Chapter 54: The slaps I gave him that day were too few!
The originally serious and tense atmosphere in the Xianyang Palace was swept away in an instant, and was filled with absurdity and weirdness.
The ministers were like petrified wooden sculptures, their eyes stiffly glancing at Ying Chengjiao who was lying on the ground rubbing his sleepy eyes with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.
This guy never woke up earlier or later, why did he wake up at this time?
We are forcing the emperor to abdicate!
Wang Wan and Wei Zhuang both looked at Feng Quji with slight dissatisfaction.
Such a good opportunity was ruined by this idiot! Why did you overturn the table?
Feng Quji also felt a little regretful at this moment.
Why did I get so excited just now that I overturned the table?
On the nine-foot high platform, the First Emperor was very happy to see Ying Chengjiao wake up.
This guy finally got involved in politics!
Everything that happened in the court today was within the expectations of the two brothers.
Last night, the two brothers rehearsed what would happen in the court.
The First Emperor originally planned to let Li Si propose the county system, and then he would suppress all dissatisfaction with tough measures. He was just looking for an inducement.
This is the tradition of the Qin kings. As long as I think I am right, you must do what I say.
This is how Duke Xiao of Qin promoted Shang Yang, forced reforms, and purged all the old Qin aristocratic forces.
The same thing happened when King Zhaoxiang of Qin appointed Bai Qi and ordered him to kill 400,000 Zhao soldiers who surrendered.
Now it was the turn of the First Emperor Ying Zheng, and Ying Zheng also wanted to do the same thing, using Li Si as a buffer to avoid direct conflict with all the ministers.
The relationship between Li Si and the First Emperor is like that between Shang Yang and Duke Xiao of Qin, and Bai Qi and King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
Is it okay to do this?
Can.
Originally in history, it was with the strong support of the First Emperor that Li Si almost single-handedly established the Qin State's strategy of not enfeoffment but county system.
But are there any disadvantages to doing this?
Yes, there are some disadvantages.
When the Qin State unified the world, it was full of talented people.
Wang Wan, Wei Zhuang, Wei Liao, Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Yao Jia, Dun Ruo and so on, none of them are easy to deal with.
This is the first leadership team that truly unifies the entire world, and there is not a single mediocre person among them.
But within just a few years, these capable ministers and generals retired one after another, leading to a trend in which Li Si's family dominated the Qin court.
How powerful was Li Si?
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the First Emperor died in Shaqiu. Zhao Gao wanted to forge an imperial edict but failed, so he found Li Si, who did it.
Li Si single-handedly ordered the execution of Ying Fusu and Meng Tian, and handed the Qin Empire over to the eighteenth prince Ying Huhai, who had no foundation at the time.
If this happened in the early days, with the presence of great people such as Wang Wan, the master of internal affairs, Wei Zhuang, the expert in resisting the Hu people, Wei Liao, the master of strategy, Wang Jian, the god of war of the Qin Dynasty, and Wang Ben, the god of war, if Li Si dared to do this, he would be hacked to death in minutes.
How dare an outsider from the Jixia Academy, who was favored by His Majesty and got the position of Supreme Court Justice, do anything bad to the eldest son?
Kill, kill!
Cut off the head and get military merit!
There are two reasons for this situation.
First, the First Emperor disappointed many of his meritorious officials.
Many of the heroes were not fools. Even if some of them were not good at political strategies, they could definitely see through the First Emperor's trick of using a substitute.
It’s nothing, it’s just too familiar.
The Qin monarchs have been using this tactic since Qin Xiaogong until now. Who doesn't understand it?
You won’t give us any fiefdom, right?
The title can't be hereditary, right?
The laws are strict, and there aren't many privileges, right?
Then what's the point of us working for you?
It is true that you, the First Emperor, have the final say in the Qin State, but we are not clay figures that can be easily flattened or rounded.
Your Majesty, please enjoy your small account Li Si by yourself. We will not accompany you!
Also playing trumpet.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Emperor Qin Shihuang were in different situations and it is not appropriate to compare them.
Because King Zhaoxiang of Qin used this trick, only Bai Qi was sacrificed, and the interests of his ministers were not harmed, so there was no trouble in King Zhaoxiang of Qin's court.
But the situation of Qin Xiaogong was highly similar to that of the First Emperor. One was damaging the power of the old Qin aristocracy, and the other was damaging the interests of the ministers.
But why was it that the court of Qin Xiaogong was able to remain stable, and the ministers were angry but did not leave, while when it came to the First Emperor, many capable ministers and generals left or scattered?
This brings us to the second reason - the eldest prince Ying Fusu was demoted to Shangjun, and the ministers lost their last hope.
The eldest prince Ying Fusu was a Confucian, and the Qin State was a country ruled by law, with the Legalists being the dominant school.
According to common sense, Ying Fusu, a Confucian disciple who worshipped Confucius and respected Zhou rituals, would definitely not be welcome in the Qin State.
But the fact is that Ying Fusu was not only popular, but also very popular and had extremely high prestige.
Before Ying Zheng officially appointed a crown prince, he was already the heir apparent of Qin State and was loved by all his ministers.
Even Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who shouted "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers all born of different species?", gathered their troops under the pretext of avenging the eldest son Ying Fusu when they first started the uprising.
From this we can see that Ying Fusu not only had high prestige in the Qin court at that time, but also had extremely high prestige throughout the world.
The reason for this phenomenon is naturally inseparable from the extensive propaganda of the ministers and the remnants of the six kingdoms.
