Diqin Designer

Chapter 185 You are the murderer!

Three days later, Ying Zheng received a secret letter sent back by Liu Ji, which contained the news he had learned from his good friends in the Xiongnu in the past few days, including Maodun's own news.

After seeing the secret letter, Ying Zheng had the same idea as Zhao Gao. Liu Ji was really a talented person. Even Maodun became his buddy.

Although in history, Maodun would have achieved extraordinary achievements, he was only thirteen years old after all, and had not reached the peak in all aspects. He could not compare with Liu Ji, a social veteran. He soon succumbed to Liu Ji's charm and recognized Liu Ji as his elder brother as the prince of the Xiongnu.

From the secret letter sent back by Liu Ji, the situation of the Huns was far beyond Ying Zheng's expectations. He judged that the Huns were afraid of the Qin Dynasty, but he did not expect them to be so afraid.

When they learned that the Qin might send troops against them, the Huns' Chanyu and many leaders were so frightened that no one dared to speak for a long time. It was not until Maodun jumped out and mocked them that they regained some of their senses.

Whether or not the Qin State would send out troops is still undecided, but they are already so frightened. If the Qin State really sends out troops, how scared will these cowardly people be?

I'm afraid that as long as the Qin army arrives, without firing a single arrow, the Huns will flee in panic.

It is still unlikely to "win without firing a single arrow", but just winning one or two battles can completely crush the Huns' fighting spirit.

Ying Zheng also knew the reason why the Huns had become like this: it was mainly because Touman and other defeated people in the battle with Li Mu were in power in the Huns.

These people had their backbones broken by Li Mu and had lost their ambition to make progress. How could the Huns have the courage to fight when they were led by a group of cowards?
In this situation, only by getting rid of these cowards and having a strong and wise leader lead them to win more battles and build up their self-confidence can the Huns rise. Otherwise, the Huns will only become more and more cowardly under the leadership of these cowards.

But this situation is a good thing for Daqin. A cowardly Huns is more in line with the interests of Daqin. However, from this perspective, Maodun must be eliminated.

Not only was it necessary to eliminate hardliners like Maodun, but it was also necessary to strengthen the status of Touman and his subordinates among the Xiongnu and strengthen their rule over the Xiongnu.

Such an "excellent" ruler must of course continue to lead the Huns.

The relationship between Maodun and Touman is just as Li Nian said, a model of "loving father and filial son".

According to information revealed to Liu Ji by other members of the Xiongnu delegation, Touman had complicated feelings towards this capable Haodaer, admiring him yet wary of him.

The admiration lies in the fact that Maodun is indeed capable and motivated, but the vigilance also lies in this. He is so capable at the age of only thirteen. If he grows up a few more years, will the position of Chanyu be his or Maodun's?

Before coming here this time, Touman even told Maodun in person, "If you cause trouble in Qin, I will not protect you!"

Is this something a powerful ruler could say to his son on a diplomatic mission for the country?

This not only reveals Touman's dissatisfaction with Maodun, but also shows that Touman is cowardly. However, this is good news for the Qin Dynasty. Even if Maodun died in a foreign country and was framed and killed, Touman would not raise an army to seek revenge.

Maodun was also dissatisfied with Touman, thinking that Touman was an old wolf and was no longer fit to lead the Huns. He thought that the other leaders were also a group of insects. If the Huns wanted to make themselves strong, they could not rely on these people.

After reading the secret letter sent back by Liu Ji, Ying Zheng was completely relieved. Maodun could be killed without much risk, so he gave Zhao Gao a secret order: carry out the plan today and kill Maodun.

The Qin Dynasty would not completely turn against the Huns for the time being, and it still had to do some business with the Huns, so when killing Maodun, it would be best to give him a suitable reason.

And what reason is more appropriate?
Of course it has something to do with the king!

Not only would it leave the Huns speechless, it would also arouse the anger of the Qin people, making it difficult for even the ministers who knew there was something fishy to speak for Maodun.

The plan was quite simple and crude. A banquet was held in the palace to entertain the Hun delegation. Then, the Hun delegation, including Maodun, were forced to drink as much wine as possible. After Maodun was drunk, he was led to a pre-set location, where he was charged with trespassing into the forbidden palace and killed on the spot by the palace guards who happened to be there.

After reading Liu Ji's secret letter, Ying Zheng thought that even if there was no such plan, it would be no problem to find a time to take Maodun out alone and kill him, and then make up a reason to give the Huns, but having a process is always better than having no process.

