405: The grand court meeting begins!

Seeing The First Emperor seated on his dragon throne, Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief, then stood outside the Qilin Hall, holding a long halberd, just as recorded in “Selections of Literature · Zhang Heng”: “The Commandant-General oversees the stairs, tiger halberds clash!”

His figure was tall and straight, and his already handsome face appeared even more heroic and spirited!

Unfortunately, there were no beauties to admire him at the moment, only a group of old men… Lin Yue’s position was outside the main hall, where he could only vaguely hear some discussions from within the Qilin Hall, but they were somewhat indistinct.

It seemed Li Si had delivered an important speech regarding the official commencement of the Great Wall’s construction in the north?

Lin Yue thought to himself, he heard that in the current Hetao Plain, no trace of Xiongnu Cavalry could be seen; only Xiongnu people captives atoning for their sins, well-behaved Xiongnu people herders, and “Great Qin Cavalry” who had abandoned the darkness for the light and were now on the road to prosperity!

Now, the most ruthless and cruel towards the Xiongnu people were not the Great Qin cavalrymen, but those Xiongnu people tribes who had surrendered first, led by Aruhan’s father, Lu Duoha, and his five tribes, along with other Xiongnu people tribes who had initially pledged allegiance. They had become the most capable “good helpers” of the Great Wall Legion! Even more attentive and competent than the Great Wall Legion itself!

It is said that now, if anyone calls them traitors among the Xiongnu people, they will draw their knives and fight to the death, provided, of course, that the opponent is Xiongnu people. According to them, they are now Qin People, serving Great Qin, under the direct jurisdiction of General Meng Tian, the Great General of the Great Wall Legion, and possess Great Qin household registration and identification tags!

Although their household registration and identification tags, like those of foreigners, still marked their “identity,” they still considered themselves Qin People!

Similarly, they now prioritized the interests of Great Qin, as they clearly understood that only if Great Qin prospered could they prosper!

It seems that the saying is true: those who are most ruthless to their own people are always their own people.

The next to propose was Lord Teng, the Interior Minister, one of the Nine Ministers. He rose shakily, and The First Emperor ordered someone to bring him a chair, but he did not sit.

What he said was to change the urban layout and improve the living conditions of Xianyang City? And to recruit some foreigners to serve in the Government?

Lin Yue was truly impressed by this. Xianyang, the imperial capital of Great Qin in this world, had a population of 300 million, which was already incredibly bloated!

The imperial capital of later generations had a permanent population of only over 20 million, and that was with countless skyscrapers. Although the area and population of this world were a hundred times that of the real world, there were no skyscrapers, and all the common people lived in courtyards. One can imagine how crowded it must have been!

In present-day Xianyang City, the “rich district” within the city could be said to be incredibly expensive, while in the “slum district,” having a place to live was already considered good. This also led to countless satellite cities spread outside the city, only these outer satellite cities lacked city walls.

This epic super-project, an unprecedented “major problem,” could be said to be one where a slight misstep would cause public resentment to boil over, leading to the failure of this grand project and the end of one’s political career!

Most intelligent people would choose to temporarily shelve this major problem, leaving it for a more wise successor to solve!

Anyway, it’s still far from an outbreak, and besides, if the day truly comes when there’s no more room, the common people will voluntarily leave, and the problem will be alleviated somewhat. As long as “they” don’t break it, it will never break.

But unexpectedly, Lord Teng, the Interior Minister didn’t understand this principle and stubbornly insisted on solving it.

Recalling the old man’s faltering steps just now, Lin Yue truly admired him. If all Great Qin officials were like him, then even if more foreigners descended upon this world, they would not pose the slightest threat to Great Qin.

However, this proposal was not approved and would be discussed later… Although Lin Yue couldn't clearly see the situation inside the court, he could feel the disappointment of Lord Teng, the Interior Minister and the ministers present.

One person was disappointed because the problem was not solved, and a group of people were disappointed because the problem was not solved… In fact, Lin Yue felt this decision was good, because if this proposal had been approved, he thought that at Lord Teng, the Interior Minister’s age, having to expend such great energy, it would be hard to say if he could even last until the New Year… For someone like him, the longer he could serve as Neishi, the longer the people of Xianyang City would enjoy good fortune.

This grand court assembly lasted until the hour of Si (9-11 am). Lin Yue hadn't rested for a day and a night and was yawning constantly. He finally understood why meetings in later generations lasted so long and were always repeated—because too many people kept raising problems.

When a certain minister put forward a proposal, countless other ministers immediately jumped out to raise all sorts of issues, while only a few people were actually solving problems, and most ended up in a hasty conclusion.

This was still Great Qin, where officials were relatively pragmatic and diligent. How sad it would be if it were the Song or Ming dynasties, encountering a group of ministers who opposed for the sake of opposition.

Just as Lin Yue was about to doze off, he sharply caught the words “newspaper”!

He immediately perked up, feeling that as soon as these words were uttered, the previously quiet court instantly buzzed and became noisy and tumultuous!

Only after Prince Gao shouted for silence several times did the Qilin Hall gradually quiet down.

“May I ask Your Majesty, what is this newspaper?” Feng De stepped forward to ask the question on everyone’s mind.

Lin Yue straightened his clothes, feeling it was time for his entrance.

“Announce…”

“Your Majesty, your subject happens to know!” A voice came from near the hall entrance of the Qilin Hall.

Lin Yue was startled and secretly peeked inside, wanting to see who had stolen his thunder?

Then he realized, wasn’t it Ye Xuan?

Ye Xuan rose and stepped forward, first bowing in salute, then said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject has indeed heard of this ‘newspaper’!”

“Then you tell us,” The First Emperor’s calm voice came out.

Ye Xuan then gave a lengthy explanation.

Lin Yue listened from outside the Qilin Hall, his brows furrowed. What was Ye Xuan’s purpose in jumping out at this moment?

Or did Ye Xuan also have a share in this business?

He had to ask She Jian properly when he returned. If Ye Xuan was their backup plan, Lin Yue would find it a bit difficult to handle.

However, The First Emperor was well aware of his own ten percent dry shares, so wouldn’t he be aware of Ye Xuan’s matters?

Lin Yue always felt there was something strange going on.