Chapter 220: Awakened Han Fei and the other party check clearly...
The two sides verified that there were a total of seventeen students from Pei County who were taking the exam. The others, such as Liu Ji, Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo, were there to broaden their horizons.
Li Si then sent the county lieutenant away and separated the 17 students who were going to take the exam into male and female students and placed them in a dormitory specially provided for students in Chang'an City.
Those willing to pay more can share a room for one person, while those less willing to pay can share a room for two. Three simple meals are provided daily, including one meat dish and one vegetable dish. The rice is served to the individual according to their appetite, and no waste is allowed.
If you find the food provided in the hostel unpalatable, you can go to Xianyang City to find food at your own expense.
Liu Ji helped to clarify the rules, then took out a bag of Qin Banliang from his arms and threw it into Xiao He's arms: "There are fifty coins in it. You and Cao Shen are living together, so don't be reluctant to eat and drink."
The Liu family had owned land in Pei County long ago, but they were not considered nobles. After the Qin Dynasty conquered Chu, they only took away the land of the nobles and did not deal with these local tyrants.
But Liu Taigong was alert and united with several nearby landlords to donate half of his land to the government.
Although their harvest wasn't as good as before, they still had some wealth they had accumulated. Since Liu Ji was still young, Grandfather Liu had weighed the pros and cons and decided not to divide the family fortune. All his food, drink, and expenses would go to his father.
This time, following Xiao He to Xianyang, he went straight back to his father to ask for money. Liu Taigong was very optimistic about Xiao He and Cao Shen, and was happy to spend money to help his son establish friendships, so he generously gave him two hundred coins.
On the way to Xianyang, Liu Ji had treated the county lieutenant and his companions to wine and meat, spending seventy or eighty coins. The fifty coins he now gave Xiao He was equivalent to half of his remaining assets.
Xiao He and Cao Shen both knew his character, so they neither refused nor apologized falsely. They just calmly took the money and told the three of them to behave themselves in Xianyang City.
"This isn't Pei County. If you get into trouble, no one can cover you up."
Liu Ji readily agreed: "Don't worry, we know what's going on."
Xiao He sneered: "You'd better know what's going on!"
"Oh, it's getting late. I see everyone has gone in. You two should go in too." Liu Ji winked at Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo, and the three of them worked together to push the two of them directly into the door of the building.
"Hey, you guys..." Cao Shen was caught off guard and was almost pushed to the ground by them. After steadying himself, he could only smile bitterly, "Okay, okay, let's go in. Stop pushing, stop pushing."
The three of them didn't care. After they laughed and got them in, they ran away.
Looking at the three people running faster than rabbits, Cao Shen was worried: "They won't really cause trouble in Xianyang, right?"
Xiao He smiled faintly and soothed him, "Don't worry, Liu Ji is smarter than a monkey and more obedient than a dog. He knows exactly who to offend and who not to offend."
Cao Shen knew that although Xiao He's collection of books was not as large as his own, his brain was better than his own, and he had always trusted him. When he heard Xiao He say that everything was fine, he was immediately relieved.
The two of them took the bamboo cards and found the double room assigned to them. After tidying up briefly, they lay down on the bed to relax.
Although they could have taken the straight road following the government, the road to Sishui County had just begun construction, and their journey was bumpy, and only after they passed Mount Xiao did they feel better. When they suddenly rested, they felt a soreness in all their muscles.
Xiao He sighed, "I wonder where Liu Ji gets so much energy every day?"
Liu Ji, moved by his words, led Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai back to Xianyang City, and asked everyone he met about the residence of the guest official Li Si.
Zhou Bo asked curiously, "Why are you asking about someone's residence?"
"Of course I'll go to him," Liu Ji said matter-of-factly. "You saw it all today. Li Jun clearly admires me and is trying to win over Xiao He. We're friends with Xiao He, so if we go to him, he'll definitely be happy to take us in."
Liu Ji was right. When Li Si learned it was him, he was very happy to take him in. Not only did he immediately arrange accommodation for them, but he also hosted a banquet for them that evening.
