Chapter 228 Chapter Ten Heartfelt Words

Three days later, Xiao Pan, Xiang Shaolong and other troops returned to the court, and the Empress Dowager and Lao Ai led all civil and military officials out of the city to welcome them. Judging by the expression, Zhu Ji's joy came from the heart, while Lao Ai was quite reluctant. Lao Ai is not a fool, but a very cunning and despicable villain.He naturally knew that he was excluded from the prince's political group.The next day when the crown prince ascended the throne, the empress dowager Zhu Ji lost the power to assist the government, and that was the time when he lost power. Once again Xiang Shaolong stabilized Xianyang and became the most powerful leader in the military, making Xiaopan's throne even more stable. As long as Puji was wiped out again, there would only be the two parties of Lu Lai left.

However, in the past ten years, Lu Buwei has vigorously cultivated party members and appointed private individuals in various places, and his strength is still not to be underestimated. Although Xianyang is the capital, it always needs the support of local counties and counties in many aspects. The local army of the dynasty is in charge of the county lieutenant.The county guard is only in charge of political affairs, while the county lieutenant is in charge of military affairs.Theoretically, the army is under the control of the monarch alone, and the monarch will order the counties to send troops in case of emergency.

As for the military tax, it is levied on a household by population basis, and every man who has reached the legal age has to serve the country for two years: one year as a soldier; one year as a soldier. Guarding the frontier is called a standing army. But there are also professional soldiers who have become the main force of Daqin. Because of the convenience of building the Zhengguo Canal, Lu Buwei obtained the power to mobilize the local standing army, which also enabled him to strengthen his control over local forces.It wasn't until the birth of the black dragon and the establishment of the Sangong Jiuqing in Xiaopan that the situation where Lu Buwei monopolized everything was broken.

But Lu Buwei had already taken advantage of the past few years to cultivate his own team at the local level.Therefore, if you make a mess, it will be much more difficult to deal with than Chengxu or Lai Ai. So he was not afraid of Cheng Yu's success in seizing the throne, because he could use the banner to set things right at that time.It's just that he never dreamed that his opponent was Qin Shihuang, a rare and peerless overlord in Chinese history, who was more powerful than him. ◇◇◇◇◇◇ After returning to Xianyang, it is customary to worship the ancestors and have a feast. After morning court the next day, Zhu Ji summoned Xiang Shaolong to Ganquan Palace.Xiang Shaolong had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to see Zhu Ji.

The notorious Queen Mother in power of the Qin State met him in the side hall of the inner palace. After dismissing the maid, Zhu Ji said solemnly: "Changxin Hou Lai Ai Feng often said that he did not participate in the pacification of the riots this time. Even my work The Empress Dowager is kept in the dark, what is going on? We are so tired that we are worried for nothing." Xiang Shaolong thought to himself, why don't you ask your own son about this kind of thing, instead of asking yourself the teacher who committed the crime. But of course he wouldn't say it out loud, and said respectfully, "It's normal for Marquis Chang Xin not to know about the separation of civil and military affairs."

Zhu Jifeng opened her eyes and said displeasedly: "Then why doesn't the guard know about this? Han Jie didn't know that you were going to fight outside the city, so he couldn't cooperate at all." After Guan Zhongxie led the army to go out, Han Jie was promoted to the orthodox commander, with Xu Shang as his deputy. Xiang Shaolong said indifferently: "The reason why we were able to win this time is because of the words 'surprise victory', and to be able to become a surprise soldier, we must have all kinds of tricks to confuse the enemy, so that the enemy has wrong information. Since the enemy has many eyes and ears in the city , so we have to resort to extraordinary measures, please be enlightened by the Empress Dowager."

