Seeing Fu Zikang's posture, the First Emperor immediately understood what Fu Zikang meant.
What's going on lately?
How come someone wants me to step aside and tell you secrets...
The First Emperor looked at Fu Zikang, who was tall and thin, walking sloppily, and did not look like a martial artist.
He turned to the five people following him: Gai Nie, Meng Yi, Wang Wan, Li Si, and Zhao Gao: "Fu Zikang and I are alone..."
"Nie wants to follow." Ge Nie said coldly without waiting for the First Emperor to finish.
Last time Gai Nie was away, the First Emperor was attacked by Ying Chengyu, which left a big shadow in Gai Nie's heart.
Now Gai Nie looked at everyone as if they were planning to attack the First Emperor. He seemed to be paranoid about the First Emperor being persecuted.
He now attaches great importance to the safety of the First Emperor.
Everyone, including the First Emperor, looked at Gai Nie in surprise. Apparently, they did not expect that the first person to voice objections was Gai Nie, who had always supported Fu Zikang.
Fu Zikang looked at Gai Nie and thought for a moment. He thought that Gai Nie had been in the Chang'an Jun's Mansion and that Gai Nie should have seen all the objects made by Ying Chengyu, so he nodded.
"Can."
"The wealth of Lord Chang'an is really eye-opening. This is nothing more than a miracle."
Li Si first praised Ying Chengyu, then turned to Zikang and said solemnly: "Previously, the governor of Su Nei Shi made it clear in the Yizheng Hall that the money sent by Lord Chang'an to govern Su Nei Shi Mansion was enough to build Chidao. Now, now It seems that although the money here is huge, it is only five years of military pay. Fu Zhi Su Nei Shi deceived Your Majesty in this way, I don’t know what this means?”
Fu Zikang glanced at the First Emperor, then furtively glanced at Li Si, lowering his head and saying nothing.
But the meaning is obvious - Gai Nie can follow, but you Li Si can't.
Li Si was a little angry inside.
You are now Prime Minister Zuo, but you are so negligent when talking to you.
Meng Yi's eyes have widened since he arrived at Zhisu Neishi Mansion.
He had just learned from his father Meng Wu that Ying Chengyu could make colored glaze, and today he saw five times as much money as Qin's last year's military pay.
The glittering golden light of the gold almost blinded his eyes, and the visual impact was overwhelming.
"Right Prime Minister, is this really five times the military pay? Then Chang'an Lord can support Qin's 600,000 troops for five years with his own efforts?"
The internal historian didn't even pay attention to what Fu Zikang said, and was still pulling Wang Wan to confirm the amount of money here.
"That's true."
Wang Wan was frightened while answering.
Is Chang'an Jun's magic back again?
As for Zhao Gao, he always served him respectfully.
When the First Emperor didn't want him to talk, he just kept quiet and just worked as a tool.
"You guys are waiting here, and Ge Nie will go with me." The First Emperor made the final decision.
Fu Zikang left behind the respectful Zhao Gao, the annoyed Li Si, the stunned Meng Yi, and the scared Wang Wan.
He led the First Emperor and Ge Nie into a small warehouse that only he could enter.
This small warehouse occupies a very small area. It is not as big as the office buildings of the officials of the Zhi Nei Shi Mansion, only about ten square meters in size.
Although the warehouse door is not big, there are seven large locks hanging on the small door. The chains of each lock are as thick as an arm. The surface of the small door is covered with those iron chains.
"Can we save five years of military pay here?"
The First Emperor knew how big the warehouse was by looking at the door, and he was suspicious.
Even if this warehouse is full of gold, it is only about 600,000 gold.
One gold is worth a thousand dollars, that's 600 million dollars.
The military pay for ten years is about 12 billion, and the military pay for five years is about 6 billion.
Although 600 million yuan is also a huge number, compared with 6 billion yuan, it is ten times the difference, which is still far behind.
"Of course."
Fu Zikang couldn't stop nodding, took out a bunch of keys, and started to open the seven locks on the warehouse door.
