"Who's for? Who's against?"
The King of Qin's words were understated.
But it made all the officials feel like a thorn in their backs.
They knew very well that if they agreed, then everything would be fine, but if they refused, the result would be unknown...
What awaits them?
At first, the ministers did not take the thirteen-year-old King Zheng of Qin seriously. Although he seemed to have grown up, was very tall, and looked very powerful, it still did not prevent them from treating him as a child.
It's not that we forgot that King Zheng of Qin was a genius with natural knowledge, but it's because he was still a minor. According to the laws of our ancestors, even if he succeeded to the throne, he could not rule the country until he reached adulthood.
But they seem to have forgotten that rules are meant to be broken!
At this moment, Su Che was about to break this so-called rule, take power in advance, and take control of Qin. He no longer wanted to wait that long, not even for a moment.
Time is running out. Su Che has so many things to do and he doesn't want to waste his time on meaningless things.
Ten years of waiting is long enough.
This moment has finally come.
The day when King Zheng of Qin ruled the world!
After Su Che finished speaking, before the ministers could react, Meng Tian walked into the hall with a team of young officers.
Most of these officers wearing black armor are children of nobles. Their positions are not low, and they are all middle and high-level officials in the army.
Su Che grew up, and they grew up too. Relying on their favorable backgrounds, they quickly became the backbone of the army and controlled a large part of the military power. This force should not be underestimated!
At this moment, this group of young officers filed into the hall, each with an excited expression. They knew what they were doing, and they had been waiting for this moment for a long time!
When Gongzi Zheng was still very young, they worshipped him as their master and decided to follow him. Ten years passed in a flash, and the days of hunting together, hanging out everywhere, and drinking together were gone forever.
The young men at that time gradually grew into the backbone of the army, but they have not forgotten the promise they made that year. They belong to Gongzi Zheng in life and death!
At this moment, this group of young officers knelt on one knee in unison and reported to Su Che above.
"Your servant, Wang Bo, leads an army of 5,018 men to protect the King of Qin!"
"Your servant Huan Xi leads 13,000 Qin elite soldiers to protect the King of Qin!"
"Your Highness Yang Duanhe leads the 31,000-man Imperial Guard to protect the King of Qin!"
"minister……"
This group of young officers, one after another, showed their wrists and expressed their determination to be loyal to the King of Qin.
Every time an officer spoke, the ministers felt their hearts sink a little.
Some of them were even Lu Buwei's confidants before, such as Yang Ruihe. Lu Buwei promoted him to the commander of the Xianyang Imperial Guard just because he valued him, giving him the power of commander of the Imperial Guard. This was also Lu Buwei's secret weapon to turn the tables.
But Lu Buwei never dreamed that Yang Duanhe, whom he personally promoted and trained and regarded as his confidant, would follow this group of young officers and be loyal to Qin Wangzheng! !
As the saying goes, political power comes from the barrel of a gun. If you don't have enough power, no matter how noble your status is, others will not take you seriously. This is the essence of power from the bottom up.
As soon as he came to power today, Su Che showed his trump cards. First, he used the famous Bai Qi, Marquis of Wu'an, and then this group of young officers - don't think that Qin Shi Huang, who had just succeeded to the throne, did not have the energy to overturn the table.
He had already possessed enough power long before he ascended the throne, but he had not shown it.
Now that the cards were laid bare, none of the ministers dared to speak.
Especially Lu Buwei was even more distraught. Long before today, he was still dreaming of his own Spring and Autumn Dream, fantasizing about becoming the uncle of the King of Qin, taking charge of all affairs of the Qin State and becoming the de facto king!
In fact, he had sensed something was wrong when he found out that Queen Mother Zhao Ji did not come to the hall, but he just didn't want to believe it.
Since King Zhuangxiang of Qin ascended the throne three years ago, Lu Buwei was appointed as Prime Minister, granted the title of Marquis Wenxin, and given a fief of 100,000 in Luoyang, Henan.
From that moment on, he became addicted to power and couldn't stop.
