Ying Fusu

Zhao Gao was well-prepared, and Li Si cooperated fully.

This storm, which was almost stirred up by the high-ranking official Meng Yi, was finally suppressed by Zhao Gao and Li Si in a very close call.

However, Meng Yi's special status and Zhao Gao's overly crude handling of the situation eventually made many people in the entourage vaguely sense something was amiss.

— Meng Yi, the Grand Minister, and Zhao Gao, the Chief of the Chariot Department, were the two people who were most favored by the First Emperor in recent years.

The former refers to the favored ministers whom the First Emperor was very happy to summon and who were often kept by his side.

The latter refers to the chariot attendant, who is required to accompany the emperor due to his duties.

The two men and the First Emperor were, if not inseparable, at least regularly by his side.

In the First Emperor's mind, these two men were perhaps far less important than the Left Chancellor Li Si and the Supreme General Meng Tian.

However, in terms of intimacy and frequency of daily contact, neither Meng Tian, ​​who was stationed on the frontier in Shangjun, nor Li Si, who was busy handling state affairs, could match the two men.

The First Emperor treated these two men differently.

The First Emperor treated Zhao Gao like an old friend, or a childhood playmate and servant.

In front of Zhao Gao, the First Emperor did not need to pay attention to imperial majesty, etiquette, or image.

He could casually put on an inner robe, lie down on the couch, and chat with Zhao Gao about everyday matters—a rather uninhibited attitude.

Of course, this also stems from Zhao Gao's main position: the commander of the central chariot.

If the First Emperor had to maintain the airs of an emperor and be mindful of his image at all times, even in front of his assistants, secretaries, and close advisors, then he would have had it too tiring and miserable.

Meng Yi, however, was different.

In the eyes of the First Emperor, Meng Yi, the Grand Minister, was more like a junior neighbor who admired him, regarded him as an idol, and was also quite talented.

The First Emperor appreciated and was proud of this unpolished gem, but also felt a slight pity for his talent.

Therefore, in front of this younger generation who idolized him, the First Emperor always tried, consciously or unconsciously, to make himself appear more majestic and imposing.

It's hard to say which of the two men was more important, superior, or inferior in the First Emperor's heart, or who was more "close" to him.

But there is no doubt that neither of these two men—whether it was Zhao Gao, the charioteer, or Meng Yi, the high minister—could have so quickly incurred the First Emperor's displeasure in a short period of time because of a single incident.

In recent years, the First Emperor has indeed been capricious and prone to outbursts of anger.

But there is always a limit.

The First Emperor's condition worsened, so he sent Meng Yi back to Kuaiji to pray for his recovery.

As a result, the person had just returned and hadn't even had a chance to meet the Emperor when he was arrested on charges of "assassination of the Emperor."

This makes no sense.

No matter how capricious the First Emperor was, this still doesn't make sense.

"Could it be...?"

"Has His Majesty fainted again?"

"Was everything here decided by Zhao Gao on his own initiative?"

After the crowd dispersed from around the imperial carriage, some people put forward this conjecture.

This was already the boldest and most radical speculation among the officials accompanying the emperor.

No one thought of it, and no one dared to think of it as the death of the First Emperor.

Even though they had already sensed something was wrong, the officials ultimately shrank back.

"Let's wait and see how things develop..."

...

"Even though Meng Yi, the Minister of State, has an elder brother who is a General, commanding 300,000 border troops stationed at the border wall."

"—Moreover, the Meng family has always been favored by the eldest son."

"Even if the Meng family doesn't intervene today, the eldest son will certainly not stand idly by..."

As this idea spread among the officials accompanying the emperor, the slight ripples that Meng Yi had stirred up with his life vanished without a trace.

The situation seemed to have been stabilized once again by Zhao Gao and Li Si.

Little did they know that it was less than two hundred miles from the imperial procession—on the sand dune plain where the imperial procession had just left;

A force of over two thousand soldiers had already arrived from the Fushi camp in Shangjun, a thousand miles away, rushing there overnight.

Upon learning that the imperial procession was heading east again to continue its eastern tour, the exhausted and weary group set up camp on the spot, less than two hundred kilometers away from the imperial procession, near the Sand Dune Platform...

·

·

"Please forgive my ignorance."

"I really don't understand what the teacher meant by doing this."

Temporary barracks outside the sand dune platform.

Having gradually calmed down, Fusu walked along the edge of the military camp with strange steps, and in the calmest possible tone, expressed his confusion to Meng Tian.

Beside Fusu, Meng Tian, ​​who had also been riding his horse for many days, showed no signs of abnormality.

Compared to when he set off, he looked a little more haggard, and the bloodshot in his eyes was more noticeable.

Upon hearing Fusu's words, Meng Tian merely grinned and did not rush to respond.

Instead, with a kind smile, he raised his hand and pointed vaguely behind Fusu, saying in a teasing tone, "My lord, you should have listened to this old minister."

"They should ride in a carriage, not on horseback."

Fusu responded by pursing his lips, feeling the burning pain in his back—especially in his waist, hips, and thighs—and couldn't help but grit his teeth.

He stopped walking, feeling the pain lessen somewhat, and then said nonchalantly, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war."

"From Fushi to the sand dunes, it is nearly 1,500 li (approximately 650 kilometers) – even with the post horses changing riders and changing horses day and night, it would still take two days to complete."

"If we travel slowly by car, it might take us ten days or even a month to reach the sand dunes."

As he was speaking, another sharp pain struck, causing Fusu to wince in pain.

This sight naturally caused Meng Tian to shake his head and chuckle again.

After a long while, Meng Tian finally suppressed his smile and said calmly, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war, so we cannot ride in a carriage, but must ride a horse."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, so we rushed to the sand dunes under the cover of night."

"—Speed ​​is of the essence in war, so we shouldn't stop at the sand dunes, but should continue pursuing the imperial procession?"

"The old minister, however, ordered the camp to be set up for rest, seemingly unaware of the profound meaning behind the phrase 'speed is of the essence in war'..."

As he spoke, Meng Tian turned his head with a smile and looked at Fusu with a peaceful gaze.

"Is this what you're wondering about, young master?"

Upon hearing this, Fusu instinctively nodded.

After realizing what he meant, he put on a thoughtful expression.

Before Fusu could figure out the key point, Meng Tian asked again with a smile.

"Young master, do you know why we have come here?"

...

"Perhaps, this is the question I should ask."

"Young master, what is your intention?"

"Have you been summoned to an audience?"

"Do you refuse to obey the forged imperial edict in order to request an audience with Your Majesty for verification?"

"Or perhaps they came to mourn the First Emperor, following his dying wish, intending to escort the coffin back home?"

After asking several questions in succession, seeing that Fusu seemed to understand but not quite, and still hadn't grasped the key point, Meng Tian couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly, and his face darkened.

"Even worse—some people falsely claimed that the emperor had died and staged a national mourning ceremony."

"Are they leading troops to attack the emperor, plotting something sinister?"

...

These seemingly casual words, which actually concealed a profound meaning, finally jolted Fusu awake.

With a solemn expression, he said in a deep voice, "The teacher knows the truth perfectly well."

Meng Tian shook his head in response, looked out into the distance, and let out a long sigh.

"What the young master plans, and what this old minister thinks, are not important."

The truth is the "truth" because it is often hidden beneath appearances.

"The truth lies beneath the surface."

"What is not covered by appearances should not be called the truth, but should be called the reality."

...

"Young master only cares about the truth, and based solely on the statement 'I have a clear conscience,' he wants to lead his troops to pursue the Emperor."

"But little do they know: it is precisely the appearances that cover the truth that are most capable of influencing people's hearts..."