31 Chapter 31

◎Open conspiracy. ◎

Because Li Ying has a skill that no one else has and he is very generous in teaching, he has been able to thrive among the servants in the palace recently.

After becoming familiar with the people around him, he heard a lot of gossip and rumors in the palace. However, due to the strict Qin law, everyone spoke of it in a secretive and obscure manner. Unless you were very familiar with people who had been together for a long time, you could not get into this circle at all.

If Li Ying's teaching was not so practical that he couldn't even hide his skills, causing many people to think he was a simple-minded fool, he wouldn't have been able to get in so quickly.

As the saying goes, "Teach your apprentice and starve yourself to death." They had never seen a person like Li Ying before. They could only thank him while sighing that he was stupid.

Of course, Li Ying didn't know the above details. He just thought that the ancients were too simple and honest.

Li Ying soon heard the rumors about the king, the eldest son, and the gods. However, because they were about gods, the palace believed in them and was very taboo. They didn't dare to talk about them much, so Li Ying didn't hear much.

After finishing the work, Li Ying, who had not yet finished listening to the gossip, wanted to go back and ask Fusu, and then the two of them met at the palace gate.

Li Ying trotted forward a few steps. Since Fusu was with him, he saluted. Then he smiled and said, "My Lord, it's fate."

Fusu also smiled and asked, "Why are you back?"

"I need to know something." Li Ying leaned over and whispered, "Master, let's talk in the room."

"Okay." Fusu nodded. "Meng Hua and the others are in class. I'm free for now. Come over."

Arriving at Fusu's bedroom, Li Yingxian asked, "Master, have you returned from your father's place?"

Fusu poured a glass of water and said, "Yes."

Li Ying leaned his arm on the table and asked mysteriously, "Master, have you heard a rumor?"

Fusu swallowed the water and then asked, "Did it spread so quickly?"

"Your father knows about this too!" Li Ying asked curiously, "So what did he say?"

Fusu rested his chin on his hand and asked, "Have you ever considered that this rumor was spread by my father?"

"Huh?" Li Ying was stunned. "I thought someone was trying to flatter your father because of these new things recently. Someone wanted to flatter your father. It turns out that your father was just bragging. That's boring."

"Please be careful with your words." Fusu lowered his hand. "This is a method of ruling, not self-promotion."

Li Ying suddenly understood and said, "I understand. It's a means to consolidate feudal rule."

"My father has decided to spread the method of hatching eggs to the public." Fusu said again.

Li Ying nodded and said, "Another means to consolidate feudal rule."

Fusu smiled and said, "I can see that you listened carefully in class. That's great. Think about it again and see if there is anything else that can benefit the people."

Li Ying thought about it and said uncertainly: "Taxes?"

Fusu said: "Not yet."

"That's not very realistic..." Li Ying said, "Be more realistic. Besides hatching eggs, there are also millstones and tofu. These should also be spread to the people, right? We have to do it one by one. Young Master, are you really that short of officials in the Great Qin?"

Fusu said: "It's not a personnel issue."

Li Ying thought about it for a while and finally understood: "It's like tying a carrot in front of a donkey pulling a millstone. The carrot has to be there all the time to keep the donkey engaged."

Today it is the method of hatching eggs, tomorrow it is the millstone, and the day after tomorrow it is tofu. There must always be a carrot to seduce the hearts of the people and make them look forward to benefits, so that they can continue to support the rule of Qin.

Li Ying added, "This is a good idea. If this continues, the people of countries like Han and Zhao will see that you people are living better here, and they will hate that they are not Qin people."

This is not a conspiracy, it is an open conspiracy.

Fusu just smiled and said nothing.

…

When Ying Zheng wanted to spread the method of artificial hatching eggs to all parts of the Qin State, the benefits of woodblock printing became apparent. He first ordered Meng Yi to take the artificial hatching egg method and the kang making method and drawings previously written by Fusu to have craftsmen print them out, and then print them on a large scale. The printed manuals were then sent to various counties for distribution.

At that time, the Qin State's system still had counties larger than prefectures. It was not until Qin unified the six states that the prefecture-county system familiar to later generations was formed, in which counties were under the jurisdiction of prefectures.

The ministers of the Qin court have recently been in a stage of blind trust and worship of the king, so no one in the court opposed Ying Zheng's decision.

After giving benefits to the common people, Ying Zheng also did not neglect the court officials. Since the palace chefs received guidance from the eldest son, their cooking skills have been improved. In addition to their busy official duties, the court officials looked forward to the king's banquet every day. This time, Ying Zheng simply gave them the drawings of the millstone, as well as the method of making soy products and a recipe for pasta.

As for iron pots, given that iron was now mainly used to make weapons and farm tools, Ying Zheng only allowed iron pots to be made in the palace, and then he gave them away as rewards. No one else was allowed to make them privately.

