When Zhu Xiang returned to the tent, Zichu was reading documents by lamplight, and Ying Xiaozheng was not there.
Ying Xiaozheng disliked the dim lights in Zichu's place, so he went to sleep in Lin Zhi's tent, abandoning his uncle who had not returned for a long time.
When Zhu Xiang saw Zichu working under the lamp, he frowned.
Zichu immediately closed the document and said, "I usually don't stay up late, today I'm just waiting for you to come back."
Zhu Xiang relaxed his frown and said, "You are the crown prince now, there is no need to show off yourself too much."
Zichu sighed, "I know. I just need to live until I can take the throne."
Zhu Xiang saw that Zichu really understood, so he didn't nag too much. After washing up, he and Zichu slept side by side. He rode here at a fast speed and was very tired now.
Although they slept in the same bed, both of them were afraid of cold. Not only did they each have a thick quilt, but after getting into the bed, they immediately rolled left and right and raised their legs, wrapping themselves up like a cocoon.
Two fat silkworm cocoons slept side by side on a big soft pillow. Although they felt sleepy, they still started chatting.
Zichu asked, "When my father came back, his eyes were a little red and swollen. What did you say to him?"
Zhu Xiang said: "I thought you would ask me if I had beaten His Majesty's eyes until they were red and swollen."
Zichu was speechless: "I'm not Lin Li, who would deliberately ask such an impossible question."
Zhu Xiang smiled and replied, "I just told Your Majesty that the people who provoked you and Zheng'er did not consider the love of an old man for his son, which was really unfilial."
Zichu was silent for a while, then sarcastically asked, "A king and father actually have feelings for their children and grandchildren?"
Although he is now highly valued by King Zhu of Qin, Zichu was sent to the State of Zhao as a hostage when he was a child. He was so poor that he was even worse than the ordinary scholars in Handan City. At that time, his king and father did not think that they had a son and sent him some money.
Even if he just said hello to Zhao State and let the people of Zhao think that the Crown Prince of Qin still remembered his son, his situation would be much better.
Now his health has not improved no matter how hard he tries, all because of his experience as a hostage in Handan.
Therefore, even if the two of them are like close father and son now, Zichu cannot truly treat Qin Wangzhu as an ordinary father.
For the same reason, Zichu was only superficially filial to his biological mother Xia Ji.
He rationally understood that when he was sent out as a hostage, everyone thought he was abandoned and there was no way he could return to Qin. So it was normal for his biological mother to give up on him and not subsidize him privately.
Although her biological mother was a Korean noble, she had quite a bit of dowry when she was sent to Qin. But her biological mother was not favored, and she had to live on this dowry for the rest of her life.
Zichu understood this very well in his heart. If he were in his shoes, he would probably do the same thing.
But when he was about ten years old and sat alone in a carriage heading to the State of Zhao, he was still heartbroken by his biological mother's attitude of completely giving up on him.
His biological father had many sons, and Zichu could understand rationally that he had no impression of one of the sons born to an unfavored concubine; his biological mother wanted to continue living, and Zichu could understand rationally her attitude of giving up on an abandoned son who was destined to never return to Qin.
If they have the power to give up themselves, then Zichu also has the power to no longer be able to establish an intimate father-son or mother-son relationship with them.
Zichu only showed this mentality in front of Zhu Xiang.
Even Lin Zhi and others probably believed that Zichu's filial piety towards his parents was genuine.
"Perhaps the monarch does not have deep feelings for a particular descendant, but when all the descendants are added together, how can the blood relationship not be deep?" Zhu Xiang said, "If the Qin princes get into trouble, it will not just be one or two who will get into trouble, but all of the monarch's descendants will be involved."
Zichu said coldly: "That's true."
Zhu Xiang added: "I also told Your Majesty that these people may be instigated by the Six Kingdoms."
He repeated to Zichu exactly what he and King Zhu of Qin had said.
Zi Chu was stunned: "Are you telling the truth? You even guessed this?"
Zhu Xiang said: "No, I made it up."
Zichu: “…Huh?”
Zhu Xiang said: "Whether they want to fight for the throne themselves or someone is behind them, there must be people from the other six countries among their retainers. Now there is probably no one in Qin who dares to openly support them, so if they get property tributes, even if they are Qin people, they will pretend to be wealthy businessmen from the other six countries."
Zichu understood: "So as long as the king and father are suspicious, no matter how they investigate, their guess will be confirmed?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Yes."
