The year 255 BC should have been the year when the Qin State seized the Nine Cauldrons and legally achieved its right to conquer the world.
But in this time and space, the Battle of Handan did not happen, the old King of Qin made no mistakes in both domestic and foreign policies, and he also had famous ministers and generals such as Zhu Xiang, Lin Zhi, Cai Ze, Li Mu, and Lian Po, which greatly increased the threat to the six countries.
It is obvious that Qin has become more powerful, but the results of this year's attack on Zhou are not as good as in the original time and space.
The six countries united briefly again and tried to drive Qin back to Hangu Pass.
The coalition of five countries, which was originally planned to be joined by Chu, was now joined by Qi. The world-renowned Xinling Jun Wei Wuji led his followers to charge at the forefront in the rain of stones and arrows, which greatly boosted the morale of the coalition and repelled the Qin army that was besieging Luoyi.
The Qin army had not suffered such a great defeat for many years. The success of this battle greatly boosted the morale of the five-nation coalition forces.
Wei Wuji had already discussed with the generals of the other four countries to pursue the victory westwards and take back the original Three Jins lands occupied by Qin.
But all this came to naught when the King of Wei took away Wei Wuji's military power and ordered Wei to withdraw its troops.
After Wei withdrew its troops, the King of Han immediately announced his own withdrawal.
Wei, Han, and Zhao were all bordering Qin. After Qin occupied the Shangdang Plateau, there were basically no large mountains or rivers blocking Wei, Han, and Qin, and Qin could send troops to destroy these two countries at any time.
The reason why Qin State does not send troops now is not because it cannot defeat the enemy, but because it is worried that it will suffer from indigestion if swallowed.
But if Wei and Han went too far, Qin would definitely teach them a lesson. Previously, Wei was the main force behind the coalition. If the Qin people got angry, the King of Han would dare to follow suit because Wei was there to support them.
Now that Wei had retreated, the King of Han of course retreated immediately. He also sent someone to send a letter to the King of Qin, saying that he was wrong and that he would go to the Qin King in person to congratulate him when the new king ascended the throne.
This humble gesture is almost like saying directly that we, the South Korean state, want to be a vassal state of the Qin state.
After Han Fei learned about this, he was so sick that he stayed in bed for a long time. Li Si, his only friend who could debate with him, took the opportunity to take care of him and became closer to him.
Han Fei was a good boy who was grateful for the help he had received, and he recognized Li Si's talent. Although Li Si's talent was far inferior to his, it was still much better than most of the mediocre talents in the Xianyang Academy.
So Han Fei said with emotion on the sickbed that he would find a way to fulfill his good friend Li Si's wish, and when Duke Zhu Xiang was free, he would ask Duke Zhu Xiang to give Li Si a chance to meet him.
Li Si also shed tears of emotion.
He had been subservient to Han Fei for so long that he had developed the ability to know what Han Fei meant by the second half of his sentence and to refute it immediately. Now his long-cherished wish was finally fulfilled.
Unfortunately, Duke Zhu Xiang is now in the Xianyang Palace, and he may have to wait until the new King of Qin ascends the throne before he will have the chance to meet Duke Zhu Xiang.
Two of the five-nation coalition forces retreated, leaving Zhao, Yan and Qi looking at each other in bewilderment.
The nobles of Qi had long been corrupted by the huge sums of money sent by Qin, and had always been on the edge of the coalition. Now they saw that if they continued to fight, they would have to take the lead, so they immediately wanted to retreat.
Only Zhao, Yan and Qi were left holding on, and there was one most important problem - food and grass.
Lian Po went to plunder Yan State because Zhao State was about to face a great famine. Although several years have passed, the lost population and abandoned land will take time to recover. In addition, the politics of both countries have been in turmoil for a long time, and the people have not had enough time to recuperate, so food and grass are not sufficient.
When Guan Zhong was in power, Qi State attached great importance to agricultural production, but later the people of Qi State found that sea salt and other businesses made their lives more prosperous. In addition, the land in Qi State was seriously salinized, and if the arable land needed to be increased, the state would need to build water conservancy projects. The nobles of Qi State were certainly unwilling to spend this money, so the current social structure of Qi State was mainly based on business, and food was more dependent on imports.
