Chapter 434: Uncle! He can be replaced!
"So Prime Minister Wei is here for this matter. If I say this matter has nothing to do with me, will my position as rear general remain vacant?"
The blue-eyed Hu man leaned forward slightly.
"I am Lieutenant General Wei Zhuang, I pay my respects to the General."
Ying Chengjiao reached out to support him, his face full of confusion, which eventually turned into a deep sigh.
"If it is Prime Minister Wei, I will be a scoundrel again and take the credit for myself. If you meet Li Si in the future, even the smartest new Prime Minister will never say that this is not true. On the contrary, there is an 80% chance that he will testify for me.
"But now that I am in front of the general, it is really hard to give up this shame. You treat me with sincerity, and I treat you with sincerity. Without me, Li Si would still propose the county system. Your Majesty would still abandon the thousand-year feudal system and adopt the county system.
"Is the rear general a little disappointed now, regretting that he agreed too early?"
The blue-eyed barbarian nodded and asked tentatively:
"A little bit. Is it too late for me to regret it now?"
Ying Chengjiao was very serious.
"Xianyang, you were defeated by me. It has nothing to do with Li Si."
The old left prime minister narrowed his eyes, slightly leaned forward, and bowed twice.
"I am Lieutenant General Wei Zhuang, I pay my respects to the General."
Ying Chengjiao supported it with one hand.
"General Hou, please stand up."
The Taotie army has five generals, but only one is missing.
Three days later, several pigeons landed in Yanmen, and the letters on the pigeons' legs soon fell into Ying Chengjiao's hands.
The first one is from Xunzi.
【Your Majesty is here, and you are safe. 】
Ying Chengjiao didn't understand what was going on, so he opened the second letter.
The second letter came from Lu Buwei.
[Your Majesty shall execute the entire county of Lanling.]
Ying Chengjiao's pupils suddenly contracted and the paper in his hand fell out of his hand and floated around.
Before it fell to the ground, Ying Chengjiao had already reached out to pick it up. There were only seven words in total, but it took him half a cup of tea to read them.
He picked up Xunzi's handwritten letter again. The six words that he could not understand before were so heavy this time that Ying Chengjiao found it difficult to breathe.
Xunzi, whose name was Kuang and whose courtesy name was Qing, was once the magistrate of Lanling County.
If there is a county in the world that Xunzi values the most, it must be Lanling without a doubt. Xunzi served as the local official of Lanling County for thirteen years!
Ying Chengjiao welcomed Xunzi to Qin in Lanling County. If it weren't for Ying Chengjiao, Xunzi would have continued to serve as the magistrate of Lanling County until his death and was buried in Lanling.
Ying Chengjiao could fully imagine the deep sorrow and raging anger that would come to this stubborn old man when the news reached Xunzi's ears.
At a time when he would have been about to burst the sky, the old man chose to send him a letter, telling him that as long as he was there, everything would be fine.
No hindrance, everything remains the same.
Lü Buwei's letter arrived on the same day as Xunzi's letter.
This proves that this old man, who redefined Confucianism and consciously inherited the lineage of Confucius, after experiencing anger and sadness after learning the news, the first thing he thought of was to reassure him.
The old man did not trust the First Emperor in the first place, but trusted him, the Lord of Chang'an.
It was at his request that students from all over the world gathered at the Jixia Academy, and that the current era of Xunzi came into being.
Xunzi's disciples entered Qin as officials and eliminated the hidden danger of Meng Xibai's death.
Afterwards, his disciples spread throughout the court and various government offices, becoming the indispensable and largest force in the court, continuing to support the steady progress of the new giant, the Great Qin Empire.
Xunzi's selfless dedication resulted in the destruction of Lanling City.
The culprit was none other than the First Emperor whom Ying Chengjiao had guaranteed.
"Why did my brother massacre Lanling County? I clearly told him when I left that this was man-made! My brother couldn't have been unaware of the relationship between Lanling and Xunzi, so how could it have come to this!"
Ying Chengjiao looked extremely ugly. He had clearly told his brother the emperor not to kill innocent people indiscriminately. He heard his brother agree with his own ears and confirmed it several times.
Although his brother was overbearing, he was also the most obedient and a man of his word. How could he do such a thing? This was totally wrong!
When I opened the third letter, I found out that the owner of the letter was none other than the First Emperor, and this was also the last letter.
[I ordered Li Si to investigate the meteorite, but no one in Lanling County knew about it.]
This is the entire content of the letter, which is the reply from the First Emperor to him.
The size of the letter paper that can be tied with a pigeon's legs is limited and cannot contain too much text.
The content is so concise that others would be completely confused and have no idea what it means.
However, Ying Chengjiao, who was familiar with his brother's temperament, immediately understood why this tragedy happened.
A meteorite fell from the sky in Donghai County, and landed right next to Lanling County.
Such a large meteorite, no matter how the rebels got it to the landing site, must have left an indelible mark. If not, then someone must have secretly erased it with accomplices.
The person who erased the traces might be from Lanling County, or might not be.
