The expressions on the faces of each noble were slightly frozen, with a bit of surprise and disbelief.
In official circles, those in lower positions have to guess every word of those in higher positions.
This is not just for promotion, but also for self-protection.
As soon as it got light and the gates of Xianyang City had not yet opened, the bells for the court meeting rang.
When all the officials arrived at Xianyang Hall, the First Emperor was already sitting on the throne waiting for them.
This shows that the First Emperor did not leave Xianyang Palace at all last night.
Unless the First Emperor returned from Yongdi in the middle of the night, this possibility is extremely low. No matter what era it is, the night road is more difficult than the day road.
Yesterday, I deliberately suppressed the whole day, and today I took the lead in the court meeting.
The two prime ministers were asked to speak because they didn't know what was going on, and someone was deliberately looking for trouble. The First Emperor's intentions were known to all the nobles.
Your Majesty does not want to deal with Lord Changan...
The nobles secretly thought, and several big nobles who originally wanted to speak immediately kept their mouths shut and looked around, hoping that others would take the lead.
Everyone's idea is very simple.
This Qin sword, which is placed above everyone's heads and may fall at any time, must be destroyed, or at least taken down.
But who will be the sword-breaker and the sword-holder? This is the problem, no one wants to mess with the First Emperor.
They did not speak, and the conversation between the First Emperor and Li Si continued.
"High-ranking officials and generous salaries are what all the kings gained by valiantly killing the enemy and serving the Qin Dynasty. You are not as high as others, so you are jealous of them and make insinuations. This is inappropriate."
"Si is indeed jealous, but what he said is indeed true. There are no less than twenty people with higher titles in the court than Si, and all of them have made more contributions to Qin than Si? Si doesn't accept it."
Li Si bowed slightly to Baili Cheng, the head of the Baili family, who was sitting on the ground without moving.
"He is a fourteenth-class nobleman, and the head of the Baili family is a fifteenth-class nobleman. He has contributed to the unification of the world, admonished your majesty to recall all ministers, and established the prefecture and state to implement national policies. I dare to ask the Baili family leader, what does he do to Qin?
Gong? How can you be ranked above this?"
Is this Li Si a mad dog? Or is his words all given by His Majesty, who is determined to reduce our authority?
Combining what Chang'an Lord did yesterday and His Majesty's handling of the matter, it turns out that it was not Lord Chang'an who wanted to take action against us, but His Majesty.
The nobles were thinking in their minds, thinking about how to deal with it next. They were not named, and they still had time.
However, the person involved, Baili Cheng, could not remain silent like others. The fire had burned on him and he had to make a choice.
He stood up straight and stared at Li Si with a murderous look.
"The merits of the city are not as good as those of the left prime minister, but the merits of the ancestors of the city are far greater than those of the left prime minister. I don't need to say anything about the ancestor Baili's ridicule of Qin's merits. Everyone knows it."
The First Emperor nodded in agreement.
"Yes, without Bailizi, there would be no Qin State. Mu Xianggong's dominance is all due to Bailizi."
The First Emperor could say this, but Baili City dared not say it. Taking credit and being arrogant is a taboo.
The reason why he did not list Baili Xi's achievements was to contrast with Li Si's listed achievements and to make the First Emperor pay attention to Li Si.
Li Si shouted sharply: "What does Bailizi's achievements have to do with your Baili City? What I am asking is you! What achievements did your Baili City have to the Qin State?"
Mad dog!
This guy is going crazy!
For his own benefit, he wants to trap us all! Why is this guy doing this again!
All the aristocratic families couldn't bear it anymore.
Regardless of whether Li Si's words were a signal from the First Emperor, they had to respond. Li Si's words touched the bottom line of the noble family.
The achievements of the predecessors cannot be inherited by future generations, so the nobility of the predecessors cannot be inherited by future generations.
In the Qin Dynasty, the title was a symbol of class, which meant that one was superior to others. With a salary that was difficult to reach for the common people, one could enjoy privileges that ordinary people could not enjoy.
In fact, as early as Shang Yang's reform, Shang Yang had written that the title could not be hereditary, but the implementation of the policy ended in failure because there was too much opposition.
Many people take it for granted that the Qin Dynasty's 20th-level military merit system meant that the titles promoted were not hereditary and that Shang Yang's reforms were thorough.
In fact, titles were still hereditary until the end of the Qin Dynasty.
"Historical Records: The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin": Build Langye platform, erect stone carvings, praise Qin's virtues, and be proud of it. It says: The king of Wei Qin controlled the world, and he was named emperor, and he was to care for the eastern land. As for Langye, the princes of Wucheng were separated.
The princes, Tongwuhou, Wang Ben...
The Liehou is Chehou, the highest 20th rank in the Qin State. Wang Li was a child when the monument was carved. Even if all the military exploits at the end of Qin were added, he was not enough to be named a Liehou.
Moreover, Wang Li was the son of Wang Ben, but his name was listed before his father when it was carved on the stone, indicating that Wang Li's title was more valuable than that of his father, Wang Ben.
