Xue Ji and Cai Ze's health has improved.
But when Ying Zheng tried to let Cai Ze return to the position of prime minister, Cai Ze refused.
I, Cai Ze, the veteran of three generations, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Renwen of Qin, and Prince Chu of Qin, should hand over the heavy responsibility to the young people!
Cai Ze picked up the teacup.
Lin Zhi pointed at his nose and said, "You mean me, young man?"
Cai Ze nodded silently.
Zhu Xiang smiled and helped Cai Ze, saying, "Zheng'er has a lively mind, which is just right for you as a monarch and a minister."
Qin Wang Zheng: "…I am not lively."
Lin Zhi and Cai Ze: "Zheng'er... Your Majesty is lively."
Zhu Xiang asked in confusion: "Zheng'er, why don't you call yourself "Zhen" anymore?"
Qin Wang Zheng said depressedly: "Xun Weng said that I am a commoner who calls myself Guaren, and the king should call himself Guaren. Xun Weng told me to call myself Guaren more often and get used to it as soon as possible."
Zhu Xiang then remembered that "朕" was a common self-reference at that time, even farmers in the fields could refer to themselves that way.
In Xunzi's eyes, Zheng'er's calling himself "I" this time was almost the same as Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di who later became emperors and still called themselves "I".
Qin Wang Zheng said angrily: "When I become the emperor, I will change the name of "I" to "Emperor". No one else can use it except the emperor!"
Zhu Xiang clapped his hands to show encouragement.
Cai Ze and Lin Zhi both expressed encouragement to Qin Wangzheng. Although they both thought it was unnecessary and even a little childish, Zhenger liked it, so what if he was a little willful? It was not a big deal.
King Zheng of Qin asked Cai Ze again if he could go back to be the prime minister, but was rejected by Cai Ze again and left in frustration.
His government affairs were very busy and he had very little time to leave the palace.
King Zheng of Qin was thinking about whether to convert his manor into a temporary palace. From now on, except for major events, he would handle government affairs and receive court officials in the manor.
It’s just a little troublesome to go to the harem after leaving mourning.
Although he could take the harem women with him in turn when he went out of the palace, he was worried that those harem women would not behave themselves in the farm and make his uncle and aunt unhappy.
Qin Wangzheng actually knew that his uncle and aunt were very generous and would not be unhappy. He was just unhappy himself and had to put the blame on his uncle and aunt.
Although Zhu Xiang temporarily took over the position of prime minister, he still did not go to the palace often.
The other ministers and officials were reluctant to say anything because of Zhu Xiang's special status.
Anyone who said anything was removed from the court by the King of Qin with an excuse. The King of Qin had a temper worse than King Renwen of Qin and King Zichu of Qin...
"The late king also had a bad temper when it came to matters involving Lord Changping. Do you still remember the families who were thrown into the city?"
"Oh, I remember now. Those people said a few gossips about Lord Changping, and were thrown into the market by the previous king. The Lord just gave them a few words of criticism and exiled them. His temper was not bad at all."
Those who originally thought that King Zheng of Qin was willful and tyrannical suddenly sighed that King Zheng of Qin still had a good temper when they thought of what Prince Chu of Qin did for Lord Changping.
Changping Jun was just a friend of Qin Wang Zichu, but he was the adoptive father of Qin Wang Zheng. Logically speaking, Qin Wang Zheng should have dealt with someone targeting Changping Jun more severely.
After King Zheng of Qin learned about these rumors, he was so angry that he found Zhu Xiang and complained to him for a long time.
Doesn't he want to abandon people? Isn't this because he has not found an excuse
My father threw the man into the streets because he really found evidence of his secret dealings with foreign countries. I... I didn't find any, they are just gossiping!
Zhu Xiang was filled with relief.
If he were an ordinary King of Qin, he could sentence his important ministers to death if he was in a bad mood.
Zheng'er was only increasing the punishment according to the other party's true guilt. It seemed that his words and deeds had had some influence on Zheng'er.
What he didn't know was that King Zheng of Qin had a small notebook in which he wrote down the names of people who said bad things about his uncle, planning to target them later.