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As students gathered in Xianyang one after another, the candidates for this examiner became a hot topic of discussion under Zheng Cuo's secret operation.
By the way, logically speaking, this kind of thing should be done by the prime minister.
The two prime ministers who could have been in charge of the matter - Lu Buwei and Dai Xuan - left Xianyang one after another. Now Pang Sui was left alone in the position of prime minister and could only serve but not take charge.
This kind of thing required physical effort, but Ying Zheng and Zheng Jia were not in a position to do it themselves, so Zheng Jia brought Zheng Cuo forward and told her to stop shrinking and to use all her abilities.
Before Zheng Jia married into the Qin State, Shu officials like Zheng Cuo and Yang Pan had always been very active. Because the responsibilities of Qin officials were not clearly defined, when emergencies occurred, whoever could handle it would take the lead.
But it was different in Shu. The bureaucratic system of Shu was already very mature. Everyone had their own duties, and if two departments needed to work together, they had to report to the king.
Zheng Jia is from Shu and is now the prince of Qin. With her in charge, the Shu officials suddenly became obedient.
After holding back for so long, Zheng Cuo immediately sprang into action upon receiving clear instructions. Not only did she faithfully carry out the orders of the king and queen, she also arranged a follow-up to the expedited action herself.
Originally, the appointment of examiners should be decided within the court, and there was no need to make it public for the people to discuss.
However, Ying Zheng and Zheng Jia, the unscrupulous king and queen, wanted to plot against the nobles of the six kingdoms, and none of the nobles of the six kingdoms served in the court. Zheng Cuo had no choice but to keep the matter low, to the point where they, the "prisoners in Xianyang", could hear it.
Li Si reported to Ying Zheng about Zhang Liang and others who were captured by Liu Ji and his group and sent to Xianyang. Ying Zheng had no intention of making things difficult for them and only asked Li Si to classify these people and send them to the places where the old nobles of the six countries lived.
After returning to their respective "homelands," these people told their own people about the situation outside. Hearing that the people's hearts were gradually turning to Qin, many people cursed "the Qin people are indeed cunning", but they also knew that the situation was hopeless and they would never have a chance to turn things around.
It was at this time that the news that King Zheng of Qin wanted to select deputy examiners from the old nobles of the six states floated into the high walls.
As soon as the news came in, the auras between the nobles of the six countries, who had originally shared the same hatred of the enemy, immediately became subtle, and an invisible barrier was added.
Prince Fei of Korea sighed, shook his head and said nothing. He turned around and went back to his home and locked himself in the room.
Han Fei was still very young at that time. Although he had advised the King of Han several times, he had not had the chance to write a book before the Kingdom of Han was destroyed.
Because they were from the same school, Li Si once came to him, trying to persuade him to serve the Qin State and promised to recommend him to the King of Qin.
At that time, Han Fei was still very angry and was not willing to be loyal to the enemy who destroyed his country, so he used a gentle attitude to push Li Si back, neither softly nor harshly.
Seeing Han Fei's resolute attitude, Li Si never contacted him again. After several years of doing nothing, Han Fei felt like he was going crazy.
But in fact, his mind was still clear. The moment he heard that King Zheng of Qin was going to select examiners from the nobles of the six states, he immediately understood that this was a "two peaches to kill three men".
But he also understood that even if he broke this plan apart and laid it out before everyone, it would not be able to stop people's restlessness and greed.
Just like he had advised the King of Han again and again, but all he got was annoyance.
So, he just ignored it.
Since you are unable to help the world, then just take care of yourself.
Common name: give up!
But even though he wanted to give up, the development of the situation did not allow him to do so.
Because the King of Qin made a bold move: the nobles of the six countries had to take the exam first, and whoever got first place would be the deputy examiner.
Although the former King of Han and now Marquis of Yingchuan hated Han Fei's stuttering, he also knew that Han Fei was the most learned of the entire Ji and Han clan.
As for the Zhang family, who had served as prime ministers for five generations, they had failed to improve the country's strength and instead destroyed it. If it weren't for the desire to stay together, the Marquis of Yingchuan would have paid no attention to them.
