Qin Official

"Your Majesty, have a drink of water."

On the evening of the second day of July, by the Zhengguo Canal twenty miles north of Wangyi Palace, the son of Chang'an Jun Chengyu, the younger brother of Qin Shihuang, came over with a ladle of water and knelt down in front of Hu Hai.

In the past, Hu Hai would not drink anything from a golden cup or a jade cup. Now that he had been running away for a long time, his throat was so dry that it was smoking, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He took the wooden ladle and drank heavily, even choking himself, but Ziying stroked his back considerately.

Hu Hai raised his head and looked at his clan brother with tears in his eyes: "I never expected that it was my clan brother who saved me in the end..."

Ziying's face, which was swollen due to a long illness, showed an honest smile: "This is my duty."

Ziying, the head of the clan of the author's generation, went to Heifu's army as a supervisor a few years ago. When Qin Shihuang was patrolling the south, Heifu faked his death. Ziying "didn't find out", but Hu Hai, who succeeded him afterwards, did not. Blame this clan brother who has always been friends with him:

"The First Emperor has not yet seen through the cunningness of black thieves, let alone a baby who has never told a lie since he was a child?"

Hu Hai did not want to be held accountable, but Ziying said in front of others every day that he regretted that incident. Therefore, he asked Hu Hai several times to be punished and let him become a commoner...

The more this happened, the more Hu Hai trusted Ziying and made him the "Zongzheng" of one of the Nine Qings, responsible for the affairs of the clan.

Although he became the Jiuqing, Ziying still kept a low profile. When he met Li Si and Zhao Gao, he would bow to him from a distance. No matter who looked at him, he was a timid and fearful clan elder.

While in office, Ziying followed the rules and advised Hu Hai, saying that whenever a new monarch succeeds to the throne, he must worship the mountains and rivers in the ancestral temple. However, since His Majesty is busy with government affairs and cannot leave Xianyang, he will do it for him.

Hu Hai was delighted, so for more than a year, Ziying traveled around Guanzhong, and thus cleverly avoided a series of political strife in the Xianyang court:

When Feng Quji and Gongzi Gao were in trouble, Ziying was worshiping Chen Bao Temple in Yongdi.

When Li Si and General Lu launched a coup, Ziying went to the upper reaches of Jingshui River to offer sacrifices to Uncle Shui for Hu Hai.

It was not until after the incident that he returned to Wangyi Palace. After meeting Zhao Gao, he immediately got off the car and called the chief "Prime Minister", and actively escorted all the princes and princesses to Gaoling for detention. Seeing that this guy was so obedient, he was a Zhao Gao did not doubt Tiehanhan, who was greedy for life and afraid of death, and was at the mercy of others.

Unexpectedly, Ziying, who had been suffering from illness, suddenly broke out. Outside the Wangyi Palace, he led a group of clan members and launched a crucial attack with military chariots, capturing Hu Hai and allowing Zhao Gao to kidnap the emperor and throw him to the Six Kingdoms. Planning to fall short...

Zhao Gao originally had more people, but he was suddenly attacked. His followers thought it was Hei Fu who was coming. They got into a mess and had no intention of fighting, so they were dispersed by Zi Ying.

He had no choice but to abandon Hu Hai and flee eastward. After Ziying rescued Hu Hai, he did not dare to stay long to visit Yi Palace. He took Hu Hai and his queen with him north to the vicinity of Zheng Guo Canal, and then stopped to rest by a pavilion. .

Seeing Hu Hai's face turned downcast, Ziying bowed down and said: "Your Majesty is talented and intelligent, otherwise the First Emperor would not be interested in your Majesty. He only hates Zhao Gao for being a treacherous person, isolating himself from the outside world, deceiving his superiors and deceiving his majesty until now. This has caused the collapse of the country." …”

"Yes, it's all Zhao Gao's fault."

Now that Hu Hai had achieved enlightenment, he hated Zhao Gao, but he asked Ziying again:

"Zhao Gao has been plotting rebellion for a long time. Everyone knows it, but I don't know it. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Ziying was stunned for a moment and sighed: "I dare not speak, so I am safe. The envoy has spoken earlier, and he has been executed by Zhao Gao like a guard ordering servants. How can I protect your majesty?"

"That's right, that's right." Hu Hai accepted this statement.

Ziying seemed to remember something again: "When Your Majesty left Wangyi Palace, did you have the jade seal and the Emperor's Sword with you?"

