8: Chapter 8 Your Majesty, please save this servant! The terrified Zhao Gao

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

...

A Shadow Guard rushed into the secret chamber of the Xianyang Palace in a panic and dropped to one knee with a thud.

His expression was incredibly grim.

"What is it?"

Seeing him like this, Ying Zheng's brow furrowed deeply.

He also had a bad premonition in his heart.

Sure enough, he heard the Shadow Guard report: "The two hundred thousand soldiers of the Guanzhong Army have all been mobilized and are currently closing in on Xianyang."

"What did you say!"

Ying Zheng stood up abruptly.

His sharp brows shot up as he shouted in anger, "Impudent! Have they decided to rebel?!"

The Great Qin Tiger Tallies were split into two halves.

One half was held by the general, while the other was held by Ying Zheng himself.

Only when the two halves were joined together could the army be mobilized.

His Tiger Tally had not moved, yet two hundred thousand Guanzhong Army troops were gathering; this was clearly a rebellion!

The Xianyang garrison consisted of only ten thousand men, and the Xianyang Palace Imperial Guards numbered only three thousand.

How could such a small force resist the two hundred thousand troops of the Guanzhong Army?

What Ying Zheng did not know was that both the Xianyang garrison and the Xianyang Palace Imperial Guards had already been branded with the Thought Steel Seal by Zhao Fusu; Guanzhong was already under Zhao Fusu's control.

If it weren't for the fact that the five thousand Shadow Guards of the Black Ice Platform were a secret organization lurking in the shadows and not part of the regular Qin Army's official structure...

Even these five thousand Shadow Guards of the Black Ice Platform would have been branded with the Thought Steel Seal by Zhao Fusu. Ying Zheng would have been tied up hand and foot and thrown before Zhao Fusu to sing songs of submission.

"What on earth is going on!"

In such a critical situation, Ying Zheng did not panic; instead, he forced himself to calm down.

However, from those eyes as dark as an abyss, one could see that his heart was not as calm as his exterior suggested.

The Shadow Guard said in a heavy tone, "It is Young Master Fusu. He has come south to Hangu Pass and dispatched messengers to gather the two hundred thousand troops of the Guanzhong Army."

When he first heard this intelligence, he couldn't believe it in his heart.

Since when did Young Master Fusu's words carry so much weight that he could mobilize two hundred thousand Guanzhong Army troops at a moment's notice?

Even if His Majesty the First Emperor wanted to mobilize these two hundred thousand troops, he would still have to discuss it with General Wang Jian.

In ancient times, to prevent soldiers from not knowing their generals and generals from not knowing their soldiers, and to maximize the combat effectiveness of the troops, the units basically became the private armies of the generals.

For example, the three hundred thousand troops of the Great Wall Legion commanded by Meng Tian were called the Meng Family Army. After Meng Tian's death, Wang Li took over the Great Wall Legion, and it was then called the Wang Family Army.

The words of a general were more effective than those of the Emperor; if they rebelled, the troops under them would follow suit.

The Guanzhong Army was deployed across various commanderies and counties in Guanzhong, commanded by the Commandery Governors.

For instance, Li Si's son, Li You, was the Governor of Sanchuan Commandery, commanding twenty-five thousand Qin soldiers.

The Shadow Guard had no idea when Young Master Fusu had won over these governors Inside the Pass.

If His Majesty were to step forward, perhaps he could reprimand and stop these people.

The Shadow Guard's gaze turned toward the First Emperor.

"This is getting more and more interesting!"

To the Shadow Guard's surprise, the First Emperor actually said this.

Fusu, oh Fusu, you have given me quite a big surprise!

The dreams Ying Zheng had were being fulfilled on Hu Hai's side, but Fusu's side had given him a massive surprise.

In his eyes, Fusu going to such great lengths to win over the governors Inside the Pass and mobilizing two hundred thousand Guanzhong Army troops was certainly not for fun.

How could Ying Zheng not see that Fusu was flexing his muscles?

He wanted to intimidate the civil and military officials of the imperial court and demonstrate just how much power he, Fusu, possessed.

With two hundred thousand Guanzhong Army troops gathering toward Xianyang City and Zhao Fusu leading them, no one was more panicked than Zhao Gao.

In the script given by Qin Shi Huang, it was he who had Li Si forge the decree to order Fusu's suicide.

If Zhao Fusu fought his way in, wouldn't the first person he'd kill be Zhao Gao?

