Chapter 49: County System
Upon hearing this, Concubine Zheng hesitated for a moment, as Ying Zheng's move was not what she had imagined.
People outside the Qin State did not know how close the relationship between Ying Zheng and Ying Chengjiao was, but the concubines in the palace knew it.
Just by looking at the fact that Ying Chengjiao could enter and leave the harem at will without reporting to the emperor, we can tell how much trust the First Emperor had in Ying Chengjiao.
So even though Concubine Zheng said that she wanted Ying Zheng to severely punish Ying Chengjiao, she knew in her heart that Ying Zheng would not punish Ying Chengjiao in any way and would at most just deduct his salary.
So when Concubine Zheng heard Ying Zheng say that he wanted to exile Ying Chengjiao to Shangjun and never let him come back to harm Ying Fusu, she was extremely surprised.
But she didn't notice that Ying Zheng's original words were: "Shangjun is a thousand miles away from Xianyang. Even if Cheng Jiao has the intention, he can't harm Fusu." Ying Zheng didn't say who was exiled.
"If that's the case, I would like to thank Your Majesty." Concubine Zheng wiped her tears and bowed her head to express her gratitude.
Queen Mother Han, who was shouting to make the decision for Concubine Zheng, looked a little flustered.
Your Majesty will not really exile Cheng Jiao to Shangjun, right?
Cheng Jiao would not kill people at will, Your Majesty should be aware of this!
"Gai Nie."
Gai Nie, who was standing at the entrance of the palace, slipped in, raised his head with a stern face, and stood in front of the First Emperor.
"I am here."
"Go and fetch the decree that I did not issue the day before yesterday."
"only."
Seeing Gai Nie go to get it without saying a word, Ying Zheng couldn't help but feel secretly lucky.
Fortunately, there was only one copy of the imperial edict left in my palace the day before yesterday, otherwise he would definitely ask me "which copy"!
When it comes to understanding me, Zhao Gao is the best!
Your Majesty only learned today that Fusu was under house arrest by Chang'an Jun. How could you have written an edict to punish Chang'an Jun in advance?
Concubine Zheng felt that something seemed to be wrong and felt a little uneasy.
Queen Mother Han and Concubine Zheng had similar thoughts, but Queen Mother Han felt much more relieved.
Soon, Gai Nie came back with a bamboo slip, and presented it to Ying Zheng with his head held high and both hands.
Ying Zheng looked at Gai Nie and always felt a little awkward.
Except for Gai Nie, everyone else in the palace lowered their heads when presenting him with gifts.
No one who has followed Cheng Jiao is normal unless he holds his head high and opens his eyes wide like Gai Nie!
"No need for that. Go to the Zheng Palace and give it to Fusu . Tell him to leave for Shangjun immediately."
Plop~
"His Majesty!"
The sound of Concubine Zheng kneeling down and her exclamation came out at the same time, incredibly fast.
Gai Nie was so quick that he looked over in surprise, then turned his gaze back.
"only."
Concubine Zheng's movements and voices just now were so fast that Gai Nie couldn't even say the word "Yes" in response.
After responding, Gai Nie turned around and prepared to go to the Da Zheng Palace.
Seeing this, Concubine Zheng was horrified and panicked. She threw herself on Ying Zheng and cried out, "Your Majesty, this is not possible! Shangjun is a bitterly cold place! Fusu has never left Xianyang! If he goes there, he might not be able to adapt to the climate there! His life will be in danger at any time !"
"You also know that Shangjun is a bitterly cold place!" Ying Zheng said sternly, "Then have you ever thought about how many times Cheng Jiao has been out of Xianyang?"
Ying Zheng was getting angry here , and Gai Nie was about to walk out of the palace gate over there.
“Ahem!”
Ying Zheng didn't really want Gai Nie to go to the Da Zheng Palace to deliver the imperial edict, so he could only cough twice, hoping that Gai Nie would stop.
After coughing, Ying Zheng was not sure whether Gai Nie could understand his intention, so he could only leave the subsequent development to fate.
It had been a long time since the First Emperor had experienced the feeling of not having control over things.
Gai Nie is not a stupid person, he is just too lazy to think most of the time. He is in love with swords.
When he heard two coughs, Gai Nie knew that they wanted him to stop for a while, so he stopped.
