So now he can only consider Chunyu Yue's suggestion.
Oh, right!
Li Lin!
That rascal Li Lin must have some good solution.
Why is this kid sitting at the very back, with his eyes closed and not saying a word?
The First Emperor was completely bewildered. He wanted to ask Li Lin for his opinion directly, but when he saw Li Lin's lazy appearance, he immediately lost interest.
This guy will probably say he doesn't know how again when the time comes.
Sigh, I'll have to settle for second best and ask Li Xin. I'm sure Li Lin will come up with some good ideas then.
Then I will reveal his proposed plan and see how the ministers and he react.
Thinking of this, the First Emperor immediately looked at Li Xin with a slight smile and asked, "My Imperial Censor, given the dire situation of the Qin Dynasty, do you have any brilliant ideas to solve my urgent problem?"
"ah?"
Li Xin never expected that His Majesty would suddenly ask him, a rough man, for a question today.
Although his current official position is Imperial Censor, his true profession is that of a military general, a rough and tumble man. Your Majesty should consult him on matters of governance.
Isn't this just grasping at straws when you're desperate?
Suddenly, Li Si and the others opened their eyes and focused all their attention on Li Xin, their eyes gleaming as they awaited his eloquent speech.
"What? You have no other way?"
The First Emperor's tone suddenly became more forceful, seemingly tinged with anger.
This made Li Xin turn pale, and he stood there awkwardly, his mouth agape for a long time, not knowing where to begin.
Li Lin, on the other hand, found it amusing.
Doesn't he know what kind of person his older brother is? He's intelligent but physically weak. Perhaps his martial arts and military command skills are not bad, but when it comes to strategies that lean towards civil officials, he's completely blind.
Nothing works.
[Oh dear, my brother's about to make a fool of himself again! Can't this cheapskate brother be a little smarter? He could just say he doesn't know, and then casually mention that the Prime Minister might know more than I do, wouldn't that smoothly shift the blame? Instead, he's just standing there, he's going to utterly embarrass the entire Li family!]
Upon hearing this, the First Emperor's face immediately darkened: "That brat, he actually dares to try and shift the blame to someone else! He's utterly despicable! Can't you come up with a better idea to help me? I've already betrothed Manyin to you!"
"Your Majesty, I truly do not know how to handle this. I am but a rough man..."
Li Xin's face was very ugly. He didn't know what to say, so he could only belittle himself in front of everyone to exonerate himself.
"No! You are the Imperial Censor specially appointed by me, how could you be a boor? Could it be that you know the way, but you have grievances against me and therefore do not want to speak up?"
"Ah? Your Majesty, I truly did not mean that! I really had no idea!"
Li Xin's cold sweat dripped rapidly onto the floor tiles, and he bent over in fear and unease.
"Your Majesty, perhaps the Grand Censor truly has no better solution? Let us not force him to do something he cannot do! Your Majesty believes that Your Majesty should vigorously promote the rule of law, eliminate the social customs and favoritism that have existed since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and completely replace the arbitrary governance of officials with strict laws and severe punishments. In this way, all of Your Majesty's decrees can be effectively implemented!"
At this moment, Prime Minister Li Si, who had been slacking off, opened his sharp eyes and put forward his suggestion.
He also helped Li Xin out of a predicament.
This slightly changed Li Xin's perception of him.
"Oh? You think we need to strengthen the enforcement of the law?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I believe that only in this way can the Qin Dynasty become more stable! Ordinary laborers are dull-witted; only by providing correct orders and prohibitions can we educate them, punish the wicked, and protect the good..."
Li Si smiled and explained his thoughts.
This made the First Emperor, who had a deep belief in Legalism, nod in agreement.
However, a sudden, piercing voice echoed in his mind: "Li Si is truly pedantic. While the idea of implementing harsh laws and severe punishments is not inherently wrong, blindly pushing them into the Qin Dynasty without considering the specific national conditions is tantamount to pushing it from one fire pit to another!"
[I've finally found the real reason for the Qin Dynasty's downfall. The Qin laws at that time were far too harsh, still based on the reforms of Shang Yang. But more than a hundred years had passed since Shang Yang's reforms, and the situation in Qin was completely different. To continue to increase the severity of punishments on Shang Yang's foundation was simply idiotic.]
No wonder the Qin Dynasty only lasted two generations. It's likely that after the First Emperor's death, the remnants of the six former states secretly fueled a series of conflicts that had already intensified during the First Emperor's reign. But before these conflicts fully erupted, it's probably because the Second Emperor of Qin, following Li Si's advice, further tightened Qin's laws, which likely sparked the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising. After all, Qin's laws at that time weren't as harsh as they seem!
[Alas, I used to think that peasant uprisings were what brought down the Qin Dynasty, but now it seems that it was simply a bunch of fools like Li Si who blindly promoted Legalist doctrines without considering the realities of the country. How could the Qin Dynasty not have fallen!]
After listening to Li Si's suggestion, Li Lin was filled with righteous indignation and expressed his feelings.
In his view, the trigger for the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian was that they encountered heavy rain, which delayed their journey, and therefore all of them were executed.
They chose to rebel because they had no other choice, but the laws written on Qin bamboo slips discovered later in archaeological excavations are different.
Is this Sima Qian's fault?
Or were they deliberately spreading rumors by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang?
No, it's not that. In fact, after the First Emperor died, the Second Emperor came to power and continued to implement harsh laws and punishments in order to consolidate his own regime. This was evident when the Second Emperor of Qin slaughtered his own younger brothers and sisters.
He cannot escape the suspicion that he asked Li Si to amend the laws of Qin.
That's why there were uprisings like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's, and Liu Bang's uprising.
Moreover, the initial slogan of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising was for "Prince Fusu," so the earliest peasant uprising was not against the Qin Dynasty, but to overthrow the tyrannical Qin Er Shi.
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