Chapter 498: I am afraid that there are too few rebels and Your Majesty will not be able to kill them to your heart's content
There was clearly something wrong with the look in the eyes of the high and mighty Qin II.
Wei Zhang was secretly delighted. This was the solution they came up with.
After careful discussion, everyone agreed that:
Although Qin II was incompetent, he had a strong desire for the throne and his methods were ruthless.
Killing the Queen Mother, killing Gan Luo, and now wanting to remove Ying Fusu from the position of Crown Prince, aren't they all for the purpose of centralizing power?
This is an old tradition of the Qin State. There has never been a Qin king who did not want to centralize power. The First Emperor, who wanted to centralize power the most, even wanted to replace the feudal system with complete counties.
The Qin Empire also had a tradition of producing many powerful officials.
Queen Dowager Xuan, Queen Dowager Huayang, Lu Buwei, Wei Ran...these are all.
In the State of Qin, even the most powerful officials will be feared by the king.
Bai Qi was like this, Zhang Yi was like this, and so was Jiang Shang, who came out of nowhere.
"Your Majesty! I heard that the thief Jiang Shang has kept hundreds of retainers in the Prime Minister's Mansion, using the names of civil and military officials as his representatives, and holds small court meetings every day!"
"Your Majesty has great trust in this old villain, but he does not know that this old villain has evil ambitions. He wants Your Majesty to harm the prince and lose your reputation!"
"The crown prince is rebellious, but Your Majesty, considering the friendship of the late king, does not take it seriously. Isn't this wonderful? The whole court and the people praise Your Majesty's virtue! All the soldiers in the country call Your Majesty a virtuous man!"
Prime Minister Jiang Shang covered his left chest and gasped.
"Nonsense! Nonsense! Your Majesty..."
The noisy court meeting did not end until noon, and Crown Prince Ying Fusu was ordered to set off for Shangjun immediately.
In order to avoid the bad reputation of murdering the son of the previous king and to gain the reputation of being magnanimous, the foolish monarch let the prince go.
The officials were very excited.
They figured out Qin II's preferences and reputation.
They drove a nail between Qin II and Jiang Shang. The supreme royal power was placed in the hands of a minister. Which minister could accept it?
They worked together to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and showed their loyalty to him.
And then they have to behave honestly and obey.
In the streets and alleys of Xianyang, voices questioning the morality of Qin II began to appear.
The content is that Qin II murdered the previous king for the throne.
In order to consolidate the king's power, he killed the king's mother, Queen Dowager Zhao, and the king's friend Gan Luo.
It is basically the same as what Sikong Cheng said when he was young.
Prime Minister Jiang Shang went to the palace three times in three days, and his expression became uglier each time.
Left Prime Minister Zhou Qingchen was summoned to the palace on the fourth day. When he came out, he puffed out his chest like a victorious rooster.
Internal Secretary Meng Yi, Internal Secretary Fu Zikang, Imperial Secretary Zhang Han and the other nine ministers were summoned separately in the next few days. When they left the palace, they looked happy and worried.
Soon, an eunuch left with an object wrapped tightly in black satin. The object was wrapped tightly in three layers of black satin, and it was impossible to tell what it was from the outside.
But judging from the fact that the prime minister was as mournful as if he had lost his parents, and that the officials in the prime minister's office sent memorials to the Xianyang Palace, it is very likely that the piece of the finest black silk contained the imperial seal engraved with "Mandate from Heaven, May you live long and prosper."
The tyrant seemed to have finally crawled out of his comfort zone, remembering that he was the emperor of the Qin Empire and had to deal with all the political affairs of the Qin Empire.
After working diligently for less than seven days, Gangcheng Jun Cai Ze, who had been idle at home for a long time, was summoned to the palace. When he left the palace again, he had already served as the Chief Censor.
Two days later, the Left Prime Minister Zhou Qingchen and the Chief Censor Cai Ze came to the Doctor's Office with the imperial edict.
A group of doctors who have devoted their lives to studying literature put down their brushes and books.
Watching the two of them open the imperial edict, it was announced that all doctors must attend the court meeting and speak out of innocence during the meeting.
From then on, the doctoral office held a small court meeting every three to five days and a large court meeting every ten days to half a month.
What to discuss? Government affairs.
The doctors who had always been shelved and focused on studying without any real power were very excited, feeling that what they had learned was finally put to good use.
If the court meeting is not held, then aren't the court meetings convened by their doctors considered court meetings?
Before, the doctors only answered questions from the emperor, and their opinions played no decisive role in the Qin State but were only auxiliary.
Now, civil and military officials do not attend court to express their opinions, only doctors can express their opinions on state affairs. This feels really great.
Prime Minister Jiang Shang, who was thought by his ministers to be in great trouble, was not beheaded, nor was his entire clan exterminated.
Good times will come after bad times.
Qin II affirmed the legitimacy of the hundred or so retainers, saying that even King Wei of Qi could accept a stab in the face, so I am much more virtuous and magnanimous than him, so I can do it too.
Jiang Shang was ordered to convene a discussion, but he was only required to report all the results of the discussion to the palace.
