The villain system of Mingyue in Qin Dynasty

The setting sun was shining slantingly, and outside the imperial palace, the clouds were bright and colorful.

At the last moment before darkness descended on the earth, the Golden Crow gradually fell, bursting out with the most brilliant light. In the imperial palace, the light has gradually dimmed.

The emperor stood alone on the throne, browsing the government affairs on the bamboo slips.

The black hair is covered with frost, but the majesty of the emperor is still the same. A pair of sharp eyes are staring at the bamboo slips, regarding the information about the settlement of the land in Henan.

Meng Tian did a good job, but within two years, the land of Henan had begun to take shape and order remained. Not only were thousands of hectares of fields cultivated, but forty-four cities along the banks of the Yellow River were also built. The Great Wall built along the Yinshan Mountains and defensive measures to prevent the Hu people from going north were also completed one by one.

After experiencing the initial turmoil and unrest, order in Beidi County and Jiuyuan County has also returned to stability. The refugees who migrated also adapted to local life and began to carry out production activities.

But what concerned the emperor the most was the horse breeding industry that had arisen in Beidi and Jiuyuan. The horses bred by the two counties are now enough to meet the needs of the entire Guanzhong. The war horses it provides for the army are also top-notch among the entire empire's military system.

The emperor's eyes scanned the map on the imperial desk. The empire's territory was vast. Since the loss of the Emperor Zhou, no country in this land could compare with today's Great Qin.

It's just that it's so difficult to manage such a huge territory.

The wealth accumulated by the empire now exceeds that of any country in hundreds of years. The gold and silver objects, silks and satins hidden in the Xianyang Palace are filled with room after room. The food accumulated by the empire is also abundant. For example, Aocang next to Xingyang has enough grain stored in it to feed its people for more than ten years. Rich in products, from south to north, from east to west, there are endless treasures and curiosities from all over the country. The items displayed in the market and business pavilions of the imperial capital today would have been unimaginable even ten years ago.

Within the four seas, six countries bowed their heads and hundreds of families stood still. The world is so vast, the Xiongnu has fled far away, and Baiyue has accepted it, and the empire is invincible.

It's just that this seemingly stable and huge empire has undercurrents swirling underneath it.

Emperor Qin understood that the empire was exhausted after a series of measures such as building Chidao and the Great Wall, writing books with the same text, and chariots with the same track.

The seven kingdoms have been at war for years, and the people are suffering miserably! The Qin State unified the world and should have recuperated and cultivated fields to support the people. Emperor Qin understood such a simple truth, but he couldn't do it.

If Chi Road is not built, how can the various counties in the empire be connected? Without building the Great Wall, the border would be a hunting ground for barbarians to come and go as they please! How can an empire govern the world without unified writing and currency?

Literary skills and martial arts are but a few words in the history books. But the hardships involved are so cruel.

When the empire's martial arts spread across the world, the surrounding barbarians were in a constant state of panic under the threat of the empire's powerful army. Roads throughout the empire were completed one after another, and bandits in various counties disappeared.

Powerful enemies were eliminated one by one. In Xianyang City, the setting sun was shining brightly. When the emperor, who had been sleeping hard and sleeping all night, looked at his empire, he suddenly discovered that perhaps the greatest enemy of the empire came from within the empire.

From the fatigue of the human heart!

Emperor Qin was never afraid of any opponent. No matter he is a master among hundreds of schools of thought, a noble relative of the royal palace among various countries, or one of those clamoring barbarians.

But this. This generation of emperors who swept across the world and looked down upon the world had no solution!

People's tiredness needs time to soothe.

But what the current emperor lacks most is time!

Two rows of chamberlains walked into the hall and lit the ever-burning lanterns on both sides of the hall.

Little lights gathered together, illuminating the entire hall.

Emperor Qin raised his head, and the chamberlain on the side reported: "Your Majesty, the two prime ministers are here."

"Pass it on!"

The head of hundreds of officials and the honor of the three princes.

The two prime ministers of the empire, Li Si and Feng Quji, walked into the main hall, stopped ten steps in front of the throne, and saluted: "I pay my respects to your majesty."

"Get flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two prime ministers stood up, and Emperor Qin said: "I have called you here to tell you something. I am planning to patrol the east again to inspect the empire.

"Eastern tour?"

The two high-ranking prime ministers frowned. Li Si raised his hand and asked, "Your Majesty, where do you want to inspect?"

"Walking along Jiuyi Mountain, passing through Kuaiji, looking at the South China Sea, and then turning north to Jiuyuan City. This time, I want to inspect the construction of Chidao." Emperor Qin said slowly.

