The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 177 The Young Man Goes East
Seeing that Master Chengjiao remained silent, the hot-tempered old general became even more depressed:
"Sir, do you have any unspeakable difficulties?"

"No." Young Master Chengjiao whispered, "Now that things have come to this, we can't fight any more wars in the coming years. Please take care of yourself, Mr. Bie."

The young man bowed to Bian Gong, looked apologetic, and turned away.

The old general listened to the footsteps of the young master leaving, grasped the copper shovel with both hands, and stabbed it into the bones of Mr. Zhao Gao.

There was a slight "crack" sound, but the bone was not broken.

The veteran inserted again.

After seven consecutive hits, there was a relatively crisp and loud "crack" sound, and the copper shovel broke the bone.

"Damn it!" The old general spat on the bones and cursed: "Bah! Little Zhao dog! Your bones are still hard!"

He threw away the copper shovel and sat down on the ground.

The veteran was breathing heavily, half from exhaustion and half from anger.

His calves felt sore, swollen and numb, so he clenched his fists and pounded them hard to relieve the pain.

"Save the eggs!" He cursed bitterly, "I am such a piece of shit! I can't fight a shitty war in two years! I am almost a cripple! I am useless! I am useless!"

The old man grabbed stones and dirt and threw them in all directions.

The roars were like the howling of a dying beast...

Le's mansion.

The first time Le Yi was in Qin, he met Prince Cheng Jiao in private.

The famous general was standing outside the mansion waiting, and finally welcomed the carriage drawn by four horses carrying Master Cheng Jiao.

Although Le Yi's legs were a little unsteady, he personally led Master Cheng Jiao to the mansion, introducing him as he walked:

"This mansion was given by the king. It is the largest mansion I have ever lived in..."

An old man and a young man, one tall and one short, were talking and chatting as they walked into the lobby.

Princes Chengjiao and Yue Yi took their seats as host and guest.

Le Yi's son Le Jian sat below his father and entertained the guests.

The three of them chatted for nearly half an hour.

The boy glanced at the sky and said goodbye.

Le Yi smiled and nodded, then stood up to see him off in person.

Prince Chengjiao tried to stop him, saying he was not worthy of it.

Le Yi did not force it and asked his only son Le Jian to send him off.

After his son sent Master Chengjiao out, Le Jian sat alone in the lobby, closing his eyes and thinking about the purpose of Master Chengjiao's request:
"Don't start a war actively, don't fight the first one..."

Two days later.

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Lu Buwei dismissed his attendants and left only Gan Luo, the chief secretary of the prime minister, to meet Prince Chengjiao.

Gongzi Chengjiao glanced at Gan Luo, who was looking at him with admiration in his eyes, and smiled gently:
"Come with me later, shall we go play a few rounds of mahjong?"

The little boy looked happy and nodded repeatedly.

He doesn't like playing mahjong, but he likes playing with Gongzi Chengjiao.

"Are you from the Young Master's Group? Who are they? Can I be included?" Lu Buwei said with a smile while pouring tea.

"If the commander wants to fight, why can't he fight? Forget it this time, we have enough people." Ying Chengjiao counted on his fingers: "Me, the crown prince, the queen, Gan Luo, exactly four."

Lu Buwei nodded and agreed:

"That is indeed enough."

Ask Gan Luo, Crown Prince Zheng, and Queen Zhao to play mahjong.

One is to let Gan Luo show his face in front of the prince and queen to increase his chances of rising in the future.

The second is to use Gan Luo as a medium to further strengthen the relationship between Lu Buwei and the prince and queen.

The master and the disciple understood each other tacitly.

"Has the issue of Zheng State's flood control not been settled yet?" asked Prince Cheng Jiao.

Although he knew that this kind of thing would not produce results so quickly, he was still a little stunned that there was no progress for a week.

The five countries wanted to make it impossible for Qin to move eastward, while Qin wanted to control water and build canals to save Guanzhong.

What went wrong with this matter that both parties agreed on?

Lu Buwei shook his head:

"We can't rush this matter, as it will easily lead to accidents.

“The five countries all want to produce less food, or even no food at all.

“The Korean guy is the most cunning.

"They said Korea has been suffering from natural disasters and man-made disasters this year, and they want to send 300,000 shi of grain next year instead of this year.

“He’s thinking nicely.

"For a water control project of this magnitude, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back, and once it starts, there is no stopping.

