Chapter 168: Is Qin's fate so short? (Word count added)

However, Qin Sheng's attention was soon drawn to another matter, and he didn't even have the heart to look closely at the manuscript in his hand.

Qin Sheng gritted his teeth and looked at Chu Yian: "When I wrote about Mencius earlier, the students' reactions were relatively calm, but some people in the court have already used this to attack you."

"Not only did you write about Mencius today, you also portrayed him in such a terrible light that he is completely unworthy of the title of sage. I'm afraid the students will be unable to sit still."

"Why don't you stay at home tomorrow? You'll be scolded if you go out."

Chu Yian blinked, disagreeing with Qin Sheng's words: "The one who scolded Mencius was Dapeng, it was Zhang Yi, what does it have to do with me, Chu Yian?"

"I'm just a naive, innocent little girl. Who wants to embarrass me? Besides, I have to go out and buy something for you tomorrow."

Just curse her, curse her as much as you want, it won’t hit her anyway.

Qin Sheng: ...

The corners of Qin Sheng's lips rose.

Qin Huaishu couldn't help but chuckle. Chu Yian's thoughts were indeed lively.

If no one exposed her, she would probably feel at ease and join others in scolding Dapeng.

This mentality is very good.

Although he laughed, Qin Huaishu immediately understood the cultural differences and cultural intersections between this world and the world Chu Yian lived in.

To be honest, I was a little shocked, but more of it was curiosity.

I'd love to know what the specific culture is like.

Qin Huaishu just watched them chatting and laughing, and decided not to disturb them, suppressing the curiosity that arose in his heart.

Chu Yian continued: "And I think it's normal for people to have flaws. Even the saints in our hearts have imperfections."

“Saints are also human beings. As long as they cannot escape the scope of being human, there will be regrets and imperfections.”

"Is there anyone in this world who is completely perfect and has no regrets in life?"

"Don't even mention Mencius. Even Confucius started to withdraw his disciples because he was not given the opportunity to use his talents."

"Even Confucius ridiculed himself for being as frightened as a stray dog, so how could Mencius not say the same?"

"Xiao Shengzi, you have to know that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, no one ruled entirely according to Confucianism."

“Although the monarchs of various countries treated Confucianism with great courtesy, that was because they were well-known and respected.”

"If you don't treat me with courtesy, other celebrities will hear about it and think that this king is perfunctory even to such a person and doesn't value talent at all. Naturally, they won't come here to serve you."

"It wasn't until two hundred years later, when Dong Zhongshu proposed abolishing all other schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone, that Confucianism truly became mainstream. Before that, it was an indisputable fact that Confucianism had never been given much weight."

"Do you understand? Confucianism was not valued during the entire Warring States period! I'm talking about history, and they're talking about emotions?"

Chu Yian stared at Qin Sheng with a fierce look in his eyes: "Hold it in."

Qin Sheng: ...

Qin Sheng lowered his head and said timidly: "Okay."

Qin Huai Shu: ...

Qin Huaishu couldn't help laughing, and reached out to pat Qin Sheng on the shoulder: "Xiao Shengzi, let them talk if they want. If they can't find anything to blame on you or me, let them talk."

Qin Sheng slapped Qin Huaishu's hand away, turned his head and glared at him: "Can you please stop calling me Xiao Shengzi?"

Qin Huaishu's eyes curved: "Okay, I'll listen to Xiao Shengzi."

Qin Sheng: ...

Chu Yian clicked his tongue twice and was about to tease the brothers when Qin Huaishu suddenly said, "But sister-in-law, I have a bad feeling when I hear you say that."

"Since Confucianism was not valued throughout the Warring States period, we are only in the middle of the period now."

"In other words, only after Qin unified the six kingdoms could this turbulent era and the Warring States period come to an end."

"Two hundred years...it will probably take quite a while for Qin to unify the six kingdoms."

Qin Huaishu frowned slightly. "Even if a new dynasty is established after the dynasty is overthrown, it may still take some time for Dong Zhongshu to propose the abolition of all schools of thought and the promotion of Confucianism as you mentioned."

"After uniting the six kingdoms, was Qin's fate so short-lived? Why?"

Chu Yian: ...

Chu Yian was dumbfounded: "Why do you guess so? The unification of the six kingdoms ended the long period of war and chaos, and the Warring States period was over."

"After the Warring States period, the laws that applied during wartime were naturally no longer suitable for the unified dynasty."

"Isn't it natural to choose a more moderate way to govern the country and give the people a chance to breathe?"

Qin Huaishu's speculation...

Although he hit the point, Chu Yian still couldn't figure out how Qin Huaishu figured out the key points.

