The main reason why Zhao Tuo sought pleasure in collecting books and making figurines in the underground palace was actually to downplay the sadness that he was building a mausoleum for the emperor and that the emperor was about to die.
The effect was not bad. After Zhao Tuo's energy was distracted by these matters, he was indeed in a good mood for several months.
However, in August, news from the palace broke his guard.
"The emperor...fainted?"
Zhao Tuo was in the Shaofu workshop at the time, watching the craftsmen painting the Great Qin Star Destroyer. When he received the news from Prince Fusu's order, he felt dizzy and his heart was pounding.
"I will enter the palace immediately."
He handed over the affairs to the Shaofu Prime Minister Zhang Cang and hurried to the Qin Palace.
Because Prince Fusu presided over major affairs, order in the palace was maintained very well, but there was a depressing atmosphere both inside and outside.
Zhao Tuo felt his heart clenched tightly, fearing that he would not be able to see the emperor for the last time.
Fortunately, God opened his eyes.
When Zhao Tuo rushed to the palace out of breath, he found that the emperor had woken up.
"I'm fine, I'm just dizzy for a moment. It's really unnecessary for Fusu to ask you to come over."
The First Emperor was lying on the couch, his face a little pale. When he saw Zhao Tuo coming in, he couldn't help but complain.
Fusu cried beside him and said: "When I heard that my father had fainted, I suddenly felt that the sky was falling and the earth was falling. I was confused. The first thing I thought of was the Marquis of Zhenguo."
"Hmph, things like this can mess up your mind. How will you be the supreme person in the world in the future?"
The First Emperor glared at his son, but there was no anger in his words.
Looking at Fusu with tears streaming down his face and Zhao Tuo with a worried face, he felt happy in his heart.
What a sick old man naturally wants in his heart is to be surrounded by his children and take good care of him.
Seeing that the First Emperor was fine and could teach Fusu a lesson, Zhao Tuo felt relieved, but then he felt uneasy.
Although the First Emperor came to his senses, he suddenly fainted, which meant that there was a serious problem with his body.
Now we have escaped disaster, but once we open the door, we still don’t know what will happen in the future.
The First Emperor had just woken up and did not want to say much. After saying a few words, he asked Zhao Tuo and Fusu to leave. He wanted to be quiet.
Just when Zhao Tuo was about to leave.
The First Emperor stopped him again: "Young Master, how is the construction of the Lishan Emperor's Mausoleum going? Are all the matters completed?"
Zhao Tuo trembled and replied: "Your Majesty, the overall construction of the Lishan Emperor's Mausoleum has been completed, and the Young Mansion is firing all kinds of terracotta warriors and mausoleum utensils."
"You did a good job, you can go down."
"only."
Zhao Tuo bowed to the emperor again, turned and left.
The emperor's question made him even more worried.
Your Majesty, have you felt it yet?
…
Just as Zhao Tuo was worried, with the first syncope, the body of the First Emperor, which was already plagued by pain, began to go downhill at a very fast speed.
The emperor looked haggard, became thinner day by day, and his legs and feet became more and more inconvenient. By September, he could no longer walk more than a hundred steps.
Even people who are not familiar with medical skills know that this supreme emperor is approaching the end of his life step by step.
Fusu and Zhao Tuo became increasingly worried and affected by sadness.
Prime Minister Wang Wan on the right, Prime Minister Li Si on the left, and Imperial Censor Feng Quji, together with all the officials in the court, wrote a letter asking the emperor to send people to pray at the mountains and rivers to pray for the blessings of the gods and extend the emperor's life.
The First Emperor agreed.
He sent Meng Yi, whom he trusted, as his minister, to the famous mountains in the world to pray and offer sacrifices in order to extend his life.
Zhao Tuo saw it in his eyes and sighed in his heart.
At this point, medicine is useless and all we can do is pray to the gods.
The only thing Zhao Tuo could do was probably to try his best to build the first emperor's residence after his death in the last period of time, so that the king could lie down comfortably in the underground palace.
In the last few days of September, in the afternoon, a messenger came to the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion and delivered an edict to Zhao Tuo to enter the palace to meet the saint.
It's just that the meeting place was not in the emperor's palace, but at Tianbaotai, which was twelve feet high.
This platform is large and gorgeous, with a small palace on it, surrounded by trees and beautiful scenery. It was the place where the First Emperor relaxed his mood on weekdays.
