However, the calmness in the Northland has not dampened the mood of many forces waiting to see the excitement.
Because everyone knows that this is just an appearance.
Secretly, Quicksand has already started fighting with Luo Wang.
Of course, the emperor is in the north, and the snare and quicksand cannot be set up right here.
The two sides had a tacit understanding that they did not join forces to start a war, but only fought on the intelligence level.
Luo Wen tried various ways to obtain all the information related to Quicksand in the past year, while Quicksand in turn blocked Luo Wen.
In fact, for Ying Zheng, evidence is a meaningless thing.
The empire governs the country according to law, but it is based on legalist law, not legalistic law.
The biggest principle of Legalism is that those in power have unlimited power.
Therefore, when Ying Zheng was young and the Queen Mother Zhao came to power, she could directly promote King Lai Ai of the Wheel as Marquis of Changxin.
According to Qin laws and regulations, even the military merit of destroying a country may not be enough to make a prince, let alone a person like Lao Ai who has no size in merit - he kills a lot of people, hundreds of millions at a time, but it is a pity that he is not worthy of the title.
use.
As an emperor with unlimited power, Ying Zheng certainly does not need evidence.
But he needs to make a judgment call.
The person who went on a killing spree for no apparent reason was not a king with unlimited power, but a mentally retarded person with a diseased mind.
As for what Quicksand did in the North, he must have a further understanding in order to make a judgment - the judgment may not necessarily be consistent with the facts, but it must at least allow him to make up his mind.
If Quicksand just slightly crosses the line, then he only needs to give a small punishment or a big warning as a warning.
If Liusha really has the possibility of treason, then he might really go on a killing spree.
Whether it's a trap on the surface or a deeper black ice platform hidden behind the scenes, what they have to do is not to prove Liusha's guilt, but to collect enough information for Ying Zheng to make a corresponding judgment.
Of course, it would be better if they could get to the point in one step, investigate everything carefully, and ensure that the chain of evidence is complete and the evidence is solid. But it would be too difficult.
This undoubtedly increased the pressure on Quicksand.
Not only do they have to protect the most core secrets, but they also have to find ways to completely cover up or simply destroy even more sensitive information.
Fortunately, Northland is Liusha's home field, with the right time, location, and people. Although the goal is more difficult, the advantage is even greater.
While Liusha was conducting an intelligence war with the Empire, Ying Zheng's northern tour did not stop for a moment and continued to advance steadily according to the original plan.
After nearly three months of journey, the Northern Patrol Team finally arrived at the last stop of the Northern Patrol Tour - Shangjun County Zhifushi City.
After passing Fushi, the team can return to Xianyang.
………………
Fushi City, the eldest son's mansion.
But this place is no longer called the eldest son’s mansion.
After several months of renovation and reinforcement, the original eldest son's mansion has been transformed into Ying Zheng's temporary palace - of course, the specifications are far from the level of a palace, so it can only be called a temporary palace.
In fact, the mansion now has no name.
In fact, there was no need for Fusu to specifically remove the plaque on his eldest son's residence.
The emperor is only temporarily staying here, so it doesn't matter what he calls it - just don't call it something outrageous or inappropriate.
Previously, Ying Zheng lived in the General's Mansion in Songhai, so the General's Mansion did not give his name.
Inside the mansion, in Ying Zheng's temporary study.
He, the father, was sitting at the top, and there were never-ending files on his desk.
Fusu, the son, stood with his hands folded below, his head lowered, waiting for his father to speak.
After a long silence, Ying Zheng's work at hand finally came to an end. He raised his head and glanced at Fusu:
"You have done a good job in the Northland over the years. Along the way, the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment and are prosperous."
Ying Zheng was always taciturn when facing Fusu, a son who was unlike himself, and he rarely said words such as praise.
For him to praise Fusu so directly right from the start is enough to prove that Ying Zheng is indeed satisfied with the people's living standards in the counties in the North.
For more than a year, Ying Zheng traveled all over the empire from east to west, north and south. It can be said that except for the Bashu and Lingnan areas, he visited all of them.
And everywhere he passed seemed to be a prosperous, stable and good situation, but in fact... he understood everything.
Ying Zheng didn't know what the so-called people were in, because he had never been an ordinary citizen, and he was thousands of miles away from them.
So he doesn't care whether the people are living well or not.
Legalism never pursues a peaceful and contented life for the people, but rather a strong country with weak people.
