19 Chapter 19
◎The road ahead.◎
In the evening, Fusu followed his father's instructions and came to have dinner with him.
Today's evening meal was noodles and stir-fried vegetables. Fusu wrote a recipe for the chef based on the ingredients available, asking them to follow it and cook it for his father. Of course, Fusu encouraged them to be innovative and let them try whatever they wanted, but they had to wait until he had tasted it before presenting it to the king.
Fusu was a small man with a small appetite, so he was full after eating only a small bowl of noodles and some vegetables. When Ying Zheng finished eating, he looked at him and said with a smile: "You are not worried about not growing taller, but I see that you eat so little, how can you grow taller?"
Fusu silently refuted his father, saying that one needs to eat meat, eggs and milk to grow taller, but when he thought about the fact that he had not eaten meat just now, he felt guilty again.
But after all, it is late at night, and it is not good to eat too greasy food nor too filling. My father should also pay attention to this, which is the way to maintain health.
Fusu said, "Father, the late King Zhaoxiang said that if you want to live a long life, you should not eat too much at night, and you should also eat less meat and more vegetables."
King Zhaoxiang, who had outlasted more than a dozen monarchs from the six kingdoms, made this statement particularly convincing. However, the meat-loving Ying Zheng was quite dissatisfied: "Isn't meat a vegetable? Fusu, please don't falsely convey the king's order."
Fusu looked at his father sincerely: "Father, I absolutely did not lie."
"Oh." Ying Zheng's mouth drooped. He reluctantly instructed the waiter, "Tell the kitchen to make a lighter dinner tomorrow."
Seeing this, Fusu smiled and said, "Soak the beans overnight, and you can make something else tomorrow. Father, try it, it tastes just as good as meat."
Ying Zheng said with a dull look, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Fusu thought for a moment and tried to divert his father's attention: "Father, I know why you were unhappy this morning."
Ying Zheng propped up his chin and said slowly, "Hmm? Tell me about it."
Fusu said, "Father, I don't want them to think that I forced them to leave home."
Ying Zheng simply said, "And then?"
Fusu said, "I haven't shown any favors yet, but I've already offended them. Whatever I do afterwards will seem like making amends, not showing favors. It may take a long time to mend this rift between me and them."
This is the rule of this era. Not only does the king choose his ministers, but the ministers also choose their king. If the king is not good, his subordinates will jump ship.
"Hmm." Ying Zheng nodded, looking somewhat satisfied. "Those two younger ones are fine. They're young and haven't experienced much. The older ones are also more tolerant. They've already required you to take the trouble to win them over, and you've made it even more difficult for yourself. Tell me, should I be angry?"
Fusu really didn't think so much, because he never thought about cultivating his own confidants. Whether they were his confidants or not was not important, what was important was that these people had to work for their father and the Qin State.
But his father was devoted to him, so Fusu naturally wouldn't be ungrateful. He moved closer to his father and said, "Father, I've asked them to join me in hatching the eggs. Once they succeed, it will be a great achievement. Even if they have some complaints in their hearts, they should be forgotten."
Ying Zheng tapped Fusu's forehead, angrily saying, "You're only thinking about this one bite of food. Am I going to starve you?"
Fusu smiled and said, "Food is the most important thing for the people, Father. People are always greedy. Once the artificial incubation experiment is successful, and this method is passed on to the people, the whole world of Guizhou will praise you, and whoever succeeds in this method will surely gain a good reputation."
Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow, looked into his bright black eyes, and asked, "Spread it among the people? Fusu, do you think the method of artificial egg hatching should be spread among the people?"
Among the new things that Ying Zheng obtained, except for those related to farming, he never thought of popularizing them among the people.
Fusu understood what his father meant. At this time in his previous life, as a person born and raised in a feudal society, he would not have such thoughts.
Since they were born, the people of Qian have only done three things in their lives, that is, farming, military service and corvee labor. Eating, drinking and enjoying life are not their concerns. This is what Shang Yang's law requires of the people of Qian.
Shang Yang, or the Legalists, believed that only in this way could the country be stable and the king's position be consolidated.
But later facts proved that this approach could not sustain the Qin Dynasty for long, and they had to make changes.
Confucianism on the outside and legalism on the inside, this was a set of experiences that the people of the Han Dynasty had successfully tested. The Confucian theory of the correspondence between heaven and man was indeed very suitable for deceiving the people and consolidating their rule.
However, Fusu was brought up with Legalist education. Even after more than two thousand years, and despite all the various educations he received, deep down he still identified more with Legalism. Asking him to accept Confucianism? That would be too difficult.
Besides, Fusu had experienced in his previous life the prejudice and contempt of the doctors of Qi and Lu towards the State of Qin, as well as their sarcasm and ingratitude, and he did not want his father to suffer the injustice of these doctors again.
Therefore, Confucianism should stay away from the Qin State. Even if there are some inappropriate aspects of Legalism, they can be very useful if they are modified.
