In this way, winter turned to spring, and until the summer solstice, I was immersed in studying the social system, operation mode, various schools of thought, human geography, etc. of the Qin Dynasty. I wanted to have a complete understanding of the Qin Dynasty.
Because summer is coming soon. The summer of 210 BC, the thirty-seventh year of the First Emperor, was the summer when Ying Zheng died in history!
There is no record of the specific date of Ying Zheng's death in the history books, but it can be inferred that it was in the summer because of the high temperature and the decomposition of Ying Zheng's body after his death.
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In the middle of summer in the thirty-seventh year of the First Emperor.
The weather has gradually become hotter, and the palace has begun to sprinkle water to cool down.
That day I was in my room learning about the population structure of Qin. The Qin Dynasty implemented the system of prefectures and counties and had a relatively complete household registration system. Everyone had a photo ID card equivalent to an ID card. This was not even implemented in many subsequent dynasties, so the population statistics were relatively accurate.
Suddenly the white-collar worker Mu came in to report that Feng Quji was here.
I quickly asked him to bring the people in, got up and went out to greet them, still muttering in my mind: 'I was told to meet at the Prime Minister's Mansion before, why did I come here by myself today. 'Feng Quji was very cautious during Ying Zheng's tour. Unless there was an edict from Ying Zheng, he would send someone to call me to the Prime Minister's Mansion to answer questions and discuss countermeasures, and would basically not meet with me.
After Feng Quji saw me, he quickly walked two steps into the house and saluted, "Old minister, see you, Your Highness."
I supported him humbly and said, "Excuse me, Prime Minister, why did you suddenly come to the crown prince's womb today? But what's the hurry?"
Feng Quji raised his head, with a hint of uneasiness between his brows, and replied: "Your Highness, please step aside. I have something to discuss with Your Highness."
This makes me even more strange. When I was with him before, this old man wanted to call the entire Xianyang City over to hear what happened today.
There was only Lan'er serving in the room, and there was a servant outside the door who was pouring water on the ground. I caught sight of the steaming heat waves rising from the ground with my peripheral vision, and I was shocked. Could it be...
I waved my hand to send Lan'er and the servants away, and I motioned for Feng Quji to sit down.
After sitting down, Feng Quji took out a roll of extremely delicate white silk from his arms and handed it to me. Needless to say, only the imperial edicts of the First Emperor would use this extravagant white silk. Feng Quji's voice was a little hoarse: "Your Highness, this is the emperor's edict sent from Chengshan in an urgent manner this morning."
I opened it and took a look. In addition to the fixed format of the edict, there were only two sentences: "I shot the evil dragon in the East China Sea and suddenly obtained the way of heaven." After his illness has gone away, he still stays in Xianyang. Fu Su comes to see you and I hope to see you. '
I raised my head, looked at Feng Quji in confusion, and asked: "Prime Minister, I can understand these two sentences. The first sentence is that my father killed the evil dragon in the East China Sea and suddenly realized the way of heaven. The second sentence is that the Prime Minister Staying in Xianyang, I will go to Chengshan to meet my father and fulfill his wish. But there seems to be no connection between these two sentences?"
Feng Quji's face was extremely ugly, and he spoke with difficulty: "Does Your Highness know the secret of the edict?"
I was startled, I really haven't studied this carefully, but is there any mystery in this little edict?
Feng Quji knew by looking at my expression that I didn't understand, and explained: "The emperor's order is the system, and the order is the imperial edict. The imperial edict is an important order issued by the emperor, and all the subjects in the world must obey it absolutely no matter who receives the imperial edict. , don’t hesitate. What if someone imitates something so important?
So when the emperor established the imperial edict to convey the emperor's intention, he established a series of anti-counterfeiting methods such as silk, seals, and writing. The silk fabric uses the silk specially provided by the emperor, and the weaving technique is also extremely unique. Except for the weaver girl who belongs to the imperial order, generally no one else can weave it. Needless to say about the seal, any imperial edict must have a jade seal; and the text must be complicated. There are detailed regulations on the starting position of each column, the distance between each section, and how to restart when the word "emperor" is written.
The most important thing is that the five words "First Emperor of Qin" at the end of each edict must be written by the emperor himself!
The secret is known only to the imperial court officials, county guards, and county magistrates. At the beginning of their service as officials, they must be able to identify the emperor's five-character handwriting.
However, according to careful confirmation by the veteran minister, the five characters in this edict are not the emperor's handwriting! "
I was immediately horrified. If this edict was not written by Ying Zheng, who could it be? This person dared to forge an edict. Doesn't that mean that this person is no longer afraid of the majesty of Ying Zheng? In today's Qin Dynasty, if the people around Ying Zheng no longer fear him, there is probably only one possibility.
Feng Quji and I looked at each other: Yingzheng is in danger!
I was thinking more at this time. Historically, Fusu was demoted to Shangjun, and a false edict ordered him to commit suicide. But in this Qin Dynasty, Fusu was not driven out of Xianyang. This edict was to call Fusu to Chengshan. If it was also a fake edict, the purpose was self-evident, it was still to kill Fusu!
Fusu could commit suicide without listening to Meng Tian's advice. If it were Feng Quji and the Ying clan's relatives in Xianyang who persuaded Fusu, Fusu might not be able to surrender. The safest way would still be to pull Fusu out of Xianyang. In the hometown of Qi State, it is easy to kill a Fusu!
I wailed in my heart: "Fake Zhao, Hu Hai, Li Si, and Li Fuling, who is not sure whether he is an enemy or a friend, the elements for Fusu to be killed are too complete!" Except that Fusu became me and was not demoted from Xianyang. But I dare not say that I am better than Fusu...'
Thinking of this, I tentatively said: "Can the Prime Minister be sure that it is not my father's handwriting?"
Feng Quji sighed heavily: "I also hope that I am blind and saw it wrong, but I have followed the emperor since he was the king of Qin, and I will not mistake the emperor's handwriting."
After a pause, Feng Quji dropped another bombshell: "As far as I know, there are two edicts sent to Shangjun and Baiyue respectively at the same time! It's just that the contents are unknown."
I didn't ask Feng Quji how he knew it. It's normal for people like him to have some of his own people collecting information, otherwise he wouldn't be alive today.
Two edicts, one sent to Shangjun, should be for Meng Tian, and the one sent to Baiyue should be for Zhao Tuo. These two places are where the largest number of Qin troops are stationed. However, it is unclear whether this person who is trying to persuade them is ready to win over or kill them.
I told Feng Quji my conjecture, but Feng Quji couldn't tell the intention of the person who made the edict. Now he can't even determine who this person might be. There were too many people following Ying Zheng, including Li Si, Li Fu Ling, Jiaodong County Governor Cheng Lin, and many other princes and ministers, anyone could do it.
Thinking of this, I still want to confirm the most suspicious person first: "Prime Minister, do you know the origin of Li Fuling who succeeded Zhao Gao?"
Feng Quji nodded: "This Li Fuling has been following Zhao Gao since I knew him. Zhao Gao recommended him to the emperor before his death. Later, after investigation by the censor, it was found that this person had some ability and did a lot with Zhao Gaoshi. In addition, the emperor had always trusted Zhao Gao, so he asked him to take over Zhao Gao's position as the Master of the Central Chemistry. However, he did not give him the teachings of Master Hu Hai. Instead, he asked Shangshu Ling Qi Zhong to be the teacher of Master Hu Hai. .Why did His Highness ask about him?"
Feng Quji doesn't know history. Even if I tell him, he can't believe that a eunuch has the courage to do such a thing. I shook my head and said, "I just remembered it for a moment."
