Chapter 100: The First Emperor: This guy is so outrageous!
"That night was the most unforgettable night for my father." Meng Wu stated slowly.
This general, who had fought in battles all his life but was not as famous as his father Meng Ao or his eldest son Meng Tian, looked at his two sons and sighed heavily.
My Lord, if Wu had brought Tian'er and Yi'er into the palace the next day, Master Chengjiao would not have suffered such misfortune.
"That bastard can actually make colored glaze! This... No wonder his money seems to be endless. He goes in and out of the building as frequently as he goes in and out of the gate of Chang'an Jun's mansion. No wonder he was fined three years' salary, but he didn't take it seriously at all." Meng Yi said in shock.
"Call him Lord Chang'an." Meng Tian reminded his brother Meng Yi.
Meng Yi looked at Meng Tian in surprise and said: Don’t you usually call him that bastard?
Meng Tian explained: "Brother, I just hate those who are lucky enough to come to power. Colored glaze is more valuable than jade, and its value is hard to estimate. Those who can make it with human power are not lucky enough to come to power anyway."
Meng Yi nodded to show his understanding.
"My Great Qin has been at war for years, but has never worried about money and food. I am the internal historian, not the grain official, and I have never thought about this problem in the past. But today I understand a little bit, it must be the work of someone who made the colored glaze."
"Haha." Meng Wu looked at the two children and chuckled.
If it were back then, this leader of the Meng family, who had the least presence, would have slapped his thigh and laughed.
The general who had dared to joke with the late king eventually became the polite person he hated the most.
"What are you laughing at, Father?"
"Father?"
A question mark appeared in both brothers' heads.
Meng Wu smiled and asked his two sons, "If that's all, how can you say that Chang'an Jun is insidious and treacherous?"
"It's strange that he can create something as strange as Liuli, isn't it?"
"To pass off fake things as real and use them to make money, isn't that sinister?"
The two brothers were a little confused.
After listening to the story, they felt that their eyes had been opened and they felt that the young Master Cheng Jiao was sinister and treacherous enough.
But from what their father Meng Wu said, the brothers felt that this was not the main army in the battle, but just the vanguard.
No, not even a vanguard, these should be the first row of soldiers in the vanguard.
There was a look of reminiscence on Meng Wu's face, and he unconsciously revealed the high-spirited smile of those days, as if he saw the Master Cheng Jiao who was privately called the Little King of Qin.
"Back then, my father, the previous king, and the rebellious Lü Buwei were all immersed in the joy of Liuli Fuqin. But Master Cheng Jiao said, 'I made Liuli not to make a little fortune.'"
"Small fortune? You idiot, you call this small fortune? This is wealth that can rival a country!" The slightly immature Meng Yi couldn't help but interrupt Meng Wu and exclaimed.
Meng Wu's memories were interrupted and he looked at his second son with dissatisfaction.
Meng Tian patted his younger brother on the head and said to Meng Wu, "Father, please continue."
"You should learn more from your brother." Meng Wu taught Meng Yi a sentence and continued, "You two both know how valuable the colored glaze is. It is comparable to jade. The peerless ones can be compared to the Heshi Bi."
The imperial seal, which was regarded as the legitimate successor to the throne by later dynasties, was made by the First Emperor using the Heshi Bi.
When the State of Zhao obtained the Heshi Bi, the State of Qin was willing to exchange it for fifteen cities.
Although there is a strategy involved, the value of the two will not be too different.
Jade and colored glaze are both precious objects, and their overall value is almost the same.
"Master Cheng Jiao, I want to divide the glass into four grades: low, medium, high, and absolute. The high, medium, and low grades will be distributed according to the wealth of each country. For example, Qi will be given the high grade, Han will be given the medium grade, and Zhao will be given the low grade. The standard is that the people of the place must be able to buy it and willing to buy it."
"First, sell a small amount to the six countries, at half the market price. Allow goods to be exchanged for money, and strategic materials such as grain and cloth can be traded at twice the value. Given the value of colored glaze, the people of the six countries will go crazy to buy it. They will spend all their wealth, give up grain, cloth and other things, just to buy a piece of colored glaze."
