There is no school of thought that does not want its teachings to spread throughout the world. This is true even for the Taoists who advocated governing by inaction and seclusion.
As a descendant of a contemporary medical family, it would be a lie for Xia Wuqi to say that he was not moved.
If it was the First Emperor who said this, Xia Wuqie would have not only bowed his head in worship but also shed tears of gratitude.
But the person who said this was Ying Chengjiao, so Xia Wuqie was not too excited.
He doesn't believe it.
Doctors can neither make people rich and prosperous, nor make them powerful, nor can they make people successful and famous.
A doctrine that only seeks dedication and not rewards, unless the First Emperor forcibly promotes it, is like simplified Chinese characters.
Otherwise, wanting to be popular all over the world is pure wishful thinking.
But since Ying Chengjiao said so, and Xia Wuqie was not a straightforward military man, he naturally would not speak bluntly and offend others.
"May Chang'an-kun finish his work soon."
The two said goodbye to each other.
Xia Wuqi returned to the Xianyang Palace and reported to the First Emperor.
Ying Chengjiao pondered for a moment and walked about a thousand steps on the streets of Xianyang.
Walk to a private residence and knock on the door.
After a moment, an old servant with gray hair, a strong back and powerful steps opened the door.
"General!"
The old servant was surprised and delighted, and looked very embarrassed, as if he didn't know where to put his hands.
"Are you the 50,000 from Tunliu or the 50,000 from Handan?"
Ying Chengjiao asked with a smile.
"I followed the master to participate in the battle to capture Handan, and had the honor of seeing the general's heroic appearance. If the master knew that it was the general who came, he would definitely go out to greet him personally."
As the old servant was speaking, he suddenly cried out, and while hurriedly inviting Ying Chengjiao to come in, he slapped himself hard in the face.
"This bird is always talking too much. General, please come in. The master has been talking about you for years and has been looking forward to seeing you."
As Ying Chengjiao was led by the old servant, he smiled bitterly and said, "It's my fault."
"The general can't be wrong. The master said that the general is a man who can do great things, unlike us birdmen. General, I am sincere in what I say, not the sarcasm of those birdmen."
“…”
"Every time I hear a birdman scolding the general, I want to chop them to death with a sword. What do they know? If they see the Zhao people with murderous eyes, they will be scared away like birds!"
“…”
"If the master had not forbidden us to cause trouble, I would have found a few old brothers who also have no one at home, and used this rescued head to vindicate the general!"
“…”
"General, am I talking too much and disturbing you?"
The old servant looked at Ying Chengjiao cautiously, like a child who had done something wrong.
“No, I was very happy to hear that.”
The old servant smiled broadly when he got the answer that Ying Chengjiao was willing to hear.
"Okay, General, don't listen to those bastards' gossips, and don't take anything to heart. Eat when you're supposed to, drink when you're supposed to, and come visit the master when you're not busy..."
The old servant kept muttering all the way, and never stopped talking, as if he wanted to say everything he had said in the past ten years on this journey.
Less than fifty steps from the main house of the mansion, an old and powerful voice came from inside and outside the house.
"Only an old fellow like you can make Liuzi say a few more words. Today is not the ninth day of the lunar month, so why are you here at my house? Last night, there was a rush of horses' hooves, and it sounded like they were rushing 800 miles. Did something happen on the border?
"Wu was sent to Shangjun by His Majesty, and Tiansun was transferred to Jiuyuan. Did the Xiongnu drink horse urine and attack us to occupy Jiuyuan? I would say we are both going to die, so don't worry about that shit."
The door of the main house opened a crack and a foot poked out.
"Master, look who's here!"
The old servant gave a cry of joy.
"Don't shout, I'm not deaf, why are you shouting... General?"
The door was pushed open completely.
An old man, who looked frail but energetic, held the door handle with one hand and looked at Ying Chengjiao behind Liuzi, his eyes full of disbelief.
Bang~
The old man slapped himself hard in the face. The intense pain made him realize that this was real.
"What is this prince doing?"
Ying Chengjiao saw the old man slapping himself in the face, and hurried forward, but before he could get close to the old man.
Bang!
The old man knelt on one knee, his head lowered, his arms raised high, and his hands clasped together.
"Lieutenant General Wang Xi, I pay my respects to the General!"
The dust shook slightly.
