Qin Renhuang just became an immortal, and you told me this is the prehistoric time

"As for the Net..."

Ying Xuan's tone turned colder.

"The Net has always been in Zhao Gao's hands. Zhao Gao is a wolf in sheep's clothing and has long since turned the Net into his private property. The assassins and killers in the Net only have eyes for Zhao Gao, not for the empire."

They can indeed deal with martial arts practitioners, but they themselves are part of the martial arts world, even more dangerous than the practitioners. The Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) has already drifted somewhat outside the empire and is no longer of any use.

He raised his head and looked intently at the First Emperor.

"Therefore, I request to personally establish a department that is loyal only to the Empire and to Father Emperor. This department will not be subject to anyone else's control and will only obey Father Emperor. Its sole duty is to deal with those martial arts practitioners who break the law."

His voice echoed in the empty palace, each word resounding with conviction.

"Use force to control force, violence to control violence. Use the rules of the martial world to govern the martial world, and use the methods of martial artists to deal with other martial artists. This is the fundamental way to solve the problems of the martial world."

After Ying Xuan's words fell in the empty palace, the First Emperor remained silent for a long time.

He stood with his hands behind his back before the dragon throne, his graying brows furrowed, the deep vertical line between them as if carved by a knife. The flickering light of the eternal lamp cast a play of light and shadow on his thin, resolute face.

His gaze fell on Ying Xuan, a gaze that held scrutiny, contemplation, and a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction.

This son is not only skilled in fighting and killing, but he can also think of this.

The First Emperor knew better than anyone about the Shadow Guards and the Net. The Shadow Guards were indeed loyal, but their methods for dealing with martial arts practitioners were too simplistic, relying on nothing more than protection and assassination. When faced with truly skilled opponents, they were often powerless.

As for the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), Zhao Gao had been operating it for many years, and those assassins and killers long ago only recognized Zhao Gao and no longer recognized the imperial court. Ying Xuan was absolutely right when he said that the Luo Wang had become detached from the empire.

Now, the Qin Dynasty is beset by internal and external troubles. The Jianghu forces are stirring up trouble, the remnants of the six former states are making a comeback, and those with ulterior motives from the Hundred Schools of Thought are also causing chaos. These people are all skilled in martial arts, and ordinary officials simply cannot control them.

When local magistrates and prefects encounter criminals from the underworld, they often have no choice but to turn a blind eye, fearing that if they anger the criminals, they might lose their own heads.

Over time, the laws of the Qin Dynasty became meaningless in the eyes of the martial arts world, and the authority of the imperial court was gradually eroded.

There is indeed a need for a dedicated government department to handle these matters.

The First Emperor raised his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on Ying Xuan.

"Approved."

He only said those two words, but he said them with absolute certainty, without the slightest hesitation.

"I entrust this matter entirely to you. As far as you need, allocate the manpower and funds directly. I will only look at the results and will not interfere with the process."

He paused, then added.

"But remember this: you built this government office yourself, and you will be in charge of it in the future. You will decide what kind of people to appoint and what rules to set."

I will give you only one piece of advice—this government office is the empire's sword; the hilt must be held by the empire, and the blade must be pointed at the empire's enemies. If this sword ever turns against the Qin Dynasty, I will not let it go unpunished.”

Ying Xuan bowed respectfully, his expression solemn.

"Your subject will remember this."

The First Emperor nodded, setting the matter aside for the time being. He turned around and slowly walked to a long table on one side of his bedchamber. On the table lay a huge sheepskin map, marking the locations and boundaries of the various counties and prefectures of the Qin Dynasty.

His gaze swept across the map, finally settling on the northern part.

That was the vast grassland he had just conquered.

Initially, Meng Tian was dispatched with an army of 300,000 to attack the Xiongnu in the north, and they captured the Hetao region in a single battle. Subsequently, the Great Wall was built, driving the Xiongnu completely north of the Yin Mountains.

That vast grassland has now been incorporated into the territory of the Qin Dynasty, but how to govern this land has always been an unresolved matter in the mind of the First Emperor.

