"What?" Zhang Han was stunned when he heard Yueshen's words. He thought that he had misheard or Yueshen had said something wrong, so he couldn't react in time.
"I am here on the orders of His Majesty the First Emperor to deliver the imperial edict to the general!”The Moon Goddess repeated what she had said earlier.
"General Zhang Han, please accept the decree!" Yueshen continued.
"The secret edict of His Majesty the First Emperor?”Zhang Han stared at Yueshen and confirmed once more. Even his tone became hurried and his face was filled with anxiety.
Zhang Han didn't think that he had heard wrongly or that Yueshen had said it wrongly. After all, this was related to the First Emperor, so he believed that Yueshen wouldn't dare to speak nonsense.
"Yes!" The Moon Goddess nodded again to confirm.
After Zhang Han heard this, he hurriedly put down the sword in his hand, tidied his clothes and hair, then stood up and kowtowed to Yueshen with a serious expression.""General Zhang Han, accept the decree!"
Although he had many questions, he didn't dare to neglect the First Emperor's secret edict.
Yueshen passed the secret decree that the First Emperor had wrapped in a brocade bag to Zhang Han.
"His Majesty the First Emperor is still alive?”Zhang Han took the brocade bag with both hands, then stood up and asked Yueshen.
"The First Emperor was the chosen one, how could he die so easily?”Yueshen said calmly and started to use this mysterious theory to fool Zhang Han.
"Then, that's, that's great. I will immediately gather the army to welcome His Majesty back to the palace.”After Zhang Han received the Moon Goddess's confirmation, he was so excited that he almost burst into tears.
Only after the First Emperor passed away did Zhang Han realize that the Great Qin Empire could not do without the First Emperor.
Look, the First Emperor had only passed away for two years, and the once prosperous Great Qin Empire had fallen to this state.
Countless factions rebelled against Qin, and the Great Qin Empire was riddled with holes. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's armies had even reached Hangu Pass. If the other party broke through Hangu Pass, they would be able to directly attack Xianyang City.
Great Qin's internal structure was incredibly empty, and it had already reached the point where it had no soldiers to mobilize.
It could be said that Great Qin's situation was in danger, and they were only bitterly supporting the Great Qin Empire. It was likely that they would not be able to hold on for much longer.
Now that the news that the First Emperor was still alive suddenly spread, how could he not be excited?
In his opinion, as long as the First Emperor sat in Xianyang City, he would be able to completely reverse the Great Qin Empire's decline and lead them to make the Great Qin Empire strong again, just like how the First Emperor had led them to unify the six countries.
He couldn't wait to welcome the First Emperor back to Xianyang Palace.
"General Zhang Han, don't be anxious. Let's see what the First Emperor's orders are.”Yueshen looked at the excited Zhang Han and reminded him softly.
However, from Zhang Han's expression, she could tell how important the First Emperor was to Great Qin's soldiers. This was especially so now that Great Qin was in danger, and Great Qin's soldiers hoped that someone would be able to bring them out of their current predicament.
"Lord protector is right, it was Zhang Han who lost his composure.”Zhang Han was a little embarrassed after hearing Yueshen's words. He was too excited to hear that the First Emperor was still alive.
As Zhang Han spoke, he respectfully took out the secret edict from the First Emperor and started reading it.
This secret decree was written on silk.
In this era, there was no paper. Most books were written on bamboo slips, except for some important documents, which were written on silk for convenience. Moreover, only wealthy families could afford to use this kind of silk for writing.
"It really is the First Emperor's secret decree!”Zhang Han only took a glance and came to a conclusion in his heart.
When the First Emperor was still in power, he was the leader of the First Emperor's secret guards. He was in charge of the First Emperor's safety and was almost inseparable from the First Emperor. He was naturally very familiar with the First Emperor's handwriting.
Zhang Han quickly finished reading the contents of the secret decree and burned it on the lamp. He then said to Yueshen,""Go back and tell the First Emperor that I will obey!”
Yueshen nodded and didn't say anything else. Then, she left Zhang Han's mansion in the dark and left Xianyang City.
Zhang Han waited for Yueshen to leave before arranging his trusted subordinates to take action.
Zhang Han was so excited that he couldn't sleep that night.
Early the next morning, during the court meeting in Xianyang Palace, a soldier suddenly sent an emergency message from Hangu Pass.
This caused a commotion among the ministers. If Wu Guang's army broke through Hangu Pass, the other party's army would directly approach Xianyang City. Moreover, it was said that Wu Guang's army had hundreds of thousands of troops, while their entire Xianyang City only had tens of thousands of troops. How could they stop them?
At this moment, Zhang Han stood out and volunteered to lead 20,000 troops to Hangu Pass. He also made a military pledge to live and die with Hangu Pass.
Currently, the only general that could be used in Xianyang City was Zhang Han. This was a matter that concerned his own safety, so Zhao Gao and the ministers had no choice but to agree to Zhang Han's request.
Thus, Zhang Han went to the barracks and selected 20,000 elites. He also prepared a lot of rations, weapons, and city defense equipment.
The next morning, Zhang Han led 20,000 troops from Xianyang City and marched towards Hangu Pass.
Everyone thought that Zhang Han was really bringing these 20,000 soldiers to guard Hangu Pass, including his trusted aides.
Only Zhang Han himself knew that his destination this time wasn't Hangu Pass, but Mount Li, which was close to Hangu Pass.
He was ordered by the First Emperor to go to Mount Li to encircle and suppress the rebels who wanted to assassinate the First Emperor. Then, he welcomed the First Emperor back to Xianyang Palace.
When he thought about meeting the First Emperor and welcoming him back to Xianyang Palace, Zhang Han couldn't help but feel excited.
He looked forward to the First Emperor returning to Xianyang Palace to rebuild the Great Qin Empire. He looked forward to the First Emperor going back to Xianyang Palace to deal with those rebels…
The reason why Ying Zheng wanted Zhang Han to keep it a secret, and at the same time, send troops to Mount Li under the slogan of going to Hangu Pass, was to not alert the enemy. This time, he wanted to catch a few big fish, and it would be best if he could catch all of them in one go.
The bait was Ying Zheng himself, and the net was made by Zhang Han's twenty thousand elite Qin soldiers.
Along the way, Zhang Han ordered his trusted aide to lead the army towards Hangu Pass while he quietly disappeared into the endless darkness.
After a long night of travel, Zhang Han finally arrived at the First Emperor's private manor the next night.
Zhang Han sneaked into the First Emperor's room through the window. Of course, the First Emperor had asked him to do this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to do it even if he had a hundred guts.
"He's here!" Just as Zhang Han entered the room, Ying Zheng's voice came from the bed.
For an expert like Ying Zheng, he could naturally sense any movement.
"I, I, Zhang Han, pay my respects to the First Emperor. Long live my Emperor.”When Zhang Han heard the familiar voice of the First Emperor, his body trembled and he knelt on the ground. He couldn't help but cry out loud, like a child who had been wronged outside suddenly seeing his parents.
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