Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Their eyes met, and Doctor Ji Mo slightly raised his chin, letting out a cold snort. His gaze, sharp as fire, fell upon Yao Jia, the meaning of which was crystal clear—

If you dare to utter another word of disrespect or nonsense, I'll risk my life to make sure you suffer!

Yao Jia raised an eyebrow slightly.

She has quite a temper.

Why does Zicheng only choose such stubborn people who stick to their own way? Even if he manages to get them on his side this time, there will still be trouble in the future.

However... since he had already agreed, he should do his best to protect him. Otherwise, after all that effort, if he was just dismissed by the chief priest with a few words, how would he save face?

We absolutely have to take down this stubborn bastard!

On the other side, Hou Sheng followed Yao Jia's gaze and caught sight of the arrogant doctor from Jimo. He was so anxious that he almost cursed him on the spot.

He waved repeatedly at the guards, trying to get rid of the man, while verbally attempting to resolve the situation.

"The Vice Envoy is right. We've completely forgotten about this madman. Keeping him here is a real spoilsport for the banquet. I will deal with him immediately! Guards! Drag him away at once, lest he get in the Envoy's way!"

Upon hearing the commotion, the guards on both sides immediately stepped forward and reached out to arrest the doctor from Jimo.

"Alas, Your Excellency is mistaken!"

Yao Jia reacted swiftly; before he could finish speaking, his right hand, concealed by his sleeve, shoved Liu Bang hard in the lower back.

Liu Bang: "!!?"

He was completely unprepared for the friendly forces behind him. Caught off guard, he was pushed and staggered two steps, landing right between the guard and the doctor of Jimo.

He twisted his waist with difficulty to regain his balance, then whirled around, his face filled with astonishment and anger, his gaze sweeping back and forth behind him:

Which bastard dared to betray me?!

Behind him, of course, was only Yao Jia.

Yao Jia nonchalantly withdrew his hand from the person he had pushed, calmly placing it behind his back. He showed no sign of guilt on his face, instead looking up at Liu Bang with a casual glance: What's wrong? Is something the matter?

Liu Bang was suspicious: It seems like something's up, but it also seems like nothing's up. But you have a history of using me as a shield. Are you sure you don't have something on your mind?

Yao Jia paused for a second, then decisively chose to skip it, stepping forward with an air of righteous indignation and bowing to the throne above:

"Your Majesty, it is not that this person is an eyesore to your foreign ministers, but Your Majesty just decreed in court that this person must confess and repent before any punishment is decided."

"This man has not yet confessed his crime, yet you are rushing to drag him away. You have broken your promise. If this gets out, the people of the world will likely privately ridicule the king for going back on his word, despising him among the feudal lords and making him a laughingstock. I feel sorry for King Qi!"

The feudal lords despise them! They are a laughingstock to the world!

Upon hearing this, King Qi's mind went blank, and his drunken stupor was instantly jolted awake.

Huh? These two sides were arguing so well, how come suddenly I'm going to be ridiculed by the world?

He struggled to keep his mind, which was practically a jumbled mess, and carefully tried to discern the key words in Yao Jia's words.

It seems that it's because I went back on my word and didn't make that madman confess his crimes in person...

Did I ever say that?

Oh! I think I did say that.

This despicable madman dares to openly defy me at a banquet between our two nations, and even tries to make me a laughingstock to the world!

King Qi flew into a rage, slammed his hand on the jade table in front of him, and shouted angrily:

"You audacious scoundrel, spouting nonsense! Confess your crimes at once!"

Become!

Yao Jia was secretly delighted; there was no way that stubborn fellow would admit his guilt!

If he couldn't win over Meng Jijiu, surely he could win over a puppet ruler?

Thus, as he had anticipated, faced with the King of Qi's thunderous rage, the magistrate of Jimo showed no fear whatsoever. His back stood as straight as a pine tree, and he stepped forward with his neck stiff, refusing to yield an inch.

"I do not plead guilty! What crime have I committed?"

"What I just said came from the bottom of my heart. I was thinking of the great Qi state and Your Majesty's foundation. Honest advice is hard to hear, and I hope Your Majesty can distinguish right from wrong and not be deceived by the sweet words of villains, listen to one side and believe one side, ignore the real situation of the country, and instead suppress the loyal minister who speaks frankly."

"If this continues, treacherous officials will gain power, petty men will rise to authority, and the court will be filled with sycophants. How is this behavior of favoring foreign ministers and alienating loyal ministers any different from the foolish rulers of the past? If you keep yielding, sooner or later you will exhaust the foundation of the State of Qi and bring about the downfall of the country!"

Wow! Yao Jia was astonished.

Isn't this honest advice a bit too harsh?

