The assassination of King Qin frightened the ministers in Handan. Meng Wu, who was temporarily responsible for the security inside and outside the palace, looked pale and knelt down in front of King Qin, refusing to get up. He believed that this was all his fault and he should take it seriously.
The envoys searching the Yan Kingdom should carefully check even the map. Meng Wu searched the envoy's body, but did not check the map, let alone the map.
Ying Zheng looked helplessly at Meng Wu in front of him. Speaking of which, Ying Zheng was not surprised or angry. He had already guessed that the guy his father warned him about must have ulterior motives, so he was prepared.
He even allowed Zhao Kang to stand by his side with a sword. Normally, among the ministers, only Zhao Kuo was qualified to bring a sword to court. If he were to fight alone, Jing Ke might not be Zhao Kang's opponent, but he
He was very agile and rushed in front of Ying Zheng, which really shocked him.
Fortunately, Jing Ke had been subdued and he was not injured.
Ying Zheng seemed very open-minded and didn't care about this matter at all, but Meng Wu blamed himself quite a lot and wanted Ying Zheng to punish himself.
"General, this is not your fault. Who would have thought that a bad guy would hide a dagger in a map?" Ying Zheng said, and Meng Wu said seriously: "I heard that Han Feizi said: If you want to govern the country well, just
It is necessary to make rewards and punishments clear. I previously collaborated with General Wang Jian to defeat some enemies and made insignificant contributions. You did not forget to reward me. Now because of my carelessness, the bad guy came within five steps of you with a dagger.
,How could you forget to punish me?"
Ying Zheng looked at him in surprise and said: "I heard that Lord Wu An once attacked Zhao and fought against Lord Xinling of Wei. He asked General Meng Ao to stay in Maoxian. Lian Po suddenly attacked and defeated him unexpectedly.
General Meng Ao...Wu Anjun believed that he did not expect Lian Po to launch an attack and only gave General Meng Ao very few soldiers. This was his own fault and he could not punish General Meng Ao."
"General Meng Ao stopped Lord Wu An, thinking that he had been defeated by the enemy. No matter what the reason was, he should be punished. Lord Wu An couldn't help but sigh: You are a good general of the country!"
"Now it seems that like your father, you are also a good general of Qin!"
Ying Zheng finally punished Meng Wu, cutting off his first-level title and asking him to hand over his shield... As for Zhao Kang, he shamelessly came forward to ask for the reward. Ying Zheng reprimanded him. You usually brag.
He said that his swordsmanship is superb and he has no opponent. Why can't he stop an assassin today? How dare he ask for a reward from me?
Finally, there was the assassin named Jing Ke. After this assassin was caught, no matter how he was interrogated, he did not answer. He just kept insulting Ying Zheng and the State of Qin. The officials were furious and reported to the King of Qin.
So he was executed. Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin still caused a great impact. The officials in Xianyang reported to Ying Zheng, hoping that he could return to Qin quickly. They believed that Handan was not safe.
In response, Ying Zheng yelled: Isn't the widow in Qin now?
The generals in Handan gathered in front of the King of Qin. Wang Jian, who had just returned, said angrily: "The King of Yan pretended to present the map, but in fact he wanted to assassinate you. I heard that the King of Yan is a villain who killed his father. Please help me."
Allow me to attack the Yan Kingdom and get rid of this enemy for you! I will cut off Ji Dan's head and send it to you." The other generals also nodded, thinking that this was the case.
The actions of Yan State completely angered the officials of Qin State. How dare Yan State to act like this? These energetic generals who had just conquered Zhao State had already begun to formulate an attack route against Yan State. Yan State was very weak.
Zhao State, which was the weakest before its demise, was much stronger than Yan State... To attack Yan State, you probably don't need Zhao Kuo to come forward, or even Wang Jian to come forward. Young people like Yang Duanhe and Wang Ben can do it.
Directly destroy the Yan Kingdom.
Ying Zheng did not look angry at all. Ying Zheng did not develop the arrogant and conceited character in history, so he would not be furious because of the expected assassination. Facing the generals' suggestions, Ying Zheng shook his head and said
: "The State of Zhao has just been pacified, and there are not enough officials in all parts of the State of Zhao. Some ministers persuaded me to let the local old nobles serve as officials of the State of Qin and govern the place on behalf of the State of Qin."
