The King of Qin's Generous Reward

On his face, the shock was gone, replaced by a fervent excitement, bordering on madness!

He saw a sword.

A sword sharper and more terrifying than he had ever imagined!

A peerless, deadly weapon, enough to sever all shackles binding him to this world!

"Zhao Gao!"

His voice boomed like thunder through the empty hall!

"Convey my decree!"

"Summon High General Li Xin! Court Minister Li Si! Wei Liao! To the palace immediately for a council!"

"Immediately!"

Zhao Gao trembled all over, startled by the sudden, terrifying aura erupting from Ying Zheng. He scrambled out of the hall.

"Yes! Yes!"

Silence fell upon Zhangtai Hall once more.

Ying Zheng bent down and picked up the bamboo slip that had fallen onto the sand table.

He looked at the name, at the number, and let out a low chuckle.

The laughter grew louder and more unrestrained, finally erupting into a defiant roar that challenged the world!

"Hahahaha! Good! Well done, Wei Zhe! A true prodigy of Great Qin!"

A moment later.

Three figures hurried into Zhangtai Hall.

Li Xin, at the forefront, was still in his sleeping clothes, with only an outer robe thrown over them. He had clearly been woken from his sleep.

Li Si and Wei Liao, following behind him, were also disheveled, their expressions grave.

"Your subject, greets the King!"

The three bowed in unison, their hearts filled with confusion and unease.

A summons so late at night could only mean something major.

"Your Majesty, has there been a change in the northern front?" As the commander, Li Xin's primary concern was naturally the war situation.

Ying Zheng turned around. The excitement and fervor on his face had completely vanished, replaced by an unfathomable calm.

"Not the north."

He walked to the sand table and extended his hand, gently pushing over the piece representing Yiyang.

"It's the south. The Vanguard Camp has won."

Upon hearing this, Li Xin's tense body relaxed, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Excellent! Meng Tian has lived up to expectations! A decisive victory in the first battle will surely boost our army's morale!"

Li Si also stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Majesty's strategy is divine; this is Heaven's blessing upon Great Qin. The conquest of Han is within reach!"

Wei Liao nodded in agreement.

In their eyes, this was merely an expected victory.

"Heaven's blessing?"

A strange curve appeared on Ying Zheng's lips.

He casually tossed the bamboo slip onto the table before the three men.

"See for yourselves."

"See if Great Qin is truly blessed by Heaven, or if we have produced... something else."

The three men's hearts tightened, sensing the unusual tone in Ying Zheng's voice.

Li Si, being closest, stepped forward and picked up the bamboo slip.

With just one glance, the face that always wore a confident smile froze instantly.

His hands began to tremble slightly.

"This... this... over ten thousand beheaded? Twenty thousand captured? Our casualties... less than five hundred?"

Li Si's voice became sharp with extreme shock; he couldn't believe his eyes.

"What?!"

Hearing this, Li Xin lunged forward, snatching the bamboo slip from Li Si's hand.

As the High General of Great Qin, he understood better than anyone what such casualty ratios meant.

When his gaze fell upon Wei Zhe's name and the string of bloody numbers that followed, the old general, who had spent his life on the battlefield and climbed out of seas of corpses, staggered violently!

Thump.

The bamboo slip slipped from his grasp once more.

Li Xin's eyes were fixed on the ground, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He wasn't shocked.

He was terrified.

A primal fear, born from a pure soldier's reaction to an incomprehensible martial power that surpassed mortal limits!

The Grand Commandant, Wei Liao, picked up the bamboo slips.

The strategist, who was well-versed in all the world's military arts and adept at cunning schemes, stood frozen after reading them.

He muttered to himself.

"One man, broke the formation, slew the general, and forced a surrender..."

"This... this isn't military strategy, this is... a god or demon..."

The entire Zhangtai Hall fell into a deathly silence.

Only the heavy, bellows-like breaths of the three Great Qin ministers could be heard.

After a long while, Ying Zheng's icy voice slowly broke the quiet.

"My three esteemed ministers."

"Now, tell me."

"This monstrous talent, I..."

"How should I reward him?"

"How should I reward him?"

The three cold words pressed down on the hearts of the three Great Qin ministers like three mountains.

The air in Zhangtai Hall seemed to freeze at that moment.

Li Xin's weathered old face was ashen. He stared at the bamboo slips on the ground as if they were a venomous snake poised to strike.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Wei Liao's forehead. His proud military strategies and tactics seemed pale and powerless in the face of this simple, brutal battle report.

Only Li Si, after an initial stiffness, forced himself to calm down.

His deep-set eyes flickered rapidly, his mind working at a terrifying speed.

Ying Zheng's gaze, like a sharp sword, pierced directly into him.

"Court Minister, you understand the laws of my Great Qin best."

"You tell me, and also tell the High General and the Grand Commandant."

"According to the laws of Lord Shang, how should such merits be rewarded?"

Li Si's heart gave a violent lurch.

He bowed, his voice dry from his effort to suppress his emotions.

"Your Majesty, according to Great Qin's military merit twenty-rank system, beheading one enemy soldier grants a promotion of one rank."

"Wei Zhe beheaded one hundred and ninety-six enemies, which means..."

His voice trailed off. He dared not speak the number that followed.

"Continue," Ying Zheng's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"...one hundred and ninety-six merits," Li Si forced the words out with difficulty.

"Furthermore, Bao Yuan was a High General of Han State, his rank equivalent to one of my Great Qin's Nine Ministers. Beheading him, according to the law, warrants a promotion of five ranks!"

"The total... the total merit is enough to promote this person from commoner status, a leap of nine ranks, to be enfeoffed as..."

Li Si's lips trembled.

"Ninth Rank Fifth Rank Official!"

Fifth Rank Official!

The moment these three words were spoken, Li Xin and Wei Liao's bodies gave almost imperceptible twitches.

What did that concept mean?

It meant true nobility, someone who could participate in court discussions, possess a fief, and travel with carriages and servants!

It was a ceiling that countless soldiers fought their entire lives on the battlefield and might never reach!

A new recruit, who had been enlisted for less than three months, would, after one battle, be on equal footing with these high ministers present?

This was no longer a reward.

It was making a mockery of Great Qin's centuries-old national law!

After speaking, Li Si immediately kowtowed to the ground.

"Your Majesty! This minister believes this reward is inappropriate!"

He was the first to state his position.

"The military merit rank system is the foundation of my Great Qin's strength and cannot be shaken. However, this Wei Zhe is too young and lacks seniority. Promoting him to such a high position so quickly may not win the respect of the masses!"

"The veteran generals in the army and the honored nobles in the court will surely complain. Once the people are discontent, it will be of no benefit to the nation!"

"Moreover, this person comes from humble beginnings, his character is not yet fully formed. If he suddenly gains great power and becomes arrogant, it could lead to disaster! I ask Your Majesty to reconsider!"

His words were spoken with genuine sincerity, each sentence considering the welfare of the nation.

But Li Xin and Wei Liao both heard a different undertone in his words.

Wei Zhe came from Shangcai.

That was Li Si's fiefdom.

A monster who emerged from under your nose, whom you knew nothing about, has now ascended to the heavens, escaping your control.

You are afraid.

Just then, a clear and firm voice rang out in the great hall.

"Court Minister, your words are mistaken!"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice and saw a young official in court attire, with a handsome face, emerging from the shadows at the side of the hall.

He was Meng Tian's younger brother, Meng Yi, who currently served as Gentleman of the Household in the court.

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