"When I usually have free time, the prime minister doesn't come, but he insists on picking me to come to see me when I am free and happy, and the beauty is in front of me. Is this bullying me?"
In late December of the first year of the Second Emperor's reign, at Zhangtai Palace in Xianyang, after Prime Minister Li Si took his leave, the Second Emperor Hu Hai put away his smile and became furious!
Just now, when he wanted to have fun with three beauties, the doctor's order, Zhao Gao, came to report that Li Si requested an audience, and the boss was immediately unhappy.
Hu Hai has been living in the palace for several months. On the one hand, there are gangs of thieves and rebels running rampant outside, and he has lost news about counties and counties. He is in panic all the time, but he does not have the ability and determination to clean up the country. He can only rely on
I numbed myself with women and alcohol, trying to tell myself:
"Anyway, with Wang Ben outside and Li Si and Zhao Gao inside, the sky will not fall even if there is a small rebellion."
On the other hand, it was because of Zhao Gao's persuasion.
"The emperor is a noble person, but because he can hear his voice, the ministers are not allowed to see his face, so he calls himself 'I'. Besides, your majesty is still very young and may not understand everything. Now that he is in charge of the government, he is faced with those complicated documents.
If the rewards and punishments are slightly inappropriate, your shortcomings will be exposed to the officials, and you will not be able to show your Majesty's wisdom to the people of the world."
"What's more, the magicians and wizards have said that if the master lives and the ministers know about it, it will harm the gods. Your Majesty might as well imitate the First Emperor and live deep in the palace, so that the ministers do not know where to do it, and the officials receive decisions.
I will report it to Xianyang Palace, and when they report the official affairs, I will present it to His Majesty with the practitioners in my service, so that he can make a decision."
"In this way, Your Majesty will be able to rule with dignity, and at the same time, your Majesty will be able to make the ministers feel that Your Majesty is a Holy Lord like the First Emperor, who is unpredictable and cannot be deceived!"
This was originally a ploy by Zhao Gao to seize power, but Hu Hai trusted Zhao Gao so much that he believed his lies and began to imitate Qin Shihuang in his later years. He no longer went to court, but lived deep in the palace, enjoying the pleasures of wine pools and meat forests.
He was happy to be an ostrich with his head buried in the sand, leaving all military and state affairs to Zhao Gao, who held the jade seal, to make decisions.
For a time, Xianyang seemed to be divided into inner and outer dynasties. In the inner dynasty, Hu Hai's confidants headed by Zhao Gao were hidden in the residence, but the prime minister, the imperial censor and Jiu Qing could hardly even see Hu Hai's face.
Wang Bi and Feng Quji were away from home and had no control over the affairs of the court. Although Li Si was in Xianyang, this old fox was not a direct minister. He wanted to pursue personal interests first and country behind him. Although he saw that Zhao Gao had the ambition to fight for power and gain, he thought
In difficult times, "bearing each other for the sake of the country", and not wanting to offend Hu Hai, actually went along with his wishes and did not raise any objections.
But as the "Feng Jie surrendered to the enemy" case broke out in early December, Feng Quji's family was arrested and imprisoned. The elderly Feng Quji was even brutally tortured. The government and the public were in an uproar. Li Si could no longer sit still and repeatedly asked
Meet Hu Hai.
However, Zhao Gao got into trouble and bowed in front of Li Si, volunteering to inform him. On the other hand, he always took advantage of Hu Hai's sexual development to lure Li Si into the palace.
Hu Hai suppressed his anger and met with Li Si, and listened to the white-haired old man's long explanation of the doubts about "Feng Jie's surrender to the black".
Li Si said that this might be Heifu's counterintuitive plan to cause civil strife in Xianyang!
Hu Hai had already made up his mind, so he was quite impatient. If Zhao Gao hadn't winked from the side, he would have almost gotten angry on the spot!
After Li Si left, he immediately threw a copper lamp stand and cursed:
"The evidence for Feng Jie's surrender to the gangsters is conclusive. Not only did the remaining soldiers flee to Hanzhong to report what they saw that day, but Feng Jie also scolded me for being in an unfair position and called on people in Guanzhong to respond. What else is there to say?"
Qin Law: "When a general with more than a thousand people goes north in battle, defends and surrenders, leaves the ground and flees, he is ordered to be called a national thief. He kills his family members, removes his family members, sends them to their graves, exposes their bones to the market, and exposes men and women to the public."
official."