"If they don't give us food this year, the project will be completed. If they don't give us food next year, can we just stop doing it?
"When the other four countries heard this, they followed South Korea's example and said they didn't want to send any grain this year and wanted to buy it on credit. I disagreed.

“Food is not available, and water is not available.

"All grain from the five states must be transported to Xianyang before Zheng can release it to Guanzhong.

"Looking at the current situation, we can only get this grain for about one year, and we won't be able to get it next year.

“Water control is a major issue and there is no rush.

"Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood, so let's sharpen the knife first, as this is the time that tests our patience the most."

Ying Chengjiao said "hmm":
"I am impatient. We must not be impatient. We must make the five countries believe that Qin was forced.

“Then everything depends on the teacher, and the disciple will not show up.

"The teacher is best at negotiating prices."

Lu Buwei smiled slightly, looking quite pleased with himself.

He believes that he is better at selling goods and negotiating prices than governing the country.

The head of the Lu's Chamber of Commerce consoled his disciple and said:
“Don’t worry about money and food.

“Even if the five countries have no grain, as long as you are right about Zheng, the flood can be controlled.

“There are seven private chambers of commerce, and Qin has two of them.

"With the combined strength of the Lü Chamber of Commerce and the Bashu Chamber of Commerce, we can control not only the water in Guanzhong, but also the Yunmeng Lake in Chu.

"My Lord, the possibility of failure in this trip to the Jixia Academy is far greater than success.

"Why not..."

A fierce look flashed across Lu Buwei's eyes, and his hand made a throat-cutting gesture under his chin.

He himself did not realize that he had been infected with the brutality of the Qin State without realizing it!

It started from the grand and unprecedented execution ground in Caotan where two thousand people were executed at one time and the Wei River remained red for three days.

He traveled thousands of miles to Bashu, killed Batu, the leader of the Bashu Chamber of Commerce, and supported his childless wife Ba Qing.

To kill the driver who drove the carriage for the attendant Ying Bai.

Lu Buwei became more and more accustomed to killing people.

He no longer needs to prepare himself mentally, as he hasn't dreamed of Batu for a long time.

Ying Chengjiao refused and repeated to his teacher what he had said to his brother Ying Zheng.

He wanted to try it, he had an idea.

Gongsun Long wanted to break his golden body in person in front of all the disciples, and he also wanted to establish his authority by stepping on Gongsun Long.

Let anyone who wants to expose him later think about whether they can mention Gongsun Long first.

"Okay." Lu Buwei sighed with regret: "I hope that with Zishun's help, you can get what you want. If you lose, remember to return to Qin."

Prime Minister Qin smiled and called out to Gan Luo who was standing beside him in a daze:
"Gan Luo! What are you doing? Hurry up and present it to the Master!"

The little boy was woken up and kept his eyes open for a while before he remembered what his master wanted him to do.

"Yes!" he responded while picking up the bamboo slips.

As he made the move, he felt uneasy in his heart, because what his master and Master Chengjiao said was too secretive.

Gan Luo secretly glanced at his master, Master Cheng Jiao, out of the corner of his eye.

[Luo won’t be silenced, right…]
Prince Chengjiao saw that Gan Luo was nervous, so he patted the boy on the shoulder and said jokingly as he took the bamboo slips.

"You can't look like this when we play mahjong later. If you keep doing this, I won't take you with me."

Gan Luo's eyes lit up.

[That’s right, the young master still wants to play mahjong with Luo, he won’t kill Luo!]
"Young Master, take Luo! Luo fights very well!"

Ying Chengjiao nodded, and slowly spread out the bamboo slips under Lü Buwei's expectant gaze:

【Meng Chun Ji】

Leave a column blank.

【Mid-Spring】

Leave a column blank.

【Jichunji】

Leave a column blank.

【Mengxia Ji】

Leave a column blank.

【Midsummer Chronicle】

Leave a column blank.

……

"Commander, are you planning to compile a book?" Ying Chengjiao asked with certainty.

Lu Buwei nodded modestly:
“I want to gather the efforts of knowledgeable people in the world to compile a wonderful book that covers the heavens and the earth, all things, and the past and present.”

He stretched out his arm, pointed at the bamboo slips, and said:

"This book has not yet been named. Please tell me what it is."

Ying Chengjiao closed the bamboo slips and said:

“The name is easy to say, there is no rush.

"What I want to know is, how will the master gather the knowledgeable people in the world?"

