The younger brother of the First Emperor
Chapter 322: Crown Prince, Ying Chengjiao
Chapter 322: Crown Prince, Ying Chengjiao
There are a lot of fires tonight.
The main hall of Ganquan Palace in the Qin Palace, the most luxurious old house of the Bai family in Yanglifang, and the Xiangbang Mansion on Zhangtai Street which was just built less than half a year ago.
Arson and murder are always mentioned together because they always happen at the same time.
The people were trembling in their homes and covering their children's mouths to prevent them from crying because of the shouting and screaming outside, for fear that it would bring disaster to their homes.
That night, countless young children were suffocated to death. Death is a common occurrence in this era.
There was not a single weed at the foot of the wall of Fan Yuqi's house. There was only the head of Meng Ao, an old veteran who had seen through four generations of Qin kings and fought many wars. He survived the hands of the enemy on the battlefield, but died at the hands of his colleague Qin's sword.
In the old house of the Bai family, hundreds of highly-known and famous people in the martial arts world died.
The deaths of these famous figures in the martial arts world caused a huge uproar in the martial arts world and were called a martial arts catastrophe.
However, in the records of Qin bamboo slips, the traces they left were "Guests of the Bai Family."
In the huge Bai family, only the deaths of Bai Jia, the old patriarch of the Bai family, and Bai Fan, the patriarch of the Bai family, were recorded. The rest of the people were called more than a thousand people.
The number of the twelve once-famous princes under the Xiangbang's command decreased from twelve to ten, to eight, and to none.
Lao Ai, Zhao Di, Peng Fei... No one remembers the names of these dead people, as if they had never been there.
The impact of their deaths was far less than that of the deaths of Zhong Teng and Fan Yuqi, two of the four great generals of the Qin State at that time.
The Meng family in General Square fell from being one of the three most prominent general families due to the rebellion of Fan Yuqi and Teng.
The residences of the rebel generals Fan Yuqi and Teng were nationalized, their properties were taken into the imperial treasury, and all their family members, young and old, were executed at the Caotan execution ground, and their three clans were exterminated.
Ever since the Qin State established the system of promotion based on military merit, over the years there have only been civil servants who fled, but no generals who defected.
For the first time, the situation was so serious that two of the most capable generals of the time rebelled.
If veteran generals such as Wang Ling and Wang He symbolize the morale of the Qin army, then Fan Yuqi, Huan Xi, Yang Duanhe and Teng symbolize the Qin's combat effectiveness.
Not every veteran is called Lian Po, who can still fight like a 40-year-old at the age of 80.
With two of the four generals gone, the morale of the upper echelons in Xianyang was already in turmoil.
But this is not the most dangerous time yet.
The most dangerous time was when the news spread abroad and to big countries such as Wei, Zhao, Han, Yan, Qi, and Chu.
The consequences have not yet arrived, but the Wei River has already turned red.
There are not only the three clans of Fan Yuqi and Teng, but also the three clans of the Bai family, the three clans of Lu Buwei, and the three clans of many people.
They were sentenced to be beheaded.
Bodies were cut in half, wailing miserably along the banks of the Wei River. Intestines and blood were spread out on the grass that had just sprouted, like a huge slaughterhouse.
The execution took seven days, with mostly sunny days. However, the onlookers could not feel any warmth, but only felt that they had arrived at the cold underworld.
For years after the execution, in the dead of night when the market was bustling, wailing could be heard from time to time.
The Bai family, one of the three great families of the old Qin Dynasty, was uprooted, and members of the Bai family were often transported to Xianyang from cities near the capital.
Twenty-three people were killed today at the Caotan execution ground, and seventeen tomorrow. They kept killing people like this for a month.
It’s not like the Qin State had never experienced a coup d’état before. This was the case when King Zhaoxiang of Qin came to power, and also when Ji Jun’s rebellion broke out.
But this time it’s different, this is a rebellion by a subject against the king.
Since Shang Yang's reforms, successive kings of Qin have been committed to centralizing power, and the power held by the Qin kings is far greater than that of the kings of other countries.
After two hundred years of cooperation between the emperor and his subjects, the Qin State formed an ecological balance in which the emperor held court power and the subjects did practical work. The Qin nobles gave up the court to outsiders and devoted themselves to the middle and high-level official positions below the Nine Ministers.
King Huiwen of Qin had Shang Jun dismembered by five oxen.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin expelled the four nobles and ordered Bai Qi to be killed.
King Zhuangxiang of Qin massacred all members of the royal family, leaving no one alive, including his brothers.
It is a common consensus that the King of Qin is mean and ungrateful.
But after Shang Yang's death, no Qin emperor took action against the old Qin nobles.
The old Qin nobles also behaved themselves and no longer sucked the blood of the Qin State as they had done in the past, resulting in the situation where the Qin State was poor and weak while the Qin nobles were wealthy.
It was not easy for the emperor and his subjects to live in harmony for a hundred years.
The Bai family was destroyed and harmony was broken.
The old Qin nobles who used to be more loyal to Lu Buwei than to the Bai family really hated Lu Buwei and the Bai family.
