Chapter 102: Cheng Jiao hides his strength, the Meng family takes action!
Faced with Wei Zhuang's undisguised words, Li Si did not hesitate to make his position clear in just one sentence.
"May I ask the Left Prime Minister, is this world your Majesty's world, or yours?"
Li Si gave two options, but in fact there was only one choice - Wei Zhuang could only choose the former.
Choosing the latter is not asking for a fiefdom, but asking for death.
But choosing the former was not the end of the matter. As long as Wei Zhuang said the five words "It is your Majesty's world", Li Si would continue to attack: Since the Left Prime Minister said it is your Majesty's world, then you want to divide your Majesty's world. Where does your Majesty stand? Where do I stand?
As the left prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, it was not easy for Wei Zhuang to be tricked.
You gave only one choice, so I will fill in another answer.
He clasped his hands together and gestured to Ying Zheng, saying loudly: "This is your Majesty's world, and it also belongs to everyone in the world."
This response was flawless and expressed in a righteous manner. He neither fell into Li Si's language trap nor upheld his own position.
"What the Left Prime Minister said is very true!"
Chief Censor Feng Quji finally came to his senses and stood up from behind the desk .
"Your Majesty is the king and father, and we are all your subjects and sons. It is our duty to share your worries and solve your problems! Now that the chaos has just ended, the world wants order and the refugees want to return home. We, the common people who are studying abroad, feel the pain of the world being out of order. For this reason, I sincerely hope that Your Majesty will enfeoff the princes, and we are willing to be good assistants, willing to each guard the four directions, so that the world can be governed and the people can return home. In this way, the world will be stable and the Qin Dynasty will last forever!"
Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, and Chief Censor.
The top three civil officials in the court were of the same mind and each expounded his own opinion, elaborating on the necessity and advantages of the feudal system.
Ying Chengjiao looked at the ministers around him.
He saw that each of his ministers was eager to make a move and had the desire to stand up.
Ying Chengjiao sighed.
This scene was something he had never imagined.
What happened made Wei Zhuang break through this layer of window paper.
Doesn't he know that if the county system wins this debate, he will die without injustice?
Wei Zhuang, the left prime minister, was a man of great reputation and prestige.
He stood up to break the tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects and brought the issue of the fiefdom to the table, which produced the alpha wolf effect.
The ministers will no longer have any concerns, they will charge forward bravely following the leader, Wei Zhuang, and spare no effort.
If they win, everyone will get all the land.
In the event of defeat, the first bird to stick its head out will be shot, and Wei Zhuang will not be able to escape death, but the other ministers will remain safe.
Soon, a senior minister with an annual salary of 2,000 dan, who was not one of the Nine Ministers, stood up and said: "Enfeoffment is a great system that has existed in China since ancient times. Without enfeoffment, the Qin Dynasty cannot be stabilized!"
Another high minister stood up and said, "It took the combined efforts of the three dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou, and the ideas of countless sages, to establish the feudal system. Li Tingwei disagrees, but can the ideas of one person be compared to the ideas of thousands of sages from three dynasties?"
"Cheers!" All the ministers shouted.
"The county system is derived from the expanded county system. How can we plan for the whole world if we plan for a local system?"
"The descendants of the ancestors are to be heirs, and meritorious officials are to guard the frontiers, defend against foreign invaders, and guard against treacherous officials at home. This is the law passed down by our ancestors for thousands of years, and the law of our ancestors cannot be changed."
"In the lands of the six kingdoms, the people still miss their homeland, and uprisings and rebellions are endless. If we want to dispatch troops from Xianyang to put them out, the traitors will have left by then. If someone can become a prince nearby and hold military power, we can suppress the rebellion in time. Your Majesty, please enfeoff them!"
“…”
The Qin court was like a pot of boiling water, with large bubbles bubbling out.
Every court official was like a bubble, vying to burst and express what was in their hearts.
They came with great momentum and surging emotions.
Before the first one finished speaking, the second one had already stood up.
Xianyang Palace had never been so lively before, with voices talking continuously without a break.
While the officials supported the feudal system, they also severely criticized Li Si.
Li Si only had time to ask a question before he was knocked to death by the tsunami-like wave.
No matter how eloquent he was, or how rich his knowledge was, it was useless at this moment - he didn't even have the chance to speak.
He could only shut up and sit down, waiting for his ministers to finish venting their opinions and for this wave to pass.
Before this, he had no other options.
He was a respected and awe-inspiring official in the court.
Today, nothing.
He was like a clay or wooden dummy. He could only swallow the saliva that rained down on him and could not even hold up an umbrella.
Li Si stood quietly in the rain, waiting for the wind to stop and the rain to stop. This was the only thing he could do.