Whether Wang Jian was granted the title of marquis or not is never clearly stated in the history books, but his sons who were not as meritorious as him were all granted the title of marquis. There is no reason why Wang Jian, who had the greatest military merit at that time, was not granted the title of marquis.
All the facts are before us, and if they are true, then there is only one possibility. After Wang Jian's death, his son Wang Ben was a prince and did not inherit the title, and his grandson Wang Li inherited it.
Bai Qi, Lord of Wu'an, had outstanding military exploits throughout his life but was not granted a title of marquis, while Wang Li was granted the title of Marquis of Che when a child was born. This is the difference between King Qin Zhaoxiang and the First Emperor.
The fact that the Qin State was able to unify the world in the generation of the First Emperor was definitely related to the fact that the First Emperor was bound to reward his merits and was not afraid of his ministers' outstanding achievements.
If it were King Qin Zhaoxiang who was also a wise king, Wang Jian, whose military achievements were not as good as Bai Qi's, would not only not be able to become a marquis, but would also be settled by the Queen of Autumn. It would be good if he was not punished.
It is unknown whether Wang Jian will teach his son Wang Ben to attack the Six Kingdoms with all his strength when he cannot be made a prince and cannot seek great benefits for his descendants.
The First Emperor conquered the world only after Fen VI, but without the First Emperor, there is a high probability that another king would not be able to conquer the Six Kingdoms.
And now, what Li Si wants to do is to tear down the bridge that the First Emperor built to drive Qin officials to fight bravely and risk their lives to make contributions to Qin.
The title cannot be hereditary.
That is to be an enemy of the world.
Sima Yi, the head of the Sima family, stood up from the banquet. His ancestor was General Sima Cuo, who laid down a reserve granary for Qin to destroy Ba and Shu.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Pointing at Li Si, his hands trembled: "You want to destroy the Qin Dynasty, which has prospered for thousands of years. Your ancestors fought hard and overcame thorns and thorns. You just got lucky and guessed that the Holy Heart won the left prime minister.
How dare you disrespect him here!"
Wei Fa, the head of the Wei family, stood up from the table. His ancestor was Wei Zhang, the general who captured Hanzhong for Qin.
He waved his sleeves and robe and scolded in a cold voice: "How dare a scholar talk about the merits of our ancestors? You say that you have great merits in Qin, but you are just talking about it. You are just talking about His Majesty's holy will. How dare you steal the merits for yourself? Don't go to the battlefield.
How dare a cowardly person talk nonsense!"
Chuili, the head of the Chuili family, stood up from his seat. His ancestors had conquered Quwo of Wei and Linyi of Zhao, and Zhu Wei Zhang had captured Chuliji in Hanzhong of Chu.
He did not look at Li Si but faced the First Emperor directly and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please kill these people who are deceiving people and stealing the world outside the palace!"
"..."
One noble after another stood up and expressed their opinions on this.
The more gentle ones yelled at Li Si, while the more violent ones directly challenged Li Si to the First Emperor.
They were using their strong and violent emotions towards Li Si to express their dissatisfaction with the First Emperor.
They were 100% sure that the First Emperor wanted to carry out this matter and wanted to centralize power.
If the hereditary system is abolished, Li Si's descendants will not be able to inherit his title and will need to continue to struggle. The person who has a vested interest in this move is not Li Si, but the First Emperor.
At this moment, they put aside the matter of Ying Chengyu killing the three great families for the time being.
Things have to be prioritized. Ying Chengyu's Qin sword has not yet fallen on their necks, but the Qin sword of the First Emperor has already drawn blood.
"enough."
The first emperor's suppressed angry words instantly calmed down the already noisy scene.
"I'm here to hear what you and Qin are planning, not to hear you and others criticize each other."
The words, which were neither loud nor quiet, made all the ministers and servants under the high platform stop talking, waiting for the next words of the First Emperor.
Is the title hereditary or not?
Is Your Majesty stubborn in your opinion, or are you persuaded by us?
"Lee Si."
"I'm here."
"The Prime Minister is busy with affairs. You will hand over the post of Tingwei to Tingwei Zheng, so that you can work in the Prime Minister's Mansion with peace of mind."
"only."
His Majesty changed his mind and the title was saved.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and felt happy in their hearts.
Taking away Li Si's position as court captain was nominally to allow him to become prime minister with peace of mind, but in fact it was punishment. This revealed a signal that he favored the nobles.
Li Si returned to his seat.
The First Emperor glanced at the bottom of the high platform and said: "The chores are over, who will tell me why you are so anxious to find me."
If the first sentence of the First Emperor had been like this, countless nobles would have stood up now, just like they did when the nobles opposed Li Si.
But when the First Emperor had just been persuaded by a group of aristocratic families and promised not to abolish the hereditary system, the nobles of the aristocratic families looked at each other and wanted each other to stand up.
Politics is about balance, and maneuvering is more about the exchange of interests than life and death.
The nobles had just regained their hereditary power through hard work, and they could no longer speak to the First Emperor and punish his younger brother severely.
