6 Chapter 6

◎Han Fei. ◎

After hearing what his eldest son said, Ying Zheng couldn't help but look down at the article he had just copied on paper. It was written by Han Fei.

Ying Zheng did not ask in detail what Meng Yi and Chang Wenjun taught Fusu every day, but there was no reason for the name Han Fei to appear in the mouths of these two people.

Then Ying Zheng asked, "Fusu, did the previous kings tell you to ask your father to invite Han Fei to be your teacher?"

"No," Fusu shook his head. "My great-grandfather and the late King Zhaoxiang discussed Mr. Han's writings, and they liked them very much. My great-grandfather told me that Mr. Han is now in Xianyang. I think that if he can write articles that both my great-grandfather and the late King Zhaoxiang like, he must be a good writer. Father, how is Mr. Han?"

Since Shang Yang's reforms, Qin has attached great importance to the Legalists. It is not surprising that the two former kings liked Han Fei's articles. After all, Ying Zheng himself loved them very much.

However, Han Fei was not a Qin citizen and only wanted to preserve Han, so he could not be used by Ying Zheng, which made him very worried.

When Fusu mentioned this, the familiar worries came to his mind again, and Ying Zheng even forgot to reply to his eldest son.

Fusu had no choice but to say: "Father, is it possible that Mr. Han cannot come to teach me? It doesn't matter. I can choose another teacher."

Ying Zheng came back to his senses and pressed his finger on the paper with Han Fei's article.

It would naturally be great to have a gentleman who is proficient in Legalism as Fusu's teacher. In fact, Ying Zheng also had this plan, but the teacher he chose was Li Si.

Just when he was about to follow Fusu's advice and choose another teacher for him, he suddenly remembered that Li Si had repeatedly hinted to him recently that Han Fei was not suitable for Qin and might cause trouble in the future.

There can't be two tigers in one mountain. Ying Zheng knew Li Si's little thoughts, but he didn't mind it, because what he said was indeed true. He really couldn't tolerate Han Fei leaving Qin.

But if he really wanted to wipe out the entire Han Fei, Ying Zheng couldn't bear to give up this talented Han Fei. However, under the current circumstances, there seemed to be no solution that would satisfy both parties, which made him very regretful.

Ying Zheng couldn't help but look at Fusu's tender little face. Could Fusu be the turning point?

If Han Fei could stay with Fusu in the name of his teacher, perhaps the temporary dilemma could be resolved.

Fusu was not an ordinary child. He had successive kings behind him, as well as himself. Even if Han Fei had great abilities, it was impossible for him to teach the eldest prince of Qin to help Han.

Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Mr. Han is indeed very good. Fusu, if you like him, your father will allow him to be your teacher."

Fusu smiled and thanked him: "Thank you very much, father."

Ying Zheng patted Fusu's head and said with a smile, "I will issue an order, allowing him to concentrate on being your teacher from now on."

Fusu understood his father's intention, but he pretended to be ignorant. "I will listen carefully to your teachings and live up to your good intentions."

…

The next day, Han Fei was assigned by the King of Qin to be the teacher of the eldest son, and the King of Qin's messenger repeatedly emphasized that from now on, Han Fei only needed to teach the eldest son and should not take care of anything else.

Han Fei was stubborn but had a flexible mind. When he heard this, how could he not understand what the King of Qin meant? It was obvious that he was annoyed by him.

Ying Zheng loved Han Fei's articles and ideas. When Han Fei first came to the Kingdom of Han, he often invited him to talk. However, no matter what the topic was, Han Fei could always turn the topic to the issue of preserving Han and attacking Zhao. Over time, Ying Zheng's dislike became obvious.

Of course, Han Fei could also see that the King of Qin's attitude towards him changed from joy to impatience, but he was a prince of Han. Although he was sent by the King of Han to the Qin State as an envoy, and the King of Han probably hoped that he would die in Qin State, Han Fei was not doing it for the King of Han, but for his motherland. Even if the King of Qin annoyed him again and again, he would still bring up the matter of Han's attack on Zhao again and again.

As soon as this order came out, Han Fei knew that the King of Qin's patience with him had reached its limit, but what surprised him was that the King of Qin actually chose such a gentle approach.

Even though the King of Qin always showed respect to the wise and humble, Han Fei could see that he was not a benevolent and kind monarch, and that he was not indispensable to the King of Qin. This gentle approach was really unkind to the King of Qin.

Han Fei walked around the room several times, but he still had a question that he couldn't figure out.

What does it mean that the King of Qin was tired of me but pushed me to his eldest son?

The King of Qin wanted to employ a prince from the State of Han, but he himself failed to do so. He did not employ any of the other Qin officials, but instead employed his own eldest son who was only five years old?

Was there something special about this great prince of Qin? Or was the King of Qin so childish as to use such an ignorant child to humiliate Han Fei?

Full of doubts, Han Fei entered the Qin Palace in the afternoon and met Fusu, the eldest son of Qin.

Han Fei glanced over and saw a delicate and graceful child waiting to greet him. The child greeted him politely, "Greetings, sir."

Han Fei responded, "Young Master."

The two men walked into the inner room and sat down. Han Fei first asked Fusu what books he had read. Fusu told him one by one. Han Fei then asked him when he started reading.

After learning that he had learned calligraphy for a year and read books for half a month, Han Fei pursed his lips and remained silent.

Putting aside other things, the eldest son of Qin is indeed a very talented person.

Seeing Han Fei pursed his lips and remained silent, Fusu spoke first, "I heard from my father that you are from the Kingdom of Han. I have never left the palace. May I ask, where is the Kingdom of Han?"

