The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

Two guards, standing in front of the palace gate, leaned against the gate, chatting as they rested on their long spears.

They guarded the palace, and could steal a moment of leisure when no one was around.

"I was wondering why I didn't see a single patrolling guard in the palace today, not even the captain."

A person supports himself with a long spear in his arms.

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked around at the empty palace.

Normally, the guards would arrange for them to stay at the palace.

But they would come to inspect from time to time to see if they were slacking off, but they were nowhere to be seen today.

On weekdays, not only are there people guarding the access control,

They would also arrange for guards to patrol around the palace.

But today, not only are the patrolling guards gone, but even their captain no longer comes to patrol.

"Hey, you didn't know that, did you?"

Another guard, holding a spear, said, "I heard it from a relative of mine. His Majesty has ordered a crackdown on thieves."

"The nationwide search will last for twenty days, starting in Xianyang."

"Now, the guards responsible for patrolling the palace have all been ordered to go to Xianyang City for inspection."

As he spoke, he let out a long sigh.

"We've been left here, and nobody's taking care of us."

However, judging from his tone, it didn't seem like a sigh, but rather a strong sense of smugness.

"I see." The other one said, no longer supporting himself with the long spear, but instead sitting against the wall.

He added, "Why didn't you say so earlier? I've been on tenterhooks all day, constantly worried that the squad leader will come to inspect us."

"Heh." The man chuckled but said nothing.

At first, he was a little skeptical, but after not seeing many people all morning, he figured it must be them.

Thinking about it, he put the long spear aside.

He sat against the wall with the guard.

But as soon as he sat down, he saw a young man in black robes slowly walking towards him from outside the palace gate.

The guard who had sat down earlier paused for a moment.

But the one who sat down behind him sprang up immediately, hurriedly grabbed the long spear, and dutifully performed his duties.

The person who sat down hadn't reacted yet.

The man in black robes had already passed through them without even glancing at them, and walked into the palace through the gate.

After the man walked away, Lang Wei, who was sitting, smiled.

Looking up at Lang Wei standing there, he said, "Heh, what's the big fuss about? What are you afraid of? This guy isn't even the squad leader."

Lang Wei remained silent as he stood there.

Holding a long spear, he stood by the palace gate, chest out and head held high, looking utterly devoted to his duty.

He didn't say anything.

The seated guard chuckled, not taking it seriously.

"You're still too timid. You're afraid of just anyone. It's not like he's the squad leader."

Xuan Ye took a few steps toward the palace.

Seemingly remembering something, they turned back.

He lowered his eyes, looked at Lang Wei who was still leaning against the wall and talking, and said.

"Your salary for this month is gone."

As he spoke, he nodded to Lang Wei, who was standing next to him.

I left this place.

"This." The guard who was sitting raised his head, then could no longer sit down and slowly stood up.

He looked at Lang Wei beside him and asked, "Who is this person?"

Na Langwei smiled, turned his head, and watched the person gradually walk away before letting out a long sigh of relief.

"The Imperial Physician!"

As he spoke, he still seemed a little shaken: "This man is the newly appointed Chief Physician, the Salacious Devil."

"It is rumored that he has been in office for less than a month."

Looking around nervously, afraid that the man would return, he said, "I fined more than a dozen people."

"Oh? The Salary Demon King, huh?"

A cold voice came from the side. Lang Wei nodded, but something seemed off.

That sound...

It doesn't seem to be the palace guards who are with him.

He seemed to realize something, turned around, and saw Xuan Ye standing not far from him.

And the guard who was just asking him that question.

Holding a long spear in his hand, he stood tall and straight ahead, his eyes fixed straight ahead, motionless.

"You won't get your salary this month either."

..........

When Xuan Ye arrived at Xianyang Palace.

Only then did I realize that today, the First Emperor was not sitting behind his desk reviewing memorials as he usually did.

Instead, he stood in the main hall.

Beneath his feet lay a picture of the world united as one.

This map, depicting the unification of the four seas, is a huge map made by sewing together dozens of pieces of fine white silk.

The mountains, rivers, and counties depicted above were not painted on.

It was embroidered by the embroiderer with her skillful hands, stitch by stitch, and it will never fade or become blurry.

It is several tens of steps long and wide.

The First Emperor could step onto it and look down upon the great empire he had conquered!

This map,

It represents his dream of unification after he comes of age and assumes personal rule.

The First Emperor had seen it countless times, and his footprints in reality covered almost every county and prefecture of the empire.

However, this map is not yet perfect.

His empire is still missing a few key territories!

The First Emperor stood in the center of the map, looking north. Despite burying the sorcerers alive, he never forgot the prophecy that "the one who will destroy Qin is the Hu."

The Xiongnu in the north remained a major threat to Qin.

Next, the First Emperor turned his attention to the west, and Li Xin, having been ordered to do so, is now preparing his army for war.

It is likely that the Qin cavalry will soon set foot in the west.

And to the south lies a vast land where many Yue tribes lived, known as the Baiyue.

They attacked the Xiongnu in the north and conquered the Baiyue in the south.

Apart from the vast ocean to the east, in the eyes of the First Emperor, the west would be the next battle for the Qin Dynasty against foreign powers.

Frequently launching wars abroad,

The First Emperor also had his reasons.

Shang Yang's reforms made the Qin Dynasty powerful, but it also had a weakness: it went hungry quickly.

In order to feed this war behemoth,

This was also to give the empire endless internal motivation.

Even after the six kingdoms were destroyed, the First Emperor still had to constantly seek out and defeat enemies!

Xuan Ye stood outside the door.

He watched as the First Emperor stood on the map, remaining silent for a long time.

After a long while, the First Emperor noticed Xuan Ye outside the door, waved to him, and then strolled out from the map.

"His Majesty."

Xuan Ye walked up to the First Emperor and said.

The First Emperor nodded, his hands behind his back. At that moment, a eunuch came in to put away the map for the First Emperor.

But the First Emperor raised his hand to stop him.

He gazed for a long time at this vast land and the hundreds of millions of creatures living on it, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

But then, an unusual sound rang out.

"cough……"

It's a cough, a mild cough.

The First Emperor stood there, his tall figure moving, though he tried his best to control himself, his hands clenched into fists, pressed against his lips and beard.

But it still couldn't be contained!

The coughing grew louder, and Xuan Ye waved his hand, signaling the bewildered temple servant standing by the map to step back.

Fortunately, it didn't take long.

The coughing gradually subsided, and the First Emperor turned around, pulled back the curtain, and sat back down behind his desk alone.

He looked rather dejected.

Xuan Ye stood outside the curtain; he did not follow them inside.

The First Emperor was a proud man and certainly didn't want anyone to see his vulnerable side.

The hall fell silent.

Behind the curtain, the First Emperor unfolded his clenched hands.

The hand that held the Tai'a sword, the hand that held the power over the world, was trembling slightly at this moment.

The First Emperor saw blood.

His palms were covered in coughed-up, bright red blood!