"I absolutely disagree...I would rather these positions remain empty than allow disasters to breed within the Qin State...Those old nobles used to enjoy wealth, but now they are asked to give up their status to do things for me. In their hearts
Don't you have the idea of restoring the country?" In fact, Zhao Kuo has been summarizing the reasons for the demise of Qin for a long time, and he found out some reasons.
First of all, Ying Zheng was too kind. He did not kill the old aristocrats or let them leave their hometown. This led to these old aristocratic groups who wanted to restore the country to collude with each other and form a powerful force in the local area. When Ying Zheng
After the death of Zheng Zheng, taking advantage of the civil uprising, the old nobles rose up one after another, which directly caused the Qin State to be full of restorationists. In addition, because the Qin State expanded too fast and there were not enough officials, the Qin State appointed many old nobles to serve as officials.
This has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it temporarily fills the vacancies in the official position. The disadvantage is that it causes local chaos. The laws of Qin cannot be implemented in the six kingdoms. There are even knights who can hold them.
Regiment, a large number of rangers appeared in the territory of Qin? This can be seen that the implementation rate of Qin law in the Six Kingdoms is not high, and these old nobles usually protect the restoration elements and have no sense of identification with Qin.
Secondly, Ying Zheng was too cruel. Ying Zheng did not give the people a chance to cultivate and live. He conscripted the people to build the Great Wall, mausoleums, and roads, leaving ten houses and nine empty houses. He did not regard the people of the Six Nations as his own.
They were just treated as slaves. In the territory of the Old Qin people, there were very few corvées and they would not delay the cultivation of mulberry trees. However, it was different in the Six Kingdoms. The corvées were constant and made the people resentful.
Furthermore, the Qin State did not complete the institutional transformation. In order to maintain the military merit system, the Qin State could only wage wars around it. These wars consumed the country's power, and there was no land that could be rewarded after the war. The Qin State rewarded these desolate lands to
Soldiers, the soldiers of the Qin State believed that this was a punishment for themselves rather than a reward, and the combat effectiveness of the army suddenly began to decline. As Xunzi said, soldiers who fight for rewards will become incompetent after they do not receive rewards.
army.
There are many reasons for the demise, and they cannot all be attributed to Ying Zheng... But Zhao Kuo didn't want all this to happen, so he followed the system of the Western Han Dynasty and moved local nobles to prevent these people from interfering with local affairs.
Government affairs do not allow these old nobles to become officials of the Qin State. This is very unfair, but this is the safest solution. Not everyone can be like Han Fei and Zhao Kuo, who give up their homeland for the sake of the common people.
Ying Zheng looked at the generals in front of him and said seriously: "If we attack Yan again, we will need more officials... Conquering Yan is not difficult, but after the conquest, Qin will let Yan
It is not easy to accomplish the task of making the people of Zhao live a better life than in the past and to pacify the State of Yan." He paused and continued: "Only after the counties of Zhao State have been pacified can we conquer Yan.
The best time for our country.”
"Faced with such hatred, if we don't send troops, I'm afraid we will make the world laugh at us..."
"Scornful? I want to see who dares to laugh at the Qin State!" Ying Zheng said, looking at Wang Jian in front of him seriously, and said: "Let's prepare for next year's spring plowing, and put aside the affairs of the Yan State for the time being.
, I do not want to pardon the crimes of the Yan State. The Yan State will perish sooner or later, but now is not the time. The king cannot start a war because of his own anger. This is what my father once told me."
"only!!"
After Ying Zheng sent off the minister, Ming rushed over. She was very worried about Ying Zheng's safety. When she heard that an assassin wanted to kill King Qin, she was so frightened that she couldn't even speak. When she saw Ying Zheng intact, she rushed in
In Ying Zheng's arms, he cried loudly. Ying Zheng helplessly comforted his queen, and after once again showing his strong and uninjured body, the queen fell asleep peacefully.
At this time, Zhao Kuo also hurriedly returned to Handan. Zhao Kuo came back so quickly, not because he heard about the assassination of King Qin, but because he heard that Yan State sent an envoy to present a map. Zhao Kuo heard about this, and he felt naturally
Knowing what was going to happen next, Zhao Kuo returned to Handan overnight. After returning to Handan, Zhao Kuo breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the assassin had been caught and that King Qin was safe and sound.
