Chapter 323: Some things have to be done by someone
When Ying Chengjiao first traveled through time, he had thought about killing Zhao Gao and Li Si, the executioners who led to the death of the second emperor of Qin. In terms of future events and historical figures, no one could see more clearly than him.
But as he grew older and gained more knowledge, Ying Chengjiao completely .
There is a saying that small details can be changed, but the general trend cannot be reversed. Ying Chengjiao thinks this is bullshit. It should be that the general trend cannot be reversed, and small details are useless to change.
If the overall environment did not change, Li Si, Zhao Gao, Xiang Yu, Liu Bang and other people who played the vast majority of roles in the demise of the Qin Dynasty would have been killed.
Ying Chengjiao believes that it cannot be said that it is completely useless, but it is indeed not very useful.
"Su Qin, the noble disciple who made Qin afraid to leave Hangu Pass for 15 years and helped the king and nobles to bring the coalition to its peak, once said: 'If I had two hectares of land in Luoyang, how could I wear the seals of the six kingdoms?'
"Your Majesty, there are two ways for Qin to avoid being overthrown: one, immediately eliminate the threat. Two, reform the system and strengthen itself. One can only treat the symptoms, while the other can cure the root cause."
"Does Your Majesty really think so?"
Ying Chengjiao's eyes were firm and there was no hesitation.
Guiguzi pressed a finger on the ground.
“There are so many people in the world, but only one person is gifted with talent. Some of these gifted people are good at reading, and some are good at fighting. But apart from their own strengths, they are no different from ordinary people in other things, and some are even worse than ordinary people.
"If these people were born in commoner families, they would not be able to study or learn martial arts, and their talents would be wasted. Only if they were born in noble families could they learn what they are good at. The difference between nobles and commoners is huge. Those who can avoid wasting their talents are only one in a thousand.
"And those who can make the most of their talents are divided into different levels. For example, the current King of Qin occupies the Purple Star, and is the best king in the history of the world. Even the ancient sage kings, the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors could not match him. If the king sits on his throne, the power of the emperor cannot be compared with his.
"These people are all destined by heaven. They are proficient in the ways that are the best among human beings and cannot be surpassed. The man with double pupils is one of them. Not only is he the most brave and martial, but his wisdom and heart are also favored by heaven. It is impossible to catch up with such people through acquired efforts."
Ying Chengjiao swung the bottle of Han millet wine and said indifferently:
"Cheng Jiao has said before that one person cannot accomplish anything. Moreover, the prince himself said that he would not be the best in all fields. Strong liquor cannot be over-distilled, and the millet of Han can be compared with it in fragrance."
[If I can't compare to Xiang Yu in bravery, then can't I compare with him in other aspects? He could ride a black horse from Qi with two machetes and hack all the way to Xianyang without blinking an eye?]
When Ying Chengjiao first traveled through time, he wanted to kill Xiang Yu as soon as possible when he heard the name Xiang Yu.
But now, even if he gets rid of the mentality of self-reliance, Ying Chengjiao is not afraid.
Among the four famous generals of the Warring States Period - Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Li Mu, Lian Po and Ying Chengjiao - two of them were included.
According to Ying Chengjiao's evil taste, he really wanted to see who was better in a fight between Xiang Yu, the best military strategist, and Li Mu and Lian Po. Ying Chengjiao, who liked excitement, really wanted to see Guan Gong fighting Qin Qiong.
Guiguzi's face darkened.
"After conquering Yue, King Fuchai of Wu became arrogant and didn't listen to Wu Zixu's advice. He didn't destroy Yue's ancestral temples and altars, and spared the life of King Goujian of Yue and kept him as a slave. Later, he was persuaded by Fan Li's beauty to let Goujian return to Yue and release the tiger back to the mountains.
"Your Majesty, what is the difference between your actions today and those of the King of Wu? Your Majesty, do you want me to also say that you will hang my eyes on the walls of Xinzheng?"
