Qin Gong

Chapter 707: With the arrival of Li Si, chaos broke out in the northern border.

Chapter 707: With the arrival of Li Si, chaos broke out in the northern border.

early morning.

Bai Yan came to the pavilion, looked at Wu Gao who had arrived early, and knelt down behind the wooden table.

When Wu Yun brought Nian'er here, Nian'er saw her father Bai Yan, and immediately left her mother Wu Yun and ran towards Bai Yan happily.

"Father!"

Bai Yan held Nian'er in his arms, then looked up at Wu Yun, whose beautiful eyes were flushed.

"As soon as Nian'er woke up, he made a fuss and wanted to find you."

Wu Yun glanced at Bai Yan, and seemed to remember what happened last night. She couldn't help feeling shy. Her beautiful red eyes then looked at her daughter, pretending to be jealous, but her expression was full of doting.

If Bai Yan hadn't insisted on going to Xianyang, Wu Yun would have wished that the rest of her life could continue like this.

Thinking of this, Wu Yun's eyes dimmed, and she tried hard not to show it, as she didn't want Bai Yan to worry about her in the future.

"In the clouds?"

When Wu Gao saw the expressions of his elder sister Wu Yun and Bai Yan, he seemed to have anticipated something. A look of relief appeared on his face, and he was happy for his elder sister. However, when he thought of what Bai Yan had just said, he couldn't help but feel confused.

In the clouds?

Wu Gao, who had been to Dai, was very confused. There were endless mountains in the clouds, but Bai Yan said that there was endless wealth there.

"Hold the letter from Yan, and you'll know when you get there!"

Bai Yan held Nian'er in his arms and looked at Wu Gao with a smile.

In order to raise grain, the Wu family sold all their property, leaving them with little property. Bai Yan had no way to repay this kindness. Wu Yun and Wu Gao were unwilling to ask Qin to compensate them for this debt, so Bai Yan had to make up for it himself.

Wu Gao will know all this when he goes to Yunzhong Academy!

Looking at his daughter in his arms, Bai Yan felt very reluctant when he thought about leaving tomorrow. However, if she was okay this time, he would definitely take his daughter to see the prosperity of Xianyang in person in the future to make up for his regrets.

"In the clouds?"

Wu Yun listened to the conversation between Wu Gao and Bai Yan. Although she was a little confused about what they were talking about, she thought that it might be something between men, so she didn't ask any more questions.

"Father, can you take Nian'er to the city for a tour?"

Nian'er looked at Bai Yan, her little eyes full of expectation.

However, at this time, before Bai Yan returned, Niu had already hurriedly followed the servants.

"General, Li Si, the Minister of Justice, will soon arrive in Xingyang!"

Niu came in front of Bai Yan and bowed to him to report.

"Li Si?"

Hearing Niu's words, Wu Yun and Wu Gao frowned and looked at each other, very confused. Then they looked at Bai Yan, not understanding why Li Si came to Xingyang at this time. Bai Yan was obviously preparing to return to Xianyang, so why couldn't they meet in Xianyang?

Could it be...

"Father is busy now, Nian'er will wait for him at home."

Nian'er looked at her mother, then whispered in her father Bai Yan's arms.

Bai Yan was very surprised to see his young daughter say these words. However, as Bai Yan was looking at her, Nian'er in his arms raised her little hands, hugged Bai Yan's neck tightly, and pressed her little face against Bai Yan's arms.

"Father promised Nian'er that he would come back every time just like mother did. Nian'er wants to see father and follow him in the future!"

Nian'er whispered softly in Bai Yan's arms, which made Bai Yan's face soften. He looked at Wu Yun beside him. When he thought about having to leave tomorrow, he felt unspeakable guilt in his heart.

Let’s see if I can ask anything when I meet Li Si later.

At the gate of Xingyang city.

