Chapter 161 The Complaining First Emperor
Wei Liao was from Daliang, Wei State.
The Wei family was a noble family of the Wei State, and its head was qualified to meet the King of Wei.
The opening of Wei Liao Zi says: King Hui of Liang asked Wei Liao Zi, "The punishment and virtue of the Yellow Emperor can lead to a hundred victories. Is it true?"
King Hui of Liang was King Hui of Wei. The person he asked was a famous official of Wei State, namely the first generation Wei Liaozi, who was the great-grandfather of Wei Liao of Qin.
Wei Liao's father was named Wei Liao, and Wei Liao's great-grandfather was also named Wei Liao. This was the family rule of the Wei family.
Anyone who succeeds as the head of the Wei family, no matter what his previous name was, will be renamed Wei Liao and will be responsible for writing "Wei Liaozi".
Wei Liao, the third generation of the Wei family, wrote a unique book on military strategy, "Wei Liaozi", which was useful for both governing a country and fighting wars.
"Wei Liaozi" includes the rise of the Qin State due to the reform during the period of King Hui of Wei, and summarizes the Legalist theories included therein.
It also includes the ideas of benevolent government in "Lüshi Chunqiu" and the theories of eclectic schools.
The military book "Wei Liaozi" began to be written when Pang Juan was in power in the State of Wei.
Compared with Pang Juan, who trained the Wei Wuzu and almost destroyed the Qin State, the first generation of Wei Liao was obviously not qualified and was therefore not taken seriously.
Not only the Wei State, but also no one in other countries except the First Emperor of Qin recognized Wei Liao and "Wei Liaozi".
In the three generations of the Wei family over a hundred years, not a single one of them had ever been to the battlefield or led troops in a war.
A military book written by someone who has never fought in a battlefield will not be convincing at all.
Before Wei Liao, those who could write military books were all masters of military strategy and victorious generals on the battlefield.
Sun Wu, the military saint who wrote "The Art of War", is the founder of military strategists. All military strategists in later generations were disciples of Sun Wu.
Wu Qi, the second sage of military strategy who wrote "Wu Zi's Art of War", made it possible for the people of Wei and Qin to not dare to turn eastward, and for the Three Jins to not dare to plot southward.
With Sun Wu's "The Art of War" as a masterpiece, there was also Sun Bin who wrote "Sun Bin's Art of War".
In order to distinguish the two versions of "The Art of War", people began to call the "Art of War" written by Sun Bin "Sun Bin's Art of War".
Sun Bin forcibly snatched the character "Zi" from the name after Sun Wu and was respectfully called Sun Tzu by people of his time.
He defeated the famous general Pang Juan several times and finally killed him. He was also the one who came up with the strategy of Tian Ji's horse racing and the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao.
Only such a legendary military figure can write a military book, and is worthy of writing a military book.
Famous generals in the world like Bai Qi, Li Mu, Wang Jian and Lian Po were unable to write military books in front of these military books.
Therefore, when other countries in the world heard that Wei Liao had written the military book "Wei Liaozi", most of them just laughed it off and treated it as a joke.
If it weren't for the First Emperor.
The three generations of Wei Liao and their "Wei Liaozi" will be lost in history and unknown to others.
It won’t be like it is now, where you can have fame, fiefdoms, and power whenever you want.
"It is true that the lieutenant is a man of great talent, but I have never wronged him in the slightest. Why is he still not satisfied?"
Wei Liao hurriedly put down the teacup, as if he was putting down a hot potato.
He prostrated himself on the ground, his silver-white hair falling in front of his arms, and he cried out in fear as he was old.
"Your Majesty, I really don't understand what you are saying!"
"Does the captain really not understand?"
After saying this, the First Emperor stopped talking and concentrated on drinking his tea, ignoring Wei Liao who was kneeling in front of him.
Wei Liao lowered his head and couldn't see his face clearly, but from his trembling body, he seemed to be very scared.
After drinking a cup of tea, the First Emperor stood up and returned to the desk where he usually reviewed memorials. He picked up the top memorial from a pile of memorials next to him that was taller than a person.
"Go back. I am not here today as the national commander."
"I really don't know what your majesty is talking about..."
Bang~
The bamboo slips fell on the solid wooden table, making a crisp sound.
"Wei Liao, do you want to be like Wei Zhuang and have me expel you from Xianyang?"
Some things cannot be said.
To be frank, someone has to pay the price.
"Cheng Jiao's absence from the court is clearly because he is concerned about your reputation. If you are sensible, leave on your own and don't be greedy and proud!"
"I really don't know..."
"roll."
Wei Liao remained silent for three breaths.
"…I, your honor, shall take my leave."
The state commander Wei Liao left the Zhangtai Palace.
Gai Nie naturally poured clean water to dissolve the ink block, and held the ink pestle to grind it back and forth in the inkstone pool.
