Since Fusu left, Li Si has been absent-minded.
After the day's political affairs were dealt with, Li Si got on the carriage home. Listening to the sound of horse hooves in his ears, Li Si fell into a long silence.
He opened the curtain on the carriage with his hand and looked at the peaceful streets. Inexplicably, Li Si noticed that his cheeks were red and hot, and his heart was still beating fast. He put down the curtain and couldn't help laughing at himself.
"Li Si, Li Si, what's wrong with you?"
"Scared?"
"But what are you afraid of?"
"You have always been fearless and confident. You have always been resolute and decisive in dealing with important matters without hesitation. Why do you feel a sense of fear today?"
"In terms of background, among all the ministers in the dynasty, I am afraid that you have the lowest background. You are just a junior official in Cai Cai, or a toilet rat who once mocked himself as a toilet rat."
"The reason why you are ranked as the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty is due to fate, talent, will, and your own judgment of the situation. It is precisely because of these that you have been pushed from a toilet rat to the high power of the Prime Minister of the Empire. , and now he has reached the ultimate level of being a minister."
"Why are you afraid?"
"Li Si, have you failed to live up to this high position?"
"No!"
"You, Li Si, are not just an official. You have devoted yourself to the empire. Your achievements are well-known in the world. His Majesty's reliance on you is obvious to all. Not to mention how many ministers' children have been able to marry the monarch's children since ancient times. ?”
"Only your Li Si family can do it."
"But why is your heart beating so hard today?"
"Where does your fear come from?"
Li Si kept asking himself in his heart.
He urgently wanted to know the specific and real reason.
His first reaction was that he and Fusu had different political views, but Fusu at that time was different from Fusu now. Fusu at that time did not respect the legal system. He trusted Confucianism more, and Li Si firmly stood on the legal system. Here, there will naturally be political disagreements with Fusu, but now Fusu has never mentioned Confucianism, let alone benevolence. The so-called political disagreements simply do not exist.
This reason is wrong.
The sunset was twilight, and the sky was golden and red. Li Si stared at the sunset and understood in his heart.
What he was afraid of was that Fusu had changed.
What he fears is that his status in the heart of the monarch will decline.
In the past, Li Si was confident. He confidently believed that he alone could support any crisis behind the emperor. Even though Fusu was not a wise ruler, Li Si was certain that with his own ability, he could support it alone. What made the empire run was Fusu's sudden change of heart, from an impulsive young man who was ignorant of the world to a seasoned and wise man, which made Li Si unable to keep up for a while.
In the past, Li Si had full participation in the new imperial policies.
but now.
He felt his weight gradually diminishing.
What he fears is losing ground.
Loss of power!
He was afraid that Fusu would abandon him one day.
What he was even more afraid of was that he would completely lose the monarch's trust in the future.
This is completely unacceptable to Li Si and completely impossible to face.
So he was afraid.
Even trying to protect themselves.
And he was also afraid that Fusu's change would be temporary.
At that time, Lord Shang's merits were as high as Mount Tai, but he was torn apart because of the change of rulers. Can Li Si's prestige, power and achievements really compare to the Lord Shang in the hearts of the people of Qin? If Fusu finally inflicts all the crimes of "tyranny" on himself, how can the Li Si clan be ended by annihilation?
When the time comes, how can those in the world who are dissatisfied with themselves not beat their own drums and attack them?
And all these worries come from Fusu.
He couldn't see through Fusu anymore.
At this time.
"The Prime Minister has returned to his residence."
The carriage stopped. Li Si did not get out of the car, but calmed down before lifting the curtain and stepping out of the carriage.
It was during this step that Li Si, who was originally resolute and hard-working, seemed to have aged a lot.
Three days later.
A court meeting was held in the court.
After all the matters were resolved, Ying Zheng said in public: "Two months ago, when Hu Hai was in Nanhai, he told the soldiers of Nanhai that in order for the soldiers of Da Qin to go home, the imperial court could not break its promise. During this period, Fusu I have been taking charge of this matter and now I have some ideas.”
"Fusu, tell me."
Fusu stood up and said, "My son, I obey the order."
"Due to some emergencies, Hu Hai said some words to the army sergeants in public. These words may be just emergency words, but the court cannot make mistakes. During this time, I summoned many courtiers to discuss the matter, and finally got an agreement. A middle ground.”
"Through the non-commissioned officers being discharged and transferred to other posts, the problems of the soldiers will be solved in batches."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the palace was shocked.
