[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

Sure enough, no sooner had Zhou Qing finished speaking than a smile appeared on Ying Zheng's face. Just as he was about to reward Zhou Qing, Chunyu Yue spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, Zhou Qing is not a loyal minister."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Ying Zheng's smile faded, and he waved his hand to stop Zhou Qing from speaking. He looked calmly at Chunyu Yue. "Chunyu Yue, you tell me, why is Zhou Qing not a loyal subject?"

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the kings of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties would enfeoff their sons and meritorious officials to assist them and strengthen the state. But today, Your Majesty possesses the wealth of the four seas, and apart from His Highness the Crown Prince, all your sons are commoners. What if, in the future, treacherous people rebel and try to divide up the Qin state like the Three Families divided Jin, and the emperor has no ministers to assist him?"

The "Shen Shi" chapter of the Lüshi Chunqiu states: "The land under heaven is divided into states, each a thousand li square, so as to maximize governance. It is not that states cannot be large, but a large state is not as good as a small one, and a large territory is not as good as a small one. The establishment of numerous fiefdoms is not for the sake of privately appointing virtuous officials, but for the convenience of power, so as to preserve authority and broaden righteousness. With broad righteousness, complete authority, and convenient power, one is invincible. Invincibility brings peace. Therefore, looking at the past, those who established many fiefdoms enjoyed lasting prosperity and renowned fame... The fiefdoms of a king are larger the closer they are, and smaller the farther they are. Therefore, there are vassals ten li long on the sea... The establishment of many fiefdoms is for the convenience of power."

"According to Lü's theory, establishing feudal lords is the right way for a sage king. The more feudal lords there are, the more peaceful the world will be; this is what is meant by numerous feudal lords!"

"But Your Majesty today does not follow ancient rules and does not respect ancient rules, yet you have been able to maintain this for a long time. I have never heard of such a thing before."

"Today, Zhou Qing not only failed to speak frankly, but also flattered Your Majesty, which only exacerbated Your Majesty's mistakes. He is by no means a loyal minister."

People in the second century BC and people in the twenty-first century BC were actually quite similar. They both believed that the era in which they lived was one of moral decay and moral decline, and that everyone was a bad person. It was a truly terrible era. Therefore, under such sentiments, a revivalist movement emerged.

What is the "retro" faction? It means that everything now is bad, and it would be best to go back to the Xia Dynasty. As long as we go back to the Xia Dynasty, all the evils of human civilization will disappear.

The most popular school of thought in Confucianism is this kind of retrogressive school, which completely doesn't understand things like "the words of our ancestors" or "the laws and precedents of our ancestors," or "keeping pace with the times and carrying on the past and forging ahead into the future."

"Enfeoffment? Whom do you think I should enfeoff?" Ying Zheng asked coldly, his gaze slowly sweeping across the faces of his ministers. "Is this the opinion of all of you?"

Everyone present, except for Fusu and Chunyu Yue, lowered their heads, not daring to look Ying Zheng in the eye.

Fusu is the crown prince, the future Second Emperor of Qin. Granting him land and the title of king would be like cutting flesh from his body. If he weren't stupid, he probably wouldn't agree.

As for Chunyu Yue, as the proposer, how could he possibly be timid at such a time?

Chunyu Yue not only did not dodge, but also raised his head to meet Ying Zheng's gaze and said loudly, "Those who are enfeoffed are Your Majesty's sons, meritorious officials of Qin, noble families of the former six states, and descendants of sages."

If it were merely about bestowing titles upon his own sons and meritorious officials of Qin, Ying Zheng could barely tolerate it. But the enfeoffment of noble families from the six states and so-called descendants of sages like the Kong family was enough to make him so angry that he wanted to kill Chunyu Yue with a single blow.

I didn't kill you because the Qin Dynasty adheres to Legalism, while I am a man who upholds the law and cannot kill people arbitrarily. Therefore, I need to find a good way to kill you all.

Ying Zheng got up and left with a dark expression, glancing at Fusu as he went.

Fusu, being sensible and perceptive, immediately followed Ying Zheng into the large study.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered, they saw Ying Zheng inside, pointing at the sky and cursing the earth in a very agitated manner.

Hehe, you're healthy now, so you have the energy to curse people, huh?

"Your subject greets Your Majesty." Fusu stepped forward, grinning as he bowed to Ying Zheng. Before Ying Zheng could tell him to rise, he immediately knelt and crawled to Ying Zheng's side, pulling him down to sit. While soothing him, he comforted him, "Father, don't be angry, don't be angry. It's just Chunyu Yue, isn't it? How do you want to deal with him? Whatever you want to deal with him, your subject will help you deal with him. Or should I go and put a sack over his head and beat him up?"

"Hmph! I don't even care about Chunyu Yue," Ying Zheng said with a cold snort.

Why were you so angry if you didn't care? Are you being dramatic? Explaining is just covering up.

"I know, I know... Father, you are the First Emperor, how could you possibly care about a mere sycophant?" Fusu comforted him with a smile.

"Sell straight? What does that mean?" Ying Zheng lowered his head, looking at Fusu with a puzzled expression.

"Seller" means buying and selling; "straight" means a straight man; "selling straight" would obviously mean buying and selling straight men... but that's not the case.

“Selling one’s integrity means that he deliberately angered the emperor to show that he was loyal and selfless in order to gain fame.” Fusu explained, “I have figured out these scholars. Most of them are not interested in fame or fortune. They just want to be remembered in history and have a good reputation for all time.”