"Isn't this still a way to make money?" Meng Yi muttered.
" The wealth of the six countries is all in the hands of the nobles. It is better to collect the wealth of the nobles than to collect the wealth of the people." Meng Tian commented.
"Haha, this is the brilliance of Chang'an Jun. You have been put around the neck without knowing it."
Meng Wu chuckled, looked at his two sons' somewhat unconvinced faces, and finished the rest of his words in one breath.
"The three grades of colored glass, high, medium and low, will be distributed slowly among the people. When the nobles and royal families of the six countries have noticed something, a few of them will be released among the nobles and royal families of the six countries. With the absolute equals in hand, how could they turn their attention to the three grades of colored glass?"
"This will not only collect the wealth of the nobles, but also buy some time. In less than three years, half of the ten households in the six kingdoms will have glassware. All the grain and cloth of the six kingdoms will go to Qin. By then, no matter if the royal families and nobles of the six kingdoms react or not, it will be too late."
"Chang'an Jun will distribute all the colored glaze made in the past three years to the six kingdoms, and announce the method of colored glaze making to the world. Scarcity makes things valuable, and Chang'an Jun's move will surely drive the price of colored glaze to the lowest. The colored glaze that the common people used to exchange for a hundred stones of grain can no longer be exchanged for half a stone of grain. The market of the six kingdoms has collapsed, and even the gods cannot save it. Even if the nobles and royal families of the six kingdoms are willing, they are powerless."
"One stone of grain is worth thousands of gold. The people cannot afford to buy grain. In order to survive, they will sell their sons and daughters, and exchange their sons for food. The six kingdoms will become a living hell. Within two years, Qin will take over the six kingdoms with the materials collected from them. That night, the former king urgently convened a small court meeting to discuss the matter. In the end, the traitor Lu Buwei rejected the proposal because it would harm the harmony of heaven."
The brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi were stunned.
Using exquisite colored glaze, the world is turned into hell.
Is it really possible for someone to come up with such a vicious plan?
I will never dare to see Lord Chang'an again if I exchange my children for food.
Thinking about how he was being exchanged by Meng Wu for food, Meng Yi couldn't help but shudder violently, with a hint of fear in his eyes.
He could fight bravely on the battlefield without fear of life or death, but he could not bear to watch others eat children.
"Why is this proposal shelved? You traitors and rebellious ministers have ruined our Great Qin for five years! You have harmed countless of my sons and daughters!" Meng Tian slammed the table and stood up, furious.
"Chang'an Jun uses the six kingdoms to support Qin. This is a great plan. Chang'an Jun is a great talent who can help the people. Why didn't my father tell me earlier? If I had known earlier, how could I have neglected Chang'an Jun in the slightest over the years?"
"If the case of the tower was not so confusing and Li Si's trip to was not shrouded in mystery, I would not have told you today. What's the use of knowing it in the past? It only adds to your troubles. Chang'an Jun doesn't care about your attitude towards him. You two remember, don't get involved in attacking Chang'an Jun."
Meng Wu looked up at the sky. In his eyes, in the blue sky, there was a child with a wrinkled face and looking unhappy.
"Hahaha, Meng Wu, if I'm gone in the future, please keep an eye on my little King Qin. He has a bad temper."
"Long live the king!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Are you the imperial physician? You've lived longer than me. Please... take good care of Jiao'er for me... and don't let him suffer any injustice..."
"……only!"
Your Majesty...
Wu will not break his promise this time...
Meng Ao, the old general who was the pillar of the Meng family, arrived at some unknown time. After listening to the conversation between the father and his two sons at the door, he walked back to his house step by step, with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
This veteran general of the Qin State, to whom even the God of War Wang Jian had to bow and pay homage, was like a child, mumbling as he walked.
"What's the point of bragging about a broken plan? You know nothing. Chang'an Jun is really good at fighting. If Chang'an Jun hadn't told me to tell anyone, I would have scared you. I know a lot of Chang'an Jun's secrets... Humph! A bunch of rats who can only hide in holes, and you still want to harm Chang'an Jun. You ignorant rats are all looking for death, looking for death!"
…
Doctoral Office.