The young man looked serious and said:
"Qin is not Qi, there won't be another Jixia Academy.

"Qi can accept discussing state affairs without holding office, but Qin will not. Father should have made his attitude clear to the teacher.

"Teacher, are you going to compile a book, or are you going to use the name of compiling a book to carry out educational activities? Please tell me the truth."

Lu Buwei was silent for a moment, exhaled, and said in a deep voice:

"Edit a book!"

"Teacher, please remember what I said today." Ying Chengjiao warned: "If you don't touch education, you still have a chance to survive. If you touch education, not only you, but also I and the prince will have a hard time surviving! Unless... you can convince my father!"

Lu Buwei laughed at himself.

If he could convince the king, punctuation marks and blank spaces would not only be used in Qin's memorials, but also in the newly established Xianyang School.

He raised his hand and saluted:
"Bu Wei understands what the young master said and has completely given up the thought."

"Then how does the commander plan to gather these so-called knowledgeable people?" Ying Chengjiao still had doubts.

"My followers." Lü Buwei answered quickly, "I will recruit many followers and buy a large mansion in the downtown area of ​​Xianyang. I will let my followers live there and discuss culture and compile this book."

"Is it just to discuss culture? To compile books?" Ying Chengjiao said sharply: "Among the hundreds of schools of thought today, is there any school of thought that does not involve politics? Master, you are recruiting many followers. Are you going to build another court for you, Lu Buwei, outside the Xianyang court? Do you want to die?"

Gan Luo was so frightened that his face turned pale. These were words that hurt the heart and could kill people.

The child looked at his master, wanting him to deny it quickly.

But don't want to.

"Yes! Young Master, you hit the nail on the head!" Lu Buwei agreed immediately, his eyes sparkling, and he pressed his fingers heavily on the table, making a "dong" sound: "I bet your father won't kill me, and I bet the king won't kill me."

Gan Luo was so shocked that he could not sit still. He fell to one side and trembled.

Ying Chengjiao grabbed the bamboo slips, held them in front of his commander, and stared into his commander's eyes full of lust.

This desire is not lust or sexual desire, but desire for power and fame!
After a long while, Master Chengjiao shook the bamboo slips, and amidst the subtle "rustling" sound of the bamboos colliding, he said word by word:

"Master, is it worth it just for such a small book?"

"You can tell us the whole story, sir. Didn't we tell you that you should be honest?" Lu Buwei smiled and said, "It's not just this book, but also the entire Qin court!" So many knowledgeable people gathered together to compile a unprecedented book and made a name for themselves.

The next step is to become an official, a Qin official.

Lu Buwei leaned forward slightly.

The protruding cheekbones were overshadowed by the earthworm-like blue veins on the forehead.

He gently patted his left arm that was injured by the stabbing and said hatefully:

"If I, Lü Buwei, was the only voice in the Qin court, then you can do whatever you want.

"I promise that there will never be a life-threatening situation like this again!

"Sir, I need your support."

Ying Chengjiao said coldly:

“You’re playing with fire.

"You are the enemy of the entire Qin State.

“If you use your power, you are making an enemy of our father.

"I am a prince of Qin, and the King of Qin is my father. Do you want me to support you in fighting against my father?

"Did you drink dog urine and your brain turned stupid?"

Lu Buwei said in a deep voice:
"Bu Wei doesn't need you to show up, I just want you to save my life at the critical moment!
“Sir, the king’s ways are different from ours.

"In the vast Qin State, only I, Lü Buwei, and your Excellency share the same principles!

“A tyrant recruits people, a king recruits hearts.

"Qin has developed to this point, but it continues to act in a hegemonic way instead of a kingly way.

"Those arrogant generals will have no more titles to give, and those foreign ministers who come here for a share of land will have no more to give. By then, the tall buildings will collapse in an instant!

"Profit can only make the Qin people fight for their lives, but it can't make them return!
"If you are successful in the Jixia Academy, you can manage the business outside, and there is no need for Wei to manage the country.

"If you fail in the Jixia Academy, please return to Qin to serve as the crown prince!"

Ying Chengjiao narrowed his eyes and said coldly:
“Why do you think that father will watch you develop?

"Watching you suppress other forces and make decisions in the court."

Lu Buwei lowered his head slightly, avoiding the eyes of Prince Chengjiao.

