Travel through the heavens

When Fang Muye was on Blue Star, he read some discussions about Qin Shihuang's Eastern Tour, which basically expounded one point of view, that is, Qin Shihuang's Eastern Tour was to seek immortality.

Qin Shihuang was bewitched by the alchemists' theories of immortality and believed that there were three sacred mountains outside the Bohai Sea, namely Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou, and that there were palaces made of gold and silver on the mountains, where immortals lived.

For this reason, Qin Shi Huang not only frequently went to the seaside, but also stayed there for a long time, just to find elixirs, or meet immortals, seek the art of immortality, and become an immortal emperor.

The widely circulated story of Xu Fu leading thousands of boys and girls into the vast ocean to seek immortals was sent by Qin Shihuang during his second tour.

In addition, in order to achieve immortality, Qin Shihuang also gathered a large number of alchemists to refine elixirs for him. By taking these elixirs made of lead and mercury for a long time, Qin Shihuang was able to live to the age of fifty. It was truly God's blessing.

“I wonder if Qin Shi Huang knew that the alchemists would finally succeed in refining the elixir of immortality in the near future thanks to the Heavenly Star Stone, would he still undertake this one-way fifth tour to the east.” Fang Muye thought to himself as he rode his warhorse to guard beside the Emperor’s carriage.

Since Fang Muye traveled to this world, he has basically stayed in the Nangong Mansion in Xianyang City. This time, he accompanied the First Emperor on his eastern tour, which can be regarded as a Qin version of a "group tour of China", and he appreciated many different scenery.

The army on the eastern tour set out from the capital Xianyang and headed straight for Yunmeng in the south. They went to Mount Jiuyi to worship their ancestor Shun, then took a boat eastward, landed in Danyang, arrived at Qiantang, crossed the river westward to climb Mount Kuaiji, worshiped Dayu, who controlled the flood, and then carved stones on Mount Kuaiji. After descending the mountain, they headed north from Wuzhong and arrived at Mount Langya. After staying there for a few days, they began to return.

After passing Pingyuanjin, the army's speed began to slow down. After arriving at the sand dune platform, they set up camp and refused to move forward. Fang Muye speculated that the First Emperor must have been seriously ill.

Sure enough, Fang Muye was soon summoned by Meng Yi to confirm the matter.

"Your Majesty is seriously ill now, and there is probably no medicine to cure him. You can only hope for the elixir of immortality. Your Majesty has just received a secret report saying that the elixir of immortality is expected to be refined in the near future. Nangong, you take some men and go to Xunyang to find Xu Gui. If the elixir of immortality is refined, you two must escort it here immediately." Meng Yi said solemnly and handed over the First Emperor's order.

Fang Muye immediately accepted the order: "Yes, General!"

He then took the warrant, selected dozens of Meng family soldiers, and rode away with the Meng family army flag raised.

In Qin Shihuang's tent, he was lying on the bed, his face was haggard and his eyes were dull.

Since Pingyuan Jin fell ill, his condition worsened day by day. Qin Shihuang knew that his time was up, and he sought immortality and refined elixirs for many years but to no avail. In the end, he still could not achieve immortality.

Even though he had received the secret report that the elixir of immortality was about to be refined, he was not sure whether he had enough time, nor was he sure whether the elixir could bring immortality. After much deliberation, just in case, Qin Shihuang finally decided to confirm the issue of appointing a crown prince.

According to the system of primogeniture, the throne should be passed to the eldest son Fusu. Fusu is a man of strong will and courage, a trustworthy and courageous man. With the assistance and support of General Meng Tian, ​​he should be a wise and capable emperor.

Qin Shihuang no longer hesitated and summoned Zhao Gao, ordering him to draft an edict to establish Fusu as the crown prince, and asked him to send an envoy to deliver the edict to Fusu as soon as possible.

Zhao Gao pretended to agree, but after leaving Qin Shihuang's tent, he entered Hu Hai's tent.

Zhao Gao informed Hu Hai that Qin Shi Huang had ordered him to draft an imperial edict to establish Fusu as the crown prince, and then said, "Your Majesty is seriously ill and will not have much time left. Now the power is in the hands of you, me, Li Si, and Meng Yi. If you want to take over, now is the best time. Don't miss the opportunity.

It turned out that Hu Hai had long dreamed of ascending the throne, and had been in cahoots with Zhao Gao, who was close to him, for a long time. However, due to the majesty of the First Emperor, he did not dare to act rashly. Now, after hearing Zhao Gao's frank remarks, he was naturally moved. After thinking for a while, he raised his concerns and said in a deep voice: "If I want to act, I am afraid it will be difficult to avoid Li Si and Meng Yi."

Zhao Gao said confidently, "Li Si is one of the founding fathers of the Qin Dynasty. He has been in the court for many years and holds a high position of power. The usurpation of the throne can only be successful if we win his support. I will persuade him and I am sure of it. You don't have to worry."

"As for Meng Yi, his brother Meng Tian is close to Fusu and will definitely not conspire with us. In this case, we can only..."

When Zhao Gao reached this point, he used his palm as a knife and made a “kill” gesture.

Hu Hai looked gloomy and nodded.

Zhao Gao then went straight to see Li Si.

In Li Si's tent, Zhao Gao looked at Li Si, who looked calm, and said straight to the point, "Prime Minister, you know that His Majesty has ordered me to draft an imperial edict to make the eldest son Fusu the crown prince. What do you think?"

Li Si's eyes flashed with a strange look, and he said calmly: "The matter of appointing a crown prince is up to your Majesty to decide. As your subjects, we will obey your Majesty's orders."

Seeing that Li Si was pretending to be nice and not willing to reveal his true thoughts, Zhao Gao changed the subject and asked, "Prime Minister, in your opinion, in terms of talent, achievements, strategy, trust in the world, and the degree of trust in Prince Fusu, who is better, you or General Meng Tian?"

Li Si was silent for a while, then replied sadly: "I can't do that."

Zhao Gao pressed on, saying sharply, "The Prime Minister is a smart man, and he probably sees the stakes better than I do. Once the eldest son takes the throne, the position of Prime Minister will surely fall into Meng Tian's hands. Will you still have a good ending then? Prince Hu Hai is kind and honest, and if he takes the throne, he will definitely live up to the Prime Minister. I hope the Prime Minister will think carefully and not make a decision that you will regret."

Li Si was born in a commoner family. It was precisely because he could not bear the low status and poverty that he served Qin Shi Huang. Although he is now one of the three highest officials in the country and enjoys all the glory and wealth, he still worries about his future from time to time, fearing that one day everything in front of him will come to nothing.

Zhao Gao took great pains to figure out Li Si's weakness, so he made the above remarks, which hit the nail on the head.

Li Si was immediately confused when he heard this. He fell into deep thought. After a fierce ideological struggle, he finally compromised with Zhao Gao and said, "According to the order of the Imperial Chariot Office, what should we do?"

Zhao Gao understood what was meant by this and was overjoyed. He said with a smile, "I have some plans and would like to discuss them with the Prime Minister."

Zhao Gao immediately laid out all the plans he had in mind, and Li Si either affirmed them or put forward some of his own opinions, while also contributing all the strength he had.

With the collusion between Zhao Gao and Li Si, a conspiracy to deceive the heaven that would ensnare the First Emperor, Fusu, Meng Tian, ​​and Meng Yi gradually unfolded.

Outside the tent, the wind seemed to be getting stronger!