45 Chapter 45
◎Small things.◎
Fusu had watched the Qing emperor review memorials. He was so long-winded and had to extract the key points from a long passage, which was dizzying.
The Qin memorial did not have this problem. It was concise and clear. After accompanying my father to read it for an hour, although I inevitably felt tired, at least I didn't get bored just by reading the words.
Ying Zheng didn't feel tired yet, but after seeing his eldest son rub his eyes twice, he put down his brush and ordered someone to fetch water to wash his hands.
"Let me see..." Ying Zheng studied Fusu's face and said with a smile, "My dear young master, it's fine if it gets on your hands, but smearing it on your face would be embarrassing."
Fusu glanced at his own hand. Indeed, there was ink on his little finger. Feeling embarrassed, he hurriedly explained, "I didn't notice, Father. I was careless."
"Well...even if you were careless, I don't want to be embarrassed." Ying Zheng said with a smile.
The eunuch brought hot water and helped Fusu wash his hands. Fusu turned around and said to his father, "Father, haven't we put this matter behind us?"
Ying Zheng was surprised and asked, "Did something happen just now?"
Fusu puffed his lips and said, "There is still some, Father, I have to give the book to Mr. Han. I have already told him."
Ying Zheng reminded him, "Don't forget his guest, too."
Fusu checked his hands to see if they were clean before continuing his father's words: "Father, this Master Zhang will definitely return to Han, but even if he delivers the letter to the King of Han, nothing will change."
Ying Zheng was naturally aware of the decline of the Kingdom of Han. Even if he gave it the new iron smelting method, even if the King of Han was a genius, he would be powerless to reverse the situation.
Fusu's actions were more to encourage Han Fei to survive.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng asked again: "Is Han Fei so good?"
Fusu thought about it and chose to tell the truth: "Mr. Han is my teacher, father. If he can live, I definitely don't want to see him die like this."
His eldest son was a man who valued friendship, and Ying Zheng had long known that while he valued friendship, he also had the overall situation in mind, so Ying Zheng was not too worried that he would delay important things because of this.
What Ying Zheng was worried about was that Fusu might be harmed by this.
But Fusu's character seems difficult to change.
Is this good or bad?
Fortunately, Ying Zheng was still able to observe slowly and intervene.
"According to you, Qin can still afford this extra mouth," Ying Zheng said. "I've already ordered the printing of your booklet. Once it's finished, I'll give you two copies."
Fusu smiled and said, "Thank you, father!"
However, during the Chinese New Year, it seems that some people are still working overtime.
Fusu checked his conscience, feeling a little guilty because it was he who forced them to work overtime.
Fusu said, "Father, it is the New Year, and I would like to ask you to give the craftsmen some rewards."
Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows. This kid... has become soft-hearted again.
Although his father did not speak, Fusu had already sensed his displeasure. He continued, "Father, gold, silver, and silk are inexhaustible to you, but if you give them to the craftsmen, even if it is just a fraction, they will feel like they have received a treasure and will be endlessly grateful to you."
Small investment, big returns.
This principle is actually the same as the egg hatching method that was spread among the people. Ying Zheng knew that laws are one thing, but people's hearts are another.
If he wanted to win the hearts and minds of all nations over to Qin, he really needed to do these seemingly insignificant little things, not just use military intimidation, just like how he treated the talents coming to Qin with the utmost courtesy and humility.
From this point of view, Fusu's softness is indeed very suitable for winning people's hearts.
Ying Zheng nodded silently. They, father and son, complemented each other very well, which was good.
Fusu saw his father nod and assumed he agreed. However, he was still curious about one thing and asked, "Father, did you know about Zhang Liang as soon as he arrived in Xianyang?"
Ying Zheng laughed and said, "I already knew about it before he even arrived in Xianyang."
This was not surprising, but Fusu deliberately frowned and said, "Father, why didn't you remind me? I didn't even know that Mr. Han had a guest at his house."
Ying Zheng said nonchalantly, "Zhang Liang isn't a very important person. If he hadn't come after Han Fei, I wouldn't have bothered to send anyone to keep an eye on him."
Now Fusu completely understood that Zhang Liang’s movements were not important. What was important was the relationship between Han Fei and Fusu, and whether Zhang Liang’s purpose in coming to Xianyang was related to this.
"If I hadn't left the palace, Mr. Han would not have planned to come and see me. Zhang Liang's target should not be me." Fusu said.
Ying Zheng asked, "If he dares to set his sights on you, will I still allow him to see you?"
Upon hearing this, Fusu leaned against his father and said with a smile, "Thank you, father. You are the best to Fusu!"
Ying Zheng couldn't help laughing: "Besides this, don't you know anything else?"
Fusu smiled and said, "This method works."
"Father, I have another question." Fusu continued.
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Anything else? I remind you, this is the last question. I'm busy now. After I finish asking you, you can go out and play by yourself."