Although Wei and Han did not have large land areas, they were the main suppliers of food and fodder to the Five-Nation Alliance. As soon as they withdrew, the Alliance immediately ran out of food.
One of the reasons why Li Mu risked his life to cross the river to the north and force the King of Chu to keep his troops in place was that he observed the food and fodder problems of the five-nation coalition forces.
Chu occupied a large area of cultivated land south of the Huai River and north of the Yangtze River, and had sufficient food and grass. As long as Chu was not allowed to join the alliance, the five-nation coalition would not be able to hold out for long with the food and grass of Wei and Han.
Even if Cai Ze's strategy of sowing discord did not work, and Wei Wuji was able to lead the Five-Nation Coalition to the West, the lack of food and fodder would become a key point in detonating the Five-Nation Coalition.
When Qin was fighting against the six states, any incident could become a matter of life and death. Of course, Qin would not use only Cai Ze's strategy of alienation against the coalition forces of the five states.
The strategy of sowing discord might make the coalition army of the five countries leaderless, the deterrence of Lian Po and Bai Qi could reduce the morale of the coalition army of the five countries, and the hidden danger of food and grass would make it impossible for the coalition army of the five countries to last even if they won... These were all part of the Qin State's combined strategy.
These combined strategies were not even decided after consultation by the talented people of Qin State. Instead, they did what they could within their power. Then, relying on the tacit understanding between wise ministers and generals, and the powerful and keen observation and command ability of the King of Qin, they disintegrated the coalition of the five countries.
Eventually, Qi also withdrew from the alliance. Yan and Zhao were already enemies, and without other countries to serve as a buffer, they immediately parted ways.
The grand coalition fell apart after winning the next battle without any defeat on the battlefield.
This was the best outcome for the State of Qin, but Lian Po, who had finally made up his mind to be the enemy of the State of Zhao, felt very unhappy.
I'm here to fight, where is the war
Not to mention Lian Po, even the Qin soldiers who were waiting to make military achievements were very unhappy.
When only three countries were left in the coalition of five countries, they were very happy; when Qi also ran away, they were eager to fight; when the coalition of Zhao and Yan also dispersed, they were stunned.
Don't run! What will happen to our military merits if you run away
King Nan of Zhou was even more confused.
Wait, if you all run away, what will happen to Luoyi? What will I do? The Qin army has not retreated yet!
During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the King of Zhou carried out the final enfeoffment on the few lands directly under his control.
Initially, King Kao of Zhou granted his brother the land of Henan and established the Dukedom of Zhou. Later, the King of Zhou divided the Western Zhou into the Western Zhou and the Western Zhou. The capital of the Dukedom of Zhou was the old capital Luoyi, and the capital of the Dukedom of Zhou was Gong.
After this enfeoffment, the King of Zhou had no land at all and lived in the Principality of Eastern Zhou.
At this time, "Eastern Zhou" and "Western Zhou" refer to the Eastern Zhou Kingdom and the Western Zhou Kingdom, not the "Eastern Zhou" and "Western Zhou" divided by dynasties.
The reason why the King of Qin attacked the Zhou royal family this time was that Duke of Zhou saw that the power of Qin was getting stronger and stronger, and felt that his position was not secure, so he secretly hoped to promote a new alliance to jointly attack Qin. So Qin attacked Luoyi, the capital of Western Zhou, and beat the King of Zhou at the same time.
Seeing that the coalition had collapsed and they were in danger, King Nan of Zhou and Duke Xi of Zhou humbly sent people to deliver a letter of surrender, hoping to secede the city and ask Qin to withdraw its troops.
"Retreat!" Lian Po shouted angrily, "I have brought my troops to the gate of Luoyi, and you want me to retreat?! Attack the city!"
If he were an ordinary Qin general, considering the turmoil in the court caused by the transition of the old and new Qin kings, he might have really slowed down.
