The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

In March of the 27th year of the reign of Emperor Qin Shihuang, Heifu was unaware of the terrible incident in his hometown. He was following the Emperor Qin Shihuang's imperial carriage, along the highway out of Xianyang, heading west.

Even from the perspective of Heifu, a later generation, this highway is extremely exaggerated, especially within ten miles of the west gate of Xianyang, the road is fifty steps wide, which can accommodate ten carriages in parallel! A straight green pine is planted every three feet. The road is based on loess and rammed with gravel. The middle of the road is a special passage for the emperor to go out, and the two sides are official roads. The edge is the area where people walk.

This road alone was extremely luxurious. According to Heifu's guess, it was probably intended that the leaders of the Yiqiu and Diqiang tribes in the west would be shocked by this road as wide as a square before entering Xianyang when they came to pay homage...

Ten miles out of Xianyang, after reaching Duting, the width of the road was somewhat reduced, but it was still very wide and flat, comparable to the roads in later towns and villages. Heifu, the Shaofu Cheng, who no longer had to serve as a guard, could doze off on the carriage and comfortably go to Yongcheng, the former capital of the Qin State.

Yongdi is located between the north and south banks of the Wei River, with fertile fields of hundreds of miles. It is the place where King Wen and King Wu of Zhou founded their kingdoms. The Book of Songs praised it as "the Zhouyuan is lush and green, and the violets are as sweet as honey." It's a pity that the Zhou people had long ago lost this land to the Quanrong, and fled to the safe Chengzhou to survive, and promised that "the Quanrong are unjust, and have invaded and seized the lands of Qi and Feng of our ancestral Zhou. If any prince or minister can drive out the Quanrong, he will have the land!" "

A descendant of the Ying surname named "Qin" made this promise. They risked their lives for several generations, and restored the Zhouyuan land near Mount Qishan inch by inch, and drove out the Rong people. For this land that could no longer be controlled, the Zhou royal family fulfilled their promise and gave it to the Qin people with a wave of their hand.

The Qin people then built a city here. When Qin Degong came, they migrated from their remote western hometown and built their first capital "Yong" in the true sense. It has been 26 generations since then...

The planning of Yongcheng is very distinctive, with a typical "old Qin" style, straight and straight, horizontal and vertical, stable, and simple buildings, set against the surrounding loess plateau, look a bit old, without the vitality of Xianyang.

Qin Shihuang liked this city very much, because this is where he first took power and tasted the taste of "power".

Therefore, after the emperor went to the temples of Qin Mugong and other ancestors to worship, he did not choose the "Da Zheng Palace" where his ancestors lived, but stayed in the "Qinian Palace" located on the loess plateau in the south of the city.

This palace is also quite old. It was built during the reign of Qin Huigong three hundred years ago and has been renovated several times. It covers an area of nearly 1,000 acres, with more than 20 courtyards, more than 600 houses, pavilions, stone pavilions and high platforms. The underground canal leads to the Yongshui River to form a large pool, winding between the hills and courtyards. It is early summer, and the trees are lush and the flowers and plants are flourishing.

But Hei Fu noticed that the palace wall regulations here were built entirely according to the standards of war, as solid as a fortress, and there were some traces of metal and fire on the wall - that was left by a rebellion eighteen years ago.

That night, the emperor set up a banquet in the Qinian Palace. In addition to the ministers who accompanied him, he also invited many meritorious soldiers who participated in the "Qinian Palace Incident" that year to attend.

Since it was a banquet for old friends and old meritorious officials, as a new noble, Heifu could only sit at the end of the hall. However, Zhao Gao, the Minister of the Imperial Chariot House, who was usually very low-key, was called to the front seat by the emperor this time.

The emperor revisited the old place with some emotion. He raised his cup and said, "I remember that it was April, I was 22 years old, I stayed in Yongcheng, performed the ceremony of coming of age, and wore a sword. However, the traitor Lao Ai forged my imperial seal and sent county soldiers and guards, official cavalry, Rongdi Jun Gong, and servants to attack Qinian Palace and cause chaos!"

