Chapter 363: His Majesty's Jokes
Gai Nie left, left the Chang'an Palace, left the Qin capital Xianyang, and his whereabouts are unknown.
When Ying Chengjiao returned to Xianyang, Gai Nie had already left, and the two did not even meet.
When he left, the world's best swordsman took nothing with him, including the precious sword that Ying Chengjiao had given him and he had never let it go, treating it better than his wife.
Squeak
Ying Chengjiao held the scabbard in his left hand and the hilt in his right hand, and drew the sword halfway. The bright sword blade had no trace of rust, reflecting his slightly lonely face, and the cold light was shining.
"Gai Nie is Gai Nie, but you are not Yuan Hong. The sword holder has lost his sword heart. Although you can still cut iron like mud, you can't show your edge."
Human power has its limits.
He was able to cure the First Emperor's mental illness, but he could not completely repair .
In the afternoon, Ying Chengjiao found Lu Goujian and wanted him to return to Xinzheng. He was a little worried that there was no peerless master in Xinzheng.
It is easy to dodge a spear, but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark.
Ying Chengjiao returned to Xianyang in a hurry, and only brought Lu Goujian and Yue Nu with him. Han Ji, the three daughters of the Lu family, and most of the family's belongings remained in Xinzheng.
Xinzheng is different from Xianyang. It is guarded by the strongest group of people in the world. The strict Qin laws ban most of the so-called masters, and the night curfew keeps the night walkers out.
"Your Majesty, are you going to stay in Xianyang for a long time?"
"My brother is on tour, I want to go with him."
"Take care, Your Majesty."
The defense force around the First Emperor was extremely strong. According to Gai Nie's intelligence, the Imperial Physician Zhang Han and the Imperial Doctor Xia Wuqie were both peerless masters of the same level as him.
Even without mentioning these, it was extremely difficult to get close to the First Emperor under the covert protection of all the guards. No matter how high the martial arts skills were, they could not defend against the continuous crossbow shooting, and they could only protect themselves.
If they are caught in an encirclement, no matter whether it is the battle formation of the army or the fighting skills of a small group of experts, they will be trapped like turtles in a jar and can only wait to be killed.
With the monarch and the First Emperor sharing protection, Lu Gou Jian had nothing to worry about, not to mention he had the Yue girl, who was the most vicious and skilled in killing people with a sword, to protect him closely.
The old man took a carriage and returned to Xinzheng to solve the king's worries.
The old man did not ask to exchange places with Yuenu, not because Yuenu's swordsmanship was better than his, nor because Yuenu could sleep with Junshang, but because he was old.
When the First Emperor went on tour, he had to travel long distances and take long journeys. These hardships were nothing to a young man, but they were very difficult for an old man of his age.
At his age, he can only look after the house.
The carriage swayed up and down, left and right as the horses galloped.
Lu Gou Jian felt a little dizzy and lifted the curtain to look at the scenery outside the window.
The newly built road was smooth and tidy, without potholes or wheel tracks. The color was black, the favorite color of the Qin people, which corresponded to the virtue of water. The road was fifty steps wide, and a tree was planted every three feet.
The sides of the road are compacted with metal cones to make them thick and smooth, so that rainwater can hardly wash away the sand and soil.
When he was young, Lu Gou Jian traveled around the world and earned the reputation of being the best swordsman in the world with a two-foot-long sword.
His sword has no name, but it defeats all the famous swords in the world.
Tai'a, Gan Jiang, Moye, Juque, and Madam Xu were all defeated by the nameless sword in his hand.
At that time he was riding a tall horse. When it rained, the road became muddy. When it was not raining, the horse would gallop across the road covered with yellow sand. The bumps were much more severe than they are now.
But he did not feel dizzy now, and felt very refreshed. He often rode his horse and sang wildly to attract thieves and robbers, and he would kill all the thieves with a cup of tea.
The newly built road was much smoother and wider than the road he had walked on when he was young. When he was young, he could not imagine that there would be such a good road in the world.
And now, such a road beyond his imagination appeared before him. And it would not just be built on one road, but would be built all over the country in the future.
"I was born before you were born, and you were born when I was old.
"If I had thirty years, Gou Jian would stand on the top of the mountains with you, and see the world turn upside down and the prosperous times come."
Ying Chengjiao secretly returned to Xianyang and lived in seclusion, spending the remaining days of November and most of December in a low-key manner in the Chang'an Jun Mansion.
In theory, he is still in Xianyang Prison and cannot be too arrogant.
The time came to the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month.
"Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Qin" states: On the twelfth day of the twelfth month, people hunt animals to offer sacrifices to their ancestors at the end of the year, and this day was established.
"Wenxian Tongkao": Eight La, La ancestor, refers to the sacrifice of birds obtained from hunting.
The La Festival is different from the Wax Festival.
The former is on the fifth day of December, and the latter is on the first day of October.
