"Hahaha..." Lu Buwei laughed and said, "She is indeed a queen from a famous family. Your Majesty, Senior Sima Cuo is a person whom I admire very much. Now his descendants are very talented. In my humble opinion, why not reuse Sima Jie, which can be regarded as compensation. Senior Sima."
Ying Zheng did not expect that Sima Jie would be a descendant of Sima Cuo, nor did he expect that Lu Buwei's attitude would be like this. He simply followed the trend and said: "Since Father Zhong has this intention, and I also think it should be like this, then Father Zhong feels that it should be given to him." What kind of position does Sima Jie have?"
Lu Buwei thought for a while and said: "Since the king has ordered Sima Jie to manage Wenleiju and has also given him the order to compile a general history, then let's give him the post of Taishi."
Sima Jie looked slightly nervous, maybe because he told his family background, or maybe because he heard Lu Buwei's words, he responded in a panic: "I am so virtuous and capable, I cannot afford the wrong love between the king and Lu Xiangbang, not to mention that our ancestors have already Now that we have become common people, the whole family has focused on farming and doing business, so I forgive you for not daring to take on this important responsibility."
Ying Zheng waved his hand and said: "Your ability is obvious to all, let alone mentioning it. For senior Sima Cuo alone, I can't make up for it. I think back then, if senior Sima Cuo hadn't destroyed Shu, conquered Ba, and conquered Chu, what would have happened for us? The Qin Dynasty has conquered half of the country, so how can the prosperity of the Qin Dynasty come now? I feel that compared with Bai Qi’s victorious battles, Senior Sima Cuo’s strategic layout is more important to the Qin Dynasty.”
This is a very high rating and quite accurate.
Lu Buwei nodded repeatedly beside him, and Ying Zheng's views coincided with his.
At that time, it was Sima Cuo who strongly recommended King Qin Huiwen to attack Shu first, and then use Shu as a strategic rear. On the one hand, he replenished the national treasury, and on the other hand, he took advantage of the geographical advantages to move down the river. Only then did he destroy the Ba Kingdom and occupy a large area of Chu land. The current territory of Da Qin. And if King Qin Huiwen listens to Zhang Yi and does not attack Shu, then it is really hard to say what Qin's current territory, national power, military strength, or its status among various countries will be like.
Therefore, Ying Zheng's evaluation of Sima Cuo is actually not an exaggeration.
What's more, without Sima Cuo, Bai Qi's talents may not have been revealed, and the wars Bai Qi won are unknown. In the Battle of Changping alone, if Qin lost to Zhao, the consequences would be for Qin For humans, it is unimaginable.
Speaking of his proud ancestors, Sima Jie's face lit up.
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "Don't shirk it anymore. Even if you are not from a famous family, your talents are enough to be qualified for the position of Taishi."
Lu Buwei also echoed from the side: "Yes, I think so too."
Sima Jie hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm not trying to dodge this, but I just rashly revealed my life experience and haven't discussed it with my father yet, so I feel uneasy."
"So that's it." Ying Zheng nodded and said, "I was negligent. Your father should have been present for this matter. I just happened to ask about the current situation of the past generations of your Sima family. There must be some things that you may not know. .”
"Where is your father now?" Lu Buwei asked.
Since Lu Buwei had investigated Sima Jie, how could he not know who Sima Jie's father was? At the very least, he could trace out a rough idea through Meng Wu's wife Sima's family. That's why he didn't hesitate to ask Sima Jie just now. Jay's life experience.
Sima Jie looked at Lu Buwei and then at Ying Zheng, as if he was asking for something.
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Is your father at home? If so, we will go find him immediately."
How could Sima Jie not have any scruples when Lu Buwei was present, but Ying Zheng's hint was obviously not to worry about Lu Buwei.
Sima Jie nodded slightly, understood what Ying Zheng meant, and said bluntly: "Father, he just returned to Xianyang last night. He went out again this morning. He didn't say where he went, and he didn't know if he was back."
Ying Zheng could naturally guess that after Sima Hong came back from Bashu, he implemented the cultivation of grain seeds near Xianyang, and he couldn't help but feel a little moved in his heart.