When the First Emperor saw this, he said nothing and quietly watched Fu Zikang open the door.
I thought to myself: Is this Zhuzi stuffing a warehouse full of colored glaze for me? Even so, if he could spend enough money to build half of the Chidao, that would be a great achievement. The number of colored glazes on the market has not increased significantly in recent years, so where did Shuzi get so much money?
Click~
…
The sound of seven large locks colliding with the lock body was clear and sweet, and Fu Zikang opened seven locks in a row.
"Your Majesty, move back."
"Withdraw some?"
"Of course."
Are you afraid that something inside will hurt me?
Could it be that this warehouse contains living animals?
What kind of exotic beast is it?
Blackbird?
Shenlong?
The First Emperor took two steps back in confusion.
"Your Majesty, please take five more steps."
"..."
The First Emperor's curiosity had been aroused by Fu Zikang, so he took five steps back.
Fu Zikang nodded and then opened the warehouse door.
When he pulled the warehouse door, he kept standing at the door and moved with the warehouse door.
In the eyes of the First Emperor full of expectation.
What caught his eye was not the glittering gold, nor the colorful glass vessels, nor the black birds and dragons he had just thought of.
Instead, a handful of ashes thrown out.
The ashes seemed to have been firmly blocked in the warehouse by the door. Now that they were no longer blocked by the door, they all rushed out at once, as if hundreds of people in the room threw a ball of dirt at the First Emperor at the same time.
"retreat!"
The First Emperor had not yet reacted.
Ge Nie gently pulled the First Emperor backward with his left hand, and pulled out the sword from his waist with his right hand to stop him in front of the First Emperor.
The sword master in white dances like a thousand swords at the same time, and his posture is extremely gorgeous.
The invisible and intangible sword energy showed its shape in the dust, making all the flying dust fall like it hit an invisible wall.
After five breaths, all the flying dust had been knocked off by Gai Nie.
Cha~
The sword master in white put his sword into its sheath. His clothes were still white, spotless and without any stains.
The First Emperor squinted his eyes, stepped on the dust on the ground and walked to Fu Zikang, who was still standing at the door. He said extremely calmly: "You said that this is the soil that can be worth five years of military pay."
Fu Zikang nodded, then shook his head. The gray on his crown kept sliding down.
Although he had been hiding at the door just now, he did not have a sword master to protect him after all, and there was still some dust on his body, and he looked disgraced.
"This thing is not soil, it is cement."
The First Emperor did not lose his temper, and even though it seemed so ridiculous, he did not show any signs of irritation.
"Cement? This is the first time I heard this name."
The First Emperor looked at the cement piled to the top in the warehouse, took two quick steps, and reached out to grab it.
"Your Majesty, please wait."
Fu Zikang stopped him quickly.
"Um?"
The First Emperor looked back at Fu Zikang, who was so frightened that Fu Zikang immediately retracted his hand.
"This thing burns your hands. Your Majesty should not touch it directly."
"Burn your hands? This thing is not a flame, how can it burn your hands?"
The First Emperor heard more and more strange things today, and his tone became calmer.
If Zhao Gao were here, he would know that the First Emperor was already angry at this moment, but he was just suppressing it.
"I don't know, but it was Lord Chang'an who said it. I saw Lord Chang'an put the piglet into the lime with my own eyes. One day later, the piglet's skin was red and swollen, with burn marks, and cracked when exposed to water."
"...You said this thing was sent by that Zhuzi? What did he call it?"
"cement."
"He said this cement can be worth five years of military pay?! Is that how you fooled me?"
When Ying Zheng heard that it was sent by Ying Chengyu, his calm expression disappeared, and he became angry and furious.
The First Emperor stamped his feet angrily, causing dust to rise everywhere, and the black bird on his crown robe seemed to be floating in the clouds.
Gai Nie looked at the cement-stained Mianfu on Ying Zheng's body with an expressionless expression.
Waste of my sword.
