11 Chapter 11
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Fusu was even more confused: "Father, what's wrong?"
Ying Zheng tapped Fusu's forehead with his fingers and said with a smile, "It's all your fault, little fellow."
Fusu was confused. Was it related to him? What had he done to make his father worried?
Fusu was about to ask again, but Ying Zheng shook his head and said with a smile: "Forget it, forget it. I have already received the secret from heaven and have many important things to do. Why should I think about these vague things?"
When Fusu heard this, he immediately became worried. What was this illusory? Was his father thinking about searching for immortal mountains and elixirs? He hadn't even conquered the six kingdoms yet, so why was he thinking about these things?
Fusu said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, father, the most important thing right now is to conquer the six kingdoms. Everything else... everything else will be discussed later."
Fusu thought, wait and see how I will expose the alchemist’s little tricks. You deceived my father. I think you want to build the Great Wall!
"Yes." Ying Zheng nodded and asked, "Father asked these people to follow you. Do you know who their ancestors were and what official positions they held?"
Fusu naturally shook his head and said, "Please teach me, father."
Ying Zheng rubbed Fusu's head and spoke slowly.
Changping Jun is the prime minister, Wang Jian and Meng Wu are both generals who have made military achievements, and Li Si is the chief judge. They are all people that Ying Zheng currently uses and trusts.
In order to select a person for Fusu, Ying Zheng listed all the ministers he trusted and trusted, and personally asked them how many children they had and how old they were.
Ying Zheng's selection criteria are as follows:
First, he had to be a little older, because Fusu was too young and knew very little about many things. It was not convenient for him to do many things, so he needed an older child to share his worries and solve his doubts.
Secondly, he had to be of the same age as Fusu, because Fusu was too young and needed to have peers to play and study with. Older children would inevitably be unable to communicate with him.
Third, Fusu is an honest child, so he has to follow him smartly, otherwise a bunch of honest children will be deceived;
Fourth, he has to be honest. This man is too smart. The honest Fusu will be deceived, which is not acceptable.
In short, under the contradictory conditions of His Majesty the King of Qin, after layers of screening, he still selected four candidates who were barely satisfactory.
Fusu Duanzheng listened to his father's words and thought to himself that he would never let his father down, but he promised again that he would balance work and rest.
As Han Fei was about to give a lecture, Fusu took the initiative to ask his father to leave. Ying Zheng thought for a moment and said, "There have been many things to do recently, and Lord Changwen is busy. I will replace you with another doctor tomorrow."
The reason for so many things could be traced back to Fusu, and Fusu felt that Chang Wenjun was not very suitable to be a teacher, so he readily agreed.
As for Meng Yi, he is now in charge of two secret tasks: papermaking and woodblock printing. Being Fusu's teacher is also a cover, so although he is also busy, Ying Zheng still allows him to continue doing this part-time job.
When Fusu returned to the bedroom, Han Fei was already waiting. He was sitting at the desk, holding a bamboo slip in his hand, but he was in a daze.
Fusu put away the jade hairpin and went over to greet Han Fei. After Han Fei returned the greeting, the two sat opposite each other.
Han Fei spoke first: "Yesterday I had a question that I still don't understand, so I'd like to ask you, Master."
Fusu said, "Sir, please speak."
Han Fei looked at Fusu with a sharp gaze. "Your Excellency seems quite certain that Qin will conquer the world. I would like to ask you, how did Qin conquer the world?"
Fusu replied flatteringly, "Sir, my father is the King of Qin. How Qin can conquer the world should be his concern. I only know a few words. It seems that this question of yours is not the right one to ask me."
"Besides, since the Spring and Autumn Period, which of the various states has not wanted to conquer the world?" Fusu laughed. "Qi Heng and Jin Wen may have had such aspirations back then, but... neither Qi nor Jin had the ability to do so at that time."
The Zhou emperor still had a presence during the Spring and Autumn Period, but by the Warring States Period, he had almost no place to stay and was later directly destroyed by the Qin State.
Han Fei was silent for a moment, then asked again, "Sir, do you think that Qin has this capability now?"
Fusu said: "You shouldn't ask me this question, you should ask me."
Han Fei was silent for even longer this time. After a while, he sighed and said softly, "You shouldn't just ask me."
Except for Qin, all the princes and countries should ask themselves this question.
Since the Spring and Autumn Period, various countries have been striving for hegemony. Guanzhong was once a barbaric land despised by the six eastern countries. However, times have changed. From which day did the Qin State, despised by various countries, begin to target the six eastern countries?
Han Fei certainly knew the answer, and all the princes and countries knew that it started with Shang Yang's reforms.
Reform and strengthening the country—wasn't that what Han Fei hoped for? Unfortunately, the king was incompetent, and the court and the country were all weak. Han Fei could only put his ambitions into words, adding to his sighs.
Fusu whispered, "Sir, you can take a break today."
Although Fusu had read Han Fei's books and admired his articles and ideas very much, he did not actually have any feelings of idol worship towards him as a person.
He wanted to save Han Fei out of purely utilitarian purposes. He wanted to prove that he could change the future, and he wanted Han Fei to contribute to the Qin Dynasty in the future.
