[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

Fusu swallowed hard, pointed at Lu Sheng and said, "Are you sure you..." Then he pointed at himself, "want to become my... this young master's disciple?"

"Please grant my request, Young Master!" Lu Sheng looked at Fusu with respectful eyes, his expression as devout as if he were looking at a god.

"You've come to become my disciple, so what about you two..." Fusu pointed at Hou Sheng and Han Zhong, "...you wouldn't be the same, would you?"

Hou Sheng and Han Zhong exchanged a glance, then knelt down on the ground, saying in a devout and respectful tone, "We beg the eldest young master to grant our request."

"Huh... this..." What's going on here? Although I am intelligent, skilled in both literature and martial arts, loved by everyone, and have a spotless reputation with no flaws, my biggest flaw is that I have no flaws, but I have never encountered this situation before.

Scholars are usually so afraid of being caught off guard by their own words, fearing that they might say something wrong and get caught and punished. Why would anyone want to get close to them?

It has to be said that Fusu was quite aware of his popularity, but despite his awareness, he always felt that it was because the foolish mortals were jealous of him. As a perfect human being, he only needed to be fawned over, so what did it matter whether people got close to him or not?

My father said, "An emperor has no need for friends."

"Why do you want to become my disciples?" Fusu asked, looking slightly troubled.

Being too perfect is a source of distress. You don't even know why others want to be close to you—because you are outstanding in every aspect of your talent, you really don't know what others want to learn from you.

Lu Sheng raised his head, looked at Fusu, and said with a devout expression, "We commoners wish to learn the art of cultivation from the eldest young master."

"Cultivate...immortality..." What kind of immortality are you talking about? There are no immortals in this world! Are you kidding me?

The so-called gods are just Waixin, so are you guys mocking me?

Seeing Fusu's face darken, Lu Sheng and the other two assumed that Fusu was unwilling to teach them the art of cultivation, so they quickly added, "If you can't learn the art of cultivation, you can learn the art of divination."

“Yes, yes.” Hou Sheng nodded repeatedly. “Young Master Chang used a coconut shell to divine the location of the Nine Cauldrons. His divination skills are truly unfathomable. We commoners don’t expect to learn even ten percent of it, but we hope to learn at least two or three tenths.”

"This... this young master's divination is really..." I can do it, but I've never been accurate in my divination, because the I Ching itself is a lie and not scientific at all.

"Young Master, there's no need to be modest. We merely admire you. Even if we can't become your disciples, being a retainer would be fine. We ask for nothing more than to be close to you day and night, to behold your glory." Han Zhong was quite eloquent, but his words gave Fu Su a strange sense of familiarity.

First of all, Fusu is perfectly upright and has no problem with his sexual orientation, so he has absolutely no interest in the close relationship between the three stinky men day and night.

Besides, these lines... these lines... how come they sound like something out of a "white lotus" mistress's spiel, something a mistress would say to the wife upon entering the house? Adding the line "You treat me like a cat or a dog" would make it even more perfect.

“But the three of you are all people whom Father Emperor trusts greatly, how can I…” Fusu began, looking at Lu Sheng and the other two.

Although there is no law in the Qin Dynasty prohibiting princes from associating with ministers, the prince is currently mingling with several of the emperor's most trusted alchemists and has even become their master and disciple. What is he up to? Is he planning a rebellion?

Even if Fusu had low emotional intelligence, after being taught by Ying Zheng and Chen Ping for so many years, he still possessed some political wisdom.

"It would be troublesome if people knew."

"So we just won't let anyone know, right?"

"Heaven knows, earth knows, and the four of us know."

Looking at the three lewd-looking men, Fusu really wanted Ying Zheng to see what those seemingly otherworldly immortals he knew actually looked like in private, but it was all in vain…

After a moment's thought, Fusu said with a reserved expression, "In that case, I will grant your request."

Although these three idiots are useless, it's better than refusing them and letting them hold a grudge. As for what to teach, that depends on your sincerity in seeking immortality.

Thanks to Hu Hai, Ying Zheng did not go out to commit suicide in December of the thirty-first year of his reign, so he did not encounter any thieves and lived peacefully until the thirty-second year of Qin Shi Huang's reign.

In that year, the Xiongnu invaded, and Ying Zheng sent Meng Tian with 300,000 troops to the north to attack the Xiongnu.

When Hu Hai learned of this news, his face turned pale instantly.

How could this be? There was no prophecy that "the one who will destroy Qin is the Hu," so why did Father Emperor still send troops to fight against the Xiongnu?

If Hu Hai couldn't figure something out, he wouldn't dwell on it; instead, he would ask his elder brother.

"What's so strange about that? How can I allow others to sleep soundly on my bed? Henan is a horse breeding ground, how can I hand it over to those barbarians? Without horses, we can't do anything." Fusu flipped through the bamboo slips in his hand and said with a matter-of-fact expression.

How could Qin Shi Huang, an ambitious and insightful emperor, allow the Xiongnu to grow powerful by occupying the horse farms in Henan Province just because of domestic instability?

