Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 756: The Time of Change
The huge convoy crushed the sky and the earth, moving slowly forward - the speed seemed very slow, but in fact, it was extremely fast.

The First Emperor ordered that all writing systems be standardized and all wheel gauges be the same.

The track that all vehicles follow is the Chidao, which follows the veins of the earth and connects the Chidao of the entire Central Region.

By following the road, even a mortal can reach speeds as fast as those of gods and immortals.

On both sides of the road, there are soldiers and immortals patrolling back and forth, and there are also disciples of the Mohist school who are always maintaining it.

And beyond the wider two sides, there were countless mortals crying, wailing, and cursing.

Cries and curses caused by this unprecedented famine.

Countless people were venting their hatred frantically on both sides of the road.

Resentment towards the First Emperor, resentment towards heaven and earth, resentment towards all immortals and gods.

This unprecedented locust plague was attributed to two simple reasons during this venting.

First, the Emperor of Heaven is unkind.

Second, the emperor was immoral.

Among those crying refugees, there were some people - they were the foundation of the Qin Empire, people who had transcended the status of common people through military merit in the Qin Empire's military merit system.

Although they are not considered aristocrats, they are already quite different from ordinary common people.

Moreover, as a support for their military achievements, they were also able to meet the First Emperor under certain circumstances.

During this tour of the country, the First Emperor had conversations with many people who had made great military achievements.

However, this time, these military heroes gathered together not to discuss the local customs and practices of various places with the First Emperor, but to appeal for justice and to express their grievances.

The First Emperor ordered the confiscation of grain - these families with military merit thought that they would be an exception, so they also cooperated with the aristocratic families and tried to protect the grain of the aristocratic families in their own names.

However, this time, the severity of the Emperor's decree exceeded everyone's imagination.

The grain stored by those aristocratic families and old nobles was confiscated and distributed according to quotas, and these new families with military merits were no exception!
Whether it was the nobles inherited from the Ji Zhou Dynasty or the new rulers under the Qin military merit system, all of them had their grain confiscated without any exception.

These new military merit families were extremely unable to understand this - they did not think that this was the original intention of the First Emperor, nor did they think that the First Emperor would treat them like this.

I just thought that someone in the court was deliberately going against the will of the First Emperor.

Therefore, they decided to come to this road to stop the First Emperor, report the matter to him, and ask him to give them justice and return the grain that had been confiscated from them.

When these old soldiers who represented the foundation of the empire's military merit system gathered together, even Li Si found it extremely difficult.

Because if this issue is not handled properly, it will be a major event that will shake the hearts of the Qin people - not ordinary people's hearts, but the hearts of the soldiers of the Qin army.

Therefore, Li Si had no choice but to hand over the entire issue to the First Emperor and ask him to make a decision.

"This is a test." Looking at the difficult question raised by Li Si, the First Emperor showed disdain on his face.

"With the speed of Chi Dao, even immortals and gods cannot match it."

"I have been traveling for many days. How could those commoners know that I would be here at this time?"

"These are the princes and nobles in Xianyang who are dissatisfied with my order."

"Before the locusts, they were unwilling to give out their own food."

"But they dare not disobey the order openly."

"So, they instigated these old soldiers and generals to come here."

"This time, if I withdraw and return their food, then should I return the food to the princes and nobles everywhere?"

"Those county governors and magistrates have also worked hard and made great contributions. Should I return the grain they have confiscated as well?"

"By that time, will we still be able to save the famine?"

"Or is it that if we only collect the food from the old nobles of Ji Zhou and the survivors of the six kingdoms, we can meet the urgent need and hold out until the Daluo can deliver the food?"

"If it really comes to this, will the people of our Great Qin also be divided into different classes, new and old, noble and humble?"

"If that's the case, why would I change Qin's laws? Wouldn't it be better to just stick with the old rules of Ji Zhou?"

The First Emperor threw the letter directly out of the car and hit Li Si in the face.

