Diqin Designer

Chapter 23: Was the fall of the Qin Dynasty also due to the Legalists?

From Li Nian's questions and answers with Su Xu, Ying Zheng also saw Li Nian's attitude. Li Nian disliked Confucianism very much!
"Li Nian's conversation with Su Xu was also showing me that he dislikes Confucianism. It must be something that Confucianism did in later history that made him act like this."

Ying Zheng was very curious about what Confucianism did in later history that made Li Nian so unpopular. If he had not been in court, he would have wanted to summon Li Nian to question him immediately.

Continuing to read on, when he saw Su Xu asked Li Nian "Sir, how do you think the world should be ruled?", Ying Zheng became curious again. He also wanted to know how Li Nian would answer, should he rule the country according to the Legalists, Taoism, or even the Mohists?

Ying Zheng believed that Li Nian must have some kind of ideology to govern the country, otherwise how would the country be governed in the future? How would the people be controlled?
However, Li Nian’s answer was that he did not think the various schools of thought could govern the country.

Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows again. My goodness! This kid actually thinks like this. He feels that none of the hundreds of schools of thought can govern the country and he looks down on all of them.

Doesn't it mean that his Qin Dynasty's legalist system of governance is also problematic in this kid's eyes?
Maybe……

There is indeed a problem!
Ying Zheng thought of what Li Nian had told him, that people in later generations believed that the Qin Dynasty was bound to perish, and that the demise of the Qin Dynasty was the result of many factors. The actions of Zhao Gao and Hu Hai only accelerated the process of demise.

Are there any Legalist reasons among these “multiple factors”?

If there is a Legalist school, what would it be?
Since King Xiao, the Qin Dynasty has always made use of the Legalists, which is why it has come to this day and no problems have occurred so far. How could the Legalists be the reason?

If the Legalists could not govern the Qin Dynasty, what doctrine should be used to govern it?

Ying Zheng suppressed the urge to call Li Nian over immediately. Li Nian must know the answer, but he would rather figure it out on his own first. If he listened to others on everything, he would be easily deceived.

As a human being, one should have his own thinking and discernment abilities, and as a king, this is even more so. If a king loses his own thinking and discernment abilities, he will soon be at the mercy of others.

After putting away the bamboo slips, Ying Zheng continued to listen to the ministers' reports.

His actions just now were seen by Li Si, Zhao Gao and others, which made people more puzzled: What was recorded on the bamboo slips that made the king value it so much?
Little did the two know that Li Nian's information was of the highest level to Ying Zheng, and any disturbance had to be reported in a timely manner.

After the court meeting, Li Si and Zhao Gao were about to go to their respective offices, but Zhao Gao intentionally or unintentionally walked towards Li Si.

Seeing Zhao Gao approaching, Li Si narrowed his eyes slightly and showed no other emotions.

Zhao Gao whispered, "Does the court official know where the bamboo slips that the king read during the court meeting came from?"

Li Si glanced at Zhao Gao calmly and said, "If the Imperial Chariot Officer doesn't know, how can I know? If the king wants to tell us, we will know. If the king doesn't want to tell us, it's better for us not to know. What do you think, Imperial Chariot Officer?"

Zhao Gao smiled faintly and bowed to Li Si to express his gratitude: "What the court official said is right. I will definitely keep the court official's words in mind!"

Li Si looked at Zhao Gao again, turned away, and looked at Li Si's back. The smile on Zhao Gao's face disappeared. After standing there thinking for a while, he also left.

Soon, the news that Zhao Gao and Li Si had talked for a while was passed to Ying Zheng's ears. Ying Zheng secretly said, "There is indeed something wrong with these two people!" Now they dare to talk privately after the court meeting, so won't they plot a rebellion after he passes away?

From the later history told by Li Nian, what these two people did was no different from rebellion.

This was actually a psychological effect of Ying Zheng. He had a prejudice against Zhao Gao and Li Si, so he thought this way. Otherwise, it would be normal for the two ministers to get together and have a conversation.
On the other side, in Liuying Palace, Su Xu finished today's class. In fact, he didn't teach anything today. It was all questions and answers between him and Li Nian.

Until he left Liuying Palace, Su Xu was still thinking about Li Nian's questions and Li Nian's words. His mind was full of thoughts about whether Zhou Li had problems or not...

Just as he was about to leave the palace, an eunuch suddenly stopped him and said, "Doctor Su, please wait!" Su Xu was puzzled when he heard the eunuch whisper, "The king has ordered that today's events cannot be told to others. Anyone who violates the order will be punished with five punishments and the extermination of three clans!"

Su Xu's eyes suddenly widened, and a chill ran down his spine. He had only been chatting with that guy for a short time, and the king already knew about it?

He even sent someone to wait here and told him to keep it a secret!

The man's background might be even more powerful than he thought, and today he was even thinking of pulling that man over to their Confucian side.

"Please tell the king that I will never leak any secrets!"

Su Xu originally wanted to go back and discuss Li Nian's question about Zhou Li with Chunyu Yue and others to see if he could find a reasonable explanation from the Confucian classics. Thinking about it now, he feels a little scared.

If he dares to do this, he will die and his clan will be destroyed tonight.

After getting Su Xu's assurance, the eunuch said, "Dr. Su, remember to give your lecture on time tomorrow, and don't keep the young master waiting."

The implicit meaning of this statement is: not only do you have to keep it a secret, you also have to work normally and don't even think about quitting.

Su Xu naturally heard it and said hurriedly: "Su Xu understands, I will definitely come on time!"

The eunuch then let Su Xu leave.

After walking a long way, Su Xu looked back in the direction of Liuying Palace, sighed, and continued walking home!
Inside Liuying Palace, Li Nian was drawing on a wooden board with a piece of charcoal. In front of him stood more than a dozen respectful craftsmen from the Shaofu.

Li Nian drew a plow on the wooden board.

As an agricultural tool, the plow appeared very early in Chinese history, but it was certainly imperfect in the early days. It was only gradually improved as people discovered its shortcomings in daily use and made gradual improvements.

What Li Nian is doing now is to skip the process of evolutionary improvement and allow Daqin to directly have a more advanced plow.

The plow he painted appeared in the Song and Yuan dynasties and was an improvement on the curved plow of the Tang Dynasty.

As the plow pattern gradually took shape on the wooden board, the craftsmen in the Shaofu recognized that it was a plow, but they had never seen this style before.

Could such a plow be better than the current one?
If this is true, all the farmers in Daqin should thank this young man.

People of this era understand very well how important and tiring farming is. Even if farming can be made just a little bit easier, it will be a big deal.

Because it means that with the same amount of energy, they can cultivate more land and grow more food, and food is the basis of human survival. With food in hand, there is no need to panic.

After drawing the plow, Li Nian asked someone to bring another wooden board, this time drawing something used in papermaking.

Papermaking requires not only tools but also sites. Water ponds are needed for retting and kilns are needed for steaming...

After drawing the tools and site patterns needed for papermaking, Li Nian also drew the patterns of iron pots, tables, chairs and benches. Work first and enjoy later. Only when you serve the boss well can you enjoy. You must not confuse the priorities.

(End of this chapter)