Volume 1: Entering Great Qin for the First Time Chapter 71: Grand Banquet

  At that time when the Qin Dynasty's vanguard cavalry and Xiongnu scouts were fiercely battling on the grasslands, Wu Rui and Ying Bu were discussing plans to rebel against the Qin Dynasty.

  Xianyang Palace East Hall, Council Chamber.

  The magnificent hall of deliberation, with its towering bronze crane oil lamps and thick wicks burning brightly, was eerily silent except for the occasional crackling sound.

  The root of all these troubles is none other than Hu Hai, who sits high on the throne in the grand hall.

  Regarding the decision just announced by Hu Hai to hand over the great power of governing Qin to Li Si, the originally jubilant and cheering officials of the Great Qin Dynasty suddenly fell silent.

  This was the first time Hu Hai had seen so many high-ranking officials of the central court of the Great Qin Empire, and it was also the first time these high-ranking officials of the Great Qin Empire had seen the Second Emperor who was awakened by the dream of the First Emperor on his eastern tour.

  Today's grand banquet was requested by Hu Hai. Originally, such a major event should have been discussed and announced at the imperial court meeting, but Hu Hai didn't want to bother with that nonsense of an imperial court meeting. Now there were too many things for him to do, so he simply arranged this grand banquet instead.

  The originally bustling and noisy grand hall suddenly fell into a dead silence after hearing Hu Hai's announcement!

  Some people are delighted, while others are worried!

  The ones who were delighted were naturally the officials of various ranks from Li Si's faction, as well as Yao Jia, Zheng Guo, Yang Duanhe, Ma Xing and other high-ranking ministers who had always been in the same camp as Li Si. The ones who were worried were Right Chancellor Feng Quji and Zongzheng Ying Teng and others.

  The Meng family should have been worried, but Meng Tian and Meng Yi had already known the news. Although they didn't know why Hu Hai did this, they didn't show too much surprise since they knew the news earlier.

  Ying Tong is different from Feng Qi, Ying Tong only considers it from the perspective of the Qin imperial family. As an old aristocrat who has gone through the Lü Buwei incident, he knows better than anyone what effect this right to govern will have in the future.

  Li Si was a guest at Lü Buwei's residence when he first entered politics, and it was Lü Buwei's recommendation that led to Li Si's current position.

  Is another Lü Buwei emerging from Great Qin?

  But Your Majesty shouldn't make such a mistake now, should you? Winteng couldn't understand and looked at Hu Hai who was sitting in the grand hall with a calm and peaceful smile, then looked at Li Si who was quietly tasting wine on the couch, Winteng finally suppressed his doubts and did not directly speak out against it.

  Feng Qi didn't know what Hu Hai was thinking, he also knew how Lü Buwei died, so he looked at Hu Hai again, and then looked at Li Si who was sitting opposite him with a calm expression, and remained silent.

  Among the three dukes and nine ministers, Feng Jie was a born warrior with the most courage. Originally, he wanted to directly stand up in opposition, after all, Lü Buwei's precedent of monopolizing power was before him. However, seeing his father Feng Qidu lower his eyebrows and eyes, the words that reached the tip of his tongue were ultimately swallowed back down.

  Several high-ranking officials of the Qin dynasty have lost their voices one after another, and the lower-ranking officials naturally dare not speak out. Of course, it is also because there are no scholars in the grand hall at this moment, as most of the scholars of the Qin dynasty have already fled.

  The silence of the Yiyuan Hall did not last long.

  "Long live Your Majesty!"

  A loud cry broke the brief silence of the grand hall.

  The person who shouted is Yao Jia!

  Yao Jia's loud cry suddenly awakened the many ministers who were still in a state of shock.

  "Long live Your Majesty!"

  Whether they were willing or not, the officials in the grand hall also bowed their heads and shouted loudly, as for what they thought in their hearts, only they themselves knew.

  "Alright, all of you are in agreement. Since no one has any objections, this matter is settled then. Come, let us all drink from the same cup! Cheers!" Hu Hai picked up the green ceramic wine jug on the table and said joyfully.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!" The officials below the hall all stood up and raised their wine cups from the case tables in unison.