However, all of this will come to naught today...
This extreme sense of contrast is truly indescribable.
For a time, Lu Buwei was like a walking corpse.
The ministers behind Lu Buwei all subconsciously moved away from this unlucky guy. If something happened later... the blood would not splash on me!
Soon, all the ministers bowed their heads and said, "We will obey all the orders of the King of Qin!"
Things had come to this point, and they had no choice but to bow their heads and obey all the arrangements made by the King of Qin, with the King of Qin being the sole authority in everything.
All the ministers thought that the situation in Qin was about to change!
All the ministers bowed their heads, but only Lu Buwei was still standing, standing out among the crowd.
Many ministers looked at Lu Buwei with pity...
However, just when everyone thought that Lu Buwei was going to lose everything.
Su Che smiled slightly and continued to give orders: "Lü Buwei, take the position of Dianke."
As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Buwei, who was like a walking corpse, raised his head in astonishment, as if struck by lightning, and his eyes were a little dull.
The position of Dianke was one of the Nine Ministers, in charge of the affairs of the princes and the leaders of the barbarian tribes, and the reception of the officials from the counties and prefectures.
Although this official position cannot be compared with the prime minister who is among the three highest officials, it is at least one of the nine ministers and still holds real power. It is not an ordinary official position.
When they heard the appointment, all the ministers in the court looked up in surprise.
All the ministers were stunned. What did this mean? Why didn't they kill them all?
now.
Lu Buwei was trembling all over, feeling fortunate to have survived a calamity. He bowed his head quickly to thank the King of Qin for his great kindness.
"I bow to thank the king!"
Lu Buwei thanked him respectfully without any resentment.
Human beings are very subtle creatures. Sometimes, giving them a slap in the face and then giving them a sweet treat can make them more loyal and allow them to be used completely for your own purposes.
Especially when someone is sent to hell and then pulled back out, the first reaction is not resentment, but awe and gratitude.
now.
Bai Qi, who was standing at the front, glanced at Lu Buwei coldly. He seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied with this appointment, and a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Lord.
For King Zheng of Qin in history, he finally began to rule the country himself. To deal with the person in power, Lu Buwei, he had to get rid of him completely and eliminate future troubles, otherwise the power in his hands would not be secure at all.
However, for Su Che at this moment, Lu Buwei was not a threat at all, so there was naturally no need to deal with him in that way. He could be given a position as one of the Nine Ministers, allowing him to make use of his remaining energy and continue to work on his own. If he did not do a good job or had some complaints, it would not be too late to deal with him later.
At least Lu Buwei still has some value now.
Since he took office as prime minister, his house has been crowded with visitors and countless guests. Under his organization, the "Lüshi Chunqiu" was compiled.
This book contains eight chapters, six essays and twelve chronicles, and it brings together the theories of various schools of thought in the pre-Qin period.
This is the first collection of essays in history to be compiled in an organized and planned manner, and its scale is grand.
Its content responds to the time of the year, observes human nature, and looks at the geographical advantages. It takes Taoist thought as its keynote, adheres to the behavioral principle of governing by inaction, uses Confucian ethics to determine the value standard, absorbs the Mohist concept of justice, the logical thinking of the name school, the Legalist skills of governing the country, and adds the changes in the power strategies of the military strategists and the agriculturalists' pursuit of geographical advantages, forming a complete theory of state governance.
Later it was called "Miscellaneous School".
Now this book is just a prototype and even the name has not been decided. In this case, it is not impossible to give Lu Buwei a minor official position and let him do his best to supervise and complete the book.
But after it is completed, the book may not be called this name.
At this moment, Lu Buwei was convinced and dared not say anything else.
Su Che successfully seized power, and his control over Qin's power even surpassed that of his father, King Zhuangxiang of Qin.
All officials in the Qin State had no objection to Su Che's behavior.
Because long before this, Su Che's reputation had spread throughout the Qin State.
