To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

Chapter 386 Who is Mi Yueyao?

"What explanation do you want?"

Zong Yu slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table.

He raised his head, swept his gaze over the people present, and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Fan is not only innocent, but has also rendered great service. From now on, no one in the court will be able to stop him!"

The hall fell silent upon hearing this.

"This...how is this possible?"

An official stared wide-eyed. "What merit could someone who spends his days chasing after women possibly have? Did he really build a train?"

"He built it!"

Zong Yu closed his eyes and said calmly, "A large iron machine, cast from refined iron and weighing tens of thousands of kilograms. There were no horses, no oxen, just coal burning and water boiling in an iron furnace. Then, a plume of white smoke would billow out, and the iron chariot would rumble and turn its wheels, moving forward on its own!"

The officials in the hall looked at each other, their faces filled with astonishment.

"Lord Zong, you...you're not joking, are you?"

The official stammered, "Tens of thousands of pounds of iron, moving by itself without the help of oxen or horses? That sounds so strange!"

"Strange? If it's truly strange, why is His Majesty so delighted?"

Zong Yu said, "Not only that. I originally questioned him about how the railway track laying was too slow and couldn't solve the current food supply problem. Guess what he brought out?"

Everyone looked at Zong Yu.

He took out an iron component called a "bearing" and mounted it on an ordinary horse-drawn carriage.

Zong Yu's voice trembled. "A small item. A supply wagon. It doesn't need horses. I can pull it all by myself, holding the shafts, and I can even run the wagon around the yard!"

The hall immediately became noisy.

"A single person pulling a supply wagon? That's absolutely impossible!"

"Lord Zong, you must be seeing things! Or perhaps the carriage has been tampered with, making it lighter!"

"How could those wooden wheels be so smooth?"

Faced with his colleagues' questions, Zong Yu waved his hand.

"I tested it myself, how could it be fake? Zhang Fan said that with that iron component, one horse can pull the weight of three horses before. The transport speed doubles, and the loss of grain and fodder along the way is drastically reduced. His Majesty has already ordered the Imperial Household Department to start construction immediately and do everything possible to build this modified carriage!"

Zong Yu stood up, looked at everyone, and sighed.

"Gentlemen, our plan has failed. The logistics and transportation of the Great Qin will be transformed in Zhang Fan's hands. Faced with such achievements, our impeachments against him for going to brothels are meaningless."

Inside the hall, all the civil officials stood frozen in place.

They were shocked; now the Northern Expedition was absolutely necessary!

The army's expedition was a foregone conclusion, and all the excuses they had fabricated to stop the Northern Expedition were now rendered useless.

After a long while, an official finally broke the silence.

He stepped forward, his face grim, and asked, "Lord Zong, now that the Northern Expedition is unstoppable and Zhang Fan has made such a great contribution, what should we do next?"

Are we just going to watch him rise to power in the court and trample us old ministers underfoot?

The other officials also snapped out of their daze and all turned to look at Zong Yu.

Zong Yu sat in the main seat, his expression shifting between light and dark.

He held the empty teacup, rubbing his fingers against the inside of the cup, unable to think of a good solution for the moment.

The things Zhang Fan displayed at the Academy of Natural History today were so impressive that His Majesty now has complete faith in him.

Going against Zhang Fan at this time would be tantamount to courting death.

"Directly confronting Zhang Fan is no longer an option."

Zong Yu put down his teacup, his voice low and deep, "His Majesty values ​​him now, and the Imperial Household Department must fully cooperate with him in manufacturing that bearing. Anyone who dares to touch him now is hindering the army's northern expedition, a capital offense."

"So we can only watch helplessly?" one official said, unwilling to accept the situation.

Zong Yu did not respond, and the hall fell into a brief silence once again.

Just then, an official sitting on the right suddenly spoke up: "Lord Zong, we certainly can't touch Zhang Fan, but there's something that I've been finding rather strange these past few days."

Everyone turned to look, and the official lowered his voice and said, "A few days ago, the Xiongnu envoy paid homage to His Majesty and presented a letter from Touman Chanyu!"

The letter from the state, besides demanding gold, silver, and cloth, also specifically requested a woman to be sent as a bride. Who exactly is this woman named Mi Yueyao?

Upon hearing this name, several officials in the hall exchanged glances, all showing expressions of confusion.

"Mi Yueyao?" Zong Yu narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"good."

The official continued, "This Mi Yueyao is a remnant of the Chu state, said to be a daughter of the former Chu royal family. After the fall of Chu, she should have been enslaved or executed!"

But somehow, she's now being raised by Zhang Fan in his mansion, becoming one of his servants.

Another official chimed in, "This is indeed strange. It's one thing for Zhang Fan to protect her, but given his lecherous nature, it's not surprising that he would take a fancy to the daughter of a disgraced official."

But the Xiongnu were far beyond the northern border, so how could Touman Chanyu know the name of a Chu woman in Xianyang?

And why did they send an envoy from so far away, specifically including her in their official letter to demand her?

Upon hearing this, Zong Yu's eyes suddenly lit up.

He had just been struggling to find a flaw, but this sudden topic gave him a glimmer of hope.

"You're right."

Zong Yu sat up straight and began to quickly calculate in his mind, "The Xiongnu are barbaric and unreasonable. If they want women for marriage alliances, they can ask for the daughters of the Qin royal family, or some stunning beauties."

To specifically request a fallen remnant of the Chu state by name—this is definitely not just about lust!

"Does Your Excellency mean that Mi Yueyao harbors a secret?"

There must be a secret.

Zong Yu snorted coldly, "Although the Chu Kingdom has perished, the land of Chu once possessed countless rare treasures and hidden records."

Since Mi Yueyao is a member of the Chu royal family, she may know something important, or she may possess something that the Xiongnu people would value.

Otherwise, why would Touman Chanyu, with nothing better to do, want a woman from a fallen kingdom?

The officials nodded in agreement, finding Zong Yu's analysis to be very reasonable.

"only……"

An official raised concerns: "Mi Yueyao is currently living in Zhang Fan's residence. Just yesterday, Zhang Fan publicly contradicted the Xiongnu envoy in court for her sake."

Even if we know this woman is strange, we don't have a good way to deal with her right now. If we forcibly go to Zhang Fan's residence to arrest her, we might anger His Majesty."

"Who said we were going to Zhang Fan's residence to take someone away?" Zong Yu's lips curled into a cold smile, his eyes turning sinister.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

Zong Yu stood up, paced around the hall twice with his hands behind his back, then stopped and said in a deep voice, "We shouldn't touch that woman; it would only be pointless. We can start with the Xiongnu envoy."

"An envoy from the Xiongnu?"

"good!"

Zong Yu nodded and said, "The Xiongnu envoy is still staying at the Sifangguan in Xianyang."

Although Your Majesty has decided to launch a northern expedition, it will still be some time before the army sets off.

These envoys came with Touman Chanyu's death order to demand Mi Yueyao, and now that they haven't received her, they must be extremely anxious.