  Huhai finished the sweet yellow wine in one gulp and put down the jug, saying: "It's rare to drink with all of you today, I have a few things I'd like to discuss with all of you."

  When Hu Hai said there was still something to discuss, the officials in the hall put down their wine cups and listened attentively.

  "The first thing, I want to ask the imperial censor Feng Ai, are you willing to lead the troops?" Hu Hai said with a smile to Feng Jie, who was sitting in the second seat on the left below the hall.

  Feng Ji suddenly heard Hu Hai ask if he was willing to lead the army, and he was taken aback for a moment. In fact, he was originally a military general, but after the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang divided the land among his ministers, he became the Imperial Secretary, however, as a civil minister, he often wore armor like a general, rarely wearing the green robe and crown of a civil minister.

  When Hu Hai first saw him, he was wearing the armor of a military general. At this moment, after hearing Hu Hai's question, he quickly came back to his senses and bowed his head, saying: "Your humble servant is willing to die for Your Majesty!"

  "Very well. Feng Yu is appointed as the Grand General. The position of Imperial Censor-in-Chief will be taken by Dian Ke Dun Ruo, and I have my own arrangements for Feng Ai Qing's matter, what do you all think?"

  This was the result of Hu Hai's discussion with Wei Lü in the afternoon. As for his plans for Li Si, Hu Hai didn't tell anyone, maybe Wei Lü saw a little bit, but Hu Hai wasn't worried at all, because the good or bad of this matter actually lies with Li Si himself.

  If Li Si does a good job as the prime minister, everyone will be delighted. If he wants to seek his own death, no one can blame others for it. It seems that Wei Liao also saw this point, so after Li Si agreed, he let out a deep sigh.

  The Grand Commandant is in charge of supervising the officials, and Hu Hai can let Li Si govern, but the officials in the court cannot be left unattended to let Li Si do as he pleases, and Tong Wei is the best candidate recommended by Yiren to Hu Hai.

  Unlike the other nine ministers, Dun Wei was born into a renowned family from Yan and Zhao, a famous scholar who traveled all over the world and entered Xianyang, finally staying in the Great Qin to serve. The rest of the nine ministers, except for Zheng Guo and Zhang Han, were all sons of meritorious families of the Great Qin, with extensive connections.

  Duanyuan's proud and aloof demeanor made him unwilling to curry favor with others, and outside of official duties, he devoted himself solely to studying the classics. Moreover, having long been in charge of the Heibingtai, he handled confidential matters, making him an ideal candidate for the position of Yu Shi Daifu.

  Feng Jie did not expect that Hu Hai would directly remove his position as Imperial Counselor, to know that the Imperial Counselor is also one of the Three Dukes, although it is said that he was promoted to Great General now, but even a soldier does not have an empty-headed general, only with the title of Great General, does Your Majesty want to clean up the Feng clan?

  When Hu Hai said this, the ministers in the great hall lost their voices again. Everyone at this moment had the same idea as Feng Jie, including Li Si, who had not received any news beforehand.

  However, Li Si thought more of it. Just as he was about to take charge of the government, the Imperial Secretary was replaced by Tongwei, who had always been disdainful of interacting with other officials. Li Si, who was very familiar with the duties of the Imperial Secretary, couldn't help but think of the intentions behind Hu Hai's move.

  Certainly, Du Ruo is not in this main hall today, he is still at the Weishui River camp supervising the training of troops.

  Feng Jie's face changed color, seeing Hu Hai smiling at himself with a gentle and peaceful smile, secretly gritting his teeth: "I obey the order!"

  "Good, Lord Feng is so dedicated to the country, I am very comforted. Let us drink this cup!" Hu Hai said with excitement.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Feng Jie swallowed a full cup with a bitter and astringent taste like drinking poisonous wine.

  Hu Hai put down his wine cup and saw the strange atmosphere among the officials in the great hall, pretending to be unaware, saying: "Why aren't you gentlemen drinking? From now on, Li will take charge of governance, I will personally lead the army to defeat the rebels of the six states, you gentlemen should focus on your duties and cooperate with the prime minister to restore our great Qin!"

