The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 261 Same story, different ending
Pengfei stood under the cloth. The beggar's silly laughter made his blood pressure rise. The anger in his eyes deepened rapidly, gathering into an abyss.

[Untouchables! Untouchables! Untouchables!!!]
He roared loudly in his heart, feeling an unprecedented insult.

Three years.

Three thousand disciples devoted their entire lives to the creation, and made countless revisions. Every word was scrutinized dozens or even hundreds of times.

How dare you publish another "Spring and Autumn Annals" after the "Spring and Autumn Annals" written by Confucius!
What a great spirit this is!

What a huge work this is?

Three thousand disciples edited this book until there was nothing left to change, and so they dared to hang it at the East Gate, offering a thousand gold coins for every word.

A hundred or so of the most learned guests were waiting in the side rooms of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Wait for your son to visit.

Yao Jia and Dun Ruo, two unrivaled debaters, were waiting in the lobby of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Wait for the book to debate.

Instead of waiting for the son, a beggar came!
If you are not debating the knowledge in the book, delete the word "之"!
Although Pengfei was not as knowledgeable and had a good memory as the two debaters Yao Jia and Dun Ruo, he memorized all the more than 200,000 words of "Lüshi Chunqiu" by heart.

But as one of the compilers, Pengfei could still recite the opening chapter of "Lüshi Chunqiu", "Mengchunji".

There is no need to look at the cloth.

When Pengfei saw where the beggar's finger was pointing, he was able to determine that the two "之" the beggar was pointing to were in the "Mengchun Ji", and he could also know where they were in the "Mengchun Ji".

The first "之" is the "之" in "the first month of spring".

The second "之" is the "之" in "the day of the beginning of spring".

Mengchun month, the first month of spring.

The day of the beginning of spring.

These two “之” have the same usage and mean “的”, which is an auxiliary word of mood.

Theoretically, both can be deleted.

The first month of spring, the first month of spring, the beginning of spring, the beginning of spring, have exactly the same meaning.

The reason why "之" is used in "Lüshi Chunqiu" is mainly to make the parallelism neat.

In the first month of spring, the sun is in Yingshi.

The second is mainly due to the writing habits of people at that time.

The four words "zhihuzheya" are indispensable and the most frequently used words in modern people's articles.

The rules are based on the words on the large wooden sign hanging above the city gate - but anyone who can add, delete or change even one word will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!
There is absolutely no problem with deleting the word "之" as suggested by the beggar.

But in Pengfei's opinion, this is not the case at all. This huge sum of money is not prepared for these low-class people and low-class merchants!
From a political perspective, this matter is to demonstrate the power of the lord.

From a cultural perspective, this is about exploring knowledge and creating classics with constant pursuit of excellence.

How could such a noble matter be related to the word "之"?

Pengfei was furious and speechless.

Just like in the World Go Championship, Ke Jie was penalized and lost a game because he did not put the captured chess pieces back into the chess cover.

At this moment, the beggar was still fanning the flames, as if he couldn't see Pengfei's ugly expression:
"Can't this be deleted? Then I'll look for it further down."

As the beggar spoke, he took a few steps forward.

Pengfei was filled with rage and was unable to move for a while, so he failed to stop the beggar immediately.

The beggar walked under the two pieces of cloth.

Fingers with mud in the nails slid up and down the cloth on the right side of the neatly written ink characters, leaving a light black stain, looking for the next "之".

"Get lost!" Pengfei was furious: "Take your dirty hands off Lüshi Chunqiu!"

He grabbed the beggar's shoulders and pulled him back with great force, throwing him nearly ten feet away, knocking down four or five onlookers.

The scholars of this era all know a few tricks.

The crowd exclaimed and quickly dispersed.

The beggar rolled on the ground twice to release the remaining force, then stood up with an angry look on his face.

He was just about to teach this bird scholar a lesson, to let him remember what it meant to not use one's hobby to challenge other people's jobs.

After taking two steps, he suddenly realized something, let out a very artificial "ouch", and sat down on the ground.

