When Lees returned to his room, he was depressed.

He knew the First Emperor too well, and if it hadn't really come to that point, the First Emperor would not have issued a decree anyway to let Fusu rush back to Xianyang to preside over his funeral.

Li Si was at a loss in his heart, for more than 30 years, he had become accustomed to being loyal to the First Emperor, and he was conscientious and careful to do things according to his will. Now that the First Emperor is leaving, he is a little overwhelmed.

Li Si is not from Lao Qin, he is from Shangcai in Chu State. When he was young, he once followed Xunzi to learn the art of the emperor, and after completing his studies, he traveled to Qin. In the tenth year of the First Emperor, because of the Zheng Guoqu Incident, which was in a uproar at that time, King Yingzheng of Qin ordered the expulsion of all the guests of the Six Kingdoms, and Li Si was also on the list. At that time, Li Si, who was young and vigorous, wrote a "Letter of Exhortation" to the equally young and vigorous Qin Wang Yingzheng. His letter not only touched Ying Zheng, but also ignited the ambition in Ying Zheng's heart.

Since then, Li Si has been able to accompany Qin Wang Yingzheng often, first as a court lieutenant, then as a imperial historian, and finally became the prime minister of the new Great Qin Empire instead of Wang Juan, and he was extremely prominent for a while. His eldest son, Li You, also married the sixth princess of the First Emperor, and at the same time was appointed as the county guard of Sanchuan, commanding an army of 100,000 to garrison Xingyang, where Daqin's henchmen were located.

If you are so prominent, what more can you ask for?

The more powerful Li Si became, the more cautious he became. He never forgot the words that his teacher Xun Qing warned him that "things are too jealous". Li Si was not a very ambitious man, he was very satisfied with the status quo, so he repaid the power and glory that the First Emperor gave him with double respect and loyalty.

In the court, he began to keep silent. His Majesty did not like to listen to opposition, so he just dutifully fulfilled His Majesty's instructions and did not make any more suggestions. The ministers in the court began to make fun of him in private, Li Si was the prime minister of the clay sculpture, and in front of the first emperor, he would only say 'yes', 'good', and 'the minister will do it'. Li Si didn't care, and still faithfully fulfilled every will of the First Emperor.

Facts have also proved that Li Si is right, the first emperor is getting older, and his temper is becoming more and more tyrannical, often moody and changeable. The favored ministers around him have changed batch after batch, and only he Li Si can stabilize the position of prime minister, and he has been trusted by the first emperor for thirty years.

If it is said that the first emperor is pleased, Li Si may not be as good as Zhao Gao. If it is about being trusted by the First Emperor, Li Si may not be as good as the two brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi. But when it comes to the person who satisfies the First Emperor the most, it must be him Li Si.

He's so smart, he knows what he should do and what he shouldn't. I know what the First Emperor wants his subordinates to do, and what he doesn't want his subordinates to do. He Li Si is no longer the stunned young man who dared to face the king with the "Book of Exhortations", he is more and more steady, more cautious, and always does more than he says.

But Li Si still miscalculated, he ignored one of the most important details, the First Emperor will only grow old day by day, except for the First Emperor, no one will believe in immortality, the First Emperor will die one day, and he Li Si and his family still exist.

When Lees realized this, he panicked. What has happened in the empire in the past ten years will not be better understood than him, the prime minister. But he pretended to be deaf and dumb, didn't say a word, and still respectfully completed every instruction of the first emperor's whim. He still had luck in his heart, with Daqin's million tiger and wolf soldiers, the worst would not happen. As for the common people, they are just Qiantou, what else can they do except curse Your Majesty in their hearts?

Li Si's pretending to be deaf and dumb offended another person, that is, the eldest son Fusu. He believes that the world is unsettled and the people are not at peace, so we should not implement policies such as large-scale forced labor and heavy punishment of ministers. And it was Prime Minister Li Si who was loyal to these policies.

"Ugh." Lees sat in the tent and let out a long sigh.

If His Majesty is gone, how will Gongzi Fusu treat him, the position of prime minister is not to think about it, and when he finds a suitable opportunity, he Li Si will propose to say goodbye to the old man. With the friendship between the eldest son Li You and Fusu since childhood, Fusu should not be too difficult for the Li family.

