As the center of power of the Qin State, it is the place where all civil and military officials in charge of all affairs of the Qin State gather, and it is also the place where people in the world change their opinions.
With the drizzle falling, the sky was just getting dark, and one carriage after another of officials stopped at the gate of the palace. Men wearing Qin official uniforms walked out of their carriages one after another, and their number became more and more numerous.
How vast the territory of Qin State is can be gleaned from the number of these officials.
"Master Li!"
"General Wang!!"
"General Lee!"
There was a lot of noise, and all the civil and military officials smiled and saluted when they saw other officials and colleagues.
Although this scene seems harmonious, in fact, like other vassal states, the civil and military officials of Qin State not only agreed on the matter of going east, but also often argued on other matters, big and small.
After all, among the hundreds of officials in the Qin State, there are also factions, and most of these officials are members of the gentry. Regardless of whether they are voluntary or not, they will be involved in some disputes over interests in daily life.
Fortunately, the Qin State had wise kings in the past dynasties and there were Qin laws. This gave the officials of the Qin State far less room to compete than in other vassal states.
This is why compared to other vassal states, the officials of Qin State are more restrained and can have such a scene.
Royal palace gate.
Because of the drizzle, each servant or retinue held an umbrella to hold an umbrella for their respective ministers.
Speaking of umbrellas, some people say that the first person to make umbrellas was Lu Ban, and some people also said that it was Lu Ban's wife Yunshi. But no matter who it was, umbrellas have now become a symbol of nobles and powerful people.
Because no matter whether it was made of cowhide in the first time or made of silk now, ordinary people cannot afford it.
Today, if people want to go out in the rain, they still wear raincoats.
Although the coir raincoat is not as valuable as an umbrella, it is extremely convenient. Just like the elite soldiers of the Qin State who are holding long spears around the palace gate at this moment, they are also wearing coir raincoats.
Just as every official was waiting to go to court.
Not far away, a carriage that was not an official's appeared in a row of carriages. Many peripheral officials noticed this scene.
After all, this is the palace gate of Xianyang Palace. Why does that carriage come here?
At the moment of doubt, as the ordinary carriage slowly stopped, a young man wearing Qin armor, holding a bamboo slip, got out of the carriage.
Seeing this scene, many people were a little stunned.
A young man wearing Qin armor, riding a carriage, and holding a bamboo slip came to the palace gate. What kind of trouble is this?
An orderly soldier? Not like that? But if he were an official, why would he be wearing armor?
With doubts, the officials looked at each other.
"Do you know that person?"
"never seen it!"
Along with the whispers, many officials saw the carriage slowly leaving, leaving only the young man wearing Qin armor standing in the drizzle.
Seeing this, these officials became very confused.
Several Qin soldiers in the distance were a little confused when they saw this. After looking at each other, the leading general, wearing a raincoat and holding a Qin sword, walked towards the young man.
The official we were talking about just now was watching this scene, and the palace door suddenly opened slowly.
When these officials saw this, they all knew they had to go to the palace to attend court.
"please!"
"please!!"
One by one, the officials bowed their hands to each other and then walked into the palace in groups.
Officials in other places didn't notice anything at first, but as the officials moved, more and more officials noticed the young man standing in the drizzle.
To be able to become an official of the Qin State, put on the official uniform of the Qin State, and come to the palace to attend court, the knowledge, ability and connections of each official are far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
But the strange thing is that almost all the officials didn't recognize the young man when they saw him.
But after a few breaths
Among a group of officials in their 40s and 50s, there was a middle-aged man with a burly build, wearing an official uniform and a mountain crown on his head. When he noticed the young man from the corner of his eye, he was full of surprises and then stopped.
Saw this scene.
The two officials in their 40s and 50s who were traveling with him all stopped in their tracks.
"Master Yao knows that person?"
Li Si, who had a good relationship with Yao Jia, was the first to ask.
The burly man is Yao Jia.
"know!"
Yao Jia smiled at Li Si, and then when he saw Wang Wan looking at him in confusion, Yao Jia smiled even more: "Yao Jia was sent to Xinzheng as an envoy before, and that young man escorted him!"
