The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 164 I Want to Try to Block the Sky

The highest power hall of the Qin State was filled with obscene words.

Yang Duanhe, Fan Yuqi, Huan Xi, Wang He...all the Qin generals, young and old, criticized Lu Buwei thoroughly, leaving the civil officials no room to get a word in.

Some even rolled up their sleeves and exposed their arms, intending to let this foreign merchant see how arrogant the Qin generals were and how strong the power of the Qin generals, which was fostered by military merit, was.

"Enough!" Qin Wang Zichu shouted and stopped the riot.

The king looked at Lü Buwei for a long while, forced a smile, and said:
"Prime Minister Lu has been traveling for the Great Qin for several months and has become so exhausted that he has fallen ill.

"I will let you rest and recuperate until you are well again. I will adjourn the court now!"

The civil officials who did not have time to criticize did not take it seriously.

Although this matter is not favorable to the State of Qin, it has little to do with their own interests. It would be best to express a position in front of the king, but it is okay if they don't, it doesn't matter.

As the generals were leaving, they pointed at Lu Buwei with a sneer.

Due to the high position of the king, they did not speak threateningly, but their faces were full of threats - if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will beat you to death.

Zheng's flood control and military campaigns were irreconcilable opposites and could not be pursued at the same time.

Being unable to march and fight was the most taboo thing for Qin's military generals, as it was the only way for them to be promoted.

Blocking someone's money is like killing their parents, and blocking both their money and their promotion is like wiping out the entire family.

Chief Justice Zhao Di looked worriedly at Lu Buwei, who appeared and disappeared from time to time, between the gaps between the walking figures of the court officials. He didn't understand why his master would do such an unwise thing.

His lord, Lu Buwei, is now the most powerful man in the Qin State.

The official position was second only to the prime minister, and he was responsible for assisting the prime minister and supervising all officials.

Among the Nine Ministers, there was the Taifu who was in charge of the chariots and horses, and the Shaofu who was in charge of the private property of the King of Qin.

All three were willing to work for Lu Buwei.

With such a great power, the lord can be an enemy of anyone except the king.

At that time, Wei Ran was the younger brother of Queen Dowager Xuan. All the civil officials in the court were submissive to him. He also promoted Bai Qi, a military general, himself. His power was enormous, much greater than that of his lord, but he still could not defeat King Zhaoxiang.

They were not Lu Buwei's followers, but they were court officials within Lu Buwei's sphere of influence. Most of them left the palace in a state of distress, unable to understand what was going on. How dare the Prime Minister offend those crude warriors without the king's support?

It is true that the Prime Minister has real talent and knowledge, but the most basic thing for him to gain a foothold in the Qin State is the support of the King.

Once they lose the king's favor, their seemingly huge forces will scatter in an instant, and they will not even be able to keep their position as prime minister.

The highest-ranking civil official in the Qin State was the Prime Minister, followed by the Grand Censor, and then the Nine Ministers.

Never underestimate Lu Buwei, thinking that only two of the Nine Ministers have pledged their allegiance to him and that his power is not that great.

Weiyang Jun Qin Xi's biggest supporter in the court at that time was Shi Cang, one of the Nine Ministers and the Internal History of Grain.

Shi Cang alone prevented Qin Xiren from attending court, but his influence never disappeared.

The most powerful foreign relatives of the Qin State, the Chu clan headed by the Queen Mother Huayang, only occupied two of the Nine Ministers, namely the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Guests.

Mi Chen was appointed as Dianke, one of the Nine Ministers, and was in charge of the etiquette of audience with princes and tribal leaders.

He holds a high position of power and is Lady Huayang's right-hand man.

He stood at the door of the front hall, quietly waiting for Lu Buwei to come out. The two had known each other when the current King of Qin was still a hostage in Zhao.

When King Xiaowen died, Mi Chen and Lu Buwei had a brief confrontation in front of King Xiaowen's coffin because of their different positions.

