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墨書 Inktalez
"At that moment, it happened to be summer, and the emperor's body had already begun to emit a foul odor in the sealed carriage. They dared not let anyone else know, so they stuffed some stinky salted fish into the carriage along with Qin Shi Huang, traveling all the way amidst the overwhelming stench until they returned to Xianyang. Only then did they announce the mourning period and let Hu Hai inherit the throne, known in history as the Second Emperor of Qin.
According to the Records of the Grand Historian: 'In summer, the carriage smelled foul, so an edict was issued for officials to load a stone of Abalone into the carriage to mask the odor.'
In fact, during the Qin Dynasty, salted fish was referred to as Abalone, which was fish that had been salted and dried.
By the way, I also found a video of Qin Shi Huang traveling with salted fish; this should be quite a 'flavorful' video, right?"
Those following Heavenscape all showed horrified expressions. Was such a scene something ordinary people could witness? Knowing such secrets, would they be secretly killed by the Qin army in the middle of the night?
"What are you afraid of?" Liu Bang (now Liu Ji) lounged against the wall, casually picking up a small stick to clean his teeth while resting his arms behind his head, lying there leisurely.
"The area covered by Heavenscape is so vast; how could Qin Shi Huang kill everyone? Without the common people of the world, he is just an empty shell as a First Emperor."
Just then, a shoe flew accurately from the courtyard and hit Liu Bang squarely on the head.
"Unfilial son! All day long doing nothing but stealing and sneaking around. How dare you discuss the First Emperor?"
Liu Bang immediately jumped up: "Dad, I'm your own son! Is this how you treat me? At least I have an official title!"
Liu Taigong spat behind him: "You're just a little pavilion chief! You can't even support yourself; you're worse at farming than your second brother. What else can you do?"
Liu Bang quickly covered his head and ran away, not wanting to hear his father continue lecturing.
Liu Taigong sighed behind him. When would his son ever amount to anything? He no longer hoped for much; living safely to old age would already be quite good.
"Haha, tyrannical Qin deserves its fate!" In a small courtyard, Xiang Liang laughed heartily while sitting on a stone bench. "Seeing such a scene, I have no regrets in death!"
"Yu'er, bring me another bowl!"
Xiang Yu easily lifted a wooden bucket and tiptoed to serve him another bowl.
On Heavenscape, White Jade gently tapped her delicate hand, and the screen transformed like rippling water, incorporating rivers and mountains as carriages appeared floating above.
By the riverbank, a Mohist Disciple stared blankly at the changing scenes in the sky and murmured, "Such great power can change time and space in an instant. The strength of this person from later generations is truly terrifying."
"Master, come quickly to witness this miracle! Qin Shi Huang is about to pass away!" He hurried back without even noticing he had lost one shoe.
Inside Xianyang Palace, Ying Zheng's face was ashen. He looked at the carriages displayed on Heavenscape; his eyes were bloodshot.
How could this person from later generations reveal such a disgraceful scene after his death? If everyone saw him in this state—stinking and traveling with salted fish—how would they regard me?
However, the video continued to play. The crowd could see two officials in official robes directing servants to stuff basin after basin of salted fish into the carriage."
These people were stuffing their mouths while holding their noses, occasionally making retching sounds.
"Something's not right!" Ying Zheng observed the scenes closely and found them quite strange. Although the style of the carriages matched the regulations, he had never seen anything like them before. Moreover, the two ministers in the images were not the real Zhao Gao and Li Si; they seemed to be impersonated by others. Could it be that after his death, his two ministers had been silenced, allowing others to take advantage of the situation and support Hu Hai's ascension, leading to the downfall of the entire Qin Dynasty within three years?
Zhao Gao, with a sword pressed against his neck, looked over with tear-filled eyes, desperately blinking in an attempt to show loyalty to Qin Shi Huang. Li Si, also with a sword at his throat, merely frowned and remained mostly silent throughout.
"Alright, let's stop here. This is the most factual performance video that the blogger could find." Upon hearing White Jade say this was a close-to-fact performance, tearful Zhao Gao almost burst into tears; it seemed he truly could not escape death this time!
Ying Zheng closed his eyes. Surrounded by a group of ministers trying to comfort him, he remained very calm. "Zhao Gao and Li Si conspired to deceive the world. Where is Prince Fusu? Where are my hundreds of thousands of troops?!"
