The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 333: Radical Lord, Conservative King
The night wind in Xianyang, carrying the coolness of early spring, swept over the tall eaves of the Xuanniao Palace, blowing away the lingering aroma of wine in the palace.

The old Qin nobles walked out of the palace gate in twos and threes, their robes fluttering in the wind, but their faces were even gloomier than the night approaching midnight.

Meng Hua was leaning on a crutch, his steps were heavy, and every step felt like stepping on the spine of his enemy.

The third son, Meng Xiang, supported him and whispered:
"Father, the king's words today..."

"Humph!" Meng Hua sneered and slammed his cane on the bluestone slab. "You say you remember everyone who has made contributions to the Qin State and remember the merits of our ancestors, but what you actually do is kick us away!"

Xidi was walking in front and turned back when he heard the words.

Waiting for Meng Hua to approach, Xidi's eyes flashed with a sinister light:

"If it weren't for the support of the old clans like us, how could Qin be what it is today? The Bai family is seeking their own demise, and the entire family is wiped out. What does it have to do with us? Haven't we given enough?"

Many old Qin nobles followed behind the two men, listening silently, like night ghosts.

The representatives of the old Qin nobles used to be the Meng, Xi and Bai clans. After the Bai clan rebelled and was exterminated, the Meng and Xi clans temporarily represented the old Qin nobles.

The stance of the two old patriarchs of the Meng and Xi clans is most likely the stance of the old Qin nobles, because their interests are the interests of the old Qin nobles.

This time there was a major reshuffle in the Qin officialdom, and the Meng and Xi clans had the most people dismissed. They were the clans whose interests suffered the most among the old Qin nobles.

Meng Hua, who had never had a military career, tapped the ground with his staff and glanced back inconspicuously - the many unclear glances gave the old man a sudden boost in confidence.

As long as the Qin nobles are united, what does it matter to the king?

The old man knew that he had to speak up for Baili Sheng who was still in prison.

Otherwise, if people’s hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead them.

"The banquet given by the king today is nothing but the cat crying over the rat." Meng Hua's old voice was slow and slow, brewing a storm in the calm: "If he really remembered the old friendship, he would not indulge Xiong Qi, that brat, to attack Sheng.

Stop, look back, and look at the person following closely behind you:
"What do you think, young Wang?"

The middle-aged man who had been silent along with many old Qin nobles stopped when Meng Hua pointed him out and bowed to the two old men:
"Mr. Meng and Mr. Xi are right."

Xidi, who was old but still had a military spirit, glanced at the middle-aged man and said casually:
"I heard that your son Wang Wan is the king's study companion?"

The middle-aged man answered frankly, "Yes." It was obvious that this matter could not be concealed.

"Let Wang Wan talk to the king more." Meng Hua smiled, and wrinkles appeared on his face, which was a bit scary at night: "This is Qin State. The Chu and Zhao people are unreliable. If there is any problem, we old Qin people have to rely on us."

The middle-aged man nodded, and the sound of his agreement was drowned out by Xidi's roar:

"There is nothing to say! Then the people of Zhao and Chu are all the people of Ying Zheng! Didn't he announce the left and right prime ministers during the court?"

These words made everyone silent, and their already bad expressions became even worse.

The night wind swirled past their feet and around them, and the coolness seemed like a silent mockery.

Xidi was the first to march forward. This veteran, who had not made a name for himself and had walked around the military without leaving much of a mark, was full of murderous intent:

"Your Majesty, do you think that a meal and a few nice words can make us grateful?

"Without us, where would Qin be?

"He remembers that our ancestors fought for the Qin State and risked their lives, yet he wants us to wag our tails and beg for mercy like a stray dog.

"He is just a young boy. If it weren't for the last king's will, he wouldn't even be able to sit on the throne!
"We shouldn't have brought him back from Zhao! We should have let him die in Zhao! Prince Chengjiao would be a hundred times more powerful than him if he became king!
"Even if it's Lü Buwei, he's better than him"

"Master Xi!" Meng Hua hit the ground heavily with his staff: "You drank too much."

"I haven't eaten much." Xidi kept walking and talking: "Even if it's Lu Buwei, he is a hundred times stronger than him!"

One person is angry, and the crowd rises up to make peace.

The night wind sobs, listening to people's voices.

"The capable ones are promoted while the mediocre ones are demoted. How funny! Is there anyone more capable than us?"

"When my family was established, there was no Tingweishi! Tingweishi was established for my family! Now it has been snatched away by a lowly scholar!"

"And he said we didn't do anything. If we didn't do anything, how could he run Qin? Just relying on him alone? The appointment of flood control in Guanzhong, the allocation of grain, the war last year, which one didn't require our work?"

