Chapter 487: Are you afraid that I will be assassinated?
The wind was so cold that people didn't want to say a word. If they opened their mouths, they would lose the warmth.
Another winter is coming. The first snow in Yongcheng fell yesterday, covering the ground with a thin layer of silver blanket. The winter branches are dressed in white.
The sudden snow has just stopped.
Poets in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty would be inspired to compose an impromptu poem.
Rich Song Dynasty painters would spread out rice paper and put all their ideas into words, creating a painting that would be passed down through the ages and worth a fortune.
Unfortunately, this era was the Qin Dynasty, a tyrannical dynasty.
The Qin people, who were barely able to fill their stomachs, did not have the word romance in their bones and were far inferior to the Chu people who admired "Li Sao".
They complained about the freezing weather and continued to work with sad faces, wondering how to survive the coming cold winter.
It's not cold when it snows, but it's cold when the snow melts.
They trampled the pure and flawless white snow into pitch black, then huddled up and rubbed their arms, hoping that the sun in the sky would be warmer, and smacked their lips in memory of the sacrificial pork they had eaten during the New Year's Day ceremony.
The whole morning passed like this.
In the afternoon, a piece of news from Xianyang set off a sensation in the deserted Yongcheng.
[The First Emperor died and left a will: his younger brother, Ying Chengjiao, the Lord of Chang'an, ascended the throne.]
The grain shop owner who was measuring rice dropped the measuring cup, the patrolling city defense troops stood still and could not move a step, and the Yongcheng County magistrate who had released the news sat on a sheepskin-covered chair in a daze.
The First Emperor, dead?
How could the First Emperor die?
This must be a rumor spread by the remnants of the Six Kingdoms!
The open words are running wild, and the dark waves are flowing.
The officials, merchants, civilians, scholars, slaves and concubines in Yongcheng did not dare to believe that the news was true. They spontaneously attributed it to a conspiracy of the Six Kingdoms, even though they had never known what a conspiracy was in their entire lives.
However, there were no rumors within Hangu Pass, especially in the county town surrounded by high walls.
"Qin Law": For crimes such as false accusation, the perpetrator shall be punished with the same crime.
Normally, there are rumors like the father-in-law of the Zhang family is having an affair and the boy of the Li family has a short penis, but as long as it is not reported to the government, no one will care.
Whenever there are rumors involving national policies, generals or celebrities, such as the death of General Meng Tian in the battle of Yanmen, the government will investigate it thoroughly and trace the spreader all the way back to the source, and no one will be let off.
Whenever a major event occurs, there are always folk songs spreading from unknown sources in various countries.
For example, before Handan was captured, the six words "Li Mu dies, Zhao State perishes" were widely circulated among the people of Zhao State.
But in the Qin State, since Shang Yang's reforms, there has been no such rumor-mongering incidents.
The Qin people simply did not want to believe that the first emperor who led them to become the only country in the world would die. Even the postmen who were galloping on the road to deliver this news to various places in Guanzhong were in a trance and did not believe the yellow paper in the bag.
The ban on the use of paper in Guanzhong was lifted, and paper, which was soft, thick, and easy to store and handle, replaced the bamboo slips that had been used for thousands of years.
The afternoon passed quickly. The people of Yongcheng were so shocked that they could not express their feelings. Whether they were in the cold rooms or in the charcoal-burning warm rooms, they were still in shock and unable to extricate themselves.
Severe cold can freeze people's bodies but not their minds.
A greenhouse can warm the appearance of the rich, but it cannot warm their hearts.
Is the First Emperor really dead?
The distance between the First Emperor and them was farther than the distance between heaven and earth, but they still couldn't sleep because of him. It was a sleepless night for the people of Yongcheng.
Due to the curfew, Yongcheng, which was quiet during the day, became even quieter at night.
On the spacious avenue, a carriage pulled by four pure black horses without a trace of other colors was extremely large, comparable to a house.
They walked neither fast nor slow, for the reins in their mouths did not tighten them tightly, and the soldiers around them did not run either.
From time to time they lowered their heads, raised the horseshoes slightly, and then dropped them heavily. The newly nailed horseshoes made them feel different from their previous lives.
The carriage stopped in front of a huge mansion.
The curtain was opened from the outside by Zhang Han, who was standing on the shaft and wearing iron skull armor in the cold weather.
Ying Chengjiao poked his head out first, looked at the sky and looked around.
Then came the feet, which walked down the carriage slowly and steadily, with the same rhythm as the four black horses pulling the carriage.
He walked towards the huge mansion, which looked no different from the nearby mansions. He raised his right arm and waved it again and again, and the soldiers who were about to follow him stopped.
When Ying Chengjiao reached the door of the huge mansion, he did not stop, but walked another twenty steps and walked to the door of the mansion next to the huge mansion.
When Ying Chengjiao was only two or three steps away from the gate of the mansion, before he could grab the animal-head door knockers on the two doors and knock on them, the doors opened.
He paused and did not complete the two or three steps.
"No one can replace your prestige, which is enough to lead Qin to the peak. Faking your death for those rats in the gutter is really stupid."
