General Qin

There is a high platform in the Qin Palace, named Tianbao. It was built by the emperor when he was injured after returning from his eastern tour and was assassinated. It is also the only large-scale palace building that he spent many people's efforts to build in the past few years.

The name of the platform comes from a poem in "Poetry·Xiaoya". It was liked by the emperor because of its lines such as "Heaven protects you, and Kong Zhigu" and "The emperor said Bu'er, and his longevity is boundless", so he built this platform. To respond to one's own body.

The platform is twelve feet high and the base is twenty-four feet wide, both of which are in line with the auspicious numbers of Qin.

The emperor liked to stand on the Tianbao Platform, overlooking the Qin Palace and even the entire Xianyang.

When he held the telescope, he could see thousands or ten thousand steps away at a glance, watching the ministers entering the palace talking to each other, and watching the Guizhou chiefs outside the palace walking back and forth on the streets. The emperor felt that he was looking down on all living beings and controlling everyone's life and death. This feeling made him extremely comfortable.

It's just that due to physical problems, he hasn't been here for a long time.

The sky was gloomy today, and the wind was blowing from the south, causing the trees planted on the platform to sway and rustle. However, the First Emperor changed his mind and came here, standing in the wind, facing the south.

"Your Majesty, it's windy here, so please put on more clothes."

Zhao Gao took the clothes from the waiter at the rear and walked behind the emperor in small steps.

The First Emperor ignored him and still held the telescope in his hand, staring at the southern part of Xianyang City. It was not until he saw the fast horses running up the road and disappearing into the distance under the whip of the knights that he put down the objects in his hands and sighed softly. A sound.

"I never thought that Marquis Wu Gong would become ill in Lingnan, and I even thought of letting him control the Yue in Lingnan first to assist in relocating the people. If I had known this, I should have let him come back earlier, alas."

Zhao Gao looked slightly shocked when he heard this sigh.

In all the years he had followed the emperor, this was the first time he heard him speak in a tone of remorse and regret.

Is this still the supreme emperor who rules the world?

Reminiscent of the confused expression on the emperor's face when he received the news from Wugong Hou Ranji in the morning.

"In the emperor's heart, the martial arts prince is no longer a minister, but a relative whom the emperor considers. Even if he is compared with the prince, he will not give in."

Zhao Gao secretly marveled.

You must know that Feng Wuze, the general who guarded Qianyue before, had requested to return to Xianyang several times due to illness, but was rejected by the emperor, saying that the war against Yue was imminent, and generals were indispensable on the front line, and he hoped that the generals would persist and wait.

Now faced with the request of Wugong Marquis Zhao Tuo, after receiving the news, the First Emperor directly agreed without even discussing it with the two prime ministers and the prince, and sent people to rush to Vietnam and ordered Wugong Marquis to return to Xianyang. He also specifically asked Marquis Wu Gong to put his health first in all matters and handle matters as appropriate.

Zhao Gao was the author of the edict and was very aware of the emperor's worries when he issued the edict.

Compared with Zhao Tuo's body, it seems that the matter of emigrating people is not that important.

Comparing people to each other is really infuriating.

If Feng Wuze knew about it secretly, I don't know what his expression would be.

In other words, it was precisely because of the previous example of Feng Wuze dying of illness in Yue that the First Emperor felt panicked about Zhao Tuo's illness.

He was really afraid that Zhao Tuo would die in the south like Feng Wuze.

Understanding the emperor's mood, Zhao Gao comforted him softly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. The Marquis of Wugong is young and strong. As long as he can return to Xianyang in time and receive treatment from doctors, he will be fine."

The First Emperor nodded and looked up at the sky.

"I still have to wait for Zhao Tuo to come back and make him a marquis myself!"

…

"Hahaha, the emperor really has me in his heart."

In the city of Guilin, the martial arts lord Zhao Tuo received the imperial edict coming from Xianyang at full speed. After a brief glance, his face showed pride and he chuckled softly in the room.

A few months ago, as soon as he received the emperor's edict to relocate people, he immediately saw that this was a stumbling block set by Li Si and Wang Wan.

The motive was very simple. Before he went on the expedition, the emperor made it clear in front of all the ministers and officials that he would let Zhao Tuo rule the world after his triumphant return.

You can't say anything joking, especially if you promise something like this in front of all the ministers in the court.

If Zhao Tuo went back in the winter as originally planned, then at the end of the year and in the autumn, when officials were being promoted and transferred across the country, one of the two prime ministers would have to step down.

Wang Wan was young and powerful, but it took him a long time to get rid of the right prime minister Wei Xiang. His butt was still hot, so how could he be willing to be replaced by Zhao Tuo.

Li Si is seventy years old this year. He entered the Qin Dynasty during Lu Buwei's time and spent most of his life before becoming the prime minister of the left. He has never even touched the highest position of the right prime minister, and it is impossible for him to step down willingly.

Even if it takes another year, that would be great.

