Chapter 104: Jia Wuyan, county establishment, and secret talks with the First Emperor!
The speaker had a tuft of beard on his chin and a thin face. He was a senior minister of the Qin State and a famous family member named Yao Jia.
A few years ago, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han and other countries wanted to unite to deal with Qin. Ying Zheng summoned his ministers to discuss the matter, and Yao Jia volunteered to go on a diplomatic mission to the four countries.
In the end, Yao Jiaxing fulfilled his mission.
With his sharp tongue and money, he stopped the alliance of the four countries, eliminated a disaster for the Qin State, and was appointed as the prime minister by Ying Zheng.
This shows Yao Jia's eloquence.
Moreover, Li Si had been sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Han together with Yao Jia, and the two of them brought back Han Fei together. He had experienced Yao Jia's power at close range, so how could he not be afraid of him?
"Brother Yao, do you also want to speak?" Li Si said.
If possible, he really didn't want to go against Yao Jia.
First, the two of them have a pretty good personal relationship.
The second is fear of Yao Jia.
Even with the perfect county system given to him by Ying Chengjiao, Li Si did not think he would win.
All the schools of thought have their own strengths, and the strength of the famous scholars is debate!
The famous theory that a white horse is not a horse was proposed by a famous scholar.
"The great laws of the country can be decided by the court officials, but not by the Jia family?"
Since their positions were different and it affected future generations, Yao Jia had no intention of backing down.
Li Si took a deep breath and said, "Sir, please speak."
"Jia has a question, when will this road be completed?"
Li Si's expression changed.
He never expected that Yao Jiaqi was so smart and instantly saw through the only flaw in his plan.
He could only grimly say, "Five years at the shortest, ten years at the longest."
"Jia, just assume that the court official has the help of a god and can build a road in five years. May I ask the court official, why has there been chaos in the past five years?"
Yao Jia spoke at a slow pace but pressed on step by step, showing no intention of wanting Li Si to answer.
He did this not to compete with Li Si for a highway, but to compete for a fiefdom.
"Now that the feudal lords have just been defeated and the world has just been settled, the undercurrent of restoration is still surging. In terms of the general situation, if there is trouble in Zhao, Wei and Han, we can still quell the rebellion nearby. However, Yan, Qi and Chu are remote and difficult to govern. If there is an unexpected rebellion, Xianyang will be out of reach."
"The danger at this time is similar to the beginning of Zhou's conquest of Shang. If the Qin wants to pacify the world, it should temporarily follow the feudal system and enfeoff the emperor's sons as feudal lords to guard remote borders in order to stabilize the world. This is a temporary plan."
Yao Jia took a step back to advance. He did not say that he would implement the feudal system completely, but rather that it would be temporary.
But now that the land has been divided up, it’s not easy to get it back.
"color!"
The ministers cheered.
The appearance of Yao Jia greatly emboldened the officials. In terms of eloquence, few of the various schools of thought could compete with the famous scholars .
Li Si's heart sank.
In fact, Yao Jia's remarks did not faze him, as he could refute them.
But it’s okay this time, but what about next time?
This is the famous artist Yao Jia!
It's useless to think too much. No matter who stands in my way today or who stops me from becoming the prime minister, it won't work!
A fierce look flashed in his eyes and he was about to speak.
An arrogant voice spoke before he could finish his words.
"Your feet are so majestic!"
Another Qin official dressed in the attire of a senior official came out. He was seven feet tall, with his eyes high above his head, and faced Yao Jia.
Judging from the situation, it seems that he is going to compete with the famous artist Yao Jia.
Li Sifu was suddenly enlightened and turned his head to see Ying Chengjiao.
Seeing Ying Chengjiao wink at him, he felt relieved.
Today, with Lord Chang'an in the court, we can rest assured.
…
A few breaths ago, when Yao Jia had just spoken, Ying Chengjiao pulled the official uniform of a Qin official beside him and whispered, "Return the favor!"
The Qin official was half a head shorter than Ying Chengjiao when he sat down. Hearing this, he also whispered, "Why are you returning?"
Ying Chengjiao stared at Yao Jia who was moving slowly.
"You remember what I told you about the county system that day, right?"
Qin Chen looked unhappy.
"Li Si can remember it, so why can't I remember it? Who should I look down on?"
"Then go ahead and get him!"
"Who? Yao Jia?"
"Yes, exchange it, and we won't owe each other anything."
Qin Chen was silent .
Ying Chengjiao thought it was a refusal, because if the Qin Dynasty implemented the feudal system, this Qin minister beside him would definitely get a fiefdom according to his merits.
"If you don't want to come, then forget it. I don't like to force people. I'll come on my own!"
