The world of film and television starts from the flow of money

Late at night, the prime minister's residence was still brightly lit, with candles swaying in the night breeze, illuminating the pavilions, towers, corridors and paths in the mansion clearly.

"Xiao He pays respect to the Prime Minister!"

At three o'clock in the morning, a burst of hurried and chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded at the door, breaking the silence of the night. Then, Xiao He appeared at the door of the study, with a solemn face, and bowed deeply towards the room respectfully. His posture was upright but he could not hide his fatigue.

"Come in, how's the investigation going?"

Yi Huawei sat behind a large desk, frowned slightly, moved his eyes away from the book in his hand, waved his hand, and in a steady and majestic voice, motioned Xiao He to come in and sit down.

"Thank you, sir!"

Xiao He stood up straight. At this moment, he had a dusty air on his body. There was a lot of dust on his robe, and the belt at the collar was a little loose, and his clothes looked quite messy. It was not difficult to see that he rode at full speed all the way without any delay, and he didn't even bother to go back to his mansion to rest and tidy up his appearance.

"grown ups!"

Xiao He presented a piece of information respectfully and solemnly with both hands. The information was carefully sealed in a wooden box.

Yi Huawei took the box, turned to the maid waiting quietly under the porch and ordered: "Prepare a pot of hot rice wine for Master Xiao!"

"promise!"

After receiving the order, the maid bowed slightly, responded softly, then took light steps, turned around and walked out slowly.

Yi Huawei motioned Xiao He to sit down again, then opened the box, took out the intelligence and read it carefully. As his eyes moved over the lines of text, his expression became more and more solemn, and his brows gradually twisted into a knot.

This matter was actually related to Prince Fusu who had just been brought back.

Hu Hai reigned for 13 years and never left the Afang Palace. He indulged himself in the gentleness of his beautiful concubines and lived a life of drunkenness and debauchery. In the court, all matters, big or small, were decided by Yi Huawei.

Li Si, who once held a pivotal position in the court, retired five years ago on the grounds of old age and frailty; Wei Liao also used the excuse of being ill to stay indoors and no longer ask about the affairs of the court. As for the Feng family, as well as the Meng and Bai clans, they were exiled to a remote place in the Western Regions by Yi Huawei.

This situation naturally made the old nobles feel dissatisfied, like a thorn in their side. The Meng family, since Meng Ao, has made great military achievements for the Qin Dynasty for generations. The soldiers under their command are loyal to the Meng family, and the family has a very high prestige in the Qin army. The Yang family is also an old and prominent family in the Qin Dynasty. Their ancestors followed Qin Xiaogong's reform and have been operating in the court for several generations. They have a deep foundation and influence in all walks of life. The Tian family, relying on its unique advantages in agriculture, controls a lot of fertile land in the Qin Dynasty. The grain production depends on their family, and they have a lot of influence among the people.

These noble children used to enjoy wealth and power, but now they feel that their rights and interests are being eroded. The equal distribution of land implemented by Yi Huawei has severely cut them. Under the new policy, all the land in the world was taken back by the empire, the land of the nobles was greatly reduced, and the source of wealth suddenly shrank. How could they be willing to accept this? However, Yi Huawei had millions of soldiers in his hands, so they dared not act rashly. Because as long as more than a thousand soldiers were mobilized privately, it would be a disaster.

Although the power of the Qin Empire has indeed grown rapidly since Yi Huawei took office, and its power has been awe-inspiring, the people of the world are all praising him because the grain output has increased significantly, and the people can finally eat and wear warm clothes and live a relatively stable life.

But in the eyes of the nobles, this became a means for him to consolidate his power, which made them hate and feel helpless. They could only bury their dissatisfaction deep in their hearts and dare not speak out.

Moreover, in the past few years, the Qin Dynasty had been conquering the east and the west, which consumed a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. Although it had expanded its territory by nearly half, the country was also exhausted and had many problems to be solved. It needed some time to recuperate and digest the various impacts brought about by this huge territory, so it was able to maintain peace for several years...

Just as he was thinking about something, the maid walked in with a pot of steaming rice wine in her hand. She first came to Xiao He, bowed slightly, and filled a cup for him. The mellow aroma of rice wine instantly spread. Then she moved to Yi Huawei and filled his cup respectfully, and then left quietly.

Xiao He picked up the wine cup and took a sip of the hot rice wine. The warm liquid flowed down his throat, as if dispelling some of the coldness and fatigue in his body.

