Diqin Designer

Chapter 41: The First Emperor's Comments on the Bamboo Slips (Continued)

Ying Zheng sighed and decided to observe Li Nian for a while to see if Li Nian had any good way to correct Fusu. Anyway, he had no other options as he had tried everything he could think of.

After reading the bamboo slips of his sons, Ying Zheng asked someone to bring the bamboo slips of his ministers.

These bamboo slips are far superior to those of Fusu and Huhai. Not only are they well-reasoned and well-written, but the wording is also fluent and beautiful, which really pleases Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng carefully read the bamboo slips of each minister, and personally organized and recorded the opinions on the slips, noting their names and giving their evaluations.

"This Zhao Gao is quite clever, but unfortunately..."

After reading Zhao Gao's bamboo slips, Ying Zheng shook his head.

Zhao Gao was very good at guessing his thoughts. If he had not known the later history, he would definitely be happy about Zhao Gao's bamboo slips, and even would have thought that "Zhao Gao was a loyal minister."

But now, the better the content of Zhao Gao's bamboo slips, the more complicated Ying Zheng's mood became.

Because the more problems Zhao Gao has, doesn't it mean that the person who helped Zhao Gao climb to his current position also has problems?

If he was not wrong, how could he allow a traitor like Zhao Gao to gain power?
There is no way around the fact that you fail to recognize and employ people properly!
Putting down Zhao Gao's bamboo slips and picking up another scroll, Ying Zheng frowned.

It was written on this scroll of bamboo slips that he was asked to grant fiefs. He glanced at the signature and saw - Wang Wan, the current prime minister of the Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng read on patiently and discovered that Wang Wan was not asking him to implement the Zhou Dynasty's feudal system of dividing the world into princes of varying sizes, but rather that Yan, Qi, and Jing were far away and difficult to manage, so they had to be divided and garrisoned.

Wang Wan pointed out in the bamboo slips that conquering the world does not mean controlling the world. Given the current situation of the Qin Dynasty, it is impossible to completely control the entire world, so it is necessary to make choices and distinguish priorities.

Wang Wan's method was to let Ying Zheng first seize the core areas that could be controlled, and temporarily ignore those remote areas. It would be difficult to manage them anyway, so it would be better to enfeoff a few princes to guard them and fill the political vacancies. After digesting the core areas, he could go back to deal with the remote areas.

This is a transitional policy that the Qin Dynasty can implement when it is unable to control the entire world. It is completely different from the feudal system that Chunyu Yue and others wanted.

"In later history, I will never adopt Wang Wan's method!"

Ying Zheng knew very well what kind of person he was. Even if Wang Wan's method did make sense, he would not adopt it.

After seeing Li Si's bamboo slips, Ying Zheng commented: "Li Si is a man whose talent can be used, but he cannot be trusted. He is loyal to the power of the king, not to me or the Qin!"

If Li Si was loyal to him and the Qin Dynasty, then in the history described by Li Nian, Li Si should have strongly supported Fusu's ascension to the throne. With his support, there would be a high probability that history would have taken a turning point.

However, the fact is that Li Si did not do so. No matter why he colluded with Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, it is certain that Li Si was unfaithful to him. It should be said that he was unfaithful to him who was dead and had no power as a king.

Ying Zheng could understand Li Si's approach. How could a dead king be as useful as a living king?
But even though he understood, he still had some grudges in his heart. He would continue to use Li Si's talents, but he would not trust Li Si deeply.

After recording the problems pointed out by Li Si and the solutions he proposed, Ying Zheng continued to read the rest of the bamboo slips.

The problems pointed out in the bamboo slips made Ying Zheng somewhat surprised and confused.

For example, one minister even pointed out in the bamboo slips that after the demise of the six kingdoms, the Qin Dynasty's military merit system would be affected.

Since the court officials can see the problems of the Qin Dynasty, why did the Qin Dynasty still perish in the history that Li Nian talked about? Our Qin Dynasty is full of talents. As long as we employ these talents well and listen to their correct advice, we will not let the Qin Dynasty perish in the second generation.