[Your Majesty is suffering from goiter, and I don’t know when he will die…]
[Your Majesty does not have time to train someone to replace me, Lu Buwei.]
[Those who can serve as prime ministers are not as loyal as me.]
[There is no one more loyal than me who can be a prime minister!]
"Because I followed the king when he was still a nobody, because I killed the driver of the attendant Ying Bai and the king did not blame me, and because I did not die in the dozens of assassination attempts because of the flood control."

Lu Buwei raised his head, his eyes slightly red, as if tainted by evil:

“Sir, if the king wanted you and me to die, neither of us would be alive today.

“Perhaps, the king is also waiting for you to step forward?

"Your Majesty is a tyrant, but if your kingly way is better than yours, perhaps Your Majesty will be pleased to see it."

The little boy Gan Luo's breathing was intermittent due to his trembling body, his mouth was dry, and his whole body was covered with sweat.

I do not know how long it has been.

With a loud and crisp "pa" sound, Master Chengjiao slapped the bamboo slips on the table and said coldly:

"Spring and Autumn!"

Lu Buwei said in a deep voice:

"The name 'Spring and Autumn Annals' refers to the history of Lu compiled by Confucius.

"If it is used in this book, isn't it a duplicate name?"

Ying Chengjiao's expression was indifferent:
"Yes, it's a coincidence!

“Of the books with the same name, only one copy will remain.

“If the teacher’s book is worse than Confucius’, it will most likely disappear in history.

“Of course, there are exceptions.

"Sun Wu wrote a book called The Art of War, and Sun Boling also wrote a book called The Art of War.

“Although people call Sun Boling’s book ‘Sun Bin’s Art of War’ to distinguish it from others, at least both have been passed down.

"The teacher should have the confidence that he can write a good book based on Confucius' Spring and Autumn Annals.

"After all, the commander has such great ambitions in terms of power, it doesn't make sense that he would be so apathetic in terms of reputation."

The young man's right fingernail swept across the bamboo slips, making a "da da da" sound, and Master Chengjiao gave his last advice:
“A thousand years from now, you and I will both be dead.

“With only words, perhaps I can survive.

"It takes a hundred years to plan for a country, and a thousand years to compile a book. Master, think about this carefully!"

Ying Chengjiao dragged Gan Luo, whose legs were weak, out.

Lu Buwei looked at the bamboo slips on the table, picked them up, and held them in his hands:
"The 'Twelve Chronicles' in this book are arranged according to the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the twelve months.

“Spring and Autumn, one year.

"This name is wonderful and very suitable. We should add Wu!

"My book, Lü Buwei, is called Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals!"

Ying Chengjiao thought he could leave immediately.

After learning from Lu Buwei that the negotiations were difficult, he thought he would have to stay for another ten days or half a month.

He didn't expect it, he thought too little.

The negotiations on water control were not only slow but also protracted.

The envoys of the five countries returned to their countries one after another and asked their kings for their opinions, but it seemed that they were unable to make such a big decision.

The round trip may take as little as ten days to half a month or as long as more than a month.

At first, Ying Chengjiao was still paying attention to this matter and wanted to know when it would be completed.

After more than half a month, he gave up.

Let them do whatever they want. He can't do anything about it and can't advance the negotiation progress anyway.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

So, this delay lasted until the Qin New Year.

The first year of King Zhu of Qin, the tenth month, the first day.

King Chu of Qin changed the reign title to Zhi.

On the New Year's Day, it was changed to October 1, the first day of the first year of Qin Prince Chu.

Prince Chengjiao has grown one year older and is now eight years old.

The young man looked from afar outside the Eastern Palace, the royal tomb where the Qin emperors were buried, but did not enter.

That night, the boy dreamed of his grandfather.

Perhaps the New Year's joy infected the five countries, and the negotiations were completed on the eleventh day after the New Year.

Guanzhong.

Zheng Guo set foot on this land.

He kept walking and looking around.

He saw the crisscrossing of rivers and the low-lying waterlogged areas of Qinchuan forming patches of strange white land.

He asked the locals and learned that the place was flooded all year round, and the long-term wetness turned into brine, with white alkali flowers seeping out of the ground.

In summer and autumn, the whole place is vast, in winter and spring, the sun is blocked by white dust, and no grains can grow, while wild grass, weeds and reeds grow endlessly.

The locals call this barren land "salt-alkali marsh".

Salt-alkali marshes are harmful to farmland. If they are adjacent to fertile fields but have poor drainage, they will be swallowed up in three to five years and become desolate salt marshes with white fog rising in the wind.