Unlike the Central Plains, the grasslands have no cities to garrison, no farmland to cultivate, and not even a stable population. The nomadic tribes live by following the water and grass; they graze their livestock here today and disappear tomorrow.

Officials sent by the imperial court were often at a loss when faced with this vast and desolate land.

The First Emperor pointed to the north and then turned to look at Ying Xuan.

“You’ve been to the northern frontier, so you know that grassland better than I do.”

His tone was questioning, "Tell me, what should we do with that newly conquered vast grassland?"

Ying Xuan did not answer immediately.

He knew, of course, that his father was testing him. The question seemed simple, but it actually contained hidden meaning. If he answered too casually, it would seem that he hadn't thought things through. If he answered too cautiously, it would seem that he lacked confidence.

He was silent for a moment, then looked up with a smile on his face.

"When Father asked about this, I suddenly remembered."

His voice was unhurried, “On my return from the northern frontier, I brought a gift that I am about to present to Father Emperor for his perusal.”

"Oh?"

The First Emperor raised an eyebrow, revealing a hint of interest.

Ying Xuan took out a roll of silk from his sleeve. The silk was of excellent quality and shone with a soft luster under the candlelight.

He slowly unfurled the silk, revealing what was wrapped inside—another map, also drawn on silk, but much larger and more detailed than the sheepskin map on the long table.

He held the map in both hands and respectfully presented it to the First Emperor.

"Please take a look, Father."

The First Emperor took the map and casually spread it out on the long table.

Then he froze completely.

His eyes, which had just regained their sharpness, suddenly widened, his pupils contracted sharply, his lips parted slightly, and his white beard trembled slightly. He braced his hands on the edge of the long table, his knuckles turning white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

His gaze was fixed on the map, as if his soul had been captured by something.

The flame of the eternal lamp flickered, casting an uneven shadow on his face.

This map shows the entire world.

The territory of the Qin Dynasty was meticulously marked on the map with vermilion, its bright red color striking and immediately clear. However, what shocked the First Emperor was that the Qin territory marked in vermilion occupied only a tiny fraction of the entire map. To the west of Qin lay a vast expanse of land he had never seen before, crisscrossed by mountains and rivers, marked with names of countries and places he had never heard of. To the north of Qin lay a boundless grassland and ice field, and further north, a large landmass.

To the east of the Great Qin lies a vast ocean, and beyond that, an archipelago. To the south of the Great Qin is even more astonishing; that landmass is far larger than the Great Qin itself.

He originally thought that the Qin Dynasty had occupied the center of the world, encompassing the most expansive and fertile land in the world, including all the civilized lands from the East China Sea to the Western Regions, and from the northern frontier to the southern mountains.

He gave himself the title "First Emperor" because he believed that he was the first emperor in history to truly unify the world.

But this map tells him that the Qin Dynasty was merely a corner of the country.

Beyond the area marked by cinnabar lay boundless land, countless countries and tribes, and territories never before set foot on by the Qin cavalry. All those places combined were probably more than ten times the size of the Qin Dynasty.

The First Emperor's breathing became heavy.

His hand moved slowly, his fingers starting from the location of the Great Qin Dynasty and sliding outwards along the mountains and rivers on the map. His fingertips traced unfamiliar place names, borders he had never seen before, and oceans and lands he had never even heard of.

With each inch the blade passed, the shock in his eyes grew stronger.

Throughout his life, he swept across the land, conquering Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi, reuniting the world that had been divided for hundreds of years. He believed this was an unprecedented feat, and that the territory of the Qin Dynasty could not be any larger.

But now he realized that his proud achievements seemed so insignificant in the face of this map.

The palace was so quiet that only the First Emperor's heavy breathing could be heard.

Ying Xuan stood to the side, quietly watching his father's face, which was filled with shock. He didn't say anything to explain, because he knew that any explanation would be superfluous at this moment.

Let Father see it for himself, think about it for himself, and process this shock for himself; that's more effective than anything he could say.

In fact, the reason he chose to take out the world map at this time was because he had timed it perfectly. His father had just taken the detoxification pill, his body was recovering, and his energy and spirit were at their peak, making it the perfect time for him to withstand such an impact.

