Cheng Jiao's kneeling cannot be considered as kneeling, it can be said to be close to sitting paralyzed.
The ministers looked at Cheng Jiao with different eyes, some were angry, some were pity, some were sighing, some were regretful.
"Brother Wang..." Two lines of pure tears fell down from the dirty face. Regret, sadness, helplessness, and other emotions all rushed into Cheng Jiao's heart.
"You still have the nerve to call me brother Wang." Ying Zheng stood up from the king's chair and came to Cheng Jiao.
Cheng Jiao did not dare to look directly into Ying Zheng's eyes. She still lowered her head and whispered: "Brother Wang... I was wrong... I was really wrong..."
Cheng Jiao, who had stood in this position with her head held high last time, asked for the battle with high spirits and received the tiger talisman with confidence.
Cheng Jiao, who was now kneeling in this position, confessed her guilt in utter embarrassment, shedding tears without any conviction.
"Hmph!" Ying Zheng snorted coldly, "I trust you so much that I let you lead 80,000 soldiers to attack Wei, but what about you!"
The corners of Cheng Jiao's mouth trembled twice, and her heart also trembled countless times.
"You listened to the slander, did not distinguish the truth from the false, created rumors, and slandered me." Ying Zheng seemed to have vented his anger, "You actually raised an army to rebel!!"
Guilt hit her, and Cheng Jiao's head dropped even lower.
"That Fan Yuqi came to collude with Zhao and Wei. He participated in the plan of 'tiring Qin and attacking Chu'." Ying Zheng said angrily, "After urging you to take command, he also implemented the alienation Don’t you notice this plan at all?”
Lu Buwei took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. Chengjiao has followed Fan Yuqi in martial arts since he was a child. He must have a deep trust in Fan Yuqi, so he fell into Fan Yuqi's trap."
Ying Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little calmer: "That's it, the matter has come to an end, there is no point in saying more. It's just a pity for those 80,000 soldiers."
Mentioning those soldiers, Cheng Jiao finally looked up at Ying Zheng, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Have you ever thought that because of you alone, these soldiers will either die in battle or be punished, and their families may also be implicated." Ying Zheng said indignantly.
Cheng Jiao's face was full of shame. He calmed down and whispered: "Cheng Jiao knows that he can't escape the blame, but he begs Brother Wang to give those soldiers a lighter sentence. He must not hurt those tens of thousands of soldiers because of Cheng Jiao's fault." lives, that’s tens of thousands of families.”
Ying Zheng frowned and said in a deep voice: "When you rebelled against the country, why didn't you think about those tens of thousands of families?"
Cheng Jiao lowered her head again, speechless.
Ying Zheng took two steps sideways and said: "Brothers fighting for power and profit are a common thing in the palace. I can just keep my brotherly love in mind and not argue with me. You are young and energetic, have little experience, and have been deceived by villains. I can forgive you for doing stupid things, but..."
Hearing Ying Zheng say that she doesn't have to worry about it, Cheng Jiao feels like hearing Tian Yin, but Ying Zheng's "but" instantly makes Cheng Jiao's heart sink to the bottom.
"But you have deceived the public with your monstrous words and wasted the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Even if I spare you, I am afraid that the world may not spare you." Ying Zheng said, "What's more, do you still remember that when you asked for battle, you asked for help? What did I promise?"
Cheng Jiao's tears no longer flowed, and she seemed to have downplayed something. She said softly: "My brother said that if he fails to defeat Wei, he is willing to raise his head to see us."
"Have you defeated Wei?" Ying Zheng turned around, as if he didn't want others to see his expression.
"No." Cheng Jiao replied.
"What should we do?" Ying Zheng asked next.
"My brother is willing to die to atone for his sins." Cheng Jiao no longer had any emotional fluctuations.
"Your Majesty..." Several voices sounded among the ministers, seeming to plead for Cheng Jiao.