But both pursue absolute stability in rule.
They don't care if the people don't have a living, but they do care about the unstable governance caused by the people's poverty!
At the same time, the empire also needs the 'material returns' such as tax revenue and stable people's livelihood.
The Northland has been invaded by northern nomadic tribes all year round. It has always been sparsely populated, the towns are desolate, and the people's lives are precarious.
Don't expect to be able to establish a stable rule in such a ghost place. The people don't run away just because they really can't run away - these days, wanting to change places to live is not only not allowed by law, but also often not allowed by material conditions.
Fusu's governance not only brought a normal living environment to the Northland, but also greatly reduced the empire's cost of maintaining stability in the Northland - such as the intensity of the invasion by the northern nomadic tribes last winter. Normally, the empire would have to at least double its investment.
Only in this way can the situation be stabilized.
With this level of merit, if it were an ordinary imperial official, even being promoted to three levels would not be an exaggeration.
However, as a prince, Fusu could not be treated as a normal official. Ying Zheng could only praise him verbally, and then reward him with some gold and silver, fertile land, beautiful women, etc.
As for being promoted to an official position... that cannot be determined by merit.
Otherwise, the military merit achieved in the previous battle to regain Henan would be enough for Fusu to be promoted.
Fortunately, Fusu didn't care about this either.
He was already very satisfied when he could hear his father praising him personally.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Today's stability and prosperity in the North are all due to General Meng Tian's guarding the border. Officials from all over the country have performed their duties loyally. My sons and ministers have not done much, and I really deserve the praise from my father." Happy.
Fusu's tone was much more high-spirited, but his words were very humble.
"Of course they have merit, and I will not miss it." Ying Zheng was not angry at Fusu's humble refusal, although he did not like Fusu's performance.
"However, it's time for you to give me an explanation."
Hearing Ying Zheng's sudden change of conversation, Fusu lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, and then replied, "My dearest son, please give me a clear explanation."
"It seems you don't want to say it." Ying Zheng looked down at Fusu with a dead look in his eyes and said calmly.
"Father, please make it clear, I will tell you everything you know!" Fusu still responded like this.
Ying Zheng also fell into silence, and after a long time he said, "Zhao Gao reported it to the police, saying that those under you are dishonest."
"you do not know?"
"Father, please tell me clearly why the people under my subordinates are so dishonest?" Fusu still did not respond directly and asked instead.
"Do you know what you are doing?" Fusu didn't answer the question, and Ying Zheng didn't know how to answer, so he asked in return.
Fusu hesitated for a while and then said, "Father, please be aware that the situation in the North is special. In order to ensure the development of the North, my subordinates may act a little radically."
"But I am willing to guarantee for them that they will never harm the empire."
"They are your people, why do you vouch for them?" Ying Zheng's tone was smooth, but with a clear sense of oppression.
Ying Zheng's words have two meanings.
First, it is said that Fusu will protect his own people, and there is a possibility that relatives will hide from each other.
The second is that Fusu, as the nominal ‘leader’ of these people, is not clean himself, so how can he be a guarantee for others?
Fusu did not argue, he knelt down and replied:
"Everything done by the people under my subordinates is due to my will. If there is any violation of the rules and regulations, the fault will be attributed to my son."
"My son is willing to bow his head and plead guilty. Please be kind to others."
"Do you plead guilty?" Ying Zheng lowered his eyes, showing no emotion in his eyes, and asked coldly, "How do you plead guilty?"
"As my son, what crime can you... admit of!?"
Qin Faji is a very important person, and it can be said that for any major crime, the criminal's family will be involved.
But this will definitely not work for the prince Fusu - we can't chop up the father of the First Emperor, right?
In addition, neither imprisonment nor death could be imposed on a prince - killing him would definitely not work, as he would be punished with hard labor to repair the earth and damage the royal family's face.
As for punishments such as ink punishment, torture, mutilation, and palace punishment, don't even think about it.
At that time, King Huiwen of Qin broke the law at the time of Shang Yang's reform, so he was caught and made a typical example.
As a result, it was not the prince who had done nothing wrong, but the prince and tutor, Gongzi Qian, who was tortured.
Although Fusu is not a prince, or even a prince who has completely lost power, his status is still noble. If you pull two of his hair and don't care about it, who would dare to torture him?
Ying Zheng himself couldn’t bear to part with it!