Zichu hesitated for a long time and said, "You should first make the king hate the person who started the fight, and then escalate this matter into a conspiracy of the six countries. The king's means will definitely be more fierce. But Zhu Xiang, you have always hated brothers fighting against each other, why do you want to get involved? Moreover, the fight for the throne, like yesterday's minor fight, has cost more than a hundred lives. How could you bear it?"
Zhu Xiang sighed deeply and said, "Although I value human life, I also have my own preferences. If you and Zheng'er really don't become the King of Qin, you will be dead. If they start, I will fight back. Besides, Xia Tong, suppress this matter with a fierce force when it first appears, so that the least people will die."
Zichu sighed deeply and said, "That makes sense."
Zhu Xiang added: "And they have reached out to Zheng'er. As his uncle, I am really angry and must fight back!"
Zichu laughed: "Okay."
The two stopped talking and closed their eyes, trying to fall asleep.
When Zichu was about to fall asleep, Zhu Xiang's voice rang in his ears.
"Xia Tong, you must take care of yourself."
"Hmm... Got it, long-winded."
With Zhu Xiang's arrival, all the Qin officials who participated in the hunting hunt looked very excited.
Who doesn't know that Changping Jun Zhu Xiang, who seldom appears in public, came this time to support his nephew
I don't know which idiot did this. Even if you want to fight for the throne, you should go after the crown prince Zichu. It's really mean to use tricks on a child.
Just by looking at his methods, you can tell that man is not fit to be the King of Qin.
After Zhu Xiang arrived, he did not complain to the King of Qin. Instead, he took the wronged Ying Xiaozheng to "reconcile" with other princes of Qin. This move made everyone admire him.
Look at their minds, it’s easy to tell who’s better!
Not only did the King of Qin's complexion improve, they also felt comfortable watching him.
On the last day of hunting, everyone, including Young Master Qin, was smiling, as if something great had happened to them.
Except Ying Xiaozheng.
He still failed to hunt the rabbit.
Ying Xiaozheng was very depressed. Although he was young, he was quite skilled in archery. In order for him to shoot rabbits, his grandfather had specially asked to release more rabbits. He saw several rabbits wandering in front of him, but he couldn't shoot any of them.
Ying Xiaozheng wanted to pick up a rabbit shot by someone else and take it back to pretend it was his own prey, but his uncle followed him all the time, looking at him with a malicious smile, preventing him from succeeding.
Ying Xiaozheng pouted: "Uncle, maybe you scared the rabbit away, can you go to the side?"
Zhu Xiang sighed, "Zheng'er, your uncle is worried about you being assassinated again. How can I leave you? I must always be by your side, and your uncle will be at ease."
Ying Xiaozheng was so angry that he gnashed his teeth.
Damn uncle, that’s definitely not what I think!
Ying Xiaozheng was angry and shot an arrow randomly, which hit a yellow fox.
The guards were all congratulating loudly, making Ying Xiaozheng look embarrassed.
He just shot an arrow casually, how could he hit the fox
never mind.
"Uncle!" Ying Xiaozheng was proud.
Zhu Xiang raised his eyebrows: "A fox is not a rabbit. When we made the bet that day, we were talking about rabbits, not foxes."
Ying Xiaozheng's face fell: "Uncle!" That's too much!
Zhu Xiang laughed out loud.
In the end, Ying Xiaozheng returned to the starting point dejectedly, carrying a fox.
King Zhu of Qin was very happy to see that Ying Xiaozheng, who was so young, had actually hunted a cunning fox with his own hands.
But he praised Ying Xiaozheng for a long time, but Ying Xiaozheng didn't seem happy, which made him very confused.
Ying Xiaozheng pouted: "My uncle said that a rabbit is a rabbit, but a fox is not a rabbit."
Qin Wangzhu: “…” Puff.
Although he knew he shouldn't laugh at this time, he just couldn't help it.
Zichu also laughed, and Ying Xiaozheng's face became swollen due to grinding his teeth.
Other ministers also learned about this and were quite amused.
They believed that the fox was really hunted by Prince Zheng himself. But Lord Changping was really "harsh" to his children.
Is it fun to play with your nephew
It’s really interesting to see Changping Jun’s brilliant smile.
This final episode of the hunting ceremony diluted the shadow of the assassination on the first day.
