422: Those who are not of my race must have different hearts

“No need. Look at this memorial.”

The First Emperor waved his wrist, and a memorial flew accurately towards Lin Yue.

Lin Yue hastily reached out to catch it, then began to read it carefully.

The more he read, the more he was alarmed. This memorial was precisely Chunyu Yue’s impeachment of him, but that wasn't the main point. The main point was that this memorial was full of brilliant arguments, each striking at the heart of the matter. It not only started from the history before the Qin Dynasty but also wrote about the impact of Lin Yue’s actions on future generations. The depth of its literary skill left Lin Yue deeply impressed.

As it stated, Lin Yue even felt that his act of burying a million Xiongnu people alive was an outrage to both gods and men, an unforgivable act! He even felt that being torn apart by chariots would be too light a punishment; he should be cut into a thousand pieces!

“What do you have to say?” The First Emperor asked in a deep voice.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble subject believes this is utter nonsense. This subject is not at fault!” Lin Yue said, his voice firm and resonant.

“Oh? Then you may speak.”

Hearing this, Lin Yue said loudly, “This subject is not a bloodthirsty person!

On the contrary, this subject comes from humble origins and never indiscriminately slaughters the innocent. Furthermore, this subject believes that every person’s life is precious and should not be arbitrarily taken.

But the premise of life being precious applies to Qin People!

Our Great Qin people toil all year round, raising a newborn, crying infant into a young man with hair tied up or a young maiden in her prime. How much hardship and effort does that require?

It is only in recent years that the people of Great Qin, relying on Your Majesty’s unification of the six states, have ended over seven hundred years of warfare and thus been able to enjoy a few years of prosperity. Yet, they have been plundered by those Xiongnu people who raided south, causing families to be broken and lives lost! Children were enslaved or, worse, became food!”

Lin Yue paused, then continued:

“This subject heard a saying: ‘Those not of our race are sure to have different hearts!’

Therefore, this subject’s compassion is limited; it is reserved only for the Qin People and not for foreign races!”

This was his true thought. In ancient times, there was no true peaceful coexistence between races; there was only plunder when strong and forbearance when weak.

Countless examples from ancient times proved that no matter how kindly the Central Plains dynasties treated foreign races, once the foreign races grew strong, they would inevitably turn and bite, without exception!

So, before the Maxim gun came into existence, the hatred between them and the nomadic tribes could only begin with blood and end with blood!

When Lin Yue finished speaking, the hall was silent. Lin Yue knew he had largely succeeded. Perhaps it could even be said that he couldn't possibly fail!

Because judging from the previous rewards, the high-ranking officials of Great Qin simply didn't take the matter of burying a million Xiongnu people alive seriously!

From beginning to end, only She Jian and others had blamed him or worried incessantly, but their worry wasn't that the empire would punish him, but rather that killing captives was inauspicious and would diminish Lin Yue's fortune.

Lin Yue had just speculated that few people in Xianyang City knew about his burying a million Xiongnu people captives alive. He presumed it was because the Great Wall Legion or someone in the court had deliberately suppressed it. Now, through the Great Qin Daily, it had spread throughout Xianyang, leading to the impeachment by the Confucians led by Chunyu Yue, but he was not afraid in the slightest.

Because he knew that in ancient Great Xia, no matter which minister it was, none of them regarded foreign races as human. In their eyes, foreign races were no different from animals!

Only some pedantic Confucians regarded foreign races as human, and their attacks were, one could say, utterly useless!

Moreover, The First Emperor sitting before him now—to say that The First Emperor would pity these buried Xiongnu people would be like asking Lin Yue to believe that giving V50 to Qin Shi Huang would make him a great general.

This was even less likely than winning 220 million by buying a lottery ticket with ten thousand dragon coins.

It was simply a wild fantasy!

“Do you know what you are saying?” The First Emperor’s emotionless voice reached Lin Yue’s ears.

Lin Yue thought to himself, 'Sorry, old man Wei Zheng!'

Then he spoke:

“Your Majesty, this subject is very clear about what he is saying. Barbarians are not of our race; their hearts are sure to be different. When strong, they will plunder; when weak, they will be subservient. They disregard kindness and righteousness; such is their nature!”

Then he paused and continued, “Your Majesty, this subject believes he has not killed enough! Although Touman has fled far to the Xiongnu King’s court, his vitality is not extinguished, and the Xiongnu people Crown Prince Modu’s influence is growing daily. He will surely become a great menace in the future!

This subject requests to once again send troops against the Xiongnu people, with swords pointed at the Xiongnu King’s court. This subject is willing to be the vanguard and sweep away all disloyal elements for Your Majesty!”

Everyone in the great hall was stunned into silence by these words!

Lin Yue secretly looked up to observe but couldn’t discern The First Emperor’s expression. However, Meng Yi, who was nearby, had eyes full of admiration but subtly shook his head, while Han Cheng and Zhao Gao were utterly bewildered.

In their opinion, as long as the Xiongnu people were driven away and the peace of Great Qin’s borders was maintained, that would suffice. Why bother to painstakingly annihilate the Xiongnu people? Anyway, they didn’t care for such barbarian lands, and it would require military resources and provisions to station people there, which could be said to be a thankless task.

But Lin Yue knew how abundant the resources in the north, which they currently disdained, truly were. If they didn't claim them now, they would all belong to those hairy bears in the future!

If they claimed them now, even if they couldn't hold them, future generations could at least say, “Since ancient times,” to secure future influence!

Moreover, from Lin Yue’s current perspective, he saw no signs of Great Qin’s impending demise. Because The First Emperor was in his prime, Lin Yue believed that as long as The First Emperor didn't take elixirs, living for several more decades would be no problem!

And during this time, while guarding The First Emperor, he found that he spent his days reviewing memorials and had not taken any elixirs. He hadn't even seen any of those alchemists, so Lin Yue was very confident in continuing to guard him for several more decades.

And by then, under The First Emperor’s leadership, the entire court of “loyal ministers and worthy generals” would have no problem beating up the surrounding countries one by one. If he then presented a globe, the scene would simply be exhilarating!

As soon as Lin Yue thought of that scene, the corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than an AK.

However, the great hall remained silent, only the Eunuch beside him bowed even lower, his head dropped even deeper.

Just as Lin Yue was growing impatient, a voice came from the head of the hall: “Get out!”

“Understood!” Lin Yue, utterly confused and not understanding why, bowed and withdrew.

But he thought to himself that he should be fine.

Because he knew that Chunyu Yue’s rhetoric had no market in this era; it was merely their self-amusement.

Moreover, he genuinely wanted to revisit the grasslands, because his silver-level medal, “Nightmare of the Foreign Races,” was currently useless in Xianyang City. He really wanted to go to the grasslands for some action.

When Lin Yue retreated outside the hall, The First Emperor withdrew his gaze and continued to review the next memorial.

Only then did the Eunuchs in the hall breathe a sigh of relief. But in their view, Great Qin had just achieved an unprecedented victory in the north, and Lin Yue had just openly contradicted, saying it wasn't enough. They thought The First Emperor would be enraged, but judging by his demeanor, it seemed he wasn't?

As Han Cheng was secretly pondering with his head bowed, The First Emperor suddenly said, “Chunyu Yue’s memorial is to be kept and not issued. Reward Cavalry Commandant Lin Yue with a qin sword.”

“Understood!” Han Cheng quickly responded.