"Why? Why?"
At this moment, a voice roared in Huhai's heart.
"Why did Fu Su make such a provocative move against Prime Minister Lu and still be able to turn the situation around?”
Huhai clenched his fists tightly under his sleeves. His fingernails dug deep into his palms. The jealousy and hatred in his eyes were almost exposed.
"Young Master, calm down!"
At this moment, a feminine voice softly sounded in Huhai's ear. It was the red-haired eunuch, Zhao Gao.
After holding down the anxious Huhai, Zhao Gao stood out from the ranks of the officials. His feminine voice broke the clamor and awkward atmosphere in the court,
"Your Majesty, I, Zhao Gao, have something to report!”
Hearing Zhao Gao's words, everyone, from the Emperor Ying Zheng to the two young masters, Prime Minister Lu Buwei, and all the other officials and guests, turned to look at Zhao Gao.
"What is it?"
Ying Zheng's voice spread throughout the entire hall from the high platform, calm and steady.
Zhao Gao slightly bent his waist and glanced at Fu Su. Then, he lowered his head and said,"
"Replying to Your Majesty, since last year's winter, there have been many places in the Qin country that have not had a single rain for nearly half a year.
Other than Ba and Shu, Qishan and Yongcheng in the west, Yiqu Grassland in the north, and Yueyang in the east were all affected.
The Kanto region was especially affected. The fertile farmland within a radius of several hundred miles needed water.
However, within a few hundred miles, the water in the canals had either dried up or was too far away from the fields. It was simply inadequate to rely on manpower to carry water for irrigation!
Therefore, I request to mobilize the able-bodied men to dig canals and divert water to irrigate the fields.”
Zhao Gao's words immediately silenced the atmosphere in the hall.
At this moment, very few ministers were thinking about the open and secret struggles in the court. Instead, all their attention was drawn by the news of the drought brought by Zhao Gao.
Even though none of the officials in the imperial court worked, they understood how terrifying the drought was and what the consequences were.
In this era, the main sources of economy and food for the seven countries of the Central Plains were agriculture and land.
If a drought was not handled properly, it would bring about the terrible result of no harvest.
Without food, the people would starve to death, the army would starve to death, and the country would be poor and weak. There was the danger of being destroyed by other countries.
Ever since the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Period, there had been many cases of countries cheating each other, taking advantage of the droughts and floods in other countries, and even sending troops to attack during national funerals!
In fact, since the beginning of spring this year, the word drought had appeared more than once in the court.
It was just that the drought was not so serious at the beginning. Moreover, in order to expand his fief in the east of the country, Prime Minister Lu Buwei used his official position for private purposes and launched a war at the border between Qin and Han Wei, causing the handling of the drought to be put on hold.
Due to Lu Buwei's prestige, no one dared to mention this matter anymore.
Today, someone brought up this matter in the court. In the eyes of the officials, it was undoubtedly the same as Fu Su, challenging the taboo of Prime Minister Lu Buwei.
What surprised the ministers was that the person who raised this matter in the court today was actually Zhao Gao!
Zhao Gao had always been flattering Lu Buwei, so why did he suddenly change his attitude and go against Lu Buwei?
"I don't think so!"
Just as the officials were deep in thought, another voice filled with energy rang out in the hall.
Everyone looked over and discovered that the person was Xiong Qi, the hostage from Chu.
Even though he was a hostage, the Qin country did not trust anyone. As long as the people of the various countries were talented, they could be used by the Qin country. Therefore, Xiong Qi could also participate in the court discussions in the Qin country.
"Your Majesty, since last year, the Qin Han border and the Qin Wei border have been at war. The resistance of the Wei people is more intense. The east of the country has already increased military service twice, and there is simply no way to gather the able-bodied men to dig the canals.
If they wanted to dig the canal, they could only retreat. Now that they were about to take down Yiyang of Han Country and Diao Yin of Wei Country, they could not retreat at this time. Otherwise, all their previous efforts would be in vain!
Furthermore, in the northwest grasslands, there are still some survivors of the righteous canal who are unwilling to join us and collude with the wolves of the northern grasslands, eyeing our borders covetously.
The Qin country was suffering from a drought, and the grasslands were also suffering from a drought. The Wolf Cavalry numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and they were about to pillage the south. This was the time when they needed a large number of able-bodied men to protect the borders!
Although the Qin country was strong, it also could not withstand such a multi-line torment!”
Xiong Qi's words were true. The current drought was a natural disaster, and natural disasters could also lead to man-made disasters. If they rashly withdrew the able-bodied men back to the country, once the wolf tribe invaded, it would only make the situation of the Qin country even worse.
Xiong Qi's words had actually exposed some problems. Even the Qin Country, which was feared like a tiger and wolf in the eyes of the various countries, was relatively weak under the productivity of the agricultural era. It could not withstand the multi-line attacks of natural disasters and man-made disasters.
One had to know that even the Sui Empire, which had developed a lot in the future and was unified, couldn't withstand the ambition of Yang Guang and Bi Qianqiu.
The construction of the Grand Canal, the construction of Luoyang, the conquest of Goguryeo, and the attack on the aristocratic families all led to the destruction of the Sui Empire from within.
Fu Su, like the other officials, kept his mouth shut. His gaze shifted between Zhao Gao and Xiong Qi because Zhao Gao's attitude of worrying about the country and the people was too abnormal.
It was not Zhao Gao's character to take the risk of offending Lu Buwei.
Therefore, Fu Su decided to wait and see.
"Hehe, if we do as Young Master Xiong Qi said and don't mobilize manpower to dig canals to irrigate the farmlands, when the crops all die and there is no harvest, it will definitely lead to a great famine, which will also shake the foundation of the country!
When the time came, the people would starve to death. How could there be anyone left to guard the border?”
Zhao Gao scoffed at Xiong Qi's words and said in a contemptuous tone.
In the end, Zhao Gao even made a heart-wrenching remark:
"Young Master Xiong Qi is a hostage of Chu Country. I'm afraid he has other plans!”
He pointed out Xiong Qi's status as a hostage of Chu Country in one sentence, using this to attack Xiong Qi's motive.
"This one is just stating the facts. Lord Zhao, please don't slander me.
Although Xiong Qi was the Young Master of Chu Country, he was currently in the Imperial Court of Qin Country. All his thoughts and plans were for the sake of Qin Country!”
Xiong Qi looked at Zhao Gao with displeasure. His voice was calm, but anyone could hear the anger in his tone.
It was only because of his noble bearing that Xiong Qi wasn't as harsh as Zhao Gao.
"What the two of you said is very reasonable.”
At this moment, the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, who had been silent for quite a while, finally spoke.
For Ying Zheng, it was indeed the case. In some aspects, what Zhao Gao and Xiong Qi said was not wrong, but it was not a perfect solution.
Therefore, Ying Zheng turned his gaze to Prime Minister Lu Buwei and said in a respectful tone,"
"What do you think, father?"
For a time, Prime Minister Lu Buwei once again attracted the attention of the entire court.
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