Ying Fusu

As the saying goes: An army cannot be without a general for a day; a country cannot be without a ruler for a day.

After a long period of deliberation, struggle, and careful consideration of his words, Feng Quji finally stepped forward.

He uttered these words and rose to bow to Fusu.

Then he took a step forward, slowly walked to the center of the hall, and slowly scanned the officials and ministers in the hall.

"The First Emperor conquered the six kingdoms, unified the country, standardized the written language, and standardized the width of carts."

"His achievements surpass those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; he is unparalleled throughout history."

Therefore, he was called: the First Emperor.

...

Why is that?

"—This marked the beginning of the unification of the various Xia states and the establishment of the 'Emperor' system."

"The current dilemma of choosing an heir, which has left both the court and the public in a state of indecision, stems from this very issue."

As Feng Quji spoke, the court officials sitting on the east and west sides of the imperial couch, facing him, all nodded in agreement.

Feng Quji then slowly turned his body, taking in the reactions of the officials in the hall.

Finally, he stopped directly opposite the imperial couch—directly facing Fusu—and cupped his hands in greeting once more.

"The First Emperor was the first emperor of all the Xia dynasties."

"The second emperor of my Great Qin Dynasty was the first of the 'second emperors' among the various Xia states."

"The Second Emperor ascended the throne, marking the beginning of the 'Imperial Succession' in the various Xia states..."

After saying this, Feng Quji slowly bowed, but did not bend his waist too obviously.

He merely leaned forward slightly as a symbolic gesture, which was considered a bow to Fusu.

Meanwhile, Fusu, who was standing with his hands clasped beside the imperial couch in the main seat, returned the greeting with a bow and secretly sighed.

This is the root of all the problems.

There has never been a precedent.

Before the First Emperor, the title of "Emperor" had never existed in China.

There has never been a truly unified empire like the Qin Dynasty, which fully implemented the prefecture-county system.

What should an emperor be like?

What would a unified empire look like?

no one knows.

No one has ever seen it, and no one has ever heard of it.

Without precedents to refer to, no one knows what to do, and no one has the right to say: this is the right way to do it.

Except for the First Emperor.

Only the First Emperor could make such a decisive decision on such an unprecedented and unpredictable matter with a single word.

Let's talk about the funeral arrangements for the First Emperor;

Thirty-seven years ago, when he was still the King of Qin, the First Emperor ordered the construction of his mausoleum.

After unification, it was made even clearer that the plan would remain unchanged.

As originally planned, the Lishan Imperial Mausoleum will continue to be built to even higher standards.

With this foundation, the Xianyang court today is no longer troubled by how to handle the emperor's funeral arrangements.

After all, the First Emperor had already given the instructions.

This unprecedented unification left the unprecedented Qin Empire completely lost its direction for the future.

Therefore, they could only, and had to, follow the guidance of the only leader: Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng.

For example, the prefecture-county system.

—None of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties had ever done this before, so no one was sure what to do.

But if the First Emperor says it should be done this way, then there's no question about it, so it's done.

...

For example, the Great Wall in the north, the Guandong Straight Road, and the Epang Palace and the Lishan Imperial Mausoleum in Guanzhong.

Since the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, no regime has ever dared to undertake such large-scale construction projects with such unbridled abandon.

But the First Emperor said it was fine and to proceed as planned.

No question, let's do it.

...

When faced with a problem, one scratches one's head in despair; when the First Emperor issues an order, one simply bows one's head and obeys.

Just now, Feng Quji's seemingly vague statement, listing "the beginning of so-and-so," was actually a subtle way of expressing this viewpoint.

The First Emperor was the first "Emperor" in the history of Chinese civilization.

The Qin Dynasty was the first unified dynasty in Chinese history.

Next, the Qin Dynasty will welcome China's first "Second Emperor".

It will also be the first time that the "Emperor's Succession" will be implemented, an unprecedented feat.

This feat was also unprecedented.

If the First Emperor were still alive, things would be much easier—when in doubt, the First Emperor could make the decision alone.

Even after his death, the First Emperor could still issue instructions through his will.

The most direct way is to issue a will bequeathing the throne to one of the princes.

When subsequent rulers of the Qin Dynasty established their successors, they could refer to this precedent of "passing the throne by will," and this gradually became a fixed system.

Based on the specific person chosen by the First Emperor to pass the throne, a standard was roughly determined.

If the throne is passed to Fusu, then it will be a matter of establishing the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

If the throne is passed to Huhai, then the emperor can choose his favorite son to succeed him based on his own preferences.

Or perhaps they value virtue, strategy, literary talent, or military prowess.

Regardless of whether it's good or bad, there is always a standard.

Unfortunately, the First Emperor did not do so.

The First Emperor, the only one in the world qualified to set rules and precedents for the matter of "establishing an heir," passed away in Shaqiu a month and a half ago.

Under such circumstances, even Feng Quji, who was the head of all officials and the Right Chancellor of the court, did not dare to make the decision to set this rule.

Instead, by using the phrase "no precedent," they subtly hinted to Fusu that if, after the First Emperor's death, a general had to be chosen from among the dwarfs to be qualified to "set the rules," then that person should be the eldest son, Fusu.

Of course, it's also possible that this was an attempt to test Fusu's character and see how he would react and handle the matter.

Fusu was not displeased by Feng Quji's somewhat abrupt and offensive probing.

Having roughly understood Feng Quji's plan, he followed up by speaking loudly beside the imperial couch: "What Prime Minister Feng says is absolutely right."

"The emperor's establishment of an heir was unprecedented, with no precedent to follow."

"However, Prime Minister Feng also said: A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day."

"Even though the First Emperor's will did not explicitly establish an heir, our Great Qin still cannot fail to establish an heir to uphold the ancestral temples."

...

After speaking, Fusu took a deep breath and looked away from Feng Quji.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Li Si, the Left Chancellor, who was sitting upright behind Feng Quji;

Then he looked to the other side, where his teacher Meng Tian was still resting with his eyes closed.

Then, he slowly spoke, "According to ancient custom, when a ruler establishes an heir, he should follow the will of his predecessor."

"However, the First Emperor's will did not explicitly establish an heir."

...

"The next step is for the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to take charge of the government and support the young emperor."

"However, in our Great Qin, there is no Empress Dowager residing in the palace."

...

"There was neither the late emperor's will nor the empress dowager's decision."

"Perhaps, the only solution is for all officials to discuss and decide together."

As he spoke, Fusu slowly turned to the side and bowed deeply towards the side hall.

He added, "The First Emperor's body is still in the side hall, his bones are not yet cold."

"Then, gentlemen, in the main hall of the central palace—separated from the First Emperor by only one wall—you may speak freely."

...

"Either follow ancient customs or adhere to folk traditions;"

"Either the eldest son of the legitimate wife should be chosen, or the most virtuous should be selected."

"Whether it be a humble gentleman, a valiant man, a filial son, or a resourceful strategist—all are acceptable."

Before the officials could react, Fusu straightened up and looked at the Right Chancellor Feng Quji with a dark expression.

He then looked around at the assembled officials and added, "Just one point, I hope you all know."

"The late emperor had eighteen sons."

"Except for the eighteenth prince Huhai, the remaining seventeen are all open to discussion."

These words completely stirred up the doubts of all the officials and ministers, and Fusu let out another long sigh.

He paused briefly, then said with a hint of anger, "The princesses are also open to discussion!"

"But never mention Prince Huhai."