Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 483 My Charming Ancestor~
"Sir, are you perhaps a follower of Confucianism?"

The First Emperor, holding his sword, sat down in the main seat.

With a sharp gaze fixed on Lin Dao, he said, "I have heard what you have said before. Those Confucian scholars often clamor about the rule of the Three Dynasties, which is not much different from what you have said."

Before he proclaimed himself emperor, all the feudal lords spoke of being orphaned and widowed.
After becoming emperor, starting with the First Emperor, the title "朕" (Zhen) became exclusively reserved for the emperor.

Before this, the title "朕" (Zhen) simply meant "I" or "me," and anyone, regardless of status, could use it.

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao's expression changed slightly.

His gaze sharpened, almost squeezing out his purple pupils. "I never imagined that Your Majesty would humiliate me like this."

"I'd rather be a highway robber, freeload at other people's homes, or even a rebel!"

"I will absolutely not join the Confucian school!"

The First Emperor squinted and stroked his beard, remaining noncommittal.

Han Xin and Zhang Liang, on the other hand, lowered their heads with strange expressions.

They felt that Lin Dao's words seemed to be directed at them.
He accepted the honey water offered by Zhao Gao, and the impatience in his eyes lessened slightly.

He stroked his beard and stared at Lin Dao, "I desire immortality. Could you teach me, sir?"

The emperor's body was severely damaged by years of taking elixirs containing large amounts of heavy metals, and his mental state was also gradually irritable and prone to anger.

The fact that they were able to have this much conversation with Lin Dao was already due to his extraordinary demeanor.

The First Emperor, unwilling to waste any more words, directly stated his needs.

"I also want to live forever."

Lin Dao also looked solemn and replied seriously, "My master did teach me immortal techniques, but I couldn't use them."

"In comparison, proving one's path through the power of merit is more effective."

"Why are you being so long-winded!"

"Merit, merit, how can there be so much merit!"

The First Emperor instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, and bluntly stated, "The people are ignorant and unruly; without strict laws and severe punishments to control them, they will surely descend into chaos!"

"What you've said, in the end, is nothing more than to ease the people's burdens, treat them with kindness, and reassure them with generosity."

"If that happens, the world will surely descend into chaos!"

"I don't need your merits."

"Just pass on the immortal techniques taught to you by your master to me."

"Noble titles and official positions, wealth and beautiful women, fertile land and luxurious mansions~"

"Just tell me what you want!"

The First Emperor had a strong will and fought against heavy metals such as lead and mercury in his body every day.

They also had to handle official business involving cartloads of bamboo slips and worry about all matters, big and small, in the world.

Under such immense pressure, he neither became mentally ill nor went mad, which undoubtedly demonstrates his extraordinary willpower.

However, this willpower was constantly being worn down by his status and the heavy metals such as lead and mercury he was constantly serving.

By now, he has almost lost all patience.

"His Majesty."

Lin Dao couldn't help but scoff, "You really disappoint me~"

Han Xin and Zhang Liang, disguised as children behind him, looked up in surprise.

He stared at Lin Dao's back with an expression of utter disbelief.

'Brother~'

'You're so brave!'

To dare utter such treasonous words in front of the First Emperor is simply divine!
"Be bold!"

With Zhao Gao's roar, all the officials around him drew their swords.

With just a single order from the First Emperor, they immediately stepped forward and hacked the three men into mincemeat.

Zhang Liang and Han Xin were already reaching for their swords.

The First Emperor, whose body resembled a tiger in motion and whose face exuded an imposing aura, raised his hand and waved it behind him.

The officials all sheathed their swords.

"You..." The First Emperor narrowed his eyes. "With swords and spears before you, you show no fear. You are truly no ordinary person."

"Since Your Majesty seeks immortality," Lin Dao chuckled, "knowing I understand immortal arts, why would you cut off your own path?"

"Mercedes-Benz and other valuables are like fleeting clouds to me."

"Peerless beauties are like painted skeletons to me."

"If Your Majesty wishes to achieve immortality through bribery..."

"Excuse my bluntness, but is the immortality that can be bought truly immortality?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room changed color!

If immortality could be obtained through bribery, how come none of the many powerful figures since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors have ever truly achieved immortality?
Lin Dao's words were like a sharp needle, piercing through the belief that the First Emperor had long held in his heart!
He treated many alchemists well, and practiced cultivation and took elixirs according to their requirements.

I kept telling myself that doing this would grant me immortality.

Indeed, Lin Dao's single sentence broke the First Emperor's defenses.

He slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with rage.

"Nonsense!"

The men drew their swords again.

In an instant, the room was filled with the glint of swords and the chilling atmosphere of killing intent.

Zhang Liang and Han Xin were already itching to get up and draw their swords.

"I have experienced countless trials and tribulations, and I have also been fortunate to receive instruction and training from my master."

"I see." Faced with such an attitude, Lin Dao simply waved his hand and said, "I dare not even speak of immortality."

"Your Majesty, can you achieve immortality by consuming some elixirs?"

"If such a divine elixir truly existed, it would have been lost thousands of years ago, why would it be left to you!"

Everyone was shocked. How dare someone in the entire world speak to the First Emperor in such a manner? Was this a test of the Qin Dynasty's strength?
However, to everyone's surprise, although the First Emperor's eyes were wide open and his hair stood on end in anger.

However, he did not order the capture or execution of this fiend.

There was no particular reason; it wasn't because Lin Dao had an imperial aura, nor because he felt a sense of goodwill upon seeing Lin Dao's imposing figure.

It was purely because the pursuit of immortality was the First Emperor's obsession.