But Lian Po was a great noble of Zhao State, and he was used to freedom when leading troops. He finally overcame his psychological barriers and turned against his homeland, and came all the way to Luoyi. You want him to return empty-handed
Lian Po's bad temper is unbearable.
He immediately ordered the Qin soldiers, who were thought to be retreating, to attack, saying that he would bear all the consequences.
The Qin soldiers rushed into Luoyi and captured King Nan of Zhou and Duke Xi of Zhou.
Lian Po circled around the Nine Cauldrons for a few times and said, "Zhu Xiang once said that it was a waste to leave the Nine Cauldrons empty. Since they are ceremonial vessels representing the authority of the state, how can they not be filled with millet? How about we use the Nine Cauldrons to fill them with millet when we transport the grain of the Western Zhou Kingdom back to Xianyang this time?"
Lian Po’s subordinates: “…” Can they say it’s not good
However, they did lack containers to hold things, so they simply made a few wooden lids, put the looted food into the Nine Cauldrons, closed the lids and tied them tightly. This way, they could transport both the Nine Cauldrons and the food without wasting too much space.
As a nobleman, Lian Po understood the thoughts of princes and nobles very well.
Although this was his first expedition and he had taken the initiative to destroy the Western Zhou Kingdom without asking for the king's order, as long as he could bring the Nine Cauldrons back to the King of Qin as a gift, the King of Qin would not do anything to him.
Moreover, as an old general of Zhao State whom the King of Qin had invited back to Qin at the cost of several cities, he had won the first battle and had made great achievements. For the sake of influence, the King of Qin would not blame him. Therefore, Lian Po acted fearless.
He plundered the nobles' money to reward the soldiers and boost the morale of the Qin army. On the way back to Qin, he robbed several cities from Wei and Han.
The Western Zhou Kingdom and the Eastern Zhou Kingdom were tiny countries sandwiched between the Wei Kingdom and the Han Kingdom. After Lian Po conquered the Western Zhou Kingdom, he took a look at the map and thought that the Qin map bulged a little between the Wei Kingdom and the Han Kingdom, which was not very good, so he made the bulging "road" wider.
He decided to stop while he was ahead and only asked for one large city and three or four small cities from Wei and Han, saying that this was the price for Wei and Han to support the Zhou royal family.
When the King of Wei and the King of Han heard that Lian Po would leave after taking these cities, they quickly gave the map to Lian Po, hoping that Lian Po would leave immediately.
So Lian Po went out for a walk and captured part of the land of Western Zhou, Wei and Han without spending many soldiers. He presented them to the King of Qin along with the Nine Cauldrons filled with millet.
After he returned to Xianyang, he placed the Nine Cauldrons filled with millet in the Xianyang Palace. It was a magnificent scene.
Bai Qi, who was still sick, looked at Lian Po with even more sour eyes.
"Hey, Bai Qi, why are you sick? There was basically no fighting this time. The land was given directly by the enemy. It doesn't matter who leads the army." Lian Po saw Bai Qi's sour eyes and said rudely, "It's like I just picked up a credit when I went out."
Bai Qi: “…”
The old King of Qin sat in a wheelchair and rarely went out. Zhu Xiang pushed him around the Nine Cauldrons several times, and the old King of Qin's eyes sparkled as he looked at the Nine Cauldrons filled with millet.
The nine tripods were filled with millet, which not only meant that all the land in the world belonged to Qin, but also meant that the grain harvest on these lands would be abundant. There could be no better omen than this.
Lian Po was in a good mood when he saw that the King of Qin did not pursue him. He had a rare chat with the King of Qin and told him about an interesting thing that happened on the road.
The Nine Cauldrons were heavy, so Lian Po mostly used water routes to transport them.
One day, a strong wind suddenly blew on the river, blowing all the boatmen into the water and destroying many spoils in the cabin, except for the Nine Cauldrons, which remained standing.
"This is a good omen!" the old King Qin sighed again.
"Isn't it because the tripod is too heavy because it is full of grain?" Zhu Xiang told the truth.