It was all because of those two bastards, Zhao Gao and Hu Hai. They expelled and killed loyal officials, and left behind those who only knew how to flatter. They were immersed in singing praises all day long, and even if someone occasionally gave them correct advice, they would not accept it.

The son sold his father's land without feeling bad. The more Ying Zheng thought about it, the angrier he became. He issued another order: "Prince Hu Hai has an unrighteous conduct and an evil heart. He must copy the Book of Songs ten times again. He must finish the copying within three months and let me examine it!"

"But" the punishment was just to copy the Book of Songs, which had more than 300,000 words, twenty times. Compared with Hu Hai who brought disaster to the Qin Dynasty and led to the death of the second emperor, Ying Zheng felt that he had been quite merciful.

When Ying Zheng read the bamboo slips jointly presented by Chunyu Yue, Su Xu and others, they were still Confucian stuff, asking him to restore the Zhou rituals, enfeoff the kings and implement benevolent policies.

He was a little annoyed. Couldn't these people see the harm of the feudal system? If Zhou Li was really that good, why did Zhou fall?

But if you take a closer look, you will find that the memorial submitted by Chunyu Yue and others is not completely without merit. For example, the one about establishing a crown prince. Establishing a crown prince as soon as possible will not only help consolidate the foundation of the country, but also reduce the fighting among the princes and save the country from unnecessary consumption.

There is some truth in saying that the current Qin laws are harsh. The Qin laws can govern Qin, but not necessarily the world. It’s just that the examples cited and the intentions revealed made Ying Zheng quite dissatisfied.

After reading all the bamboo slips, summarizing the problems and solutions pointed out by the ministers, and comparing them with what Li Nian said, a smile appeared on Ying Zheng's face. The ministers of my Great Qin are no worse than Li Nian, the people of later generations!
Gazing at the pile of bamboo slips, Ying Zheng thought for a moment and ordered: "Make a copy of all the bamboo slips and send them to Liuying Palace!"

In Liuying Palace, Li Nian was drawing on a wooden ball.

He asked the craftsmen in the Mu Palace to make the wooden ball for the globe. He prepared a lot of them for fear that the drawing would be inaccurate.

This is the eighth one so far. With the practice of the first seven, Li Nian has become more and more proficient in drawing on the wooden ball.

At this moment, a guard came in and reported: "Sir, the king sent someone to deliver a batch of bamboo slips!"

"Send bamboo slips?"

Li Nian stopped drawing, somewhat curious about why the First Emperor gave him the bamboo slips.

Could it be that the gifts were the history books and official records of the Qin Dynasty, in order to help him understand the Qin Dynasty better?
"Send it in!"

Soon, two piles of bamboo slips were brought into the hall and placed in front of Li Nian. One pile contained only a few dozen volumes, while the other pile had at least several hundred volumes.

Li Nian picked up a scroll from the smaller pile and unfolded it, and he saw the author's name on the bamboo slips at a glance - Prince Hu Hai.

"It was actually written by Hu Hai. I want to see what this beast can write."

With curiosity, Li Nian read the bamboo slips, and his expression gradually became strange.

All written on the bamboo slips were praises for the First Emperor. From between the lines, Li Nian summarized it in one sentence: My father, Ying Zheng, is awesome, the best of all time, the greatest who has never been before and will never be surpassed!
"No wonder he is so popular with the First Emperor. I am far inferior to him in terms of his ability to flatter. Why did the First Emperor send me Hu Hai's bamboo slips? Did he want me to imitate Hu Hai and flatter him?"

Li Nian picked up another bamboo slip and read it, and found that the author of this bamboo slip was not Hu Hai, but Gongzi Gao, the unlucky guy who committed suicide for fear of implicating his family.

Gongzi Gao's bamboo slips are much more normal. Although they still praise the First Emperor, they are not as explicit as Hu Hai's. They seriously answer two questions: If the Qin Dynasty is destroyed, why is it destroyed? If the Qin Dynasty is not destroyed, how should it be resolved?

(End of this chapter)