When Emperor Qin Shi Huang insisted on implementing the county system, the hope of all the ministers was the eldest prince Ying Fusu.
Chunyu Yue placed his hopes on Ying Fusu for the sake of his lofty ideals and to revitalize Confucianism.
The ministers placed their hopes on Ying Fusu for their own interests and for the sake of fiefdoms and kingdoms.
The ministers watched and heard Ying Fusu's daily behavior, words and deeds. They were all extremely sure that when Ying Fusu came to power, he would definitely restart the enfeoffment system.
History is the constant repetition of people and events.
The present-day Emperor Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng and his eldest son Ying Fusu, father and son, are very similar to Duke Xiao of Qin Ying Quliang and King Huiwen of Qin Ying Si.
When Shang Yang carried out reforms, Gan Long, the leader of the old Qin aristocrats whose interests were encroached upon, instigated the then Crown Prince Ying Si to kill people in order to protest.
In order to uphold the new law, Shang Yang cut off the nose of Ying Qian, who was both Ying Si's teacher and uncle, and executed the punishment of cutting off the nose. He also tattooed the face of Gongsun Jia, another teacher of Ying Si, and executed the punishment of tattooing.
The old Qin nobles were submissive during the reign of Qin Xiaogong, but they still refused to leave because they still had hope. They wanted to wait until Ying Si succeeded to the throne and overthrew Shang Yang, so that they could regain their former glory.
Duke Xiao of Qin did not give up the aristocratic thoughts of the old Qin people. He did not deprive Ying Si of his title as crown prince. Instead, he taught Ying Si privately and corrected his thoughts.
If the First Emperor had followed the example of Duke Xiao of Qin and kept the eldest son Ying Fusu in Xianyang, most of the people like Wang Wan, Wei Zhuang, and Wei Liao would have continued to wait.
But the First Emperor refused.
He unified the country in less than ten years, achieving something unprecedented and unparalleled.
He believed that his virtue surpassed the Three Sovereigns and his achievements surpassed the Five Emperors.
He took the character "Huang" from the Three Sovereigns and the character "Di" from the Five Emperors and called himself the First Emperor.
Before him, the word "朕" meant "I" and could be used by anyone. In the "Li Sao" written by Qu Yuan, there is a sentence "I am a descendant of Emperor Gaoyang, and my royal father is named Boyong". The "朕" here is what Qu Yuan referred to himself.
In order to show his supreme status, Ying Zheng took the word "朕" as his unique self-proclaimed name, declaring that no one in the world could call himself "朕" except him!
He is high-spirited, ambitious, and proud of himself, and his style of action is violent and swift.
Such a person as Ying Zheng would not care too much about the thoughts of his subjects when he wanted to do what he thought was right.
Ying Fusu had biased ideas. Ying Zheng didn't think he could not teach him , but he just didn't want to waste his energy and time.
Ying Zheng thought that letting Ying Fusu go to Shangjun was the fastest and best option, so he sent Ying Fusu there.
As for what the ministers think, does it matter?
Ying Zheng thought it was unimportant.
And Ying Chengjiao thinks it is very important.
After all, Ying Chengjiao had seen that if things continued to develop in this way, the future of the Qin Dynasty would end in the second generation.
Why did Ying Chengjiao repeatedly force Ying Fusu to stay in Xianyang?
First, Ying Chengjiao believed that Ying Fusu was the best candidate to inherit the Qin Kingdom.
Second, we need to stabilize the ministers. Although this cannot be achieved most of the time, it is necessary to have hope.
Of course, regarding the first point, whether Ying Fusu is a qualified Qin II, Ying Chengjiao dare not guarantee it now.
In summary.
After Ying Chengjiao completed the first step and forced Ying Fusu to stay.
What we need to do now is the second step, which is how to establish a new system without causing undue harm to the ministers.
For this reason, Ying Chengjiao returned home and discussed with many of his followers for a long time, and finally came up with a countermeasure.
He entered the palace twice late at night and told the First Emperor.
In fact, the First Emperor thought it was unnecessary.
Why bother? I have already arranged everything. The little Li Si is in place. You just need to be a mascot in the court, and I will take care of the rest.
Later I thought, I can’t refuse this guy! He finally wants to participate in politics! I have to cooperate!
The First Emperor raised his hands and feet in agreement on the spot: "Brother, if you say to do this, I will cooperate with you and rehearse it with you again."
Therefore, although the First Emperor seemed to be somewhat embarrassed today, he was in a very good mood from beginning to end.
With the script that the two brothers put together last night in his mind, the First Emperor is now full of desire to perform.
The First Emperor didn't notice.
After entering the Xianyang Palace, Li Si, who had been silent and invisible, suddenly fixed his eyes and stared at Ying Chengjiao with hostility.
It’s this brat again!
Your Majesty was under pressure, and this was my chance to show off, but he got there first.
Was it a coincidence or intentional that he rescued Your Majesty?
Could it be that he is His Majesty's most hidden confidant?
Li Si, who was cautious by nature, lost his caution due to his pent-up resentment when he met Ying Chengjiao, and instead showed a strong desire to show off in front of the First Emperor.
Li Si, who was planning to continue observing, suddenly stood up.
When everyone focused their attention on Ying Chengjiao, he said loudly: "Your Majesty! I have a way to achieve both!"
The First Emperor: ...
He looked at Ying Chengjiao, who was also a little confused.
Ying Chengjiao: What are you doing?
Ying Zheng: This was really not arranged by me!
Seeing Ying Chengjiao's suspicious eyes, the First Emperor's mood suddenly turned bad.
The slaps I gave him that day were too few!
