My son, Fusu, please abdicate the first emperor!

Chapter 681: The Rise of a New Generation of Wise Prime Ministers

Chapter 681 The Rise of a Wise Prime Minister
After persuading Zhao Tuo and Ren Xiong as quickly as possible, the Nanyue army began to organize related matters in full swing.

With the support of the South Vietnamese army, Fusu suddenly had another trump card in his hand.

Let us now count for Fusu how many supporting forces he has behind him.

In terms of strength and influence, the first are the high-ranking officials and aristocrats of the Qin State who are of Chu descent and with whom he has been friendly since childhood; the second are the meritorious generals of the empire who are eager to be enfeoffed, headed by generals Wang Ben, Shuang Yang and others; then there are the soldiers of the Baiyue War in Guangdong and Guangxi who are opposed to the war; and last of all is the group of intellectuals from the common people who were just promoted by Fusu.

In summary, Fusu is now fully grown. Everything is ready, except for the east wind.

Fusu has been patient over the years, but fortunately, every effort he made in the past has been rewarded.

Of course, there were many unclear emotional accounts during this period.

Fusu had four power groups supporting him, which was definitely a good thing. In this way, he could let the power groups check and balance each other, so that after he succeeded to the throne, some people would not have too much power to check the imperial power.

In this battle that concerns the life and death of the Qin Empire, Fusu is certainly the protagonist, but the real battlefield is still in Xianyang City.

Fusu's move away from Xianyang City was, in a sense, a step forward.

But at this time, in Xianyang City, the confrontation between the two forces had become very obvious.

Zhao Tuo, Ren Xiong and the Nanyue army behind them had their own standpoints, they just opposed the war. They wanted to gain certain benefits, but in the process of pursuing benefits, they found that what they lost was far more important than what they wanted to gain, so they chose to oppose the war.

They are mainly a concentrated force of common people and soldiers.

But the dignitaries in Xianyang were different. They were all vested interests, but these two groups of vested interests had huge political differences.

One group insisted on the county system, while the other group longed for the feudal system.

They are all vested interests, but they all want to gain greater benefits.

When Fusu reached a consensus with the Nanyue army in the land of Baiyue and Zhang Liang had just arrived near the army camp to wait for an opportunity, the city of Xianyang was in a bit of a mess.

At that time, Ying Bu was digging a pit for Qin Shi Huang, and was thinking about how to escape from this huge pit.

Qin Shi Huang listened to Li Si's advice and planned to meet Ba Qing, a famous female billionaire in the Qin Dynasty. He wanted to use mercury as rivers to fill his underground palace.

Of course, the more important thing is that Ying Zheng intends to slowly erode Fusu's power bit by bit.

Ying Zheng didn't want to do this at first, but he changed his mind after he found out that Fusu was a bad guy. Of course, as a father, he would hesitate occasionally. If Fusu's left and right arms were cut off, how would he succeed to the throne in the future?

Ying Zheng hesitated and wavered, but he still acted quickly.

The first step was to demonstrate to the court officials that Zhao Ying was the chief judge and replace him with a new one to consolidate his severely damaged private power. At the same time, Ying Zheng began to look for new candidates among the many eunuchs in the palace to serve as his good knife.

Ying Zheng had experienced the murder of Zhao Gao, and was still in fear. This time he planned to train two or even more at a time. Otherwise, if he lost his "thugs", the loss on his side would be too great.

But the first step encountered trouble.

In this critical moment, Ying Zheng's every move was closely watched by the court and the public, and he was closely monitored day and night by Chen Ping. He knew that if he helped the prince to fight against the First Emperor, he would have to live his life with his head hanging on his belt.

Under fear, Chen Ping was naturally more cautious.

To be honest, Fusu selected so many intellectuals from the common people, but none of them was as talented as Chen Ping and could be used as a great talent as soon as he came out of the mountains.

It is said that Ying Zheng's dethronement of Zhao Ying was opposed by Li Si. Li Si knew what Ying Zheng wanted to do, but he heard that His Majesty wanted to appoint Meng Yi, and the people in the Court of Justice wanted to recommend Xiao He.

This made Li Si immediately feel that there was a huge crisis in his official career. No matter which of these two people became the Minister of Justice, it would be a threat to his position as prime minister.

Li Si naturally had to mediate and try his best to make Ying Zheng give up the idea of ​​this matter.

"Zhao Ying initially followed your majesty's orders to behead Zhang Cang. Later, he followed your majesty's orders to release Zhang Cang. Although there were mistakes during the execution, your majesty is now planning to deal with Zhao Ying. Who will dare to obey your majesty's orders in the future?"

"Li Si. Do you know Zhao Yong?"

Li Si remained calm, "Your Majesty, you worry too much. The sea is always calm. If there are waves, it must be the wind."

Li Si always said the same thing: as long as you don't act recklessly, the prince will not be able to hit you.