Just as Yao Jia finished speaking, Li Si and Wang Wan all looked surprised.
"Bai Yan?"
"Is he Bai Yan?"
Li Si and others spoke instinctively, because they all knew that it was Bai Yan who escorted Yao Jia on his mission to Xinzheng.
Thinking of this, Li Si and others turned to look at the young man in the distance.
Thinking about the past six months, from their rise to fame to their repeated military exploits, and the previous battle with Gao Nu, which was even more amazing, they have always been curious about how brave the Bai family's descendant named Bai Yan is.
But now, I look at the thin young man standing in the drizzle in the distance.
This really surprised Li Si, Wang Wan and others in their hearts. This was obviously different from what they had imagined.
"What? Is he Bai Yan?"
"Is he Bai Yan?"
"That young man wearing Qin armor is Bai Yan?"
Around Li Si, officials one after another heard the words of Li Si and others, and they all looked at the young man in surprise. He had heard his name countless times during this period and had the whole court arguing.
Among the officials, two young and burly men in official uniforms immediately stopped and looked at each other after learning that the young man was Bai Yan.
"Is he Bai Yan?"
The person who spoke was Li Xin, and the other person was Qiang You. Both of them were Qin generals of the younger generation in the Qin court.
As among all the young generals in the Qin Kingdom, the two are at the top in terms of status, background, reputation, and ability. The one who is most unconvinced during this period is Bai Yan, a descendant of the Bai family.
Even before they met Meng Tian, neither of them cared that much when they heard people talking about Meng Tian.
Only the sudden appearance of Bai Yan made the two of them feel depressed in their hearts when they talked about his deeds.
Arriving at Yangcheng first, he killed five officials in one battle and defeated the enemy with twenty-one soldiers.
Leading the cavalry to the north, he killed more than three thousand Korean soldiers at Fuxi Mountain, killed Han Qiu, the general of Han Dynasty, and then went north to capture four cities.
Xincheng's words directly revealed Han Jun's plan.
In the battle of Gao Nu, he not only predicted that the Huns and the Yuezhi would move south, but also ordered the people to migrate. He led more than 10,000 cavalry and faced the Yueshi with 150,000 horses. The Huns fought to the death without retreating.
Among them was Bai Yan's fire, which burned a Gaonu city and tens of thousands of Yuezhi's horses to the ground.
Anyone who hears this incident will be in a trance, and sincerely wonder what Bai Yan is like. He has such talent, leading troops and planning, and he is so decisive and ferocious.
“You can’t tell at all!”
Qiang Yu frowned, not only Li Xin, but also him, stood here at the moment, looking at the thin young man holding a bamboo slip in the distance.
This was completely different from the fierce and decisive Bai Yan he imagined.
"Bai Yan?"
Li Xin looked at the young man in the distance with doubts in his eyes.
In fact, not only Li Xin, but also the surrounding officials, especially some military generals wearing official uniforms, were also full of doubts.
Because everyone looked at the young man and couldn't see that he could personally kill twenty-two people including the five doctors after ascending first.
But Yao Jia has passed.
That young man is Bai Yan's business, and there's no way it's fake.
Moreover, counting the time, Bai Yan will indeed return to Xianyang within these few days.
With doubts, each official took one last look at the young man, turned around and continued walking into the palace.
"Bai Yan?"
Outside the palace, the Qin soldier general holding the Qin sword heard the words of the civil and military officials behind him, and then looked at the young man in front of him with confusion.
He is Bai Yan!
The commander of Shangjun Gaonu Cavalry.
Thinking of this, the general holding the Qin sword did not question him again, especially when he saw that Shangqing Yao Jia had already walked towards the young man.
"Bai Yan, I have met Mr. Yao!"
Bai Yan looked at Yao Jia who was approaching and bowed his hands as a gift.
After saying goodbye in the past, Bai Yan didn't expect to meet here so soon. He originally thought that he would only meet after entering the court.
"General Bai, long time no see!"
Yao Jia came to Bai Yan with a smile on his face, and then returned the gift with his hand.
Yao Jia was naturally no stranger to Bai Yan. The young man not only escorted him to Xinzheng, but also when he was in the new city, he witnessed the young man guessing Shen Yan's plan word for word and destroying Korea's last chance of life in one fell swoop.
