It's day and night.

Julu County, Sand Dune Palace ruins platform, exiting the patrol convoy.

In the emperor's car, Ying Zheng was lying on the bed with a yellow face, his eyes were half open and half closed. The eyes exposed through the gaps between his eyelids lacked the sparkle of the past, his lips were slightly parted, and his breathing was weak and almost non-existent.

This scene may make everyone who sees it unable to believe it when it appears on Ying Zheng.

Not only could they not believe that the First Emperor, who always stood high in the sky and towered over the empire, was seriously ill and dying, but he also could not believe that Ying Zheng would look like this.

Ying Zheng has been seeking immortality and taking elixirs. Although his physical condition has not improved due to this, at least he looks perfect to others. He always looks healthy and lives a hundred years, even when he is older.

He still looks like a young man in his twenties or thirties.

Therefore, many people are looking forward to Ying Zheng's death, but few people really think that he will die suddenly at a young age.

But the reality is that people are so caught off guard.

Before this tour, Ying Zheng was only in a slightly bad state. It looked like he had not rested well. His symptoms quickly began to worsen. By the time he arrived in Pingyuanjin, Jibei County, he had been in a coma for most of the day.

After taking medicine to regain some energy, the convoy just left Pingyuanjin across the river. However, within two days of leaving, the man fell ill again.

This time, Ying Zheng almost lost all ability to move and could not even speak.

In the carriage, several chamberlains headed by Zhao Gao stood by Ying Zheng's side.

Everyone except Zhao Gao looked uneasy, but didn't know what to do. Their eyes were full of fear and confusion.

As chamberlains, they were actually equivalent to the eunuchs of later generations. For example, Zhao Gao, the 'head eunuch', was also in charge of Fuxi affairs, and occasionally helped Ying Zheng draft and write edicts. They were very similar to the eunuchs who were responsible for the seals of later generations.

But it just looks like it, but the actual power is not comparable at all. Zhao Gao, the 'hand seal eunuch', can't compare with the real ceremonial eunuch's hand seal.

Although he really had this power, Zhao Gao could only act in accordance with Ying Zheng's orders, and at most he could be regarded as a higher-level secretary.

As for this privilege, only Zhao Gao has it, and other chamberlains are basically out of reach.

Moreover, the scale of the imperial court was far less large and cumbersome than that of later generations. It could be divided into departments with more than two digits. There were basically no four departments, eight bureaus, twelve supervisors, and twenty-four yamen.

But even so, as the few internal servants who are favored by Ying Zheng, they may not be able to reach the level of one person or more than ten thousand people. In other words, more than a thousand people are more than enough, and they are properly regarded as the superiors of people.

When they were in front of Ying Zheng, they were grandsons who served others, but when they were out of sight of Ying Zheng, they all became masters too!

Days like this are already a good thing that ordinary people can't even dream of.

Once the emperor and his courtiers came, the courtiers in the outer court would change, and the aides in the inner court would also change.

If Ying Zheng dies and a new emperor succeeds to the throne, they will almost say goodbye to such a good life.

Zhao Gao was very calm at this time. Looking at Ying Zheng, whose breathing was getting weaker and his vitality gradually dying, he thought of something that happened not long ago.

When he was in Pingyuanjin, he realized that his health was deteriorating and his death was approaching. Yingzheng ordered Zhao Gao to write an edict on his behalf. The content was that if anything happened to him, he would summon the eldest son Fusu to come to handle the funeral affairs and send the coffin back to the capital.

Burial.

No matter how much he longed for immortality, Ying Zheng finally made arrangements for his death in advance when he realized that his life was running out.

Although Fusu was not directly designated to inherit the throne, naturally only the second emperor could handle the funeral arrangements after his death.

Despite not liking Fusu's many character flaws, Ying Zheng chose him as his successor.

There was no way, he had no choice.

Fusu may not be that outstanding, and he may not be able to grow into a qualified emperor, but if he is unsuitable, then his younger brothers are even less suitable.

Among the short ones, Fusu is the tallest.

Moreover... no one can say for sure in advance whether Fusu will be able to fulfill the responsibilities of the emperor. It is just a subjective judgment.

Maybe he can be very successful.

However, Ying Zheng, who has reached the end of his life, no longer cares about these things. He has already done the last thing he should do.

Back to the topic.

Zhao Gao was thinking about the edict written by himself, and an increasingly cold light flashed in his eyes.

For Zhao Gao, Fusu's succession was something he could never accept!

For other chamberlains, if Fusu becomes emperor, the most they will do is lose their current status and change from a superior to a subordinate.

Moreover, Fusu has always been known for his benevolence, loyalty and filial piety. With his temperament, he might treat these "old people" kindly for the sake of his father, and still let them live a prosperous life.