Although King Zhu of Qin declared that it was a "collision", the hunting ground was so small and the grandsons of King Qin acted so high-profile, who didn't know the truth
The conversation between Ying Xiaozheng and Qin Wangzhu was also spread. Although slaves were not considered human beings, many noble children among the guards were punished, and Ying Xiaozheng's decisive killing left a deep impression on them.
Now the childish side of Ying Xiaozheng revealed made the weirdness in their hearts disappear a little.
It's better for children to act like children, otherwise it would be too scary.
The "assassination" could not be publicized, but Ying Xiaozheng's rabbit hunting was very interesting and became a topic of frequent conversation among the ministers after they returned to Xianyang.
So the interesting story of Ying Xiaozheng hunting rabbits quickly spread throughout Xianyang and then to the six kingdoms.
It was just a little joke between the uncle and nephew, but in the ears of others it became Zhu Xiang teaching his nephew.
Zhu Xiang asked his nephew to hunt rabbits. The nephew hunted a better fox, but Zhu Xiang said that the fox was not a rabbit and it did not count. Some people said that Zhu Xiang wanted his nephew to be honest; some people said that Zhu Xiang was abiding by the law; some people said that Zhu Xiang was telling his nephew not to take shortcuts...
In short, this incident has become a famous educational allusion in later generations and a must-read article during winter and summer vacations.
When he was about to set out south, Han Fei and Li Si came together to ask him the reason behind this matter.
The two men each held different opinions. Li Si believed that Zhu Xiang was teaching Prince Zheng that rewards and punishments should not be changed arbitrarily. Even if the other party had made greater contributions, as long as it was not stipulated in the regulations, he could not be rewarded. If he wanted to reward someone, he had to have another name. Although Han Fei thought that Li Si was right, based on his understanding of Zhu Xiang, he believed that Zhu Xiang was only teaching Prince Zheng to be honest.
They looked at Zhu Xiang intently and asked who was right.
Zhu Xiang was helpless: "Neither of them is right. I just wanted to tease Zheng Er and make him laugh."
Li Si and Han Fei: "..."
Zhu Xiang looked at their shocked expressions and laughed, "Why must there be a profound meaning behind what I do?"
Li Si and Han Fei seemed to be thinking about something.
Ying Xiaozheng said dissatisfiedly: "From now on, you should think that everything your uncle does is intentional and bad. Your uncle is a bad person!"
"Zheng'er, who can't hunt rabbits, is right." Zhu Xiang nodded, "The boy is teachable."
Ying Xiaozheng was so angry that he butted Zhu Xiang with his head: "I want to eat rabbit today! I want to eat the rabbit's head!"
Zhu Xiang said: "Okay, I'll prepare the five-spice rabbit head for you."
Only then did Ying Xiaozheng angrily let Zhu Xiang go and went to check if there was anything missing from the things he had packed.
Zhu Xiang asked, "You two came here not just to ask me about this, right?"
Han Fei cupped his hands and said, "I want to go south with Lord Changping. Xunzi said that I have learned a lot from books and should expand my horizons."
Zhu Xiang said, "Okay. But if you follow me south, I will definitely use your talents to fight against the Chu State."
Han Fei said: "Chu is not Han. I can be used by Lord Changping."
Zhu Xiang thought, but you must know that if Qin becomes stronger, the timing of attacking Han will be advanced. So if you help Qin, you are betraying Han.
But when Han Fei finally took this step, Zhu Xiang was able to remain silent and did not expose him.
"Li Si, are you going with me too?" Zhu Xiang asked, "Aren't you with Lin Li?"
Li Si said, "My Lord Father told me to go south with Lord Changping to help him. When he comes to Wujun, I will return with him."
Li Si was now Lin Zhi's retainer, so he called Lin Zhi his master.
Zhu Xiang said, "It would be good to go and see for himself." He knew that Lin Zhi might have other arrangements for Li Si. Although Lin Zhi would definitely tell him the truth if he asked, there was no need to ask further.
With two more assistants, Zhu Xiang thought that this trip south would be much smoother.
When we set off, the last big assistant arrived.
Because he angered the King of Qin, Lu Buwei became a wealthy businessman again. Now he follows Duke Xiang of Zhu south, hoping to earn more money and regain his favor.
Although Lü Buwei was not as good as Zhu Xiang, he was the "benefactor" of the crown prince Zichu after all. So after Zichu became the crown prince of Qin, he was also very popular and had many followers. For a time, he was the most popular person in Xianyang City and became the new noble of Qin.