Han Fei looked at Fusu, the eldest son of the King of Qin. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the future heir to the Qin State.

He really couldn't figure out why the King of Qin asked him to be the eldest son's teacher.

Han Fei frowned and replied, "My Lord, Han is east of Qin."

Han Fei stutters, so he speaks a little slowly.

"Oh." Fusu nodded to show that he understood.

Out of curiosity, Li Ying fought for the opportunity to follow Fusu to attend the class today. After hearing Han Fei's answer, he couldn't help but curl his lips in his heart. This was equivalent to no answer. From a geographical point of view, the other six countries could all say that they were to the east of Qin.

"I have read the letter you wrote to my father. You knew the difficulties of lobbying or the disasters it might cause, so why did you still insist on persuading my father to save Han?" Fusu asked again.

Han Fei was stunned for a moment and asked, "Master, have you read my article?"

Fusu smiled and said, "I have read many of your articles, perhaps as many as my father."

Han Fei asked a few questions casually, and Fusu answered fluently, proving with facts that his words were not exaggerated.

Han Fei smiled bitterly in his heart. Why did Heaven favor Qin so much? The King of Qin was far superior to the kings of other states, and the princes of Qin would probably be superior to the princes of other states in the future.

Han Fei did not regard Fusu as an ignorant child. He asked, "If you were in the other's place, would you sit idly by and watch your motherland suffer?"

Fusu said cruelly, "It's the law of the jungle, sir. You can only save Korea for a while."

"Survival of the fittest?" Han Fei speculated for a moment. "The princes of various nations are now living under the rule of the jungle. My dear young master, is this what the King of Qin taught you?"

Fusu shook his head. “The flesh of the weak is the food of the strong” was a saying from Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty. He only realized it after he had said it.

Han Fei did not delve into it. He was a very smart man and could naturally see the predicament of the Kingdom of Han and his own situation clearly.

Han Fei sighed, "Perhaps... knowing it's impossible but still doing it."

Fusu knew the answer but still asked, "This is the words of Confucius. Why are you reading Confucian texts?"

Han Fei said, "My teacher is a Confucianist."

Fusu showed a look of surprise and said, "Sir, you studied under a Confucian teacher and are well versed in Legalism. So, what do you plan to teach me?"

Han Fei thought for a moment and asked again, "Master, what do you want me to teach you?"

Fusu said: "I think you are a good storyteller."

Han Fei smiled for the first time. "Okay, I'll tell you a few stories."

Han Fei's teaching lasted for an hour and a half. As the only audience member in this teacher-student teaching session, Li Ying had the honor of listening to Han Fei, the master of Legalism, tell...an adult version of a fairy tale.

After Han Fei left, Li Ying came over and complained, "Master, when printing technology matures, you can print a book of fairy tales for Han Fei, but you have to write that minors under the age of eighteen are prohibited from reading."

Fusu drank a glass of water to moisten his throat. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "You don't think that papermaking and printing will be popularized, and then everyone in the world can read, do you?"

Li Ying curled her lips and said, "Of course I know it's impossible. Your feudal society is most afraid of ordinary people learning."

"Then you should worry less." Fusu said.

——Okay.

Li Ying asked another crucial question: "Master, does this mean Han Fei has been saved?"

Fusu said: "He hasn't given up trying to convince my father yet, so of course it doesn't count."

"Huh?" Li Ying scratched his head. "Then how do we convince him to give up?"

Fusu asked, "Wait until the Kingdom of Han is destroyed?"

Li Ying said: "He can restore the country, young master, think about Zhang Liang. Speaking of Zhang Liang——"

"No." Fusu said first.

Li Ying said, "Young Master, you haven't finished listening to me."

Fusu pondered to himself, "However, Han Xin, Xiao He, Chen Ping, and Cao Shen are all good options. Who else is there?"

Li Ying chuckled: "Liu Bang is also possible."

Fusu said, "He can't."

Li Ying said, "Young Master, how can you discriminate against people with the surname Liu?"

Fusu stood up and said, "That's all. I'm going to go see if Father has time to have dinner with me today."

"Hey... Young Master!" Li Ying turned the conversation back to the original topic. "I think as long as Li Si doesn't give him poison, we can be considered to have successfully saved Han Fei."

Fusu said, "Li Si can't tolerate Han Fei. Is it just because my father loves him? This isn't a harem fight for favor. This is called political struggle. If you want Li Si to tolerate Han Fei, then you must first make sure Han Fei can't be used by my father for the rest of his life."

Li Ying stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "When an enemy comes, we must fight him; when water comes, we must block it with earth. Han Fei hasn't been imprisoned yet, so we'll talk about it later."

"Speaking of Li Si, I just remembered that he is your father-in-law, eldest son." Li Ying gossiped again.

Fusu paused and said, "Yes, what's wrong?"

【Author’s words】

King Zhaoxiang, also known as King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Yingji, was the villain King Qin in stories such as the Return of the Jade Sea to Zhao and the Meeting at Mianchi.

“Knowing that it is impossible but doing it anyway” comes from The Analects of Confucius: Xianwen.

Self-contradiction, Waiting for the Rabbit by the Tree, Buying the Box and Returning the Pearl, and Wise Son Suspicious of His Neighbor are all fables of Han Fei.

"Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Li Si" states: "All the sons married Qin princesses, and all the daughters married Qin princes." There is no definitive record of whether Fusu's wife was Li Si's daughter, and this article is a personal hypothesis.