People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 554, The ministers oppose and coerce Ying Zheng.

Zhangtai Palace, Chaoyi Hall.

As the bell rang, the palace doors were opened by the eunuchs, and civil and military officials entered the palace in an orderly fashion.

On the military side, the veteran general Meng Ao still led the way, while on the civil side, the leader of the Chu state's foreign relatives and concurrently the Right Chancellor Changping Jun was in charge, followed closely by the virtuous elder of the royal family, Weiyang Jun, and Zhaoming Jun Xu Qing, and then the Nine Ministers and other officials of various ranks.

Xu Qing stood among the civil officials, completely ignoring the menacing gazes behind him, and looked up and down at the newly renovated layout of the Imperial Council Hall.

The Chaoyi Hall hasn't changed much. It was slightly renovated after the turmoil. The biggest change is that the seat where Zhao Ji used to rule from behind the curtain has been removed, and the seat that symbolized Zhao Ji's power as Empress Dowager has been thrown away somewhere.

As for Empress Dowager Zhao Ji herself, she is currently under house arrest in Yongcheng.

Just as Xu Qing was lost in thought, the third bell rang.

"Boom~"

Upon hearing the bell, the ministers' expressions suddenly hardened, and Xu Qing also snapped back to his senses and looked toward the throne.

Then came Ying Zheng, dressed in a black imperial robe and wearing a crown with tassels. After being crowned, Ying Zheng was also allowed to wear a crown with tassels in court affairs.

Compared to before, Ying Zheng now appears more energetic and spirited, though his expression remains calm and composed. He exudes a powerful and ambitious aura, befitting an emperor.

"The King has arrived!"

The physician in charge of court etiquette shouted loudly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live a long life, and may the Qin Dynasty last ten thousand years!"

The assembled officials bowed and greeted him in unison.

"Gentlemen, you may rise." Ying Zheng said, waving his hand as he sat on the throne.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng glanced at the assembled officials below, his eyes lingering on the spot where Zhao Ji had long since disappeared. That spot had once been a mountain weighing down on him, one that he could never escape.

Now that the mountain has disappeared, he can finally fully implement his ideas and lead the Qin state to greater heights and strength.

After turning his gaze away, Ying Zheng nodded to Zhao Gao, who immediately understood and took out a military report, taking a few steps forward.

"My esteemed ministers," Ying Zheng said, "reports have arrived from the front lines from Meng Tian and Wang Jian. Meng Tian has captured Lao State and punished all the remaining followers of Lao Ai. Wang Jian is leading the Lantian army to defend the region, and the allied forces of the Three Jin states retreated without a fight. Shangdang is safe."

"Report from Tunliu: Wang Jian reported to the King that the allied forces of Han, Zhao, and Wei have retreated, and our army is taking advantage of the enemy's withdrawal."

General Zhao Gao opened the report and began to speak in a loud and unhurried voice.

Xu Qing was somewhat surprised as he listened to the military report. Although he knew that the alliance of the three Jin states had ended in failure, he was surprised that Li Mu and Han Fei, working together, would have prevented the alliance from ending so abruptly.

Just as Xu Qing was wondering, Zhao Gao, at Ying Zheng's instruction, sent the report to Meng Ao, intending to let the officials see it.

The military generals, including Meng Ao, only glanced at the report before handing it over to the civil officials. It was just a formality for military reports to be reviewed by both civil and military officials, and those who reviewed them were usually high-ranking officials such as the Grand Commandant, the General, and the Chancellor, indicating that there was nothing wrong with the report.

After the military report passed through Xiong Qi and Lord Weiyang's hands, it was delivered to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was also reading a military report for the first time, and he opened the bamboo slip in his hand to examine it carefully. Zhao Gao had just said that the military report only contained a general overview of the situation; as for why the combined forces of the Three Jin states retreated, the report did mention it, but Zhao Gao did not say so.

Just as Xu Qing was searching for the reason why the Three Jin Alliance army had retreated, he saw a name in the military newspaper.

