Yueyang City, the former capital of the Qin Kingdom, has become increasingly prosperous in recent years.
Due to the construction of Zhengguo Canal, the number of working people has increased sharply, and the demand in all aspects has also increased several times compared with before. The number of merchants and hawkers from all over the country coming here to do business has increased several times.
Today is the day when the Zheng Guo Canal is completed. Ying Zheng, who got the news, made a special trip to come in advance. After two days of inspection, he returned to Yueyang City to attend the completion ceremony.
This artificial canal that connects Luoshui and Luohe is undoubtedly a masterpiece of human transformation of nature in history. It is a great feat of Qin State that benefits the people, and it will also add a lot of color to Yingzheng's merits.
The ceremony was naturally presided over by Zheng Guolai, the instigator. Han An, the former King of Han, supervised the ceremony, and Zhang Ping, the original Prime Minister of Han Ting, was busy running around.
The three old clans, Meng, Xi and Bai, contributed their efforts and money to make the celebration grand and lively.
After a set of procedures, it was time for Ying Zheng to take the stage and deliver a speech.
He slowly stepped onto the temporary high platform, cleared his throat, and shouted loudly: "People of Great Qin, today is a day worthy of celebration and joy, because we have achieved a feat!"
"From now on, our fertile fields will be more fertile, our lives will be richer, and our descendants will benefit greatly!"
At this point, the audience burst into applause, and all the people's faces were filled with happy smiles.
Ying Zheng continued: "The benefits of building the Zhengguo Canal are not just that. We have better solved the problem of refugees caused by natural disasters in the past few years, allowing more prisoners to see the light of day, and making the market more prosperous. .”
"So I feel that it is necessary to continue large-scale projects like this that benefit the people. Only in this way can the Great Qin be stronger and the people can be more prosperous and comfortable."
The people in the audience looked at each other and seemed to be saying in their hearts: What, does King Qin want to build another canal elsewhere?
Just listen to Ying Zheng shouting: "Now I have decided to build a Great Wall in the mountains on the northern border to connect the old beacon towers to better resist the invasion of the northern Huns and to stabilize the country!"
The audience immediately started talking, some praising, some questioning, and some wondering what they could participate in.
After a few breaths, Ying Zheng signaled for silence and continued: "I know that you are questioning the role of the Great Wall, but I want to remind you that the Xi Beast has caused harm to all directions and made people panic. This Great Wall can suppress it. The function of dragon veins prevents strange beasts like the Xi beast from coming to the world again!"
Wow...
When the Xi beast was mentioned, the people were in an uproar, and those questioning voices could no longer be heard.
Although no one in Da Qin has ever seen Xi Beast, there is no doubt that the people trust him the most.
The victimized people in Luoyi would not lie collectively, and the story of King Qin leading an army to intercept and intercept the Xi beast was well known to everyone, widely circulated, and regarded as a good story.
And of all the people present, who can guarantee that the second Xi beast will not appear?
Since King Qin said that in order to suppress the dragon veins so that strange beasts would no longer appear, what do you still doubt?
Whether it is building a canal or a canal, it is the icing on the cake for a better life in the future.
But if you are threatened or even hurt by the Xi beast, it will be a fatal matter, and your family will be destroyed!
Anyone who can understand this will know how to choose.
After a slight pause, Ying Zheng spoke again: "Don't hesitate or question, no matter how difficult it is to build the Great Wall, we will definitely make it happen. If you don't want to be threatened by that strange beast anymore, give us a helping hand. Let’s work together to complete the construction of the Great Wall as soon as possible!”
At this time, there were no doubts in the audience. After a few moments of silence, cheers suddenly broke out.
"Suppress the dragon veins!" "Beware of strange beasts!"
"Yes, we still have to resist the Huns!"
"Follow the king to the death!"
With just a few words, Ying Zheng aroused the emotions of the people, which shows that his current status in the hearts of the people is by no means ordinary.
Taking advantage of this atmosphere, Ying Zheng ordered his people to throw several baskets of bamboo joints into the fire, causing a crackling sound.
Another group of lion dancers came up from behind the stage and performed a performance jumping up and down.
Ying Zheng saw that the mood in the audience was rising and that the people had accepted the plan to build the Great Wall, so he stepped down.
Qiang Yu and Thorin came over.
"Brother Wang, Han An seems to have something to say to you." Qiang Yu lowered his voice and said.
King Qin knew clearly that Han An had helped to build the canal, which could be regarded as completing the task he had given him before, but it was time to deal with Han An next.
Ying Zheng nodded: "Call him to Lingong."
The former royal palace in Yueyang was not too big, but now it has been idle. It is managed by three old clans in turn, and most of the time their family members live there.
When they came to Yueyang, Ying Zheng led a group of people to live in this former palace.
Before the ceremony was over, Ying Zheng rode back to Yueyang Palace and asked Zheng Guo to take charge of the overall situation.
After sitting on a chair and closing his eyes for a moment, Han An entered the room.
"Your Majesty." Han An said in a low voice, bowing and saluting.
Ying Zheng opened his eyes, smiled at Han An, stretched out his hand and said, "Sit down."
"The guilty minister dare not."
The monarch who lost his country can no longer be arrogant. Of course, he must be respectful in front of the King of Qin.
Ying Zheng pushed the brewed tea in front of Han An and said, "Are you worried in your heart? You don't know what I will do with you next."
