55 Chapter 55

◎Mohism.◎

Fusu found that the court officials looked at him more and more strangely recently. In order to avoid feeling uneasy, Fusu asked his father to let him leave the palace and go to Han Fei's house to stay away from them for a while.

After hearing this, Ying Zheng enthusiastically suggested, "It's the end of the month now, wouldn't it be better if you went with Meng Hua to his house?"

"General Mengwu looks at me strangely. I don't want to go." Fusu refused.

Meng Tian and Meng Yi, who had frequent contact with Fusu, were fine and did not show any obvious abnormalities. However, Meng Wu was different. His family was a family of tight-lipped people. The two sons would never gossip with their old father about the eldest son. Therefore, most of Meng Wu's understanding of Fusu came from his grandson Meng Hua. This kid knew how to keep big things like porcelain and ice making secret, but many small things would be revealed as soon as he opened his mouth.

Ying Zheng couldn't help but laugh twice.

Fusu looked at his father complainingly: "Father——"

The reason why the court officials have been so strange recently is probably because Fusu has been accompanying his father in handling government affairs for the past month, and occasionally when his father asks him about it, he will express one or two opinions.

At first, upon seeing the eldest son beside the king, the courtiers felt helpless. The king truly doted on his son. Even if he wanted the eldest son to participate in government affairs, it would take at least another seven or eight years, right? Wouldn't having him around now just cause trouble?

After a few days, the court officials were no longer helpless, because the eldest son was a very quiet and well-behaved child, who would not make any noise. During the court meeting, the only thing the eldest son did was to pour tea for the king, which did not interfere with their discussions with the king at all.

This even caused the court officials to wonder, "No, they're both six-year-olds, so why are their children so different? So noisy and rambling, and not studying hard. Don't they have teachers to teach them?" They're both children, and even if the Wang family's child is more outstanding, the difference shouldn't be so stark, right?

Later, someone quietly mentioned that the eldest son's mother had died young, and there was no need to mention his grandmother. It was probably the king who taught him personally. Their child grew up pampered in the arms of his grandmother and mother...

Is this the difference between a child spoiled by their grandmother and mother and a child raised by their father?

Just when the court officials were eager to go home and teach their children personally, the king suddenly had an idea and asked the eldest son a question about state affairs, and the eldest son answered fluently.

The court officials did not take it seriously. They thought this must have been rehearsed in advance. The king was trying to save face for his son again!

But such things happened one after another. After a long time, the king allowed the court officials to talk with the eldest son, and he could actually speak coherently. The court officials began to doubt themselves.

Isn't the king deliberately building up momentum for his son, the eldest son... has he really received guidance from the gods?

The court officials all remembered the rumor from last year. Maybe it was probably true... It wasn't that the king had taught the eldest son in advance, but that the eldest son himself had great ambitions?

With such a near-certain speculation, the court officials all looked at Fusu eagerly, wanting to talk to him to confirm their speculation.

However, Ying Zheng put on the brakes at this time. During the court meeting, he did not allow the court officials to ask Fusu at will.

This is why Fusu felt so uneasy, being stared at by more than a dozen pairs of eyes every day. Who could stand it?

But Ying Zheng certainly wasn't deliberately trying to make things difficult for Fusu. His reason was simple: could anyone who wanted to take the exam for my son be allowed to take it? Now they knew my son was a genius beyond compare, wasn't it just half-belief and half-doubt before? Let them wait and worry!

Fusu was very grateful for his father's love, but he couldn't stand the looks of the court officials, so he thought of hiding for a while and waiting for them to return to normal before seeing them.

Han Fei's place is a great place to go. He lives in seclusion and no Qin ministers will visit him. It is really the quietest place.

Ying Zheng patted his eldest son's head and consoled him, "It's just a few glances. I'm not stared at every day, so I don't mind it."

Fusu said weakly, "Father, they dare not look directly at the emperor, so how could they be stared at? And you are sitting high up, so you can clearly see any small movements they make."

Seeing his pitiful appearance, Ying Zheng smiled softly and said, "Okay, I'll let you hide for two days. If you want to go to Han Fei's house, then go ahead."

Fusu immediately regained his spirits: "Thank you, father!"

"But don't stay too long. Be back before sunset." Ying Zheng added, "Also, how is Han Fei's illness? I haven't asked about it in a long time."

Fusu said, "The doctor said that Mr. Han has recovered from his illness and is in good spirits. He just doesn't like to go out or see people. Fortunately, he was willing to reply to the letter I sent him. I think we should just let him be. We can discuss other matters later."

Ying Zheng read their correspondence and found it very helpful. In addition, his son was not at a disadvantage in their confrontation. Therefore, Ying Zheng did not say anything to stop it.

Han Fei was indeed a talented person. As long as he could be used by Ying Zheng, he didn't care in what way.

…

However, Fusu's plan to leave the palace did not ultimately take place because a disciple of the Mohist school came to Xianyang.

