[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

"Can't it get big?" Ying Zheng was taken aback, looking at the smiling Fusu. The brat was laughing so happily; he was definitely going to trick someone again.

But as long as it's not me who gets hurt, it doesn't matter if it's someone else. Who told them to be so stupid, not as smart as my own son?

"Tell me, how can we prevent them from becoming too powerful?" Ying Zheng asked, signaling.

"Ahem..." Fusu cleared his throat, looked at Ying Zheng expectantly, and said, "Father, Su'er is thirsty."

Acting cute! Maliciously acting cute! A person in their twenties trying to act cute like Da Bao is just awful.

Zhao Gao was a sensible man. As soon as Ying Zheng and his son entered, he had already placed tea on the long table. Whenever Ying Zheng needed it, he only needed to reach out and touch it. Moreover, the temperature was always just right, neither too hot nor too cold, just right when he was thirsty.

"Here you go!" Ying Zheng angrily placed a cup of tea in front of Fusu and said coldly, "Drink it and then speak to me honestly."

Fusu stuck out his tongue and stopped even using the word "I" (朕). It seemed that he was really angry with me today, so I shouldn't push my luck any further.

If you're going to get angry at your dad, do you want to maintain that anger in the long run? Maybe you should save that anger for another day.

Fusu put down his teacup, his smile faded, and he looked at Ying Zheng seriously, saying, "Father, please think about this first: why did the Kong family collude with the remnants of the six states?"

"Why? Of course, it's because I destroyed their country and ruined their homes, and now I'm not respecting their customs. Of course they'll be angry," Ying Zheng said with a sneer.

“Father, you are mistaken,” Fusu corrected.

"Oh? Tell me, where did I go wrong?" Ying Zheng turned to look at Fusu and said with a hint of anger.

"Although the Kong family and the old guard are colluding together, they are not a unified whole. They each have their own reasons. Father Emperor's mistake was to treat them as a single entity." Fusu said calmly and without haste, "Therefore, the correct statement should be that Father Emperor destroyed the old guard's country and ruined their family, and now he is not abiding by Confucian rites."

Upon hearing Fusu's words, Ying Zheng suddenly felt enlightened. He realized that he had been stuck in a dead end and had never considered that the two families were not actually that friendly.

"Even so, I cannot agree to their demands and use enfeoffment to divide them." Ying Zheng waved his sleeve. An emperor as arrogant as him, even if he knew what was better to do, would never compromise with the enemy.

Or rather, a decade or so earlier, in order to unify the world, Ying Zheng would have pretended to be humble and submissive. But as the world became unified, Ying Zheng's confidence swelled to an unbridled level, and he would often say things like, "I have even unified the world, why would I be afraid of some little xxx?"

Of course, although Ying Zheng thought this way, he would not say it in public for no reason. However, when he was with Fusu, he would often blurt out his thoughts when he was emotional.

At times like this, Fusu felt an urge to complain.

What's so difficult about unifying the world? You can't even unify sweet and savory rice dumplings, what are you bragging about?

"Of course I know that Father Emperor is not afraid of any evil in the world, nor is he afraid of what future generations will say. But would you like to see those villains become famous in history and have their loyalty and patriotism praised for thousands of years?" Fusu looked at Ying Zheng, whose face was getting more and more ugly, and added, "And every time they say good things about them, they also say bad things about you, Father Emperor. Is Father Emperor willing to accept that?"

"Hmph! Whether I am resentful or not, I am the victor. Why should I fear what others say? I am not afraid, do you understand?" Ying Zheng spat on Fusu's face.

“I understand, I understand, I understand, Father, you are a great hero, you are the First Emperor, of course you are fearless, but…” Fusu stepped forward and stroked Ying Zheng’s hair, then said in a particularly aggrieved tone, “But Su’er is not happy, Su’er is aggrieved, Su’er is sad, Su’er is unhappy when she thinks that Father will be scolded.”

Ying Zheng was so moved by Fusu's words that his face lit up with stars, and he said in a particularly gentle voice, "Su'er..."

It wasn't that Ying Zheng was easily moved by a few words from someone, but rather that the person speaking was Fusu.