Han An was silent for a moment, and then nodded slightly, which showed that he was really anxious inside.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you." Ying Zheng said, "I never break my words. Besides, your life doesn't mean much to me."
Han An then breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity."
"I asked you to bring some prisoners of war here to build the canal before, in order to earn you some merit and stop some talk in the court." Ying Zheng took a sip of tea and then said, "Now you have helped Zheng Guo a lot. If you are busy, Zheng Guo Canal will be completed ahead of schedule. Everyone will see your efforts and the court will never criticize you again."
Han An said: "This canal has already been completed. I just led people to use some brute force. The one who really speeds up the progress has to be Mr. Zheng Guo."
The former subordinate has now become his boss, and he has to say good things for him in front of King Qin. This gap is not as big as usual.
"Do you know why I asked you to build Zheng Guo Canal?" Ying Zheng asked.
Regarding this question, Han An had already thought about it, so he answered directly: "The idea of building the canal was originally proposed by Han Ting, but his original intention was to weaken Qin. The king must have used this to attack Han Ting. punish."
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "This is just one of the reasons. In the past few years, Zheng Guo's mentality has gradually changed. From being forced to build canals at the beginning, to later trying his best, his heart lock gradually If you open it, you will completely surrender to my court, and by sending you here, you will completely cut off his thoughts."
"Besides, Zheng Guo's ancestors were originally from the royal family of Zheng Guo. His father gave him this name just because he missed Zheng Guo. At this time, the fall of Han Ting can be regarded as the solution to the dozens of conflicts between your two clans. Years of enmity.”
"From now on, you are all citizens of Qin, and you can no longer be hostile to each other or bully each other."
When Zheng Guo served in Han Ting, he was actually dissatisfied with Han Ting because of his status. Otherwise, how could Han An send him to Qin to offer advice? Everyone knows that at the time, this was a life-threatening job.
Zheng Guo also understood this in his heart. Otherwise, how could he change his title and join Da Qin?
Han An nodded and said, "Your Majesty means that I can truly gain a foothold in Great Qin. Han is very grateful."
"It's good that you understand. If I had wanted to kill you from the beginning, I wouldn't have let you accompany Zheng Guo to build the canal." Ying Zheng said, "Now that things have come together, I want you to go to Yingcheng to retire. How do you feel?"
"Yingcheng?" Han An asked, "I heard that the king had granted Yingcheng to Lord Changping before."
"Yes." Ying Zheng said, "Mr. Changping is kind and generous, and he will not treat you badly. If you go to other places, I can't guarantee that those old clans will not make things difficult for you."
Indeed, for the old clans of a country, the most difficult thing to accept is the monarch of the enemy country. Now it is mostly this group of people who advocate the execution of the Han Ting royal family.
Han An thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go to Yingcheng, what about my family...?"
"Leave two children to stay in Xianyang." Ying Zheng said, "You can take the rest with you, including a few ministers around you."
This was the best arrangement for Han An. He bowed and saluted: "In that case, I will thank the king."
Then Ying Zheng wrote a decree to Lord Changping, asking Changping Lord to accept Han An, and asked Meng Wu, who had followed him to Yueyang, to escort Han An to Yingcheng with the decree.
Arrangements were made for the whereabouts of the Han Ting royal family, and the heads of the three old clans accompanied Zheng Guo to return.
"Is the celebration over?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Back to your Majesty, the celebration has ended." Zheng Guo said with cupped hands, "I have come to return my order."
Ying Zheng nodded and asked, "How was Han An's cooperation with you during his stay in Yueyang?"
Zheng Guodao: "Han An is still responsible and is very concerned about building canals. Originally, his subordinates did not cause any trouble."
Ying Zheng smiled: "The jealousy in your heart towards Han Ting has almost dissipated now. Otherwise, how could you not make things difficult for Han An?"
Zheng Guo said seriously: "The Zheng family's hatred for the Han family is caused by the shame of destroying the country. It has nothing to do with the Qin Dynasty, so how can it be used for official purposes."
"Hahaha, I just like your character of being able to distinguish between public and private affairs." Ying Zheng laughed and said, "If everyone in the court was like this, then the people's lives would be easier. However, if you want to seek revenge in the future, you will only I’m afraid there’s no chance, so I’ve sent Han An to Yingcheng.”
Meng Lin advised: "Aren't you afraid that Han An will get out of control and cause trouble again?"
Ying Zheng sneered and said, "It depends on what Lord Changping thinks. Using Han An to test Lord Changping is not a loss-making business."
As we all know, Lord Changping must be dissatisfied with Ying Zheng when he was kicked out of his position a while ago. It is not impossible to use Han An to cause trouble.
What everyone didn't know was that Ying Zheng's private agreement with Lord Changping was to allow him to find an opportunity to return to the Chu Kingdom.
Han An may be that opportunity.
Seeing that King Qin had already made a decision, the three clan leaders could not say anything more.
"Zheng Guo, I have seen that you are outstanding in ability and have made great achievements in building the canal." After a pause, Ying Zheng said, "Why don't you be the governor of Yueyang?"
Zheng Guo was shocked and quickly knelt down to thank him and accepted the king's order.
The heads of the three families congratulated Zheng Guo in unison.
For six or seven years, they watched Zheng Guo meticulously build the canal, and they already recognized it in their hearts. Now that King Qin has given the position of governor to Zheng Guo, the three clan chiefs are also sincerely convinced.
After a few people left, Meng Tian came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the master is back. He is still five miles away from the city gate."
"Let's go out of the city gate to greet you."