It landed again.
"My prince, you are so embarrassed!"
Ying Chengjiao stood beside Wang Zhi, refused to kneel down, and instead held Wang Zhi's arms and pulled him up.
Wang Xi did not resist, but happily stood up with the help of Ying Chengjiao.
"General, do you want to rebel when you see Zhi? Zhi will send someone to do it now!"
"Why does the prince think Cheng Jiao is going to rebel?"
Ying Chengjiao smiled bitterly.
"The general has not entered my house for ten years in order to paralyze Your Majesty. Isn't it just to kill Your Majesty by surprise one day? I have always believed so.
"The general is like that bird that hasn't called for years, but when it does it's very loud. This bird is not Meng Ao, the bird in Liu Zi's mouth, it's a real bird. Xi is like Wu Anjun, he doesn't like to curse."
I have been waiting for ten years. What? Doesn't the general mean this?
Wang Xi scratched his white hair, very confused.
"Cheng Jiao only wanted to avoid suspicion, he had no other intentions."
"Why are you avoiding suspicion? The general is the king!"
Wang Xi's voice was as loud as a bell, and he was not afraid at all that there were ears on the other side of the wall.
The old servant Liuzi beside him nodded repeatedly with a look of approval.
The bitter smile on Ying Chengjiao's face never stopped.
"My Lord, Cheng Jiao came here to ask for something."
Wang Xi immediately looked serious.
"The general has given an order, and no one dares to disobey it. Everything will be done. Come, come, come, General, come into the house and talk."
Wang Xi, his sixth son, and Ying Chengjiao entered the main house.
It was not until sunset that Ying Chengjiao came out of Wang Qi's residence.
After much persuasion, he finally convinced Wang Xi, who wanted to send him back to Chang'an Jun Mansion, to stop.
Meng Mansion.
After Ying Chengjiao and Xia Wuqie left.
The old general Meng Ao had gold and silver needles on his body. His grandson Meng Yi went out with a serious face and a bit of fear, and visited all of Meng Ao's students and old subordinates in Xianyang City.
Two hours later, more than 30 generals of the Qin Dynasty came to the Meng Mansion on foot, on horseback, or in carriages and knocked on the door.
The threshold in front of the Meng Mansion's main gate was almost flattened by so many people.
The old general Meng Ao looked extremely bad. He lay on the sickbed, looking at his old subordinates standing below.
Most of these subordinates who were unknown under him back then are now generals.
"Don't look so sad. I'm not dead yet. There's no need for you to cry."
"Meng Gong!"
Standing in the front row, a square-faced man who looked to be almost fifty years old had red eyes. He stepped forward, grabbed Meng Ao's hand and burst into tears.
In his impression, Lord Meng was a general who never got tired, cursing them as birds while leading them to kill the enemy. He had never been so weak.
The big man didn't even dare to shake hands forcefully.
Back then, he was able to pull a strong bow, wield a sword and chop with a knife, and his hands seemed like they were made of fine iron.
Now it is extremely fragile, like a broken branch in winter, which will break with the slightest force.
"Your title is almost as high as mine, why are you crying?"
"Even if I, Gongsun Hun, am granted the title of Marquis Che, I am still a small pawn under Lord Meng."
Meng Ao was not moved by these words and just let out a weak "Puh" sound.
"Do you think you are Wang Jian? You even peed your pants when fighting with the dogs of Wei! Are you worthy of being named Marquis of Che? Bullshit!"
The big man blushed and stammered, "That was more than 30 years ago. Why does Lord Meng always mention it? Why didn't Lord Meng mention that I killed 27 Wei dogs in one battle?"
"When I was young, I killed more than 20 people in every battle. You killed 27 people in one battle, and you were chasing the enemy. It's nothing!"
Among the more than 30 generals, a man who was thin and short in comparison and was standing in the front row echoed: "Mr. Meng is right. This guy has been bragging about this lucky victory for almost 30 years."
The square-faced man suddenly turned around and said with disdain: "Nai Gong is better than you. You have never been on the battlefield, and you are not ashamed to be on the same rank with me!"
The thin and short general was furious and yelled at the top of his voice.
"I am a scout! If I hadn't investigated the enemy and found the route for you, you would have died ten times! You said I don't go to the battlefield? My battlefield is ten times or even a hundred times more dangerous than yours! Scouts are the most elite troops of the Qin army! It is a shame for me to share the same rank with you, an infantryman who can only charge!"