"Prime Minister Qin doesn't keep his word! Prime Minister Qin's followers beat people! Prime Minister Qin won't give me even a fortune!" The beggar cried loudly, waving his hands in the air and mentioning Prime Minister Qin three times in three sentences.

Pengfei's face changed drastically, and he ran to the beggar, yelling with red face and ears:
"What nonsense are you talking about! It's obviously you, the thief, who is making trouble!
"Which article doesn't use 'zhihuzheya'? Why would you pick 'zhi'?"

It would be better if Pengfei didn't say anything.

After hearing these words, the eyes of the illiterate people from Xianyang who were watching nearby lit up, and they used all their life's comprehension ability to understand Pengfei's words.

A fat merchant stood in front of Pengfei and said eagerly and frantically:
"This '之' can be deleted, right?! It can be deleted, right?"

A clever illiterate farmer noted the shape of the "Z" that the beggar pointed out, rushed to the cloth, pointed at the "Z" and shouted:

"You also have to delete the '之'. This '之' is mine! No one can snatch it from you, you!"

If one person dares to charge, ten people will follow.

If ten people dare to come forward, a hundred people will dare to follow.

The people rushed forward in a swarm, vying for the character "之" in "Lüshi Chunqiu".

"A thousand gold! I have a thousand gold! Hahaha! A thousand gold!"

"Where can I get a fortune? Where can I get it?"

"The Prime Minister must be in the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister's Mansion is a government office, so it must be on the government street!"

"Zhangtai Street! Let's go to Zhangtai Street!"

"..."

The east gate of Xianyang was in chaos.

Zhao Di, who received the order from his lord and went out incognito to retrieve all the secret agents of the Supreme Court, looked at the messy East Gate from a hundred meters away with a confused look on his face.

[In this situation, there is no need to recruit anyone, right?]
[Bah! What the hell are you thinking? What the hell are you doing? Something big has happened!]
A few hundred meters away, Ying Chengjiao, who was speeding along in a four-horse carriage with his grandfather Qin Qi and his elder brother Ying Zheng, heard the commotion outside and knew something was wrong.

He lifted the curtain of the carriage, and the young man saw Hu's back and the chaos at the East Gate.

"It's over!" The boy's small hand covered his face with a "snap" and rubbed it slowly.

Qin Qi snorted coldly and said with great displeasure:
"Lü Buwei wanted to use this to increase his power, so that the minister's power would increase greatly and his control over our country would be strengthened by making the court officials afraid to speak out.

"I used a lowly beggar to make his plan come to nothing - his words were so formal, but were forcibly broken by a beggar in a childish way.

"We will let all the Qin officials know that Lü Buwei dared not listen to even a beggar, and his power as prime minister has been greatly reduced!

“Not only that, this plan has two parts.

"The phrase 'one word is worth a thousand gold' was proposed by Lü Buwei himself.

“There are more than a few hundred people at the scene, which means hundreds of thousands of gold!
“Don’t say that Lu Buwei won’t take it, even if he does.

“His guild has been disbanded, where can he get hundreds of thousands of gold to distribute?

"Shang Jun moved the tree to establish trust and won the people's trust. Lü Buwei followed suit and made a fool of himself.

“A single word is worth a thousand gold, and it is a betrayal to the people!

"This plan was jointly decided by Queen Mother Huayang, Queen Mother Zhao, and all the loyal ministers. Everyone who heard about it said it was a brilliant plan, but you are the only one sighing here!"

The younger nephew in front of him rubbed his face vigorously with both hands and ignored him. Qin Qi turned around and asked his older nephew:

"What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Qin Wangzheng narrowed his eyes, nodded and praised:

"It's a good plan..."

The sound is still lingering, as if the words are not yet finished.

Qin Qi heard it and his expression became even more unhappy:
"Your Majesty, please speak frankly."

[What are these two guys pretending to be?]
[The eight of us, along with our wise disciples, came up with this brilliant plan. What do you two have to say?]
A sharp look flashed across Qin Wangzheng's hawk-like eyes:
"If this beggar dies on the spot, at the hands of my father's followers, this plan will be even better."

