Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

The next morning at court, Li Si straightened his clothes, stepped forward, held a memorial in his hand, and loudly requested that the Qin Academy add a law department.

As soon as he finished speaking, a buzzing sound filled the hall, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up, and a sudden uproar arose.

"Law? How can this be allowed?" a senior minister exclaimed in shock, his voice sharp and piercing.

"Your Majesty! I dare to speak, but this is absolutely unacceptable!" Another minister stepped forward hastily, his expression a mixture of panic and anger: "The academy is newly established and its foundation is not yet stable. If we add a law department, it will not only be of no benefit to scholarship, but also, given the ignorance of us commoners, it may have the opposite effect!"

"Is Li Tingwei trying to move the entire court into the academy?" someone said sarcastically, their words dripping with sarcasm and their eyes filled with hostility and wariness.

Immediately, voices of opposition rose and fell, echoing throughout the hall, every word a veil of obstruction.

This matter has already severely impacted the fundamental interests of the royal family and nobles, making them more anxious and panicked than anyone else.

Medical and craft disciplines teach skills to commoners, so they can turn a blind eye to such practices. Law is different.

The law is the measure of the state. If even the law is taught, learned, and understood by someone, then what right do these people have to stand in the court?

Li Si, however, remained calm and composed.

He stood tall in the hall, facing the questions from the assembled officials, and retorted loudly, citing the story of Shang Yang's reforms and the laws governing the Qin Dynasty. His words were eloquent and logical, his voice was powerful and resounding, and his momentum was as strong as a rainbow piercing the sun.

After a series of rebuttals, the opposing ministers were forced to retreat and fall silent, and the noise in the hall subsided for a while.

Zhou Wenqing stood at the lower end, watching Li Si debate with the assembled officials with great enthusiasm, and silently sighed in his heart.

Brother Gu'an, you don't notice his mouth when he's rambling on in his own home, but when he's in the imperial court, it's like a sharpened knife, every cut drawing blood.

Considering how hard he worked, let's just leave him out of this one-time charge.

Until Changping Jun stepped forward.

His expression was calm and composed. He spoke directly to the heart of the matter, from the selection of teachers and students to the practice of keeping the people ignorant and undermining the foundation of the country. His words were sharp and accusatory, causing Li Si to pause slightly.

The two immediately engaged in a heated debate in the hall, exchanging sharp words and witty remarks. Though no weapons were used, the atmosphere in the hall was more intense than a battlefield, and the tension in the hall grew ever stronger, like a string stretched to its limit.

Such a debate was full of brilliant arguments, each word a gem, each sentence a hidden barb. Even Zhou Wenqing found it difficult to interject, and couldn't help but take notice and secretly admire it.

They're all talented, but unfortunately they chose the wrong side.

However, that's about it—

Zhou Wenqing looked up at the throne, and Ying Zheng nodded slightly to him, then raised his hand.

Immediately, a servant carrying a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone silently walked to the side of the hall and laid them out in front of Han Fei.

Han Fei was intently watching the debate in the hall when he raised his eyes in slight surprise.

Zhou Wenqing had already withdrawn his gaze, stepped forward, and stood steadily in the center of the hall.

"Colleagues, this debate has been a waste of breath. I'll ask you only one question: what exactly are you afraid of?"

"The establishment of the Department of Law is not for personal gain or for the sake of power, but solely to make the laws of Qin clear to the world, so that more people can understand, know, and abide by the law. That is why you all cannot sit still."

He calmly surveyed the faces that looked as if their ancestral graves had been dug up, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"In the end, it's just that you're afraid that if the world knows the law, you won't be able to act as recklessly and bend the law for personal gain as before!"

These words ignited the anger of the entire hall, and the crowd erupted in fury once again.

These words thoroughly enraged the public. The ministers were so angry that their faces turned red, their beards and hair stood on end, and they were practically fuming.

Zhou Wenqing stood motionless in the hall, a cold smile playing on his lips, his hands clasped behind his back.

This is exactly the effect I wanted!

Go ahead and be angry, be furious! He's not playing the main role today, he's just playing this part!

"Zhou Neishi's words are wrong!" Immediately, an old minister stepped forward indignantly, his voice hoarse and strained.

"We are not trying to obstruct the new policy, but we are worried that the law school was established hastily and its foundation is not yet stable! Moreover, the common people are lowly, stupid and ignorant, how can they understand the principles of governing the country? Isn't this a ridiculous move? If the students are of mixed quality and disrupt the law, causing trouble from within, can you bear the responsibility?"

"Afraid?"

Zhou Wenqing glanced at him sideways, unhurriedly.