It is almost a universally acknowledged fact that King Zheng of Qin is a genius with natural knowledge and the hope for the future of the Qin State. Who would oppose such a King of Qin?
After Su Che came to power, he was not in a hurry to take action against external forces.
He first conducted an investigation on the royal relatives in the country.
Under Su Che's order, the investigation of the royal relatives by the Supreme Court was in full swing.
It's really okay if you don't check it, but once you do, you'll be shocked.
Those dirty and filthy things hidden in the darkness are frightening.
These people rely on their privileged status to ignore the law, and it is difficult for anyone to punish them. They act very arrogantly, and too many people have died at their hands.
Although Qin law was strict, it was strict on the lower classes. For those in power, it became a tool for making money.
Just a simple investigation revealed that his crimes were too numerous to list, and there were simply too many things uncovered.
The number of people implicated is as high as tens of thousands!
This is almost a dense network of interests.
Even Meng Yi was shocked and didn't dare to investigate further.
Because there are too many people involved and their identities are too noble: Queen Mother Zhao Ji, King's uncle Zhao Hong, Lord Changping Xiong Qi, Queen Mother Huayang, Queen Mother Xia Ji, all of them are royal relatives and nobles, these names are really too scary.
Meng Yi quickly handed over the case files he had found to Su Che.
When this mountain of bamboo slips was carried up.
The contents of each scroll of bamboo slips are shocking.
Su Che looked at the contents, the names of people listed in the files, and the numbers, and couldn't help but fall silent.
Even Han Fei, who was standing next to him, was shocked. As a royal censor, he had never imagined that there were so many illegal things.
Meng Yi said with a stiff upper lip: "Your Majesty, we can't continue investigating this. This matter is of great importance. If we continue to investigate, so many people will be implicated that it may even destabilize the country!!"
Hearing this, Su Che glanced at Han Fei and asked with a smile, "What do you think?"
Han Fei narrowed his eyes and said angrily: "I thought that the five pests of a country are the rigid Confucian scholars who are inflexible, the diplomats who shake the foundation of the country, the unrestrained knights, the cowards who dare not join the army, and the merchants who take advantage of opportunities, do not pay taxes, and do not benefit the people. I didn't expect that the real pests of this country are these relatives of the country who rely on their power to bully others!"
Su Che shook his head and said, "We can't generalize. Among these people, there are occasionally some kind-hearted people who are untainted by the mud... Unfortunately, most of them are just useless people."
"My king, what should we do next?" Meng Yi asked fearfully.
"Are you scared?" Su Che glanced at Meng Yi and asked lightly.
"Of course I'm not afraid. I'm just worried that if we continue investigating, it will not end well!" Meng Yi said quickly.
"It won't end well? Are you worried that these people are too powerful and will set fire to your Supreme Court Office?" Su Che said with a smile.
"It is not a pity for me to die. I will do anything for the king. But the problem is, if this happens, it will hurt the king's dignity." Meng Yi said with some concern: "Moreover, the people involved are closely related to the king's elders and relatives. If they are all arrested, the king's reputation will inevitably be affected..."
"If the king really wants to do this, he will definitely be criticized by the six countries and become the target of public criticism. He may even be cursed for eternity... I am very worried about this happening."
"I know what you mean." Su Che glanced at Meng Yi and said with a smile, "You are worried that I will become a tyrannical and unjust ruler in the eyes of the people of the six countries, but what I want to tell you is - so what?"
"How can those petty thieves and short-sighted people judge my reputation?"
"They are worthy?"
As Su Che spoke, he threw the sword he carried with him to Meng Yi: "Take my sword, go to the Imperial Guards, dispatch 5,000 Imperial Guards, and investigate this matter thoroughly! Get to the bottom of it all!"
"All those who break the law and commit crimes will be dealt with according to Qin law. We will not let them off just because they are relatives of the emperor!"
"I want to return this Xianyang City in exchange for the Qin State, a bright and peaceful world!"
Meng Yi was greatly shocked. He quickly took the Qin King's sword, bowed his head, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I will search for it to the end even if I die!"