"It's better than this. You go home at night, discuss it with your father, and then ask him to come here with you tomorrow. I and Lu Xiangbang will come together tomorrow," Ying Zheng said.
Ying Zheng actually had his own intentions. Judging from Lu Buwei's performance, his admiration for Sima Cuo was not fake, and he also valued the Sima clan very much. Why not take this opportunity to also grant Sima Hong an official position. In the future, Sima Hong It’s also much easier to do things.
That's true, not to mention that Lu Buwei is not from the Qin State, and his background is not very noble. Even if he is a member of the royal family, who doesn't want to make friends with famous families? In the complicated officialdom, the more support he has, the more strength he will have.
At this time, Lu Buwei said: "That's good. I have long heard that your father has done good deeds and is quite prestigious among the people. I also want to meet him. Wouldn't it be better if he is also willing to serve the king."
Ying Zheng thought to himself: Lu Buwei really has this intention, then things will be easier to handle.
Looking at Lu Buwei again, his face was full of joy and sincerity hung on his face.
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Then let's decide this. This is the king's order. Don't shirk it anymore."
"I respectfully obey the king's orders." Sima Jie bowed his hands and saluted.
Ying Zheng turned around and said to Lu Buwei: "Father Zhong, if that's the case, let's come back tomorrow."
Lu Buwei asked softly: "Your Majesty, are you going back to the palace?"
"After I came back, I haven't paid a visit to the Queen Mother. Can Father Zhong go with me?" Ying Zheng said.
"It is inconvenient for me to go to the Queen Mother." Lu Buwei said, "I will send the king back to the palace and take a look at the progress of the construction of Gucheng Palace."
"If Father Zhong hadn't told me, I would have forgotten about Gu Chenggong." Ying Zheng said thoughtfully, "Then let's go to see Gu Chenggong first, and then we will go to Huayang Palace later."
Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei went out, and Sima Jie saw them off.
Li Si temporarily replaced Zhao Gao and was guarding the door. When he saw three people coming out, he went to greet them.
"Let's go and visit Gucheng Palace first." Ying Zheng said to Li Si.
Li Si nodded and followed Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei towards the door.
Sima Jie sent the three people out of the gate, followed by dozens of scribes. After saluting, he watched Ying Zheng and others mount their horses and drive away.
On the way to Gucheng Palace, Ying Zhengwen said to Lu Buwei: "Father Zhong, I just lived in Wenlei. I see that you cherish Sima Jie very much."
Lu Buwei smiled and said: "Yes, the king knows the old minister, and the old minister loves talents. Otherwise, he would not have recruited so many guests, and managed Wenleiju in such a short period of time. His ability It must be extraordinary, if there is such a talent in the old minister's house, it will be a great blessing."
There is something in Lu Buwei's words.
"If we meet such a talented person again in the future, I will condemn him to enter the Lu Mansion and just help Father Zhong." Ying Zheng said with a smile.
One sentence directly stopped Lu Buwei's thoughts. He wanted to dig Sima Jie into Lu's mansion. What a beautiful idea!
Lu Buwei smiled slightly awkwardly and changed the subject: "Actually, even if this Sima Jie is not outstandingly talented, his background alone is worthy of the king's high official position and salary."
"Father Zhong, I know a little bit about Sima Cuo's achievements, but it's not detailed. How about Father Zhong tell me about it, okay?" Ying Zheng said sincerely.
Lu Buwei stroked his short beard and said with emotion: "The old minister has naturally heard about the deeds of senior Sima Cuo. He must not know much more than the king. However, the old minister just lamented that if it were not for Sima Cuo, the Great Qin Dynasty would definitely not be able to survive." It will be as strong as it is now.”
"It is said that at that time, Zhang Yi advocated using troops against Wei and Han to advance towards the Central Plains, while Sima Cuo advocated conquering Shu first so that he could accumulate grain and grass, and then go down the river to directly attack Ba and Chu. Later, Wang Our ancestor, King Huiwen, adopted Sima Cuo’s strategy, which resulted in the vast territory of Bashu and even the capital of Chu State Ying.”