After organizing his thoughts and calming down his emotions, he said to Yi Huawei: "Sir, in addition to this, when I was inspecting the various counties in Guanzhong, I found that there were indeed many families with difficult lives among the descendants of generals and soldiers, and this is by no means an isolated case. If this continues, I am afraid... there will be trouble!"

Xiao He's voice was filled with obvious worry, and his eyes were full of worry. If the descendants of those soldiers who fought for the Qin Dynasty and made great achievements could not live a stable life, it would surely chill the hearts of many soldiers and shake the foundation of the Qin Dynasty. What he saw and heard in various places in Guanzhong made him feel uneasy.

After all, the Qin Dynasty was founded on military power and military achievements were prevalent. The country has always respected the warriors who fought for the country. But now, their families cannot rest in peace after their death. It is really chilling to see such a thing happening in such a country.

The root cause behind this is largely that Qin law was exploited by some people with ulterior motives, leaving many people with loopholes.

Take pensions for example. Although Qin law has relevant provisions, there are often deviations in the actual implementation process. In order to enrich themselves, some local officials always make things difficult for the pensions after meritorious service, either withholding the amount or delaying the time, which puts many families who should have been taken care of into despair. And those nobles, seeing Yi Huawei's overwhelming power, want to take advantage of the dissatisfaction of these lower classes and try to support Prince Fusu to take the throne. They think that only when Fusu comes to power can they break the current situation, take back power from Yi Huawei, and restore their former glory and status.

By then, Yi Huawei will definitely end up like Shang Yang.

Yi Huawei looked at Xiao He:
"Master Xiao, do you have any good ideas for this?"

Xiao He frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Sir, I think the most urgent task is to revise and improve those clauses in Qin law that are easy to be exploited, strengthen supervision of local officials, and ensure that various government orders... especially those related to meritorious service pensions, can be effectively implemented."

Yi Huawei nodded slightly, approving some of Xiao He's suggestions, and then Xiao He said: "Your Excellency also needs to carefully consider the demands of the nobles. Perhaps within an appropriate scope, they can restore certain rights and interests, such as giving appropriate compensation or relaxing some restrictions on land..." Yi Huawei's eyes turned cold:
"Human greed is like a snake swallowing an elephant. Since they have a good life, don't blame me for being ruthless. I wanted to share the prosperity of the Qin Dynasty with them, but they colluded secretly and tried to... The Meng family, who relied on their military achievements, formed cliques in the army for personal gain. Many of their children were arrogant and lawless, and obstructed my new policies in every possible way. The Yang family has served in the court for generations, but they have no intention of serving the country. They only care about their own glory and collude with various forces to influence the government. The Tian family controls agriculture and sericulture, hoards goods, and drives up prices, causing the people to live in hardship, while the people in their family are rich."

Yi Huawei stood up and paced with his hands behind his back. When he first took power, he noticed the erosion of the nobles on the Qin Dynasty. In order to strengthen the national strength, the new policy of equal distribution of land was implemented. He hoped that the nobles would understand that this move was to make the foundation of the Qin Dynasty more solid, so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment, so that the country could invest more manpower and material resources in development. However, these nobles only saw the damage to their own interests and completely ignored the long-term future of the Qin Dynasty.

"I gave them a chance, hoping that they would join me in seeking the welfare of the Qin Empire. However, they regarded me as a thorn in their side and wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible."

Yi Huawei said calmly: "The new tax is intended to make the tax burden fair, so that the rich will bear more and the poor will bear less. But the Meng family actually instructed their merchants to hide their property and persuaded other small nobles to follow suit. The Yang family joined forces with some old officials in the court and strongly opposed it on the grounds of ancestral law, almost causing this policy that benefits the country and the people to fail. Although the Tian family did not directly oppose it, when collecting grain, they used inferior goods as good ones and shortchanged the grain reserves."

Yi Huawei stopped and said, "Now, they still want to support Fusu to take the throne, thinking that by changing the lord, they can return to the old times. They are wrong, very wrong. Although Fusu is virtuous, if he is controlled by them, the Qin Dynasty will surely fall into an irretrievable situation. I can't let them succeed. Even if I have to bear the infamy, I must completely eliminate these hidden dangers."

"grown ups…!"

Looking at Yi Huawei's cold eyes, Xiao He took a deep breath. This time... the Prime Minister seemed really angry!

...............