"The last one, I guarantee it's the last one. Father, what is Zhang Liang's purpose in coming to Xianyang?" Fusu asked hurriedly.
Ying Zheng asked, "He visited every Qin county he could pass through on his way from Han to Xianyang. What do you think his purpose was?"
Han and Qin are neighbors. If Qin has something new, as long as it is not deliberately concealed, the Koreans may find out about it faster than some people in remote Qin areas.
Maybe it was related to paper, maybe it was related to Qin's new agricultural tools, or maybe it was related to the horse tools used during the attack on Zhao years ago. In short, Zhang Liang in Han was aroused by the desire to explore. He traveled all the way to find out the reasons for these changes in Qin.
Fusu didn't know what Zhang Liang's achievements were. He looked at his father, whose face was calm and it was obvious that he didn't care much about this young man from Korea.
Although there was the shadow of the assassination attempt on Qin at Bolangsha in the previous life, Fusu actually didn't care much about Zhang Liang when it came to the crisis of the Qin Dynasty.
As long as the Qin regime was stable, no matter how desperately it wanted to save Han, Zhang Liang alone - even if he was a sage of strategy - could not control the overall situation.
In Fusu's view, the internal factors that led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty in the previous life were greater than the external factors.
But in this life, from now on, my father has been correcting the direction of Qin State, and the Qin State will definitely not repeat the same mistakes.
Fusu said: "In that case, please let him take his time to read it."
The father and son had the same attitude towards Zhang Liang, so there was no need to continue the topic. Ying Zheng waved his hand and let his eldest son go play by himself, while he continued to be the diligent King of Qin.
…
The next day, Fusu was studying the porcelain making that he had postponed, but was suddenly called over by his father. He met Meng Wu outside the hall, and Fusu knew why his father called him.
When Meng Wu saw Fusu, he stopped and saluted: "My Lord."
Fusu saw a look of shame on his face and replied, "General Meng."
Meng Wu didn't say much. After Fusu passed him, he went straight out of the palace.
They must have investigated the Meng family's affairs, Fusu thought. Could it be something serious? Could Meng Wu have come to the palace to apologize to his father? What were their relatives and friends doing?
Soon, Fusu got the answer from his father.
——But it’s not a big deal.
"Mengjia?" After hearing this name from his father's mouth, Fusu actually didn't find it too surprising.
Meng Jia was only instigating his children to inquire about some forbidden matters. Compared with the trouble he caused a few years later, it was really insignificant.
After all, in a few years, Meng Jia would bring Jing Ke, holding a poisoned dagger, before the King of Qin.
All the previous speculations were verified. There was indeed curiosity and jealousy here, but curiosity belonged to children, while jealousy belonged to adults.
The Meng family has been favored by the King of Qin for generations. Among the younger generation, Meng Tian and Meng Yi are both valued by Ying Zheng, but Meng Jia's sons cannot stand out. He has always been very anxious. When he saw that even Meng Hua was valued by the king and was ordered to enter the palace to accompany the eldest son, his anxiety turned into jealousy.
To this end, Meng Jia put in a lot of effort. He persuaded several relatives and friends, and took advantage of the children's curiosity to ask Meng Hua about things in the palace. The more detailed the better.
However, it was difficult to control the words and actions of a child, and his jealousy infected the older children. The younger children were more curious about the young eldest son than Meng Jia, who wanted to know what Meng Yi and Meng Tian were doing, because of the spread of artificial hatching eggs and rumors of immortals.
Fusu was speechless for a while, then asked, "Then... Father, what is Meng Jia's purpose?"
What else could Meng Jia want? He was just jealous now, but not to the point of hatred, so he didn't want to do anything to Meng Wu's three generations of ancestors and grandchildren. He just wanted the young people in their family to understand those things and replace Meng Tian and his brothers and serve Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng was also speechless. Meng Jia was a junior minister and a retainer to his family. Whether in terms of closeness to the king or trust in him, Meng Jia was no less than the three of Meng Wu and his son.
As for why Ying Zheng did not send him to do these confidential matters and did not use Meng Jia's descendants, it is obvious that this incident is enough to prove that Ying Zheng's vision is absolutely correct.
Ying Zheng knew very well who should do what.
Fusu looked up at the sky, so when Jing Ke found Meng Jia and said he wanted to present the map of Yan State to the King of Qin, he introduced Jing Ke without hesitation. In addition to the power of gold and silver, he was also obsessed with being valued by the king.
Fusu asked, "Father, what do you plan to do with him?"
Ying Zheng rubbed his brows and said, "I ordered Meng Wu to warn him and then dismiss him from his post. He will be asked to reflect on his actions at home."
This matter was neither big nor small, but it showed the character of Meng Jia. In order to avoid future troubles, Ying Zheng decided not to keep this person around anymore.
Fusu nodded.
This little matter ended here. During the following annual holiday, there was nothing else to do except printing the breeding manual.
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