Even though that was what they thought at the beginning, they just couldn't open their mouths at the moment. On the battlefield, when siege cities and territories, the more victories the better, but this is not the case in the officialdom.
If there is a person who only wins but never loses, and never suffers from anything, then this person is either a powerful minister who uses the emperor as a puppet, or a lonely minister who uses the emperor as a puppet.
Powerful ministers and lonely ministers will all die.
Xianyang Palace fell into an eerie silence. The golden dragon clinging to the pillars shone with golden light. I don't know what the group of humans in front of me were hesitating about.
No, that Zhuzi needs to be solved!
The head of the Baili family, Baili Cheng, saw no one around him showing signs of standing up, so he gritted his teeth and was about to stand up.
Among the heads of these aristocratic families, Baili City wanted to kill Ying Chengxi the most because he was too close to the Meng family.
As long as Ying Chengxuan does not die, his Baili family may follow in the footsteps of the three major aristocratic families, so he is the first to be unable to sit still.
"You are fine, but I am."
The First Emperor waited for more than ten breaths, and when he saw someone standing up in Baili City below, he spoke slowly.
Baili Cheng sat down again after raising his buttocks. He didn't want to confront the First Emperor directly, so it didn't matter if he waited for a while.
"I heard the Queen's personal complaint, saying that three aristocratic families committed crimes and stole national property. They violated the laws of Qin, and according to the laws, the three Yi tribes were punished. Yesterday, they were arrested by Li Si and brought to Tingwei Mansion for execution on the spot."
"His Majesty!"
Baili Cheng's face turned pale and he stood up suddenly.
He couldn't wait any longer. From the tone of the First Emperor, he wanted to put this matter to a conclusion.
If the deaths of the three major aristocratic families are normal, then the executor Ying Chengyuan is innocent. This time the three major aristocratic families died, and the next time it will be his Baili family.
The other nobles also had very ugly expressions on their faces. Apparently they had the same idea as Baili City, but the difference was that they were not as anxious as Baili City.
"I'm not finished yet."
The First Emperor stared coldly at Baili Cheng, who was so frightened that Baili Cheng, who wanted to tell the truth all at once, was so scared that his legs became weak and he almost fell to the ground and made a fool of himself in public.
"Baili City, should I speak first or you speak first? Do you want to wait for me or do you want me to wait for you?"
Plop~
Baili Cheng couldn't stand any longer and immediately fell to the ground, hurriedly kneeling down.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
If it were a later dynasty, perhaps the sentence would be that the minister should die, and the minister's crime should be punished by death.
The Qin Dynasty did not have such a mantra, and they were afraid that the First Emperor would take it seriously.
Meng Ao, a veteran who had not been in court for many years, was very surprised by the First Emperor's reaction, but he did not hesitate to poke his grandson next to him with his elbow, his sparse white hair hanging down.
"You are so scared of a bird! Last night I asked Nai Gong to go find His Majesty. The Meng family is responsible for this!"
I don’t know who ran to the Guowei Mansion to stop someone and was knocked unconscious. The Meng family is the pinnacle of military merit, so it’s okay not to have such achievements.
Meng Yi, who was seeking stability, cursed while looking at Meng Ao with admiration.
"My father is still wise."
The First Emperor stopped Baili City's review with a cold look and continued to speak.
"The Lord of Chang'an, Ying Chengyu, was being tortured in Xianyang Prison. His retainers wanted to save his master and broke into the Tingwei Mansion and committed treason, led by Wang Jie. According to Qin law, Wang Jie and Ying Cheng's retainers should all be executed. Lord Chang'an
Ying Chengyu was in prison and did not know what was going on outside, so he was taken lightly. He was imprisoned in Xianyang Prison for the rest of his life and was not allowed to be released. He was deprived of his position as captain of the country and prime minister."
If the First Emperor had pronounced his sentence like this at the beginning, all the nobles would have been dissatisfied.
Yesterday, it was not one or two people who saw Ying Chengyu appear in public and take the lead in killing people, but thousands of city defense troops and spies from aristocratic families.
This kind of bad behavior must die!
But at this moment, the nobles who had no hope of Ying Chengyu being punished felt that this punishment seemed acceptable.
What makes all the aristocratic families hesitate now is that Ying Chengxuan has dirt on them.
It was not just the three major aristocratic families that sold used weapons and stole the treasury, but all the aristocratic families in Xianyang headed by the Gan family.
The three major aristocratic families were killed under this pretext. Will they also be killed under this pretext in the future? Was what Ying Chengyu did voluntary, or was it ordered by the First Emperor?
"Shangqing Ganluo, it has been found that he has not committed any crime. He was framed by Meng Jiakun, Bai Fei and Xishu. The only ones who stole the treasury were Meng Jiakun, Bai Fei, Xishu and their clan members. After the disbandment of the dynasty, Ting Wei immediately
Release Gan Luo."
The First Emperor finished these words in one breath, and without waiting for the reaction of his ministers, he looked at Baili City who was still kneeling on the ground.
"Baili City, I've finished speaking. It's your turn. What do you want to do?"