Chapter 297: Jing Ke (Conclusion)

"Jing Ke, so it really is you." Daniel Davis wasn't surprised that someone from the Mohist school had come, but the fact that it was Jing Ke did catch him off guard. Although Daniel had never met Jing Ke before, his reputation preceded him. The story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the First Emperor of Qin was legendary, passed down through the ages. Though he failed, Jing Ke still earned a place in history as one of the Five Great Assassins of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

The title of "assassin" during that era was vastly different from the way it was used in organizations like Luowang or Liusha. Strictly speaking, the members of these organizations should be referred to as "killers" rather than assassins. The term "assassin" wasn't used lightly back then, and each of the four assassins who preceded Jing Ke was a paragon of loyalty and righteousness. Jing Ke, of course, was no exception.

There's a saying that goes, "The times have changed." The rituals and music that were revered during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods had already fallen into disarray by this time, and so had the titles and honors associated with them.

For example, the title "gongzi" (noble son) was once reserved only for people of stature like Han Fei or Fusu. Now, while it wasn't exactly a common title, many people in places like the Zilan Xuan were addressed as "gongzi."

Even though the title might be the same, the person wearing it could make a big difference.

The Confucian scholars lamented the breakdown of ritual and music, seeing it as a loss of social hierarchy and respect. This breakdown didn't start during the Warring States period; it began during the time of the Five Hegemons in the Spring and Autumn period.

Confucianism placed a heavy emphasis on the hierarchy of superiors and inferiors, believing that this order was essential for everyone to perform their roles without overreaching. This, they argued, was the key to peace and stability, preventing the outbreak of war.

Simply put, a farmer should remain a farmer and not aspire to become an official or seek wealth, as that would neglect agriculture. While this idea might seem narrow-minded, it wasn't entirely wrong in the context of the time.

During the Spring and Autumn period, the power of the ruling nobility increased significantly. This led to practices like the "Eight Dances," which were rituals meant only for the Son of Heaven (the king), being performed by nobles, something Confucius found intolerable.

As the saying goes, "If you can tolerate the Eight Dances being performed in your courtyard, what can't you tolerate?"

It's interesting to note that Confucius hailed from the State of Lu, where the Zhou rites were said to be best preserved. However, it was also people from Lu who first broke the Eight Dances protocol. Other states violated it too, but only up to the Six Dances.

This is just one aspect of the breakdown of ritual and music. Another was the transformation of warfare. In the era before the breakdown, wars were fought with both sides lining up in formation and attacking at a set time, without the use of surprise attacks.

At that time, the most important aspect of war was that the nobility was generally not killed. Ordinary soldiers were not allowed to attack nobles, and even if a state lost a war, its nobles were typically captured rather than killed. They could be ransomed back later.

The Duke of Song's refusal to attack while the enemy was crossing the river is often praised as a model of righteousness in Confucian texts, though it led to the near annihilation of his army and his own death.

Even in wars of total conquest, like when the Zhou dynasty overthrew the Shang, the victors spared the Shang nobility, allowing them to continue as vassals.

But when ritual and music broke down, everything changed. Warfare became ruthless; the goal was to put the enemy's head on the block, and tactics like surprise attacks became the norm. The idea of chivalrous combat was replaced by the principle of "all's fair in war."

The art of war, which later became one of the many schools of thought, emerged during this period. Unlike other schools, it never formed a unified organization but served various rulers individually.

The Confucians harshly criticized the military strategists because they broke the old rules of war, making it impossible for nobles to protect their lives in battle. Even kings and sons of heaven could be killed without remorse.

Confucius was lucky not to have lived to see Lü Buwei annihilate the Zhou dynasty, which would have surely caused him to die of anger.

"The law does not extend to nobles, and the rites do not apply to commoners." This phrase has been interpreted in many ways by later generations, but these interpretations are modern attributions. At the time, the phrase was taken at face value.

"So, you are Jing Ke. I've heard Gai Nie mention you."

"Gai Nie..." 

At the mention of Gai Nie, Jing Ke's expression became complicated. Gai Nie and Jing Ke were once good friends, both hailing from the State of Wei. However, after Gai Nie became the chief swordsmanship instructor of Qin, their relationship grew distant.

