Volume 1: Entering Great Qin for the First Time Chapter 65: Meng Yi Heads North (Third Update)

  When Li Si sat down again, he had regained his composure and calmness of the previous day.

  Calm Li Si soon thought of Hu Hai's intention, but what about it? If given the opportunity to choose again, Li Si would still agree with Hu Hai without hesitation, not only because it was his heart demon, but also because he was arrogant.

  As the saying goes, when people encounter happy events, their spirits are refreshed. Li Si, who had solved the heart demon that had been haunting him for decades, seemed to have rejuvenated a lot, his tall and thin body seemed to be filled with vitality all at once, and a smile appeared on his face which had always been gloomy.

  "Your Majesty, have you seen Jie'er since returning to the palace?" Li Si asked with a smile.

  What nonsense? Hu Hai was bewildered upon hearing Li Si's words.

  Li Ji, the youngest daughter of Li Si, the Prime Minister of Qin, was also his most beloved child. After Li Si became the Chancellor for King Zhuangxiang, Emperor Qin Shi Huang rewarded him by marrying off his three sons to princesses of the state of Qin. His eldest son married the emperor's eldest daughter, Princess Qin.

  The second son and the third son also married daughters of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, princesses of Great Qin. And most sons of Qin Shi Huang also married daughters of Li Si as their wives, which shows how high Li Si's status was.

  Huhai, as the youngest and most beloved son of the First Emperor, was also betrothed to Li Si's youngest and most beloved daughter, Li Ji. After Huhai came of age, the two were married by imperial order.

  Li Ji was the most beloved daughter of Li Si, and she was as beautiful as a flower. However, she did not have any spoiled or arrogant air about her. She was kind, gentle, and virtuous. It can be said that Li Si's family education was very successful, and all his children were talented and virtuous. Unfortunately, Hu Hai, in his previous life, did not like Li Ji.

  Li Si had always been lukewarm about his beloved daughter marrying Hu Hai, because he thought that Hu Hai was not a good prince, and even if he were to be pushed into the throne, it would mostly be for Li Si's own power considerations.

  It suddenly occurred to Li Si that marrying his young daughter to Hu Hai was perhaps the most correct decision he had made in this life. So, after Li Chengxiang's wish came true, he happily asked about his young daughter's situation.

  Seeing Hu Hai's daze, Li Si smiled unchanged: "It turns out that Your Majesty has not seen Ji'er yet. Two days ago, Ji'er returned to the mansion and complained that I should not have let Your Majesty suffer the punishment of flogging. He was worried about you. Today, he hasn't come, presumably because Ji'er still doesn't know that Your Majesty has already returned to the palace."

  Wei Lian couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard Li Si's words. This shameless old man had just gotten his way and was already acting like the emperor's father-in-law. Why didn't you mention this before? You really have no sense of shame.

  Li Si gave Wei Liao a cold shoulder, still smiling complacently as if saying "You think you're so capable? Why don't you give birth to a daughter and marry her off to the Emperor?"

  Wei Lu seemed to have understood Li Si's meaning as well, and glared at him with a hint of hatred.

  When Hu Hai heard Li Si's words, he suddenly understood.

  What the hell, you're still my brother-in-law? Damn it, what's going on. Why didn't anyone tell me this old man was my brother-in-law all along?

  Hu Hai was at a loss for words for a moment, feeling a bit dazed.

  Just then, Long Jiao came in to report: "Your Majesty, Meng Tian and Meng Yi, the two nobles, request an audience."

  When he heard that the Meng brothers had arrived, Hu Hai hastily said: "Quickly invite the two gentlemen to come in." These two guys really came at the right time.

  Li Si heard that Meng Tian and Meng Yi had arrived, a hint of unnaturalness flashed across his face, and he immediately closed his mouth and stopped speaking. Hu Hai was puzzled, but also delighted in this, only Wei Liao looked at Li Si with a seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling expression, and also began to feel pleased.

  The entanglement between Li Si and the Meng brothers is really too much, but in the end it was Li Si who did not behave properly, this is something that all the civil and military officials of the imperial court know today. Before, it was still okay, seeing that side where all the high-ranking officials of the imperial court were present, and Hu Hai was the main character.

  Now in this grand hall there are only three people, and they finally have to face each other. Li Si can't help but feel embarrassed and ashamed.

  However, he can't just leave after saying so. The emperor has just handed over the affairs of governance to him, and as soon as he mentions the top priority of Julu, he wants to throw in the towel. I guess later on, he can also roll up his bedding and get out of here.

  In the great Qin Yuanxun, Meng Tian was one of the earliest to befriend the young Emperor Ying Zheng, and their feelings were the deepest. With his unique talent and open-mindedness, Meng Tian introduced Wang Jian to the King of Qin, introduced Li Si, recommended Wang Ben, and guaranteed Zheng Guo.

  This is Meng Tian's most easily overlooked greatest advantage - he guards the right, does not contend for merit, does not reside in merit, does not seize power, and does not overstep his authority. His foundation is the deepest and his guard is extremely correct. His merits are great, but he has no pride or arrogance. It is precisely because of this that Meng Tian can be said to have the best interpersonal relationships among the high-ranking officials of the Qin Dynasty.

