Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1998: The Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon (Forty-Five)

"Hehehe!"

Hearing Li Si's righteous rebuttal, Zhao Gao could not help laughing out loud - of course, he did not dare to laugh too loudly so as not to attract other people's attention.

"The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister. Not only is he very calm, but his ability to deceive himself is also first-rate."

"That's right. I, Zhao Gao, and His Highness Fusu's teacher, the Imperial Preceptor Gu Xun, have always had conflicts and bad relations with him. But you, Prime Minister Li, are not much stronger, right?"

"The story of the Nine Princes of Korea. Did Prime Minister Li think that after twenty years, the Imperial Master would not settle accounts with you?"

When Zhao Gao made it clear, Li Si's face suddenly turned even darker.

If Fusu succeeds to the throne, Zhao Gao will definitely die.

Not to mention that he has been against Liusha and Guxun for so many years, the fact that he planned assassinations against Fusu several times is enough to make him die a hundred times.

Li Si is slightly stronger than Zhao Gao, but not much.

He did not put any obstacles in Fusu's way, and his relationship with Gu Xun was neither good nor bad, but his relationship with Han Fei was difficult to evaluate.

In theory, they are brothers from the same school, and in this era they can be called half brothers.

But Li Si, his junior fellow apprentice, had betrayed Han Fei and almost put him to death... It should be said that he had already put Han Fei to death, but was eventually rescued by Gu Xun.

Not only that, as the prime minister, he also has to bear part of the responsibility for the destruction of Xiaoshengxianzhuang not long ago.

Of course, when it comes down to it, whether it is Han Fei's matter or the matter of Xiaoshengxianzhuang, if we really want to count the "culprit", it must be Ying Zheng.

But it is unrealistic to say that Li Si was completely unrelated.

At least Li Si himself didn't think that his senior brother Han Fei would not settle these two accounts with him.

Although this feud was only between him and his fellow apprentice Han Fei, it never extended to Gu Xun or Fusu.

But... Fusu aside, Gu Xun is well-known for protecting his people.

Gu Xun didn't settle accounts with Ying Zheng when he was alive, but if Ying Zheng was gone and a new emperor took the throne...

Li Si didn't know whether Fusu would take the initiative to help Gu Xun and Han Fei deal with him, but he was very sure that Fusu would most likely not side with him.

In this case, Fusu would succeed to the throne and Zhao Gao would die, and it would be difficult for Prime Minister Li to have a good ending.

Maybe he would die.

Li Si couldn't even accept losing his position as prime minister and his power, let alone losing his life.

Of course, unlike Zhao Gao, a "house slave" who was doomed to die, as an important official in the outer court, he had a glimmer of hope.

There is still a certain chance that Fusu will keep him - maybe because of his hard work and great contributions, to stabilize the chaotic situation, or to keep him as a check and balance, or there are other possibilities.

In short, he is indeed useful.

Even these uses are not indispensable to Fusu, so... the chances are slim. It depends on whether Li Si is willing to take a chance.

Li Si, whose true identity was exposed, remained silent for a moment with a gloomy face, but still refused to speak. He continued to be a loyal minister and general of the empire:

"Under the whole world, is it not the king's land."

"Since we are paid by the emperor, we are his subjects. To make decisions for the emperor is not the way of a subject."

"Everything is decided by His Majesty the Free Emperor."

Translated, it means that the current emperor, Ying Zheng, will decide who will succeed to the throne, and what happens next will be decided by the new emperor.

They have no right to ask.

Zhao Gao sneered and said something irrelevant, "This imperial edict is top secret. Apart from Your Majesty, the only people in the world who know about it are you and me."

This statement seems to be incoherent, but in fact it is full of hints and temptations.

Li Si knew it very well, but his expression remained unchanged and his eyes were fixed, as if he did not understand anything.

Seeing this, Zhao Gao raised his eyebrows and smiled, then changed the subject:

"Prime Minister Li should be fully aware of the current situation of the empire, right?"

"Liusha occupies the north and dominates the area. Lingnan and Liaodong are cold and remote, and are virtually non-existent. Qi, Lu, Jing and Chu are eager to make a move, just waiting for the right time."

"If we act according to the Emperor's will at this time, I'm afraid the empire will be shaken immediately!"

"The affairs of the empire will be handled by me and my fellow courtiers. There is no need for Orderant Zhao to worry about it." Li Si replied in a pretentious tone.

"Handle it?" Zhao Gao smiled coldly, "Prime Minister Li's solution is to try to fool the officials accompanying him and conceal everything?"

"Lord Zhao, do you think it's not feasible?" Li Si replied calmly.

"If it weren't for the Emperor's will, I believe Prime Minister Li could have kept it a secret until the convoy returned to Xianyang."