Zhu Ji stayed for a while, then sighed quietly: "Don't say such high-sounding words to me, okay? You and Zheng'er can lie to anyone, but how can you lie to me? If you don't want Chang Xinhou to know, I won't Will tell him." Xiang Shaolong didn't expect that Zhu Ji would suddenly talk to him in this tone, and with deep old feelings welling up, he sighed and said, "Chu Jun is growing up day by day, and he is no longer the child he used to be. What he cares about now is How to manage the country well and unify the world. All obstacles that stand in his way will be cleared by him one day. This is a necessary process for all kings to grow, and history has made it very clear."

Zhu Ji's pretty face suddenly turned pale, and she said in a startled voice: "Shaolong, what do you mean by these words, will Zheng'er deal with me?" Xiang Shaolong knew that it was because she gave birth to two evil breeds with Lao Ai, so he pretended to be guilty, and said with a wry smile: "Of course the prince will not be unfilial to the queen mother, but he doesn't have to have any filial piety towards other people, no matter Zhongfu or False father, all of them." After Zhu Ji looked at him blankly for a while, she lowered her head and said in a low voice: "Tell Zhu Ji, will Xiang Shaolong deal with her?"

Xiang Shaolong was deeply moved, and said decisively: "Even if someone puts a sword on Xiang Shaolong's neck, I will not hurt the Empress Dowager." Zhu Ji said softly, "Where's Marquis Chang Xin?" Xiang Shaolong was stunned for a while, and then said in a sarcastic tone that he heard: "As long as he is loyal to the queen mother and the prince, I can guarantee that he will be fine." Of course fate will not be like this. The Lai Ai Rebellion was the last internal struggle before Qin Shihuang's crown ceremony, and Lu Buwei was implicated and defeated because of this.

Suddenly, he knew that he had become a pivotal figure who could influence the political situation of the Qin Dynasty, so Zhu Ji also had no shame in asking his subordinates to inquire about his intentions.And he became the only person that Xiaopan fully trusted.Even Yi Shi Han Chuang, Xiao Pan didn't take it seriously, and if it was someone else, he would either be dismissed or beheaded. At this moment, Zhu Ji's delicate body trembled slightly, and she raised her head.He hesitated to speak. Xiang Shaolong said softly, "Does the Empress Dowager have any inquiries for this minister?"

