General Qin

Qin State's administrative efficiency has always been very high, and now the emperor ordered Meng Yi to execute it himself, which is even higher.

Not long after, Meng Yi came here with three ocher-clothed prisoners.

Two of them had tattoos on their faces and their noses were cut off. They were torturers with tattoos on their faces.

The other person was even worse, his right foot was cut off, and Lang Wei carried him over.

The punishment of beheading.

This toe is not a toe, but a foot, and only the part above the ankle is kept, except for those whose waists are cut apart, the punishment is to cut off the toe.

The three of them had been instructed in advance, and when they came here, they immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Emperor Shihuang in fear.

This appearance made Ying Yinman's face change slightly. After all, she lived deep in the palace, and she had never seen such a terrifying appearance before, but she held back and just stretched out her small hand to hold Zhao Tuo's palm.

"Your Majesty, these three people are all criminals."

Meng Yi briefly explained the crimes of the three, and it is absolutely impossible for them to be related to the word of virtue.

The First Emperor nodded slightly, looked at Hou Sheng, and said, "These three people are all immoral, you can try it."

The corner of Hou Sheng's mouth twitched.

Before coming here, he managed to come up with an excuse that could be explained in theory. He thought he could fool the emperor by secretly flattering the emperor.

Who knew that the eldest princess and the first emperor were serious about coming to verify his theory.

For a while, Hou Sheng couldn't get off the tiger. After all, it was just a reason for survival that he thought up at a critical moment. There were many loopholes in the first place, so how could it be verified.

However, he is also an old Jianghu who has traveled far and wide, and in this life-and-death crisis, his head turned wildly, and he came up with a way out.

"Some of the medicines that have been refined before have quite strong medicinal properties. These prisoners have worked for a long time, and they don't have much meat. Their bodies are weak. If they eat them, they will definitely cause problems. It just proves my words."

Thinking of this, Hou Sheng was overjoyed, nodded his head and said: "The minister will take the medicine first."

Just when he was about to choose from the medicines collected by Meng Yi, the eldest princess spoke.

"Wait."

Ying Yinman said loudly: "Father, this alchemist must have made more than one kind of medicine. If he randomly finds some to test, how can he distinguish clearly. Father, it is better to take the medicine left in the palace, so as to make a difference." Compared."

Hou Sheng's face froze.

Especially when he heard the first emperor nodding his head in approval: "It makes sense, Meng Yi, let the CRRC mansion take the edict to go to the palace to fetch the medicine presented by Hou Sheng, he knows where it is."

"only."

Watching Meng Yi ask Zhong Lang beside him to go outside to notify CRRC to order the medicine, Hou Sheng's face turned blue.

As for Zhao Tuo, he looked at Ying Yinman who raised his pretty face next to him.

Husband and wife are united.

He thought so too.

After a while, Zhao Gao fetched the box of medicine left in Qin Palace.

He was ordered by the emperor to open the lid of the box.

Among the black silk, three glowing pill-shaped objects appeared in front of everyone.

There are six strange medicines in the whole lacquer box, exactly the number of water virtues in Daqin.

These six pills were presented in the same batch and came from the same cauldron, so they have the same medicinal properties, so they are suitable for experimentation.

The first emperor gave Zhao Tuo two pills before, and he ate one for himself. Now there are three pills left, which happened to be one for each of the three prisoners.

"Give medicine."

The First Emperor spoke lightly.

Zhao Gao promised, walked in front of the three prisoners, distributed the medicine in his hand, and the Zhonglang next to him even brought clear water.

The three prisoners were trembling, and each swallowed a pill with clear water under the watchful eyes of the guards.

Including the first emperor, everyone was silent, watching the three prisoners trembling in place after taking the pill.

After a while, Emperor Shihuang asked, "How do you feel?"

Zhao Gao immediately shouted: "The emperor asked you, how do you feel after taking the medicine?"

The prisoner whose feet had been cut off said tremblingly: "The villain feels a burning sensation in his stomach, which warms his belly."

"The villain is also, I feel a piece of heat in my stomach."

"The villain feels much more energetic than before, and seems to have more strength in his hands."

The other two prisoners who had their noses cut off also spoke.

These words fell into Qin Shihuang's ears, making his face even more ugly.

Because he also felt the same way after taking the medicine.

After swallowing the pills and water, I can feel the heat in my belly within a short while, and my mental and physical strength seem to be slightly enhanced, which feels very good.