This is why, when the bamboo slips sent by Yang Xian of Shangjun arrived at the palace, Yao Jia felt that things might not be as simple as Yang Xian said.
Especially two days later, Yang Xian's bamboo slips came again. When he learned that Bai Yan had directly ordered the Gaonu people to move south, Yao Jia felt a little worried when he thought about what happened in the new city.
But at that time.
Not to mention other people, even Yao Jia himself was not sure.
Even if I have seen the young man's keenness on the battlefield, I have some doubts.
Never thought about it.
The results really surprised everyone.
"Yao Jia congratulates General Bai for another great achievement!"
Yao Jia looked at Bai Yan, cupped his hands and said with a smile.
Bai Yan quickly returned the gift with his hands in hand.
"Master Yao is so complimentary!"
Bai Yan said modestly. At this moment, Bai Yan suddenly saw three officials slowly walking up.
Looking at the three officials, Bai Yan was a little confused as he had never seen any of them, but the three of them all wore high mountain crowns, and the patterns on their official uniforms were different from other officials.
Bai Yan knew at a glance that these two officials were ministers with extremely high status. Although he didn't know what their positions were, the only thing he was sure of was that both of them had the rank of Shangqing.
Two nobles!
When Bai Yan thought about it, he was still a fifth-level official, not even a general.
Not to mention uneasy, he was also very confused, because he couldn't figure out why two officials came over. You know, the officials who were traveling with Yao Jia just now were also Shangqing, but they were just taking a look and had no intention of coming over.
A five-level official is high in the eyes of the people, and he is also high in the eyes of ordinary Qin officials.
But compared to Shangqing, the gap is extremely huge. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is unreachable.
There are also three levels of ministers. The lowest rank is equal to the lowest general rank. The lowest rank is the middle-left concubine chief and the right concubine chief.
The fifth doctor and Zuo Shuchang seem to be only one rank apart, but this one rank is very different.
One is a nobleman and the other is a general.
The five highest-ranking officials have 25 hectares of farmland and 25 hectares of residence each, while the Zuo Shuchang, who is one rank higher, has 74 hectares of land and 74 hectares of residence each.
There are five titles in between, ranging from the nine hectares of the Dafujue to the twenty-five hectares of the Fifth Dafu.
There is only one title difference between the fifth doctor and Zuo Shuchang, but even with this title, the gap is so huge that it is unimaginable.
And Shangqing is equivalent to the general among the generals.
So now Bai Yan is still a fifth doctor, a doctor.
And those two are Shangqing!
"Haha~!"
When Yao Jia saw the young Bai Yan, he suddenly became cautious. When he saw the two officials, he suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
Especially looking at Bai Yan, Yao Jia shook his head and introduced Bai Yan with kindness.
"General Bai, this is Shangqing Hu Quan, Mr. Hu. This is Shangqing Mao Jiao, Mr. Mao."
Yao Jia introduced Bai Yan one by one.
"Master Yao!"
"Master Yao!!"
After Yao Jia finished speaking, Hu Quan, who was in his sixties, and Mao Jiao, who was in his fifties, both raised their hands and saluted Yao Jia. This gesture was also a sign of goodwill.
Because Yao Jia took the initiative to introduce the two of them, whether they were saying hello or otherwise, they naturally returned the favor.
Under the huge embroidery of Yao Jia's official uniform, he returned the salute with his hands.
And because of Yao Jia's introduction, Bai Yan, who was a little confused from the beginning, immediately knew that one of the two ministers in front of him had some relationship with him, and could even be said to be a patron.
Hu Jin’s biological father is Shang Qing Hu Quan!
In the past, when Yang Xian wrote to Xianyang, General Hu Jin also wrote to his biological father, Hu Quan.
At this time, Bai Yan finally understood why Yao Jia just smiled at him.
"Bai Yan, meet Mr. Hu and Mr. Mao!"
After Bai Yan waited for Yao Jia to return the gift, he extended his hand to Hu Quan, and Mao Jiao raised his hand to salute. Looking at the elderly Hu Quan, Bai Yan's eyes were filled with gratitude.
