Chapter 72: Moonlight Banquet! Murderous Intentions Appear!
"Before Shang Yang entered Qin, we were oppressed and invaded by Wei. The Qin people had no armor or weapons, and we shed blood on the battlefield with bare hands!!"

The First Emperor's voice was deep and powerful, as if every word was of great weight: "It is precisely because of this that we are united, sharing the same hatred and the same fate. Our Great Qin has come through hardships, and we have carried on the legacy of six generations, reformed and strengthened ourselves, and only then have we become as powerful as we are today!"

Everyone was moved after hearing this!

They seemed to be brought back to that magnificent era by the words of the First Emperor.

Unexpectedly, the First Emperor changed the subject and his voice suddenly became cold and stern: "However, today, someone has forgotten the hard days of our Great Qin!!!"

"I have implemented the Enfeoffment Order with the intention of benefiting the whole world and all the people. However, someone is obstructing such a good policy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all officials fell silent, and the clans were even more silent!

There was an indescribable sense of depression and tension in the air.

The First Emperor's gaze swept across everyone's faces one by one, and finally fixed on those clans with ulterior motives, as if he wanted to see through them!

Seeing that all the officials and clans were silent, the First Emperor snorted coldly and ordered Zhao Gao to pour another cup of bran wine.

Zhao Gao came out in response, holding a wine jug, and slowly poured wine for all the officials.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look up, feeling uneasy.

When they poured wine for the clan, their hands were shaking slightly, and it was obvious that they were very frightened!
Zhao Gao smiled slightly, his expression revealing a hint of disdain and sarcasm. After pouring the wine, he took the wine jug and retreated behind the First Emperor, standing quietly.

The First Emperor picked up the jade cup, his eyes as sharp as a knife, and spoke again: "The last time Tu Ju attacked Yue, he failed, causing the 500,000-man army to be stuck in a quagmire."

"But in Xianyang, the people are starving and cold, and have no food to eat!!"

"I ordered people to investigate the whole story, but found that someone was hoarding and driving up the price of food. The prices of daily necessities such as corn and flour are five times higher than before!!"

"Are you really that hungry? Why would you not care about the lives of the people and cut off their livelihood?!!"

His words revealed endless chill and anger!
However, the scene was still dead silent, and no one dared to speak in response!
Those clans just kept their heads down and remained silent!
Seeing this, the First Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, and a sharp light burst out from them! !
The next moment, he began to read out the names of the clans suspected of raising grain prices, word by word. Every time he read a name, the hearts of those present trembled, as if they were hit by a sledgehammer!
"Meng Cheng?" The First Emperor's voice was cold and his eyes were sharp.

Meng Cheng trembled all over, as if struck by lightning. He staggered out, fell to his knees in front of the First Emperor, kowtowed repeatedly, and shouted: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!!"

The First Emperor was unmoved and continued to read: "Zhao Wang? In Xianyang City, your people are also selling grain, right?"

Zhao Wang's face turned extremely pale in an instant. He walked out of the crowd tremblingly and knelt beside Meng Cheng. Without saying a word, he kowtowed desperately, as if he wanted to knock a hole in the ground!
The First Emperor read out several names in succession. Every time he read out a name, someone would walk out of the crowd, kneel on the ground, filled with fear and panic.

Their faces were filled with fear and despair, as if they had foreseen their own tragic end!

The First Emperor glared at the clan leaders kneeling on the ground and shouted, "Are you so hungry? You don't care about the lives of the people, you drive up the price of grain and make huge profits!"

"This is Xianyang! It's my capital!!! I can't imagine how arrogant you are outside of Xianyang!"

"Where is your conscience? Where is your morality?!!"

Meng Cheng, the first person to be called, knelt on the ground, trembling all over! !
He begged for mercy at the top of his lungs, his voice so sharp and shrill that it almost tore the night sky apart: "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please have mercy! We know we were wrong, and we will never do it again!"

His forehead hit the ground with a bang, blood oozed out, staining the ground red!

The First Emperor looked down at Meng Cheng with a gaze as sharp as a knife. He stared at him coldly, with a mocking smile on the corner of his mouth.

He spoke slowly, his voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly: "You guys, you drove up the food prices, causing the people to suffer from hunger and cold, while you are here living in luxury, don't you feel pain in your heart?"

He paused, and his eyes swept over the clans whose names he did not read, intentionally or unintentionally.

His tone began to reveal a hint of coldness:

"I set up this moonlight banquet today because I wanted to enjoy the moonlight and drink fine wine with you all."

"However, I discovered that some people seem to have forgotten their identities and responsibilities!!"

"Do you think my kingdom is a place where you can run wild as you please?!"

As soon as the First Emperor finished speaking, there was a sudden silence in the place!
The hearts of those clan leaders whose names were not read out tightened. They felt the threat and warning in the words of the First Emperor!
They knew that the First Emperor was using the incident of Meng Cheng and others to warn the clan leaders present there!
Seeing that no one dared to speak, the First Emperor continued, "I hope you can take care of yourselves, otherwise, my sword will not have eyes!!"

