Chapter 157: The Prime Minister of a Country, a Running Dog for Others
Since ancient times, whoever wins the hearts of the people will win the world.
This statement can be applied to the Han Dynasty, but it does not work and does not make sense in the Qin Dynasty.
Deeply influenced by the legacy of the Warring States Period, the Qin Dynasty had a different view on the word "people" than later generations.
Because the Qin Dynasty did not seize the world by winning the hearts and minds of the people, but by tyranny.
There were two million casualties in the Warring States Period, and Bai Qi killed half of them alone.
Zhang Yi deceived the world, Wang Jian and Wang Ben destroyed the six kingdoms.
There is no word "people" here from beginning to end.
Therefore, the mainstream thought of the Qin Dynasty was:
The people are not the key to conquering the world, but the hard labor to maintain the luxurious life of the monarch and the nobles.
To this day, except for Guanzhong, people all over the world still do not consider themselves Qin people.
Qin had no people's support, but it had the world.
In this situation, who can say that public opinion is important?
Although Mencius shouted the slogan "People are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important" early on, this statement has not been widely recognized.
Except for traditional Confucian disciples, all other schools of thought regarded this statement as a ridiculous remark by the Confucian Mencius.
Just like the Taoist Zhuangzi who dreamed of butterflies, and when he woke up he couldn't tell whether he was dreaming about butterflies or dreaming about butterflies.
Which family doesn’t have one or two famous madmen?
When the ministers had no opinion on Li Si's strategy, Ying Chengjiao pointed out the word "people's hearts". Yes, this is one insight.
But under the circumstances where all the ministers agreed with Li Si's strategy, talking about the people's will was meaningless and untenable.
It is a common consensus that public opinion is far from being comparable to maintaining stability in various regions.
Ying Chengjiao wanted to break public opinion, but it was very difficult, as difficult as ascending to heaven. He could not use examples to tell his ministers the importance of the people.
The State of Lu, which was people-oriented and governed by Confucianism, was destroyed long ago, and the current State of Qin governs by law.
Explaining theories without giving examples may work for that group of Confucian scholars, but it would not work in the Qin court.
The Qin people are not talkative, and theories are of no use.
When Zhang Yi first entered Qin, all the Qin civil and military officials looked at him coldly and disliked him no matter how they looked at him - how could this guy who can only talk be the prime minister? The king is stupid.
When Zhang Yi breaks the alliance of five countries by forming an alliance between Qin and Qi, all the people in Qin will sincerely call him Prime Minister.
The Qin State was a pragmatic and down-to-earth country that did not play tricks.
In the current situation, apart from the First Emperor who could force his ministers to surrender by force, basically no one can break it. There is no second First Emperor in the world.
If he wanted to convince the ministers with reason, he couldn't even invite Zongheng Hou Dun Ruo back, let alone Ying Chengjiao.
When Ying Chengjiao discussed Taoism with the First Emperor in Zhangtai Hall, he had already deeply understood the limitations of the times, which he could not change by himself.
There is no power to suppress the ministers.
There is no reason that can convince the ministers.
Normal people cannot break the impasse.
But Ying Chengjiao can, he is a boy.
Clang~
The table in front of him spun, jumped, flew three feet into the air, and then fell freely and hit the floor tiles heavily.
One of the four legs of the table was knocked off and it lay crooked on the ground.
In the Xianyang Palace, this was the umpteenth time that Ying Chengjiao had overturned the table.
"No reason, just no matter what!"
The ministers who were waiting for Ying Chengjiao to give unique insights were stunned.
With this performance, he is still that brat, what is this!
The First Emperor glanced at Ying Chengjiao and yawned .
"I am tired, I will leave the court."
The ministers were confused.
Your Majesty, are you retiring now?
No policy was implemented at today’s meeting?
If it weren't for the Queen Mother's pressure and His Majesty's decision on the position of Crown Prince, there would be no point in holding this court meeting today.