They didn't know whether the current king would use this as an excuse to raise the Qin sword against them and find a damn Shang Yang to carry out a damn reform.
But in the meantime, there are very few things they can do, and they dare not, cannot, and must not do them.
Treason is the bottom line, and it is not surprising that the king will react to this. If anyone dares to provoke the king at this time, the old Qin nobles wish that person to die early and die far away, so as to avoid the damn blood splattering on them.
In private gatherings, they all cursed Lü Buwei and the Bai family. Some people said that the Bai family might not have rebelled, and acted as if the whole world was corrupt and they were the only one who was clean, saying that the king might be eliminating dissidents.
As soon as this remark spread a little, it was strangled among the old Qin nobles. The family members who held such ideas were either expelled from the family tree or left Xianyang and went to Shangjun.
Eliminate dissidents?
What a joke!
Meng Ao died, and the two boys from the Meng family who had grown up with the king in practicing martial arts were one dead and one disabled, and Wang He's grandson was beheaded at the city gate.
Fan Yuqi died, Teng died, and all three clans were beheaded.
The Queen Mother Huayang, who had been standing behind King Zheng of Qin, was burned to death in her bedroom by a fire.
Paying such a huge price to eliminate dissidents? Do you have any brains?
Do you really think that what the head of Ganquan Palace, who was instigated by the traitor Lu, said is true? Did the Queen Mother Huayang commit suicide by burning herself?
This is clearly the internal thief who set the fire for Lu! What nonsense!
It is an ironclad fact that the Bai family followed the traitor Lu Buwei in rebellion. The old Qin nobles now only want the king not to be implicated too much.
But when I think of the hard life the king had to endure under the oppression of Lu Buwei.
The hidden palace maiden whom the king wanted to make his queen was killed by the thief Lu in Yongcheng. The god Ju Mang surrendered to Qin and collected all the belongings of the Shaofu. The memorials were not sent to the royal palace but to the prime minister's residence... Despite all these things, the king still called the thief Lu "Second Father".
How could the king control himself after experiencing such a depressing thing...
The night passed.
The sky brightened.
Until noon.
Middle palace.
Chengjiao Palace.
Li Yi Palace, front hall.
There were no more beautiful girls, only two men with no hair on their beaks.
a teenager.
a youth.
"Brother..." The young man sat on a stool, resting his arms on the table, and said to the boy sitting opposite the table: "I really don't want to kill Lu Buwei."
The boy said nothing, his eyes fixed on the table.
If someone could get close to his eyes, they would find that his eyes were unfocused and were just empty.
"Brother." Qin Wangzheng walked around the table, gently shook his brother's shoulders twice, and said in a deep voice: "Don't you believe in me?"
Ying Chengjiao seemed to wake up from a dream, his eyes raised, and he forced a smile:
"Of course I believe in you, brother."
"No." Qin Wang Zheng stared at his brother's eyes closely, and said angrily: "You don't believe it! You don't believe in me!"
Qin Wangzheng was breathing heavily, and he walked in the front hall with big strides, going back and forth, saying as he walked:
"You don't believe me! You are sure that I killed Lu Buwei! Your eyes tell me that it was I who did it!
"Oh, yes, you have good reasons.
"Lü Buwei was plotting a rebellion. He was plotting a rebellion! How could I spare his life?
"How could there be a king who would spare the life of a rebel?
"no!"
The footsteps stopped at the table, and Qin Wangzheng's palms frequently and forcefully touched the tabletop, and the sound became louder and louder:
"I know what you're thinking!
"The day you knew that I was the one who killed Afang, something was wrong with your eyes! I saw with my own eyes that you began to doubt me!
"I can kill even the person next to me, so how could I keep Lü Buwei alive who I want to kill as soon as possible? I don't believe it myself!
"But this is true! I really didn't kill him!"
King Zheng of Qin raised his head, revealing his neck with clear purple and blue marks from being pinched.
"See? This is what Lü Buwei left behind!" Qin Wang Zheng pointed at his neck and said, "I am sure that Lü Buwei will not kill me! He almost killed me but didn't! I was right! I don't want to kill him now!"
"Brother, I'm a little tired and want to go back to sleep." Ying Chengjiao rubbed his temple with a wry smile, then stood up and went back to the back room.
King Zheng of Qin took two steps at a time and stood in front of his brother, blocking his way, with an unpleasant look on his face:
"Now, do you no longer trust me? You believed what my mother and your mother said, and thought that sooner or later I would raise the Qin Sword against you, right?"
Ying Chengjiao looked helpless, but managed a smile:
"I just want to sleep." "Okay." Qin Wangzheng made way: "You sleep."
The boy walked past the young man, and the young man clenched his fists.
Seeing the young man enter the back room and close the door, King Zheng of Qin shouted:
"Zhao has attacked several cities of Yan. Now is the time to release Yan Dan back to Yan and strengthen Yan to resist Zhao. Isn't this the future you have seen and the strategy you have thought of?
