Diqin Designer

Chapter 59 Seizing the Opinion Front
After talking about how to deal with the nobles of the six countries, the problems of the Qin Dynasty are almost solved. To sum up, all the problems are nothing more than internal and external troubles.

External threats are not significant. The Qin Dynasty has just conquered the six kingdoms and its martial virtue is at its peak. Would the Huns in the north dare to attack us, or would the Yue people in the south dare to cross the border to kill us?

It was mainly internal troubles. The Qin Dynasty collapsed internally, not externally. The same was true for the Han Dynasty. Although the princes fought for supremacy in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, weren't they still fighting against foreign races?
Li Nian said: "Regarding the 'burning of books and burying of scholars', it is actually because the king and the Qin Dynasty failed to control public opinion. 'Public opinion' refers to the opinions of the masses. It may seem unimportant, but three people can make a tiger, and people's words can also kill people."

"The power of public opinion in the Qin Dynasty is mainly in the hands of Confucian scholars and Taoist priests. Therefore, they can ridicule the government and criticize the king, and the people cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood. Over time, the reputation of the king and the Qin Dynasty among the people will naturally become as bad as that of snakes and scorpions."

The Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty was also such a group of people. They liked to criticize the court's decrees in groups of three or five, as if they were speaking for the people. Every one of them was a loyal minister, but in fact, when the Qing Dynasty came, they surrendered faster than anyone else. The famous Shui Tailiang was the leader of the Donglin Party.

These people controlled public opinion and posed a great obstacle to the implementation of the Ming court's policies in the late Ming Dynasty.

The Donglin Party was definitely to blame for the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

Confucianism is the most prominent school of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought today. Although it has not reached the point where all dynasties in later generations practice Confucianism, compared with the other Hundred Schools of Thought, Confucian scholars are extremely numerous.

Under such circumstances, Confucian scholars naturally controlled most of the social public opinion.

Li Nian said: "It is better to stop people from speaking than to stop rivers from flooding. It is not advisable to block everyone from speaking. After all, some people sincerely offer suggestions and serve the country better. But it is also not advisable to let everyone speak freely, because some people will fabricate rumors, frighten the people and destabilize the country."

"Therefore, in order to avoid the impact of 'burning books and burying scholars', the king must control public opinion and establish a mouthpiece belonging to the king and the Qin Dynasty. This mouthpiece is not to advise the king, but to speak on behalf of the king and the Qin Dynasty to the people of the world."

"Controlling public opinion means letting the public know what they can and cannot say. Most importantly, we need to put an end to rumors and formulate relevant laws to let those who want to spread rumors know the consequences and not dare to do so again. Establishing a mouthpiece for the king and the Qin Dynasty is to seize the public opinion position..."

Hearing this, Ying Zheng laughed and said, "Again, 'If we don't occupy the public opinion position, the enemy will occupy it'? Who said this?"

This question made Li Nian silent for a moment, and then he said: "That person is one of the founders of the future country that I came from!"

One of the founders? Perhaps the most important one among the founders? I wonder if this founder of a later country has ever commented on me? How would he comment?
Ying Zheng thought about it, but didn't ask for the time being. He listened to Li Nian continue: "If the king and the Qin Dynasty don't fight for it, others will grab it and mislead the country and the people with rumors."

"In the later times where I come from, there are means of public opinion dissemination such as television, the Internet, newspapers, and radio. In the case of the Qin Dynasty, it is possible to publish newspapers after paper is invented, but not many people in the Qin Dynasty can read, so the effect may not be great. However, the Qin Dynasty officials or specialized personnel can be used to preach to the people."

"Talk about the benefits of the Qin Dynasty's policies to the people and dispel certain rumors. If there are people like Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng again, the people will not easily believe them."

"The above is my solution to these problems, but I am just empty talk. It is up to the king and the officials of Daqin to decide based on the situation in Daqin."

Ying Zheng nodded. He actually had many things he wanted to ask Li Nian, especially the process of becoming emperor and how to change the Qin official system.

This was something he had been discussing with his ministers recently. He really wanted to get some reference from Li Nian to see how things were done in later generations.

The six kingdoms had been destroyed and the world was unified. Many leading generals had either returned to Xianyang or were on their way. Many of them were waiting for him to become emperor so that they could be rewarded for their merits.

But seeing that it was already late outside the palace and Li Nian looked exhausted, Ying Zheng said, "You are tired today, so go back and rest. Five days later, I want to know how the emperors of future dynasties will succeed to the throne and what the official system of the dynasty will be like."

After hearing this, Li Nian realized that Ying Zheng was not far from being officially called "Emperor", and that he would actually be involved in this historical event and even have a very important influence.

"I wonder if my name will be recorded in the history of this world thousands of years from now?" Li Nian said, "I obey your command! I have something else to report to you, Your Majesty. Last time I said I would write a 'Healthy Living Precautions' for you, and I have brought it today. Please read it!"

In today's Qin Dynasty, if we were to ask who most wants the First Emperor to live longer, it would be Li Nian. He really cares about the First Emperor's health.

Because Li Nian knew deeply that in the Qin Dynasty, his life was tied to the First Emperor. If the First Emperor was alive, he could live, and if the First Emperor died, he would probably be taken away with him.

As a modern man, he did not like the feeling of having his life and death controlled by others, but he had no way to resist now and had to rely on the First Emperor instead.

This is the feudal dynasty!
"Now that I have brought it, where is it now?"

After knowing that the alchemist could not make him immortal and there was no medicine for immortality in the world, Ying Zheng took Li Nian's talk of healthy living very seriously. He wanted to live longer.

Upon hearing Ying Zheng's words, two eunuchs immediately came in with a pile of bamboo slips on a tray.

Ying Zheng picked up a scroll and opened it. There were crooked and ugly words written on it.

The handwriting is not extremely ugly. After all, he is an adult, and it is definitely better than a child who is just starting to learn. But it is not as good as those who have been writing Qin seal characters for many years.

Ying Zheng looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, then looked at the more bamboo slips on the tray, nodded and said, "You are so thoughtful, go back and rest first!"

After Li Nian bowed to the First Emperor, he left the Zhangtai Palace.

Watching Li Nian leave, Ying Zheng glanced at the bamboo slips on the tray again: "He really has a heart!"

Meng Yi responded, "The fact that he was able to write so many bamboo slips in just a few days shows his sincerity."

Li Nian had only learned seal script for a short time, and it was not easy for him to write it. It was even more difficult to translate what later generations said into words that Ying Zheng could understand.

They didn't know that Li Nian had a search engine in her mind that could convert online. Li Nian only had to modify and transcribe the converted content.

Of course, this workload is not small, but not as much as they thought.

This behavior greatly added points to Ying Zheng's heart!
While flipping through the bamboo slips, Ying Zheng casually asked, "Who do you think can be the crown prince?"

Even though the Meng family is deeply trusted by the king, Meng Yi still feels the weight of this question. But how can he not answer the king's question?
Moreover, at times like this it is best not to be ambiguous or muddle through, but to express your position firmly.

After the conversation between the king and Li Nian today, Prince Hu Hai is probably finished. Among the remaining princes, Prince Fusu has the greatest chance.

Meng Yi said seriously: "I think Prince Fusu can be the crown prince!"

Ying Zheng just glanced at Meng Yi, shook his head, and said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)