The Meng, Xi and Bai families were gone, Gan Luo was also killed for treason, and the status of the Wei family, which was originally an upper-class family, rose rapidly.
When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will claim to be king. After watching the court coldly for a few days, Wei Zhang sneered.
Qin II, did you think that by abolishing the Grand Court and establishing two small courts, you could get rid of the influence of the aristocratic families? The aristocratic families are everywhere!
If he kept using Qin Jian to lead the way, pointing at the deer in Luming Garden and saying it was a peerless divine horse, anyone who dared to say that it was a deer would have drowned in Xianyang Prison, and the aristocratic families would have no way to deal with it.
A minister is a minister and cannot go against a murderous king.
But if you make a lot of noise and do some small things, you will run into the arms of the aristocratic families!
Nine out of ten people who can read and write are children of wealthy families. How could the common people have the opportunity to study?
After the two incidents of the doctor entering Korea and the killing of the doctor at Mount Tai, 80% of the people in the Doctoral Office are from aristocratic families.
The Qin nobles conveyed their thoughts to the Prime Minister's Office, to the Office of Doctors, and finally to Qin II.
Want to get rid of our family? Dream on!
The First Emperor conquered all six kingdoms, but he still didn't dare to directly implement the county system? The previous kings who were as meritorious as the Three Sovereigns and as virtuous as the Five Emperors couldn't do it, so how could you, the Second Emperor of Qin who didn't even have the title of emperor, do it?
Because of stupidity and cruelty.
The nobles' intentions were conveyed to the ears of Qin II, but none of them obeyed.
The unwilling nobles pushed forward Wei Zhang's son-in-law, Doctor of Law Jing Jun, and wanted Jing Jun to assassinate Qin II in person.
They suspected that the timid and fearful Imperial Censor Cai Ze and the flattering Left Prime Minister Zhou Qingchen had deliberately omitted their will in their reports.
Qin Ershi would come to the Doctor's Office for every grand court meeting, convene the court meeting and start the discussion, but would leave before even half a cup of tea.
Jingjun seized this opportunity and as soon as Qin II sat down, he started shouting about national policy and stabbing Qin II in the face.
The next day, a doctor of law who accidentally drowned was found in Xianyang Prison.
The ministers were silent, and Wei Zhang was even more furious.
Is this what you mean by accepting a stab in the face?
You are just pretending to gain some fame!
Apart from the function of checking and balancing each other, what the two small court meetings discuss is of no use to you at all, right?
In order to express his grief for the previous king, Qin Ershi finally chose the title of emperor Er.
It comes from the sentence "I am the First Emperor, and future generations will count me, from the Second Emperor to the Third Emperor to the Tenth Emperor, and the legacy will be endless."
Ying Chengjiao also gave titles to all emperors in later generations, all of them had to follow the words of the late king, such as the Third Emperor, the Fourth Emperor, and the Fifth Emperor, to show that they would never forget the late king's contribution to unifying the world.
Since Ying Chengjiao ascended the throne, everyone has respectfully addressed him as Your Majesty.
When we have to refer to Ying Chengjiao, who had no title, we would call him the King of Qin, or the Emperor, and sometimes we would also call him the incompetent ruler. There was no such name as Qin Ershi.
Qin Ershi is the name given by later generations, just like Qin Shihuang.
From then on, there was only one person who represented Ying Chengjiao - the Second Emperor.
The common people did not think there was anything wrong with this account, but the noble children who did not have to worry about food and clothing and who were bored all day and liked to read novels all looked strange.
The word "two" has been given the meaning of stupidity by the large number of novelists who have emerged in recent years.
In the past, I only dared to call him a tyrant behind his back, but now I call him that directly to his face.
The Second Emperor, the Stupid Emperor, this title is really the most appropriate one!
"Thailand is the most respected country in the world. Your Majesty can be called the Emperor of Thailand. The word 'two' is not very pretty."
Cai Ze looked at Ying Chengjiao's expression and said cautiously.
"Oh? Why? I think it's beautiful."
Ying Chengjiao smiled but didn't smile.
"If your majesty thinks it is beautiful, then it must be beautiful. It is because Ze is old and his will is weak that he is disturbed by the words and actions of others."
"Now that we are in troubled times, Tsunayoshi has become more and more skilled in the art of protecting himself."
"With your majesty's grace, it will be difficult for Ze to die."
Ying Chengjiao laughed out loud.
"Cai Ze, Cai Ze, you are really afraid of death. You are such a smart person, you can see that following me will make you infamous for eternity. Don't you want to gain a good reputation?"
Cai Ze lowered his head and said respectfully:
"I remember your Majesty saying that compared to life, a good reputation after death is not worth mentioning."
Ying Chengjiao shook his head.
"I never said that."
Cai Ze slapped himself hard, and blood came out from the corner of his mouth.
"I remembered it wrongly."
After returning home, Cai Ze closed the doors and windows, sat alone on the bed, rubbing his slightly swollen face and sucking his teeth.
"The Second Emperor... these idiots! They shouted so happily in front of Your Majesty, do they really think Your Majesty doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'two'?
"Whoever thinks your majesty is stupid is the real stupid one! Stay away from these two people, lest they stain my clothes with feces and urine!"
