In the afternoon, at Wei Liao's initiative, Zhao Gao bid farewell to Zhao Zheng and temporarily moved into Guowei's Mansion. Thinking of the way Zhao Zheng looked at him before leaving, Zhao Gao couldn't help but sigh in his heart and thought softly: Hey, this child...
Although Guowei's Mansion does not have tall pavilions, exquisite palaces, and the buildings are not as magnificent as the royal palace, it has a sense of simplicity and tranquility, and Zhao Gao likes it very much when he looks at it.
"In my opinion, this house is empty as long as it is empty. You don't have to look for another place. From now on, if you want to take your family over, I can fit it in here." No matter how unruly Wei Liao is, After all, given his age, it was hard to live alone with no one to talk to. It was rare to meet Zhao Gao who had the same temperament as him, so he couldn't help but sincerely invite him.
"Zhao Gao appreciates the kindness of senior, but how can a junior like Zhao Gao live in senior's place all day long? But when junior has a place to stay in the future, senior can move in together if he doesn't mind." Wei Liao didn't agree either. Knowing what it means to be polite, he touched his round belly and said: "Since my little friend said so, I will reluctantly come and live here for a while. When the time comes, I will return this house to the king, so that I will not always be favored by him."
The next day.
Zhao Gao, dressed in white, slowly walked into the Palace of Government behind an eunuch. The court meeting has not yet begun, and Zhao Zheng has not yet appeared. When many people saw him coming in, they gathered together in twos and threes, pointing at him and discussing. Although Wei Liao was also present, Zhao Gao made an appointment with him early in the morning to keep him out of the matter.
Xiong Qi, Lord of Changping, came in at the right time. When he passed by Zhao Gao, he suddenly stopped and joked in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "All cats and dogs want to reach the sky in one step by relying on their friendship with the king in the past. Isn't this just a dream?" After he finished speaking, he didn't even look at Zhao Gao, and just walked to his place and stood up.
The reason why he was so angry was because he heard rumors that Zhao Gao wanted to replace him. He felt that he was the king's uncle, and the man in front of him was just the king's enlightenment teacher. It was a wishful thinking to replace him. But he forgot one thing. If he really thought that Zhao Gao could not replace him, why would he bother to demonstrate to Zhao Gao?
Zhao Gao knew this would be the result as early as when the rumors spread, so he was not surprised by Xiong Qi's move. He also knew that the reason why Xiong Qi cared so much about this matter was because of his status as King Qin's teacher.
This status can be big or small. When Zhao Zheng came back, he was respectful all the way, which made Xiong Qi worry about his status. After all, there are many examples of celebrities entering the country, and the king directly handing over the seal. Although Zhao Gao is not a celebrity, he has another advantageous status. This status may even be more useful than the title of celebrity.
Just when the Guozheng Palace was getting very noisy, the eunuch announced loudly: "The king is coming to court." Then there were two rows of armored servants holding halberds and axes, guarding Zhao Zhengru, who was wearing a black court uniform and looking solemn. temple. When walking past Zhao Gao, the two exchanged glances in a hurry, with all their thoughts in mind.
However, Zhao Gao was a little stunned after looking at him. Just because this was the first time Zhao Gao saw Zhao Zheng wearing court clothes and looking solemn and solemn. This court uniform matches his demeanor very well. It is calm and heavy without losing his heroic spirit, just like the green pines and strong cypresses. Compared with the ordinary clothes he wore in the past few days, it has another heart-wrenching flavor. Zhao Gao couldn't help but feel a little emotional when he thought of how he was brought to court and humiliated at will, and how embarrassed he looked when he came back.
"See my king." The voices of the courtiers merged into a roar that resounded throughout the palace. Zhao Zheng calmly accepted the courtesy from the ministers, raised his hands slightly, stretched out his sleeves, and said loudly: "No courtesy." Zhao Gao, who was at the end, calmly knelt down with the ministers and sat down. At that moment, he didn't even notice it, and his eyes never moved away from Zhao Zheng for a moment...
