Inside the Xianyang Palace.

It's close to June, which is the hottest time of the year.

When the Xianyang Palace was built, it was considered that in order to defend against foreign enemies, it was built condescendingly according to the mountain, and the trees within a radius of dozens of miles were cut down. So in the summer, the entire Xianyang Palace is as unbearable as an oven.

Under the direct sunlight, the huge Xianyang Palace seemed to be steaming.

In the main hall of Xianyang Palace, Hu Hai walked around like an ant on a hot pot, constantly urging the palace maids holding fans on both sides. At the gate of the palace was the ice brought from the basement by the endless stream of eunuchs, which melted immediately after being put down, but it could not relieve the heat in Hu Hai's heart at all.

Hu Hai pulled the placket of his clothes, and the black dragon robe on his body had long been pulled by him, and he didn't have the majesty of an emperor at all, so much like a scoundrel in the market. Looking at the eunuchs back and forth, Hu Hai was upset again, and kicked on a palace maid who was fanning beside him:

"Get out, get out, get out, you useless guys, get out of here, let me die."

The palace maid fell to the ground in pain, but she didn't dare to cry out in pain, she just kowtowed desperately, for fear of angering Hu Hai and saving her life. Hu Hai saw that she kept kowtowing, his brows furrowed, and he was about to have a seizure. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhao Gao's figure flashing in at the palace gate, and before the palace people had time to report, Hu Hai happily greeted him; "Master, you're here."

Although Zhao Gao saw Hu Hai coming down to greet him, he still knelt down and saluted decently: "See Your Majesty." ”

Hu Hai stepped forward to help him up, only then did he notice that Zhao Gao was still followed by Li Si.

Li Si is the prime minister, ranking first among the three princes, so when he sees the emperor, he doesn't have to bow down, but only bows slightly.

"The prime minister is here too."

"Back to Your Majesty, Weichen and Lord Zhao have important matters to show Your Majesty." Li Si said with a straight face and seriously. Although it was dog days, Li Si was wearing very formal courtier clothes, and he didn't see him shouting heat, which made Hu Hai surprised.

Hu Hai waved his hand, "I'll talk about your business later, I have something to find a master." Turning around and pulling Zhao Gao's sleeve, he said pleadingly; Master, when can I move out of this ghost place, don't you know, it's hot here, I can't eat or sleep well, when can I go to Afang Palace, that's where the emperor should stay. ”

Zhao Gao coughed a few times, but Hu Hai still didn't understand, looking at Zhao Gao with wide eyes and puzzlement, Zhao Gao was helpless, so he had to remind; "Your Majesty, you have been enthroned as the second emperor, you should pay attention to your words and deeds, you must call 'me', and you can't say 'I' anymore."

Only then did Hu Hai come to his senses and let out an 'oh'. Li Si on the side saw that the new emperor was messing around like a naughty boy, and he couldn't help but compare him with Fusu in his heart, and shook his head secretly, thinking that the first emperor still understood his son. But it's just thinking about it, Li Si and Hu Hai and Zhao Gao are grasshoppers on a straw rope now, and no one can get rid of each other.

According to the ancestral system of Great Qin, the old king died, and the new successor Qin king must serve three months of mourning and filial piety in Jique, during which he is not allowed to play at will, is not allowed to get close to women, and is not allowed to eat meat and wine. This suffocated Hu Hai, he thought that sitting on the throne of this emperor, he could do whatever he wanted, but he found that he could only stay in the palace honestly. It's this damn dog day again, how can he bear it.

Zhao Gao is also helpless at this point, Hu Hai is the new emperor ascended the throne, and the throne was not right, and the courtiers privately criticized it. It took a lot of effort for Zhao Gao and Li Si to calm down the suspicions of the officials and let Hu Hai complete the enthronement ceremony. In case it provokes the anger of the old Qin people, it is not uncommon in the history of Great Qin to depose the monarch.

So Zhao Gao had no choice but to comfort Hu Hai with kind words, and promised what he could do in the future. Hu Hai's temper has come up today, and he has a tendon to the end, but he refuses to agree to stay any longer, and he has to go to Afang Palace. Zhao Gao coaxed him for a long time, and promised to send a few beautiful palace maids from Afang Palace to sleep in the evening, Hu Hai calmed the resentment in his heart, and agreed with a hum.

At this time, Hu Hai remembered Li Si and asked in a pinched throat; "Prime Minister, don't you have something to do, tell me about it."

Lees leaned over and said; "Your Majesty, Your Majesty has been serving in the palace in the past two months, and the internal affairs of the court have been piled up, most of the affairs have been handled properly, and there are a few important matters, so bring them for Your Majesty's attention."

After speaking, Li Si clapped his hands, and a eunuch walked in with a lot of bamboo slips. Hu Hai then picked up a roll of bamboo slips, flipped through a few paragraphs, and saw dense small characters, and after looking at it for a while, he felt that his head was as big as a bucket. Put down the bamboo slips and wave your hand; "In the future, you can discuss political affairs with the master, don't bother me."

Li Si knew that he was tired by nature, and he had no choice but to nod his head in agreement.

Hu Hai still had something to say to Zhao Gao in private, and he thought that Li Si would retire after speaking, but after waiting for a long time, seeing that Li Si still had no intention of retreating, he said with a somewhat impatient expression; "Prime Minister, is there anything else?"