"Brother Wang, Wang He is your relative and he never provokes you. How dare you kill him? Why did you kill a reckless man to provoke the king? You broke the rules!"

"You are so ignorant! Shut up! Wang He is not one of us, so what rules can we follow with him? If we kill Wang He, those reckless men will make trouble, and then the king will know who he can trust! The king said we won't do anything, so we won't do it to show him! I want to see if the academy the king has built can support the Qin State!"

"Mr. Meng, Mr. Xi, make up your mind. If you take our official positions today, will you take our land tomorrow? The king said he would not give up his title, but I don't believe it. Official position and title are connected. First you lose your official position, then you lose your title."

"..."

Fengtian Temple.

Twelve fish oil lamps were burning on the lamp tree in the corner, casting the shadow of Ying Zheng working at his desk on the map.

A big river runs across the map, it's the Wei River.

This map is a map of Xianyang and the area under its jurisdiction, which shows in detail the streets, palaces and even nearby county towns in Xianyang, including Pinyang.

King Zheng of Qin tapped a red circle in the Pinyang area with his fingertips again and again. This was the place where the veteran general Wang He was assassinated.

King Zheng of Qin was not too sad about the old general's death. He was not the kind of person who would just swallow his anger. When Wang He pointed at his nose and scolded him, he really wanted to issue an imperial decree to execute the old general.

The reason why he did not follow his emotions was that he thought it was wrong to do so. The veteran general had indeed contributed to the suppression of the rebellion, and his family had also indeed made a lot of contributions to the Qin State.

So, emotionally he wanted the veteran to die, but the practical decision was to let the veteran live.

Now the veteran is still dead.

If there had been no royal mark left at the scene, King Zheng of Qin would never have been so angry.

It’s okay if Wang He dies.

Wang He died at this time, and the cause of death was pointed at him even though he had not done anything. The person behind this was so outrageous!
During the day, King Zheng of Qin specifically met with Qin Xi, the chief of the imperial clan, and confirmed from his only uncle that the royal family had nothing to do with the death of the old general.

Who would that be?
King Zheng of Qin sat on the ergonomic chair sent by his younger brother, closed his eyes and waited for his younger brother.

The last time they met here, they agreed to meet again in three days and give each other answers.

About half an hour later, the palace door suddenly opened.

Ying Chengjiao came in carrying a jar of wine, with dust still on the ends of his hair.

"Brother Wang, are you staying up late again?" The young man casually threw the jar to Zhao Gao behind him and said, "Warm it up. Lanling wine tastes better when it's hot."

Zhao Gao took the wine and left.

King Zheng of Qin opened his eyes and smiled before he spoke:

"Has it been found out?"

"No, the clues were cut off in Xianyang, and we couldn't find anything." Ying Chengqiu also smiled, but there was no warmth in his smile: "Xiong Wen and Xiong Qi couldn't find it, and neither could I. In fact, the answer is already there."

"It seems that my two prime ministers hit the mark by accident. Although Baili Sheng was tortured into confessing, he is not innocent." King Zheng of Qin slowly sat up.

"Maybe." Ying Chengjiao responded perfunctorily.

Before he finished speaking, the young man suddenly swung his sleeves. Qin Wangzheng's eyes blurred.

By the time he reacted, his brother was holding a dagger at his neck.

Qin Wang Zheng suddenly opened his brother's hand, not worrying about being scratched at all, and said unhappily:
"What else? Are you going to kill the king and usurp the throne?"

"Brother, pick up your martial arts." The young man's eyes were attracted by the map on the table, staring at the red circle in the Pinyang area: "What you are doing now is too dangerous."

"Except for you, who would not be searched when seeing me? You are the only one who can hold a sharp blade in front of me!"

"Really? Where's Queen Mother Zhao?"

"Have you nothing else to say besides nitpicking?"

"Of course there are, for example, the greedy, stupid, and arrogant old Qin nobles. After the banquet two nights ago, the old Qin nobles were more lively than the banquet. Meng Hua complained that his son was dismissed, Xidi scolded the king for being ungrateful, and Gongsun Falcon chopped down a wild sunflower in public to vent his anger."

"What can I say about this? It's reasonable and expected."

"So they said that the official position in Qin was originally theirs, and it is also between you two brothers?"

"Of course, I am not surprised at all when they say such things."

Ying Chengjiao was silent for a while.

In a moment, he threw the dagger on the table with a clang.

"I'll be your white gloves." The young man suddenly said.

"White gloves?" Qin Shi Huang was puzzled. What new word was this?

Ying Chengjiao did not give a direct answer:
"Shang Yang's reforms were actually the will of Duke Xiao.

"But because Shang Jun was responsible for the offensive work of killing people and confiscating land, the anger of the old Qin nobles was directed at Shang Jun.

