"Your Majesty!"
"First Emperor!"
Zhao Tuo suddenly woke up from his sleep and felt a tremor in his heart.
Opening his eyes and looking around, he saw sunlight coming through the cracks between the doors. It was the early morning of the second day and the sun had already risen.
Recalling the dream, Zhao Tuo shuddered.
Perhaps because he drank too much last night, Zhao Tuo had a very restless sleep.
Nightmares after drinking.
"Thankfully it was just a dream."
Zhao Tuo breathed a long sigh of relief and then stood up to change clothes.
After walking out of the door, the maid waiting outside bowed and saluted.
"The chief concubine."
Grand concubine?
Zhao Tuo was startled, but soon realized that this was calling him, and a smile appeared on his lips.
He likes this title as much as he likes Dai Shangzo.
Who doesn’t like “big” things?
The maid in the mansion brought hot water and a silk scarf. After Zhao Tuo washed up, he hurriedly ate the court food, then put on his court clothes, went out and stepped on the carriage, heading towards the Qin Palace.
Qi was destroyed and the world was unified.
But the real thing has just begun.
This was his first court meeting after returning to Xianyang, and it was of great significance.
I think that the Qin Dynasty, which has just completed its great wish of unification, will definitely not waste time. I am afraid that there will be big announcements at today's court meeting.
Arrive at the gate of Qin Palace.
As soon as Zhao Tuo got out of the car, someone came up to him.
"The chief concubine."
This person's voice was clear and clear, with a hint of joy in his words.
Zhao Tuo looked over and saw a strong man. He smiled and said, "She Zhong Geng."
The two looked at each other and smiled at each other.
Shejian now has the title of Zhonggeng.
With his achievements in destroying the Qi Dynasty and the achievements he accumulated when he defeated the Hu Dynasty and defeated the Hu Dynasty, he was promoted from the right concubine to the title of Zhonggeng. He already had the qualifications to go to the court and could join Zhao Tuo in the court. , meet the king.
This time after destroying Qi and returning, the king was generous with rewards and almost everyone was promoted to nobility.
Under Zhao Tuo's command, in addition to Shejian being promoted to Zhong Geng.
Li Shiqi, because of her contribution to surrendering to the King of Qi, was promoted from the title of Gongcheng to three levels in a row, and became the title of Youshu Zhang.
In addition to him, Heiyi, Xiqigu, Zhongli Mei and others were all promoted to the title of right concubine chief, Lu Wan was promoted to left concubine chief, and Li Shang was promoted to the title of fifth doctor.
If it were in the past, having the title of left and right concubine would have the qualifications to serve in court.
But as Qin destroyed the six kingdoms and annexed the world, a new generation of military nobles emerged one after another from the war.
As more people upgrade to higher titles, the title will naturally begin to depreciate.
The main hall of the Qin Palace is so big, it is impossible for all the concubines on the left and right to go to court to pay homage to the king.
Nowadays, if you want to go to court and participate in the court meeting, you must either get an official position of two thousand shi as a minister, or hold an important position, or you must have a title above Zuogeng.
Only in this way can one be qualified to go to court to discuss matters and meet the king.
"Now, things in the court are quite mysterious, so you should be careful with your words and deeds."
Zhao Tuo whispered that the water in the court was very deep, and he was afraid that She would accidentally get involved in it, so he reminded him before entering the palace.
"I'll just shut up and wait."
Shejian smiled, which made Zhao Tuo feel relieved.
This colleague of his is still very worry-free.
The two of them walked and chatted, and soon entered the palace.
"The chief concubine."
"Modern involvement."
As the two walked along, all the officials they met took the initiative to salute and say hello to them.
Even if he met a Jiuqing-level figure like Wang Wu on the road, the other person would always have a smile on his face and a strong sense of intimacy.
This is not only because of Zhao Tuo's high title and great achievements, but also because of the love shown by the king.
In addition, there are rumors that the king intends to make Princess Zhao Tuoshang.
No one in the entire court understood that this Zhao Tuo was a bright new star rising in the Qin Dynasty, and no one could cover up his brilliance.
In this case, as long as the ministers and ministers have a little bit of political savvy, they will take the initiative to make friends. At least on the surface, it is impossible to mock or offend Zhao Tuo.
Zhao Tuo and the ministers he met along the way returned the greetings one by one until they reached the front of the palace.