Zhu Ji said sadly: "Tell me, what should I do?" Xiang Shaolong caught the meaning behind this sentence, that is, she had lost control of Lai Ai, so she regretted it. After all, Xiao Pan is her "son" after all. Although the relationship between the two is deteriorating, she still will not intentionally murder her son with her adulterer. And Lao Ai wanted to keep power.But everyone knows that this is impossible. When Xiao Pan is in power, Lai Ai can only end in dismay. Xiang Shaolong pondered for a while, knowing that if he didn't take this opportunity to speak out what was on his mind, he would never have another chance in the future. As for whether Zhu Ji would listen, that was her business. Standing up, moved to Zhu Ji's seat, knelt down on one knee, bowed her head to carefully examine her delicate and beautiful appearance, and said frankly: "If the Empress Dowager is willing to listen to my advice from Xiang Shaolong, she should give up power as soon as possible. Returning to the Crown Prince, and taking Lord Fengchang back to Yongdu for a permanent residence, the conflict between the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince can be easily resolved." Zhu Ji's delicate body trembled again, and she called out in a low voice, "Shaolong, I..." Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind. The two looked in amazement, only to see the eyes of the intruding Lao Ai staring fiercely at them with jealous flames. Xiang Shaolong sighed secretly in his heart, good fortune tricks people, he still has no power to recover. ◇◇◇◇◇◇ When he returned to Wufu, Xiang Shaolong still had Lai Ai's resentful eyes flashing in his mind. Frozen three feet, not a day's cold.Lao Ai's jealousy towards him did not start today either. He is the kind of person who thinks that all women in the world must fall in love with him, he only knows how to fight, but doesn't know how to give.Compared with him, Lu Buwei's methods are indeed much more sophisticated. To a certain extent, Xiao Pan is acceptable as Lu Buwei's second father, but he absolutely refuses to recognize Lai Ai as a false father.Just for this point, Lai Ai has already planted the disaster of killing her. History has long proved that anyone who can become the founding emperor must be a ruthless person, and Xiaopan, Qin Shihuang, is one of them. After he killed Zhao Mu back then, he reported to him with shining eyes that he realized Xiao Pan's courage and boldness, but he was still only a fifteen-year-old child at that time. This time he planned to kill Cheng Yu and Du Bi, and at the same time ordered people to eradicate Pu Ji, which shows his thoughtfulness and ruthless nature, which of course has something to do with his background and experience. While thinking wildly, he and his personal guards galloped into the gate of Wu's house. I saw a carriage parked in the square, several generals from Qinqing's family were chatting with the Wu family's guards, and when they saw him coming, they respectfully saluted. Xiang Shaolong was overjoyed, jumped off the horse, and shouted: "Is Master Qin back?" One of them responded, "I just came back this morning." Xiang Shaolong surged into the mansion with overwhelming love.In the lobby, I saw the peerless beauty I had been thinking about day and night, dressed in plain clothes, chatting and laughing with Ji Yanran and other girls, and there were also Shan Lan, Zhou Wei and the children. Seeing Xiang Shaolong, Qin Qing's beautiful eyes immediately lit up with an indescribable flame of love, her delicate body trembled slightly, but her expression was still calm as usual, it was obvious that she was restraining herself. Wu Tingfang smiled and said, "Sister Qing is concerned about one of us, so she came back early." Qin Qing blushed immediately and gave Wu Tingfang a hard look, her expression extremely charming. Xiang Shaolong resisted the urge to hold her in his arms, he inserted himself between her and Zhao Zhi, and said with a smile, "Master Qin is less clear, but it is even more touching." Qin Qing happily said: "Although Qin Qing is not in Xianyang, the general's prestige is still as loud as thunder. What a coincidence to come back today, it just happens to be the time when the general returned home triumphantly." Shan Lan said with a smile: "You two don't have to play tricks, there is only one of you here, so you have to be so polite." Ji Yanran relieved Qin Qing's embarrassment, changed the topic and said to Xiang Shaolong: "Sister Qing said that Lu Buwei has gone to her hometown. She also tried her best to curry favor with the local rich people. The most shameless thing is that Li Si's idea of ​​reducing the tax came from Li Si, but he boasted that it was his credit." .” Zhou Wei said: "The most hateful thing is that he came to haunt sister Qing many times, and she was so scared that sister Qing wanted to avoid it." Xiang Shaolong smiled and said: "Because he made a wrong calculation, thinking that Cheng Yu can get rid of us, so there is no need to restrain himself." Leaning closer to Qin Qing, he said, "Tomorrow we will go back to the ranch, will Mrs. Qin be willing to spend the rest of my life?" Even Qin Qing's ears were red, and she said angrily: "Your official position is getting bigger and bigger, but people are getting less and less motivated. I won't talk to you, I still