Your Majesty is worthy of being a brother to the young master. You both care so much about your reputation. Is it so difficult to say the word "wait a minute"?
When he saw Gai Nie stop out of the corner of his eye, Emperor Ying Zheng felt tears well up in his eyes - he actually understood.
"Your Majesty! I know I was wrong!"
Concubine Zheng admitted her mistake, although she didn't know what she had done wrong.
It was clearly Ying Chengjiao who confined Ying Fusu and killed the eunuchs in front of Ying Fusu, so how come it was Ying Fusu, the victim, who was exiled instead of the perpetrator Ying Chengjiao?
If Ying Zheng and Ying Chengjiao were not only four years apart in age, Concubine Zheng would have thought that Ying Chengjiao was Ying Zheng's illegitimate son!
Princess Zheng was a descendant of the royal family of Zheng. When she was young, she often heard her elders tell stories about how countries fought for the throne and how brothers killed each other. She had never heard of any royal brothers being so harmonious .
"I have never issued an order to confine Fusu, but I have written an order for Fusu to go to Shangjun! If it weren't for Cheng Jiao, you would already be in Shangjun now! Do you want Fusu to go to Shangjun, or do you want Fusu to be confined to the Dazheng Palace!"
Concubine Zheng trembled and said with tears in her eyes, "Grand Zheng Palace."
One is Shangjun, a frontier city of the Qin Empire, and the other is Xianyang, the center of the Qin Empire. This choice is not difficult to make.
"Your Majesty, why do you treat Fusu like this?" asked Queen Dowager Han.
Concubine Zheng, who was crying, pricked up her ears and waited for Ying Zheng's answer.
If it weren't for Queen Dowager Han asking about the reason why Fusu was demoted, Concubine Zheng, who had angered Ying Zheng, would never have dared to ask.
"It's just the political affairs of the court. If the Queen Mother wants to hear it, I will start from the beginning for her."
"Forget it, forget it. How can I understand political affairs?" Queen Mother Han has always been very self-aware. Suddenly she thought of Ying Chengjiao's words praising her today, so she said to Ying Zheng seriously: "Your Majesty, you must not listen to the ministers. If you listen, the Qin State will be destroyed in a year."
The words "nation's destruction" are still quite intimidating unless they come from Ying Chengjiao's mouth.
The eunuchs and palace maids in the palace lowered their heads as low as possible, and even wished they could cover their ears with their hands.
Concubine Zheng paused in crying, and then continued to sob.
Gai Nie...continued to have a cold and hard face.
Ying Zheng's expression straightened up and he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
The Queen Mother Han told Ying Zheng what she had said in the Chang'an Palace: "Legalism is inferior to Confucianism" and Ying Chengjiao's words: "As long as my brother is alive, the Qin State will not perish."
Ying Zheng was actually very happy to hear this, with a look of joy on his face that everyone could see.
When Ying Zheng heard that his country was going to be destroyed, he actually smiled. Seeing this, Queen Dowager Han became worried again.
With your majesty behaving like this, can it be true that the Qin State can only last for a year?
"Cheng Jiao always hits the nail on the head when analyzing events."
On that day, the First Emperor issued an order: Keep the news that the eldest son Ying Fusu was confined to the Zheng Palace secret and do not allow anyone outside to know about it. If the news leaks out to the outside world, anyone who knows that Ying Fusu was confined will be exterminated!
…
The next day, it was getting dark.
Li Si, who was resting due to injury, has basically recovered from the injuries on his face. If you don't look closely, you can't see the injuries.
He sat in the garden and recalled with his wife Cai Yan his days as a minor official in the State of Chu and as a student at the Jixia Academy in the State of Qi.
Li Si would look towards the gate of the Li Mansion every once in a while, with a hint of disappointment gradually rising in his eyes.
"Don't look at it. Who is your husband waiting for? He said he was going to accompany me, but I was the one who sat in this courtyard with your husband for the whole afternoon."
"No one, no one." Li Si shook his head and said, "It's getting late, let's go back to the house, don't catch a cold."
There is a curfew in Xianyang city.
At night, there are basically no guests coming.
It seems that I, Li Si, will end up being a lone minister!
That night, Li Si wrote by lamplight, writing furiously and completed a thick scroll of bamboo slips.
The first three words on the bamboo slips: county system!