Then, under the angry gaze of the old King of Qin, Zhu Xiang was beaten by Lian Po and Xunzi.
Zichu took over from Zhu Xiang to help the old King of Qin hold the wheelchair, and said helplessly: "Zhu Xiang is really stupid sometimes, and he doesn't think at all before speaking." The old King of Qin was just pretending to be angry, and he was happy when he saw Zhu Xiang being beaten.
After beating Zhu Xiang, Lian Po said to the old King of Qin: "But what Zhu Xiang said makes sense. If I hadn't listened to Zhu Xiang and filled the Nine Cauldrons with millet, the Nine Cauldrons might have been blown into the water. Although it can definitely be salvaged, it might be broken."
Xunzi said calmly: "This also shows that Qin's unification of the world is the destiny of heaven. Even if a strong wind blows in the middle of the journey, the millet filled in the Nine Cauldrons can keep Qin safe."
The old King of Qin pondered over Xunzi's words, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a hint from God.
The unification of the Qin Kingdom is bound to have many twists and turns. And unifying the world is not the end, but just the beginning. How to consolidate the orthodox status of Qin is the most worrying thing for the old King of Qin now.
As long as the successor to the King of Qin is neither stupid nor crazy, the newly replaced set of court officials are enough for Qin to unify the world without any danger.
But after unification, what path should Qin take? The old King of Qin himself has not figured it out yet.
Perhaps God told him that the crisis faced by the Qin State when it established the Nine Cauldrons could be solved by "filling the Nine Cauldrons with millet."
The proposal to "fill the Nine Cauldrons with millet" was put forward by Zhu Xiang.
"Zhu Xiang, farm well." The old King of Qin said meaningfully.
Zhu Xiang didn't understand the profound meaning of the old King of Qin's words. He covered his arms, shoulders, and back, grinning and said, "Of course, farming is my specialty. Your Majesty, it's windy outside, let's go inside."
The old King Qin gathered his fur and looked up at the sky: "Yes, the wind is strong outside again."
He has been bedridden for so long, from winter to spring, from spring to summer, and now it is late autumn again.
The old King Qin felt his limbs becoming weaker and his wakefulness time was getting shorter and shorter every day.
He really should leave.
After that, the old King of Qin had some free time.
This may be the most leisurely period of time since he took power.
After he took power, even if he did not expel the Queen Mother, he actually held great power, but he did not deprive her of her power. So when he wanted to abolish the Queen Mother's power, he could do it with just one imperial decree.
The old King of Qin's succession to the throne was a very humiliating thing for the Qin State itself.
After King Wu of Qin died while lifting a tripod, although there was a dispute in the Qin State over the successor to the throne, Ying Ji was not supported by any faction in the Qin State.
He was a prince of Qin who had no chance of inheriting the throne but became the King of Qin. It was King Wuling of Zhao who sent troops to force Qin to make him king.
The monarch of one country was chosen by the monarch of another country. This was simply treating Qin as a vassal state of Zhao. What a humiliation it was for Qin, which was already on the rise at that time.
Even though Yingji was the one who benefited, the process of his ascension to the throne made him feel humiliated.
In order to wash away this humiliation, Yingji could bow his head to anyone until no one dared to make him bow his head.
Why did Yingji allow the Queen Mother Xuan to share power with him for a long time after he took power? Yingji was learning.
As a hostage, he had not systematically learned any knowledge of governing a country, and he had no power in the Qin State to help him become a good king of Qin.
But Queen Dowager Xuan knew how to govern the country, and she had connections in Qin State to govern the country. So if Yingji wanted to be a good King of Qin, he had to share power with Queen Dowager Xuan until he no longer needed her.
Although the Queen Mother Xuan was deposed, she died peacefully. Yingji also built a beautiful mausoleum for her, and tried his best to meet her needs in terms of material conditions.
In this respect, Yingji and Zhao Dan are very similar - when they became kings, they did not know how to govern the country and both needed help from the queen mother.
Now Yingji has fulfilled his promise to himself.
