Chapter 11: What do you want?
In this world, Ying Fusu was born as the eldest son of the Qin State, and could be said to have a first-class family background.
As long as he proceeds step by step in this way, the huge Qin Empire will sooner or later fall into his hands.
After Ying Zheng conquered the world, his dream was: I will be the first emperor, and future generations will count me, and the second, third, and even ten thousand generations will pass on my throne forever.
It must be wishful thinking for Ying Zheng to want to rule the country forever.
But passing the throne to Ying Fusu and letting Ying Fusu become the Second Emperor of Qin would definitely be as stable as an old dog.
Ying Fusu doesn't need to do anything much. As long as he doesn't make any mistakes, the Qin State will be his.
Not to mention that Ying Fusu has been well-known for his virtue in recent years. People all say that the eldest prince is virtuous, courageous and has an excellent reputation.
Just continue to follow this routine for maybe ten years, maybe twenty years.
Sitting on that supreme throne was Ying Fusu.
This principle was not difficult to understand for the people of Qin State; even women and children in the countryside understood it.
Therefore, Ying Fusu openly contradicted the First Emperor Ying Zheng in the court yesterday and came up with an idea that was so bad that all the Qin officials did not understand it.
Even Emperor Qin Shi Huang didn't understand it.
But Ying Zheng knew that his son was definitely not a fool, so he revealed to Ying Chengjiao yesterday that there was something fishy about the matter.
Meng Tian thought he understood everything. He believed that Ying Fusu was harmed by the Confucian Chunyu Yue and was misled and instructed by him.
But Meng Tian didn't know that when Ying Fusu contradicted Ying Zheng in the court, the person who was most angry and frightened was Ying Fusu's teacher, Chunyu Yue.
Chunyu Yue wished he was the one who said those words at that time. He would rather die than hear those words come out of Ying Fusu's mouth.
He wanted the Qin State to be ruled by Confucianism, wanted Confucianism to prevail, and wanted Confucianism to replace Legalism and become the most prominent school of thought in the world again.
But he never instigated Ying Fusu to confront the First Emperor Ying Zheng arrogantly.
Ying Fusu took Chunyu Yue as his teacher, learned Confucianism, practiced Confucian ideas, and highly respected Confucianism.
Then after Ying Fusu succeeded to the throne, Confucianism would definitely become the orthodox doctrine of the Qin State, and the world would change from rule of law to rule of Confucianism. This is certain.
However, Ying Fusu succeeded in his challenge to Ying Zheng, and Confucianism became the mainstream school of thought ahead of time.
The probability of this happening is extremely low, because the method chosen by Ying Fusu was too tough and the excuse he chose was extremely poor.
There is a high probability that Ying Fusu will fail, and the price of failure is that by making such a big mistake, Ying Fusu will lose the emperor's favor.
The eldest prince is not the crown prince, but Ying Zheng has never clearly stated that the throne will be succeeded by Ying Fusu.
Once Ying Fusu is no longer the Second Emperor of Qin, and other princes of Qin inherit the throne, then Qin will still be ruled by law rather than Confucianism, and the orthodox status sought by Confucianism will be a distant dream from then on.
Except for the eldest prince Ying Fusu, none of the princes of Qin were close to Confucianism.
Therefore, what Ying Fusu did was extremely risky and not beneficial enough for Confucianism.
Chunyu Yue, who once taught at the Jixia Academy, would never do such a stupid thing.
No one who can step into the Xianyang Palace, the center of power of the Qin State, is a fool.
Ying Chengjiao returned home from Xianyang Palace yesterday, and still hadn't figured out what Ying Fusu wanted.
Neither he nor Ying Zheng believed that Ying Fusu was a fool. They didn't know how ridiculous the advice he was giving was, nor what consequences it would lead to.
My nephew clearly knew everything, so why did he still do this?
He seemed to be deliberately provoking his brother.
What would he gain by angering his brother?
On the way home, Ying Chengjiao kept thinking about this problem. He didn't want Ying Fusu to be exiled to Shangjun by Ying Zheng.
The Qin State had not yet appointed a crown prince, and once the eldest prince Ying Fusu left, the other princes would inevitably compete for the position of crown prince.
Although this was done intentionally by Ying Zheng, he was happy to see it happen. He wanted to see if any of his other sons could come to the fore without the suppression of his eldest son Ying Fusu.
