The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 5: Lü Buwei's Legacy
Prime Minister Li Si had a very pleasant conversation with the prince. Everyone in the palace felt that such a wise prince, who was also well-versed in the Legalist classics, would definitely be supported by many Legalist students in the future.

The young master humbly asked for advice, and Prime Minister Li Si answered all his questions.

After explaining the system of Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, he began to explain the appointment of officials.

During the period, I did not ask any questions and devoted myself to applying the knowledge taught by the teacher.

When leaving Gaoquan Palace, Li Si was in a particularly good mood. He discovered that the young master had a very magical ability. He could actually take notes while listening to lectures.

The next day, feeding the fish was a particularly interesting thing. After paying homage to Queen Dowager Huayang in the morning, Fusu, who had nothing to do, fed the fish.

Yesterday, the teacher said that when appointing officials, we should first select the best from among the old officials left over from the six kingdoms and implement the Qin laws.

Of course, during the learning process, I have always been humble and eager to learn, and I have been seriously trying to understand how the current Qin people govern the world and how they make current judgments based on past experience.

In short, now is the process of redistribution and reproduction in Daqin.

The primary contradiction between the abolition of feudal fiefdom and the ancient feudal system is that the selection and appointment of officials is no longer based on the allocation of resources through blood relatives or collateral branches.

But Xiang Yan and his men wanted to restore their country. They were also doing so to protect their own interests and to ensure that their blood relatives and collateral branches could continue to control these resources.

For the old nobles of the six kingdoms, this ancient feudal system made them accustomed to enjoying vested interests through blood ties, and even took it for granted.

Now the master of the world is the Qin Dynasty. If the Qin Dynasty wants to break this long-standing convention, they will naturally resist.

But Fusu remembered what a great teacher once said, "If it has always been this way, is it right?"

Li Si and his father were too idealistic in their treatment of the old nobles of the six kingdoms.

Seeing that the young master suddenly frowned while looking at the fish pond, as if he was in a bad mood, Tian An hurriedly bowed and saluted.

He recruited officials from the old aristocrats of the six kingdoms for his own use. Some of the officials from the old aristocrats of the six kingdoms had served the Kingdom of Qi, and some had served the Kingdom of Han.

Now they are asked to change their stance and serve the Qin Dynasty. Not to mention that the old people of the six countries already have a strong prejudice against the Qin Dynasty, their loyalty is questionable.

Fusu threw the remaining wheat bran into the pond, still thinking about what his teacher had said.

Even if the Qin Dynasty showed full sincerity and rewards, would they devote all their energy to the Qin Dynasty?
Han Fei once said that a kind mother will raise a bad son, and a strict master will not have strong servants.

The same applies to officials who want to bribe the old nobles of the six countries.

Haha, the teacher should use his sincerity and honesty to take in the officials of the six countries. It is better to believe that Xuanzang can really influence the world.

The teacher and the emperor still had a kind side after all, and gave the nobles of the six countries room for negotiation.

At this moment, in Zhangtai Palace, the morning court meeting was still going on. Today's court meeting should have gone smoothly, but then a figure with slightly frosted temples stood up in the court and said loudly, "Emperor, I heard that the Prime Minister has been teaching Prince Fusu recently?"

Ying Zheng looked at the person who was speaking. He still remembered that this person was the Qi man introduced by Li Si, named Chunyu Yue.

Seeing that the emperor remained silent, Chunyu Yue said, "Your Majesty, Prince Fusu is your eldest son. How can he be taught by only one person?"

The words echoed in the main hall of Zhangtai Palace. Ying Zheng still did not speak, but sat upright and looked at the expressions of everyone present.

Chunyu Yue's words were directed at Prime Minister Li Si. Since Wang Wan left, the new Prime Minister of Qin had a new opponent. Chunyu Yue was a madman in his daily life. He offended many people when he was an official in Qi.

A Qi man who was introduced to Qin by Li Si became a minister of the Qin Dynasty.

Now he is questioning the new prime minister in the court.

The person Li Si himself recommended to Qin became his enemy?
Facing Chunyu Yue's questioning, Li Si smiled and did not make any response.

Li Si did not speak until the morning court was over. It was only after the First Emperor left the court that he summoned Li Si alone.

The Qin people usually had breakfast around noon in the morning, and on weekdays they had to have one meal in the morning and one in the evening to feel full.

After breakfast, Fusu received a message from the palace servant, saying that his teacher Li Si asked him to wait outside the Zhangtai Palace.

