"Your Majesty, this is the gossip spread by some traitor." Lu Buwei was a little nervous, fearing that Ying Zheng might misunderstand, "The Nine Cauldrons are the treasures of the Qin Kingdom. They are not the private property of the old minister, so how can he have any other private wishes. Your Majesty, you don't have to I doubt the loyalty of the old city. When the king is crowned and assumes the royal power, the old minister will resign and retire."
"Father Zhong, please don't be angry." Ying Zheng said with a smile, "If there was no father Zhong, I don't know what the Great Qin would be like, let alone what I am today."
"As for the Jiuding, the king can do whatever he wants. I will send the Jiuding to the palace immediately." Lu Buwei lost some of his anger, but still said angrily.
"Didn't I say that Jiuding is still in Zhong's father's house." Ying Zheng still spoke calmly, "I just don't want to know about such a big event later. If other countries send troops to Great Qin because of Jiuding's incident, I actually If you don’t even know the reason, wouldn’t it be ridiculous?”
Lu Buwei calmed down and said: "But it is like this. The old minister is too cautious. He should have told the king earlier."
"It's not too late now," Ying Zheng said.
Lu Buwei said: "But the old minister advises the king that before the Qin Dynasty is absolutely sure of defeating the six countries, Jiuding needs to be handled with caution."
"Let's discuss this matter in the future." Seeing Lu Buwei's violent reaction just now, Ying Zheng changed the subject, "I heard from Zhao Gao that various countries will send princess picture albums for selecting concubines in advance, and some have already arrived in Xianyang. Now I hope Father Zhong will be able to receive the envoys from various countries, and it will be up to Father Zhong to select the album."
"The king chooses a concubine, how can an old minister peek into the princess album." Lu Buwei knew that this was a step, so he naturally did not continue the topic of Jiuding.
"You are my father-in-law, so you should choose your future daughter-in-law with your mother in advance." Ying Zheng seemed to be talking about family matters, "The selected ones will be shown to me, and after the Queen Mother has reviewed them, let her come to Qin to choose a concubine. .”
"Then I will take care of it immediately. If there is nothing else to do, I will leave." Before Ying Zheng could respond, Lu Buwei stepped back and went out.
He wanted to end the conversation quickly, because the development of things was different from what he expected when he came. He felt that Ying Zheng had grown a lot overnight and became much more scheming. He needs some time to think about how to deal with future relationships, not only with Ying Zheng, but also with various forces.
"Father Zhong, let's go slowly." Ying Zheng also didn't expect Lu Buwei to leave immediately. He waited for Lu Buwei to retreat before saying, "Zhao Gao, send Lu Xiangbang off for me."
Originally, Ying Zheng wanted to ask Lu Buwei what he thought of the Queen Mother's trip, but now he had to find another time.
Zhao Gao sent Lu Buwei off, and Ying Zheng picked up the "Strategy of the Six Kingdoms" and thought to himself: "Yesterday I was curious about the difference between this and that book, so I took it back today. It seems that although Zhong's father-right He favors the government and the public, pays homage to the Prime Minister and makes him a marquis. He is also very scheming and good at maneuvering, but he is still loyal to the few and has no dissatisfaction with the Qin Dynasty. However, you should not be careless, it is better to be cautious. "
Ying Zheng opened the slip and read it carefully. Judging from the combat methods and tactics in this book, this is indeed a good book. However, compared with "The Strategy to Destroy Six Countries", it is limited to short-term or local battles and lacks an overall view. It can be said to be a shortened version of "The Strategy to Destroy Six Countries".
Zhao Gao sent Lu Buwei away. When he came back, he saw Ying Zheng reading a book. He did not disturb him and just stood there to accompany him.
Ying Zheng saw Zhao Gao waiting nearby and asked, "You seem to have something to say."
"Your Majesty, this was not the way you talked to Lu Xiangbang before." Zhao Gao looked worried.
"Haha." Ying Zheng smiled, "Indeed. In the past, I would not have talked to Father Zhong like that. But since I have reached adulthood, it is okay not to perform the ceremony, but I must make Father Zhong realize that I have reached adulthood. I want to To win the world, you must first obtain the royal power, and if you want to obtain the royal power, you must take it step by step."
Zhao Gao nodded: "The king has sent a signal. But isn't the king afraid that Lu Xiangbang has some grudges and precautions?"
"If he has any different intentions, he will naturally be on guard." Ying Zheng said, "And if he doesn't have any different intentions, he will look at me with admiration. In any case, I know Father Zhong's motives, and it is only good to prepare early. There’s no harm.”
"I understand, if I don't ask the king, I will not know what to say and what not to say when I meet Lu Xiangbang in the future," Zhao Gao said.
"Okay, please step back first. I want to finish reading this book." Ying Zheng said.
"The servant is waiting outside." Zhao Gao withdrew.
Ying Zheng took out his pen and wrote down his thoughts on the two books, analyzing every sentence and thinking about every suggestion.
The next day, Li Si came as expected.
Moreover, this time he stayed in the palace in a dignified manner.
The two servants of the Lu Mansion took Li Si to the palace gate, took off his clothes and bowed, and then went back to resume their duties.
Zhao Gao ordered two young eunuchs to take Li Si's salute and lead Li Si into the palace gate.
Zhao Gao found a room next to Ying Zheng's study and arranged for Li Si to stay.
After settling in, Li Si came to the study and met with Ying Zheng.
