Chapter 134: I Didn’t Hear, I Want to Hear Both Sides

The Qin State was an abnormal country.

The First Emperor was an abnormal monarch.

Therefore, the civil officials in the court rose up and attacked Li Si in turns.

Some do it out of selfish motives, while others do it for the righteousness in their hearts.

But most of the generals felt that what Li Si said was right, because the Qin State relied on these to conquer the world.

These military generals were not as eloquent as the civil officials, but the "color" they shouted from below could soar from the Xuanniao Palace to the sky, enough to give Li Si confidence.

The book-burning debate, which was caused by the Confucian Chunyu Yue's suicidal behavior, lasted for about an incense stick of time.

Then all the ministers stopped in tacit understanding and stood up to salute the First Emperor.

"Your Majesty, please make the decision."

Almost everything that needs to be said has been said, and the final decision still lies in the hands of the First Emperor.

During this period, the First Emperor listened carefully to the stories of his ministers.

Partial listening leads to ignorance, while listening to both sides leads to enlightenment.

Although the First Emperor had already made a decision, if what his ministers said was indeed reasonable, he would change it.

But in the end, the First Emperor did not hear any insights that could make him change his mind.

The First Emperor was an emperor. What he pursued was the stability of Qin's rule and how to stabilize it in the shortest possible time.

Before the unification of the country, things like teaching and educating people and freedom of speech that the ministers wanted were not within the consideration of the First Emperor.

Therefore, even though almost the vast majority of civil officials opposed the "book burning", the First Emperor still wanted to do it.

Whatever is right should be done no matter how many people oppose it.

The First Emperor's tyranny was more than ten times stronger than what Ying Fusu had just learned.

"Disputes continue in various places, and the smoke of blockades is everywhere. This is because they are not like the people of the old Qin who only farmed and fought all their lives. I have understood your intentions, but everything should be settled after the Qin Dynasty is stable. In this matter, we should follow the words of the left prime minister and burn the books of the hundred schools of thought, leaving the only copy in the doctor's office."

"As for books on agriculture, medicine, divination, etc., burn them first. Don't keep any old books."

If Li Si said this, the voices of the ministers on the roof of the Xuanniao Palace would be blocked out by him.

There is not a single copy left. What are you thinking?

Will we really only rely on experience, memory, and hands-on teaching in the future?

Is he suffering from madness?

For example.

In the medical system, there are thousands of kinds of herbs, and the properties and efficacy of each herb have been tested one by one by the medical predecessors.

These thousands of herbs did not need to be recorded in writing when teaching disciples, but were only allowed to be passed on through words and deeds.

How many years will this take to teach?

It will take thirty or forty years to lay the foundation.

In ancient times, the mortality rate was very high. There were wars, diseases, robberies and killings everywhere. Even if a doctor could live to be sixty, he would be very lucky.

It takes thirty to forty years to learn and another thirty to forty years to train disciples, so each generation of doctors must ensure that they live to sixty to eighty years old.

If one does not live past the age of sixty, the inheritance will inevitably be incomplete.

This does not take into account the discrepancies caused by learning and the errors caused by word of mouth.

In reality, discrepancies and errors are bound to occur.

Is it difficult to live to be sixty or above? In the Qin Dynasty, it was very difficult.

Due to limitations in medical care, war, environment and other factors, the average life expectancy in the Qin Dynasty was only 20 years old.

Medical practitioners want their successors to live to be sixty years old or above, but this is not possible, which will lead to the inability to continue the medical tradition.

If the medical profession cannot be passed on, the medical link will be lacking in the social system, which will lead to social collapse and continued decline in life expectancy.

What will happen to doctors will never be an isolated case, but will become common.

If the person who said this today was anyone other than the First Emperor, the ministers would immediately start scolding him.

But it was the First Emperor who said this, the one who was making the decision, not the First Emperor who wanted his ministers to discuss it.

Therefore, all the ministers remained silent.

This was not only due to the prestige of the First Emperor, but also due to faith - the changes in the Qin State's system made the ministers love the First Emperor even more.

"Lift it up."

The First Emperor gave an order.

At the entrance of Xuanniao Palace, two eunuchs who had been waiting for a long time entered.

The two eunuchs walked one in front and one behind, carrying a carrying pole on their shoulders. In the middle of the pole was a large basket, which contained dozens of bamboo slips.

"Two people, one for each of you, take your own."

Didn’t you just say that you wanted to burn all the books in the world? Why did you put up another basket of books?

The ministers were puzzled, but they all had high execution ability and took the books on their own.

Soon, every two Qin Chens held a scroll of bamboo slips in their hands.

Ying Chengjiao restrained Ying Fusu and was unable to take it, but he also had a copy in his hand, which was brought to him by Ying Jianglu, the third prince of the Qin Dynasty.

