Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 184: The Emperor of Qin Dies

When the emperor extended his reign for four years,
He Bo and the dead ghosts opened up new fields and ushered in the first harvest.

A few dead people grew a large field of food.

This contrast between life and death,
It really made even the ghosts and gods couldn't help laughing.

So He Bo gave the harvested crops to the people nearby who were destined to receive them, and then took the dead ghosts back to the underworld to celebrate the harvest with wine.

In the Yang world,

Although the civilians who reclaimed wasteland obtained useful tools and were able to open up more land; they learned good farming methods and were able to harvest more food,

But the desires of meat eaters are always difficult to satisfy.

They have always been the type of people who "want to keep asking for more".

then,

In the case of abundant food production,
In order to win the war, they levied more taxes, organized more troops, and launched more intense battles.

In order to avenge the humiliation of nearly destroying his country, the newly enthroned King Zhi of Yan built the Golden Tower, issued a call to the world to seek talents, and waited there day and night, hoping to recruit talents to help him strengthen the State of Yan.

His attitude was very sincere.

Even at night, they would hold torches and wait eagerly.

If someone comes to seek refuge,
He did not care about his own status, and holding a broom in his hand, he acted very humblely, bent over and swept the courtyard, welcoming the wise man step by step.

Then talented people from all over the world flocked to him.

As for the Qin State, it continued to form alliances and encroach on neighboring countries.

But just when Zhang Yi was ready to go on a diplomatic mission to another country, the King of Qin suddenly fell seriously ill.

He covered his chest, sweat broke out in a cold sweat, and was shaking all over and unable to speak.

Zhang Yi, who was bidding farewell to the King of Qin, immediately stepped forward and helped the King, who was unable to support himself, up.

His usually nimble tongue made no sound and his eyes revealed great worry.

The King of Qin took a deep breath, then put down his hand and said with a weak smile, "I am only forty-five years old this year. Is this the time for me to die?"

think carefully,

His father, Duke Xiao, only lived to be forty-three years old.

"What a waste of time!"

The King of Qin supported Zhang Yi's arm and sighed.

Then he said to Zhang Yi, "Prime Minister Zhang, you must come back from Chu. I don't want to part with you!"

Zhang Yi burst into tears and swore to the King of Qin, "I have always fulfilled my mission as an envoy to other countries!"

"Please take good care of yourself, Your Majesty, and wait for me to come back!"

The King of Qin clapped his hands and said nothing.

This time I went to Chu State,
It was actually very dangerous for Zhang Yi.

Because before this, Zhang Yi, who wanted to show that he was still very useful, made full use of his skills of deception and fraud to deceive the King of Chu and induce him to destroy the alliance between Qi and Chu, causing the King of Chu to bear a grudge and a conflict broke out between him and the State of Qin.

even,

He also offered to use land in exchange for Zhang Yi's request.

The King of Qin wanted the land, but was reluctant to give up his capable ministers, so he became conflicted.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yi took the initiative to request to be sent as an envoy to the State of Chu.

Regarding the matter of deceiving the King of Chu,

He has both courage and experience!

Not afraid at all!

However, the King of Qin's illness made him worried.

When traveling,
Zhang Yi couldn't help but look back again and again, gazing in the direction of Xianyang.

Deliberately meeting him,

Seeing how affectionate he was, the ghost who was rowing the boat for him reached into his bosom and took out a peach.

"Want it?"

He handed it to Zhang Yi and told him to stop looking so anxiously.

Zhang Yi said angrily, "What do you mean?"

"I am not that kind of person!"

The friendship between the monarch and his subjects,
It's not that dirty!

He Bo snorted, "Qu Ping of Chu State wrote poems and articles, comparing the emperor and his subjects to husband and wife every day!"

In recent years, He Bo has been greedy for beauty.
I often try to find ways to read Qu Yuan, and then I am deeply influenced by his literature.

Now he looked at the close relationship between the king and his subjects,
All I could think of were words like "like a fish in water" and "like a little bird relying on its mother".

But these people really behave like this!
Can you blame him?
Zhang Yi looked at the ghost whose body was full of water, angrily took the peach and took two bites.

then,

The peach pit knocked out a tooth on him, and his mouth was filled with blood when he opened it.

He Bo quickly said, "This is none of my business!"

"You're old-fashioned yourself!"

Zhang Yi was stunned for a while, holding the peach in one hand and clenching his teeth with the other, and suddenly sighed.

He then said, "I might die!"

"I just lost a tooth, why are you so sad?"

He Bo thought that he was still full of vitality and didn't look like someone who was about to die of old age at all.

"Are you worried that the King of Chu will kill you?"

He Bo thought:
The vitality of a living being can only reflect its internal state.

If you are physically strong but are hit by a knife, you will still die.

Zhang Yi shook his head. "The King of Chu is naive. I have bribed his concubines. He will not kill me."

Bearing a grudge against the King of Chu,
Zhang Yi has become very good at deceiving people.
This is also the reason why he dared to take the initiative to go on the mission and not put the King of Qin in a difficult position.

"I'm just worried about King Qin's health!"

Prince Dang was a man who admired bravery and liked to associate with strong men who were strong enough to lift a tripod. His attitude towards other countries was more radical and unrestrained than that of his father.

He looked down upon Zhang Yi, who used conspiracy and trickery to seize other countries' lands. He thought that if Qin wanted something, it could just let the Qin army take it.

Big countries bully small countries.

Do you need a reason?

So Zhang Yi concluded that
As long as the King of Qin died and Prince Dang succeeded to the throne, his position in Qin would become very embarrassing.

Because of his numerous criminal records,
It is also difficult to get other princes to accept me.