Ever since Ying Zheng issued the royal decree, all counties and prefectures have been secretly searching for Mohist disciples within their jurisdiction. However, Mohist disciples are easy to find, but those who can be used by the king are not so easy to find.

The reason why this person was invited to Xianyang was because he did have proven talents and knowledge, and he was not too obsessed with promoting the Mohist "benevolent government".

"Water mill?" Ying Zheng asked.

"Your Majesty, according to this man, he got the idea from observing a waterwheel. Since water can drive a windmill, perhaps it can also drive a millstone," the visitor replied respectfully. "The watermill has now been completed in Shu County. Your Majesty, please take a look."

As he spoke, he presented a drawing.

Ying Zheng pulled Fusu over, and after the father and son reviewed the detailed blueprint together, Ying Zheng asked, "How much flour can this mill grind in a day?"

The man replied, "The water mill can turn continuously day and night, and can grind nearly two thousand kilograms of flour in one day and one night."

Ying Zheng smiled and said, "That's right, go and invite this person over."

Come and take your orders.

Fusu said, "Father, it doesn't look that difficult. Why not expand it and build a water mill like this every mile? Then the people won't have to use animals or human labor to pull the mill."

"Yes." Ying Zheng said, "It has already started among the people. Can I still stop it?"

Fusu smiled and said, "It is my father's wisdom that he is willing to promote the millstone and waterwheel. Otherwise, there would be no water mill today. In the future, when the water mill benefits the people, they will also be grateful for my father's grace."

Ying Zheng couldn't help but laugh: "It's not just my kindness that should be remembered. You should also remember the kindness of our eldest son. But you always speak in favor of the people."

Fusu shook his head and said, "Father, I am not speaking for the people, I am speaking for you."

"Hmm?" Ying Zheng looked at him.

Fusu said: "My father is the King of Qin, the father of all the people in Qin. The people of Qian are all your people. If I side with them, I will naturally side with my father."

The Son of Heaven is the parent of the people and the ruler of the world. This is Confucian thought.

Ying Zheng didn't like Confucianism very much, but this sentence suited his taste very much. He just wanted to be the king of the world and the Son of Heaven.

So, when Feng Yi followed the others into the hall, he saw the King of Qin who was very pleased. He hesitated for a step and suddenly felt a little flattered. Was he so valued by the King of Qin?

Feng Yi was the Mohist disciple who made the water mill. He never had the idea of ​​serving any king to spread his ideas. He just wanted to use his skills and knowledge to do something for the people and make their lives better.

He was suddenly invited to Xianyang this time, half voluntarily and half forced.

Feng Yi was also attracted by Qin's new inventions. After traveling to several counties in Qin, he was deeply shocked to find that the lives of the people in Qin were actually better than those in other countries.

Could it be that among all the schools of thought, the most superior one is the Legalist school?

Feng Yi traveled around the counties, his mind never stopping and his hands always wanting to do something, but his ideas were never very mature. It was not until he was in Shu County that he finally turned his water mill from paper into reality.

When the county magistrate came to him, he was confused because there were too many regulations in the Qin law. Although he had read it all, he could not remember every one of them in detail. So his first thought was, could it be that... I broke the law?

The good news is that Feng Yi did not break the law.

The bad news was that the county magistrate wanted to recommend him to the King of Qin - given the reputation of the King of Qin and the State of Qin among the vassal states, Feng Yi thought this was really bad news.

But when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. And seeing that the people of Qin were now living a better and better life, Feng Yi couldn't help but wonder, maybe... the King of Qin wasn't that scary after all? What if meeting him was a blessing in disguise?

With such uneasiness and expectation, Feng Yi followed the county magistrate's men to Xianyang to meet the King of Qin.

Based on this aspect alone, Feng Yi thought that he had come to the right place. The King of Qin was indeed different from the rumors. He was so friendly even when facing a small figure like him, he smiled at him.

Although Feng Yi invented the water mill, which reduced the hard work of grinding flour for the people, for the King of Qin, the water mill could neither help him train his troops nor govern the country, so it was actually not very useful.

Therefore, in Feng Yi's view, the King of Qin's behavior this time showed that he cared about the people.

With such a beautiful misunderstanding, Feng Yi and Ying Zheng had an extremely pleasant meeting. Especially after learning that Ying Zheng planned to promote water mills nationwide, Feng Yi almost disregarded etiquette and patted his chest to promise that he could definitely make the telescope.

Ying Zheng was also very generous. He directly let Feng Yi register as the Minister of Works. Regardless of whether he had any results or not, he would first give him a position in the Qin State.

Finally, Ying Zheng pointed at Fusu and said, "The telescope issue was all the eldest son's idea. If Mr. Feng has any questions, you can go and ask him."

Feng Yi looked at Fusu in surprise, then bowed and accepted the order.

【Author’s words】

"Shangshu Hongfan": The emperor is the parent of the people and the king of the world.