That's all there is to it. Li Si sighed again, but he was unwilling in his heart. This empire, this Great Qin Empire, is the hard work of his Li Si's life. Just quit the old man and abandon it, how can he be willing.

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister."

The palace people outside the door shouted a few words, and Li Si came back to his senses and responded.

"Prime Minister, the CRRC Mansion ordered Lord Zhao Gao Zhao to ask to see him outside the palace."

"Zhao Gao?" Li Si was stunned, a little surprised. Zhao Gao didn't stay by His Majesty's side at this time, and came to find out what he was doing.

Although Li Si and Zhao Gao were polite on the face, they had very little private interactions. Because both of them are close ministers of the First Emperor, and the First Emperor hates his subordinates for forming parties for personal gain, although the two have a very good relationship in person, they rarely interact in private in order to avoid secrets.

Li Si cleared his throat, "Please come in, Lord Zhao." ”

"Prime Minister, Your Majesty has just died." Zhao Gao did not have the slightest intention of concealing the death of the First Emperor, and told Li Si directly.

"What?" Li Sihuo stood up, his eyes widened, and his heart was turbulent, and he slowly said in a trembling voice for a long time: "Lord Zhao, are you joking?" Your Majesty wasn't fine just now, how could it be ......."

Zhao Gao replied with a calm face; "Prime Minister, do you think I'm going to joke about this kind of thing?" After speaking, he bowed and said; "If the prime minister doesn't believe it, you can go to His Majesty's bedroom to check, I have just ordered the guards outside the door not to allow anyone to enter."

"Now there is no third person besides you and me who knows of His Majesty's death." Zhao Gao's eyes flickered, as if he was pointing, but it was a pity that Li Si was in a state of confusion at the moment, how could he pay attention.

After listening to Zhao Gao's words, Li Si subconsciously took a step and wanted to check, but Zhao Gao just got out of the way, stood aside, and made a gesture of please.

"Prime Minister, what should we do now?" Zhao Gao's eyes stared at Li Si and broke the silence and asked.

Although Li Si has no master at the moment, he has no thoughts at all, but he still has a trace of clarity in his mind, and he has not forgotten that he is the prime minister of Great Qin. Qiang cheered up and thought for a while, and said slowly; "Your Majesty died outside the palace and the crown prince is undecided, if the news is announced at this time, the world will float, and the princes will have a snooping heart on the throne. We must continue to offer food every day, and all the officials will continue to do business as usual, and we must not let His Majesty's body be known to the world before returning to Xianyang. ”

"Also, the sand dunes can't stay for a long time, Lord Zhao, please hurry up and pack the pipe belt, I will go to inform Wang Qi, let him pull out the camp tomorrow morning, speed up the return to the capital, and wait for the prince of Fusu to return to Xianyang to inherit the unification."

Zhao Gao nodded, thinking that Li Si is Li Si, and he can do it without leakage even in a panic, he is indeed a great talent.

Li Si saw that although Zhao Gao nodded, he was still standing there without the slightest intention of moving, so he asked; "Lord Zhao, do you have anything else?" He saw that Zhao Gao's expression was strange, without a trace of the sadness and panic that the First Emperor should have when he died, it stands to reason that the First Emperor's backer died and he Zhao Gao should be the most panicked person.

Zhao Gao didn't answer, but just took out a piece of cloth from his cuff and handed it over. "Prime Minister, do you recognize this?"

Li Si took it, stunned. "This is the decree that His Majesty has just promulgated, ordering the prince of Su to return to Xianyang to preside over the funeral. Isn't Yu Linwei already eight hundred miles out in a hurry? ”

"Yes, but then I sent someone to catch up with Yulin on the post road and retrieve the holy decree."

Li Si was taken aback, his face changed several times, and he said sharply; "Zhao Gao, you are so bold that you dare to intercept His Majesty's holy decree."

"Yes and what." Zhao Gao was not only not afraid, but smiled. "Your Excellency. The emperor's death, outsiders have no way of knowing, the talisman used to issue the edict is also with me, who is the crown prince, it is all up to the prime minister and Zhao Gao to say a word, and the prime minister will look at it. ”

Li Sitou wanted to be like a rattle, "Your Majesty has a great kindness to you and me!" How can you and I disobey His Majesty's edict! Zhao Gao, I should have never heard of it tonight, and I will never mention this in front of me in the future. ”

Zhao Gao suddenly clapped his hands and said with a smile; "The prime minister is really loyal to Daqin, but it's a pity that Fusu may not think so."