For the Six States of Shandong, Qin was the common enemy, and Gai Nie's allegiance to Qin made him an enemy of the Six States. Secretly, Gai Nie was even placed on the Six States' most wanted list.

The State of Wei was indeed remarkable; many significant figures of the Warring States period emerged from this small state, which was little more than a single city by that time.

Shang Yang, Lü Buwei, Gai Nie, Jing Ke, and even the legendary Guiguzi all hailed from Wei, the land where the remnants of the Shang dynasty resided.

Though the Shang dynasty was overthrown, its surviving nobility was enfeoffed as rulers of small states like Lu and Wei by the Zhou dynasty.

The State of Wei even managed to survive until the end, as Qin did not annex it. After all, Shang Yang's contributions to Qin were too significant.

"Are you alright?" A figure leaped down from the mechanical Zhuque above. The newcomer, about the same age as White Phoenix, wielded a pair of strange weapons called Shunfei Wheels. Judging by his appearance, technique, and weapons, it was clear that he was Da Tiezhang, also known as Zhi.

"It's nothing. I was just curious to see what kind of person the Grandmaster of Qin was. Turns out you're just a butcher who revels in killing."

"Quite the sharp tongue. Is the Mohist principle of non-aggression that when someone tries to kill you, you can't defend yourself and must just let them succeed?" Daniel responded calmly as he looked at Jing Ke and Da Tiezhang.

"Uh..." Da Tiezhang was left speechless. The Mohist principle of non-aggression wasn't meant to be interpreted like that.

"Grandmaster of Qin, what is it that you want?" Jing Ke stepped forward. Compared to the slick-tongued Da Tiezhang, Jing Ke was more straightforward.

"What do I want? That's an interesting question. I was simply traveling the world when these people ambushed me. Perhaps you should ask them what they wanted—oh, right, you can't ask them now."

"Traveling the world?"

"Indeed. There's a saying, 'Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles.' Or does the Mohist school even control where others can travel? Isn't that a bit overbearing?"

"Traveling the world doesn't require killing so many people," Da Tiezhang interjected.

"I've never shown mercy to my enemies." Avoiding these people would have been easy, but why should he?

"Enough talk. Since you're here, and the Mohist school has joined this ambush, I won't let you off so easily," Daniel said, raising his black sword and pointing it at Jing Ke and Da Tiezhang.

"I've said it before—I show no mercy to my enemies. Since the Mohist school dared to get involved, I assume you're prepared to die here."

The tension in the air grew immediately as Daniel spoke. Jing Ke and Da Tiezhang knew he wasn't joking—the corpses littering the ground were proof enough.

"Da Tiezhang, get ready to escape," Jing Ke suddenly moved to block Daniel's view of Da Tiezhang, lowering his voice as he instructed him.

The earlier exchange made it clear to Jing Ke that he was no match for Daniel, and Da Tiezhang even less so. To avoid complete annihilation, Jing Ke would hold off Daniel to give Da Tiezhang a chance to escape.

"I won't leave you behind."

"Lucky me, the mechanical Zhuque and Baihu have shown up on their own. Saves me the trouble of searching for them all over Yan," Daniel remarked. His main objective on this journey was to find the mechanical Zhuque and Baihu.

As for Jing Ke and Da Tiezhang, Daniel had only been trying to intimidate them. If it had been other members of the Mohist school, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill them. But with these two, he had no real intention of taking their lives. They were famous, unlike someone like Ji Wuye.

Even though he wouldn't kill Jing Ke, he wouldn't let him leave unscathed either. The moment Jing Ke appeared before Daniel, he had lost the chance to assassinate the First Emperor.

Jing Ke's attempted assassination was often seen as an act of loyalty, but in reality, he was just being used by Yan

 Dan. He abandoned his family to try to kill Ying Zheng.

Was Ying Zheng so easy to kill? Even if Jing Ke had succeeded, he wouldn't have made it out of Xianyang Palace alive.

In this era, abandoning one's family for loyalty and righteousness was seen as normal. One of the other four great assassins of the Warring States even sacrificed his entire family to get close to his target.

