Volume 1: Entering Great Qin for the First Time Chapter 29: Three Imperial Edicts of Self-Blame

  The sound of roosters crowing one after another, outside the window has already slightly brightened, and another day has begun.

  However, the crowd in the hall showed no signs of fatigue, and even Li Si, Wei Lü, and Feng Qu were spirited. Obviously, Hu Hai's change had given everyone too much excitement and motivation.

  After a night of deliberation, the overall strategy has been decided, and now it's just waiting for Hu Hai to make a final decision.

  Huhai got up and walked slowly around the main hall, everyone in the main hall stared at Huhai.

  Suddenly, Hu Hai turned around and said: "I will issue three decrees today. These three decrees will be transmitted to all parts of the country by postal relay horses."

  Li Si and others apparently did not know that Hu Hai had such an idea, but they did not interrupt him. They also wanted to hear what Hu Hai's first imperial edict would be like today.

  "The First Edict. The Edict of Self-Blame. Since I ascended to the throne, I have trusted and favored Zhao Gao, indulged in pleasures, refused to listen to loyal words, enforced severe laws and heavy labor, forgotten the people's livelihood, resulting in the collapse of governance, the loss of the people's trust, and the resurgence of the six states' remnants. Now, war has broken out again, plunging countless innocent civilians into chaos and disaster - all my fault."

  I am not governing, using extermination and imprisonment on loyal and good people, almost destroying the Great Wall, this is my fault.

  If it were not for the spirit of my deceased father emperor awakening me, I would have ruined the foundation of our great Qin dynasty for all eternity and become a sinner for all time.

  I will personally receive eighty lashes in front of the imperial city, my expenses from this decree onwards will be reduced by half to punish myself for my crime. This crime has been decreed and ordered throughout the empire, it is clear that all people of Xianyang can come forward to witness me receiving punishment."

  When Hu Hai said this, he shocked a group of ministers and generals into staring blankly and being speechless. It was not only the new term " Imperial Edict of Self-blame", but also the fact that Emperor Qin Shi Huang had appeared to Hu Hai in a dream.

  Obviously, Hu Hai's use of this "self-blame edict" after Qin was rarely seen in later dynasties. At least on the vast land of China today, there is no precedent for this.

  For this "self-criticism edict", Hu Hai must have thought for half a day and made a big sacrifice, not only ruthlessly wanting to whip himself, but also wanting to reduce his own food, drink, and expenses by half. Being an emperor is not easy either.

  Even if I don't take the blame myself, no one will say anything, but I should give an account for some things my previous life did, right? It's better to take the blame myself than to let others bring it up.

  At that time, I had been beaten and punished, so I thought no one would say anything else.

  Hu Hai did not notice that the crowd in the hall had been stunned by his first edict, and he continued with his head down, pacing back and forth: "Second Edict. Suspend the construction of the Mausoleum at Mount Li, suspend the construction of the palace at Mount Li, suspend the unfinished road construction."

  All the laborers recruited from these three places are released and allowed to return home. The various prefectures along the way must not cause trouble for them. Each laborer is given one dan of grain as compensation. This is the second decree.

  The third edict, abolishing the "Law of Collective Punishment" and the "Punishment of Nine Degrees of Kinship", exempting all taxes for one year. This is the third edict. What do you think, my dear ministers?

  Hu Hai stopped in front of the map hanging in the main hall and stared at it, asking.

  Shh! Wait for a while, still quiet!

  Hu Hai felt something was wrong, and he had to say something. How could it be that not one person in the whole house was speaking? He turned his head to look around, only to discover that Li Si and others were staring at him with dull eyes. Even Wei Lü, who was normally calm and composed, looked incredulous, muttering to himself and saying who-knew-what.

  Hu Hai saw that all three old men's homes were like this and couldn't help but think to himself: "No need to be so scared, right?"

  "Li Ai Qing? Feng Ai Qing? Wei Ai Qing?" Hu Hai walked up to the three old men and called out to each one, waving his hand in front of each person's eyes.

  "Your Majesty, this edict cannot be issued! It absolutely cannot be issued, Your Majesty!"

  The first one to wake up was Feng Qiju, the old prime minister. As soon as he woke up, he knelt down on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, shouting loudly.

  As soon as Feng Jue shouted loudly, Li Si and others also woke up, knelt down on the ground and said in unison: "This edict cannot be issued!"

  Even Zhang Han and Wang Li, who had already given up on Hu Hai, were unanimous in their opinion.

  "Huhai helplessly said: 'All of you, dear ministers, please rise and speak.'"

  "Your Majesty does not withdraw this edict, we will not rise from our knees."

  Feng went again in a hurry.

  As expected, he took the lead, and other Li Siwei, Lian, and Wang Li, etc. also echoed in unison.

  This is really a headache for Hu Hai, and he had no choice but to say: "Can I issue two more edicts?"

  Now it's Li Si and others' turn to be worried, they looked at each other, not knowing what the remaining two edicts were. They had just been startled by Hu Hai's first edict and didn't hear clearly what Hu Hai said about the other two edicts.