Although Qin Qi respectfully addressed him as "Your Majesty", he actually looked down on King Zheng of Qin in his heart. He did not expect his nephew, who had helped a hidden palace maid ascend to heaven, to say anything, and he did not take it seriously at first.

After Qin Wang Zheng's words went through his mind, the head of the Qin royal family opened his eyes slightly, a look of surprise flashed across his face, and he turned to look at his nephew.

[What a cruel boy... He is exactly like Qin Zichu in this respect!]
[That hidden palace maid...was it really Lu Buwei who killed her?]
“If the beggar dies, Lu Buwei will not only lose his credibility, but also lose the reputation of benevolence and righteousness that he has always upheld.

"Your Majesty's wisdom is greater than all of ours." Qin Wang Zheng said modestly:
"My father, you are too kind.

“Yanzi said: A wise man will make mistakes in a thousand considerations. A fool will make gains in a thousand considerations.

"It was the brilliant plan proposed by my father that led to the perfect move I mentioned.

"If I didn't have this plan, I wouldn't be able to think of anything.

"I need the devoted assistance of my father and a group of ministers before I can have any wisdom."

What King Zheng of Qin said was sincere and honest, and was based on facts.

To Qin Qi, it didn't sound like a polite remark.

Zong Zheng nodded slowly, his expression eased a lot, and he felt very happy.

[When this boy was the crown prince, he was the best in every subject, but the king made many bad decisions.]
[I thought he was lost in power, but it turns out that this is what he wanted to show.]
[This boy is more cruel, eloquent, and cunning than Cheng Jiao... He is indeed more suitable to be the king.]
[Oh, I should have thought of that earlier.]
[Even if a kind-hearted person cannot be kind after years of careful teaching by this beast Qin Zichu,]
Zong Zheng glanced at his nephew, who had always been kind except for the fact that he loved spitting on him when he was a child.

The little nephew stopped rubbing his face and sat against the wall of the carriage in a daze, looking lifeless.

"Cheng Jiao!" Qin Qi's voice became deeper, heavier, and louder, trying to wake up his little nephew.

"What?" Ying Chengjiao turned his gaze to his father, his expression dull.

Qin Qi's anger, which had been subsiding, rose again, and he said unhappily:
"Why are you looking so dead? Do you share the same idea as the king?
"This plan is not perfect, but you don't have to be like this, right?"

The boy sighed deeply and accepted the reality:
"I told my father before I left, so don't hold it in.

“Imperfect?

“For a division commander, this couldn’t be more perfect.”

Qin Wangzheng and Zongzheng Qin Xi looked at each other with a slight concentration, and said in unison:
"What do you mean by this?"

Ying Chengjiao was known as a child prodigy since he was young.

Along the way, his actions have been proving that it is not just his youth that makes him magical, but that he becomes more magical as he grows older.

Although King Zheng of Qin and the Minister of the Imperial Clan Qin Xi had no idea where their plan went wrong, they trusted the young man's judgment very much.

"You guys don't understand what the master really wants. Power is just a necessary means for him to reach the final destination, not his deepest desire." The young man lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and said to Hu, "No need to go, let's go back to the palace."

"Yes." came the response, with a look of regret.

He also wanted to see his master debate with the other heroes.

Since leaving the Jixia Academy, the master has not shown his knowledge for a long time.

Hu pulled the reins to control the four horses to turn, then looked back for the last time at the East City Gate.

Just like that, things got even more chaotic...

In the corner of the East City Gate, Pengfei was squeezed into a ball with a look of despair on his face.

He couldn't understand how a beggar could have ruined a brilliant plan that was worth thousands of gold coins and was discussed by all the staff and retainers in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

How come in an instant, things couldn't be worse.

He gathered his courage and strength, and squeezed to the side of the hidden line that Zhao Di had buried in the crowd:
"Hurry up and go to the Prime Minister's residence to inform the Prime Minister!"

The Prime Minister's Mansion, the main hall.

Lu Buwei was still reviewing memorials, recording every stroke in detail.

In the bamboo slips, there is Zhao Di running back while standing and a hidden line running back from the east gate.