If it had been brought out a few days earlier, given Father's frail and exhausted state, he would probably have vomited blood on the spot after looking at the map.

Furthermore, he had just proposed establishing an official government office specifically to manage people from the martial arts world. Although his father had agreed, he could tell that his father still had some concerns.

At this moment, taking out the world map was meant to make the Emperor understand that the enemies of Great Qin were not only the remnants of the six states and martial arts sects, but also a much wider world waiting outside.

In this way, the emperor's vision will not be limited to the trivial struggles in the court, but will be directed to a more distant place.

Sure enough, the First Emperor's finger finally stopped on the map, and he slowly straightened up as if all his strength had been drained away.

"This...is this the world?"

His voice trembled slightly, a tremor he could hardly conceal.

Ying Xuan nodded, his tone calm and composed.

"This is the world."

He took a step forward and pointed to a location on the map.

"On this trip to the northern frontier, I encountered people from India. These people came from the far west, having traveled tens of thousands of miles, all in search of the legendary Eastern kingdom."

Your subject obtained a great deal of information from them, and this map was drawn based on that information.

He pointed to that spot with his finger.

"This is India."

He then pointed to a large area next to Tianzhu.

"India was just a small state in this land. The real ruler here was an empire called the Mauryan Empire. According to the captives, the Mauryan Empire had a vast territory, a large population, and was no less wealthy than the Qin Dynasty."

Their capital, Huashi City, was rich in gold, bustling with merchants, and its prosperity rivaled that of Xianyang.

The First Emperor's brows furrowed even more.

"The Mauryan Dynasty?"

He chewed on those four words repeatedly, as if savoring a strong liquor he had never tasted before. These four words were extremely unfamiliar to him, but Ying Xuan's words, "gold everywhere" and "prosperity no less than that of Xianyang," made his heart skip a beat.

Ying Xuan didn't give him much time to think, and continued to move his finger across the map.

His fingertips glided westward from the location of the Mauryan Empire, across a vast plateau, over fertile land between two great rivers, over a continuous mountain range, and finally stopped at a location further west on the map.

"Further west, there is another empire. According to the Indians, this empire is extremely powerful. Their soldiers carry spears and shields, march in perfect formation, and are invincible in conquering cities and territories. The territory of this empire is even larger than that of the Mauryan Empire."

He did not say what the empire was called, because the Indian captives did not know either, only that it was an extremely distant and extremely powerful country.

The First Emperor's gaze followed Ying Xuan's finger westward, his sharp eyes swirling with incredibly complex emotions: shock, greed, ambition, and a surge of ignited passion.

Ying Xuan withdrew his hand, turned around, and looked directly at the First Emperor.

"Father, I believe that the vision of Great Qin should not be limited to its current territory."

His voice became serious, and every word was firm and resolute.

"The world is so vast, with so many lands waiting for the Qin cavalry to conquer, and so many foreign tribes waiting to be educated by the Qin."

These places are still in a state of ignorance, they do not know etiquette, do not read books, and do not know that there is such a powerful empire as the Great Qin in this world.

If all these lands could be incorporated into the empire's territory, allowing those foreign tribes the opportunity to learn Qin culture, Qin script, and Qin laws, then over time, the ideal of universal harmony would no longer be just empty words.

He raised his hand and made a vague gesture in the air.

"By then, the territory of the Great Qin will surpass that of any empire in history. Father's achievement will not only be the unification of the Central Plains, but the unification of the entire world. This will be an unprecedented feat, and future generations will remember Father's name."

When he spoke these words, there was no deliberate flattery or exaggerated incitement in his tone; he was as calm as if stating a proven truth. Yet it was precisely this calmness that made every word carry a heavy weight.

The First Emperor's breathing suddenly quickened. His eyes, which had just calmed down, blazed with fire again—the fire of a conqueror, the instinctive ambition of an emperor seeing a wider territory.

His chest heaved violently, and his gray beard trembled with each movement.

He lowered his head again, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the map.

On that aged yet resolute face, the expression shifted continuously. First came shock, then greed, and finally, an almost fanatical excitement. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, the curve widening until it finally blossomed into a radiant smile. (End of Chapter)