Ying Fusu

Chapter 024 Nothing in this world is ever perfect~

Several days later, on the straight road.

The imperial procession was positioned towards the front.

Fusu knelt inside the carriage and handed the newly drafted, forged edict, personally drafted by Li Si, to his teacher, Meng Tian.

When Fusu told him that this was a forged edict about Zhao Gao supporting Huhai and ordering the deaths of Meng Tian and Fusu, Meng Tian didn't take it seriously at all.

—The core objective of Zhao Gao and Li Si in launching the Sand Dune Coup was to establish Huhai as the crown prince and to order the deaths of Meng Tian and Fusu.

To be precise, the former is the goal that the two of them wanted to achieve.

The latter refers to the extraordinary measures that must be taken to achieve the goal.

By putting this matter in writing and on the "Edict of the First Emperor," the crime of Zhao Gao and Li Si usurping the throne could be confirmed.

But after carefully reading the contents of this forged edict, even Meng Tian, who was used to seeing all sorts of storms, couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly.

"Zhao Gao, the commander of the Central Chariots, was appointed... as Chancellor?"

"Paying homage to Zhongfu?!"

...

"The execution of Prince Fusu and General Meng Tian..."

"—Right Chancellor Feng Quji and Left Chancellor Li Si?!"

"And there's also Minister Meng Yi, General Wang Li, and Minister of the Imperial Treasury Zhang Han..."

"Hiss~~"

After reading it the first time, Meng Tian, as if afraid he might have misread it, read it a second time carefully, word by word.

After confirming that he hadn't misread it, he gently placed the edict back on his lap and began to ponder it with a frown.

After a moment, having roughly grasped the situation, Meng Tian shook his head with a wry smile.

"Both the Prime Minister and the Uncle."

"Young master, is it possible that the imperial court in Xianyang is once again thinking of that 'old friend'?"

...

"If he is to be the prime minister and the second prime minister, then it is only reasonable to execute the left and right prime ministers."

"Plus, there are the old ministers, General Wang Li, and Ministers A Yi and Zhang Han..."

"--Very clumsy."

"Yet it was clumsy yet perfectly appropriate."

"It is very much like what a high-ranking official in charge of the imperial carriage, with a salary of 600 shi, could do in a failed coup."

Having said that, Meng Tian smiled and looked up, handing the imperial edict back to Fusu.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at Fusu was filled with undisguised satisfaction and admiration.

"With this edict in hand, even Li Si became a target for Zhao Gao's purging."

"My lord, has the matter of the Dune Incident been completely covered up?"

Upon hearing this, Fusu smiled faintly, but his tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"With the intelligence of a student, this is the best that can be done."

“Completely covering it up might backfire, and in the future, students might be unjustly stigmatized as ‘rebellious usurpers.’”

"It's better to cover up the person than to cover up the matter."

"The fact that Li Si was removed from office is because the 600-stone chariot official, driven by personal desire, attempted to usurp the position of his own student."

"Instead of the current Left Chancellor personally participating, the dramatic changes that nearly disrupted the Qin dynasty were averted."

...

"Without the involvement of important officials, the project was aborted and could not be carried out."

"In this way, the unrest caused by this matter can be kept to a minimum."

With each word Fusu spoke, the admiration in Meng Tian's eyes visibly increased.

As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but raise his hand, instinctively wanting to clap and cheer.

Then he realized that the imperial procession was returning from a state of mourning, and even Fusu in front of him was wearing mourning clothes. So he subtly put his hand back on his lap.

With a maternal smile on her face, she stared at Fusu for a long while before stroking her beard and sighing softly, "But Li Si got off easy?"

"Thus he was able to escape punishment, though his life was still in danger, but he ultimately preserved his reputation."

"In the future, when Li Si 'falls seriously ill and dies,' the young master will likely only be able to provide for the Li family with generous compensation and honors."

Meng Tian stopped mid-sentence, not revealing the conclusion he was about to make.

Fusu immediately understood.

—That's too lenient on Li Si.

This is too lenient on Li Si's clan, wife, and children.

It was clearly a crime deserving the extermination of the entire clan, yet only Li Si died—and even that was purported to be a death from illness, rather than a punishment…

Nothing in this world is perfect.

Then Fusu sighed softly, his expression remaining relatively calm.

"The only way to cover up the Dune Incident—to cover up Li Si, an accomplice and high-ranking official—is to do this."

"If we want Li Si, a man who is about to die, to be willing to protect his students, then this is the only way."

...

"Fine."

"When Qin Shi Huang unified the country, Li Si was by the emperor's side and ultimately contributed to the effort."

"Just considering Li Si's contributions, our Great Qin should treat Li Si's family members well."

"It's nothing more than a little money, grain, cloth, wine, meat, and other valuables."

"The ancestral temples and the state are of utmost importance."

"The overall situation is the priority."

These words brought Meng Tian great comfort once again.

The mental shock that Fusu had forcibly attributed to Meng Yi to Meng Tian, which was of unknown origin, seemed to be somewhat dispelled by this grand and righteous statement.

Meng Tian secretly memorized the forged edict that was planned by Fusu, written by Li Si, and ultimately forced upon Zhao Gao. After pondering for a moment, he brought up another person.

"Young master, have you not yet gone to meet the eighteenth young master?"

The question, seemingly casual yet subtly pointed, caused Fusu to furrow his brow slightly.

His tone, however, was nonchalant.

There's no need to meet.

"There's not much to say."

"Once we return to Xianyang, we will find a secluded hall in the deep palace and confine him there."

Fusu wasn't lying.

Fusu had absolutely no goodwill or interest in the Second Emperor, who in history single-handedly destroyed the Qin Dynasty.

Furthermore, Fusu has only been here for a little over a month.

Regarding these "ancient people" who were related to the original owner, Fusu did not have much of the original owner's remaining emotional bias.

Fusu held Meng Tian in the same reverence and respect that men of later generations generally held, and was willing to spend time and effort getting along with Meng Tian to solidify the teacher-student relationship so that they could work together in the future.

As for Li Si, Fusu, from the perspective of the Second Emperor, was happy to plan with Li Si for the future of Qin.

Fusu's view of Li Si, a historical figure, was not entirely negative.

As Fusu just said: He was, after all, a meritorious official in the unification of Qin.

Merit is merit, and fault is fault.

Mistakes should be punished, but merits should also be acknowledged.

We must view this dialectically.

Hu Hai—Fusu—neither gave any positive evaluation of this historical figure nor had any need to interact or cooperate with him later.

The decision not to kill Hu Hai was solely based on political considerations.

"The news of the First Emperor's death has been urgently sent to Xianyang."

"This trip is also a return from mourning."

"The imperial carriage will proceed slowly along the straight road, and it may take more than a month to reach Xianyang..."

After a brief silence, Fusu steered the conversation back to the main topic.

Just when Meng Tian thought that Fusu wanted to discuss or plan with him about the national mourning and his accession to the throne, Fusu suddenly reached into his robes.

Then, Fusu handed Meng Tian a list of wanted persons that left him completely baffled.

"This is……"

"Accomplices in the Dune Coup?"

He tentatively asked a question, and Meng Tian took the cloth from his hand and carefully examined the list.

The more Meng Tian looked, the more confused he became.

"Sima Xin, prison clerk of Liyang..."

"Cavalry Commandant, Dong Yi..."

...

"Former member of the Wei royal family: Wei Bao..."

"Former royal family member of Han: Han Cheng..."

"Former member of the Zhao royal family: Zhao Xie..."

"The entire Tian clan, a branch of the former Qi royal family..."