The civil and military officials of the court never expected such a massive upheaval.

"Teacher, Big Brother Fusu... he couldn't possibly be coming to seize the throne, right!"

Hu Hai's teeth were chattering with fear. "But Imperial Father isn't dead yet!"

"That's right!"

"His Majesty the First Emperor!"

Zhao Gao also acted as if he had grasped a life-saving straw. He rushed to the secret chamber where Ying Zheng was staying, knelt before him, and hugged Ying Zheng's leg tightly, crying, "Your Majesty, your servant is absolutely loyal to you!"

"That decree—it was Your Majesty who ordered this official to deliver it!"

"But Young Master Fusu doesn't know that. If he enters the city, he will surely not spare your servant!"

"What is this sniveling behavior?"

Ying Zheng said with dissatisfaction, "Fusu has a benevolent and generous nature; he won't do anything to you."

Won't do anything to me...

Hehehe...

Zhao Gao internally rolled his eyes. You call a ruthless man capable of mobilizing two hundred thousand Guanzhong troops 'benevolent and generous' and say he won't do anything to me?

In Zhao Gao's eyes, Zhao Fusu was far more capable of forbearance than himself.

The fact that the other party could, without anyone noticing, hide from the First Emperor's five thousand Black Ice Platform Shadow Guards who roamed the darkness and seize control of two hundred thousand troops Inside the Pass—Zhao Gao couldn't match this ability to pull strings behind the scenes even if he whipped his horse to death!

Zhao Gao felt that the benevolence Fusu usually displayed was all a facade.

He wanted everyone to think he was a benevolent and good man just so he could carry out his schemes in secret.

Now that the First Emperor had 'passed away' and Fusu's wings were fully grown, his true nature was being completely exposed!

Too cunning!

Too black-hearted!

Too capable of enduring!

Within a single day, in Zhao Gao's eyes, Fusu had become an incredibly sinister, cunning, and super black-hearted ninja.

Zhao Gao's heart could not calm down for a long time.

The schemes of such a 'ninja' were truly too deep—deeper than an abyss!

In front of Fusu, Zhao Gao's little schemes made him look like a total amateur; he couldn't even compare to a single hair on Fusu's leg.

"Your Majesty!"

"Please save your servant!"

Zhao Gao began to wail again.

"Fine."

Ying Zheng nodded.

After all, he was the one who had Zhao Gao put on this act.

The ten thousand garrison troops in Xianyang could not possibly hold Xianyang City.

The three thousand Imperial Guards of Xianyang Palace were even less of a match for the two hundred thousand Guanzhong Army troops.

Ying Zheng was being forced to move out of Xianyang Palace.

After disguising himself, Ying Zheng took the similarly disguised Zhao Gao and, led by the Shadow Guards, slipped away through a secret passage.

Hu Hai: Have you all forgotten about me? Waaaaah...

Zhao Fusu's marching speed was much faster than the civil and military officials of the court had imagined.

When he led the army of two hundred thousand to approach Xianyang, the Xianyang garrison had already come out to welcome Zhao Fusu.

They all knelt together and shouted fanatically, "We welcome Young Master Fusu!"

"Mm."

Zhao Fusu raised his hand, signaling for them to rise.

Surrounded by the Xianyang garrison, they entered Xianyang.

Because Xianyang City had no city walls...

The entire wooden building complex of Xianyang City was distributed along both banks of the Wei River.

The palace complexes of the Qin State, the mansions of the Qin nobility and officials, and the estates of numerous wealthy men were all built along the Wei River.

The more powerful and wealthy one was, the more they lived in riverfront properties in the best locations.

Commoners and the lower-class citizens lived further from the riverbank and in more remote areas, away from the main city center.

Xianyang City could accommodate a population of a million.

The mansions where these Qin nobles resided were being surrounded one after another by the army brought by Zhao Fusu.

Zhao Fusu had arrived so suddenly that these Qin nobles didn't even have time to flee before their gates were blocked by the army.

The Qin nobility were essentially wiped out in one fell swoop by Zhao Fusu's surprise attack.

The Qin nobles didn't know what was happening, so they ordered their household servants to shut the gates tightly.

But looking at the fierce and menacing Qin soldiers, the servants' legs were shaking.

This was the Qin Army that had destroyed the Six Kingdoms.

When their butcher knives were turned toward the people of the Six Kingdoms, they felt very satisfied, but when the butcher knives were pointed at them, they were scared out of their wits.