The First Emperor was standing on the edge of the high platform, leaning on the fence and looking into the distance. The Minister ordered Zhao Gao to stand beside him carefully.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Tuo, pays homage to your Majesty."
Zhao Tuo stepped forward and saluted.
The First Emperor looked back, nodded, and asked Zhao Gao to step aside, saying that he wanted to chat with Zhao Tuo alone.
After a while, only the First Emperor and Zhao Tuo were left on the Tianbao Platform.
"Your Majesty, it's windy here."
Zhao Tuo said softly that the emperor looked good today. Although he was a little thin, he looked in good spirits.
The First Emperor hummed: "The wind is strong? What does this little wind mean? I have never seen any storms in my life. The wind here is worse than the top of Mount Tai in the past...ahem...far worse."
Seeing the emperor coughing, Zhao Tuo stood silently where Zhao Gao had just been.
This is the upper wind, and he uses his body to shield the emperor.
The First Emperor saw it and said nothing, turning his head to look at the scenery in the distance.
"Do you know what I asked you to do today?"
"I don't know."
"I'm dying."
The First Emperor's voice was calm.
Zhao Tuo's breath was instantly blocked in his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.
The First Emperor hated others talking about death.
The entire Qin Palace, including the prince Fu Su, the minister Zhao Gao, the imperial doctor Xia Wuji, etc., did not dare to mention what happened a hundred years later in front of him.
Now he said it in front of Zhao Tuo in an understatement, which was very shocking.
Zhao Tuo lowered his head and said in a trembling voice: "I hope to spend more time with Your Majesty."
The First Emperor smiled, looked up to the sky and said: "In ancient times, the three emperors and five emperors, Xia Yu, Shang Tang, and even Zhou Wen and Wu, all made great achievements in the world. However, when the end came, they all left the world, allowed their bodies to rot, and eventually turned into dust."
"I used my own body to raise troops to put an end to the riots. I relied on the spirit of the ancestral temple to defeat the six kings and brought peace to the world. I defeated the Xiongnu in the north, merged with the Yueshi in the west, swallowed Korea in the east, captured Baiyue in the south, and barbarians from all directions.
They are all captives of the Qin Dynasty. I conquered the six kingdoms and conquered the four barbarians. These achievements are so great that they can be said to be unprecedented!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "I worshiped the heaven on Mount Tai, and Liang Fu meditated on the ground, praying to the gods of heaven and earth. I thought that I would be loved by heaven, and that I would be different from the sages and emperors of ancient times.
, can obtain the way of immortality, govern all the people for heaven and earth, and let me and the Qin Dynasty live forever together!"
"But I couldn't find an immortal, I couldn't cultivate an immortal, and I was plagued by illness. As of today, I understand what Xun Qing meant when he said that heaven's behavior is always constant, and it will not survive for Yao, nor perish for Jie."
The First Emperor sighed quietly: "Since people have life and death, and I cannot avoid it, there is nothing to be unwilling to do."
Zhao Tuo was quite surprised.
The First Emperor, who spent his whole life seeking immortality and cultivating immortals, and longed for immortality, looked away from life and death in the last period of his life.
He responded: "What your Majesty said is true. The life and death of a person are predetermined by God. We just need to let nature take its course, act in accordance with God, and do what we do without any regrets."
"No regrets...what regrets do I have?"
The First Emperor whispered in a low voice: "I have taken a dim view of matters of life and death. However, there are many regrets. At least in my opinion, today's Great Qin is not enough."
At this point, the Qi Emperor's withered face suddenly burst into life, and his eyes glowed with light.
"In the west, the small state of Wusun robbed and killed my Daqin caravan, and they should be punished. Wang Liyan said that the Wusun people were cunning and avoided our Qin army without fighting, so they were not destroyed for a long time. I can't witness Wusun Kunmo hanging his head in Xianyang, and I can't
It is a pity to see with my own eyes that I, the Qin Dynasty, marched into the vast lands of the Western Regions."
"In the north, there are still remnants of the Huns north of the Yin Mountains, and there are remnants of the Donghu outside Liaodong. It is a pity that I cannot wipe them all out in one fell swoop and submit them all to the Rong and Di tribes."
"To the east, there is a letter from the governor of Rizhao County, saying that in the southeast of Rizhao, there is an archipelago about a hundred miles across the sea, which is suspected to be the legendary Yingzhou Fairy Mountain. Although I don't believe in the theory of Yingzhou, I have ordered the boat master to go and explore it.
