"With your martial arts, Zhang Han, you were actually defeated by him within ten moves?”
The First Emperor had a strange expression on his face. His voice was filled with surprise and disbelief.
However, he knew that Zhang Han was a steady person and would never lie.
If he hadn't been discovered and defeated, Zhang Han wouldn't have interrupted his mission and returned so quickly.
However, the First Emperor couldn't believe that Zhang Han was actually no match for Ying Zhan!
One had to know that Zhang Han was able to become the First Emperor's personal guard and the commander of the Shadow Secret Guards. Other than being loyal and reliable, Zhang Han's martial arts were also outstanding!
Even though he wasn't invincible, he rarely had any opponents.
Only then could he shoulder the heavy responsibility of protecting the First Emperor.
And how big was winning?
He was only twenty years old. Even if he had started practicing martial arts at a young age, he would have only practiced martial arts for more than ten years at most.
But Zhang Han was ten years older than Ying Zhan, and had ten more years of martial arts training!
In addition, Zhang Han's talent in martial arts was outstanding, and he was also experienced in hundreds of battles.
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible for him to be defeated within ten moves!
One had to know that even if Zhang Han faced Ge Nia, who was known as the Sword Saint, he wouldn't be able to last ten moves!
"Your Majesty, this general was indeed defeated by Yingzhan within ten moves!
To be exact, it was eight moves!
Furthermore, I didn't deliberately give in to him. Instead, I did my best!”
Hearing Zhang Han's words, the First Emperor took a deep breath and calmed down. A smile appeared on his face.
Although unexpectedly, Yingzhan actually possessed profound martial arts. At such a young age, he was able to defeat Zhang Han in eight moves. His eldest son's martial arts and talent were indeed beyond words!
As expected of my son!
You've given me so many surprises!
As a result, the First Emperor was relieved.
To be able to defeat Zhang Han in eight moves, there were probably only a few people in this world who could injure his Zhan 'er!
"Since that's the case, you should come back to avoid arousing that brat's suspicion.
However, that team of Shadow Secret Guards can't retreat. At most, they can keep a good distance and take good care of him for me.
If you have any news, report it immediately!"
When Zhang Han heard this, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief and acknowledged the order.
It was fortunate that the Emperor did not blame him.
But Zhang Han couldn't help but be even more puzzled. Why was Shi Emperor still so careful even though he knew that Ying Zhan's martial arts were so strong, letting the Shadow Secret Guards secretly protect Ying Zhan?
But in the next moment, Zhang Han's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly recalled that when he was exchanging blows with Ying Zhan, Ying Zhan had a Mystic Bird Jade Pendant hanging on his waist!
There was a bouquet of gardenia flowers in the mouth of the Xuan Bird Jade Pendant. It was exactly the same as the jade pendant that the First Emperor had asked him to look for!
At that time, Zhang Han was shocked by Ying Zhan's martial arts, so he only took a quick glance and didn't have the time to take a closer look.
Now that he recalled it, he realized that something was wrong!
Looking at the First Emperor's waist, the jade pendant was still there. Therefore, the jade pendant that won the battle could not be the First Emperor's.
Instantly, Zhang Han understood everything. He knelt on one knee and said,""Zhang Han is stupid. Congratulations to Your Majesty for finding the Eldest Young Master!
I've been searching for you for many years, but I didn't expect that the Eldest Young Master was in Xianyang. I didn't do my job well. Please punish me!”
Seeing Zhang Han realize the truth, the First Emperor smiled.""Your reaction isn't slow and you're quite attentive.
Get up, this isn't your fault. Not to mention you, even I didn't expect this.
He had only started wearing the Mystic Bird Jade Pendant recently when he reached the age of coronation.
However, it's good that you know. The identity of the Eldest Young Master is a serious matter. I have my own arrangements. Don't reveal it for the time being!”
"I will obey!"
When Zhang Han received the order, his heart was already in turmoil. He never expected that the Eldest Young Master that the Shadow Secret Guards had been searching for for many years was actually in Xianyang, right under their noses!
He didn't expect the Eldest Young Master's martial arts attainments to be so profound!
Zhang Han, who had a photographic memory, finally realized why he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity when he saw Yingzhan. It turned out that Yingzhan and the First Emperor were somewhat similar!
Because they were father and son!
