The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 324: Ying Chengjiao wakes up, the radical Qin Wangzheng

The Council Hall and the square in front.

The five-horse royal chariot had not yet come to a complete stop, and the chariot commander Zhao Gao was still trying to control the five horses to stop.

The curtain of the carriage behind him swung, and a black figure flashed out from the carriage, jumped off, and trotted towards the Council Hall.

Zhao Gao was a little panicked. What if King Zheng of Qin was hurt?
He threw the long whip in his hand to the eunuch who came to lead the horse, jumped off the carriage, and chased after the figure of Qin Wangzheng. He looked anxious for the king's safety, as if he had long forgotten the revenge for killing his father and mother.

When he ran to the palace gate, King Zheng of Qin stopped.

The dark black crown he was wearing had clearly been ironed by Palace Director Nuanlin this morning, but it still had many wrinkles on it.

King Zheng of Qin adjusted his breathing slightly and his complexion returned to normal.

Hearing the footsteps behind him very quickly, King Zheng of Qin knew it was Zhao Gao.

Wait for Zhao Gao to stand still.

At a glance from King Zheng of Qin, Zhao Gao lowered his head and bent over to push open the palace door for the king, then stood sideways at the door to make way for the king.

King Zheng of Qin walked in with his hands behind his back, walking steadily and scanning the hall for anyone.

It is early morning.

Although it was daybreak, the sun had not yet risen. Who else was there in the Council Hall except Ying Chengjiao who had been called?
So he immediately saw a certain young man leaning back in a chair, reading a bamboo scroll of something unknown.

"Brother, why are you here so early?" King Zheng of Qin yawned half-deliberately.

He was really a little sleepy, and it was not time for him to get up yet.

"Yeah." Ying Chengjiao didn't raise his head, and didn't show any courtesy. He spoke casually: "I woke up and thought of something, so I came to find you. I hope I didn't disturb you, brother?"

"Are you really awake?" King Zheng of Qin walked closer to his brother, his expression indifferent and his words were ambiguous.

Wake up from sleep.

Is the person awake?

"Brother." Ying Chengjiao pulled his eyes away from the documents, looked up, and said unkindly: "You spoke directly to Xiong Wen and Xiong Qi yesterday, but you are playing dumb with me here. Why is that?"

The offended King Zheng of Qin laughed it off, feeling that all the fatigue of yesterday was swept away and his mood turned from cloudy to sunny.

He moved a chair next to his brother, sat down, smiled and snorted:
"How dare you say that? Weren't you hiding in the bedroom and sleeping yesterday?"

"Everyone has bad times." Ying Chengjiao snorted, "When you are in a bad state, you need to rest."

"Is my condition okay?"

"Who made you the king? I am not the king."

"Shouldn't the king rest?"

"Yes, the king is not a human."

"Shuzi!"

"It's still unclear who the villain is."

Putting down the bamboo slips, Ying Chengjiao narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, and a sharp light flashed through the gap as he kept looking at King Zheng of Qin's face.

The young man tapped the bamboo slips with his left index finger intermittently, and said amid the crisp bamboo-tapping sounds:
“You’re too impatient.

“You are only sixteen during the Chinese New Year, and I am only thirteen during the Chinese New Year, so we still have a lot of time.

“Even if we have to endure, we can outlast those old Qin nobles.

"You are always so anxious to do things. I really don't know what you are in such a hurry for."

"I don't know what my brother is talking about." Qin Wangzheng looked puzzled. "Am I not kind enough? Am I not peaceful enough? The guards were involved in the rebellion. When such a big thing happened, shouldn't I arrest the internal historian and the general? Shouldn't I hold the military power in my hands?"

Ying Chengjiao was so angry at Qin Wangzheng's performance that he laughed. The young man asked with a half-smile:
"My brother and I have the same idea about this matter. I am talking about another matter."

He leaned back slightly on the chair, with his arms resting on the armrests, looking relaxed:
"If my brother is not in a hurry, why would he make me the heir?
"Brother Wang, please don't tell me that you may not have any offspring.

"I didn't see Nuan Lin today. I heard that the prince transferred her to be the head of the bedroom. It shows that the prince is still very keen on sex.

"For someone as capable as my brother, he may have more than double-digit descendants."

King Zheng of Qin laughed and was delighted.

His brother really woke up.

"Oh?" Qin Wang Zheng glanced at the bamboo slips on the table and saw the words "Yan State": "My brother, why do you think it is?"

"Brother, chatting like this is boring." Ying Chengjiao frowned and said in a heavy tone, "In my impression, you are not a talkative person."