A bunch of ignorant rats, seeking death without knowing it.
Zhou Qingchen sneered in his heart, but his face looked very warm and gentle.
In front of him was a group of doctors who were clamoring to submit a memorial on behalf of the Left Censor of the Supreme Court to criticize Ying Chengjiao.
Led by two doctors from the Legalist School and supplemented by doctors from hundreds of other schools of thought, there were probably more than twenty people gathered.
Except for the Confucian doctor, almost all schools of thought had representatives participating, such as the doctor of immortality, the doctor of dream studies, the doctor of Taoism, and so on.
"Qingchen, it's your turn."
A doctor held a pen and a scroll of bamboo slips and placed them in front of Zhou Qingchen.
Zhou Qingchen first took the pen and pretended to sign the memorial attacking Ying Chengjiao .
Just as he put down a dot of ink, Zhou Qingchen suddenly realized something: "You all are doctors, and I am only a minister. How can I sign with you? I will write another letter when I get home and attach it to the memorial in the office. It will make the reputation more powerful without humiliating the doctors."
The doctor benefited greatly from these words.
"No, no, our relationship is based on our hearts. The size of the official position does not matter."
As the doctor spoke, he naturally took the brush from Zhou Qingchen.
"Then Qingchen, are you going back to the mansion to write now?"
"promise."
Zhou Qingchen returns home.
He ordered his servants to prepare food and called over the only retainer he had. The two of them sat together and ate.
"Since I came to you, you have treated me very well. I eat whatever you eat and sleep wherever you sleep. Please give me a chance to repay your kindness." After eating, the guest bowed deeply to Zhou Qingchen and did not stand up again.
Zhou Qingchen tried to help him three times but failed, and said helplessly: "You and I are nominally the host and the guest, but in reality we are classmates, why do you have to do this ?"
"If you receive a favor from someone and don't think about repaying it, you are not a human being!"
"Okay, okay, I really have something to tell you recently. I can't help but get it off my chest. Let's go talk somewhere else."
The servant then stood up and followed Zhou Qingchen to the study.
Zhou Qingchen first told his guests about the three events of the division of fiefdoms in the court, the dispute over counties, the murder in the tower, and Li Si's trip to Chang'an Junfu, where he failed to capture Ying Chengjiao but instead captured the Left Supervisor of the Court.
He also talked about the impact of the incident.
The Prime Minister, the Nine Ministers, the National Commandant and others are keeping their troops in place, each with their own thoughts, and there will be no unusual movements for the time being.
A large group of doctors from the Doctoral Office jointly petitioned to appeal for justice for the Left Supervisor of the Supreme Court and demanded severe punishment for Ying Chengjiao.
Moreover, the doctoral office was supposed to ask him to sign, but he refused and ran back home on the grounds that his identity was not suitable.
The servant pondered for a moment, then came up and pulled Zhou Qingchen away.
Zhou Qingchen refused and asked, "What are you pulling me to do?"
"The Prime Minister, the Nine Ministers, and the Imperial Guards are all high-ranking officials with annual salaries of 2,000 stones, so they are naturally not in a hurry. But Your Majesty, you are just a small servant, how can you compare with the Prime Minister? You can't just sit there and do nothing."
"Let go first." Zhou Qingchen shook off the retainer's hand, shook his hand, and said with a smile: "In your opinion, should I sign my name on the memorial?"
"Yes, the Tingwei Zuojian has an annual salary of 1,000 stones, so it's fine to make him your friend. Your Majesty is worried that he is insignificant and does not want to write with the other doctors, but I don't think so. Among all the doctors, only your Majesty is the Minister of State, doesn't that show your sincerity? If the Tingwei Zuojian rescues him, your Majesty will have a good relationship. If the Tingwei Zuojian does not leave, the law does not punish the others, and your Majesty will not be in any trouble. This is a matter of benefit and no harm, why wouldn't your Majesty do it?"
Zhou Qingchen sat down again and said with a smile: "I didn't sign with them because I didn't want to get into trouble. Why should I be so self-deprecating with a group of ignorant people? Not only will I not join them in the remonstrance, I will also make a separate remonstrance to Your Majesty to pardon Chang'an Jun!"
