The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 233 Young Master Gao

Li Si noticed the emperor's gaze. If Prince Fusu's decrees were not effectively implemented, it would be because the people Li Si had sent out were the problem.

Ying Zheng withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and breathed quietly without saying another word.

Having just eaten lunch and taken medicine earlier, Ying Zheng was now digesting it. He felt the bitterness of the medicine returning to him as he digested it, so he frowned and endured the bitterness.

In the winter of the thirty-eighth year of the First Emperor's reign.

Squads of Qin soldiers entered the Chu territory, first heading towards Pengcheng.

The Qin soldiers in black armor stormed into a house, captured all the family members, and took them to Xianyang.

Moreover, the remaining Qin troops, starting from Pengcheng, began to spread southeastward into the Chu region.

On a snowy day, the Qin army in black armor stood out starkly against the snowflakes.

Song Yi, carrying a bundle, was riding his horse southward.

An arrow flew through the air and pierced the horse's lower abdomen.

The warhorse immediately collapsed, and Song Yi fell into the snow. He heard the heavy thud of warhorses behind him. He stood up in a disheveled state, wanting to go further into the distant mountains, but he was surrounded by the Qin army.

Standing in the snow, Song Yi exhaled hot breath. He looked at the Qin army surrounding him and shouted, "It is Xiang Liang who should rebel against Qin, not me!"

The Qin soldiers ignored him; they were simply following the arrest warrant.

Heavy shackles were placed on Song Yi, and he was escorted to Xianyang.

Such things kept happening in the Chu region.

Since Yin Tong's incident, the prefect who sheltered the anti-Qin people was executed along with his entire clan, and even distant relatives were implicated.

In the past, some people even boasted about rebelling against Qin, and were proud of it, even befriending famous scholars from the former six states.

In reality, they didn't have the guts to rebel against Qin. They lacked the courage to rebel against Qin, but they were quite bold in using the pretext of rebelling against Qin to freeload and make friends with various famous figures.

But now, after seeing Yin Tong's fate, everyone has shut up.

There are even people who have been implicated as a result.

After Yin Tong was arrested, the three Tian brothers also died tragically.

The Qin army pursued the criminals all the way to Wuzhong and captured Xiang Liang, the ringleader of this operation.

According to the testimonies of Song Yi, Zheng Chang, and other former nobles of Chu, Xiang Liang was the one who initially led the rebellion against Qin, and he was the one who repeatedly united righteous men from various places to claim that he wanted to overthrow Qin and restore Chu.

Song Yi sat in the prison cart and looked at Zheng Chang, who was also sitting in the prison cart.

The two were in prison vans very close together, and there was a long line of human traffickers behind them. He smiled bitterly and said, "I never thought we would end up like this."

Zheng Chang shouted again, "The one who wants to rebel against Qin is Xiang Liang! Not us! We only met Xiang Liang once, and it was Xiang Liang who bribed Yin Tong, not us!"

These kinds of words were said almost every day, but the Qin army simply ignored them.

What chilled Song Yi to the bone was that the document ordering their execution bore the seal of the King of Chu, who was still alive and residing in Xianyang.

Perhaps King Fuchu of Chu even knew Song Yi.

Song Yi looked at the dark clouds looming overhead with a wry smile; even the howling wind couldn't dampen his spirits at that moment.

The escorting team entered Tongguan and then Guanzhong.

Song Yi looked at the bustling Tongguan City. It was very lively, with many people and many children.

As they passed in front of Tongguan City, they all heard the sound of students reading aloud.

For some reason, Song Yi cried at this moment. He really cried, and tears streamed down his face.

Now, this man is truly filled with remorse. The longer he cries, the deeper his regret becomes. If given another chance, he would never accept Xiang Liang's invitation.

Furthermore, Song Yi also wanted to tie up Xiang Liang and Yin Tong and hand them over to the Qin army.

But there are no "what ifs" in life. Now he's in the prison cart, about to be killed. Song Yi cried, and Zheng Chang cried too, as did the others in the prison carts behind him.

Everyone has moments of fear of death. Before they were taken to Qin territory, they might have been a bit tougher, but after being sent to Hangu Pass, they were truly afraid.

Many people were willing to join them in opposing the Qin Dynasty, making grand pronouncements and swearing blood oaths.

But when the Qin army actually arrived, not a single person dared to stand up; those who could run away all fled.

Outside Xianyang City, at the command of the Minister of Justice Feng Jie, Song Yi and Zheng Chang were beheaded.

As soon as the heads on this side hit the ground, the people behind were brought up.

The Qin law is merciless. The Chief Justice Feng Jie showed no sympathy for their defense. Now they say they have nothing to do with Xiang Liang. Did they not know that Xiang Liang was going to rebel against Qin when they went to see him?
Xiang Liang didn't hold a knife to their necks to force them to come over.

After the body was taken away, apart from some bloodstains, the area outside Xianyang returned to its original state.

Outside the city, Li, who was watching the execution, kept his eyes covered. He asked, "Brother, are those heads still there?"

Heng said, "He's gone."

Li slightly parted his fingers to make sure his brother wasn't teasing him before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Heng then said, "If you're scared, you don't have to come."

Zhang Jing smiled and led the two young men into Xianyang City. Today, the two of them were going back to the palace, as tomorrow was the winter solstice.

Every year, we return to Xianyang on the winter solstice.

Li roused himself, his expression brightening considerably, and said, "In the future, I will also join the army to serve in the military, guard the border, and fight the enemy. If I don't train my courage, how will I be able to fight the enemy in the future?"

His tone was youthful, yet quite firm.

As Heng walked, he said, "By the time you grow up, the Xiongnu will have been wiped out, so what enemies will you be fighting?"

Li shook his head and said, "Then there will be other enemies. Father said that the world is actually very big, and our territory is not vast enough."

Heng compromised and said, "Alright, my brother, you must expand our territory in the future."

"Ah."

He nodded respectfully.

The three of them walked to the palace gate and escorted the two young masters inside. After that, Zhang Jing was able to leave, but he bumped into someone as soon as he reached the palace gate.

The man was wearing a long black robe, had a short beard, and was not tall and rather thin.

"Heng, don't you remember me?"

Upon hearing this, Heng scratched his head.

“You are eleven years old now. You were only four when I left. It has been seven years since then.”

Heng suddenly remembered something and said, "Uncle."

Gongzi Gao then nodded, and looked at the even younger one beside him, saying, "You are Li?"

"Li greets Uncle."

Gongzi Gao then looked at Zhang Jing and said, "You've grown so tall. The General often thinks of you. Once we capture the Xiongnu King Modu, he will return home to reunite with you."

Zhang Jing kept his head down, his heart surprisingly calm.

In fact, there are many children like him in Weinan who have devoted themselves to the construction of the country and have not returned home for many years.

Zhang Jing felt he was being well taken care of. Facing Gongzi Gao, he bowed and said, "After I return, I will write a letter home to inform my father."

Gongzi Gao nodded, and had someone pull a cart full of books, leading the two young masters into the palace gate.

Zhang Jing stood there for a moment. If he hadn't seen Gongzi Gao, it wouldn't have been a problem, but now that he had, and after hearing his words... for some reason, he felt very uncomfortable.

(End of this chapter)