As Meng Yi left, Han Fei, who was playing chess with Su Che, said with emotion: "Your high righteousness is rare in ancient and modern times!"
An extremely rare purge thus began.
Because the targeted identities are very sensitive and very noble, they are relatives of the Qin State!
At the beginning, Su Che's reason for purging them was simple - before destroying the six kingdoms, all the foreign relatives' forces rooted in the Qin court should be wiped out.
Originally, Su Che just wanted to find an excuse and didn't intend to use any particularly violent behavior.
After all, politics is not a fight to the death from the start; it is always full of compromises and exchanges of interests.
Therefore, Su Che did not intend to kill people at the beginning, as he was not a bloodthirsty person.
However.
When he saw the files, Su Che fell silent.
A lot of people died.
They were basically all local Qin people. They were the fathers of many people, the children of many people, and the husbands of many people. After these people were killed, they had nowhere to report to the authorities.
These honest and hardworking old Qin people have worked hard to farm the land all their lives, but they never dreamed that their land would be occupied by "royal relatives" from other countries. They were even killed when they caused trouble, and they had no place to seek redress for their grievances.
In the eyes of these powerful people, this matter is not serious at all.
According to the Book of Rites and Laws, "No punishment for officials, no courtesy for common people" was a basic principle in the Zhou Li, in order to maintain the extra-legal privileges of the aristocracy and bureaucrats.
The saying that a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner is the most beautiful saying since ancient times. However, the fact is that the same crime has different punishments. Even if it is the same crime, the punishments are very different. Most of the time, it is not even the same crime!
Han Fei was extremely opposed to this. He believed that "the law does not favor the rich, and the law does not bend. The wise cannot refuse what the law knows, and the brave dare not argue. The law does not spare the officials, and the reward for good deeds does not exclude the common people!"
The same was true when Shang Yang carried out the Reform. Shang Yang stipulated that a system of awarding titles based on military merit would be implemented, and that everyone, whether royal relatives, nobles, or slaves or common people, would be treated equally, and the same went for the criminal law.
The same applies if the crown prince commits a crime. Even if the crown prince is not actually injured, the grand tutor or the grand master can still be punished.
Although the crown prince was spared punishment, he did not feel grateful at all. The Grand Tutor was tortured and words were carved on his face. This was equivalent to announcing to the world that the emperor was once a criminal and everyone could stab him in the back. How could he swallow this?
In addition, who was the Prince's tutor? He was Ying Qian, the elder brother of the then king, Duke Xiao of Qin.
Such a heavyweight figure, because Shang Yang cut off his nose, he was imprisoned for eight years.
Shang Yang knew that he had completely offended the Crown Prince, and if the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, he would probably die without a burial place.
This was indeed the case. When King Huiwen of Qin came to power, Shang Yang was charged with treason, torn into pieces by five horses, and his entire family was exterminated.
This is not only a revenge for the past, but also an explanation to the new and old nobles, so Shang Yang must die!!!
but.
When the prince violated Qin law and was exiled to the grassroots by Shang Yang, this formerly dissolute prince traveled all over the difficult areas of Qin for several years and clearly saw the changes brought about by those extremely strict laws.
He saw countless times that those originally poor peasants, because of the reforms that encouraged production and strictly prohibited fighting, these poor people who used to love private fights now put all their energy into production, and thus became prosperous year by year.
I have also witnessed countless times that those who were originally slaves were awarded titles because of their military merits, thus breaking away from their slave status and winning back their own dignity.
A country that was once in ruins and plagued by fierce infighting gradually became one of mutual courtesy and prosperity.
The population previously increased from less than one million to more than six million later .
And all this was brought by Shang Yang, by his damn strict laws!
So after Shang Yang's death, his new laws continued to exist. Of course, they only applied to common people. The restrictions on the royal family no longer existed, and royal privileges were still prevalent.
Just like Han Fei’s cry in “Lonely Anger”, the ruling class is the one that makes the laws, so why do they always violate the laws?
