People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 550, Reactions from all parties

The news that Xu Qing had executed 163 traitors and that Lü Buwei had been dismissed and demoted to commoner status was followed by the news that Ying Zheng intended to appoint Xu Qing as prime minister. These three pieces of news quickly stirred up a storm in the Qin state.

A restaurant in Xianyang.

A suffocating and uneasy atmosphere permeated the small room. The dozen or so people inside looked rather grim, their eyes glancing towards the doorway from time to time. The oppressive atmosphere made them feel as if a stone was pressing on their chests, making it hard for them to breathe.

Suddenly the door was pushed open, and the dozen or so people inside looked up instantly, their eyes flashing with shrewdness.

Jisu Naishi glanced at the expectant crowd inside the room, then walked into the room with a somewhat somber expression.

"How is the Minister of Agriculture? Have you seen Marquis Wenxin?" An official looked expectantly at the Minister of Agriculture and asked with a somewhat nervous tone.

The others looked at the Chief of Grain Supply with either anticipation or nervousness. These people were all Qin officials who had come from the ranks of Lü Buwei's retainers. Now, Lü Buwei had been dismissed from his position as prime minister and demoted to a commoner, and even his fiefdom was to be moved to Bashu.

It is obvious that the Qin royal family has already begun to take action. The king, as the ruler of Qin, may value their talents and not take action against them, but the Qin royal family may not be so.

In the suppression of Lao Ai's rebellion, the Qin royal family, Lord Changping, and Lü Buwei were the backbone of the campaign in Xianyang. However, Lü Buwei was too deeply involved with Lao Ai, and it was enough for him to save his life with the merit of suppressing the rebellion. As for the situation in the court, it fell entirely into the hands of the Qin royal family and Lord Changping.

These scholars and retainers from the six states would certainly not be tolerated by these two forces.

If they wanted to protect themselves, they had to put forward someone with enough influence and prestige, who was trusted by Ying Zheng, to speak on their behalf and lead them to resist the attacks from the royal family and the Chu foreign relatives.

"No, Marquis Wenxin has remained secluded since returning from the palace," said the Minister of Agriculture, shaking his head.

Upon hearing this, the expectant crowd instantly turned ashen-faced. Lü Buwei's absence indicated that the other party had no other options but to avoid suspicion and implicate them by not meeting him.

"What are we going to do? Are we really going to be slaughtered?" an official said in a deep voice.

“If it’s not right to ask Marquis Wenxin, we have other options. Marquis Wenxin once said that Your Majesty is a wise ruler and will surely be able to distinguish right from wrong. As long as we can find a suitable person to speak to Your Majesty on our behalf, I believe Your Majesty will not abolish us.”

The remonstrating official looked at the dejected crowd and said in a deep voice.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the others looked even uglier. At this point, there were only two people who could speak on their behalf and who were of sufficient status and position: Li Si and Lord Zhaoming, Xu Qing.

"Who should we look for? Li Si? He was once a retainer of Marquis Wenxin, and we're practically from the same clan. Perhaps we can find him," someone suggested.

However, before the head officials, including the Secretary of the Imperial Grain Administration, the Grand Counselor, and Yao Jia, who was also the Assistant Minister of Justice, could speak, someone spoke up in an unfriendly tone.

"What do we need him for? He's a traitor who seeks personal gain; do you think he'll speak up for us?" a rather rugged-looking official said indignantly.

As a retainer of Marquis Wenxin, Li Si became a courtier of the king after returning from a mission to the state of Han. In their eyes, this behavior was tantamount to betraying his master for personal gain and a betrayal of the kindness of Marquis Wenxin, Lü Buwei, in providing for him.

“That’s not quite right,” someone countered. “Although I am a retainer of Marquis Wenxin, I am also an official in the court. As an official, I should naturally be loyal to Your Majesty. Li Si was recommended by Marquis Wenxin as an envoy to Han, so he is naturally an official of Qin and should be loyal to Your Majesty.”

“That makes sense. Besides, Li Si did not show any disrespect to Marquis Wenxin, and Marquis Wenxin did not blame him,” someone continued.

“That’s not right. We are paid by the ruler, so we should be loyal to him. Since it was Marquis Wenxin who provided us with food, it should be with his permission. Li Si’s departure without saying goodbye is not the way of a gentleman.” Someone else stood up and retorted.

In this era, these retainers and advisors were more loyal to their lords than the monarchs themselves.

"But the current situation..."

Soon, a group of people started arguing about whether or not to go find Li Si. The oppressive and uneasy atmosphere instantly became tense. The dozen or so people split into two factions and began to argue about whether or not to go find Li Si.

Looking at the arguing crowd, then at the silent Minister of Agriculture and the Grand Counselor, Yao Jia recalled his conversation with Xu Qing the previous day and suddenly spoke.

"Why must we seek out Li Si? Lord Zhaoming, Xu Qing, can also be considered a scholar from our six states."

Yao Jia's voice wasn't loud, but his words instantly silenced the noisy crowd, and everyone turned to look at him with complicated expressions.

“Chief Justice, are you joking? Don’t forget that Lord Zhaoming just killed 163 people today. It’s obvious that the King wants him to be a loyal subject.” An official stepped forward and said to Yao Jia in a deep voice.