"Third brother, it's futile for you to do this." Ying Chengjiao looked at Ying Jianglu who was staying beside him and refused to leave, and said, "Today, your uncle is making it clear to you. Your eldest brother's performance today really pleased me. You have no chance with me."

Crash~

The wine cups flowed in the winding stream without stopping, and delicious food and fine wines kept flowing along the waves.

Ying Jianglu took a jar of wine from the flowing water and drank it all in one gulp.

"It's better for my eldest brother to be the second emperor of Qin than for other brothers to be the second emperor of Qin. At least I don't have to worry about being killed. I'd rather be a general, but uncle."

An unwilling look appeared on Ying Jianglu's face.

"Can you make Jianglu understand what exactly I lack? Is it just a few palace maids?"

Ying Chengjiao could see that his third nephew was sincere in his words that he had no interest in the throne.

The last look of reluctance on his face was just a request for an answer.

Ying Chengjiao pointed at the bamboo slips and asked his third nephew to spread them out for him.

"You are a human being, who likes to take unconventional paths and is unwilling to climb higher step by step with your feet on the ground. You act like your brother, and you can decide life and death without anyone's advice. But you have not had the adventures of your uncle, and you have not suffered the pain of separation from your brother when he was young."

"I have told you too many of your questions now, and you will not be able to listen to most of them. I will only try to answer a few of them. If you, Ying Jianglu, were the second emperor of Qin, your brothers and sisters would be convinced."

"If they don't obey, beat them into submission."

"You see, the first thing you think about is violence, instead of thinking about why they are disobeying you."

"Our Great Qin is the most powerful in the world because of its military power. What's wrong with General Lu thinking about it?"

"Because you want to be a business keeper, not a founder."

Ying Chengjiao narrowed his eyes, but the words he uttered carried the aura of war and iron horses, which made Ying Jianglu's eyes shine.

"Your father and uncle are still alive. All the wars will be fought in our generation. Qin II was not an emperor who expanded the territory, but an emperor who preserved and built the country. The way of civil and military affairs is to relax and slacken alternately, and the same is true for governing a country."

"For the sake of China's unification, I can accept the implementation of militarism for a while in order to improve our combat power. But militarism must not continue, because it is wrong, deformed, and will lead to the destruction of the country."

"Then why didn't uncle become the second emperor of Qin? In terms of enriching the country and strengthening Qin, and maintaining the legacy, even father is not as good as uncle. When King Wu died after lifting the tripod, he passed the throne to King Zhaoxiang. Our Qin has always had the tradition of passing the throne from elder brother to younger brother."

I don't want to be an emperor, I have no official position, I live a free and easy life, and I have all the wealth and glory I want.

As an emperor, I don’t have much to enjoy, but I still have to go to work every day, with no holidays in 365 days. Am I crazy?

"My uncle is only four years younger than your father. When your father is not around, your uncle is most likely not around either."

Ying Chengjiao said seriously.

While the uncle and nephew were talking in a low voice, the ministers had already taken a general look at the bamboo slips in their hands.

The content on the bamboo slips is easy to understand and not at all unfamiliar, because they are all the simplest Qin characters.

This is a copy of the "Simplified Chinese Characters and Large Seal Characters Comparison Table 1".

The ministers looked at the comparison table and were very clear about the large seal character at the top.

However, the "characters" made up of just a few strokes under the large seal script are really a bit confusing.

Is this a word?

How can it be written like this?

Which country's text is this?

Is there a country called Simplified Chinese in the world?

What does your majesty mean by asking us to look at this?

After most of the Qin Shi Huang and his ministers raised their heads, there was no need for them to discuss the matter this time, and the Qin Shi Huang made a direct conclusion.

"This is the simplified Chinese character created by Cheng Jiao. I have thought about it. How can a country have different writing systems and languages? How can a country have seven different writing systems in common? You should learn the simplified Chinese character first. I want to promote the simplified Chinese character and abolish the original seven writing systems."

"From now on, all writing in Qin will be in simplified Chinese. For books on medicine and divination, the government will transcribe them in simplified Chinese before distributing them to the people."

I see.

Your Majesty is far-sighted.

It turns out that this is the main purpose of burning books.

It makes sense to do this in order to unify the writing system and unify the world as quickly as possible .

The simplified Chinese characters invented by Changan Jun?

What the hell is this!

Can this also be called a word?

Is this beautiful?

Where are the words?

This character doesn't look like a person at all.

All the ministers looked at Ying Chengjiao, and there was not a single good emotion in their eyes when they looked at Ying Chengjiao.

Unhappy, disgusted, why are you making trouble for no reason...

"Your Majesty, you still need to think carefully about this matter. Can this be called a word? It is not feasible if only Lord Chang'an understands it."