, it takes a long time to go back and forth, and I can't get the news from there. This is three regrets."
"As for the south... Baiyue has been taken, but I still want to poison myself."
The First Emperor sighed sadly and expressed his fourth regret.
This was the feeling he often had when he sat in the palace and looked at the map of the world's territories.
If you don't know about those places, forget it. Since the First Emperor has known through various channels that there is a vast and fertile Western Region to the west of the Qin Dynasty, a territory to the south that is not inferior to that of the Xia, and there are also different scenery to the north and east.
How could he endure his heart full of domineering and conquering desires?
This is actually one of the reasons why he desires immortality.
How could he be willing to die when all the territories in the world had not yet been conquered?
"I like what you said in the hall that year. There should be only one country in the world, Da Qin, and there should only be one king! I only wish that Da Qin can become the only country in the world, and that all the land illuminated by the sun and moon is Da Qin.
territory!"
Hearing such a grand vision and those four regrets made Zhao Tuo sweat on his forehead.
He whispered: "Your Majesty's wish is indeed a great undertaking that cannot be completed by one generation. This matter should be done by future generations."
The First Emperor nodded silently, and Zhao Tuo's words brought him back to reality.
"You're right, that's not something I should worry about anymore, but I want to see it."
"Zhao Tuo, after I leave, you and Fusu should be on this stage and imitate me, make a golden man, and look out at the world from here. If my soul gets tired of staying in the underground palace, or when it comes to
Here, take a look at what the country of Great Qin looks like."
Speaking of this, the First Emperor seemed to have remembered something bad.
He glared at Zhao Tuo and said: "You must do this well and not cut corners for me like the twelve golden men back then. This golden man must be as tall as me!"
The first emperor's solemn instructions made Zhao Tuo dumbfounded.
Twelve golden people?
This happened many years ago. Fortunately, the emperor still remembered this matter. If he hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten it.
Zhao Tuo said: "Your Majesty's instructions, I will bear them in mind."
The First Emperor nodded, then suddenly stared at him and asked: "You, Zhao Tuo, are still young, you have been awarded the title of Marquis, and your merits are among the best in the world. I wonder what other ideas you have in the future?"
Zhao Tuo understood what the emperor meant. He looked solemn and bowed down: "The heaven and the earth can be used as a guide, and the sun and the moon can be used as a guide. I, Zhao Tuo, only wish to assist the emperor in the future. I will always be a Qin general and Qin minister in my life. I will devote myself to the Qin Dynasty and die."
already!"
Seeing Zhao Tuo solemnly swearing an oath, the First Emperor showed a happy smile.
"Very good, I saw you right. Come to me and take a look at the scenery of Xianyang with me."
Zhao Tuo stood up and walked obediently to the side of the First Emperor.
He followed the First Emperor and looked towards the Qin Palace below the stage and towards Xianyang in the distance.
The view is broad, and it feels like climbing a mountain and looking down at the world.
Just tears fell down the corners of Zhao Tuo's eyes.
The sky is filled with red clouds, and the Golden Crow is slanting to the west.
He saw that the sun was setting.
…
After the Tianbaotai Incident, the First Emperor quickly announced a piece of news that surprised the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty.
Fengchang, the leader of the nine ministers, was released as a county guard. Wang Wan, the right prime minister, was transferred to Fengchang, and his original position was taken over by Zhao Tuo, the Marquis of Zhenguo.
The appointment came so suddenly that both Wang Wan and Feng Chang were stunned.
The First Emperor's promise to Zhao Tuo was finally fulfilled.
No one can say anything about this, because the world belongs to the emperor, and they are just the emperor's ministers. The emperor can appoint whatever he wants.
Not to mention that Zhao Tuo, the Marquis of Zhenguo, is more than enough to be the right prime minister, regardless of his meritorious service or title.
Wang Wan could only hand over the position bitterly, handing over all government affairs and powers to the new right prime minister Zhao Tuo.
The whole court congratulated Zhao Tuo on becoming prime minister, and even the left prime minister Li Si came to visit him in person to try to close relations with him.
Zhao Tuo didn't feel much joy in his heart.
Such an appointment by the First Emperor proved that his end was coming soon.
Sure enough, in the next few days, the First Emperor fainted and woke up sometimes, and his complexion and appearance deteriorated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In this New Year of the Qin calendar, few ministers in the Manchu Dynasty could celebrate the New Year with peace of mind, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the depths of the Qin Palace.
