Volume 1: Entering Great Qin Chapter 16: Crisis Situation

  "I am guilty." Hu Hai's voice devoid of any emotion caused Li Si to tremble involuntarily as he kowtowed, hastily knocking his head on the ground.

  "All right, Li Aiqing, calm down. Think again, is there really nothing you want to say to me?" Hu Hai said calmly.

  Li Si hastily thanked and stood up. Li Si was also thinking about what the emperor wanted him to say. In fact, Hu Hai had wrongly blamed Li Si, who really did not know what the emperor wanted him to say.

  When Li Si first met Hu Hai, he was shocked to hear that Zhao Gao had been killed by Hu Hai. In his opinion, even if Hu Hai were to kill himself, he would not have slaughtered Zhao Gao, because Zhao Gao had grown up with Hu Hai and their feelings for each other were extremely deep.

  Moreover, Li Si did not believe that Zhao Gao would plot to assassinate Hu Hai. If he wanted Hu Hai's life, he wouldn't have forced himself and him together to alter the will of the First Emperor and push Hu Hai onto the imperial throne.

  The current Hu Hai is completely different from the Hu Hai he previously knew. Thinking back to how he used to be familiar with many ministers and exercise both kindness and authority, that was something the previous mediocre Hu Hai who only knew how to indulge in pleasure could not do or even think of.

  If it weren't for the tens of thousands of imperial guards around Hu Hai, Li Si would have even thought that the current Hu Hai had been replaced, but with tens of thousands of imperial guards protecting him day and night, how could a great Qin emperor be replaced?

  This time Li Si was right, Hu Hai had been switched, the person hadn't changed, but the soul and consciousness inside were no longer the original Hu Hai.

  Before, when Hu Hai abandoned a group of senior officials and led the Imperial Guard generals to advance first, Li Si's first thought upon receiving Meng Gang's edict was that the Emperor wanted to kill him. However, on his way there, he carefully thought it over and realized that if the Emperor had wanted to kill him, Hu Hai could have done so before entering Xianyang, when he still held the power to kill Zhao Gao, and no one would have dared to say anything about it.

  It is now obvious to many ministers that it is unnecessary for him to kill himself again in front of everyone, so Li Si quickly eliminated this speculation.

  The only thing he could think of was the conspiracy of the sand dunes. Now that Zhao Gao is dead, there's only himself left as a party involved. Does His Majesty want him to speak about this matter? But if His Majesty doesn't mean it that way, wouldn't speaking about this matter be tantamount to using it to threaten His Majesty? Wouldn't that be equivalent to seeking his own death?

  Is the Emperor really going to kill himself? But this is also too much. Thinking of this, Li Si's heart was nervous, and he secretly glanced at Hu Hai, seeing that Hu Hai was looking at him with a playful expression, and then hastily buried his head and said: "Your Majesty, I am terrified. Please enlighten me." Sweat rolled down from his forehead.

  Hu Hai saw that the timing was right and opened his mouth: "Doesn't Chancellor Li want to tell me about the situation with the rebellious people in Suiyang Prefecture?"

  When Li Si heard Hu Hai's words, he suddenly felt as if he had heard the music of heaven, and his heart was instantly relieved. He secretly let out a long sigh of relief and hastily knelt down to say: "Your old minister is too delighted to see Your Majesty, and has forgotten such important matters. Please punish your minister."

  Hu Hai reluctantly curled his lip and said, "Alright, alright, get up and talk. What's the current situation with the rebels?"

  "Yesterday, I received a report that the rebels have gained momentum. In addition to the original three rebel groups, the counties of Dang, Si, Jiujiang, Chen, and Nan have all seen rebellions break out, with rebels killing officials of our dynasty."

  Upon hearing Li Si's words, Hu Hai's heart sank. Indeed, as soon as someone ignited the flames, this rebellion would spread like wildfire. "Have there been any recent reports on Zhang Er and Chen Yu, Liu Bang, and Xiang Liang, those three factions of rioting civilians?" Hu Hai asked.

  Li Si replied without hesitation: "At present, there is no news of these three groups of rebels."

  Huhai felt a bit annoyed in his heart, stood up and walked two circles, saying: "Is there any abnormal situation in the various counties of Guanzhong?" The lack of news from Liu Bang made Huhai feel uneasy, but now he had no choice. At this critical moment, the various counties of Guanzhong must not have any problems.