Zhao Gao is a master of law and order, his son is a national thief, and his whole family is implicated. This is the reason why Lang Wei arrested Feng Quji. No one can find fault. The only question is whether Feng Jie's story is true.
However, Zhao Gao was not busy investigating. Instead, he instigated his son-in-law Yan Le to list even bigger charges for Feng Quji: "Failed to fulfill orders, only relied on bullying, exploited thieves with rice, allowed the enemy to advance, and stopped the troops."
If there is no fight, four reinforcements will be gathered and all will be dismissed, and the bandit troops will be thinned to Wuguan."
Hu Hai was brainwashed by him and believed it without any doubt:
He gritted his teeth and said: "This old thief Feng Quji, as a front-line supervisor, only knows how to ask for food from Guanzhong, only to transfer it to the enemy! The black thief subordinate Han Xin has traveled thousands of miles with more than 10,000 people. He is in Nanyang
With tens of thousands of troops, he could do nothing to defeat the rebels. He sat back and watched them destroy counties and seize cities, burning hundreds of thousands of grains and grains. Beacons were also set off in Wuguan and Hanzhong. This was the shame of the Qin Dynasty. It was said that this was not intentional.
, I don’t even believe it! If Marquis Tongwu hadn’t withdrawn his troops in time and returned to defense, then Han Xin would probably have invaded the pass.”
"Knowing this, Li Si repeatedly advised me to handle this case with caution..."
Hu Hai frowned, feeling that things were not that simple.
He was startled, turned around suddenly, with a look of shock on his face, and asked Zhao Gao in a low voice: "Mr. Zhongling, Li Si, might he also want to betray me like the Feng family? You know, that black man, he is the master of the Li family."
Li You, the son of the one who supported him, was also captured by Hei Ze!"
This conjecture was extremely bold, and Zhao Gao was also shocked. Although he wanted to seize power and isolate himself from the inside and outside, he also understood that Li Si and Wang Ben could not move!
The fall of the Feng family will not affect the overall situation, but if the two pillars of Li and Wang also fall, then Hei Fu may really break in and chop off Zhao Gao's head!
He then solemnly said: "How can your Majesty doubt Prime Minister Li? The late emperor selected two ministers for your Majesty's auxiliary affairs. There are two Feng surnames, and the others are Li Si and Wang Ben. Now Feng Wuze has lost his master and humiliated the country. Feng Quji and his son
Feng Jie was guilty of surrendering to the enemy, so he assisted the government, leaving only Wang Ben outside and Li Si inside. Prime Minister Li had served as an official in the Qin Dynasty for forty years. He was not only an important minister of the late emperor, but also his Majesty's support for maintaining the world.
Don’t be suspicious!”
But once Hu Hai's idea came up, it was like a seed sprouting and taking root in his mind. Ever since the governor of Shu County rebelled against Qin and defected to Hei, Hu Hai was hit hard. Everyone thought it was Hei Fu's inside job.
For example, six months ago, Baba sent 20 million yuan to the imperial court to help out the emergency, and Hu Hai was overjoyed to make Wu Shiluo the Marquis of Guannei. Didn't he also betray the Qin Dynasty by hiding a black husband and a treacherous son?
He doubts everyone.
Except Zhao Gao.
"Fortunately, I still have Lang Zhongling."
Hu Hai stood up, held Zhao Gao's hands, and regarded the master who had taught him since childhood as a life-saving straw:
"As Lang Zhongling said, I have to rely on Li Si and Wang Ben, but they still don't understand me. Only Lang Zhongling understands me!"
"Is the person I want to kill Feng Quji?"
Hu Hai gritted his teeth and revealed his real purpose: "What I really want to kill is Feng's son-in-law. He seems to be obedient, but in fact he harbors evil intentions and ambitions. He is the greatest threat to me, Young Master Gao!"
…
After Li Si left the palace, he went straight to the imperial office.
During the large-scale arrests of gangsters in the past few months, Xianyang Prison was already overcrowded, the city was full of prisoners, and ministers looked at each other. However, the place where Li Si came was only dedicated to imprisoning serious criminals from the imperial court. Not only Meng Tian, but also Meng Yi brothers were there.
, there are also Feng Quji, Feng Jing’s uncle and nephew.