King Wuling of Zhao sent troops to send him back to his country to become the King of Qin. He was no longer a shame to Qin, but a joke to Zhao.
He had lowered his head for many years, but gradually he raised it up proudly. Now the Nine Cauldrons have returned to the Qin State, and they are filled with millet.
Yingji asked Zhu Xiang to push his wheelchair, and he went to pay homage to King Wu of Qin despite his sick body.
King Wu of Qin's obsession with the Nine Cauldrons led to his death. Now that the Nine Cauldrons have been returned to the Qin State and the King of Zhou has been deposed, his brother can finally rest in peace.
In 255 BC, King Zhaoxiang of Qin disintegrated the coalition of five countries, including Wei, Han, Yan, Zhao and Qi, destroyed the Principality of Western Zhou, captured King Nan of Zhou and Duke of Western Zhou, demoted King Nan of Zhou to king, deposed Duke of Western Zhou as a retainer, and returned the Nine Cauldrons to Qin.
From then on, although the Eastern Zhou Principality was still lingering, the King of Zhou no longer existed and the Zhou Dynasty perished.
From 254 BC onwards, historians called it the first year of Qin.
This is one year later than the history of Zhu Xiang's time and space, but in the Xianyang Palace of Zhu Xiang's time and space, there were only eight tripods with empty stomachs, while in this time and space, there were nine tripods filled with millet in the Xianyang Palace.
The Nine Cauldrons Filled with Millet also became the most important ritual in the Qin Li formulated by Xunzi.
As autumn turned to winter, the old King of Qin handed over all matters to Ying Zhu, left the Xianyang Palace and went to Zhu Xiang's villa to recuperate.
In the past few months, Ying Zhu has basically fulfilled the duties of King of Qin.
On the first day of the first lunar month, the old King of Qin handed over the last thing that represented the King of Qin to Ying Zhu.
The royal seal, the crown...these are just symbols of this "last thing".
"Dazhu, it's up to you now." Yingji said.
"Yes, my king and father." Ying Zhu knelt in front of Ying Ji, crying.
He finally became the King of Qin. But at this moment, he did not cry for joy.
During this time, he and Yingji got along like ordinary father and son. He never thought that he could have such a warm time with his father.
"After you become the King of Qin, you can't cry anymore." Yingji said, then looked at Zichu.
Prince Zichu is now Crown Prince Zichu.
"Zi Chu, assist your father well." Ying Ji said, "You are very lucky to have made friends with Zhu Xiang from humble beginnings. Never be afraid of Zhu Xiang."
Zichu said, "Father Wang, I will never be afraid of Zhu Xiang."
Yingji nodded and looked at the standing ceremonial officers and the kneeling ministers.
He looked at the Xianyang Palace.
He took off the burden from his shoulders and felt empty inside.
He was very anxious, but also felt a sense of relief.
Yingji finally didn't have to stay up all night thinking about what this huge country should do tomorrow. He could sleep well without thinking about anything.
He is leaving.
"Stand up, from now on, this is your Qin State."
Yingji left these words, rejected Ying Zhu's request for him to continue living in the Xianyang Palace, and did not repair the other palace. He continued to live in Zhu Xiang's house.
He chatted and played cards with old ministers at Zhu Xiang's house every day, and occasionally checked on Ying Xiaozheng's homework.
When he was in good health, Zhu Xiang would push him out for an outing, even though there wasn't much to do in the first month of the year.
Yingji's health seemed to be getting better. His complexion looked much better and he was full of energy.
But everyone around him knew that this was just an illusion.
If Yingji had rested well this year, he might have survived. But this year, the five countries formed an alliance, the world situation changed drastically, and Qin was pushed into a dangerous situation.
Even though the resolution process was not dangerous at all, Qin suffered no losses and gained land and the Nine Cauldrons, the situation was indeed dangerous.
As the King of Qin, Yingji not only failed to rest, but also further squeezed his physical strength and became more diligent than ever before.
He is a king with a strong desire for control, so he has to do everything he can in his hands.
