Starting with his deathbed remonstrance to Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperors were brought to their knees.

Li Qing glanced sideways at Li Si, showing him no respect whatsoever:

"Shut up! Who gave you the right to speak? The Qin Dynasty is ruled by His Majesty, not by your Li family!"

Li Si was so angry that he trembled all over and was about to explode on the spot.

Ying Zheng laughed.

He found it amusing to see Li Si get his comeuppance.

"Alright, stop arguing."

Ying Zheng suppressed the situation.

"I promise you, after you finish speaking, I will grant you death."

Li Qing was instantly happy:

"Your Majesty is so straightforward! Then I'll speak frankly!"

He turned to look at Li Si, deliberately provoking him, and asked with a wicked smile:

"Li Si, I'm asking you, where is your hometown? What did your ancestors do?"

"Insolence!" Li Si roared in anger, for these words were a public humiliation.

Ying Zheng then spoke up: "Li Si, answer him."

Li Si gritted his teeth, his face full of resentment: "I am from the State of Chu, a student of Xunzi, and I came to Qin to assist Your Majesty!"

"Oh, a man from Chu." Li Qing nodded, turning to look at Ying Zheng, his tone blunt and arrogant.

"Your Majesty, Li Si is from the State of Chu, yet he was appointed your prime minister, helping you conquer the land and establish rules. Why?"

"It's not that he was born loyal, it's because you dared to use people from six states, dared to give them opportunities, and dared to make good use of talented people!"

"So my point is very simple: don't burn books, don't kill people, make good use of the talents from the six states, turn them into Qin citizens, and the world will naturally be stable!"

Ying Zheng's lips curled into a smirk, a look of feigned anger: "You mean you want me to use only the people of the six states?"

"That's impossible!" Li Qing waved his hand and said bluntly, "There are plenty of people in the six kingdoms, a lot of scoundrels and good-for-nothings. The key is, how do we pick out the truly capable people!"

"In the past, it relied on recommendations, and it all depended on connections, family background, and lineage. The officials selected only thanked the recommender, not you. Over time, it became a group of powerful cliques that were impossible to control!"

These words struck at Ying Zheng's greatest weakness!

What he feared most in his life was ministers forming cliques and undermining imperial power; Li Qing's words hit the nail on the head.

Li Si remained silent, but he knew perfectly well that this was the current state of Qin. His Li family had disciples everywhere, which was both an honor and a source of fear for the emperor.

"Then tell me, how should we choose?" Ying Zheng pressed.

Li Qing held up two fingers, speaking simply and bluntly in two words:

"take an exam!"

"take an exam?"

Ying Zheng and Li Si were completely dumbfounded; they had never heard of this before.

Li Qing used direct examples and explained things in plain language, without beating around the bush at all:

"Let me give you an example. If you need to find a group of people who can do accounting to manage the national treasury and taxation, how do you find them now?"

Ying Zheng blurted out, "Have the Prime Minister's office arrange someone."

"That's the problem!" Li Qing shouted.

"When the Prime Minister's residence searches for someone, they only look for Li Si's relatives and apprentices. Over time, this group will band together, deceiving and hiding things from you without you even knowing!"

"But if you announce to the whole world that anyone who can do accounting should come to Xianyang to take the exam, and you personally set the questions, then whoever does best will become an official!"

"Those who do well on the exam, you personally appoint them to official positions; these people are your people, they'll only thank you, not anyone else! Those who do poorly, go home, prove you're incompetent, and stop complaining!"

Li Qing looked at Ying Zheng and smiled arrogantly:

"Your Majesty, tell me, are these people loyal to you, or to Li Si?"

"Then they must be loyal to His Majesty!" Li Si blurted out, his face full of excitement, completely unaware that this system was a butcher's knife that would destroy the foundation of aristocratic families!

Li Qing sneered inwardly: Still laughing? I'll deal with all of you big families soon!

