Chapter 119: Brother Emperor, are you going to trick the Confucian scholars?
"My Royal Brother, please sit down. What is the purpose of keeping the people ignorant? It is to maintain social stability and to facilitate the rule of the royal power. Do you agree with what I say, my Royal Brother?"
The First Emperor raised his hand, his palm facing Ying Chengjiao.
"Don't talk yet. Let me take a break. I can't talk to you seriously right now."
"Why should I delay this? I accidentally created Guo Kai . I'm going to lose anyway, so why not lose to the number one god of war in the Warring States period? The sooner he takes power, the sooner Zhao will die."
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. When the First Emperor heard this, his expression became more complicated.
Therefore, Cheng Jiao really knew early on that if Guo Kai took over, Zhao would be destroyed.
"I need to wait a little longer. You'd better stop talking, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to discuss the Dao with you today."
Ying Chengjiao: ...
Just as the First Emperor could not understand Ying Chengjiao's martial arts plot, Ying Chengjiao also found it difficult to understand the First Emperor's shock.
Guo Kai fled Zhao.
For Ying Chengjiao, this has long been an established fact - it is recorded in history books.
So when Ying Chengjiao decided that sending out troops would only lead to defeat, not victory, his thoughts were very simple.
Anyone in Zhao State could have been given this credit, but Guo Kai was the most suitable person.
First, Guo Kai was not an upright person and would not cooperate with him - if he had cooperated with Li Mu in the first place, Li Mu would have killed him long ago.
Second, it is most beneficial for the Qin State to have Guo Kai in power.
The first god of war in the Warring States period was not just a title:
Lian Po was slandered by Guo Kai and was dismissed.
Li Mu was framed and killed by Guo Kai.
The State of Zhao had two of the four famous generals of the Warring States Period, both of whom were defeated by Guo Kai alone.
There is no reason not to give a push to such a powerful Guo Kai.
However, this was a natural operation for Ying Chengjiao, but it was different for the First Emperor.
Guo Kai was not crowned the number one god of war in the Warring States Period as soon as he appeared in Zhao State.
In his early years, Guo Kai was a companion to Zhao Yan, King Daoxiang of Zhao, and was deeply trusted by Zhao Yan.
When Ying Zheng was young in Zhao State, he met Guo Kai, who was beside Zhao Yan, more than once.
Ying Zheng sat opposite Ying Chengjiao and talked about the past.
"I have seen Guo Kai before. He follows Zhao Yan and obeys Zhao Yan's orders. He is loyal , just like Zhao Gao is to me."
"I have known Guo Kai for nearly ten years. How could I not have seen that he was a treacherous person? Cheng Jiao, can you predict the future?"
Ying Chengjiao's eyes lit up and he said, "Guo Kai at that time is Zhao Gao at this time. My brother must be on guard."
Ying Chengjiao was always wary of Zhao Gao and would take advantage of him whenever he got the chance.
Ying Chengjiao could be more relaxed about Li Si, but he could not be more relaxed about Zhao Gao.
Because Zhao Gao was the personal bodyguard of the First Emperor, it was very easy for him to kill him.
"What a joke! How can you be so prejudiced against Zhao Gao? You have already tested Zhao Gao more than thirty times."
No, I didn't hide that from you. In fact, I tried it more than three hundred times.
"My brother, have you forgotten my eyes?" Ying Chengjiao pointed at his eyes with his right index and middle fingers twice, and said, "In the past, my brother did not realize that Guo Kai was a traitor."
"this……"
Ying Zheng's original attitude of not taking it seriously immediately changed, and he became a little surprised and confused.
There is no other reason. Ying Chengjiao has already proved with facts how sharp his vision is.
The First Emperor nodded solemnly and said, "I understand. You can tell me what you think now."
"More than ten years ago, my brother and I had an argument. What he said enlightened me, and from then on, I no longer dared to look down on the ancients."
"The ancients you and I know are either known in books or are the authors themselves. In the thousands of years of China, how many people have left their names? How many people can be known as authors? They are all rare. We should not belittle ourselves, but we cannot look down on them either."
The ancient people that Ying Chengjiao referred to were people of the Qin Dynasty, mainly the First Emperor.
But the First Emperor thought that the ancient people Ying Chengjiao was referring to were people from the Xia, Shang, Zhou and Warring States periods.
Ying Chengjiao did not expose the truth and continued: "I advocate enriching the people and strengthening the country. I will use paper to replace bamboo slips and use movable type printing to send books of various schools of thought to every household in Qin State, so that everyone in Qin State can learn to read."
"Reduce taxes and allow the people to rest and recuperate. The people will have enough food to eat, and no one will starve to death within the Qin territory."
