Chapter 44: Automatic Rifle Technology

As Fusu finished speaking, the expression of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who had just been smiling, froze slightly.

Sensing that the atmosphere had turned somewhat peculiar, Fusu immediately spoke up again: "Father, executing them would be letting those bastards off far too easily!"

"Keeping them alive, forcing them to toil day and night to contribute to our Great Qin until they drop dead from exhaustion—that is the ultimate punishment for them!"

Emperor Qin Shi Huang frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "That makes sense!"

"Very well, then Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng shall be executed by being buried alive immediately, and all the remaining alchemists shall be demoted to slaves and bestowed upon Prince Fusu!"

A surge of joy welled up inside Fusu.

"Your Majesty, you must not!" Zhou Qingchen swallowed hard and said nervously, "According to the laws of our Great Qin, this is not permitted..."

"What is not permitted?!" Fusu became furious upon hearing this.

You bastards oppose me at every single turn.

Now that I want to claim a few people, you still object.

Fusu immediately pointed straight at Zhou Qingchen's nose and berated him: "You sycophantic wretch, you always love doing sycophantic deeds!"

"Do you have any idea what the consequences will be if Father executes these alchemists?"

Zhou Qingchen was momentarily stunned.

What did that mean?

What possible consequences could there be from executing a bunch of alchemists?

The next second.

Zhou Qingchen shook his head and stubbornly argued his case: "Only with harsh and strict laws can the remnants of the Six States be deterred from rebellion, and the people of the world kept in subjection..."

"Nonsense!" Fusu interrupted Zhou Qingchen directly, raging as he continued, "What utter nonsense! Who told you that severe laws must be applied right now?"

"It is understandable to use severe codes in times of chaos, but in times of peace, punishments must be lenient!"

"Now that our Great Qin is unified and the entire nation has entered an era of peace, continuing to enforce severe laws is undoubtedly driving the people to revolt!"

"Sooner or later, the common people will no longer be able to endure the exploitation and oppression of corrupt officials like you, and sooner or later they will unite to overthrow you!"

"You—!!" Zhou Qingchen's face turned livid from the tongue-lashing, and he subconsciously glanced at Li Si.

After all, this was Li Si's policy!

Li Si did not even look back at Zhou Qingchen; instead, he shrank back into the crowd.

Zhou Qingchen stood frozen in place.

Meanwhile, Fusu continued his tirade: "Only Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng are guilty at present, yet you intend to use the law to bury so many people alive."

"Do you realize that once this is done, how the Confucian scholars of the world will view our Great Qin, and how the common folk will curse us?"

At this point, Fusu bowed extremely respectfully to Emperor Qin Shi Huang and said, "Father, you must never lightly heed the words of treacherous and petty men!"

Emperor Qin Shi Huang was taken aback.

Had Fusu said these words a month ago, Emperor Qin Shi Huang would have slapped him across the face and given him a couple of kicks for good measure.

But now, with the matter raised once again, Emperor Qin Shi Huang's perspective had shifted. Putting aside the credibility gained from Fusu's previous proposals, the mere emergence of this concept of "patents" made it truly possible that the various philosophers and schools of thought might serve him.

Moreover, barring absolute necessity, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was unwilling to take extreme measures and bury all these alchemists alive. After all, they were quite adept at concocting the divine thunder.

Consider it making use of waste, then.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang pondered much further, and what weighed most heavily on his mind was Fusu's prophecy.

If executing these people would saddle him with eternal infamy...

At this thought, Emperor Qin Shi Huang immediately said in a deep voice, "My mind is made up. This matter is not open to further discussion!"

Hearing this, Fusu let out a long sigh of relief.

It was finally settled.

Tiring!

How utterly exhausting this was!

At that moment, the system's voice rang out.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the host for completing the primary quest: protecting this group of alchemists and preventing Emperor Qin Shi Huang from bearing eternal infamy. As a reward, a complete set of modern automatic rifle technology has been granted!"

"The modern automatic rifle technology has been stored in the spatial warehouse. The host may review it at any time!"

Fusu suppressed the immediate urge to inspect it and instead quietly stepped back into line.

As Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng were being dragged away, they looked at Fusu in utter shock.

They could not comprehend why, after they had pushed matters to such a ruthless extreme, Fusu had still stepped forward to protect their disciples.