My own son.

“Father, you may not enfeoff the remnants of the six states and the Kong family, nor may you enfeoff the meritorious officials of Qin, but what about my brothers? My brothers are all your sons. I am the Crown Prince, but my brothers are just commoners. Father, are you not saddened?” Fusu’s words made Ying Zheng pause slightly.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs, let alone Ying Zheng, who, despite his ruthlessness, was always quite good to his sons. Even if he didn't have as much time and energy to care for and cherish his other sons, he still loved them deep down. However, compared to the Qin empire, his sons were nothing, which is why Ying Zheng did not enfeoff his sons.

“Father, you are rational enough to know that the country is more important than your son, but do you think they are as rational as you?” Fusu smiled slightly and said in a seductive tone, “Even if they are rational enough, what if… um… Father, you know that most fathers especially love their youngest sons, who are innocent and adorable, and whose mothers are mostly young and beautiful…”

“But the youngest son usually has no right to inherit. Although he can enjoy wealth and honor while he is alive, and even suppress the illegitimate son with the status of the legitimate son, if he passes away, the youngest son and his concubine will become commoners and live at the mercy of the eldest son and his wife.”

"Get to the point..." Ying Zheng tapped the long table impatiently with his finger. Although every word the brat said made sense, there was a feeling that he was being mocked by the emperor.

Thinking of this, Ying Zheng felt a little red on his face. He glanced at Fusu unconsciously and saw that Fusu's face was fine and his eyes were clear and there was nothing wrong with him. He knew that he had been thinking too much and felt even more guilty.

If it weren't for the fact that his eldest son was so considerate, obedient, intelligent, and capable, and most importantly, not naive and unambitious, he might not have been able to make the decision to establish a crown prince.

Actually, Hu Hai... cough cough... that kid is a bit slow-witted, but luckily he met a good older brother who can probably take care of him for the rest of his life.

"Those of different surnames cannot be kings; kings are granted titles but not lands; their ranks are lowered by imperial favor." Fusu excitedly showed off the new terms he had learned on the forum.

"Say it again, explain it to me clearly..." After being pestered by Fusu for so long and having his thoughts exposed, Ying Zheng was no longer as excited as before when he heard about being granted a title of king. Instead, he was able to calm down and think about the problem.

If there were a way to ensure wealth and status for one's son without affecting the Qin Dynasty, that would be quite good.

"No one of a different surname may be king, meaning that no one who is not a descendant of the Ying family may be king. More specifically, no one who is not a descendant of the emperor may be king."

Fusu's words made Ying Zheng nod repeatedly, "I like this, please continue..."

"The term 'granting a king but not a fief' means that younger brothers can be granted the title of king, but they cannot live on the fief themselves. Instead, they must reside within the city of Xianyang. The younger brothers' livelihood depends on the taxes levied on them, but other military and financial powers remain under the control of the emperor."

“The system of prefectures and counties and enfeoffment was implemented in parallel. Although there was only one nominal title of king, unlike the feudal lords of the past who had great power, their descendants could still enjoy wealth and honor for generations.”

"Great men love power, while lesser men love money. Once a person becomes addicted to wealth and luxury, he will lose his ambition. Even if he himself has the heart to rebel, his family members may not share that heart."

"Father, you treated the surviving families of the six kingdoms well, wasn't it precisely to make them complacent with wealth and status and neglect their desire for revenge?"

"What's wrong with giving him a nominal marquisate? It's just temporary support, and it'll prevent others from saying that Father Emperor is cruel and ungrateful."

After listening to Fusu's words, Ying Zheng stroked his beard and nodded. "Then what does 'granting favor and lowering rank' mean?"

"After the feudal lords die, their fiefdoms will be divided into several parts. At that time, regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate sons, all sons will have the right to inherit. Moreover, with each inheritance, their rank will be lowered by one grade. After several generations, if they are not capable of emerging, they will eventually become commoners."

Fusu's suggestion tempted Ying Zheng, but he dared not agree easily. He could only say, "Your idea is not bad, but I want to think about it some more. You may leave now."