But Ying Chengjiao didn't want to see this scene. He was a time traveler and he knew the answer.
In his previous life, Ying Fusu was exiled to Shangjun, where he committed suicide.
Qin perished in the second generation.
In this life, no matter from which aspect of performance, Ying Fusu is the best candidate for Qin II.
In order to avoid the recurrence of historical tragedy, Ying Chengjiao wanted to keep his eldest nephew in Xianyang.
In order to keep Ying Fusu, they have to help Ying Zheng find out the reason for Ying Fusu's abnormal behavior and who instructed him to do so. This was what the two brothers agreed on yesterday.
Otherwise, Ying Fusu would have to be exiled to the county and build up his majesty on the battlefield! How could an emperor be bullied by his subjects?
When he returned home, he asked Ying Fusu directly, but of course he got nothing.
When Meng Tian interrupted, Ying Fusu scolded Meng Tian. When he kept Meng Tian, he actually didn't have much hope.
He didn't think he would learn the truth from Meng Tian because Ying Fusu's behavior was too deliberate.
Meng Tian was of similar age to Ying Zheng and they were very close friends. He was Ying Fusu's elder. How could Ying Fusu, who was deeply influenced by Confucianism, rebuke his elders like that?
It seemed as if Ying Fusu did it on purpose and deliberately let Ying Chengjiao keep Meng Tian.
"Before leaving, you have to focus your uncle's attention on Confucianism. Do you think it's worth it now?"
Ying Chengjiao said softly.
"After the court meeting, go and have a chat with my brother. You are father and son first, and then monarch and subject."
While Ying Chengjiao was educating Ying Fusu, changes were taking place in the court.
The hidden leader of Confucianism, the teacher of the eldest prince Ying Fusu, and the Minister of State Chunyu Yue actually spoke for Chang'an Jun Ying Chengjiao.
His words were so sharp that he even criticized the First Emperor Ying Zheng, which caught the entire court off guard.
Yesterday , the eldest son contradicted your majesty, and today, Chunyu Yue contradicted your majesty. What is the Confucian school going to do? Are they tired of living?
The Chief Justice Li Si stood up, his face was naturally cold and stern.
"Your Majesty, Chunyu Yue has no respect for the emperor. I request that he be expelled!"
"Qin ruled by law. Is there a law that punishes people for speaking out? Since I have committed no crime, why did the court judge expel me?"
Li Si turned around and faced Chunyu Yue.
"I heard that Duke Jing of Qi once asked Confucius about government, and Confucius replied: 'The ruler should be a ruler, the minister should be a minister, the father should be a father, and the son should be a son.' May I ask Chunyu Pushe, what does this mean? Does Chunyu Pushe's actions conform to what Confucius said?"
Chunyu Yue had just used the Legalist philosophy to refute Li Si, and Li Si, in turn, questioned Chunyu Yue using Confucianism.
But Chunyu Yue's knowledge was not fake. He said calmly, "Confucius said that the king should do his job, the minister should do his job, the father should do his job, and the son should do his job. Everyone should do his job and be responsible for his own duties. Yue is a minister. Correcting the mistakes of the king he serves is Yue's job. It is in line with what Confucius said."
"Chun Yu Pushe's first explanation was very good, but I don't agree with what he said later."
Li Si said in a serious tone, "Rewarding or punishing a minister is something that the king needs to consider. As a minister, you want to deal with Chang'an Jun according to your own ideas. Is it what a minister should do to think about the king's affairs?"
"When the king makes a mistake, it is the minister's duty to point it out. How can Li Tingwei say that this is not what a minister should do?"
"When the king makes a mistake, the ministers should point it out, but how can Chunyu Pushe prove that it was your majesty who made the mistake, and not Chunyu Pushe?"
Chunyu Yue showed displeasure and said, "I have already told you the reason why Your Majesty should not punish Chang'an Jun. Does Li Tingwei want me to repeat it?"
Li Si remained and replied: "If a leaf covered your eyes, even if I took you to Mount Tai, you would not know that it was Mount Tai."
Chunyu Yue sighed inwardly.
Li Si's words were a double entendre, how could he not hear it?
This statement implies that he is short-sighted and fails to see that there is a deeper meaning behind Ying Zheng's punishment of Ying Chengjiao.
He was also advising him to give up, broaden his horizons, and not offend Ying Zheng by making friends with Ying Chengjiao, as the loss would outweigh the gain.