If you don't like it, you don't like it, but tiger poison cannot eat its seeds.
Not to mention that Fusu hasn't done anything yet, even if he has really rebelled, Ying Zheng is not sure whether he can be so cruel.
Fusu is now aggressively taking all the responsibility on himself, just like an emperor saying, "Everyone is guilty, but I am the one to blame."
Who can really punish you?
"If my father feels that his subordinates are guilty, Fusu is willing to ask for exile in Liaodong and Lingnan to rectify the law."
Fusu proposed a truly reliable solution.
All punishments that cause direct harm cannot be used, so use those that do not cause harm - that is, exile.
Of course, his exile will definitely not be the same as that of ordinary people.
Generally speaking, exile means deporting prisoners to various bitter and cold places, such as the three counties of Beidi (Yanmen Yunzhong Jiuyuan), the land of Liaodong, and the newly established three counties of Lingnan.
There are two main purposes of punishment in the empire. One is pure punishment to warn others not to break the law, and the other is to make profits in the name of punishment, such as imprisonment, which is essentially to make coolies.
Exile is also a more profit-seeking punishment. Exiling prisoners to remote and cold places is essentially to expand the population of those places.
Normally, no one would run to the northern frontier when they are full, let alone places as far away as Liaodong and Lingnan.
But these places need people.
The environment is not good, but it still has value. It can not only farm land, but also have rivers, lakes, mountains, forests, swamps, etc., and even high-value areas such as mineral deposits.
As for whether the people live well or not, that is not something that the court should consider.
However, the poor environment has destined that few foreign populations actively move into these places, and the breeding capacity of the local population is also very limited, leaving them almost permanently underpopulated.
The court needs people, but the court cannot just drive people there - large-scale forced migration occasionally occurs, but it cannot always be done.
Hence the necessity of exile.
Strictly speaking, Fusu had already gone through an exile - as a prince, even if he could not inherit the throne, he should stay in the imperial capital of Xianyang and live a comfortable life. After all, the empire no longer had enfeoffments, and the prince no longer had fiefs.
He was sent to the north to supervise the army. It was said to be a job, but in fact it was an exile, but the exile was a little closer.
But the prince's standards are definitely not the same as those of ordinary people.
Therefore, if Fusu is exiled again, he will not be able to get close to that place.
He simply decided to go to Liaodong and Lingnan - these two places were regarded as pure death places by most people. Not to mention how they would survive, they were thousands of miles away.
It's enough to kill a lot of people.
The conditions of exile are far inferior to those of Ying Zheng's patrol.
Even for a prince like Fusu, if he was exiled to Lingnan or Liaodong, it would cost him half his life.
And unlike the northern Shangjun who can still be exposed to imperial politics, if you go to places like Lingnan and Liaodong, you will basically be completely insulated from power for the rest of your life.
Not to mention the throne, not even the wealthy life that an idle prince should have.
As a punishment, this measure is definitely severe enough, and there is a lot of room for maneuver.
It sounds very dangerous, but as long as Ying Zheng arranges everything, Mr. Fusu can still live in peace and will not suffer too much.
However, Ying Zheng could not accept Fusu's words.
Of course he was sure that Fusu would be safe and sound after being exiled, but he was still undecided to completely push the eldest son away from his eyes.
Ying Zheng himself also knew that he did not have the ability to monitor the entire empire with a pair of naked eyes.
Staying in Shangjun, he can still receive news from Fusu from time to time. If he is exiled to a ghost place like Lingnan in Liaodong, unless he orders someone to be called back, it will basically be like losing his son.
Ying Zheng still can't bear to be cruel.
After all, judging from the information he has now, at most it is that the people under Fusu's quicksand may have some evil thoughts that they should not have, and it has nothing to do with Fusu himself - except that he is determined to protect his people with death.
at this point.
In any case, it doesn't have to go to this point.
"Fusu, before the convoy leaves Fushi, please give me an explanation." After thinking for a moment, Ying Zheng finally chose to be accommodating.
It should be said that Ying Zheng made a huge concession. He didn't even ask Fusu to give him a 'satisfactory' answer, just an explanation.
In other words, Fusu only needed to hand over a few scapegoats to make the emperor look good, and the matter would be over for the time being.
But Fusu knelt on the ground and did not get up. He replied calmly, "Back to my father, I have already given you all the explanations I can give you."