His fighting spirit did not drop, but became even higher.
He was waiting, waiting for the moment when he would shine brightly like the scorching sun in the Xianyang Palace.
Although at this moment, he felt a little lost in his heart...
All loyal ministers are like this, Li Si, you should have known this long ago.
Li Si laughed at himself.
He didn't know how long he would have to wait, a cup of tea, a stick of incense, or half an hour.
But he knew there was nothing he could do but wait.
Only the First Emperor could stop the ministers, but he could not leave at this moment.
Before the great debate on the feudal system and the county system came to a conclusion, the First Emperor's entry into the debate was biased and he was taking sides.
This was a lonely battle that should only be fought by Li Si, for his dream of becoming prime minister.
However, a series of thundering and clanging sounds suddenly rang out.
Soon, all the ministers' passionate speeches turned into exclamations and angry scoldings.
"What are you doing, Chang'an Jun!"
"Ying Chengjiao! How dare you lift the lid of my table!"
"You bastard, you are not a human being!"
“…”
The rain of saliva in the sky disappeared ahead of time, rescuing Li Si.
Li Si was shocked both physically and mentally.
When he turned around, he saw Ying Chengjiao wandering angrily among the crowd, overturning every table in front of him.
Tables and cases flew around, hitting one minister's feet or another minister's arms, and all the ministers were in a panic.
The most infuriating thing is that Ying Chengjiao didn’t even overturn the desks of any of his military generals, but instead overturned the desks of those civil officials who were old, weak, and couldn’t beat him - Ying Chengjiao only bullied the elderly.
These old men were unable to defeat Ying Chengjiao, nor could they stop him from continuing his actions. They could only angrily rebuke and curse him.
A solemn and dignified court meeting where the public was filled with rage, turned into a scene where Ying Chengjiao was cursing like a shrew in the market.
The ministers were in chaos.
Tables and desks were scattered everywhere.
Longxi Hou Li Xin snorted coldly and was about to leave to stop this farce.
Suddenly, a steady and powerful hand was placed on his shoulder, exerting force downward to prevent him from standing up.
"Brother Xin, would you please sit down?" Meng Tian asked gently.
But the unyielding attitude in those words and the gradually increasing strength in the palm were not warm at all.
It is said to be an inquiry, but it is actually a notification.
Li Xin was not afraid of Meng Tian, but he respected Meng Tian.
He always believed that he had suffered a great defeat in the war against Chu. If it had not been for Meng Tian, he would have been buried in the ground by now.
Although he was surprised as to why Meng Tian helped Ying Chengjiao, this did not stop him from accepting Meng Tian's request.
"Brother, listen to your words."
Wang Ben watched from the side, frowning. He wanted to take action but didn't know whether he should, so he looked at his father who was sitting next to him.
Wei Zhuang is not afraid of death. This opportunity is rare in a lifetime, but this guy goes crazy at this time. It's bad news!
Wang Jian, who was no longer pretending to sleep, had a flash of anger in his eyes and nodded at Wang Ben.
This man with the most military achievements in the Qin Dynasty finally decided to join the fight and support the feudal system after the fearless Hu Prime Minister Wei Zhuang broke the window paper!
With Wang Jian's permission, Wang Ben stood up and passed half of the crowd.
A huge hand suddenly appeared and pressed down on Wang Ben's shoulder, forcibly pressing down this Qin army member whose military achievements were second only to his father's!
"Nephew, would you please sit down?" Meng Wu asked in a gentle voice.
The irresistible tone in those words and the constantly increasing power in his arms were three times stronger than that of his eldest son Meng Tian!
Wang Ben did not respond, but turned his head to look at Wang Jian's expression.
Wang Jian looked extremely solemn.
He looked at this old friend who had never made any great achievements in his life, whose official position and title were lower than those of his eldest son, and who had joined the army at the same time as him, and said in a deep voice, "What do you think, Lord Meng?"
Meng Wu, the most invisible patriarch of the Meng family who had no reputation in his life, grinned.
Although there was no sound, anyone could tell that Meng Wu was laughing!
Meng Wu pressed Wang Ben with his right hand and pointed at himself with his left hand. He laughed silently until tears came down.
"Mengwu's intention."
Wang Jian had never seen Meng Wu like this. In fact, he had never thought highly of this general of his time.
If the Meng family did not have Meng Ao, a man of outstanding achievements who served four Qin emperors, Wang Jian would actually not bother to care about Meng Wu.
Born in the Meng family, taught by Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an, and personally taught by Lord Meng, Meng Wu, who had mediocre military achievements, was not worthy of Wang Jian's respect.
Therefore, although Wang Jian felt that Meng Wu at this moment made him feel a little strange.