Ying Chengjiao was wearing a crown embroidered with a black bird and a Tongtian crown on his head, and he spoke expressionlessly.
The man in front of him was dressed in black brocade, without a crown or hair tied up, letting his medium-length hair flutter in the wind.
The gate was open and Ying Chengjiao stood outside the mansion. Twenty steps away was the four-horse royal chariot that symbolized the carriage of the lord of the Qin Empire.
In Ying Chengjiao's eyes, a man who deserved a beating stood in the mansion, holding the two doors with both hands, reeking of alcohol, with a look of gloating on his face.
The ground outside the mansion was muddy and wet, with a constant stream of pedestrians, and with the help of the Golden Crow, they trampled away the already thin snow.
Except for a set of footprints left by the annoying man, the ground in the mansion was still pure white.
The man opened his mouth and burped. White mist rose from his mouth and quickly merged into the cold wind.
"Are you here to ask me for punishment?"
"Only the emperor can call himself 'I'. Are you worthy of that?"
Ying Zheng laughed even more happily, white air continuously came out of his mouth, and his mouth was like the mouth of a boiling teapot.
"That's a bit domineering, hahaha. I call myself that. What do you want? Act according to Qin law and exterminate my three clans?"
“…”
Ying Zheng opened a door with one hand, moved a step to the left, and made half of his body clear.
"Come in and talk!"
Ying Chengjiao didn't move.
"Who are you? Are you worthy enough to invite me?"
"I am your brother!"
"My brother is dead."
Ying Chengjiao waved his hands vigorously in front of his mouth and nose to dispel the strong smell of alcohol in front of him.
"My elder brother doesn't like to drink. He is a great emperor who is not afraid of danger and only acts openly. He is not a sneaky drunkard hiding in the gutter."
Ying Zheng just laughed non-stop. His brother's sharp words automatically turned into jokes in his ears. It was so funny.
"Wei Zhuang, come out and see me."
Ying Chengjiao raised his voice slightly, and his voice could be heard fifty steps away.
When he was talking to the First Emperor just now, both of them spoke in low voices, which were replaced by the whistling of the cold wind ten steps away.
The fact that the First Emperor was not dead must not be known to the palace attendants who followed Ying Chengjiao.
"Your Majesty."
Wei Zhuang, who was born with white hair, appeared from under the eaves, stood behind Ying Chengjiao, and bowed slightly.
Ying Chengjiao ignored him and said to Ying Zheng, who was not surprised at all:
"Take your people away. I don't want to see any more sand mixed in with the quicksand."
"Haha, okay."
Ying Zheng agreed with a smile, but frowned when he saw his brother turning to leave.
Are you so irritable?
He sighed and said:
"You cannot take the throne tomorrow. Guiguzi calculated the weather and found that there will be heavy snowfall at noon, which will last for two and a half hours and reach one foot below the ground."
There is no such thing as the five words "auspicious snow heralds a good harvest" in the tyrannical Qin Dynasty.
The heavier the snow, the colder the weather, and the harder it is to survive the winter.
When the succession ceremony was held, there was a foot of snow. This was not a good sign, but a bad sign.
"Oh."
Ying Chengjiao sneered.
This was the first expression Ying Zheng saw. Anger appeared on his flushed face, and he patiently advised earnestly:
"I know you don't believe in God's will, and neither do I. But you have just ascended the throne, and the death of your mother, Gan Luo, and the support of the old ministers and your retainers allow you to have the final say in the court. But among the people, your reputation is still that of a madman, and your foothold is not yet firm. You have to consider the people's hearts."
Ying Chengjiao returned to his expressionless face and interrupted in a cold voice.
"You have always distrusted the will of the people."
"The people's will I'm talking about is not the same as what you're talking about. I don't need to please the people. I need the people to join the army and serve me. I..."
Ying Chengjiao interrupted again without any hesitation.
"I don't want to hear it."
"you……"
Ying Zheng was furious when he saw Ying Chengjiao turning away.
All he said were good words, and they were all based on his experience as an emperor. Why didn't this guy listen?
Ying Chengjiao walked past Wei Zhuang with an expressionless face, his head lowered, not daring to look up at him.
You retreated to the background and played tricks on me, forcing me to take over. You were happy, right? What about now?
You only think about the fact that you have no control over yourself, but have you ever thought that from beginning to end, the person who can make the final decision is you, the one sitting on the throne?
I just want to inherit the boy's happiness, not his helplessness. What good things are you thinking about?
He raised his head and looked at the dark sky dotted with stars.
Tomorrow will be his succession ceremony, which will be held in Yongcheng, where the Qin Dynasty’s ancestral temple is located.
It was snowing, he knew.
Taishida, who was born as a military prime minister and a civil official, told him.
In addition to compiling history books, the main duties of the Grand Historian also include studying astronomy and the calendar, and planning the spring ploughing and autumn harvest for the coming year.
Even with the power of the Yin-Yang doctors, Taishida's weather forecast for inferring time and snowfall amount is not as accurate as Guiguzi's. He only says that there will be heavy snowfall.
But Ying Chengjiao did know the news of snowfall.
