I really didn't want to burn it.

Li Ang had no idea what Xiao He was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't tell him the reason.

Xiao He was naturally not in a good mood after failing to deliver his niece to her.

But today's banquet for Li Ang wasn't just about sending girls away; there were other things going on as well.

So Xiao He sighed and steered the conversation to the next topic.

Xiao He smiled and asked, "Grand Preceptor, I've heard that you intend to submit a memorial to His Majesty proposing the reopening of the feudal system?"

Li Ang nodded and asked, "What advice do you have?"

"I dare not presume to offer guidance," Xiao He said with a smile as he filled Li Ang's wine cup, adding, "I'm just a little curious."

It should be noted that after the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, the enfeoffment system was abolished and replaced by the prefecture-county system.

After that, there were basically no more enfeoffments of princes, but only the appointment of officials in various places.

There was one exception: Liu Ji of Nanyue. Because of his merits in developing Nanyue, he was enfeoffed as the King of Nanhan on the advice of Li Ang.

He is also currently the only king of a different surname in the Qin Dynasty.

However, Liu Ji's achievements are undeniable. He spent decades developing Nanyue, transforming this once impoverished and barren land into the granary of the Qin Dynasty, thus ensuring the Qin's food supply.

Although the general direction for Liu Ji's development of Nanyue was set by the Grand Tutor Li Ang, everyone admired his determination to develop Nanyue despite everyone else's objections, thus expanding the territory of the Qin Dynasty.

Therefore, no one had any objections to Liu Ji's position as a king or marquis.

After Liu Ji was enfeoffed as a king, everyone eagerly awaited the next lucky person to be enfeoffed as a king, and that wait has lasted until now.

What outsiders didn't know was that Liu Ji, this king of a different surname, was something Li Ang had promised beforehand.

They went out to develop the wilderness in sacks, so surely they should be given something in return?

Who would go if there were no benefits?

As for whether the historical Emperor Gaozu of Han would cede territory and establish his own kingdom after being enfeoffed as a king, Li Ang was not worried.

The Nanyue region is currently lacking everything except food. Without the support of the Qin central government, Liu Ji, the King of Southern Han, would have no chance of maintaining his position.

Liu Ji was a smart man. Rather than foolishly establishing his own power and being killed by the Qin army, wouldn't it have been better to cling to the Qin's coattails and act arrogantly in Nanyue?

Others were unaware of the connection; they only knew that after Liu Ji, neither His Majesty the Emperor nor the Grand Preceptor had any intention of continuing to confer titles of kings upon him.

This made everyone so anxious that they were losing 5 minutes of sleep every night.

However, now that the king has finally spoken out again, everyone is naturally eager to learn more.

Therefore, Xiao He, who was Li Ang's old subordinate, was pushed forward to ask Li Ang for details.

Chapter 181 Taking too big a step, tearing your balls

Li Ang looked up and smiled at Xiao He.

Li Ang detected a hint of fanaticism in Xiao He's eyes. Clearly, Xiao He shared similar thoughts; otherwise, given his position as the Prime Minister of Qin, no one could have forced him to do something he didn't want to do.

In fact, Li Ang never intended to hide the fact that he was being granted the title of king. If he had wanted to, anyone with a little bit of connections in the Qin Dynasty could have found out.

But Li Ang realized that he had underestimated people's desire to be made kings in this era, and even Xiao He was not immune to this desire.

That makes sense. The Zhou Dynasty had only been around for a few years, and the enfeoffment system was perfectly normal in the eyes of many nobles. The Qin Dynasty's abolition of the enfeoffment system was seen by these guys as a reactionary and treasonous act.

But Li Ang knew very well that with the development of productivity, further enfeoffment within the Qin Dynasty would only lead to the feudal lords establishing their own armies and becoming independent.

If we do not want China to end up like Europe in the future, fragmented and divided, abolishing the feudal system is imperative.

For Li Ang, a person from the modern era, the idea of ​​unification is ingrained in his DNA.

If Li Ang hadn't been so eager to develop Nanyue and secure food supplies for his Qin Dynasty development plan, he would never have considered granting Liu Ji the title of king.

For the nobles and high-ranking officials of the Qin Dynasty, however, enfeoffment was a perfectly normal thing.