"Your Majesty, calm down your anger. Your Majesty, calm down your anger. Let me cover up the wonderful use of this thing for your Majesty." Fu Zikang said hurriedly when he saw the First Emperor getting angry.
The First Emperor watched with cold eyes.
"I remember correctly, you came here on the recommendation of that prince?"
"Yes, the Lord of Chang'an treated me with great kindness. When I was about to starve to death, it was Lord Chang'an who took me in. I gave him my surname, Zikang."
When it came to Ying Chengxiang, Fu Zikang still looked a little timid.
But his tone was obviously much firmer, and his eyes were full of reverence.
During the Qin Dynasty, many people did not have surnames, and only noble people had surnames.
Wooden slips No. 6 and No. 11 of the Qin slips in Sleeping Tiger Land are letters home written by brothers Jing and Heifu respectively to their elder brother. The three of them are brothers.
Even the soldiers of the Qin Dynasty did not have surnames. It can be seen from this that people with surnames in the Qin Dynasty had at least a certain status.
Ying Chengyu gave Zikang a surname and a name, which was an extremely glorious thing in the Qin Dynasty.
"Then why don't you speak for Chenglong in the court?"
"The Lord of Chang'an does not need your words."
The First Emperor narrowed his eyes and said in a dangerous voice: "Then if Chenglong wants you to speak."
"Then I will speak."
Ying Zheng looked at this important minister who frankly admitted that he was one of the Nine Qings, and he said coldly: "You are eating my salary and being loyal to me. You are disloyal."
"Zikang is indeed unfaithful to Your Majesty. Zikang's work as a governor of Su Nei is like managing accounts in the Chang'an Lord's Mansion. The Lord of Chang'an recommended Zikang to be a historian of Su Nei. As far as Zikang is concerned, he is working for Lord Chang'an. Your Majesty If you think Zikang is not good enough, Zikang can just resign and go back to be the accountant of the Chang'an Junfu."
Fu Zikang didn't even address me as a minister, which showed that he really wanted to resign.
"My Jiu Qing is not as good as the accountant in the Shuzi Mansion?"
"Two thousand dan per year for governing Su Neishi, the salary given by your majesty is more..."
Ying Zheng saw Fu Zikang cowering, but with firm eyes. It was difficult to understand why Fu Zikang dared to talk to him like this despite being afraid of him.
"During the reign of the Nine Ministers of the Great Qin Dynasty, Su Neishi was loyal to Cheng Xi, but not to me. Do you know that I can kill you just by doing this!"
There was a look of fear in Fu Zikang's eyes, but he said: "Chang'an Lord said that as long as I tell the truth to your Majesty, your Majesty will not kill me. As long as you take care of the accounts, no matter what you think in your heart, your Majesty will not bother to care about me."
"snort!"
The First Emperor snorted coldly, and the murderous aura just now completely dissipated with this cold snort.
"That Shuzi has been extremely stubborn these years and likes to watch people's hearts. He actually used this trick on me. How outrageous! Fu Zikang, now is the time for you to atone for your loyalty to the Lord."
"If you can prove that the dust you call cement can be worth five years of military pay, I will forgive you and Ying Chengyu today. If not, you two have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, and you should go to the execution ground."
Fu Zikang was still scared at first, but after hearing the whole words of the First Emperor, he breathed a sigh of relief and replied easily: "Wei."
When the First Emperor saw Fu Zikang's confident look, he knew that there must be something strange about this cement.
I couldn't help but take advantage of Fu Zikang's busy schedule to squat down and take a closer look at the cement.
But the First Emperor looked around and saw nothing special about it, thinking that it was just gray soil.
He wanted to grab it with his hands, but then he thought about what Fu Zikang said just now about burning his hands...
"Gane."
"I'm here."
“You grab some cement and see what’s weird about it.”
"..."
Gai Nie had no expression on his face and looked at the First Emperor with a look that made you think I was stupid.
"If this were Zhao Gao, he would have caught me. You are not as loyal to me as Zhao Gao."