Fusu walked all the way to Zhangtai Palace and asked Tian An, who was following him, "Is it time to leave the court now?"

Tian An nodded and followed the young master two steps behind.

"Teacher, are you meeting the Emperor?"

"After the morning court session, the emperor summoned the prime minister."

Fusu stopped in front of Zhangtai Palace. The severe cold of winter had just passed, and the sun was now falling in front of Zhangtai Palace. It was the best time of the day at noon, and also the warmest time.

As if he had just survived the cold winter, Fusu stood there waiting for his teacher and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

After reading more of Han Fei's books, one will have a mentality of accepting what comes.

"Prime Minister."

When Fusu heard Tian An speak beside him, he opened his eyes and saw his teacher walking out of Zhangtai Palace and putting on shoes.

Fusu stepped forward and said, "Teacher."

"The Emperor ordered me to take the young master to several places."

After saying this, Li Si put on his shoes and led the way forward.

The Xianyang Palace remained as solemn as ever. Fusu walked along and asked, "Has the rebellion in Chu been quelled?"

Li Si nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Don't worry, sir."

Fusu said: "Just like Xiang Yan, there is no need to worry."

"Exactly."

When he walked outside the palace gate and saw Meng Tian who was already there ready to escort him, he realized that this was all arranged by his father.

To be honest, I was a stranger to my father. It was only after I said those words in front of Empress Dowager Huayang's coffin that my father felt that his son had grown up and needed someone to teach him.

Today's carriage is open-top, and it looks a bit like a chariot on the battlefield, except that there is a large sunshade on top.

"During the court discussion today, a man named Chunyu Yue said that the young master shouldn't just listen to one side of the story."

Fusu said: "Of course I can't just listen to one person's opinion. I read the books of Xunzi, Mencius and Zhuangzi."

Li Si added, "I cannot be the only one who can teach you, young master."

Seeing that the young master did not respond, Li Si continued, "Chun Yuyue is from Qi, and he has quite a lot of insights into Confucian classics."

Fusu said: "Teacher, I read Han Fei's books, so Han Fei is my teacher. I read Zhuangzi's books, so Zhuangzi is my teacher."

Hearing this, the smile on Li Si's face became even wider.

The carriage passed through Shanglin Garden and came to a field in the north. It was the farming season in Guanzhong, and oxen could be seen plowing the fields. There was also a family of several people sitting together, eating in the fields.

After eating in the fields, they would rest for a while and then continue working.

Life was simple for the Qin people. Qin people were martial, so their food often included game. Their staple food was mainly millet, wheat, beans, and sorghum. Vegetables also included sunflower, peas, onions, and leeks. The most common dish was bean and rice broth with peas.

Bean rice is the staple food of choice for most Qin people.

In order to meet his nutritional needs, Fusu would often eat some fish. The high-quality protein in fish is very important for a young man who is growing up.

After getting off the bus, I continued walking with the teacher and saw a few peers arguing over a bag of beans not far away. They tore open the cloth bag and the beans scattered all over the ground.

Compared with them, Fusu felt that he had no rebellious period at all, and the rebellious period in his previous life had long been smoothed out by the ways of the world.

Li Si pulled out a scroll of bamboo slips from his wide sleeves and whispered, "This is what the Emperor asked me to give to you, young master."

Fusu took the scroll, opened it and looked at the contents. It would have been fine if he hadn't read it, but after reading it, he was stunned for a long time because there were three words that were particularly eye-catching. These three words were Lü Buwei.

This scroll of bamboo slips contained a land deed, which was originally awarded to Lu Buwei by the King of Qin. It covered a total of 300 hectares of land.

Li Si pulled out a roll of cloth from his sleeve, untied the ropes that bound it, and said, "From now on, all these fields will belong to you, young master."

Fusu felt relieved after taking the land deed. Now the world belonged to the King of Qin, so it was normal to give him a few acres of land.

If possible, Fusu would like to ask for more land, the more the better.

"Why did the emperor give me the land?"

Li Si didn't say anything, but continued walking.

Arriving in front of a village, Li Si pulled out a roll of cloth from his sleeve and continued, "The people in this village used to be Lü Buwei's servants. After Lü Buwei's death, the emperor settled them here. Now they are all princes."

Fusu took the contract and glanced at Li Si's cuffs unconsciously, wondering how much his teacher had hidden in his sleeves.

After Lu Buwei died, all his inheritance remained in the State of Qin.

