Chapter 42: The Whip of Blame

  "We are willing to die for Your Majesty!"

  Many high-ranking officials under the hall simultaneously knelt down on the ground and shouted in unison.

  Huhai, who had just stood up, heard this sentence and couldn't help but roll his eyes. Damn it, how come it's always this sentence? Is this sentence a catchphrase in the official circles of the Great Qin Empire? So many people are excited at this moment, and they all say the same thing over and over again.

  White eyes return to white eyes, things still need to be done, whether it's true loyalty or false loyalty, as long as the army is in one's own hands, no one can turn the sky upside down on this three-point land of Xianyang.

  "Gentlemen, please rise."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  After all the high-ranking officials sat down one by one, the atmosphere in the grand hall was different again.

  Those who had plans in their hearts before now see the changes in Hu Hai and naturally have new plans. Those who didn't understand Hu Hai's changes before are now clear, and to describe it in one word, all high-ranking officials are full of energy.

  Huhai scanned around and was extremely satisfied in his heart. He said to Meng Tian,

  "Mo Yan loves you, now which general is stationed in Jiuyuan and leading the army?"

  "Your Majesty, it should be General Xin Sheng of Jiuyuan who is commanding the troops now."

  "Oh, Xinsu. Then according to your opinion, if the Huns were to march south and attack our Great Qin to take the land of Hexi, how many troops should we send out?"

  "Your Majesty, during the time of the First Emperor, the Xiongnu repeatedly invaded our territory of Jiuyuan, attempting to seize the land of Hexi. They were all repelled by me. The most recent instance was in the autumn of the 32nd year of the First Emperor's reign, when the Xiongnu chanyu Touman led an army of 500,000 against our territory of Jiuyuan, but was defeated by Fu Su, myself and General Zhang Han at a place south of the Yellow River."

  "The head of the Man tribe, with over 500,000 people under his leadership, was beheaded by us, and more than 300,000 were killed. The rest all fled."

  The other officials heard Meng Tian say that Fusu was going to destroy the Xiongnu, and they all changed color in their faces. They were worried about Meng Tian's recklessness, and Meng Tian himself was secretly observing Hu Hai's facial expression.

  "Good! Big brother is indeed clever and brave! Unfortunately..."

  Hu Hai's expression remained unchanged as he loudly praised, then his face showed a painful and regretful look. Unfortunately, he didn't say what he was thinking, because he knew that what he regretted was definitely different from what the officials in the hall were thinking.

  He didn't say it out loud, but the many officials in the hall were all thinking to themselves. Hu Hai said to Meng Tian that Fu Su's expression didn't change, and with a painful look on his face, he said what a pity, which clearly showed that he had no guilt in his heart, and also did not blame Meng Tian for it.

  This can only explain one problem, the Emperor Qin Shi Huang really passed on the throne to Huhai and not Fusu. So Fusu could only be ordered by the Emperor Qin Shi Huang to commit suicide. All for the sake of removing hidden dangers for Huhai.

  "Long live Your Majesty!"

  Many officials present, including the Meng brothers, saw Hu Hai's sorrowful face and advised in unison. Especially Meng Tian and Meng Yi were full of remorse, obviously regretting their previous suspicions about Hu Hai.

  Why can Hu Hai remain calm? Because Fu Su was not killed by him, but by his predecessor. This has nothing to do with the current Hu Hai. It is based on this that Hu Hai can be calm and regretful towards Fu Su.

  Of course, if Huhai knew that because of Meng Tian mentioning the name Fusu, such an effect would be caused among the ministers, he would definitely let Meng Tian say it twice.

  Huhai listened to the words of comfort from the group of ministers and waved his hand, saying: "You don't have to do this, Meng Ai. Please continue speaking."

  "It is Your Majesty. It has been more than seven years since the Xiongnu last invaded southward, and if they were to invade the Henan region again at this moment, I believe that the number of troops invading would be over 300,000 cavalrymen, and definitely not as many as 400,000 cavalrymen."