This is also the reason why he chose to take the medicine offered by the alchemist. If it really didn't work, who would have nothing to eat this kind of thing.

It's just that these three guilty and immoral prisoners took the pills, and they all felt exactly the same as his emperor. How can this be explained?

Didn't Hou Sheng brag just now that he has the virtue of a king, so the medicine has no effect?

Could it be that these criminals are still comparable to me?

The First Emperor looked at Hou Sheng with a cold face.

Hou Sheng understood it in his heart, but he still argued strongly: "Your Majesty, what I said about the lack of virtue of a ruler is not a personal virtue, but because the ruler conquered the world and accumulated murderous aura in his chest, which contradicts the nature of the medicine. They are criminals, but they are different from the situation of princes and marquises, so they will not fall ill. However, they do not have the holiness of His Majesty to withstand the effects of medicine, so they will get sick sooner or later."

Seeing Hou Sheng barely rounded it again.

The First Emperor said coldly: "Zhao Gao, see if She Zuogeng and others are still outside the residence, let them in."

"only."

Zhao Gao took the order and went out immediately.

Zhao Tuo and Ying Yinman were taken aback for a moment, and then realized that the emperor must have met Shejian and the others on the way.

Zhao Tuo had already thought about what the emperor would do next. It seemed that the ruler of the empire had made up his mind today and must figure this out.

Hou Sheng said that Zhao Tuo had a murderous intent for conquest, and after taking the pills, he fell ill when it contradicted the properties of the medicine. Those prisoners who are not violent and murderous will not suffer from violent illnesses, and can only suffer from minor illnesses.

This sounds like a barely explicable one, but the prisoner's so-called minor troubles are hard to see, and he doesn't know how long he will have to wait. Therefore, the emperor was going to try the conquest general again, the effect of eating this medicine.

If other military generals have the same symptoms as Zhao Tuo after taking this medicine, it will prove that Hou Sheng's theory is correct.

Zhao Tuo was a little worried, but seeing that the three prisoners who had swallowed the medicine were fine, and seeing the emperor who had been taking the medicine for nearly half a year, he felt more relaxed.

After all, it is a chronic poison of heavy metals, so taking it once in a while should not be a big problem.

After a while, Shejian, Heiyu and others were really brought in by Zhao Gao.

Seeing Zhao Tuo lying on the bed with a pale face, Heihou and the others immediately looked sad.

"Your Majesty."

Heihip called out softly, Shejian, Zhonglimei and the others also had red eyes, they followed Zhao Tuo to fight in the north and south, when had they ever seen Zhao Tuo look so weak.

Because of the presence of the First Emperor, it was inconvenient for Zhao Tuo to say more, so he nodded slightly to them and said with a smile, "It's nothing serious, so don't worry."

Seeing everyone coming in, Shi Huang turned his head and looked at Zhao Gao.

Zhao Gao immediately understood, stretched out his hand and pointed at Hou Sheng, and then said to Hei Ji and the others: "This alchemist said that the reason why Marquis Marquis fell ill was because of his long-term conquest, he had the spirit of killing in his chest, and he was violent and immoral, so it contradicted the properties of the medicine. , but no one knows the truth of his words..."

Before Zhao Gao finished speaking, everyone already knew what he meant.

Heizhi immediately yelled: "I, Heizhi, conquered the six countries with the lord. I fought dozens of battles in the south and north, and I don't know how many heads were beheaded by my subordinates. In terms of achievements, I am not as good as the lord. Black buttocks must do their part! Please also give me a medicine for black buttocks, no matter what the result is, my black buttocks are willing!"

Sima Heiyu of the Lieutenant's Mansion knelt on the ground and asked Shi Huangdi to test the medicine.

The rest of She Jian, Zhong Limei, Lu Wan and even Li Shang knelt down and begged together.

Seeing this scene, Emperor Shihuang frowned slightly, but he calmed down quickly.

He knew that the people in front of him were all from Zhao Tuo's subordinates, among them Zuo Gengshejian and You Shu with long black buttocks were the same robes that Zhao Tuo had been in a Shiwuli when he was attacking Yan.

This kind of experience, it is normal for them to have such feelings, but if they deliberately alienate, then it should be noticed.

For the first emperor, Qin State's system of deploying troops with tiger talismans was the greatest security guarantee. Marquis Marquis Zhao Tuo and his former minions, who had no military power in hand, would not pose any threat to the center of the empire.