A general with a gloomy face and a cold aura snorted coldly.
"I don't like what Skinny Monkey said. What do you mean by the best scouts? Where do you put our crossbowmen? Do your scouts dare to fight against our crossbowmen?"
The short and skinny general, who was called Skinny Monkey, was furious and spitting everywhere.
"Bullshit! You think the Qin Crossbow is your own skill, right? Who can't put it on the arm and press it? Take down the crossbow and fight with me. Believe it or not, I will beat the shit out of you! I will make you pee your pants too!"
The square-faced man got angry and pointed at the skinny monkey's nose and cursed.
"How are you better than me, you bastard? I, Gongsun Hun, at least charged into the battlefield, but you pretended to be a dead body the first time you went to the battlefield, and you were almost trampled to death by a horse. Others were carried out on the battlefield, but you, a skinny monkey, ran out by yourself. Aren't you ashamed?"
“…”
Meng Ao listened to the generals quarreling and sabotaging each other, but he did not find it noisy. Instead, he felt nostalgic.
Haven't heard it in a long time...
The veteran closed his eyes, and the familiar shouting in his ears seemed to bring him back to the era of war and iron cavalry.
The battlefield where a man grabbed the horse reins with one hand and flattered his horse with a sword with the other, chasing the enemy for ten miles and competing to see who could chop off more heads.
I really want to be young again...
Meng Ao closed his eyes and remained silent.
Gradually, the noise in the house died down a little.
The thirty-odd generals looked at the old general who looked haggard, lifeless, with wrinkles all over his face and age spots on his hands. They all had a sad heart and a mournful look on their faces.
They knew what the old man on the bed liked to hear, and their noise just now was intentional.
"You guys are all married, have high titles and high positions. You all have your own things to do and your own ways of living. I shouldn't look for you anymore."
Meng Ao closed his eyes and was unable to speak.
The thirty-odd generals could all hear how weak the old general was.
With tears in their eyes and clenched teeth, they waited for the old general on the sickbed to finish what he was saying.
No matter what the old man asked them to do, they did it without hesitation.
No matter how high their titles or official positions, they were still Meng Ao's soldiers and subordinates.
"Last month, I was afraid that Chang'an Jun would rebel, so I found a dozen of you. You guys don't know how powerful Chang'an Jun is, only I know.
"Whatever Chang'an Jun wants to do, I have never seen it impossible to do. If you don't trust Chang'an Jun, then trust me. I beg you to resign your positions and follow Chang'an Jun, and obey his orders.
"If he leads you to fight the Huns, you will beat them to death. If he leads you to rebel, you will beat him to death. Your Majesty is unwilling to send troops to fight the Huns, so we, a bunch of birds, will fight on our own.
"Those who are willing to fight will submit their petitions tomorrow. Those who are not willing to fight will just pretend they have never been here. This is not a military order, and there will be no reward even if we win this battle. I have said this, and you can all go away."
More than thirty generals knelt on one knee with their heads lowered, their arms raised and their fists clasped.
"only!"
The next day.
Zhangtai Palace.
The First Emperor reviewed the memorials and issued orders to Gai Nie, who spread out the bamboo slips for him one by one.
[The minister Gongsun Hun is ill, please go home. ]
The First Emperor frowned and did not approve it. He asked Gai Nie to put the bamboo slips on his left hand and spread out the next one.
[I, Li Ling, am ill. Please go home.]
The second one asked for resignation again. The First Emperor narrowed his eyes and said nothing, letting Gai Nie sit on his right hand side.
[I am ill, please go home. ]
The third one asked for leave again. The First Emperor put down his brush, asked Gai Nie to put it on the table, and continued to flip through the pages.
[I, Bai An, am ill. Please go home.]
This is the fourth memorial and also the fourth resignation memorial.
Gai Nie didn't need the First Emperor to say anything, he just spread it out and placed it on the table.
The fifth, the sixth, the seventh.
They were all resignation letters, and the desk was no longer able to hold any space.
Gai Nie wanted to stack the newly opened memorial on top.
Seeing this, the First Emperor said, "Put it on the ground."
Gai Nie followed him.
Continuing to flip through the pages, Gai Nie turned over forty-six resignation letters, and the words written on them were all the same.
