A live-streamed Chinese language lesson under the sky—the ancients were taken aback.

Liu Bang stood in front of the Weiyang Palace and laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

"Great, being Qin Er Shi wouldn't be bad, haha."

He suddenly remembered something from many years ago.

That year, he went to Xianyang to perform corvée labor and happened to encounter the First Emperor's tour.

The procession was grand and imposing, with imperial carriages, secondary carriages, and auxiliary carriages, with tiger-like guards leading the way, halberds like a forest, officials in attendance, and the common people giving way.

He squeezed into the crowd and saw the figure sitting under the canopy in the distance. He exclaimed, "Alas, this is what a true man should be like!" At that time, he was just a village head in Sishui and didn't even have a decent horse.

He also thought of another person, Xiang Yu.

The man who burned his boats and slaughtered the Qin army at the foot of Julu City, leaving corpses strewn across the battlefield.

The person who, at the Feast at Hongmen, had a hawk-like gaze and sent chills down his spine without uttering a single word.

The man who defeated his 560,000-strong allied army with 30,000 elite cavalry in the Battle of Pengcheng.

He thought he was going to die countless times, and he crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood countless times, surviving to the very end.

"Xiang Yu was strong enough to lift a tripod, and his spirit was unparalleled. The First Emperor swept across the six kingdoms and whipped the world."

"But," his voice grew agitated, "now, it is I who stand here."

Just as he was immersed in reminiscing about the past, a eunuch hurriedly entered the hall and interrupted him.

The eunuch, looking troubled, reported, "Your Majesty, there are not four imperial horses of the same color in the palace. For the grand court assembly procession, could we use horses of mixed colors to make up the number?"

"..." He muttered in response, "Your Excellency knows."

Liu Bang looked down at the plain palace and then recalled the grand procession of the First Emperor when he looked up at him on the streets of Xianyang years ago. He suddenly found it amusing.

Where's the sparkle? There's a huge mess to clean up!

Ying Zheng was bent over his desk reviewing memorials, the bamboo slips piled up almost as high as a person's head.

Since the last episode of Sky Curtain ended, the plans for the Epang Palace have long been abandoned.

As for the Lishan Mausoleum, he did not stop, but made some compromises, reducing the manpower and resources invested. The fear of death is not something that can be easily dispelled.

The Lingqu Canal was built less than a year ago. It was necessary to control the Lingnan region, for irrigation and navigation. Moreover, compared with other projects, it had a small construction scale and was extremely cost-effective.

However, the southern expedition against the Baiyue must be slowed down. Ying Zheng frowned, recalling Tianmu's mention of Zhao Tuo declaring himself king.

He was once again doing the work for someone else, but he suppressed his displeasure and continued to devote himself to his official duties.

The Great Wall and the imperial highways are mostly completed. These two projects started at the beginning of the unification and now, seven or eight years later, the main framework has been formed.

The broken sections of the Great Wall have been repaired, and several main roads of the imperial highways have been opened to traffic.

It will take some time to complete, but that's no longer the most urgent matter.

Ying Zheng considered in his mind that these two projects could be slowed down, the construction period extended, and the number of laborers conscripted each year reduced.

Before construction of the straight road even began, he wrote a line on the top of the road: "Suspension, to be discussed later."

This created a gap in the overlapping periods of these large-scale projects.

Construction on the Great Wall and the imperial highways continues, but progress has slowed.

The Lingqu Canal remains unaffected and construction continues as scheduled.

The straightaway was delayed.

The Epang Palace was abolished.

The Lishan Mausoleum is a shortened version.

In summary, the burden on the people can be reduced by at least 30%, if not halved.

(Several major projects of the Qin Dynasty overlapped during the last five years of Qin Shi Huang's life.)

Besides these, there are many other things to deal with.

Revising Qin laws, reducing corvée labor, revising taxes, investigating agricultural practices, papermaking technology, building academies, and dealing with the remnants of the six former states...

One problem after another caused the Qin court a great deal of trouble, and the Qin officials, who were already overwhelmed, were now even busier than before.

Ying Zheng had already decided that if Liu Bang and his men were captured, they would be made to work first.

He opened another stack of memorials, which were draft revisions to the Qin law submitted by Li Si from prison.