Bah! That's absolutely impossible! To an arrogant monarch like Ying Zheng, the idea of ​​"pacifying the interior before pacifying the exterior" is an insult, and he would never agree to such a thing.

“But…” Hu Hai lowered his head, fiddled with his fingers, and said softly, “I heard that Father is busy pacifying the Baiyue again. Recently, the old aristocratic families of the six kingdoms have also been making frequent moves. Father is launching an attack on the Xiongnu at this time. Won’t this destabilize the country?”

After hearing Hu Hai's words, Fu Su first looked at him in surprise, which made Hu Hai blush with embarrassment. Then he smiled and patted Hu Hai's shoulder, saying with great satisfaction, "Little pig has grown up and become sensible."

"Wh...what? I'm a big kid at heart." Hu Hai pouted and said unhappily.

Hmph! Between my two lifetimes, I am nearly forty years old, and I have been the second emperor for many years. How can my majesty and majesty compare to that of a brat like you who is only in your twenties and still calls himself "baby"?

"Hehe, wasn't it someone who had a reading contest with my eldest son yesterday, and then got completely crushed, crying and shouting 'Dabao bullied you'?" Fusu said with a smile.

My genes are just great. Although my five children aren't as omniscient and all-knowing as me, they're all incredibly smart kids, and it's perfectly normal for them to outsmart a few idiots.

The stupid pig still can't recite the entire Qin law. His teacher... is Zhao Gao, and he's visibly getting haggard.

There was no other way. Given Ying Zheng's personality, he would never admit that he had given birth to a stupid son, nor would he want to admit that Hu Hai, whom he loved so much, was a fool. Therefore, after thinking it over, he could only put the blame on Zhao Gao.

Moreover, ever since Hu Hai discovered that even if he couldn't recite the texts, his father would still love him adorably and only blame Zhao Gao, his ability to recite texts has declined further.

I really don't know what sins Zhao Gao committed in his previous life, or what grudge he had against Hu Hai, that he had to encounter such a bratty student to atone for his sins in this life.

But why bother? It's a lose-lose situation. I'll just have to pity Zhao Gao for thirty seconds.

"Brother Wang, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's continue with serious matters. Please don't discuss national affairs in such a frivolous tone," Hu Hai said sternly, a smirk playing on his lips.

You scoundrel! You still pity Zhao Gao? Zhao Gao is the one who killed you and me. How can I appease my hatred if I don't kill him?

I am sacrificing my own interests for the greater good, sacrificing my already meager intelligence in order to kill Zhao Gao.

"Let's continue talking about the Xiongnu."

"The Xiongnu? What's there to say about the Xiongnu? Do you think your father can't think of things that you can think of? If your father were to pursue them on the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, it would require the full strength of the nation. Right now, your father is busy with the affairs of the Baiyue, how can he have time to deal with the Xiongnu?" Fusu took out a map and drew a large circle around the area that was formerly the Chu Kingdom. "The Xiongnu are just a minor border threat to Great Qin. The Baiyue and the South China Sea are the most important matters."

"The Baiyue region and the like occupied half of the Qin territory, while the Lingnan and South China Sea regions were more than twice the size of the former Qin territory."

"For eight hundred years, the State of Chu failed to govern the South China Sea properly. Now, although the South China Sea is nominally Qin territory, it is actually entirely controlled by barbarians, with numerous tribes and feudal lords vying for power. If this is not addressed, within a century, the South China Sea will revert to its former desolation, indistinguishable from the Xiongnu and other nomadic tribes. Therefore, the Baiyue people of the South China Sea are the greatest and most persistent internal threat to our Great Qin."

"If we don't deal with the Baiyue people in the South China Sea properly, I'm afraid Father won't be able to sleep peacefully at night."

"You don't really think that Father Emperor visits the former Chu region every time he goes on an inspection tour just to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Baiyue people, do you?"

"That's what you've always thought!" Hu Hai couldn't help but complain.

"Shut up! When discussing serious matters and national affairs, please don't use such a childish tone." Fusu decisively threw Huhai's words back at him.

Who am I? I am the number one face-slapping prince of the Great Qin Dynasty! How dare you mock me? You have a death wish! I'll slap you in the face in a heartbeat.

Fusu retorted with the same words, and Huhai pouted indignantly, "Since the Baiyue region is so important, why do we still need to fight the Xiongnu? Don't you know that fighting the Xiongnu will slow down the process of conquering the Baiyue?"

"I know, but we have to fight." Fusu pointed to the Henan region on the map. "Moreover, this battle can only succeed and cannot fail. We must strike hard and cripple the Xiongnu in one blow, so that they will know the power of our Qin army."

Hu Hai thought for a moment, chuckled twice, and said, "Brother, could you be more specific? I still don't quite understand."

"We're fighting to make them feel pain, to make them dare not underestimate Qin, and to make them dare not easily attack Qin. But it's not to annihilate them. We don't have the time or the national strength to annihilate them right now, understand?"

"So Meng Tian's mission this time is simply to drive the Xiongnu far away, so that they dare not invade the border again for the time being, and to make the border peaceful for the time being, so that Father Emperor will have time to deal with the Baiyue affairs."