Chapter 507: The court regarded the two emperors as kings, and the ministers served them to the death. The people regarded the two emperors as saints, and the people built shrines for them.
On the high platform, the second emperor sitting on the throne supported his chin with one hand, tilted his head and waited.
Wei Zhang's forehead was covered with sweat, his head was dizzy, his vision was blurred, his throat kept moving up and down, and he was swallowing saliva that seemed to never end.
His hands were shaking slightly, and the letters written on three pieces of yellow paper were left with residual images.
He had a guess in his mind, but he didn't dare to believe it was true.
Stupid emperor, no! Your Majesty! Are you really willing to let my Wei family live?
The old patriarch of the Wei family didn't believe it. Throughout history, rebellion would result in the extermination of the entire clan and was an unforgivable crime. However, the Second Emperor seemed to have no need to deceive him.
To get 20,000 shi of grain?
After the extermination of Wei Zhang's three clans, all the assets of his Wei family were confiscated and became the property of the Second Emperor. Was it really a waste of time?
Cat playing with mouse, watching Wei Zhang struggle before his death?
Given the second emperor's usual temper, this could be a huge problem, and Wei Zhang's inclination was the reason.
He wanted to hold his head high, continue to be as mighty and unyielding as his ancestors, and angrily denounce the tyrant.
Whenever he wanted to die with honor rather than live in disgrace, he would rather be stupid than be humiliated.
The tall mansion, the jade bridge and green water, the fiefdom outside the city, the official title above him, and even his ugly old wife Liu who was entangled with the handsome young man, all appeared before his eyes one by one.
He knelt down slowly, forgetting that the Second Emperor hated kneeling the most.
"Wei Zhang, I am willing. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
His head lowered and knocked on the steps.
He knew that he looked ugly at the moment, but what made him uneasy was not his ugliness but the fate of the Wei family.
Your Majesty, can you really forgive the crime of treason?
"Add an additional 5,000 shi of fine. I've said before that I don't like kneeling."
When the Xianyang Palace was first built, the principle of echo wall was applied to the platform it constructed.
As long as you are on a high platform, the sound will be amplified, and the multiple echoes overlapping in an instant will create a solemnity that sounds like heavenly music.
For Wei Zhang, what he heard was the genuine heavenly sound!
With tears streaming down his face, he climbed up from the ground using his hands and feet, stretched out his arms and bowed to the bottom, his waist bent more than 90 degrees.
"only!"
The sound of crying is hard to hide.
Wei Zhang didn’t know and couldn’t control what would happen to other people and other families in the future.
But as long as Wei Zhang is alive, the Wei family will always recognize only one emperor, and the second emperor is Ying Chengjiao.
If anyone dares to say in front of him that the Second Emperor was a tyrant, he would slap him in the face even if he sacrificed his life!
What deer? Blind?
That's clearly a horse! A thousand-mile horse! A peerless divine horse!
"Add another 5,000 taels of silver. I don't like to hear 'yes' in response. From now on, always say 'yes' when responding."
The Second Emperor never said "yes" in Xianyang. The court meetings were held three times, and each time the ministers and eunuchs responded with "yes", and nothing went wrong.
But this time, problems occurred with Wei Zhang.
The highest salary in the Qin State was two thousand stones, which applied to the Shangqing, Xiangbang, and Guowei.
Five thousand stones was the highest position an official could hold in the Qin State, and he could receive a salary for two and a half years.
Adding the previous fine of 25,000 shi, the total is 30,000 shi.
Fifteen years is the highest salary in the Qin State, which is not a small amount. Even for the old aristocratic family like the Wei family, it would be a huge loss.
"promise!"
Wei Zhang deserves it quickly and he deserves it willingly.
He raised his head, tears and snot streaming, his miserable appearance was exposed in front of his colleagues in the court, but he did not bother to wipe them clean.
"This old minister has repeatedly offended the emperor, and his crimes are grave. I will punish myself with 20,000 shi! A total of 50,000 shi! Please use it to replenish the national treasury!