The next morning, the sky was covered with leaden clouds, and the city of Xianyang seemed to be shrouded in an invisible haze. A tense and depressing atmosphere spread like a tide through the streets and alleys.

After receiving the order, the Black Dragon Guards immediately took action like a precision-operated machine. Those members of the Black Dragon Guards who were inextricably linked to the clan were quietly summoned to designated locations by secret orders without noticing. As soon as the summoned people stepped into these areas, they were put under guard, and all the equipment they carried was confiscated.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Holding Yi Huawei's token, the shadow guards ran straight towards the bases of the City Patrol, the Imperial Guard, the Royal Guards, and the Lantian Army.

Inside the city patrol station, soldiers on duty were performing their respective duties, either standing guard at the door or organizing equipment inside the house.

The shadow guards rushed in like black lightning, and the leader held up the token and shouted, "The Prime Minister has ordered that the shadow guards take over the city patrol department. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

Some of the patrol officers were so shocked by the sudden change that they stood there in a daze, and almost dropped their weapons. They knew the Prime Minister's authority very well, and dared not disobey him in the slightest. They slowly put their weapons on the ground, and then gathered to one side under the command of the shadow guards. However, a few hot-blooded soldiers, relying on their loyalty to the patrol, were unwilling to be taken over like this, and attempted to resist. Seeing this, the leading shadow guard's eyes instantly turned cold, and his figure flashed. With a flash of cold light, the soldiers fell to the ground before they could even scream. The rest of the soldiers were terrified by this tragic scene, and dared not move again.

After the Shadow Guards took over the City Patrol, they quickly launched the next move. They climbed up the watchtower of the City Patrol and rang the huge bronze bell. The dull bell echoed over Xianyang City, breaking the tranquility of the early morning. Afterwards, thousands of Shadow Guards announced martial law throughout the city: "The Prime Minister has ordered that Xianyang City be immediately under martial law! Citizens are not allowed to go out, and those who disobey the order will be executed!"

The people were already disturbed by the tense atmosphere in the city, and after hearing this order, they became even more panicked. Every household hurriedly closed their doors and windows and locked themselves in their homes. The streets suddenly became empty, with only the shadow guards and soldiers from the city patrol on patrol, and their footsteps were particularly clear in the silent streets.

The Royal Guards camp is heavily guarded with numerous sentries.

The shadow guards arrived at the camp gate, flashed their tokens, and shouted to the gatekeepers, "Here is the Prime Minister's order. Open the camp gate immediately!"

The soldiers at the gate hesitated. As they hesitated, the shadow guards lost their patience. One of them kicked the gate open and everyone filed in. After entering the camp, the shadow guards quickly dispersed and rushed to the command tent as planned. The officers in the tent heard the noise outside and were about to get up to check, but the shadow guards had already rushed in.

"By order of the Prime Minister, take over the Imperial Guards. Anyone who resists will die!"

The officers looked at each other in bewilderment. Some wanted to argue, but the shadow guards stopped talking and killed the officers who led the resistance. The soldiers heard the shouts and screams from outside and rushed out of the tents, but were held back by the shadow guards with swords and guns. Several soldiers tried to resist, but the shadow guards shot them mercilessly. The gunshots echoed in the camp, and the resisting soldiers fell down instantly. Seeing this, the rest of the soldiers had no choice but to surrender.

Royal Guards Camp.

As the elite force directly guarding the royal family, the Royal Guards have extremely high loyalty. Many people questioned the Shadow Guards' takeover: "We are only loyal to the royal family, why should we listen to the Prime Minister?"

Ying Yi sneered: "The Prime Minister governs the people on behalf of the Emperor and is in charge of the military and political affairs of the Qin Empire. This is the Prime Minister's order and the Emperor's will. Those who resist are traitors and will be killed without mercy!"

After that, the two sides were on the verge of a fight. Although the Royal Guards were unwilling, they were also afraid of the Shadow Guards' momentum and the tokens in their hands. After weighing the pros and cons, they reluctantly gave up...

At the same time, after receiving the order to enter the city, the Musket Battalion quickly assembled in the camp.

The musketeers, armed with new flintlock rifles, marched towards Xianyang city in a mighty force at Zhao Cheng's command.

The sound of horse hooves echoed on the road like thunder, raising clouds of dust. Their arrival undoubtedly added a strong deterrent force to Xianyang City. When the people in the city heard the sound of footsteps and horse hooves coming from outside, they closed their doors...

(End of this chapter)