Chapter 200: Destroy Zhou, Repel Han, and Destroy Lu "Teacher...

"Teacher, I'm very happy." For the first time, Fu Li didn't touch his forehead, but patted his shoulder and said with satisfaction, "You haven't even become the king yet, but you already have the responsibility of a king."

Ying Zheng looked at her with some confusion: "Teacher, isn't this as it should be?"

From a young age, his teachers had taught him, "To bear the misfortune of the state is to be the king of the world; to bear the disgrace of the state is to be the master of the country." If one cannot and dares not take responsibility, how can one be the king of a country?

Nezha leaned against the carriage, his arms folded. He glanced at him lazily and said, "Pretend, go ahead. I don't believe you don't know that there are seven kings in the seven kingdoms, but not even half of them are willing to shoulder the heavy responsibility of a kingdom."

Ying Zheng chuckled, appearing rather shy. "I don't care what others think. I only know that as king, I must be responsible for the people's well-being."

Then, he straightened his expression, cupped his hands and bowed solemnly to Fu Li: "Please teach me, teacher."

He could only guess that the teacher was not an ordinary person, but he could not guess what the teacher had done in the past. However, he was inexplicably certain that the teacher must have a way to relieve the Qin State's predicament.

"Hurry up and sit down. The carriage is so bumpy, don't fall." Fu Li quickly supported him. "We'll be at the palace soon. Let's talk about it back there. You can also tell the king about your reflections today and see what he thinks."

——Disciple, this is a great opportunity to improve your attributes in front of your father, you must not miss it!

Ying Zheng nodded solemnly: "Teacher, don't worry. I have my own ideas, why would I hide them from my father?"

Although he thought about letting his father die quickly, he would certainly be a good son before his father died.

If his father firmly supported him to be the crown prince and no longer regarded Cheng Jiao as a backup, he would still be happy for his father to live a few more years.

After all, Mother likes Father.

After returning to the palace, Fuli and Nezha went to the East Palace to wait first, while Ying Zheng went to Zhangtai Palace to meet Zichu, and told him what he knew about the people's livelihood and his concerns about the future of Qin.

At that time, Prime Minister Lu Buwei and Shangqing Feng Quji were present. After hearing what Ying Zheng said, they both looked at him with admiration. Lu Buwei's eyes were full of surprise when he looked at him.

But the bigger surprise was Zichu.

When he made Zhao Ji the queen and Ying Zheng the crown prince, it was more of a temporary measure. In fact, he did not have much hope for Ying Zheng, his son who was raised in a free-range manner.

But Ying Zheng's performance today was far beyond his expectations, making him look at Prince Ying Zheng for the first time, not just his son.

"Did you come up with all this on your own?"

Ying Zheng said modestly, "It's all thanks to my teacher's teaching. I've only gained a few insights."

Seeing that he was not arrogant, Zichu was even more delighted. He greeted him repeatedly and asked, "Are your two teachers both from Shu?"

"Yes, the teacher is from the Dai family."

Lü Buwei said, "No wonder you have such insight. It turns out you are from the royal family."

He pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Dai family of Luoyang and the Dai family of Shuzhong are not from the same clan, they are both descendants of the Saint King's retainers. Perhaps, we can use this opportunity to contact them?"

The so-called Luoyang Dai clan were the descendants of Fu Guang, who had been in charge of the Imperial Observatory for generations. After the Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang Dynasty, it was Fu Li who personally intervened to connect the then head of the Dai clan with King Wu Jifa, thus transforming the Dai clan from Shang officials into Zhou officials.

Although Chengzhou and Zongzhou have now completely declined, the descendants of Dai still follow Zongzhou and serve as the director of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory in Luoyang. They still send people to Luoyang every year to copy the calendars used by the six Central Plains countries.

The six kingdoms had cultivated their own talents to control the Sun's power, but their calculations were never as accurate as those of the Dai family in Luoyang. The seven kingdoms had secretly bribed and wooed the Dai family, but the Dai family remained unmoved, remaining focused on defending Luoyang.

