Chapter 217 Chapter 10 The Dragon Out of the Wei River

Beginning of spring. Before dawn, most of the people in Xianyang City put on new clothes, and went to the upper reaches of the Wei River to participate in the grand spring festival as if they were going to a market. There is an endless stream of people on the road, but it is orderly. Under the command of Teng Yi, Jing Jun, and Guo Xing, all the 20,000 cavalry troops dispatched to maintain order along the way.All commanding heights that can sneak attack on the convoy on the road are guarded and heavily guarded.If there are assassins, they can only use the cover of trees beside the road to carry out assassination operations.

Zhu Ji, Lu Buwei and a group of ministers and ministers went to the palace to meet Xiao Pan before dawn, and first sacrificed to the late king at the ancestral temple before setting off by car. Under the cover of Chang Wenjun and a group of guards masters, Xiao Pan turned into one of the guards and set off among the brigade without getting into the gorgeous carriage with the Wang Qi. Wang Nian was replaced by Jing Shan who was pretending to be a small pan. This child's agility was comparable to that of Jing Jun, and he was the best candidate to deal with sudden changes.Xiang Shaolong was still afraid that he might make a mistake, so he added iron plates to the walls of the carriage, just like a bullet-proof vehicle in the 21st century.

The brigade drove out of the palace gate and went up the Wei River after leaving the city. The people lined up and cheered, expressing their support and love for the monarch. The two teams, each with nearly a hundred guards, led vicious dogs and carried out a carpet-like search in the dense forests on both sides of the official road on foot to prevent the enemy from hiding in the forest and firing cold arrows.The Wujia fighters, on the other hand, disguised themselves as civilians and mixed among the crowd, like plain-clothes spies in the 21st century, monitoring suspicious figures among the crowd.

Xiang Shaolong rode behind the king's chariot, constantly directing the actions of the imperial guards, fully displaying what he learned in the 21st century. With the brigade of imperial guards opening the way, Wang Nian led the way, and the people everywhere gave way and knelt down to worship.There are two rows of guards on both sides of the convoy, the outer row is armed with high shields, and the inner row is equipped with crossbow arrows, which can be said to be impeccable in defense. Xiang Shaolong fell more than ten horses behind, and rode alongside Xiao Pan, Li Si, Chang Wenjun and others.

Xiao Pan happily watched the riders on the hill on the left waving the banner of safety to them, and said happily, "Teacher's arrangement is an eye-opener for everyone." Li Si said with a smile: "An assassin with three heads and six arms, in my opinion, will have no way to strike, so he retreats when he faces difficulties." Xiang Shaolong looked up.Looking at the morning mist surrounding the gap, he smiled and said: "The enemy must have carefully planned, and there must be a contingency method. According to my guess, the main assault will come from above. As long as you climb to the top of the tree, you can attack with arrows and stones. If we are not prepared, with the support of assassins mixed in with the crowd, and with an obvious target, we might succeed."

Xiao Pan, Li Si and Chang Wenjun looked at the top of the tree covered in the mist, and they all felt chills in their hearts. Xiang Shaolong continued: "There is a spruce forest in front, whether it is to attack or escape, it is the most ideal place. If you want to attack, it should be there." Xiao Pan was very excited, and his eyes shot a fiery light, but Li Si and Chang Wenjun became nervous, and they were no longer in the mood to joke.Xiang Shaolong secretly thought that Qin Shihuang was Qin Shihuang after all, and he was much more courageous than ordinary people. Clamping the horse's belly, he chased after the king's chariot.

◇◇◇◇◇◇ The vanguard marched into the official road with towering spruce trees. The fog was getting thicker, and the vision was blurred more than ten paces away. Before the brigade arrived, the sound of drum music came first, and the people bowed down to the roadside one after another, waiting for the carriages and horses to pass by. Amidst the cheers, the king's chariot drove into the forest. The imperial guards had given orders earlier to wake up and prepare for the sudden attack. Xiang Shaolong calmed down on the contrary, his eyes found Wu Guo among the crowd, and after exchanging winks, it's not surprising if he didn't find it.

