General Qin

As soon as these words came out, the voices in the entire hall stopped, and everyone looked for their reputation.

Especially Song Qian, the governor of Linzi County who came to present the unicorn auspiciousness, his face changed suddenly, because he saw that the person who spoke was Zhao Tuo, Marquis of the Great Qin Dynasty, staring at him with piercing eyes.

The faces of all the ministers also reacted in their own way.

Ziying, Wang Wu and other people who had friendship with Zhao Tuo looked worried, not understanding what Zhao Tuo was doing at the moment.

Ting Wei Li Si's eyes moved slightly, looking at Zhao Tuo with some surprise.

In his impression, isn't Zhao Tuo such a short-sighted person?

On the contrary, Emperor Shi Huang, who was sitting on the main seat, looked calm.

His gaze scanned Zhao Tuo's face, and then landed on Song Qian, the county guard, and said with a smile: "Marquis Wu Gong is curious about the true appearance of the unicorn, and Song Qing may come looking for it. See you all too."

Song Qian swallowed his saliva and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Qilin was born less than half a day ago, it was able to gallop away, and no one could catch up with it. It rushed into the forest in an instant, and when I got the news, it was already gone. Although I have the heart to find the unicorn, I am afraid that I will not be able to catch it."

Lu Sheng rolled his eyes and asked curiously: "Mr. Song, I heard that Duke Ai of Lu hunted a strange beast in the west. It had a moose body, an ox tail, and a horn. After Confucius identified it, he thought it was a unicorn. I didn't know that it was the same thing. ?”

Song Qian knew that Lu Sheng had come to rescue him, and hurriedly said: "However, according to the people in the village, this object fits the body of a moose, the tail of an ox, and a horn. It is very rare. It also coincided with the emperor enshrining Zen, so I think it is The unicorn came to the world to reflect the virtue of the sage king."

Lu Sheng nodded and said: "It turns out that the unicorn is a benevolent beast. It does not appear in the wild, but takes off from the body of a cow to show its auspiciousness. It is the auspiciousness bestowed by heaven in response to your majesty's enshrining Zen, and to demonstrate the virtue of a holy king."

Then, Lu Sheng said to the first emperor: "I heard that after Duke Ai of Lu hunted the lin in the west, the unicorn was seriously injured and died because he didn't know the auspicious beast. When Confucius saw it, he wept and said: "The lin came out and died, my way I'm poor. And I wrote a song saying, "In the Tang and Yu Dynasties, Linfeng travels, why do you come here at this untimely time, Linxi, Linxi, I am worried."

"From this point of view, the Qilin beast is auspicious when it is born, but it cannot be obtained. If it is captured by Duke Lu, the fate of the country will decline. Your Majesty must not forcefully pursue such auspicious beasts."

Lu Sheng has white beard and hair, plump complexion, and he is dressed in a toga with long sleeves, giving him a dusty air. At this moment, he was citing classics and talking about it, full of persuasiveness from top to bottom, which made many people nod along.

Zhao Tuo stared at Lu Sheng, secretly surprised.

This alchemist from the Overseas Immortal Seeking Sect is quite high-ranked, much better than that Hou Sheng who can only refine medicine.

Lu Sheng first responded to Zhao Tuo's request to see the real face with the appearance of the unicorn that Duke Ai of Lu hunted.

Then he cites the death of the unicorn, the cry of Confucius, and the history of the decline of the state of Lu to prove that the unicorn cannot be hunted and hunted, and it directly eliminates the idea of ​​letting people hunt down that unicorn.

If you want to catch the unicorn, if you injure it and kill it, do you also want Daqin to perish like Lu?

Such reasonable and reasonable words directly blocked Zhao Tuo's making things difficult.

Looking at Lu Sheng's old smiling face, Zhao Tuo's eyes grew colder.

This was the first confrontation between him and the alchemist of the Xunxian School, and he didn't expect this opponent to be quite difficult.

However, since Zhao Tuo decided to fight against this group of alchemists, he would not back down.

He smiled and said: "What Lu Gong said is very reasonable. The unicorn can only be seen from a distance and cannot be hunted. I was abrupt just now. But after the unicorn is gone, the cow that gave birth to it is still there. Such a sacred cow can do it for me. Daqin gives birth to auspiciousness, so it must not be humiliated lightly, I will go to see it in person, and listen carefully to what the people in the village who have seen the unicorn have to say, so as to gain insights.”

This Martial Arts Marquis really wants to get to the bottom of it!

Lu Sheng, Han Zhong, and Song Qian all had their eyelids twitch.

In the past, all the counties offered auspiciousness to the emperor, and there were black pheasants and tortoises. Da Xiangrui, who came into the world, is about to make a mistake.

Sweat was already appearing on Song Qian's forehead.

He was naturally prepared for the Qilin matter.

There are evidences such as cows giving birth and villagers who have seen unicorns. If it is a general inspection, he is not afraid.

But the other party is Martial Arts Marquis Zhao Tuo, with a great reputation, how can people not be afraid?

Not to mention Zhao Tuo's tit-for-tat appearance here, once he goes there, he will definitely look for any flaws, and the probability of things leaking is very high.

At this moment, Emperor Shihuang, who was on the throne, spoke.

"Marquis Wu Gong is right. It is auspicious for a cow to give birth to a lin beast. Once the unicorn is gone, the cow cannot be humiliated. It should be taken care of."

Song Qian was overjoyed.

The first emperor's words are equivalent to directly setting the nature of the matter, and it is impossible for even a Martial Arts Marquis to overthrow it at will.

