Chapter 512: Death of Xunzi
Jing Ke bent his fingers and flicked the blade of the dagger, making a clear and vibrating sound.
“It’s a really good knife.”
On the frozen soil, Chen Ping lay on his side with a smile on his lips and tears in the corners of his eyes, and died peacefully.
Xunzi withdrew his gaze.
His eyes turned over when Chen Ping started yelling at the Second Emperor.
"Now that my great vengeance has been avenged and Your Majesty has returned, I can finally rest in peace."
Han Fei took two steps forward, his face full of anxiety.
"Old, old, old, old, teacher."
Oral disease.
The more anxious you are, the less you can speak.
Zhang Cang put his fat hand on his brother's shoulder, pulled hard, and squeezed himself up.
Just as I opened my mouth, I saw the teacher turning around and shaking his head slowly and forcefully.
I didn't say anything, I just felt angry.
Xunzi looked at all his disciples one by one, Han Fei, Lu Jia, Zhang Cang, Fu Qiubo...
"After I die, there is no need to observe mourning. Three years is too long. Confucius' words are not entirely correct."
He turned his head to the side and his eyes fell on the Second Emperor's face. He saw that the Second Emperor's face was a little blurry, as if covered by a layer of white gauze, and the dizziness in his head became more severe.
He bent down towards the increasingly blurry figure, crossed his hands and bowed deeply.
Ying Chengjiao instinctively dodged sideways.
He twisted his body a little, watched Xunzi bowing with difficulty, gritted his teeth, and stood still.
"I hope Your Majesty will not forget your original intention."
Ying Chengjiao crossed his hands, lowered them, and bowed until his upper and lower body were vertical. He said in a deep voice:
"I will keep it in mind."
"It's a pity that we can't see a prosperous age, where the elderly have a place to rely on, the young are taken care of, and thousands of families can have enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear."
The old man murmured, and Ying Chengjiao, almost face to face with him, gently supported the old man's arm and helped him up.
This time the old man accepted it calmly and did not shake it off.
Ying Chengjiao lowered his head slightly and spoke softly.
"Then wait a little longer."
"You have the intention, but this rotten body cannot withstand the erosion of time."
Xunzi followed the turbulent Wei River and looked into the distance to the east.
"I have been away from Qi for more than ten years and have not returned. I don't know who is presiding over the sacrifice at the Jixia Academy today. Go and take a look."
Gently pushing away the second emperor who had never exerted any strength, Xunzi strode towards the Wei River with his head held high.
When I arrived at the river, I saw the surging waves and the endless Wei River.
Mao Heng cried out the word "Teacher", ran forward, and stretched out his hands to grab something.
Fu Qiubo, who was beside him, stopped him and hugged his waist, and Lu Jia covered his mouth.
"Don't let the teacher leave with uneasy feelings."
Fu Qiubo looked at the teacher's back with blurred vision and did not dare to blink.
"Don't cry, don't cry..."
Lu Jia, with tears streaming down his face, tried to persuade in a low voice.
Han Fei and Zhang Cang stood side by side, pursed their lips, held their breath, and felt their noses sore.
Standing there motionless, like a nail.
Xunzi looked back for the last time, looking at his disciples reluctantly, but all he saw were faces hidden behind white gauze.
The old man tried to open his eyes wide, wanting to see the appearance of the disciples clearly, but the white veil could not be removed.
"Don't blame your Senior Brother Li Si, ah."
He called out loudly.
The disciples nodded desperately, tears falling all over the floor.
Hearing the "hmm" sound coming from the throat, Xunzi smiled.
Xunzi is not a saint, so it doesn't matter whether he sees him off for the last time or not.
How could he let ? He had just taken Li Si back as his disciple not long ago.
The old man opened his arms and closed his eyes, the cold wind making him feel cold all over.
"You are going home."
Words are gone with the wind.
He raised his toes, exerted force on his heels, and leaned his body backward, falling towards the Wei River that flowed into the East China Sea.
Ying Chengjiao chased him three steps closely and watched the old man falling rapidly by the Wei River with his fists clenched so tightly that veins were exposed.
"A crab has eight legs and two claws, not six. This is Xunzi's mistake, and no one in the world can be completely right. Confucian students should learn to open their wisdom, understand etiquette, recognize mistakes, and help the world."
Plop~
The old man jumped into the water and his voice was drowned out by the river.
The waves hit, and the surface became invisible, leaving no trace of anyone.
All the disciples ran to the riverside and stood beside the Second Emperor, all staring at the Wei River.
At this time, no one wanted to overstep their authority, they just wanted to take another look at the teacher.
Looking around and looking around.
Han Fei was the first to straighten his clothes, lower his hands, bow, and perform the teacher's salute.
When the prince of Han entered the Jixia Academy and met Xunzi for the first time, he performed this set of teacher etiquette.
"Goodbye, Teacher!"
He had a speech impediment and screamed out each word loudly.
The river breeze could not blow away his voice, and the disease could not make him want to speak, nor could he speak.