His voice revealed endless chill and murderous intent, which made everyone present feel terrified!
Meng Cheng and the others were so frightened when they heard this that they kowtowed repeatedly, shouting, "Your Majesty, spare us! We will never dare to do it again!"

However, they knew in their hearts that they probably had no way to escape this time.

Then, the First Emperor's eyes were like torches, and his voice was as cold as ice: "Meng Cheng and other clans who have driven up grain prices and disrupted the government will be arrested immediately..."

"Behead him immediately!" Every word he uttered seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying with it endless murderous intent and majesty.

Following the order given by the First Emperor, a group of armored soldiers immediately rushed into the hall. Holding sharp blades in their hands, they walked towards Meng Cheng and others with expressionless faces.

Meng Cheng and the others looked ashen at this moment. They were dragged by the soldiers and escorted out of the hall wailing all the way.

The First Emperor's gaze swept across the clans present again, his eyes revealing an unquestionable dominance and majesty!
He would use the most severe means to intimidate these evil-minded clans and let them know who is the real ruler!
The clans present were shocked by the Emperor's arrogance. They lowered their heads and dared not even breathe!

They knew that His Majesty really wanted to kill this time, and anyone who dared to challenge his authority would be killed! !

In an instant, bursts of screams were heard outside the Zhangtai Palace. Amid the flashing of swords and sabers, blood splattered and heads fell to the ground!
The shrill screams echoed in the night sky, making people shudder.

When the other clans saw this, they were all horrified and sweating coldly.

The effects of alcohol in their bodies also dissipated for the most part, replaced by fear and chill that surged from the bottom of their hearts!

They lowered their heads, not daring to look up, fearing that they would be the next to be beheaded! !
The First Emperor glanced at everyone with a cold gaze, and then mentioned what happened the day before:

"The night before, someone broke into the residence of the Minister of the Imperial Court with the intention of assassinating an important official of the imperial court! Such behavior is truly insane and treasonous!!"

"I have ordered people to capture them all in one fell swoop!"

"Unfortunately, these people took poison in advance. When my people arrived, they were already dead..."

These words resounded like thunder in the entire venue, and all the officials looked sideways at the opposing clans.

Although His Majesty did not say it explicitly, his eyes clearly hinted at something.

Everyone knows that this incident is definitely related to certain clans!

The clans were even more uneasy, as if they were on pins and needles, their tongues were bitter, their hearts were pounding, and their fear was beyond words!!

at this time!

The First Emperor paused, and then expressed his determination in a more resolute voice: "The implementation of the Enfeoffment Order is my will!"

"If anyone dares to disobey and secretly obstruct us again, you guys can only wish for the best!!"

"When the time comes, don't blame me for not giving you a chance!"

Having said that, he stood up and left in a domineering manner.

The emperor's robe is so majestic, and the dragon energy rises into the sky, making people dare not look directly at it!
The clansmen sat in their seats in a daze, stunned.

They knew very well that they had angered His Majesty and that they would have a hard time continuing in the future.

Fear and despair shrouded their hearts. They looked at each other in confusion and silence, with cold sweat oozing from their foreheads and soaking their clothes.

……

The moon is high in the sky and the night is as dark as ink.

Fusu sat with everyone else in the school, his heart pounding and his mind wandering.

What Ye Chi said today was really... like the sound of nature, which made them intoxicated and shocked!

Since the afternoon, Ye Chi has been talking incessantly about the wonders of science and technology and the progress of industry. Everyone listened with great interest and without any sign of tiredness!

At this moment, Ye Chi was standing on the podium, holding a bamboo slip in his hand, and talking solemnly about the importance of machines replacing manpower.

He said: "Your Highnesses, you know that so-called technology is the crystallization of our wisdom, and the progress of industry is to gradually replace human labor with the power of machinery, thereby liberating the labor force and allowing more people to devote themselves to the construction of the empire!"

Fusu heard this, and a gleam of brilliance flashed in his eyes. He couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Ye, what do you mean by replacing manpower with machinery?!"

Ye Chi held the bamboo slips in his hands, his expression solemn, and slowly opened his lips and said: "Your Highnesses, I will take weaving as an example, please listen carefully..."

"In the past, hand-woven textiles were popular all over the world. The weaver girl held the shuttle in her hand and shuttled between the warp and weft to weave a gorgeous piece of embroidery. However, although this method was elegant, it was inefficient and took a lot of effort from the weaver girl!"

He gently flipped through the bamboo slips and continued, "But the textile loom I invented is very different. It uses wood as its frame and silk as its veins. The weaver girl only needs to shake the hinge to control the shuttle and automatically weave the warp and weft."

"As a result, the efficiency has doubled and the fabrics are more exquisite. However, this loom still has some shortcomings. It needs to be turned by manpower, and its structure is complicated and difficult to repair!"

(End of this chapter)