  "Long live Your Majesty!"

  "Good! Today, all of you must not leave until drunk! Play music!"

  The music started, and the singing girls came out to help. Hu Hai ignored the complex expressions of the ministers below the hall and appreciated the performance of the singing girls in the hall, occasionally raising his wine glass to drink with a few senior ministers below the hall.

  No matter what the many high-ranking officials of the Great Qin Empire thought about Hu Hai's decisions today, they all saw that the emperor had finished his official business and were also busy drinking and eating with the familiar ministers around them.

  ……

  "General, the stone is back!"

  Meng Chong heard the words of his subordinates, got up and saw a knight in the distance riding a horse to come, not to go to Di Dao (now Lintao County, Gansu Province) to investigate the news, who is it.

  This group of people is exactly the same as the previous trip to the Mongolian prairie.

  Su Yue ultimately did not adopt Meng Chong's suggestion to cross Jiuyuan and go to Xiangyang through the Yangyue New Road, but instead chose to take the route from Longxi into Bashu via Lingqu and enter Nanhai by waterway.

  Su Yue chose to do so because he was worried that his suspicious Mo Chong would alert the Jiu Yuan Qin army in advance, allowing the Jiu Yuan army to prepare for the impending arrival of the Xiongnu army from the north, so he insisted on taking the water route that required countless detours.

  However, Meng Chong, who was still worried about the two men being detained in prison, insisted on sending his knights to investigate the news when he passed through Didao, the capital of Longxi County, despite Su Yue's opposition.

  When he heard Shi Tou was back, Meng Chong hastily got up. Su Yue, who had been working alone in the distance, also came over upon hearing Shi Tou's return. When Meng Chong saw Su Yue following him, he didn't react at all and stood aside waiting for Shi Tou to arrive.

  Jian Mengchong ignored him completely, and Su Yue's eyes shot out a hint of resentment, immediately followed by a fake smile.

  "See General!"

  Shi Tou saw Meng Chong from a distance and dismounted his horse, kneeling on one knee.

  "Hurry up and get up, can we find out what's going on?" Meng Chong quickly walked a few steps to help Shi Tou up and asked anxiously.

  "General, what great joy!" Shi Tou exclaimed with a thrilled face.

  "What good news? Tell me quickly!" Meng Chong hastily asked.

  "Marquis Meng Tian and Marquis Meng Yi have been recalled by the Second Emperor to Xianyang and reinstated in their original positions."

  "Ah! Is this true?" Su Yue's face changed as soon as she heard Shi Tou's words and she hastily asked.

  "The general has now spread throughout Guanzhong, the Second Emperor was awakened by the First Emperor in a dream during his eastern tour, and now Zhao Gao has been executed, and three edicts have been issued to pardon crimes and exempt taxes!"

  The stone didn't care about Su Yue beside him and started talking to Meng Chong incessantly.

  After hearing Shi Tou's words, Meng Chong and more than 50 people couldn't help but shed tears, kneeling down and shouting "Long live the First Emperor!"

  It is hard for outsiders to imagine the complex feelings of the old Qin people in the pre-Qin era towards Daqin and the Ying clan. The Ying clan led millions of old Qin people in the harsh and cold Guanzhong region, making a difficult transformation to become strong, resisting the invasion of neighboring countries, and eventually unifying the world step by step.

  The difficulties and sacrifices among them are all uncomplaining and without hesitation for any old Qin people. At this moment, Hu Hai's actions made the originally angry but not quarrelsome old Qin soldiers unable to suppress the excitement in their hearts, and they started wailing and crying loudly while beating their chests and stomping their feet.

  Su Yue listened to Shi Tou's words and was no longer calm as usual, completely disregarding the piercing gazes of Meng Chong and others. With a forced composure, he pulled out an order badge and said: "General Meng, this is the General's command symbol. I hereby order you to set off immediately, day and night, and rush back to Nanhai!"

  Overthrow Little Japan!!!!!!!!! Conquer Tokyo!!!!!!!!!!