"Li Si, you are the Prime Minister of the Qin State and the leader of the Legalists. How should you decide this matter? Do you still need me to teach you?"

"Or are you, Li Si, also involved in this test?"

"You, the Prime Minister of the Great Qin State, have also begun to make private plans for your own faction?"

Facing the anger of the First Emperor, Li Si remained silent and had nothing to say - he could guarantee that he had absolutely no part in this "test" of the First Emperor.

But he could not guarantee whether his children who stayed in Xianyang were actively or passively involved in this matter.

This locust plague is unprecedented, and the famine it caused is also unprecedented.

Under the cover of the plague of locusts, food is no longer just food.

That is wealth, that is life!

At this time, as long as there is food, it is easy to accumulate the savings of those noble families for hundreds or thousands of years in a very short period of time.

As for the harm that doing so would cause to the empire, no one cared.

After all, it’s just food - isn’t there news that those Daluo are rotating their own time and space, and are going to take out food from their own time and space to support the empire?

In this case, they were just taking advantage of the time difference to gain benefits for the family, and it would not cause any harm to the situation.

"Li Si, you know my temper."

"I will never compromise, and I will never give them a chance."

The First Emperor spoke up, finally talking about how to deal with the old soldiers who tried to block the road and seek justice.

"Kill them all!"

The cold voice came from the carriage frame, symbolizing the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's absolute and unshakable determination.

Of course, he also knew that there was a better and gentler way to solve the problem, and it didn't need to be so rough. But the problem was that the First Emperor had to use this extremely cold and rough way to show those who were watching him that he was absolutely unshakable and unquestionable.

Otherwise, if he tried to appease the people and give his explanation, there would inevitably be more opinions in Xianyang City to challenge his explanation - he did not have the energy to explain.

Therefore, he would use the blood of these old soldiers who were instigated to draw a line on this road.

Regardless of identity, regardless of reason, once you cross the line, you will die!
"As you wish." Li Si slowly retreated without any intention of dissuading him.

Although he also knew that after this bloodshed, it would definitely cause huge waves in the Qin Empire.

But, just as the First Emperor's will indicated, this is a price that must be paid.

As long as the First Emperor returns to Xianyang, with his suppression, any waves between heaven and earth will not be able to cause any waves.

"Your Majesty, do you want to order the eldest son and General Meng to return to Xianyang?" Li Si suddenly seemed to remember something and asked abruptly.

The eldest son is Fusu. Since the First Emperor went on tour, Fusu has been stationed in the northern border. While communicating with Northern Jurluzhou, he also serves as the agent of Qin, commanding the troops under Meng Tian - that is the most elite army in the Great Qin Empire!

Under the rule of the First Emperor, the situation of the Qin Empire was extremely complicated.

As for his eldest son, the First Emperor also had a preference for him. He was worried that he would be swept up in the turmoil in the country and implicated by the aftermath of the chessboard and unable to extricate himself. Therefore, he sent Fusu to the northern border to watch the turbulent situation on the chessboard from a detached attitude outside the chessboard.

Li Si also knew this. Therefore, since the First Emperor went on tour, although some ministers in Xianyang had always mentioned that they wanted to invite Fusu to return to Xianyang to supervise the country, and several other princes had already been fighting for power in private, Li Si had never mentioned the matter of Fusu to the First Emperor.

But at this time, Li Si brought up this matter unusually.

"Do you think anyone would attack me?"

The First Emperor raised his eyebrows and pointed around the convoy.

Countless gods were coming and going between the caravans - although the Daluo had not appeared here in person, their respective disciples had already appeared around the caravan to clear the obstacles for the First Emperor and to ensure his safety.

Just like the last time, when Zhang Liang did the same thing, even if the First Emperor wanted to do it again, the immortals and gods surrounding him would never let Zhang Liang get close to him.

"I am worried that someone will attack the eldest prince, which will anger Your Majesty and disrupt Your Majesty's mind." Li Si said.