He gestured with his hands, pointing at Zhao Gao who was lowering his eyebrows and looking submissive, and said, "It was the guard Zhao Gao at that time who was shocked by this and went to the palace to report it at night, so that I could prepare in advance and send troops to quell the rebellion first."

"This is because your majesty is blessed by Haotian. How dare I take credit for it. "Zhao Gao was terrified.

The emperor did not let him refuse the credit and ordered the ceremonial officer to give him wine. Zhao Gao drank it all in one gulp, then bowed his head to the ground with tears on his face.

"What a great acting skill. "

Heifu was watching this scene at the end of the hall, and was amazed.

"The Qinian Palace Incident, this is Zhao Gao's greatest political qualification..." Heifu thought secretly, and then he counted on his fingers and found an astonishing fact.

The heroes of the Qinian Palace Incident, Changwen Jun died early, Changping Jun Xiong Qi, General Huan Xi, and Sima Fan Yuqi successively betrayed the country. Their names became taboo words, and the emperor did not allow anyone to mention them...

Only Zhao Gao stood firm. Although his title and position were not high, he was always trusted by Qin Shihuang.

Heifu suddenly had a bold idea: "Wait a minute, Xiong Qi, Huan Xi, Fan Yuqi, these three unlucky guys rebelled one after another. Although they all had their own reasons, they were too consistent. Could it be that they all fell into Zhao Gao's trap and embarked on a road of no return? "

With this calculation, this guy's scheming and scheming are really terrifying. Heifu has raised his vigilance against Zhao Gao to the highest level.

While Heifu was thinking, Qin Shihuang began to recall.

On the day of Jiyou, he stood on the palace with a crown and a long sword, looking down on the ambushed and unprepared rebels of Lao Ai. Under the vast and clear blue sky, a thick column of wolf smoke rose straight from the Qinian Palace, ordering the loyal people in the old capital to gather under the king's flag and kill the rebels!

With the cooperation of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Yongcheng, the battle ended, Lao Ai was defeated, and Qin Shihuang sent troops to attack Lao Ai, fought in Xianyang, and beheaded hundreds of people! The rebellion was quelled!

That was the first victory of Qin Shihuang, who had been depressed for nine years under the shadow of his mother, Lao Ai, and Lu Buwei.

But after the victory, Qin Shihuang also broke out in a cold sweat, because in addition to Zuo Yijie, Zhong Dafu Lingqi and other Lao Ai followers, Wei Weijie, who was in charge of the military power of Xianyang, and Nei Shisi, who was responsible for the defense of Guanzhong, were all involved in the rebellion! There were more than 4,000 Lao Ai followers who were implicated and punished.

If it weren't for the victory of Qinian Palace, Qin Shihuang would have been kidnapped as a puppet or killed long ago, let alone unifying the world!

Therefore, at this time when the country is united, the clan elders who contributed to the suppression of the rebellion that day must be rewarded generously!

"Meng, Xi, and Bai Sangong. "

Qin Shi Huang ordered the minister to prepare wine again and sent the wine cups to the three old men sitting at the top seats.

Hei Fu pricked up his ears. These three tribes were the only remaining old tribes in Qin. The ancestor of the Meng tribe was Meng Mingshi, the son of Baili Xi, a famous minister during the time of Duke Mu. The ancestors of the Xibai tribe were Xiqi Shu and Bai Yibing, the two sons of Jian Shu, a famous minister of the same period as Baili Xi. The three generals had attacked Jin together and were defeated repeatedly, but they were forgiven by Duke Mu of Qin. They fought again and again and finally succeeded in avenging their shame.

The emperor gave wine, and the three elders stood up tremblingly. Qin Shi Huang asked them to exempt themselves from the formalities and said, "Since our ancestor Duke Mu, the three families have lived in Mei County for generations. For more than 400 years, they have been loyal to the country..."

