Upon hearing this, Meng Tian's face lit up with excitement; at least his trip hadn't been in vain!
"Let's go! Quickly go and meet the master."
Lu Li's battle with the Xiongnu severely weakened them, forcing them to flee in panic to Beigu, and even causing their Great Chanyu to die by Lu Li's sword.
For the next few decades, the Xiongnu were no longer able to covet the Central Plains.
When the news reached Xianyang, Ying Zheng was overjoyed!
His initial thought was that he would be content with just reclaiming the Hetao region, but he never expected that Meng Tian and Lu Li would actually destroy the Xiongnu's stronghold.
They also harvested countless cattle and sheep, especially cattle, which were in dire need of oxen for the Qin Dynasty at the time. This batch of cattle truly solved their immediate problem.
"Great, that's wonderful!"
"Zhao Gao! Will you return to Xianyang with Meng Tian?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Your Majesty, the master has sent word that he has returned directly to Yunmeng Mountain and will not be returning with General Meng to report back."
These words made Ying Zheng's face darken, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"That's enough, that's enough."
Since ascending the throne, Ying Zheng has been busy with state affairs every day, and he has not seen Lu Li even once in all these years.
He wanted to go to Yunmeng Mountain, but he simply didn't have the time.
I thought that this great victory over the Xiongnu would allow me to meet Lu Li.
However, Ying Zheng was very happy to have achieved a great victory over the Xiongnu. When Meng Tian returned to the capital in triumph, Ying Zheng held a grand banquet for his officials to celebrate Meng Tian's success.
"I intend to appoint Meng Tian as Protector-General and you, sir, as Imperial Preceptor! What are your thoughts?"
During the banquet, Ying Zheng expressed his thoughts.
The other civil and military officials naturally had no objections. Meng Tian had made such a great contribution this time that it would not be excessive to confer a marquis title upon him, let alone a Protector of the Nation General title.
Lu Li had always been Ying Zheng's most trusted person, and he was the one who personally beheaded the Xiongnu Chanyu in this battle, so no one objected.
But Chunyu Yue alone stood up at this moment, openly contradicting Ying Zheng.
"Your Majesty! I have an objection!"
Ying Zheng got a headache whenever he saw Chunyu Yue; the old man always seemed to contradict him.
But he couldn't kill them, because there were too many Confucian scholars in the world!
Killing Chunyu Yue would be tantamount to offending all the Confucian scholars in the world, something that Ying Zheng was still hesitant to do.
"Any objections?" Ying Zheng asked, frowning.
Chunyu Yue first bowed and performed a series of rituals before speaking, "I believe it is inappropriate to appoint Lu Li as the Imperial Preceptor!"
"Oh? Why is it inappropriate?" Ying Zheng's voice was now low, and a hint of killing intent was revealed in his eyes.
“Lu Li holds no official position and is not even in Xianyang. To appoint him as the Imperial Preceptor is neither in accordance with propriety nor law.”
If this had been said to someone else, Ying Zheng might have hesitated a bit, since Chunyu Yue's words made sense.
But the person he opposed was Lu Li, and Ying Zheng was instantly enraged!
"How dare you!"
Ying Zheng roared, startling all the civil and military officials at the banquet, who immediately knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.
Even Meng Tian, who had just made a great contribution, knelt down, silently thinking, "It's over, it's over, Chunyu Yue is doomed!"
Li Si knelt beside Ying Zheng, but he could barely suppress the urge to smile.
Over the years, he and Chunyu Yue have had many disagreements on political views, and the two argue almost every day.
Although Ying Zheng favored him, he did not take any action against Chunyu Yue.
But at this moment, Chunyu Yue dared to openly oppose Lu Li's investiture, which touched Ying Zheng's sore spot.
Over the years, anyone who dared to attack Lu Li has been executed by Ying Zheng.
Do you not remember Han Fei back then? How much Ying Zheng loved him? He was even willing to wage war to obtain Han Fei.
Even though he knew Han Fei was a spy, Ying Zheng gave him chances again and again, unwilling to kill him.
It wasn't until he impeached Lu Li and touched Ying Zheng's sore spot that Han Fei was executed.
How much more precious is Chunyu Yue than Han Fei?
Chunyu Yue was also frightened by Ying Zheng's actions and knelt on the ground, but still forced himself to say, "Your Majesty! He is a man out of office, and just because of this victory over the Xiongnu, he directly appoints Lu Li as the Grand Preceptor. Wouldn't that chill the hearts of the civil and military officials?"
Ying Zheng jumped up from the ground, his eyes blazing with anger as he glared at Chunyu Yue.
"You talk about merits? Then let me list out your merits for you!"
"Even before I assumed personal rule, you had already pledged your loyalty to me!"
"They plotted to kill Lao Ai, exposed Cheng Jiao's rebellion, and sent Wang Jian to rescue the emperor from afar!"
"Before my Great Qin ventured eastward, you, sir, used the strategies of alliances and counter-alliances to break the alliance of the six states, which gave my Qin the opportunity to destroy Han, defeat Zhao, and attack Wei! We then took over the lands of the Three Jin states! Our eastward expansion was now worry-free!"
"If it weren't for your brilliant strategies during the attack on Chu, Xianyang would have fallen! I would have become a prisoner!"
"Don't you consider any of these things, each and every one of them, to be meritorious deeds?"
"Then let me ask you, what have you done for my Great Qin?"
Ying Zheng's question was so forceful that it made all the civil and military officials present break out in a cold sweat.
Many of them were newly promoted and didn't know much about Lu Li.
However, they had long heard of Lu Li's great name. The leader of the Black Ice Guard was once second only to the emperor in the Qin state! Even the current prime minister, Li Si, could not compare to him.
However, after the Qin state unified the world, this Mr. Lu went into seclusion and no longer concerned himself with court affairs.
It is said that this time, the defeat of the Xiongnu was also due to the advice and strategies given to Meng Tian by this Mr. Lu, which led to the great victory over the Xiongnu.
Chunyu Yue was a stubborn man who was completely incapable of assessing the situation. Or rather, he relied on his Confucian identity and was certain that Ying Zheng would not dare to kill him, so he continued to provoke Ying Zheng.
"How can past achievements be compared to the present?"
"Your Majesty's construction of the Great Wall was already a waste of resources and manpower! And launching a war against the Xiongnu only made things worse! This war was a mistake from the start; it should have been..."
Before Chunyu Yue could finish speaking, Ying Zheng roared, "Insolence! You're being insolent!"
"Guards! Throw Chunyu Yue into the imperial prison!"
Ying Zheng completely lost his temper. The guards rushed in, seized Chunyu Yue, and then took him away.
All the civil and military officials present did not dare to utter a sound, let alone plead for Chunyu Yue.
Li Si knelt on the ground, feeling incredibly happy!
Meanwhile, Zhao Gao's eyes instantly turned ruthless. This Chunyu Yue actually dared to oppose the Master!
Zhao Gao didn't have much affection for Confucianism either, but since he had always been at odds with Li Si, it didn't really concern him.
But things were different now. Chunyu Yue dared to oppose Lu Li, which meant he had touched Zhao Gao's sore spot.
The banquet ended unhappily, and Ying Zheng returned to the harem in a rage, constantly cursing Chunyu Yue and vowing to kill him!
At this critical juncture, Fusu unexpectedly came to plead for Chunyu Yue.
"Father, what Master Yue said is not entirely without reason!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
