Chapter 28: The First Emperor of Qin (1)

  After a heavy rain in Guanzhong, the Wei River surged violently.

  The turbid river water, winding around Xianyang, rushes and roars, with a fierce momentum. The willows by the riverbank sway gently in the wind. A small white flower on the roadside is blooming, dancing with the willow branches, displaying a charming posture. The autumn sky is cool and pleasant, it's already late summer and early autumn, the 800-mile Qin River Valley is full of charm... This year, it must be another bumper harvest, the old Qin people's hearts are filled with joy.

  In Xianyang Palace, the 40-year-old King Zheng of Qin sat high on his throne. His sharp eyes scanned over the officials in the hall.

  Qin Wang Zheng, originally named Ying Zheng, was born in Handan, Zhao State. He had been a hostage there and spent his childhood. For the humiliation inflicted on him by the people of Zhao State at that time, Ying Zheng repaid with the massacre of the people of Handan. From the day he ascended to the throne, intrigue and slaughter seemed to have never stopped. However, step by step, he came through. As for the hardships in between, who knows?

  Now, the six states have perished, and the four seas are united as one.

  From the first year of Lu Yin Gong (722 BC) in the Spring and Autumn Period, to today, it has finally come to an end with a grand unification.

  Every end is actually just a red sleeve adding fragrance to the net.

  No matter how excited the old Qin people were, no matter how reckless the courtiers were, but Ying Zheng remained calm. In front of him was an empire that stretched from the East China Sea to Lintao in the west and north to the borders of the northern regions, with a vast territory that had never been seen since ancient times. How to govern this powerful and vast empire had become an important problem that Ying Zheng could not avoid.

  In fact, after Wang Jian launched an attack on Chu State, Ying Zheng and his advisors had been discussing this matter all along.

  "Now six countries have been destroyed, and the world is unified."

  Ying Zheng stood up tall, his eight-foot frame towering above the rest. Although he was not particularly outstanding among the older Qin people, in this imperial court, everyone had to look up to him. His broad shoulders and robust physique gave off an aura of oppression as soon as he stood up.

  "Our predecessors, the Qin kings, have always hoped for eternal peace within the universe and an end to armed conflict. This wish has finally been fulfilled under the protection of our ancestors by me, the humble one. Now that the situation in the world has changed, my title may also need to be changed; otherwise, it would be impossible to demonstrate our success today, nor could we distinguish ourselves from previous generations, and future generations would not understand... everything they have is given by me."

  In words, it brought out the proud attitude unique to winners.

  In the Xianyang Palace, there was a moment of silence before a minister stepped forward and bowed his head, saying: "Your Majesty's words are extremely correct. In ancient times, the Five Emperors only had a territory of a thousand miles, and whether the vassals were obedient or came to pay homage was not something that could be decided by the king. Now, Your Majesty has raised righteous troops, punished the remnants of the rebels, and brought peace to the world. The law can be enforced on the masses, and orders are issued by one person. This is an unprecedented event since ancient times, who can compare with Your Majesty?"

  "What the Minister of Justice said is absolutely right!"

  This minister's name is Li Si, he originated from the Legalist school and was highly favored by Qin Shi Huang.

  Whether he represented Qin Shi Huang's thoughts or not is another matter, but in fact, no one can refute him.

  Ying Zheng nodded in satisfaction!

  To speak of observing words and expressions, to speak of divining one's own thoughts, in the imperial court, indeed no one can be compared with Li Si.

  He didn't say a word, quietly waiting for Li Si to continue. There was a faint feeling that Li Si would definitely say something that would satisfy him.

  "Your servant has discussed this with the doctors, and in ancient times there were Heaven Emperor, Earth Emperor, and Grand Emperor, of which the Grand Emperor was the most honorable. Your servant dares to die to advise that our king's title should be advanced to 'Grand Emperor'. At the same time, to distinguish from the old system, apart from the emperor's title, our king should also create his own appellation. Your servant dares to die again to advise that our king should call himself 'Zhen', and others should not use it again. At the same time, change the name of 'Ming' to 'Zhao', and change the name of 'Ling' to 'Chao', is it permissible or not?"

