Chapter 297: Such evil behavior must be punished by death!
The expressions on the faces of the nobles froze for a moment, showing a bit of surprise and disbelief.
In the officialdom, those in lower positions have to guess every word of their superiors.
This is not just for promotion, but also for self-protection.
It was just daybreak and the gates of Xianyang City had not yet opened when the bell for the court meeting rang.
When all the officials arrived at the Xianyang Palace, the First Emperor was already sitting on the throne waiting.
This clearly shows that the First Emperor did not leave the Xianyang Palace last night.
Unless the First Emperor returned from Yongdi in the middle of the night, but this possibility is extremely low. No matter in which era, the road at night is more difficult to travel than the road during the day.
He deliberately kept the matter under wraps yesterday, and today he took the initiative at the court meeting.
If the two prime ministers were to speak, it would be unclear what had happened, and it seemed that someone was deliberately looking for trouble. The nobles all knew what the First Emperor was thinking.
Your Majesty does not want to deal with Chang'an Jun...
The nobles thought secretly, and several great nobles who wanted to speak immediately kept their mouths shut and looked around, hoping that someone else would be the first to speak out.
Everyone's idea is simple.
This Qin sword that is hanging over everyone's head and may fall at any time must be destroyed, or at least taken down.
But who will destroy the sword and hold the sword? This is the problem. No one wants to provoke the First Emperor.
They didn't speak, and the conversation between the First Emperor and Li Si continued.
"The high positions and generous salaries are what you have gained by fighting bravely for Qin. Your rank is not as high as others, so you are jealous of them and make insinuations about them. This is not right."
"I am indeed jealous, but what I said is true. There are no less than twenty people in the court who hold higher titles than me. Are all of them more meritorious to Qin than me? I am not convinced."
Li Si bowed slightly to Baili Cheng, the head of the Baili family, who was sitting motionless on the ground.
"Shi is the fourteenth rank, and Master Baili is the fifteenth rank. Shi has made contributions to the unification of the country, advised Your Majesty to recall the ministers, and established the policy of parallel states. May I ask Master Baili, what contributions have you made to Qin? Why is your rank higher than Shi's?"
Is Li Si a mad dog? Or is it that all his words were given by Your Majesty, who is determined to reduce our authority?
Considering what Chang'an Jun did yesterday and the way Your Majesty handled it, it turns out that it was not Chang'an Jun who wanted to take action against us, but Your Majesty.
The nobles were thinking about how to deal with it. They were not named, so they still had time.
The person involved, Baili Cheng, could not remain silent like the others. The fire had already burned him, and he had to make a choice.
He stood up and stared at Li Si with murderous eyes.
"The contribution of the city is not as great as that of the left prime minister, but the contribution of the city's ancestors is far greater than that of the left prime minister. I don't need to say much about the contribution of our ancestor Baili Xi to Qin, as it is well known to the world."
The First Emperor nodded in agreement.
"That's right. Without Baili Zi, there would be no Qin. Mu Xian Gong's dominance is all due to Baili Zi's contribution."
This was what the First Emperor said, but Baili Cheng did not dare to say it again, as being proud of one's achievements is a big taboo.
The reason why he did not list Baili Xi's achievements was to contrast them with Li Si's enumeration of achievements and to make the First Emperor pay attention to Li Si.
Li Si shouted: "What does Bailizi's achievement have to do with your Bailicheng? I'm asking you! What achievements did you, Bailicheng, make for the Qin State?"
Mad dog!
This guy is having a mad attack!
For his own benefit, he wants to bring us all down! Why would this guy do this again?
The noble families could no longer endure it.
Regardless of whether Li Si's words were a hint from the First Emperor, they had to respond. Li Si's words touched the bottom line of the aristocratic families.
The achievements of predecessors cannot be added to those of later generations, and thus, the titles of predecessors cannot be inherited by later generations.
In the Qin Dynasty, the title of nobility was a symbol of class, meaning that one was superior to others, and could receive salaries that ordinary people could not afford, and enjoy privileges that ordinary people could not enjoy.
In fact, as early as when Shang Yang carried out the reform, he wrote that the title could not be inherited, but the policy failed in implementation because the resistance was too great.
Many people think that the Qin Dynasty's twenty- level military merit system for promotion to noble titles was not hereditary, and that Shang Yang's reforms were very thorough. This is taken for granted.
In fact, the title remained hereditary until the end of the Qin Dynasty.
"Records of the Grand Historian: The First Emperor of Qin" says: "He built the Langya Terrace and erected stone carvings to praise the virtues of Qin and to show his pride. He said: The King of Qin unified the world and established himself as the emperor. He then pacified the eastern lands and reached Langya. The Marquis Wucheng Marquis Wang Li, the Marquis Tongwu Marquis Wang Ben...
Liehou is Chehou, the highest rank of nobility in Qin. Wang Li was just a child when he carved the stele. Even if all his military exploits during the late Qin Dynasty were added, he would not be qualified for the title of Liehou.
Moreover, Wang Li was the son of Wang Ben, but his name was placed before his father's when the stone was carved, which shows that Wang Li's title was more prestigious than that of his father Wang Ben.