The secret agent's words were clear and he told everything that happened at the East City Gate in detail.

All of Lu Buwei's confidants changed their expressions and couldn't help cursing in front of their master:
"Peng Fei, you bastard!"

"This waste!"

"You have delayed the master's important task! You deserve to die!"

"How can you do this? How stupid you are!"

"It's my turn to kiss! Ugh!"

When his confidants heard the news, they were in great panic, but Lu Buwei seemed to have not heard the message.

Although he was in the prime of his life, Lü Buwei had more and more white hair on his temples every day, and he looked more and more like an old man. He wrote with great inspiration, and finished his writing in one go, then put his pen down on the desk.

Behind Lu Buwei, a clerk picked up the bamboo slips that Lu Buwei had just reviewed and took them to another table.

There was a clerk beside another desk, who was fanning the desk with a bamboo fan as winter approached.

After the ink on the bamboo slips had dried, the fanning clerk rolled up the bamboo slips and carefully stacked them on a pile of bamboo slips that was half a foot shorter than the other eight piles.

"My lord." Li Si took a step forward, a hint of fierceness flashing in his slightly dull eyes.

"Speak." Lu Buwei crossed his hands and gently pinched the knuckles of his right hand with his left hand.

He had to review all the memorials from the entire Qin State by himself, which caused the thumb and index finger of his right hand to ache whenever he exerted force.

Li Si got the permission, ignored others, just looked at his master, and said in a deep voice:

“Here is a plan that can break this situation.

"The gecko cuts off its tail to survive. (Note 1)

“It’s come to this, we have to make a decision.

“Put all the blame on Pengfei.

"A word worth a thousand gold is what Pengfei said alone. It has nothing to do with the master or the prime minister's mansion!"

Dun Ruo, Yao Jia, Gan Luo, Zhao Di and others all had different opinions.

As smart as they are, they could easily tell that Li Si meant to abandon Pengfei.

The only way to calm down such a big incident is death.

Only Lao Ai, unaware that this plan would lead to Pengfei's death, continued to curse:

“Tonggu is right!

"Pengfei, that bastard, did something wrong! He should bear the consequences himself! He has to eat his own shit!
"Master, let's do this!"

Lü Buwei ignored the barbarian and looked up at Li Si, who had made a great name for himself in the Jixia Academy. He pursed his lips and said:
"Li Si, today you and Pengfei switch places, are you willing to die?"

Li Si's mind was very quick, and he could come up with an impromptu answer and even ask Lao Ai to share the firepower:

"Although what Laoxiong said was crude, it made a lot of sense. You have to eat your own shit! If you ruin the master's plan, you should commit suicide!"

Lao Ai was shocked:

"Hey? What's the matter with death? Tonggu, please explain clearly! Naigong never said death!"

Lu Buwei took a deep look at Li Si and re-evaluated the character of his confidant:
“With what you have learned, you should have entered the Imperial Court to show your talents.

“But what you said today has made me give up the idea.

"The Court of Justice is the place where Qin laws are enforced, and it is the most just and fair place in our country.

“And you are being unfair.

“You use whatever means to resolve the issue.

"If you were to enter the Imperial Court, I wonder how many unjust, false and wrong cases would be caused."

"I am wrong! I just wanted to share my lord's worries!" Li Tonggu bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

Lu Buwei sat there as if he hadn't heard it, and his left hand unconsciously rubbed the joints of his right hand.

[How could this be done?]
[It was the young master who helped me...]
[Or maybe these idiots didn’t call me Young Master when they were discussing…]
An hour later, someone knocked on the door.

Lu Buwei nodded, and Gan Luo let the person knocking on the door in.

"I am on command of our lord, Prince Chengjiao, to invite His Excellency the Prime Minister into the palace for a chat." The call was neither humble nor arrogant.

Lu Buwei smiled, put down his pen and stood up:

“What a coincidence.

“I also happen to have something to ask Lord Chang’an in person.

"Lao Ai, prepare the chariot!"

…………

【Note 1: Gecko, gecko. 】

(End of this chapter)