Chunyu Yue and Li Si were both from the Jixia Academy and studied together.
Although now one is a Confucian and the other is a Legalist, they were once fellow students after all.
Li Si asked to expel Chunyu Yue from the court because he wanted to put an end to the matter.
He stood up to argue with Chunyu Yue in order to control the development of the situation.
If he did not stand up, the one who would be in opposition to Chunyu Yue would be the First Emperor who ruled the world.
Li Si, thank you for your kindness.
But this time, I have to do it, even if it goes against my conscience.
"A gentleman talks about righteousness, while a villain talks about profit. I talked about righteousness with the Lord of Justice, and the Lord of Justice talked about profit with me. We cannot work together if we have different ideas. I think there is nothing more we can say to each other."
"To know what you know and to know what you don't know is knowledge. To know is to know, and to not know is to not know. This is the behavior of a wise man. Chunyu Pushe clearly doesn't know, but he pretends to know everything. There is really nothing to say to you."
Li Si turned around, crossed his hands in front of him, and bowed slightly.
"Your Majesty, your subject, Li Si, please drive these arrogant people out of the Xianyang Palace!"
Give up, Chunyu Yue, and stop talking.
Whether Chang'an Jun is punished or not is not of great significance in itself.
Chang'an Jun was unable to expand the territory, nor could he offer advice, and he also caused the shame of Tunliu.
How can the way such a person handles things be compared with the prestige of Your Majesty?
Even if Your Majesty is wrong and you Chunyu Yue are right, so what?
You have offended His Majesty for a fool. Will His Majesty be grateful for your kindness?
Your Majesty can accept an offense, provided that the consequences of the offense can benefit the Qin State.
If you keep Chang'an Jun's salary for a year, what benefit will it bring to the Qin State?
The moment you stand up, you've already lost.
The longer you stay in Xianyang Palace and the more you talk, the more you lose. Get out...
"Your Majesty, when Guan Zhong was alive, whenever Duke Huan of Qi made a mistake, he would offer advice to correct it. Although this displeased Duke Huan of Qi, Qi nevertheless became the hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period. After Guan Zhong's death, three officials, Kai Fang, Shu Diao, and Yi Ya, flattered Duke Huan of Qi, who was delighted. However, the hegemon was eventually starved to death in the palace by the three men, causing maggots to grow on his body."
"Although I am not as good as Guan Zhong, I did the same thing as Guan Zhong. If Your Majesty expels me today without reason and refuses to listen to my advice, will ministers with the same talent as Guan Zhong dare to give advice in the future? If this continues, all the people who speak in the court will be villains like Li Si. Your Majesty may be happy now, but you will pay the price for it in the future, and the Qin State will also pay the price for it!"
Finished!
This is a big matter!
Li Si's heart sank.
Chunyu Yue's voice, which seemed to be filled with heartache and came from the bottom of his heart, echoed back and forth in the Xianyang Palace.
Meng Tian was secretly delighted.
Chunyu Yue has committed such a suicidal act. Your Majesty will definitely not allow the eldest son to be taught by Confucianism.
Li Xin was confused.
What happened? I had a quarrel with Ying Chengjiao, and your majesty and the Qin Dynasty have to pay the price?
The Right Prime Minister Wang Wan and the Left Prime Minister Wei Zhuang, who were sitting in the front row, looked at each other and saw the doubt and solemnity in each other's eyes.
What exactly does Confucianism want to do?
It's just for the annual salary of Chang'an Jun, why do you contradict Your Majesty like this?
This is a death wish! Do they want to completely ban Confucianism in Qin?
The doubts of the two prime ministers were also the doubts of almost all the court officials in the palace.
What Chunyu Yue did today was exactly the same as what Ying Fusu did yesterday, and both actions were incomprehensible to the ministers.
Ying Zheng lowered his head and smoothed out the wrinkles on his crown.
A passing cloud passed over the sky above the Xianyang Palace, blocking the sunlight shining on the Xianyang Palace, and the Xianyang Palace was shrouded in shadow.
"Chun Yuyue."
Ying Zheng did not look up and spoke in a nonchalant voice. The wrinkles on the crown seemed difficult to smooth out.
"If you say that, what do you want? And what do Confucianists want?"
Lifting his eyelids slightly, Ying Zheng asked doubtfully, "You don't want to live? Do Confucianists also want to live? Or do you think I am weak and won't kill people?"