Lu Jia, Fu Qiubo, Zhang Cang and other disciples wiped away their tears, straightened their clothes, lowered their hands and bowed towards the Wei River, just like when they first entered the Jixia Academy and met Xunzi.
"Farewell, teacher!"
The wind died down, the water became still, and time seemed to have stopped.
Ying Chengjiao lowered his head and looked at the water.
Five days ago, he met with Xunzi in the Chang'an Jun Mansion, and all the disciples were present.
Xunzi said in person that he wanted to jump into the Wei River and die in the East China Sea.
All disciples must not wear mourning clothes for him, forget their duties and throw away their books.
A gentleman does not talk of strange things, supernatural powers, or gods. After death, everything is empty. Do not do meaningless things.
"You died in the Wei River, without even a tombstone left. You only thought about not wanting your disciples to be bound. Have you ever thought about how your descendants would worship you?"
Ying Chengjiao gave a bitter smile and murmured:
"How could Xunzi think about these things? Xunzi only wanted the world to get better and the prosperity to come. How would people in the future view it? How could Xunzi care? These things are only thought about by young people."
A thousand meters away from here.
Guiguzi, who had four fleshy moles on his head, raised his head and listened attentively.
"A crab has eight legs and two claws, not six. This is Xunzi's mistake, and no one in the world can be completely right. Confucian students should learn to open their wisdom, understand etiquette, recognize mistakes, and help the world."
As soon as the voice fell, he pinched his fingers, stopped for a moment, and sighed deeply.
The word "kan" means dead water.
What the cold wind brought were Xunzi's last words.
"Liezi rode the wind, but he was not as good as Xunzi who rode the waves to encourage learning. Confucianism is not worthy of Xunzi."
Before the voice fell, the person disappeared.
The sun rises as usual and the moon sets as usual.
It has been six days since Xunzi passed away, and the world has not changed.
After all, time and space will not stop because of one person's life or death. The earth will continue to rotate even if everyone is gone.
The people of Xianyang still received honeycomb coal from the government, ate the rations and salaries given to their men as soldiers, and smiled happily.
The nobles fully cooperated with the orders of the Second Emperor, regardless of whether they could understand the new orders or whose interests were affected.
Once an order is given, it will be completed without any compromise.
They rebelled, but are still alive. Their lives and the lives of their families were given by Your Majesty. What else do they want?
Your Majesty has revealed the surplus grain in their homes in the court. As many lives as can be taken as the amount of grain found.
With Qin Jian above their heads and Qin Lu in their hands, most people would not have any strange ideas in the short term.
The hand that takes the second emperor is short, and the mouth that eats the second emperor is soft.
There were only four greedy families who were secretly collecting grain, and they were unanimously ostracized by all the families.
The Second Emperor didn't need to take any action at all. The Xianyang aristocratic families directly expelled the four families from Xianyang.
You four want to die, but we still want to live.
As soon as the First Emperor died, the whole country rose up in rebellion, triggering a wave of rebellion by the remnants of the Six Kingdoms.
Xunzi's death did not cause much of a stir, not even Xianyang was affected. It was not as big of a stir as the one caused by Ba Qing's entry into the capital.
Ba Qing, who had visited Xianyang once last year, came to Xianyang again this time with a large amount of grain from Bashu.
The Xianyang warehouse, Yongcheng warehouse, and granaries in several surrounding counties, which had been empty, were suddenly full.
Ying Zheng, who was in Yongcheng and watching the situation, heard the news and gnashed his teeth in hatred.
"You have so much food, why didn't you give it to me earlier? I have so much food, why do I need you to fight the Xiongnu? If the food is right in front of me, can't I eat it myself? Donghu, Yuezhi, Baiyue, I will conquer them all!"
As time passed, Ying Zheng began to call himself "Zhen" again, but he no longer thought about becoming emperor again.
He had passed the state of worrying about gains and losses, and no longer needed to use titles to remind himself that he was not an emperor.
The nobles in Xianyang took a deep breath and secretly felt lucky that they had driven those four idiots away.
No wonder Your Majesty sent all the grain that we received back to the interior, leaving not a single grain of rice within a thousand miles of Xianyang. It turns out that there is still so much grain in Bashu.
The nobles recognized a reality.
Even if Crown Prince Ying Fusu had not died, they would not have been able to shake the rule of the Second Emperor by relying on food shortages.
At this time, Ying Fusu was far away in the Xiongnu land, sitting with his third brother Ying Jianglu, drinking wine and eating meat.
In just a few months, Ying Jianglu no longer needed to borrow Maodun's face to command the Huns. His name, Ying Jianglu, meant the Khan of the Huns.
The two brothers, who had no throne to fight for, lived in harmony and happiness, as if they had returned to their childhood.
The reality that the nobles failed to recognize was...
They don’t know whether the First Emperor knew that there was so much grain in Bashu.
If they knew, why should we implement the policy of parallel development of counties and kingdoms and rest and recuperate? Based on their understanding of the First Emperor, the First Emperor should not use force but march north and south.