But when Fusu saw Han Fei's sadness for the foreseeable fate of his motherland, he suddenly felt the same way.
Han Fei shook his head and said, "No need." After a slight pause, he added two words, "Thank you."
Fusu saw that Han Fei had not yet given up the idea of preserving Han, but he had no intention of being aggressive at this time.
Because they were all once powerless to control the fate of their motherland.
…
The next day, Fusu not only welcomed the four friends who accompanied him to study and the two newly appointed doctoral teachers, but also the generals Meng Tian and Wang Ben.
Fusu was changing his clothes at the time. After the messenger left, Li Ying sighed and said, "Young Master, is this what you said yesterday? Your father wants you to balance work and rest?"
There are six teachers, both civil and military, who are well-rounded in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor development. That is really a perfect combination of work and rest.
Fusu just glanced at him, tied his belt, turned around and walked out.
After going out and listening to Meng Yi's words, Li Ying realized that he had misunderstood. Meng Tian and Wang Ben were not there to teach Fusu, but to teach the older children who were accompanying Fusu in his studies.
Among Fusu's four study companions, Li You, the son of Li Si, was the oldest, already fourteen years old. The next was Mi Qing, the son of Changping Jun, who was thirteen years old. Wang Li, the grandson of Wang Jian and the son of Wang Ben, was eleven years old. The youngest was Meng Hua, the grandson of Meng Wu and the son of Meng Tian. He was only six years old, only two years older than Fusu.
Li You, Mi Qing and Wang Li had already started learning martial arts at home. When they arrived at the palace, Ying Zheng did not treat them badly and asked Meng Tian and Wang Ben to come and teach them for an hour every day.
As for the buy-one-get-one-free doctoral teachers, they were two people Fusu was familiar with in his previous life. However, in his previous life, they had been Fusu's teachers after he was ten years old, which was much earlier in this life.
After Meng Yi introduced his teacher, he asked Fusu, "Does the eldest master have any questions?"
Fusu said politely, "Fusu does have one more thing to say."
Everyone said, "Young Master, please speak."
Fusu said, "You are all loyal ministers to my father. You have many things to do, but you take the time to come every day. I am deeply grateful. The four young masters and I have six teachers in total. I think we should have a plan for how to arrange our daily work so that we don't delay your important tasks and cause you no worries, and my father will not be worried."
Fusu grew up in the palace and had never met outsiders. Wang Ben originally thought that the king valued him only because of his status as the eldest son. But now, looking at him and listening to him speak, he seemed to have some of the king's style.
Meng Tian said, "Young Master, please forgive us. We will obey the king's orders. What are your thoughts on the rules?"
The other three also said, "Master, please give your instructions."
Fusu smiled and said, "Thank you for your patience. I think it would be okay if you, gentlemen, could tell me when you are free so I can discuss this with the four gentlemen for a while."
Everyone said in unison: "As the eldest master said."
Fusu then asked Meng Tian, Wang Ben and the two doctors about their free time, asked them to wait for a moment, and invited Li You and the other four to go to the inner room to discuss the matter.
Although this was the second time they met, Fusu and Li You and the other three had never had a serious conversation. Fortunately, he was not really a child. The four of them had all been taught by their families. Even the youngest, Meng Hua, was sensible and understanding, so it was easy for them to communicate with each other.
Fusu first wrote down the free time of each teacher on a piece of paper, including Han Fei's time whom he had asked about yesterday, and then asked Li You and others what they thought.
Li You and the other three were ordered to "accompany the prince in his studies", so naturally Fusu was the leader and they all said they would follow Fusu's arrangements.
Fusu pondered for a moment.
In his previous life, Fusu wasn't particularly familiar with his brother-in-law, Li You, given the ten-year age difference. He was somewhat familiar with Wang Li, having served as a lieutenant general under Meng Tian while Fusu was superintendent of the army in Shangjun, allowing them to interact quite a bit. Fusu was closest to Meng Hua, a man of similar age, and they shared a playful friendship, though that wasn't until they were older. As for Mi Qing, it's hard to say. Changping Jun later defected, and even if he hadn't taken his family with him, Ying Zheng couldn't have kept them. Fusu simply knew of her.
Changping Jun's son is now by his side... Fusu couldn't help but be distracted, perhaps he could focus some of his energy on Mi Qing.
Fusu quickly gathered all his thoughts, looked at the four people and said with a smile: "Since that's the case, let me decide. You can take a look at it. If you think anything is not right, just tell me."
Fusu quickly made a simple schedule. In the morning, he would study with Meng Yi and two doctoral teachers, and in the afternoon, he would study military science and Han Fei.
Regardless of Han Fei's position, Fusu's love for this teacher is undoubtedly obvious. The reason why he scheduled Han Fei's class in the afternoon was that he wanted Li You and others to learn martial arts so that he could take more classes with Han Fei.
Li You and the other three also felt this obvious attitude, especially Li You. He had met Han Fei before and knew his father's hostility towards Han Fei.
Because Li's knowledge of state affairs was still shallow and immature, after noticing Fusu's liking for Han Fei, he was just curious about Han Fei's abilities and did not think anything of his own.
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