  "The various counties in Guanzhong have not yet seen any rebellious commoners taking up arms, but I have received reports that the remnants of the Six States and wealthy households within Xianyang are frequently making suspicious movements. If this continues, there may be unforeseen consequences." Li Si replied solemnly.

  Now he truly felt the change in Hu Hai, all the questions Hu Hai had just asked were the most important aspects to pay attention to now. The Guanzhong was on the verge of collapse, and what exactly happened when the Emperor went on his eastern tour was the biggest question that had been lingering in Li Si's mind.

  "Closely monitor the six nations' remnants and wealthy households with unusual movements, report to me immediately if there's any change." Hu Hai ordered Li Si calmly despite his anxious heart.

  He then roughly introduced Hu Hai to the livelihood of the people in Guanzhong and other aspects. Seeing that Hu Hai was somewhat tired, Li Si tactfully suggested withdrawing, but Hu Hai still had business to attend to with Wang Yi and others, so he waved his hand to let him withdraw.

  When Li Si was about to leave the palace gate, Hu Hai suddenly said: "Li Ai Qing, I don't want anyone else to know about the affair of Shaqiu, otherwise..."

  Li Si, who was about to leave the palace, hastily turned back and knelt down on the ground, saying: "Your Majesty's servant has never heard of the affair at Sand Hill."

  Very pleased with Li Si's reaction, Hu Hai waved his hand and said: "I love the minister Li for being loyal to the country. Our great Qin still needs Minister Li to work hard, go and rest now."

  Li Si retreated with a mixture of fear and trepidation, only realizing that his robes were completely drenched when he walked out of the palace. He looked back at the majestic hall with a complex expression before hurrying away, eager to find out what had happened during Hu Hai's eastern tour.

  ………

  Li Si had just left when Hu Hai ordered a palace maid who was waiting outside the hall to bring Wang Li and others over.

  When Wang Li and others arrived, Hu Hai was intently looking at a huge map of the Qin Dynasty hanging in the center of the main hall. This was what Hu Hai had specially ordered the palace maid to bring and hang in the main hall while waiting for Wang Li and others.

  Huhai heard the footsteps stop, and Wang Li and others who were about to pay their respects pointed at the map and said: "You've come just in time. The prime minister has just told me that there are rebels rising up in Dunqiu, Sishui, Jiujiang, Chen, Nan and other counties. I think it won't be long before our great Qin is plunged into chaos throughout the six states under the push of the remnants of the six states."

  Wang Li and others also changed their faces when they heard Hu Hai's words, apparently no one had expected things to develop so quickly.

  "Moreover, the various counties in Guanzhong, which were initially inhabited by the six nationalities and wealthy families relocated here by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, are also frequently on the move, restless and eager to take action. Therefore, it can be said that our great Qin has never experienced such a huge change before. If we are not careful, our great Qin will disintegrate and the country will cease to exist."

  He said here, Hu Hai sighed with a self-reproachful face: "It's all because I was young and ignorant before, the great Qin state was ruined by me to this extent today. I'm ashamed of my ancestors, ashamed of my father's trust."

  The current situation is indeed not what Hu Hai had expected. His original ambition was completely disrupted by this sudden peasant uprising, and now it's not about what ambitions are left, but even his own life may be in danger if he doesn't handle things properly.

  Hu Hai originally knew very little about the history of the Qin Dynasty during this period, and apart from a few famous historical figures, he suddenly found himself facing the chaotic situation of the Great Qin with no countermeasures, not knowing where to start.

  Wang Li and others, upon hearing Hu Hai's self-reproach, hastily consoled him, fearing that he would become despondent. Hu Hai waved his hand and said: "I'm fine, but what good strategies do you, my dear ministers, have to deal with the current situation?"

  If it's said that Wang Li and others are still quite skilled, but when facing the current situation where the survival of Qin is at stake, no one dares to make reckless decisions, fearing that a single mistake would lead to losing the city and land, which would be a small matter, but as a result, Qin would perish and they themselves would become the eternal sinners of Qin. Therefore, Wang Li and others looked at each other in dismay, not daring to speak.

  Hu Hai also knew that it was unrealistic to let these generals who only knew how to lead troops and fight come up with strategies for him, so he saw all the generals looking embarrassed and no one responded for a long time without blaming him too much.

  King Wang looked at the worried Hu Hai and suddenly thought of someone, his face filled with joy: "Your Majesty, there is one person who can resolve the current crisis for our Great Qin."

  "Who is it?" Hu Hai grasped Wang Li's arm and asked urgently.

  "Guō wèi wèi liáo."