Qin Official

Xianyang is still the Xianyang in Zhang Cang's memory.

Five days have passed since Heifu entered Xianyang, and there are still signs of chaos in the northern suburbs of Xianyang. The soldiers of the Northern Expedition are patrolling in teams to eliminate all Xiaoxiao who are making trouble. At the gate of the village, men from all walks of life are organized to guard the gate. There are also small officials who go around shouting and informing the people of "news", which is nothing more than three things:

The puppet emperor Hu Hai has been killed by Ziying, and his tyranny is completely over. The bonds owed by the people in the past have been written off. This year, the land rent has been halved, and there will be no additional oral taxes.

The treacherous Zhao Gao led bandits from the Six Kingdoms into Hexi, and invited the Xiongnu to invade Yunzhong and Shangjun. He promised to cede the northern counties to the Xiongnu so that he could become king in Guanzhong. He was willing to call the Xiongnu Chanyu his father, and Zhao Gao called himself "son." "King", but the people need not worry, Marquis Wu Zhong will go on a crusade soon to clear out the enemies in the pass.

Zhang Cang saw this and said to himself: "Compared to the Hun and Chu people with hideous faces, the Xin Qin people from the south immediately became more handsome."

With a common enemy, the situation in Xianyang will soon stabilize, but...

Zhang Cang looked worried: "It's just that after I escaped, the more than ten concubines took me and hurriedly divided their lives. I don't know where they were scattered. It's a bit difficult to find them one by one..."

"Forget it, if it doesn't work out, just accept it!"

As for the third thing, the throne of the Emperor was vacant and no one was in charge. Therefore, Marquis Wu Zhong followed the example of the former Duke of Zhou and became regent, so that before the new king could take over the throne, he could concentrate the power of the Qin Dynasty to deal with the invasion of the Northern and Southern Barbarians. invade...

"After all, Zhou Gong was the regent of the country because his king was young and weak, but Hei Fu was the regent when the throne was vacant... If you want to imitate him, I'm afraid it's not Gong Bohe!"

With this in mind, Zhang Cang followed Ji Ying and walked to the Xianyang Palace on Beiban. He heard that after Wu Zhonghou entered Xianyang, the women were destitute and had nothing to gain. The palaces and treasury were sealed. Until this morning, the bell chief of Xianyang Palace Ming, summon officials above Qian Shi to come in to determine the special political system of Great Qin for a period of time:

"Regent Wu Zhonghou!"

Zhang Cang seemed to have arrived a little late and failed to catch this grand event. Instead, he met many civil and military officials leaving Xianyang Palace. Most of them were the remaining ministers of the First Emperor and Hu Hai, headed by Zhou Qingchen and Wang Wu. This group of people walked out in silence, and when they saw Zhang Cang, they were all extremely enthusiastic.

In particular, Fengchang Zhou Qingchen stepped forward and affectionately addressed Zhang Cang as:

"Jun Zihu!"

As an intellectual, a person with no power in his hands, who even made Qin Shi Huang furious on Mount Taishan, Zhang Cang had been in the Qin court for more than ten years and had never received such courtesy, but he knew why.

"You still don't know that Heihu and I have an old relationship."

Only the censor Yang Wei, who had a good relationship with Zhang Cang in the past, ignored him and walked out angrily. Several people gathered around him, and their sleeves were swung loudly. It seemed that this was to oppose this. It’s up to the ministers...

Zhang Cang couldn't help but secretly curse: "How come these upright and upright ministers didn't see the First Emperor speak out when he did something wrong? How did they survive when Hu Hai and Zhao Gao were in charge?"

Zhang Cang could only bite the bullet and walk up the stairs despite the compliments and flattery of the crowd, until he met his elderly senior brother Li Si on the top of the mountain...

With gray hair, the old prime minister seemed to be a little older.

Zhang Cang hurriedly bowed his head: "Prime Minister..."

"Zihu."

Li Si's attitude towards him did not change. He just stroked Zhang Cang's back and sighed: "Our great Qin Dynasty also had a regency system in ancient times. When Duke Huai and his son were born, there were regents, but they were criticized by historians. Today, it has been fulfilled After this incident, Li Si doesn’t know whether he will get a bad reputation or a good reputation in the future.”

"It doesn't matter, Li Siqia is old. After Xunmen, I'm afraid it will be up to you to prosper."

Then he pointed to the main hall of Xianyang Palace in the back: "Go, Marquis Wu Zhong, I'll wait for you in the hall!"

…

Zhang Cang climbed the stairs for a long time and when he panted into the main hall of Xianyang Palace, he happened to see this scene:

Mr. Hei was dressed in the prime minister's robe, standing in the empty hall with his hands behind his hands, looking at the empty emperor's couch - and the emperor's sword hanging on the emperor's couch!

"Wu Zhonghou..."