As Prince Chu of Qin ascended the throne and reconciled with the Queen Dowager Huayang, the relationship between Mi Chen and Lu Buwei also returned to normal.

Mi Chen walked out of the front hall door and stood quietly at the side of the right hall door.

When Prime Minister Lu Buwei walked out with his head held high, his eyes were immediately cast on Lu Buwei and met Lu Buwei's eyes as calm as a lake.

Mi Chen shook his head slightly, said "let's go", and started moving.

Lu Buwei said "yes" and followed Mi Chen.

Mi Chen deliberately slowed down his pace and waited until Lu Buwei was half a body ahead of him. Then he adjusted his pace to match Lu Buwei's steps in terms of amplitude and speed.

The two of them walked out of the front hall in silence. Mi Chen looked down at the clean white stone floor and said softly:

"Someone called me and told me to embarrass you today."

Lu Buwei also looked at the ground, at the official boots on his feet, the Dengyun boots. The black satin surface was smooth and fine, and could be sold for one thousand four hundred coins.

At present, in Xianyang, one dan of rice costs thirty coins, and a pair of Dengyun shoes weighs more than forty-six dan of rice.

An adult man consumes 18 stone of rice a year, and a pair of Dengyun shoes is enough for an adult man to eat for more than two years and seven months.

"Who?" The Prime Minister of Qin did not look up.

His tone, voice, and intonation were all extremely natural, exactly the same as the "yes" he had responded with earlier.

"Don't ask this." Mi Chen advised kindly.

"Is it the Queen Mother or the King?" Lu Buwei ignored the advice.

Mi Chen stepped on the white stone floor with his black cloud-climbing shoes and pulled Lü Buwei, who had taken one more step, to stop him.
"Do you really not understand, or do you want to follow the footsteps of the Qin prime ministers of all generations?"

Lu Buwei looked back, and his high cheekbones seemed unfamiliar to Mi Chen, as Mi Chen was used to Lu Buwei's round face.

Letting his arm be pulled by Mi Chen, Lu Buwei shook his head:
"I don't want to die, but if I really have to die, I want to die with a clear conscience."

Mi Chen's brows showed anger, he took a half step closer and growled in a low voice:

"Then let me tell you, both of them want to embarrass you, you are too ostentatious!"

Lu Buwei chuckled:
"Oh, I know even if you don't tell me, just seek the truth."

Mi Chen snorted coldly:
"You are going to offer advice on flood control at the court meeting. The higher-ups all know about it, and so does the one who came back from the dead!
"My advice failed, but your words have worked, and I'm doing justice to that Korean guy.

"Isn't he ill? Just stay at home for a few days and submit a memorial to the emperor and admit your fault.

"The king still loves you. He didn't give me a chance to speak. He was saving face for you."

Lu Buwei tilted his head slightly and asked seriously:

"What about Guanzhong? Should we just let it continue to suffer from floods and the white-haired land continue to grow year after year?"

Mi Chen was furious and took another step closer, almost sticking to Lu Buwei:

"Things are already clear as day! (Note 1)

"Guanzhong is a place with floods and droughts. Tens of thousands of people die every year. But are there any members of your Lu family among these tens of thousands of deaths?

"The Guanzhong area is flooded all year round, and the long-term wetness turns into brine, with white salt grains seeping out of the ground.

"In summer and autumn, the sky is vast, in winter and spring, the sun is blocked by white dust, and even the five grains cannot grow, while weeds, wormwood and reeds grow in profusion.

"This white-haired land has destroyed the neighboring fertile farmland. It will take three to five years of hard work to control it. The area is getting bigger and bigger, but is this spreading white-haired land your fiefdom, Lu Buwei?

"Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and treat everything as a straw dog.

"The sage is unkind and treats the people as straw dogs!

“The death of 3,500 to 10,000 people is just a number. Even if it’s 100,000 people, it’s still a number!
"This is God's will, you can't stop it!"

Lu Buwei lowered his head in silence for a moment, then raised his head again.