My uncle is not interested in power or money. He is only concerned about the Qin State and himself. Anyone who speaks ill of my uncle must have something wrong.
This teaching was actually told to Ying Zheng by King Zhaoxiang of Qin, who was most suspicious of Zhu Xiang.
Changping Jun Zhu Xiang, a convenient minister filter.
Everything was going well for the Qin State in the year when Prince Chu of Qin died. King Zheng of Qin systematically gathered power and established prestige.
The ministers who originally wanted to bully the young King Zheng of Qin all realized that King Zheng of Qin was indeed the child prodigy who helped Lord Changping manage household affairs at the age of five or six as rumored. His experienced appearance and majesty made the ministers feel breathless, as if he had been the king for many years.
An old minister who lived from the time of King Zhaoxiang of Qin to the present day sighed, no wonder King Zhaoxiang of Qin was so happy when he saw the current King of Qin. The current King of Qin is really very similar to King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
The Qin State had gone through two generations of relatively mild kings, King Renwen of Qin and King Zichu of Qin, and was now finally welcoming another domineering and powerful ruler.
However, some people also say that Prince Chu of Qin was not a gentle king. He just happened to encounter a few years of famine and was forced to recuperate.
No matter how the ministers discussed it privately, they all reluctantly accepted the fact that Qin Wang Zheng was not a good king to deal with, and his future days would probably be difficult.
A Confucian disciple approached Xunzi, expressing his concern that King Zheng of Qin was too overbearing and would not rule with benevolence.
Xunzi was too lazy to pay attention.
If you want to implement benevolent policies, you have to wait until you unify the world. Now Qin State just needs a king with thunderous means.
No one expected that just after the autumn harvest, before changing the reign title, King Zheng of Qin ordered Lord Xinping Lian Po to attack Wei.
Last year, due to the shortage of food and grass supply, Lian Po opened up the passage from Qin to Qi. Although he did not continue to attack Daliang, he stayed in the counties of Wei that he had just conquered to preside over military farming.
When Lian Po was in Zhao State, he was only responsible for fighting wars. Now he has become accustomed to farming and caring for the people.
In order to completely digest the newly conquered cities for the Qin State, he did not return to Xianyang to see off Prince Chu of Qin, nor did he personally witness the ascension of King Zheng of Qin to the throne.
The reason King Zheng of Qin gave for declaring war was perfunctory but impeccable.
He said that this war was a continuation of the previous war. At that time, the King of Wei died of illness, and the king and father withdrew the troops because of the national mourning of Wei. Now that the national mourning of Wei has passed, it is time to continue attacking Wei.
When King Zhaoxiang of Qin was in power, King Yu of Wei was forced to submit to Qin. After that, neither Qin nor Wei mentioned this matter much, and they fought as usual. King Zheng of Qin brought up this matter for the first time.
King Zheng of Qin said that the King of Wei had once pledged loyalty to the Qin State, meaning that he was a vassal state of the Qin State and had a monarch-subject relationship with the Qin State.
When the State of Wei suffered a locust plague, out of the responsibility of the suzerain state, the King of Qin specifically informed the King of Wei and the Crown Prince of Wei of the matter, hoping that the State of Wei would take more precautions.
However, Wei State repaid kindness with enmity. When Qin State was finishing its locust control campaign and King Chu of Qin was seriously ill, Wei State joined forces with the other four states to attack Qin State.
Qin was the suzerain of Wei, and Wei's attack on Qin was disloyal; the King of Qin had provided (verbal) help to Wei when it suffered a locust plague, and Wei's attack on Qin was unjust.
The former king would naturally send troops to attack such a disloyal and unjust country.
However, when King Yu of Wei died, the previous king still recalled the Qin army and did not take advantage of Wei's national mourning. This was Qin's righteousness to Wei.
Now that the Wei Kingdom’s national mourning is over, as the successor to the King of Qin, I should attack the Wei Kingdom again.
King Zheng of Qin summoned great scholars who were good at editing books and asked them to write a manifesto on behalf of Qin to the State of Wei.
Qin's attack on Wei was a just war, and Wei deserved to be beaten and destroyed!
The great scholar was shocked.