"Judging from the results alone, if King Huiwen had adopted Zhang Yi's strategy, even if he defeated Wei and South Korea, the number of city-states he occupied would have been limited. The increase in Qin's national power was not obvious, and tug-of-wars would often occur. , and at the same time, if the Ba Kingdom and the Shu Kingdom develop, it will form an encirclement situation for the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, in the opinion of the veteran, compared to Shang Yang's reforms, Sima Cuo's achievements are more important to the strategic layout of the Qin Dynasty. "
Ying Zheng listened carefully to Lu Buwei's analysis, and nodded at the same time: "That's true."
Lu Buwei's analysis is indeed on point. The importance of Bashu to Qin is self-evident today.
"It's just helpless." Lu Buwei smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, "Sima Cuo retired early. He must have seen through it that he would eventually be implicated by Bai Qi, so he secluded himself from the world. The courtiers at that time were also afraid of being implicated and avoided it. Therefore, no one dared to pay attention to the activities of the Sima family. The old minister also found out that Sima Jie's aunt was the wife of General Meng Wu, and then traced some clues. Now it seems that perhaps the old general Meng Ao and Sima had the wrong marriage. People stayed in touch and got married.”
As expected, Lu Buwei traced Sima Jie's life experience through the Meng Mansion. Since Lu Buwei could find out, Ying Zheng would naturally find out too. However, Ying Zheng did not care about the life experience of Sima Hong and Sima Jie at that time. The family is just a big clan, so Ying Zheng didn't think much about it at all.
Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei were chatting, and unknowingly they were approaching the palace. On the other side was Gu Cheng Palace.
Because it is close to the royal palace, in order to avoid disturbing Ying Zheng and other royal families, Gu Cheng Palace was not allowed to make too much noise during the construction process. This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of construction, so the wood was processed elsewhere before being shipped. Came here.
The framework of Gucheng Palace has been basically completed, and the wall has already surrounded the entire Gucheng Palace. The construction site cannot be seen from the outside.
The palace gate has not yet been built, but there are sergeants guarding it. When they saw Ying Zheng and Lu Buwei coming here, they all knelt down to pay homage.
Ying Zheng signaled the sergeant to stand up and walked into the palace gate with Lu Buwei.
The overall area of Gucheng Palace is not very large. Although it was specially built for Yingzheng's wedding, it is a temporary palace after all. It is unknown whether it will be combined with Xianyang Palace in the future. But judging from the time alone Look, this ancient Chenggong palace cannot be compared with a formal palace.
It's a bit small, but the structural design is painstaking and the layout is quite exquisite.
Lu Wen and Lu Wu greeted him. After seeing the ceremony, they waited for Lu Buwei's questions.
"How's the progress?" Lu Buwei asked.
Lu Wenxian raised his hands and said: "Back to the king, Prime Minister, the general framework has been almost completed. Now the interior of the palace can be arranged, but..."
"It's just nothing, just tell me what you have to say." Lu Buwei said with some displeasure.
Lu Wu took over the words and said: "It's just because the preparation time was a little short before, so the preparation of wood was not very sufficient. Now some people have been allocated to produce wood. There are still more than 20 people left before the two-month deadline." God, I'm just afraid..."
Lu Wu lowered his head, not daring to look into Lu Buwei's eyes.
Lu Buwei was about to explode, but was stopped by Ying Zheng with a wave of his hand.
"You two don't need to be nervous. The originally scheduled time was two months. Even if you can't complete it, it doesn't matter. You can push it back. It just so happens that I lost my brother Wang and I originally planned to postpone it for a while." Ying Zheng said. .
Mentioning Cheng Xi, a trace of sadness flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes. After all, he had just buried his biological brother a few days ago. Although according to etiquette and law, rebels are not allowed to be buried in the cemetery, and they are not allowed to pay tribute. Naturally, it is not the same as a wedding. The happy event has nothing to do with it, but Ying Zheng no longer regards Cheng Xi as a rebel at this time.
After a brief pause, Ying Zheng continued: "I have made arrangements to send most of the top craftsmen from the Lu Mansion here to build the ancient Chenggong Palace, and the people who stayed behind at the Jing Kiln will also work for it. A few people can make the necessary pottery or make ornaments, so there are more people."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. We will definitely do our best to build the palace properly." Lu Wen and Lu Wu said in unison as if they were receiving an amnesty.