What you said is so clear, why do you still need to ask? Why are you talking nonsense?
"I find it interesting." King Zheng of Qin chuckled.

The king's eyes gradually became sharper, like the edge of Qin's sword:

"Yesterday I wanted you to do something but you didn't do it.

"If you want to get something done today, you must prove to me that you have the ability to get it done.

"How do I know whether you really guessed what I was thinking or you are deceiving me?

"If you let me say it, I can only say that it is a tradition for the younger brother to succeed the elder brother. Brother, you are overthinking."

Ying Chengjiao looked at his brother deeply, nodded silently, said "reasonable" first, and then said directly:

“We do have a tradition in our country of passing on the throne from elder brother to younger brother.

"Leaving aside my great-grandfather, the previous King Qin was in power because the domestic situation required a capable king to take care of it.

"Moreover, no Qin monarch would appoint his younger brother as the crown prince during his lifetime.

"My brother has just suppressed the rebellion and regained the military power in Xianyang. Now the rebellious relatives coming from all over the country are enough to kill them at Caotan Execution Ground for a month.

"Brother, you don't need to establish your authority in the court. The red Wei River flowing for a month is your best authority.

"Let's not talk about foreign countries. Although the domestic situation seems unstable, it is actually very good for you.

"At this time, my brother appointed me as the heir, the intention is self-evident, right?

"Brother judges that the situation ahead is extremely unfavorable, so unfavorable that Brother might die, so unfavorable that Brother might suddenly die without even the chance to leave a will and pass on the throne.

“You want to turn the favorable situation to this point, brother? Are you not satisfied with taking over the Bai family’s vacancy and want to kill all the old Qin nobles?

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Colorful." Qin Wang Zheng clapped his hands in admiration.

Shaking his head, the overly young king took a deep breath, like a Qin sword unsheathed:

"My brother said that my intention is self-evident, but apart from me, few people can think of it.

"Believe it or not, my brother, I am now regarded better by them than you, a well-known and virtuous gentleman."

A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth:

“The teacher is a businessman, and his background is despised by others.

“I despise my teachers. These nobles who are born noble, standing in the court and sitting in government offices, aren’t they businessmen?

“Seeing profit, forgetting righteousness.

“They praise anyone who benefits them, and they support national policies that benefit them.

"As for how it affects the country or the people, they don't care at all."

The king's eyes were filled with hatred and sorrow:
"Since my younger brother stopped studying and practicing martial arts with me, I have had Wang Wan accompany me when I study, and Meng Tian, ​​Meng Yi, Xiong Wen, Xiong Qi, and Li Xin accompany me when I practice martial arts.

"Everyone says that the King of Qin is mean and ungrateful. "But I, who am mean and ungrateful, cannot do anything to these six companions. I cannot bear to do it. "

Seeing the strange look in his brother's eyes and the corners of his mouth moving slightly, Qin Wangzheng sighed:

"Brother, are you thinking about Fang again?
"I don't understand why my brother is obsessed with a woman.

"She is just a stress reliever for me, just like Nuan Lin.

"I really didn't expect that the person most affected by this incident would be my younger brother."

Ying Chengjiao sighed sadly and waved his hand:

“This is a personal flaw in my character, and I have now figured it out.

"It has nothing to do with you, brother. Just keep talking."

Such was the state of the times, he had nothing to blame.

Except for the wives who were married formally and the ladies with good family background, those who were taken in because of their beauty were just commodities, objects that could be exchanged.

As for love...it seems to be a luxury.

Two people who are united by interests may develop feelings for each other because their identities are equal.

There is no love if the status is not equal.

The gap between nobles and commoners is greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

In the Qin State, the crime of killing a cow was much more serious than killing a person, and the same was true in other countries.

"I did not kill the commander." King Zheng of Qin repeated what he said yesterday.

Touching his neck, thinking about the teacher who could have killed him but didn't, King Qin Zheng's tone softened:
“The people whom I was reluctant to kill, Xiong Wen and Xiong Qi watched helplessly, watching Meng Yi die and Meng Tian get injured.

"Even those who grew up with me are like this, what about others? Aren't they even worse?

“That’s the truth, but I still don’t intend to kill anyone.

"What A-di said is generally correct, but he is wrong about establishing authority. I don't want to establish authority not because I will be killing people for the next month, but because I don't want to establish authority.

"My brother hates the Qin nobles deeply, and I don't like them either.

“But every old Qin nobleman’s ancestors have made great contributions to our country, and they have made great efforts for the development of our country.