"Can you win an argument against Yao Jia?"
"I probably won't win the debate, but I want to try." Ying Chengjiao's eyes sparkled, and he said, "I'm very excited to compete with you historical figures in your field of expertise."
"You are a historical figure! Can you speak human language? You always say something unclear and annoying." The Qin official looked at Yao Jia and said proudly, "Watch carefully and learn well. I am not as good as you in academic disputes, but I am invincible in debates."
He slowly stood up, and as he stood up, he said in a voice that only Ying Chengjiao could hear: "I still owe you a life. This trip is not to repay you, but to repay the emperor. I am a minister of Qin. Since I have eaten Qin's salary, I should repay Qin's kindness. I hope that this world will only have the Great Qin, only China."
…
Originally, Yao Jia's appearance had made all the ministers overjoyed. They were so happy that they almost flew into the air, confident that they had won.
But the appearance of this seven-foot tall and proud Qin minister made the officials feel depressed.
Because this Qin minister was called Dun Ruo.
Dun Ruo was a diplomat in the late Warring States Period. He was unruly and unruly. There were two things about him that made him famous throughout the world.
First, he saw that Ying Zheng refused to bow, and then he denounced Ying Zheng for being unfilial by imprisoning his mother.
Secondly, he wanted to alienate the harmony between the ruler and his ministers of Zhao State, and wanted King Zhao to kill Wang Jian, the god of war of Qin State, and to make it difficult for the Qin army to advance further.
The life trajectories of Dun Ruo and Yao Jia are highly similar.
Like Yao Jia, Dun Ruo also used his mouth and the money given by Ying Zheng to lobby the four countries and break up the alliance of the four countries with his words and money.
The difference between Dun Ruo and Yao Jia lies in the four countries they lobbied. Compared with Yao Jia, he had one less country, Chu, but one more, Wei.
It was also due to the different lobbying environment. When Yao Jia traveled, Ying Zheng openly sent him off with great gifts. All the countries knew that Yao Jia was a minister of Qin, which was clear.
When Dun Ruo went out, Ying Zheng did not show up, nor did he admit that Dun Ruo was from Qin. All the other countries regarded Dun Ruo as a commoner, which was a secret.
Therefore, although both of them made great achievements in lobbying the four countries.
But compared to Yao Jia, who wore a golden medal that was "valued by the King of Qin" and was immune from death, Dun Ruo's situation was more dangerous.
"Dun Shangqing? Why is he against Yao Shangqing?"
"Dun Ruo's merits are enough to earn him a fiefdom, so how could he..."
"Another one who has gone mad like Li Si!"
“…”
The ministers were whispering.
Wang Wan, Wei Zhuang, Feng Quji and others who had had in-depth exchanges with Yao Jia a few days ago suddenly changed their expressions.
No wonder we were looking for Dun Ruo, but he couldn't find him. He actually didn't want to divide the fiefdom. Now we can only see if Yao Jia can win the argument...
"After the Warring States Period, the world has become one of two ways of governing: feudal princes, and county rule. Now, my lord, you are discussing the way of governing, and you want to first divide the feudal lords and then change them. If you are not naive and unreasonable, then you are not right in mind and your heart is not right."
"Dun Ruo dares to ask the Lord: When the world is unified and the fiefdoms are first divided and then the counties are established, when the counties are established, can the princes give up their land and return their titles? Today, there are no princes in the court, but the situation is like this. When you have a large army and rich wealth, will you give it up?"
Crazy, all crazy!
Zuo Xiang is crazy, Li Si is crazy, and Dun Ruo is also crazy!
Such things should be kept tacitly understood, how can they be announced out loud?
As Dun spoke weakly and eloquently, the faces of the ministers became paler and paler, and they would steal a glance at the expression of the First Emperor from time to time.
The First Emperor's expression was the same as when Li Si had said that he would mobilize the laborers who had renovated the imperial palace and the imperial mausoleum to build the highway. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry, and the ministers became even more panicked.
Wang Wan, Wei Zhuang, Feng Quji and other top supporters of the feudal system also became increasingly disillusioned.
They have a feeling that today, the county system should have won.
Yao Jia's face was no longer calm, and this famous scholar was in turmoil inside.
It wasn't that Dun Ruo's words were so sharp that he couldn't cope with them, but that Dun Ruo was more outspoken than him.
Dun Ruo was just like Li Si, pointing fingers at them and saying that they wanted to rebel in the future and not follow the rules.