Maodun was confused at the moment, and was caught up in the four major questions of life: Who am I? Where am I? Where should I go? Where is the Qin man who led me?
He had just drunk too much and urgently needed to go to the toilet. A eunuch led the way for him, but as he walked in a daze, the eunuch disappeared and he ended up in an unfamiliar place.

When Maodun realized that the eunuch was missing, he sobered up immediately. He thought there was a conspiracy. Someone must be planning to murder him. He was afraid that his life would be in danger.

Mao Dun quickly analyzed in his mind who was trying to murder him and how he could save himself. He had only been in Qindu for a few days and could only have offended two people, the Emperor Qin and Li Nian.

The Qin Emperor was the ruler of a country, so it was impossible for him to be murdered like this. He was just a thirteen-year-old boy, not yet grown up, so the possibility of the Qin Emperor wanting to kill him was not high.

On the contrary, Li Nian was very likely to murder him because of his request to the Emperor of Qin to marry the Princess of Qin. Given Li Nian's status and power in Qin, it would not be difficult for him to do so.

The more Maodun thought about it, the more he felt that it was Li Nian. But even if he knew that it was Li Nian who wanted to harm him, how could he save himself?

He certainly couldn't save himself, so it was good enough that he could leave some information to let people know that it was Li Nian who murdered him.

It was a pity that he admired Li Nian. He didn't expect that this person was so despicable and wanted to kill him. He didn't have many ways to leave a message, so he could only shout out Li Nian's name.

However, before Maodun could shout out, sharp arrows came from all directions. He had no way to dodge them. In an instant, Maodun was shot into a hornet's nest.

In a serious ambush and murder, who would fight at close range like in TV dramas, giving the enemy a chance to escape? Of course, the enemy would be killed with one strike, leaving it completely impossible for him to survive.

After Maodun fell to the ground, arrows continued to fly from all directions for a while, ensuring that it was impossible for Maodun to get up from the ground again. Then a team of guards appeared and stabbed Maodun a few more times.

After making sure that Maodun was completely dead, they pulled out the arrows from his body and cleaned up the bloodstains on the ground.

Not long after, Meng Yi came to the palace where the Xiongnu delegation was having a night banquet, holding an imperial edict.

Seeing Meng Yi's angry face and the Qin army behind him still carrying Crown Prince Maodun, the Huns who were still somewhat conscious felt a pang in their hearts and quickly pushed their drunk companions away and knelt in the hall.

Meng Yi opened the imperial edict and read out Maodun's crimes. He had trespassed into the forbidden palace and offended the king, so he was killed on the spot.

All the members of the delegation should have been punished for such crimes, but considering that the Huns were descendants of the Chinese nation and a brother nation, and that the others who participated in the banquet might not have been aware of Maodun’s crimes and should not be implicated, I, out of magnanimity, will not pursue the matter.

After learning that the Qin Emperor only killed Maodun and would not punish them as well, the Huns breathed a sigh of relief and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

In fact, their views on Maodun’s death were the same as Maodun’s own, that it was most likely Li Nian’s fault.

But what does it matter if he knows? The Emperor Qin obviously wants to protect Li Nian.

Moreover, Maodun is dead, and they are all from Touman's faction. They are not the same as Crown Prince Maodun who wants to revive the Xiongnu and make them great.

In Liuying Palace, Li Nianyi, who received the news that Maodun was dead, thought: Something is wrong. Wouldn't everyone think that I killed Maodun? I really didn't kill Maodun!

But he just couldn't explain it, and in a way, it was not wrong that he killed Maodun. It was he who let the First Emperor know the history and know Maodun's achievements, which led to Maodun's death.

After Maodun's death, the plan of the Hun delegation to have Hun warriors compete with the Qin Dynasty disappeared.

The prince has been killed, what is there to compete for?

The next day, in Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng made the final judgment on Maodun's death. Li Nian was also present. As he thought, all the ministers looked at him with the same eyes: You, are the murderer!

But no one jumped out to criticize. He was just a Xiongnu prince. Dead or alive. Do we still have to speak for the dead? Didn't you see that His Majesty has made a direct judgment?

Instead, Wang Jian, Wei Liao, Wang Ben, Meng Tian and others gave him a look of approval: Boy, you did a good job, very courageous, and in line with the style of our Great Qin!

Li Nian: “…”

(End of this chapter)