When he was reprimanded by King Zhu of Qin, outsiders speculated that his businessman character flared up and he bet on both sides, angering the King of Qin and the Crown Prince of Qin. So after he was dismissed from his official position, his followers immediately scattered like monkeys, just like Lian Po when he was dismissed from his general position during the Battle of Changping.
Lu Buwei was in a very bad mood because of this.
He was already very wealthy, so what he had always pursued was the word "noble". After Zichu became the crown prince, he thought that what he had pursued had come true, and that his followers must have followed him sincerely.
He believed that he was no worse than those famous princes in the Warring States Period, and that the retainers around him must be like those of Xinling Jun. No matter what situation Xinling Jun was in, they would definitely follow him.
As a result, as soon as he lost power, his restaurant went from being crowded with people to being deserted. This gap made him feel very uncomfortable.
Lü Buwei and Zhu Xiang were riding in the same carriage. On the way, Lü Buwei mocked Zhu Xiang in a familiar way: "Wealth and honor are like clouds, which disappear in the blink of an eye."
Zhu Xiang encouraged Lü Buwei by citing the situation of Duke Lian in the past: "This is how retainers are. When you become rich and powerful, they will gather again. You should relax yourself and don't take these external things to heart. You attach too much importance to interests."
Lu Buwei sighed: "I know. But it's hard to change."
Zhu Xiang said: "It is hard to change, but you have to change. This is actually a good thing, it will wake you up and let you have fewer retainers in the future."
Lü Buwei wondered: "If I recruit fewer retainers, will they not abandon me?"
Ying Xiaozheng said sarcastically, "No, hire fewer retainers. When the King of Qin hates you in the future, there won't be too many people causing trouble for you."
Lu Buwei: "…" Does Prince Zheng have something against me? Why is he always being so sarcastic towards me
Zhu Xiang pressed Ying Xiaozheng's head and said, "Zheng'er is not wrong. You regard yourself as the benefactor of Crown Prince Zichu and have won over such a large momentum. In the future, will you still regard yourself as the benefactor of the King of Qin? How can the King of Qin have a benefactor who ranks above him? Keep a low profile."
Lu Buwei was silent.
Zhu Xiang said, "I have advised you before, and you listened to me at that time. But when Xia Tong became the crown prince, you became vain again. Lü Buwei, you helped Xia Tong when he was in a low position. You chose a wise ruler to serve, not a rare commodity. Do you understand?"
Ying Xiaozheng said sarcastically: "Obviously, he doesn't understand at all that my father is not a commodity, but his lord."
Lu Buwei was embarrassed: "No, it's not like that..."
Zhu Xiang pressed the head of Ying Xiaozheng again: "Think about it carefully, and calm down now. Being in politics is different from being in business. You have to understand people's hearts more than interests."
Lü Buwei asked, "Duke Zhu Xiang is very good at understanding people's minds? But people in the world say that Duke Zhu Xiang is not good at it."
"If you're not good at it, do less and make fewer mistakes." Zhu Xiang said, "But I think I'm good at it."
This time, Ying Xiaozheng's sarcasm was directed at Zhu Xiang: "Yes, uncle is very good at guessing people's minds, and then deliberately doing the opposite. 'I know what you think, but why should I follow you?' This is uncle. When you become a great sage and the uncle of the future King of Qin, you can also do this... Ouch."
Zhu Xiang couldn't help but hugged Ying Xiaozheng and rubbed him in his arms: "What do you mean by this? Did your uncle bully you again?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Uncle, aren't you bullying me now?"
Zhu Xiang pinched Ying Xiaozheng's face and said, "Of course not. This is uncle showing his closeness to Zheng'er."
Ying Xiaozheng pushed Zhu Xiang hard: "Zheng'er doesn't want to be close to uncle."
The uncle and nephew started playing around, ignoring the presence of Lu Buwei who was in the way.
Lu Buwei showed an envious look in his eyes.
He thought that when he sent the concubines, everything was under his control. If it weren't for Zhu Xiang, he would be the uncle of Gongzi Zheng, and maybe he could be so close to Gongzi Zheng, and he wouldn't have to worry about his future.
As soon as Lü Buwei thought of this, Ying Xiaozheng's sinister eyes shot over. Lü Buwei lowered his head reflexively, his heart panicking.