Because what Fusu said now is different from what he said before.
What Fusu told them before was not about the non-commissioned officers being discharged and transferred to other positions, but about being allowed to 'enroll', become officials, and be given a family name, etc. Although they were very surprised and suspicious, not many people questioned it in public.
And they can hear it too.
This is a change made by Fusu later, and it is indeed relatively more appropriate.
Only Meng Tian's eyes moved slightly.
Fusu continued: "The transition of non-commissioned officers from retirement is mainly done by middle- and lower-level officers. They have been in the army for a long time. After discussing with the two prime ministers, we decided to give these officers the choice of enrolling in school, becoming officials, and being given surnames, so as to properly arrange these officers. Middle and lower-level officers.”
"also."
"I will also take full responsibility for the non-commissioned officer's retirement and transfer, and take charge of the relevant affairs. Therefore, a new affairs office will be opened to handle the corresponding political affairs."
"Fusu is taking charge of relevant state affairs for the first time. If he is confused during the process, he may ask the ministers to teach him."
"I also ask all the ministers to give you your advice."
Fusu bowed to everyone.
Everyone also laughed in unison and said: "Your Highness has doubts, but there is no harm in asking. I will tell you everything I know, and I will tell you everything."
The whole hall was filled with joy and laughter.
Only Hu Wujing's face was completely stiff.
He had realized that something was wrong, because it was completely different from what he had heard. That was clearly not what Duch told him that day. Perhaps Duch could justify this, after all, it had been six or seven days that day. Fusu's temporary change was understandable, but he had already taken all the blame for the opening of the mansion.
Think of this.
Hu Wujing's forehead was dripping with cold sweat.
He had a strong ominous premonition in his heart.
At the back of the hall, Zhang Cang quietly raised his head, glanced at Hu Wujing secretly, and secretly mourned for him for a while, thinking: "Hu Wujing, it was you who said that you didn't recruit anyone. , it’s not my fault.”
"It's you who took the problem into your own hands."
"This has nothing to do with me."
Zhang Cang didn't dare to make too many moves. After looking at Hu Wujing a few more times, he quickly withdrew his gaze and continued to look at his nose and heart, pretending to be unaware.
At this time.
Ying Zheng nodded and asked, "Can the candidates for the officials of the Affairs Office be decided?"
Fusu cupped his hands and said: "The report to the emperor has been decided and presented today. This list was jointly decided by Fengchang Hu Wujing and Zhang Cangyushi. For this reason, Hu Fengchang was even more infected with the cold. I am deeply sorry for this, as Hu Fengchang is also the Prince Fu and has helped me a lot."
Said.
Fusu turned to Hu Wujing, bowed respectfully and said, "Fusu is grateful."
After hearing Fusu's words, there was no smile on Hu Wujing's face, only a pale look of hopelessness.
He just wants to die now.
he knows.
I'm done, completely done.
If Fusu didn't say his name, he might be able to make some excuses, but now that Fusu said it in such a big way and even praised himself, it was clear that he wanted to force him to death.
Murder and heart-wrenching! ! !
How was he involved at all?
He didn't provide Fusu with a roster at all.
At first, he thought that what Fusu wanted the Affairs Office to do was to solve the problem of accumulated military merit, so he did not dare to submit the list. In order not to offend too many courtiers, he finally had to resist in silence, saying that he wanted to claim credit. It was deliberately boasted, but in fact it was not true at all, but now that Fusu said this, the nature has completely changed.
He is not human inside or out.
Moreover, these courtiers were completely offended.
In a moment of thought.
Hu Wujing wanted to die.
What he doesn't understand now is that he was tricked by Fusu.
And this is setting yourself up for death.
Even though his heart was about to explode, he still had to respond in front of everyone. Hu Wujing forced out a smile that was uglier than crying, and said stiffly, "Your Highness said something serious. I really have not participated in it."
Fusu smiled and said, "Fengchang is humbled."
"If I hadn't been reminded to open the mansion regularly, I probably wouldn't have thought of this."
"Furthermore, I have sought Feng Chang's advice many times before. Without Feng Chang's guidance, my office roster would not have been finalized so quickly. This is all Feng Chang's credit. Why should Feng Chang be so humble?"
After hearing Fusu's words, Hu Wujing felt his eyes darken.
The words get darker and darker.
Even if he told the truth, no one would believe him.