Ying Zheng looked at his panting father in front of him and really didn't know what to say.
"Have I ever told you that if you meet someone named Jing Ke, don't see him! You want to arrest him? Why don't you listen to me?" Zhao Kuo asked angrily. Ying Zheng was a little embarrassed.
Said: "I'm okay... I made arrangements in advance, and there are warriors guarding the palace..."
"He has a dagger he bought from Mrs. Xu. A craftsman has quenched the poison for the dagger. As long as he hurts you, you will die! Why don't you listen to my advice?! What on earth do you want to do?!"
, Zhao Kuo said angrily.
Ying Zheng's eyes widened and he asked curiously: "Father, when I was very young, you told me to be wary of a man named Jing Ke, but that Jing Ke was not much different from my age. How did you know that he would
You stabbed me? And...how do you know where the dagger came from? I really don't understand..." Indeed, in Ying Zheng's view, the whole thing was too weird.
How did his father know that a man named Jing Ke would come to assassinate him? When he first told himself to be wary of Jing Ke, he was only a teenager and Jing Ke was not much older than him. Ying Zheng was eager to get the answer.
..Zhao Kuo pondered for a moment and then said: "Jing Ke once came to the State of Zhao. I observed his words and deeds and found that this man was very bold. I also heard that he hated the State of Qin very much...that's why."
"Don't ask too much about other things. In short, you have to listen to me... don't take risks like this again."
Ying Zheng could only suppress the desire for knowledge in his heart and agreed to Zhao Kuo, and then told him about how he stopped the generals from attacking the Yan Kingdom. Zhao Kuo was really surprised. He looked at the king in front of him and couldn't help but nodded.
Said: "Very good, you can not issue orders because of your own anger. This can be regarded as a wise king, but what you have to face is a world full of holes."
"One king of the world means a lot, not only the military unification of the six countries, but that is just the beginning... After unification, how do you make the people of the world rich? How do you control different places?
To formulate a system that suits him? How to make the people of various countries gradually identify with Qin and make them become Qin people... This is all what you have to do. If you want to rule the world, you must have strong force, but you can't just
force."
Ying Zheng's face gradually became serious, and he said: "I know... This time I came to Handan, I saw the life at the bottom, and I understood the thoughts of the people... I am happy to tell you
The people in Mafu are planning to build water conservancy here and irrigate the surrounding farmland, but they are not happy because they are afraid of corvee... In the past, I just wanted to make the people rich as soon as possible and kept building canals... Now it seems,
Things that consume people's energy like this still need to be done slowly and gradually."
"You are right, so I want you to promise me a few things."
"Please give me your orders."
"I'm old, and I don't know if I can open my eyes tomorrow... I want to tell you that after unifying the countries, we are not allowed to launch unprovoked foreign wars, and we must give the people time to cultivate themselves, and they are not allowed to be frequent.
You must collect corvees to build the Great Wall, roads, and water conservancy. You cannot build palaces and mausoleums just for your own enjoyment... You cannot be superstitious about ghosts and gods... You must reduce taxes, eliminate corvees, stop wars, and cultivate yourself."
"I know in my heart that when you complete the great cause of becoming the king of the world, you will be very proud, thinking that your achievements have surpassed everyone else, and that you can accomplish more things... But I want to tell you,
The reason why you can rule the world is because of your father, your grandfather...because of Lord Shang, Lord Wu'an, and Marquis Ying, because of Wang Jian, because of the officials who are running around to popularize the law, and because of those who fight for you
Soldiers..."
"If one day you become arrogant, forget your current ambitions, and indulge in enjoyment, my soul will never rest in peace!!"
Ying Zheng couldn't help but frowned and said: "You are not old...Kang is no match for you even now. Don't say such things again." Zhao Kuo interrupted him and said seriously: "Birth, old age, sickness and death.
This is a cycle of life, you don’t have to be so taboo... Just remember my words. Originally, I wanted to tell you these words at the last moment of separation, but life is always full of many surprises. I think,
I still have to tell you sooner."
"If you fail to heed my advice, the great achievements built by these generations will not last for fifty years and will be destroyed."