Ying Zheng raised a hand, indicating that everyone would not ask for mercy.
"Here comes someone." Ying Zheng said in a deep voice.
"Yes." Several guards beside Cheng Jiao responded with their hands raised.
"Put Cheng Jiao into the sky prison and keep her under strict supervision." Ying Zheng still didn't turn around, "We'll wait until we get married before we make any further plans."
The ministers looked at each other. They didn't expect that Ying Zheng would make such a decision. Ying Zheng had said so decisively before, but the word "care" has more meanings...
Cheng Jiao still showed no expression, adjusted her kneeling posture, kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Brother Wang, for showing mercy."
Ying Zheng waved his hand.
The guards picked up Cheng Jiao and escorted her to the prison.
Ying Zheng walked slowly to the king's chair, calmed down and sat down.
The atmosphere in the hall was very dull.
Lu Buwei took a step forward and broke the dullness of the hall: "Your Majesty, what should we do with those rebels?"
Ying Zheng thought for a while and said: "Those who wear red silk on their arms are obeying orders and rebelling. They are helpless. They can break the establishment and enrich the Wang Jian army and the Meng Wu army."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," all the ministers said in unison.
"As for those rebels." Ying Zheng paused and said, "All the generals will be executed. The remaining soldiers will all go to repair the Zheng Guo Canal without rewards or remuneration. When the canal is completed, it will be considered as the contribution to repairing the canal. Sentencing.”
"Your Majesty, do you want to sit together?" Lu Buwei asked.
"Forget it if you sit together." Ying Zheng said, "Only those generals who were executed will be seated together, and the three of them will be ordered to go to Zheng Guo Canal to repair the canal."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Buwei answered with cupped hands.
Ying Zheng looked at Wang Jian and others below and said, "Since there is a punishment, there must be a reward. Wang Jian, please tell me the process of the war in detail."
Wang Jian took a step forward, cleared his throat, and then began to tell.
How did Lord Changping use his plan, how did he execute the plan, how did Wang Jian decide on a quick battle and then lay out his tactics, and how he defeated Cheng Piao's rebels head-on. Fan Yuqi and Cheng Piao fled in panic, but Ying Cheng used a plan to close the guards. The army was exhausted, and they finally followed it all the way and found Chenglong by the river.
As Wang Jian narrated, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed a lot.
Ying Zheng and everyone listened with great interest. They clapped their hands when they were happy, and their palms became sweaty when they were nervous.
Especially when Wang Jian said that he forced Cheng Yu and Fan Yuqi to the front of the formation with a hail of arrows, and used the technique of attacking the heart to make Cheng Yu lose his fighting spirit, so that all the soldiers surrendered without a fight, everyone clapped their hands and marveled.
"Hahaha..." Lu Buwei laughed and said, "Soldiers are also deceitful. I didn't expect that General Wang Jian, a martial arts practitioner, can also attack the mind. It's rare, it's rare."
Wang Jian smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Lu Xiangbang is just laughing. I just want to minimize the losses of the generals."
"Hahaha..." There was laughter in the court, and the atmosphere finally became lively.
Then Ying Cheng set up an ambush and Qin Cheng added a little bit about the process.
Finally, Ying Cheng raised two doubts.
One is that someone shot a Zhao guide without giving the order at that time, which caused some delays in the pursuit. The second is why Fan Yuqi threw Cheng Long by the river when he could have taken Cheng Long away with him.
Only Ying Zheng and Li Si knew the reason in the entire court, but how could Ying Zheng tell the truth, not to mention that that person would not return to Qin for a few years.
"Fan Yuqi was probably rescued by the masters sent by Zhao State." Ying Zheng said, "At that time, the matter was urgent, and it was possible that only one person could be rescued. Therefore, with Fan Yuqi's cunning, he would definitely leave Cheng behind. I don’t care.”
"The king's words make sense." After Lu Buwei finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement.