"What do you have to report today?" Zhao Zheng asked as usual.
The doctor ordered Wei Chu to wink at his subordinates, and Wu Jiang, a doctor, stood up with a pale face: "Back to your Majesty, regarding the matter of Zheng Guo, I think... I think..." Zhao Zheng kept his little moves behind. There was no flaw in his eyes or face, he just asked lightly: "You think it's inappropriate?"
Wu Jiang didn't dare to look at him, lowered his head and answered, "Yes."
Zhao Zheng asked again: "What's wrong?"
Listening to the good tone of his king today, Wu Jiang became more courageous and racked his brains to carefully choose his words: "Your Majesty, you should know that the manpower, financial and material resources spent on building the canals are enough for our Qin army to win." The whole of South Korea. To give up such conditions, but to build a water canal that is time-consuming, laborious and thankless, even the subjects of the six kingdoms of Shandong laugh at me Qin people... laugh at me Qin people for being 'white and easy to bully'."
Zhao Zheng kept his expression on his face and asked calmly: "What do you mean, our Qin State has to rely on the guidance of its monarchs, ministers and people to decide whether to build canals or not?" Wu Jiang didn't know that Zhao Zheng was deliberately misinterpreting his meaning. He was ready to show off his power, but although he knew it in his heart, he was helpless at the moment and hurriedly lowered his head and said: "I don't dare."
Saying this is actually equivalent to Zhao Zheng expressing his attitude. When Wei Chu saw that his subordinate was so useless, he unconsciously looked at Prime Minister Xiong Qi. The reason why they are so opposed to building canals is not because it has practical benefits for the Qin State, but because it has no practical benefits for themselves.
The matter of building the canal was decided upon by Lu Buwei when he was the prime minister assisting the king. Lu Buwei was originally a merchant, and he formulated the regulations for the transfer of property for building the canal like an iron barrel. Anyone who wants to profit from it is in vain. The Qin State spent so much money on building canals. Xiong Qi, Wei Chu and others originally wanted to make a fortune from this, but they did not want their hopes to be disappointed.
I thought that after the king drove Lu Buwei away and took power, he would remove everything that Lu Buwei had set before. Unexpectedly, he went against the rules and kept almost everything as usual. He only made minor adjustments in some places that he felt were inappropriate. Therefore, the canal construction has continued. It continues to this day.
Since it is unprofitable, simply let it fail to be repaired, put the money elsewhere, and then try to get a share of the pie to achieve the goal. Therefore, a huge mess finally occurred. How could Xiong Qi and Weichu not seize the opportunity.
After receiving Xiong Qi's look, Wei Chu stood up and said: "It is true that Qin's state affairs should not be questioned by other countries, but what they said about this matter is not unreasonable. It cost a lot of money and time to build the canal. Everyone in Qin has seen it." After saying this, Wei Chu paused and looked up at his king, only to find that his face was dark and unclear, and nothing could be seen.
Although he was uneasy, he still said bravely: "South Korea has always been a thorn in the side of Qin. In the past, he sent Zheng Guo to Qin to lobby. He just wanted to use this to weaken Qin's national power. His intentions are obvious. Your Majesty, you must not You've been fooled by them." Seeing Wei Chu's words being so "sincere", Zhao Zheng sneered in his heart and said without any nonsense: "I have sent Jingsu to Korea a few days ago, and Korea is indeed needed for this matter. I have an explanation for our country, Qin."
What does your Majesty mean... Qin's losses should be offset by South Korea's city? At this time, many civilian ministers who did not know the inside story came to their senses. No wonder yesterday they heard that Wang Jian was marching to Hanjing. He neither said to fight nor to retreat. His actions were ambiguous and abnormal, which made Han uneasy.
