Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 135: Death of Shang Yang (Part )
"What will you do after I leave?"

Sitting on his sickbed, the King of Qin asked Shang Yang.

Shang Yang thought about it and told his monarch, "I'll try to come to see you later!"

Qin Jun smiled with difficulty.

Then he said, "Let's go back to Shangyu!"

"That is your fiefdom. I have sent you some elite soldiers. If anyone wants to capture you, go and fight them!"

"If all else fails, flee back to Weiguo, back to your hometown!"

"If you want to go to other countries, you will definitely be accepted with your ability and reputation."

Shang Yang therefore prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly, "I have repeatedly stressed to you that Qin law must be strict and cannot tolerate human feelings!"

"How come you, as the king, are breaking the law and instigating me, a feudal lord, to disobey the orders of the state?"

"I am ready to be martyred. Am I still afraid of death?"

Qin Jun cried on his sickbed, "But how can I bear to do that?"

"Shang Jun, how can I let you be killed by those people behind me?"

"You and I once swore that if you helped Qin to reform, I would never let you become the next Wu Qi."

"But I am dying now. Will the chaos in front of King Dao of Chu be repeated in Qin soon?"

Shang Yang only said, "Prince Si will not let those ministers do this!"

Qin Jun lamented, "But he is still young!"

"At that age, how could he possibly hold such power?"

"OK!"

Shang Yang held the hand of the King of Qin and said to him with red eyes, "As long as Prince Si is willing to kill me, I can win the hearts of the people."

"He will be able to secure his position soon and won't be sidelined by Gan Long and his gang!"

Qin Jun looked at him, speechless, tears falling continuously.

Finally, the King of Qin asked Prince Si to come in and asked him directly, "Will you kill the King of Shang?"

Prince Si glanced at Shang Yang, with a flash of displeasure in his eyes.

After all, my father is dying.
The person I want to see most is not myself,

New hatred and old grudges,
Prince Si could not please Shang Yang no matter what.

But in front of his father, he still said, "No!"

"I will give orders not to let Gan Long and others touch him!"

Qin Jun looked at him for a while and suddenly sighed.

"Indeed, you are still young!"

He thought that since he had inherited the throne, he could do whatever he wanted and all the old ministers would obey him obediently...

Isn't this naive?
But there was nothing Qin Jun could do.

He no longer has the time and energy.

Shang Yang just smiled and thanked the future king for his promise of "not killing him".

Although he and Qin Jun both knew in their hearts,
This promise is impossible to fulfill.

"I really don't trust you, and I don't trust the Qin State."

The King of Qin stroked his son's face and then looked at Shang Yang.

The determination in the other person's eyes made him realize that he didn't need to persuade him anymore.

So the King of Qin could only say, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Shang!"

Shang Yang said, "As long as the results of the reform can be sustained, it doesn't matter if I work a little harder."

"Then Ying Si, you must remember the hard work of your father and Shang Jun, understand?"

"Since Duke Xian, the Qin State has been innovating. You can't destroy this foundation that has been built with great difficulty, understand?"

Prince Si cried and said, "I will never forget it!"

"Good good!"

"I have nothing else to say!"

The King of Qin finally lay on the sickbed, saying nothing more, but just looking at Shang Yang——

Shang Jun,

See you in the underworld soon!

Shang Yang kowtowed to him, bidding farewell to the monarch who supported him wholeheartedly.

immediately,

Prince Si tremblingly checked his father's breath and let out a continuous howl.

Ying Quliang, the King of Qin who reigned for 24 years,

He died in Xianyang.

He was forty-three years old.

He was posthumously named "Xiao".

His son Ying Si succeeded him and became the 26th king of Qin.

The first thing the new king did when he ascended the throne was to remove Shang Yang from all his posts.

Shang Yang returned to his fiefdom in dejection.

The new monarch therefore felt that since Shang Yang had left the court, the conflict between him and him would also be resolved.