His voice was hoarse, his voice was full of tears and gratitude.
"Fifty thousand shi, Duke Wei is truly wise and righteous, he even sacrificed his family for the sake of Qin. Your Wei family has taken out fifty thousand shi, and you will not be able to get anything except a mansion in Xianyang and a fiefdom."
Ying Chengjiao changed his posture.
He rested his left elbow on the armrest, supported his head with his palm, and took out a piece of paper from the thick letter on the desk with his right hand.
"Forty thousand shi is enough. I appreciate the ten thousand shi. The previous king once said that meritorious officials cannot leave unscathed. How can Ying Zheng stand in the world? Now the previous king is dead. I am a tyrant and I am the emperor. My virtue is not worthy of the position. Thirteen families rebelled and revolted after I took the throne. I have no choice but to exterminate them. I can't let the rest of you live in poverty. You are all my great Qin's loyal ministers. Qin can't do without you, and I can't do without you either."
Wei Zhang burst into tears.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!"
None of the ministers showed any sign of ridicule.
They looked at the letter that the second emperor was casually flipping through, their palms sweating, wondering if it was written by them.
Imperial Censor Cai Ze tightly wrapped his clothes around his waist, sweating and feeling cold in his heart.
This is not punishment food, it is clearly life-saving food! Kneeling down and obeying are both ladders for delivering food.
Your Majesty is more scheming than King Zhaoxiang of Qin. It's not easy to be the Chief Censor. You need to find a reason to resign.
Fu Zikang, the internal historian of grain, started to work on an abacus in his mind. He closed his eyes and calculated how much grain he could import this time.
He was not worried at all that these nobles would not pay grain, and even expected them not to pay.
If you don't pay the grain, your entire family will be punished, and even more grain will be confiscated from your property.
Prime Minister Lu Buwei, who was wearing a human skin mask, covered his mouth with his sleeve and chuckled.
He took his sleeves off and his face became serious again.
Knowing that the Wei family has a fortune of 50,000 shi, one can get an idea of how much wealth other aristocratic families have. No one dares to risk the annihilation of their family to gamble on whether Qie'er knows his own family fortune.
He kept ten thousand stones for himself and used the rest to redeem the crime of treason.
Using both sweet dates and big sticks to collect grain and win people's hearts.
Qiaoer made a lot of money from this deal.
Plop plop plop~
Just like boiling dumplings, most of the Qin officials in the hall left their tables, stood beside the tables, knelt down and pounded their heads on the ground.
The second emperor frowned and slammed the letter on the table.
"Didn't I say I don't like kneeling? Are you guys deliberately trying to show off to me? You're breaking the law knowingly, and your crime is even more serious. You should be severely punished!"
The ministers in the hall were silent for a moment.
"I have offended your majesty! I will fine myself 33,000 shi!"
"I have offended Your Majesty, and my crime is unforgivable. I will punish myself with 28,000 shi!"
"I want Your Majesty to be angry and I will fine myself seven thousand shi!"
There were cheers from all directions in the court of Xianyang Palace, which lasted for a long time.
Zhang Han lowered his head and hid the gleam in his eyes.
If he were the First Emperor, he would have zero tolerance for treason and would have killed all of them.
But if the First Emperor was still in power, who would dare to write a letter of trust to the prince?
Your Majesty will exterminate the thirteen stubborn families and set them as examples, then show leniency and ask the rest to atone for their sins.
The power is there, and the grace is given.
By using both kindness and severity, those who were pardoned escaped death and dared not to cause trouble to Your Majesty again.
The grain has been recovered and the situation has not yet become unstable. Everyone should be grateful to His Majesty for not killing us.
This kind of method is what the Emperor of Qin should use, and it is what a wise leader like me, Zhang Han, should use.
The ministers' shouting lasted for a while before they stopped. Ying Chengjiao glanced at the eunuch who was writing at the desk beside him.
The eunuch holding the pen nodded, indicating that he had taken note of it.
Ying Chengjiao nodded with satisfaction.