Although he missed Heifu very much on weekdays, Zhang Cang was a little hesitant when he saw someone now, for fear that the person in front of him was no longer the Heifu he knew well.

Power corrodes people's hearts. Li Si, who was kind and affectionate to his juniors in Lanling, was ruthless enough to kill Han Xin, who came from the same family after joining the Qin court...

Hei Fu turned around and saw Zhang Cang. He couldn't help but be overjoyed. He came forward with a smile, hugged the big fat man, patted him on the back again and again, and said with a smile:

"I thought that Zihu would become thinner after being on the run for more than a year. It seems that the beef and mutton in Saibei can support people!"

This father and son liked to laugh at him, so Zhang Cang then laughed and scolded him as he did in the past: "Rouqie is the one who nourishes people, and your son has also gained a lot of weight. I'm afraid I won't recognize him when we meet again."

He raised his head again and looked at the nondescript Emperor's Sword hanging on the king's couch: "This is..."

"Zihu came a step too late and failed to see a good show."

Heifu smiled and said: "When Li Si announced that I would follow the example of Duke Zhou as regent, Yang Huan and others shouted at the heavens and the earth, and almost wanted to hit their heads on the pillars, but unfortunately the force was not strong enough and no blood was drawn. They wanted to stop this, but Yang Huan He even asked me face to face, why do I want to do what Tian Chang did?"

"Hei Fu wants to do it?" Zhang Cang looked at him steadily.

Hei Fu did not answer directly, but pointed at the emperor's couch and said: "My subordinates, Shusun Tong and others, tried their best to encourage me to do my job to the end, imitate Zhou Gong and Yi Yin, wear the emperor's sword, and rule by practice!"

The so-called practice means to directly ascend the main step of the emperor's couch and approach the throne of the emperor.

This is not just a simple regent, but a further step to the position of emperor regent! It’s really just a short step away from breaking the window paper.

"At that time, in front of everyone's eyes, I took the Emperor's Sword and walked up."

Hei Fu pointed at Jun He and said with a smile: "But he hung the Emperor's Sword above Jun He and did not sit down, but stood on the side."

As he spoke, he walked up, stood on the right side of the king's couch, spread his hands and said, "This is my current position, Marquis Wu Zhong, the regent of Great Qin."

"The current situation is that some people regard me as a traitor and traitor, and want to drag me down from above, force me to kowtow before His Majesty, and return the power to the new monarch named Ying. No matter whether he is a virtuous or a fool, they say, 'Only in this way can we call Qin Officials too'!"

"Some people tried their best to push me up to my seat, fearing that my status would hinder their ability to climb higher."

"But don't even think about it. Hei Fu can stand wherever he wants!"

"You can hold it back."

Zhang Cang let out a long breath and said: "I once speculated that Yin Prime Minister Yi Yin's original intention was to take over the throne temporarily and return after Taijia repented, but after sitting on it for three years, he didn't want to stand up again. .”

"I won't hide it from you, I actually sat on it." Hei Fu did not hesitate to hide it from Zhang Cang.

In Zhang Cang's dumb eyes, Heifu told him the truth.

"Just before dawn yesterday, when there was no one in Xianyang Palace, I secretly came here and stood at the end of the palace, where I stood when I was a Langguan. I looked at your couch for a long time and saw no one on either side. , then quietly touched and sat on it..."

"This used to be the seat of the First Emperor. Do you know what I felt and what I saw after I sat down?"

Zhang Cang was horrified by Hei Fu's boldness and regarded etiquette as nothing, "What?"

"Cold, cold to the bone." Until this moment, Hei Fu couldn't help but shiver.

"Although there is a warm dragon underground and the hall is brightly lit, I can still see how lonely and miserable the First Emperor of Qin was when he was sitting alone on it."

"Looking around, there is nothing in the main hall. Even if there are people standing below, with their faces facing the ground and their hearts hidden in Yugui's robes, I can't see their true faces clearly."

"I immediately raised my head and wanted to see this city and this huge world through the main hall, but it was blocked by thick walls and I couldn't see it clearly either."

"That's when I understood."

Heifu shook his head: "I am trapped in this cage, wearing shackles, and there is nothing above!"

"Until I leave this place and go down."

"I had the palace doors opened to let in the first rays of light in the morning."

"I asked people to open the gates of Xianyang Palace one by one. I stood on your Majesty's side, breathing in the cold air of Xianyang, feeling the bustle outside the palace and the fireworks inside, and then I felt that I had everything I wanted. Looking back at Xianyang Palace at this time, I finally understood..."

"If you want to have great power, have everything you need, know the pros and cons of the world, and know the sufferings of the people, then there is only one way!"

"What can I do?" Zhang Cang asked with his hands raised.

Heifu walked down the steps, patted Zhang Cang on the shoulder, and pointed to the huge capital outside the palace:

"From the people."

"Go among the people!"

. m.