Video Editor

Chapter 120: Small Seal Script and Official Script

With the death of King Zhuangxiang, Ying Zheng truly ascended the throne. The government affairs were completely controlled by Lu Buwei, and it was not Ying Zheng's turn to interfere at all.

When Lu Buwei saw that his years of hard work had finally come to fruition, he felt a sense of satisfaction that only he could enjoy.

Every day, Lü Buwei's residence in Xianyang was bustling with guests. In a shady corner, at the gate of an inconspicuous small courtyard, a pair of envious eyes watched the hustle and bustle of Lü Buwei's residence.

"If a man can achieve the same level of success as Prime Minister Lu, he will bring honor to his family even after his death!"

"Li Si, stop daydreaming!

Our family moved to Xianyang half a month ago.

More than ten visiting cards have been sent to Lu's mansion.

Prime Minister Lu still doesn't want to pay attention to us!" Li Si's wife complained.

"Don't worry, one day I, Li Si, will be as glorious as Lu Buwei!" He didn't care about his wife's complaints about him and his current life, but said something to motivate himself.

Li Si's wife wanted to continue mocking Li Si, but she and Li Si stopped talking at the same time and were surprised to see a carriage parked next to them.

"Are you Li Si?"

The eunuch's distinctive shrill voice moved the surprised Li Si couple, and they quickly smiled and said, "Shangguan, I am Li Si!"

The eunuch casually looked at the Li Si couple in front of him, and then said impatiently, "Get in the car! Our master wants to see you!"

Li Si was very tactful and did not inquire about the identity of the "master". Instead, he obediently got on the carriage. The eunuch was a little surprised to see Li Si was so tactful, as he thought he would have to talk to him more.

Li Si stayed obediently along the way and did not show any curiosity. The eunuch beside him also looked arrogant and had no intention of making friends with Li Si.

Although Li Si lived in a relatively remote place on this street, he was still not far from the Qin Palace. The carriage had not been traveling for long when it suddenly stopped.

As the eunuch got off the car, he heard the eunuch say to Li Si, "Li Si, let me go in and report first!

You just wait here obediently!"

"Yes! Shangguan!"

Although Li Si had just arrived in Xianyang, Qin State from Shangcai and was a small, inexperienced character, he was a genuine shrewd man and had long guessed that he would soon become successful.

Looking at the temple servant's departing back, Li Si waited in the cold wind without any impatience, looking forward to the meeting that would change his fate.

The eunuch trotted all the way to the King of Qin's study and knelt respectfully in front of the desk, "Your Majesty, Li Si has been brought in!
Do you want to be summoned now?"

"Hmm? Just bring Li Si here!" Ying Zheng did not raise his head, still looking at the bamboo slips in his hand.

"Yes! Your Majesty!
only"

Seeing that the eunuch was hesitant, Ying Zheng suddenly became curious and put down the bamboo slips in his hand.

"Just what? You should know that I don't like to hesitate!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I feel that Li Si is a bit arrogant because of his talent.

Should we let him stand in the cold wind for a while longer?"

Hearing the eunuch's self-righteous thoughts, Ying Zheng suddenly felt like laughing. It seemed that when he first ascended the throne, not only Lu Buwei and the ministers looked down on him, but even a small eunuch wanted to influence his thinking.

"Oh? Do you want to teach me how to do things?"

"I dare not!
It's just that Prime Minister Lu specifically ordered this servant to help the king!" Seeing Ying Zheng's angry look, the eunuch was not afraid at all, but said fearlessly.

"What a joke! Are you using Prime Minister Lu to pressure me?" Ying Zheng was really about to be amused by this temple dweller.

"The slaves dare not!"

The monk said he didn't dare, but his expression looked like he deserved a beating.

"Come here, take this worthless eunuch out and chop him up!"

Soon two guards came in, grabbed the eunuch, and dragged him out of the hall to execute him amid his screams of fear.

"My king, you can't treat me like this!
I am Prime Minister Lu’s man!

Kill me, and Prime Minister Lu will never let you go."

Hearing the sudden stop of shouting outside the hall, the eunuchs and maids inside the hall were all frightened at the same time, feeling a chill on the back of their necks, as if they would soon follow in the footsteps of this "poor creature".

Seeing that the other eunuchs and maids were all terrified, Ying Zheng sneered and asked, "Who else thinks they are Prime Minister Lu's men?" Hearing Ying Zheng's rebuke, everyone knelt on the ground in fear, not daring to look up at Ying Zheng.

"Get out of here!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Shan Rou, go and bring Li Si in!" After dealing with this group of eunuchs and maids, Ying Zheng looked at Shan Rou who was standing aside.

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

Li Si had just seen the eunuch who brought him here being executed and was frightened by the bloody scene. He then followed Shanrou into the hall in fear.

"Are you Li Si? A native of Shangcai, Chu?"

"Your Majesty, this student is none other than Li Si from Chu!"

"I heard that since you entered Xianyang, you have been constantly writing greetings to Prime Minister Lu?"

“Huh? Yes!
Your Majesty, I have just arrived in Xianyang and have no connections at the moment.

I wanted to become a guest official under Prime Minister Lu."

"So your ideal is just to be a guest official?
I thought Xunzi’s disciples were so great!

It seems I have overestimated you!"

"Your Majesty, I actually want to work for you directly!
After all, after learning the literary and martial arts, they can be sold to the imperial family.

I have studied under Xunzi for many years, and my greatest dream is to assist you, the King of Qin, in unifying the world."

"Haha, everyone can say nice words!

Do you really think that only our Great Qin can unify the world?"

“Your Majesty, the world has long been divided.

Among the seven vassal states, only the Qin Dynasty had a strong army, a stable government and harmonious people.

So the students thought that only the Qin Dynasty had the power to unify the world."

"That's enough! I've heard too much of this kind of boasting lately!
I'm already a little fed up with it!"

"Your Majesty."

"I will now give you a task, if you can complete it successfully.

I will definitely consider whether to continue to use you!"

"Students bow to thank the king!"

"Li Si, I have heard that a calligrapher named Cheng Miao created a style of writing called Lishu.

I will temporarily appoint you as the Internal History of Qin.

I'll arrange for you and Cheng Miao to work together to create the official script. The characters should be flat and square, spread out to the left and right."

As a disciple of Xunzi, Li Si certainly knew what King Ying Zheng of Qin meant, which meant that King Ying Zheng of Qin was already considering the issue of unified writing.

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will definitely complete this task!"

"Yeah! Go ahead!
I believe you can find Cheng Miao and bring him to me!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

In this life, Ying Zheng chose to use official script because it was easier to write, while the more elegant small seal script would be used on official seals, which was easier to prevent counterfeiting.

It seems that Li Cheng Miao was introduced to Qin Shi Huang by Li Si. That was just before the completion of the conquest of the six kingdoms. Now Ying Zheng was preparing the text in advance, just to boil the frog in warm water.

In the early stage, while accumulating national strength, relying on powerful military force, he made the other six countries accept the unified writing system of Lishu. Of course, the powerful princes would definitely resist fiercely, but if the two weak countries of Han and Wei accepted it, they would definitely accept it obediently.

After Han and Wei gradually accepted the unified official script, Qin forced the four states of Qi, Chu, Zhao and Yan to gradually accept and learn official script through business operations, and at the very least required them to use official script when entering the territory of Qin.

When his Great Qin accumulates enough national strength and starts the war to destroy other countries, the resistance he encounters will gradually decrease.

(End of this chapter)