A powerful and suspicious king would not place all his hopes on his successor. The suspicious old Qin King wanted to clear everything for the new Qin King, so that even if the new Qin King was a mediocre person, he could still enable the rising Qin Kingdom to move forward by inertia.
This year, Yingji's body has become a leak. Even if he tries to make up for it frantically now, the speed of replenishing vitality cannot keep up with the speed of leakage.
Yingji would definitely not live to see the next winter.
Everyone knew about this, including Yingji himself.
Surprisingly, people around Yingji found it difficult to accept this matter, especially King Qin Zhu, but Yingji himself took it lightly.
He was obviously very afraid of death before, but when death was right in front of him, he felt very calm.
He enjoyed the care of his juniors, slept until he woke up naturally, did not follow the doctor's advice to drink alcohol and eat meat, and even put spicy food in all his meals.
Yingji would quarrel with his old ministers and would hit Zhu Xiang's head with a ruler when he intruded.
Sometimes he would visit the Xianyang Academy and point fingers at the students, saying that they were all mediocre.
Students who did not know him came to argue with him. Yingji accepted all of them and most of the time he could argue them into silence.
If he couldn't win the argument, he would give Zhu Xiang a look and Zhu Xiang would help him argue.
With the breadth of knowledge and experience in online quarrels of modern people, Zhu Xiang is not afraid of sophistry. If this matter were to be spread, Zhu Xiang would probably attract the people of the famous scholars to bow down to him - the famous scholars do not have any clear political ideas, they just like to debate.
As the weather gradually warmed up, Zhu Xiang discovered a good thing, Chinese toon.
It was unknown when a few Chinese toon trees grew on the mountain of his manor. They might have grown when he went south.
Zhu Xiang picked some toon buds and made toon delicacies such as cold toon salad, toon eggs, and toon steamed pork with rice flour for Yingji. Yingji said with disdain that they had no taste.
Zhu Xiang went to the Qin Palace and caught a few tribute sea bass and made fish with toon and patchouli.
Patchouli fish belongs to Sichuan cuisine, almost in the "boiled series", which can be simply summarized as boiled fish with patches of balsam pear.
Now Zhu Xiang also adds Chinese toon to make the taste of the fish more full-bodied.
After pouring chili oil and pepper oil on the food, Yingji ate with sweat all over his face, enjoying it very much.
Poor Qin Wangzhu was slurping while eating and drinking water. He felt the food was delicious but couldn't stand spicy food, so he was very depressed.
Zichu's ability to eat spicy food is similar to Yingji's, but he has a bad stomach and is prone to stomachache after eating, so Zhu Xiang specially prepared a bowl of plain water for him to eat with the fish.
When Zichu used water to rinse off the seasoning on the fish, Ying Xiaozheng gave him a mocking look.
Although he didn't know what his son was mocking, Zichu mocked back: "Zheng'er, you've lost a few more teeth, and now no new teeth have grown. Do you want to ask the imperial physician to take a look? Don't let all your teeth fall out without growing any new ones."
Ying Xiaozheng's fat face fell and he was almost choked by the chili pepper.
Damn you, my father! You will usurp the throne when I come of age! You will be locked up in another palace and you will only be fed boiled meat!
"It's so spicy, Zhu Xiang, I need some water too!" Qin Wangzhu fanned his mouth hard, unable to bear it any longer.
Zhu Xiang smiled and brought a bowl of honey water: "Drink honey water to relieve the spiciness. Next time I won't put so much chili."
Qin Wangzhu said with a bitter face: "The spiciness is secondary. Did you put too much pepper? My mouth is numb and uncomfortable."
Zhu Xiang said: "Huo Xiang fish must be put with a lot of peppercorns, I will never compromise on this!"
Qin Wangzhu said: "I order you to use less pepper!"
Zhu Xiang said: "I won't listen!"
Qin Wangzhu pretended to be pitiful to Yingji: "Father, look at Zhu Xiang. Even my orders as the King of Qin are useless! He is too arrogant!"
Yingji drank his wine and said, "Zhu Xiang never listened to my Qin Wang's edicts when he wanted to. Not only did he not listen, he also contradicted me and took my sheep away after contradicting me."
