Daqin: The Greatest Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Su Xuan and Ying Zheng, these two names flashed through his mind first.

Was it expected, or...

Those of him who know about this are all his close confidants who have followed him for many years and there is no way they would leak the news.

Su Xuan has been indulging in beauty at the farmhouse recently. Normally speaking, he has no extra energy to take care of this matter, but Changping Jun feels that he must have been involved in this. He believes that it is not excessive to pay more attention to Su Xuan.

In the past, Lu Buwei and Lao Ai did not pay enough attention to each other, and now both of them are beheaded and dead.

"News came from the palace that this was an order issued by the king himself." A confidant came to report after finding out the news.

Changping Jun paced back and forth, thinking secretly.

Beg for mercy? He quickly shook his head. For such an important military matter, even if Queen Mother Huayang came forward, it would be useless.

The Qin State was governed by law. When Crown Prince Ying Si broke the law, Ying Qian was punished on his behalf but he could not escape punishment. How could the laws of the Qin State change because of an armory order?

Since the matter is irreversible, the only thing we can do is minimize the losses!

Thinking of this, his expression became cold and ruthless.

When a chess piece loses its value, there is no need for it to exist!

He waved his hand to call over his confidant and whispered something in his ear. After he finished speaking, he saw the confidant quickly retreat.

What he did was very simple. He responded to all kinds of changes by remaining unchanged. He just pretended he didn't know about the matter and did nothing.

In secret, he sent people to bribe the jailer with a large sum of money and poison the food to make Zhao Bu shut up as soon as possible and prevent him from revealing himself under torture.

What he was worried about was the Zhao tribe that would make random accusations against him while he was still alive. As long as he was dead, he would not be afraid even if he had betrayed himself before.

After all, the two latest weapons were in his hands. He could just find a political enemy to take the blame and clear himself of all responsibility.

As for Zhao Fu, Zhao Bu's younger brother, Mi Qi hesitated for a second, but finally decided to get rid of him as well.

Although Zhao Bu was the only one who knew about him, Zhao Fu had always been working for Zhao Bu. He was not sure whether Zhao Bu had mentioned him to Zhao Bu. In order to avoid hidden dangers, Zhao Fu had to be killed!

After all, once Zhao Bu died, the people in Xingyu would most likely use this as a pretext to break down Zhao Fu's psychological defenses and thus reveal evidence that was unfavorable to him.

As long as there is no solid evidence, no one can do anything to him based on his identity.

What Changping Jun didn't know was that Zhao Gao, the Minister of the Imperial Chariots, was leading a young eunuch to the Zhangtai Palace to plead guilty.

“Your Majesty, I failed to discipline him properly and allowed him to leak the news from the palace. Please punish me.” Zhao Gao knelt on his knees, prostrated himself and kowtowed, showing an appearance of loyalty to the emperor.

Since his last encounter with Su Xuan, he changed his strategy and hid his ambition more deeply. Since he could no longer control Luowang, he tried his best to control the power within the palace. He adopted many godsons to help him keep an eye on any movement in the palace. Unexpectedly, today gave him an unexpected surprise.

It turns out that opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared!

He has always firmly believed that sooner or later, he will stand at the pinnacle of power!

Before that, what he had to do was to gain enough trust from Ying Zheng and then wait for Su Xuan to make a mistake.

What Lu Buwei said was right, everything rises and falls, when Su Xuan’s power reaches its peak and is enough to threaten the throne, that will be the time of his downfall!

No king can tolerate a subject who has the ability to rebel at any time. This is a fundamental problem!

"Zhao Gao, you did a good job." Ying Zheng nodded with satisfaction, and then asked, "What information did he leak?"

"The king ordered people to arrest Zhao's group before, and soon after, someone entered the palace to find out who gave the order." Zhao Gao answered truthfully, then looked at the eunuch behind him, indignant, "This traitor leaked the king's information. I request that he be chopped into a human pig to serve as a warning to others!"

Ying Zheng looked at the man expressionlessly. His majestic gaze frightened him into silence. He said coldly, "Let him speak."

"Please spare my life, Your Majesty. It was Changping Jun's servant who asked me for the information, and I really could not refuse." He was crying and was scared to death. He had always leaked the information to outsiders, but everything went well. But who would have thought that this time he would be hit by a disaster.

"What nonsense!" Ying Zheng shouted angrily, "According to you, the leak of weapons from the Armory is related to Lord Changping?"

"Prime Minister Mi is a pillar of our Qin. If he wants to see the weapons in the armory, he only needs to tell me. I will let him see them at any time. Why should he do it secretly?"

Ying Zheng waved his hand impatiently, "Drag him away and beat him to death!"

"Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!" The man had just said a few words to beg for mercy when Zhao Gao blocked his mouth with a piece of silk cloth.

"Zhao Gao, what did Prime Minister Mi want to do by hiding this from me?" Ying Zheng looked at Zhao Gao with a cold expression.

