Changping Jun decided to take over the task assigned by Ying Zheng, step down from the post of prime minister, and first grant the title to Yingcheng, and then return to Chu State.
Yingcheng is the old capital of Chu State, which is of great significance to a Chu person. Moreover, he himself also knows that he cannot stay in the position of left prime minister for too long. At that time, the King of Qin only used him to temporarily replace Lu Buwei's vacancy. .
And returning to Chu State seems to be his inevitable choice.
The two chatted some more about political affairs, and then Ying Zheng went to pay his respects to Mrs. Huayang and Zhao Ji.
Mr. Changping is a close friend of Mrs. Huayang. Now that there are changes to be made, he has to talk to her no matter what.
Mrs. Huayang was a little reluctant at first, but seeing that Mr. Changping accepted it readily, she didn't say anything more.
"Your Majesty, if Lord Changping goes to Yingcheng, who will take over the position of Prime Minister?" Mrs. Huayang asked.
Ying Zheng replied: "Tingwei Li Si can take on this important task."
Mrs. Huayang thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Li Si is a disciple of Xunzi and a native of Chu."
"Exactly." Ying Zheng replied.
"Okay then." After hearing that Li Si was from Chu, Mrs. Huayang relaxed and said, "Your Majesty, you can make up your mind."
After leaving Huayang Palace, Ying Zheng found Hu Yu and took her to the royal stables.
"Did everything go well on the way back?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Well, I didn't encounter any obstacles on the pass, but..." Hu Yu said, "I just still think of Yu'er from time to time."
Ying Zheng sighed and said, "I brought you over to see him this time just to let you know that he is doing well now, so that you can rest assured and stop worrying about him."
Hu Yu said: "I also know the king's intentions, maybe... it will be better as time goes by."
"Yes." Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Let's go, let's choose the best horse and get a foal for Yu'er."
Arriving at the stables, ten sweat-blooded horses of various colors appeared in sight. All of them were strong, handsome, and full of energy, just like heavenly horses descending from the earth, which made people feel like they were in a dreamland.
"Your Majesty, tell me, what would it be like if all the cavalry were equipped with these bloody horses." Hu Yu said slowly.
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "That scene must be extremely spectacular, but according to time estimates, we will never see it. Besides, if this horse is so easy to train, how can it only exist in Dawan if Dawan itself doesn't have it all? Royal family?”
Hu Yu smiled and said, "That's right, then let's consider Yu'er first."
The two began to select one by one from the edge to the back.
Hu Yu couldn't put it down for each horse. He liked it so much that he stroked its mane, patted and kicked its legs, looked at its belly, and touched its back.
But in the end, she chose a pure black one.
Ying Zheng understood that she wanted to replace Hei Hu, so he readily agreed.
The two also gave the dark horse an interesting name, "Black Rabbit", to correspond with the black fox.
After selecting, Ying Zheng handed the black rabbit to Hu Yu so that he could feed it together with the maple leaves.
Early the next morning, Ying Zheng received the envoy from the Dayuan Kingdom and resettled the finest immigrants.
Most of the people who came this time were ghost hands, led by the Seventh Elder Jingjue.
It turned out that Wu Chan was trying his best to train more ghost hands. She knew that Ying Zheng was also in urgent need of people, so she sent a group of ghost hands over. After all, she could still produce blood.
"Thank you, Seventh Elder." Ying Zheng looked at the Seventh Elder and said, "I wonder if Wu Chan is okay. How is the progress of the royal tomb?"
The Seventh Elder performed an exquisite etiquette and said: "Back to Your Majesty, everything is fine with Queen Wuchan, and the royal tomb is progressing very smoothly. However, the Queen asked me to ask Your Majesty whether the cooperation with Khotan is necessary. conduct?"
"How far has Wu Chan's discussion with Khotan reached?" Ying Zheng asked.
The Seventh Elder said: "The King of Khotan agrees to the king's conditions, but he also wants to exchange some weapons."
"Ordnance?" Ying Zheng smiled and asked, "I also had this intention at the time, but I don't know what they want?"
"Anything is fine," said the Seventh Elder, "Swords, bows and crossbows are all fine."
Ying Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll give you all the weapons, food, and grass. Once I count the quantities, you can take Jing Jue back to you."
"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that Khotan is being deceived?" Seeing Ying Zheng's eagerness to agree, the Seventh Elder asked instead.
Ying Zheng said: "If he is cheating, just don't trade with him. As for the materials, they will all be given to Wu Chan."
"Since the Lord has decided, I will write a letter." The seventh elder said.
Ying Zheng said: "I will also write a letter and you can send it back together."
After writing the letter to Wu Chan, he also wrote a letter to Touman Shanyu. After all, he had received the Heshi Bi, so he had to tell others.
After handling state affairs, Ying Zheng called Sima and his son to the study.
It was the autumn harvest again, and he wanted to ask how the grain harvest was. After all, if he wanted to have the strength to unify, grain was the key.
"Your Majesty, today's harvest is more than last year's harvest." Sima Hong cupped his hands and said.
"So many?" Ying Zheng was surprised.
Sima Hong smiled and said: "Last year when we implemented the strategy of changing seeds, the people were hesitant and most of them were in a wait-and-see state. However, during the autumn harvest last year, they had already seen the yield of new seeds, so they were even more enthusiastic this year. "
Ying Zheng thought for a while and said, "How many people still don't use raw grain seeds?"
Sima Hong replied: "Almost all the people participated, but the amounts in exchange were different."
"It's time for comprehensive improvements." Ying Zheng said solemnly, "According to my will, everyone will participate in the replacement of grain seeds, including officials, clans, and powerful people. Next spring, everyone must cultivate the original grain seeds."
