Chapter 236: Brother Zheng returns for a limited time after the wedding ceremony...

After the wedding ceremony, all the immortals present left one after another according to their closeness to the deceased.

The disciples of the three religions were supposed to stay until last, but Duobao Tathagata kept dragging his feet. Seeing this, Lu Ya, fearing that some agreement had been reached between Heaven and Lingshan that the Underworld was unaware of, found an excuse to stay as well.

Previously, Wukong was sent to Lingshan, and this time he came back with Tathagata. He knew something about the purpose of Buddhism, so he secretly told Fuli first.

"Buddhism spread to the East?" Nezha raised his eyebrows.

Fu Li said in her heart: This day has finally come!

Just as he was about to order someone to invite Tathagata to the Pixiang Hall to discuss the matter, Jiang Ziya came over first to discuss the matter of replenishing the heavenly soldiers.

"My disciple was ordered to carry out operations in Shu. Just before departing, the Qin army arrived. The Qin army was strictly disciplined, with clear rewards and punishments. From top to bottom, the officers and soldiers worked together with one heart and soul, fighting bravely and to the death. Truly a formidable army, rare in ancient and modern times."

If we say that there are some who are stronger than the Qin army in a certain aspect, there are not only some, but there are many. However, when it comes to comprehensive combat capabilities, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Qin elite soldiers swept the world.

Although the Wei Wuzu were elite, they could only be trained in small numbers and used as surprise troops; the same was true for the Zhao Bianqi.

Qi could recruit a large number of martial artists, but since they were knights-errant, their discipline was very loose, and their biggest weakness was their inability to coordinate operations.

Only the Qin elite soldiers had strict military discipline and fair rewards and punishments, and all the soldiers were eager to fight.

The Shu army was known for its equipment and military formations. If it were in a prosperous era and had stable logistical support, it would naturally be able to fight the Qin army back and forth, and even rely on its strong logistics to wear down the Qin army.

But time was of the essence. When the Qin army entered Shu, it was in turmoil and the princes were fighting for power.

The professional armies trained during the period of national stability had been largely expended during the period of division. The newly recruited troops of the various vassal states, while also professionally trained, were always inferior to the regular army in terms of organization and discipline.

Coupled with the fact that the logistics could not keep up, the Qin army wiped out several forces in a row.

The remaining princes realized that the situation was not serious, so they formed an alliance and united together.

But unfortunately, what Qin was least afraid of was facing an alliance of multiple forces.

Although the two sides were still at a stalemate when Jiang Ziya returned, with his keen military and political vision, he could naturally see that as long as the Qin army found a breakthrough, the collapse of the Shu alliance would only be a matter of time.

Fu Li asked, "Are you interested in Qin Ruishi?"

"That's right." Jiang Ziya nodded. "The Qin army fought bravely in every battle, and the Shu army's weapons were far superior to the Qin army's. The Qin army suffered heavy casualties. Since the Heavenly Court is short of men, why not contact the Underworld and lead the souls of the Qin army's dead into the Immortal Transformation Pond to replenish the Heavenly Court's manpower?"

Fu Li nodded and said, "Lucian is still in the Heavenly Palace. You can go and discuss it with him directly and tell him that it was my idea."

She paused, then continued, "Next year will be the Heavenly Court's once-a-century inspection of the Underworld. However, the Heavenly Court is in need of reconstruction and needs manpower everywhere. I'm afraid the inspection will have to be postponed. Let's just stack it up with the next one. Please ask him to take care of it on my behalf."

——I won’t investigate you this time. Any problems you have should be dealt with within the next hundred years. We are short of people here, so we’d like to intercept some high-quality souls to serve as heavenly soldiers. Please give us a break.

To put it bluntly, it is an exchange of interests between the two forces.

Although the Underworld achieved independent operation earlier than the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Court still holds a nominal position. If the Heavenly Court really wants to find fault with the Underworld, the Underworld will also be in a mess.

Jiang Ziya said he understood, bowed and walked out.

Fu Li was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Nezha, I want to go see Zheng'er."

After a pause, he continued, "I came to you in a dream at night. Will you go?"

Nezha said, "I'll go see Zhang Han. I wonder how much merit he has achieved over the years."

Calculating the time, it was already night on earth, so the two of them simply postponed the meeting with Tathagata and went to ask their own disciples for a dream.

=====

At this time, Ying Zheng had already taken over Shuzhong and wiped out small countries that were irrelevant to the overall situation, including Wei State, and completely integrated and unified the existing states.

He was thinking about giving himself a title of honor, a title he had never had before and more honorable than any previous one.

He revealed this thought to Queen Zheng Jia before telling anyone else.

Zheng Jia asked him, "Do you have a plan in mind?"

Of course Ying Zheng did. He had been thinking about it in his mind for several days. He felt that his achievements surpassed the Three Sovereigns and his virtue surpassed the Five Emperors. The two titles of "Emperor" and "Emperor" should be combined to match his achievements.

Zheng Jia looked at him with complicated eyes, and finally couldn't help but complain: "You really dare to think so!"

The emperor represents the supreme humanity, and the emperor at this time still refers to God.

In order to gradually abolish human sacrifice, the penultimate Shang king compromised with all parties and for the first time took the title of emperor on the common leader of the human race, named "Emperor Yi".

——The Emperor is God. Now that God and the King have become one, the King has the final say on what to use to offer sacrifices to God.

But the Shang Dynasty at that time could no longer withstand such a great turmoil.

After Emperor Yi passed away, Emperor Xin took over a mess that was the result of compromises and concessions made by his father and all parties.

Destruction is inevitable.

But this had nothing to do with Ying Zheng and his wife. Zheng Jia thought he was a bit shameless, but Ying Zheng was very confident: "Then tell me, among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times, who has achieved such achievements as me?"