The closer Mi Chen looked, the thinner the face looked, and the more unfamiliar this face seemed to him.

"I want to try to block it." The Prime Minister of Qin smiled calmly.

Mi Chen pushed him away, took two steps back, and quickly distanced himself from her, his face showing sadness:
"You and I have been friends for ten years. Take the risk. I will advise you again.

"It was difficult for the prime ministers of the Qin Dynasty to have a good ending, Shang Yang, Gan Mao, and Fan Ju were all like this.

"Why? Because you guys want to make a contribution too much!

“In the officialdom, there are only two options: advance and retreat.

"You have reached the top of your official rank and there is no further to go. So not retreating is progress.

"You are the Prime Minister, the head of the civil officials, and military affairs also depend on you.

"Whenever good things happen in the Qin State, no matter who did it, isn't it all your contribution?
“Merit and faults always go hand in hand, great merits are always accompanied by great faults.

"You should not seek to achieve success, but to avoid mistakes. You must know that avoiding mistakes is success!

“Cai Ze did this and was given the title of Lord Gangcheng. He left his post as prime minister with the title of Lord, and now he often teaches the crown prince.

"Cai Ze is only one of the prince's many teachers. You are his only teacher. You are in a much better situation than him." "If he can do it, can't you?"

Lu Buwei took three steps back, bowed to Mi Chen, turned around and left.

He can do it.

He doesn't want to do it.

Xianyang, the first of the five cities in the Central Plains, is the most prosperous place in the world.

Bai Wuxia, without a mask, accompanied her grandfather Bai Qi in a leisurely stroll through the streets and alleys.

Bai Qi, who had been imprisoned for more than seven years, wore a bamboo hat and looked at the taverns and buildings on the street through a thin layer of black curtain, listening to the hawking.

"That boy is really restless." Bai Qi said with emotion: "Let Zheng State control the flood, huh."

Bai Qi received a handwritten letter from Ying Chengjiao.

Prince Chengjiao asked him to restrain the four veteran generals, Bie Gong, Meng Ao, Wang Ling and Wang He, so that they would not become obstacles to water control and canal construction.

The Four Elders were often called the Four Dukes of Qin and represented the military power of Qin.

If Bai Qi could suppress the four veteran generals, and then let the four veteran generals suppress many Qin generals, then the biggest resistance of water control and canal construction from my group could be ignored.

There is a fruit vendor on each side of the street.

They sat on simply made benches, in front of them was a simple wooden table made by the same carpenter, on the table were the goods they were selling.

They happened to be facing each other, and I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional.

There is a vendor on Bai Qi’s left, and between his right index finger and thumb is a kiwi fruit that is almost the same size as his thumb.

He raised his right hand, shook it and shouted:
"Chang Chu! Freshly picked Chang Chu!"

The vendor on Bai Qi's right was holding an orange in each hand, both of which were the size of a fist.

He waved his arms and tried to attract customers like a gorilla:
"Oranges! Oranges from Huainan!"

He glared at the vendor selling Changchu opposite him and shouted:
"It's an orange the size of a fist. How can you eat one the size of a thumb?"

Bai Qi slowed down his pace, smiled slightly, and asked his granddaughter:
"Would you like to eat a thumb-sized changchu or a fist-sized orange?"

Bai Wuxia listened to the two vendors shouting louder and louder, as if whoever shouted louder would be able to sell the goods.

The girl looked at her father and said calmly:

"Wuxia will choose the one that Grandfather has eaten."

Bai Qi stopped:

"You learned a lot of knowledge other than military tactics from that boy."

Bai Wuxia did not deny it and nodded:
"Isn't this what the Great Father wants?"

Bai Qi's eyes flashed with a sharp light, as if four hundred thousand Qin swords were shining at the same time:

"Your father was unfilial and refused to join the army.

"Since you have volunteered to take on the important task of revitalizing the family, I can teach you military tactics, but I cannot teach you how to govern.