At dusk on the ninth day of October, the First Emperor suddenly sent for Zhao Tuo, Li Si, Fusu and others.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! He was lying on the couch, his complexion was different from the usual weakness, and was actually a little rosy.
When Zhao Tuo saw it, his eyes couldn't help but turn red and his hands and feet couldn't help trembling.
The emperor's appearance may have brought him back to his former glory.
Fusu was crying beside him. He was a man of benevolence and filial piety, and he had a father-son affection for the emperor in addition to being a monarch and his ministers. At this moment, he felt a tearing pain in his heart.
Li Si also fell down in front of the First Emperor's couch, bursting into tears.
After the fall of Lu Buwei, he served the emperor for nearly thirty years, watching the monarch go from being energetic in his early twenties, to being calm and domineering in his thirties, to finally ascending to the top of the world and becoming the supreme king of all people.
After thirty years of getting along, how could there be no feelings between the monarch and his ministers?
"alright."
The First Emperor looked at the three of them calmly, especially smiled at Li Si and said: "I heard that there is a god named Da Siming in Chu, who controls people's life, death and longevity. Although Qin does not have such a god, there is still a god who controls all things.
It can be seen that life and death are destined by God. Now I am just acting according to God's orders, so there is no reason to cry."
Li Si said tremblingly: "The Qin Dynasty cannot do without your Majesty."
Fusu cried and said: "I can't bear to leave my father, and I am willing to die in my father's place."
Hearing this, the First Emperor's expression suddenly changed and he scolded Fusu: "You are talking nonsense. You are the heir of Qin. When I leave, you will be the second emperor of Qin. How can an emperor do this?"
The attitude of a child. Fusu, remember, from now on, you are never allowed to cry again. If you dare to disobey my order, you will be disloyal and unfilial!"
Fusu stretched out his hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of his eyes, nodded and said: "My father taught me that my son must never cry again."
"Remember, you will be the emperor in the future, you will be the king of the world, and you will be the true supreme!"
After the First Emperor looked at Fusu and nodded in agreement, he spoke a little loosely and said: "Although the hidden dangers in the Qin State today have not been eliminated, there are good ministers and strong generals in the court to assist you. You should listen more to the words of the two prime ministers.
Govern this country well."
"My son, I know."
Fusu solemnly agreed.
Zhao Tuo and Li Si next to him immediately expressed their attitude that they would assist the prince well.
The First Emperor looked pleased.
Fusu, although this son was bewitched by Chu people when he was young, he also had a stubborn temper and often contradicted him, which made him feel unhappy.
But fortunately, Zhao Tuo helped guide him. As the Qin State destroyed Chu, Fusu whipped Xiong Qihou, and he was completely free from the influence of the Chu people. After subsequent training in military supervision and government affairs, he became a qualified heir. Jun.
The Prime Minister Zhao Tuo on the right is Fusu's brother-in-law, and the Prime Minister Li Si on the left is Fusu's father-in-law. Under this relationship, Fusu's throne will be as stable as Mount Tai, and there will be no trouble in the transfer of power in Qin, which makes the emperor feel relieved.
His eyes passed over Fusu's face and looked at Zhao Tuo beside him.
Looking at Zhao Tuo, who had red eyes and was sobbing uncontrollably, the First Emperor had mixed feelings in his heart.
"I was abandoned by my father when I was young. I was left in the Kingdom of Zhao and endured all kinds of humiliation."
"I returned to Qin when I was nine, but my father died and my mother wanted Lao Ai instead of me."
"Lu Buwei relies on his power to suppress me."
"My brother betrayed me."
"Fan Yuqi rebelled and fled."
"Yan Dan sent Jing Ke to assassinate me."
"Xiong Qi betrayed my trust for the sake of his country."
Father, mother, father-in-law, younger brother, general, friend, elder...
The First Emperor experienced betrayal by countless people in his life. He lived in intrigues for the first half of his life, thinking that everyone in the world was like this.
Until this young man appeared in front of me.
The First Emperor looked at Zhao Tuo, and the scene in the Xianyang Hall in the past appeared in his mind for an unknown number of times.
The king and the boy.
We know each other at first sight and we will make it to the end.
There is no betrayal, only warmth and trust.
In the second half of his life, the First Emperor truly had a feeling called warmth.
"I have Zhao Tuo, and I will have no regrets in this life."
He said with a smile.
Then he closed his eyes.
The king of the world closed his eyes forever.
In October, the thirty-eighth year of Qin Shihuang.