A carriage slowly drove in front of two Qin officials. Seeing the two Qin officials raising their hands to stop them, the leading attendant stepped forward and took out a pass from his arms without waiting for the coachman to speak.

Qin Li looked at the pass with a suspicious look in his eyes, and glanced at the group of people in front of him. Perhaps he realized that the people in the carriage had unusual origins. Qin Li hesitated for two breaths, and finally stepped back to make way, indicating that the group could enter the city.

In the most famous restaurant in Xingyang City, Li You stood in front of the window, looking at the people coming and going on the street, frowning slightly.

He turned around to look at his father, walked to the wooden table on the other side, and knelt down.

"Father, will Bai Yan really come here?"

Li You looked at his father with some worry. In order to meet Bai Yan privately, his father not only left Xianyang on the pretext of visiting relatives, but also rushed to Xingyang after learning from Bai Yan's confidants that Bai Yan was in Xingyang.

If I can't meet Bai Yan, all this effort will be in vain.

"meeting!"

The elderly Li Si raised his hand and picked up the wine cup on the wooden table, shook it, and said with a firm look in his eyes and tone.

Looking at his son Li You, Li Si's mind emerged with the image of Bai Yan. Compared with Bai Yan, although Li You was married to Ying Zheng, he did not achieve many achievements. Whether in terms of reputation in the court or in the army, he was far behind Bai Yan.

Those who have not made any contributions in the State of Qin are not eligible to be granted titles. Even many of the princes of Qin today do not have any titles or fiefdoms.

When Li Si thought of this, he couldn't help but worry about the result of meeting Bai Yan...

Just as Li Si was talking to Li You, footsteps were faintly heard outside the private room, and Li Si's hand holding the wine cup suddenly stopped in mid-air.

"My lord! Lord Wu Lie has arrived!"

The respectful voices of the attendants came from outside the door. Li Si and Li You looked at each other, quickly stood up and walked towards the door of the private room.

As the door of the private room opened, Li Si and Li You, father and son, saw Bai Yan standing behind the entourage.

Seeing Bai Yan, the father and son hurriedly bowed, and the entourage also tactfully bowed and retreated.

"Wu Liejun!"

"Li You! Meet Lord Wu Lie!"

Li Si and his son Li You bowed.

"Greetings to the Chief Justice! Greetings to Magistrate Li!"

Bai Yan bowed to the two men in return. After the ceremony, in response to the invitation from the father and son, Bai Yan politely bowed again to express his gratitude and then entered the private room.

In the private room.

Bai Yan knelt behind the wooden table, looking at Li Si and his son. His sudden arrival surprised Bai Yan, especially Li Si. After asking himself and learning from his confidants that Li Si had come to Xingyang, Bai Yan immediately guessed the purpose of Li Si's coming to see him.

It's nothing more than a dispute over the feudal system and the county system!

But the more this happened, the more Bai Yan was puzzled as to why Li Si was willing to go against the Ying clan, the meritorious officials in the court and the old Qin clan, and go to great lengths to come and see him secretly in order to implement the county system.

Everyone has something to desire, and Li Si is no exception.

For the unification of the world in the future? For Qin Shi Huang? But looking at Li Si's actions in later generations, it doesn't seem like it!

This is also what has always confused Bai Yan about Li Si.

"May I ask the Tingwei what is the purpose of meeting with Bai Yan today?"

Bai Yan raised his hand, looked at Li Si curiously and asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Si smiled and raised his hand to return the greeting, telling Bai Yan that he was just visiting his eldest son Li You, and happened to hear that Bai Yan had arrived in Xingyang, so he came to visit.

After a few drinks and some polite exchanges, Bai Yan began to ask.

"May I ask the court judge what happened in Xianyang? Why did the king urgently summon Bai Yan to accompany him in the sacrifice? Could it be that there were bandits or assassins?"

Bai Yan looked at Li Si and asked tentatively with a smile.

On the other side, Li You was stunned when he heard Bai Yan's impatient question. He looked at his father and suddenly understood why his father was so sure that Bai Yan would come.