"Let the blizzard come harder."
Mumbling to oneself, dispersing into the cold wind.
"Do as that bastard says."
"only."
The two doors closed and Wei Zhuang disappeared .
"My uncle has become king and has begun to exclude those who are not his equals."
Afang, who was of average appearance, was wearing a snow-white fox fur coat and a furry gray rabbit fur hat on her head. She said with some emotion.
She stood behind the door and listened to the brothers' conversation, ready to intervene immediately if they started arguing .
Ying Chengjiao has always respected her, the emperor's sister-in-law.
The First Emperor held her hand, which was cold even though she was wearing thick clothes.
"Nonsense, that guy is worried about my safety. You go to sleep first, I will go back to my room after asking Wang Chan something."
A smile appeared on Afang's lips.
"Then your majesty, please hurry up. Once Mi Chu gets angry, I can't control her."
Ying Zheng squeezed Xijun's hand tightly and smiled knowingly.
"good."
After leaving the heavily guarded Xianyang Palace and taking off her garb as the queen who was the mother of the country, her Afang gradually regained her former lively and playful appearance.
The thin layer of snow in the courtyard revealed a series of footprints leading to Guiguzi's residence.
Inside the house, Ying Zheng told Guiguzi about how he warned his brother not to succeed to the throne the next day and how his brother interrupted and refused twice.
"This bastard is so angry with me that he doesn't even care about state affairs!"
Guiguzi said leisurely:
"Your Excellency is still a noble man, but you are no longer the emperor. If your advice is not followed, there is nothing we can do."
Anger and annoyance appeared on Ying Zheng's face.
Guiguzi said quietly:
"Given Lord Chang'an's character, he most likely chose this snowy day on purpose for the succession ceremony. Lord Chang'an is not angry with you, but the heavier the snow, the more he likes it."
The wind was having a bad temper, blowing this way and that.
Zhang Han stood under the carriage, looking at the figure blocked by Ying Chengjiao.
The palace guards twenty steps away only focused on staring at Ying Chengjiao. They didn't care who was in front of Chang'an Jun. The more they knew, the faster they would die.
What they care about is the safety of Chang'an Jun.
After the succession ceremony was held in Yongcheng at dawn, Chang'an Jun became Qin II.
"Wei Zhuang, come out and see me."
Chang'an Jun's voice suddenly sounded, and they clenched their spears in their hands and exerted force with their legs to charge forward.
A figure suddenly fell from the eaves, like a swallow that had frozen to death in its nest before it could fly south, and its body fell behind Chang'an Jun!
"Stay where you are!"
Zhang Han's order was faster than the officials' actions, and the officials who received the military order stayed where they were.
At this time, unless Chang'an Jun issued an order or Chang'an Jun faced a crisis, they would not move a step.
Still holding their spears tightly, they gathered strength in their thighs to ensure that they could rush out as soon as the order was given.
Seeing the white-haired man bending down behind Chang'an Jun, he felt relieved.
It turned out to be the Shadow Guard.
The spectators who followed the First Emperor on his eastern tour thought to themselves.
For them, the Shadow Secret Guard who appeared briefly on the top of Mount Tai was a secret that could not be told to anyone.
Unaware of this secret, the eunuchs who were on duty at the Xianyang Palace during the First Emperor's eastern tour had no intention of finding out the secret from their colleagues who seemed to know the secret.
All the curious eunuchs died.
Only Zhang Han knew the truth in the scene. That person was not the Shadow Secret Guard, but the Liusha Commander Wei Zhuang, who was His Majesty's man.
He looked at Wei Zhuang, who kept his head down and did not raise it even when Chang'an Jun passed by. He felt a little moved.
He also wanted to return to the First Emperor.
After following Chang'an Jun for a few days, he discovered that Chang'an Jun was different from the First Emperor in many ways.
Just like this night trip, if it were the First Emperor, he would park the caravan outside his mansion instead of the next door mansion twenty steps away.
The First Emperor would take him and the two palace attendants to meet people, and would later bury the two palace attendants with great ceremony and give generous rewards to their families.
He would not be like Chang'an Jun, asking them to wait in a safe area and go there alone.
Zhang Han felt a little grateful, but more of a sense of confusion - the king's safety was the most important!
Zhang Han lifted the curtain and gave advice to Ying Chengjiao when he entered the royal carriage with four horses.
"Please ask Chang'an Jun to take Handan with you next time you go out."
Ying Chengjiao turned his head and moved his left and right shoulders alternately. The clacking sound was like a blue dragon spreading its spine. He said with interest:
"Are you afraid that I'll be assassinated?"
Zhang Han said nothing. He could say such words to Chang'an Jun before he was enthroned on Mount Tai, but he would not say such words to Chang'an Jun who would become the Second Emperor of Qin the next day.
"Come on, let's find a place for us to compete."
Ying Chengjiao patted Zhang Han on the shoulder.
"only."
Zhang Han responded helplessly.
He didn't want to compete with Ying Chengjiao. It was meaningless. Ying Chengjiao had a gun and was invincible in a one-on-one fight, but a gun could not prevent all assassinations.
