Volume 1: Entering Great Qin for the First Time Chapter 49: On the Plaza

  What made Hu Hai lose his mind was not only the feeling of being the only one in the world, but also the twelve huge dark golden black shadows on the white jade-paved square.

  Twelve Golden Men!

  Hu Hai exclaimed in his heart. These were the twelve golden men that Qin Shi Huang had cast after unifying the six states' armies over a year. And he should be the only person in later generations who could see these legendary twelve golden men.

  The Ding of the Nine Provinces, a national treasure from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, had long since vanished. After Qin conquered the six states, Emperor Qin Shi Huang issued an edict to collect all bronze and iron weapons left among the people of the six states, including some daily utensils that were also collected.

  These hundreds of millions of weapons could not be used by the Qin army because they were different from the standard specifications of the Qin military's weapons. In order to arrange these hundreds of millions of various bronze and iron instruments, Emperor Qin Shi Huang finally decided to cast golden statues to replace the already lost Ding Tripod to stabilize the fate of the Great Qin Empire.

  Shaofu Zhang Han led tens of thousands of craftsmen from all over the world and spent a year finally casting the twelve golden men into shape.

  Twelve golden men stood in two rows on the square in front of Xianyang Palace. Each golden man was 5 zhang 6 chi high and weighed up to 340,000 jin, shining brightly as they looked down on the carriages and pedestrians, their majestic power far surpassing that of the Nine Cauldrons of the Three Dynasties.

  In history, Xiang Yu burned down the palace in Xianyang, but the twelve golden statues were not destroyed. Until the Western Han Dynasty, these twelve golden statues still stood majestically in front of the Chang Le Palace gate. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, another destroyer like Xiang Yu, Dong Zhuo, melted ten golden statues to mint small coins.

  Two golden statues remained, until they were destroyed by Fu Jian during the chaotic era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

  The majestic Qin Empire's twelve golden men have finally vanished into the endless river of history, leaving behind endless regrets for future generations!

  Looking at the twelve majestic golden men shining with countless golden lights under the gradually rising sun. Hu Hai felt a sense of wonder, this is the treasure of my Chinese nation, now that I have come, I will not let future generations face the records in ancient books and sigh in vain.

  Hu Hai was lost in thought, while Zhang Han, who was kneeling behind him, was worried to death. Why hasn't the Emperor said anything yet? The officials below and countless Qin people are all kneeling on the ground waiting, have they been intimidated by such a grand scene?

  It shouldn't be like this, during the Eastern Tour, Your Majesty faced tens of thousands of fierce and formidable imperial guards, but it wasn't like this.

  Actually, Hu Hai returned to Xianyang and stayed in the palace of Xianyang all along. However, since there were twenty-four gates in the palace of Xianyang, and the main hall was not used except for major events, he never had the opportunity to see the twelve golden men here. If he had seen them before, he wouldn't be so excited now.

  "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

  After a while, Hu Hai still didn't move, and Zhang Er finally couldn't bear it anymore. He raised his head and called out in a worried low voice.

  Zhang Han's voice startled Hu Hai out of his trance, and looking at the somewhat restless crowd below, Hu Hai knew why Zhang Han had called him.

  "Calm down!" Hu Hai said in a deep voice, calming himself.

  Huhai's entourage, including Zhang Han and a group of eunuchs and palace maids, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Huhai's words. One of the eunuchs quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed to the highest point of the thirty-six white jade steps leading to the grand hall, shouting at the top of his lungs:

  "Your Majesty has given an order, dismount!"

  A loud voice echoed across the vast and empty square, carrying far, far away, startling Hu Hai, it seems that this eunuch who transmitted sound was at least a Pavarotti-level person in later generations, my great China is indeed a land of talented people.

  As soon as the eunuch's voice fell, another six eunuchs followed closely and shouted in unison: "His Majesty has an edict, all rise."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live forever and ever!"

  The officials below the steps were the first to thank and stand up. Then,

  "Thank you, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live forever and ever!"

  The endless Qin people on the square and around Xianyang Palace stood up after shouting in unison.

  "Zhang Ai Qing, what should I do next?" Hu Hai asked in a low voice. Hu Hai didn't know what to do next himself.

  "Your Majesty, if you don't want to say more, just say 'carry out the punishment'."

  "Take the whip and go." Hu Hai said lightly, it seems that Nima wants to make a simple loudspeaker, otherwise he will have to rely on this eunuch to convey his message when giving an impromptu speech, which would not be very spontaneous.

  "Your Majesty has given the order, carry out the flogging!" After two successive shouts, countless Qin people on the square suddenly became restless. They did not expect that the Emperor would actually be punished.

