Qin Official

Mohists believe that they are different from Jing Ke, who can only hide daggers in maps, and Zhang Liang, who hires strong men to throw hammers and is lucky. They do not do things with a slap on the forehead, but with careful planning.

If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. As a group of craftsmen, before doing big things, the Mohists must first make sharp weapons suitable for assassination.

As a Mohist, I have learned three things since childhood: the teachings of Mohist scriptures, personal martial arts, and craftsmanship techniques. There are hundreds of craftsmen in the world, and more than a hundred Qin Mo people have their own specialties. Generally, each person only has one or two apprentices, and they teach their skills without reservation.

Among them, there are six types of metalworking skills. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhu family was responsible for the lower Qi, the Ye family was responsible for the upper Qi, the Fu family was for the sound, the Li family was for the measurement, the Duan family was for the pottery, and the Tao family was for the blade... But as time goes by As time went by, these crafts gradually spread and were no longer mastered by a single family.

Among the Mohists, the one who is most fascinated by forging weapons is undoubtedly a Mohist from Zhao named "Ai Ji'ao".

When Tang Duo, Shi Lin and others invited him to join the gang, Ai Ji'ao readily agreed: "My father once learned to forge swords from Mrs. Xu, a famous craftsman in Zhao State, and together they made Mrs. Xu's dagger, which was exactly what Jing Ke used to stab Qin Shihuang. The poison was extracted, and the blood sealed his throat. Unfortunately, Jing Ke was not good at throwing the sword, and he threw it crookedly..."

The Kingdom of Zhao was destroyed, Ai Weng died on the city wall, and Ai Ji'ao became an orphan and was adopted by Mo Zhe. Now participating in the assassination of Emperor Qin Shihuang can be regarded as inheriting the old legacy of his ancestor, and Ai Ji'ao was very interested in it.

Although the Mohist family was suppressed, its influence in the military-industrial system of the Qin Dynasty was still there. Except for the giant Cheng Shang who stayed in Xianyang, most of the other disciples were assigned to Shanglin to help Su build a house, and there were many people around. He was appointed as a minor official in the workshop, and Ai Ji'ao was the iron official craftsman.

Taking advantage of his position, he spent more than a month painstakingly building an exquisite weapon and showed it to his brothers at a secret gathering in mid-September.

In order to demonstrate the power of the weapon, Ji Ao specially took off his bunt and put on a long robe with large sleeves that was obviously too big. He walked gracefully along the way, bowing politely, but with a slightly ugly face, which made people laugh.

But just as he approached the straw-made dummy, Ai Ji'ao suddenly raised his right hand. After a soft sound, a small sword popped out from it and stabbed into the scarecrow's body!

Everyone was a little surprised. After inspection, they discovered that there was a mechanism on the arm with wide sleeves, which contained a hollow wooden handle. Normally, the thin sword could be hidden in it, linked to the ring by a string, and worn on the little finger. Bend the palm of your hand and pull the string to pop out the rapier!

"There is a sword in the sleeve, hence the name Hidden Blade."

Ai Ji'ao showed it to them triumphantly, thinking it was the perfect assassination weapon, but everyone's attention was focused on the cut off ring finger of his right hand...

Shi Lin clicked his tongue and said, "Your finger wasn't cut off by the pop-up hidden sword, was it?"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and took a step back while protecting their ring fingers. Next, no matter how Ai Ji'ao explained, saying that it was just a mistake caused by the first-generation Hidden Blade more than a month ago, this second-generation Hidden Blade had been modified so that the ring finger would no longer block the sword's path, and everyone remained unmoved.

"You can also switch to knives and crossbows, launch grappling hooks, and fly over walls..."

Even if Ai Ji'ao was right, other scholars agreed that although the hidden sword was exquisite and used a "spring" made of fine iron wire after being inspired by the tycoon Cheng Shang after being inspired by the Marquis of Changnan, it was flashy and the entire mechanism was not practical. It is heavy and big, and the hand becomes thicker after wearing it, which is very obvious and may be exposed anytime and anywhere.

"It's not as useful as a small dagger that's short and easy to hide."

Finally, as to whether the Hidden Blade should be used as an assassination weapon, everyone voted by a show of hands in accordance with the tradition of "Shang Tong". As a result, Ai Ji'ao agreed, and his ring finger was cut off in vain.

After discussion, the scholars agreed that unless Qin Shihuang traveled incognito, the possibility of successfully assassinating him at close range was almost zero.

"A powerful crossbow can shoot its car and its people from a distance, which will actually give you a better chance."

Although Ji Ao was disappointed, he still obeyed the organization's arrangements, stopped what he was doing, and assisted Shi Lin, who was proficient in making strong crossbows for city defense, to develop a new weapon: a powerful crossbow that was stringed by a winch and could shoot two hundred steps!

