In the past few days, some major events have happened in Xianyang City.
One of the things is that Li Xin reaped a wave of wealth.
He just hired a dozen down-and-out scholars to copy some nonsense articles to refute rumors.
This is why I say copying, because these articles are all exactly the same, but with different names.
Li Xin showed these rumors-refuting articles to the court officials. These courtiers had the same reaction as Wu Chi. After much hesitation, they rejected Li Xin's kindness and offered one million yuan to apologize to Li Xin.
After all... Master Fu Yao has promised them to draw comic strips. Comparing the two, of course I would choose the comic strip of Mr. Fu Yao.
The second major event in Xianyang City was that many courtiers suddenly praised Master Fu Yao overnight.
Master Fu Yao, because of the mistakes of some servants, actually came to apologize in person and explained to himself that with such a mind and character, isn't this the legendary sage monarch?
Moreover, these courtiers are vaguely thoughtful. If Mr. Fu Yao's comic strip is published, will he become famous?
Therefore... deep down in their hearts, consciously or unconsciously, they actually wanted to curry favor with Fu Yao.
These two incidents caused quite a stir, and many people were sensitive to the fact that the courtiers' choices for the ideal prince had quietly changed.
In the past, their favorite was Fusu.
Although Fusu was Chun Yuyue's apprentice and believed in Confucianism. But Fusu is the eldest son after all, and he is generous. If Fusu becomes emperor, Da Qin will not be that bad.
But now the courtiers suddenly discovered that Fu Yao's talents seemed to be superior to Fu Su's. If Fu Yao became the emperor, Great Qin might be better off.
These are just private speculations by courtiers. As for what Ying Zheng was thinking, the courtiers didn't know.
The power of God is unfathomable.
As for the other candidate vying for the crown prince, Hu Hai. The courtiers had almost forgotten about him.
Others completely forgot about Hu Hai, but Li Si and Wang Wan did not. They kept writing to Ying Zheng, and finally Ying Zheng agreed and allowed Hu Hai to leave Da Qin and go to the Peacock Kingdom to study Buddhism.
Along with Hu Hai, there were also officials sent to the Peacock Kingdom.
These officials are composed of two parts.
Some of them were those who had impeached Li Shui and Li Xin and framed them for lying about military intelligence. After these people were selected into Li Xin's list, they wanted to save face and refused to be slapped, so they were sent to the Peacock Kingdom.
The other group of people are scholars who have passed the imperial examination and have a relatively low ranking and have not yet been assigned an official position.
These people generally come from low backgrounds and are relatively young. They were full of energy, and their thoughts were all about doing something great in the Peacock Kingdom, returning home in good clothes, and returning to Daqin to become high-ranking officials.
As for sending a prince to the Peacock Kingdom to be crowned king, Wang Wan and Li Si had also proposed this.
Although they didn't say who it was, since Hu Hai was already going to the Peacock Kingdom, it was natural that it should be Hu Hai.
However... before Ying Zheng made a decision, he summoned the important officials of the court and discussed it in the study.
Li Shui's proposal to be crowned king was opposed by Li Shui.
Both Li Si and Wang Wan were dissatisfied with Li Shui's opposition.
Because only when Hu Hai was crowned king could he use the power of the Peacock Kingdom to oppose Li Shui, and the two of them could profit from it.
So they tried their best to make it happen.
Wang Wan asked Li Shui: "Excuse me, why can't the Peacock Kingdom be crowned a king? As you said before, the Qin Dynasty has a vast territory. If we don't grant a king, it will be difficult to suppress the rebels in various places, and it will be easy to reproduce the troubled times since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. "
"Now that the Peacock Kingdom is very far away from our country, the Qin Dynasty, shouldn't it be more important to entrust it with a king to guard it?"
Li Shui coughed dryly and said, "I wonder if the Prime Minister has ever heard of immortality."
Wang Wan: "..."
The more Chunyu heard the word "Xian Xue", he thought of the debate between Xian and Confucianism, and felt uncomfortable.
Although Chun Yuyue has become a little disinterested recently, after all, Confucianism is what he has studied for most of his life, and it can be said that it has shaped his worldview.
Even though the idea of Confucianism in governing the country was shaken in his mind, he still regarded Confucianism as a first-class knowledge.
In the last battle between immortals and Confucians, Confucianism was completely defeated. Every time he thought about it, Chunyu Yue felt miserable.
So he couldn't help but said: "Exiled Immortal, now we are discussing the matter of becoming a king, why did you change the subject again?"
