Chapter 249 Uncle, you must save me!
Zhangtai Palace.
The ground is paved with dark red tiles, and the columns supporting the dome are the same color, with lifelike black carvings of climbing dragons and phoenixes on them.
Zou Yan, a yin-yang scholar, believed that "the five virtues are invincible: Yu earth, Xia wood, Yin gold, Zhou fire."
Wood overcomes earth, metal overcomes wood, fire overcomes metal, water overcomes fire, and earth overcomes water.
The First Emperor adopted the theory of the five elements and their mutual restraint proposed by Zou Yan, a Yin-Yang school. When Qin conquered Zhou, Zhou was fire, while Qin was water and worshipped black.
It is strange to say, but from the Yu Dynasty which was founded on earth to the Qin Dynasty which destroyed Zhou and worshipped water, the five elements have just gone full circle.
China also ended the era of division and separatism during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and ushered in a new era of great unification with the county system.
The Qin Dynasty palaces, which adhered to the virtue of water and advocated the color black, are mostly dark in color, just like a ferocious beast lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike and conserve its strength.
The sky is clear and bright.
But the Zhangtai Palace still had to be lit to appear bright, otherwise it would always be a little dim.
The First Emperor wore a black silk crown embroidered with a flying black bird, and a crown with eighteen East China Sea clam pearls on the front and back of his head.
He put down the brush made of lamb hair, and felt a little uncomfortable, perhaps because of the dark environment.
"Just to catch Gan Luo, you exposed the tower. It really makes me worry."
The First Emperor closed his eyes and gently rubbed his temples on both sides of his head. He whispered to himself and raised his voice.
"Zhao Gao."
"I am here."
Zhao Gao had just arrived at the Xianyang Palace yesterday and took office today. Dressed in eunuch's uniform, he hunched his chest and lowered his head, walked closer to the First Emperor with light steps and soft voice, waiting for the king's will.
Gai Nie, who was standing behind the First Emperor, quietly moved to the side to make room for Zhao Gao.
"How is Qidi doing?"
The First Emperor's question was rambling. If it were Gai Nie, he would have replied expressionlessly, "Your Majesty, please explain more clearly."
Zhao Gao was not surprised and said humbly: "Your Majesty's grace is as vast as the East Sea. The people of Qi are all happy to become Qin citizens."
Licking dog.
Hero Gai thought to himself and took another step back. His strong character repelled Zhao Gao.
"There may be a few remnants of the six kingdoms, but your majesty has foresight and has appointed meritorious officials of the Great Qin Empire to guard the four directions. In less than two years, the remnants of the six kingdoms will be uprooted and surrender to our Great Qin Empire."
The First Emperor nodded slightly, rubbed his fingers less vigorously, and said, "How is the effect of promoting simplified Chinese characters?"
"Official documents in Qi are all written in simplified Chinese characters. Most Qi people are illiterate and do not know that Qi characters have changed. It was not until I returned to Chen County that I heard that the locals wrote in simplified Chinese characters. The closer I got to Hangu Pass, the more simplified characters I saw."
What Zhao Gao said was within the expectations of the First Emperor and was similar to what he had imagined.
Simplified Chinese characters were spread across the country with Xianyang as the base, and Qi, the farthest place, was naturally the last to be changed.
When the First Emperor heard that all official documents in Qi were now written in simplified Chinese characters, he was very satisfied.
"The Jixia Academy is famous throughout the world, and the scholarly spirit of Qi is particularly strong. All the people in the world use the same writing system, so there are no complaints from Qi."
This move by Che Tongwen is not a big problem for the great nobles. No matter what language is used, their interests will not be affected too much at present.
The ones who were truly influenced were the students of the various schools of thought, who read books, understood principles, and were well-educated.
There will be national hatred and family feuds, and we will know that the purpose behind the same writing system is to destroy the foundation of a country and to completely occupy and digest a country from a cultural level.
Zhao Gao lowered his head and said, "There are indeed some inappropriate remarks..."
"What did they say about me?"
"I dare not speak."
"explain."
Plop~
Zhao Gao knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "...the one who said that Your Majesty is unjust is Xia Jie and Shang Zhou."
The Xia Dynasty was destroyed by Jie, and the Shang Dynasty was destroyed by Zhou.
Xia Jie and Shang Zhou, the two kings who lost their countries, are generally regarded as incompetent rulers.
The First Emperor rubbed his fingers and stopped.
"Is that true?"
"I have heard of Donghai, Linzi, Langya... all of them."
"Have they not heard that I have collected hundreds of books in the Doctor's Office in Xianyang, and that anyone who wants to study them thoroughly can read them as long as they are a Doctor or a Deputy Minister?"
"Your Majesty's words have reached all the cities and counties in Qi, but ignorant and arrogant people have gathered in Qi, receiving the grace of heaven but not feeling it."
The First Emperor was silent and picked up the bamboo slips on the table.
During this era, various schools of thought were extremely active outside the Great Wall.
When the Qin laws were not yet universally applied, when the country was unified but thoughts were not, no doctrine would be willing to remain silent.