…

Compared with those Confucian scholars who arrogantly gathered in Xianyang City and were caught by the government, the Mohists had been running a secret organization for two hundred years, and the Mohists who participated in "punishing violence" had one-on-one contact.

On this day in late September, everyone was notified by Tang Duo's black paper kite, and they gathered in the unfinished Epang Palace under the pretext of "study of Mohist scriptures".

After half a year of careful selection, there were more than 50 reliable Mohist disciples willing to join the assassination, accounting for one-third of Qin Mo's total. There are only 11 representatives today, including Tang Duo who has not yet arrived, a total of 12 people.

While waiting for Tang Duo, Yang Yi, who had been hesitant about assassinating the emperor, sighed as Shi Lin and Ai Ji Ao kept talking about the large crossbow that had been secretly made and hidden somewhere in the palace.

"In the past, Gongshu Pan was a tool for building a ladder for Chu. After it was completed, he would attack Song. When Zimozi heard about it, he set out from the state of Lu and traveled ten days and ten nights to Ying to see Gongshu Pan."

"But today, as disciples of Zimozi, we have developed a murder weapon more terrifying than the ladder..."

"Didn't Qin already do these things when he was unified?" Ai Ji'ao crouched in the corner, holding a small book of ink scriptures printed on paper, and muttered.

Shi Lin discovered that even among the dozen or so people, there were still a few who were worried about this.

So he encouraged everyone: "Iron ore does not distinguish between good and evil, and the same goes for the iron obtained by smelting iron ore. The sword made by the blacksmith using gold and iron is also not guilty. The dagger used to cut wood and the sword used to kill people are not guilty. There is no difference, the difference lies in the person who uses it, the difference lies in what is done..."

"If it is used by a big country to attack a small country, and everyone usurps the small country, the strong will rob the weak, the noble will be arrogant and the humble, and it will deceive the fool, then this sword is evil."

"If it's the other way around, if it's used to help the weak defend the strong, to punish evil and promote good, then this sword is good!"

"Who decides what is good and what is evil?" Some people pointed out that they have never been sure whether what they did was right or wrong.

"Of course it is decided by heaven and the wishes of the people!" Shi Lin said matter-of-factly and began to explain his thoughts to everyone.

"One month has passed since Yinghuo guarded the heart. Qin Shi Huang believed in the words of the witches and was still looking for the incarnation of Yinghuo, especially those who should be in the south. Those with different appearances were often arrested and interrogated. But in my opinion , this scourge that disturbs the world and brings wars, massacres, genocide, chaos, and corpses, is none other than Qin Shihuang himself!"

This bold statement surprised everyone.

"That's right, His Majesty the Emperor, he is Yinghuo Xing! Since the unification, the northern expedition, the western expansion, the eastward advance, the southern expedition, all the campaigns were motivated by his great desire. His chaotic and tyrannical rule is what caused the abnormality. The root cause! Yinghuo Shouxin, this is a sign, it is the will of heaven!"

"Zimozi once said that if the emperor acts violently, God can punish him!"

Shi Lin scanned the crowd: "May I ask you, among the three tyrannical kings Jie, Zhou, and You, who were the ones who rebelled against God's will and were punished, and who were the swordsmen who followed God's will and punished them?"

Zhao Yin said: "It's Shangtang."

All Yang Yi was thinking: "It's Zhou Wu."

Ai Ji'ao put away the Mo Jing, stood up and said: "They are the rioting Chinese!"

Shi Lin nodded: "That's right, Tang, Wu, and other Chinese people like us! Regardless of whether they are wise or foolish, noble or humble, as long as the emperor is violent, he can be punished!"

"In order to save this dying Jishi, if others don't stand up, we, the Mohists, must stand up and be the sword that punishes the emperor on behalf of heaven."

He drew out his sword and swore an oath: "We are the sword of heaven's will, the sword of punishment for the emperor! The sword of the world!"

The ten people stood up and unsheathed their swords one after another. Even Ai Ji'ao's short hidden sword came over and repeated his words.

"The Mohist is like the night. He does not compete for worldly honors. He stands up today and takes his life. He has no fear and no retreat, and he has no regrets in dying!"

"Our actions are driven by God's will, so we are no longer Qin Mo, but the Mo of the people in the world, and the Mo of Heaven!"

"Okay, what a heaven-expelling ink!"

Someone came, but it was Tang Duo. The leader of the "Heavenly Expelling Mo" was still late. He glanced at everyone:

"Second and third sons, we have a chance."

Tang Duo said with some excitement: "I got the news that Qin Shihuang will travel at the end of the year to inspect Afang Palace, and then go west to Yong, so that on the first day of the first lunar month in the thirty-seventh year, we will pay homage to the temple of the past Qin monarchs. At that time, we Do it!"