It was like photocopying forty-six memorials and putting a name on them at the end.
All forty-six letters of resignation were spread out and piled up in the Zhangtai Palace, covering the entire floor.
The First Emperor sat in front of his desk, surrounded by forty-six resignation letters, with a gloomy face, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Gai Nie stood there, looking at the door frame, feeling somewhat bored.
Wondering why that lickspittle Zhao Gao hasn't come back yet, I took turns on duty with Nie, and it was too tiring for one person.
"The palace is very clean."
The First Emperor said without any warning.
"No."
Gai Nie said truthfully.
The First Emperor's thoughts were interrupted again by Gai Nie, whose answers were always beyond his expectations.
The First Emperor turned his head and looked at Gai Nie, who had no shame and a paralyzed face, and said in a harsh tone: "Most of the people my mother brought back from Yongdi died in front of Ganquan Palace. The remaining ones who were not present slipped through the net. You led all the secret guards and failed to deal with them all in one night? What did you do last night!"
Gai Nie met the Emperor's eyes and said frankly, "If Zhang Han hadn't stopped me, I would have investigated the matter thoroughly."
The First Emperor knew his confidant Zhang Han very well, and heard that Gai Nie had a conflict with Zhang Han last night.
The first reaction was not that Zhang Han disobeyed orders, but that Gai Nie was trying to pass the buck, or that he had done something out of line again.
Gai Nie has followed me for so long and has never lied, so what happened?
The First Emperor was a little curious. He didn't know how Gai Nie could understand a matter of killing someone.
If the First Emperor compared statements with those of Zhao Gao, he would know that Gai Nie enjoyed a very high credibility in his heart.
Not only did he lie, but he was accustomed to lying and would even lie for a bite of food.
"Why did you clash with Zhang Han?"
"I wanted to take someone away, but he wouldn't let me."
"Why doesn't he want you to take it?"
"He said that no one is allowed to enter the concubines' bedroom without the emperor's order."
The First Emperor: ...
"I asked you to deal with the Queen Mother's spies! Why are you going to my harem? What do you want to do?"
If it wasn't Gai Nie who said this, the First Emperor would have ordered the extermination of the three clans on the spot.
He was also trained by Gai Nie. Every time Gai Nie did something strange, there was a reason that was extremely absurd, but sounded reasonable.
The First Emperor decided to listen to Gai Nie's own story before deciding whether to change the seal and talisman.
"Your Majesty, many of the concubines have spies from the Queen Mother Zhao. What's wrong with me arresting them?"
This doesn't sound wrong...
No! Then why did you break into the bedroom?
"Whoever you want to arrest, ask the concubine to release him. What are you doing? Is there a concubine who refuses to let the spy out?"
The First Emperor could accept this reason.
He knew his harem well, although all the concubines were harmless in front of him.
But in front of other people, his concubines all have a different face. There is no easy task in his harem.
"No one disobeyed."
Then what are you doing here?
Fortunately, I only gave you oral instructions!
Otherwise the Xianyang Palace would be clean!
My harem is not clean anymore!
The First Emperor clenched his fists. He wanted to kill someone, and he was now trying hard to suppress the urge to chop off Gai Nie's head.
The First Emperor, who had temporarily forgotten the resignation memorials scattered all over the floor, gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Then tell me why you broke into the harem."
"The Queen Mother's spies lurking in the harem are very skilled. I don't know which one is which. I must interrogate them to find out. I want to catch the talents in the concubines' uteruses. In order to make sure that the concubines are not hiding people, I want to send people in to search, but Zhang Han refuses."
You keep catching!
You're still searching!
Zhang Han was right to stop you!
The First Emperor's face was very dark.
Gai Nie saw that the First Emperor looked very bad and there was a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.
He added: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Nie only wants to send female secret guards or castrated secret guards."
Thank you for thinking about me!
Have you ever considered the impact of your high-profile search for the harem?
What I want is to get rid of my mother's spy, not to ask you to change my harem!
The First Emperor didn't believe that his concubines would not know which one of the spy around them was a spy.
The most innocent person the First Emperor had ever met was Queen Mother Han, but even Han Ji knew who the spies were around her.
These concubines knew that Zhao Ji had a spy around them, but they didn't expose it. It was obvious that they were in the same group.