Whether Wang Jian was granted a title of nobility or not was never clearly stated in history books, but his sons who had less merit than him were all granted titles of nobility. It doesn't make sense that Wang Jian, who had the greatest military merit at the time, was not granted a title of nobility.
All the facts are in front of us. If they are all true, then there is only one possibility. After Wang Jian died, his son Wang Ben was originally a marquis and did not inherit the title, so his grandson Wang Li inherited it.
Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, had outstanding military achievements throughout his life but was not granted a title of nobility, whereas Wang Li was a marquis from birth. This is the difference between King Zhaoxiang of Qin and the First Emperor.
The fact that Qin was able to unify the world during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang was definitely related to the fact that Emperor Qin Shi Huang would reward those who had made contributions and would not be afraid of his ministers becoming too successful and thus endangering his own country.
If it were King Zhaoxiang of Qin, who was also a wise ruler, Wang Jian, whose military achievements were not as good as Bai Qi's, would not only not be granted a title of nobility, but would also be punished later. It would be good enough if he was not beheaded.
It is unknown whether Wang Jian, who could not be granted the title of nobility and seek great benefits for his descendants, would still teach his son Wang Ben to attack the six kingdoms with all his strength.
The First Emperor conquered the world with the remaining strength of the six previous emperors, but without the First Emperor, a different king would probably not have been able to conquer the six kingdoms.
Now, what Li Si wanted to do and say was to tear down the bridge that the First Emperor had built in order to drive the Qin officials to fight bravely and make contributions to Qin regardless of life and death.
The title cannot be hereditary.
It means being an enemy of the world.
Sima Yi, the head of the Sima family, stood up from the table. His ancestor was General Sima Cuo, who helped the Qin State to destroy the States of Ba and Shu and established a reserve granary.
Pointing at Li Si, he trembled with his hands: "You want to destroy the thousand-year prosperity of the Great Qin. Our ancestors worked hard to build a road without any obstacles. You are just lucky enough to guess the emperor's mind and get the position of left prime minister. How dare you disrespect him here!"
Wei Fa, the head of the Wei family, stood up from the table. His ancestor was General Wei Zhang, who captured Hanzhong for the Qin State.
He flicked his sleeves and scolded coldly: "How dare a mere scholar talk about the merits of our ancestors? You said you made great contributions to Qin, but that's just lip service. You said it was your Majesty's will, how dare you steal it as your own merits? How dare a coward who doesn't go to the battlefield talk nonsense!"
The head of the Chu Li family, Chu Liji, stood up from the table. His ancestor was Chu Li Ji, who conquered Quwo of Wei, Linyi of Zhao, and Zhu Weizhang, who conquered Hanzhong of Chu.
He did not look at Li Si but faced the First Emperor and said loudly: "Your Majesty, these scoundrels who deceived the world should be beheaded outside the palace!"
“…”
One noble after another stood up and expressed their opinions.
The milder ones cursed Li Si, while the more violent ones directly asked the First Emperor to kill Li Si.
They were expressing their dissatisfaction with the First Emperor with their strong and intense emotions towards Li Si.
They were 100% sure that it was the First Emperor who wanted to push this forward and centralize power.
The hereditary system was abolished, and Li Si's descendants could not inherit his title and had to continue to struggle. The beneficiary of this move was not Li Si, but the First Emperor.
At this moment, they temporarily put aside the matter of Ying Chengjiao killing the three major families.
Things have their priorities. Ying Chengjiao 's Qin sword had not yet fallen on their necks, but the Qin sword of the First Emperor had already drawn blood.
"That's enough."
The First Emperor's words, which were filled with suppressed anger, instantly calmed the chaotic scene.
"I am here to listen to your plans for Qin, not to listen to your attacks on each other."
The voice, neither loud nor soft, made all the ministers below the platform shut up and wait for the First Emperor's next words.
Is the title hereditary or not?
Your Majesty, are you stubborn in your opinion, or will you be convinced by our persuasion?
"Li Si."
"I am here."
"The Prime Minister is very busy, so you should hand over the post of the Court Judge to the Court Judge and concentrate on your work in the Prime Minister's Office."
"only."
His Majesty changed his mind and the title was saved.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, with joy in their hearts.
Removing Li Si from his post of Chief Justice was nominally to allow him to concentrate on being the Prime Minister, but in reality it was a punishment. The signal it revealed was that the government was biased towards the aristocracy.
Li Si returned to his seat.
The First Emperor glanced at the people below the high platform and said, "I have finished my miscellaneous matters. Can someone tell me why you are looking for me so anxiously?"
If the First Emperor had asked this as his first question, there would surely be countless nobles standing up, just like when the nobles opposed Li Si before.
But when the First Emperor had just been persuaded by a group of aristocratic families to promise not to abolish the hereditary system, the aristocratic families looked at each other, all wanting to make the other side stand up.
Politics is about balance, and political intrigue is more about the exchange of interests rather than a life-and-death struggle.