He was certainly not worried about the First Emperor - with the lineup of guards around the First Emperor, even if Xiang Yu suddenly appeared here and led a large army to charge, and there was another person comparable to Bai Qi joining forces with him, it was impossible for him to pose any threat to the First Emperor.

But the northern border is different after all.

Although in name, Meng Tian led a large army to guard Fusu, but in fact, when Li Si looked at the number of military supplies transferred to the northern border, he knew that the guards around Fusu were not as terrifying as ordinary people thought.

"Your Majesty, the eldest prince has been away from home for a long time, and the princes in Xianyang, without the eldest prince's supervision, have their own plans. This is a disaster, not a blessing, for the empire."

Zhao Gao, who was standing beside the carriage, had already been listening to Li Si's words with his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, not daring to take any of the words to heart - because what Li Si was talking about was already the "family affairs" of the First Emperor, and it also vaguely mentioned the arrangements after the First Emperor's death.

For the First Emperor who was seeking immortality, this was an absolutely taboo topic.

Therefore, Zhao Gao was ready to take down Li Si - in the past, Zhao Gao might have made an exception and used an unusual topic to help Li Si get out of trouble.

After all, over the years, he and Li Si, one in charge of things outside the palace and the other in charge of things inside the palace, had cooperated quite happily.

But now, he was defeated in the Daze area, and even one of the Nine Cauldrons was smashed by Xiang Yu.

Even though the First Emperor was generous and had not punished him, he still wanted to hide in the shadows at this moment, lest the First Emperor saw him and remembered the defeat in Daze, and then killed him.

"What you said makes sense." The First Emperor pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Zhao Gao, draft the decree."

"Order Prince Fusu to return to Xianyang."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhao Gao said loudly.

In Xianyang, several princes were fighting for power - but at this moment, Zhao Gao knew that the fight between those princes had been settled.

Not only that, even the supporters behind those young masters will also be liquidated.

Who made them support those different princes instead of Fusu, whom they should have supported the most?

In this kind of power dispute, if you stand on the wrong side, you will definitely have to pay the price. This has been the case since ancient times.

"It seems that Your Majesty will stabilize the situation sooner than anyone expected." Zhao Gao thought to himself as he wrote the formal edict.

The empire was unstable due to the locust plague, so many people were ready to make moves - among them were the remaining families of the six countries and some people in the court.

But it is obvious that the First Emperor had already made a plan for this situation.

In the past, Zhao Gao always thought that the First Emperor did not like Fusu, who was too kind and weak, and too close to the various schools of thought, nobles, and aristocratic families.

That's why he was sent to the northern border, and his team was also sent to the northern border, making it difficult for him to have the opportunity to rule the empire.

But at this time, Zhao Gao discovered that Fusu, who had been sent to the northern border early, was not exiled, but existed as an insurance for the empire.

What would the situation be like if the First Emperor had shown his acceptance of Fusu as he did now?

An eldest son who is destined to take over the empire but has few opportunities to interact with the civil and military nobles of the empire.

An eldest son who has his own team, but his team has been stationed in the northern border and it is difficult to return.

Moreover, he is the eldest son who is willing to accept various opinions.

what does this mean?
It means countless opportunities!

This means that countless talented people in this world can get opportunities to advance through Prince Fusu.

Even those people who were suppressed and disliked by the First Emperor at this time, as long as they could be accepted by Fusu, they could still become part of the empire.

In other words, before Fusu was transferred back, countless people in the empire were incompatible with the First Emperor for one reason or another, but after Fusu's return, everyone had another choice.

That is, waiting for Fusu to succeed to the throne!

This was obviously a compromise that the First Emperor made to those who had different intentions during this extraordinary famine.

And for those people, this is also the last chance.

If they are unwilling to accept even this little bit of goodwill, then the First Emperor, who is recalling troops from all places, will definitely make them understand what it means to sweep across the world with military force and unify the country by force!
At this moment, Ao Bing, who was waiting in front of the convoy, slowly took a step forward. In an instant, he turned into a golden carp and fell into the river where the road passed.

(End of this chapter)