"To be honest with you, Lord Wu Lie, your suspicion is also due to this confusion! However..."

Li Si shook his head at Bai Yan. Li Si could not understand why Ying Zheng insisted on letting Bai Yan travel all the way back to Xianyang from Qi. Even when he asked Ying Zheng privately, Ying Zheng kept silent about it.

"Please speak frankly, Tingwei!"

Bai Yan frowned slightly, then raised his hand to signal that Li Si could speak freely if he had anything to say.

Li You was also looking at his father and listening to the conversation between his father and Bai Yan, his eyes full of curiosity.

"I heard that... Lord Yunyang once visited Lord Wulie in Qi!"

Li Si hesitated, then looked at Bai Yan and asked with a smile.

When Bai Yan heard Li Si's question, he nodded and told Li Si roughly what he had talked about with Ying Dan. He did not hide anything, even his reply to Ying Dan was included. At the end, Bai Yan looked at Li Si.

"The court judge guessed that this was the reason?"

Bai Yan asked.

When Li Si heard Bai Yan's words, he breathed a sigh of relief, then pondered for a moment, nodded under the gazes of Bai Yan and Li You, and then, in front of Bai Yan, he told him that Ying Zheng wanted to implement the county system in the world, and told Bai Yan that only the county system could gather the power of the world and gather it in Ying Zheng, so that Ying Zheng could be the common ruler of the world, instead of the Zhou kings of previous dynasties who were in name only...

In the private room.

After Li Si finished speaking, the entire private room fell silent. Bai Yan looked at the wine cup on the table, kneeling behind the wooden table, not saying a word, and no one knew what he was thinking.

After a long time, just when Li You was looking at his silent father and Bai Yan who didn't say a word, with a somewhat uneasy expression, Bai Yan finally spoke.

"The court judge came today, is it also for this matter?"

Bai Yan asked, and when he saw Li Si nodded seriously and did not deny it.

"May I ask the Minister of Justice, do you know what the Qin clan members think? Do you know what the ministers think? Do you know what the young masters think? Do you know..."

Bai Yan said this and looked up at Li Si: "What do the nobles of the world think?"

When Li Si saw the look in Bai Yan's eyes, he sighed deeply.

"Everyone pushes for enfeoffment!"

Li Si then looked at Bai Yan and told Bai Yan that this was also the reason why he met Bai Yan in private. Now all the countries were destroyed by Qin and the whole world belonged to Qin. In Qin, Bai Yan might not be as good as the old ministers in the court in terms of seniority, but in terms of merit, he was not inferior to Wang's father and son. If Bai Yan also wrote a letter to agree with Ying Zheng's implementation of counties, both the court and the public would have no objection.

In Li Si's eyes, Bai Yan, who was sitting behind the wooden table with a pensive look on his face, was his biggest help in implementing the county system.

Right Prime Minister Feng Quji did not express his opinion, and old general Wang Jian was not in the court. Facing the Left Prime Minister Wang Wan who stood on the side of the clan relatives, Bai Yan, who was urgently recalled to Xianyang, could play a decisive role. This is why Li Si had to come to Xingyang to see Bai Yan.

"I'm afraid the king has not made up his mind yet. May I ask the court officer what I want?"

Bai Yan shook his head and refuted Li Si without hesitation, then looked at Li Si and asked.

Bai Yan's words made Li Si and Li You frown. They didn't expect Bai Yan to be so direct. What made them even more worried was that Bai Yan's look at this moment showed that he was obviously unwilling to write a letter to promote the county system.

"I am grateful for your grace, and I will serve you and relieve your worries. I dare not ask for anything!"

Li Si raised his hand, looked at Bai Yan sincerely, and saluted softly.

Under Li You's gaze, Bai Yan stood up, returned the greeting to his father, and then said goodbye and left.

Looking at the open door, Li You looked at his father in confusion.

