Chapter 4: Arrogant at first and respectful later, the behavior of a mean person
"General Meng, how does my wine taste?"
There was a table with three hot dishes, one cold dish and two jars of wine. Ying Chengjiao and Meng Tian sat opposite each other and drank together.
Meng Tian's face was exposed to the sun due to years of military service, and was dark yellow with a hint of black.
But now, there is only one color on his face, red!
Bright red and rosy face!
"Tian has never led an army, so he cannot be called a general."
There were no generals among the Qin officials. Only when they went out to fight and led troops into battle would they be temporarily given titles such as general or lieutenant general.
In principle, the title of general cannot be used when there is no fighting outside.
This is also part of the Qin law, which penetrates into every aspect of the Qin State and covers everything.
Of course, if Ying Chengjiao was replaced by a friend that Meng Tian was familiar with, Meng Tian would not be so cautious.
"Tian has never drunk such strong wine in his life. The Hu wine of Zhao State is famous for its strong taste, but it is far inferior to Chang'an Jun's wine."
In fact, although Zhao State's Hu wine is famous for its strong taste, wine lovers generally agree that in terms of strength, Chu State's king wine is the recognized leader.
When Ying Chengjiao heard that Meng Tian did not mention the King's wine of Chu, but compared it with the Hu wine of Zhao, his smile became even more intense.
He would not think that Meng Tian, who had attacked the State of Chu, had never tasted the king's wine.
"Hahahaha, I'm glad you like it. Come on, bring two more plates!"
“No!”
Meng Tian dissuaded him.
He thought he could drink a lot without getting drunk, but this time, he began to doubt himself.
There was nothing he could do. He was a little confused now. If he drank any more, he was sure he would get drunk. This wine was too strong! Even stronger than the wine of the King of Chu!
Alcohol was prohibited among the people of Qin. Although there was wine in the residences of Qin officials, it tasted bad and was not strong enough, which was far from that of other countries.
The main reason for this phenomenon was that the Qin State did not have a good winemaking method and did not want to study it.
In the Qin State, everything was responsible for two things: farming and fighting.
Farming provides food for war, and fighting provides land for farming, which forms a simple closed loop.
Not only does winemaking have no positive effect on farming and warfare, it has a negative effect because wine is made from grain.
The Qin State believed that using grain to make wine was a huge waste.
Therefore, not only was alcohol prohibited among the people, the royal family also did not encourage drinking, and Ying Zheng himself did not encourage drinking.
This was the attitude towards wine among the people in Qin State from top to bottom, so naturally no one would study winemaking.
Since no one is studying winemaking, the quality of Qin wine naturally cannot be improved.
In a nutshell, anything that does not have a positive impact on farming and warfare cannot develop in the Qin State.
"Changan Jun, if you drink any more, Tian will get drunk."
Ying Chengjiao picked up the wine jar and drank it all in one gulp, which made Meng Tian a little surprised.
The two of them had been drinking together, one bottle each, and Ying Chengjiao drank as much as Meng Tian.
But now Meng Tian's face was as red as Guan Gong in the Three Kingdoms period in later generations.
Ying Chengjiao's face remained calm, and he didn't look drunk at all, as if they had not drunk the same wine.
Meng Tian's fingers unconsciously stroked the wine bottle in his hand.
This guy can drink a lot. That's right, the royal family has plenty of wine. He is uneducated and has been drinking for fun since he was young. After practicing for many years, it is normal that he can drink more than me.
Fortunately, the late king brought Your Majesty back from Zhao State, otherwise Qin would have fallen into these humiliating hands, let alone unifying the world, and it is unknown whether Qin would still exist in the world.
The previous king of Qin was named Ying Yiren, but later changed his name to Ying Zichu, known in history as King Zhuangxiang of Qin. King Zhuangxiang of Qin had only two sons, Ying Zheng and Ying Chengjiao.
More than ten years ago, if King Zhuangxiang of Qin had not brought Ying Zheng back from the State of Zhao, Ying Chengjiao would have succeeded the throne of Qin.
"Are you satisfied with this dish?"
"I am very satisfied. It is as good as the one your majesty gave me at the banquet."