Seeing that Guiguzi was extremely serious, Ying Chengjiao tapped the map lightly, pointed at the side of Guiguzi's finger, and said jokingly:
"My Lord, look where we are. This is Qi, and Marquis Wucheng is here. If this boy dares to rebel, Marquis Wucheng will be the first one to not forgive him."
Guiguzi smiled contemptuously.
"Wang Jian led his army to attack Zhao, but was defeated by Li Mu and lost his deputy general. Later, he had to use a counter-espionage plan to frame Li Mu. He led 600,000 Qin troops against Xiang Yan, who led less than 200,000 Chu troops. Although Chu had the advantage of geographical location, it was not enough to fill the vacancy of 400,000 troops.
"Looking back at the battles he fought throughout his life, he always had stronger soldiers and more soldiers than the enemy. Wang Jian was strong because he faced the enemy head-on, using the majority to defeat the minority and the strong to bully the weak. The soldiers of Qi were less than 100,000, and Chongtongzi was able to defeat Wang Jian with his personal bravery and 10,000 men."
The last generation of the Great Qin God of War was described so badly by Guiguzi that Ying Chengjiao cursed him half sincerely and half jokingly:
"You know nothing about the art of war. Are you qualified to comment on Wang Jian?"
"I am an old man of humble talent, but I have two inferior disciples. One is Pang Juan, and the other is Sun Bin."
Ying Chengjiao gave two dry laughs and could only applaud and cheer.
The strategy of diplomacy created by Guiguzi was so dazzling that Ying Chengjiao always regarded him as an expert in the art of diplomacy, forgetting that he was also very good at the art of war.
"No more joking. Anyway, I don't agree with this matter."
"Please give an explanation, my lord."
"I've said it before. In peacetime, don't think about erasing, but think about surpassing. The art of diplomacy is a technique for troubled times, don't use it in prosperous times. In the past, the Korean 'art of governance' was prevalent, and the upper class followed suit, so that the people had no sense of belonging to Korea.
"Now the prince is in charge of Han, and he is in a high position. If the prince does not think about strengthening himself but harming others, isn't he the same as Han in the past? This kind of trend cannot be allowed to run rampant. Thought is the weather vane of a country and determines its culture."
Guiguzi said nothing, but he didn't show any intention of leaving either. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating and drinking.
"Your Majesty , which of these two statements is true: The times make heroes, while heroes make the times?"
"Since the prince asked this, I guess he agrees with the latter?"
"Since this is the case, I personally believe that the changes in the world are not driven by the whole, but by a few talented people. For example, Shang Yang, who reformed to save Qin, Bai Qi, who defeated the world, Su Qin, who wore the seals of the six countries, and Tian Dan, who restored Qi with a single city.
"Without Shang Yang's reforms, Qin would have been annexed by Wei. Without Bai Qi's massacre of millions of people, the Battle of Changping, which left Zhao with a body no taller than a wheelbarrow, would not have unified Qin. Without Su Qin's lobbying for a coalition, Qin might have unified the country a hundred years earlier. Without Tian Dan's charge in the flaming bull formation, Qi would have been annexed by Yan.
"Gu Chan believes that heroes create the times. Do you agree with me, Your Majesty?"
The turning point of history is not a natural process, but a sudden change caused by the will of a few people.
Ying Chengjiao did not deny this.
But what Ying Chengjiao wants to say is that although individual awakening is important, subsequent winning over is even more important!
[If we fail to win over others and do not have sufficient support, we will end up like Copernicus who was burned at the stake for proposing the heliocentric theory.]
"Shang Yang could not have changed the law without the support of Xiao Xian Gong, Bai Qi could not have become a human butcher without the Qin army, Su Qin could not have become the Lord of Wu'an without identifying the common interests of the five countries, and Tian Dan could not have restored his country without the people of Qi.