  Meng Tian's way is as sharp as a knife cutting through iron.

  "Hmm. In your opinion, how many soldiers will Jiuyuan need to deploy in order to resist the 300,000-strong Xiongnu cavalry's southern invasion?"

  "If I were to lead an army of 90,000 men to the nine origins, with the Great Wall and natural barriers in place, we would need at least 200,000 soldiers." Meng Tian thought for a moment before responding.

  "General Meng Yi, if you were in command, how many troops would be needed to merely hold off the Xiongnu and prevent them from advancing south?"

  Huhai listened to Meng Tian's words and suddenly turned to ask Meng Yi, who had been silent all along.

  The officials under the hall were obviously unaccustomed to Hu Hai's sudden thinking, and when they heard his words, they all paused at the same time, thinking that Your Majesty wanted to transfer General Meng Yi to lead the army in Jiuyuan?

  Meng Yi, from the time he saw Hu Hai until now, except for when he made a courtesy call to express his loyalty and shouted a few words with many other officials in the hall, had not spoken at all. He just sat quietly, and it was unclear what he was thinking about.

  At this moment, Hu Hai suddenly asked about Meng Yi's head, and Meng Yi was confused for a while. After reacting, he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the minister has no experience in leading the army, and this is really not answerable."

  Meng Tian said at this time: "Your Majesty, Wei's younger brother is a civil official, and he is probably..." The rest of the words were not spoken by him, but everyone knew what they were.

  "Zhang Ai Qing is also a civil official, but he has also led the army in battle. Your Mong family and Wang family are both great military families of our Great Qin, I think you, Mong Wei, will not disappoint me."

  Everyone was convinced by Hu Hai's words, and it was indeed true that he wanted Meng Yi to lead the army to Jiuquan to defend against the Xiongnu's impending southern invasion. Does Your Majesty really want to eliminate the entire Meng clan?

  Meng Tian fell silent upon hearing Hu Hai's words, and Meng Yi's expression also changed. After a long time, Meng Yi stood up, bowed, and said in a loud voice:

  "I, your humble subject, am willing to lead an army of 200,000 men for Your Majesty to attack the nine regions of the border and ensure that the Xiongnu barbarians cannot advance southward by even a single inch."

  "Good! As expected, the Meng family is indeed loyal to me, the great Qin. Li Ai, draft an edict immediately to transfer 190,000 troops from the nine origins into the pass, under the command of General Meng Tian. Meng Yi will lead 200,000 soldiers and guards to defend against the Xiongnu. Send a fast horse to deliver the message to the nine origins army tonight."

  "Ah!"

  "Do not worry, both of you. Tomorrow, I will discuss the matter of Jiuyuan with you again. No matter what, I will not let my pillars and cornerstones go to Jiuyuan to die. This is not just for Meng Yi, but also for all of you present."

  "Long live Your Majesty!"

  All the ministers in the hall heard Huhai's words and obviously calmed down a lot.

  "Sir, how is the census of prisoners and slaves' children in Xianyang and other places?"

  "I report to Your Majesty, this matter falls under the jurisdiction of Grand Justice Yao Jia. I have already informed him of Your Majesty's decree this morning. Please let Grand Justice Yao report back to Your Majesty on this matter."

  Wei Ling sat facing Yao Jia across from him and bowed his hands.

  "Guō Yǔ is serious. It should be so, it should be so." Yao Jia hastily returned the courtesy to Wei Yan.

  The Commandant is in charge of managing these prisoners and investigating cases, so Yao Jia is equivalent to the Minister of Public Security in later generations. Hu Hai thought to himself.

  "I report to Your Majesty, in the various prisons of Xianyang there are 236,777 people who have been accused but not yet tried, and 68,800 convicts who will be executed this autumn."

  "In Xianyang, statistics show that 187,654 slaves have given birth to children. These are the slave births that have been registered and recorded; there are also those that have not been registered or recorded... I beg Your Majesty to pardon me, for even I do not know the true number."