There was no way around it; people of this era didn't have the concept of unification. If it weren't for the Qin Dynasty's strong suppression, they probably would have all jumped out long ago.

Although Li Ang used various policies to benefit the people, which led to the common people recognizing and supporting the Qin Dynasty, the high-ranking officials and nobles did not.

When Liu Ji was made a king, these people made quite a fuss, but Li Ang shut them all down one by one.

Now that an opening has finally been made, these people, like parched land receiving sweet rain, immediately flocked to us.

In fact, if he could, Ying Zheng would not have wanted to grant fiefdoms.

But now it's really not possible not to grant fiefdoms.

Since Ying Zheng's return, the Qin army has been on drugs, advancing westward from the Xiongnu and reaching the borders of Rome.

If it weren't for the fact that logistical support was so inadequate, Li Ang even suspected that when he returned, he would probably be seeing generals arguing about how to cross the English Channel.

But if you take too big a step, you're more likely to tear your balls.

If the Qin army had simply raided and plundered like the Xiongnu before returning home, that would have been fine.

Driven by the deep-seated desire for land among the people of the Celestial Empire, no one in the Qin Dynasty was willing to give up such a vast territory.

The problem is that this area is too large, and the Qin Dynasty simply cannot govern it under its current circumstances.

It should be noted that Li Ang had served as a low-level official for several years to prepare for the Qin Dynasty's transformation of the grasslands.

Now, facing nearly half of the Eurasian continent's territory, the Qin Dynasty's top leadership was completely bewildered.

Putting everything else aside, the language problem alone is enough to give the entire Qin state a headache.

Therefore, the conferment of the title of king was not due to a sudden act of kindness by Ying Zheng or Fusu, but rather something they had no choice but to do.

By leaving some less important areas to the nobles of Qin to rule, at least the spoils are still in the Qin system, which is better than Qin giving them up voluntarily.

Li Ang himself didn't care. For this modern man, any territory beyond the "rooster" was an extra bonus, so why not take it?

Thinking of this, Li Ang smiled and said to Xiao He, "The matter of being granted the title of king is indeed true, but it won't be as good as they think."

Xiao He listened and nodded with a smile, saying, "Of course, I know the Grand Preceptor's principles of conduct: effort and reward should be equal."

"The fiefdom will not be located within the Nine Provinces."

"Does the Imperial Advisor intend for the princes to expand their territories on their own?"

"That's not necessarily the case, but the fiefdoms will definitely be located in the remote areas of Qin. Moreover, the power of the vassal kings is not comparable to that of the previous dynasty, Ji Zhou."

Li Ang twirled the wine glass in his hand and spoke slowly.

"So, the Grand Preceptor intends to follow the example of Liu Ji?"

Those who dared to openly speak ill of the King of Hannan were only Li Ang and his old buddies from Fengpei, including Xiao He.

Li Ang nodded slowly after hearing Xiao He's words.

"Power is irrelevant. Remote areas will inevitably need the court's assistance. As long as we can gain the support of kings and nobles, we... those ministers are naturally willing."

When the topic of bestowing titles upon kings came up, Xiao He was naturally very interested. He took Li Ang's hand and asked, "Grand Preceptor, roughly where is the fiefdom located?"

"I need to confirm this with His Majesty."

Li Ang glanced at Xiao He.

Now that we've started this topic, let Xiao He explain his thoughts.

At the very least, it allows one's close inner circle to prepare in advance, and then help them rally support in court to ensure the smooth progress of the enfeoffment plan.

"It has been preliminarily determined that the first batch of fiefdoms will be concentrated in the Western Regions. Those countries that stubbornly resisted the Qin cavalry will be eliminated, and most of them will be used for fiefdoms, except for a few places."

Xiao He nodded quickly, "The Western Regions...that's not bad."

At first, Li Ang said he would be granted a fiefdom in a remote border region, and he thought he would be granted a fiefdom on the Qin frontier in Europe.

The situation was different in the Western Regions. Because Li Ang had opened the Silk Road ahead of time, the Qin Dynasty was not entirely ignorant of the Western Regions.

That place was certainly not as good as the Qin Dynasty, but it still existed in various states and could not be considered a barbaric land.