A profound sense of regret welled up within the hearts of the two men.

It turned out that the very person they had continually harmed was the one who treated them best...

"Your Majesty, I never imagined Prince Fusu possessed such heaven-defying talent. It was this old minister who misjudged the Prince." Li Si stepped forward.

He bowed very magnanimously toward Fusu.

Then, Li Si performed a student's bow and said, "Your Majesty, in matters of writing and script, Prince Fusu has already surpassed this old minister by a wide margin."

"In the future, should this old minister encounter any doubts, I shall need to seek much instruction from Prince Fusu."

As soon as these words were spoken, Fusu narrowed his eyes slightly. He certainly did not believe that someone like Li Si would suddenly desire reconciliation with him.

Impossible!

A man of this caliber was deeply scheming, with dark plots at every turn.

Should he let his guard down even slightly and get trapped by him, it would mean eternal damnation.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare at all!" Fusu immediately waved his hands and hurriedly returned the bow, saying, "What I have learned is merely superficial, purely superficial!"

"I am afraid I have made a laughingstock of myself before the Prime Minister."

Li Si, however, continued, "Since Prince Fusu possesses such great talent, it would be unreasonable for him not to hold a vital post."

"Your humble servant suggests appointing Prince Fusu as the Palace Assistant in charge of the Department of Crafts, to oversee literature, direct craftsmanship, and innovate novelties!"

Hearing this, Fusu narrowed his eyes.

On the surface, this proposal seemed to grant him genuine authority.

In reality, it was meant to contain his development, bog him down with trivialities, and reduce his opportunities to participate in major affairs of state.

Because Fusu had become far too unpredictable and disruptive.

Li Si and his faction were genuinely terrified; they were deathly afraid that another proposal from him would completely uproot them.

This was a move born of sheer desperation.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang fell into contemplation and did not give an immediate reply.

At that moment, Zhang Han, the Superintendent of the Lesser Treasury, stepped out of the ranks and proposed, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li's suggestion is exceptionally good."

"However, the Department of Crafts requires an extremely high degree of professional expertise, involving tools for every industry across the nation—especially military equipment like crossbows, which are matters of vital national security."

"Your humble servant believes that Prince Fusu possesses unique and peerless insights into statecraft, and he should be considered for other positions instead!"

Upon hearing this, a flicker of displeasure crossed Li Si's eyes.

Zhang Han...

This Prime Minister has remembered you.

How dare you disregard this Prime Minister's face in front of all the civil and military officials.

Zhang Han stood expressionless, seemingly indifferent to what Li Si might be thinking.

Hearing this, Fusu's eyes lit up abruptly.

Damn it!

Who is this guy?

How dare he publicly contradict Li Si to his face...

Zhao Gao also heard Zhang Han's remarks and could not help casting a glance his way.

This man was a talent jointly promoted by himself and Hu Hai; one could say he was their own person.

Yet ever since this man assumed the post of the Lesser Treasury, he had not seemed particularly close to them.

And now, he was publicly refuting Li Si's decision, making it impossible to fathom what he was truly plotting!

Li Si smiled, nodded, and said, "It was this old man who failed to consider thoroughly!"

"No!"

"I think this arrangement is quite good." Fusu spoke up, accepting the appointment.

Zhang Han looked at Fusu in surprise.

Fusu looked back at him as well.

By this time, Fusu already knew the man's identity—he was none other than Zhang Han, the famous general of the late Qin dynasty!

Zhang Han!

This was an absolute powerhouse who, by sheer force of will, kept the dying breath of Great Qin dragging on for three full years.

In the end, he surrendered to Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, and met his death at the hands of Liu Bang...

Emperor Qin Shi Huang had originally intended to assign Fusu a more prominent post, but since the latter readily accepted, he found it difficult to say otherwise. Giving Fusu a deep, searching look, he declared, "Then it is settled!"

"If you fail to handle even this trivial matter well, don't ever expect to advance any further in the future!"

Fusu immediately acknowledged the decree: "Father, rest assured. Your son shall only hold this post temporarily. Once my wedding is concluded, I must still head to the frontiers to assist General Meng Tian in repelling the Xiongnu!"

Emperor Qin Shi Huang had been in a fairly pleasant mood.

Upon hearing these words, his eyes widened instantly, and he roared, "What did you say?"