have to go to see the queen mother and the prince." Xiang Shaolong grabbed her forearm unscrupulously, beat her next to the ear and said, "Where is Liqin Taifu going, Taifu will definitely come here to spend the night tonight." Wu Tingfang was listening attentively, and said with a smile: "Sister Qing agreed a long time ago, but she came to sleep with our sisters for a night talk, hehe, I'm sorry, General." Xiang Shaolong nodded and said, "That would be even more ideal." All the girls laughed and cursed together, making a commotion. At this time Xiang Shaolong had forgotten about Zhu Ji, Lao Ai, and all the feuds and struggles. In this moment, life is so beautiful.His thoughts flew beyond the Great Wall, and he remembered the prairie he had visited when he was training in the 21st century.The blue sky and white clouds, the green grass like felt, stretch as far as the eye can see, the big and small lakes are like mirrors dotted on them, the long and short rivers are intertwined in it, and the fragrance of grass is everywhere.How touching is life if you can spend this strange life peacefully with your wife, maidservant and love child in the pasture of nature, without paying attention to the struggle and killing in the world? The next day, he and Teng Yi's family returned to the ranch, and of course Qin Qing was indispensable to accompany them.The two suffered from lovesickness, and no longer cared what others thought of them. Ten days later, Wangling and Huanju gathered an army of 100,000 to attack Tunliu, and Puji also betrayed Qin and turned to Zhao under the banner of revenge for Chengyu.Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe were repeatedly repulsed by Li Mu, so they changed to the defensive and tried their best to stabilize the eastern counties. The situation was extremely dangerous. At the same time, King Han Huanhui died of illness, and Crown Prince An succeeded him as king. Han Chuang, who had always been friendly with Prince An, took the position of prime minister and became the most influential person in Korea.However, Lord Longyang’s power in Wei also greatly increased, and the two countries joined hands to fight against Qin, suppressing the eastward advance of the two armies of Guan Zhongxie and the Meng brothers. But Xiang Shaolong and Teng Yi lived a leisurely life in the pasture.There are still two years to go before Xiaopan's crowning ceremony, but in this period of time, whether it is long or short, no one can guess what changes will occur. On this day Chang Wenjun and Li Si went to the ranch to visit them together. Everyone was very happy to meet each other. When Xiang Shaolong and Teng Yi led the two of them to ride horses around at dusk, Lord Changwen said, "Lv Buwei just came back, and his relationship with Lai Ai has obviously improved. From time to time, they go to the Zuifeng Tower to drink and have fun together, and they even talk about Bai Yaya. Let it go to Lai Ai." Li Si said coldly: "In my opinion, he wants to repeat the treacherous scheme against Cheng Xun, that is, to incite Lai Ai to rebel and cause chaos, and maybe even support him and the empress dowager's evil son to ascend to the throne, and then get rid of Lai Ai." , self-proclaimed king. Since Lu Buwei is very powerful in the local area now, it is impossible to do it." Lord Changping continued: "But there is one thing that is quite strange. After Shaolong left, the queen mother asked the crown prince to talk, and after she voluntarily handed over part of her power, she avoided living in Yongdu. Lai Ai now goes back and forth between Yongdu and Xianyang from time to time, but some Major decisions or personnel promotions still require the Queen Mother to nod." Xiang Shaolong was relieved that Zhu Ji was finally willing to listen to his words, which made the relationship between her and Xiao Pan a bit better. Teng Yi said, "What's the news about Mao Jiao?" Lord Changping snorted coldly and said, "He said that Lai Ai is cultivating power in Yongdu. There is one thing you don't know yet. He ordered Qi to be the city guard of Yongdu. Since Yongdu is where the Taimiao is located, it is under the authority of Lai Ai. It can be said that Yongdu has fallen into his grasp." Xiang Shaolong knew a long time ago that Lai Ai would win some capital, otherwise he would not be able to raise troops to rebel. Teng Yi asked about the battle between Wangling and Huanju. Li Si sighed: "The prince is also worried. Pu Ji's policy against the troops and civilians who stayed in the village can't hold on. The king's general can't help him for a while. The most feared thing is that winter is coming. It's good for defense and bad for attack. What's more, there is Li Mu who is not clear. Factors exist." Lord Changping sighed: "I don't know whether Lu Buwei intended or not. On the pretext that the construction of the Zhengguo Canal will be completed soon, a large number of people from the local area were mobilized to build the canal, leaving us with no soldiers to deploy. We are having a headache because of this." Xiang Shaolong couldn't help feeling remorse, if he had agreed to Xiao Pan to lead the army to stay in the expedition that day, he wouldn't have to spend so much time on the expedition at Wang Ling's age. But this has become an unchangeable reality. There was a faint ominous feeling in my heart.