Traveling the Heavens in Thunderbolt

Chapter 169 The th Conferred
The rebellion started by Changxin Marquis Lao Ai, a favorite of the Queen Mother of Qin, who called himself the "fake father" of the current King of Qin, was suppressed by the troops led by King Ying Zheng of Qin and Changping Jun in just a few days, and did not harm the vitality of the Qin State at all.

Twenty of Lao Ai's cronies, including Wei Weijie, Nei Shisi, Zuo Gejie, and Zhong Dafu Lingqi, were beheaded. Those who followed Lao Ai were made ghost firewood collectors for the ancestral temples, while those who were seriously guilty of more than 4,000 people were stripped of their titles and exiled to Shu for three years. The two sons born to Lao Ai and Queen Mother Zhao Ji were also put into sacks and thrown to death. All three clans of Lao Ai were also killed.

Although Zhao Ji was unaware of Lao Ai's bold and reckless behavior, it was all caused by her indulgence. Ying Zheng's punishment for him was to imprison him in Yongcheng.

After that, Ying Zheng severed his mother-son relationship with the Queen Mother and never saw her again. He also issued a clear order that any court official who dared to advise the Queen Mother on her affairs should be "killed and have his back pricked with thorns". Twenty-seven ministers who advised the Queen Mother were brutally executed for this matter, and their bodies were hung on the palace walls for public display. It was not until the 28th minister, Mao Jiao, persuaded the King of Qin to bring his mother Zhao Ji back to Xianyang on the grounds that "the King of Qin must put filial piety first in order to unify the world" that he was moved. Zhao Ji was finally able to enjoy her old age.

As for Luowang, which was led by Lao Ai, Ying Zheng showed the courage of a heroic leader. On the grounds that these people were only deceived by Lao Ai, he only dealt with a group of Lao Ai's confidants and his diehard fans, pardoned the remaining killers of Luowang, and let them wait for their crimes and make meritorious contributions.

However, Lu Buwei, who introduced Lao Ai into the palace, would not be so lucky. His ambiguous attitude during the Lao Ai Rebellion meant that Ying Zheng, who now holds great power, would no longer use him.

At the first court meeting convened by Ying Zheng after entering the palace and dealing with the rebellion of Lao Ai, the first thing he did was to announce that Prime Minister Lu had assisted the late emperor for many years and supported himself until he took power until now. He had made great contributions and it was time for him to enjoy his retirement.

Ying Zheng decided to remove him from his position as prime minister and gave him a large sum of money to let him return to his fiefdom, Henan, where he was granted the title of Marquis Wenxin. His position was taken over by Lord Changping. In response to this, all the important officials involved expressed their gratitude, saying that our king is wise and that Prime Minister Lu, no, Marquis Wenxin (Lu Buwei's title of marquis), rest in peace.

After dealing with these matters, Ying Zheng began to reward the heroes who had contributed to the suppression of Lao Ai's rebellion. Among them, Lord Changping and Lord Changwen received the most generous rewards.

Changping Jun replaced Lu Buwei as the prime minister, and would later assist King Ying Zheng of Qin in clearing out Lu Buwei's forces remaining in the court.

Changwen Jun was awarded a title for his contribution in suppressing the rebellion.

Gai Nie, Li Si, Meng Tian and others who accompanied him along the way were all rewarded and given promotions.

Next, it was about the reward that Prince Han would give for the great achievement of beheading the bandit leader Lao Ai. Some well-informed ministers in Xianyang City had already received the news. In addition, Prince Han had no intention of hiding, and his identity as Chang'an Jun Chengqiao, who was supposed to have died in Luowang's pursuit, was already known to a number of Qin's important officials before the morning court session.

It's just that no one knew what arrangements the King of Qin was going to make, so no one brought it up. When the people who had suppressed the rebellion had all been rewarded, it finally came to the critical moment of this court meeting. What reward would Prince Han Chengqiao receive?