Seeing Ying Zheng's words, Zhao Gao took out his pen and ink and wrote a decree.
Sima Jie cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, if we implement this matter so straightforwardly, I'm afraid there will be some complaints, so why not take advantage of an opportunity."
Ying Zheng knew that he had already had an idea, so he asked, "When is the time?"
Sima Jie said: "Didn't the king say that a large-scale sacrificial event will be held on the first anniversary of New Year's Eve? Why not take this opportunity and let the king tell the people that in order to sacrifice to the gods and prevent strange beasts from harming the world again, Therefore, all stored grain must be collected for sacrifice.”
"This is a good idea!" Ying Zheng said with a smile, "Not only do we have to worship, we also need to celebrate the birth of the Nian beast. Let the people use the original grains as sacrifices. Each family must have enough, and the old grain reserves will be unified by the court. Replacement to signal farewell to the old and welcome the new.”
Sima Hong laughed and said: "So, China really lacks such a lively festival."
This casual sentence suddenly woke up Ying Zheng.
"Indeed, far away, since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty and the enfeoffment of the world, the people of each country have celebrated their own festivals." Ying Zheng said, "It is not like a whole nation at all. In the future, the world will be unified. A decent festival that everyone can celebrate will do."
Sima Jie said with a smile: "The king is right, each has its own festival, which is a kind of cultural separation. Only different races will have different festivals. Since they are all Chinese people, the festivals must be unified. .”
"Then it's settled," Ying Zheng said, "I remember it was the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month when I got rid of the Eve Beast, so let's make this day New Year's Eve. If the egg it left behind can be broken as expected. If the little Nian beast is born from the shell, then the first month of the first lunar month must be the eve of welcoming the New Year.”
"We have a suggestion." Sima Hong said, "Since we want to set up a grand festival, we must have a joyful ceremony. We can let the people beat gongs and drums, sing and dance."
Sima Jie rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, can the firecrackers still be set off?"
Ying Zheng shook his head: "I can't. Those firecrackers and gunpowder are like 'my weapons' and have been banned by me."
"Actually, setting off firecrackers is a very special way, and it has the meaning of driving away evil spirits." Sima Jie said.
Zhao Gao said from the side: "It's better to just put the bamboo into the fire, and it will make a crackling sound."
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "This is a good idea. Let's arrange it like this. There is still more than a month for all counties and fiefs to prepare according to this plan."
Sima and his son followed the order and retreated.
Ying Zheng urged Zhao Gao: "How is the red egg? Take me to see it quickly."
"Everything is fine. Sometimes it even moves a few times. The king will know it when he sees it." Zhao Gao said.
When the two came to Zhao Gao's dormitory, they saw the red egg wrapped in a quilt and placed in a wooden barrel with a lot of fine sand inside.
There was a stove in the room and it was very warm.
Ying Zheng took a closer look and saw that there was not much change in its appearance. He reached out and touched it, but felt a little warm.
"Why is it hot?" Ying Zheng asked.
Zhao Gao said: "I prepared some fine sand, baked it in turn, and then spread it under the red eggs. In this way, it can resist the cold in winter."
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "This method is really good. It saves you having to use your belly to hatch it."
"Your Majesty, if you put your ear to it, you can hear its heartbeat." Zhao Gao said.
"Really?" Ying Zheng put his ear against hers.
Thump…thump…
"Haha, sure enough." Ying Zheng laughed.
At this time, I saw the red egg moving slightly, as if the little Nian monster inside was too noisy.
But from the outside, it looks very cute.
"Tell me, what will it look like?" Ying Zheng was full of curiosity.
Zhao Gao shook his head and said, "I don't know, I haven't even seen his father."
Ying Zheng: "..."
The weather is getting colder day by day, but Ying Zheng is getting busier.
He wanted to accompany Ji Fa to repair the Tianmu he got from Ba Xia, so he spent a lot of time in Lu Buwei's original treasure house.
Hu Yu took Xu Fu to learn alchemy together, and sometimes gave Ji Fa a lesson.
Ying Zheng asked Meng Tian to sort out the previously developed minerals and prepare to build a large number of ordnance, because he had given many old weapons to Khotan.
The people have gradually learned that sacrificial activities will be held on New Year's Eve, and they have all prepared. Especially the people of Luoyi, they pay special attention to this matter.
Because of this unprecedented large-scale event, the market became more lively, and there were obviously more people doing business. Many people from other countries also came to various places in Daqin to sell goods.
Ying Zheng ordered Li Si to forge the piece of He's jade and made a jade seal passed down from the country. On it was written what Ji Fa said: If you are ordered by heaven, you will live forever.
The style of this jade seal is both majestic and exquisite, which is enough to represent the supreme authority of the royal family, and it can be regarded as the best among jade articles.
After it was done, Ying Zheng quickly showed it to Ji Fa, who was also quite satisfied.
As the king of a country, hosting the sacrificial activities of the whole people, how can he not wear a brand new and gorgeous royal robe?
Zhao Ji took several princesses to sew by themselves. Only Hu Yu stared at the side, not knowing what to do to help. In the end, he could only thread the needle and thread.
The ceremony driver arranged an empty venue with lights and colorful decorations to create a very atmospheric atmosphere. The time was also set at the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month.
The day finally arrived. Ying Zheng wore a brand-new royal robe and stood on the high platform. He raised his hands and shouted: "Common people, one year ago today was the New Year's Eve for us, and it also represented our mortals' victory over evil spirits. The day, this day, needs to be remembered forever.”
"On this day every year from now on, we will hold a large-scale sacrifice to worship the gods, avoid another disaster, and also pay homage to our ancestors, family members, mentors and even friends who passed away in misfortune!"
The people in the audience shouted in unison, and an unprecedented nationwide sacrificial activity began with great vigor.