If he could find out who among the concubines was a spy, the First Emperor would not mind catching Gai Nie and killing him, quick and easy.
But if we don't know who the spy is, and we conduct a wide-ranging search and interrogation, the concubine will definitely give herself away in the end.
So would the First Emperor kill him or not?
"This matter ends here. Don't continue."
The First Emperor said coldly.
"only."
Gai Nie responded, and there seemed to be a hint of regret in his voice.
You have no regrets at all!
The First Emperor's hand trembled, and he wanted to chop off Gai Nie's dog head again.
Standing up suddenly, the First Emperor waved his hand and said angrily: "You can do whatever I want!"
Gai Nie's face was sluggish, and he asked, "What do you want to say?"
Your Majesty, could you please explain yourself clearly?
The First Emperor stomped his feet in anger and kicked a memorial at his feet towards Gai Nie.
Gai Nie did not dodge or evade and took the blow head on.
The memorial hit his leg with little force and did not cause any pain or itching.
"I say that all these petitions on the ground are approved! Whoever wants to leave! I will let them go!"
"only."
Gai Nie responded and said silently in his heart.
How great! Why don't you just make it clear? Why do you always make me guess? Your Majesty, you are not a sword.
The First Emperor walked towards the palace gate, stepping on a pile of memorials on the ground, and every step made a creaking sound.
He pushed open the gate of Zhangtai Palace. When the officials on duty at the gate saw that it was the First Emperor, they bowed their heads slightly to show their respect.
The First Emperor looked at the blue sky and gazed towards the northwest. A cloud shaped like the Qin sword was reflected in his eyes.
The First Emperor heard the rustling sound of a brush hitting a memorial behind him. After listening for a while, he said, "Did that boy go to the Imperial Guards' Office or the Prime Minister's Office? Is there any inconvenience in handling government affairs?"
After the court meeting that day, Ying Chengjiao was appointed as the national commander and prime minister, and held all military and political power.
The Guowei Mansion, which originally belonged to the former Guowei Wei Liao, remained unchanged, but the Prime Minister's Mansion, which originally belonged to Li Si and Wang Wan, had its nameplate changed and became the Xiangbang Mansion.
Both prefectures belonged to Ying Chengjiao, and he could work wherever he wanted.
The focus here is office work.
No matter which prefecture he went to, Ying Chengjiao had to deal with events in both prefectures, which were almost all major events in Daqin.
For example, the invasion of the Huns in the northwest happened according to common sense.
As the national commander, Ying Chengjiao had to write out the counterattack strategy, who would lead the troops to fight, how many soldiers would be dispatched, and many other combat matters and report them to the First Emperor.
As prime minister, Ying Chengjiao had to report to the First Emperor a series of political matters, including how to resettle the local victims, how to quickly recover from the trauma of war, how many people to relocate, how much money would be spent on rebuilding the two counties, etc.
But in the past two days, the First Emperor received nothing from the memorials received by Ying Chengjiao.
The First Emperor thought that his brother might have neglected government affairs for so many years.
He reviewed a stone's worth of memorials every day, and would forget some trivial matters for a while - for example, Ying Chengjiao once knocked him unconscious, usurped the throne for a day, and reviewed a small pile of memorials.
The question was asked, but there was no response for a long time, which made the First Emperor feel a little embarrassed.
The two eunuchs guarding the door were a little nervous - was His Majesty asking me?
The First Emperor maintained his facial expression unchanged, and said majestically with helplessness in his heart: "Gai Nie."
"I am here."
There was a reply from behind him.
"I want to ask you, has that boy been to the Imperial Guards' Office or the Prime Minister's Office these past two days? Is there any inconvenience in handling government affairs?"
"Is that boy the Lord of Chang'an?"
The First Emperor's voice came out from between his teeth.
"……yes."
"Chang'an Jun didn't go anywhere. The Imperial Guards' Office is idle, and the Prime Minister's Office is led by the Left Prime Minister Li Si and the Right Prime Minister Wang Wan."
The First Emperor's face turned dark.
He was not angry when he received forty-six resignation letters, but he was very angry when he heard that Ying Chengjiao was not working.
Well, well, well, you don't do your job as prime minister and lieutenant to state, but instead you instigate my sons to go to the land of the Huns.
Forty-six letters of resignation were submitted and stacked together. This is a demonstration against me!