And standardizing the writing system and collecting books from hundreds of schools of thought was undoubtedly an extermination blow to all schools of thought, so the First Emperor had no doubt about Zhao Gao's words.
In fact, ever since Ying Chengjiao invented paper, which allowed carrier pigeons to transmit information thousands of miles away, the First Emperor had spies placed all over the country .
The records of the carrier pigeons flying back from Qi were almost identical to what Zhao Gao had said, so the First Emperor asked Zhao Gao to verify the facts on both sides.
That one or two point error made the First Emperor even more certain about the situation in Qi.
Zhao Gao sent Wei Liao to his fiefdom and hurried back all the way. What he said was what he heard hastily, so it would naturally be different from what the secret agent who had been working deep in the field said.
"kill."
The First Emperor said softly.
He slowly stood up, holding onto a large black table with no stripes or decorations, which was filled with only writing brushes, inkstones, and piles of memorials.
"Draft decree: Anyone who discusses politics in the streets will be killed; anyone who teaches and answers questions will be killed; anyone who publicly writes the old national language will be killed."
No one can prevent the unification of the Qin Dynasty. Anyone who dares to stop me is a rebel.
"only."
Zhao Gao simply responded, his body trembling more and more obviously as if he was afraid of the power of the First Emperor.
"What are you happy about?"
A question suddenly interrupted without any warning.
The emperor and his minister, who were asking and answering the question, were both surprised. The First Emperor looked back at Gai Nie, while Zhao Gao looked up at Gai Nie in confusion.
Facing the oppressive and displeased look from the First Emperor, Gai Nie was not afraid at all.
He stepped forward to Zhao Gao and asked again with an expressionless face.
"What are you happy about?"
The First Emperor narrowed his eyes and asked, "Happy?"
Gai Nie stared at Zhao Gao's eyes without moving, his mouth moving slightly, and he explained the doubts of the First Emperor without any emotion.
"When your Majesty just mentioned the word 'kill', Zhao Chefu was very happy. Nie doesn't understand why."
The First Emperor followed Gai Nie's gaze and looked at Zhao Gao with narrowed eyes.
Zhao Gao's expression was still humble. When he saw the Emperor's gaze, he said, "I don't like people who don't respect your Majesty. I am happy to hear that your Majesty wants to execute people I don't like."
"oh."
Gai Nie nodded, and at some point he took the sword from his waist away naturally, took a step back and stood in his original position.
When the First Emperor heard this and saw this, he turned around as if nothing had happened.
Zhao Gao stood up and walked to a small table, spread out a bamboo slip, picked up the brush and began to copy the imperial edict.
While copying, he gathered his internal strength into his back.
Because the inner collar of his eunuch's uniform was a little damp, he felt very uncomfortable.
The First Emperor shook his aching shoulders lightly, and suddenly remembered that he had allocated the seven northwestern counties to his eldest son as an experimental area. A few days ago, he also received news from the Chang'an Academy in Han.
Then he added: "This decree will not be sent to the northwest or to the Korean territory."
Zhao Gao didn't have time to put down his pen. He knelt down and turned to face the First Emperor, bowed his head slightly and said, "Yes."
Even when ink was poured on his body, he acted as if he didn't see it.
Pause for two breaths.
After hearing that the First Emperor had no more words, he turned around and continued to copy the imperial edict.
The palace maids and eunuchs who served the First Emperor were already cautious and prudent.
They all breathed more lightly, fearing that the three words "kill" from the First Emperor's mouth would fall on them.
…
"The Xiongnu's land is vast and sparsely populated, not suitable for farming, and their people have no fixed place to live. If you leave here like this, even with the support of the monarch, you will not survive more than two months."
Li Mu sat on a chair made of inferior wood with his big horse and golden sword, and did not have much respect for the third son Ying Jianglu in front of him, and spoke bluntly.
Ying Jianglu didn't care. Instead of getting angry, he approached Li Mu with a shy smile and handed him an orange.
"This is the only one I brought from Xianyang. My uncle loves this the most. Would you like to try it, Lord Wu'an?"
The two were in Shangjun, inside Li Mu's house in Shangjun.
"Your Majesty doesn't like to eat oranges, and Mu hates flatterers the most."
Ying Jianglu's face fell and he peeled the orange with a sad face. While peeling, he was thinking about how to talk to Li Mu.
Although he was the third son of the Qin Empire and had a distinguished status, he did not dare to act rudely in front of Li Mu. He had seen with his own eyes how Li Mu treated his father, whom he revered as a god.
Even his father, the emperor, has to pamper and give in to this person. Ying Jianglu believes that he does not have the power to suppress him.
After passing Shangjun, it would take another three days to reach the Xiongnu territory. Ying Jianglu was a little worried.
He was not afraid of death but did not want to die. What he wanted was to be crowned king, not to throw his life away in the Huns' land.
Before leaving, he shamelessly went to Li Mu's residence, hoping to learn from this world's number one general who beat the Huns like a grandson.
He originally thought that although he and Li Mu were not familiar with each other, Li Mu was a retainer of Ying Chengjiao. For the sake of Ying Chengjiao's face, he could not turn him away. He might as well give him some strategy on how to conquer the Huns.