The nobles had just fought hard to regain their hereditary power, and they were reluctant to ask the First Emperor to severely punish his brother.
Even though they thought so at the beginning, they couldn't open their mouths at this moment. On the battlefield, the more you win, the better, but it's not the case in the officialdom.
If there is a person who only wins and never loses, who never asks for anything and never suffers any loss, then this person is either a powerful official who uses the emperor as a puppet, or a lonely official who is a puppet of the emperor.
Powerful ministers and lonely ministers will all die.
The Xianyang Palace fell into an eerie silence. The golden dragons clinging to the pillars were shining with golden light. No one knew what these humans in front of them were hesitating about.
No, that brat must be dealt with!
Baili Cheng, the head of the Baili family, saw that no one around showed any signs of standing up, so he gritted his teeth and was about to stand up.
Among these family heads, Baili Cheng wanted to kill Ying Chengjiao the most because he was too close to the Meng family.
As long as Ying Chengjiao is alive, there is a possibility that his Baili family will follow in the footsteps of the three great families, so he is the first one who can't sit still.
"You are all fine, but I am busy."
The First Emperor waited for more than ten breaths, and when he saw Baili Cheng below getting up, he slowly spoke.
Baili Cheng sat down again after raising his butt. He didn't want to confront the First Emperor directly, so he thought it would be okay to wait for a while.
"I heard the Queen's complaint, saying that the three great families committed crimes and stole national wealth. They violated Qin law and should be exterminated according to the law. They were arrested by Li Si yesterday and brought to the Supreme Court to be executed on the spot."
"His Majesty!"
Baili Cheng’s face turned pale and he stood up suddenly.
He could not wait any longer. From the tone of the First Emperor, he knew that he was ready to put an end to the matter.
If the death of the three great families was normal, then the executor Ying Chengjiao would be innocent. This time the three great families died, and next time it would be his Baili family.
The other nobles also had unhappy expressions on their faces. They obviously had the same idea as Baili Cheng. The only difference was that they were not as anxious as Baili Cheng.
"I haven't finished yet."
The First Emperor stared coldly at Baili Cheng, who wanted to blurt out the truth, and frightened him so much that his legs and feet went weak and he almost fell to the ground and made a fool of himself in public.
"Bai Li Cheng, should I speak first, or should you speak first? Do you want to wait for me, or do you want me to wait for you?"
Plop~
Baili Cheng could no longer stand and immediately fell to the ground, quickly kneeling down.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
If it were a later dynasty, perhaps the minister would say, "I deserve to die, I deserve to die a thousand times."
The Qin Dynasty did not have such a catchphrase, as they were afraid that the First Emperor would take it seriously.
Meng Ao, an old general who had not attended court for many years, was very surprised by the First Emperor's reaction, but that did not stop him from poking his grandson beside him with his elbow, his sparse white hair drooping.
"What are you afraid of, you bird man? I asked Nai Gong to go find His Majesty last night, and this matter has the merit of the Meng family!"
No one knows who went to the National Guard Mansion to stop someone and was knocked unconscious. The Meng family is already the pinnacle of military merit, so it would be better if they didn't have such an achievement.
Meng Yi, who was seeking safety, complained in his heart while looking at Meng Ao with admiration.
"Father is still wise."
The First Emperor stopped Baili Cheng from reviewing with a cold look and continued speaking.
" Chang'an Lord Ying Chengjiao was imprisoned in Xianyang Prison. His followers wanted to rescue their master and broke into the Court of Justice, committing treason, with Wang Qi as the leader. According to Qin law, Wang Qi and Ying Chengjiao's followers should all be executed. Chang'an Lord Ying Chengjiao was in prison and did not know about external affairs, so he was treated lightly and imprisoned in Xianyang Prison for the rest of his life. He was stripped of his position as the Minister of State and the Prime Minister."
If this was the verdict made by the First Emperor at the beginning, the nobles would definitely be dissatisfied.
Yesterday, it was not just one or two people who saw Ying Chengjiao appear in public and lead the killing, but thousands of city defense troops and a group of spies from aristocratic families.
This kind of evil behavior must be punished by death!
But at this moment, the nobles who had no hope that Ying Chengjiao would be punished felt that this punishment seemed acceptable.
What is making all the noble families hesitate now is that Ying Chengjiao has some dirty information about them.
It was not just the three major families who sold off old weapons and stole from the national treasury, but all the families in Xianyang, headed by the Gan family.
The three great families were killed with this excuse. Will they be killed with this excuse in the future? Was Ying Chengjiao's actions voluntary or instructed by the First Emperor?
"Shangqing Gan Luo has been found innocent after investigation. He was framed by Meng Jiakun, Bai Fei, and Xi Shu. The only people who stole from the national treasury were Meng Jiakun, Bai Fei, Xi Shu, and their clansmen. After the court was dismissed, the court official immediately released Gan Luo."
The First Emperor finished speaking in one breath, and without waiting for any reaction from his ministers, he looked at Baili Cheng who was still kneeling on the ground.
"Bai Li Cheng, I have finished speaking. It is your turn now. What do you want to report?"