Although the three clans opposed Shang Yang's reforms in the first few years, in the end, they, who had always been martial, adapted to the military merit system. Although there were no high-ranking officials or generals in the clan, they contributed many middle-level officers to the Qin State.

Especially during the Qinian Palace Incident, after observing the smoke of war in Qinian Palace, the three clans immediately mobilized the whole clan to rescue the emperor, and then served as the main force to counterattack the Lao Ai group that fled back to Xianyang.

However, after suppressing the rebellion, the Mengxibai clan, which had always been very xenophobic, together with the military nobles and clan ministers in Guanzhong, put forward a request to Qin Shihuang.

"Expel the guests! "

They believed that all the problems of Qin were caused by the princes and guests. If they were driven away and the old Qin clan was in power, they could focus on foreign affairs.

Qin Shihuang relied on the ministers of the clan to quell the rebellion. Under the political situation at that time, this was the only option, but this was stopped by Li Si's "Remonstrance against Expelling Foreigners". Li Si, Changping Jun, Changwen Jun and Wang Wan were used by Qin Shihuang to balance the local forces. The local forces that had just risen became quiet again...

"We shed blood and sweat to quell the rebellion, but those princes and guests from Guandong were still in power in Xianyang! "

The children of Meng, Xi and Bai had complaints about this, but they were suppressed by the clan leader. The king's intentions are unpredictable. Since the Qin Xiaogong sacrificed the interests of their three clans for the reform, the three clans have understood this truth. But what can they do? They have the blood of the Qin royal family, and they have to bear it silently regardless of honor and disgrace.

But today, the three elders were summoned to the upper seat and given wine by the emperor. Thinking that the great wish of the Qin ancestors to unify the world has been realized, and seeing that the emperor has not forgotten their past contributions, the three elders were overwhelmed. After a little hesitation, they boldly made a request to Qin Shihuang.

The clan leader of Meng said: "The brave warriors are the pillars of the country. As members of the royal family, we are loyal to the king and the country. It is our duty. How dare we take credit for it?"

The clan leader of Xi took over: "But today, we old men only have one thing to ask Your Majesty! "

The chief of the Bai family was responsible for the final advice: "I hope your majesty will not let the children go to the south of the Yangtze River to farm and station troops. Let them stay in Guanxi!"

What the three chiefs said was that in January, Wei Tu Sui and Zhao Tuo led the army south to garrison Changsha and Cangwu. The "water poisoning disease" that occurred in Pengli Lake and Zhenze the year before last and last year was already known to everyone. After Hei Fu explained the mechanism of the disease, it immediately caused panic among the northerners.

In their eyes, the south of the Yangtze River is a terrible place, where forests are dense and poisonous snakes are clustered like grass. It is said that every summer and autumn when the pepper flowers fall, miasma rises, and schistosomiasis breeds in the water. People who wade in the water are like wading in boiling soup, and two or three out of ten die! And there are also barbarians with black teeth and carved titles, who kill people and eat meat, and grind bones into pulp and make sauce...

In short, it is not a place for people to stay. A strong man will die early if he goes there.

With fear of the southern climate, Meng, Xi, and Bai were very resistant to Wei Tu Sui's conscription of the Guanzhong men to the south. They also learned from some channels that the emperor might recruit more soldiers to Changsha and Yuzhang next year, so they took this opportunity to complain to the emperor, hoping that he would stop sending troops to Jiangnan.

Qin Shihuang held the golden cup in his hand and remained silent.

The southern conquest of the Baiyue was one of his new goals after unifying the world and unifying the wheels and writing. He tolerated the Meng, Xi, and Bai tribes, but this did not mean that they could be allowed to go against the national policy!

But the emperor did not express his opinion directly. He glanced at the ministers in the hall and smiled: "Meng, Xi, and Bai Sangong asked to stop the garrison in Jiangnan. What do you think? "

He glanced at the people in the hall, especially at the end, all thinking about Heifu.

"Shaofu Cheng Heifu, you are the only one among the people present who has been to Jiangnan and the southernmost part of the Five Ridges of Limen. What do you think? "