The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

Chapter 205 Eastern Tour - Conflict

However, at this moment, five or six burly and powerful men suddenly appeared in front of them. Each of them held a Qin sword in his hand, and with stern expressions, they blocked the way of Zhao Ping and others.

Zhao Ping, seeing this, immediately strode forward, about to burst into a curse, but when he looked closely, he found that the clothes of the men before him were somewhat familiar, as if he had seen them in Xianyang before. So he frowned, thinking hard about which prince or minister's guards these were.

"We are the imperial guards, and we have been ordered to carry out a mission. Whose guards are you? Get out of the way quickly!" Zhao Ping suppressed his displeasure and tried his best to make his voice sound calmer, but there was still a hint of impatience in his words.

The big men standing opposite Zhao Ping still had no expression on their faces, their eyes were as cold as ice, and the Qin swords in their hands flashed with a cold light in the sunlight, blocking Zhao Ping and others firmly in the middle of the road.

At this moment, Meng Yi and Meng Xin slowly walked over from behind the men.

"General Zhao, long time no see!" Meng Yi said calmly with a smile on his face.

When Xiang Yu saw that the person coming was Meng Yi, he immediately showed joy. He was about to shout but held back, "We can't let these people know about our relationship and cause trouble for Brother Yi."

Meng Yi had spotted his master Xiang Liang and his elder brother Xiang Yu among the crowd. Just as he was about to approach them to greet them, he saw Zhao Ping leading several imperial guards toward them.

At that moment, Meng Yi secretly thought that this was not good. "Since I was able to spot these two people among the crowd, I think Zhao Gao must have spotted Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu as well. With Zhao Gao's vindictive character, he will definitely send someone to take action."

Meng Yi was secretly worried. He thought, "This place is surrounded by the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Guard. If a fight breaks out, we will definitely be in danger. The First Emperor will also find out. I can't just stand by and watch Xiang Liang and the others fall into danger!"

So, he immediately took action. Turning around, he whispered to Meng Xin behind him, "Go and gather the family soldiers we brought from Xianyang. This is an urgent matter. Go and come back quickly!"

Although Meng Xin didn't know what had happened, he saw Meng Yi's anxious look and knew that the situation was not good. He nodded and said, "Okay, General, I'll do it right away!" After that, he quickly walked to the back of the team.

Meng Yi, in the patrol team, continued to closely monitor the direction of Zhao Ping and the imperial guards.

At this moment, Zhao Ping caught a glimpse of Meng Yi and felt a little relieved. However, in an instant, all the past experiences in front of the Meng Mansion came to his mind like a tide. He suddenly felt as if there were thorns on his back and his scalp went numb.

"General Meng, what does this mean? Why are you blocking our way?" Zhao Ping forced himself to be strong and stepped forward to ask.

A mocking smile spread across Meng Yi's face, like the cry of a night owl, harsh and piercing. "General Zhao, you are so majestic! Could it be that now that General Zhao has climbed to such a high position, he no longer takes us seriously?"

Zhao Ping knew that Zhao Gao was a great favorite of the emperor, and since he was highly regarded by Zhao Gao, his future success was a foregone conclusion. While Meng Yi had the support of Meng Tian, ​​Meng Tian was far away and out of reach. Furthermore, Meng Yi was currently holding the sinecure of the position of Chief Censor, powerless and powerless, so how could he possibly harm him?

Thinking of this, Zhao Ping's heart was rekindled with hope. He held his head high and said in a clear voice: "Master Meng, I have come here on orders. I hope Master Meng will..."

"Snap!" A crisp sound echoed in the air. Meng Yi raised the whip in his hand without hesitation and hit Zhao Ping's shoulder hard.

"Hiss..." Zhao Ping gasped and stared at Meng Yi in disbelief. He had never expected Meng Yi to suddenly attack him.

However, Meng Yi could clearly see Zhao Ping's changes and the calculations in his mind. He slowly said, "This whip is a punishment for your disrespect to your superiors. Do you accept the punishment?"

Zhao Ping gritted his teeth, unwillingly but helplessly saying, "I accept the punishment. I'm just following orders..."

Before he could finish his words, Meng Yi swung the whip again. With a crisp "snap" sound, another whip hit Zhao Ping's other shoulder hard.

Meng Yi's face darkened as he spoke coldly, "By order? By whose order? The Imperial Guards are His Majesty's personal guards, and their safety is crucial. Without His Majesty's personal order, no one may be mobilized at will. Zhao Ping, do you have His Majesty's imperial edict?"

Zhao Ping's face was as pale as paper, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He knew he was in trouble, but he still tried to struggle: "Humble... humble..."

Meng Yi didn't give Zhao Ping any chance to explain. He interrupted him coldly, "No need to explain. I'm asking you now, do you have anything else to say?"

Without waiting for Zhao Ping's reply, Meng Yi turned to look at the several Imperial Guards soldiers behind Zhao Ping and asked loudly, "Yang Fan, Han Cheng, Zhang Lei, He Fei, don't you recognize me?"

The people whose names were called by Meng Yi immediately stepped forward, saluted respectfully and said, "Greetings, General!"

It turned out that at the beginning of this year, the First Emperor issued an order to split the Lieutenant Army into two.

Among them, those strong and energetic soldiers formed the Royal Guards; the other part was merged with the Duwei Army.

It is worth mentioning that the people Meng Yi mentioned were exactly the lieutenant soldiers who had followed Meng Yi when the plague broke out in Liyang.

Nowadays, the defense of the Xianyang Royal City is divided into two parts, which are respectively undertaken by the Weiwei Army and the Imperial Guard.

The Guards were responsible for protecting the royal city and carrying out daily patrols, while the Imperial Guards were under the management of the Imperial Clerk, and were further divided into the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Guards.

The main task of the Royal Guards is to ensure the safety of His Majesty and provide protection when His Majesty goes out on tour. The Imperial Guards are responsible for the protection of the various palaces.

Zhao Ping’s current position is not the captain of the Imperial Guard, but the captain of the Imperial Army.

Meng Yi waved his hand casually at the guards, then turned and thundered, "Zhao Ping, you dared to mobilize the guards without the emperor's permission. You deserve death! While your majesty is on an eastern tour to appease the people, you are arresting innocent people without cause. This is an even greater crime!"

"I admit my guilt!" Zhao Ping was struck by lightning. He quickly knelt on one knee and said with his head down.

At this time, how could Zhao Ping dare to say that he was following Zhao Gao's orders? That would be tantamount to betraying Zhao Gao, and wouldn't he be killed without a burial place?

Meng Yi snorted coldly, his voice as sharp as a chill wind. "Since you admit your guilt and are now thankfully safe, I, your Excellency, will be magnanimous. Release these innocent people and get out of here!"

Zhao Ping finally felt relieved upon hearing this. He knew the seriousness of mobilizing the imperial guards without authorization. If this matter became a big deal and the First Emperor blamed him, Zhao Gao would be powerless to save his life. Besides, he couldn't even claim to be following Zhao Gao's orders.

After Zhao Ping kowtowed to Meng Yi again, he left with his guards like a stray dog.