The La Festival in December is a festival to honor the "Five Ancestors", the gods of ancestors. This festival is held in temples, and the sacrifices used are animals obtained from hunting.
The wax sacrifice is a ritual sacrifice to the eight gods, and the offerings used are "all things gathered together and offered to them". The "all things" mentioned here should refer to the grains and cereals produced in the fields. This sacrifice should be a suburban sacrifice, that is, a sacrifice in the open air, a sacrifice to the sky.
The La Festival is a noble festival for the emperor and his ministers. The La Festival is a popular festival celebrated by the whole country.
After all, apart from the hunters living in the mountains, the only people who could hunt were the nobles. And the only people who could offer sacrifices instead of eating the food they hunted were the nobles.
The similarity between La Festival and Wa Festival is that both of them involve praying for a good harvest in the coming year.
The First Emperor pardoned his brother on the day of the La Festival, on the grounds that the previous king had told him so in a dream.
In the dream, the former king scolded him for disregarding the relationship between brothers and even wanting to harm his only brother, and asked him if he had forgotten the sentiment of giving up the throne in the first place.
After waking up from the dream, the First Emperor urgently summoned the Doctor of Dream Studies from the Office of Doctors to the palace to interpret the dream.
Doctor Mengxue made a prophecy that "If Chang'an Jun is not released, the Qin ancestors will be unhappy, will not bless Qin, and will cause Qin to suffer disaster."
On this La Day of ancestor worship, the ancestors all come back to enjoy the offerings. Isn't it reasonable for the former king to send a dream?
It is reasonable for the late king to ask the first emperor to release Ying Chengjiao, right? After all, the late king only had two sons, so he naturally did not want to see them killing each other.
The First Emperor, who had the Way of King, the Way of Hegemony, and the Way of the Emperor, could not have objected to his filial subjects, right? Moreover, the most important affairs of the state were war and sacrifice.
At this point in time, the doctor of dream studies dreamed of his ancestors and said, "If you don't follow what the ancestors said, God will definitely come down to punish you." This is God's will.
These noble families who believed in heaven couldn't disobey the will of heaven, right? They wouldn't want the Qin State to perish, right?
The forest is lush and green.
The bleak north wind entered the forest, and the temperature dropped by at least two levels.
Half of the city defense troops were dispatched to surround the forest located 100 miles southwest of Xianyang. During these five days, anyone who dared to approach the forest without a token would be killed without mercy.
This forest area is called Luming Garden. During the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, it was designated as the exclusive property of the Ying clan. Common people were not allowed to enter the area all year round. It was exclusively used by King Zhaoxiang of Qin for horse riding and hunting.
It was not until the reign of King Zhuangxiang of Qin that the forests were returned to the people. Common people were not allowed to enter the area except on the fifth day of the La Festival, when people went hunting and worshipping their ancestors. This provided for the livelihood of many hunters.
The First Emperor rode a black horse, with a long sword hanging from his waist and a strong bow on his back. His black cape fluttered in the wind, along with his long hair. His face was majestic without anger, and with the deep, non-reflective black iron armor, he looked awe-inspiring.
Next to the First Emperor was Ying Chengjiao, who was dressed in light clothes, without a sword or a bow. He sat astride a smaller black horse of the same color as the First Emperor's, holding the reins with both hands and swaying from side to side, as if he was about to fall off at any time.
The Ying family has a good bloodline, and every concubine and queen is a beauty. The brothers' looks are both impeccable and good-looking.
However, most of the nobles who accompanied him looked at the First Emperor with awe and respect, daring not to speak out.
But the look he gave Ying Chengjiao was full of disgust, hatred, and a deeply hidden murderous intent.
Release Ying Chengjiao, and anyone with a discerning eye will know what is going on.
But they dared not have any thoughts about the high and mighty First Emperor. Just like when Shang Yang was carrying out the Reform, the old Qin nobles knew that the First Emperor was standing behind Shang Yang, but they only dared to hate Shang Yang.
The prime minister Jiang Shang was a guest of the Lord of Chang'an, and the lieutenant Lian Po was also a guest of the Lord of Chang'an. The foreign officials who are very active in the court today have a common teacher - Xunzi, and the world-famous Xunzi was also a guest of the Lord of Chang'an.
Chang'an Jun killed the three great families of Meng Xibai, but afterwards his power occupied the entire Xianyang. The nobles all knew that being imprisoned in Xianyang Prison was the last fig leaf, an explanation for them.
And now, Ying Chengjiao has been released, and the fig leaf that allowed them to comfort themselves has been torn off. All the aristocratic families feel strongly insulted and in great crisis.
If Ying Chengjiao were replaced by anyone, the noble families would forget their hatred and show goodwill and interact with him. The three great families of Meng Xibai died, but fortunately it was not my family that died.
But only Ying Chengjiao couldn't do it.
Ying Chengjiao's stance was against heaven and against the aristocracy. He wanted to dig out their roots so that they could no longer monopolize the Qin officialdom. This was an irreconcilable contradiction.