"The common people pay their respects to the king."
"Sir, please get up. There is no need to salute in the future." Ying Zheng said, "Please sit down quickly."
"Your Majesty, just as the common people expected, Lu Xiangbang appointed the common people to accompany the king to study." Li Si said with a smile.
"Sir, you are very thoughtful. I will be with you more often in the future. I hope you can give me some advice." Ying Zheng was very polite. Just the fact that Li Si knew things like a god was enough to impress Ying Zheng.
The two sat down, Zhao Gao walked out and waited outside the door.
"I heard that the king's coronation ceremony will be postponed. I wonder what other aspects are like?" Li Si asked.
"Although the crowning ceremony has been postponed, the selection of concubines, ancestor worship, spring hunting, etc. will still proceed as normal." Ying Zheng said.
"The king is right to accept the postponement of the crown ceremony happily." Li Si said, "We should start from other aspects to gradually regain the power that should belong to the king."
"Sir, what do you think?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Judging from the current situation, if you want to achieve the ultimate goal of taking over the king's power, it will be difficult to achieve it in a short time without variables." Li Si said, "Whether it is selecting a concubine, worshiping ancestors, or hunting in the spring, this series of actions , there are variables, which are also so-called opportunities.”
Ying Zheng rolled his eyes and said, "Sir, please explain everything in detail."
"This matter of choosing concubines can be summed up in a few words." Li Si said with a smile, "Choose more concubines than establish a queen."
"Oh? Why?" Ying Zheng asked.
Li Si smiled and continued: "With frequent concubine selection, the number of princesses will increase, and more and more princesses will be sent from various countries. As a result, each country will no longer pay special attention to a certain princess, but will spread its energy to Among several people, even if there is only one princess in the country who becomes the princess, the chance of competing for favor will be much lower. The temporary absence of a queen is to prevent one family from becoming dominant and difficult to control by relatives. "
"That's right. If all countries compete for the choice of concubine, then everyone will marry." Ying Zheng said, "Sir, please continue."
"As for the ancestor worship and spring hunting rituals, the grassroots people expected that something might happen." Li Si said solemnly, "According to the information that the grassroots people know, during the ancestor worship and spring hunting activities, princesses from all over the world participated in the selection of concubines in the Qin State. There are many envoys, and there are also guards to protect them, so there must be some people who are confused. And the spring hunting activity is hunting outdoors. The grassroots speculate that there will be assassins to assassinate the king, and please make preparations in advance. "
"Will someone assassinate me? Who would be so bold and dare to assassinate in Da Qin." Ying Zheng was a little doubtful.
"The purpose of the assassination is not necessarily to assassinate." Li Si explained, "It is more likely to provoke trouble."
"Provoking trouble?" Ying Zheng was still confused.
"Your Majesty, you can assume that if the State of Zhao is at odds with the State of Chu, and the State of Zhao wants to use Qin's help to suppress the State of Chu, then this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Li Si's voice was not loud, but his words were clear, "Zhao Guoguo If someone pretends to be a Chu State person to assassinate the king, and the king thinks that it is the Chu State who is sending people to assassinate the king, then the Qin State will definitely send troops to attack Chu, while the Zhao State will reap the benefits without spending a single soldier. Why not do it."
"!!" A word startled Ying Zheng.
This situation is indeed very likely to happen. At the time when envoys from various countries are in Qin, and they have their own motives, it is easy to frame him.
"So... what's your response, sir?"
"What is going to happen cannot be stopped, nor should it be stopped." Li Si said, "It is not difficult to protect the king. Why doesn't the king take advantage of this opportunity and take advantage of it?"
"How to take advantage of the situation?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Once an assassin attacks, the guards can deliberately not risk their lives, but leave a way out." Li Si explained, "And the king can send another assassin to pretend to assassinate, but actually protect the king."
"Sir, are you saying that I also sent a few people to pretend to be assassins?" Ying Zheng asked.
"That's right." Li Si said with a smile, "But it's not just a few people, one master is enough. Your Majesty, you can imagine how the assassin will react when he sees someone else assassinating the target he is about to assassinate. If not, He will definitely hold back until he finds out the details of the other party. Once the assassin kidnaps the king, instead of chasing him, he will quickly evacuate. At this time, if he sends someone to secretly follow him, he will definitely find the person behind the scenes. Once that happens, he will not chase the king. The evidence is conclusive, but it has become a reason to restrict this country. On the contrary, if you don't send assassins and use guards to fight to the death, the result is nothing more than repelling it, but you can't make it let down its guard. The possibility of tracking is very small, or you can capture it. But he had plenty of time to cut it off."
"It is indeed safer to do this." Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Unless they don't come, if they come, I will have to find out who instigated it. According to what my husband said, I sent another person with strong martial arts skills to pretend to be an assassin to assassinate me. .”
"Your Majesty, can the common people recommend someone to take on this important task?" Li Si asked.
"Of course, as long as it is reliable, there will be no problem." Ying Zheng said, "I wonder who he is?"
"This man's surname is Jing, and he is a close friend of the grass-roots people." Li Si said, "This man is highly skilled in martial arts, and his lightness kung fu is superb. I believe that this man will protect the king with absolutely nothing. In the future, this man will definitely contribute to the king's behalf." "
"Okay, I will accompany them to perform a play. As for whether we can achieve our goal, it depends on the situation." Ying Zheng readily agreed.
Because there are really not many trustworthy people around him.