The Dai family's nearly thousand-year reign over the Imperial Observatory was shrouded in mystery. Even after King Nan of Zhou ceded all his territory to the Qin State, none of the seven rulers dared to use force against the Dai family.

It can be said that the existence of the Dai family is the last fig leaf of Ji Zhou.

When Lü Buwei suggested that Fu Li contact the Dai clan, Ying Zheng's expression changed, and he looked at him with some hostility: "Prime Minister, although my teacher is from the Dai clan, he is only a declining branch, never valued by the main clan. He has no connection with the Dai clan of Luoyang. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you."

——The seven countries in the Central Plains have all sent people to contact and bribe, but all of them have returned empty-handed. Yet you want to recommend my teacher to go. What are you thinking?

Lü Buwei laughed and said, "All seven kingdoms have sent people to try to win you over, but none have succeeded. If Lord Dai fails, it won't be a disgrace. If he succeeds, it will be of great benefit to our Qin."

Upon hearing this, Zichu was moved and asked Ying Zheng, "Zheng'er, where is Lord Dai now?"

Ying Zheng knew that things had come to this point and there was no room for maneuver, so he could only say, "Both teachers are waiting for me in the East Palace."

Zichu then ordered the eunuchs, "Hurry up and go to the East Palace and invite Lord Dai and his wife here."

When they learned that Zichu had summoned them, the couple did not refuse and followed the eunuch to Zhangtai Palace.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Zichu first thanked them for their teachings to Ying Zheng, and then asked Fu Li whether she had any connection with the Dai family of Luoyang.

Fu Li immediately understood what he meant and said with a smile, "Why does Your Majesty ask such unnecessary questions?"

Zichu was startled: "Why do you say that, Lord Dai?"

Fu Li said, "Ji Zhou has run out of luck, while Qin is on the rise. As long as we completely destroy Zhou, Qin will naturally inherit everything that belonged to Zhou."

When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.

Although the princes of the world had been fighting each other for hundreds of years and had long regarded Ji Zhou as a decoration, on the surface, everyone still habitually put on a cloak of "respecting Zhou" for themselves.

Even though King Nan of Zhou had lost his capital and was so poor that he could only make a living by selling his pants, when the seven kingdoms invaded other countries, they would still send a memorial to Luoyang, euphemistically calling it "respecting the king and repelling the barbarians."

Destroying Zhou is indeed an extremely tempting yet extremely dangerous action.

Zichu pondered and said, "If this is the case, I'm afraid it will attract attacks from all the princes in the world."

Fu Li asked, "Could it be that if Qin doesn't destroy Zhou, the other princes won't come to attack?"

Zichu was suddenly speechless.

Fu Li said, "Today, Zheng'er learned about the current situation of Qin from the people and said something to me, which I would like to pass on to Your Majesty: To conquer the world is like chasing wild beasts, and everyone in the world wants to share the meat."

Today, Zhou no longer has any meat to distribute to the people of the world, which means that it no longer poses any threat to the world and anyone can destroy it.

And the one who takes action first will be qualified to inherit everything from Zhou.

Zichu understood and made up his mind.

When Lü Buwei asked for war, Zichu ordered him to lead the troops, select his own generals and soldiers, and send troops to destroy Zhou.

The difficulty of destroying Zhou was about the same as turning over one's own palm. Zichu was grateful for Lü Buwei's help, but he also knew that although Lü Buwei had taken the position of prime minister, his foundation was not solid and he needed military merit.

So, when the other party asked for a fight, he agreed.

Duke Xiao and Shang Yang, King Huiwen and Zhang Yi, King Zhaoxiang and Fan Sui, every generation of Qin monarchs seemed to have a prime minister with whom they got along well.

When the king is alive, the prime minister will never betray him. But after the king dies, the prime minister is in danger.

Fan Sui was the only one who had a good end, thanks to King Zhaoxiang living long enough.