If the enemy doesn't even have the ability to camouflage, it won't be used at all. When a group of masters made up their minds to die and decided to assassinate a certain target, it would become an extremely terrifying force. Xiang Shaolong issued an order to the surrounding iron guards, Wu Yan waited for them to disperse a little, chase after the king's chariot, and be more vigilant. The half-mile-long forest road is as long as a century. Contrary to everyone's expectations, when the forest gradually thinned out, no assassin appeared yet. The sound of Weishui flowing faintly came from ahead.

Then the front suddenly opened up, and the big river flowed in front of it, and the mist was only a thin layer, which seemed to cover the earth with a light veil. When Xiang Shaolong was breathing a sigh of relief, a sudden change occurred. A strange sound came from the side of the road, and when Xiang Shaolong still couldn't figure out what was going on, the guards protecting the royal chariot fell off their horses one after another, and then a heavy object with an astonishing speed slammed into the wall of the carriage. sound.The driver of the car had his head chopped off by some terrible weapon, and fell down from the car.The eight horses pulling the cart fell to the ground in blood.

The outer wall of the carriage was shattered and splashed, and the sound was terrifying. The crowd on the road immediately became a mess, scattered and fled, crying loudly for a while, and it was difficult to distinguish the enemy from ourselves. Xiang Shaolong gave a loud shout, pulled out the Hundred Battles Sword, and rushed forward. Several people rushed out from the side of the road. With a sound of "Boom!", one of them smashed open the car door with a heavy iron rod. At this time, the guard who was closest to the king's chariot without being injured was ten steps away.