"May I ask the Prime Minister, do you think you and Meng Yi want to compare, who has more credit."

Li Si snorted coldly. "Great Qin attaches great importance to military merits, and I am just a civil servant, how can I compare with Meng Tianxiang."

Zhao Gao asked again: "Prime Minister, do you think Fusu trusts you more or trusts Meng Tian more, if Fusu ascends the throne, do you think you can still keep the prime minister?" ”

Li Si was stunned for a long time, looked at Zhao Gao in a daze, and said melancholy for a long time: "It's not big, I'll just be a rich man." ”

A hint of fierceness flashed in Zhao Gao's eyes, "I'm afraid that the prime minister may not be able to be a rich man as he wishes, have you forgotten that the * that Fusu has advised for more than ten years is nine times out of ten that you and me, Zhao Gao, the CRRC government, will carry out the order." Now the world is full of complaints, and Fusu has always been famous for its benevolence among the people. He wants to win the hearts and minds of the people so much that he will most likely borrow the heads of the two of us to appease the people's anger. ”

Zhao Gao's tone aggravated, "Prime Minister, have you forgotten what happened to Shang Jun and Lu Buwei?" ”

The corners of Li Si's eyes jumped slightly, and Zhao Gao's words were exactly what he was most afraid of in his heart. Throughout the history books, after the powerful ministers of the previous dynasty registered with the new owner, they often did not end well.

Shang Jun, during the period of Qin Xiaogong, conscientiously made the Great Qin change the law rich and strong, and did not hesitate to offend the Manchu magnates. The first major event of King Qin Hui's ascension to the throne was to split his car and destroy the clan, and he had formed a powerful family. Lü Buwei, who was 'strange goods', after the death of King Zhuangxiang, he monopolized the power of Qin. Marry the Qin people, reuse the guest qing, respond to every call in the court, and the power is so great that even the young Qin Wang Yingzheng has to call him the middle father. When Yingzheng grew up, Lü Buwei began to worry about his future, so he began to let go of power to avoid trouble, slowly loosened the shackles on royal power, and carefully cultivated Chang Yu as his opponent to divert Yingzheng's attention. But in the end, Yingzheng still refused to let him go, and after deposing his phase, another cup of poisoned wine killed him.

With the fate of these two seniors as a warning, how could Li Si not worry about his future. What he was worried about was that even if he retreated like Lu Buwei, Fusu would still not let him go.

Douda's sweat fell from Li Si's forehead, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve in a little panic, his face was pale, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly.

Although he is a very human minister, he is walking on thin ice at the moment, and if he is not careful, he will be crushed and his bones will be shattered, and his family will be wiped out. Moreover, he is really unwilling.

Li Si clenched his fists tightly. The taste of rights is hard to give up when people get it. He is now the prime minister of Great Qin, and above tens of thousands of people under one person, everyone has to act according to his face. The great empire is slowly advancing under his planning. Let's ask who can endure this loneliness after falling from the pinnacle of power and living alone since then.

Zhao Gao had already seen Li Si's heartbeat, so he continued to induce him silently: "On the other hand, Gongzi Hu Hai, although he is a little stubborn in his young temperament, is pious and obedient to His Majesty, and he is really the best candidate for an heir. Moreover, Hu Hai Gongzi is young, and he must obey the prime minister's words, so why should the prime minister be rich and noble at that time. ”

After thinking about it and weighing the pros and cons, Li Si finally wavered. Although he is a cautious person, his life is at stake, and he has to choose to turn his back on his principles of doing things.

It's a pity that the name of my life is about to be ruined in this matter. Li Si closed his eyes in pain.

Your Majesty, I have been loyal to you all my life, and this time, I have betrayed your last order for my own selfishness.

Li Si suddenly opened his eyes, and his expression had eased a lot. "Lord Zhao, Fusu has an army of 300,000 in Shangjun, and Meng Tian is complementary, I don't know how you plan to deal with it." He didn't ask Meng Yi because he had vaguely guessed in his heart that the so-called rebel rebellion should be a bureau laid out by Zhao Gao a long time ago, and he expected that Meng Yi was already more than lucky.