"I obey the order!" Li Si and Feng Quji said.

"I dare to ask, who will your Majesty bring to accompany you this time?" Feng Quji said tentatively.

"As before, Li Si will accompany us, while Quji will stay in Xianyang. Among the young masters, the eldest son, Xu Fusu, will accompany him." Emperor Qin ordered calmly.

….

"Is that so?"

The lights dimmed, and Zhao Gao sat alone in the court, listening to the chamberlain beside Emperor Qin reporting the news that Emperor Qin was about to tour east, and nodded slightly.

His gloomy face was filled with a thick shadow that could not be wiped off at the moment. He waved his hand to the prostrating chamberlain and said, "Go down!"

The waiter left, Zhao Gao picked up the wine bottle, and drank the bright red wine in one gulp in the quiet night.

Zhao Gao was thinking about the impact of Emperor Qin's eastward tour.

The net was taken away, and Zhao Gao lost his sharpest minions. As a last resort, he could only rely on the remaining forces within the empire.

In the empire, both inside and outside the court, the eldest son had great prestige. However, in this bottomless whirlpool of power, the Ying Ziyi who was hiding in the clouds was, in Zhao Gao's view, his biggest enemy.

If Zhao Gao wants to realize his ambition, Ying Ziyi is a mountain that cannot be avoided. With Zhao Gao's strength, it is undoubtedly a fantasy to try to conquer this mountain.

Therefore, he needs to rely on the power of Young Master Fusu.

"Long Xiu!"

A civilian swordsman appeared and knelt beside Zhao Gao.

"grown ups!"

"Go and bring a message to Young Master 18."

Long Xiu walked forward and Zhao Gao said a few words in his ear.

Long Xiu nodded, took two steps back, and disappeared into the court.

The wine in the pot was mellow, Zhao Gao slowly poured a glass, with a gloomy smile that couldn't be wiped off his lips, and said: "Ying Ziyi, I want to see who wins in the end!"

….

Jiujiang County.

Deep in the mountains, the camp of the Xiang clan remained standing. With the drizzle, all the Xiang clan's private soldiers withdrew from the school grounds and hid in their own side houses.

The foothills are remote and food is scarce. In order to meet the daily expenses of these hundreds of people, the Xiang family opened up hundreds of acres of fields in the mountains. However, this meager harvest alone is far from being able to meet the needs of these hundreds of people.

Therefore, in addition to daily training, these hundreds of Chu soldiers often go into the mountains, ford rivers and rivers, and make a living by fishing and hunting.

They only make a living by fishing and hunting, and the harvest is far less stable than the fields. Whether they are hungry or full depends entirely on luck, but these old soldiers have no complaints.

Recently, Xiang Shaoyu, the young leader of the Xiang clan, went hunting in the mountains with forty or fifty men and got a lot of food.

Thanks to him, this group of old soldiers of the Chu State, private soldiers of the Xiang family, can now drink a bowl of fragrant broth in this drizzling and cold spring season.

The green mountains are lush and lush. Although the scenery here cannot be regarded as barren mountains and rivers, it is definitely not beautiful either.

The rainwater flowed down the thatch on the eaves and fell to the ground. Xiang Shaoyu stood tall and slender under the eaves, drinking steaming broth.

The broth that had just come out of the pot was still steaming. Xiang Shaoyu took a sip. Compared with those delicacies, this soup was not very delicious, but the rich taste on the tip of his tongue could make Xiang Shaoyu savor it for a long time. a long time.

They were driven here by the Qin army. They were miserable in the mountains, but they were used to it.

"Shao Yu."

Long Qie, with long fiery red hair and clothed in cloth, walked over from the side, waved the rainwater from his body, and said, "The news from Xianyang."

"Oh? What is it?"

Long Qie came over and whispered a few words in Xiang Shaoyu's ear.

Xiang Shaoyu frowned and said, "Ying Zheng wants to patrol east?"

Long Qie nodded and said: "Brother said that Zhao Gao wants to let Hu Hai stay in Xianyang to monitor that person's movements."

Xiang Shaoyu smiled and said: "Zhao Gao wants to sit on a mountain and watch tigers fight. It's hard for him to decide. Is his ultimate goal really just to let Hu Hai ascend to the throne of God?"

"Shaoyu, you mean he has other plans?"

"That's right." The heroic young master of the Xiang family looked at Long Qie, his long-time confidant, and said with a smile: "But this is fine. There are endless disputes within the empire, and our future plans can be better implemented."