"I also want to change the Qin law. I have always thought that Qin laws such as 'those who throw ashes on the road will have their hands and feet cut off' are simply unreasonable. Just because you throw ashes on the road, you will have your hands and feet cut off. This is not a law that a human can come up with."
"Brother, do you still remember how you explained this law to me back then?"
"Of course I remember. But I didn't expect that after the quarrel that day, you actually gave up the throne of King of Qin that was within your grasp and gave it to me, who could not compete with you."
The First Emperor thought back to what he had said, and said, "People are afraid of having their hands and feet cut off, but not throwing ashes on the road is something that people are willing to do. To make people act easily and not be afraid is the way to rule. People are afraid of having their hands and feet cut off, but not throwing ashes on the road is something that people are willing to do."
“Let people do what is easy, and at the same time, out of fear, stay away from what the king does not want them to do. This is the way to govern a country.”
Speaking of this, the First Emperor suddenly recalled a discussion he had with his eldest son a few days ago.
"If that rebellious son were here, he would definitely say that I am cruel and inhumane. Hmm? You bastard! Did you teach Fusu a bad lesson? Plant a grain of millet in spring and harvest ten thousand grains in autumn. What did you teach Fusu?"
The First Emperor suddenly became angry when he thought of his eldest son who was still imprisoned in the Da Zheng Palace and was stubborn and unruly.
Bang!
Upon seeing this, Ying Chengjiao slammed the table, the anger on his face even more intense than that of the First Emperor.
"It's none of Naigong's business! Didn't you make him study Confucianism and become stupid? Naigong said a long time ago that he shouldn't study Confucianism, but you didn't listen to him and insisted on doing it your own way, making my nephew like this. How dare you ask me?"
The First Emperor pointed his sword at Ying Chengjiao.
"Isn't it because you are too lazy to teach him? If you were willing to teach him, would I need to let him study Confucianism?"
"Qin is ruled by law, and the environment is cold and harsh. Fusu grew up in such an atmosphere, and he has not experienced the suffering of the people like I have."
"If he doesn't learn to love others, what will happen to him when he grows up? A king who doesn't treat the people as his own will surely be overthrown by the people. Both you and my mother are short-sighted!"
"Do you really think so?" Ying Chengjiao frowned and looked at the angry First Emperor, trying to see if this was what the First Emperor really thought.
According to his impression of the First Emperor, his adopted brother never treated people as human beings.
Otherwise, the Qin State would not have had such a law as "Anyone who throws ashes on the road will have his hands and feet cut off."
"I thought you were trying to win over the Confucian scholars of the world, and you were using the fact that the eldest son of the Qin dynasty was studying Confucianism as an excuse to buy a horse's bones for a fortune."
"I want to win over the Confucian scholars of the world? In this world, I don't need to win over anyone. Those who can display their talents for me, even if they insult and scold me, as long as they can serve the Qin Dynasty and benefit the Qin State, I am willing to worship them as Shangqing."
"As for the Confucian disciples, they can only talk but cannot govern the country, yet they are famous in the world. If they just study hard in the doctoral office, I will support them well. If they dare to disrupt the government and harm the country, I will kill them!"
The First Emperor was domineering and murderous.
Throughout his life, the First Emperor never compromised, tolerated, or practiced moderation.
Whatever the First Emperor believed was right, it would not do even if thousands of people tried to stop him.
The kingly way, the domineering way.
The First Emperor was the one who reached the pinnacle.
The most important reason for the fall of the Second Emperor of Qin was the death of the First Emperor. It is recorded in history that the land was divided when the First Emperor died.
As long as the First Emperor lives, the Qin Dynasty will never be destroyed.
When Ying Chengjiao saw the murderous intent that had condensed into reality in the eyes of the First Emperor, his heart moved.
Is this murderous intention directed against Confucianism?
Does it count as disrupting politics and harming the country to teach your nephew like this?
My brother, are you planning to persecute the Confucian scholars?
The persecution of Confucian scholars in history was clearly persecution of sorcerers, and had nothing to do with Confucianism...
"Royal brother, we are clearly discussing the issue of strengthening a country for the poor and strengthening a country for the rich."
The First Emperor stood there without saying anything and did not respond to Ying Chengjiao for a while.
"Zhao Gao."
Zhao Gao pushed the door open and walked in.
"I am here."
"Let Li Si, Wang Wan, Feng Quji, and Meng Yi lead their respective offices. Within three days, draft the fiefs of the officials in the court and hand them over to me."
"In six days I will hold a grand banquet and enfeoff my ministers. Let Li Si inform Chunyu Yue. In six days all Confucian students, regardless of their official rank or title, will be able to attend the banquet."