The hooves trample on the green grass and the horses drink by the flowing water.
The closest group of people to the First Emperor, Ying Chengjiao, were Meng Yi, Zhang Han, Gan Luo, Li Si and others, who were first-class nobles.
Half a horse's length away, there was another group of people, including Tu Sui, Zhao Tuo, Feng Jie and others. They were the second-class nobles.
Then, at a distance of half a horse's length, there was another group of people.
The hierarchy among the nobles was clearly demonstrated based on their distance from the First Emperor.
We went deep into Luming Garden but didn’t walk far.
A brown-yellow deer shadow jumped nimbly in the grass and disappeared behind the trees in an instant.
Since they encountered this deer, the group began to hear the deer's call from time to time.
The name Luming Garden comes from the fact that this forest is filled with the sound of deer all year round.
"Cheng Jiao, Zhang Han, Meng Yi, Li Si, Mi Sui, follow me, and each of you should disperse your prey."
At a command from the First Emperor, he whipped his horse and rushed out first.
During the annual La Festival hunting, the First Emperor would call a group of people to follow him, but not too many, as the sound of large groups of horses’ hooves would scare away the prey.
Last year's La Festival hunting trip, Mi Sui was not with the First Emperor. Instead, there was the deceased Zhao Gao and Wang Ben who was guarding Liaodong County.
The four people in the first echelon either shook the reins or squeezed the horses' bellies, following the figure of the First Emperor.
In the second echelon, after a while, a rider on a fast horse galloped out and chased after the four people.
The man sitting on the horse had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a confused look on his face, and was wearing a loose dark red robe. The ox horn hard bow on his back was particularly large, at least two orders of magnitude larger than an ordinary bow, and it was slanted towards the sky and was taller than its owner.
The long arrows in the quiver are also longer than normal arrows, more than three feet long.
The remaining people each found their close friends and looked at the five people who left with complicated eyes. No matter whether they wanted to hunt with the First Emperor or wanted to kill Ying Chengjiao, they had to suppress their thoughts and go hunting honestly.
Although Luming Garden seems to have no military protection, it is actually full of hidden stakes. Within fifty steps, there must be a good archer hiding in the treetops, who can see everything below and is ready to draw the bow and arrow and pull the trigger of the crossbow at any time.
Anyone who wants to do something bad in Luming Garden will turn into a hedgehog before he even starts doing half of the action.
Whoosh
The First Emperor saw a young deer without horns drinking water by a stream. He took aim and shot an arrow into the air.
The deer's ears trembled alertly. It glanced sideways at the source of the sound and saw a long stick-like object flying towards it quickly and sticking into the grass ten meters away from the river.
The fawn continued to drink water, blinked its eyes, and looked up slightly to see the tall black horse charging. It was frightened and suddenly ran away with all four hooves kicking the ground, running and jumping around without any rules.
Not long after running, a shrill scream was heard.
The deer just turned its head to look, but before it could move forward, a one-meter-long arrow pierced its back, came out of its abdomen, went through its body, and pinned it to the ground.
Yo yo~
It kicked its limbs in the air and wailed.
"Can't you give your brother some face?"
Ying Chengjiao sighed and was extremely speechless.
The First Emperor couldn't even shoot at the fixed target, so the idiot next to him shot at the moving target right in front of the First Emperor and stole the prey from him.
Mi Sui, who had inexplicably joined the hunt, did not take it seriously at all. He fixed the terrifyingly large ox horn bow behind him and rode forward to catch his prey.
During the La Festival hunting, whoever catches the animal owns it.
Unless there is nothing caught in five days, no one will use the game hunted by others to worship their ancestors. Such behavior of being lazy and taking shortcuts is considered to be insincerity and disrespectful to ancestors.
When the two men got close to the deer, the First Emperor, Zhang Han and Meng Yi had already dismounted and were standing beside the deer.
Mi Sui jumped off the horse and landed on the ground. He looked normal when he was sitting on the horse just now, but when he stood still, his arms hanging down were actually below his knees.
"I shouldn't have asked a sharpshooter like you to follow me. If I were in the same team with you, I wouldn't have any chance of getting any of the prey I saw."
[With your majesty's archery skills, it will be difficult for you to catch prey with or without me. ]
Mi Suiqian laughed.
"Your Majesty is joking."
The fawn was dead. The long arrow not only pierced its body, but also penetrated its heart, killing it instantly.
Mi Sui pulled out the long arrow with force, checked the arrowhead and feathers, and determined that it could still be used. He wiped the blood off the deer's body and put it back into the quiver.
He has an extremely long arm span and great strength, so it is extremely easy for him to draw the bow one meter long. Each of his long arrows is specially made and very precious.
He caught the fawn and was about to put the prey on the back of his horse.
"You used this longbow to shoot me back then. If it weren't for Zhao Gao, I wouldn't be standing here today."
Mi Sui stopped moving, narrowed his eyes and sighed.
"Just knowing it's no good."