Gai Nie was silent for three breaths.
"What does Your Majesty want me to do?"
"Grab some cement and see what's weird about it."
Gai Nie remained silent for another three breaths.
"What does Your Majesty want me to do?"
"Catch some...Gane, you are getting bolder and bolder now, how dare you tease me!"
"His Majesty has issued an order that my memory has deteriorated. I can't remember three breaths in any text I have read. I dare not disobey it."
"I am talking about words, words can be remembered!"
Gai Nie was silent again for three breaths: "What did your Majesty just say?"
"……nothing."
"only."
I didn't even give an order, you are "only" a piece of shit!
The First Emperor felt that Zhao Gao was still suitable to be the official seal official.
It doesn't matter if you approve the memorial more slowly, it's important not to get pissed off.
The effort of the two of them in talking.
Fu Zikang has prepared all the items.
On the ground were half a basin of water, a shovel, half a basin of stones, and half a basin of yellow sand.
In front of the First Emperor's eyes, Fu Zikang first shoveled half a shovel of cement and placed it on the ground, then shoveled half a shovel and piled yellow sand on the cement, and then shoveled half a shovel and piled stones on the yellow sand.
Then Fu Zikang picked up the ladle and poured water on the cement, yellow sand and gravel mixture while mixing it back and forth with a shovel.
But Fu Zikang probably had never done similar work before, so yellow sand, cement, and stones were scattered everywhere.
The First Emperor looked at it for a moment, frowned, and saw that Fu Zikang wanted to mix the three.
So he took the shovel from Fu Zikang's hand and started it himself.
Fu Zikang exclaimed: "How can your Majesty do this job!"
The First Emperor said impatiently: "If you do well, will I be willing to do it?"
The First Emperor brought the three together three times, five divided by two, and stirred them back and forth. He was infinitely better than Fu Zikang.
After stirring, the First Emperor felt that it was no longer sticky, so he asked without raising his head: "Should we add more water?"
"Oh? Oh! Yes, yes! Add water, add water!"
Fu Zikang looked a little dull, but was woken up by the First Emperor's words. He hurriedly scooped up water with a ladle and poured it on slowly.
While pouring the water, Fu Zikang hesitated to speak.
"Just ask if you want. Are you no longer brave enough to say you were disloyal to me?"
Fu Zikang said cautiously: "Your Majesty has known about cement for a long time? Have you ever worked with this thing?"
The First Emperor still didn't raise his head, and continued to turn over the mixture of cement, yellow sand, and stones, and said naturally: "No, but it is not much different from mixing mud. When I was young, I lived in the Kingdom of Zhao with my mother, and our houses were always destroyed by the Zhao people. It has to be filled with mud. If you don’t fill it, you and your mother will be in the cold.”
"Haha, thanks to my good skills in Heni, those Zhao dogs can repair me no matter how hard they try to tear me apart. My mother and I were woken up by the cold twice. I dare not say that I am the best in the world in governing the country, but Heni, no one in this world Can be stronger than me."
Fu Zikang listened to the first emperor's proud words, and unknowingly, he felt a little dazed again.
There was some mist in his eyes. He had never thought that the arrogant First Emperor was the lord of the world.
What I am most proud of is not governing the country, but peace...
"In a daze again? Add water!"
After being together for a while, the First Emperor found that the stickiness was no longer there anymore. He looked up and found that Fu Zikang had deserted again, and said impatiently.
"There is no one in the world who has never been frozen. Why should you cry if I have been frozen? Don't think that I won't punish you if you cry. If the cement cannot be worth five years of military pay later, you will still be beheaded."
Fu Zikang poured water while crying.
His tears mixed with water and flowed into a mixture of cement, gravel and yellow sand along the shovel wielded by the First Emperor.
The Great Qin Governor Su Neishi, who was loyal to Ying Chengyu, said in a whimpering voice: "I will not disappoint His Majesty!"
"...That's good. There is hope for success, the country will be forever solid, and there will be no more cold people in the world."
(End of chapter)