Zhao Gao knelt down and said in fear, "Your Majesty, I am only responsible for your affairs. I don't know what the ministers are thinking."

Ying Zheng glanced at him, but did not make things difficult for him. He waved his hand and asked him to step aside.

He looked at the empty hall and felt an unprecedented loneliness.

Mi Qi, are you going to betray me too?

Ying Zheng murmured softly, with a flash of pain in his eyes.

I trust him so much and have given him enough power, why would he do such a thing without telling me?

How many things are there that he doesn't know?

He felt a little chilled, and his mentality changed unconsciously.

Among all the civil and military officials in the court, he could not find anyone else he could trust except the gentleman.

He suddenly felt relieved.

The scenery from a high place is often lonely. It would not be beautiful if there are too many people. Having only one person, sir, by his side is enough!

Chapter 164 Crowning and Taking Power

Yongcheng was the first capital of the Qin State in the true sense. It was here that Duke Mu of Qin, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, dominated the Western Rong.

The Qin State had its capital here for nearly three hundred years. Later, after Qin Xian Gong came to power, he moved the capital to Liyang in order to expand eastward. Twenty-two years later, Shang Yang moved the capital from Liyang to Xianyang in order to smoothly implement reforms and get rid of the old aristocratic forces.

The capital of Qin was relocated twice, but the Ying clan temple was always located in Yongcheng. The crowning ceremonies of the kings of Qin were held in the temple, firstly to pay tribute to the ancestors and swear to inherit the will of the ancestors, and secondly to conduct the transfer of power and demonstrate their legitimacy under the witness of civil and military officials.

It takes about half a day to drive from Xianyang to Yongcheng. Su Xuan and his party arrived in Yongcheng one day in advance because before the crowning, the King of Qin had to fast in the ancestral temple, and then solemnly offer sacrifices to his ancestors, and finally hold the coronation ceremony in Qinian Palace.

The cap is the beginning of etiquette and the most important auspicious event. Therefore, in ancient times, the cap was very important and was performed in temples.

The capping ceremony is the beginning of the ceremony, and it has its own unique etiquette and laws. It is similar to the grand ceremony of the Qin King's capping. In order to express solemnity, there are three ceremonies before entering Yongcheng.

That is, the officials of Yongcheng went out of Yong to welcome the king thirty miles away. The King of Qin gave wine to the leader, and then the leader drove the king into Yong. Only in this way were the three rituals completed.

Compared with the original history, the coronation ceremony of Ying Zheng, who had already come to power before he was crowned, was obviously much more grand.

Of course, he didn't care. To him, coming to the Yongcheng Ancestral Temple was no different from returning home.

What really mattered to him was that after being crowned, he could officially take power, send troops to attack the six kingdoms, and accomplish his own great cause.

He had waited for this day for so long that he even began to feel that the rituals were too cumbersome.

In the Qinian Palace, Ying Zheng officially began the capping ceremony in the presence of civil and military officials, royal relatives, and nobles of different surnames.

In ancient times, ordinary people wore the "triple crown" when they were crowned, symbolizing that they would have three rights thereafter.

The first one is wearing a black cloth crown, which symbolizes not forgetting one’s original intention and having the power to rule by man.

The second one is to be given a leather hat, and from then on, he can wear a sword and have military power.

The third one is given the title of nobility and officially becomes a member of the clan and has the right to offer sacrifices.

After the three coronations, Ying Zheng wore the sword that symbolized power. He came before his mother Zhao Ji, because in the ceremony of handing over power, one of the items required the Queen Mother to personally announce that the King of Qin would take power.

Compared to Ying Zheng's high-spirited appearance, Zhao Ji looked much more haggard. Looking at her appearance, it was obvious that she was forcing herself to be energetic.

Looking at Ying Zheng in front of her, there was unspeakable anger in her eyes. At the same time, she looked at Su Xuan in the crowd. That look was as if she wanted to eat him alive.

When the coronation ceremony began, Su Xuan felt the malicious and resentful gaze from Zhao Ji.

He didn't care. What could an old witch who had lost her power and was trapped in Yongcheng do to him?

If she wants to take a look, then let her take a look. After today, the two of them will not have any contact with each other anymore anyway.

"Mother!" Ying Zheng naturally sensed Zhao Ji's ill intentions. He shouted softly and reminded her, "The crowning ceremony is being held now."

"You want power, I'll give it to you!" Zhao Ji's face was as cold as ice. She did not hide her attitude towards this son who killed her lover and two children.

After saying this, Zhao Ji no longer cared about etiquette and left without looking back.

No one present had any objection to this, and instead breathed a sigh of relief.

They were thankful that the woman did not make a scene.

After the transfer of power was completed, the Minister of Imperial Clan Ying Xi began to crown and tiara Ying Zheng. From then on, Ying Zheng became the real master of this empire.

He was wearing a black robe embroidered with the Xuanniao, the God's Mandate. What many people don't know is that not only the ancestors of the Shang people believed that they were related to the Xuanniao, but the Qin State also regarded the Xuanniao as its ancestor.