Sure enough, Shi Sheng who persuaded him to engage in auspiciousness was right. Using auspiciousness to cater to the emperor's enshrining of Zen is beneficial but harmless. Even if the emperor guessed that it was false, he would not be able to deny it.

If he denies it, wouldn't it become the biggest joke in the whole world, on the contrary, he would justify it in order to reflect his own holiness.

Song Qian hurriedly saluted and responded, saying that after returning home, he would ask someone to take good care of the cow.

After Emperor Shi Huang nodded, he said, "I'm tired, so let's go out first."

"only."

The ministers took orders.

The First Emperor said again: "The Marquis of Wu Gong stays here, I have something to say to you."

"only."

Zhao Tuo complied calmly.

All the ministers went out. Before they left, most of them secretly looked at Zhao Tuo and shook their heads secretly.

Marquis Wu Gong is usually a clever person, how could he make a mistake in such a matter?

Lu Sheng and Han Zhong both smiled at Zhao Tuo before leaving.

Such a proud look, even an ignorant child can feel it.

After a while, all the officials in the room left, except for the eunuchs who were waiting in the corner of the hall, only the First Emperor and Marquis Zhao Tuo were left.

The First Emperor looked at the calm Zhao Tuo in front of him, shook his head and said, "Do you think I don't know?"

Zhao Tuo said: "Your Majesty knows, but likes it very much."

The First Emperor smiled: "Why don't you like it? And this matter is not necessarily false. I am the Son of Heaven, and I have given my life to the sky with my supreme achievements. It is also right for God to give me auspiciousness."

Zhao Tuo was silent.

Yes, the emperor naturally likes this kind of thing.

Immediately after the conferment of Zen, these auspicious signs representing the sage kings appeared, just to show God's recognition of the emperor's achievements and virtues.

Regardless of the truth, the emperor only wanted it to be true.

Zhao Tuo said: "I know that auspicious things are beneficial, but I am worried about one thing."

"What are you worried about?"

The First Emperor asked curiously.

"I heard that Duke Huan of Qi liked to wear purple clothes in the past, and all the Qi people in the whole country followed the example of the king, and they only liked purple clothes. However, purple clothes are very precious, and five bolts of plain cloth can't be exchanged for a bolt of purple cloth. People in Qi like purple as much as possible. The flourishing of extravagance in China is not a blessing for the country."

Zhao Tuo opened his mouth in a deep voice, and used the people of this era to tell stories and express his opinions to the emperor with metaphors.

"The minister also heard that King Ling of Chu was a good man with a thin waist, and the ministers in his court feared that his waist would become fat and he would lose the king's favor, so he did not dare to eat too much, and only ate one meal a day to control himself. Their own waists. They have to hold their breath every day when they get up, and after tightening their belts, they can stand up by leaning on the wall. In the second year, all the courtiers are completely black."

Speaking of this, Zhao Tuo had already seen it poorly, and said bluntly: "I see that Duke Huan of Qi likes purple clothes, and the country is extravagant. King Ling of Chu likes slender waist, but the whole court is dark and the state government is weak. Today, Your Majesty likes auspicious things. Feng, I am worried that the Qin officials in all counties of the Great Qin Dynasty will follow suit one after another when they see that offering auspiciousness and being rewarded will please your Majesty's heart."

Zhao Tuo didn't say what happened next, but he knew that Emperor Shihuang knew it very well.

The First Emperor stared at Zhao Tuo expressionlessly.

Zhao Tuo bowed his head slightly to show his respect for the superior, but his expression was very calm, and his eyes met the first emperor's.

This is a dissuasion he made after the conversation when Mount Tai was enshrining Zen.

The auspiciousness kept appearing, and the court officials were all flattering. If he didn't stand up to dissuade him, after the news of the auspiciousness in Qidi got out, I'm afraid that everyone in Daqin would be full of auspiciousness.

But, will the emperor listen?

The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.

Those eunuchs standing in the corner were sweating on their foreheads.

Marquis Wu Gong compared the emperor to Duke Huan of Qi who likes to wear purple clothes, and King Ling of Chu who likes to have a thin waist.

I'm afraid Ting Wei Li Si wouldn't dare to say such words.

Junhou is so bold, will the emperor punish him?

In the end, Emperor Shi Huang just shook his head and said, "I see, you can go out."

Zhao Tuo sighed in his heart.

She cupped her hands and said, "Wei."

He turned around silently, with some sadness in his eyes.

Isn't that okay?

But just as Zhao Tuo turned around and was about to leave, Emperor Shi Huang's voice came from behind.

"Omens of auspiciousness will stop at the unicorn."

Zhao Tuo paused, a smile bloomed on his face, and his eyes brightened a lot.

The emperor, it's not that you don't really eat oil and salt.

This is still advised.

He turned around and saluted the First Emperor, "Your Majesty is wise."

The First Emperor shook his head slightly.

The story of Duke Huan of Qi's fondness for purple clothes is recorded in Han Feizhi's book.

It works well.

As a monarch who was familiar with Legalist works, Emperor Shihuang was very clear in his heart. When Zhao Tuo spoke, he understood the harm that would be caused to the country if the auspicious things continued to spread.

But to be clear, if it were someone else who advised, he, the most supreme emperor in the world, might listen, but he would not have this attitude.

The previous auspiciousness was related to the auspicious omen of heaven after Feng Chan, and he would not deny it.

But in the future, he will listen to Zhao Tuo's persuasion to curb this behavior.

Looking at the young man in front of him respectfully saluting himself.

A smile flashed in Shi Huang's eyes.

This is my son-in-law.

Although the words are a bit disappointing, they are indeed beneficial to the whole country.

"Zhao Tuo would rather offend me than admonish me. His love for me and Daqin has never been lacking."