The First Emperor placed his hand on the edge of the bamboo slips and tried to turn it over several times, but the thoughts in his mind prevented him from doing so.
Crash~
Gai Nie opened the bamboo slips for the First Emperor, allowing the words on them to appear within the First Emperor's sight and also within his sight.
"He has worked hard and has great talent. Is what I gave him not worthy of his talent? He served Wei for three generations but was not favored by Wei. As soon as he came to Qin, I gave him a high position and made him a great official. He accused me of being mean and ungrateful and fled in panic. After I brought him back, I let bygones be bygones and made him the lieutenant of Qin."
"I treated him so well. After unifying the country, he did not offer advice or speak, and often stayed away from court due to illness. I really want to give him the Qin King's Sword!"
"But I can't. If I do so, wouldn't I become the former King Zhaoxiang who killed Bai Qi, or Gou Jian who killed Wen Zhong and forced Fan Li to leave?"
"He has made great contributions to Qin. When fighting against the six kingdoms, he was the one who coordinated and formulated strategies from behind."
"How can I kill such a person just because he dislikes me and because his strategy will not be as effective as before after the unification of the world? If I do this, how can I be worthy of being the king of this world?"
Gai Nie listened silently.
He knew that the First Emperor didn't want him to say anything, he just wanted someone to listen.
"Kuaiji County has been a prosperous place since the time of Wu and Yue. It is close to the East China Sea, and its people are as wealthy as those of Qi."
"I divided the world into fiefs and gave me eight cities under Kuaiji County as fiefdoms. Am I not good enough to him?"
" Instead wants to become a local tyrant and split the Qin Empire. How could this man not know how to be content?"
His index finger tapped the table irregularly, and the First Emperor became irritated just thinking about Wei Liao.
The frequency of the finger tapping became more and more chaotic, and the sound became more and more mixed.
"When Zhao Gao comes back, have him deliver my four-horse carriage to Wei Liao's residence and have him go to Kuaiji County. Since you refuse to repent, give up your position as the national commander."
Make a decision and give an order.
Only then did the First Emperor feel much better.
He picked up the brush and began to review today's memorials .
After reviewing less than three volumes, Zhao Gao returned to Zhangtai Palace and stood outside the door without entering.
He is not in charge of matters related to seals and talismans, so he cannot enter without permission.
Gai Nie sensed Zhao Gao's presence, stopped turning the pages, went out to find Zhao Gao, and said, "His Majesty has ordered you to send a carriage with four horses to Wei Liao's mansion and let Wei Liao go to Kuaiji County."
Zhao Gao looked at Gai Nie suspiciously, his face full of disbelief.
He thought over and over again about the last time he fed Gai Nie, and no matter how he thought about it, it seemed wrong.
Both he and Gai Nie did not eat the food to protect the First Emperor. Why would the First Emperor ask him to give the food to Gai Nie?
Zhao Gao regretted it very much. Why didn't he ask the First Emperor for confirmation at that time?
Don't ask after the fact, because it has already happened. If you ask again, the meaning will change.
The order of the First Emperor was not verified on the spot, but was verified afterwards. Do they not take the First Emperor seriously?
"Your Majesty wants the Imperial Guard to go to Kuaiji County?"
Wei Liao has not committed any crime recently. Why would Your Majesty want Wei Liao to go to his fiefdom for no reason?
Gai Nie nodded, turned around and went back to Zhangtai Palace, continuing to work as a book turner.
The message has been delivered. Whether Zhao Gao does it or not is none of his business.
Bang~
The palace gate was closed in front of him, and Zhao Gao hesitated with a frown on his face.
He paced around for half a minute but still couldn't make a decision.
Wei Liao was the Wei of the Great Qin State, the highest military officer in the Qin State.
To ask Wei Liao to return to his fiefdom was to remove him from his official position.
The consequences of this incident are not as simple as Gai Nie wanting to eat.
The highest military power in the Qin Dynasty is vacant, and the person in charge of the highest military power in the Qin Dynasty is replaced.
After much thought, Zhao Gao's distrust of Gai Nie still made him knock on the gate of Zhangtai Palace.
"Your Majesty, when will I send the four-horse carriage to the state commander?"
Zhao Gao did not ask directly whether it was true or not, but asked indirectly.
"Now."
"only."
It turned out to be true. The God of Plague did not deceive Gao, and he did not dare to spread rumors about His Majesty's order.
"You have been with me for many years, so just speak your mind and don't try to be smart."
"……only."
Zhao Gao faced the First Emperor and slowly retreated.
When he retreated to the gate of Zhangtai Palace with his head down, he heard the words of the First Emperor again.
"You need to resign as the deputy commander of the secret guards. All secret guard matters will be handed over to Gai Nie."
Zhao Gao stopped and replied respectfully, "Yes."
The voice was respectful and normal.
The wound on the toe of his newly changed boots had burst and tiny beads of blood were oozing out.