Ying Zheng's face was grim, "You are asking me to sit and wait for death."

Li Si retorted again, "If Your Majesty dismisses Zhao Ying, who among the nine ministers in the court will dare to obey Your Majesty's orders in the future?"

Ying Zheng said sternly, "To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the internal situation."

Li Si naturally understood who this outsider was referring to.

"Expelling the prince will be very costly."

Ying Zheng didn't care about that. "You are also my confidant. Everyone can see that the prince has betrayed me. Do I have to sit here and wait?"

Seeing that he could not stop Ying Zheng, Li Si thought of using other methods.

"But Zhao Ying is innocent."

"He is guilty. He is wavering between me and the Crown Prince. You have also experienced the Lu Bu Rebellion, why don't you understand these simplest truths?"

"I understand."

Ying Zheng just wanted to raise a new banner and recruit courtiers to return to his side, so that they could recognize the times and become heroes. As for those who defected to the prince or intended to stand in the middle, Ying Zheng wanted to kill them.

Li Si was able to come here and discuss this sensitive issue with Ying Zheng face to face, naturally he had considered a lot beforehand. He clearly realized that the internal struggle between the crown prince and His Majesty would only end up hurting both sides, and he would not be the beneficiary.

Seeing that Ying Zheng was determined to do so, Li Si's mind changed.

The first time Ying Zheng ignored his advice and insisted on doing something, he had already taken the wrong path. In Li Si's judgment, Ying Zheng would only make more mistakes in the future.

At the beginning, the prince just made a remonstrance, but Your Majesty insisted on killing Zhang Cang, making the situation a mess. Now, step by step, Zhang Cang was not killed, but Your Majesty successively dealt with two people who were loyal to him, and also lost Zhao Gao, which made His Majesty lose face for a while.

Li Si saw that Ying Zheng was now in a state of panic.

Li Si was about to leave, but unexpectedly, Ying Zheng asked him, "Who do you think would be a good choice to be the Minister of Justice?"

Ying Zheng's eyes were full of suspicion towards Li Si.

Now Ying Zheng feels that everyone around him is unreliable. This kind of thinking makes him very dangerous in the current situation.

However, this was consistent with his long-term immersion in the concept of the First Dragon's descent and his unprecedented and unparalleled achievements, which had led to his losing his mind. The root cause of his confusion at this time was not Fusu's fault.

When Li Si saw Ying Zheng's look, he naturally felt a pang in his heart.

Your Majesty actually doesn't trust him at this time.

Ying Zheng fell into a state of panic, all because Zhao Gao's death was too sudden, and Ying Zheng suddenly lost his sense of security. He felt that everyone in the palace might be Fusu's spy.

Li Si was worried that Ying Zheng would lose consciousness, so he summoned him today just to test him. So Li Si, who was already beginning to get along with Ying Zheng, said, "Your Majesty, now people in the court are talking about you promoting Shangqing Meng Yi to the position of Tingwei; but the ministers in the court have many complaints about Shangqing Meng, saying that he is too exaggerated and unqualified for such an important position."

"As for the people in the Imperial Court, they support Xiao He, whom the Crown Prince brought back from the countryside of Chu."

Ying Zheng suddenly remembered this person, "Xiao He. Is there anything special about this person? I remember that he had just arrived not long ago. I transferred him from the Imperial College to the Court of the Supreme Court and handed him over to you."

"Yes. The prince is indeed discerning. This man has extraordinary abilities. Although he comes from a rural background, he is more proficient in legal documents than the disciples who come from the academy." Li Si planned to say something nice to make Ying Zheng wary of this man.

After all, Meng Yi is a young and inexperienced man, and he is much easier to deal with than the steady and low-key Xiao He.

Ying Zheng tapped the armrest with his fingers, and he had a new idea.

"I heard that the prince had a dream, so he went to personally invite this man named Xiao He to be by his side."

"Yes."

"I once read a story about King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty. King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty had a prime minister named Fu Yue. He and King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty became a monarch and minister whose names will be passed down through the ages."

【Fu Yue originally had no surname or clan name. According to the imperial edict of Emperor Wu Ding, he was given the surname Fu. He was a politician and military strategist in ancient China.】

After hearing this, Li Si's eyes were filled with jealousy.

Because Fu Yue was Wu Ding's prime minister, and Xiao He had almost the same experience as Fu Yue according to the prince.

What history hates most is someone hindering his career.

"Shang King Wu Ding employed Fu Yue for civil affairs and Fu Hao for military affairs, which led to the 'Wu Ding Restoration'. Fu Yue was also revered as a saint by later generations because of his words and deeds."

"The process by which King Wu Ding of Shang obtained Fu Yue was almost identical to the experience by which the crown prince obtained Xiao He."

"Like his predecessor Pan Geng, King Wu Ding of Shang wanted to do something to benefit the people. To this end, he prayed to the gods and expressed his determination to them by not speaking for three whole years."

