"Your Majesty..." Li Si knelt down with a flick of his sleeve, his voice solemn, "Li Si has great ambitions, but after traveling west to Qin, he found no way to serve the country and had no choice but to temporarily submit to Lü Buwei's service."
"I have come here today prepared to take on all the consequences. If I cannot be loyal to Your Majesty, I will leave Qin and flee for my life."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent, with only the faint crackling of the bronze oil lamps.
After an unknown amount of time, Ying Zheng suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes sharp as he stared directly at Li Si, who met his gaze without flinching.
"Your father wields immense power in the court, but how can royal authority be constrained by a subject? Only one of us can survive—you've thought it through!"
Hearing Ying Zheng's somewhat teasing words, Li Si breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a soft laugh, "A subject is still a subject, and a king is still a king."
"If Lü Buwei waits for the right moment to act, he won't go far!"
These blunt words made Ying Zheng's smile widen. "You have often advised me to destroy the six states and unify the country. Are you so sure that I can take power?"
Li Si nodded emphatically and said in a low voice, "No matter how much Lü Buwei eliminates dissidents, he can never suppress veteran officials like General Meng Ao. He can't cause any trouble."
"Your Majesty's forbearance is merely a temporary measure; how can you judge future success or failure based on this?"
Ying Zheng looked Li Si up and down, and his somewhat irritable mood instantly improved. At least the man in front of him had some vision and perspective.
Indeed, as he said, as long as Lü Buwei could not interfere with the Qin army, he was like a rootless duckweed, unable to shake the foundation of the Qin Dynasty.
Moreover, although Lü Buwei came from a humble merchant background, he was very capable and managed everything in an orderly manner, which gave him enough room to learn and grow.
This is the fundamental reason why he remained patient and allowed the power of the prime minister to overpower the power of the king!
"Take a look!"
Ying Zheng reached into his robes and pulled out a bamboo slip, which he tossed to Li Si. The latter was overjoyed, knowing that from this night onward, he had truly become a member of the Qin state's retinue.
"Good news from Jinyang... The wicked husband..."
"The merit of being the first to scale the walls..."
"Break the city, slay the general, seize the flag?"
hiss....
Li Si's eyes widened in horror, and he gasped, somewhat bewildered by the information recorded on the bamboo slip.
Legalists value fairness and justice, and he simply couldn't figure out how to decide on the reward for such a fierce warrior.
"Your Majesty, you must recruit this man before Lü Buwei does!" Li Si swallowed hard and said, panting, "This man is still young. If he is properly trained, he will surely achieve great things in the future and become a pillar of the Qin state."
“This…” Li Si’s voice suddenly rose, “We absolutely cannot let Lü Buwei get this man. If it really comes to that…”
The conversation ended there, and Li Si's eyes turned fierce, the meaning of which was self-evident.
If I can't have it, neither can Lü Buwei!
Ying Zheng nodded. He understood Li Si's meaning and was also planning to do so. Such a fierce warrior should not be given to Lü Buwei, especially since Lü Buwei urgently needed such talent to be placed in the army.
"Everything... depends on what the wicked man decides when the army returns in triumph in a few days..."
The two looked at each other and fell silent.
......
At this moment, the wicked husband, who was sleeping on the ground in the wilderness, suddenly shivered and opened his eyes wide, his eyes filled with confusion.
"It's so cold, did the temperature suddenly drop?"
Exhausted from a day of rushing, the wicked husband, unable to resist sleepiness, tightened his clothes, turned over, and continued to snore, completely unaware that he had attracted the attention of both Lü Buwei and Ying Zheng.
......
Seven days later.
"Report—!"
"General Meng Ao traveled to a point fifty li from Xianyang City."
"Report—!"
"Thirty li..."
The occasional shouts of messengers stirred Ying Zheng's emotions. This was the first time he had mobilized troops since ascending the throne, and he attached great importance to it. Early in the morning, he led his officials to the city gates to personally welcome him.
Standing parallel to him, Lü Buwei smiled, his eyes occasionally glancing at the somewhat excited Ying Zheng beside him. He thought to himself that Ying Zheng was still a young man with a youthful spirit, and was a bit too eager for success.
The officials standing behind the two were even more impatient. They had been woken up early in the morning and felt that Ying Zheng was making a mountain out of a molehill. Suppressing a rebellion was not the same as expanding territory, so why was such a grand welcome necessary?
Everyone waited patiently for another long time.
Finally, a large black flag appeared on the distant horizon, and then a massive army appeared in sight like a flood.
"They're here!"
The officials and citizens of Xianyang were invigorated, all gazing intently at the triumphant Qin warriors returning in the distance.
Meng Ao rode a tall horse at the front, followed by a group of generals, including Efu, the lord of five hundred. They also saw the black royal banner fluttering in the distance and were immediately excited.
"Haha!" Meng Ao laughed loudly and said, "Gentlemen, it is an unparalleled honor that His Majesty and all the officials have come to greet us personally!"
He hadn't expected Ying Zheng to personally welcome him and set up such a high-profile scene. Even as a high-ranking official, he was quite excited.
"According to the calendar, Zheng Ge'er should be the same age as me!" The wicked husband had exceptional eyesight, his gaze fixed on the distance like that of a hawk, eager to see the First Emperor, who was known as the First Emperor.
"Hurry up! Don't keep the King and his officials waiting!"
With Meng Ao's command, the army's marching speed suddenly increased. No one was blind; they could clearly see the royal banner fluttering in the wind, and the lower-ranking soldiers were even more anxious.
Before long, the army arrived at a distance of 300 meters from Ying Zheng.
"Stop!" Meng Ao raised his hand and shouted, "Dismount!"
The soldiers behind him immediately dismounted and followed Meng Ao as he walked quickly toward Ying Zheng and the others. As they drew closer, the villainous man mixed among the generals stared intently at the young man in the black robe.
"Zheng-ge'er!"
"Alive!"
The wicked man's emotions were hard to calm, and his burning gaze was as real as a physical object.
Perhaps sensing his intense gaze, or perhaps feeling something in his heart, Ying Zheng's gaze also pierced through the crowd and landed on the wicked husband.
"A wicked husband?"
Ying Zheng smiled slightly. He had thought a lot about what a wicked husband would look like, but he never expected that this kid would be so handsome and somewhat thin, completely unlike the ruthless killer Meng Ao had described.
"Your subject, Meng Ao, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
Meng Ao's bowing interrupted their exchange of glances. Ying Zheng stepped forward and reached out to help Meng Ao up, saying, "General, you have had a long journey."
Meng Ao cupped his hands in greeting and said in a deep voice, "Fighting for Qin, fighting for Your Majesty, how can there be any hardship to speak of?"
Ying Zheng nodded, glanced at the soldiers standing behind him, and said loudly, "My Qin warriors, you have worked hard."
"This campaign to quell the rebellion in Jinyang has demonstrated the might of our Great Qin and deterred the villains. This cup of wine is a toast to you all!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a eunuch brought over wine. Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, Ying Zheng took the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
"Wind, wind, strong wind!"
The deafening roar echoed across the sky, filling Ying Zheng with boundless pride.
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