"But once the time comes when it is too late to speak, the will will have to be promulgated. How can you hide it from Prime Minister Li?" Zhao Gao asked in return, "You can hide it from the ministers of the convoy, but can you hide it from the eldest son Fusu?"

Logically speaking, Li Si could arrange everything in secret. As long as he could delay until Fusu arrived secretly to deal with the late emperor's affairs, it would not be difficult to stabilize the situation afterwards.

But this is only in theory.

The convoy is still within the controllable range. It just takes some effort and it is not difficult to block the news.

But what Fusu would do was beyond Li Si's control.

First of all, Li Si asked Fusu to come secretly to handle the funeral. It was hard to say whether Fusu was willing to take the first step of inheriting the throne.

In an emergency, Fusu would not mind inheriting the throne secretly, after all, it was also for his own world.

At times like this, losing face is a small matter; what matters most is maintaining the inner self.

But Fusu could put aside his pride, but he had to guard against the possibility that all this was a conspiracy.

In the entire empire, if you were to ask where the eldest prince's faction is weakest, it would undoubtedly be the patrol caravan.

The person with the most weight of words in this piece of land is Emperor Ying Zheng, followed by Prime Minister Li Si and Zhao Gao, the Minister of the Imperial Chariots who has been reinstated.

None of these three would lean towards the eldest son's faction.

This was even more so after Ying Zheng became seriously ill.

Li Si suddenly sent a secret letter to inform Fusu to quietly rush to the motorcade to deal with his father's funeral. At first glance... even at first glance, this matter does not make sense.

Because it was a consensus throughout the world that Fusu had no hope of becoming emperor.

Zhao Gao thought so, Li Si thought so, even Fusu himself and the entire Liusha thought so.

In this situation, who would believe if someone suddenly told Fusu that the emperor had chosen him to inherit the throne?

If Li Si openly announced the First Emperor's will to the world, then the matter would of course be a done deal, and there would be no doubt that Fusu would not have any doubts.

But Li Si couldn't make it public.

If it cannot be made public, it will be difficult to gain trust and it will be difficult to avoid people.

Of course, even if Fusu had doubts, he would still come.

Putting aside the question of whether he would be the emperor or not, he couldn't just ignore his father's funeral. But he certainly wouldn't go there quietly alone as Li Si had arranged.

But he must bring enough people to ensure his own safety, and if there are too many people, don't expect to conceal their whereabouts.

Once the news spreads that Fusu left the north and headed towards the touring convoy, all ambitious people will be the first to guess what happened to the convoy.

Of course, all of this is just a prediction, and the facts may not really develop in this way. But what Li Si and Zhao Gao knew was that the facts would definitely not develop as Li Si imagined, and there would always be various accidents.

Of course, Li Si had another choice - to postpone the announcement of the emperor's will.

He simply kept everything secret until the caravan completed its tour as planned and returned to Xianyang, then summoned Fusu back to the capital to succeed to the throne.

Or simply notify Fusu when the caravan passes through Shangjun.

With such an arrangement, it is highly likely that the turmoil in the court caused by the early exposure of the emperor's death will be avoided.

But...it doesn't mean much.

Because for Zhao Gao and Li Si, the key to the problem has never been the turmoil in the court.

This is just an excuse that both parties are aware of.

Li Si nodded and did not refute Zhao Gao's doubts. "Mr. Zhao is right. My plan may not be implemented smoothly, but your idea is more dangerous and risky."

This was said very bluntly. Li Si directly exposed the fact that he had previously pretended not to know.

"Even if I have to take a gamble, I believe in myself more."

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"Risk?" Zhao Gao objected, a smug smile on his pale and feminine face, "Prime Minister Li and I have exactly the opposite opinion."

"I don't think it's risky at all, let alone dangerous!"

Without waiting for Li Si's response, Zhao Gao immediately began to talk about his plan:

"The imperial edict issued by the emperor is in our hands, as is the seal representing the succession to the throne. The eighteenth prince Hu Hai is also in the motorcade right now."

"As long as we forge an imperial edict stating that the Emperor has passed the throne to the Eighteenth Prince, we can immediately establish everything as a fact."

"Then they falsely claimed the emperor's will, fabricated charges against the eldest son Fusu, and forced him to confess and commit suicide."

This series of plans may seem like a fantasy at first glance.

He tampered with the emperor's will, made his youngest son the successor, and even tried to force Fusu to be killed... Anyone who knew about this series of actions would say that Zhao Gao was taking risks, or even that he was courting death.

Li Si didn't even think twice before waving his sleeves and shouting coldly, "Mr. Zhao, you are courting death!"

But Zhao Gao disagreed and asked complacently, "Prime Minister Li, think carefully, is it seeking death to do what I say, or is it seeking death to let Fusu succeed to the throne?"

Li Si's face was gloomy and he said nothing.