The first emperor's face relaxed, and he agreed to Hei Hip's request to test the medicine.

Xia Wuqie immediately brought a medicine, which was the remaining one of the two pills given to Zhao Tuo by the emperor yesterday.

After Xia Wuqie's diagnosis was completed, he asked for this thing to study, but he was only a doctor, not an alchemist, so he couldn't see anything, and now the remaining medicine is just for testing.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the medicine!"

Black Butt thanked the emperor, then glanced at Zhao Tuo again, grinned, stretched out his hand to stuff the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it with water.

Zhao Tuo watched this scene silently.

Hei Hip, the most impulsive and incompetent person under his command, has the most loyal heart.

As for the appearance of Zhong Limei and others begging for medicine, Zhao Tuo was also very moved.

His previous efforts have paid off, and people's hearts are really full of flesh. Except for some ungrateful and ruthless people, most people know how to be grateful. If you treat others well, others will treat you well.

After a while, Hei Butt patted his stomach and said, "It's warm in my stomach, it feels pretty good."

As he said that, Heizhi turned his head to stare at Hou Sheng and said, "You old alchemist, didn't you say that medicine is against our military generals who are fighting in the battlefield? Why did you have problems after eating it? !"

Hou Sheng was sweating profusely.

He didn't know what was going on with Marquis Wugong.

He just made up a set of nonsense metaphysical theories in a hurry, hoping to fool the past and save his life.

In the end, when the eldest princess and the first emperor were more serious, they really asked for experiments one by one, and directly exposed his lies.

Now, of course, he can also excuse that Zhao Tuo fell ill in the middle of the night, and it may take a while after eating the black buttocks, but this is just delaying the death date. If the black buttocks are fine by tomorrow, his end will definitely be even worse.

Hou Sheng can also say that the situation of Hei Hip is different from that of Zhao Tuo, and he continues to expand his theory.

But seeing the indifferent face of the first emperor, the upside-down eyebrows of the eldest princess, and the glaring looks of the people around, Hou Sheng knew that any further compilation would be just a way to fight the fire, and the more he compiled, the harder it would be to end.

At this point, his fate can already be seen.

Hou Sheng trembled all over. In order to survive, he decided not to do anything, and directly tore down the theory he had just said, just to find a chance.

Hou Sheng knelt on the ground and said loudly to the first emperor: "Your Majesty, what I said just now is all my own speculation. Perhaps the matter of Martial Arts has nothing to do with the so-called conquest of virtue, but has other reasons. But just now The black-butt Sima and the three prisoners took the medicine offered by the food minister, and none of them fell ill. This proves that the thing offered by the minister is not harmful. Your Majesty also took it for half a year. Has there been any problem? The strange medicine offered by the minister It's harmless, the Marquis matter has nothing to do with me!"

Everyone was surprised.

Even Zhao Tuo stood up and stared at the old alchemist in front of him.

What a bachelor's way, seeing that the situation is getting worse and worse, this old guy directly overthrows his metaphysical theory just now, saying it is only speculation.

Hou Sheng firmly grasped that the three criminals and the black buttocks were fine after taking the medicine, and that the emperor had no problems after taking the medicine for half a year, to show that the strange medicine he offered was all right, and if Zhao Tuo had an accident, it was Zhao Tuo himself. The problem has nothing to do with his medicine.

Such a shameless operation is really shocking.

Zhao Tuo sneered in his heart, no matter how Hou Sheng explained, the emperor could no longer trust him.

Not to mention, he, Zhao Tuo, still has a trump card, ready to speak to the emperor and investigate the history of alchemists in refining medicine.

Zhao Tuo believed that the medicine that Hou Sheng presented to the first emperor should be prepared after many times of compounding ratios, so as to minimize the possibility of accidental accidents of the medicine, and basically there will be no sudden death, and it can only become chronic poisoning.

But before this relatively safe ratio appeared, they must have refined a lot of poison in the process of experimentation, and no matter whether they were experimented with livestock or humans, casualties would occur.

This is a certain thing, no one can figure out a safe ratio at the beginning, they can only rely on continuous experimentation.

Therefore, it is only necessary to torture these alchemists and use the method of "waterboarding" to torture these criminal records from their mouths.

If the proportion of drugs is out of balance, if it is taken into the stomach, it may cause sudden death and sudden illness.