So Su Che took action, not only to legislate, but also to eradicate those royal relatives.
For example, Su Che’s mother, Zhao Ji, was from Zhao and had many Zhao forces behind her.
For example, Su Che’s grandmother, Queen Mother Xia Ji, had the power of South Korea behind her.
Su Che's nominal grandmother, the Queen Mother of Huayang, was of the Mi and Xiong clans, and was a noble of the State of Chu.
Standing next to the Queen Mother Huayang was Lord Changwen, the son of King Kaolie of Chu and a prince of the orthodox bloodline of Chu. He was the nephew of Lady Huayang, and there were also some Chu nobles.
If the six kingdoms were to be pacified, these foreign relatives who were mixed in the high-level positions of the Qin State were forces that had to be eliminated.
If you can't get rid of them, many things will be difficult to do.
Once a war to annihilate a country is launched, there will inevitably be constraints at every turn, and these foreign relatives and nobles will never see the demise of their country with their own eyes.
In this case, we should remove them before they get in the way.
Su Che's decision was simple.
One word.
kill!
For a while.
The Qin State's high-level officials were in a bloody storm, with many people being killed.
Lu Buwei was sitting at home, hearing the sounds of fighting outside and various news coming from time to time. He was trembling with fear. He originally felt a little lost because of falling from a high position, but after seeing the news, he couldn't help but feel fortunate.
I can actually gain the trust of the King of Qin!
This is so lucky!
At least he is still alive, at least he is still in the center of power in Qin. Those foreign relatives who have been eliminated are no longer qualified.
at the same time.
Zhao Ji found Su Che.
Logically speaking, on the first day Su Che ascended the throne, because she was still young, she should have been there to assist and witness this scene.
But because Su Che was too strong, she was not qualified to assist in the administration.
Zhao Ji tolerated this, but when Su Che began to clean up the power of her family, she really couldn't bear it anymore.
As the saying goes, if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit. This is applicable everywhere.
When Zhao Ji became the queen of Qin, in order to expand her influence and gain more power, she inevitably relied on and promoted her natal family members.
Zhao Ji's family was a large family in the State of Zhao. Relying on Zhao Ji's relationship, they directly achieved class transition and became the foreign relatives of the Qin State with considerable influence.
And now, when Su Che came to power, Zhao Ji became the queen mother because of her son's status, and instantly possessed more power.
The foreign relatives behind her are naturally not satisfied with the status quo. They want to expand their power and extend their hands to every aspect of the Qin State in order to gain more power, more wealth, and a more noble status!
Some people have even asked Queen Mother Zhao Ji to confer the title of "king" on them.
For example, Zhao Hong, one of Zhao Ji's brothers, said, "The Queen Mother Huayang has the Lord of Changping, why can't I be made a Lord?"
Zhao Ji said helplessly: "Changping Jun is the son of the King of Chu. He was granted the title of Changping Jun in Chu and served in Qin, but he was not granted the title of Jun in Qin."
Zhao Hong didn't care: "But you are the queen now, I am your elder brother, my power is your power, I represent you, with my current status as the king's uncle, am I not qualified to have my own fiefdom?"
Before this, Zhao Ji was just the queen, and he didn't dare to say such words, but now that Zhao Ji is the queen mother, things are naturally different.
Zhao Ji could only say: "Let me think about it carefully."
Only then did Zhao Hong go home contentedly.
However, when these people were dreaming of becoming "kings", Su Che's purge fell on their heads.
Zhao Hong was enjoying himself in his mansion at the moment. Dozens of beautiful girls were dancing here. There was singing and dancing in the mansion and a joyful atmosphere.
At this moment, a group of soldiers rushed in. The leading soldier Gong Yeliang looked at Zhao Hong coldly and said, "Stop! Zhao Hong, you've committed a crime!"
Zhao Hong, who was a little drunk, looked up in surprise. The next moment, he flew into a rage and overturned the table in front of him, shouting, "How dare you! How dare you! Do you know who I am? I am the brother of the current Queen Mother, the uncle of the current King of Qin, and the uncle of the King of Qin. How dare you cause trouble in my mansion? Who gave you the guts?!"
