I traveled back to the Qin Dynasty, and the First Emperor begged me to become his empress.

Chapter 626 The Exiles of 8ga Island 7

Inside the music workshop, Gao Jianli sat quietly. He heard the sounds of battle in the distance, the whistling of arrows, and the dying cries. His hands rested on the strings of his zither, but he did not play.

The gate was pushed open, and several Japanese apprentices rushed in in a panic: "Master! There's chaos outside! The Qin people and the Japanese are fighting!"

Gao Jianli looked at them and said, "Stay in the ward and don't go out."

"But……"

"Going out means death." Gao Jianli's voice was calm and authoritative. "Staying here offers a chance of survival."

The apprentices looked at each other, and finally chose to obey. To them, this blind Qin musician, though strict, would never harm anyone without reason.

Gao Jianli listened to the sounds outside, his heart unmoved. Four years ago, he might have applauded such resistance. But now, he felt only sorrow. Futile sacrifices, hopeless resistance, would ultimately only leave behind more bloodshed and hatred.

On the other side of the mine, the battle was nearing its end. More than half of the rioters had been killed or wounded, and the rest were surrounded at the mine entrance. Yan Mu leaned against the rock wall, an arrow wound in his left shoulder, blood staining half his body. Xiong Xi lay at his feet, already dead.

Of the seven accomplices, four died, and the remaining three were wounded and captured. The Japanese suffered even greater losses, with only a dozen or so of their more than fifty men still standing.

The Qin army's deputy general walked to the front of the formation and looked at Yan Mu: "Put down your weapons, and you will be spared death."

Yan Mu gave a bitter laugh: "Exempt from death? And then what? Continue to be a slave in the mine?"

"General Li has ordered that the ringleaders be executed, while those coerced will be spared," the lieutenant said. "If you do not surrender, all these people will be buried with you."

He pointed to his captured comrades and the Japanese.

Yan Mu looked at those people. A young member of the imperial family, his leg slashed, lay on the ground groaning; a middle-aged scholar trembled with fear; and the Japanese were filled with terror in their eyes.

They all came this far because they believed in him.

Yan Mu closed his eyes briefly, and the pickaxe in his hand clattered to the ground.

"I surrender," he hissed. "Let them go."

The lieutenant nodded, signaling the soldiers to come forward and bind him. Yan Mu did not resist, letting the cold iron chains bind his hands and feet. He was led across the mine, where he saw corpses everywhere, some Japanese, some Qin soldiers. Blood soaked the ground, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

Is this the price of resistance? Yan Mu wondered blankly. His grandfather resisted the Qin people and died; he resisted the Qin people and was about to die. Yet the Qin people remained powerful and continued to expand. Was there truly no justice in this world?

He was escorted to the general's mansion. On the way, he saw exiles being driven by soldiers to gather in an open space, everyone's face filled with terror. He saw the Japanese laborers being reorganized into groups and placed under strict guard. He also saw Jing Ke standing on a high point in the mine, coldly watching all of this.

Their eyes met in mid-air. Jing Ke's gaze was complex, containing pity, mockery, and an emotion that Yan Mu couldn't decipher.

In front of the general's mansion, Li Xin and Wang Ben were already standing on the steps. The riot was quelled quickly, in less than an hour.

Yan Mu was led down the steps and forced to kneel. He looked up at the two people who had decided his fate.

“Yan Mu, grandson of Yan Ju, a general of Wei,” Li Xin said slowly, “do you know your crime?”

"A sin?" Yan Mu hissed. "My only sin is being born a Wei person!"

Li Xin shook his head: "No. Your crime is that you have failed to live up to the opportunity given to you by the King. You were exiled here to atone for your sins through labor, and you might have had the chance to return to the Central Plains in the future. But you harbored treacherous intentions, instigated a riot, and caused the deaths of dozens of people. This crime deserves to be punished."

Yan Mu gave a bitter laugh: "Kill me if you want, why bother with words!"

"Don't you want to know why Qin was able to unify the six states?" Li Xin suddenly asked.

