The feasibility of rock forging: "Going to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony."...
After the unification of the country, Ying Zheng spent a significant amount of time on government affairs each day, often spending the entire day in the Chengzhang Hall, with officials constantly coming and going. In just two months, he lost a lot of weight.
Banban had few important matters to attend to in the harem, but she was extremely anxious and overwhelmed. Besides busying herself with her own affairs, she tried every day to find ways to nourish him.
At night, he was still troubled. “Conquering a country and maintaining it are completely different things,” he said, pointing to the calm lake in the distance. “When the wind is calm, the waves are still; when the wind rises, the waves surge. How can one control the winds of the world?”
Banban leaned against his arm, following his gaze to the suddenly rippling lake. "To unite the hearts of all people in the world is something that has never happened before. Cousin, it will surely be fraught with difficulties in creating such a great undertaking, but I believe you can do it."
Ying Zheng gently stroked her hair. "In previous years, I did more than I thought. Now, I think more than I do."
“Nonsense, my cousin has done a lot too,” Banban comforted him. “These days we’ve been discussing how to solve the drawbacks of the prefecture-county system, haven’t we? You’ve even lost weight.”
Ying Zheng sighed when he mentioned this, "The roads are too bad, and news is blocked, making it difficult to quickly transmit official documents. Even if the horses are fast and can travel 500 li a day, it would still take more than half a month. Moreover, the south is mostly mountainous and hilly, and the north is prone to flooding, so the actual travel speed would be doubled."
Banban fell silent. No matter how they repaired the dirt road, it would turn into mud when it got wet, which would not only delay their journey but also make it look dirty and messy.
Unlike modern times, there are not only solid concrete roads, but also extensive electronic networks.
After a brief moment of distraction, he had already pointed out the drawbacks of the official system: "Most officials at the county level and above come from local powerful families. They have their own interests, and if the central government's orders go against their interests, they will naturally selectively implement them. The result of their dual loyalty to the central government and the local government is the direct cause of their outward compliance but inward disobedience."
"Furthermore, the original script is still widely used in the former territories of the six states. Even though schools have been established to promote the teaching of seal script, they are still more accustomed to using the original script in private. Not only that, some learned scholars are proud and arrogant, and still resist and reject Legalism. Xiao Heng is right. What's the use of killing one, killing two, or killing them all?"
Banban hesitated, "What if we implement a system of appointing officials in different locations? Prefectural officials and county magistrates would not be allowed to serve in their localities, but would be rotated regularly, scattering them all over the country."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng suddenly chuckled, "Cousin's suggestion is excellent. Xiao Heng and I have discussed it in detail. The system of assigning personnel to different locations is being implemented. Wei Liao has begun to establish a reserve pool of over two thousand people, which will facilitate rotation when the time comes."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew that what I could think of, my cousin could also think of." Her expression relaxed. "It's only been a short time since we unified the country. There's still a long way to go. Let them learn the Qin script first. I think we can hold more activities to subtly influence them. Gradually, they will unconsciously start using the Small Seal script."
Ying Zheng already knew almost everything about the other problems and had solutions for them all; all that remained was to see how effective they were. The only problem was the roads; there was nothing he could do but build more roads.
As a result, when it came to building the Great Wall and various roads, the only option was to prioritize road construction, including both land and water routes. The compensation for road construction improved, which also became a way to make money. As a result, more people volunteered to work on road construction, which naturally increased the speed of the project.
After several days of discussion, a plan for classifying the roads was developed.
Horse changing stations were set up every thirty li, and document transfer stations were built every hundred li to facilitate faster relay and transmission.
To develop waterways and shipping, Ying Zheng wanted to build the Lingqu Canal.
He said excitedly, "If the Lingqu Canal is completed, not only will documents be transmitted faster, but the connection between the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River will also be opened, making the future conquest of Lingnan much easier."
He probably got excited thinking about how building a Lingqu canal would make it easier to conquer the Baiyue in the south.
She pinched his lips and shushed him: "Alright, alright, don't think that far ahead. Let's fix all the roads first!"
Ying Zheng took her hand: Okay.
Banban, as usual, inspected the road construction site and specially sought out the leader, whose name was Zhao Meng. He was said to be the eldest son in his family. After the Empress asked him several strange questions, he was completely confused.
"The sticky soil, the Empress must be referring to clay. We use clay to build roads, and the ruts made from it after it dries are not easily deformed."
Banban didn't know how cement was made either, but that didn't stop her from making a hypothetical question: "The ruts made by pressing clay are not easily deformed, but they are easy to collapse when they get wet, right? I want to know if the rocks in natural landforms are so strong and indestructible, can those rocks be crushed into powder, mixed with clay, and used to pave roads?"
