Qianlong was furious when he saw someone in the group brazenly propose overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. That was downright disrespectful. He, the emperor of Great Qing, was still alive and well.
Killing intent surged in Qianlong's eyes. He gave a cold snort. "Are these people trying to assassinate me? Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming? Heh. Let them come. If they dare, I'll show them the might of the Manchus."
"If the Jurchen number fewer than ten thousand, they're invincible; once they number ten thousand, no one can stand against them." That saying wasn't a joke. Qianlong would wipe out these traitors.
Afterward, the Han people across the land would need to be dealt with again. So many people had risen against the Qing all at once. It seemed the Han people had already forgotten how cruel the Manchus had been. They needed a good reminder of the massacres from when Great Qing was first established.
In the end, this land belonged to Great Qing—and it had to remain Great Qing's.
[First Emperor of Great Qin]: Old Zhu, that's not right. What do you mean, you can handle it alone? You want to keep all the spoils for yourself? That's not decent of you.
[Erlang of Great Tang]: Old Zhu, keeping it all to yourself isn't right. This mission was clearly meant for us emperors.
[Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che]: Old Zhu, my army is already assembled. How dare you say you're going to keep it all to yourself? Come on, say that again to my face!
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the messages in the group and twitched his mouth. He knew these people wouldn't give up on the mission. He'd hoped to use their feelings as an excuse to keep it all for himself, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
[Old Zhu of Great Ming]: Sir, tell us how to go about overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming.
[Hong Huang Little Shrimp]: All right. Before we go clear this dungeon, I'll show you some materials to get your blood boiling.
Liu Bing had no intention of sending them straight off to clean up Great Qing. After all, they didn't know much about its history. It would be more satisfying to deal with things after they'd learned the full story.
At the very least, the emperors would carry out the mission with far greater ruthlessness.
[ Ding! Hong Huang Little Shrimp uploaded historical records of Great Qing, records of the indemnity treaties imposed on Great Qing, and accounts of the Great Qing massacres.]
The emperors opened the files Liu Bing had uploaded. Since he'd uploaded them as memories, they were able to go through everything in no time.
Their moods, already soured by the knowledge that the land had been ruled by foreign peoples, grew even worse. Killing intent surged in them all.
They saw the thick volume of indemnity treaties—1,182 unequal agreements in all—and their blood pressure shot up.
What kind of rotten country would sign so many treaties that stripped it of its rights and humiliated it, with absolutely no limits? It was like any country could come along and fleece Great Qing.
And they called it Great Qing? It was more like Great Cheat!
Then there were the massacres: the Ten Days in Yangzhou, the Three Massacres in Jiading, the Eighty-One Days in Jiangyin...
One atrocity after another. They were utterly deranged.
Was that any way for a ruler to behave? They didn't treat people as human beings at all, but as livestock. Even beasts wouldn't slaughter others so wantonly. How could the people of China have suffered such things? How could they?
Ying Zheng was so furious his hands trembled. He had never wanted to kill anyone so badly.
Everyone called him a tyrant, but he knew he wasn't one. He wasn't even bloodthirsty. Everything he'd done was to end the chaos and division tearing the land apart.
He knew that only unification could bring peace to the land.
He walked straight out of the hall and into the square outside Xianyang Palace. He needed to vent the rage inside him. He couldn't let it make him ill before he'd even gone on the mission.
The people tied up in the square all had vacant eyes. They looked as if they were barely alive.
As soon as Hu Hai saw Ying Zheng, a faint light returned to his eyes. Fusu, who had been feeding Hu Hai, hurried to his feet and bowed to Ying Zheng.
Though Ying Zheng had assigned Fusu to train with the army, he hadn't sent him away from Xianyang. He was genuinely afraid that if his foolish son left the city, someone would trick him with a false order and get him killed all over again.
Besides, Ying Zheng regularly tested Fusu to see how much he'd changed.
That was why Fusu was still in Xianyang.
Since Fusu was there, he knew Hu Hai had been tied up in the square inside Xianyang Palace. He didn't know what Hu Hai had done to deserve such treatment, and he'd even pleaded for him.
The result was that he'd been beaten too. After that, he learned not to plead on Hu Hai's behalf: anyone who did would get beaten. So all he could do was visit Hu Hai regularly and take good care of him, as an older brother should.
The others also saw Ying Zheng arrive. A little light returned to their dull eyes.
Zhao Gao was the first to speak. "Your Majesty, I've been wronged! I'm loyal to you, loyal to Great Qin! Heaven and earth can bear witness to my loyalty!"
Ying Zheng cast Zhao Gao a cold glance and snorted. Then he said to the guards beside him, "Bring me a riding crop."
He took the crop and walked over to Zhao Gao. Looking at the man who would one day call a deer a horse, the man who would lead Great Qin to its fall after just two generations, he gave a cold laugh. Then he beckoned to the guards. "Go. Bring me a horse."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard withdrew.
Soon, a horse was led before Ying Zheng. He stroked its mane and said calmly, "Zhao Gao, tell me: is this a horse or a deer?"
Zhao Gao stared at him blankly, unable to understand what Ying Zheng meant. Everyone else looked just as confused. They were finding it harder and harder to make sense of him.
Before, Ying Zheng's actions had followed a pattern. Now, he seemed to act entirely on a whim. He was impossible to read, and that only made them fear him more.
Zhao Gao ventured an answer. "It's a horse."
Ying Zheng struck him across the face with the riding crop and said coolly, "Wrong."
Zhao Gao grunted in pain, not daring to cry out. He was afraid that making a noise would annoy Ying Zheng and earn him another punishment. Earlier, he'd cried out in pain, and Ying Zheng had ordered him to take an extra beating.
"Your Majesty, it's a deer. A deer." Zhao Gao waited a moment, then hurried to answer again.
"Wrong!" Ying Zheng said indifferently, and struck him again.
Zhao Gao's face twitched with pain. He didn't know how to answer. If he said horse, he'd be beaten; if he said deer, he'd be beaten too. But then a thought flashed through his mind. "Your Majesty, whatever you want it to be, that's what it is. Everything is as you command."
"I hate people who flatter me," Ying Zheng snorted, and struck him again.
Zhao Gao was utterly broken. Whatever he answered, he'd get beaten. How was he supposed to respond?
After enduring such torment for so long, his resolve had already crumbled. Now, after taking several more blows for no reason, he gave up and said, "Your Majesty is beating me on such a baseless charge. I have nothing to say."
"Hmm? Are you saying I'm being unreasonable?" Ying Zheng struck him again.
"I... wouldn't dare..." Zhao Gao sucked in the air through his teeth, but still denied it. He'd barely gotten the first three words out when Ying Zheng followed with a reply that left him speechless.
"I'll be unreasonable if I damn well please."
Before you continue