Ziying's face was full of grief and anger: "The jade seal has been taken by Zhao Gao, but the Emperor's Sword is still there..."

As he spoke, Hu Hai looked at the young eunuch who had been following Zuo Yuan and did not dare to leave. What he was holding in his hand was Emperor Qin's Emperor's Sword: Tai'a!

Ziying felt relieved now and winked at Han Tan, the close confidant next to him: "Take him out, I have something secret to report to Your Majesty."

Hu Hai did not doubt that he was here, he picked up the wooden ladle again, drank while sighing:

"A loyal minister is known in need. Hu Hai only learned today that in this huge court, the clan brother is the real loyal minister..."

But when he turned around, he was shocked to find that the courtyard door of the pavilion was tightly closed, and there were several young men behind him, their hands on the swords at their waists, looking at him with evil eyes.

"What do you want? Brother clan, they..."

Hu Hai was shocked, but at this time, Ziying, who had prostrated on the ground, slowly stood up and straightened his clothes. The cowardly and honest look on his face disappeared, but he had a different look on his face.

That was Hu Hai's perseverance and determination that Ziying had never seen in more than 20 years!

"Your Majesty, do you know you are guilty!?"

…

Ever since he was a child, whether he was a well-dressed young master or an unparalleled emperor, Hu Hai never thought that one day he would be subjected to such a shame and humiliation...

He was pushed to the ground, his shirt was taken off, revealing his white flesh, and his mouth was stuffed with a ball of cloth. He couldn't scream - even if he could scream, no one would come to rescue him.

Ziying held a bundle of thorns high, stood behind Hu Hai, and said condescendingly: "The First Emperor placed high hopes on you and made you the emperor, but you forgot the last words of the late emperor in the blink of an eye..."

"The late emperor said that after you succeed to the throne, you should reduce taxes appropriately, stop palaces, so that the leaders of Guizhou feel less burdened, and then attract some people from the six countries to Xianyang, and re-establish doctorates, so that the hatred of the people from the six countries can be gathered under the late emperor. One body, and praise the benevolent government of the second emperor."

"But you did the opposite, intensified it, promoted corvee labor, and broke the promise of rent reduction. This ruined the reputation of the court and no one believed in it anymore. The whole world also swarmed in rebellion. This is a crime!"

After saying that, Ziying raised the thorn stick high, and Hu Hai was prepared for severe pain. Unexpectedly, the thorn stick fell gently, just like brushing off a speck of dust on Hu Hai's back. It didn't hurt or itch... …

"The late emperor also said that we must guard against the Xiongnu, and the northern army cannot be weakened, allowing the Hu people to take advantage of it. There is no need to recall Li Xin from the west... But you sent someone to summon Li Xin to break with the imperial court, and withdrew the Great Wall troops. The defense left 300,000 border people unguarded, and the barbarians broke through the Great Wall and marched southward, wreaking havoc in Henan. This is two crimes!"

"The late emperor said that the four ministers Li, Feng and Wang can assist the government and maintain the stability of the government and the public. You can also re-promote Meng Tian and Meng Yi to compete with them, and then rely on Zhao Gao, Zhao Cheng and others around you. A king must not live without his own Trust me, but you can’t listen to just one person.”

"You are a villain and a wise minister, and you allow Zhao Gao to indulge in pleasure, indulge in excess, indulge in his power, exclude dissidents, bring trouble to the court, kill the Feng family, and kill your brother Gao, but you have not obeyed the court for many years, so that The national government is corrupted! Eventually we leave the country and lose the country. This is the third crime!"

On that day Qin Shihuang issued the edict, Ziying was by his side and remembered every word in his heart!

"In the past, King Wen of Chu hunted Yunmeng and did not rebel for three months. The concubine who got the pill indulged in sexual pleasure all day long and refused to listen to the court for many years, so Bao Shen flogged her. Now you have committed ten times more sins than King Wen of Chu. However, the late emperor has passed away. Your master Zhao Gao is a traitor, but as the head of the clan, Ziying has to do it for him!"

After three gentle whippings, he asked someone to remove the cloth from Hu Hai's mouth: "Does it hurt?"

Hu Hai was initially horrified and angry, but now he felt guilty. He lowered his head and said, "It doesn't hurt..."

"yes."