"Why didn't father tell Bai Yan that what father wanted was the position of Left Prime Minister!"

Li You asked. As the eldest son of Li Si, Li You knew better than anyone that ever since the incidents with Lord Changping and Lord Changwen, King Ying Zheng of Qin had always had some grudges against the officials of the Chu clan in his heart. Even though his father had assisted Ying Zheng for many years, there was bound to be some influence.

This is also the reason why my father did not dare to compete for the position at the beginning!

I thought there would be a chance in the future, but I never expected that in the war between Qin and Chu, Bai Yan could turn the tide of the war almost single-handedly, and eventually the powerful Chu, which even the Jin State was helpless against, was destroyed.

Now that the world has been returned to Qin, the county system is my father's last chance. Not only can it help to break the grudge in Ying Zheng's heart, but it can also help him to get Wang Wan out of the position of prime minister and create a good opportunity for my father to ascend to the position.

"Too risky..."

Li Si looked at the empty door of the private room and sighed helplessly. How could he dare to tell Bai Yan about his goal before he made his statement? He wanted to unify the world, but he was already old and didn't have many chances.

"Let's go back to Xianyang!"

Li Si shook his head. Even if Bai Yan did not agree, as long as Bai Yan remained silent like he did in Qi, Li Si would still have a chance and would not give up.

........................

The next day.

While crying, Nian'er was in Bai Yan's arms, hugging Bai Yan's neck tightly and refusing to let go. No matter how her mother Wu Yun tried to persuade her, she remained indifferent.

"Father promised Nian'er that he would come back someday and would not be separated from her then."

Bai Yan felt his neck wet with tears and comforted her softly.

Finally, with the help of Wu Yun and Wu Gao, Nian'er finally left Bai Yan's arms. Looking at Nian'er with tears on her face, Bai Yan was reluctant to let her go. However, this trip to Xianyang was destined to be uneasy, as all forces were scheming against each other. For the safety of Nian'er and Wu Yun, Bai Yan could not take them, mother and daughter, to the troubled place of Xianyang.

"General, we can set off now!"

At this time, Niu came to Bai Yan and nodded to Wu Yun and Wu Gao. After Wu Yun nodded, he spoke to Bai Yan.

"Wait for Yan to come back!"

Bai Yan looked at Wu Yun, seeing Wu Yun holding Nian'er, his red eyes full of reluctance.

At this moment, Bai Yan and Wu Yun looked at each other, and thousands of words were unspoken.

the other side.

Just when Bai Yan was about to leave Xingyang.

north.

Clouds of smoke and dust were rising between the mountains, dissipating southwards with the wind.

The sound of horse hooves resounded through the sky, as if to shake the earth. The shrill wails of the border guards continued to echo across the land. Looking down from the sky, countless nomadic tribal men on horseback were pouring into a city one after another.

Under the dense horse hooves, the bodies of Qin soldiers fell to the ground and were constantly trampled by the horses. These bloody corpses and the long spears and arrows scattered around them proved that they had used their lives and flesh to block the enemy during their lifetime, but ultimately could not hold on.

In the city, fierce fighting broke out. Raging fires accompanied by endless thick smoke filled every corner of the city. Amid countless screams, wails and heart-wrenching cries, one could see the faint gleams of swords and shadows intertwined on the streets, blood and flesh flying everywhere, and wailing continuing. However, with the influx of nomadic men, under the fierce and brutal siege of the nomadic men, the bodies of the soldiers finally fell to the ground, and the sounds gradually disappeared.

When the sun sets, the city returns to silence. At a glance, the whole city is empty, with only countless corpses under the smoke, as if to say that life is worthless in this world.

　Typing with one hand is really slow, and it will cramp even if I type.

　　The man who carries a knife is not a domestic violence man, but he is unable to vent after breaking down and can only face the wall.

　　Now it is still Daidao's wife who feeds Daidao when he eats.

(End of this chapter)