Zichu said: "He should be severely punished!"
Qin Wangzhu asked, "Then, Prince, what do you think should be the punishment?"
Zichu said, "Just punish Zheng'er by not allowing him to eat cakes for a month."
Ying Xiaozheng: “?”
Zhu Xiang said seriously, "This is a good idea. Zheng'er was raised by me, so I am his uncle and his biological father. The son should pay for the father's mistakes, which is in line with Confucianism."
Ying Xiaozheng: "...Uncle, do you dare to say this to Xun Weng?"
Zhu Xiang said happily: "Mr. Xun is very busy revising the Qin Li now, so he has no time to care about me."
Ying Xiaozheng: "... Just wait, I will go to see Xun Weng tomorrow and tell him that you misinterpreted Confucianism!"
Seeing that Ying Xiaozheng was about to complain, Ying Ji and Qin Wangzhu were both amused and laughed.
King Zhu of Qin actually punished Ying Xiaozheng by not allowing him to eat cakes for a month, and only lifted the ban after Xun Weng scolded Zhu Xiang.
The Qin royal family is a harmonious and harmonious family, even warmer than ordinary families.
When they got together, no outsiders except Zhu Xiang would participate.
They devoted all their time to the four generations of grandparents and grandchildren, allowing them to communicate with each other as much as possible in their final time and letting the old King Qin enjoy the happiness of family.
Time passed day by day, and Yingji fell ill again.
This time he was sick for no apparent reason.
It wasn't a cold, nor was I suffering from heatstroke, nor did I fall. I just felt suddenly weak, unable to get up, and my eyes were blurry.
Yingji couldn't even sit up straight, and needed someone to support him so that he wouldn't lean crooked when sitting in a wheelchair.
The King of Qin, whom the six nations feared the most, was now a powerless old man who could not even eat his favorite meat and could only drink porridge.
Zhu Xiang treated Ying Ji just like he treated Ying Xiaozheng, whose baby teeth had not yet grown in. He developed various porridges and pastes for Ying Ji, trying his best to change Ying Ji's taste.
Yingji's temper suddenly became irritable.
He seemed to be afraid of death again, or perhaps he hated his own powerless appearance in old age.
He was very picky about his food and very harsh on the servants who served him.
Zhu Xiang personally took care of Yingji, wiped Yingji's body, and obeyed any harsh requests from Yingji.
After half a month, Yingji's mood gradually improved under Zhu Xiang's care, and he no longer cursed or threw things.
Everything seemed to be getting better again.
But the imperial physician and Bian Que secretly told the King of Qin, the Crown Prince of Qin and Zhu Xiang that they should prepare for Yingji's funeral.
King Zhu of Qin moved to Zhuxiang Villa to handle government affairs.
Whenever it was late at night and everyone was asleep, he couldn't help crying secretly while dealing with documents.
But in front of Yingji, Qin Wangzhu always put on a silly smile, which made Yingji scold him "How come you don't have any dignity after becoming the King of Qin", and then he scratched his head and admitted his mistake.
Later, Qin Wangzhu also fell ill. Zichu took over most of Qin Wangzhu's government affairs and asked Qin Wangzhu to take good care of his health.
Yingji's mind became clearer day by day, and he could sit up straight.
He asked Zhu Xiang to push his wheelchair to visit Qin Wangzhu: "You are the King of Qin now, you can't get sick often. Even if I die, you can't get sick."
Only then did King Zhu of Qin burst into tears in front of Ying Ji.
"After I die, don't start any large-scale construction projects." Yingji said, "Don't delay government affairs. The people don't need to be in mourning, and everything should be based on state affairs."
Qin Wangzhu cried and said, "Yes."
Yingji said: "There is no need to send people to guard the mausoleum for me. If there are people from the royal family or relatives who oppose you, you can send them to guard the mausoleum."
Qin Wangzhu continued to cry and said, "Yes."
