Post station.
It is not the best accommodation for foreign guests.
However, during this period of the Qin Dynasty, there were no Three Departments and Six Ministries, so there was no Minister of Rites to make special arrangements, and it was generally not something the emperor specifically requested.
They would all live in the post station.
Li Lin had breakfast with the First Emperor, and then reluctantly followed behind him to the post station.
"Your Majesty, thank goodness, you've finally arrived!"
"What's wrong, Minister Xu?"
"Your Majesty, these Huns are far too arrogant. I, Xu Fan, have never seen such foreign envoys in my entire life. In the first few days, they even demanded that we prepare women for them. They have really put us in a difficult position!"
Xu Fan, who was in charge of coordinating the post stations in Xianyang and even the entire Guanzhong region, ran over to the First Emperor with a wronged expression and cried to him.
"Prepare women? Hmph, what a fine way to prepare women! This is the Great Qin, not his Xiongnu territory. How dare they ask for women right under my nose! Guards, tie them up and give them a hundred lashes each!"
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable! They are envoys; how can we treat them like this?"
"Yes, there is a saying in Confucianism: 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?'"
"A guest is a guest, a guest indeed. She is nothing more than a mere woman. Your Majesty, the Xiongnu have now unified various tribes and annexed a large number of barbarian tribes such as the Donghu. Their strength is formidable. We must not be so reckless!"
These Confucian scholars stepped forward one by one to offer their advice.
Listening to their conversation, Li Lin couldn't help but feel an urge to laugh.
"What? You bunch of bookworms who've gone mad from reading too much, and you dare to teach me how to do things? How are the women of my Great Qin less lowly than these barbarians? It's you who are so afraid of a few barbarians, it really makes me angry!"
The First Emperor glared angrily at the group of "loyal" scholars who were advising him, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
"Your Majesty, since these scholars believe so strongly that their Xiongnu fathers cannot be mistreated, then let their wives and daughters come and serve the Xiongnu envoys!"
Just as the First Emperor was about to unleash his furious rage...
Li Lin stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and presented his opinion.
"Prime Minister Li, I have no grudge against you, why do you want my wife and daughters to serve you?"
"Prime Minister Li, you have quite the nerve!"
"Why don't I see you being this generous?"
"Heh, it seems you've almost forgotten a saying of your sage Confucius: 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.' Since you yourselves think that it's not a big deal for mere women to serve your Xiongnu fathers, why don't you offer up your own wives and daughters? Instead, you want innocent girls to pay a terrible price because of your suggestion. Have you ever thought about their feelings?"
Li Lin was extremely angry at this moment.
Although the Qin Dynasty during the reign of the First Emperor may not have been the most prosperous era in China's five-thousand-year history, it was by no means an era in which we had to treat barbarians like fathers just because we suffered some humiliation.
"You men speak with such righteous indignation, yet you utter such words about mere women. What do you regard the women of my Great Qin as? Pigs and dogs? If you are so generous, why don't you offer up your own wives and daughters? Heh, this has truly broadened my horizons. If you were the Imperial Censors or Court Judges under my jurisdiction, believe me, I would slaughter you all right now in public!"
"Prime Minister Li, stop this nonsense!"
"The Xiongnu are powerful now. If these envoys are unhappy in Qin and return to the Xiongnu, war will surely break out on the border again!"
"Yes, isn't the Qin Dynasty currently undergoing the reforms you advocated? How can we start a war at such a crucial moment?"
"Prime Minister Li, stop spouting nonsense and distorting the truth! We are speaking from experienced and wise advisors!"
......
Li Lin glared at this group of self-important people.
I felt extremely sorry for them.
I despise it.
At this time, the Qin Dynasty was not at the end of its reign, and the Xiongnu were not at their absolute peak during the early Han Dynasty.
What is there to fear?
It's normal for a dynasty to suffer humiliation when it's unable to defeat foreign enemies at the end of its reign.
If you fall behind, you will be attacked.
At worst, we can wait until we're prosperous again and then fight back.
But now, the Qin Dynasty is far from over, while these ministers have already entered their coffins.
How many years have passed since the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms?
Have they already lost the will to fight?
No wonder the Qin people couldn't stir up any waves during the Chu-Han Contention; their fighting spirit had completely vanished.
"Li Lin, what's your opinion?"
"Your Majesty, I believe these Confucian scholars are not worthy of the title of scholars; they are beasts, they are dogs! No, to call them dogs is to insult dogs. Even dogs know to bite back when they are bullied, but these people only know how to grovel and lick boots, their knees bent!"
"Prime Minister Li, you are young and impetuous, you don't understand the key point here!"
"Yes, Prime Minister Li, you don't understand."
"Hmph, I don't understand? Do you all understand better than I do?"
Before Li Lin could finish speaking, and just as he was about to continue,
Suddenly, several strangely dressed foreigners emerged from the post station. They wore veils on their heads and long robes on their bodies.
What was tied around his waist was not a scimitar, but a wooden staff.
One by one, they glared menacingly at Xu Fan and said in broken Mandarin, "Lord Xu, where are the beauties we asked for? Didn't you say you'd prepare them for us as soon as possible? Where are they? And this group of people has been making a racket here all morning, keeping us from sleeping! Get them out of here!"
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