"Bring the fire tripod."
The eunuch holding the pen bowed slightly.
"only."
Ying Chengjiao's eyes narrowed.
"They didn't say anything about you? Do you have more food than you can finish at home?"
The eunuch looked like he was crying and begged for mercy repeatedly.
These noble families collected large amounts of grain from the national treasury and distributed them some time ago. The small families accumulated thousands of stones, while the large families accumulated tens of thousands.
He is a castrated man, with a disabled body, no family, and no wealth. Where does he get food? How can he be so forgetful that he didn't remember what Your Majesty just said?
Ying Chengjiao snorted.
"Bring the fire tripod."
"promise!"
Eight eunuchs lifted the large tripod in the southeast corner and placed it in the center of the court with a grunt.
The honeycomb coal in the cauldron continued to burn, all red, and the hall became increasingly hot.
The second emperor walked down from the high platform again, and the two eunuchs who carried the letters carried the letters to the side of the fire cauldron.
The second emperor grabbed a handful of letters and threw them into the cauldron, and orange flames rose.
Most of the ministers looked relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.
Only a few people showed disappointment and regret.
Zhou Qingchen smacked his lips with satisfaction. He was still thinking that this time there would be a major reshuffle of Qin's power and he could seize the opportunity to soar to the sky.
Unfortunately, this fire prolonged the life of the aristocratic family, and his Zhou family will have to wait a little longer.
The letters kept being lost and the flames kept burning.
The Second Emperor spoke softly beside the flames, but without the blessing of the high platform, his voice lost its solemnity and became more human.
"You, or your ancestors, have all made great contributions to Qin, so you can stand here. I remember this favor. From today on, the favor of some families will be gone. If you want to gain a foothold in the court again, you must do something. The former king allowed those who sit in office and do nothing, but I, Ying Chengjiao, do not allow them! The capable ones will be promoted, and the mediocre ones will be demoted. Do you have any objections?"
Just as the Left Prime Minister was about to speak, a hoarse cry was heard first.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Wei Zhang shouted loudly.
He didn't have time to curse because he was overtaken by the opponent. Zhou Qingchen was about to shout again after him, but Lao Yin took the lead again.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Right Prime Minister Feng Quji looked at the second emperor with a pious expression, as if he was on a pilgrimage.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The depressed Zuo Xiang was the third one to shout out.
Afterwards, waves like a tsunami surged and boiled in the Xianyang Palace, with each wave higher than the last.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The Second Emperor kept throwing letters into the cauldron. The flames, which should have grown stronger and stronger, were suppressed by the voices of his ministers. They trembled and leaped, unable to rise.
Growing louder and louder waves surged out of the Xianyang Palace, rushed up to the sky, and crashed down, driving away the Moon Rabbit.
The golden crow rose in the east, and the morning light shone on the black tiles on the roof of the Xianyang Palace, casting a layer of golden light.
It's dawn.
The sun covers the earth and smoke rises from every household.
With honeycomb briquettes costing five cents per stone, people no longer had to eat cold meals to save on burnt materials such as dead branches and leaves.
I took a sip of the rice porridge without any corn in it, and the hot water with coal ash on it went down my throat and into my stomach, making me feel warm.
Their clothes were tattered, there was black dirt between their fingernails, and their bodies were covered with coal dust. The dirty people sighed with contentment and touched their empty stomachs.
I thought it would be great if every winter would be like this.
The longer Your Majesty sits, the better.
Did the people ruled by the saints in ancient times have honeycomb coal in winter? Could they drink hot porridge? Your Majesty is more saintly than the saints!
At the end of January, the prestige of the second emperor reached its peak both in the court and the country.
The court regards the two emperors as kings, and I serve them till death.
The people revered the two emperors as saints and built shrines for them.
Winter is almost over, it is January 30th.
Ying Chengjiao discussed matters with generals including Ren Xiong, Tu Sui, and Zhao Tuo in the Council Hall.
In January, Xianyang was very stable, but chaos broke out in other places and wars broke out everywhere.