Think of this.
Hu Wujing's heart was filled with blood, and he almost fainted.
Ying Zheng didn't pay much attention to the situation in the palace. After briefly asking about the situation, he directly announced the end of the court meeting.
As the First Emperor and Fusu left, officials also began to leave.
But before Hu Wujing could escape, dozens of courtiers immediately rushed up, looking at Hu Wujing eagerly and asking about the officials in the affairs office.
Hearing everyone's inquiries, Hu Wujing's face was livid and he didn't know what to say.
He really couldn't say it.
He couldn't say it directly. I had misunderstood before and thought that His Highness wanted to solve the military merit system. I was worried that you would not dare to accept it and would even resent me, so I told His Highness directly that I had not recruited anyone. If you go out, who will believe it?
He really doesn't know anything about the roster right now.
But others won't believe it.
They will only think that they did not tell Fusu, or that they let Fusu screen them out. Now even if this big pot is not his, it must fall on his head.
This made Hu Wujing feel so aggrieved that he wanted to die.
What makes Hu Wujing even more desperate is that when the final roster is drawn, if none of the officials he looked for enroll in the school, or not many courtiers' children enroll, he may be attacked by a group of courtiers, and then he will really be in trouble in the court. Infamy, ruined.
Think of this.
Hu Wujing's whole body couldn't help but shudder.
aside.
Some people around Zhang Cang also asked, and Zhang Cang said with a smile: "I don't know the specific roster, and I am responsible for the accounting situation in various places, so most of the people who report to the government are local officials. As for how many people in the court have been reported by His Highness, Selected, I’m afraid I really don’t know this.”
After a brief explanation, Zhang Cang fled away.
Although he weighs a lot, he is walking as fast as flying.
Now he just wants to escape quickly.
He knew the specific situation. If he hadn't dragged Hu Wujing into the water, otherwise Hu Wujing would be in the same miserable state as he had been waiting for for a few days.
Just when Zhang Cang was about to escape, Hu Wujing finally couldn't bear the questioning, vomited blood, and passed out in public.
Not long after Zhang Cang returned to the official office, he heard the news.
His eyes were filled with sadness.
Even an important minister like Hu Wujing couldn't bear it. How could he, a little censor, bear it? However, he also knew that Hu Wujing had tricked him twice in a row. No wonder he would be so angry that he vomited blood and fell to the ground.
Anyone who was in Hu Wujing's situation would probably be forced to vomit blood and fall to the ground.
And the matter is not over yet.
There is a bigger wave behind.
When the roster was officially announced, Hu Wujing suffered even more serious consequences.
He remembered, however, that apart from himself, there was no other courtier on Fusu's roster.
As for the courtiers, Hu Wujing was in charge.
Since such a big problem has occurred, Hu Wujing will naturally be held responsible. Thinking of the tragic situation Hu Wujing will face in the future, even Zhang Cang can't help but feel chills on his back.
It's so scary.
Directly offending all court officials.
He knew that Hu Wujing was finished.
No matter how it will be calmed down in the end, Hu Wujing's official career may have reached its peak. He was so miserably teased by the scheme that he has even become a joke in the court. Such a minister is destined to never be reused again.
This is also a sign of incompetence.
In such an important place as the court, it is very dangerous for someone to be considered incompetent.
the other side.
Fusu returned to Yong Palace.
He was still in a very happy mood.
Especially when I think of Hu Wujing's eyes that are about to burst, I can't help but laugh.
But he also felt that he had gone too far towards Hu Wujing.
But this incident was indeed brought about by Hu Wujing. If he hadn't taken the initiative to cause trouble, how could he have ended up in such a miserable end?
at this time.
A eunuch sent a memorial.
Fusu's heart trembled, he took the memorial, carefully placed it on the case, and continued to read. After reading it, he frowned. This was the list he presented to the First Emperor, but now there were more names on the list. Some names have also been crossed out.
He had heard all the extra names.
Among them are Li Dan, the second son of Li Si, Zheng Ru, the son of Zheng Guo, and Wang Ping, Wang Li’s younger brother. Some of these people are still just ministers at the moment, and some have already served in Guanzhong, but now they are all taken over by the First Emperor. It was included in the affairs office.
As for the crossed out names, most of them come from the Chu region.
Fusu stared at this roster for a long time, and finally wrote a copy of the above roster, and then handed it to Wei Sheng to notify him immediately.
(End of chapter)