Qin Huaishu smiled and explained softly, "Judging from the current situation, although Wei was forced to retreat to Daliang, most of the land they lost was actually conquered from other countries, and it did not cause much impact on their ancestral foundation."

"After all, they were once a dominant power. Even a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even their ancestral foundation is enough for them to continue to support Wei's status as a powerful country."

"Wei, Qi, and Qin are three powerful nations, each with its own strength. The other four nations are slightly weaker, but not so weak that they would have to offer precious treasures to the powerful nations and submit to them."

"And it's not just Qin that's growing stronger. All nations are trying to increase their own national strength, hoping to seize an advantage."

"Although the effect may not be as effective as that of Qin, since they are all trying to become stronger, it is inevitable that Qin will not be able to annex the six kingdoms and achieve unification for a long time to come."

Qin Huaishu was silent for a moment, looked at Chu Yian, and seeing that she didn't seem to have any questions, he continued.

"Shang Yang's reforms made Qin strong. Even after King Huiwen of Qin killed Shang Yang, he preserved the new laws."

"The forces behind the reforms have been completely eradicated. The new laws have been in effect for such a long time that even if a future monarch wants to restore the throne, it will be extremely difficult. The possibility of restoration is very low."

“So this new law will probably continue to be used until unification.”

"Since this new set of laws has enabled the Qin State to achieve great unification, it shows that this set of laws is truly useful to the Qin State."

"Since it works, it's unlikely that Qin will reform again for a long time to come."

Qin Huaishu was silent for a moment and wanted to say the next sentence directly, but he was afraid that Chu Yian would not understand, so he added a sentence.

"At this time, the seven kingdoms were still in the exploratory stages of the new laws. Most of them had strategies for strengthening their nations, but they weren't suitable for restoring governance after unifying the six kingdoms."

"While Confucianism can help a country recuperate, Shang Yang burned many books during his reforms. The Qin rulers were heavily influenced by Shang Yang, so one can imagine their attitude towards Confucianism."

"If one wants to completely abolish all schools of thought, uphold Confucianism alone, and make other schools of thought fade out, there are only two possibilities."

"The first is that the Qin state did not perish, but gradually realized the exploitation of the lower classes by Shang Yang's laws during its development after unifying the six kingdoms, and thus made changes."

“But this requires a long period of development and exploration.”

"And that's just the fading of the new law. It shouldn't be to the point of abolishing all schools of thought."

"Even if we want to reuse Confucianism, there is no need to abolish all schools of thought."

"The Legalists, the Military Strategists, and the Diplomats who emerged at that time all greatly helped the Qin State to become stronger and even achieve unification."

"Abolishing these schools of thought would inevitably cause unrest and spark dissatisfaction among countless meritorious officials and their descendants. One can only imagine how difficult it would be."

"So, if the Qin State were to accomplish the task of abolishing all schools of thought and prioritizing Confucianism alone, it would be both time-consuming and difficult."

"The second scenario is that major turmoil occurs again."

"But if unrest breaks out again, the likelihood of Qin dismissing all schools of thought will be even lower. After all, he will need the talents of military strategists and diplomats to quell the unrest."

"To depose him at this time would be tantamount to destroying one's own foundation."

Therefore, the Qinhuai Book is more inclined to believe that the Qin Dynasty was destroyed after the great turmoil.

All the Legalists and Diplomats of Qin are gone.

It was reasonable for later dynasties to propose abolishing all schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism in order to reduce instability and end the division of power among warlords.

Unity of thought will naturally reduce many disputes.

The Dashun Dynasty is now also based on Confucianism, and this kind of thinking has indeed reduced the turmoil caused by war to a certain extent.

However, the disadvantages are also obvious. It has fostered a group of good-for-nothings in the court who bully the weak and fear the strong.

No matter what happens, the first thought is always to negotiate peace and send the princess to marry.

There are very few people who are brave enough to stand up and say that they will send people to beat them severely.

This is true for everyone from the king to the common people.

Qin Sheng gave Qin Huaishu a thumbs up: "Brother, you are so thoughtful. I admire you."

Qin Huaishu's eyes curved, and he said to Qin Sheng, "Xiaosheng, thank you for your compliment."

Chu Yian was stunned when he heard this. He had only heard Qin Sheng say that Qin Huaishu was better than him before, but he had little contact with him in the past and had never felt anything.

I have seen it today.

But this did not affect her resentment at all because she had buried the bomb for a long time and planned to explode it later to give them a shock, but it was exposed in advance.

Chu Yian glared at Qin Huaishu, unhappy: "You are such a disgusting person."

Qin Huaishu: ...

Qin Sheng wanted to laugh, but held it back.

Qin Huaishu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but finally lowered his head: "I'm sorry."