Zhou Wenqing also looked at the doctor from Jimo with a shocked expression, thinking to himself, "This guy really dares to speak his mind. If he can be recruited to his service in the future, he should be transferred to a local post, so that he doesn't offend all the officials with his words and waste all his efforts."

"How dare you—!"

King Qi was indeed furious; his face trembled, and he pointed angrily at the magistrate of Jimo:

"Disrespectful to your sovereign! How dare you criticize me! And you dare claim innocence?!"

"Guards, drag him away... make him confess! Prime Minister, make him confess immediately! Then drag him away, behead him, tear him apart by five horses, and throw him out to feed the dogs!"

Hou Sheng was about to explode; his blood pressure soared, and he saw stars before his eyes.

How can he get a madman to confess?

This lousy banquet is never going to happen again, not even if you beat me to death!

Hou Shengqiang pressed his throbbing temples and forced out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Someone, gag him! Don't let him spout any more nonsense!"

"Prime Minister, I ordered you to make him kneel down, kowtow, and confess his crimes so I could kill him and exterminate his entire family to vent my anger. I didn't want you to gag him!"

King Qi's eyes widened, and he slammed his fist on the imperial desk, shouting.

I know, I know, stop arguing, you useless thing! Do you even know what kind of occasion this is?!

This was the first time Hou Sheng had ever felt such a strong urge to strangle the King of Qi.

Speaking of which, how old is he, the youngest prince of Qi?

This time, Yao Jia did not stop the guards from doing their work, and even secretly signaled Liu Bang to step forward and help hold the people down.

Don't get too angry, or someone might actually die—regardless of who it is.

After all, the Qi delegation came with a very "friendly" attitude.

Watching with great interest as King Qi roared and cursed in a fit of rage, Hou Sheng, sweating profusely, racked his brains to appease him for a long time. Both sides were exhausted and their mouths were almost dry before the farce finally had a brief respite.

Judging that the time was right, and having had his fill of the spectacle, Yao Jia leisurely walked back to the center of the hall, calmly straightened his clothes, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and began to speak:

"I beg Your Majesty to temporarily quell your rage. The Minister of Jimo has spoken arrogantly today, unjustly tarnishing the reputation of Qin. I, your humble servant, am equally indignant. In terms of his guilt, execution would not be excessive. However, he is ultimately a subject of Qi. I respect Your Majesty's authority and am unwilling to damage the friendly relations between Qi and Qin because of one person's mistake. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to allow me to offer a solution that will convince him and help Your Majesty resolve your current predicament."

King Qi, panting heavily, waved his hand weakly and said:

"...You...you say it."

Yao Jia looked up and presented his method in a clear and organized manner:

"Three days later, the Jixia Academy will open its altar and gather Jixia students to discuss the Dao. Why not also have the magistrate of Jimo ascend the altar and confront the foreign minister about today's matter in public, so that thousands of people can bear witness?"

"If, in the debate, he is rendered speechless and loses, it will be enough to prove that what he said before was all baseless slander and malicious defamation against our Qin state. At that time, even if he still stubbornly refuses to admit his guilt, the people of the world will judge for themselves and will only know that he is willful and unrepentant, and will not tarnish the reputation of Your Majesty's benevolence and magnanimity in the slightest."

Upon hearing this, the King of Qi exclaimed, "That works!"

He was so angry that his chest ached, but he also realized that it would be impossible to force this traitor to confess. He didn't want to be accused of "going back on his word," but he couldn't swallow his anger.

Now that he can kill someone legitimately, although the three-day delay makes him a little unhappy, he can accept it.

He was filled with resentment towards Ji Mo for comparing him to a tyrant and making disrespectful pronouncements about the fate of the Qi state. He completely disregarded the fact that Ji Mo, as a high-ranking official of Qi, had confronted the Qin envoy on the Jixia altar and suffered a defeat, which would be a disgrace to the Qi court. He only hoped that three days later, this traitor would suffer a disgraceful and disgraced end.

"Very well, I agree. Let it be done this way. I will grant this traitor three days' grace. After three days, I will surely execute this disrespectful traitor to vent my anger!"

"this……"

King Qi readily agreed, but Yao Jia deliberately feigned hesitation.

"What is it now?" King Qi asked.

"King Rongbing of Qi" Yao Jia said, "It is not that the foreign minister intentionally overstepped his authority. Today, he slandered our Qin state in the Qi court. If this matter is openly debated in the Jixia Academy, the feudal lords of all the states will surely know about it, and our Qin state will inevitably suffer a loss of face. After the foreign minister returns to his country, it will be difficult for him to report back to my king."

King Qi frowned: "What do you intend to do?"

"Your Majesty, I have another request. If the Minister of Jimo is found to be in the wrong and loses the debate over the next three days, I beg Your Majesty to allow me to take this man back to Qin and hand him over to the King of Qin for judgment."