Once the fertile fields turned white, even if the Qin people spent all their efforts to build ditches to drain the water, they would not be able to change the situation back after eight or ten years.

The people of Guanzhong have a farming proverb that goes:
"Water, salt, alkali, beaches but no fields, white soil kills the valleys, and smoke of war is thousands of feet high."

What we are talking about are the harmful alkali beaches that are increasing year by year and devouring fertile farmland.

Zheng Guo remembered it silently and began to observe his surroundings.

He found that the terrain in the western part of Qinchuan was slightly higher and the drainage was convenient, so such alkaline beaches rarely occurred.

However, once you enter the gradually opening central Qinchuan, from Daxianyang to the place where Luoshui flows into Weishui in the east, these white-haired alkaline beaches appear frequently.

The smallest one may be a hundred or a thousand acres, or a large one may be dozens or twenty miles.

The bald spots in the green fields were so ugly that they disgusted him, and so desolate that they made him feel sorry.

Land has always been of paramount importance in the eyes of the people in the Central Plains.

However, despite these negative emotions, Zheng Guo suddenly felt a sense of surprise and lofty ambition!
The situation of these white-haired areas in Guanzhong is even worse than when he came here before, much more serious!

The old man, who is not actually old but looks very old, has a dark face.

He walked into a body of water, jumped in, and swam hard in the water like a black water monkey.

He swam to the center of the water, popped his head out, and shouted to the sky and the water below:
"If I can cure the water in Guanzhong, everyone in the world will know the name of Zheng State!"

No one was around.

The wilderness is silent.

Only heaven, earth, gods and ghosts can hear it.

The old man laughed loudly, and then he started to cry, and his tears were saltier than the saline-alkali land in Guanzhong.

He is from the lineage of King Yu, and his lineage is the orthodox way of controlling floods.

King Yu won the hearts of the people by controlling floods, unified the country, and laid the foundation for the nine provinces in the Central Plains.

King Yu was able to conquer the world by controlling floods, and now they have inherited King Yu’s flood control skills, but how come they don’t even have a place to put them into practice?
They don't want the world, they just want to prove themselves to the world.

When it comes to water engineers, the descendants of King Yu are the most respected!
The old man went into the water again, and his tears mixed with the pool water...

When he surfaced again, it was no longer possible to tell that he had just cried.

"The deepest part of the water is three zhang, one chi and six cun." He asked the Qin official waiting on the shore to write it down.

Without the Dinghaishenzhen iron, he still could measure the depth of the water!

The next day, there were countless Qin people.

At a glance, it seems boundless.

The old man straightened his back, raised his head, and roared at the white salt marsh in front of him and the ponds:
"start!"

At this moment, he felt that he was more than just Zheng Guo.

But it’s all the water engineers in the lineage of King Yu who controlled floods over the past two thousand years!
The Qin people's response was like thunder, and their enthusiasm was like the scorching sun in June.

They rushed over like a tsunami, towards the white-haired land that had harmed them for a hundred years...

Xianyang.

Lu Buwei wanted to tell Prince Chengjiao the details of the negotiation, but Prince Chengjiao refused to listen.

In his eyes, the teacher seemed a little strange.

Power can really change a person.

The boy couldn't tell whether this change was good or bad.

A strong promoter might be a good thing for the people?
Forget it, I can’t figure it out, the boy shook his head.

He looked back and looked at the majestic Xianyang.

Bustling and noisy.

In the center, the tall royal palace reaches into the sky, as if the palace from heaven has descended into the mortal world.

The Wei River flows with golden light, and it is still quite beautiful without the red color.

This is the best city in the world, without any walls.

This is the city where he was born and the city where his great-father died, so it became the city he fought for.

He got on a carriage drawn by four horses, with Kong Bin sitting inside.

The driver brought by Kong Bin laughed, turned his head to look at Xianyang, and muttered, "It's not bad if the world is like this."

Then he pulled the reins and shouted:
"Sit tight!"

The wheels of the four-horse carriage rolled towards the east.

The wheels of the caravan rolled along with the four-horse carriage, and together they headed east.

Ying Chengjiao took a deep breath, picked up a copy of "Gongsun Longzi", and leaned against the black tiger.

[Qi State, Linzi, Jixia Academy, Gongsun Longzi... Here I come.]
After one month and four days, the convoy arrived at Linzi City.

(End of this chapter)