Zheng Jia coaxed him with a smile: "I didn't say no, why are you so anxious?"

Seeing that the queen supported him, Ying Zheng's spirits lifted and he said enthusiastically, "Tomorrow when we go to court, I will announce it in the court. From now on, I will be the emperor and you will be the empress. Ordinary people will not use the self-proclaimed 'I'. It will be reserved for the emperor and empress."

There are several other children. Yan'er, needless to say, was once the crown prince and will be the crown prince in the future. Miao'er is the princess, and Sen'er is the prince. When foreign officials see them, they all address them as 'Your Highness.'

At this point, he thought of the Chu princess, Lady Mi, who was pregnant, and asked Zheng Jia, "When Lady Mi's child is born, will he still be called a prince, or will he be called the same as Miao'er and Sen'er?"

The more scarce the material conditions are, the more important the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is.

This has nothing to do with respecting the legal wife. It is purely to reduce the number of people who divide up resources and to safeguard the interests of the upper class.

Zheng Jia said, "They are all your children, why should we classify them into different levels?"

She was born in Shu. Firstly, Shu had abundant resources. Secondly, under the matriarchal system, all children were born to their mothers. How could there be any distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children?

The only special one is the one who is appointed as the legitimate heir.

For Zheng Jia, as long as the word "legitimate" is given to her child, nothing else matters.

Ying Zheng nodded: "In that case, let's follow Miao'er and Sen'er."

Zheng Jia had no choice but to change the subject. "Don't bring it up in the court tomorrow. Wait until I summon the Right Prime Minister Zheng Cuo and the Left Prime Minister Li Si in the name of the Empress and have them contact the court officials to raise the issue. Only if you repeatedly decline and refuse will this matter be considered complete."

Ying Zheng was slightly stunned, and then it suddenly became clear to him: Yes, I proposed it myself, why would the ministers repeatedly request me to add a honorific title?

He eagerly grabbed Zheng Jia's hand and shook it vigorously: "The Queen is really thoughtful!"

Zheng Jia sneered and said jokingly, "You haven't even started talking yet, and you're already talking about the queen?"

Ying Zheng smiled faintly: "Whatever I want to do, there is nothing I can't do."

——Except missing my teacher but not being able to see him.

That night, he dreamed of his teacher whom he had not seen for many years.

The teacher was wearing solemn and gorgeous clothes, a style he had never seen before, but it was similar to those worn by the statues of gods sitting or standing on the shrines in the temple.

Ying Zheng knew clearly that he was dreaming, but he was still overwhelmed by great joy: "Teacher, I finally see you again!"

Fu Li smiled faintly and reached out to touch his head, but was deterred by the height difference between them. She was silent for a moment, then patted his shoulder nonchalantly.

——Why are you so tall? To show off your long legs?

"Zheng'er, this is your master speaking to you in your dream. It's been so long since we last met. Are you okay?"

Knowing that it was not what he thought about during the day that caused his dreams at night, Ying Zheng was even more delighted. He immediately boasted like a child and told the teacher all his achievements over the years one by one.

After talking about his achievements, he said that he was going to be given the title of "Emperor".

When he mentioned it to Queen Zheng Jia, he took it for granted. But when he was in front of the teacher, he felt inexplicably ashamed.

But more importantly, I want to get the teacher's affirmation.

"Emperor?" Fu Li nodded with a smile. "Your achievements surpass those of the Three Sovereigns, and your virtue surpasses that of the Five Emperors? Not bad, you deserve it."

Then he thought about how it was Qin Shi Huang who proposed it himself, and how no one in the court had the foresight to see it through. It ultimately lacked some prestige, so he said, "Don't bring up this kind of thing in the court yourself. Summon your confidants first and hint at the idea. Someone will understand."

Ying Zheng did not say that he and the queen had already discussed the rules, but just nodded in agreement with Fu Li's words, expressing his gratitude for the teacher's teachings and that he had learned something.

It has been a long time since he had received such meticulous care from his teacher.

But after Fu Li finished speaking, she changed the subject: "Dreams are the realm of human consciousness. I can't stay in your dream for too long. I came here today mainly to see you, and I have something to tell you."

Ying Zheng felt disappointed, and even in his dream, he couldn't hide the feeling on his face, but he still said calmly, "Teacher, please give me your orders."

Fu Li waved her hand. "I'm just telling you this so you know what's going on. The Emperor of Heaven caused a rebellion some time ago, and we lost many of our soldiers trying to suppress it."

It just so happens that your senior brother met Qin’s elite soldiers in Shuzhong and felt that they were suitable for replenishing the Heaven Realm’s troops in all aspects. He has already negotiated with the Underworld.”

She looked at Ying Zheng with a burning gaze: "My dear disciple, do you understand what your master means? The soldiers of the Qin Dynasty who followed you will become immortals after death. What a great advantage in public opinion!"

But Ying Zheng was still in shock: The Emperor of Heaven is causing rebellion? That term sounds so niche. If it were the Qin Dynasty, wouldn't it be "I am causing rebellion"?

Fu Li pulled a pearl from her sleeve, flicked it on his forehead, and said dissatisfiedly, "What are you looking at?"

Ying Zheng's expression calmed down in a split second. "It's nothing. I'm just worried about you, teacher. Did you get hurt in the turmoil in the heavens?"

It is difficult for people to conceal their true thoughts in their own consciousness. Even someone as cunning as Ying Zheng would have his thoughts written all over his face.

However, Fu Li did not expose him. She showed a relieved look and said softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Haotian has lost his virtue and is unworthy of the throne. Daozu has been appointed as the Master Emperor. Everything in the Heavenly Court has returned to normal."