"Come here, beat them all away! Don't you really know where this is? Is this the place where you can run wild?" Zhao Hong pointed at the leading soldier and shouted.
There were actually servants who stepped forward to drive away the soldiers, but the leading soldier, Gong Yeliang, was merciless and swung his sword to chop them, causing blood to splatter all over the ground and heads to roll around.
"Anyone who disobeys my order will be beheaded!" Gongye Liang said coldly, then he narrowed his eyes, holding the sword that was still bleeding, and walked towards Zhao Hong step by step.
The servant's blood was scattered all over the floor. Zhao Hong, who was a little drunk, suddenly sobered up. He fell to the floor in panic, crying and shouting, "I plead guilty, I plead guilty, but what crime did I commit?"
"You have committed so many crimes. You have occupied thousands of acres of farmland, killed more than a dozen people who reported to the officials, and killed several merchants and seized their goods. Don't you remember anything?" Gongye Liang said indifferently.
"Ah?" Zhao Hong was stunned for a moment after hearing these words, and subconsciously said: "Killing a dozen untouchables, is this also called a crime?"
Zhao Hong said this subconsciously. It was his true thought deep in his heart. From the beginning, he didn't think it was wrong.
I never thought that I would be arrested because of this matter.
"This is your sin!" Hearing this, Gongye Liang was immediately furious, because he was born in the countryside and achieved this position through military merit. Hearing that the powerful did not take the lives of the lower class people seriously, he was naturally very annoyed. He forced himself to hold back the sword and gave him a quick thought, saying coldly: "Catch him! Put him in jail!!"
"Yes!" The soldiers behind him nodded and took Zhao Hong away directly.
As for this mansion, it was naturally raided and all the property was confiscated!
At the same time, such things happened everywhere in Xianyang.
In the past, the royal relatives who had enjoyed great glory thanks to their connections were now caught in one fell swoop, without a single one left behind.
It is impossible for them to rely on their noble status and have less than a dozen lives on their hands.
There are too many things like annexing land, keeping soldiers, secretly storing powerful crossbows, and forcibly abducting women.
This matter simply cannot withstand investigation. Once it is investigated, it will basically be a series of bloody murders.
In the eyes of this group of people, the so-called law is essentially nothing more than a reflection of the will of the ruling class. It is a tool to establish, maintain and develop a social order that is beneficial to them, thereby smoothly realizing and consolidating their rule.
For the ruling class, breaking the law knowingly is just a common practice. The Qin law was strict, but it also depended on who it was affecting.
If it were in the past, in front of other Qin kings, these things of theirs were nothing at all, and no one could defeat them.
But now, since King Zheng of Qin came to power, he directly took back the power and started to take action against this group of people.
Su Che's methods were decisive and he showed no mercy. No matter whether you were my uncle or some other relative, since you had committed a crime, he would arrest you all and punish you accordingly!
The ones I want to destroy are you, a group of extremely arrogant royal relatives!
Because of Su Che's order, Queen Mother Zhao Ji came up to him. She was very angry and said, "Your uncle only killed a dozen people. Why did you arrest him? And even kill him? What crime did he commit?"
Su Che glanced at Zhao Ji and said coldly, "It's just that he killed a dozen common people. If a prince breaks the law, he will be punished the same as a commoner, not to mention that he is the uncle of the emperor."
"Then you can't kill him! He's your uncle!" Zhao Ji said quickly, "When my mother and I were in Handan, we were almost arrested and sent to the authorities. It was your uncle who intervened. How can you be so cold-hearted?"
"He came forward to help us. After he came to Qin, wasn't he given power and wealth?" Su Che asked back, "But he didn't know how to be satisfied. He still used his power to annex land and killed the farmers who complained, and wiped out the whole family. My father didn't want to deal with this matter... but I have to deal with it!"