Meng Tian told a lie here, but luckily his face was very rosy, so it was not visible from his expression.
The taste of the dishes in Chang'an Junfu is far better than that in the imperial palace, otherwise Ying Fusu would not have come here to eat again and again.
"Okay, since you are the same age as my brother, I will call you Brother Meng. Now that we have eaten and drunk, Brother Meng, it's time to talk to me about Confucianism."
As expected, this boy really cares about the eldest son, Meng Tian thought to himself.
Meng Tian looked down on Ying Chengjiao, but he still stayed to eat and drink. His words were obviously different from when he first arrived, all for Ying Fusu.
Otherwise, even if he knew in advance that the wine in Chang'an Junfu was so delicious and the food was so tasty, he would not stay.
To be precise, he would not stay, for he would think it was a shame to drink with Ying Chengjiao, who was so greedy for pleasure and indulged in his appetite.
"Your Majesty is the ruler of all people. How can Tian be on the same level as Your Majesty? Let Chang'an Jun call him brother. Chang'an Jun can just call Tian by his name."
Ying Chengjiao nodded.
He knew that Meng Tian didn't want to have anything to do with him, and didn't even want to call him by his name, and was distancing himself from him, but he didn't care.
So what?
He just wanted to learn about his eldest nephew's situation through Meng Tian.
The two people have the same goal, so this can be considered a two-way journey.
"The eldest son's teacher is Chunyu Yue, a native of Qi. He was once a doctor of Qi and is now serving as our minister. He is a Confucian scholar and has great influence in Confucianism. The eldest son's words and deeds are deeply influenced by Chunyu Yue. The fact that he contradicted Your Majesty in the court today must be related to Chunyu Yue!"
Ying Chengjiao took a sip of wine and smacked his lips.
"Did Confucianism have a great influence in the Qin State?"
According to Ying Chengjiao's understanding, Qin has always been a world ruled by the Legalists.
Confucianism, a school of thought that became extremely prominent in later generations, was never welcomed in the Qin State.
Meng Tian's hands trembled and he gritted his teeth.
If it weren't for Ying Fusu, he would have left the table in anger at this moment.
What an uneducated disgrace!
Even the power of the court is not very clear!
I don't know how this guy could persuade Your Majesty to postpone the eldest son's departure from the capital when both prime ministers couldn't persuade him.
Maybe Your Majesty has figured it out himself and realized that this guy is just a detour and I am wasting my time here!
Meng Tian thought so, but he didn't dare to bet whether Ying Zheng had figured it out himself, so he could only continue to explain: "After the unification of the world, Your Majesty will recruit talents from all over the world, and all the philosophers can serve as officials in Qin. Confucianism is the most prominent school of thought in the world, with the most students. Now the number of Confucian scholars in the court has exceeded that of legalists."
Since Shang Yang's reforms has always been a holy land of Legalism.
It is also the only country in the world that purely governs by the Legalist school, gathering all the laws of the world.
Once the number of people gathered reaches a certain level, they will seek the right to speak, not to mention the situation of a hundred schools of thought contending.
When the right to speak is given to the Qin court, it is called political demand.
"I see."
Ying Chengjiao nodded.
"I'll take care of this."
If someone else had explained it clearly, Meng Tian would have believed it. But when it came to Ying Chengjiao, Meng Tian remained silent.
clear?
What do you understand?
Do you really understand?
It seems that what I said was not so clear.
Seeing that Meng Tian did not respond, Ying Chengjiao said, "Confucianism advocates governing the country with rites, winning people over with virtue, and restoring Zhou rituals. My nephew has been used and has become a mouthpiece for Confucianism. I will explain this to my brother at the court meeting tomorrow."
Meng Tian said gratefully: "Thank you, Lord Chang'an."
Does this guy really understand?
What was a very common thing for other people seemed incredible to Meng Tian when it happened to Ying Chengjiao.
In the eyes of the Qin people, Ying Chengjiao was really bad.
After sending Meng Tian away, Ying Chengjiao poured himself a drink. The drunkard who had just stopped Meng Tian walked in without knocking and sat where Meng Tian sat.
"Meng Tian was arrogant at first but respectful later. He is a mean person! The generals of Qin State are getting worse with each generation."