Overall, the losses are certainly huge, but they are ultimately within an acceptable range.

But Zhao Gao is different.

Without Ying Zheng's favoritism, Fusu would definitely not protect him after he came to power. Zhao Gao felt that if he could live for more than three days, Gu Xun would be lenient to him.

It doesn't even take Gu Xun to kill him, Fusu probably won't be able to spare him in the first place.

He was a chamberlain, essentially a domestic slave. The emperor didn't even have to kill him if he wanted to, he could just tell him to commit suicide.

If he doesn't want to, then there will be imperial guards to do it for him.

If he just lost power and power, then Zhao Gao would still be willing to think about it and weigh the pros and cons, but now what is at stake is his life, so he can only fight to the death!

Thinking of this, Zhao Gao ordered other servants to guard the emperor and hurriedly left the carriage.

After going out, Zhao Gao first went to find Hu Hai, and after giving him some instructions, he quietly found Li Si.

Li Si is also in a state of distress now, having just dealt with the officials under him.

The fact that Ying Zheng was seriously ill and dying must not be leaked at all, but it was not easy to hide it from these people who were involved in the officialdom. Even Li Si racked his brains to find enough reasons to fool them.

I just finished my work and found it when I was looking for it.

Looking at Zhao Gao with a serious face, Li Si's heart skipped a beat, and his intuition told him that nothing good was coming.

Zhao Gao spoke very boldly and directly, and from the very beginning he made outrageous remarks:

"Master Xiangguo, I'm afraid the situation of His Majesty the Emperor is not optimistic."

Li Si's face froze, and he thought it was indeed not a good thing.

But when Zhao Gao mentioned this, he had no choice but to accept it.

Apart from the insignificant chamberlains and the strictly guarded imperial physician, they were the only two people who knew the actual situation of the emperor.

And some things must be arranged in advance, and they cannot close their eyes until it gets dark.

"What does Zhao Fu Ling mean?" Li Si did not rush to express his position, and asked calmly.

Zhao Gao was still direct and rude, and asked unscrupulously, "I mean, if that unspeakable thing really happens, how will the Prime Minister plan the next itinerary?"

Li Si had a gloomy face, his eyes lowered and not looking at Zhao Gao. After a long silence, he quietly replied, "Of course everything is business as usual."

This answer sounds outrageous.

What Zhao Gao called "something that cannot be said" was naturally the death of Ying Zheng.

After the emperor died, it stands to reason that the patrol would be discontinued and preparations for funeral arrangements should be made quickly, but Li Si said that the patrol would continue as usual.

But Li Si’s approach is actually more appropriate.

The empire is now in a critical situation, and Ying Zheng can be said to be the key core that keeps everything from collapsing.

If the news of Ying Zheng's death were spread all at once, his family's foundation would collapse before Fusu could come back to fulfill his filial piety to his father.

As prime minister, Li Si must do everything he can to maintain the situation.

Under this demand, the most appropriate arrangement is to keep the funeral secret and keep everything as usual until the successor selected by Ying Zheng arrives to take charge of the overall situation, and then the death of the emperor can be truly announced to the world.

Li Si did not know that Ying Zheng had chosen Fu Su to succeed him, but in his opinion, any of Ying Zheng's princes was possible, but Hu Hai was not.

As long as it was not Hu Hai, no matter which prince was not in the convoy, someone would have to be arranged on site to notify and contact them, and then they would have to wait for someone to come over.

At least it will be business as usual for the team during this period.

As for what to do when the successor prince arrives, that is another question. We will discuss it later.

Zhao Gao was not surprised by this answer. He nodded, showed a strange smile and suddenly said:

"In fact, His Majesty ordered me to write a... testament not long ago."

Li Si's brows jumped when he heard the last two words, but he still maintained his composure.

When it comes to this matter, there is no need to hide anything.

It was obvious that Ying Zheng could not survive this test and was destined to die, so it was better to focus on what was behind him.

"Since Your Majesty did not inform all the officials, I think this is a secret edict. What does Zhao Fuling tell me now?"

Zhao Gao did not answer the question and continued to follow the topic of the edict, "The emperor ordered that after his death, he urgently summons the eldest son Fusu to come back to arrange the funeral and transport the coffin back to the capital."

"Eldest Young Master!?"

This result surprised Li Si.

Even in his opinion, Fusu had basically said goodbye to the throne completely, and there was almost no possibility of succeeding to the throne.

After all, which prince will be squeezed out of the core of power?

This is no small problem.

Not to mention anything else, just in the step of inheriting the throne, there is a huge difference between people in the capital Xianyang and those in the northern county.
To be continued...