After Fusu took his leave, Ying Zheng sat alone in the study for a while, lost in thought, and then said, "Summon Li Si."

In the darkness, palace servants immediately withdrew.

Li Si was also at the banquet at the time. After such a major event, Li Si, who knew Ying Zheng's personality well, naturally could not go home peacefully. Instead, he chose to wait aside for Ying Zheng to summon him.

Therefore, not long after, Li Si rushed over.

"Your subject Li Si greets Your Majesty," Li Si said, kneeling on the ground.

"Please rise, Minister Li." Ying Zheng waved his sleeve and gestured for Li Si to stand up.

After Li Si stood up, he looked at Ying Zheng and asked, "Your Majesty, did you summon me because of Chunyu Yue?"

“Indeed, that is the matter at hand. I wonder what your opinion is, Minister Li?” Although Fusu had given him a good idea, Ying Zheng still wanted to ask Li Si’s opinion first.

Among Ying Zheng's ministers, Li Si had made the greatest contribution. If he were to be enfeoffed, Li Si's fiefdom must be the largest and most extensive; otherwise, it would not be enough to win the hearts of the other ministers.

Therefore, Ying Zheng wanted to see what Li Si was really thinking: whether he wanted to gain wealth and status like everyone else, or whether he was wholeheartedly loyal to him.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable."

"Whether it's the system of the Five Emperors or the systems of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, they are all just old systems. Your Majesty's ambition to establish a great cause and build an everlasting legacy is something those corrupt Confucian scholars can't possibly understand. Besides, Chunyu Yue was talking about the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. What's there to learn from them? It was just that the world was in turmoil and the feudal lords were rising up, which is why they recruited so many persuaders. Now that the world is at peace, the laws are issued by Your Majesty alone, and all the talented people are under Your Majesty's control, it is the time to live in peace and prosperity and recuperate. How can we allow those Confucian scholars to use the past to satirize the present, slander the current era, and confuse the people?"

"Your subject Li Si, risking the death, offers this advice: In ancient times, the world was in chaos, and no one could unify it. Therefore, feudal lords rose up, and their words were all based on quoting the ancients to harm the present, using falsehoods and empty talk to confuse reality and name. People only appreciated the knowledge they had learned in private and criticized the system established by the court. Now the emperor has unified the world, and the distinction between right and wrong is made by the supreme emperor alone. However, private schools have been criticizing the laws, teaching people that as soon as an order is issued, they will discuss it according to their own knowledge. They criticize it in their hearts when they enter the court, and go to the streets to talk about it when they leave the court. They boast before the emperor to gain fame and fortune, pursue strange theories to elevate themselves, and lead the spread of slander among the people. If this is not prohibited, the emperor's authority will decline, and the power of factions will form below. I believe that it is appropriate to prohibit these things."

"I request that the historians be ordered to burn all books not belonging to Qin. Except for those under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Academy, all those who dare to possess the *Book of Poetry*, the *Book of Documents*, or the works of the various schools of thought should be sent to local officials to be burned together. Anyone who dares to discuss the *Book of Poetry* or the *Book of Documents* should be executed as a warning to others, and those who use the past to criticize the present should have their entire family executed. Officials who know about these matters but do not report them should be punished as accomplices. Those who fail to burn the books within thirty days of the order should be branded on the face, sentenced to four years of hard labor on the city walls, and exiled to the frontier to defend against bandits by day and build fortifications by night. The only books that will not be banned are those on medicine, divination, and agriculture. Anyone who wants to learn the law should take officials as their teachers."

"Burning books?" Ying Zheng gasped. He knew his prime minister was a ruthless man, but he never expected him to be this ruthless.

If the burning of books were to succeed, Ying Zheng would inevitably bear a nameless infamy for all time, and Li Si, the proposer, would become an enemy of all families, and would inevitably be cursed with "dying offspring." Therefore, Ying Zheng really didn't know whether to be angry or moved when Li Si proposed this idea.

Luckily, Su'er had the idea first, otherwise... hmph...

According to Ying Zheng's view of people like Chunyu Yue, they would do anything to ensure their names are recorded in history and their fame lasts for eternity, even destroying their families and clans.