The two policies proposed by Li Si, namely collecting copper and iron and relocating nobles, were obviously discussed by Your Majesty in a small meeting.
The situation was so good, why was it suddenly not implemented?
The ministers' inquiring gazes shifted to Ying Chengjiao in the front row.
Could it be that it was because Chang'an Jun opposed it...
As the First Emperor left, everyone left one by one.
After leaving the Xianyang Palace, the four Qin officials in the court walked towards Ying Chengjiao with smiles on their faces, and shouted from a distance of ten meters:
"Today, the four of us are having a small gathering at home. We have beautiful concubines at the table and fine wine on the table. Lord Chang'an, would you like some... Hey Lord Chang'an!"
Before the four of them had walked three meters, Ying Chengjiao, with his toes touching the ground, walked very quickly and had already walked thirty meters.
Ying Chengjiao disappeared in a direction opposite to that of everyone else.
The four of them stopped, and the leader looked at Ying Chengjiao's back.
"We'll meet again some other day."
The other three also looked at Ying Chengjiao's back and nodded.
"Chang'an Jun's martial arts are not inferior to our generals."
"Regardless of other things, there are not many people in Qin who can achieve the level of Qinggong."
"Such as Lord Chang'an, the harem is free to move freely. Your Majesty trusts him so much... I will send someone to Lord Chang'an's mansion to present a greeting card."
The leader pondered for a moment.
"I will go myself."
While the four were discussing, many other Qin officials also focused their attention on Ying Chengjiao, and their pace of leaving slowed down.
Ying Chengjiao is the emperor's younger brother, and his interests do not conflict with those of these Qin ministers.
Ying Chengjiao was a coward in the past, and he still behaves like a coward today.
But in the minds of the ministers, this guy is not the same as that guy.
"Why don't you continue to speak, Left Prime Minister? If these two policies are implemented, there will be no more disasters and chaos in the Qin Dynasty. This is a brilliant strategy."
A man walked up to Li Si and walked side by side with him. Li Si was a little surprised.
He was the left prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, and these days countless people had shown their goodwill to him, talked to him, and invited him to their homes.
But Li Si still felt flattered that the person in front of him could find him.
The number one military figure in the Qin Dynasty, Wei Liao, the national commander, was the chief military commander who had never fought on the battlefield.
Li Si stopped and half turned around.
"Your Majesty is tired. How can a subject force his master to do something he does not want to do?"
"Can you trust what the Left Prime Minister said?"
Li Si said nothing.
"I saw that all of you looked at Lord Chang'an and slowed down your pace. Only the Left Prime Minister had difficulty walking and did not turn around. He was not afraid to face Lord Chang'an. Why didn't you say anything?"
Having said this, it has been made clear.
Wei Liao was in his fifties or sixties, and he spoke directly without beating around the bush.
Li Si seldom dealt with Wei Liao. The two were not in the same department or category, and had little in common.
This conversation with Wei Liao gave Li Si a preliminary understanding of what kind of person this national commander, who was usually taciturn, was.
It can only be said that a disciple of the military strategist who has never been to the battlefield is still a disciple of the military strategist.
Hearing Wei Liao's words targeting Ying Chengjiao, Li Si approached Wei Liao with a stern face, forgetting all the respect he had just shown to this number one military figure.
"We are in a hurry to go to the palace of Lord Chang'an."
Wei Liao was surprised and squinted his eyes to look deeply at Li Si, who seemed like a different person.
He didn't understand why Li Si wanted to protect Ying Chengjiao so much.
You, Li Si, are the most favored minister in His Majesty's eyes. You are also talented and hold the position of Prime Minister.
"If Your Majesty knew that the Prime Minister of a country was a lackey for others, wouldn't he be unhappy?"
"I heard that there was a country in the past. The greatest general of this country, Yu Guo, had no martial arts skills, but he had always been sitting in the position of general. Compared with this shameless general, what I, Li Si, did today is nothing?"