In truth, for Xiao He and his ilk, the location of their fiefdoms was of little importance. They had already enjoyed all the luxuries they had. What they truly cared about was the position of "vassal king" and a fiefdom that could be passed down to their descendants.

Li Ang was very pleased to see that Xiao He was so understanding.

"Since this is the first batch, the number of people being granted the title of King will not be large; most will be granted the title of Marquis. If anyone has the idea, they must act quickly."

The best way to secure the throne is, of course, to demonstrate loyalty to His Majesty and the Imperial Advisor. Whoever flatters the most effectively will claim the throne.

Xiao He took a sip of wine and asked casually, "Grand Preceptor... when will the second batch be?"

Li Ang rolled his eyes at him: "Let's talk about it after the army conquers Europe."

Xiao He nodded repeatedly.

"Uh... I understand, I understand."

What does "we'll talk about it after we conquer Europe" mean? It means it could happen anytime soon.

Europe at that time was the domain of the Romans, a unified nation that was not so easy to conquer.

It wasn't that the Qin's elite troops were inferior to the Romans, but rather that the long supply lines posed a significant challenge to the army's operations.

Xiao He personally speculated that, given Li Ang's temperament, it was unlikely that the Qin Dynasty would wage a war of annihilation against Rome unless the Western Regions were properly managed.

Moreover, Xiao He was certain that Li Ang's so-called second enfeoffment must have been an enfeoffment of the European region.

Rather than waiting a few years to be enfeoffed in an even more remote, godforsaken place, it's better to choose the Western Regions, at least they're closer to the Qin Dynasty.

"I understand, I will inform the others."

Xiao He patted Li Ang's arm, giving him the impression that he was saying, "Leave the boss to me."

Li Ang listened and nodded slightly.

"In that case, let's leave it to Minister Wen."

"Haha, Imperial Advisor, you're here again."

Xiao He laughed heartily and toasted Li Ang again.

Li Ang nodded and drank the wine in one gulp.

Then, Xiao He asked the second question.

"Imperial Advisor, I've heard that the separation is about to take place?"

When he said this, Xiao He was no longer as carefree as he had been when he inquired about the enfeoffment; instead, he became cautious.

The separation Xiao He mentioned refers to the division between the Qin Dynasty and the Type-Moon Empire.

As the Prime Minister of Qin, Xiao He was certainly aware of the mysterious matter and knew how Qin would handle it afterward.

Li Ang was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "It shouldn't be that fast, what's wrong?"

"I'm just asking," Xiao He said with an awkward smile. "I want an exact time."

"That's hard to say..."

The exact time for the separation is not up to Leon; it depends on the progress of the Chaldea campaign.

Only when Ritsuka finishes collecting all the Holy Grails and starts attacking the Temple of Time will Li Ang be able to take action with Ryougi Shiki.

With Phil as the mole, Li Ang is able to keep track of the approximate progress of Ritsuka's conquest.

But if you ask when exactly you can romance Ritsuka...

Sorry, Li Ang can't give a definite answer either.

"It's hard to say, we can only be prepared at any time. At least..."

Li Ang didn't finish his sentence.

What he originally wanted to say was that with a Holy Grail in Ying Zheng's hands, Chaldea would definitely have to come to Qin again.

However, the Holy Grail was a secret, known only to a small circle of people including Li Ang, Ying Zheng, and Zhang Liang.

Even Prime Minister Xiao He only had a superficial understanding of the Holy Grail. He only knew that the emperor had a treasure that caused the Qin Dynasty to begin a "spiritual revival".

“Anytime… that’s not a good way to put it.” Xiao He seemed not to have noticed the half-sentence Li Ang had said. “Grand Preceptor, magic is a valuable thing. Can it still be retained after separation?”

Xiao He's concerns were understandable. Although the "spiritual energy revival" in the Qin Dynasty had only been going on for a short time, it had already penetrated into every aspect of the Qin Dynasty.

The army's combat power soared thanks to enhanced magic, while the people relied on magic to improve productivity and transportation capacity, causing the Qin Dynasty's national strength to double.

Otherwise, where would the Qin Dynasty have gotten the confidence to conquer the entire Eurasian continent with its army? Ying Zheng's defensive formations were impressive, but they were limited to the territory of the Qin Dynasty.

All I can say is that the people of China have always been pragmatic and subservient; as long as it works, they don't care about its origin.