Zhao Meng was stunned. He hesitated for a moment, his expression unconsciously becoming serious. "I've never tried it before."
“Since the rocks are indestructible, how can they be crushed into powder? Even if they could be crushed into powder, the clay would be washed away during a rainstorm, leaving only gravel. If you travel on such a road, there is still a risk of your carriage overturning.”
Banban's idea was simple: "Even steel can be softened at high temperatures and easily hammered and deformed, so can rock? What if it can be hammered into powder and combined with clay?"
Should we smash the stone into powder?
Zhao Meng had never heard of such a hypothesis or request before, but since it was proposed by the Empress, how could he arbitrarily interfere? He had no choice but to try to comply.
Banban remembered the sticky, gooey nature of cement, so he turned the car around and drove to the nearest riverbank.
The embankment was piled with countless pebbles. She hadn't brought any laborers with her and didn't want to go down into the river to dig mud herself. It was getting late, so she had no choice but to return to the palace first.
No sooner had Banban returned to the palace than Ying Zheng learned what she had been doing. He knew that she had taken every word he said to heart and wanted to share his burdens, which moved him deeply.
At night, he would attentively massage her shoulders and back.
To his surprise, she was very serious and told him not to bother her and interrupt her thinking about important matters.
Ying Zheng: "Very well, what important matter is the Empress considering?"
Banban stroked her chin. "I've been wondering, in the silt that accumulates in the riverbed over the years, there are occasionally rocks. How did those rocks appear? Are they formed from the silt?" As she spoke, she sat up. "I'll go dig one out and take a look tomorrow!"
"If we use it to build roads, wouldn't it be impervious to rain and high voltage?"
Ying Zheng pondered for a moment, and then went with her the next day.
Perhaps it was bad luck, but after digging along the riverbank all afternoon, they didn't find any rocks. After a while, Zhao Meng realized what the Empress was looking for. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, those rocks are more common by the sea, but almost nonexistent in riverbeds."
Therefore, Ying Zheng ordered people to search for such stones along the coast and have them transported back to Xianyang.
It will take some time to transport the stones.
Meng Tian's army returned to the capital in triumph, bringing back news that the Qin soldiers suffered almost no losses.
"This time, we are here to test the new weapons developed by Your Majesty and the Empress. The Xiongnu are a nomadic people with high mobility. At first, we sent men to chase them, but our Qin army was no match for these people who live on horseback. We were badly outmaneuvered by them, so we used firearms."
Ji Chenghong's face turned red. "Your Majesty, it's faster than an arrow! And it kills without a trace, making it impossible to defend against. If you don't raise a shield, there's no way to guard against it. Those barbarians can't keep their shields up all the time. Even if they do have shields, just aim for their legs and feet; they can knock people off their horses!"
Li You continued, "With more people, we can launch a direct attack without needing to aim. The muskets will produce flashes when fired, not to mention the palm-sized bronze cannons His Majesty ordered to be made, which can explode directly in the air when thrown."
Meng Tian's lips curled up, with a smile and even pride, "The Xiongnu thought that the Qin state possessed witchcraft, and they behaved themselves for more than half a month. Then they tried to probe the Qin state many times, but were defeated each time, so they dared not come over."
"I led my troops in pursuit of our victory and wiped out one of their strongholds."
Banban was overjoyed. "Where is the Crown Prince? How is he doing?"
Meng Tian: "?"
Li You: "Huh?"
Ji Chenghong: "What??"
"His Highness the Crown Prince is here too???" How come they didn't know?
Seeing this, Banban understood perfectly. He never expected that Ying Zhao would remain so tight-lipped on the way back, not revealing his identity at all.
Quickly send someone to find him.
When everyone found Ying Zhao, he was in his tent, his face flushed from being drunk, completely dazed, holding a wine cup and slumped over, with his arm around a soldier's shoulder: "I knew it, there's no future following General Ji."
Ji Chenghong's lips twitched slightly: "...?"
The soldier was also dizzy, "Brother, I think you can do it too. I saw your bravery in this northern campaign against the Xiongnu, and you may not have to be subordinate to anyone in the future."
"Good eye!" Ying Zhao raised his wine cup, declaring with great ambition, "Come, let's become sworn brothers today, and if I succeed in the future, I'll appoint you as my deputy!"
The soldier laughed heartily: "Alright! I'm two years older than you, you call me elder brother, and I'll acknowledge you as my younger brother!"
Ying Zhao answered decisively: "Brother!"
The soldier pulled out a wine cake from his pocket, broke it in half, and gave him one half. "Eat!"