"Yes! Let's do it that way!" Ying Zheng slammed his hand on the table, instantly understanding.

"Whether it's accounting, fighting, or writing documents, everything is tested; you become an official based on your ability!"

Li Qing didn't expect Zheng Ge to accept it so quickly, and continued speaking, each sentence ruthless:

"Make this rule fixed, hold an exam every three years, and compile another set of official teaching materials that only contain content that conforms to the rules of the Qin Dynasty and your ideas."

"Those messy schools of thought aren't tested in exams, aren't used for official positions, and nobody studies them, so they naturally fade away. You don't need to burn books or kill people!"

"Scholars learn skills only to become officials and make money! Who would waste time on useless knowledge? It will die out on its own without you even lifting a finger!"

Ying Zheng took a deep breath, stared intently at Li Qing, his eyes filled with shock.

He always thought that only burning and killing could unify people's thoughts. He never expected that there was such a soft knife that could completely solve the problem without bloodshed or killing people!

He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to issue the order to burn books. Even after killing more than twenty censors, the people were still full of resentment. But Li Qing's method perfectly solved all the problems!

"Furthermore, why did those talented scholars from the six states want to rebel?"

Li Qing continued, speaking frankly and clearly.

"Because the country was destroyed, there was nowhere to use their skills, and they felt frustrated, so they thought of causing trouble."

"Now that you can pass the exams, become an official, and enjoy wealth and honor, who would risk their life to rebel? Only a fool would do it!"

"A few die-hards are incompetent and have no followers; they can't cause any trouble, so there's no need to bother with them!"

Having said that, Li Qing stood up straight, determined to die.

"Your Majesty, I've told you all the methods. Keep your promise and boil me alive!"

Li Si was completely dumbfounded, standing there questioning the meaning of life.

Crazy? !

Such a brilliant plan could ensure the Qin Dynasty's eternal existence!

Anyone else would have begged to become one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, but this person actually begged to be boiled to death?

Ying Zheng looked at Li Qing and smiled, his eyes full of appreciation for talent:

"Wu Yu, you are a man of great talent. I cannot bear to kill you. I intend to give you an important position!"

Li Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she felt utterly disheartened.

Oh no, another promotion! I don't want to be an official, I want to die!

Li Qing lost his temper and, disregarding the rules, shouted on the spot:

"Your Majesty! You are a great emperor, a man of your word! You promised to kill me after I finished speaking, you cannot go back on your word!"

Li Si, standing to the side, curled his lip and thought to himself:

Keep pretending! All you want is a bigger official position, right? Hypocritical!

Ying Zheng thought the same way and immediately bestowed rewards:

"I hereby appoint you as the Junior Minister of the Imperial Household, placing you among the Nine Ministers, specifically in charge of the rules governing this examination. Do not refuse!"

Li Qing was completely frantic, his face flushed and his neck bulging as he roared:

"Your Majesty! I don't want to be an official! I don't want wealth and status! I just want to die!"

Ying Zheng was stunned and looked at Li Si.

Li Si was also stunned and looked at Ying Zheng.

The emperor and his minister stared at each other, completely dumbfounded.

This guy isn't faking it; he genuinely wants to die! A complete madman!

"Are you afraid that this rule will sever the lineage of your aristocratic family, and that someone will retaliate against you?"

Li Si spoke up to offer advice.

"I'm not afraid!" Li Qing shook his head. "If I dare to bring it up, I'm not afraid of anyone's retaliation!"

"Then why did you have to die? Wouldn't it have been better to be a good official and assist His Majesty?" Li Si asked, his face full of confusion.

Li Qing glanced at the large bronze pillars in the main hall and had an idea in mind.

"Your Majesty, if you won't kill me, then I have something else to say!"

"you say."

Ying Zheng smiled and nodded, thinking that he was finally going to make his demands.

Li Si breathed a sigh of relief: Sure enough, no one can resist wealth and honor.