Diqin Designer

Chapter 40: The First Emperor's Comments on the Bamboo Slips
Thinking of this, Su Xu felt a chill running down his spine. Wasn't this equivalent to running directly into the swords of the king and that man?

By then, let alone whether or not we can replace the Legalists, it would be good enough if we are not banned.

Unfortunately, he couldn't tell these people because Ying Zheng had already issued a gag order against him.

If you dare to open your mouth tonight, your entire family will be beheaded and thrown into the streets tomorrow.

Seeing Su Xu sitting there without saying anything but looking worried, Chun Yuyue and the others who were in high spirits also realized something was wrong and asked, "Brother Su, why don't you say anything but look worried?"

Su Xu bowed to the others and said, "Brother Zhou, Brother Chunyu, do you really understand the king's view on my Confucianism? Do you think the king will really let my Confucianism replace Legalism? Have you ever thought about the consequences of failing to replace Legalism with Confucianism in your petition to the king?"

The Confucian scholar, whom Su Xu called "Brother Zhou", smiled and said, "So Brother Su is worried about this. Brother Su is too cautious. In my opinion, the king has good intentions towards our Confucianism, otherwise he would not have appointed all of us as doctors and let Brother Chunyu enter the palace to teach Prince Fusu."

Chunyu Yue had an expression that said "it's all basic stuff, not worth mentioning", but the complacency hidden beneath his humility was evident.

After all, the prince he taught was the king's favorite prince, Prince Fusu, who was most likely to inherit the throne of the Qin Dynasty!
When Prince Fusu ascends the throne in the future, he will be the teacher of the king, and the teacher of the king of an unprecedented country. Even Confucius and Mencius have never had such an honor.

The Confucian scholar surnamed Zhou looked at Su Xu again and said with a smile, "I heard that Brother Su was also summoned to the palace to teach the nobles. Isn't this a sign of the king's trust in our Confucianism?"

You know shit!
Su Xu really wanted to tell them clearly that the person the king asked me to teach didn't like Confucianism at all, but the king valued that person very much. It would be difficult to make Confucianism the way for Qin to govern the country!

After listening to the words of the scholar surnamed Zhou, another scholar also became interested and asked, "Brother Su, who is the person you are teaching? Can you tell us about it?"

Su Xu shook his head and said seriously: "I won't tell you, so please don't ask me anymore!"

Seeing Su Xu's serious expression and tone, they all tactfully did not ask any further questions. However, the more taboo something is, the more curious it becomes. One can resist words and actions, but not thoughts.

Although they stopped asking Su Xu, they kept guessing about Li Nian's identity, and even connected it with Su Xu's performance tonight:
Su Xu must have received some news from the royal nobleman he taught, which is why he looked so worried.

That is to say, this may not be an opportunity for Confucianism, but rather a pit. If one jumps into it without knowing the truth, it will be a disaster rather than a blessing.

The Confucian scholars except Su Xu looked at each other and understood the implication. The room fell silent for a moment.

After a long time, Chunyu Yue broke the silence. He frowned and asked Su Xu: "I have never heard Master Fusu talk about this. Is this Brother Su's own guess?"

Su Xu understood that these people did not want to give up this opportunity, and he did not want to give up either.

Confucianism has been around for hundreds of years, but has never been used by kings as a discipline for governing the country. Now that they see the possibility of being employed, how can people who believe in Confucianism so firmly be willing to give it up?

So, when Chunyu Yue asked him, he used the phrase "Brother Su's own guess", which means he was asking whether it was your own idea or the suggestion from the person you taught?
Su Xu said: "It is my own guess, but I think it is really not appropriate to do this."

After getting Su Xu's answer, Chun Yuyue said: "Brother Su, you should understand that we cannot miss such a good opportunity. Tomorrow, we will jointly write a letter to the king, explaining the shortcomings of the Qin Dynasty and promoting Confucianism. If Brother Su is unwilling, you can leave!"

Seeing that several people had made up their minds, Su Xu said helplessly: "It is also Su's ambition to promote Confucianism. How can Su fall behind others?" Although Su Xu believed that this matter was unlikely to succeed and might even make the king disgusted, Su Xu still decided to join.

Because he also believed that only Confucianism could govern the world well.

The Confucians at this time were not the Confucians of later generations. Although their ideas seemed backward and unrealistic to later generations, these people really believed in Confucianism and had the courage to die for the principles in their hearts. They were not like some Confucian disciples in later generations, who thought the water was too cold and their scalps itched...

Hearing that Su Xu had also joined, Chun Yuyue smiled and said, "With Brother Su joining us, everything will be accomplished!"

After discussing it, several people decided to take this opportunity to push Confucianism to the stage and replace Law with Confucianism, but they still had to think about how to make it reasonable and convince the king. They couldn't just say that Legalism was not good and only Confucianism could work.

After some discussion, Chunyu Yue, who was the most knowledgeable and talented, wrote a memorial, saying that the Qin laws were too strict in governing the people and were not benevolent. If this continued, the people would lose their hearts and the country would be in danger. The strict laws of Qin must be abolished. He also talked about the need to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to reassure the world. Finally, he talked about the various benefits of restoring Zhou rituals and governing the country with Confucianism to prove the correctness of Confucianism...

One night passed. In Zhangtai Palace, Ying Zheng sat on the throne and looked down at the ministers in the hall: "Yesterday, I left two questions for you. Do you have any answers? Present them to me!"

Dozens of eunuchs carrying trays came out and stood in front of the ministers.

Zhao Gao, Li Si, Chunyu Yue and others took out the bamboo slips that had been prepared long ago and put them on the plate.

Ying Zheng did not look at the bamboo slips immediately. There were so many of them, how could he finish reading them in a short time?
If we have to finish reading the bamboo slips before continuing the court meeting, how long will it take?
After the court was dismissed, Ying Zheng asked someone to bring the bamboo slips, and the first ones he looked at were those of his sons.

The eunuchs sorted the bamboo slips according to the ages of the princes, and the first set of bamboo slips was naturally the one written by Fusu, the oldest.

When Ying Zheng saw Fusu chattering in the bamboo slips that the harsh laws and punishments in the Qin Dynasty were wrong and that only benevolent policies could cure the Qin Dynasty, a surge of anger rose in his heart.

If Fusu was not in Zhangtai Palace at the moment, he would have wanted to grab Fusu's neck and question his son harshly: Is benevolent government so good and so useful? Your father asked you to think about the problems of the Qin Dynasty, and this is all you know? And you use it to point fingers at me, you fool!

After calming down his anger, Ying Zheng picked up another bamboo slip.

The bamboo slips presented by the other sons were not as good as those presented by Fusu, but fortunately, knowing that these sons' levels were not good, he was not so angry until he saw the bamboo slips presented by Hu Hai.

Seeing that the whole text in Hu Hai's bamboo slips was full of praise for him, Ying Zheng's anger rose again, and he ordered with a sullen face: "Prince Hu Hai does not think about the right path, but only thinks about the evil path. He will be punished to copy the Book of Songs ten times!"

Ying Zheng actually wanted to punish Fusu, but the purpose of the punishment was to make his son repent.

But what kind of punishment can make Fusu realize his mistakes?
Fusu's main problems were: first, he was too ignorant, corrupt, and unfilial; second, he never realized one thing: he was a prince of the Qin Dynasty, a person who might inherit the throne of the Qin Dynasty in the future. How could he trust in benevolent government to govern the country?

It’s not that benevolent government cannot be used, but as a king, you must never be biased!

How could he dare to entrust the Qin Dynasty to such a Fusu, no matter how much he liked this eldest son?
(End of this chapter)