Li Shui said with a smile: "What I'm talking about is the matter of the Peacock Kingdom being crowned king. There is a very useful principle in my immortality, which is to analyze specific problems in detail."
"Is the issue of the Peacock Kingdom's kingship the same as the issue of the Qin Dynasty's kingship? I think it is completely different."
Ying Zheng thought to himself: Immortal learning? Isn't that something Huaiguzi created to impress people? Does he really want to act like this?
Li Shui said: "Why do we, the Qin Dynasty, want to be crowned king?"
"Because since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, China has been divided for more than four hundred years due to more than four hundred years of fighting among the princes. Once it was unified by our great Qin, people's concepts have not changed for a while."
"If someone interferes and provokes the people of the world, the restoration of the Six Kingdoms is likely to occur. Therefore, we must divide the princes and guard all parties."
"But there is no need to worry about this in the Peacock Kingdom. The people there are accustomed to accepting the situation and regard this life as a dream and the world after death as reality."
"This Peacock Kingdom has been invaded by foreign tribes several times, and they have accepted it calmly. Therefore, as long as we station officials and give them a good meal, they will never rebel. Then there is no need to ennoble the princes as kings. .”
"If there is no king in the Peacock Kingdom, the officials there will each govern their own counties, and their power will be relatively weak."
"But if they have a unified king, and this king is very ambitious, will he integrate the power of the Peacock Kingdom and backfire on our great Qin?"
When Ying Zheng heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Li Si and Wang Wan looked at each other, with deep disappointment in their eyes.
It's over, Master Hu Hai has no hope at all.
Everyone knows that Hu Hai adheres to Legalism. Hu Hai is very ambitious, as everyone here knows.
If he was given the title of Peacock King, it would be strange if he didn't fight back to Qin.
Wang Wan even doubted whether Ying Zheng would ban Hu Hai from going to Da Qin.
However... Ying Zheng was silent for a while, looked at Li Shui and said, "I heard that the so-called monks are monks who don't care about worldly affairs and focus on studying Buddhism?"
Li Shui said: "Exactly."
Ying Zheng said: "Since Hu Hai has become a monk, let him be removed from the list of princes. From now on, Bajie will be his name, and he has nothing to do with the royal family anymore."
"After arriving in the Mauryan Kingdom, I want him to study Buddhism wholeheartedly. He is not allowed to interfere in political affairs, leave the temple, make friends with officials, or get close to the people. If he violates my orders in private, he will be treated as treason and will be killed immediately."
The courtiers present all responded.
Wang Wan and Li Si were filled with bitterness, and it seemed that their wishes were completely in vain.
Trying to use Hu Hai to cause trouble for Li Shui seems to be impossible. But Wang Wan didn't intend to make things easier for Li Shui, she always wanted to do something for him.
He said in a deep voice: "However, Da Qin is too far away from the Peacock Kingdom. This place is isolated and is always prone to trouble. How does the banished immortal plan to place it?"
Li Shui said: "Is the Peacock Kingdom far away from my country, the Qin Dynasty? Why don't I feel it?"
Later, Li Shui took out a picture from his arms, which was drawn by someone from Shangjun Courtyard.
This map was very large. After unfolding it, Li Shui pointed to the western part of the Qin Dynasty and said, "Isn't this bordered by the Peacock Kingdom?"
What Lishui was referring to was a large area of Central Asia. This place was once occupied by the Western Region countries and the Xiongnu, but now it completely belongs to the Qin Dynasty.
Wang Wan looked at it for a long time and said quietly: "As far as I know, this place is full of yellow sand, and it is basically an unowned land. There is nothing wrong with banishing the immortal to transfer it to our country, Great Qin, but... in this way, Peacock Our country is still far away from the heart of China."
Li Shui said: "Because the countries in the Western Region have been pacified, I plan to build a railway here that will lead directly to the Peacock Kingdom. In this way, it only takes a day or two to get from the heart of China to the Peacock Kingdom."
"Calculating this way, isn't the distance between the Peacock Kingdom and our Great Qin greatly shortened?"
Wang Wan stared: "Building a railway? How much will it cost to cover such a long distance?"
Li Shui smiled and said, "Prime Minister, you don't have to worry about this. There are a lot of oil, iron ore and other mineral deposits along the way. After the railway is built, these mineral deposits can also be transported out, and it will only take three to five years to make a profit."
Wang Wan said: "I hope so."
He felt that Li Shui was just messing around. Throwing such fine iron and wood on the ground is not a waste of natural resources, isn't it?