Although at this moment, the number of soldiers around Xiang Shaoyu is less than a thousand, and will soon be less than a hundred. He still has endless confidence in him.

And it is this self-confidence that helps them overcome difficulties again and again in the most difficult moments.

Long Qie trusted him, and the hundreds of soldiers around him also trusted him. The young master of the Xiang family has unknowingly acquired the bearing of a king.

"One day, this empire will be in chaos again, and at that time, it will be our opportunity." Xiang Shaoyu looked at the green mountains in the rain, smiled slightly, and said.

"Shao Yu, why are you so sure?" Long Qie asked. Although he longed for the restoration of the country, he had to admit that the empire's rule was as stable as Mount Tai at this moment.

"Ying Zheng forced the people of the six countries to use the same writing and speak the same language. This is the source of the chaos in the world. How can such a tyrannical king unite the world for long?" There was no trace of anything in Xiang Shaoyu's words. Concealing his disgust for the Qin State, his disgust for the Qin Emperor, and his disgust for everything related to the Qin State, including the system, writing, and land.

"By the way, there is one thing. What are you going to do with Ji Bu and Ying Bu?" Long Qie asked. These two men now have nearly a thousand subordinates under their command, but after all, they were separated from Prince Qin's subordinates. go out. Although the two of them didn't know it, Long Qie still had a barrier between them in his heart.

"I believe that they are proud and honorable as Chu people." Xiang Shaoyu said firmly.

"Shaoyu! Your eldest brother, I'm here."

A loud shout came from the rain curtain. Even if Xiang Shaoyu doesn't look back, he still knows who is speaking?

Xiang Shaoyu turned around and saw Jing Tianming walking over wearing a raincoat.

Looking at the smile on his face, Xiang Shaoyu stretched out his fist and lightly knocked on his chest, "You kid, you have been gone for so long, and now you remember to come and see me, my eldest brother!"

"Of course, brother, as soon as I arrived in Jiujiang, the first thing I wanted to do was to see you, my little brother!" Jing Tianming patted his chest, looking like I was very loyal.

Long Qie looked on and shook his head, these two people! Every time we meet, we have to argue about big brother and little brother. But no one can convince anyone?

"How's it going? Have you eaten yet? Do you want some broth?" Xiang Shaoyu invited Tianming into his room, and Long Qie left first.

"I happen to be hungry." Jing Tianming looked at the soup basin on the table, put down the teacup in his hand, took out the tableware from the cabinet on the side, scooped out a bowl, and drank. Go down.

"How is it? Did it go well this time?" Xiang Shaoyu asked with a smile.

"It's not bad!" Jing Tianming wiped his mouth and said, "Although the person the eldest son wanted us to deal with was quite difficult, we solved it successfully in the end. The Jianghu forces in East Vietnam also surrendered to us."

"It's really hard to imagine that the Yin Yang family can actually join forces with the Mo family at this moment." Xiang Shaoyu shook his head and suddenly asked: "By the way, is there any news about Yue'er?"

Jing Tianming's face darkened and he said, "Yue'er has been missing for a long time. Even within the Yin Yang family, her whereabouts cannot be found. But this time, I got news from Shi Lan."

"What!" Even though the beautiful figure had disappeared in front of Shao Yu for a long time, every time he heard the name, he could not forget it for a long time.

"But..." Jing Tianming said this, but stopped talking.

"What?"

Jing Tianming has always been very forthright, saying everything in front of him. With his look like this, Xiang Shaoyu became worried.

"Did something happen to Shi Lan?"

"That's not true." Jing Tianming shook his head and said, "But when the rangers of the Mo family discovered her, Shi Lan was in the clouds."

Xiang Shaoyu was shocked, and his face suddenly turned pale, "She is in the clouds, how is she doing now?"

"The ranger of the Mo family discovered Shi Lan on the streets of Yunzhong City. The Qin army conducted a rigorous search at that time. The ranger did not see Shi Lan herself, but saw her entering the Yunzhong County Mansion."

Xiang Shaoyu took out the jade hairpin that he had not given away and rubbed it gently, with a calm expression on his face, as if he was remembering something.

Jing Tianming looked at Xiang Shaoyu like this and asked tentatively: "Shaoyu, should we go to the clouds to look for Shi Lan."

Xiang Shaoyu shook his head and said: "No need, Chu Di can't live without me now. Moreover, I believe that sooner or later, Shi Lan and I will meet again."

Looking at Xiang Shaoyu's appearance, Jing Tianming pretended to be helpless and said: "I'm going to the clouds anyway. I'll take a look at Shi Lan. What is she doing in the clouds?"