Ying Zheng reached out as if to grab something, but slowly lowered his arm and fell into Fusu's arms.
In 210 BC, Emperor Ying Zheng died on his eastern tour.
In his lifetime, he unified the six kingdoms, ending the fragmentation and chaos that had existed since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and making China a unified multi-ethnic feudal state.
It was from him that subsequent emperors all aimed to unify the world.
Politically, he established a feudal autocratic centralized system, strengthened his rule over the country, and made the country more stable and orderly.
He also stipulated that the supreme ruler should be called the emperor, and established the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers to assist him in governing the country.
The standardization of writing, currency, and weights and measures made economic and cultural exchanges between different regions more convenient and smoother.
He fought against the Xiongnu in the north, built the Great Wall, conquered the Baiyue in the south, and constructed the Lingqu Canal, thus protecting the country's security and territorial integrity.
No matter how much later generations criticize him, they cannot erase his transformative impact on history; he truly is an emperor of all time!
With Ying Zheng's death and the Qin army's eastern tour over, Fusu was to return to Xianyang to succeed to the throne.
If Lu Li were awake, he would be astonished to discover that the wheels of history had indeed changed.
Zhao Gao did not alter Ying Zheng's will because he was loyal to Ying Zheng, but even more loyal to Lu Li.
He had promised Lu Li that he would never do anything to harm the Qin Dynasty, and since Ying Zheng had already made a will, he would abide by it.
After returning to Xianyang, Ying Zheng was carried into the imperial mausoleum. Fusu wanted to observe a year of mourning, but the Confucian scholars feared that delay would lead to unforeseen changes, so they proposed that a country cannot be without a ruler for a day and that Fusu should immediately ascend the throne!
In 210 AD, Fusu succeeded to the throne and became the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty!
After becoming the Second Emperor of Qin, he did not remove Li Si from his post, but instead promoted Zhao Gao to Grand Commandant. However, just as Li Si had expected, Fusu began to heavily rely on Confucian scholars.
The promotion of Shusun Tong, a Confucian scholar, to the position of Grand Censor led to a power struggle among three factions within the court over the Three Dukes (the Three Dukes of the Qin Dynasty were the Chancellor, the Grand Commandant, and the Grand Censor).
Li Si represented the Legalists, Zhao Gao represented the Strategists, and Shusun Tong represented the Confucians.
Fusu kept in mind Ying Zheng's dying words: to use the art of emperorship to balance the court.
However, unlike Ying Zheng, Fusu favored Confucianism, and often rejected Li Si's suggestions.
"Your Majesty! In my opinion, a benevolent ruler has no need for an organization like the Black Ice Guard!"
Shusun Tong was trying to persuade Fusu in his study.
In the eyes of Confucianists, the Black Ice Guard was notorious because they controlled all the intelligence in the world, and Zhao Gao was already the Grand Commandant, wielding immense power!
With the added support of the Black Ice Platform, he is now second only to the emperor and above all others!
Fusu had actually advised Ying Zheng to abolish the Black Ice Platform a long time ago, but was scolded by Ying Zheng.
Firstly, the Black Ice Platform was created by Lu Li, who also made great contributions during the destruction of the six kingdoms.
Secondly, as a monarch, there must be such an institution to supervise all officials.
"But... the Black Ice Platform was created by Mr. Lu. How dare I go against the late emperor's wishes?"
Fusu had heard about Lu Li since he was a child.
He knew all too well just how important Lu Li was in his father Ying Zheng's heart!
"Your Majesty! During the reign of the late emperor, the six kingdoms had just been unified, and the nobles of the six kingdoms were eager to make a move. Naturally, the Black Ice Guard was needed to monitor them."
"Now that our Great Qin is thriving, how dare those petty people have any more improper thoughts? Then the existence of the Black Ice Guard is unnecessary."
Upon hearing this, Fusu nodded, finding Shusun Tong's words to be quite reasonable.
He felt that Zhao Gao's power was indeed too great, and he also had a vague sense of unease.
"Your Majesty, at tomorrow's morning court session, I will join other ministers in submitting a memorial requesting Your Majesty to abolish the Black Ice Guard!"
"In that case, let's do as you say!"
...................
Xianyang City, the Grand Commandant's Mansion.
Zhao Gao had already received the news that Shusun Tong advised Fusu to abolish the Black Ice Terrace.
Now, the Xianyang Palace is practically filled with people from the Black Ice Guard, and even the slightest disturbance will reach Zhao Gao's ears.
Even though Fusu had been replaced by a different group of people, they were still all from the Black Ice Guard.
"What a brilliant Shusun Tong!"
A ruthless glint appeared in Zhao Gao's eyes. He and Shusun Tong often clashed, and their opinions often differed in court.
But now he's actually setting his sights on the Black Ice Platform, which is something Zhao Gao absolutely cannot tolerate!
"Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!"
Zhao Gao recalled the scene when Lu Li was sent as an envoy to the State of Qi. At the Prime Minister's residence in Qi, Lu Li pointed at a deer and called it a horse, and pointed at water and called it wine. This scene was deeply etched in his mind!
Overnight, every household of Qin officials, high and low, received a bamboo slip containing evidence of their past embezzlement and illegal activities.
Once exposed, it's enough to lead to the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan!
All the officials, big and small, panicked. They immediately realized that this was the work of the Black Ice Guard, but they didn't know why the Black Ice Guard did this.
The next day, when the court was in session, Shusun Tong submitted a memorial proposing to abolish the Black Ice Guard!
The officials present were all shocked! Only then did they realize that it was because of this matter.
But they dared not agree to Shusun Tong's request, because the Black Ice Guard held leverage over them.
Only a few Confucian officials stood up to support Shusun Tong. When Fusu saw this, he was immediately alarmed. So many civil and military officials, yet only a handful supported him.
"My dear ministers... what do you think?" Fusu asked.
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