Guo Kai!?
Xu Qing looked at the name and instantly felt relieved. There was no need to read any further. Just by seeing this name, he knew why the allied forces had retreated without a fight.

With the Great Qin War God in command, let alone Li Mu alone, even if you combined Ma Fu Jun, Yue Yi, Yue Cheng, Lian Po, Pang Nuan, and Li Mu, the Zhao army still wouldn't be able to defeat the Qin army.

This is reputation, this is credibility!
Guo Kai, the God of War of Qin, is a renowned general killer. The two famous generals were not his limit; they were merely the result of his slight actions.

Guo Kai and Li Mu already had a personal feud. Under the bribery sent by Lü Buwei, Guo Kai went directly to King Yan of Zhao. Through all sorts of persuasion, he finally convinced King Yan, who was a childhood trauma for Ying Zheng and Ji Dan, to agree to withdraw his troops.

As for the states of Han and Wei, they already intended to withdraw their troops. Seeing that even the powerful state of Zhao, one of the three Jin states, had withdrawn, the two states naturally did not leave immediately.

"The Mandate of Heaven is with Qin. How can the six states withstand the might of Qin?" Xu Qing sighed inwardly before handing the military report to the next person.

The military report was quickly circulated and then delivered to Ying Zheng by Zhao Gao.

"This time, Lao Ai allied with the three Jin states with the intention of launching a coordinated attack from within and without. Fortunately, Wang Jian and Meng Tian were there to hold off the Jin army outside Shangdang, keeping them at bay on the border. They also eliminated Lao Ai's remaining forces in Taiyuan County."

"For such a great achievement, I have decided to promote Wang Jian and Meng Tian by three ranks, and all soldiers who already held titles will be promoted by one rank, while those without titles will be rewarded with gold and silver." Ying Zheng surveyed the assembled officials below, his tone tinged with joy, and immediately bestowed generous rewards. "Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers, naturally, wouldn't want to embarrass themselves by saying anything against it, and instead shouted in unison.

"We owe much to Wang Jian and Meng Tian in the outside world, and also to all of you ministers in the inside world, for quelling Lao Ai's rebellion. Now that I have assumed personal rule and the affairs of the state are initially settled, if any of you ministers have any suggestions, please feel free to submit them." Ying Zheng's cold expression softened considerably as he looked at his ministers and spoke slowly.

Upon hearing Ying Zheng's words, the assembled officials below were taken aback, and many turned their gazes toward Xu Qing.

What is the biggest problem facing the Qin state today? Isn't it the widespread rebellion of Lao Ai that has led to vacancies in the court? And the biggest problem among them is that the position of prime minister is vacant, making the court unstable.

Therefore, Ying Zheng's actions were paving the way for Xu Qing to become the prime minister, and next, someone should step forward to recommend Xu Qing.

Just as everyone was waiting to see who would step forward to recommend Xu Qing, Lord Weiyang, who was standing next to Xu Qing, walked straight out of the group and stood in the center of the hall.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say!" Lord Weiyang said solemnly in a loud voice.

Immediately, everyone's eyes turned to Lord Weiyang, some with expectant expressions, others with a look of anticipation.

Xiong Qi remained calm, glancing indifferently at Lord Weiyang. As he had expected, the royal family would certainly not allow someone from the six states' scholar families to serve as prime minister. The next step was to wait for the royal family and the scholars from the six states to go to war, and he could then sit back and watch the two fight it out.

"What does Lord Weiyang have to say?" Ying Zheng asked, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, Lao Ai's rebellion involved many accomplices, all of whom have been executed. However, many positions in the court are now vacant, leading to much speculation and gossip. Yesterday, I heard rumors in the marketplace that Your Majesty intends to appoint Zhaoming Jun as Prime Minister."

"This rumor has spread far and wide, causing fear and unease among officials and the people. All of this is because the position of Prime Minister is vacant. Therefore, I believe that a person of both virtue and ability should be selected as Prime Minister as soon as possible to quell the rumors and stabilize the court and the people's hearts!"

