ATPnovel Chapter 181 Zheng Ge's First Encounter with the World Map!
Chapter 181 Zheng Ge's First Encounter with the World Map!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan turned his gaze away from the night outside the window and back to the phone screen in his hand.
I don’t know, I’m scared.
The battery icon in the upper right corner of the screen was no longer red, but had turned into a glaring blackish-green!
5000%!
The battery, which originally had only 10% remaining, suddenly surged the moment Qin Shi Huang announced the establishment of the imperial examination system!
"hiss……"
Even Zhang Fan couldn't help but gasp when he saw this number.
"Reporting to the commander..."
His voice carried a hint of shock, "The battery level... jumped from ten percent to five thousand percent!"
There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.
Immediately following, Zhu Feng's ecstatic voice rang out:
"Five thousand percent! Great! That's fantastic!"
"With this energy, there are so many things we can do!"
However, at this very moment—
"Thump, thump, thump."
A gentle knock was heard on the palace door.
Outside the door, the same maidservant from before spoke respectfully.
"Immortal Master... His Majesty has summoned you to Zhangtai Palace."
Zhang Fan's mind was instantly brought back to normal!
Is Zheng looking for him?
Is it that late?
He felt a chill run down his spine and immediately realized the importance and urgency of the matter.
"I have to go now! Commander-in-Chief Zhu, Brother Zheng is looking for me!"
Zhang Fan spoke quickly into his phone.
"Understood! You handle things over there first! Keep in touch!"
Zhang Fan quickly hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and completely suppressed the chilling killing intent emanating from his body.
He straightened his clothes and called out towards the door:
"Okay, I'll get ready and be there soon."
……
Inside Zhangtai Palace, the lights were bright.
Zhang Fan poked half his head out from outside the palace gate and peered inside.
Behind the dragon table, Ying Zheng was sitting alone on the couch.
He was holding a bamboo slip containing the records of today's court proceedings!
A smile played on his lips!
"Cough cough..."
Zhang Fan coughed softly at the door.
Ying Zheng's smile vanished instantly. He abruptly raised his head and met Zhang Fan's gaze.
He cleared his throat, beckoned to Zhang Fan, and said in a low voice:
"Come in."
Zhang Fan then went inside and bowed to Ying Zheng:
"Your Majesty summoned me late at night; what are your instructions?"
Ying Zheng looked him up and down, and slowly spoke:
"Zhang Fan, what happened today has truly made me... look at you in a new light."
These words come from the bottom of my heart!
Today, Zhang Fan refuted the ministers and established the new system on his own, which is truly unexpected.
"Your Majesty, you flatter me!"
Zhang Fan immediately scratched his head, adopting a humble demeanor.
Immediately afterwards, a prepared speech was delivered:
"My actions today are all thanks to Your Majesty's support! In court, I rely on Your Majesty's foresight. My admiration for Your Majesty is as boundless as a surging river..."
"Stop!"
Seeing that Zhang Fan was about to continue speaking, Ying Zheng finally couldn't listen anymore and waved his hand to interrupt him.
"Alright, alright! I know you're eloquent, put that away!"
Ying Zheng looked at him, his tone somewhat helpless.
He took a breath, composed himself, and said:
"You certainly had a good time today, but do you know what?"
"You've offended almost everyone in the court, except for a very few!"
"Those old nobles and Confucian scholars probably already hate you behind your back!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan didn't take it to heart. Instead, he smiled, revealing his teeth.
"Isn't Lord Li Si still here?"
"I see that he is firmly on my side today."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng was so angry that he laughed.
"Ha! You're quite something!"
He pointed at Zhang Fan, saying with a mix of anger and laughter,
"You throw out the 'imperial examination system' as a pretext, talk about it, and then wash your hands of the matter!"
"All the subsequent work—drafting regulations, implementing policies, and appeasing all parties—is now underway!"
"Won't all of this fall on Li Si's shoulders?"
"How could he not be on your side?"
"If he's not on your side, who's going to do this job!"
Ying Zheng laughed and scolded a few times, and the atmosphere in the hall immediately relaxed a lot.
However, he quickly suppressed his smile.
"I may be laughing, but we still need to discuss serious matters."
Ying Zheng said in a deep voice,
"The court officials and powerful families now hate you to the core, but outwardly they dare not do anything out of fear of my authority!"
"But they'll certainly use plenty of underhanded tactics!"
"How do you plan to deal with this?"
This was his real purpose in summoning Zhang Fan late at night!
The imperial examination system shook the very foundations of the empire!
As the instigator, Zhang Fan is now in the eye of the storm!
However, Zhang Fan showed no sign of worry; instead, he wore a confident smile.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I have my own plans!"
He bowed and said,
"Instead of staying in Xianyang and scheming against them, I'd rather do something more meaningful!"
"I intend to depart for Shangdang County tomorrow!"
"Shangdang County?"
Ying Zheng frowned. "What are you going to do?"
"Go and continue what I haven't finished—blast furnace steelmaking!"
Excitement gleamed in Zhang Fan's eyes.
"Although I have already submitted all the blueprints and operation manuals!"
"But this is a revolutionary technology!"
"Especially when it comes to casting, and mass-producing standardized weapons and armor, it's essential to have someone personally overseeing the process on-site!"
"Your Majesty, I must ensure that the first truly functional blast furnace can be successfully ignited!"
He paused, then his voice became impassioned:
"Once these steel armored vehicles are produced in an endless stream!"
"The iron cavalry of Qin can then go forth and expand Your Majesty's territory to even greater heights!"
"Expanding territory?"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng slowly stood up and walked to the huge map in the hall.
That's a map of the Qin Dynasty's current territory!
He stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an aura of domineering authority.
"I have led campaigns against the Xiongnu in the north and the Baiyue in the south, standardizing cart axles and writing!"
"The world has been unified!"
"Isn't this territory big enough?"
His voice carried a hint of confusion, but also a touch of pride!
In his view, everything within sight belonged to the king!
However, faced with the question from this emperor who was considered one of the greatest in history, Zhang Fan simply shook his head calmly and slowly.
"not enough!"
"Not nearly enough!"
Ying Zheng's pupils suddenly contracted!
He turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp as lightning, staring intently at Zhang Fan!
Since he unified the six kingdoms, no one has ever dared to say such a thing in front of him!
Just as a hint of doubt arose in Ying Zheng's mind!
Zhang Fan took out a roll of silk cloth wrapped in his bosom and presented it with both hands.
"Your Majesty, please look."
Ying Zheng accepted it!
He slowly unfurled the silk cloth, and when the map, marked in standard Qin seal script, was fully revealed before him—
Ying Zheng was struck dumb, frozen in place.
His breath caught in his throat at that moment!
Shock!
Unbelievable shock!
What did he see?
He saw beyond the familiar territory of the Great Qin Dynasty!
There is such a vast and boundless land!
To the north lies a frozen, bitterly cold land even deeper than the Xiongnu steppe!
To the west, beyond the kingdoms of the Western Regions!
They are several vast, unimaginably large, and unfamiliar continents!