But when Wang Jian heard that it was not Meng Ao's intention, his eyes straightened.
"I will not follow your intention."
Under the murderous gaze of the Great Qin War God, Meng Wu placed his left hand on the shoulder of the Great Qin War God.
"In the battlefield, I am not as good as you in martial arts. In the court today, you are not as good as you in martial arts. If Marquis Wucheng doesn't believe me, you can give it a try."
When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong!
Wang Jian narrowed his eyes, thinking of the new grandson in the mansion whom he named Wang Li, and of his existing fiefdom of Wucheng. He thought that whether or not to stop Ying Chengjiao would not actually affect the outcome of the dispute over fiefdoms and counties.
So this man with the most military achievements in the Qin Dynasty pierced Meng Wu with his eyes as sharp as a sword and said in a cold voice: "Wang Jian has just realized Meng Wu today."
Wang Ben, the second most meritorious military officer of the Qin Dynasty, saw his father like this and naturally did not say anything more.
Meng Wu did not respond to Wang Jian's words.
He held Wang Jian with his left hand and Wang Ben with his right hand, and his arms pressed on Wang Jian, forcing the Wang family, which had recently become the number one military family in the Qin Dynasty in the minds of many people, not to move rashly.
This ordinary Wang family patriarch looked at the still-making a fuss, and said with a smile in a voice that only he could hear: "Little Qin Wang, you have a bad temper."
In the court, for every general who wanted to stop this farce, there would be another general beside him.
Those who appeared later were either from the Meng family or military generals with old ties to the Meng family. Each of them was very polite and courteous.
They would gently ask the generals who wanted to stand up: "Would you like to sit down?"
answer.
It's good for both you and me.
No.
The generals' pupils suddenly shrank as they looked at Meng Wu, who was holding down Wang Jian with his left hand and Wang Ben with his right hand. Who would dare not respond?
There were one or two military generals who were unwilling to submit, unruly and tried to break free.
When the second Mongolian general, the third Mongolian general, and the fourth Mongolian general surrounded him.
He asked gently, "Would you like to sit down?" while eight strong arms pressed down on his shoulders.
The two angry generals had difficulty breathing, so how could they stand up and say "no"?
Meng Wu of the Meng family brings his family members into the venue.
It was not for the almighty Emperor Qin Shi Huang, but for the hot-tempered young King Qin.
After this court meeting, there was no longer any dispute in the Qin State over whether the Meng family or the Wang family was the greatest military family in the Qin State.
The First Emperor took everything that happened below into consideration.
He watched Ying Chengjiao making a fuss and the Meng family making an effort. A hint of disappointment and a hint of satisfaction flashed across his eyes.
Disappointed Ying Chengjiao stood up at this time, satisfied with what the Meng family had done.
Li Si deserves this criticism, so why should we explain it for him?
If Li Si couldn't even bear this, how could he be worthy of the position of Prime Minister?
Although Cheng Jiao's character was much stronger than Fusu's, he was still merciful in the end.
After his father left, Meng Wu followed Cheng Jiao and hid his strength.
It is a happy thing that we have risen today.
Since Meng Wu has risen up, I have no faith in him. If I have not raised up Wang Jian and Wang Ben, I will not be able to pacify the Xiongnu and the Baiyue!
"You're bullying me, aren't you? Li Si said a few words for me, and you're attacking him? You're targeting me, right? What the hell!"
When Ying Chengjiao heard that no one in the hall was trying to remonstrate with him anymore, he sat down on the table, crossed his legs, looked up, and loudly rebuked the ministers.
The ministers were speechless.
Are you worthy enough to have the same level of knowledge as a boy like you?
But they knew that talking to this scoundrel Ying Chengjiao was all nonsense, so they all bowed and complained.
"Your Majesty, I ask you to drive Ying Chengjiao out of the palace! To restore order in the court!"
"If you disturb the order of the court, I will also ask for your help!"
"Your Majesty, it would be unjust if this boy were not punished!"
Peng~
The First Emperor slammed the throne again, furious.
"You are discussing state affairs, what does this have to do with a brat like you! Zongzheng! You don't have to pay this brat's salary for ten years!"
Zong Zheng stood up and responded: "Yes!"
Ying Chengjiao was horrified and said, "Ah? Ten years! Your Majesty, don't want that! I know I was wrong!"
The First Emperor said angrily: "If you still dare to make noise, I will add another year!"
Ying Chengjiao opened his mouth to speak but did not dare to, and sat down dejectedly.
All the ministers were delighted and laughed loudly in the messy Xianyang Palace.
You deserve it!
Ten years of salary!
Look at what this guy has been eating and drinking for the past ten years.