“It is true that heroes create the times, but heroes alone cannot create the times. Laozi, Confucius, and people with double pupils cannot change the environment alone.”
Guiguzi understood Ying Chengjiao's thoughts.
"I thought that Your Majesty and the King of Qin were one evil and one good, but I never thought that Your Majesty and the King of Qin were just ordinary people, while the King of the Ying clan was extraordinary.
"The King of Qin tolerated Lü Buwei and Wang Jian. He was not afraid of being overwhelmed by their achievements or of their subjects rebelling. He believed that he could suppress them. The same is true for the monarch. The monarch believed that he could suppress Chong Tongzi."
Ying Chengjiao laughed heartily and said:
"If even with all the resources in the world, I cannot surpass Chongtongzi, then it is me, Ying Chengjiao and my brother who deserve to die. How can two pieces of trash be qualified to rule the world? It is better to let Chongtongzi take it."
Dang~
Guiguzi dropped the chopsticks in his hand, which made a slight sound when they hit the plate. The old man opened his mouth, and the meat that had just been put into his mouth slipped from his lips. The old man lost his composure.
When Ying Chengjiao questioned his Yin-Yang magic, the old man did not lose his composure. When Ying Chengjiao refused to kill Chongtongzi, the old man did not lose his composure.
"Sir, what did you say?"
Ying Chengjiao picked up the chopsticks and placed them in Guiguzi's hand, and said in a tone that was half reproachful and half amusing:
"That's too much. This flattery is not smooth at all. You act like this when I say anything casually. You should have shown this when I was reciting in the rain. You should learn from Zhou Qingchen in this regard. He is very good at flattery."
Ying Chengjiao thought this was a disguise of the old man, because the sentence he just said was too simple. Without deep meaning and metaphor, it was impossible for Guiguzi, who was well-educated, to behave like this.
The old man's hands were loose, and Ying Chengjiao placed the chopsticks between his fingers.
Dang~
Fall again.
Ying Chengjiao smiled and pointed at Guiguzi.
"Pretend, keep pretending. Are you addicted to pretending, Prince?"
Guiguzi's four moles trembled. He took a deep breath, placed his shaking hands on the table and pressed hard. The tips of his fingers turned white because he pressed too hard and no blood could flow.
"It's not me who is pretending, it's Your Majesty. If I hadn't let the cat out of the bag today, how long would Your Majesty have wanted to keep it a secret from me?"
Ying Chengjiao was puzzled.
"What have I been hiding from you?"
"Your Majesty just said that it would be better for Chongtongzi to rule the world."
“That’s right.”
Ying Chengjiao looked as if it was a matter of course.
"The world is ruled by the capable. Isn't this the truth since ancient times?"
"There has been no such truth since ancient times. I have never heard of it. Mencius did say something similar. He said: The world belongs to all people, not to one person. Only people with virtue can rule the world.' Merchants also said: 'The world does not belong to one person. Only people with virtue can rule the world.'"
Ying Chengjiao spread his hands, looking puzzled.
"Isn't it just one word? Well, although the meanings are indeed very different, there is no need for the prince to make such a gesture, right?"
Guiguzi didn't know whether Ying Chengjiao really believed this or was just pretending.
There is a huge difference between the two words "德" and "能". The difference of one word can lead to a huge difference in meaning.
But what Guiguzi cares about is not this at all, but the stance.
Mencius and Lü Buwei said this because they were not kings and were not born into a royal family. Although Ying Chengjiao was not a king either, he had a lot of power and was born into a royal family.
Guiguzi was very surprised that Ying Chengjiao didn't want to be king, but he had gotten used to it after so many years.
The sentence "The world shall have the capable one to occupy the throne" made Guiguzi lose his composure because the message Guiguzi got from it was that Ying Chengjiao not only did not want to be king himself, but also did not care whether the Ying family became king or not.
"I just want to ask you one question."
Guiguzi decided not to beat around the bush.