Zhang Yi was grateful for the King of Qin's kindness, so he did not take advantage of this diplomatic mission to use his bribed concubines to persuade the King of Chu to employ him and thus stay in Chu.

He wanted to accompany the King of Qin on his final journey and fulfill their friendship.

Now, the King of Qin is ill.

He is old, too.

I can also let go of the confusion in my heart about "which prince should I go to after leaving Qin."

……

When Zhang Yi met the King of Chu and once again tricked the other into not being able to tell east from west, the King of Qin, feeling his health failing, had already begun to prepare for his own funeral.

He summoned many people one after another.

He said to the young and energetic Prince Dang, "With your temper, I'm afraid something bad will happen in the future!"

Prince Dang replied, "Is there any country in the world more powerful than Qin?"

"With the power of the country and my own might, any problem can be crushed!"

"I hope so!" King Qin sighed.

He has always loved this eldest son.

In other words, after Duke Xian, the Qin royal family has always firmly implemented the system of primogeniture.

There was no big problem with Yingdang, he was just more straightforward in his methods and disdained conspiracies and intrigues.

In this era of great contention,

As long as the national strength is strong, there is really no need to pay attention to these things, and you can just push forward with an upright attitude.

He was just worried about what Prince Dang would do to Zhang Yi.

"...I just succeeded to the throne and killed Shang Jun. This is something I always feel regretful about."

"But I had to kill him, so even though I felt sorry, I never regretted it!"

As the King of Qin reigned for a long time, he had a deeper understanding of his father and Lord Shang's practices.

Now his friendship with Zhang Yi,
Although it was not as good as the alliance between Duke Xiao and Lord Shang under the Green Mountains and Pine and Cypress, they still understood and got along well with each other.

Given the current situation in the Qin State, there is no need for the new king to sacrifice an old minister of the previous dynasty in order to win the hearts of the people and secure his throne.

"...For your father's sake, please be nice to Zhang Yi!"

After thinking for a long time, the King of Qin sighed and made a selfish request to his son, "Everything will be good if it starts well and ends well."

Prince Dang held his father's slightly cold hand and did not respond directly.

He said, "What if Zhang Yi is unwilling to obey my will and go with me?"

A new ruler has new ministers.

Prince Dang knew that his and Zhang Yi’s styles of doing things were completely different.

But the monarch cannot give in because of his subjects.
Therefore, if Zhang Yi did not change himself, or realized the emperor's intention and wanted to retreat, but instead coveted power and colluded with others to resist the new emperor, Prince Dang would certainly take drastic measures.

The King of Qin shook his head helplessly, and ultimately put the country first. He did not ask Prince Dang to spare Zhang Yi's life and honor him.

"Then let him come with me!"

"As king and subject, we must always accompany each other."

then,

He also made arrangements for his other sons.

The King of Qin summoned his favorite woman, Mi Bazi, who had married into Qin from the State of Chu at the age of sixteen.

He stroked the other person's still smooth and delicate face, feeling a little reluctant.

Mi Bazi also hung her head and cried, fearing for her future after the King of Qin's death.

She and the King of Qin's wife, the Queen from the State of Wei, always disagreed.

Despite Queen Wei's vigilance, Mi Bazi was able to give birth to a daughter and three sons for the King of Qin, which was enough to show how much she was favored.

But after the death of the King of Qin,
This favor is about to turn into a deadly poison!
In fear, Mi Bazi lay in the arms of the King of Qin and cried uncomfortably.

The King of Qin stroked her hair and said after a long while:
"Let Ji'er go to Yan State as a hostage."

"His sister is the Queen of Yan, so he won't suffer there."

Yingji,

He is the eldest son of him and Mi Bazi.
He was also his second favorite son among all his sons.

"Then, what about me?"

Mi Bazi pointed out sullenly, "The prince will not attack his brothers, and the royal family will protect the prince, but the queen treats me..."

Yingji could run to the State of Yan and receive protection from his sister and brother-in-law, but where could she, as the precious property left by the King of Qin, run to?
"I'll let the queen be generous!"

"How is this possible!" Mi Bazi raised his voice and said seriously, "How can you trust a woman's words?"

Especially women who have been jealous for many years!

The King of Qin laughed loudly and pinched Mi Bazi's face, "You are so scared that you forgot that you are also a woman!"

"If the queen's words are not trustworthy, then your words cannot be trusted either?"

Mi Bazi hesitated, then lowered his head and remained silent again.

"So be it!"

The King of Qin finally made the decision, "Ji'er will go to Yan State, and you can live in Qin State with peace of mind!"

"But... you are not allowed to keep a lover!"

Mi Bazi is not even forty years old.

At such an eager age, the King of Qin had experienced the power firsthand.

He was very worried about Mi Bazi, who had a hot-tempered and unruly personality, and feared that she would do something that would make him uncomfortable after his death.

"I will definitely not raise one!" Mi Bazi said immediately.

"Then you swear!"

"I swear!"

Mi Bazi obediently raised his finger and swore an oath to the sky.

So the King of Qin was relieved.

He lay down, quietly feeling the passage of life.

He thought:
Slow down a bit.

Zhang Xiang hasn't returned from Chu yet!
……

When Zhang Yi entered Xianyang City,

The death knell of King Qin was sounded.

When Zhang Yi heard the heavy and sad bell, he immediately burst into tears, fell off the carriage, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed in the direction of the Xianyang Palace.

He suddenly recalled the grand scene when Qin became king and the high-spirited monarch.

So he couldn't help but murmured:
"Long live my king!"

"Long live the Qin Empire!"

(End of this chapter)