Nei Shi Meng Yi looked at the ministers laughing and felt that they were like monkeys being fooled by others, which was very funny.
To this day, colored glaze is still a precious commodity and is not widely available.
So the ten-year salary that you value so much, for Chang'an Jun who has mastered the method of manufacturing colored glass, isn't it just a matter of selling a few pieces of colored glass?
Thinking of this, Meng Yi suddenly covered his entire face with one hand. He felt very ashamed.
If Meng Wu had not told him yesterday that Ying Chengjiao had invented colored glaze, he would still be a monkey today.
He suddenly realized the image of them in Ying Chengjiao's mind: they were all monkeys.
Wei Zhuang's heart sank.
The first push was strong, the second was weak, the third was exhausted. Chang'an Jun cut off the momentum that I had raised with my life!
With the actions of a young boy, he accomplished such a great thing. It seems that Chang'an Jun has been hiding his incompetence and tarnishing himself all these years!
He made such a big fuss, but Your Majesty was reluctant to punish him. How many pieces of glassware are ten years' salary worth?
What I thought was indeed correct. The Qin Dynasty has had the tradition of the younger brother succeeding the elder brother since ancient times.
Qin II was not the eldest prince, but the Lord of Chang'an!
I cannot ask for a fiefdom from Your Majesty now, and once the vicious Chang'an Jun comes to power, there will be no possibility of a fiefdom.
If Ying Chengjiao knew that Wei Zhuang broke through this window paper today with the determination to die because he, the one who was dedicated to giving hope to the ministers, broke Wei Zhuang's hope, I wonder how he would feel.
Wei Zhuang was just about to bring the situation back on track.
What I heard in my ears was a hoarse, exhausted voice shouting.
His eyes suddenly turned and he saw that the person who made the voice was none other than the Chief Justice Li Si.
Li Si, thank you very much.
He knew some of Ying Chengjiao's background, and naturally knew why Ying Chengjiao did this - Ying Chengjiao was helping him, helping him to get into his rhythm as soon as possible and start his argument as soon as possible.
Only the First Emperor could stop all the ministers.
Only Ying Chengjiao could make all the ministers stop.
He was the Chief Justice of the Qin Dynasty and one of the Nine Ministers.
If Li Si failed at this juncture and failed to seize the opportunity created by Ying Chengjiao, he could commit suicide and go to see his senior brother Han Fei, who was already dead in his heart.
Chang'an Jun has done so much for this, it is enough!
Today, I, Li Si, will be shameless and act as an endorser.
Now let me show you what the county system is.
Amid the laughter in the hall, Li Si screamed at the top of his voice.
" For hundreds of years from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, you abandoned etiquette, threw away musical instruments, and picked up pots and cauldrons as treasures. Over the years, the mountains have fallen into valleys, and the valleys have grown into hills."
"Countries are changing, monarchs are changing, government offices are changing, people are changing, laws are changing, everything is changing, all rivers and streams flow into the sea, and eventually the tide changes dramatically."
"During this period, various schools of thought emerged and competed to explore the way to govern the country. Are the theories of Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, Taoism and the original theories created by Confucius, Mozi, Li Zi and Laozi the same?"
Hearing this, the faces of several ministers present suddenly changed slightly. They wanted to say something, but before they could open their mouths, Li Si's voice continued to reach their ears.
"No! The Hundred Schools of Thought have changed to the point where the other philosophers do not recognize them! Why? The fittest survive and seek change! The Hundred Schools of Thought will eventually lead to a tide of reform."
"What is reform? It is to change the country, the way of governance, the livelihood, and the people. In a nutshell, it is to change the connotation of world civilization! Among all the changes, the core lies in the governance. The governance is like the soil, and the rest is like oranges. Oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while oranges grown in the north of the Huai River are tangerines. If the soil does not change, how can tangerines become oranges!"
"The feudal lords divided the land and ruled separately, which led to continuous wars and unrest in the world. People wanted governance and unity. They wanted to unify the world, to rule by one law, and to abandon feudalism. During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the desire for unity was still in its infancy and had not yet gathered into a great tide, so the sages of our ancestors failed to foresee the general trend!"
"If the world today really implements feudalism, it will be tantamount to abandoning the people's hearts and minds, and will be tantamount to re-planting the roots of division and rule, abandoning China's 500 years of exploration and returning to the old path! You have received the emperor's salary, but if you don't repay the emperor's kindness, are you still a human being? If you stick to the teachings of one school and don't judge the current situation, what is the difference between carving a boat to find a sword!"
Li Si's voice was passionate and he was full of fighting spirit. He stood in the court hall and looked around at everyone with pride.
At this moment, the court also fell silent.
