Diqin Designer

Chapter 135: He was Emperor Gaozu of Han, but now he is my subject

After Liu Ji finished speaking, Ying Zheng commented: "Seeing the big from the small, and the deep from the shallow, Liu Ji of Pei County is indeed extraordinary. If he were in a peaceful time, he would be a capable minister who would stabilize the country. If he were in a chaotic time, he would be a hero who would stabilize the country."

Upon hearing Ying Zheng's evaluation of Liu Ji, Xiao He, Yong Chi and others who were in the hall were a little surprised. How could Liu Ji deserve such an evaluation?

Although they also felt that Liu Ji had his extraordinary qualities, this evaluation was too high.

This comment can be summarized as: You, Liu Ji, are a capable minister in times of peace and a hero in times of chaos!

Liu Ji was quite happy that Ying Zheng evaluated him as "a capable minister in times of peace and a hero in times of chaos", but he did not show his happiness at all.

This comment is mixed. A capable minister in a peaceful era is naturally good, but a hero in a chaotic era is bad.

If he acted too happy and the King of Qin asked him, "What are you so happy about? Do you want to be a hero in these troubled times?", how should he respond?

Liu Ji said cautiously: "Now that the world is under the rule of the king, it will surely be a peaceful world. How can there be a chaotic world? Moreover, Ji Zhiwei has little talent. If the king had not appreciated me, I would still be living in Pei County and not even allowed to enter Xianyang. How can I be considered a capable minister and hero?"

Looking at Liu Ji, who looked terrified, Ying Zheng said, "Don't panic. I have your talent in my heart. Are you willing to be my capable minister?"

Can you say you don't want to?

Moreover, it was obvious that the King of Qin wanted to use him as a minister. As long as he agreed, he would immediately be promoted from an older unemployed man in Pei County to a minister of the Qin Dynasty.

Liu Ji didn't know how great his historical achievements would be. He was now just an older unemployed man in Pei County, and even his family members looked down on him. He had long wanted to stand out and let those who looked down on him see: You will also become successful one day!
It's just that I have never had any opportunities. Now, facing the olive branch thrown by the supreme King Qin in the world, how can I not accept it?
What's more, one of the reasons why he came to Xianyang this time was that he wanted to make a name for himself and build a career in Xianyang.

Liu Ji was extremely happy. After so many years of wandering around, he was finally going to make a name for himself. He immediately stood up and saluted Ying Zheng: "I am willing to be your subject!"

After I go back today, I must send a letter back to Pei County. It would be best if the messenger can deliver it to my eldest sister-in-law and read it in front of her.

In the past, when I brought my younger brother to my home for dinner, you scraped the bottom of the pot and pretended that you had finished the meal, causing me to lose face in front of my younger brother. Now, I am appreciated by the King of Qin and a minister of the Great Qin. Not only do I not care about this matter, I am also generous enough to tell you first.

Ying Zheng said: "I won't give you a real job for now, but you can just observe government affairs for a while!"

Although in the history told by Li Nian, the Han Dynasty established by Liu Ji replaced his Qin Dynasty, he did not hate Liu Ji at all. Instead, he had a good impression of him. If possible, he did not want to kill Liu Ji, and even planned to give Liu Ji an official position and let Liu Ji work for him.

Just thinking about having the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty working under him, Ying Zheng felt a very wonderful feeling in his heart.

Liu Ji said: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

When Yong Chi and others saw that Liu Ji was appreciated by the King of Qin and was about to be appointed as an official, many of them could not help but feel excited. They thought that this trip to Xianyang was really a blessing rather than a curse.

Some people even thought, if Liu Ji could be so appreciated by the King of Qin, then wouldn’t they be able to do so even better?

Ying Zheng's eyes fell on Xiao He and he asked, "Are you Xiao He?"

Xiao He replied respectfully: "I am Xiao He!"

Although Xiao He was only a chief clerk, he was a real official of the Qin Dynasty, so he could be called a "minister" instead of a "commoner" like Liu Ji. Ying Zheng asked again: "I heard that you are well versed in laws and regulations, and you enforce the law fairly without any harm. You handle the government affairs in your jurisdiction in an orderly manner, and your performance evaluations often rank first. Someone wants to recommend you to serve in the court, but you refuse to accept the position. Why is that?"

This question shocked Xiao He: first, the King of Qin even knew such a thing; second, if the King of Qin knew the reason why he did not want to be recommended to the court by Shangguan, he would be afraid of death and extermination of his family.

But does the King of Qin know the real reason why he doesn’t want to make progress?
Xiao He was making guesses in his mind.

He did not want to be recommended to the court, mainly because he saw the problems with Qin law and was not optimistic about the Qin Dynasty, so he did not want to be an official in Xianyang and be too closely tied to the Qin Dynasty.

How nice it is to be in Pei County, far away from the right and wrong of Xianyang, watching the ups and downs of the Qin Dynasty and the changes in the world.

Unable to confirm whether the King of Qin knew, Xiao He could only bite the bullet and say, "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to serve you, but I can't leave my homeland... Please punish me!"

At this point, Xiao He suddenly knelt down to apologize and asked Ying Zheng to punish him. The crime he was punished for was that he was reluctant to leave his hometown and was unwilling to enter the court to serve Ying Zheng.

As long as Ying Zheng punished him for this crime, he would not think about the real reason why he was unwilling to enter Xianyang.

Compared to the real reason, he naturally wanted to choose the lighter one of "It's hard to leave my hometown".

Ying Zheng looked at Xiao He deeply, and at this moment he figured out one thing: Why did Xiao He, the first meritorious minister of the founding of the country under Liu Ji, want to defile himself?
It's not only because of Liu Ji, but also because of this person himself.

This Xiao He is not honest at all and has his own little thoughts!
This can be seen from the fact that he had been working as a minor official in Pei County and was unwilling to serve as an official in the court. It can also be seen from the fact that he took advantage of Han Xin's trust in him and helped Empress Lu kill Han Xin.

But Ying Zheng had no intention of pursuing Xiao He's issue today.

As a king, you should not be afraid of your subjects having their own ideas. What is important is to be able to control them and use them for your own benefit.

It is a good thing for the king if his subjects occasionally break the law or discipline, because these are handles that can be used by the king. It is more useful if the handles are held there and not moved until they are needed.

Ying Zheng, who had been in power for many years, had already mastered this trick. He said, "It is human nature to miss one's homeland. What's the crime? Please get up quickly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Xiao He stood up, but he was still uneasy. He still couldn't judge whether the King of Qin realized that he was really unwilling to accept the recommendation and serve as an official in Xianyang.

But then Xiao He calmed down and thought that if the King of Qin knew about this but kept it secret, it would mean that he would not do anything to him for the time being and might even use him.

However, the fact that the King of Qin had a handle on him was like a sword hanging over his and his family's heads. If he wanted the King of Qin not to wield the sword, he could only do his best to serve the King of Qin in the future.

Thinking of this, Xiao He smiled bitterly in his heart, but if he were asked to go back to the past and choose again, he still would not choose to accept his superior's recommendation and serve as an official in the court. The result today is already doomed!
Ying Zheng then asked Xiao He, "Although the world is now unified, many places are not under the governance of our Great Qin. The main reason is that there are not enough officials in the Great Qin. Do you have any way to solve this problem?"

As soon as Xiao He heard Ying Zheng's question, he knew it was a test for him, but Xiao He had really thought about this question.

(End of this chapter)