Ying Ji added: "Remember not to bury anyone alive with the dead, whether it's my concubines or slaves. The Qin State has a reputation for benevolence and kindness, so we must not let down our guard."
Qin Wangzhu sobbed and couldn't even say "yes".
Yingji sighed and reached out to stroke Qin Wangzhu's loose hair.
His sons were also old. Fortunately, Zichu and Zheng'er could both become good kings of Qin, so he didn't have to worry about the future of Qin.
"Zhu Xiang, don't go south for the time being. Stay in Xianyang to assist Dazhu." Yingji said, "I promised you that I would continue to farm in the south, but I'm going to break my promise."
Zhu Xiang said: "Your Majesty did not break your promise, it is me who does not want to leave Xianyang."
Yingji smiled and said, "Among all my juniors, you are the most annoying and the happiest. Not only Dazhu, but also your friend Xia Tong and your nephew Zheng'er, you should assist them well."
Zhu Xiang said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty."
Yingji said, "I am confident that you can do things, but you still need to control your temper. Although Dazhu is gentler than me and will not be as suspicious of you as I am, he is also more merciful than me and may not be able to deter those who are jealous of you. So you also need to be careful and don't let others catch you."
Zhu Xiang said: "Your Majesty, I have always been very cautious."
Yingji said disdainfully, "You are only careful with your words. Dazhu, am I right?"
Qin Wangzhu nodded while crying.
Zhu Xiang sighed and said, "I will be cautious, Your Majesty, rest assured."
Yingji said: "Okay, I'm relieved. I'm tired, push me back to rest."
Zhu Xiang pushed Yingji away, but King Qin Zhu was still kneeling on the bed crying.
There was nothing unusual when Yingji slept that night.
But when Zhu Xiang called Yingji to get up the next day, Yingji was already dead.
He just fell asleep and couldn't wake up. He slept very peacefully with a smile on his face, as if he had a good dream.
Yingji's sleeping posture was always very regular. He placed his hands on his abdomen, his shoulders flat, and his face facing upwards, like a human figure.
Qin Wangzhu ran down from the hospital bed, his hair disheveled, without shoes or coat.
"Father, father... Father, father, please don't sleep any more. It's morning, time to get up!" Qin Wangzhu knelt in front of the bed and cried bitterly, "Father, father, please wake up!"
Zichu knelt beside the Qin King's pillar, silently shedding tears and choking with sobs.
Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng also knelt beside him.
Ying Xiaozheng pulled Zhu Xiang's sleeve and said, "Uncle, Grandfather Zeng just fell asleep, right?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Yes."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "My uncle is a liar."
Zhu Xiang said nothing.
Ying Xiaozheng lowered his head: "Grandfather Zeng said he would fly a kite with me today, but Grandfather Zeng is also a liar."
In fact, he didn't like this great grandfather at first and was very afraid of him.
Uncle Zeng was really too suspicious, even more so than myself in my dreams.
Even though I'm so young and my uncle has no ambition at all, my great-grandfather is always testing me, which is really boring.
My uncle was in a bad mood because of being forced by Great-Uncle Zeng, and he was also in a bad mood. He really didn't like Great-Uncle Zeng.
But during this period of time, Ying Xiaozheng's grudge against the old Qin King gradually disappeared. He gradually regarded the famous old Qin King as his great-grandfather.
But why didn’t Mr. Zeng give them a little more time and left now
Zhu Xiang quietly looked at the peaceful sleeping eyes of the old King of Qin, and scenes of his past with the old King of Qin flashed through his mind.
The old Qin King in Changping, the old Qin King who greeted him, the old Qin King in Xianyang, the old Qin King in Jiangdong... and the old Qin King who still tried his best to be a good Qin King at the last moment of his life, and the elder Yingji who unloaded the heavy burden of Qin King.
"Your Majesty, have a safe journey." Zhu Xiang clutched his trouser legs tightly with both hands, tears falling from his face drop by drop, leaving tear marks on the hem of his clothes and trouser legs.
In 254 BC, the first year of the Qin Dynasty, King Ji of Qin died at the age of 71.
(End of this chapter)