They were not shocked by the shamelessness of King Zheng of Qin, but they were moved that in this day and age, there was actually a monarch willing to write a manifesto and declare war before two countries went to war.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, when countries went to war, they would find an excuse, write a manifesto, and follow etiquette.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when various countries were annexing each other, speed was of the essence and they would launch surprise attacks whenever possible.
What declaration of war? What manifesto? When Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, led his troops to your city gate, you realized that Qin was attacking.
King Zheng of Qin is indeed the child who grew up on the lap of the great Confucian scholar Xunzi. He is the sage king of Confucianism!
Xunzi: “…”
He was extremely speechless about King Zheng of Qin.
Is this how you use my Confucianism
Forget it, that's fine. Qin was bound to destroy the other five countries. King Zheng of Qin could declare war and write a manifesto before destroying the countries. You can tell me whether this moral standard and etiquette level can be ranked first in the Warring States period.
After thinking about it, Xunzi felt that Zheng'er was not bad and that his teaching him was not in vain.
Zhu Xiang gave a thumbs up to King Zheng of Qin for his self-taught skills in using the "Confucian pen".
Needless to say, there are great scholars with ability, who have the potential to become generals or prime ministers.
The incompetent scholar acts awkwardly just to gain the reputation of "the king favors me".
The King of Qin entrusted such an important matter as the proclamation to those incompetent Confucian scholars, making them have the illusion that "I am very important". It was just like the emperors of later generations who kept a group of literati to accompany them in writing poems and lyrics. He did not have to worry about them disrupting the government, and at the same time he could enhance his own reputation.
Moreover, Qin's dispatch of troops this time was an exception to its usual practice, as it followed the etiquette of declaring war to the utmost. If this grand gesture was coupled with the fact that it had won every battle, even the old nobles of the six states would have had to sigh, "It is God's will."
This time, Zijia Zhenger was really aiming to package Qin's war of unification as a "righteous war".
Zhu Xiang sighed, shook his head, and went to gather supplies and prepare logistics.
When going to war, food and fodder must come first. Although Duke Lian has military farms, Zhu Xiang is here to ensure that Duke Lian can fight a prosperous war.
After receiving the declaration of war from the State of Qin, King Zeng of Wei was extremely panicked. He sent people to ask for help from other countries and to beg for mercy from the State of Qin.
He also sent Xinling Jun Wei Wuji's former retainers to lobby Zhu Xiang, trying to use the friendship between Wei Wuji and Zhu Xiang to force Zhu Xiang to intercede for the State of Wei.
After listening to the impassioned speech of Wei Wuji's followers, Zhu Xiang said calmly: "It is my fault that I did not capture Daliang before Wei Wangyu died and forced Wei Wangyu to kowtow in front of Wuji's tomb. When Wuji was forced to death, Wei State and Wei Wang should have been buried with Wuji. Zhu Hai is guarding Wuji's tomb in Wujun, waiting for the day when Wei State will be destroyed."
Wei Wuji's followers' impassioned speech was blocked by Zhu Xiang's one or two words. His face kept changing, as if he couldn't believe that Changping Jun was not deceived by him.
Seeing the man's expression, Zhu Xiang sneered, "But your words do remind me, should I personally lead the army to attack the State of Wei?"
Before Zhu Xiang saw the guests off, Wei Wuji's followers left in shame.
After he left, he sighed that everyone knew that Changping Jun was kind, so they mistakenly thought he was a weak and vulnerable person. People forgot that Changping Jun had persuaded King Zhaoxiang of Qin to release 500,000 Zhao troops alone, and had defeated Xiang Yan's million-strong Chu army with only 20,000 Guangling defenders. He was clearly an eloquent counselor and a brave and combative general.
He said that he was unable to convince Lord Changping, but was instead persuaded by Lord Changping. He then resigned and fled, not returning to Wei, but going south to look for his father Lord Xinling.
Changping Jun became famous again.
King Zheng of Qin commented: "Uncle, this man came to Qin with the purpose of making you famous and disgusting the King of Wei, right?"
Zhu Xiang did not answer. He was thinking, where did the 500,000 Zhao troops come from in Changping, and where did Xiang Yan get the one million Chu troops.
(End of this chapter)