I saw His Majesty Dan and outside the main hall, there were many middle men wearing armor and holding swords. They were all mighty and majestic, and they looked intently.
Zhao Tuo and Shejian walked through the aisles of these lieutenants and came to the door of the palace. Like the other ministers waiting here, they began to take off their shoes and wait.
Hundreds of people were waiting outside the hall wearing only white socks. Even though it was winter, there was still a dull smell in the air.
Not long after, there was a grand elegant music performance in the hall.
It was a hymn compiled by Feng Chang to praise King Qin's achievements in unifying the world.
"Your Majesty, you listen to hymns every day."
Zhao Tuo groaned in his heart.
Soon, when the elegant music in the palace was finished, some visitors announced that all the ministers had entered the palace.
Zhao Tuo and others immediately entered the palace with solemn faces.
Military generals stand on the west side, and civilian officials line up on the east side.
Zhao Tuo stood beside Wang Ben and Meng Wu.
After a while, Qin Wangzheng strode from outside the palace.
All the ministers quickly bowed their heads and saluted.
"Greetings to the king."
After a while, Qin Wangzheng sat on the God's couch and scanned the ministers in the palace with his majestic eyes.
When his eyes passed over Zhao Tuo's face, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
Without too much nonsense, Qin Wangzheng quickly got to the point and revealed the purpose of today's court meeting.
"In the past, when the six kingdoms were in rebellion, I obeyed the will of God and sent out righteous soldiers to kill them. The king of Han gave him the title, the king of Zhao moved away, and the kings of Wei and Chu were deposed as common people. Now there are generals who have appointed Qi Dynasty to capture the three kings. .”
"Qi, Yan, and Dai are the three kings. Your ministers should discuss how to deal with them."
Qin Wangzheng's voice was calm, but the meaning behind his words was anything but calm, and even full of ruthlessness.
The first great court meeting after reunification was actually to decide the fate of the three kings.
"Qin is good at this. He likes to hold meetings and discuss things before doing anything."
Zhao Tuo nodded secretly in his heart.
Although King Qin claimed to be domineering, he was not truly arbitrary.
As long as the matter involves the country, even if the King of Qin has a preference in his heart, he will still let his ministers hold meetings to discuss, let them explain the reasons and reason, and argue with each other.
The King of Qin did not participate in the debate, he just listened silently and made a decision at the end. This is the so-called "court discussion".
At this moment, the king heard his words, and after the ministers were silent for a while, Tingwei Li Si stepped forward.
Tingwei is the chief of the Qin State's highest judicial body, specializing in prison sentences, and naturally has the most say in this matter.
"Your Majesty, Li Si, reports that the two kings of Yan and Dai broke their treaty and fought against the Qin Dynasty. They abandoned the Xia and joined the Hu Yi. This is the greatest injustice in the world. The King of Yan even listened to the words of the traitor Yan Dan and sent assassins into Xianyang to do evil. The crime deserves to be punished."
"I believe that the king of Yan can be punished by being cut in half, and the king on behalf of the king can be punished by abandoning the market. Only in this way can we warn the world and declare the majesty of our great Qin."
Li Si's voice was cold, and the meaning in his words was extremely cruel. In the blink of an eye, the two former kings were sentenced to be cut in half and abandoned from the market.
Cut in half, use an ax to cut the prisoner in two from the waist. Some people are unlucky enough to remain conscious even after being chopped off at the waist, and it takes a long time before they die. This is real torture.
Abandoning the market means carrying out executions in a busy city, with people watching, which carries a sense of humiliation.
"This is the legalist method of torture."
Zhao Tuo's eyelids twitched.
I remembered that before the attack on Wei, Xinzheng, the capital of Han, rebelled, and King Qin held a meeting in the palace to discuss how to deal with King An of Han.
Wei Liao said that Han Wangan could be moved to Xianyang and controlled to prevent the remaining princes from being frightened and determined to resist Qin.
But Li Si objected, saying "all
Anyone who resists will be punished with severe punishments." Then King An of Han was killed.
Now Li Si proposed to kill the two kings, which was very consistent with his usual style.
Zhao Tuo had no objection to this matter.
Because the two kings were not only hostile to Qin, but also colluded with the Xiongnu, Zhao Tuo was very disgusted with their behavior.
Not to mention that his noble title was awarded for his achievements in resisting the barbarians. In this comparison, it is reasonable for the two kings to be punished for colluding with the barbarians.
