu lineage, while King Qin stood for the old Qin aristocracy. Lord Changping's actions, however, were puzzling, leaving even Xiaoyaozi and Chixiaozi, the Daoist leaders, uncertain about how to handle the receptions. Typically, envoys from various states were greeted by Xiaoyaozi and Chixiaozi themselves. If a leader of one of the Hundred Schools attended in person, they too would be received by Xiaoyaozi. Lesser figures were met by elders.
The presence of Lord Chang'an, Chengjiao, complicated matters. He was no ordinary envoy, but if Xiaoyaozi or Chixiaozi personally received him, what would that imply for the reception of King Qin's envoy? Yet assigning an elder to greet Chengjiao risked seeming disrespectful to his status.
"The one we should truly focus on isn't Lord Chang'an, but Lord Changping," Li Haimo said, addressing the group.
"Lord Changping?" Xiaoyaozi frowned. "Though he's Qin's Left Chancellor, his status is surely beneath Lord Chang'an's. Besides, there's talk that Qin might soon replace its king."
Li Haimo shook his head. "Queen Dowager Huayang lacks the power to achieve that. The real struggle in Qin lies not with her, but with Lü Buwei. Under the feudal succession system, the eldest son inherits the throne. Huayang, as an outsider, may hold influence now, but the Qin military stands firmly with the king. Any rebellion she might instigate is doomed to fail. Therefore, let Elder Baiyunzi receive Lord Chang'an—it sends a friendly signal to King Qin. As for Lord Changping, I will meet him personally."
"Lord Changping?" Xiaoyaozi remained perplexed. Why prioritize Changping over Chang'an?
Li Haimo couldn't reveal what he knew: in the future, Lord Changping would defect to Chu and briefly become its king, though his reign would end in ruin. More crucially, Changping had devised the Qinglong Plan, a central plotline in Qin Moon. Li Haimo meeting with him was to probe this scheme.
Changping's rebellion wasn't a spur-of-the-moment act; it was long in the making. Did anyone truly believe his obsession with collecting the Three Hundred Swords of the Book of Odes was a mere hobby? The Book of Odes, as the foremost of the Four Books and Five Classics, held mysterious power in this reimagined Qin Moon world. If the Eight Swords of the Yue King could birth an organization as formidable as the Net, what could the Three Hundred Swords of the Book of Odes achieve in Changping's hands? Something even more terrifying, no doubt.
In Qin Moon, Lord Changping was the most underestimated figure. A man who could defect to Chu, ascend to its throne, and command the loyalty of its military was no ordinary schemer. His ties to the Agriculturalist School, though rooted in Qi, were another thread in his intricate web.
WTF. The Agriculturalists led to Qi, and Qi inevitably led to its famed jijishi—elite swordsmen. How had Changping co-opted the Agriculturalists? The answer lay in the Three Hundred Swords of the Book of Odes and Qi's jijishi. A force of jijishi armed with the Three Hundred Swords could rival Qin's Iron Eagle Warriors. Qin boasted three thousand Iron Eagle Warriors, but Changping's jijishi, wielding the poetic swords, might tip the scales. No wonder he was willing to trade a city for a single sword.
Realizing this, Li Haimo broke out in a cold sweat. The shorter the news, the bigger the story. The quiet ones are the most dangerous. Lord Changping, who barely appeared in a single scene without even a clear view of his face, was the true mastermind of Qin Moon. How had the First Emperor and General Wang Jian defeated him? And what became of his three hundred poetic jijishi?
Li Xin had been betrayed by Wang Jian, who likely knew of Changping's poetic swordsmen and their ability to counter the Iron Eagle Warriors. Fearing defeat, Wang Jian had sacrificed Li Xin. Poor Li Xin probably died believing he'd been backstabbed, unaware that a direct confrontation might have annihilated the three thousand Iron Eagle Warriors.
What role did the First Emperor play in this? Did he deliberately withhold the Iron Eagle Warriors to expose Changping, leading to Li Xin's catastrophic defeat?
This Qin era is terrifying. Without knowing the plot's progression and reasoning backward, one might think they stood on the fifth or sixth layer of intrigue, only to discover others were operating on the tenth or higher.
"Keep an eye on Senior Sister Jingyunzi," Li Haimer transmitted to Xiaoyaozi.
"Junior Sister Jingyunzi?" Xiaoyaozi was taken aback.
"I hope I'm wrong, but she may be working for Lord Changping," Li Haimer said.
It wasn't malice driving his suspicion. How could it be mere coincidence that Caiwei, one of the Three Hundred Swords of the Book of Odes, appeared at Taiyi Mountain and fell into Jingyunzi's hands? Even Xiaoyaozi, the Human Sect leader, didn't know what Caiwei looked like. Why would a Daoist elder, who prioritized legalist swords or none at all, choose Caiwei as a personal weapon? The only explanation was that Jingyunzi knew it was Caiwei all along.
Following this thread, Qi's jijishi were renowned for their peerless martial skills, but even a state like Qi couldn't produce so many elite fighters alone. Changping had found a way: he leveraged the Hundred Schools to train them. Forget three hundred jijishi—if standards were relaxed, three thousand were within reach.
People said Qi's jijishi were inferior to Wei's Martial Soldiers and Qin's Iron Eagle Warriors because they couldn't form battle arrays. But if they could? Even Qin's warriors would struggle. Qi had failed to achieve this for years, rendering their jijishi forgotten. Yet Changping had innovated, preserving their individual prowess while enabling them to form arrays through martial techniques.
Qin's three thousand Iron Eagle Warriors were divided into three units of one thousand, each forming a battle array. The Book of Odes, divided into Feng, Ya, and Song, could similarly be split into three units, capable of forming arrays.
Clearly, Lord Changping's collection of the Three Hundred Swords was aimed at countering Qin's Iron Eagle Warriors.
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