The servant was puzzled and asked, "What does your Majesty mean?"
"Think about it, the tower is a government institution. Why did Chang'an Jun dare to act recklessly in the tower? Doesn't he know that this is against Qin law?"
"Isn't that how that boy always behaves?"
"Have you ever heard of him ordering someone to kill someone?"
The retainer thought about it, shook his head and said, "That has never happened."
"That's it. Zhang Han is a general among the nine ministers, and he is the one who guards the palace. Do you really think he can lead the officials out of the palace without the order of His Majesty?"
The servant's eyes widened and he said, "Your Majesty is saying that Zhang Han was sent by Your Majesty!"
"Yes."
"Why did Your Majesty send the General to kill for that boy? Is Your Majesty so partial to him?"
"Why weren't they that bastard and Zhang Han? They were all killing people for Your Majesty." Zhou Qingchen smiled as if he saw through everything and said, "Your Majesty wanted to kill those people!"
"Then why did Your Majesty kill those four nobles?"
"Why? This question hits the nail on the head. Although those people belong to different families, they have something in common. They all served in the same military camp."
The retainer was still confused and asked, "Serving in the same military camp? What does this have to do with killing them?"
"Because they have all done things that are not in compliance with Qin law..."
The retainer took over the conversation and said, "Since it is against Qin law, Your Majesty should just kill him. Why did you send the General of the Central Guard, arrange for that brat to make a scene in the tower, and even arrest the General of the Central Guard?"
"I can't tell you this... Since you want to repay my kindness, and your handwriting is better than mine, you can grind ink for me and copy the memorial."
"only."
The doorman responded.
Go and prepare your own brush, bamboo slips, inkstone, and ink block.
The disciple cut a small piece of the ink block and put it into the inkstone, poured in a little clean water, and congratulated Zhou Qingchen while grinding the ink.
"If Your Majesty pleases you, you will surely rise to prominence with Your Majesty's blessing."
Rise to prominence? I just don't want to die. There are many hidden dangers here...
Zhou Qingchen muttered to himself.
Snakes have their own ways, and rats have their own ways.
A series of events that took place in Xianyang City caused different families, factions, and households to have different thoughts.
There is only one point that everyone agrees on: the murder in the tower and the case in Chang'an Junfu must be related to the disputes over enfeoffment and counties.
Everyone made different choices. Some chose to protect themselves, some chose to speak out and make suggestions, and some chose to do the opposite - they suggested that Ying Chengjiao was not guilty.
As this undercurrent was surging, brewing, and ready to take off in Xianyang City.
The order from the First Emperor has arrived.
There will be a court meeting tomorrow to decide on the fiefdoms and counties.
The next day, Xianyang Palace, Xianyang Hall.
The First Emperor wore a Tongtian crown, a black crown and sat high up on the throne.
All the ministers arrived.
Front row.
The left prime minister was Wei Zhuang, the right prime minister was Wang Wan, the state commander was Wei Liao, the Marquis of Wucheng was Wang Jian, the Marquis of Tongwu was Wang Ben, the court commander was Li Si, and the Lord of Chang'an was Ying Chengjiao...
In fact, the First Emperor did not notify Ying Chengjiao to attend this court meeting. Ying Chengjiao came on his own initiative.
This time, Ying Chengjiao sat in front of the table and did not sleep. He put his left elbow on the table, supported his head with one hand, looked around, and glanced at Ying Zheng from the corner of his eye from time to time.
You want to control me, but you didn't even notify me to go to court. You're killing me after I've done my job? You're destroying the bridge after crossing it? It was you who wanted me to go to court in the first place.
I'll just sit here quietly and see what you, my royal brother, want to do by sending me away.
The First Emperor: ...This guy is so outrageous!
He felt that he was always being offended, just like when he first became King of Qin and was looked at unscrupulously by his ministers.
Forcefully suppressing the discomfort in his heart, the First Emperor glanced downward across the entire hall, causing the ministers, who were already sitting upright, to sit even straighter!
"Gentlemen."
The First Emperor's voice was neither loud nor deep, but it was just enough to be heard throughout the Xianyang Palace.
"Is there anything I can report?"