Ying Xiaozheng snorted in his heart.
Lu Buwei was just like what his uncle said when he rarely cursed someone, "A dog will always eat shit." Deep down, he always regretted that he could not replace his uncle and become his "elder."
He doesn't even think about it, does he deserve it? !
Although Lu Buwei had not offended him yet, Ying Xiaozheng still decided that after he became the King of Qin, he would let Lu Buwei go home to retire on the grounds that Lu Buwei had not set foot in the Xianyang Palace with both feet at the same time.
Zhu Xiang noticed that Ying Xiaozheng rejected Lü Buwei. He thought that Ying Xiaozheng disliked Lü Buwei only because Lü Buwei did not treat Xia Tong with respect.
Zhu Xiang was a bit troubled by this.
Lü Buwei was a rare talent who could develop the economy during the Warring States Period, and his policy of pacifying the people after the Qin State unified the world was very effective. So he hoped that Lü Buwei could be a good minister of Qin State in a stable manner.
But Lu Buwei's businessman character made it really difficult for Zheng'er to accept him.
In particular, Lü Buwei's purchase of concubines was the inducement for Chunhua to abandon Zhu Xiang and Xue Ji; Lü Buwei's confidant "seducing" Chunhua was the inducement for Chunhua to abandon Ying Xiaozheng.
Taking these two factors into consideration, how could Ying Xiaozheng possibly have a good impression of Lu Buwei
Zhu Xiang really wanted to give Lu Buwei some advice, but these things could not be told.
Now Lü Buwei thought that he could only stay in Qin because he regarded himself as Zichu's benefactor, so he would definitely enjoy endless wealth and honor in Qin in the future. If he knew that Prince Zheng deeply hated him and this hatred was difficult to resolve, then Lü Buwei might have defected to another country.
Lu Buwei was not a man who would hang himself on a tree, and he had no special feelings for the Qin State.
Zhu Xiang could only guide Lu Buwei to show his talents in front of Ying Xiaozheng, and persuade Lu Buwei to change his mentality. Now that he is a minister of Qin, he should restrain himself from the perspective of a minister of Qin.
Lu Buwei nodded frequently. He felt that it was really worthwhile to please Lord Changping.
Changping Jun is truly a rare treasure! As long as you are on good terms with Changping Jun, he will be soft-hearted and will teach you everything about officialdom.
Apart from Lord Changping, who else is so kind
Fortunately, he did not bring out the catchphrase "a rare commodity can be occupied". If Ying Xiaozheng knew that Lü Buwei also listed his uncle as a rare commodity, he would probably not let him go home to retire, but would prevent him from returning home.
However, the conversation along the way did slightly reduce Ying Xiaozheng's dislike for Lu Buwei.
At least Ying Xiaozheng would not think that Lu Buwei was a worthless villain because of the prejudice of the great Ying Zheng in his dream.
Of course, Lu Buwei has talent. If he can be a little more restrained, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a rare talent in the world. Many ways to employ Lu Buwei have flashed through Ying Xiaozheng's mind.
He decided that after he succeeded to the throne, he would severely exploit Lü Buwei. When Lü Buwei could no longer do anything, he dismissed him from his post on the grounds that Lü Buwei had not stepped into the Xianyang Palace with both feet at the same time, and asked him to return home to retire.
However, the fiefdom was left to Lu Buwei. He was not a tyrant, so he kept the pension money for him.
When Zhu Xiang deliberately let Lu Buwei show his talents in front of Ying Xiaozheng, he also gave Han Fei and Li Si opportunities.
Especially Li Si, the future prime minister of Qin State, he should be arranged for his own son Zheng'er now.
When Ying Xiaozheng had learned about Li Si's abilities from Ying Zheng the Great, he showed little interest in getting close to Li Si.
He already knew Li Si too well, so he felt there was no need to continue to inquire.
Li Si's heart was broken.
Did he not have the intention to become the future King of Qin? Was it because he was not as good as Han Fei
The jealousy in Li Si's heart almost ignited him.
Why did he need Han Fei to snatch his wealth and glory? Han Fei's heart was not in Qin, he would never be used by Qin! Prince Zheng, look at me! I am the loyal minister who is loyal to Qin and the King of Qin!
Han Fei: "Li Si! Do you want roasted rabbit? We also have spiced and braised rabbit heads!"
Li Si: "Eat." After eating, he continued to be jealous.
(End of this chapter)