Zhao Gao's plan may sound crazy and risky at first glance, but upon closer inspection it is actually quite feasible.

The biggest feature of the imperial court is that the emperor is supreme, or in other words, Ying Zheng is supreme, and all power belongs to him alone.

Therefore, there are no powerful ministers in any sense of the word in the empire, not even close.

No one had the qualifications and ability to manipulate power beyond the emperor's control. Not only the imperial teacher Gu Xun, not the prime minister Li Si, not to mention Zhao Gao.

But all this is built on the premise that Ying Zheng is safe and sound.

Because of Ying Zheng's suppression, no one could, no one dared, and no one thought of manipulating power.

But if Ying Zheng passed away, without the suppression of the First Emperor, and with the absence of the Imperial Preceptor Gu Xun, Li Si and Zhao Gao would actually have the foundation for manipulating power.

Moreover, a motorcade is also an excellent environment for manipulating power.

The last will of Emperor Ying Zheng and the imperial seal were in Zhao Gao's hands, and all the accompanying officials were under the orders of Li Si. As long as the two of them joined forces, they could call the shots in the touring convoy and have their say go ahead.

Even if it is obvious that something is wrong, no one dares to question it - there may be a few bold and upright people, but the minority cannot cause any trouble.

After the caravan returned to Xianyang, the two men joined forces to push Hu Hai onto the throne. The matter was settled and no one could change it.

Of course, according to this plan, Li Si could support any prince except Fusu to ascend the throne.

But in reality, the only choice was Hu Hai.

In order to carry out this plan, he and Zhao Gao were inseparable from each other, and Zhao Gao would definitely not let him choose another prince.

Seeing Li Si's uncertain expression and hesitation, Zhao Gao quickly added fuel to the fire:

"Think about it, compared to Han Fei and Meng Tian, ​​what indispensable value do you have to Fusu?"

"In terms of talent, strategy, achievements, popularity, and trust with Fusu, what aspects of Li Xiangguo can compare with them?"

"You are lucky. You managed to save your life and leave the court in disgrace. The position of the head of all officials will no longer have anything to do with you."

"You are unlucky and have lost your life. Everything in this world has nothing to do with you anymore."

Zhao Gao's words were blunt and impolite, but also realistic and accurate.

Even putting aside the grudge between him and Han Fei, it was difficult for Li Si to accept Fusu's succession to the throne.

Because of the presence of Han Fei and Meng Tian, ​​there is a high probability that Li Si will lose his position as prime minister.

In terms of ability, Han Fei is undoubtedly his successor. The only thing he lacks is seniority and achievements. As for Han Fei's sensitive identity... after Ying Zheng's death, everything is no longer sensitive and does not cause any trouble.

Although Meng Tian's abilities might be lacking, his qualifications and achievements were not inferior at all, and he was fully qualified to replace Li Si.

There was no clear distinction between the empire's civil officials and military generals...or in the entire pre-Qin era, there was no clear distinction between civil officials and military generals.

Meng Tian's younger brother Meng Yi was a civil official who rose to the rank of Shangqing, but he also served in the military and led troops.

General Meng Tian also served in a civil service position. After the conquest of Qi, he was promoted to the position of Internal History due to his meritorious services.

Therefore, Meng Tian could serve as the left and right prime ministers.

No matter whether Fusu appointed Han Fei or promoted Meng Tian, ​​Li Si would have to say goodbye to his position as the head of all officials.

This was unacceptable to Li Si.

This is also the fundamental reason why he was willing to argue with Zhao Gao for a long time.

As for the so-called overall situation of the court, the duties of officials and other topics that we discussed before, they were just excuses and polite remarks.

For Li Si, principles can be broken, difficulties can be overcome, and all problems can be solved and dealt with, but the only thing he cannot accept is losing his official position.

When Zhao Gao said this, the balance in Li Si's heart began to gradually tilt.

But for a moment, he still couldn't make up his mind.

As the two men confronted each other in silence, a eunuch came hurriedly with panicky steps and a mournful look on his face.

As soon as he came over, he rushed to Zhao Gao:

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

The eunuch spoke tremblingly and could not utter a complete sentence for a long time. He could only raise one hand and point tremblingly towards the emperor's carriage.

Zhao Gao and Li Si's faces suddenly changed when they saw this.

"What's wrong with your majesty?" Zhao Gao stretched out his hand and pulled the man in front of him, then asked in a low voice, close to his face.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty has passed away!"

The eunuch responded with a terrified cry.

However, Zhao Gao covered his mouth before he could make any sound, ensuring that the sound did not spread.

Li Si and Zhao Gao looked at each other, and without saying a word, they went straight to the emperor's carriage - Zhao Gao was still holding the eunuch who brought the news in his hand.

In order to ensure that the news does not leak out, anyone who knows the news must be under the close surveillance of the two people and cannot be negligent for a moment.