Zhao Gao smiled lightly, his face colorful. In terms of the talent of governing the country, he Zhao Gao can't match Li Si, but when it comes to observing words and feelings, and figuring out people's hearts, Li Si is far from being his opponent.

"Prime Minister, although Fusu is as His Majesty said, 'resolute and brave, believing in people and fighting hard', but there is another shortcoming, a fatal shortcoming."

"That is his stubbornness, the same stubbornness as his father, but he did not have the courage to inherit His Majesty. We still have to send a decree to him, saying that he is disloyal and unfilial, and that he has no merit of size, but his soldiers have many losses. Giving him suicide on this ground, according to Fusu's foolish character, he will definitely not go against the will of his father. Without Fusu, Meng Tian was able to stir up the wind and waves again. ”

Li Si thought for a moment, and finally nodded, but when he looked up, he saw a flash of pride in Zhao Gao's eyes. Suddenly vigilant, Zhengse said sharply; "Lord Zhao, doing such a rebellious thing, Li Si and you are both a last resort to save the lives of the whole family. If Prince Hu Hai ascends to the throne, we should be good at exhorting him and assist him to be a promising king, so as to be worthy of His Majesty's kindness to us. If you Lord Zhao dare to have a voyeuristic heart for the throne, I, Li Si, will definitely not be able to tolerate you. ”

Zhao Gao bent down deeply and bowed to the end. "Prime Minister, you're too worried, I, Zhao Gao, am just a eunuch, I just want to take advantage of the situation to save my life and wealth, how can I have a heart of disobedience? I hope that the prime minister will not say such things again. ”

Li Si stroked his beard lightly and nodded when he heard the words; "That's the best." But he didn't see the blazing hatred in Zhao Gao's eyes.

After convincing Li Si, Zhao Gao only felt relaxed and in a good mood, so he walked back to his residence with a smile on his face. When passing by the gate of the first emperor's bedroom, he saw a small eunuch poking his head outside the palace, but he was stopped by the gatekeeper and did not let him in.

Zhao Gao's heart tightened, and he was a little worried, so he stepped forward and shouted: "Who are you, sneaky here, and aren't you afraid of disturbing the Holy Driver to destroy your nine clans?" ”

When the little eunuch saw that it was Zhao Gao, he was so frightened that his legs were weak, and he knelt on the ground and explained in a trembling voice; "Lord Zhao, the villain is Wang Ping next to Princess Huayang, Princess Huayang disappeared after dinner, so the little one came to His Majesty's bedroom to check."

Zhao Gao's body was shocked, and he turned to ask the guards outside the door. "Has the princess come to His Majesty's bedroom?"

The guard shook his head; "My lord, I only came to take over an hour ago, and I wasn't the one on duty before."

"Why don't you ask."

"Yes." After the guard retreated, he returned with another person after a while, who knelt down on one knee and said, "Lord Zhao, the princess has indeed been here, and it will not be long before the time of the rotation, and the subordinates have not seen the princess come out." ”

Zhao Gao's face changed greatly, and he hurriedly rushed into the dormitory, and only came out for a long time, but his expression was indescribably nervous.

"Quickly pass on Wang Qilai, and you." Zhao Gao pointed to the little eunuch, "You go back immediately to check, there is no one in the princess's bedroom besides the princess." ”

The little eunuch saw that Zhao Gao's face was different, so how dare he ask more. I ran as fast as I could, and after a while I ran back again.

"Lord Zhao, I just asked, and the princess's personal husband Li Dan is gone."

This is Wang Qi has also arrived in a hurry, and when he saw Zhao Gaoyi, he arched his hand, "What is the matter with the adults recruiting officials?" ”

"Princess Huayang was held hostage by the personal eunuch Li Dan, and now I don't know what to do, Wang Qi, you take Yulin to find it." Zhao Gao's eyes suddenly appeared, and he whispered in Wang Qi's ear; "Remember, I only want to die, not live."

Wang Qihu's body shook violently, and his eyes were full of puzzlement when he looked at Zhao Gao. But after hesitating, he slowly lowered his head and said in a deep voice; "Subordinates obey."