I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 37 Alchemists, all deserve to die!

at the same time.

The 29th year of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s reign.

early morning.

Several imperial edicts were issued from the emperor's bedroom, causing an uproar among the court officials in just a few hours.

There are no rest days in Qin law, and all officials work all year round. But today, the always diligent First Emperor claimed to be ill and did not attend court. It was said that he had important matters to deal with.

The court officials were originally worried whether the emperor was really seriously ill, but when the imperial edict came out, they realized that the emperor was fine, and it was other people who were in trouble.

…………

Xianyang, Zhangtai Palace.

Ying Zheng wore a Tongtian crown, a black robe and a red skirt, and sat upright on a high platform.

The pearl curtain of the crown obscured his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

Sitting below him was Prince Fusu.

This was very rare. Although Prince Fusu was already an adult and the eldest son, he should have attended court a long time ago, but the emperor never did so because Fusu always contradicted him and was really annoying, so he simply let him read the memorials but did not attend court.

In particular, Prince Fusu really didn't like seeing the following people.

What happened to Your Majesty today?
Everyone below looked at each other.

They were all alchemists who made elixirs for the First Emperor.

Yesterday afternoon, the emperor suddenly issued an order, asking each of them to start refining the elixir, to refine a brand new elixir that they believed to be the most effective, and to present it this morning. Everyone knew that Prince Fusu disliked alchemists, and even confronted his father in person because he opposed his father's quest for immortality. What did the First Emperor mean by calling him here?
"Have you brought the elixir?"

On the high platform, the First Emperor glanced at everyone and spoke in a deep voice.

After hearing His Majesty's words, the alchemists remembered what their jobs were. They quickly took out the elixirs that were carefully stored in lacquer boxes from their pockets, respectfully placed them on the trays of the palace servants beside them, and then saluted together, shouting:
"Your Majesty, please take a look!"

The palace servants brought the trays to the First Emperor one by one, and they flowed for a long time before stopping.

A variety of different kinds of pills were placed in a lacquer box, each one was round and plump, with silk padding underneath, looking exquisite and elegant. Herbs and spices were mixed together, and there were so many of them that bursts of exotic medicinal fragrance filled the air.

If it were any other time, the First Emperor would have already picked out the one he liked and started to look at and smell it carefully.

But today's process seems a little different.

His eyes lingered on the lacquer box for a while, and suddenly he reached out his hand, picked up a pill, and looked at it in front of his eyes.

The alchemist who refined the pill was so delighted that he even straightened his waist when he bowed. He was full of hope, hoping that the emperor would eat his pill.

Ying Zheng spoke calmly:
"Who refined it?"

The Taoist priest immediately stepped out of the queue and saluted respectfully:

"Your Majesty, I am Hou Feng. This elixir was made by me."

Ying Zheng glanced at him:
"Hou Sheng? I remember you made a batch of good pills last time. By the way, have you ever eaten that pill?"

When Hou Sheng heard the first sentence, he was secretly delighted, thinking that he had been remembered by the emperor and that his future would be limitless.

But when he heard the second sentence, his face turned pale instantly. It was clearly the season of clear and crisp autumn weather, but the clothes on his back were almost soaked with sweat.

The body moves faster than the brain.

Hou Sheng was already frightened, but his muscles reacted and he fell to the ground with his knees weakened, shouting:
"Your Majesty, please understand. Your Majesty, please understand. Aside from necessary drug testing, I have never secretly taken any pills!"

Ying Zheng stared at the man for a long time, until the sweat on Hou Sheng's head dripped onto the carpet, then he suddenly smiled.

He waved his hand and threw the pill in his hand into the arms of someone beside him:
"Zhao Gao, go and get the chicken, duck and rabbit that I asked you to prepare yesterday and bring them to the palace."

The person next to him was none other than Zhao Gao, the Imperial Chariot Officer.

Zhao Gao took the order and left without any hesitation. A moment later, he brought three bamboo cages. The poultry in the bamboo cages were still clucking and howling, but the hall was terribly silent. Most people didn't even dare to breathe.

Zhao Gao stood at the bottom of the steps and bowed respectfully:
"Your Majesty, I have brought them all."

Ying Zheng nodded, expressionless and said:

"Catch one and feed it the pill I just gave you."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the alchemists were in an uproar!
Zhao Gao was also very confused, but after the last reprimand, he did not dare to ask anything and could only do as he was told quickly.

He took a chicken out of the cage and crushed the pill into small pieces with his other hand. Zhao Gao pinched the chicken's beak open and stuffed all the pill fragments into the chicken's beak, not letting any of them leak out.

At this moment, Ying Zheng picked up another pill and threw it in front of Zhao Gao:

"Feed me another one."

Zhao Gao obeyed the order in silence.

Hou Sheng knelt on the ground, his legs trembling.

He didn't understand why the First Emperor did this.

If this elixir is poisonous, does that mean every time the palace maids tested the medicine, it was fake? Why did they have to do this?

Yes, anyone with eyes could see that the First Emperor was testing the medicine on livestock. But logically speaking, the emperor had been taking the elixir for so many years, so why did he only suspect that the elixir was poisonous today?
Most of the alchemists were familiar with pharmacology. After each batch of pills they made, someone would test them to prevent the emperor from being assassinated. Everything was fine before, I don't know what made the First Emperor crazy today!

After a long, eerie silence.

The First Emperor looked at the chicken Zhao Gao was holding and nodded slightly:
"Put it down and let it take two steps."

The chicken was placed in the center of the majestic and magnificent hall.

It walked a little unsteadily, but was still able to move.

However, after walking only a few steps, the chicken flapped its wings twice, then its head tilted and it fell to the ground.

The crowd was in an uproar again, but this time they all knelt down in unison and kowtowed desperately, begging His Majesty to forgive them.

Zhao Gao rushed forward, grabbed the chicken by the neck and looked it over carefully for a long time. After confirming that it was correct, he saluted and reported to the First Emperor:

"Your Majesty, this chicken... has no breath at all. I think it is dead."

In an instant, tremendous pressure filled the shoulders of everyone present.

Even Prince Fusu, who had been watching from the side, turned pale and stared at the dead chicken lying on the ground, unable to utter a word.

Ying Zheng stood up, slowly walked down the steps, and spoke calmly to the people kneeling down in the audience:

"This chicken will die instantly after eating two pills. I have been eating them for so long and am still alive. I am lucky."

"You alchemists are all very good."

"It's damn good."

"Someone is coming."

Zhao Gao bowed his head and obeyed.

The First Emperor spoke in a leisurely tone, yet with an air of solemnity that left no room for doubt:

"Take them, as well as all the alchemists in Xianyang City, outside the city and execute them."

"The crime is conspiracy to murder the emperor. The punishment is to be torn apart by a chariot. Execute immediately!"

[Ding! Congratulations to Ying Zheng, your actions have greatly influenced the direction of history, and you have been rewarded: 0.5 points! ]

(End of this chapter)