"I think you must have guessed the reason why the commander rebelled."

Facing his brother, Qin Wangzheng nodded heavily:

"The truth is just as you thought. The commander wanted to prove that the Bai family was plotting a rebellion.

“As for why the rebellion seems so real… this is a real rebellion.

"If the two of us die here, the commander will really be at the King of Qin's side."

Ying Chengjiao nodded silently without saying anything.

King Qin Zheng took a breath and continued:

"Since we know the truth about the rebellion and it has nothing to do with the Xi family or the Meng family, why should I target these two families? They have made great contributions to our country.

"They failed to discipline the soldiers strictly, which resulted in the guards being instigated by their commanders, so I took back their military power.

"They did not participate in the rebellion, so I don't want to target them for their contributions in the name of rebellion.

"This kind of political scheme is what my father and you like to use, but I don't like it. I think the so-called way to rule subordinates is not the right way, and there is little to recommend in Shen Zi's theory.

“I don’t like these people pursuing profit, but it’s understandable and has nothing to do with me.

"These people hold their positions tightly. If I don't like them, I will move them. This will affect the country. Since my brother has already made a good start with the Bai family, I will change them all."

The tone was gentle, just like the morning meeting that afternoon:

"The country belongs to me. Whoever I want to be an official can be an official. I will gradually replace the nobles who do nothing with my students in the Imperial Academy.

"I will not kill them, I will only ask them to return the positions that do not belong to them to the country. They do not want to do their job properly, but there are many people who do.

“I think that what I do can be described as benevolent, but I believe that those who have been dismissed from their posts would definitely not think so.

"If their interests are damaged, they will definitely rebel. Hasn't it been like this since ancient times?
"I don't want to kill anyone, but if they ask me to kill them, then I will kill them.

"There are too many people begging me to kill them, so many that they dare to harbor rebellious thoughts.

"If I die before I have killed half of my men, my brother, the Qin Kingdom will be handed over to you.

"You said I am anxious, huh, am I anxious?

“Since this matter should be done, and we have already built the Xianyang Academy and have the foundation, why not do it immediately?

“If there are obstacles, just clear them away.

“Do what needs to be done right away. Don’t put it off because you’re afraid of the difficulty. You don’t know if you can wait until the next time when it’s not difficult.”

Ying Chengjiao rested his elbows on his knees, crossed his hands, and said in a deep voice:

"Yes, I'm sure we can, we can definitely wait until the time when things are not that difficult... at least much better than now.

“There are not many students in the Imperial College who can stand on their own. We can fill the vacancy of the Bai family only by relying on the students of Xunzi brought by Fuqiu Bo.

“Of course, they all entered the Imperial Academy and were also my brother’s students.

"Wait a little longer, don't rush, don't be too aggressive.

“All the old Qin nobles will make a move, wait until Xunzi himself arrives with all his disciples before making any move.

"Perhaps the Imperial College will teach students based on our national conditions this year, so that these students can grow up for a year and become familiar with our national affairs before taking action."

King Qin Zheng shook his head, unwilling:

"What do you mean by not being familiar with specific matters?

"If you mean responsibility, then I don't think that the students of the Imperial College can't do a good job.

"National policy decisions are made by the nine ministers and the two prime ministers. What they have to do does not involve decision-making, so how can they not do a good job of helping out?

"The Prime Minister's Chief Secretary is a very important position in our country. What does the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary do on a daily basis? He organizes bamboo slips, classifies them and hands them over to the Prime Minister, and issues orders for the Prime Minister.

"Does this require another year of instruction? I don't think so.

“A few days is enough to learn by observation and hearing.

“You have to talk not only about the matter, but also about the people, the coordination and cooperation between the various government departments, who to look for, who to befriend.

"This is why I decided to lay off people."

He picked up the bamboo slips on the table and dropped them on his hands, making a clanging sound. Qin Wang Zheng sneered:

"Shang Yang's reforms were about Qin law. Qin law should not only govern the people but also the nobles.

“All affairs have rules and regulations, which are written in the Qin Law.

“As long as everyone follows the charter, there won’t be any so-called personal connections that require people to get things done.

“Set a time, set a place, set a person.

“Those who make mistakes will be punished, and those who make meritorious deeds will be rewarded.

"Since the Qin laws can govern the people and make our people completely different from two hundred years ago, they can also govern the nobles."

Seeing his brother opening his mouth to speak, Qin Wangzheng stopped pounding the bamboo slips and said seriously:
"Don't try to persuade me, brother. I have made up my mind."

(End of this chapter)