Ziying sneered and said: "A gentleman is ashamed of it, and a villain is hurt by it. If the shame does not change, what is the use of pain? No matter what, Hu Hai, the iron from nine states is not enough to make you make a big mistake, and the water of the great river cannot save you." Back to Daqin Sheji!"

"Rutian Capital is not stupid. If at the beginning of his succession, he had one-tenth of the skills of the First Emperor and put a hundred percent of his thoughts on state affairs, Heifu would not have been able to break through the barriers and enter the capital so easily. Now the Great Qin Sheji Just like fish and meat, and the black husband is a swordsman, you really deserve to die!"

Hu Hai pursed his lips: "Since Hu Hai's crime is punishable by death, why did my clan brother rescue me from Zhao Gao?"

He thought of a possibility and said desperately:

"Brother, do you want to sacrifice me to the black husband?"

"No."

Ziying threw the thorn stick: "Because, no matter what, you are still the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty."

"Therefore it cannot fall into the hands of the Six Kingdoms, which would be an insult to our ancestors."

"You can't be captured and killed by the black husband and let him humiliate you."

A long silk was thrown at Hu Hai's feet.

"There is only one way to preserve the last shred of dignity of the Emperor of Qin!"

Hu Hai stared at the white silk, trembling to pick it up, but when he touched it, he retracted it as if his hand was burned, his eyes full of fear.

"Why, you can't do it? What a bastard!"

Hu Hai shook his head and didn't answer, just turned around and closed his eyes.

"Brother, please give me a ride..."

Someone came closer, and then, the long silk wrapped around his neck, wrapped around it several times, and someone else pressed his hands and feet tightly, and the long silk around his neck became tighter and tighter...

"Hu Hai, Your Majesty...do you have any last words?" A familiar voice came to my ears, it was Ziying's own hands.

Death strangled his throat, and tears overflowed from Hu Hai's eyes:

"Hu Hai... Wuyan, facing... my father!"

…

A moment later, looking at the second emperor Hu Hai whose neck was strangled and lying dead in the pavilion, Ziying looked at his slightly trembling hands and said:

"The supreme emperor, after death, is no different from the corpse of an ordinary person..."

At this time, the door of the pavilion opened quietly. Ziying's confidant Han Tan entered the door, took a look at Hu Hai's body, cupped his hands and said:

"The queen has also hanged herself. Lord, what should I do next?"

Han Tan knows best what kind of person his master is. As the son of the guilty minister Chang'an, he has kept a low profile and pretended to be stupid since he was a child. Otherwise, how could he get better and better as he gets better?

When Ziying was imprisoned in Heifu's army in his early years, he adhered to the idea of ​​"Your Majesty is not King Huai of Chu, there is no Zilan in the court, there is no Zhuang Qi on the front line, and I, Ziying, will never be like Qu Yuan." What should I repay? What should be concealed is very measured.

Even Hei Fu, who was as cunning as a fox, never doubted him, and even pretended to die in front of Zi Ying. Although Zi Ying saw it, he still pretended to be stupid to the end, so that neither of them would be offended.

Sure enough, neither Qin Shihuang nor Hu Hai pursued Ziying.

What happens today is just a replica of the past.

Ziying pointed at Hu Hai's corpse: "It was faked to look like he hanged himself from a beam."

Han Tan said: "Ling Shi can see..."

"It's best to see it."

Ziying smiled and said: "The world must know that Hu Hai was unwilling to be humiliated and resolutely committed suicide, but Heifuna alone must let him know that it was me, who was always greedy for life and afraid of death! I solved Hu Hai for him..."

Ziying preserved the last shred of dignity of the Qin royal family and did not delay finding a career for himself.

He was able to live up to his ancestors and not bring harm to his family.

“Then there’s the waiting.”

Ziying walked out of the pavilion. The summer outside was bright, but more than ten miles away from the south, a puff of smoke and dust was billowing in. It was Heifu's vanguard's chariot.

"When Heifu's vanguard catches up here, we will present Hu Hai's corpse, the Emperor's Sword, and..."

He messed up his hair, picked up a handful of ashes from the ground, and threw it on his face, making his face covered with dust and looking embarrassed and depressed. Later, when he knelt by the road and held up the Emperor's Sword to greet the winner, he looked even more... cowardly.

"The honest and honest elder in the clan, the one who is sick and who doesn't know when he will die... the loyalty of an infant!"

. m.