"These people are all citizens of the Qin State. If they can die, why can't Zhao Hong die?" Su Che looked at his mother calmly.
"In short, you can't kill him!" Zhao Ji didn't know how to refute, so she could only force herself to say it.
"What if I have to kill you?" Su Che looked at Zhao Ji coldly and asked word by word.
Zhao Ji looked at her child with a complicated expression. She became hesitant and didn't know what to say for a while.
"This Qin State belongs to the Qin people. Those relatives of the emperor don't have much ability. They have become so noble by relying on their connections, but they are not satisfied. They use their power to continuously annex land, expand their wealth, increase their retainers, and show off their power. They are the parasites of this country." Su Che said calmly: "Since I have become the master of this country, what I have to do is to eliminate all these parasites! Not a single one will be left!"
"If you do this... you will become a real loner." Zhao Ji looked at Su Che and said blankly: "No one will be willing to get close to you... You can't do this!"
"If this is my destiny..." Su Che narrowed his eyes and laughed:
"Then let me be the loneliest person in the world!"
Having said this, Su Che waved his sleeves and turned to leave, leaving Zhao Ji with a dazed look on her face, tears streaming silently down her face.
There has always been a mystery in the historical community.
Why is Qin Shi Huang the first emperor in Chinese history, but there is no record of his queen or empress in history books?
The reason is simple.
Ying Zheng's queen was arranged by those foreign relatives. She was a pawn they had placed there from the very beginning to interfere with King Qin's administration.
In those histories that have been completely erased, too many stories happened, which is one of the reasons why Qin Shihuang never appointed a crown prince.
This is not self-confidence or arrogance, but has deep-seated reasons.
But this time, Su Che naturally couldn't let all these tragedies happen again.
Three days later.
A busy street intersection in Xianyang City was crowded with people. Countless people had blocked the street, and almost everyone in Xianyang City had come to join in the fun.
All those royal relatives who used to be so powerful and tyrannical have now become prisoners and have been sent here. At noon, they will be beheaded in public.
The crimes of these relatives of the emperor had been announced long before, which caused a great shock. No one had expected that these relatives of the emperor, who enjoyed such great power, had done so many dirty and sordid things!
No matter how noble their previous status was, they were now sent to the execution ground and became prisoners who were about to be stabbed.
If relatives of the emperor break the law, they can also be beheaded!
This is truly the first time in history!
There is no doubt that this incident was sensational. The entire Qin State was shocked. All the old Qin people admired King Zheng of Qin's fairness and selflessness. This was the King of Qin they should have!
It has always been said that if a prince breaks the law, he will be punished the same as a commoner. However, since the death of Shang Yang, no one has been able to control the royal relatives. They rely on their status to act tyrannically and are rarely restrained. Only this King Zheng of Qin took action!
After so many years, the people of Qin finally welcomed a wise and enlightened King Qin.
The news of the slaves and maids released by King Zheng of Qin and the fields that were returned spread quickly throughout Qin territory, and King Zheng of Qin quickly gained the support of all the old Qin people.
There have been many legends about King Zheng of Qin before, saying that he was born with knowledge, that he was the hope for the future of Qin, and so on. There are simply too many of them.
However, legends are just legends after all. No matter how much they are exaggerated, people will become numb to them.
But now, with the succession of King Zheng of Qin, everything seems to be becoming a reality one by one!
How can this not be exciting?
For a while.
The people of Qin all bowed their heads and praised the wise name of the King of Qin.
And at the same time.
This incident also spread to other countries.
When the monarchs of other vassal states heard this, they were all stunned - what a barbaric, tyrannical and unjust king!
He actually dared to execute his own uncle and so many of his relatives!
Punishment is not imposed on scholars and officials. This is a tradition since ancient times and a ritual system that has been passed down from the Spring and Autumn Period to the present. The status of those royal relatives is noble and extraordinary. Even if they have committed a crime, they should never be treated like this!
Back then, Shang Yang only cut off his nose and tattooed his face, but you, King Zheng of Qin, actually escorted these people to Caishikou and beheaded them. This is really ridiculous!