"Ah!" One of the people who wanted to rush to the car was shot in the face and fell to the ground. All the iron guards fired their crossbow arrows at once, and the sneak attackers were shot to death one after another, only two of them turned back and fell into the sparse forest, avoiding the crossbow arrows. Xiang Shaolong and others surrounded him. More than a dozen figures fled from both sides, heading towards the Weihe River. Amidst the roar of hoofbeats, all the guards chased after him wildly. Xiang Shaolong came to the car door that was knocked open, and shouted: "Hold on to the crowd!" When everyone followed the order, Xiang Shaolong glanced into the car, only to see Jing Shan poking out his bloodless face, and said in shock: "Fortunately, there is a steel plate embedded, otherwise the boy would have died." Xiang Shaolong took a closer look and saw more than a dozen circular iron wheels scattered on the ground, the edges were thin and sharp, shining brightly, but at this moment they were all broken.Looking at the nearly 30 imperial guards lying in a pool of blood on the ground next to the car, they were all killed on the spot, shocking, with broken shields scattered all over the road. This kind of round wheel thrown by the arm is more lethal than a crossbow, and even a shield can't stop it.Looking at the wall of the carriage again, the wooden boards were broken, exposing the bent iron boards, and he couldn't help but gasp.Two of the iron wheels flew into the car and cut Jing Shan's armor when they collided. Fortunately, only a little flesh was cut. The brigade stopped. The frightened crowd was pushed aside, away from the scene, and Ugo was in charge of checking to see if any assassins were among them. When Xiao Pan and others came to Xiang Shaolong's side, they were horrified when they saw the tragic situation after the catastrophe. At this time, Chang Wenjun met someone to report, the assassin jumped into the big river, swam to the other side, and only killed three people. Xiang Shaolong jumped off the horse and inspected the four assassins who were shot, each of them was hit by at least three arrows, they all died on the spot, there is no clue to trace. At this time, Wang Yan, Wang Ling, Lao Ai, Lu Buwei and other ministers and ministers rushed over and saw Jing Shan coming out of the car, they were all shocked. Xiao Pan took off his helmet, revealed his dragon face, and said to Guan Zhongxie with a cold face: "Immediately search the city for the widow, if there are any criminals left in the city, you don't need to be the commander of the capital guard." His eyes fell everywhere On the dead body, he said sadly: "Give me a generous burial and pension!" I couldn't bear to look any more, so I patted my horse and galloped towards the Spring Sacrifice. ◇◇◇◇◇◇ Although the assassination tragedy happened, most people didn't know what happened, and the atmosphere was still warm. When Xiao Pan, Zhu Ji, Lu Buwei and a group of ministers and ministers stepped onto the altar, drums and music resounded, and nearly 100,000 people on the left bank fell to the ground and shouted "Long Live" in unison. Teng Yi and Jing Jun commanded Duqi and were responsible for maintaining order. After Shang Yang's reform, among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, the people of Qin were the most disciplined and obedient. Even in this kind of scene, everything was in order. Xiang Shaolong and others feared that there would be another assassin mingling in the crowd, and built a human wall to keep everyone at a safe distance. The fog thickened again and condensed on the big river, making people feel the mysterious and blurred side of nature. Xiang Shaolong, who was in the audience, carefully observed the expressions of Taiyuan Du Bi and Pu Ji, and saw that although the expressions of the two were as usual, there were small movements showing inner uneasiness from time to time. Knowing that the two failed in the assassination, they were at a loss and at a loss If lost. "Peng!" Xiao Pan took the torch and ignited the kindling in the giant cauldron on the stage, the flames soared into the sky, and the smoke rushed into the sky and disappeared into the water mist. The audience was silent. Xiao Pan unfolded the sacrificial text and read it aloud. I saw him standing proudly, with a dignified demeanor, indeed having the majesty of ruling the world. Teng Yi came to Xiang Shaolong's side at this time, and said in a low voice: "I heard that even Xiaoshan almost died, I never thought the assassin was so powerful." Xiang Shaolong still had lingering fears: "If the target is me, I'm afraid I'll be dead long ago. Who would have thought that the other party would have such a terrifying weapon." Teng Yi stared at the Weihe River locked in mist, completely unable to see the scene on the other side, so he pushed him and said, "Here we come!" Xiang Shaolong couldn't see anything at first, reminded him, looked around, and found that the river water started to roll for some unknown reason, with a powerful momentum. People near the shore also began to notice the strange situation, and pointed out in horror. Lu Buwei and others on the stage were dumbfounded, looking towards the river for some unknown reason. The people standing at the back all raised their feet to watch. The sound of Xiao Pan reading the sacrificial oration was gradually overwhelmed by roaring voices. Suddenly, a black dragon's tail protruded from the depths of the fog to the surface of the water, and after nearly half a foot, it came back to the surface of the water suddenly, splashing water in the sky, and the dense fog seemed to be blown away. Xiang Teng and the others didn't expect Ji Yanran to come up with this trick, and its vividness was completely different from the previous "Dead Dragon" in the first performance, and they were shocked. The people on the shore and the generals and ministers on the stage were all shocked by