  Autumn execution, this is one of the oldest traditions in Huaxia. The "Lv's Spring and Autumn" says: "In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the autumn is established... In this month, the law is revised, the prison is decided, the guilty are executed, the punishment is severe, and the heaven and earth are solemn, it cannot be indulgent." Therefore, in ancient times, death row prisoners were generally executed in the fall.

  The slave-born child is born between slaves through intermarriage.

  Yao Jia said that at this point, sweat had already appeared on his forehead. This was the first time the Emperor had given a proper decree to handle something, but he himself hadn't investigated it clearly.

  It's not surprising, actually. In the mansions of many high-ranking officials in the court and those outside it, there are tens or even hundreds of household slaves, let alone the countless ones in the households of wealthy and influential families.

  However, these people are either high-ranking officials in the imperial court or have intricate relationships with certain high-ranking ministers. Without a clear edict from the emperor, how can he possibly barge into their homes one by one to investigate? If that's really the case, I reckon he'll be out of office by tomorrow.

  These issues were also clear to Hu Hai, but he decided not to ask for the time being and that the people reported by Yao Jia were sufficient for now.

  "Yao Ai Qing has worked hard. Very good. How many male and female children are there among these prisoners and slaves?"

  Upon hearing Hu Hai's words, Yao Jia let out a sigh of relief and hastily replied.

  "Your Majesty, among all prisoners, there are less than a thousand women. Among the children born to slaves, there are more than 800,000 girls."

  That's almost 400,000 people. Wei Liao was right, with these people, our own soldiers will have someone to rely on.

  The history has twisted and turned to get here, back to a crossroads. At the end of Qin, it was Zhang Han who led an army composed of Xianyang convicts and slaves to annihilate Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's rebel forces.

  Now that he needed soldiers, after turning around in circles, he still ended up relying on these convicts and slaves. He couldn't help but say to himself: "One drink, one peck, destiny is already set." Hu Hai sighed inwardly.

  "Zhang Ai Qing, immediately receive my imperial decree, to deploy 100,000 Imperial Guards who follow me on the eastern tour, with you in command. Tomorrow, work together with Yao Ai Qing to bring all the prisoners and slaves reported by him to the Weishui Great Camp for settlement. Separate men and women, and do not allow them to be detained in one place. The two of you must remember this. 100,000 Imperial Guards will take charge of guarding and watching, food and drink will be provided, but those who disobey orders and cause trouble will be killed without pardon. After I finish my duties tomorrow, I will personally go to the Weishui Great Camp to make arrangements."

  "Your Majesty, no!"

  "No, Your Majesty!"

  ……

  As soon as Hu Hai's words fell, he heard a chorus of "No" from the hall below, including Li Si, Feng Quji and Wei Lü, who had discussed plans with Hu Hai together. This made Hu Hai puzzled, we had already agreed on this before, others opposing me can be understood, what are you opposing?

  Hu Hai's face sank, and he asked with great interest:

  "Gentlemen, what's wrong? Minister Li, you speak first."

  When Hu Hai finished speaking, all the officials in the hall fell silent, and it was clear that beneath his smiling face he was furious.

  "Your Majesty, we merely agreed with General Wei's proposal to use convicts as soldiers, but there was no mention of Your Majesty personally going to the great camp."

  Upon hearing Li Si's words, the others all had an expression of "yes, that's right". Hu Hai thought for a moment, seemingly recalling that he hadn't said he would go himself, but if he didn't go, how could these armor-clad and armed men be trained? Did they think that just putting on armor and picking up weapons made them soldiers?

  "What did those other few nobles say was unacceptable?"

  Huhai ignored Li Si and the others, turning his head to look at the remaining several ministers he didn't know. These ministers looked at each other, but no one spoke up. After a while, an old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles said:

  "Your Majesty, I, your old minister, have served the great Qin since its founding. Never has there been a case where a ruler was punished. How could anyone dare to flog Your Majesty? Your body is tied to the fate of the world, for the sake of all people, I implore you to think thrice!"