"If the King of Qin dies and the Crown Prince succeeds, and Chongtong rebels against Qin and captures Xianyang and takes over the world, do you think that's okay?"
Ying Chengjiao rolled his eyes.
"Nonsense, of course not."
[It seems that what you said just now was a slip of the tongue. 】
He raised his fingers to pick up the chopsticks, and the front end turned red, indicating that Guiguzi wanted to eat the vegetables.
His fingers haven't touched the chopsticks yet.
"I'm not dead yet, why should I give the world to him? Let him reintroduce the feudal system and make history regress? It's ridiculous."
Guiguzi paused and raised his head slightly.
"What if the Lord is gone too?"
Ying Chengjiao looked at Guiguzi with a look as if to ask if he was seriously ill.
"Now that my father is gone, how can he still be in charge? What does it matter whether I am willing or not?"
"It's really meaningless. Zen just wants to know whether the king cares that the Ying family is the one ruling the country."
[Nonsense, if I wasn't afraid of the demise of the Qin Emperor II, would I have done so many things? ]
Ying Chengjiao's mind was faster than his mouth. Just as he was about to answer, he heard Guiguzi continue:
"The Ying family ruling the world is not important compared to the progress of the world. Your Majesty, please do not deny it. If your Majesty cares more about the Ying family ruling the world, you should promote the feudal system instead of the county system.
"Today I finally understand why Your Majesty wants to reform. Your Majesty is doing great things for the future generations. In front of Your Majesty, even if Mozi were to be resurrected, he would not be praised!"
In this era, the feudal system must be more stable and mature than the county system, and it can unite all the nobles. As long as the feudal system is implemented, it is impossible for the Qin Dynasty to perish in the second generation.
As a time traveler, Ying Chengjiao naturally knew this truth, as it was in the interests of the upper class nobles of this era.
Ying Chengjiao nodded ignorantly.
"Yes, that's right."
He understood what Guiguzi was saying, but he still didn't know why Guiguzi behaved like that. Because this choice was not difficult for him, a Chinese who had traveled through China, a country of 9.6 million square kilometers.
If the First Emperor did not want to abolish the feudal system and implement the county system, then perhaps China would now be a scene of many European countries. If Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty did not establish the Jinshi degree and create the imperial examination, then the caste system in India might still exist today.
Great changes in the world would affect the vested interests, so soon after the death of the First Emperor, the old nobles who no longer had fiefdoms rose up in rebellion and destroyed the Qin Dynasty. So after the death of Emperor Wen of Sui, the aristocratic families whose class system was completely broken supported the new emperor and destroyed the Sui Dynasty.
Of course, the harsh torture in the late Qin Dynasty and Emperor Yang of Sui's vanity were also one of the reasons for the dynasty's demise.
However, if the First Emperor granted fiefs on a large scale, and Emperor Wen of Sui still selected scholars from the aristocratic families, even if the Qin laws were strict, even if Yang Guang was outrageous, the chances of the Qin and Sui dynasties perishing in the second generation would not be high.
Throughout China's entire slave society and feudal society, there had never been a purely peasant uprising that could succeed.
As long as there is no noble taking the lead, and no noble leading the peasants to rebel, the peasants who are at the bottom of society, who cannot read and do not understand the truth, will have no choice but to die with hatred.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who rose to power most legitimately in history, starting with a bowl and rising from a cowherd to the emperor, could not be considered a pure peasant uprising.
If he had not married Empress Ma and inherited the team of Empress Ma's adoptive father Guo Zixing, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty would have been just a handful of earth.
But knowing that it would offend the nobles, knowing that they might retaliate against you and cause you to lose your empire, you won't do it?
Implementing the feudal system without changing the county system, and continuing to keep the people ignorant, so that they can live a life of wealth and glory in peace and stability?
Ying Chengjiao couldn't do it.
Some things have to be done by someone.