But no matter whether it was true or not, it was impossible that there was not a single person in Lanling County who had seen the traitors or their accomplices.
There must be someone in Lanling County who knows something about the situation. It is impossible that there is no one.
However, when Li Si searched the entire county of Lanling, no one from Lanling came forward to provide any clues. This was a cover-up.
Rebellion is punishable by death.
Crimes of harboring etc.
In the eyes of the First Emperor, the people of Lanling County were not innocent, so killing them was not considered a breach of promise.
Ying Chengjiao's face turned pale, his heart ached, and he sat down with a groan.
His eyes flashed back to the time when he went to Lanling and saw beauties in brothels soliciting customers by the windows and witches performing rituals in the streets.
As well as the Chu Pavilion, which is as famous as the Qin Pavilion, and the shrine with very Chu characteristics.
Qinlou and Chuguan.
The Qin Tower is gone, but the Chu Pavilion remains.
A native of Lanling City.
The city is still there, but the people are all dead.
If Ying Chengjiao had not been to Lanling, and if Lanling was not where Xunzi worked, Ying Chengjiao would not have such deep feelings.
The feeling of a disaster befalling a place you have never been to and a group of people you have never met is completely different from the feeling of a disaster befalling a place you have been to and people you are familiar with.
People are different in terms of closeness or distance.
Ying Chengjiao lay on the table, crumpling the letter paper in his hand.
"Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to do this?!"
Lanling originally belonged to the State of Chu. It was completely understandable that the people of Lanling did not cooperate with Li Si.
But Li Si couldn't find any clues in Lanling County. The only reason was that he didn't try his best!
There was no need for any severe torture, just sitting in a room full of torture instruments and staring at the sinister jailer. That kind of psychological pressure was totally beyond the ability of ordinary people to bear, and they would tell everything with a little coercion.
If some simple punishments are used, such as pinching fingers or beating with a stick, no matter if he is a tough guy or a heroic hero, most people will just say what they think.
Anyone who can withstand torture must have an incredibly firm belief, and there is only one such person among ten thousand.
It’s a small city of Lanling, and all the people in this city are selected from thousands of people?
Grabbing the paper and pen, Ying Chengjiao wrote a letter.
[It is easy to bully the gods, but it is hard to kill the people! If my brother continues to do this, the Qin Dynasty will perish! ]
Ask the servants to tie the pigeon's legs and release it.
The carrier pigeon flew to Xianyang, but Ying Chengjiao didn't know where the First Emperor was, so he could only ask Lu Buwei to forward it on his behalf.
He knew that sending a letter of persuasion was meaningless, but it was the only thing he could do at the moment.
Now he is in the extreme northwest of the empire, and the First Emperor is in the extreme east of the empire.
Having rushed from Sishui County to Yanmen County, could he really ignore the important matters in the desert and rush back across thousands of miles?
It took him more than a month to get here, and it took almost the same amount of time to get back. It was a month later when he found the First Emperor.
Add to that the half month it takes the carrier pigeon to fly from Donghai County to Yanmen, and it makes a total of one and a half months.
In one and a half months, the First Emperor had already done whatever he wanted to do. In the past, he could not change anything except accepting the results, and thus wasted the opportunity to fight.
It is already approaching August. If we wait any longer it will be winter and we won’t have to think about war at all.
Fighting a field war in the northern desert in winter is bound to result in non-combat casualties.
By the time the Hu people are found, it is hard to say how many of the 50,000 people will be left, and it would be considered good if these soldiers can still have half of their original combat effectiveness.
Another half month passed, at the Yanmen Martial Arts Field.
On the platform, there was a man standing with his head held high. He was wearing silver armor and no helmet. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes were as bright as stars.
The main general of the Taotie army was Ying Chengjiao.
Behind Ying Chengjiao, an old veteran lagged behind half a step, his white hair fluttering in the wind.
Deputy general of the Taotie army, Wang Xi.
Below the stage, five generals stood at the front.
One of them was extremely young, with a childish appearance, an excited face, and no beard below his chin or above his lip.
The former general of the Taotie army, Ying Jianglu.
One of them had arms that went past his knees, and he was carrying a terrifyingly large ox-horn bow on his back that did not appear to be something that could be pulled by human power.
General of the Taotie army, Mi Sui.
One of them had green eyes and an appearance very different from that of the Qin people, with a very exotic desert style.
The rear general of the Taotie army was Wei Zhuang.
One of them was a middle-aged man with a heroic appearance, his brows were solemn and serious, and there was worry in the depths of his eyes.
The right general of the Taotie army, Meng Wu.
One of them had a smile on his face, looking like a natural ruffian. It was difficult for him to be serious in such an occasion. Instead, he stood straight with his legs together.
The Left General of the Taotie Army, Liu Bang.
Behind the five people, 50,000 Taotie soldiers stood under their beloved horses, looking at the figure on the stage whose face could not be seen but whose armor was particularly shining, all of them looked impatient.
The figure radiating silver light took a step forward in full view of everyone and sang "Wu Yi", which everyone in the Qin army could sing.