Although he was not in Xianyang, Bai Yan could know that more than half a month ago, the old man in front of him spoke for him in the Xianyang Palace.
As for Shangqing Mao Jiao, almost everyone in the Qin State today knows about him.
After the Lao Ai incident, the Empress Dowager Zhao was placed under house arrest and twenty-seven officials were executed for remonstrating. Mao Jiao was the official who remonstrated with the twenty-eight officials. It was also because of Mao Jiao that King Yingzheng of Qin took the Empress Dowager Zhao back.
Therefore, even if I dare not say that Mao Jiao is as upright as Master Meng Yu, Master Mao must be a bold and careful person.
The most important thing is that Shangqing Mao Jiao is also a Qi man.
"The future life is terrible!"
When Mao Jiao saw Bai Yan, he simply returned the favor and then laughed.
The elderly Hu Quan on the side looked at the young Bai Yan with a friendly smile in his eyes.
"The Bai family has produced another great disciple. That old guy Bai Zhong is really enviable."
Hu Quan nodded and said to Mao Jing, then looked at Bai Yan and noticed the drizzle: "Why don't you bring an umbrella?"
When Bai Yan heard what the old man Hu Quan said, he bowed his head.
"It's okay! It's just a light rain. Bai Yan is wearing Qin armor from the bloody battle. If I hold an umbrella, it will make the people in other countries laugh at me."
In fact, Bao had always prepared an umbrella, but when he came to the palace for the first time, Bai Yan had no experience at all. Especially since he was wearing Qin armor, he felt that holding an umbrella was not appropriate.
After all, unlike wearing official uniforms, this Qin armor is a thing of bloody battle. If you hold an umbrella in the light rain, if others see it, it will be laughed at by those who are interested.
Not to mention, it might spread to the palace.
"Hahahaha! Okay!"
After hearing Bai Yan's words, Hu Quan laughed with his wrinkled face and kept stroking his long beard.
Even Yao Jia and Mao Jiao couldn't help but smile and shake their heads after hearing Bai Yan's words and looking at their young appearance.
In one sentence, he was born as a Qin general who was unruly and frivolous.
No wonder General Teng and even Lord Meng Yu praised him highly. Not only they, but also the King heard these words, and the King probably felt comfortable hearing them.
Civil servants will remonstrate to the death, and soldiers will fight to the death. No king will reject these words.
"Okay, since you are wearing this Qin armor, I won't give you an umbrella! I will go to the palace first, and the king will definitely summon you in later."
Hu Quan smiled at Bai Yan.
Looking at the young Bai Yan, Hu Quan couldn't help but sigh. This time, this young man would have to wait outside the palace gate.
Maybe next time, there will be no need to stand alone outside the palace gate in the rain.
"Um!"
Seeing Bai Yan cupping his hands, Hu Quan nodded, then turned to Yao Jia and Mao Jiao: "Master Yao, Master Mao, please!"
"please!"
With Yao Jia and Mao Jiao returning the favor, the three of them glanced at Bai Yan and walked towards the palace gate.
Bai Yan stood there with his hands folded, watching the three people leave.
After a while.
Only after Hu Quan, Yao Jia and Mao Jiao entered the palace did Bai Yan look away.
Standing outside the palace gate, feeling the drizzle alone, Bai Yan once again felt the benefits of being from a noble family. In the Hu family of Qin, Hu Quan was a Shangqing, Hu Quan's eldest son Hu Jin was a Shangjun commander, and his second son Hu Wujing was a senior official.
He worked as a jailer in Yueyang and then as a city magistrate.
Even though there are only three people in power in the Hu family, the connections between these three people are far from simple. Not to mention things Bai Yan has never seen before, Shang Qing Mao Jiao, who was also a Qi member just now, obviously has a very good relationship with Hu Quan.
That is a high minister.
It is such a family. Because he has the surname Bai, he is also the one he relies on in the court.
Sigh.
Bai Yan looked at the drizzle falling in front of him with emotion.
In the eyes of Lu Qi and Lu Sheng, he was a patron, but in the Qin court, he was far from enough.
The real rights over him are far from that simple.