  "Your Majesty, no!"

  Such shouting started only in a small range, gradually began to spread out, more and more people responded, the gathering sound waves also began to get bigger and bigger, eventually forming a shout that shook heaven and earth.

  The crowd began to surge, and the Imperial Guardsmen maintaining order around the square held their long spears horizontally, forming a thin human wall that struggled to hold back the tide of people trying to rush forward to petition.

  "Your Majesty, this is the old Qin people! However, the old Qin people will never attack the Forbidden Army. This must be someone with ulterior motives manipulating from behind. Your Majesty, what to do?" Zhang Han saw the situation below and anxiously said.

  Hearing the old Qin people in Zhang Han's words, Hu Hai sighed deeply. It seems that no matter what, the old Qin people will always be the foundation of the great Qin Empire, and only these people will truly care about the emperor of the Great Qin Empire.

  Is someone else causing trouble? Hu Hai smiled.

  Huhai stepped forward, and the eunuch who had just stood on the high steps retreated. Facing the morning sun, Huhai, dressed in a formal ceremonial robe, appeared before the countless people of Xianyang, Qin, who were looking up at him with their heads raised.

  He wore a black silk embroidered gold robe, with a six-inch-wide brocade belt around his waist, from which hung the Qin Emperor's sword. His raven-black hair was topped with a black satin sky-balancing crown, adorned with pearl tassels, and his body stood straight as a pen, like a heavenly god, facing the morning sun.

  Looking from afar at Huhai appearing on the high platform, bathed in sunlight, like a heavenly god, the countless Qin people in the Xianyang Palace Square gradually quieted down, slowly coming to a standstill.

  Huhai had wanted to say a few words, but thinking that even if he shouted his throat hoarse, probably only a handful of people would hear him, so he very succinctly gave up on the idea. He began to step down slowly from the long thirty-six-step white jade paved stairs, leaving the ceremonial instruments behind.

  Hu Hai walked on the Xianglong steps in the middle of the white jade stairs, which was a path exclusively used by the Emperor of Qin. The white jade stairs on both sides of the Xianglong steps were for the officials to walk on. Seeing Hu Hai walking down, Zhang Han and a group of eunuchs, palace maids, as well as guards and attendants hastily followed from the paths on both sides.

  It wasn't until he walked onto the Xianyang Square that Hu Hai truly felt the grandeur and majesty of the Twelve Golden Men. This was the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancient Huaxia nation's people.

  Standing on the square, Hu Hai estimated that there were at least a thousand steps between him and the countless Xianyang Qin people who were isolated from the forbidden army, thought for a moment and continued to move forward.

  "Your Majesty, we cannot proceed any further. If we continue and there are assassins who wish to do harm, with so many civilians around, it's likely..."

  Zhang Han hastened his pace to catch up with Hu Hai and advised, "There are already enough people now. Hu Hai is standing in this place, unless the assassin has a large crossbow, it's impossible to harm him. However, if Hu Hai continues to move forward, the danger will be even greater."

  "It doesn't matter, on this square there are countless old Qin people who are loyal to me with all their heart. Do you think any assassin can kill me in front of these old Qin people? Those with ulterior motives only dare to muddy the waters, but at this moment they don't dare do anything else. My dear, rest assured."

  Hu Hai continued to move forward, and stopped Zhang Han from letting the forbidden army heavily guard him. He walked alone at a slow pace on the vast square of Xianyang Palace.

  Hu Hai is getting closer and closer to the crowd, and can already vaguely see the people behind the Forbidden Army. However, the crowd facing Hu Hai did not make a sound again, and the entire square was quiet. On the vast and wide square, only the sound of Hu Hai's footsteps echoed continuously.

  When he walked five hundred steps away from the crowd, Zhang Han directly knelt down in front of Hu Hai. No matter what, Zhang Han did not dare to let Hu Hai continue forward, even if it meant blocking him with his own death. Hu Hai had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

  Huhai stood here, vaguely seeing the Xianyang Qin people in front of the crowd, but couldn't see the expressions on their faces. However, he knew that every pair of eyes among the countless civilians on this square were tightly fixed on him.

  Innumerable people are anxious and worried about their every move.

  These people include countless people on the land of Great Qin, all because of their own words and deeds, either crying or laughing, living or dying.

  Is this what it feels like to be an emperor? But why don't I feel even a little excited? Why do my shoulders feel so heavy?

  "I have let you down! I have let countless people of Great Qin down!"

  Third shift is over, had dinner and will try to produce another chapter before 12 o'clock. Thank you for the evaluation vote from Cold Nine Head brother, thank you ~ Qing `╱ ☆ Yi brother's reward.