The two prime ministers thought about it and joined forces to delay Zhao Tuo's progress with a major national event such as emigrating people to Vietnam, so that no one could find fault on the surface.

If it were an ordinary person, he would really have no choice but to pinch his nose and endure it, and continue to waste time in this land of hundreds of rivers. After all, the two prime ministers joined forces and the emperor agreed, so how can they turn the tables?

But Zhao Tuo is different.

"Based on my relationship with the emperor, if I get sick, how will you, Li Si, deal with it?"

Zhao Tuo sneered.

This is exactly what happens in the political arena. Even if you are happy with me and I am smiling with you, among the ministers, if there is a conflict of interest between the two parties, it is common for them to find opportunities to stumble or even kill. matter.

The smile gradually disappeared from Zhao Tuo's face, and worries gradually emerged.

If he were a native of this era, even if he had an extraordinary mind, he would probably only be able to see this superficial reason.

But he comes from later generations, but he always remembers the time when Qin Shihuang died.

Thirty-seven years of Qin Shihuang.

It is now the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor of Qin, which means that there is only about a year left before the emperor's death in history.

The world line is different, and other changes may occur in the middle, but at this important point in time, Li Si suddenly made this move, which made Zhao Tuo think of more things.

"Is there something wrong with the emperor? Before I left, he seemed to be in good condition. Could something else happen later?"

Zhao Tuo frowned.

The emperor's health was taboo in Qin, and no one dared to discuss it.

Even Ying Yinman, Chen Ping, Shejian and others may have some guesses, but they did not dare to say anything in the letter, and even the emperor did not dare to mention it.

Once this kind of thing is leaked, it will violate the king's taboo and easily lose his head.

So until now, Zhao Tuo still doesn't know much about the emperor's affairs in the palace, and can only make guesses from clues.

"No matter what, the order to return to the army is in my hands now. As long as I return to Xianyang, everything will be stable."

Before Zhao Tuo received the edict, he knew that the emperor would definitely agree to his return.

Therefore, during the time when the envoy was going back and forth, he had basically arranged the affairs of Baiyue Land.

The original Baiyue Four Kingdoms were divided into four counties.

Minyue is Minzhong County, Nanyue is Nanhai County, Xiou is Guilin County, and Luoyue is Xiang County.

Nanhai County and Minzhong County were put in charge of Lieutenant General Meng Tianlai, who had been in charge of army logistics, while Guilin County and Xiang County Zhao Tuo were handed over to Lieutenant General Ren Xiao.

These two people are both veteran generals on the battlefield and both are capable. If one person is responsible for two counties, it will not be a big problem. The subsequent immigration matters should be handled properly.

As for the issue of homesickness among the military lieutenants, it troubled Zhao Tuo a lot.

Because what the court did was indeed unreasonable.

The soldiers of the Qin army fought hard with the Yue people in order to end the war as soon as possible and return home. Who knew that after the war was over, the emperor said that you should not go back yet and continue to guard Baiyue for Qin. He even wanted to immigrate from the north. It also made the soldiers' journey home endless.

If Zhao Tuo hadn't been so prestigious and could suppress the situation, the army might have started a riot long ago.

Many generals came to Zhao Tuo on behalf of their soldiers to ask when they could go home.

Zhao Tuo had no choice but to tell the soldiers that he would work hard to deal with the emperor.

"I will tell you all about the hardships of guarding a foreign country, and ask the emperor to rotate the garrison soldiers so that you can return home as soon as possible."

Hearing what Zhao Tuo said, many soldiers cried and told each other.

"Since the General said so, we naturally believe the General and ask the General to go back. Don't forget that our soldiers are still guarding the territory here!"

"General, I want to go home. My father and mother are old, and I want to be filial to them."

"When I left, the bride was just pregnant. Several years have passed and I don't know what the child will look like. I haven't seen my own child yet."

The tearful faces and touching appeals shook Zhao Tuo's heart.

He carefully comforted the soldiers, responded to many demands, and made promises, and then the situation was brought under control.

"If the supreme general is here to preside over the overall situation, we will have difficulty calming down the soldiers who are homesick." Ren Xiao sighed deeply about this.

Zhao Tuo smiled helplessly: "I will try my best to deal with this matter in the court, but the next matter of Yue Di will be left to Brother Ren and General Meng."

Near Guilin, Zhao Tuo paid homage to Tu Sui and other soldiers who died in the Yue expedition. He also made arrangements with Ren Xiao, Meng Tian and others either in person or through letters.

Wait until everything settles down in Yue Di.

He officially led an army of 5,000 men, escorted a group of stubborn Yue prisoners, and a large amount of precious specialties such as ivory and rhino horn, and headed towards Xianyang.

Although he returned due to illness, the conquest of Baiyue was a great national victory, and a triumphal ceremony was indispensable.

He, Zhao Tuo, will return to Xianyang to meet his king as an imperial hero.