King Qi frowned even more, his fingertips scraping back and forth on the edge of the table, his eyes filled with obvious reluctance.

Not to mention that the Jimo official was his subject, even though he had been insulted for so long, he had already figured out how to personally execute the person three days later to vent his anger. How could he be willing to hand the person over to Qin?

Yao Jia noticed his hesitation and, having already prepared his response, didn't mince words. He immediately launched into a serious attack, earnestly advising him:

"Your Majesty, this foreign minister's request is not entirely for his own benefit. This matter concerns the reputation of our Great Qin, and is no longer just a matter of Qi's internal affairs, but also a matter of great importance concerning the alliance between our two countries. Only by handing this person over to my king for disposal can we better promote the friendship between our two nations."

"Please rest assured, King Qi, the laws of Qin have always been strict and just. This man will surely be able to enforce the law impartially."

King Qi thought about it again and realized that there was some truth to it. Besides, the laws of Qin were indeed much harsher than those of Qi, and King Qin was probably even more ruthless than himself.

Even if it falls into the hands of the King of Qin, it might not necessarily be a good thing for that traitor!

Thinking this way, though his face still showed some reluctance, he finally relented:

"...Alright, then so be it."

Finally, it was done. Yao Jia breathed a sigh of relief and was about to express his gratitude when Meng Jijiu suddenly appeared and retorted emotionally:

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely forbidden! This is tantamount to gambling with one's life over a matter of philosophical discussion! As the chief priest, I cannot agree to this!"

"The Jixia Forum was originally established to clarify principles, embrace diverse schools of thought, and allow for free expression. It has never been used to determine guilt or punishment. Such behavior goes against the original intention of Jixia's seven hundred years of scholarship. This precedent must not be set, otherwise the Way will cease to be the Way, and teachers will cease to be teachers!"

He looked at Yao Jia, his gaze sharp as a knife, and said sternly, "If the Qin deputy envoy wants to know whether Qin is tyrannical, he can send people to search among the common people of the world. Why use one person's life to test it?"

Yao Jia was slightly taken aback by his retort.

The fact that Chief Minister Meng stepped forward with such a firm attitude was something he hadn't anticipated during his rehearsals.

After all, King Qi and Hou Sheng were both furious, but he remained silent, acting as if he was only concerned with his studies and not with politics. He thought that the other party had already cultivated himself to the point of having no temper at all.

However... what Chief Minister Meng said makes sense. He only thought about using this matter to keep people, but he overlooked this point.

No matter how special the circumstances, this door to determining life and death through debate must never be opened, otherwise, there will be endless troubles.

You must know that the Qin state also has a prestigious academy, the Great Qin Academy, which aspires to surpass the Jixia Academy. Moreover, it is of paramount importance to the Qin state's affairs for the next few years. We cannot allow ourselves to create such a hidden danger!

King Qi, whose hopes had just been dashed, was once again consumed by impotent rage. Yao Jia ignored him, merely frowning and pondering for a moment before turning to Chief Minister Meng and solemnly apologizing:

"What the Chancellor says is absolutely right. It was my oversight that almost turned a discussion into a gambling game, thus tarnishing the academy's original purpose of discussing the Dao. I am ashamed and beg the Chancellor's forgiveness."

He bowed deeply, then slowly rose and looked at King Qi:

"King Qi, please allow me to offer another suggestion: let's set the topic of the debate at Jixia Academy in three days as 'What is tyranny?' What do you think?"

"At that time, it will not be limited to the magistrate of Jimo, nor to the envoys of my Qin state. All those on the platform can speak freely, regardless of nationality or who wins or loses. Scholars from all over the world can discuss and debate their ideas. I am confident that the people will have their own judgment on how my Great Qin will fare at that time."

"The Chancellor believes that this is merely setting a topic for the discussion; what do you think?"

After thinking for a moment, Chancellor Meng slowly nodded: "In that case, it does not go against the academy's original intention."

King Qi, however, was displeased and frowned, saying, "If this continues, without distinguishing the winner and loser, how can I punish that traitorous minister!"

"Your Majesty, I still hope that the magistrate of Jimo can be handed over to you afterward. In any case, today's events will surely be publicized. At that time, I need to give Your Majesty an explanation of the whole story. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request."

King Qi didn't care to listen to any more details; he only cared about one thing: "Will the King of Qin still punish him?"

You idiot! Of course not, never from the beginning. Did you think our king was a tyrant like you?!

Of course, Yao Jia would never say that aloud; he merely repeated his previous words, implying something:

"The laws of Qin are strict, and my king will certainly handle this matter impartially."

King Qi was pleased to hear this.

The Qin laws were strict, which means that cruel punishments would still be used!

"I grant your permission!"