Lord Weiyang bowed slightly, speaking with neither arrogance nor servility.

The members of the royal family couldn't help but feel admiration for Lord Weiyang, who stood up for the sake of Qin and the royal family and spoke out against the emperor.

As expected of their royal leader, his courage to risk offending the king and speak frankly in public is something they should all emulate.

Apart from the members of the royal family, the other civil officials silently observed the development of the situation. They all expected that the members of the royal family would stand up to oppose it immediately, so they were not in a hurry to stand up, but prepared to see what Ying Zheng's attitude would be first.

"I do intend to appoint Zhaoming as Prime Minister. What is wrong with that? Since entering Qin, Zhaoming has made great contributions to our Qin. He has written medical books and supported famous doctors to treat the wounds and illnesses of the soldiers."

"He personally entered Nanyang and persuaded Bai Yifei to surrender, allowing our Great Qin to take over the fertile land of Nanyang without lifting a finger, which greatly enhanced our national strength."

"Later, he attracted many scholars and patriots to join our Great Qin, which greatly changed the situation where the culture and virtue of our Great Qin were not flourishing. In suppressing the rebellion of Lao Ai, Zhaoming Jun made great contributions and should be credited as the greatest contributor."

"From both a public and private perspective, and from both a moral and rational standpoint, I believe that Lord Zhaoming is the most suitable person to serve as the prime minister."

Ying Zheng looked at Lord Weiyang, his expression slightly somber, and said in a deep voice.

No sooner had Ying Zheng finished speaking than Lord Weiyang, standing in the center of the hall, followed up with his own words.
"It is certainly not unreasonable for Your Majesty to appoint Zhaomingjun as Prime Minister. Based on Zhaomingjun's merits, he is indeed worthy of the position. However, Zhaomingjun is young and has had little contact with government affairs since entering the court, let alone handling government affairs on his own."

"I do not deny that you, Zhaoming, are talented, but the position of prime minister is not something that can be held simply by having talent; one must be thoroughly familiar with the affairs of our Qin state."

"But Lord Zhaoming lacks experience, and our Qin state is in a state of disarray, needing to be rebuilt in many ways. If Lord Zhaoming were to rashly assume the position of Prime Minister, I fear he would be unable to properly handle state affairs, which would be detrimental to the country. Furthermore, if Lord Zhaoming were to cause delays in state affairs due to carelessness, it would jeopardize Your Majesty's discernment!"

"Therefore, I urge Your Majesty to rescind your decree and not appoint Zhaoming Jun as Prime Minister. Instead, a person of both talent and virtue should be selected to fill the position!"

Ying Zheng's expression instantly darkened, and his gaze toward Lord Weiyang was no longer as friendly as before, as if he was trying his best to suppress his anger after his dignity had been challenged.

Seeing Ying Zheng's somewhat unpleasant expression, the courtiers did not suspect anything.

Ying Zheng had just come of age and assumed personal rule, having eliminated Lao Ai and Marquis Wenxin Lü Buwei in one fell swoop. He was in high spirits, full of ambition, ready to make his mark and establish his authority.

Now that the very first order has been opposed by Lord Weiyang in public, how could he possibly be happy?
"Your Majesty, I believe that Lord Weiyang's words are reasonable. We are well aware of your desire to appoint virtuous and capable officials and your desire to strengthen the country and benefit the people. Lord Zhaoming is not suitable to serve as prime minister. Please reconsider!" Seeing that Ying Zheng's expression was not good, Lord Jingyang also stepped forward and said.

Once Lord Weiyang has started the conflict, there is no turning back. The entire royal family is united and must stand up and speak for Lord Weiyang.

"Your subject also agrees with what Lord Weiyang said!"

"I agree."

Seeing that the two leaders, Lord Weiyang and Lord Jingyang, had stepped forward, the other members of the royal family also stepped forward one after another.

When Ying Zheng saw that more than twenty members of the royal family had stood up to object, his face instantly darkened, and his hand on the armrest of the throne clenched tightly.

(End of this chapter)