  The whole hall was filled with civil and military officials, whispering to each other, discussing Li Si's words.

  Ying Zheng fell into a moment of contemplation, then suddenly let out a gentle cough. In an instant, the imperial court was silent, with everyone's eyes fixed on Ying Zheng.

  Turning around, Ying Zheng looked at the Wen Gong Xiu Long wall carving behind him and said in a deep voice: "The words of the Ting Wei are very much in line with my intentions. However, the title 'Tai Huang' is still difficult to distinguish from ancient conventions. I think it would be more appropriate to combine the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, now change the king's title to Emperor, how about that?"

  Not a few people gasped in shock.

  Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

  This is a title that has never been used before, and it also reveals Qin Zheng's ambition to surpass the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

  "Your Majesty's sacred decree! Your Majesty's virtues surpass those of the Three Sovereigns, and your achievements exceed those of the Five Emperors. The title 'Emperor' is fitting for you without any shame. I risk my life to remonstrate once more, and beg that Your Majesty take the title 'First Emperor'. Only then can everything be made manifest, with all things beginning from our August Emperor. I humbly request that Your Majesty take the title of First Emperor!"

  The First Emperor?

  Ying Zheng was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing: "The Imperial Censor is right! From me onwards, the emperors will be counted in order, two, three, all the way to ten thousand generations, passing down endlessly. Only this way can my achievements be truly displayed... Li Si, well said, you shall be heavily rewarded!"

  "Your Majesty, I thank you!"

  Li Si kowtowed and thanked Ying Zheng.

  Immediately afterwards, all the officials in the court crawled on the grand hall, shouting "Long live Your Majesty, Great Qin forever" and the words echoed in the sky above Xianyang Palace.

  "Oh no, oh no!"

  Cao Wushang rushed into the small courtyard, saw Liu Quan exercising, and grabbed his arm, "Have you heard? Have you heard?"

  Liu Jian's body has recovered a lot, and most of the wounds on his body have healed.

  Wearing only underwear, bare feet, hair disheveled, standing in the courtyard, facing a bamboo pole, whipping himself loudly.

  Covered in sweat, Cao Wujin grabbed Liu Jian's arm, and Liu Jian instinctively used a releasing technique. Cao Wujin only felt his hand slip, and immediately he was countered by Liu Jian, his arm seemingly clamped by an iron pincer, the pain causing Cao Wujin to yell loudly, repeatedly shouting: "Let go, let go!"

  Liu Guansong let go of his hand and said with a smile: "Old Cao, how did you become so weak after lying at home for a few days? You can't even take a punch?"

  "Nonsense, don't you see how much strength I have? It's just me, called Aqina, and I'm about to cry... But these days, Aqina hasn't been seen much, what is he doing? You two are sneaking around, what are you planning?"

  Before he could finish speaking, Cao Wu Shang felt his head being violently struck.

  Teng Di opened his mouth, turned his head and was about to get angry, when he saw Shen Shi's face full of annoyance, "Who did you say became a sissy just now?"

  "Ah!"

  Liu Kan couldn't help but laugh and say: "Don't chew your tongue, or you'll be struck by lightning!"

  "What's with the sneaking around? I have something very important to do... Hehe, I'm planning to team up with Ah Kan to make some money, Old Tang has also invested, and we're going all out. These past few days I've been running around non-stop, and wouldn't you know it, I really did find a great spot."

  "Make money?"

  Cao Wu Shang curled his lip and turned his head, saying: "A Qian, do you want to follow in the footsteps of that merchant? I advise you not to... With your excellent martial arts skills, you'll rise to prominence sooner or later. My old master also said that County Magistrate appreciates you very much and often praises you privately."

  Liu Quan just smiled and did not respond to Cao Wushang's words.

  "Lao Cao, you were wailing and howling just now. What on earth happened? Your leg injury hasn't healed properly yet, don't make it worse!"