Thinking of this, Zhang Han quickly stood up and left. He wanted to send more Shadow Secret Guards to spread out around Xianyang Pavilion and instructed them to ensure Ying Zhan's safety!
He was Great Qin's true eldest son!
If anything were to happen, not to mention those Shadow Secret Guards, even killing Zhang Han's entire family wouldn't be enough to appease the First Emperor's anger!
The next day, Xianyang Hall.
Great Qin's civil and military officials gathered because today was the day of the court meeting that was held once every ten days.
Great Qin's system was different from that of the later generations. It did not go to court every day, but held a court meeting every ten days.
Other than that, if there were any special matters, they would call for a meeting.
Of course, if the Emperor went on an inspection tour, the court meeting would also be suspended.
If not for this, if the First Emperor had to attend court every day, he wouldn't have had the time to tour the east several times in history, as well as the secret visits in disguise.
At the beginning of the court meeting, the right prime minister Wang Wan and left prime minister Huai Zhuang reported some of the matters of the Qin court in the past ten days.
Because it was close to the end of the year, there were not many affairs in the counties.
After the two prime ministers Wang Wan and Huai Zhuang reported, Li Si, the chief justice of the Supreme Court who was in charge of law and prison, reported some criminal affairs.
However, the ministers were all very curious as to why the Emperor had used a curtain to block them from the court today.
Although the Emperor said that he had caught a cold by accident, when the First Emperor was unwell, he had never covered himself with a curtain.
Only Meng Yi, Zhang Han, Wang Jian, and Wang Ben knew the reason.
Needless to say, Meng Yi and Zhang Han, as the closest ministers of the First Emperor, had already known yesterday that Xianyang Pavilion Chief Ying Zhan was Great Qin's lost eldest son!
As for the eldest son, he would appear in the court today. It was just that the Emperor had his own considerations and did not want to acknowledge him now.
Although Wang Jian and Wang Ben didn't know the identity of the eldest son of Yingzhan, they knew that the First Emperor was interacting with Yingzhan as Wang Ben.
His Majesty didn't want to reveal his identity yet, so Wang Jian and Wang Ben had to cooperate with him. Instead of standing at the head of the generals, they hid in a corner.
After all, before Ying Zhan met them, they disguised themselves as Wang Yu and Wang Shi, pretending to be his followers.
If he still stood at the head of the generals today, he would inevitably be suspected by Ying Zhan.
"Now that the ministers have finished their discussion, I have something to announce.
Meng Yi, distribute my gifts to the ministers first.”
When Internal Secretary Meng Yi heard this, he immediately received the order. He held a tray in his hand. On the tray were stacks of white and smooth paper!
Soon, Wang Wan, Huai Zhuang, Li Si, Feng Quji, and the other officials were all given a few pages.
Even Chunyu Yue, Zhou Qingchen, and the other Confucian scholars were given a share.
"Is this the gift His Majesty gave us?”
"I've never seen it before. What is this?"
"It looks like silk, but it's completely different from silk!”
After the ministers received the paper, they were all confused and clicked their tongues in wonder.
Behind the curtain, the First Emperor looked at everyone's confused faces and smiled slowly.""This item is called paper, and it is made from rattan bark, bamboo, rice-bean, mulberry bark, and other materials.
It could replace bamboo slips and silk to write words.
This material was tough and moist, smooth but not slippery, white and dense, with pure texture. It was not damaged by rubbing and had strong ink wetting properties. It was more suitable for writing than bamboo slips and silk, and it was more energy-saving.
Compared to bamboo slips, this thing was a thousand times lighter, but the number of words it could write increased.
Compared to the expensive silk, this item was made of rattan bark, bamboo, wood, etc. It could even be made from broken fishing nets and old linen. The cost was more than a hundred times lower.
It was even cheaper than the cost of bamboo slips!
With this piece of paper, it would be much easier for Great Qin's officials to report to the emperor. They would no longer need to use a pen and knife to write on bamboo slips.
It could also save a lot of manpower and resources!
For example, I have to review 120 catties of bamboo slips every day and need several people to carry them around.
With this piece of paper, the contents of the 120 catties of bamboo slips could be contained in just a few hundred pieces of paper. The total weight of the few hundred pieces of paper was less than one jin!”
All the officials were stunned by the First Emperor's words. Shock and disbelief appeared on their faces. They could not believe that there was such a divine item in the world.
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