However, Wang Wan had no intention of stopping him. He hoped that Li Shui would torture him so much that he could not end it, and eventually lose his reputation. That way, you don't have to pay back the money you owe him.
…………
Hu Hai has received the order. Then I cried all night.
God is playing tricks on people, this is definitely God playing tricks on people.
I originally thought about going to the Peacock Kingdom and making a comeback. As a result, my father made such a decree.
When you arrive in the Peacock Kingdom, you are not allowed to interact with anyone, and you can only chant sutras with a group of old monks in the temple? What is the difference between this and going to jail?
If I had known that I was also chanting sutras when I went to the Peacock Kingdom, why didn’t I chant sutras in Daqin? Why go to the Peacock Kingdom?
However, Hu Hai did not dare to oppose Ying Zheng's decision, or even find someone to intercede for him.
After all, the reason he wanted to go to the Peacock Kingdom was to better study Buddhism.
Now that I heard that people and officials are not allowed to come into contact, you don’t want to go? Isn’t that purpose obvious? It's strange that Your Majesty is not angry.
So, Hu Hai packed his luggage with a sad face, and headed to the Peacock Kingdom with a group of officials, looking back three times at a time.
When they just walked out of Xianyang City, all the old officials were complaining. After all, they were forced to go to the Peacock Kingdom, so they had strong opinions and could not see through anything.
These people clamored and wrote suicide notes all day long, feeling that they would never come back. The journey was long and the mountains and rivers were barren, so this old bone had to be handed over to the Peacock Kingdom.
But when they actually hit the road, these people suddenly discovered that this trip didn't seem so scary.
To go to the Peacock Kingdom, you need to take a detour to the Western Region. So they used Beidi County as a transit point and moved forward smoothly along the road built by Fu Yao.
The avenue is very smooth, with absolutely no potholes. The veterans sat in the carriage covered with thick cushions and did not even feel any bumps.
This...this is simply sitting on the bed at home, and then resting all the way to the Peacock Kingdom.
For a time, the old ministers were no longer so anxious to die.
The day after they left Xianyang City, they found a strange sight on the roadside.
Almost parallel to the main road, there are many people building another road.
There were a lot of these people, and they were working in full swing.
There was a man who looked like a manager, holding a loudspeaker and kept shouting: "Everyone, please don't be passive and slow down your work. Our job is completely contracted, and it's ten miles in total. If you work for a year, the money for these ten miles will be the same." A lot. If you work for a month, you will still make this much money."
"Let's work harder and complete these ten miles as soon as possible before we can contract the next one. By then, you will have wives and children, and you will have enough money to drink and eat meat. The more you do, the more money you will have."
These strong laborers cheered.
An old minister couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Such a scene was rare in the old days of corvee work."
A young scholar said: "These people are all recruited by merchants. They are paid according to their efforts. They come here voluntarily, which is very different from corvee labor."
The veterans looked as if they were eye-opening: "I have never thought that corvee work can be done in this way."
Hu Hai kept looking outside silently.
After walking a few miles, they met another group of people.
It seems that the person before was right, they have contracted this road in sections. Each group of people contracted for about ten miles.
This time, there was still a person in charge shouting.
He said loudly: "Everyone, Lord Zhangmen has already said it. This railway is a gift for the banished immortal's wedding. We must complete it before the banished immortal's wedding. If it is completed as scheduled, there will be a big reward. "
These workers all cheered in unison and were full of energy.
An old minister said quietly: "There are only three months left before the banished immortal wedding, right? Is this road built from Beidi County to Xianyang City? How can it be completed in three months?"
A young scholar who was obviously familiar with Shangjun Courtyard and the current affairs of the Qin Dynasty explained with a smile: "It couldn't be completed originally. But when Master Fuyao built the avenue in the past, he had already surveyed the foundation and even the nearby ground. They have all been slightly smoothed. Therefore, when the railway is built, there is a certain foundation. Which route to take and to what extent it needs to be smoothed are all ready-made, so there is no need to spend any more time."
"And they use a segmented construction method, with each group contracting for ten miles. It's still possible to build ten miles of road in three months."
Hu Hai sighed and lowered the curtain very depressedly: "We are about to leave Da Qin, but there is still news about Huaiguzi everywhere? It's really annoying."
He now somewhat hopes to reach the Peacock Kingdom as soon as possible. At least once he reaches the Peacock Kingdom, he can stay away from the ubiquitous locust millet.
Those who have no power have no illusions anymore, at least they can try to be clean.