Unexpectedly, he only guessed half right.
Although Li Mu had a cold face when he came to the door, he did not turn him away, but led him to his house.
Just as he was secretly delighted, thinking that this trip would not be in vain and that he would perhaps be able to take this expert in conquering the Huns with him to the Huns' territory.
What he was greeted with was Li Mu's sarcasm and ridicule, saying that the Huns did not recognize the King of Qin, that these hundred pounds of meat were enough for ten Huns to have a full meal, and that the king must have been crazy to send you here.
In short, there was not a single good word from Li Mu, and Ying Jianglu was even starting to doubt himself because of what Li Mu said.
I silently said to myself that if my second brother was here, I would definitely draw my sword and move forward, but I must not learn from my foolish second brother.
Thinking about how my father was humiliated in front of this great military strategist.
Recalling what Mencius, the second sage of Confucianism, said: "When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it will first test his mind and will, and make his muscles and bones suffer, and his body and skin starve..."
Little Taotie endured it and didn't lose his temper at all.
Rustle~
In order to prevent Li Mu from getting angry and driving him out, the honorable Third Prince of the Qin Dynasty, Ying Jianglu, did not even dare to peel the orange peel into pieces.
Instead, the entire orange peel is peeled off and unfolds like a flower.
Ying Jianglu didn't want to use this flower to please Li Mu, nor did he have the leisure to create something by hand - he was afraid that throwing the orange peel on the table would displease Li Mu.
He picked up the orange peel flower casually and stuffed it into his pocket, thinking to be cautious, careful, careful, and careful.
But he thought hard but could not figure out how to appease Li Mu, the former general of the State of Zhao who had a grudge against his father for destroying his country.
Eh? Where's my orange?
Ying Jianglu, who was concentrating on his work, suddenly felt his hand loosen. He looked closely and found that the orange was gone.
When he looked up again, he found Li Mu standing in front of him, putting a slice of orange flesh into his mouth and enjoying the fruits of his labor very naturally.
The little Taotie was very happy.
Thinking about eating my oranges is a good sign, as it helps ease the relationship. But if giving advice now seems too utilitarian, there needs to be a way out.
"Sweet."
His little face was smiling like a flower, and he chose to use the taste of orange to bring people closer.
"Very sour."
Li Mu put the last slice of orange in his mouth and said.
Ying Jianglu's face fell again .
How can we continue this conversation! This orange can’t be sour! He just doesn’t want to tell me!
The oranges were brought out of the palace by Ying Jianglu. They were for the First Emperor to eat. Each one was sweet and juicy.
"snort."
Li Mu snorted coldly, looking at Ying Jianglu who was sitting on the wooden chair like a root without losing his temper or leaving, and said, "This person is even more shameless than your Majesty."
“Like uncle, like nephew.”
Ying Jianglu was afraid that this sentence would fall to the ground, so he hurriedly continued.
"You can learn to be a scoundrel from your Majesty, but don't learn to be lazy from your Majesty."
Li Mu gave a warning, took out a rolled-up piece of yellow paper from the house and placed it on the table.
Although Ying Jianglu didn't know what this was, his eyes were already shining and he couldn't wait to hold it in his arms.
Seeing Ying Jianglu's impatient look, Li Mu smiled slightly, but it quickly disappeared.
He held one end of the yellow paper and slowly pulled it open.
As the yellow paper stretched out, a map with mountains, rivers and grasslands marked on it appeared in front of Ying Jianglu.
In the upper right corner are three large characters written in simplified Chinese characters - Xiongnu Land.
Ying Jianglu stood up suddenly, his face full of surprise, and lowered his head to look at the map hard, almost sticking his head into the map.
He had never seen such a detailed map of the Xiongnu, which was much more detailed than the one he had obtained in Qin before his journey.
Comparing the two is like the difference between a master's realistic painting and a child's realistic painting.
When marching and fighting, maps are very important and of paramount importance.
Jing Ke was able to get close to the First Emperor because he presented the map of Du Kang of Zhao State.
The more detailed the map is, the greater the chance of not being ambushed and ambushing the enemy, and you can adjust your strategy according to the terrain ahead without being blind.
During ancient military campaigns, many famous generals lost their reputations because they were unfamiliar with the terrain.
"This was drawn by Wu Anjun? What a detailed map! Thank you, Wu Anjun!"
As Ying Jianglu spoke, he carefully and quickly collected the map, ready to run away if Li Mu changed his mind or if the map was not given to him.
Li Mu waved his hand to indicate that it was given to you.
"It was not drawn by Mu. It was given to me by the Lord before I left. I don't know where the Lord got this map from."
In just one sentence, Ying Jianglu had rolled up the map and put it in his arms, overjoyed.
Li Mu saw this and sneered.
"You think you can get a fiefdom just by looking at a map? It can only give you three more months of breathing space."
Little Taotie hugged Li Mu's right hand and said tearfully, "Lord Wu'an, I am your uncle's favorite nephew. You must save me!"