With those previous convictions of taking medicine to death, everything that happened to Zhao Tuo can be explained. Maybe the medicine he took Zhao Tuo happened to be out of balance, the most potent of the six medicines.

If Zhao Tuo didn't eat it, then Emperor Shihuang ate it.

In this way, he, Zhao Tuo, was equivalent to warding off the first emperor by taking the poison that the first emperor should have eaten.

In this way, he can not only get the gratitude of the first emperor.

Moreover, the first emperor was afraid, and he would definitely not spare these alchemists who made medicine, and most of them would be directly sentenced to death.

Zhao Tuo planned everything well.

But unfortunately, before he could speak, there was a sneer.

"It's a good thing that the medicine you donated is fine, but my family's lord has the problem after taking this medicine. So if it's not your problem, could it be that the medicine was changed in the middle, or was it poisoned?"

As soon as this sentence was said, everyone's face changed drastically in fright.

Was replaced halfway?

Poisoned in medicine?

Who dares to switch, who dares to poison, isn't this implying the emperor?

Hou Sheng also cried out in fright: "Princess, I don't, I'm not, this, this, this..."

His face was dripping with sweat and his teeth were chattering.

The First Emperor looked gloomy and turned to look at his eldest daughter.

This is why my favorite daughter speaks here, if it were someone else, it would have been dragged down and chopped down.

But at this time, he couldn't yell at him, otherwise he might feel like covering his mouth.

Ying Yinman had already stood up at this time, she stared at Hou Sheng, and said coldly: "In the Qin Palace, Father is the most trustworthy monarch, so he will not have any thoughts of harm. Then this poisonous medicine, Maybe it was replaced by a traitor or secretly poisoned!"

The first emperor's face was slightly relaxed.

Zhonglang General Meng Yi, Zhonglang, and CRRC Commander Zhao Gao suddenly changed their expressions.

Meng Yi is a general of Zhonglang who is in charge of the guards in the palace. If someone can secretly change medicine and poison in the palace, he cannot escape responsibility.

Zhao Gao was a close minister of the emperor and often entered the palace as a guard, so he was naturally suspected of committing the crime.

Hearing what the eldest princess said, it was impossible for the two of them to be safe, and the surrounding Lang Wei also became nervous.

If something like this really happened, they would have to be severely investigated.

Fortunately, Ying Yinman went on to say: "The palace is guarded by General Meng Zhonglang, and the security is tight. It is difficult for outsiders to enter the palace, and there is no opportunity to do anything, nor the courage to do it. Therefore, it is impossible for the medicine to be kept in the palace. Something went wrong."

Both Meng Yi and Zhao Gao breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a hint of interest on Emperor Shihuang's face, and he felt that his daughter was a little different.

Zhao Tuo raised his head and looked at his wife in surprise.

Ying Yinman didn't care, she stared straight at the alchemist in front of her with her beautiful eyes, and said sharply: "Since it is impossible for the medicine to cause problems in the palace, then it can only be the problem of you people who refine medicine, the medicine you offered , there is a problem, isn't it?"

"No... yes... no..."

Even though Hou Sheng has been outside for decades, he is almost driven crazy by what the eldest princess said.

Marquis Marquis Zhao Tuo got sick after taking medicine, so there must be something wrong with the medicine.

If there was no problem when Hou Sheng offered the medicine, wouldn't that mean that the people in the palace did it?

Is he going to imply that the emperor is going to assassinate Wu Gonghou?

Or did Meng Yi, Zhao Gao and other close officials in the palace secretly exchange drugs for poisoning?

Looking at Shi Huang's expressionless face, Meng Yi and Zhao Gao's faces full of anger, and all the guards around them glaring at each other, how dare Hou Sheng speak out.

When he said it, Emperor Shihuang killed him directly.

But if there was a problem when he offered the medicine, wouldn't it be that he had hidden evil intentions and deliberately harmed the first emperor?

How could he admit it.

At this moment, Hou Sheng felt his whole body go numb.

He neither dared to say that the medicine he offered was okay, nor did he dare to say that there was something wrong with this medicine.

He has been completely screwed by this logic.

"I don't know, I don't know!"

Hou Sheng cried out: "Your Majesty, I don't know! Your Majesty, I have wronged you, and I will make you an elixir!"

Hearing this, Emperor Shihuang trembled. He turned his head and glanced at Zhao Tuo who looked weak beside him.

Then he opened his mouth coldly.

"All the alchemists who refine medicine, pit them!"