"The Qin army is strong and well-equipped..." Yan Mu murmured.

“Qin’s laws were strict, yet they ensured that the people had land to cultivate and clothes to wear,” Li Xin said. “You only see Qin’s conquest of the six states, but you don’t see that the world was about to be unified and the wars would end. You only think about restoring your country and seeking revenge, but you don’t think about what will happen after the restoration? Can Wei guarantee that its people won’t go hungry? Can it guarantee that there will be no more wars?”

Yan Mu could not answer. He had been taught since childhood to be loyal to the State of Wei and to hate the Qin people, but he had never thought about these issues.

Li Xin stepped down the stairs and stood in front of Yan Mu: "I will give you two choices. First, execute you for treason and have your body thrown into the sea; second, atone for your crime by performing good deeds, and you may be spared the death penalty and become a commoner."

Yan Mu stared blankly at him. He recalled the look in his father's eyes before he died. It was not hatred, but deep worry—for the people, for the world.

“I…” Yan Mu’s voice was hoarse, “I choose option two.”

Li Xin nodded: "Take him away and treat his wounds. After he recovers, report to the farmland."

Yan Mu was taken away. The crowd gradually dispersed, but a turmoil stirred within each person. The Qin people had not only suppressed the rebellion but also given the rebels a chance to repent. This seemed quite different from the tyrannical Qin they had imagined.

Wang Ben looked at Li Xin: "General Li is benevolent."

“It’s not out of mercy,” Li Xin said, watching Yan Mu’s departing figure, “it’s out of practicality. He’s knowledgeable about agriculture and is a valuable asset. It would be a pity to kill him.”

Aren't you afraid he'll rebel again?

“After this experience, he won’t do it again.” Li Xin turned around. “Some people need swords to tame them, while others only need to be given hope.”

The two returned to the mansion. Outside, soldiers began clearing the battlefield, moving corpses, and washing away the bloodstains. The sun shone brightly, as if the bloodshed had never happened.

Three days after the riots subsided, the supplies brought by Wang Ben's fleet began to be unloaded.

The dock was piled high with wooden crates and sacks, and the exiles were being organized to move them. Yan Mu, with a bandage wrapped around his shoulder, was also standing in the line. He wasn't given any special treatment; he was simply assigned a lighter task—inventory—before his injuries healed.

Yan Mu took notes, his heart filled with complex emotions.

"Yan Mu." A voice rang out.

Yan Mu looked up and saw Jing Ke standing in front of him. This mine supervisor hadn't gone to the mine today, but had come to the dock.

"Is there something you need, Supervisor Jing?" Yan Mu asked in a cold tone.

Jing Ke looked at the wound on his shoulder: "How is the injury?"

"I won't die." Yan Mu continued recording. "The Qin people still need me, so naturally they won't let me die."

Jing Ke was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Your grandfather, General Yan Ju, was a hero."

Yan Mu paused, the tip of his pen leaving a dot of ink on the bamboo slip: "You dare to mention my father?"

“I respect all true soldiers,” Jing Ke said calmly, “whether they are from Qin, Wei, or Chu. Your father was a hero.”

Yan Mu stared at him: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

“I want to say that your father defended the city for the sake of the people in the city,” Jing Ke’s voice was low. “But how many people have you killed this time? Those exiles who followed you, those Japanese, they also had families, and they also hoped to live.”

"I did it for the restoration of my country!"

"Restore the kingdom?" Jing Ke laughed, a bitter laugh. "Restore which kingdom? Wei is gone, its ancestral temples destroyed. Even if you succeed and escape, what then? Gather the remnants and continue fighting Qin? Let more people die on the battlefield?"

Yan Mu was unable to answer.

“Look at these seeds,” Jing Ke said, pointing to the wooden boxes. “If we can truly enable the people to have enough to eat and wear, that will be a real achievement. It’s more meaningful than restoring a country or seeking revenge.”

After he finished speaking, he turned and left. Yan Mu stood there, watching his figure disappear into the crowd.