Zichu and Lü Buwei, the two kings and ministers, also enjoyed a harmonious relationship, without any suspicion of each other. If Zichu had lived long enough, they might have become a legend like King Zhaoxiang and Fan Sui.

It’s a pity that Zichu’s life was too short. Lu Buwei became a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, and King Zheng of Qin was an extremely powerful king. It is foreseeable that he would have a lonely end.

Fu Li sighed silently, thinking that it was such a waste for a talent like Lu Buwei to commit suicide after his political career ended.

It is almost impossible for a powerful minister to be entrusted with the care of an orphan and a strong king to coexist, and Fu Li would never let his disciple suffer any injustice.

Therefore, she did not intend to change Lu Buwei's political career, and decided to wait until he retired before recruiting him.

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Lu Buwei led his army to war and soon destroyed the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, bringing all the remaining Zhou officials back to Xianyang.

To his surprise, Dai Qu, the current head of the Dai family, did not show any excitement or indignation. She accepted the demise of Zhou very calmly.

When Lu Buwei came to visit her, she received him very attentively and readily agreed to go with him to Xianyang.

Lü Buwei was filled with questions: Is this so easy? The seven monarchs of the past had repeatedly encountered setbacks, so what was that?

Dai Qu: They are just unlucky and missed the good opportunity.

"I wish to lead my family and follow the Prime Minister back to Xianyang, but I also have a small request, and I hope the King of Qin will grant it."

Lü Buwei hurriedly said, "Please speak, Chief Supervisor. When I arrived, my king had already instructed us that the entire Qin army would do its best to meet all your needs."

Dai Dao said, "I observed the stars tonight and saw two large stars falling towards Xianyang. This indicates that a distinguished person has arrived in Xianyang and is now staying at the Eastern Palace. I wonder if any extraordinary people have visited the Eastern Palace recently?"

Lu Buwei had an idea and thought of Fu Li's strong advice to Zichu to attack Zhou, and indeed everything went smoothly.

"Bu Wei seems to have figured out who the two big stars that the Supervisor mentioned were referring to."

Dai Qu said sternly, "Please enlighten me, Prime Minister."

Lü Buwei said, "A while ago, the Crown Prince returned to Qin from Zhao, accompanied by two teachers from Shu. One was from the royal family of Dai, and the other from the Yin family. They must be descendants of the Shang king who fled to Shu."

Dai Qu said happily, "That's them. I wonder if I can arrange for a meeting between them after we arrive in Xianyang?"

"Of course." Lu Buwei agreed directly.

Neither Prince Chu of Qin nor Crown Prince Zheng would refuse this small request.

The Dai clan followed the Qin army back to Xianyang, and the news spread throughout the world. The six countries were all ready to move and wanted to unite again.

To intimidate the six states, Zichu sent Lü Buwei to attack Han. The King of Han was frightened and offered the land of Sanchuan to seek peace. Zichu knew it was impossible to swallow Han all at once, so he withdrew his troops and established Sanchuan Commandery.

Less than a year after he came to the throne, he sent troops twice in succession and won two great victories, showing the ferocious nature of the Qin king. All the countries in the Central Plains were silent in fear, but the State of Lu was the only one that remained stubborn and criticized Qin for destroying Zhou as a subject attacking its king, which was an unjust war.

Lu, the fiefdom of Duke Zhou, was once considered the cultural center of the world. This title was later lost to Qi, which established the Jixia Academy, but the state remained a staunch supporter of Zhou.

The complete demise of Zhou also completely broke the defense of Lu State, which was quite reckless and crazy.

So, Qin sent troops again, destroyed Lu, and the King of Lu was demoted to a commoner.

Fu Li and Ying Zheng, the master and disciple, paid close attention to these things, learned lessons from them, and summarized the gains and losses.

Ying Zheng began to contact the Qin royal family and the children of court officials, fully demonstrating his magnanimity and responsibility, and gained more and more support in the court.

Zichu was very pleased with this and completely excluded Cheng Jiao from the list of heirs.

Ying Zheng felt that with a father like this, it wouldn't hurt to live a few more years.