"After Shang Jun's death, the Qin State became stable."

Qin Wang Zheng was thoughtful:
“I understand.

"The meaning of white gloves is to prevent me from getting my hands dirty, right?
"Do you want to be my Shang Yang?"

"Brother, you really understand everything at once." Ying Chengjiao praised.

King Qin Zheng sat up straight and slapped the table with a loud slap:
"You bastard! Who do you think I am?"

The dagger kept twitching, as if it was trembling with fear at the wrath of King Zheng of Qin.

The young man held the dagger, his fingertips were cold, and he lowered his head and smiled:

"You shouldn't be so angry, right?
"Shang Jun can't escape from Qin, but I can, and I won't die.

"You are the king, and a king should sit high up and not get involved in the affairs of the people below. Didn't you originally want Xiong Wen and Xiong Qi to do this? Weren't you waiting for a white glove?
"They are far inferior to me. I am the real chief priest of the academy."

Xiong Wen and Xiong Qi wanted to borrow King Zheng of Qin's Qin sword to kill the old Qin nobles, and King Zheng of Qin also wanted to use the two Chu swords of Xiong Wen and Xiong Qi to kill people.

Just like Duke Xiao of Qin and Shang Yang, just like King Huiwen of Qin and Zhang Yi.

After Shang Yang's death, the anger of the old Qin nobles disappeared.

After expelling Zhang Yi, the impression of Qin as a state of dishonesty among other nations largely disappeared.

Most of the Qin kings in history had white gloves.

Throw it away after use to appease people’s anger.

The rumor that the King of Qin is mean and ungrateful is not groundless.

"Weren't they the first to take advantage of me?" Qin Wang Zheng said angrily, "If they didn't take advantage of me, how could I take advantage of them?"

The young man looked up and down at his brother, whose anger did not seem fake, and said "Yo" exaggeratedly:
"I didn't realize my brother is such a decent person! He's quite reasonable!"

Smiling, he patted his brother's shoulder again and again:
"Brother, I want to use you too. Please use me."

"You boy, remember this." Qin Wang Zheng said in a deep voice: "You are the crown prince, and the crown prince is also the king. Your life is not less valuable than mine."

He put his brother's hand on his shoulder again:

"If I want to kill someone, I will kill him myself, without asking anyone else to do it.

“But since the Xiong brothers are so eager to help, I don’t mind using them.

"They use me for their own benefit, and I use them for my own benefit, that's only fair, isn't it?

"After the commander left, no one could force me to kill another Afang. If I really did that, I would be dead soon.

"I have already written down my will to pass on the throne to you. You will personally see me off when the time comes."

Under the premise of being in charge of the Qin State, if there was someone who forced King Zheng of Qin into the miserable situation he was in before, King Zheng of Qin would think that he was really too bad.

How can I, who am so incompetent, lead the Qin State to further development?
Since you can't do that, then just die and leave the Qin State to your younger brother who is smarter than you.

The blood of the Qin royal family contains madness.

"I am the king. How can a king be so irresponsible and push the blame on others? Unless they are seeking death on their own initiative." Ying Zheng took out a roll of yellowed sheepskin from the secret compartment and stroked the worm-eaten edge with his fingertips: "I am really not a mean and ungrateful person."

He flipped it open gently, pointed at the densely packed Qin characters without punctuation marks and said:
“This is the covenant between Duke Mu and Meng Mingshi.

“If these old Qin nobles hadn’t fought to the death, the Qin State would have perished long ago.

“I didn’t take action against these old Qin nobles, not because I was afraid of them, but because I was grateful for their ancestors’ contributions and everything they had done for the Qin State.

"I know that you think they are hindering the development of Qin. But they played an indispensable role in the development of Qin, didn't they?
"I am not waiting for the white gloves, I am giving them one last chance.

"Don't look at me like that. What is there that you don't believe? Don't forget that I was the one who first proposed a major change in the officialdom, and you said I was too radical at that time.

"It's only been a short time, why are you even more impatient than me and are you in a hurry to kill someone?

"Just be a virtuous gentleman. If I get into trouble because of my so-called tyranny, you will be in power so that you can pacify the country as quickly as possible.

"Master, you have gone through so much trouble to preserve your body. How can you use your talent to block my sword?"

Ying Chengjiao was agitated, but his smile disappeared from his face:

"It seems that I was worrying too much. Did Wang Gong Wang He die in vain?"

Qin Wangzheng stared at the dagger on the table, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He didn't know if it was the reflection of the dagger:
“The main culprit must be punished.

“If we can’t find out from the outside, we can find out from the inside.

“I didn’t reward Wang Wan right away, I was waiting for today.

"If Wang wants to gain support from me, she must first support me.

"Take my royal seal and go find Wang Kuan."

(End of this chapter)