I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 13: The Twenty-Nine Years of the First Emperor

When Song Shen's side was in a bit of chaos.

Another time and space.

Spring, the 29th year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's reign.

Ying Zheng woke up from the couch in his bedroom and suddenly sat up.

His already sharply defined face now had a sinister expression, and even though he had just woken up, he looked particularly intimidating.

The maidservant serving beside him hurriedly offered a hot towel with both hands and asked the emperor to wipe his face - this was Ying Zheng's habit.

As he had to review hundreds of kilograms of bamboo slips every day, the workload was enormous, so the First Emperor had to take time out to take a nap, so as to eliminate the fatigue of a busy morning and allow him to concentrate more on reviewing memorials and documents later.

It's the same today.

The maid knew his habits well, and had prepared a hot towel at the right time. However, she did not expect that today the emperor would take the towel and wipe his face as usual. Instead, he asked in a gloomy tone:

"Did anything unusual happen during my nap?"

Hearing this, the maid was stunned for a moment. Seeing that the emperor looked unhappy, she didn't care what the question meant, and quickly lowered her head and replied:
"Your Majesty, you slept for more than half an hour. During this time, there was no sound or movement inside or outside the bedroom."

Ying Zheng's hand was unconsciously stroking something on his couch.

That was the sword he always kept at his side when he slept, the Tai'a Sword.

Ever since he decided to unify the six kingdoms, there has been a constant stream of assassins from various countries over the past decade or so. Especially the assassination of Qin Shi Huang by Jing Ke in the past, which made Ying Zheng develop the good habit of carrying a sword with him, so as to avoid being unarmed and unable to fight back when encountering an assassin.

Just now, he was taking a nap as usual, but he had an extremely clear dream.

In the dream, there was actually a young man claiming to be his teacher, and someone else was making a big fuss, saying that his Qin Dynasty would perish in the second generation, and Fusu would be driven away by him to guard the Great Wall, and would be forced to commit suicide by drawing his sword under a false edict...

This is so ridiculous!
Thinking of the guy who called himself Zhu Yuanzhang, or the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Ying Zheng couldn't help but sneer.

I don’t know whether the other things are true or not, but the young man named Song Shen did say one thing that was not wrong.

This Zhu Yuanzhang probably really hasn't read much and has little knowledge.

A prince? Like the prince Dan of Yan?

He, Ying Zheng, does not have one now, and he has no plans to appoint a crown prince in the future!

Even if Fusu was not appointed as the crown prince, the Qin Dynasty would have been his anyway, so why bother doing this? Moreover, Fusu was a young man, and as a king and a father, no matter from which angle and standpoint, Ying Zheng hoped that Fusu could gain more experience and change his stubborn mind.

If a crown prince is appointed, many things will become inconvenient.

The simplest example -

Ying Zheng had prepared early on, and wanted to find an opportunity to throw Fusu into the army to train him well, where the Meng family father and son, who were loyal to Fusu, would never let him suffer any grievances. As the next emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Fusu not only needed to gain support in the court, but also the hearts of the army.

But if Fusu was made the crown prince, what would happen if the heir to the throne of the Qin Empire got bumped into something while serving in the army?

Even though everyone knew who would be the next emperor, Prince Fusu and Crown Prince Fusu were two completely different concepts. It would not do Fusu any good to appoint a crown prince too early.

But when I think of what those people said in my dream...

Ying Zheng's expression became uncertain again.

Of course he could just laugh it off and put those lies behind him, but what if, what if those things were 50% true?
What if his Great Qin Dynasty, which would last for thousands of years, really perished in the second generation? Fusu would really be tricked into committing suicide, and a dynasty called "Han" would inherit the country he had worked so hard to unify.

Just thinking about this possibility, Ying Zheng felt like there was a fire rising in the back of his head! At this moment, a notification came from outside the palace.

Ying Zheng barely suppressed his surging thoughts and waved his hand, signaling for someone to come in and talk.

The person who came in was Zhao Gao, the Minister of the Imperial Chariots.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister and General Wang are waiting outside. The Prime Minister wants to ask you about the arrangements for your eastern tour, and General Wang wants to report on the military preparations for the attack on Lingnan. What do you think..."

As soon as Zhao Gao entered the room, he saw that the emperor looked not well, so when he reported things, he was more cautious than usual.

Ying Zheng sat on the couch, wearing only a single piece of clothing, with his left hand pressing the Taia sword on the couch, but this did not affect his aura.

He glanced at Zhao Gao and said calmly:
"Tell Wang Ben that he doesn't need to worry about Lingnan's affairs. I have my own candidates, and all military matters are pending. Tell him not to worry about it. I will explain it clearly in a few days when I go to court."

"Let him leave and ask Li Si to come in."

Zhao Gao bowed respectfully and said:

"only."

Not long after.

Prime Minister Li Si was brought into the palace.

At this time, Ying Zheng had already stood up from the couch and sat behind the desk in neatly dressed clothes.

Li Si did not speak first, but just saluted and waited for the emperor to speak.

Ying Zheng waved his hand, and all the palace servants in the hall retreated. Then, he looked up and said to Li Si:

"Are you ready for the Eastern Tour?"

When the emperor asked, Li Si bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, 90% of everything has been arranged, but there is still one thing that needs your decision."

"How many chariots similar to the one you ride on do you need?"

Ying Zheng understood.

He was not the kind of monarch who lived in seclusion. On the contrary, before unifying the six kingdoms, Ying Zheng often toured around Xianyang to check the harvests of the people in the country, etc. Because there were too many assassination attempts, he would prepare several identical carriages when traveling, randomly choose one to sit in, and leave the rest empty to confuse assassins.

The Eastern Tour was even more extraordinary. Not only was the journey long and time-consuming, but the chance of encountering danger also doubled in places far away from the capital Xianyang.

Such security issues should have been taken care of by the generals who escorted him on his travels, but as the prime minister, it was natural for Li Si to worry about the emperor's safety.

Ying Zheng nodded, expressing his appreciation for Li Si's attitude:
"The Prime Minister is thoughtful and considerate. I am very pleased."

"The tour to the east will pass through many places, many of which were once territories of the six kingdoms. I think the remnants of the six kingdoms who still have evil intentions will be ready to move. In this case, it doesn't hurt to prepare more. Let's arrange nine carriages."

Nine cars that are exactly the same as the one ridden by the First Emperor?
Li Si felt that this was still a bit of work, but making cars was not his responsibility. That was the job of the General's Office, so he just had to arrange it. After all, there was still plenty of time, so he agreed immediately.

He had nothing else to do today, so after asking about Dong Xun, he planned to say goodbye and leave.

But who would have thought that the emperor, who always spoke concisely, would suddenly stop him again.

"Prime Minister, I have something else that I need you to check."

Ying Zheng tapped the scabbard of the Tai'a sword next to him with his fingers, and said in a light tone:
"I want to know if there is a person named Zhang Liang among the remnants of the six kingdoms and the nobles who are scattered and hidden among the people."

(End of this chapter)