"How can you say you have no clothes..."
The sound was not loud, but it spread all over the place.
There was no bloody murderous intent or fighting spirit in the song, it was just clear, as if it was being sung beside every soldier.
At first, the four words were spoken only by the commander.
"… I share the same robes with you. When the king raises his army, I will sharpen my spears and halberds, and share the same hatred with you.
"Is there any day when I have no clothes? I will share the same clothes with you. When the king raises his army, I will sharpen my spears and halberds and work with you!
"Is there any day when I have no clothes? I will share my clothes with you. When the king raises his army, I will prepare my armor and weapons and go with you!"
By the fifth word, without anyone ordering them to sing along, all the soldiers, with red faces, followed their general and sang the entire song "Wu Yi" at the top of their voices.
Fifty thousand people sang together, their voices broke through the clouds in the sky, their voices spread throughout the county, and their voices reached the ears of everyone in Yanmen County!
The swords and spears, the passion of old soldiers, the youthful spirit, fame and fortune, are all in the song "Wu Yi"!
After singing "Wu Yi" three times, the magnificent, deafening song, which was louder than the thunder in the sky, came to an abrupt end.
In the martial arts arena, everyone's face was flushed, and the heavy breathing sounds merged into one, as if the martial arts arena had life and was breathing!
Beside the soldiers, the armored war horses felt the atmosphere in the field getting increasingly hotter. Unable to sing "Without Clothes", their breathing seemed to become heavier, resonating with the masters who were holding their reins.
"Go!"
The voice when singing "Without Clothes" at the beginning was still so clear, just a little hoarse.
"promise!"
The 50,000 Qin soldiers shouted in response, their voices much hoarser than the general's.
The north gate of Yanmen was wide open.
Smoke and dust billowed, and two yellow dragons stretched for ten miles.
The black armor is majestic, and the fifty thousand Taotie have been hungry and thirsty for months.
On the north city gate tower, Meng Tian clenched his fist, his palms pierced by his fingernails, blood oozing out, but the redness of his hands could not compare to the redness of his eyes, his heart ached greatly!
In the eyes of the bravest warrior in the Central Plains, this battle was a joke and a suicide mission.
It is a taboo in military strategy to advance alone.
Taking his mother with him to the battlefield was an act that was beyond description, and scolding that boy was not enough to vent his anger.
"Fifty thousand good men, my father, my grandfather, the third son... all lost their lives because of this boy's willful behavior, Zhao Kuo of the Qin State!"
On the north city wall, 1,231 old soldiers who were unable to follow the general into battle due to physical disabilities were either supporting each other or climbing the battlements, staring at the army going away with envy in their eyes.
Whatever their general did, they supported him, and they all thought his general was doing the right thing.
This is not blind worship, but a belief established by Ying Chengjiao's brilliant record of leading the troops in battles, chasing and intercepting the enemy, running hundreds of miles back and forth, fighting dozens of battles of varying sizes and defeating each one, and completely annihilating the enemy.
The general will win!
The ninth day of the eighth month is the autumnal equinox, and autumn is halfway through.
Chang'an Jun led the Taotie army out of Yanmen, into the desert, and attacked the Hu.
In fact, according to Ying Chengjiao's previous temperament, this battle would have to wait another half a month, the Taotie army would have been unable to improve through running-in, and all five generals would have been present instead of asking Liu Bang to make up the numbers.
He is not pursuing perfection but stability, and he has been doing so for nearly thirty years.
However, too many things have happened recently, some of which were driven by him, but more of which were not.
The overwhelming number of emergencies were the constantly accumulating gunpowder, Han Ji's hair turning white overnight was the fuse, and the massacre of Lanling was the spark that detonated Ying Chengjiao's sense of crisis.
Pursuing safety will inevitably waste time.
And wasting time seems to be the biggest instability in the world today.
Some people don't want to wait .
The caravan that was touring the country arrived at Kuaiji.
Five thousand troops and horses, with flags flying, marched in an unrestrained manner, fully demonstrating to the people of Kuaiji what it means to be the ruler of the world and the first emperor.
When the convoy was crossing Zhejiang Province, the river bank was crowded with people, all standing three meters in front of the Qin soldiers stationed on the river bank, craning their necks to watch eagerly, with a hint of fear on their faces.
The people of Qi were the richest people in the world, but they had never seen such a grand and luxurious convoy. This should not be a convoy in the human world; it should be the chariot of the Emperor of Heaven.
The owner of this convoy is indeed the emperor.
Few people fear virtue, but many people fear power.
On the river, the largest cruise ship in Zhejiang, which could accommodate hundreds of people, was only carrying one car, so there was no extra space.
The cruise ship had a very deep draft, and three officials stood on it holding swords.
The carriage was not an ordinary one, but a royal carriage drawn by four horses, used by the First Emperor.
There are five such cruise ships in total, because there are five four-horse royal chariots.
There was a young man in the crowd, standing next to a man with a smiling face and a big belly, who looked like a rich man. He pointed at a four-horse carriage and turned around to shout.
"Uncle! He can be replaced!"