Although the person before him spoke harshly, he was the closest the First Emperor had ever come to obtaining the secret to immortality.

As long as this person could teach him the secret to immortality, everything else was negotiable. Therefore, when the First Emperor, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, waved his hand again, signaling his sons to sheathe their swords and retreat, everyone was utterly shocked.

In Zhang Liang's heart, he shouted even louder.

Is this still the same cruel and tyrannical First Emperor who killed countless people and treated human life like dirt?

'Being called an idiot to your face and acting like you didn't hear it at all~'

"Brother Zihou, how did you do that?"

It's not difficult to do; just grasp the core and key points.

The First Emperor was obsessed with achieving immortality; once he presented an opportunity, the rest would be easy.

"You talk as if you're some kind of genius." After the princes sheathed their swords again, the First Emperor looked down at them with disdain and glanced sideways. "Do you know any magic?"

There's no need for such probing.

Lin Dao took a breath and said, "I do have real skills."

"But~"

He looked at the First Emperor with a sincere expression and said, "I still maintain that the right path is to attain enlightenment through merit and virtue."

"If Your Majesty treats the people kindly and seeks immortality through the power of merit, the Fire Cloud Cave will open its east gate wide for Your Majesty, and the Three Saints will come out to welcome you!"

"You make it sound nice," the First Emperor said, growing impatient. "Merit, merit, what is merit?"

"Without using the people's labor, how can projects be constructed in various places?"

"If the people's labor is not used, where will the taxes and grain come from?"

"Without utilizing the people's strength, how can we defend the borders against enemies and expand our territory?"

"If we do nothing as you say, then the Qin Dynasty will be gone. What use is immortality then!"

"Your Majesty!" Lin Dao's anger flared up as well. "There's no need to beat around the bush!"

"Being considerate of the people's strength doesn't mean doing nothing!"

"We can provide better conditions for the people, pay them more wages, and provide basic food, lodging, and medical care."

"Reduce the time spent on corvée labor and border defense."

"Abolish cruel corporal punishment!"

"Reduce tax collection amounts and allow the people to rest."

“Most importantly,” Lin Dao’s sneer grew colder, “some unnecessary large-scale projects can be completely stopped.”

The First Emperor stared wide-eyed, stroking his beard in silence for a moment.

"It's like the Epang Palace," Lin Dao said bluntly, without mincing words. "And the Lishan Imperial Mausoleum!"

The people inside the room had become numb to it all.

Zhao Gao kept his head down, his back bent, and his feet tucked in, fearing that he would be noticed by the First Emperor and implicated.

Without making a sound, he secretly stole glances at Lin Dao, who had an air of otherworldly wisdom.

He secretly admired him, 'The last person to dare speak to His Majesty like this was Marquis Changxin; even Marquis Wenxin wouldn't dare speak to His Majesty like this!'

'Lin Dao, you are truly a warrior!'

"You really are something!" The First Emperor finally lost his temper, his eyes widening and radiating a chilling aura. "How dare you!"

Lin Dao actually made him stop the construction of the Epang Palace and the imperial mausoleum?!
How bold!

The Epang Palace was where the First Emperor rested and enjoyed the entertainment befitting an emperor.

As for the Lishan Imperial Mausoleum, there's no need to say more.

In this era that values ​​treating death as if it were life, and where life and death are of paramount importance.

Imperial tombs are symbols of imperial power and will, and their importance even surpasses that of major projects such as the Epang Palace, the Straight Road, and the Great Wall!

Lin Dao actually stopped him?
That sentence alone is enough to warrant an appointment to experience the horse power of the Qin Dynasty.

The men inside hesitated.

He had been ordered to withdraw his sword every time he tried to draw it before. Would he draw it again this time?
The First Emperor, his face ashen, rose, gripping the hilt of his sword.

A pair of sharp eyes stared at Lin Dao. "Langya County has been suffering from drought for a long time. I'll give you three days to prepare a ritual to summon wind and rain to alleviate the drought."

"If it can't be done."

"Humph!"

After that, he turned around and left.

"Whoo~"

Lin Dao remained silent, gripping the bronze wine cup tightly, and forcefully pressed his fingerprints onto the cup!

Bronze has a high yield strength; it would probably take a great deal of force to make a handprint out of it.

"My charming ancestor."

"Standardize the written language, standardize the gauge of carts, and unify currency, weights and measures."

"For over a thousand years since then, the people of China have written the same script and used the same system of weights and measures, saving them so much trouble!"

“Abolish the feudal system, implement the prefecture-county system, establish an emperor, and reorganize the court.”

"For over a thousand years since then, the administrative system has been almost entirely continued in this way."

"While the barbaric lands were still divided into fiefdoms and ruled by Brahmins, the Central Plains were already capable of mobilizing the entire nation's resources to accomplish great things!"

"To govern the country with Legalism and to create a complete legal system that is implemented nationwide."

"Law is the core of social fairness, and a complete legal system is the foundation of humanity."

"For over a thousand years since then, although there have been various problems, at least on the surface everyone respects the law!"

"Build straight roads and construct the Great Wall."

"To get rich, build roads first. The Qin Straight Road is still in use even a thousand years later."

"Some people say that building the Great Wall is too passive, but the Great Wall can effectively protect the border, prevent the invasion of the nomadic tribes, and protect the people on the border."

"For over a thousand years since then, the Great Wall has protected countless people."

"Unifying the world and deeply embedding the idea of ​​a unified empire in people's hearts."

"For the next thousand years, no matter how difficult the conditions, we must achieve unity!"

Lin Daozi raised his head, his purple eyes turning red.

"My charming ancestor~"

Why won't you listen to my advice!

(End of this chapter)