Moreover, Han had already been destroyed. According to Qin's current laws, the Zhang family was no longer a vassal of the Han family. If the Zhang family took advantage of the opportunity to rise, wouldn't he, the former king, still have to rely on his old ministers?
Marquis Yingchuan could never tolerate this!
Han Fei, who was pulled out to prepare for the exam, knew that since the King of Qin wanted to kill three men with two peaches, there must be other actions to follow.
If Zheng Cuo knew his thoughts, he would definitely treat him as a confidant: There is indeed a follow-up, I arranged it. How is it, is it fun?
Sure enough, before they started the exam, the King of Qin sent someone to deliver an imperial edict: Anyone interested from the six countries can participate in this special examination.
Even the dumbest person would understand the meaning of this edict.
Those who were willing to abandon their past and serve the Qin State should take the imperial examination. Whether or not they passed was not important; what was important was the opportunity to express their feelings to the King of Qin.
For a time, many people were ready to make a move, and the atmosphere was tense. Everyone was on guard against each other. On the one hand, they tried to dissuade others from participating in the imperial examination in a sarcastic way, while on the other hand, they made preparations in secret, and gradually leaned towards the Qin State in the entanglement.
Han Fei sighed again. After careful consideration, he decided to give up taking the exam and turned around to visit Li Si.
The position of deputy examiner was like a bone with meat on it, turning the nobles of the six countries into dogs fighting for the bone, and these "dogs" fought very hard.
If possible, Han Fei still wanted to save some face for himself, not be a dog, and not fight for that piece of meat.
He arrived just in time, as Li Si needed an ally. Seeing Han Fei finally change his mind, he was overjoyed. He didn't even have time to prepare a banquet for him. He asked someone to bring a new set of auspicious clothes, urged Han Fei to take a bath with vanilla, change his clothes and follow him into the palace to meet the king.
When he came before Ying Zheng and Zheng Jia, Li Si tried his best to speak well of Han Fei and asked Ying Zheng to give Han Fei a chance to show himself.
It was a coincidence that Fuli and Nezha had just returned from their outing and were visiting Ying Zheng's family in the palace. Upon hearing that a foreign minister was seeking an audience, the couple refused to see him and hid behind a screen.
No one knows how complicated Fu Li's mood was when she heard Li Si speaking well of Han Fei and trying hard to get Han Fei an opportunity to show his abilities.
——Si Xiang, Si Xiang, I am afraid that you in this world would never imagine that in another world, you tried every means to kill Han Fei.
This world is so wonderful!
Seeing that her expression was getting increasingly strange, Nezha quickly reached out and touched her forehead. After making sure it wasn't hot, he gave her a puzzled look: What's wrong with you?
Fuli shook her head to indicate that she was fine, but in her heart she was screaming: How can I say this? How can I say this?
Ying Zheng and Zheng Jia both recognized Li Si's talent. Han Fei was highly praised by Li Si, which invisibly raised the expectations of the emperor and the empress.
Because of this, Han Fei stuttered when he spoke, and the two were greatly disappointed.
——If you can’t even speak eloquently, how talented can you be?
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, and Han Fei was a bit nervous. As a stutterer, the more nervous he was, the harder it was to speak, and soon his face flushed red.
Li Si was so anxious that he was sweating all over, but now it was Han Feijun who was giving the first speech, and he couldn't interrupt, so he could only worry.
Fu Li, who was behind the screen, couldn't stand it anymore and simply walked out, breaking the awkward situation.
"Teacher, why did you come out?" Ying Zheng stood up with Zheng Jia.
Fu Li stared at Han Fei for a moment, then said gently, "A flaw in a perfect jade might make it a rare treasure. Perhaps Young Master Han's talent lies beyond his words. Zheng'er, why don't you get some paper and pen so he can write down everything he wants to say."
Ying Zheng nodded and ordered the eunuch who was waiting beside him, "Gao, go prepare some paper and pen, and have someone bring a table."
"Yes." The eunuch Gao accepted the order and left.
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