Indeed, even though Li Si was imprisoned, he still had to handle his original official duties.

He was probably eager to make a name for himself, because he had already presented the revised Qin law in just a few days. It was a lengthy document with hundreds of articles, covering everything from land rent to corvée labor, from collective punishment to corporal punishment, and each article was accompanied by legal reasoning and suggestions for revision.

Ying Zheng opened the draft and read it line by line.

The taxes levied on the Qin people were lower than those levied on immigrants from the six states; this was a continuation of old practices and not a new one.

If immigrants from the six states behave themselves and abide by Qin laws for three years without committing any crimes, they can receive the same tax treatment as the original Qin people.

If anyone reports the remnants of the six states who intend to rebel, and the report is verified, a reward will be given.

Those who are coerced into treason will be pardoned if they surrender themselves.

This is another application of the system of collective punishment. Instead of neighbors monitoring each other, it uses interests to divide the remaining forces of the six states, making them keep an eye on each other.

It's still the Legalist approach of seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, but these ideas do have their merits.

Ying Zheng put the draft aside and instructed his attendant, "Bring Li Si here."

Li Si was quickly brought into the hall. Several days of imprisonment had made his robes no longer as neat as usual, and his hair was somewhat disheveled, but his eyes were still shining.

He bowed respectfully, knelt before the table, and straightened his back.

It seems they have recovered from the blows dealt by Legalism.

"Regarding the prefecture-county system," Ying Zheng asked directly without beating around the bush, "what are your thoughts?"

Li Si remained silent for a moment, as if considering his words, then he raised his head and said something that surprised Ying Zheng.

"Your Majesty, would you consider implementing a feudal system?"

Ying Zheng did not answer immediately; he simply looked at Li Si with a calm gaze.

Li Si continued, "I know Your Majesty does not want to grant fiefdoms, but what Tianmu said is that granting fiefdoms is not a return, but a transition. The princes can be enfeoffed in the former territories of Qi, Chu, and Yan, with members of the imperial clan guarding them, and prefectures and counties as a supplement, and this can be implemented gradually."

Waiting until a generation has passed before gradually consolidating power will encounter far less resistance than directly appointing officials to forcibly implement Qin laws.

The horrific experience of having his entire family wiped out had caused Li Si to abandon his pursuit of power and devote himself wholeheartedly to the Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng glanced at him expressionlessly. If he didn't implement the prefecture-county system, wouldn't he be seen as a pure tyrant by future generations?

"To solidify the prefecture-county system is what I must do."

Li Si did not argue further and immediately proposed a second solution.

"I understand," he said. "Then please allow me to do one thing: revise the 'Code of Conduct for Officials' and redraft the evaluation standards for county and prefectural officials. The evaluation standards should not only include tax collection and law enforcement, but also agricultural promotion, water conservancy repair, and public pacification."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly in agreement.

"If paper can be manufactured, we can establish academies and enroll students," Ying Zheng suddenly said, his gaze sweeping far into the distance. "The number of officials can also be greatly increased."

Li Si was slightly taken aback, but then he understood what His Majesty meant.

The Qin Dynasty used officials as teachers, but the number of officials was far from sufficient. The production of bamboo slips was complicated, and the cost of document exchange was extremely high. It would take several years to train an official who could read and write.

If the cheap and lightweight paper that Tianmu mentioned could really be produced, it would mean that more people could read and write, more people could become officials, and the capillaries of the county system could extend to every village.

"Furthermore," Ying Zheng's voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, but loud enough for Li Si to hear, "the curriculum for these students is all set by the imperial court."

Li Si suddenly raised his head, a flicker of shock in his eyes.

Ying Zheng interrupted him, waving his hand, "Go back to the Prime Minister's residence."

Inside the quiet palace, the candle flames flickered slightly in the night breeze, casting shifting shadows on Ying Zheng's face.

Thoughts were the most important thing he learned from the heavens.

But now, he lowered his head again.

There was still a stack of memorials on the table that had not been reviewed, consisting of agricultural investigation reports submitted by magistrates from various counties in Guanzhong.

He opened the top document, picked up his pen, and continued reviewing it.

As for Fusu, he was handling official business with Ziying, since Ying Zheng couldn't spare the time right now.

He also needs to think carefully about the issue of succession.