"What do I have to fear?"

"When commoners learn the law, they will know that merit should be rewarded and wrongdoing should be punished. They will have their own standards in their hearts. So, am I afraid, or are you gentlemen..."

He raised his hand and swept his fingers across the assembled officials in the hall with lightning speed, shouting sternly:

"Afraid that I might not be able to withstand the scrutiny of these national laws?!"

The old minister was forced to take half a step back by this finger, his lips trembling, his face turning pale and then red, and he was so angry that he almost suffocated.

Zhou Wenqing withdrew his hand, placing it behind his back. His voice gradually rose, each word distinct and clear, like the clash of metal and stone:

"Qi has the Jixia Academy, which welcomes scholars from all schools of thought. Scholars from all over the land flock to it, and all six states praise Qi for valuing talent and honoring the virtuous! Our great Qin is mighty throughout the world, and our Qin academy, in terms of scale and grandeur, is in no way inferior to it!"

"Medicine and crafts have already been established. Now, we are simply adding law to show the world that Qin is not only about iron cavalry, but also about laws and regulations; not only about weapons, but also about rules and order."

"If we don't even dare to offer this course, what will the world think? What will the six states think? They'll probably laugh at our Great Qin—strong on the outside but weak on the inside, all show and no substance!"

Having said that, he abruptly turned his head, raised his hand and pointed directly to the side of the hall, his voice even more stern, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall:

"Now that the Han envoy is here, witnessing the dispute between our ruler and his ministers, how can you cower and hesitate? What will the envoys of other nations think of our Great Qin?!"

There, Han Fei stood holding his brush.

After Zhou Wenqing finished speaking, he took half a step back, stood with his hands at his sides, and turned his gaze to Han Fei.

The contradictions in the situation are already apparent. He has done all the groundwork he needed to lay, he has burned the firewood that needed to be burned, and he has brought the people who needed to be brought to the forefront.

Next, it was the stage for this Legalist master.

Han Fei lowered his eyes, his gaze falling quietly on the flat, spread-out plain silk. His fingertips slowly tightened their grip on the pen, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the force, with faint blue veins bulging.

Just now, watching the powerful and wealthy obstruct the rule of law for their own selfish interests, watching Li Si and Zhou Wenqing push forward the legal system against all odds, and watching Ying Zheng present the "weapon" to him with expectation in his eyes.

At this moment, all the officials' eyes were focused on him.

Years of pent-up frustration erupted like a volcano, becoming uncontrollable.

He didn't think any further, raised his hand, and put down his pen.

Each stroke is powerful and expressive, penetrating the paper with unrestrained flow!

Those words of debate that had been stuck in the throat for half their lives in the South Korean court due to their stuttering were pressed into the paper, one by one, through this sophistry about law.

The speaker then read aloud, his voice clear and resonant, echoing throughout the hall. The voice was not Han Fei's, but every word and phrase belonged to Han Fei.

He was not a stuttering, speechless, and frustrated young master from Korea, but the great synthesizer of Legalism, who poured half his life's blood into ink—Han Fei!

The result is quite clear...

At first, some people stepped forward to argue, but they were rendered speechless by Han Fei's next words after only saying one sentence.

Then someone else stepped forward, trying to find another way, but before they could finish speaking, Han Fei's pen had already landed on the paper, and the speaker's voice had already drowned out his.

One, two, three... those voices of opposition that had been so impassioned just moments before fell silent, like ducks being choked.

Li Si stood to the side, only interjecting occasionally in the gaps between his writing, adding his own insights and succinct remarks. His words, though brief, always hit the nail on the head. The two, one writing and one speaking, one still and one moving, complemented each other perfectly.

Changping frowned, his expression shifting from calm to solemn, then to ashen, and finally to ashen. After a moment of death struggle, he slowly retreated to his position. His back clearly conveyed the four words: "It's beyond saving."

He withdrew, and so did everyone else.

Fa Ke, settled!

------

After the court adjourned, the words of the attendant still echoed in the hall. Ying Zheng had already risen from his throne and slowly walked towards the back of the hall.

Before the other officials could make a move, Zhou Wenqing was the first to act.

He moved with lightning speed, silently slipping to the side and hiding behind a thick pillar, listening to the chaotic sounds of the officials starting to leave.

Today's outburst was practically a direct attack on all the powerful officials in the court, almost to the point of eradicating them completely.

What if there's some hothead in there who thinks, "Sacrifice one to save thousands," and comes looking for him with a rock?

General Wang and the others are busy and haven't attended court!

He decided to wait until everyone had dispersed and the king was free to escort him before leaving.