If we don't know, then the death of the First Emperor is indeed very problematic. The Second Emperor concealed so much grain and did not report it. He had colluded with Ba Qing early on. This was a premeditated plan to murder his brother and usurp the throne...
The Second Emperor even forgave them for their rebellion, so how could he do such a thing!
The First Emperor must have known that there was food! They just didn't understand the First Emperor's character!
Among all the people in the court, only the Grand Historian, who was upright in writing, wrote all these events in the "History of Qin".
He just recorded the facts and did not express his own opinion at all.
When it comes to the matter of Emperor Qin Shihuang's death, the word "doubtful" was added.
Xianyang Palace, outside the Council Hall.
Li Xin, Meng Tian, Tu Sui, Ren Xiong, Zhao Tuo...Except for Wang Ben, Marquis of Tongwu, who was absent because he was defending against the Donghu, all the prominent generals of the Qin Empire were here.
"I have something to ask your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty! Let's fight! It's already spring!"
"All the cities in Zhao have been lost, and these Zhao dogs are becoming arrogant again! I can't stand it anymore!"
“…”
They were wearing ordinary clothes and were not carrying any weapons. They were shouting at the top of their lungs outside the Council Hall, creating a chaotic scene.
Those who knew would think that the general was eager to fight, while those who didn't think that the market in the prosperous Qi area was open.
Ever since the grain from Bashu arrived in Xianyang, the generals' eyes have been glowing green. Even Meng Tian in Jiuyuan and Li Xin in Longxi could no longer sit still.
Meng Tian sent eight petitions to return in three days, and Li Xin sent seven in five days.
They were stationed in the north, mainly to guard against the Huns.
Now the Xiongnu land has become the Third Prince's territory. They have no way to defend it and are very anxious.
The Donghu to the east of Wang Ben are still doing their best and are still able to fight wars, make achievements and get titles. What achievements can these two have?
The Third Prince has become the Khan of the Xiongnu. They can't just tie the Third Prince's head under the horse and bring it back as a military achievement, right?
Now that we know that a large amount of grain from Bashu has entered Xianyang, this is a good opportunity to push the six kingdoms and gain military merit. Even the dogs in the north won't stay!
The two brothers didn't know that Wang Ben had also written a petition requesting his return.
Going out of the city to fight the Donghu and begging in the barren land is not as fast as attacking the six kingdoms and establishing achievements. Ever since he knew that Ba Qing brought food into the capital, Wang Ben didn't want to stay in the east for a moment.
However, Ying Chengjiao did not approve it and strictly ordered Wang Ben not to come back, otherwise he would be beheaded.
The two most powerful countries in the desert are Donghu and Yuezhi. The defense of the east is of utmost importance and cannot be left without people.
All the generals of the Qin Empire wanted to lead their troops to war.
At this time, the Qin generals all had a belief in their hearts that the Qin soldiers were invincible. The only thing that could limit the Qin was the food problem. The soldiers of other countries were just chickens and dogs, and they would collapse at the first touch.
The Qin Dynasty's desire for war was ignited by Ba Qing and the massive amount of food from Bashu, and reached its climax.
All the generals in Xianyang would come to the outside of the Council Hall every day, clamoring to see the emperor and to go out to fight.
Squeak
The door of the Council Hall opened wide, the generals' eyes lit up, and they pushed and shoved their way forward.
Crash~
The two officials at the door crossed their spears together, sweating, and shouted "Stop".
The generals cursed and called the two officials by their nicknames, asking questions about their ancestors, using the most vulgar language possible.
They kept talking and their hands stopped, and in the end they did not try to break into the palace.
The two officials were totally confused. They didn't know why these generals who had been breaking into the palace gates in the past few days were so quiet today. In the past, they would not retreat unless the long spears pierced their bodies and drew blood.
While I was confused, I saw the doctor walking past me in a heroic manner, bringing with him a gust of fragrant wind and a gust of coolness.
The most conspicuous two-foot long sword was folded in his hand, swinging the sword flower. This long sword, which was very different from the three-foot Qin sword, was the symbol of the current Langzhongling.
The former doctor-in-chief Zhang Han shrank his head in the crowd and took a few steps back.
It’s not that he was afraid of Yue Nu, but he didn’t want to be too close to Yue Nu, the imperial physician, and avoid being missed by the Second Emperor and returning to the position of Nine Ministers.
Now Zhang Han is a general, and he is very satisfied with his status.
A good man should go out to fight and gain military merit, instead of guarding the Xianyang Palace.
The heroic Yue girl glanced coldly at the generals, who stared at her with glares, showing no sign of submission.
"Your Majesty is busy with important matters. Generals, please go back."
The generals were unwilling to return, and they all shouted that nothing could compare to expanding the territory! Nothing could compare to recovering the lost territory!
The Yue girl frowned.
"Marriage is a big event, can it be compared to the matter of the successor to the Qin Empire? Everyone, don't forget that your majesty has no children yet! This matter is more important than anything else!"