The second emperor summoned various people almost every day to discuss state affairs in the Council Hall.
The young general Zhao Tuo smashed his fist hard in Zhao territory.
"Zhang Chu started a rebellion in Han, occupied Chen County and made it his capital, then expanded eastwards, always away from Guanzhong. It would be fine if it was difficult to chase him in winter. Zhao borders Guanzhong, so why would it dare to join in the fun and restore its country? Let's fight!"
The young and brave general had eyes like bells and was eager to gather his troops and attack immediately.
Ren Xiong and Tu Sui, who were older and should have been much more mature, did not stop Zhao Tuo. Instead, they looked very pleased with him.
Ninety-nine percent of all the generals that Ying Chengjiao called for discussion these days had this attitude.
There were a few who were particularly eager to make meritorious service. They signed a military order on the spot, vowing to lead 200,000 troops out of Hangu Pass, sweep across the world, and return to restore a prosperous Qin State.
Ying Chengjiao was speechless. Is it so easy to fight in winter? Why don't you just fly over? Are they stretching their necks for you to chop?
"In this cold winter, marching is difficult and fighting is not easy. How are you going to solve this problem?"
"Your Majesty thinks we shouldn't send troops, and so do the remnants of the six kingdoms. Sending troops now is a surprise attack, and we can win by surprise. It's not only difficult for us to fight in winter, but it's also difficult for the remnants of the six kingdoms. But this year we recruited soldiers and trained in winter for the first time. The men are more accustomed to winter fighting than those rebels, and they won't lose even if they fight with bare hands. In addition, we are well-equipped and have sufficient food and grass, so how can we not win?"
Ying Chengjiao was even more speechless.
The great advantage I have created is not for you to squander. Do you think I can't fight?
There is no one who can become a general in the Qin State who does not know how to fight. Everyone knows that in a winter expedition, even if they win, it will be a pyrrhic victory, and it will be good if 50% of their soldiers can return alive.
But in the face of easy military merit, they ignored all this.
One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. Compared with their titles and treatment, the lives of the soldiers are not worth cherishing.
In one winter, how can the six countries that have lost their country and can only survive and develop secretly have a strong army?
Zhang Chu now claims to have an army of 130,000, but most of the soldiers are still holding farm tools.
Not to mention armor, it's good enough to be able to wear a complete set of clothes.
This information must have made many Qin generals greedy. There was no better battle to fight and no better military merit to gain than this one.
Compared with these generals, the young general Zhao Tuo at least had some brains and knew to choose the nearest Zhao territory to attack.
Ying Chengjiao's face darkened. He had higher expectations for Zhao Tuo.
Historically, Zhao Tuo led an expedition to the Baiyue, proclaimed himself king, established the Nanyue Kingdom, and was named King Wu of Nanyue.
"The battle must be fought, but not now."
Just as he said a word, there was a slight knock on the door and someone came in.
"Enter."
The door opened, and a touch of beauty lit up the whole room.
The person outside the door was wearing a white fox fur coat. Her beautiful long hair contrasted with the white fox fur. Her breasts were straight and her figure was graceful.
She has a beautiful appearance, with a very obvious heroic air, more heroic than charming.
Langzhongling, a woman from Yue.
Ren Xiong, Tu Sui and Zhao Tuo hurriedly avoided his gaze and dared not look any longer.
This woman is one of the Nine Ministers, and they are not afraid of her despite their status as generals. But who doesn't know that this woman is His Majesty's woman?
The Yue girl walked hurriedly and whispered softly in the second emperor's ear.
After hearing this, the Second Emperor looked calm and turned to the three people and said:
"That's all for today."
The three of them were unwilling to give up. They had just arrived and had been sitting there for less than a quarter of an hour . The tea wasn't even cold yet, and they were leaving now?
But he knew that the Second Emperor was a man of his word, so he had no choice but to leave.
After the three men left, the second emperor also left the palace immediately, accompanied by the Vietnamese girl.
The Yue woman just said only four words - Xunzi left the house!