"So, in order to gain a good reputation, they can do anything crazy, even at the cost of their lives. Father, if you were to risk your life for such people, wouldn't you be falling into their trap?"

"Hmph! Then what do you suggest we do? Are you just going to expect me to put up with this?" Ying Zheng said, stretching out his hand and saying to Zhao Gao, "Bring out the memorial from Kongdi."

Zhao Gao immediately walked quickly to the bookshelf on one side of the study, took down several scrolls of bamboo slips from the cabinet on the left, and carried them over in his arms.

"Give it to him." Ying Zheng pointed at Fusu, and Zhao Gao immediately turned to Fusu with the bamboo slips in his arms.

Fusu picked up a scroll, which contained nothing new. The gist of it was that the Kong family and the nobles of the six states were flirting and plotting to rebel against Ying Zheng.

"This is outrageous! Haven't I treated them well?" Ying Zheng slammed his hand on the long table angrily, his face flushed.

Perhaps Ying Zheng was actually quite good to the nobles of the six states, as a large portion of the Qin Dynasty's annual revenue was used to support them.

Don't think that Ying Zheng only supported the royal family; you're wrong. He also supported the officials of the six states, which is why the Qin Dynasty's fiscal revenue wasn't very good.

Fortunately, Ying Zheng's hobby of building houses was nipped in the bud by Fusu, and the plan to build large ships for sea voyages has also been temporarily abandoned. Now Ying Zheng is living a healthy and leisurely life, otherwise he would have started thinking about increasing taxes long ago.

"Fine, fine! Why doesn't Father treat them better?" Fusu laughed, tossed the bamboo slip back onto the long table, and said with an indifferent expression, spreading his palms out.

"How can it be better?" Ying Zheng didn't understand. Thinking of those traitors, he got angry, his emotions fluctuated, and he just...

"I wish I could dig a hole and bury them all, so they could betray me from behind! They dare to betray me! I dare to truly betray them!"

"Alright, alright! Don't be angry!" Fusu sighed helplessly. It's true what they say, the older you get, the more childlike you become. Ying Zheng's body has rejuvenated, and his temper has changed along with it. Fusu, who treats him like a son, has to coax him.

Thinking of this, Fusu felt a deep sense of responsibility.

Taking care of a dad is really not easy; the kids on Earth have it tough.

"Father, aren't you angry that they joined forces against you? The reason they joined forces is because we are their common enemy. Father, imagine what would happen if we, their enemy, were gone?" Fusu said in a seductive tone.

"What will happen?" Ying Zheng replied irritably.

"Of course they'll start fighting themselves." What a foolish human from Earth.

Fusu couldn't help but glance at Ying Zheng, his eyes filled with such helplessness that Ying Zheng's lips twitched uncontrollably, wishing he could slap Fusu to death.

I painstakingly taught you the ways of an emperor, not so that you could turn against me.

Some people, if you don't hit them, they don't feel any pain. You really wish you could beat them to death every day.

Ying Zheng suppressed his anger and said, "Then tell me, what method can we use to make them fight each other?"

"Hmm... Father, have you ever heard the story of 'Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors'?" Fusu asked calmly and without haste.

The story of "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" refers to the story of Duke Jing of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, who, in order to get rid of three powerful men in the country who were highly respected and meritorious, deliberately rewarded them with two peaches, which led to the three men committing suicide and killing each other, ultimately achieving the goal of "using a borrowed knife to kill someone".

"This story is one that I told you," Ying Zheng said irritably.

Back then, the little rascal was so small and adorable, a soft, squishy bundle nestled in his arms, pleading in his sweet, pink voice, "Father, tell Su'er a story." He was so cute that he wished he, as his father, could offer him all the wonderful things in the world.

However... how did he grow up to be like this?

Ying Zheng was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet.

"Tell me, how do you make them kill each other?"

"Why not just give them a peach?" Fusu said something pointless, and was then given a sharp rap on the head by the impatient Ying Zheng.

"Get to the point, stop talking nonsense, or I'll beat you up."

They've already beaten you up, and now they're saying things like "be careful"? That's just outrageous.

Fusu rubbed his face with a pained expression and said, "Father, if you just think about what Chunyu Yue said, you'll naturally know what a peach is."

"Chunyu Yue...you mean...no! Absolutely not!" Ying Zheng slammed his fist on the table in anger and said to Fusu, "The prefecture-county system is the foundation of our Great Qin. How can it be changed so easily? If they want to rebel because of this, then let them rebel. I have never been a person who can be threatened."

"Father, calm down, calm down. I didn't say I wanted to abolish the prefecture-county system and replace it with a feudal system. We can go together..."

"Even two lines won't work!" Ying Zheng interrupted Fusu before he could finish speaking. "Do you know how serious the consequences of enfeoffment are? It's alright for you and me, father and son, but if a few generations pass and no great ruler emerges in our Great Qin, won't we become too powerful to control and the local areas will use the central government to hold us hostage?"

Although Ying Zheng was arrogant, he did not believe that the Qin dynasty could last for ten thousand generations, nor did he believe that he could live forever. Therefore, in a moment of excitement, he spoke the truth that he would never normally say.

"Father, Father, don't be angry... He's become too powerful to control... We'll prevent him from growing too big, and that will solve the problem," Fusu said with a smile.