"I am the villain and you are the gentleman. You ask me to send Yan Dan back to Yan State. Isn't this what we should do next?
"You made the plan yourself, but you don't care about it anymore?"
For a long time, there was no response.
Qin Wangzheng slammed his fist on the table, making a loud noise, but the noise was not as loud as his voice:
"Meng Gong is dead! Meng Yi is dead! Huayang's mother is also dead! So many people died last night! But you only remember one person, Lu Buwei!
"Teng and Fan Yuqi are in rebellion, and the country is in chaos! Once the news spreads abroad, the armies of four or five countries may reach Hangu Pass! You say you want to sleep now!"
The most powerful king in the world roared loudly, but after a long time, the only response he got was his own echo.
When the echo faded away, there was no one in the front hall.
Back room.
Ying Chengjiao sat on the ground, leaning against the door.
No crying out loud, just tears.
He was not yet thirteen years old, but there was no one in front of him.
That day, at the time of Shen.
In the front hall of Xin Palace, civil and military officials gathered together.
King Zheng of Qin issued an order to go to court.
There are only morning court sessions, no afternoon or evening court sessions.
But no one in the court had any objection. The Imperial Censor Wei Zhuang, who was in charge of correcting mistakes, kept his head down and was even more reserved than when he first attended court.
In the past, the Qin court was more chaotic than the market. Civil officials and military generals did not get along with each other. Civil officials cursed at each other, and military generals hit and kicked each other.
There is nothing today, just silence.
Originally on the high platform were the Queen Mother Huayang, the Queen Mother Zhao, and King Zheng of Qin.
Now there is only King Zheng of Qin.
King Zheng of Qin leaned back in the chair he usually sat in, with nothing behind it.
King Zheng of Qin didn't speak, and the mood remained low.
I don’t know when...
"Chapter." The voice from the podium was calm.
The situation calmed down to the point that the Qin nobles became even more nervous.
How could the king be so calm? This is the first time the king has attended the court! Before the thief Lu died, the king didn't even have the power to decide whether to hold a court meeting! Be careful! Be careful!
The Xianyang Palace chapter that was specially approved to enter the court stood up. His movements were too big, too stiff, and too sudden, affecting the wounds that were almost everywhere, but he seemed not to notice:
"The chapter is here! The minister is here!"
Before he came to court, he specifically asked someone and learned that when the king called him, he could either say his surname or call himself "minister".
A nervous, he said two.
Under normal circumstances, the civil servants would inevitably sneer at the rude and vulgar man.
No one is laughing today.
Be quiet and wait for the next words.
"You have made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion, and I appoint you as the Grand Marshal." He said, his tone still gentle.
"Wei!" Zhang Jie responded loudly, feeling more nervous than happy for a moment.
"West Mountain." The Lord said again.
"I'm here." The former Grand Marshal Xishan stood up, bowed, and said very respectfully.
"You are tired, retire now."
"only."
"Meng Tian."
"The minister is here."
"You have made great contributions to the king, so I will appoint you as the Internal History."
"only."
"Meng An."
"The minister is here."
"are you tired."
"I beg for my bones."
"Yang Duanhe."
"The minister is here."
"The general is so brave, his rank shall be promoted to the third rank, and he shall be made the right lieutenant."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Wang He."
"The minister is here."
"The old general is more courageous than ever before, and he was the first to defeat the Lu bandits. His rank should be promoted five ranks, and he should be made a great minister. I am waiting to confer the title of marquis on the old general."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"..."
In this way, King Zheng of Qin called out the names one by one. Some were promoted and given titles, while some were dismissed and sent home.
No one dared to say anything because what the king said was completely reasonable.
The Internal Secretary and the Grand Marshal were in charge of the Xianyang guards.
Among those who followed the traitor Lu in his rebellion were the guards of Xianyang.
Don't talk about whether you were coerced or not, whether you knew about it or not, this is treason! There is no logic to it!
It is only natural for the king to take back the power over the Xianyang guards and put it in the hands of his confidants.
If I don't take it back, I'll let you continue to rebel?
Xishan and Meng'an not only had no objection, but were very happy.
The king's actions meant that he did not suspect the Xi and Meng families after destroying the Bai family.
It's good to deal with things objectively and accept punishment for mistakes.
He went on speaking for about a moment and never stopped.
Stop for a moment.
"Xiong Wen, Xiong Qi." King Zheng of Qin had a complicated look in his eyes.
The two brothers stood up together and responded.
"Because of the Lü thief incident, I have now restored the two-prime minister system of King Wulie." Qin Wang Zheng said in a deep voice: "Xiong Qi, I appoint you as the left prime minister."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Xiong Wen, I appoint you as my right prime minister."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Yeah." King Zheng of Qin, who was given the last important official position, responded for the first time.
He glanced at the audience.
All the people he called out to were standing.
There was no rule in the Qin State that one had to sit down only after the king told him to. One could sit down directly after answering the question.
King Qin Zheng looked at so many people standing there, said nothing, and continued in his previous calm tone:
"The crown prince is Ying Chengjiao."
(End of this chapter)
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