"I'm going first," Da Tiezhang said, giving Jing Ke a knowing look before spinning his Shunfei Wheels and splitting into two figures that charged at Daniel, using the Lightning Step technique.

"Only this technique at a time like this?" Daniel smiled faintly as he watched the two figures approach. He deftly turned his black sword from its edge to its flat side and struck at the figure on the left. The Lightning Step might fool others, but it was useless against Daniel.

Bang.

Da Tiezhang's body was sent flying by the flat of Daniel's sword.

"Tricks like that won't work on me." Daniel's black sword then spun again, shattering the Shunfei Wheels that had flown back toward him.

The Shunfei Wheels were a versatile weapon, capable of close combat and being used as projectiles. Da Tiezhang had disassembled the weapon before the fight and thrown the pieces in a curved trajectory, using himself as bait to distract Daniel. It was a clever tactic, but the gap in their abilities was too wide.

And that wasn't even the full extent of Da Tiezhang's plan. The Shunfei Wheels were just a distraction for the real threat—Jing Ke's attack that followed.

But it was all in vain. Daniel's right hand, gripping the white sword, had been waiting for Jing Ke's move. Jing Ke's Heavenly Eighteen Swords technique was a powerful skill, not inferior to the Ghost Valley school's Transverse Eight Directions technique.

Once unleashed, the Heavenly Eighteen Swords would rain down relentless blows, leaving few able to escape unscathed.

Like the Transverse Eight Directions, the Heavenly Eighteen Swords had two modes of use: one where each sword strike followed the last in an endless chain, and the other where all the sword energy was released at once, multiplying the attack's power several times over.

However, unlike the Transverse Eight Directions, which could attack in all directions, the Heavenly Eighteen Swords focused on a single target. It was said that when the eighteen sword strikes merged, they had a power comparable to the Ghost Valley's One Sword to Throat or Hundred Steps Flying Sword.

The two main sword techniques of Ghost Valley excelled in either single-target or wide-area attacks.

Unfortunately, Jing Ke's Heavenly Eighteen Swords were destined to fail today. His fully charged attack was intercepted by Daniel's counterstrike, sending him flying once more.

Unlike the earlier exchange where Daniel had held back, this time he applied more force, shattering Jing Ke's sword and severing his right arm. Daniel pulled back at the last moment, sparing Jing Ke's life.

"Commander Jing!" Da Tiezhang, who had just gotten back on his feet, rushed toward Jing Ke's fallen form. He was only lightly injured; Daniel had gone easy on him. Jing Ke, however, was in much worse shape.

At this point, Jing Ke was one of the six commanders of the Mohist school. During this time, the Mohist commanders were all top-tier experts, except for Ban Dashi and Xu Fuzi, who were more skilled in their respective crafts than in combat. Jing Ke was one of these experts, as was Qin Wuyang.

This was in stark contrast to the Mohist school seen later in "Qin's Time," where, aside from Yan Dan, there were no top experts in the organization. Only Gao Jianli held the fort with his Water Cold Sword.

Gao Jianli's martial arts, though formidable, fell just short of reaching the top tier. That gap made him a peak second-tier fighter, but it was like a chasm he could never cross without outside help—help that could only come from a top-tier elixir like the Juxian Pill.

"Down." Ignoring Da Tiezhang and Jing Ke, Daniel leaped into the air and landed on the mechanical Zhuque, his black sword pointed at the Mohist disciple piloting it, ordering him to descend.

Faced with the icy blade at his throat, the Mohist disciple obediently lowered the mechanical Zhuque.

"I was hoping it would be Master Ban of the Mohist school," Daniel thought with some disappointment as he looked at the disciple. If it had been Ban Dashi piloting the Zhuque, he could have taken him to Xianyang, a significant prize.

Though Gongshu Qiu of the Gongshu family would never admit it, the truth was that Master Ban was indeed more skilled in mechanical arts.

The Gongshu family's dominance over the Mohists was due to the support of the powerful Qin state, leveraging resources rather than superior craftsmanship.

___________________

Read Ahead

P@treon.com/Mutter