"Moreover, Lord Zhaoming has never had any connection with us, and he has the support of scholars from all walks of life. He is also very close to the royal family and the military. Why would he help us? It would be better if he didn't join the royal family in kicking us when we're down." Someone couldn't help but sigh.

Now, in terms of the king's trust and prestige, who can surpass Xu Qing? If Xu Qing is willing to lead them, what do the scholar faction have to fear?
However, they only discussed Li Si and didn't mention Xu Qing at all, because the formation of factions in the court, besides background, also valued interests.

Xu Qing came from a respectable family of scholars in Korea, but unlike them, he was the legitimate future leader of the Daoist Tianzong sect, followed by direct descendants of scholars from various schools of thought, such as the Gongyang School, the Tianzong School, and the Renzong School. While these people, to put it nicely, also studied various schools of thought, most of them learned in private schools or family traditions, making them, compared to Xu Qing, practically self-taught.

The differences in their backgrounds led to different interests. They were concerned about their personal future and their families, but the Hundred Schools behind Xu Qing were concerned about their own school of thought. They knew how fierce the struggle between the Hundred Schools was and did not want to get involved easily.

"Moreover, there are rumors that Your Majesty intends to make Zhaoming Jun the successor to Wenxin Hou. The royal family just removed Wenxin Hou from power, how could they possibly allow Zhaoming Jun, who is not from Qin, to continue serving as prime minister? Unless this person is approved by the royal family." The remonstrating official also stepped forward and said.

Upon hearing this, everyone except Yao Jia looked even more displeased.

"Leaving aside Li Si for now, if the King proposes tomorrow that Zhaoming be appointed as the Chancellor, what should we do? Should we support him or remain silent?" An official asked the crowd with a worried expression.

Yao Jia looked at the person who was speaking and was about to say something when he felt his sleeve being tugged twice. He glanced at the person who had pulled him and saw that it was none other than the Minister of Grain Administration.

The Minister of Agriculture glanced at Yao Jia and gave him a meaningful look.

A hint of doubt flashed in Yao Jia's eyes. Looking at the Secretary of the Imperial Grain Administration, who was telling him not to say anything, a glint of light suddenly appeared in his eyes. He seemed to understand what was going on.

"It seems the Minister of Grain Supply has met with Marquis Wenxin. No wonder he's been silent since returning; he must have a mission. Is he helping Marquis Wenxin select trustworthy people, or something else?" Yao Jia couldn't help but wonder.

After being reminded, Yao Jia naturally stopped participating in the discussion and decided to observe the situation first.

When the Minister of Agriculture saw that Yao Jia had understood his meaning, he withdrew his gaze and continued to observe the people around him.

"Let's first see the attitude of the royal family and the Chu relatives. If they oppose us, we will oppose them too; if they remain silent, we will remain silent as well."

The remonstrating official looked at everyone, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.

Everyone nodded in agreement. In fact, they all understood that no matter who was to become prime minister, Xu Qing could not be chosen, because he was too close to the military.

The position of Chancellor is of paramount importance; whoever takes it down gains the nominal leadership over the court officials and a portion of the power to appoint and dismiss them.

The Qin state based its system on military meritocracy, which inherently prevented civil officials from having avenues for promotion, leaving them only with the recommendation and promotion of superiors. If someone close to the military were appointed as prime minister, the recommendation and promotion would certainly be made by someone in the military or someone with military merit.

The Qin state has a long-standing tradition of promoting those with military merits to high-ranking local or central government positions. If Xu Qing becomes the prime minister, will these civil officials still have a chance to survive?

"Should we go find Li Si or not?" someone asked again.

"I read."

The crowd immediately started arguing again, while Yao Jia and the Minister of Agriculture watched the scene silently, neither of them saying a word.

Meanwhile, at the residence of Lord Changping.

The Chu nobles, led by Lord Changping Xiong Qi, were also discussing the political situation. Their topic was the same as that of the scholar-officials, but their focus was on Ying Zheng's intention to make Xu Qing the prime minister.

"Lord Changwen, Lord Changping, may I ask if it is true that His Majesty intends to appoint Lord Zhaoming as Prime Minister?" an official asked.

"This matter is merely a rumor. His Majesty has not shown any bias. You should not speculate on His Majesty's intentions," Xiong Qi said calmly, glancing at the crowd.

If there's no denial, then that's it.

Everyone present was shrewd; they knew very well that these unfounded rumors were not baseless, but rather deliberately spread by someone to test everyone's attitude. Naturally, there was someone who released the information.

That is the current king.

Aside from the King, they couldn't think of anyone else who could release information about who the prime minister candidate was.

"While Lord Zhaoming made outstanding contributions to the suppression of this rebellion, the swift quelling of the rebellion in Xianyang was also largely thanks to Lord Changping and Lord Changwen. Moreover, Xu Qing is just a young upstart; although he serves as a Palace Attendant and participates in government affairs, he has no real experience in handling government matters."

“If he were to become the prime minister, it would be a disaster for the Qin state! We must not disregard the safety of the Qin state because of the king’s favoritism,” said Lord Changwen.

Chang Wenjun's words immediately garnered the support of everyone present.

"Changwenjun is right, we must not let personal matters interfere with public duty!" everyone said in unison.

(End of this chapter)