What really concerned Zhao Tuo was the handling of Qi Wangjian.
After Li Si finished talking about the punishment of the two kings, he continued: "Although the king of Qi surrendered, he first listened to what the people of the four countries said, killed our friends and then won, and then sent troops to threaten our Qin State's East County and stop our army. Destroy Chu. The king ordered General Zhao to hold the imperial edict and capture Tianjia and other thieves. The king of Qi disobeyed the king's order and used an army of 300,000 to stop him. If such behavior is not severely punished, how can it frighten the world? Therefore, I believe that Qi The king should also punish him."
Hearing this, Zhao Tuo's brows jumped.
What a good Li Si, he was so murderous that he even wanted to kill all three kings at once.
But when he thought about it carefully, he could really do it.
Historically, King Qi Jiandu did not resist, but Hou Sheng persuaded Kaicheng to surrender, and ended up starving to death among the pines and cypresses.
Now Qi State has continuously resisted the Qin army and fought two battles of Zhencheng. The Qi people sent a total of 400,000 troops. This attitude is even worse than the original history. Li Si proposed to kill him, which was not outrageous.
However, not everyone agreed with Li Si's words. After Li Si finished speaking, another person immediately spoke against it.
"Your Majesty, I thought that if I killed the three kings in one fell swoop, it would shock the world, but it would be too cruel and might cause dissatisfaction among the people of the world. Moreover, our Qin State used envoys to lure the King of Qi to surrender, but now he kills him instead. Such an act would frighten the world. It is detrimental to the dignity.”
"If the people of Qi see that the King of Qi has been killed, they may still hold a grudge and let the land of Qi rise again. It would be safer to appease the King of Qi with kindness and punish the two kings of Yan and Dai with punishment."
Zhao Tuo raised his eyes and saw that the speaker was more than forty years old. He was Wang Wan, the prime minister of the left.
Zhao Tuo heard that Prime Minister Wang was from Shandong and was mostly close to Confucian scholars. Compared with Li Si, his approach was more gentle.
Hearing what Wang Wan said, Li Si shook his head and said, "What Prime Minister Wang said is wrong. What is majesty?"
"The king sent troops to destroy Chu, but the king of Qi stopped him."
"Your Majesty ordered us to seize the land and other thieves. The King of Qi resisted them."
"If such behavior is not punished, then there is truly no dignity at all. The so-called majesty should shock the world, so that the people will not dare to violate the prohibition and be a prostitute, and bully the superiors randomly. This is majesty!"
"There is no better way to punish a woman than to punish her if she has done something wrong."
"Now that the world has been established, and the people of the princes do not know the laws, it is appropriate to punish the three kings to frighten the world. Then the people of the princes will not dare to resist our Qin law."
"If they dare to resist, these three kings will be their fate. In this way, they will shock the world by killing the three kings. The common people in the world will not dare to commit crimes. This is also what Lord Shang said: Kill with killing. Even if killing is okay, with Punishment is enough, even if it’s severe punishment, it’s OK!”
Li Si quoted the Legalist theory, and his words were full of chills.
He is a court official, and the Qin State respects the law and governs the country. These words are very legalistic.
The old prime minister looked at his nose with his Wei-shaped eyes, and his nose looked at his heart without saying a word.
Prime Minister Zuo Wang Wan frowned, feeling a little dissatisfied, but he did not refute again.
Zhao Tuo's face changed slightly and he felt a deep chill.
He had been on an expedition before, and although the laws in the army were strict, because he was fighting a war, military discipline and law were necessary, so Zhao Tuo didn't feel deeply about it.
Now that I have returned to the DPRK to participate in politics, I have truly felt the cruelty of Qin's Legalists.
No wonder later generations often say, "Qin Gang was resolute and ruthless, everything depended on the law, and he undermined his mother's kindness and righteousness."
Now that the world has been settled, Li Si is not thinking about how to win the hearts and minds of the people. Instead, he is using the "Three Kings" as examples and using them to intimidate all the people in the world.
Kill three kings and shock the world.
Let all people not dare to sin, so that
To achieve the effect of killing with killing and punishing with punishment.
Zhao Tuo shuddered, and his mind couldn't help but think of last night's nightmare.
Although he had forgotten most of it, the remaining scenes still made him shudder.
When he saw that King Qin's political intentions on the emperor's couch had changed, he knew that he could no longer remain silent.