Although he is young, Xinjun knows clearly in his heart——

Nothing is more painful for an official than to hold great power and then lose it with no hope of ever getting it back.

He will use his uncle.

He reused his trusted old ministers.

Let Shang Yang watch from the side, but he will not get what he wants.

Unfortunately, Gan Long and his men did not follow the new emperor's wishes.

They began to attack Shang Yang frantically and demanded that the king never let him go.

"Shang Yang is a man-eating beast who has killed countless people. How can we let him stay in his fiefdom and enjoy his old age?"

The new monarch felt that since Shang Yang had handed over power and still had the instructions of his predecessor, there was no need for him to be aggressive.

So the new king waved his hand and said in a very clear voice, "It doesn't matter, Shang Yang has no chance!"

Gan Long and others could not convince him.
You can only figure it out yourself.

For more than twenty years,
They could no longer tolerate their hatred for Shang Yang!
This pine tree must be cut down and burned!
Only when they see him burned to ashes can these old ministers feel at ease.

Soon afterwards,

Shang Yang received news that a large army was coming to attack while he was in his fiefdom.

Shang Yang asked, "Is there an envoy from the king among them?"

"No."

So he concluded, "This must be a conspiracy by Gan Long and others!"

"I won't surrender to them!"

He organized the soldiers in his fiefdom and began to defend the city.

Because there were elite troops specially sent by Duke Xiao in the city, and Shang Yang had anticipated this, the sudden army failed to break through the city.

The two sides were in a stalemate until Qin Junsi heard about it.

He said angrily, "After the reform, all the military and political affairs of Qin will depend on me alone!"

"Now that I don't have an imperial edict, how dare they send out troops privately!"

"What happened to Gan Long and the others?"

Gongzi Qian, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up and said to the King of Qin, "Because they are dissatisfied with Shang Yang and hate him to the core."

"I have already dismissed him. Isn't that enough?"

“Not enough!”

"Do they want me to disobey the will of my ancestors?" Qin Jun was very angry.

This is not only because it will damage your reputation.

It was also because those old ministers sent troops out without permission!
Today we can send people to besiege Shangyu.

It is possible that Xianyang will be besieged someday!

Disobeying the king's orders and acting on your own!
This was a huge shock to the Qin emperor who grew up under the political reform!

"They...are disloyal to me!"

After a long period of anger, Qin Jun clenched his fists and spoke slowly.

He finally realized that

Power does not come naturally just by sitting in this position.

He remembered what his father told him when he took him hunting, pretending nothing had happened.

Seeing that Xinjun seemed to have realized something,
Gongzi Qian reached out and touched the mask on his face, and the scar seemed to hurt again.

After Qin Junsi was punished,

He can only meet people with this mask.

And all this,
They all originated from Shang Yang.

Prince Qian hated Shang Yang.

But I also admire him.

Because next, Shang Yang will do something very important for the new king.

As for himself, he had to follow the instructions of his predecessor and continue to teach the young monarch in front of him.

"Let them attack Shangyu first, and focus your attention on Shang Yang."

"Your Majesty, you can take this opportunity to contact the ministers in Xianyang who are not members of Gan Long's faction, and offer them benefits to make them pledge allegiance to you."

Gongzi Qian started teaching his students again.

Qin Junsi asked, "Who are the people who have no relationship with Gan Long and his group?"

"I will introduce you to someone. My late master once met me when he was ill and gave me a list of names."

Ying Si asked again, "What benefits should I promise them?"

"Shang Yang's life and the continuation of Qin law."

The King of Qin frowned, "Let's not talk about whether the Qin law will end with the death of the king, and let's not talk about the will of the previous king. Shang Yang is now guarding Shangyu. How can I be sure that I can capture him?"

After hearing this, Gongzi Qian let out a light sigh.

"OK."

"If the king sends an envoy, Shang Yang will surrender."

(End of this chapter)