As a former court captain, Li Si was no stranger to this place. He covered his mouth and nose with a brocade handkerchief, but he could still smell the smell of blood and feces. He was led by the jailer all the way to the end, opened the heavy door, and stood in
In this dark prison, Li Si saw his old friend who had worked with him for decades...
Feng Quji lay on the straw in a daze. Although there was no rule in the Qin Dynasty against punishing doctors, Feng Quji was the Prime Minister of Zuo after all, and Yan Le, who was presiding over the case, did not dare to take action against him.
The jailer shouted: "Feng Jun, Prime Minister Li is here to see you!"
Feng Quji stood up, looked at the tables, wine and food placed in the narrow prison, and said with a wry smile: "Is Tonggu here to see me off?"
Li Si knelt down on the straw mat and poured a glass of wine for Feng Quji: "It's too early to tell. Your case has not yet been decided."
Feng Quji held the case and said: "Throughout the ages, although my son is a mediocre general, based on my understanding of him, I would rather die in battle than surrender to the enemy. I have never had any intention of treason. I am not guilty."
!”
"Get rid of the disease, you have eight sins."
But Li Si did not mention the eight items listed by Zhao Gao and others. He only smiled and said: "You have been governing the people for more than forty years as an official of Qin. When the First Emperor first came to the throne, you and I were appointed as Langguan. We asked each other day and night, and the king and his ministers were in charge.
Yes, this is a crime."
"Before the unification, I, as a guest minister, acted as an adviser in the outer world, and used the money and jade to alienate the princes. You served as the imperial censor in the inner world, doing your best to obey the law. Together with the internal and external forces, you finally threatened Han, weakened Wei, defeated Yan, and Zhao.
Yi, Qi, and Chu conquered the six kingdoms and captured their kings, so that the First Emperor would eventually become the Son of Heaven. This was two crimes."
"After the unification, I was the imperial officer and you were the royal censor. We both worked for the First Emperor to abolish feudalism, establish prefectures and counties, establish communities, build ancestral temples, and make the Qin Dynasty change the bad governance of the previous generation. This is three crimes."
"After we both became prime ministers, we exchanged laws and regulations, fought against dendrobium and made articles about them, and spread them throughout the world in order to establish the name of Qin. This is the fourth crime."
"Governing Chidao, promoting tourism and tourism, and accompanying the First Emperor on tours of the nine provinces to see the Lord's satisfaction, these are the five crimes."
"Unfortunately, the First Emperor passed away. You and I, as the auxiliary ministers appointed by the late emperor, supported my successor to the throne, discussed suspended sentences and punishments, and reduced taxes and taxes in order to appease the people of the world. This is the sixth crime."
"It coincides with the rebellion of Heifu and the restoration of the Six Kingdoms. You were ordered to go east to Nanyang in times of crisis to serve as Marquis Tongwu and supervise the army, transporting grain and crops as if walking on thin ice. This is seven sins."
"In order to repay the kindness of the late emperor and for the great Qin State, you have been busy for forty years, and you were still writing memorials until the night before you were arrested. You really worked hard and worked hard. This is the eighth crime..."
Li Si bowed his head to Feng Qu and said, "These are the eight major sins of Mr. Feng that I stated in front of Your Majesty!"
"Only Tonggu still remembers it."
Feng Quji was a little touched and burst into tears: "Tonggu understands me, Tonggu believes in me."
"Of course I believe you."
Li Si said with emotion: "Everyone in the world knows that Feng Qujiruo also secretly plotted rebellion..."
"Then there will be no more loyal ministers in this world!"
…
After a while, after drinking a few cups of wine, Li Si comforted Feng Quji and said before leaving: "As long as Li Si is here, the jailer will not dare to touch Mr. Feng. Please wait with peace of mind. Si will definitely do his best to rescue Mr. Feng!"
Feng Quji believed in it without any doubt.
When Li Si left the prison of Tingwei's official office and got on the carriage, his second son Li Yu, who had just followed him in, asked in a low voice:
"Father really wants to save Feng Quji?"
"save him?"
Li Si closed his eyes slightly, but there was a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth.
"I entered the palace today to test His Majesty. He sent Feng Quji to prison. The person who really wants to implicate and kill him is Young Master Gao!"
"Your Majesty has made up his mind to kill his brother and Feng. Now, I am afraid that even Li Si is under his suspicion. I am too busy taking care of myself that I have no time to save others!?"