it, and there were loud noises, and some people were so frightened that their knees went weak, they knelt or sat down, and fell to the ground. The guards were still in shock, they hurriedly hugged Xiao Pan, some even drew their swords and bent their bows. Xiao Pan shouted loudly to stop, and shouted: "Water comes out of the gods, don't move rashly, and those who disobey the order will be cut off." Lord Changwen and others of course stopped the guards to avoid "tragedy", and the river calmed down again. More than 100,000 monarchs and citizens, everyone held their breath and stared at the lake. There was a series of screams, and in the depths of the dense fog, the invisible black dragon reappeared as a fairy, floating and sinking, tossing the waves, and did not enter the water after a long time. Xiang Shaolong and the others yelled out their throats together: "The black dragon was born, and the gods descended from the sky. I, Daqin, will be blessed by the water god." Lord Changping took the lead and knelt down first, and then everyone knelt down like him, even Lu Buwei, Guan Zhongxie and others were infected by the intense atmosphere and knelt down. The banks along the river for nearly five miles are full of people who worship the river. In the end, Xiao Pan had to stand proudly on the stage alone, facing Dahe with his hands raised high, his image was extremely prominent. In the anticipation of everyone, the black dragon reappeared. A huge faucet popped up about three feet in front of the small pan, and then sank again, like this three times later.The whole dragon floated to the surface of the water, more than ten feet long, and its tail kept slapping the river water, which made everyone tremble with fear. The black dragon suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar, and even Xiang Shaolong and the others knew that it was the effect of many people shouting in unison, but they were amazed at the resemblance.The black dragon's eyes suddenly burst into flames, and it shook its head up and down three times as if kowtowing to Xiaopan before submerging in the water. Wang Yan took the opportunity and shouted: "The water is auspicious, long live the prince." Everyone came back to their senses and shouted together: "Long live the black dragon, long live the crown prince!" The trembling voice rose and fell like a tide, and the mountains and valleys echoed. More than 100,000 people boiled, and the atmosphere was extremely enthusiastic. The black dragon never came out again. Lu Buwei, Guan Zhongxie, Du Bi, Pu Wei, Lao Ai and others looked at each other, staring at each other, not knowing how to deal with this shocking and strange event in front of them. ◇◇◇◇◇◇ Strike the iron while the iron is hot, and at the time when Xiao Pan was celebrating the auspiciousness of the black dragon from inside to outside, on the way Xiao Pan returned to the palace, Ji Yanran came here pretending to hear the news, and presented Zou Yan's "The End of the Five Virtues" to Xiao Pan.This dramatic blockade caused another commotion, and the emotions of the courtiers and the people were no longer under anyone's control.Groups of courtiers and generals took the initiative to enter the palace to meet Xiao Pan and swear allegiance.Firecrackers are everywhere in Xianyang City, and people sing, dance and cheer on the street, and they take turns to bow down to the palace. Under Xiang Shaolong's suggestion, Xiaopan opened the military parade ground of the palace, and went out three times to receive cheers from the crowd. Of course, the protection was extremely tight. Lu Buwei and Lao Ai were caught off guard. Although they were suspicious, they were helpless. The appearance of the black dragon was more powerful than the combined power of the ten sets of "Lushi Chunqiu", and Xiaopan's reputation suddenly rose to an unprecedented peak. At the end of the day and the beginning of the new year, Wang Wan, Lord Changping, Li Si, Wang He, and Wang Ling all important officials and generals entered the palace to meet with Xiao Pan, and suggested that the Qin family officially adopt Zou Yan's "Five Virtues End and Beginning Theory" as a letter of credence. And please formally designate Ji Yanran as a distinguished "female teacher" and be responsible for drafting the change of dynasty in response to Xiangrui's "New Deal". Xiang Shaolong, the planner of this matter, did not expect the power of the black dragon to be so powerful, even many courtiers who originally voted for Lu Buwei also voted for Xiaopan instead. Xiaopan immediately held a temporary court meeting, and Ji Yanran read the New Deal at the court.All civil and military officials in the court looked excited, but Lu Buwei and Zhu Ji were amazed. However, in this mysterious and superstitious atmosphere, no one dared to rebel against the fateful Xiaopan. The beautiful and talented girl Ji put on a gorgeous black gown with dark gold patterns and a high crown on her head. Baoxiang solemnly declared the Weishui as "the water of virtue" first. Since Weishui is a section of the Yellow River, in other words, the entire Yellow River It became Deshui. Because of the lack of water in winter, October, the beginning of winter, is divided into the beginning of the year, which is the first month of the year. Then there is "the color is still black", because the five elements match the positive color, and the water is black, so the costumes and flags are all changed to black as the main color. Followed by "degree by six", the five elements of water correspond to the number six of magic, so in the future, all kinds of utensils will be measured by "number six".For example, talismans and dharma crowns are all great talents, but they are six feet long, and six feet are steps, and they ride on big horses. Xiang Shaolong's scalp tingled with excitement as he watched this grand event planned by himself.No one is more aware of the far-reaching impact of this event on the Qin