There is a clear record in the Chronicles of Qin, which says, "The ancestor of Qin was a descendant of Emperor Zhuanxu named Nüxiu. When Nüxiu was weaving, a black bird dropped an egg, which Nüxiu swallowed and gave birth to a son, Daye."

During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, there was a tribe called Dongyi. The ancestor of the Yi people was Taihao. When Taihao was born, five phoenixes landed in the courtyard, so Taihao used "Fengniaoshi" as his name, and the "Feng surname" was passed down.

Later, the phoenix totem evolved into a surname, which is "Ying".

The so-called black bird is the legendary phoenix.

Ying Zheng wore a crown with twelve tassels, golden dragon patterns embroidered on his shoulders, and the emperor's sword hung on his left waist, showing his majesty and wealth.

He walked up the stairs and looked at the civil and military officials and the neat and solemn army below the stage, and he couldn't help feeling proud.

"Long live the king! Long live the Qin!"

"Long live the king! Long live the Qin!"

......

I don't know who started shouting, but in the blink of an eye, the voice was as loud as thunder and the anger reached the sky.

After Ying Zheng was crowned, he did not stay in Yongcheng for too long. After returning to Xianyang, he immediately summoned all his ministers to discuss the strategic strategy of unifying the world.

Civil and military officials expressed their opinions one after another. Some said that they should attack Han first, while others said that they should attack Wei first. There were many different opinions, and each one had its own merits.

Among them, the opinions put forward by Weiwei Wei Liao and Yanwei Li Si were the most brilliant. Their plans were meticulous and they were obviously well prepared.

Wei Liao put forward two points. The first was "Do not be greedy for money and bribe their powerful ministers to disrupt their plans" to divide and disintegrate the enemy country from within. The second was to inherit the strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby countries from past dynasties, and to determine the strategic strategy of attacking the weak first and the strong later, and the near first and the far later.

Li Si proposed that "If Zhao rises, Han will be destroyed. If Han is destroyed, Jing and Wei will not be able to be independent. If Jing and Wei are unable to be independent, then Han will be destroyed, Wei will be undermined, Jing will be taken away, and Qi and Yan will be weakened in the east." The general strategy is to win over Yan and Qi, stabilize Chu and Wei, eliminate Han and Zhao, and defeat them one by one, thus achieving the unification of the world.

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is a strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones.

Normally speaking, it takes repeated discussions to truly determine the strategic strategy, and it is normal to take more than a month.

But Ying Zheng obviously did not play by the rules. When he was undecided, he would ask Su Xuan first.

"Sir, do you have any good ideas?" Ying Zheng looked at Su Xuan with sharp eyes, expecting him to give him a surprise.

"What Wei Liao and Li Si said are indeed good strategies." Su Xuan first affirmed the two, and then said, "But I don't think it's necessary."

Su Xuan walked to the sand table, on which were placed sand cones representing the six countries. He pushed lightly with his finger, and the sand cone representing Korea fell down. With another push, Wei also fell down. With a light push with his palm, all the sand cones representing the six countries fell down.

Su Xuan grinned and said something that stunned everyone, "Just start from South Korea and push forward all the way."

"The six nations can be overturned with a flip of the hand!"

What he said was extremely outrageous, but he was so confident that no one would suspect that he was lying.

But is it really as easy as he said to destroy the six kingdoms?

There have been constant conflicts for hundreds of years, but at most the country has ceded territory, and none of the seven countries has ever been destroyed.

Even Ying Zheng was shocked when he saw Su Xuan's calm and confident manner.

Changping Jun's pupils contracted, thinking that since he was so arrogant, sooner or later the coalition forces of the six nations would teach him a lesson!

"Sir, you really have great courage!" Ying Zheng, who had come to his senses, could not help but applaud.

"I don't know how to achieve the effect you mentioned." He asked seriously.

The court officials standing by were all a little stunned when they saw this scene.

No, Su Xuan dared to say it, but how could you really believe it, Your Majesty?

One country swept across the six countries. What he meant was not making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones, defeating them one by one, but directly sweeping across the country!

The difficulty of the two is completely incomparable.

Everyone had only one feeling, that is, Su Xuan was too crazy and too arrogant.

Li Si felt that it was not that simple, because his senior brother never did anything without certainty.

But how can we do what our brother said?

At this moment, Su Xuan has become the focus of everyone's attention. He is calm and composed, looking around with a slight smile, "Since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. The six countries are tyrannical and impose many harsh taxes, making the people miserable. Your Majesty has the world in his heart, is benevolent and wise, and naturally cannot bear to see the people of the world suffer, so he sent troops to attack the six countries to save the people of the world from dire straits. I have a punitive manifesto, Your Majesty can announce it to the world, so that all the righteous people in the world can come to Qin and help our Great Qin to attack the six countries."

As he said this, he took out the proclamation of war that he had prepared long ago.

Civil and military officials in the court looked at each other in bewilderment, and some even wondered if they had heard the words hallucinate.