Li Si hesitated, but still said: "Your Majesty, there is a great drought in Shandong this year, and the land of Henan has been thousands of miles away, and many people have been displaced. Wechen would like to implore His Majesty to reduce or reduce taxes appropriately and temporarily rest the affairs and peace of the people. ”

Hu Hai shook his head and said; "If taxes are reduced, where will I get the money?" The bones of his eyes flickered, and he said; "I will learn from my father and the emperor to conquer the world next year, this will cost a lot of money, in my opinion, not only can it not be reduced, but it must also be added by one percent,"

Li Si was startled and hurriedly waved his hand; "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must not add any more, and if you add more, it may provoke a civil uprising."

This time it was Zhao Gao's turn to smile and smile; "Prime Minister think about it a lot, what kind of popular revolt will those foolish people have, at most they will just go up the mountain to be a coward, can it be possible to overthrow my Great Qin's eternal foundation?"

In any case, Li Si just shook his head desperately, refusing to agree to increase the tax again. Seeing that Hu Hai refused to agree to reduce taxes, he proposed again; "Your Majesty is now on the throne, when the world is amnesty to make the people grateful to Dade, the mausoleum of the former emperor has been largely completed, it is better to pardon the 700,000 prisoners in Lishan."

This time it was Zhao Gao's turn to stand up and oppose it; "The prime minister is too soft-hearted, my Great Qin relies on power to gain the world, and it relies on the law of strong soldiers to make the people fearful. Your Majesty's new ascension to the throne should certainly make the people fearful. Moreover, the imperial tomb of the former emperor has not yet been completed, and the coffin has not been placed. ”

Hu Hai on the side nodded again and again, agreeing. He was afraid of the first emperor in his heart, although he was dead, but he was not buried for a day, he was still uneasy, so he wished that the imperial tomb would be built tomorrow. Suddenly he remembered something, and said to Li Si; "Also, my Afang Palace has not been completely built, Prime Minister, I still have to levy 200,000 laborers, and this matter will be handed over to you."

Seeing that Li Si was about to open his mouth to object, Hu Hai hurriedly rushed to take the lead; "This is a holy decree, and you are not allowed to oppose it."

"I'm sleepy, you talk to the master slowly, I'm gone." After speaking, he didn't wait for Li Si to speak, and left as if he was running away.

Li Si was stunned, dumbfounded, how could this second emperor treat national affairs as child's play. It took a long time to come to his senses, and he stomped his feet and said angrily; "Nonsense, it's nonsense."

Zhao Gao persuaded with a smile on the side; "Prime Minister, don't be angry, Your Majesty is like this."

Li Si snorted heavily, "But don't we still have important matters to ask Your Majesty?" ”

Zhao Gao said with a smile: "It's okay to have the two of us, isn't it just a reply to Ren Huan to congratulate His Majesty on his accession to the throne." ”

Li Si sighed, "How can it be so easy. It would be nothing if Ren Huan simply congratulated His Majesty on his accession to the throne, but at this time, he proposed to ask for merit for the Southern Expeditionary Army, and said that he was seriously ill, hoping that the imperial court could appoint Zhao Tuo to take his place. ”

Zhao Gao said disapprerovingly: "If he wants to take it, he will take it, this Zhao Tuo is also his deputy general, even if he takes over, it is in line with the rules." ”

Li Si shook his head; "It's not that simple, even if Zhao Tuo takes over his position, it should be appointed by the imperial court in accordance with the usual practice, how can he ask for it directly with such an aggressive momentum. If the emperor had been replaced, such an approach would have provoked his fury long ago. Therefore, I think that the Southern Expeditionary Army is testing the attitude of the imperial court, which can also be said to be holding the army hostage and coercing the imperial court. ”

After a pause, he said; "There is an even more terrifying possibility, didn't Ren Huan claim that he was seriously ill, could it be that he was really so sick that he lost the command of the army. And this Zhao Tuo has already controlled the four counties of Lingnan, and this time he is just testing the attitude of the imperial court in the name of Ren Huan. ”

Zhao Gao was taken aback, he knew that he couldn't match Li Si in politics, so he listened carefully to Li Si's analysis and asked again; "So what should we do? Refusal? ”

Li Si thought about it for a while, and then said categorically; "No, instead of refusing, we will reward them heavily."

"Whether this note was written by Ren Huan himself or by Zhao Tuo in his name, it shows that we have gradually lost control of the Southern Expeditionary Army. The four counties of Lingnan are originally wild lands, and gains and losses have little impact on us, but we must try our best to fight for the 400,000 troops in Lingnan, at least to ensure that they do not pose a threat to us. ”

"What does the prime minister mean?"

"Agree that Zhao Tuo will take over as the commander, and at the same time give a heavy reward to the Southern Expeditionary Army, but not for Zhao Tuo, but for the officials of the four counties. He is just the governor of the South China Sea who controls the military affairs of the four counties, so we will reward the captains of the other three counties, as well as the county guards, county commanders and county lords of the four counties. Most of these people are Qin people, and they may not be united with Zhao Tuo, and giving them rewards can show the kindness of the imperial court, and can also remind them that they can be loyal to Great Qin in order to be high-ranking officials. ”