"Shang King Wu Ding finally moved the gods with his actions. The gods soon gave inspiration."

"One night, Wu Ding dreamed of a man who was building a city wall in the wild. His name was Yue. In the dream, he helped Wu Ding govern the country."

"In the Shang Dynasty, people believed that dreams were omens from heaven. So Wu Ding quickly sent people to find the "dream man" named "Yue."

"What makes people feel magical is that this person in the dream of King Wu Ding of Shang actually exists."

"After the King of Shang found the man of his dreams, he immediately appointed him as prime minister. Wu Ding not only used this method to instantly win the hearts of those powerful ministers, but also got a wise minister who will be remembered for all eternity."

"Maybe Yue was born with wisdom. When he first took office, he ignored Wu Ding's "intentions of promotion" and criticized Wu Ding for using so many sacrifices when worshipping his ancestors.

"Wu Ding was not angry after hearing this, and immediately ordered his servants to cut off the wine and food provided to the ancestors."

"Afterwards, in order to completely quell the border troubles, Fu Yue requested troops several times to personally go to the border to quell the rebellion."

"Fu Yue lived up to everyone's expectations and was an honest man. He became the first person in history to be revered as a saint while he was still alive. Even Confucius and Laozi and Zhuangzi highly respected him."

"Wu Ding and Fu Yue worked hand in hand to create a prosperous era, 'Wu Ding Zhongxing'."

Li Si had a wealth of knowledge and had read all the classics, so he was naturally familiar with the story of Wu Ding's restoration.

However, he was not telling stories to Ying Zheng to show off his talent, or to give Ying Zheng historical knowledge. His fundamental purpose was still on Xiao He at the moment.

"The prince said that he dreamed of a god who told him that there was a man named Xiao He in Pei County who had the talent to govern the country, so he drove to Pei County in person."

"Now, this dream has mostly come true."

"I believe that the people in the Crown Prince's palace will do their best to get this person to the position of the Supreme Court Justice. Because the Crown Prince will definitely use this person in the future, and this person will definitely be loyal to the Crown Prince."

Li Si tactfully advised Ying Zheng that this man was very talented and had been promoted by the crown prince. If Ying Zheng chose him, the outcome would be very bad.

Li Si anticipated Ying Zheng's fear and caution towards the crown prince, but unfortunately, he did not anticipate Ying Zheng's confidence in his own personal charm.

"In history, the most difficult position is probably the ruler of a revived dynasty. Wu Ding was able to become a wise ruler thanks to Fu Hao and Fu Yue. Now our Qin also has a Fu Yue, why don't I choose him?"

Li Si was horrified.

He looked at Ying Zheng in surprise, wondering what happened to His Majesty.

In fact, Ying Zheng still loved talented people, and this did not change in his later years. His love for the Meng brothers is evident.

"If Xiao He really has the talent of Fu Shuo, then it means that he is here to assist me. I am the destiny."

Li Si couldn't understand Ying Zheng's train of thought.

In fact, Ying Zheng had met Xiao He very few times, only two or three times in total.

However, Ying Zheng was very eager to conquer this man who was comparable to Fu Yue, in order to demonstrate his virtue and majesty.

Ying Zheng believed that this mythical Xiao He was here to assist him, because he was the First Emperor, and Xiao He should be worthy of an emperor like him.

Moreover, Ying Zheng was very confident. He believed that Xiao He just didn't understand him. Once he understood him, Xiao He would definitely regard him as the only king.

Moreover, if Xiao He was really a gentleman, he would definitely condemn Fusu's unfilial behavior. This is the best way to restrain him.

Fusu was circumventing ethics to justify his uprising, and the reason why Ying Zheng attacked Fusu was precisely because of the ethical relationship between father and son.

All we can say is that both father and son have mastered the key weapons in the contest.

"Let Xiao He come to see me."

Ying Zheng was very proud of this matter and he believed that he could definitely defeat Xiao He.

"But Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has favored Xiao He by employing him. He only has the Crown Prince in his heart. And Your Majesty, by employing Xiao He, doesn't this go against the purpose of punishing Zhao Ying?"

"Li Si, this is your fault. If Xiao He had the ability of Fu Yue, he would not have helped Zhou to commit atrocities. If he did not have the ability of Fu Yue, it means that the prince's dream was false, and I will kill Xiao He when the time comes."

Ying Zheng boasted that he was very familiar with the control of loyal and treacherous ministers. If Xiao He was really a loyal and virtuous minister, then he would be very easy to win over. If he was a treacherous minister, Ying Zheng would not dare to use him.

When it comes to imperial strategy, Ying Zheng has always been first-rate.

Li Si had no idea what Ying Zheng was thinking.

He is very confused. Your Majesty, would you please listen to what you are saying?

You don't think that the prince is King Zhou and you are Ji Fa, right?

(End of this chapter)

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