He could not believe that such a childish lie could fool everyone in the world.
Ying Zheng gazed intently at Heavenscape, waiting for Divine Maiden's next answer. "At this point, you might be wondering where Qin Shi Huang's hundreds of thousands of troops were during these events, especially since he had always intended to cultivate Prince Fusu.
The story begins with Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and burying of scholars. Influenced by Confucian ideals from a young age, Fusu disagreed with his father's actions and repeatedly submitted memorials advising Qin Shi Huang against them. Fusu had his own principles and beliefs, but his father was different. Qin Shi Huang was able to conquer the Six Nations not through Confucian reverence but through decisive methods and strict Legalist policies.
Moreover, this was not Fusu's first time openly advising his father. They had long held differing views on the feudal system and county system; someone challenging authority—even if that person was his own son—would greatly displease Qin Shi Huang.
As a result, Qin Shi Huang dispatched his eldest son Fusu to the frontier to assist General Meng Tian, who was stationed at Shangjun, in defending the borders.
At that time, Fusu was at Shangjun, building the Great Wall alongside General Meng Tian to fend off invasions from the Xiongnu. As a fierce general of the Qin Dynasty, Meng Tian commanded an army of 300,000 troops.
Furthermore, Zhao Gao and his associates intercepted Qin Shi Huang's summons and were well aware of these potential threats. Even if Fusu and Meng Tian survived and ultimately helped Hu Hai seize that supreme position, it would merely be a performance for themselves. Thus, they did one more thing: they sent a letter to Prince Fusu and Meng Tian at the border detailing their alleged crimes in the tone of the First Emperor, commanding them to commit suicide."
At this point, everyone in Xianyang Palace gasped in shock. They couldn't help but glance at Zhao Gao and Li Si, who were still under threat from swords, and quietly took a step back. These two were indeed bold; they could carry out such deeds. It seemed wise to keep their distance so as not to get caught up in it all.
Hearing this, Ying Zheng furrowed his brow tightly. Such a farcical edict could hardly be credible. So what happened next? Did Meng Tian betray them? No, that was impossible; those brothers would never betray him.
"Then..."
Everyone present only heard a faint sigh coming from Heavenscape.
"Fusu took his own life with a sword, leaving behind only one line: 'A son dies at his father's behest; how can I still seek peace?' Meng Tian attempted to delay but ultimately had no choice but to take poison and end his life."
Bang, bang.
A series of shattering sounds echoed as Ying Zheng knocked all the porcelain vases to the ground. By this point, he was seething with rage; a mere ridiculous forged edict had directly driven the eldest son of Great Qin to his death! How could he not feel hatred?!
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The future generations have already warned us in advance; everything that follows can be changed. The legacy of Great Qin will surely endure for generations!"
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the people of the future are still watching us from above. If they perceive our actions as a challenge and choose to leave, then the Qin Dynasty will not receive warnings from them, and we will have no way of knowing what will happen in ten years!"
Ying Zheng looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, ready to throw them away, and closed his eyes once more.
Behind Qin Shi Huang, Prince Fusu seemed to recall something. With red-rimmed eyes, he quietly kicked his sword away from him.
"Fusu's suicide is indeed regrettable, but there is also a certain historical inevitability to it. The long-term influence of Confucianism shaped his character, and being sent to the frontier made Fusu believe he had been abandoned by his father. Receiving such an edict at that moment, he naturally believed it without question."
"Was there any possibility that Fusu could see through this forged edict? In fact, even if he did see through it, he would not be willing to take the path of armed rebellion; that would be an act of disloyalty and unfilial conduct. He wouldn't lead 300,000 troops into battle when the world had just stabilized. If chaos erupted, it would be the common people who would suffer. Moreover, given his non-competitive nature, he might have thought that if it was meant to be taken away, then so be it."
Perhaps Fusu never imagined that this brother who seized the world would be so foolishly tyrannical, having squandered the entire foundation of Great Qin in just three years.
Hearing the Divine Maiden's explanation, Qin Shi Huang was momentarily stunned. It seemed he had indeed never considered that his own influence contributed to his son's suicide.
If he hadn't made Fusu study Confucianism from a young age and instead balanced it with other schools of thought; if he had established a crown prince from the beginning; then those two treacherous ministers wouldn't have seized the opportunity to forge an edict...
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