Changping Jun, who had already communicated with Ying Zheng, was the first to stand up and propose that such a talented person as Prince Han, who had defected to our Qin State and had the merit of suppressing the rebellion, should be granted a fiefdom and a title to show the world that Qin State loves talents.

King Zheng of Qin immediately said that the Prime Minister's words were very much to his liking, but he did not know where he should be granted the title or what title he should be given.

The newly appointed court official Li Si immediately gave a suggestion. There were too many fiefs in Guanzhong and it was no longer appropriate to grant them away. It would be better to turn the area of ​​100 miles in Ba County close to Baiyue into the fiefdom of Prince Han.

As for the title, it was even simpler. It was the highest title in the Qin Dynasty's twenty-level military merit title system, Chehou. (The name Chehou was later changed to Tonghou to avoid the taboo of Emperor Wu of Han, and then to Liehou.)
Because Han still exists and is one of the seven countries, the Prince of Han used to be a man of the world, so it was okay for him to have no taboos. But now that he has joined the Qin State, he can no longer do so.

If you need to avoid taboos, you might as well use a homophonic approach and change "Han" to "Han", which would become "Han Hou".

After hearing what Li Si said, King Zheng of Qin was very pleased and decided to adopt Li Si's suggestion. Changping Jun, who had just taken over the position of prime minister, also said that this was a good idea and agreed.

Seeing Changping Jun's statement, the ministers who had come to this point understood that the King of Qin might have already discussed with Changping Jun, Li Si and others in private how to reward Cheng Qiao.

But it is also good this way. Cheng Qiao will not return to the court and compete with everyone for the power left behind by Lu Buwei, which is naturally the best thing.

After all, he is the youngest son of the previous king. Although he is already dead, he cannot be treated badly. Granting him a remote land shows that he will never return to the court. This is beneficial to both parties, so no one will object.

At this point, the reward for Prince Han was finalized and his title was changed to "Han Hou". He will soon go to his fiefdom to take up his post.

When Cheng Qiao received the royal edict, he was surprised that he was granted the title of Marquis of Han. You have to know that he had reached an agreement with Ying Zheng that he would be granted the title of king after the unification of the world.

At that time, you will be renamed "King of Han". What do you want Liu Bang to do?
However, Cheng Qiao thought it through immediately. Since he had come to this world and joined the Qin State, he would not sit idly by and watch the Qin State perish in the second generation as it had done in history.

A group of peasant rebels, including Liu Bang, were doomed to be destroyed.

The next step is to return to your own fiefdom and hide for a while as planned.

More than a year later, Cheng Qiao, who was managing his own fiefdom, received the news of the incarnation. After returning to his fiefdom, Lu Buwei, who had been dismissed from his position as prime minister, still did not restrain himself. Guests and envoys from various vassal states came in an endless stream, and there were still thousands of guests to welcome him, which made Ying Zheng, who originally wanted to let him go, very disgusted.

He wrote to Lu Buwei saying: "What contribution have you made to the Qin State? The Qin State granted you a fief in Henan, with a fief of 100,000 households. What blood relationship do you have with the King of Qin? And yet you are called Zhongfu. You and your family should all move to Shu to live!" He knew that he would be exiled to Shu, and that his decades of hard work would be declared bankrupt, and his entire family would soon be exiled to Shu County. Rather than dying of old age in mediocrity or being sentenced to death, it would be quicker for him to end his life himself.

After many years in office, he built the Zhengguo Canal, laying the material foundation for the Qin State to unify the world. He also compiled the great work "Lüshi Chunqiu", which "preserves all events of heaven and earth, ancient and modern", and made new explorers for the theory of feudal unification. On the way to exile in Shu County, Lü Buwei committed suicide by drinking poison.

After his death, King Zheng of Qin issued an edict to pardon Lü Buwei's family and followers, allowing them to return to Xianyang to live.

(End of this chapter)