He is so tyrannical and cruel. There has never been such a barbaric king in all these years!
Having such a king is a shame to the whole world!
Even though Qin is a barbarian land, it should not do such a heinous thing that is condemned by both humans and gods!
As this matter spread and fermented.
There are rumors at the time: King Zheng of Qin is tyrannical and unjust, and the whole world is against him!
This rumor became more and more widespread and quickly spread among the six countries. Four years passed, and the pain of the Battle of Hanoi was gradually healed. They seemed to have forgotten the pain of that year, so they dared to point fingers at the Qin State.
At the same time, condemnations from kings of various countries floated over like snowflakes!
In the Qin Palace.
Bai Qi, Marquis of Wu'an, sat next to Su Che.
In this era, the number of feudal lords was extremely large.
Being a feudal lord is basically the standard for top powerful officials.
Such as the four great princes, Chunshen Jun of Chu, Xinling Jun of Wei, Pingyuan Jun of Zhao, and Mengchang Jun of Qi.
There were four Wu'an Jun in history, namely Bai Qi, Li Mu, Xiang Yan, and Su Qin.
In order to distinguish Bai Qi from those Wu'an Juns, Su Che named him Wu'an Hou. In fact, the difference is not that big, it just sounds more domineering.
Han Fei, who was standing by, brought rolls of bamboo slips to Su Che.
Han Fei said: "These are the documents condemning you from the rulers of the vassal states. After you executed those relatives of the emperor and punished all the lawbreakers, the people of Qin all bowed their heads and praised you, calling you a wise ruler among wise rulers. However, the rulers of other vassal states condemned you for your tyranny and cruelty."
"Even those scholars criticized you for being perverse and not abiding by etiquette. You shouldn't punish a relative of the emperor."
Su Che listened to this, smiled and said: "These people are right, I am a tyrant, a tyrant and a lawless person."
"Let me see who is condemning me and whose voices are the loudest."
Han Fei said: "Among them, the first three are Han, Zhao, and Chu."
These three countries had the deepest interests involved, and all their hands reaching out to Qin had been cut off, so they were naturally anxious and angry. They never dreamed that King Zheng of Qin would be so unethical and cruel as soon as he took office, and directly wiped out all the foreign relatives' forces.
What kind of courage is this?
You know, there are only a few kinds of forces a king can rely on, and relatives by marriage are one of them. The so-called distant relatives cannot alienate close relatives is exactly this truth. The young King of Qin has just taken office, and the people he can rely on the most should be his relatives.
But no one expected that King Zheng of Qin did not rely on the power of the royal relatives at all. On the contrary, he weakened the power of the royal relatives as soon as he came to power.
In the eyes of other kings, this behavior is tantamount to cutting off one's own arm. How stupid is it?
However, Su Che naturally had his reasons for doing so.
He stood up and said to Bai Qi, "Master, the opportunity has come. Since they dare to condemn me, let's kill them all without leaving a single one. The first target is South Korea..."
Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze.
Since we are going to start the action of unifying the six countries, let’s start with South Korea, the weakest of the six countries!
Then Su Che turned to Han Fei and said, "Send an envoy to ask the King of Han to apologize for his condemnation, otherwise I will send troops to attack him..."
As soon as these words came out.
The Qin envoy immediately brought King Zheng's words to the Kingdom of Han.
The King of Han was King Huanhui of Han.
On this day, in the Korean court.
The Qin envoy stood here proudly, looking down on the King of Han in the court, and said arrogantly: "The King of Han dared to insult my monarch. My monarch asked me to bring a message to you. Either you surrender or send troops to attack. Once the army arrives, you will all be the people of the country!"
"It's up to you to decide what to do! All consequences will be your own fault!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you!"
When this was said, everyone in Han was shocked, and the King of Han was even more panicked. He just followed the trend to condemn it, and didn't even dare to say anything too serious. How could he be doomed to the destruction of his country? ?