Fusu nodded, his mind splitting. "It's not just about hatching eggs, the pig-castrating technique should be passed down to the people, too. And millstones and iron pots, forget about that. Since our Qin hasn't conquered the six kingdoms yet, we must focus on forging weapons first."
Ying Zheng remained silent. After a while, he asked, "I haven't found a Mohist teacher for you. Have you read Mo Di's books yourself?"
To Ying Zheng, Fusu's words were no longer enough to describe the benevolence advocated by Confucian scholars. Instead, they sounded more like the Mohist school's "universal love", a concept that made people sneer at the mere mention of it. Ying Zheng was disgusted by this.
Fusu shook his head: "Father, I haven't read his book. Should I read it?"
This is indeed the truth. Fusu did not know much about Mohist doctrines. Even in his previous life, when he was born, Mohism was not very popular in the Qin State. A prince of a royal family like him would basically not be required to read Mohist books unless it was out of personal interest.
But now Fusu has a different view. The Mohist doctrines cannot be implemented in feudal society, but they are useful.
Unlike the Confucianism's vague and illusory concept of the connection between heaven and man, the Mohist school is scientific!
Daqin needs science!
Fusu kept this matter in mind, thinking that it would be great if he could recruit some Mohist disciples to Xianyang in the future.
Ying Zheng can read whatever he wants. If he doesn’t read, he will have such terrible thoughts. What will happen if he reads again?
Logically speaking, Fusu's teachers or previous kings would not have taught him these things, so how did he come up with these ideas? It couldn't be innate, right?
Kindness.
These two words rolled through Ying Zheng's lips. The Qin people were brave, but these two words should not be associated with the eldest son of Qin.
Ying Zheng said, "Don't bother reading those things. Read Shangjunshu first."
What suited the Qin State best was the laws of Shang Yang or the Legalist school of thought.
Fusu said, "I have read the Book of Shangjun."
Ying Zheng then asked, "What are Shang Jun's five techniques for governing the people?"
Fusu replied: "Foolish people, weak people, tired people, humiliated people, and poor people."
Ying Zheng nodded and said, "That's right. Fusu, tell me, should the method of hatching eggs be passed down to the people?"
Fusu said firmly: "It's due."
"You don't agree with Shangjunshu?" Ying Zheng wasn't angry; he was even calm. "Fusu, this is an oversight on my part. I should talk to you about history. Did you know that before Duke Xiao, Qin was bullied? Do you know how Qin rose from weakness to strength?"
Fusu again replied affirmatively: "I know. Father, I have read the history books of the Qin State."
"But, Father," Fusu immediately added, "I have some shallow and foolish opinions. Please don't be angry when you hear them."
"Speak." Ying Zheng waved his hand. "You have said so much. I am not angry."
Fusu then said, "I believe that Shang Yang's laws can make Qin stronger, but they cannot ensure its longevity."
Ying Zheng frowned. He did not immediately refute Fusu, nor did he despise his words.
Ying Zheng thought quietly. He was the King of Qin. No one knew better than him how the Qin State operated, how to make the people obey his orders, and how to govern his ministers.
Shang Yang set a path for the Qin State to become stronger: military merits were rewarded with titles. Whether it was the common people or the ministers in the court, they all desired war more than the King of Qin. Only through war could they climb up and consolidate the glory of their families.
But, will the Qin State always have wars to fight?
Ying Zheng thought of his vision: he hoped to unify the world, so that Qin would never have to fight again. Having lost the opportunity to climb up the ladder, how could he appease the common people and the court officials?
When thinking of this problem, Ying Zheng immediately had a solution in his mind. Just like when Shang Yang reformed the country and made Qin State strong, Qin State had to reform again.
Although Zhou is an old country, its destiny is new.
Fusu knew that his father was lost in thought. Qin needed to change this matter. Even if he didn't take the trouble to remind his father, his father would have realized it. However, his primary concern now was how to conquer the six kingdoms, and he had not thought so far ahead.
The six countries still exist. Considering how to change national policies after unification is like choosing a career path after college right after entering high school. It sounds like a daydream.
Although Ying Zheng heard from Fusu that you will unify the world without precedent, such words always give people a vague feeling. For Ying Zheng, it is more like a bowl of chicken soup for the soul.
But Fusu was different, he had actually experienced it.
Fusu knew that Qin's cause of unification was unstoppable, and it was better to think about how to change Qin's policies sooner rather than later.
After a while, Ying Zheng came back to his senses. He looked at Fusu's piercing eyes and suddenly smiled. Then he tapped Fusu's forehead and scolded him with a smile: "Stinky boy, your father will not be able to sleep either."
Fusu also smiled, he knew that his father already had an idea in his mind.
"In this world, there is no problem that my father cannot solve." Fusu's eyes were full of admiration and trust.
Ying Zheng didn't mind revealing his thoughts to his eldest son. He rested his chin on his other hand and said, "Didn't you and Han Fei say that things change in different times? I deeply believe that's reasonable, but how to change it requires careful consideration."
【Author’s words】
"The Book of Songs·Da Ya·King Wen": Although Zhou is an old country, its destiny is new.
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