"No matter what, we should closely check Fan Yuqi's whereabouts." Ying Zheng said, "But we must not alert the enemy."
Lu Buwei said: "The old minister has made arrangements. Once Fan Yuqi settles down, he will send the news back immediately."
Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Also, tell me, who takes the lead in suppressing the rebellion this time?"
Lu Buwei was the first to say: "I believe that General Wang Jian commanded properly and used his troops like a god, so he deserves the most credit."
But Wang Jian evaded: "Wei Chen only acted according to the plan. If we talk about the first achievement, it must be Lord Changping. Without Lord Changping's advice and struggling to deal with the rebels, I am afraid that Wei Chen will have no choice but to defeat the rebels." It won’t be so easy, and the losses will be much greater.”
But Lord Changping waved his hand: "Hey, General Wang's words are serious. I'm just a little close but it's General Wang who takes the most credit."
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Okay, you don't have to be humble to each other anymore."
Ying Zheng looked at Li Si. Li Si remained silent and stood there, as if watching the excitement.
"Li Si, you are a Tingwei, and you can decide what is fair." Ying Zheng said, "You should tell me how to treat their merits."
Li Si took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "In my opinion, everything has a cause and effect. Lord Changping's actions are caused by causes, and General Wang Jian's actions are effects. The reason why everyone has different opinions is because they attach different importance to causes and effects. "
Ying Zheng nodded slightly and asked, "Then how can we convince everyone?"
Li Si smiled slightly and said, "Whether cause or effect is more important, let me give you an example."
"Ting Wei, please speak." In the court, Ying Zheng's name for Li Si also changed.
"Chengjiao's rebellion also has a cause and effect." Li Si said, "Fan Yuqi's collaboration with the enemy was the cause, and Chengjiao listened to the slander and raised his troops to treason was the result, right?"
Ying Zheng nodded, but thought to himself: The old rules are here again.
"Yes." Many of the ministers said directly.
Li Si looked sideways at the ministers and said, "Then, gentlemen, please tell me, if you compare Cheng Jiao or Fan Yuqi, which one is more guilty?"
"Of course it's Fan Yuqi." Meng Tian said directly without thinking.
Then, all the ministers echoed.
"That's it. Although the nature of the events is different, the principles of cause and effect are the same. Without a cause, there is no effect. This is Wei Chen's view on rewards based on merit." Li Si turned to Ying Zheng again said.
The ministers discussed it a lot, but it was obvious that their opinions had been unified.
Every time, Li Si seemed to have some unique insights, and this time, he did not face Ying Zheng alone, but established his prestige in front of the civil and military officials of the court.
"Okay!" Ying Zheng said, "Mr. Changping came up with a plan and disintegrated the rebels' combat power, allowing our army to return with a great victory. He deserves the first credit."
The ministers no longer had any objections, and Wang Jian was not dissatisfied.
"Draft a decree to ennoble Lord Changping as the Right Chancellor, to assist the government with Lu Xiangbang, to grant thousands of households, and to reward tens of thousands of burdens." Ying Zheng said solemnly.
Lu Buwei looked shocked, he did not expect that Ying Zheng would reward Lord Changping so highly.
Lord Changping was also very surprised and knelt down to thank him, and glanced at Lu Buwei inadvertently.
Ying Zheng ignored everyone's surprise and continued: "I canonize Wang Jian as a general. I am allowed to expand my private army and will be rewarded with tens of thousands of tons. Wang Ben and Ying Cheng will be promoted to two ranks and rewarded with thousands of tons."
Wang Jian and Ying Cheng came forward and knelt down to thank him at the same time. Wang Jian also knelt down to thank his son Wang Ben and accepted the reward.
Lu Buwei remained silent, apparently having accepted Ying Zheng's decision.
The power struggle between Cheng Jiao and Ying Zheng has come to an end. Not only did Ying Zheng suffer no loss, he also shared a lot of Lu Buwei's power, and a new round of competition is about to begin.