Even Wei Chu and even Prime Minister Xiong Qi were not fully aware of this matter. Military affairs have always been decided by Zhao Zheng and his confidants. Moreover, the military power is in his hands. Wang Jian, Meng Ao's ancestors and grandsons all obey his orders, and the state captain was invited back by him. Together with some confidants, these people are almost Formed a think tank that is inaccessible to outsiders. Therefore, the Qin State used its troops quickly and decisively, and did a good job of keeping secrets. It could often kill the enemy by surprise at every turn.
As he spoke, Zhao Zheng glanced around calmly and said: "However, building canals cannot be confused with it. In the past, Zheng Guo lobbied Qin State. I think you all still remember whether this matter is good or bad for Qin State. , I believe that you are all sensible people and should not be confused."
After a pause, he raised his sleeves and said loudly: "I can tell you directly that our Qin State must build this canal." Then he softened his tone and said: "Today I will no longer pursue anyone who wants to interfere with this matter, but If there are similar suggestions in the future, it is best to think clearly before making any comments. I heard that there are vacancies for He Cheng in many places, and I am worried that there is no one to choose."
Zhao Zheng said that for this reason, anyone in the court who dares to criticize this matter should be prepared to be released as He Cheng. Xiong Qi's plan failed here, and he was naturally unhappy, but thinking that there was something about the pretty boy that could bring things back to normal, he relaxed a little.
"Do you have anything else to report? If not, I would like to tell you something." Zhao Zhengli straightened his clothes and asked casually as if he was just asking.
But when he mentioned this, the eyes of all the ministers immediately fell on Zhao Gao. But the real master was now kneeling down behind him calmly and calmly, also adjusting his sleeves slowly. Finding that everyone was looking at him, Zhao Gao not only did not feel any nervousness, but instead smiled politely at those who looked at him.
"With all due respect, if a famous person enters the Qin Dynasty, it is understandable that the king wants to grant him an official position. But this gentleman who claims to be the king's teacher seems to..." Doctor Liu You hesitated, which was even more meaningful.
Zhao Zheng said with a long tail: "Calling yourself?" He snorted in his heart, and then said: "I can tell you clearly, if I hadn't been taught by my teacher in the past, I would never be where I am today. It's just that the teacher is humble and never To take credit, I have been asking for it again and again over the years, and a few days ago, I just persuaded the teacher to join the Qin Dynasty. How come you have become the teacher's wishful thinking?"
These coaxing words came out of his mouth, but he still said them without changing his expression. Zhao Gao's mouth curled up when he heard it: I don't know where he learned it. At this time, he seemed to have forgotten the saying: Those who are close to ink will be black. And Na Mo was none other than himself.
It concerns Zhao Gao. If Zhao Zheng handles it too softly at this time, it will only put him in a difficult situation in the future. So now he is telling the truth, but it has the effect of deterring those who have ulterior motives. Sure enough, Liu You turned pale with fright after hearing this. He realized that he had been pushed out and became the leader. In his heart, he only blamed himself for listening to other people's slanders and impulsively causing harm to himself.
However, intimidating Liu You did not stop the voices of dissatisfaction. Wei Chu and Xiong Qi had been prepared for it. The doctor ordered no less than ten officials under him to be responsible for the discussion. Although there were many loyal and upright people among them, there were still a few who were praised. Lu Zhixing is one of the people he cares about: "I think this gentleman is only twenty-eight years old at most. To sum it up, when he had the opportunity to be the king's teacher, he was only twelve or thirteen years old at most. It's so shocking incredible……"
"So you think I'm telling lies?" Zhao Zheng said with a smile.
However, Lu Zhixing's victory was determined by his courage, and Zhao Zheng's threats did not deter him at all: "I don't dare, even if it is true, but just because this gentleman was kind to the king, I will hand him over to you." He values power, and it is indeed difficult to convince the public."
Zhao Zheng said with a funny face: "When did I say that I would give the teacher the power?"
Seeing Zhao Zheng calmly dealing with the ministers, Zhao Gao just felt funny in his heart. He still hasn't taken out the edict. It's obvious that he wants to rectify the family in a bad way.
