Inside the court, Ying Zheng sat at the head of the throne, with a group of envoys standing below him in addition to the officials who stood silently.
They were all representatives of their respective powers, figures who could command the winds and rains across the land, but now, in this imperial court, they were all respectful and dared not overstep their bounds in the slightest.
"Qianji Pavilion presents a pair of top-quality jade pendants and a pair of White Tiger Spears to congratulate the Great Qin on its resounding victory!"
"Jubaotang presents ten Night-Shining Staffs and ten bottles of Lotus Powder to congratulate the Great Qin on its victorious start!"
"The Mohists have presented us with a hundred offensive mechanical beasts and numerous poisonous hidden weapons, all recent masterpieces of the Mohists. We congratulate the Great Qin on their resounding victory!"
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As the introductions of the gifts rang out, one gift after another was carried up by the eunuchs for display, and then carried away again.
The gifts were so numerous that they seemed endless.
After looking at several gifts, Ying Zheng finally spoke, "That's enough."
Upon hearing the sound, the eunuch who was about to bring up the gifts stopped in his tracks and then hurriedly took the gifts away.
Ying Zheng looked down and said, "Since these gifts are a token of your appreciation, Great Qin will not be ungrateful. Take them down and make a note of them. Great Qin will remember your kindness."
Below, the messengers who had brought the gifts dared not say anything more, and all bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Faced with this situation, no one dared to say anything more and could only accept it honestly.
After all, the strength of the Qin Dynasty was undeniable, and faced with such absolute power, they naturally dared not make any reaction.
After saying this, Ying Zheng continued, "You all came here in person today, surely you came with sincere intentions, is that so?"
After he finished speaking, the many envoys below all bowed and said, "Your Majesty is right!"
"Your Majesty is right!"
"Your Majesty is right!"
Even a casual glance from Ying Zheng, devoid of any emotion, was enough to instill a tremendous sense of oppression in them.
Seeing this, Ying Zheng continued, "Did you all come here with a firm decision?"
The envoys all bowed and said, "Yes!"
"yes!"
"yes!"
Some envoys, even more eager to make a statement, went so far as to say, "My loyalty to the Great Qin is as clear as day."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked down and said, "Even so, your loyalty can still be changed."
Upon hearing this, the envoys' expressions changed slightly, but they dared not speak and could only respectfully lower their heads.
After all, they came here today to show their loyalty to the Qin Dynasty and to seek a sense of security, hoping to find a way to survive against the powerful Qin Dynasty.
After all, when facing an enemy that is absolutely unbeatable, surrender is the best option.
It should be much better than being wiped out outright.
Seeing that no one spoke, Ying Zheng continued, "Even if you change your loyalty and turn your swords against Qin, Qin will not change much. It will just have a few more enemies to kill."
"This is the current strength of the Great Qin!"
His deep, steady voice resonated throughout the hall, shaking the hearts of everyone below.
"And in the future, the strength of the Great Qin will only grow stronger!"
Another sentence made the already tense envoys even more flustered, some of them even sweating profusely.
It was one of the envoys who reacted, cupping his hands and saying, "This humble servant is willing to serve the Great Qin to the death, and has no other intentions!"
Upon hearing this, the other envoys also realized what was happening and all bowed in unison, saying, "We are willing to serve the Great Qin to the death, and we have no other intentions!"
"I swear to serve the Great Qin to the death, and have no other intentions whatsoever!"
"I swear to serve the Great Qin to the death, and have no other intentions whatsoever!"
In an instant, the sound resounded throughout the entire court.
Ying Zheng looked down and said, "The choice is yours. I will not interfere much, but those who understand the strength of Qin should make the right choice."
"Those who are unaware of the strength of the Qin Dynasty will only learn of it during its demise."
The entire hall was silent, and the temperature seemed to have dropped sharply, making everyone feel a bit cold.
After a moment of silence, Kong Jia suddenly stepped forward and said, "I have something to report."
This sudden action startled Mozi, who looked at Kong Jia with a rather strange expression.
If we're talking about gifts, then the Confucian gifts should have been taken down, but this old man suddenly stood up, which really puzzled him.
Ying Zheng looked at Kong Jia, "Granted!"
Ying Zheng had a good impression of Kong Jia, after all, the loyalty of Confucian scholars was the most obvious at the time.
Moreover, Ying Zheng could see that the Confucian school was indeed taking the education cause of the Qin Dynasty seriously.
Kong Jia lowered his head and said, "Although everyone knows how powerful the Great Qin is now, there are still restless forces eyeing it covetously, even attempting to sabotage it and harm the Great Qin."
"In my opinion, they should be completely eradicated!"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. "A restless force?"
Kong Jia took out a letter from his bosom. "This is the result of the Confucian scholars' investigation abroad. It shows that many small countries are not convinced by the Great Qin and are even plotting to unite in an attempt to oppose the Great Qin. Please take a look, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Mozi's expression shifted slightly.
Everyone else gave pretty much the same gifts, but this old man actually resorted to underhanded tactics!
This undoubtedly elevates the contributions of Confucianism, and will likely improve its impression on His Majesty.
However, he was not flustered. After all, the Mo family had a backup plan. Fortunately, Mo Hun arrived at that time. Otherwise, in this situation, if the Mo family had been unprepared, they could be said to have lost completely.
Ying Zheng's expression shifted slightly. "Bring it here!"
At his command, Zhao Gao respectfully stepped forward, took the letter, and then placed it in front of Ying Zheng with both hands.
Ying Zheng examined the situation, his expression remaining calm. "They are courting death because they haven't recognized their own strength. For such a small country to dare to have designs on Great Qin is quite an insult to Great Qin."
Ying Zheng originally didn't want to pay any attention to such a low-level force.
But since it concerns the dignity of the Qin Dynasty, he would not stand idly by.
Upon hearing this, Kong Jia cupped his hands and said, "If Your Majesty grants your permission, I am willing to lead Confucian disciples to persuade them so that they may recognize their mistakes and correct them."
Ying Zheng looked at Kong Jia, "Although they are a small country, they have considerable strength and are fierce warriors. Confucianism has always been peaceful. Are you sure you want to go?"
Kong Jia's eyes were indifferent. "If verbal persuasion is useless, then Confucianism can also offer physical admonitions."
"After all, Confucianism has the Analects for literature and the Book of Military Strategy for martial arts."
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