As the most famous businessman in the Warring States Period and the protagonist of the allusion "a word is worth a thousand gold coins", Lu Buwei was indeed a remarkable person.

But for Ying Zheng, killing Lu Buwei was also very easy.

Ying Zheng wrote a letter in the past, scolding Lu Buwei, which roughly meant, "Are you worthy of being my uncle?"

Later, Lu Buwei committed suicide, and Ying Zheng did not even tell him to die explicitly. He just scolded him in a letter, and then he died.

If a businessman cooperates with a political strongman, he will usually have a bad end.

Lu Buwei was the pioneer. Later, Sang Hongyang of the Han Dynasty and people after him still followed this rule, and those businessmen repeated Lu Buwei's fate.

“Why did the teacher give me these?”

Then the teacher took out a piece of cake from his sleeve, tore off a small piece, and handed over the remaining half.

Fusu took the larger half of the pancake and saw the teacher eating the smaller piece of pancake slowly and leisurely.

After finishing the meal, Li Si replied, "This is all arranged by the emperor."

"Why did Father give me these?"

Li Si continued, "Today, Chunyu Yue said that you shouldn't just listen to my opinion."

"Um……"

"So, from now on, you can recruit retainers. You are already sixteen years old. From now on, you can recruit knowledgeable people from all over the world to assist you. Once you have retainers, you will need to keep them, which means you will need a lot of land to produce food and a lot of servants to take care of them."

Fusu sorted out these words and the contract in his hand, and suddenly thought of Lu Buwei's three thousand retainers back then.

Lü Buwei had three thousand retainers. As the prime minister of Qin, he also asked these three thousand retainers to write Lüshi Chunqiu for him, which also brought about the allusion of "a word is worth a thousand gold coins".

Lu Buwei can be said to have brought the merchant class to its peak.

Fusu picked up a bean from the ground, looked up and saw people kneeling on the ground, facing the earth. "Teacher, can I have more?"

Li Si was a little surprised, and the smile that usually appeared on his face disappeared for a moment.

In just a moment, Li Si's smile returned to his face. As long as the young master did not seek power or rebel, the emperor would decide how much to ask for. He then asked, "Young master, do you think it's not enough?"

Fusu pointed to the distance and said, "There is a piece of wasteland beside the Chan River."

Li Si nodded and said, "Yes, as long as you want, I can arrange it."

Back in Xianyang City, Fusu followed Li Si to a mansion, which was closest to the Xianyang Palace and had the best location in the entire Chang'an City.

Li Si pushed open the old wooden door. "This used to be Lü Buwei's residence. You can recruit followers here. Chunyu Yue said you shouldn't just listen to one opinion. With this place, you can listen to a hundred opinions."

Li Si was a disciple of Lu Buwei in those days and lived here with many other guests for a long time.

At that time, Li Si had to look up to others and also had to look at Lu Buwei's face.

Today, Li Si is the prime minister of Qin.

Li Si was Li Si after all, he never lost his ambition and aspirations.

As they walked, Fusu listened to Li Si describing the details of the mansion.

It was not until nightfall that Fusu returned to the palace with a pile of contracts, intending to put them away properly.

After Lu Buwei died, everything here was sealed.

At night, Li Si still stayed in this mansion. He came to one of the rooms. This was the room where the three thousand guests used to store books. The bookshelves were filled with bamboo slips.

Among them were the books brought by the Chu people and the achievements of many famous officials from Qi, Yan and Wei.

After Lu Buwei died, all his retainers left, but these books remained.

"I haven't been here for a long time."

Hearing the voice behind him, Li Si turned around and saw Deputy Prime Minister Feng Quji.

When facing the prince or the emperor, Li Si always smiled, but when facing others, he would be much more serious.

Feng Quji said, "Chun Yuyue advised the Emperor to allow the famous scholars of the six kingdoms to teach the young master, but you asked the Emperor to allow the young master to keep retainers. You are still not wanting the famous scholars of the six kingdoms to teach the young master. You only want you to be the only teacher by the young master's side."

Li Si looked up at the bright moon in the night sky and said, "The famous scholars of the Six Kingdoms are not qualified to teach you. They cannot teach you what you have learned."

"I heard that you are quite studious."

"Young Master is still young. When you are a few years older, I will personally assist you."

Feng Quji believed that he understood Li Si, but he also had some reservations about Li Si because the First Emperor had never revealed the cause of Han Fei's death.

(End of this chapter)