The court officials were grateful for the reward, but at the same time, they began to covet another secret that the king was unwilling to reveal.

How were those books bestowed by the king made?

The calligraphy could not be called good, but it was neat and correct. The court officials had all been accustomed to reading and writing for many years, and they could all guarantee with confidence that the calligraphy was definitely not written by a human.

People cannot imagine things they have never seen. No matter how hard they scratch their heads, they cannot figure out how these characters were created.

Over the past few days, the court officials have also noticed some clues. This secret matter was assigned to Meng Yi by the king. He is the most loyal one. If this matter is handed over to him, not to mention the court officials trying to find out, even if his own father asks, Meng Yi will not reveal a word.

Therefore, the court officials could only look to the king with expectation, hoping that he would show mercy soon and open their eyes.

Ying Zheng naturally saw all these things, but he was not in a hurry. He was waiting for three things at the moment. One was that the counties would report on grain production and collect taxes, the second was the equipping of cavalry horses, and the third was the forging of iron weapons.

After these three things are done, Ying Zheng will prepare to send people to fight the last victory of the year, and then their Qin State will be able to have a good year.

As Ying Zheng became busy, Fusu had less time to see his father. However, he also had other things to do. The school locations and teachers for the princesses and princes had been chosen, and the royal school had started. It was the first day of formal classes, and he was a little worried and wanted to go and take a look.

It happened that the day before was the day when Li You and his three companions were going home. In the morning, he asked the kitchen to prepare some fresh snacks for the four of them to take back home. In the afternoon, he reminded the monks to pack their luggage in advance. When the afternoon class was over and the car was ready, he urged them to leave.

Because today is the day to go home, Li You and the other three are also very anxious. Seeing that Fusu seems to be more anxious than them and has prepared everything very well, they are very grateful and feel fortunate at the same time.

Fusu looked up at the carriage they were riding in, wondering how he could improve it to make it more comfortable for his father's future tours around the world. Suddenly, Meng Hua leaned over and asked with a smile, "Young Master, are you tired of us? Why are you rushing us to leave like this?"

Fusu came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Yes, I hate you the most, please leave now!"

Meng Hua scratched the air and said with a smile, "Since the eldest master said so, I will definitely come back to bother you soon!"

Wang Li was sitting in the same car with him. Hearing this, he patted his head and said with a smile, "Master, ignore him. I'll teach him a lesson for you!"

Meng Hua rubbed his head and was about to speak when Fusu said, "It will be dark if we don't leave now. Meng Hua, go back and sit down. We'll talk when you come back."

Meng Hua stopped talking and sat back in his seat obediently.

Li You smiled and said, "Young Master, your words are still useful. Please go back first, and we will leave."

Fusu smiled and nodded: "Okay, you guys drive slowly on your way. When I can go out of the palace to play, I will visit you at your homes."

The four people agreed in unison, and the coachman whipped the carriage, and it slowly started moving.

Meng Yi happened to be looking for Fusu for something. Seeing them saying goodbye, he came over to pay his respects to Fusu after they had left.

"Mingqing?" Fusu returned the greeting. "What do you want?"

Meng Yi said, "Young Master, it's about the academy."

The royal school was about to start classes, and Fusu originally wanted to ask Ying Zheng to give it a name, but he was too busy recently, so Fusu did not disturb his father and just temporarily called it the Academy.

"The desk has been set up as the eldest master ordered. Would you like to take a look?" Meng Yi asked.

Fusu smiled and said, "No need. Meng Qing has always been careful in his work. I have nothing to worry about."

Meng Yi smiled and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your trust, Young Master. Also, when I come to the academy tomorrow, I've already sent people to each palace to tell them again, to ensure that no young master or princess accidentally forgets."

"I also told them this afternoon..." The two of them talked as they walked, and went over the matter at the academy again. They felt relieved when they thought there was nothing wrong.

The next morning, Fusu got up early, had breakfast, and went to the academy.

When he arrived, there were already five people in the academy. In addition to the two leaders Ying Yue and Ying Gao, there was also Jiang Lu, who was good friends with Ying Gao, and Ying Lan and Ying Yu, who were good friends with Ying Yue. They were sitting together and talking, and when they saw Fusu coming, they all stood up to greet him.

Ying Yue joked, "Why are you here too, brother? Are you afraid that we won't come?"

Fusu came over and sat down, smiling and saying, "With my sister leading the way, none of our brothers and sisters would dare to be lazy. That's great, don't you think?"

Ying Gao scratched his nose and said, "Brother, I won't be lazy anymore, but...how did you know?"

When he was practicing calligraphy yesterday, he was thinking about going out to play, so he was lazy and wrote one less page. The teacher found out, but he was not a strict teacher, so he did not punish him.

Fusu said: "I have asked your respective teachers what you have learned and how you have learned it."

Seeing Fusu care about them so much, Ying Gao felt more and more embarrassed, and repeatedly promised that he would study hard in the future.