"At that time, the empire was in chaos and the government was in a mess. Were we planning for chaos or order? Furthermore, if we were to decide the governance of the empire based on geographical proximity and the difficulty of quelling chaos, and be strict with those who were easy to govern and lenient with those who were difficult to govern, wouldn't that be condoning the lawlessness of distant governments and chaos? With such a governance, where is the fairness of Qin law! Where is the righteousness of heaven and earth!"
After Dun Ruo finished his argument, Yao Jia looked gloomy. He did not think that he was weaker than Dun Ruo.
But in debates, one is cautious and the other dares to say anything. When there is a big gap in level, they can make up for it with technology, such as him and Li Si.
But when the levels are almost the same, such as him and Dun Ruo, how can he win?
This is like playing Honor of Kings, Yao Jia is in the King rank, but he can beat Li Si who is in the Diamond rank with 150 inscriptions with 0 inscriptions.
But if he faces someone who is at least a King as well as him and is weaker than him with 150 inscriptions, he will definitely lose.
Yao Jia actually had the intention to retire, but if he continued like this, it would seem that he was too incompetent.
If I had known that Dun Ruo stood on the side of the county system, I would not have responded to the request of Wang Wan, Wei Zhuang and Feng Quji.
Why bother if you end up with a ruined reputation when you're old?
"When King Wu of Zhou founded the country, the territory was only two million li. By the time our Great Qin conquered the world, the territory had reached seven million li. The territory has expanded more than three times, all thanks to the feudal system."
Yao Jia's self-governance is bound to lose, but in order to protect their reputation, they cannot lose so quickly and have to continue to lose.
"Ridiculous! When King Wu of Zhou founded the country, his territory was two million li. When our Great Qin conquered Zhou, Zhou only had Luoyi, a city. This is the merit of enfeoffment!"
Dun Ruo responded without hesitation.
He has never lost a debate with anyone in his life.
The debate between two men recognized as the most eloquent in Qin had begun.
The ministers held their breath, they all knew that this debate would determine the feudal system or the county system.
Even Wang Wan, Wei Zhuang, Feng Quji and others were like this, and they were concerned about it.
But Ying Chengjiao, who was very excited just now, lost interest after listening to Yao Jia's first speech to Dun Ruo.
Yao Jia's previous remarks to Li Si were quite aggressive.
But when he spoke to Dun Ruo just now, he only talked about the advantages of the feudal system.
Based on this alone, Ying Chengjiao knew that Yao Jia was afraid of fighting.
Those who fear war will surely fail!
Ying Chengjiao was not interested in a debate whose outcome was already known.
Listening to the two people's heated argument, Ying Chengjiao looked at the Fasheng who were holding their breath.
When things came to this point, Li Si still did not allow these legal students to participate in the discussion.
This proves that the emperor did not choose to use the law as the Legalists' millennium development plan, and the collective wisdom group proposed the option of counties.
Instead, they chose "one country, two systems", with counties and kingdoms running in parallel and adding the Enfeoffment Order.
The more desperate these people are after hearing what Dun Ruo said, the more grateful they will be when the counties and kingdoms are introduced simultaneously and the Enfeoffment Order is issued later.
Very good, it perfectly met my expectations.
Now we just have to wait for Dun Ruo to finish the debate between Yao and Jia, and for the ministers to request the emperor to make the decision, and then the emperor will show his favor.
There is just one thing I don't understand. If this is how the system problem is solved, wouldn't it be the same whether I'm present or not?
What do you want to do behind my back, brother?
…
"Jia is speechless."
Yao Jia let out a long sigh and personally admitted his defeat in the debate with Dun Ruo.
This long sigh was like the first domino to fall, triggering a chain reaction.
All the court officials sighed in their hearts and looked at Li Si and Dun Ruo with hatred.
It was these two people who destroyed the eternal blessings for their descendants!
Dun Ruo smiled proudly and faced the First Emperor on the throne.
The First Emperor looked at Dun Ruo with a strange look in his eyes, and said softly: "Dun Ruo, last time you taught me how to break up the alliance, I promised you the position of Shang Qing. Today you teach me how to govern the country, but if you have any request, just tell me."
Li Si wanted the position of prime minister, so what do you, Dun Ruo, want?
All the officials looked at Dun Ruo, and they also wanted to know what the reward was that Dun Ruo had exchanged for the eternal blessings of their descendants.
The First Emperor was never stingy with rewards for his meritorious officials, and this was something all Qin officials knew.
"What does your majesty ask me for?"
Even when facing the First Emperor, Dun Ruo still remained arrogant.
In the Xianyang Palace, Dun Ruo faced the First Emperor without bowing or making any gesture of respect.
He put his hands behind his back, looked up at the First Emperor, and said loudly: "I have only one wish, I want the world to be free of the art of diplomacy! Your Majesty, can you satisfy me?"
