The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1224 The Birth of the Yan Family [Please Subscribe*Please Vote for Monthly Tickets]

Is it difficult to win the hearts and minds of the people?
It's not difficult; you don't even need three meals a day, just two meals are enough.

The Huai River was reopened, bringing blessings to generations. Years later, who still remembers the Chu Kingdom, where everyone ruled their own way and the royal family and landlords both exploited the people?
"Making sure people have enough to eat and wear is more important than anything else!"

Fusu said in a low voice, not his own words, but those that Yan Yan had once said.

He used to think that governing the world was not so easy, but now he finds that it is not so difficult after all.

Without war, as long as they don't cause trouble, and the government doesn't create so much chaos, allowing the people to live in peace and prosperity, and giving them a life where they can eat and stay warm with their own hands, who would bother to overthrow them?

Following Fusu's order, the Crown Prince's office also began to summon the artisans of the Imperial Household Department to re-determine the Huai River, design plans for its dredging and construction, and to mobilize the people on both banks to manage the Huai River.

"Fusu's actions are a bit too big!" When the news reached Xianyang, Ying Zheng was somewhat surprised.

He considered many ways Fusu could govern the Chu region, the most common being to use the powerful elite Qin army to suppress all rebellions and public grievances.

Unexpectedly, Fusu chose to reopen the Huai River, diverting public attention to the river.

The development and excavation of the Huai River conscripted nearly half the population of the entire Chu region. They all gathered on both banks of the Huai River, working day and night, exhausted to the point that no one had the mind or time to resist or rebel.
"It seems the Crown Prince has embarked on the path of Huang-Lao (a philosophy of Taoism and Daoism)!" Li Si was also somewhat surprised.

The Huang-Lao school represents the path of the Yellow Emperor and Lao Tzu, containing Lao Tzu's concept of non-action and the Yellow Emperor's emphasis on severe punishments.

While prioritizing people's livelihood and development and promoting recuperation in the general direction, it also employs bloody methods of suppression.

Li Si's reforms also considered uniting everyone as much as possible to prevent those people from obstructing the implementation of the reforms.

Fusu was completely different. He didn't care if anyone tried to stop him. Anyone who dared to stand up and obstruct him was hung on both banks of the Huai River by the Crown Prince's personal guards. Once so many people died, no one dared to stand up anymore.

"Even more ruthless than An Qisheng!" Ying Zheng smiled.

He used to think that Fusu was somewhat weak-willed, and that although he led troops, it was all a cover-up.

This time, Ying Zheng was truly at ease.

An emperor of an empire can be cruel and unwise, but he cannot be weak. If an emperor is weak, he will be led by the nose by others!

This is why a virtuous person can be deceived by reason.

"However, the Crown Prince has killed too many people. Although Chu has only three households left, the Crown Prince is almost wiping them out!" Li Si was still somewhat worried.

Fusu killed all the nobles of Chu, so who will govern this vast land of Chu?

"He calculated that I would be backing him up!" Ying Zheng shook his head.

Fusu had completely outmaneuvered him, knowing that no matter how many he killed, Xianyang could always cover for him.

So what if they're all killed? We can just ask Xianyang for them back.

Whether Xianyang could produce enough capable ministers to govern the region was not even within Fusu's considerations.

Who can blame them for having a good father?
Being the crown prince was his best identity; if anything happened, Ying Zheng and the entire Ying clan would support him.

He didn't need to worry about retaliation like Li Si did.

As the crown prince and heir of the Qin Dynasty, no one dared to retaliate against him, nor could they bear the consequences of doing so.

Therefore, Fusu could do things without restraint that Li Si wanted to do but dared not do.

Li Si understood the meaning behind Ying Zheng's words: to support Fusu at all costs and clean up his messes. "This is going to spoil Fusu rotten!" Li Si joked with Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng smiled noncommittally.

As an emperor, he could not give Fusu's father the same love that an ordinary father and son would give him, but he could express his love in other ways.

"This old minister will personally go to Yushan!" Li Si stood up and rubbed his aching back.

Since we are going to support Fusu, we need to find some elderly people who can hold their own in public.

There is no one who can compare to the Yan family of Yushan Academy.

The Yan family represents the literary world of Chu and is its leader. As long as the Yan family stands up to support Fusu, no one in the entire Chu region can stir up any waves.

"Thank you for your trouble, my dear minister!" Ying Zheng rose to see him off.

The Confucian scholars are quite stubborn. Even if he personally went to invite them, the Yan family might not give him face. They might even think that Ying Zheng was using his power to intimidate people, which would only backfire.

On the contrary, Li Si is more suitable.

After all, Li Si is now a figure promoted by the Confucian school. Even if Li Si takes the path of Legalism, as long as Li Si does not personally admit that he has betrayed the Confucian school and broken away from Xunzi's lineage, the Confucian school will still regard Li Si as a scholar who has mastered all schools of thought.

After all, some things are better left unsaid; would it be better to simply hand over one's own talents to the Legalists? Or to give away benefits to the Legalists?

Confucianism is not that stupid.

Therefore, when Li Si goes to Yushan, the Yan family will give him face.

Li Si went to the Yan family in Yushan and had a long private conversation, but no one knows what they talked about.

All that is known is that after Li Si left, the Yan family, which had been living in seclusion, chose to emerge from the world, publicly acknowledging the status of the Qin state and Fusu's administration of the Chu region. They even sent dozens of direct descendants of the Yan family to serve in the Crown Prince's residence to help Fusu govern the Chu region.

"Where has the integrity of the Yan family gone?" Li Mu and Lian Po jokingly looked at the current head of the Yan family from the back mountain of Yushan Academy.

“What’s the value of integrity? Wenzheng went to Bingzhou, and my Yan family, for the sake of integrity, did not seek repayment for his kindness, and avoided suspicion and stayed out of it. But we also need to develop, but unfortunately, Senior Brother Tonggu gave us too much!” The head of the Yan family shrugged.

"How much did they give?" Lian Po and Li Mu were also very curious.

If the Yan family truly wanted to withdraw from public life, they could have done so when Bingzhou was established, and they would have gained a great deal. However, the Yan family did not, and for this reason, they were revered by scholars throughout the land.

"It's nothing much, just the position of one of the Nine Ministers, the hereditary title of Marquis of Literature, and the name of the Southern School of Literature..." the Yan family head said calmly.

"Hiss..." Li Mu and Lian Po both gasped. No wonder the Yan family had emerged.

The hereditary title of Marquis Wen is a significant achievement. Consider that Wang Jian complained about how rare it was to obtain a marquisate in Qin before he was enfeoffed. Now, the Yan family can have a hereditary title of Marquis Wen and a position among the Nine Ministers simply by agreeing to be born. This means that as long as Qin exists and the Yan family does not rebel, they will always be one of the most prestigious noble families in Qin.

Moreover, they also held the title of "Master of Southern Literature," which meant that the Qin state acknowledged the Yan family as the leading literary group in the entire southern Chinese literary world.

Compared to the positions of the Nine Ministers and the hereditary marquises, this last one is what the Yan family values ​​most.

The Emperor Wenzong recognized by the government and the Emperor Wenzong who was not in power are completely different.

Just like Xunzi, who was recognized as the master of literature, he was not qualified to interfere in the affairs of the Qin court and government. Even if he had ideas, he could only make suggestions, and the Qin state could choose to adopt them or not.

The Yan family is different. The Yan family is recognized by the Qin state as a family of scholars. Therefore, the Qin court must give serious consideration to the suggestions and strategies offered by the head of the Yan family in the future. Even if they are not adopted, they must give a reasonable explanation.

(End of this chapter)