"At the beginning, Wei Ran offered to teach me the art of political manipulation many times, but I always refused to learn, which led to the disaster that the Bai family suffered.

“You can’t lead an army and lose twice in the same place.

"Now that you are proficient in political tactics and are better than I am now, the next step is to see how far you can go in the army.

"While I'm still alive, I can still help you walk a little further."

Bai Wuxia nodded silently. This was her fate, she chose it herself.

The grandfather and grandson walked towards the orange vendor, and Bai Qi said in a hoarse voice:
"If my grandfather is no longer around when that kid returns to Qin, you should apologize to him on my grandfather's behalf.

"When my grandfather went to Guanzhong to recruit soldiers, he saw the land over there.

“The land was white, as if covered with white hair, so it was called the White Hair Land.

“White-haired land does not produce grains or food.

"I asked Li Bing and Sikong back then, if it takes more than ten years of hard work to cure it, it might be possible.

"If you help that kid, let Zheng join Qin to control the Shangshui River, Qin will not have to fight for more than ten years.

“My father is old, and I really don’t have the confidence to hold on for another ten years.

"My father is not Lian Po, and he has no confidence that he can still lead troops to fight in more than ten years..."

The girl nodded silently, she understood all this.

She left Master Cheng Jiao for the sake of the Bai family.

Her grandfather did not help Master Chengjiao for the sake of the Bai family, and even escaped from prison and saw the light of day again.

You can only choose one between Chang Chu and Orange, you can't have both.

"Father, you'd better be prepared," the girl said suddenly without thinking.

Bai Qi, who had just bought oranges, was very confused. While handing the oranges to his granddaughter, he gave her an inquiring look.

What to prepare?
what to prepare?
"More than ten years of preparation for health preservation." The girl peeled the orange, took out a slice and put it in her mouth, muttering: "My little apprentice is cunning, I don't think it will be so easy to control the flood."

The juice splashed in the mouth and was very sour.

This orange is far inferior to the one I ate with that little pervert... the girl thought.

The oranges that Ying Chengjiao ate were all treasures offered to the princes, and they were the best oranges among all the countries.

Bai Qi laughed:

"You have too much confidence in that boy.

“The biggest obstacle in this matter does not come from the army, but from the king.

"I don't know how long my father can live, Your Majesty... Heh."

Bai Qi said so far, but the girl was still shocked.

The orange in the girl's hand fell to the ground and rolled to the feet of the vendor selling Changchu.

Bai Wuxia turned pale:
"Your Majesty is in his prime, how could he..."

"Shut up!" Bai Qi shouted sternly, scaring the girl back with the next bit of treasonous words.

He didn't mention the matter again and kept moving forward. He wouldn't be wrong.

The king's behavior was exactly the same as that of the soldier in his army who died suddenly that year.

He has very little time, and the king may have even less time than he does.

As the grandparents walked away, the vendor selling tangerines picked up the oranges with his free left hand.

He held an orange in his left hand and a Chang Chu in his right hand, and got both.

He swung his left arm and threw the orange viciously towards the opposite side.

South Korea, Royal Palace of Korea, Peach Blossom Palace.

Ying Chengjiao gently tossed an orange with his right hand.

The orange was thrown into the air again and again, and fell back into Ying Chengjiao's hands again and again.

Amid the "pa pa pa" sounds, Ji Yaoyao rubbed her temples on both sides:
"This plan is really crazy..."

"Is mother scared?" Ying Chengjiao said with a smile.

"No, mother is a little excited." Ji Yaoyao smiled brightly.

She waved her hand gently, took the orange thrown by her son, and smashed it fiercely against the west wall.

To the west is the State of Qin.

[Note 1: Yu Ruo Guan Huo, meaning I can see your situation as clearly as I can see fire, comes from "Shang Shu Pan Geng", and this phrase later evolved into "Dong Ruo Guan Huo".]

　Um... Brothers, it's best to read it after 12:30, because I always post first and then revise, so there will be half an hour for revision...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)