  Feng Quji was still a bit more straightforward, his neck stretched out and said: "Your Majesty's first decree is too surprising for us ministers, so we ask Your Majesty to say it again."

  When Feng Qiju spoke, Hu Hai burst out laughing. He found this old man really lovely. Love is love and hate is hate. No wonder he was locked up by his previous life. But I like it.

  However, Hu Hai did not want to let them off so easily, and pretended to be displeased, saying: "I do not rest or sleep, exhausting my mind and thoughts, but you, gentlemen, regard my words as nothing. Do you still take me seriously?"

  Everyone is not a good seedling, and it's immediately clear that the emperor is intentionally looking for trouble to haggle over prices. However, who let themselves be the ones who didn't hear what those remaining two edicts were about, allowing Hu Hai to grasp the handle.

  Feng Quji was very dissatisfied with Hu Hai's nitpicking, and his eyebrows rose again as he was about to speak.

  Hu Hai saw the old man wanting to speak and hastily said: "However, I still know the loyalty of all of you, so this matter is settled. All of you please get up first and listen to me finish reading the remaining two edicts, then we can discuss it, how about that?"

  Hu Hai has already given them a way out, if they still stubbornly refuse to get up at this time, it would be disrespectful to the emperor. Therefore, Feng Quji, Li Si and others could only thank him and get up, and the rest of the generals saw that the three senior officials had already surrendered, so they also got up neatly.

  After everyone got up and sat down, Hu Hai brought out the remaining two edicts he wanted to issue. This time, no one was frightened, but still no one spoke, each frowning in thought.

  After a while, Wei Lian spoke up first.

  "Your Majesty, the remaining two ministers have no dissenting opinions. However, should we reconsider suspending the construction of the First Emperor's Mausoleum? Moreover, this first decree concerns the dignity of the imperial family and rebukes Your Majesty; this decree absolutely cannot be issued."

  "Your Majesty, it should be so."

  Li Si and Feng went hastily.

  The remaining two edicts are obviously good things. All three of them knew that the three projects mentioned by Hu Hai had concentrated most of the strong labor force of the Great Qin, nearly five million people. Letting these people go back, although it may send troops to the six nations who are just rebelling, is better than leaving this time bomb with us?

  The abolition of corvée labor and collective punishment for clans can alleviate people's grievances, which is also a good thing.

  As for whether the construction of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang should be stopped or continued, it can only be reconsidered later, because this is also a major matter. Currently, the prestige of Emperor Qin in the hearts of the old Qin people is still unmatched by anyone.

  "The imperial mausoleum can be left with over a thousand workers to slowly build, but the rest of the mausoleums, including mine, are all stopped. I'm not dead yet, why build my mausoleum so early?" Hu Hai said with an unpleasant face.

  Now that it's been said this way, of course no one will oppose it again. Opposing now would be cursing the emperor to death, wouldn't it? Only a fool would do that.

  "As for the Edict of Self-Blame, let all of you listen to what I have to say and then decide whether to oppose or support it." Hu Hai said.

  Huang Yanjing said so, who else dares to say no? Li Si and others also had to shut their mouths, of course they also wanted to hear Hu Hai's reason.

  "I have previously acknowledged the mistakes I made. If I don't give an explanation to the people of the world, and the mouths of these subjects continue to discuss it endlessly, then what face will I have to continue sitting on this throne?"

  "If you don't give the various ministers an explanation, even if they do their jobs, they will inevitably harbor resentment. At this critical moment of survival or destruction, all of you must understand that a dike a thousand li long can be destroyed by an ant hole."

  Li Si, Feng Quji and Wei Lü remained silent after hearing Hu Hai's words, apparently knowing that what he said made sense.

  Seeing that the three men were already somewhat moved, Hu Hai decided to throw out another big banner: "Furthermore, this edict is also the will of my father." After saying these words, Hu Hai fell silent. The heavy bombshell had been thrown out, and if the three men still disagreed, there was nothing more to be done. However, with the great banner of the First Emperor, it should be no problem.

  When Hu Hai mentioned the First Emperor again, the eyes of Li Si and others flickered. At this time, apart from the majestic and wise First Emperor, who else could tolerate Hu Hai's changes and turn an ordinary person into a heroic lord?

  "Should we wait until dawn to inform all the officials and then issue an edict to the whole country?" Li Si hesitated.

  "It's unnecessary! With the two chancellors, Wei Guo Wei and all of you esteemed officials present here, it is already sufficient. Issue the imperial edict at once, proclaiming to the whole nation!"

  "We obey your orders! Your Majesty is wise and brilliant! Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"

  ………

  In the first year of the Second Emperor of Qin, on April 11th, three imperial decrees including "The Edict of Self-Blame" were dispatched to all parts of the empire amidst the thundering sound of countless relay horses' hooves.

  The world is "guilty of three edicts", opening the curtain of Hu Hai's personal rule in Qin.