  Li Si and Meng Tian were originally close friends, both being students of Xunzi. Li Si was banished from Qin by Ying Zheng due to the Lü Buwei incident, but Meng Tian risked his life to deliver Li Si's famous "Letter of Exile" to Emperor Qin Shi Huang's desk;

  After Han Fei entered Qin, Li Si was strongly challenged by Han Fei. It was Meng Tian who supported Li Si in front of the First Emperor and refuted Han Fei, his own master. Without Meng Tian's support, Li Si would not have dared to accept Yao Jia's suggestion to secretly execute Han Fei in Yunyang Prison.

  Li Si was the Prime Minister, and his younger brother Mong Yi was the chief historian of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He was in charge of important matters in the imperial library and was Li Si's chief historian. Without the relationship with Meng Tian, Meng Yi would not have always cooperated with Li Si wholeheartedly.

  There were also two copper wolf hair brushes refined by Meng Tian in Jiuyuan, only two, one was respectfully presented to the First Emperor, and the other was given to Li Si, but he didn't keep any for himself.

  Meng Tian's deep feelings and good intentions towards Li Si can be seen from this. It can be said that without Meng Tian, there would be no present-day Li Si.

  However, at the moment of Qin Shi Huang's death, Li Si abandoned his decades-long brotherly affection with Meng Tian and chose to cooperate with Zhao Gao. He forged an imperial edict forcing Fusu to commit suicide and framed Meng Tian and his brothers for imprisonment, thoroughly exposing the dark side of Li Si's heart.

  Now Hu Hai, who was like a different person from before, released Meng Tian and his brother, and the two would serve together in court again. How could Li Si not feel ashamed and embarrassed?

  "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!" The Mong brothers came in and kowtowed on the ground.

  "The two of you don't have to be so polite, hurry up and get down!" Hu Hai said with a wave of his hand.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

  After Meng brothers thanked, they respectively paid their respects to Li Si and Wei Lü. However, this courtesy made Hu Hai suddenly understand that there must be a rift between Meng brothers and Li Si. They smiled and respectfully saluted Wei Lü, but towards Li Si, they forced a smile and hastily finished the ceremony.

  Hu Hai was indifferent to Li Si and the Meng brothers' discord, which also benefited himself, as long as they didn't hinder his own affairs.

  "I suppose you two gentlemen are already aware of the situation with Jieyu, although according to the Chancellor's words, Jieyu has not yet been occupied by Li Ziche's rebel army. However, since the imperial court has sent troops and it is now too late, we will discuss the matter of Jieyu later. Now, I want to talk about the situation in Jiuyuan." Hu Hai paused here, seeing that all four people below were leaning forward with their ears perked up, he continued:

  "I wish to have you, Meng Yi, depart from Xianyang immediately and hurry to Jiuyuan, to command the army at Jiuyuan in defense against the Xiongnu's southern invasion. What do you think?"

  "Yes, sir!" Meng Yu bowed and said.

  "Meng Ai Qing, this time you go to Jiuyuan, rely mainly on the Great Wall and natural barriers for defense. As long as the Xiongnu army cannot move south, you will have made an eternal contribution to our great Qin. However, if the Xiongnu's power is too strong and difficult to resist, then you should lead your troops decisively through Xiao Guan (located in Gansu Province, Qingyang City, Huan County, north of the city; during the Western Han Dynasty, Xiao Guan was located in Ningxia, Guyuan, southeast) into Shang Jun, you absolutely must not suffer any losses."

  Meng Yi hastily said: "Your Majesty, if I am here, then the Nine Tribes will be safe; if I perish, then the Nine Tribes will also perish!"

  "What nonsense!" Hu Hai's face turned red with rage as he shouted.

  This shout startled the four people in the great hall, no one had ever seen Hu Hai lose his temper so badly. Meng Yi hastily knelt down, and the other three also knelt down at the same time: "Your Majesty, calm your anger!"

  "Alright, alright, let's get up." Hu Hai waved his hand, "Meng Yiqing should know that even if we lose the Nine Regions, I can still take them back and make the Xiongnu pay a hundredfold or thousandfold price. However, if you are lost, our Great Qin will lose a pillar of a minister. Which one is lighter and which one is heavier? Can't you tell?"

  "Your Majesty!" Meng Yi and Meng Tian exclaimed in unison, kneeling down with a sob.

  "My imperial edict, if Jiuyuan cannot be defended, then Meng Yi must lead the entire army of Jiuyuan through Xiaoguan Pass to Shangjun. If the people are willing to follow him, they can enter Shangjun together and wait for further instructions." Hu Hai said loudly.

  "Your humble servant obeys your orders!"

  "I haven't finished speaking. If Meng Yi dares to disobey my orders, Meng Yi will die, and I will punish the entire Meng clan! Do you understand?" Hu Hai said calmly.

  "Thank Your Majesty for your great kindness!" Meng Yu's heart skipped a beat as he knocked his head against the ground.

  "Then let the beloved depart at once. If you encounter 190,000 soldiers on the road, let them hurry to Xianyang as soon as possible." Hu Hai said.

  "Your humble servant obeys your orders!"

  "Long Ba sent ten elite Dragon Guards to escort along the way, entering Jiuyuan requires careful protection by Mong E's side, protecting him all around. If Jiuyuan is lost, Mong Wei will defy orders, and the Dragon Guards can bind him to Xianyang."

  "Yes, milord!"