Qin Sheng: ...

Qin Sheng couldn't help but put down his pen and leaned on Qin Huaishu's shoulder and laughed: "Hahaha, brother, you, you..."

Chu Yian couldn't help but laugh at his sorry.

She originally just complained that this person was too sensitive. She should have said less, as it cost her a lot of fun.

Who would have thought that Qin Huaishu would actually apologize seriously.

This made Chu Yian feel a little embarrassed: "I, I was just joking, big brother, you don't have to take it seriously, and you don't have to apologize to me so solemnly."

Qin Huaishu raised his head and smiled: "Thinking about these things too much, it's inevitable that you will think too much."

"I'm so ignorant, I'm sorry to have made you laugh at me."

Chu Yian quickly shook his head: "No, no, let's talk about this later, let's not talk about it now."

Chu Yian had no habit of revealing spoilers. Although Qin Huaishu had guessed the truth, he certainly could not have guessed the details, and they would still shock him if they were revealed later.

Now that I say it, won’t it be fun?

Qin Huaishu nodded and didn't ask any further questions: "Shall we continue? Or should we eat some fruit and take a break?"

As he spoke, he stood up and brought a plate of fresh pears to the table.

Chu Yian shook his head: "No, continue."

Qin Sheng picked up the pen again.

Zhang Yi suffered a setback in Wei State. After returning, he told Su Qin about his experience in Wei State and was very angry.

Su Qin didn't think so. Although Zhang Yi was scolded, he scolded Mencius, which made the King of Wei's intention to recruit talents seem so hypocritical. He felt that Zhang Yi's reputation would definitely spread.

Only after Zhang Yi left did Su Qin finally set off for the State of Qin.

He met with the King of Qin, Ying Si, and offered him his strategy for becoming a king and a hegemon.

Su Qin believed that there were roughly two strategies for becoming a king or a hegemon nowadays. One was to comfort the people and punish the criminals like King Tang and King Wu of Shang did.

The other way is to unite the princes, defend the country internally and maintain external stability, just like Duke Huan of Qi.

However, neither of these two methods is likely to be implemented nowadays, and we must find a new path.

Great struggles will destroy countries and forceful unification will follow.

Su Qin continued to talk about his own views, but Ying Si did not say anything after listening.

Until the end of the conversation, Ying Si was still hesitant and did not respond.

Su Qin knew that Ying Si did not approve of his strategy. Since his strategy was not valued in Qin, there was no point in him staying there.

When he was about to leave, Ying Si told him to stay in Qin and serve as a prime minister. Wasn't Gongsun Yan also a prime minister?

It's just a nominal position.

A man as proud as Su Qin naturally disdained such an empty position and said goodbye and left.

But after just a few days, he encountered thieves, his car was stolen, his money was lost, and everything was gone.

The Qin State had very harsh punishments for thieves, but Su Qin was full of vigor and vitality when he went out. Now that he had suddenly fallen into such a state, he felt that he had lost all face and did not even think of reporting to the authorities. He could only return home in disgrace.

I cried so much tears along the way, I felt so wronged that I almost had to beg for food before I got home in such a mess.

Although Zhang Yi and Su Qin were both famous strategists in history, their life experiences were not always smooth.

So was Su Qin, and so was Zhang Yi.

Soon after Zhang Yi returned from Wei, he went to Qi to meet King Wei of Qi.

Now King Wei of Qi regrets every day, and feels sorry for the mistakes he made. He regrets it so much that his intestines turn green.

After the Battle of Maling, two famous generals of Qi, Tian Ji and Sun Bin, became famous.

If it continues on this path, why wouldn't Qi become the new hegemonic power?

Unfortunately, a few years later, Zou Ji set a trap for Tian Ji to commit rebellion. Instead of resolving the conflict between the two, he made a wrong decision in dealing with Tian Ji, forcing Tian Ji to flee from Qi.

Tian Ji left, and Sun Bin, disappointed with Qi, also left.

King Wei of Qi could not find Tian Ji or Sun Bin.

Only then did I regret the mistake I had made.

He not only felt regret, but also hated Zou Ji.

Zou Ji was not a man of great talent, and every time we discussed things with him, we failed to get to the point.

Just then, a servant came to report that Zhang Yi had arrived.

Zhang Yi's criticism of Mencius did indeed make him famous, although most of the criticism was directed at him.

However, King Wei of Qi had a bad impression of Mencius because he had asked for someone to kill him when he lost the debate at the Jixia Academy. So he now had high expectations for Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi came here and offered King Wei of Qi a sixteen-word piece of advice.

Ally with Wei to lock Qin, make peace with Qin and respect Wei, ally with Yan and Zhao in the north, and contain Chu and Han in the south.