Dynasty than he, and it has also left an indelible narrative in Chinese history. After Qin Neng united China, he divided the world into thirty-six counties, because thirty-six is ​​a self-multiplier of six.Another example is that the number of rich people who moved to Xianyang is "120,000 households", and 120,000 is exactly 20,000 times that of six. Finally, the most crucial political reform is to use Ji Yanran's mouth to implement the "three lords and nine lords" system carefully conceived by Li Si, so as to strengthen the centralization of power in Xiaopan.Reverse the situation that the official system was disordered and the king's order was difficult to implement due to Lu Buwei's power. On the surface, most people are still able to maintain their own power, and Lao Ai's power has even increased greatly, but secretly it has become a trend of using Lai Ai to control Lu Buwei, while Xiao Pan has once again seized military power and finances. Lu Buwei was still the prime minister, Changping Jun changed the left prime minister to Taiwei, and Feng Jie became the censor doctor, collectively known as the Sangong. The duties and powers of the three public officials are clearly defined. The prime minister is the head of the civil servants, who inherits the emperor's orders, holds the golden seal, wears the purple ribbon, and assists the Qin emperor in the affairs of the country.This is like a disguised denial of Lu Buwei's "secondary father" status full of regent ministers.The prime minister does not appear as the opposite of the monarch, but must obey the will of the monarch everywhere, which strengthens the authority of the king. Lord Changping's Taiwei assisted Xiaopan in taking charge of the country's military affairs, enabling Qin's army to have a unified command, and invisibly cut off Meng Ao, Du Bi and others who had previously enjoyed a high degree of freedom over their subordinate troops. right.If this reform combines the former position of Prime Minister Zuo with Da Sima, and if the powers of Xu Xian and Lu Gong are combined into one position, through Lord Changping, Xiao Pan can directly control the most powerful Qin army in the world up. This post is also a gold seal with a purple ribbon. The Yushi doctor at the end of the three lords is a clever strategy conceived by Li Si, a super brain, to cut Lu Buwei's power. On the surface, the imperial censor just waited for Li Si's previous long history, and handled all the memorial orders for Xiaopan, and only had the power to supervise his subordinates.But when Ji Yanran elaborated on her duties and powers, she pointed out that the censor could intervene in all matters that the prime minister had the power to handle, but the power of supervision by the censor was not something that the prime minister, Lu Buwei, could have.So it became the imperial censor to contain the prime minister, and Lu Buwei's influence was reduced by overt praise and covert reduction. Feng Jie was in charge of the law before, and he was just and unreliable. No one dared to object to him taking up this position. Only from this can we see where Xiaopan employs people well. Lao Ai was promoted from internal history to Fengchang, the head of the nine ministers, in charge of the court rituals of the ancestral temple, under Taile, Taizhu, Dazai, Taishi, Taishang, Taicheng and Liulingcheng. This can be said to be a high-ranking position without real power. It is most suitable for Lao Ai's status as a "fake eunuch", and it also gives Zhu Ji enough face to avoid arousing her resentment. Lai Ai's original post of internal history was replaced by Lai Ai's brother, Lai Si.Xiao Pan learned from Xiang Shaolong that this person is ignorant and just a lustful mediocre person, so she is not worried about him at all.What's more, the internal history has always only focused on the exchange of documents between the three major military departments in the capital and the palace.Even if you want to do evil, you can't act like it. Chang Wenjun became the Lang Zhongling, the second seat of the Jiuqing, and was in charge of the defense of the entire capital. In other words, the imperial guards, city guards, and all cavalry armies all became his subordinates. Among the other Weiwei, Taipu, Tingwei, Dianke, Zongzheng, Zhisu Neishi, and Shaofu Qiqing, Tingwei, Zhisu Neishi, and Shaofu are the most important. Li Si, Wang Wan, and Cai Ze took office. Li Si and others were promoted several levels in a row, and they were in charge of the country's criminal justice. They were the highest judicial officials in the country. Zhi Su Neishi is the Minister of Finance, responsible for national taxes and financial expenditures.It is also an important position for the Shaofu to manage domestic commerce, and Xiao Pan has to appease an important minister like Cai Ze. In terms of foreign wars, Wang He, Meng Ao, Wang Ling and Wang Jian were appointed as the Four Great Generals, while Xiang Shaolong, An Guxi and Du Bi were still the Great Generals. Only these seven were able to lead the army to fight. that power. This can be said to be a political reform that contains compromises. The most benefited is Xiao Pan, followed by Lai Ai, but Lu Buwei is like a dumb man who eats coptis, and he knows what he suffers. But because all the ministers including Zhu Ji and Wang Wan support Xiaopan now, Lu Buwei can only accept it sadly. The black dragon's unconstrained and unconstrained soldiers, coupled with the ensuing "blocking the way to present books" suddenly dropped Lu Buwei from the top of power by at least a few levels, and he will no longer be able to cover the sky with one hand and do whatever he wants like before. After Xiaopan announced his retirement from the court, the officials shouted "Long live", and then everyone rushed home, bathed and changed their clothes, so as to participate in the spring banquet held in the palace tonight, and the beginning of winter became the new year of Qin.