Ying Zhao happily took it and was about to put it in his mouth, as if it were not a wine cake but a delicacy.
Suddenly, a low cough came from the tent entrance.
Ying Zhao turned his head away while biting into the pancake, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.
The soldier asked, "What's wrong, bro?" He looked over in that direction.
The emperor, empress, and three generals stood together by the tent, each with a strange expression. The prefect, Qin Ju, was bowing and frantically giving his brothers around him meaningful glances.
"..."
"..."
"..."
A deathly silence.
"Father, Father Emperor, Mother Empress..." Ying Zhao sobered up and felt extremely guilty.
The soldier stared wide-eyed, looking this way and that, before suddenly kneeling down with a thud.
"After a cup of wine, I have gained two more family members. How can the Empress and I be the Crown Prince's parents?" With that, he turned and left.
"..." The soldier broke out in a cold sweat.
Ying Zhao quickly caught up, and a heavy arm pressed down on him. Ji Chenghong's ambiguous smile was right in front of him. "Good nephew, you've managed to poach people from your uncle."
"...It's all a misunderstanding." Ying Zhao pretended not to understand. "What poaching? I'm my uncle's man. Without my uncle's guidance, what am I? A complete idiot."
Ji Chenghong, annoyed, deliberately pinched his arm: "I was wondering why there were rumors these days that a soldier in the camp was brave and skilled in battle. He was injured in the forearm by a musket but still managed to kill a hundred people. I was just about to go back to Xianyang to see him. I never expected that this person would be His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Ouch, ouch, ouch—" Ying Zhao was in agony as he faced his uncle's forced smile. "Please don't tell my father and mother."
"no."
Ying Zhao: QQ
"That trick won't work anymore." Ji Chenghong pinched his cheek. "What else can a dignified crown prince do besides pretending to cry and deceive people?"
Ying Zhao: Is it really not possible? QQ
"..." In the end, Ji Chenghong did not say anything.
Ying Zhao was cunning. He tricked a large group of Qin soldiers into joining him in his tent. They ate and lived together, talking about everything and everything. They quickly became close, and he made countless sworn brothers with each of them. He used different words with each of them, completely fooling these men who only knew how to fight.
Banban was speechless. She knew that this boy had been clever since he was a child, had a sweet tongue, and could say whatever he wanted to people. He often teased her.
Sometimes, even knowing his temperament, people can still be fooled, let alone others.
When Banban was little, she also liked to make up lies, but her IQ was limited, and many times when she was exposed, all that was left was cuteness. Goodness, Ying Zhao also inherited Ying Zheng's intelligence. This combination is truly invincible.
When asked why he was so good at deceiving people, he said he learned it all from his younger sister, Xing Shu.
These brother and sister grew up completely deceiving each other.
Unlike Ying Zhao, who was sweet-talking and eloquent, Xing Shu was not very talkative, spoke little, and had a cold and cute face. She knew very well that she was beautiful, so she often used her face to bewitch people, and then took advantage of their unguarded moment to make her move.
Ying Zhao was often beaten by his younger sister.
Chasing people with swords became a tradition for the children of the Ying family. Ying Zheng himself did this; he even forged a small sword for his daughter, not made of wood, but of steel and bronze, capable of cutting through iron like mud.
She was the reincarnation of the Overlord. Ji Changyue said that she was exactly the same as Ying Zheng in his childhood, with a fierce appearance that was cut from the same mold. Fortunately, she was restrained in various ways and did not do anything heinous.
Xing Shu's honesty and gentleness were reserved only for her mother. Every time she was in Ban Ban's arms, she was incredibly well-behaved, always wanting hugs or kisses, and she loved to sleep on her mother's body.
Neither of these two children is ordinary.
After dealing with the children's issues, Banban sighed, "Your son is glib and smooth-talking, and your daughter is ruthless and doesn't talk much."
"That's good." Ying Zheng was reading the memorials and didn't even look up.
"Once the waterways and land routes in the country are fully completed, I will have my men raze the Xiongnu's homeland to the ground." It's not enough to just drive them away; he won't let them taste the consequences of invading Qin.
Banban coaxed him, "Alright, alright, I'll support whatever my cousin wants to do."
Ying Zheng immediately said, "Let's go on a tour after winter. On this trip to the east, we'll also visit Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan ceremony."
Isn't this going out a bit too much? And was that just a side trip? You're probably only going on the tour for the purpose of the Fengshan ceremony!
Ying Zheng: "Heh, you were lying after all."
"...Go! Go!" There was no time to hesitate. "I'm going to perform the Fengshan ceremony, no one can stop me!"
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Author's Note: Here we go! Extra chapter as usual, 11:30 PM.
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