"Your Majesty, the character Zhao is known for its strength, and the character Qin is known for its grandeur. How can this simplified character, which consists of only a few strokes, be called a character?"

"Your Majesty, I am not against the unification of writing systems, but why do we have to use the 'simplified characters' invented by Chang'an Jun? Why not use the large seal characters?"

One after another, the ministers began to speak out.

When Ying Chengjiao was receiving the angry glares from many ministers, he shifted all his anger to the First Emperor.

The moment Ying Jianglu helped him open the bamboo slips, Ying Chengjiao himself was a little dazed.

He told the First Emperor that the title of Doctor should be changed to make it more in line with the times and more acceptable to scholars all over the world, but the original character should be retained.

Ying Chengjiao felt that he had gone too far.

Ying Chengjiao didn't expect that his royal brother was even more excessive. His mother did not change a single word or stroke of the characters. They were all modern characters that he had handed over.

Brother Huang, what are you playing?

Can these people accept it?

This spans two thousand years!

The First Emperor gave Ying Chengjiao a look that said "don't worry, I'll take care of everything", and then continued to listen to the speeches of his ministers and continued to watch as they openly and covertly slandered Ying Chengjiao.

Ying Chengjiao almost exploded with anger.

You told me to put my mind at ease so you could do something. What does it mean that you just gave me a look and remained indifferent?

"Wu thinks this calligraphy is very wonderful and can be promoted throughout the country. Chang'an Jun has made such a contribution, which is a blessing for the world. Wu respects Chang'an Jun with a bottle of wine."

Meng Wu completely let himself go, stood up and said with high spirits.

He couldn't say what was good about it, nor could he see what was good about it. After all, it was something made by Ying Chengjiao, so Meng Wu had to help out.

Picking up the wine jar, Meng Wu drank it all in one gulp in front of all the ministers in the hall.

Uncle Wu, why are you causing trouble?

Ying Chengjiao held Ying Fusu with one hand and stood up with the wine jar in the other, also in high spirits.

"Hahaha, thank you General Meng."

Marquis of Wucheng Wang Jian should have been the first one to be conferred the title today, but was disrupted by Chunyu Yue and interrupted by Ying Fusu. Now there is a book burning to promote simplified Chinese characters.

This old general, who had always been cautious and cautious, became furious when he saw his old friend Meng Wu who had suppressed him a few days ago.

"snort!"

Marquis Wucheng snorted coldly and threw the bamboo slips that he and his son Wang Ben held together into the artificial river.

Crash~

The bamboo slips, along with the delicacies, flowed slowly along the river, and the ink dyed the clear water a little black.

"What's the difference between this child's writing and a child's scribbles? Brother Meng, please be careful in what you do. The saying of writing can last for thousands of years!"

When the ministers saw it, their eyes lit up.

Marquis Wucheng stood up?

That's a wave!

Pa pa ...

All the Qin officials who opposed the implementation of Ying Chengjiao's simplified characters threw the bamboo slips in their hands into the stream.

The water gurgled , it couldn't stop...

Too many bamboo slips piled up directly blocked the man-made river.

Throw a letter to cut off the river!

Wang Jian was confused!

As the person with the most military achievements in the Qin Dynasty and the first marquis of the Qin Dynasty, Wang Jian had a great influence.

But no matter how great his influence was, it was on the military, not on these civil officials.

The reason why these civil officials followed his lead was the same as before, they wanted to find someone who was influential enough to stand out and follow them.

If something goes wrong, Your Majesty will be the first to take action; if nothing goes wrong, everyone will be happy, just like Wei Zhuang.

But Wei Zhuang charged forward voluntarily, but Wang Jian did not.

The old general just wanted to avenge Meng Wu, he didn't care whether it was simplified or not.

The Wang family is a family of warriors, not teachers, so they can use whatever characters they want.

When Wang Jian threw the book, he had never considered that such a scene would occur.

Military experts are good at fighting on the battlefield, but it is difficult for them to succeed in official circles. How could Wang Jian have imagined that these civil officials were so shameless?

"What Marquis Wucheng said is absolutely right! I am not as insightful as Marquis Wucheng."

"Your Majesty, the prince has made great contributions to the Qin State, and his intentions must be observed!"

"The old general has a deep understanding of justice and a deep understanding of righteousness."

“…”

Wang Jian never imagined in his life that one day he would be able to command all the civil officials.

These bastards!

Ying Chengjiao was originally very unhappy, but now that he saw Wang Jian was unhappy, he felt very happy.

I can't be the only one who's unlucky!

Tsk tsk, this court is so bloody from beginning to end!

Things like death-defying remonstration and direct criticism are all fake.

Push a person of sufficient importance to the front, regardless of his life or death.

Ensure your own safety first, then talk about your demands; this is the eternal truth.