Cai Ze remembered it clearly. When he met the First Emperor, he saw the First Emperor scolding the Second Emperor, saying that if you have time to write these crappy books, you might as well read "The Book of Lord Shang" again!
The First Emperor's original words sounded like he was naming dishes, and he listed the names of nearly ten books in one breath.
Cai Ze, who loved reading "Spring and Autumn Annals", went back and specially looked for these books. He found that there were novels and poetry collections, with different authors.
He then searched for books based on these author names, and thus all the new poetry collections and novels published in the past few decades were placed before him.
The First Emperor always disdained lying.
Cai Ze didn't want to believe it, but he had to believe that the surge in novelist disciples and the sudden emergence of new poetry writers were all Ying Chengjiao.
The stupid meaning of "two" was given by the second emperor.
The land in winter cannot grow seeds and there are no crops to harvest.
In previous winters, ordinary people in Guizhou had to rely on the food they had saved over the year to survive at home, and only a few people could still find a way to make a living.
This year is different.
This year, rebellions broke out in various places, and the Qin State recruited soldiers again.
Qin State had very few standing troops in Guanli.
In the Qin capital of Xianyang, the army included the city defense army under the command of the Nei Shi and the palace guards who protected the Xianyang Palace. The two together numbered less than 20,000. There was a permanent 150,000-strong army stationed at the Lantian Camp that guarded the Qin capital.
As for the other major counties, their total population does not exceed 30,000.
The Qin army was mainly concentrated in the border areas, with a total of 300,000 troops in the northeast and northwest.
The total number of Qin's military forces was about 500,000, which was less than the number of troops Wang Jian led to attack Chu.
There is only one reason for this: the Qin State could not afford to support so many troops, and the King of Qin needed most people to farm.
The Qin State always recruited soldiers during wartime, and after the war, most of the soldiers were sent back home to farm.
However, the Qin State never recruited soldiers in winter.
Because soldiers were recruited in winter, the military had to take care of not only their food but also their salaries. However, there was basically no fighting in the Central Plains in winter, and this habit was the same as in the desert.
Since the war is going to start in spring, it would be better to recruit soldiers in March when the weather is warm and the flowers are blooming. Recruiting soldiers in winter will serve no purpose other than wasting the national treasury.
Train soldiers for war? Qin State did not need training. All the people in Qin State, which implemented the policy of farming and warfare, were soldiers.
Fathers and grandfathers who have been on the battlefield will consciously train the male members of the family in some fighting skills and commands. Going to the battlefield is the Qin people's inevitable fate.
But the second emperor recruited soldiers.
Lian Po, the imperial guard who was once a retainer of the second emperor, entered the Xianyang Palace and explained the pros and cons in an attempt to dissuade this absurd behavior.
We went there on horseback and came back in a ox cart.
This was not the favor of the Second Emperor, but the fact that the captain's buttocks were bruised and bruised after being beaten with twenty sticks, and he could not ride a horse.
Xianyang was originally a place where the Second Emperor had the final say. No one dared to speak in the first place. No one dared to speak after seeing the closed gate of the Imperial Guards' Mansion.
The prince, who was far away in Shangjun, sent a memorial, first strongly opposing the winter conscription, and then saying that he could lead the border troops to suppress the rebellion in the spring of next year.
The second emperor severely reprimanded the prince, asking him to take good care of the northwest gate and prevent the Hu people from knocking on the gate, and to leave the affairs of Guanzhong alone.
Within half a month, the second emperor recruited 500,000 troops in Guanzhong in the name of winter training in preparation for the spring suppression of rebellion.
When the common people heard that Qin was recruiting soldiers, they signed up enthusiastically and rushed to be the first to join the army, fearing that they would not be able to join.
The second emperor specially convened a court meeting for this purpose. He wore a solemn crown and a Tongtian crown to show off in front of the civil and military officials.
He asked with a smile, "Apart from me, where else in the history of Qin State have the people been so enthusiastic in recruiting soldiers?"
The ministers shook their heads and said no.
The second emperor laughed and said, "What does this mean? It means that the people love me and regard me as their king and father. I did not transfer troops to Lantian or recall the border troops. In an instant, I had an army of 500,000 and I personally led the army to quell the rebellion in March!"
All the ministers praised Your Majesty for his wisdom and enlightenment. Your Majesty is the most virtuous and beloved king of Qin. With Your Majesty around, the remnants of the six kingdoms are nothing but clowns and can withstand a single blow.
The left prime minister Zhou Qingchen said with a smile:
"I am afraid that there are too few rebels and Your Majesty will not be able to kill them all."
The second emperor was very pleased and immediately promoted him to a higher rank.
Prime Minister Jiang Shang, Lieutenant General Lian Po, and Minister of Grain Fu Zikang jointly reported to the emperor that the national treasury and local granaries had suffered huge consumption, and were attacked by other ministers.
He was directly expelled by the unhappy Second Emperor.
All the ministers said that Your Majesty was wise, but in fact they were sneering in their hearts. They were just waiting to see the Second Emperor's scandal and what you would do if you ran out of food!
