8 Chapter 8
◎Go to class. ◎
Paper is a good thing. Anyone who reads will love it.
There are even more benefits to woodblock printing.
First of all, nowadays book collectors are all from powerful families. They don’t want their collections to flow into the public, but they always want their children and grandchildren to read.
In the past, if you wanted to pass on your family's collection of books to your children and grandchildren, you had to copy them word for word, without losing your concentration for a moment, for fear of omissions, and also worrying about damage and contamination. With woodblock printing, there is no need to worry anymore: once a block is carved, any number of books can be printed.
Secondly, it is more convenient for book collectors to exchange books with each other.
Third, since the Spring and Autumn Period, various schools of thought have flourished and many people have written books. If they could master woodblock printing, their articles and ideas would spread quickly, and it would be impossible for them not to be tempted.
Now, these two good things are in the hands of the Qin State, or more precisely, in the hands of Ying Zheng. What he has to do is certainly not just to provide them with convenience so that they can occasionally remember to praise them.
Ying Zheng knew that the six states in Shandong had always looked down upon Qin and regarded the Qin people as barbarians. Even if Qin could conquer the six states by force, what then?
The ultimate goal of Ying Zheng was not to have the lands of the six states belong to Qin. He did not like Zhou's feudal system and wanted all the people of the six states to become Qin citizens.
If Ying Zheng wants to build such a great Qin, he needs more talents.
Now all he had to do was throw a bait and wait for the fish to bite.
The Qin State suppressed merchants, but did not completely prohibit them from doing business. It used merchants to bring paper to the six eastern states, but it controlled the quantity so that they could use it but not have enough, making them anxious and unable to stop.
As for woodblock printing, Ying Zheng only had the Qin Law engraved, because the Qin Law was very detailed and had a lot of words, and this version took a lot of effort to carve.
Ying Zheng planned to first send the printed Qin Law to various places, especially to the newly conquered territories of Qin. Although the court would send special officials to these places, they could not replace all of them, and local people would still be needed to govern. The newly printed Qin Law was suitable for these people to study.
Moreover, when the printed Qin Law is sent to various places, news will inevitably spread, and people will inevitably become curious.
Ying Zheng closed his eyes and thought, it takes more than one or two years to train a qualified official. As the Qin conquered more and more land, he felt that there were not enough officials to govern the various places, which gave him a headache.
Now that we have woodblock printing and paper, we will surely attract more talents from the six countries to Qin, and Qin will be able to train useful people more quickly.
In the future, when the six kingdoms are all under the control of Qin, there will be no such thing as Qi people or Chu people. As long as everyone learns the laws of Qin, naturally everyone will be a Qin citizen.
As a monarch, Ying Zheng should treat them equally.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng couldn't help but think of his eldest son. He had just taught Fusu a few days ago. He was busy with paper and woodblock printing these two days and had no time to see his eldest son. It happened that he was free at this moment, so he thought of going to see his son.
…
When Ying Zheng arrived, Fusu was taking a class taught by Han Fei.
Because of Han Fei's stuttering, his classes would take longer. Fortunately, Chang Wenjun was very busy, so he was happy to spare a few minutes of his own time for Han Fei.
Ying Zheng stopped the eunuch who wanted to pay his respects and pass on the message, and stood quietly in the corridor to listen to their conversation.
Fusu said, "When circumstances change, we must be prepared for change. This means that the laws of Shang Yang apply to Qin today. Once the six kingdoms are united, Qin will need to adopt a set of laws more suitable for long-term stability. Is that right, sir?"
Ying Zheng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow after hearing the first sentence. He knew Han Fei's thoughts clearly. He knew that Han's demise was inevitable, yet he still tried to temporarily delay Qin's conquest of Han. Did he think that if he gave Han a few more years, they would be able to resist Qin? It was a foolish dream.
As expected of my son, Ying Zheng nodded with satisfaction.
Han Fei said slowly, "If the ruler, his subjects, and the people all abide by the law and discard all emotions, long-term peace and stability will naturally prevail."
Ying Zheng nodded again. He felt very comfortable with this statement. He thought Han Fei should stay in Qin and be used by him.
Fusu said, "Sir, you're not entirely right. While laws must be obeyed, emotions cannot be completely abandoned. Everyone has emotions, just like I love my father and my father loves me. If people were completely devoid of emotions, what difference would they make from animals?"
Ying Zheng paused, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
Han Fei said, "My lord, you have read 'Five Vermin', so I don't need to say more."
Ying Zheng's eyes showed dissatisfaction. He raised his leg and stepped over the threshold. Just then, Fusu's voice rang out: "Things change in different times. Sir, none of us have ever seen what a world of lasting peace and stability is like. Perhaps strict laws and human compassion are not in conflict."
Ying Zheng stopped again, but before he could think about it, Fusu had already seen him.
Fusu stood up and saluted: "Greetings, father."
Han Fei also stood up and said, "Greetings to the King of Qin."
Ying Zheng put aside his many thoughts for the moment and said, "No need for formalities." He walked to the main seat and sat down, picking up Fusu on the way.
Han Fei looked at the King of Qin in surprise as he held his eldest son and sat him next to him. Does the King of Qin love his son so much?
Fusu blushed a little. He had always behaved very maturely in front of Han Fei, but now his father exposed his true colors.
"My child is young and is sorry for disturbing you, sir." As Ying Zheng finished speaking, Han Fei couldn't help but look at him.
The King of Qin was a very respectful and humble monarch, but since he was not his own king, Han Fei could not help but be picky. For example, he always felt that the smile on the King of Qin's face was too fake and was just a way to please people.
At this moment, Han Fei wanted him to verify his idea.
The King of Qin spoke modestly, but the smile on his face and the satisfaction in his eyes revealed his true emotions.
No wonder the eldest son could say with confidence, "I love my father, and my father loves me too." It turns out that there really is deep love between father and son in the Qin Palace.
However, Han Fei felt indifferent. Who knew how long this deep love between father and son could last?
The love in the palace has always been the most ruthless.
Han Fei lowered his eyes and said calmly, "The eldest young master is very talented. It is a great honor for me to be able to teach him."
The smile in Ying Zheng's eyes faded a little. He was about to speak when his sleeve was gently pulled. He looked down. Who else was there except his eldest son sitting next to him?
Fusu smiled softly to his father ingratiatingly, "Father, I have something I want to tell you alone."
"Hmm?" Ying Zheng moved his hands, and the silk sleeves were extremely slippery and slipped from Fusu's fingers in an instant.
Fusu boldly put his hand forward again and grabbed his father's sleeve.
Ying Zheng couldn't help but laugh. He looked up at Han Fei and said, "Thank you, sir. My father and I have something to discuss with you. Please come back tomorrow."
Han Fei watched this intimate interaction between father and son with mixed feelings. When he stood up and walked to the door of the bedroom, he looked back for some reason.
The King of Qin was rubbing his son's hair, ruffling the child's neatly combed hair into a bird's nest.
Han Fei: “…”
The King of Qin still has a childlike innocence, really...
Until he returned home, Han Fei couldn't think of a suitable word to describe it. Naturally, he didn't know that the father and son in the Qin Palace were talking about him.
Back to the time when Ying Zheng ruffled Fusu's hair and saw that Fusu dared not resist, Ying Zheng's mood recovered a little.
Fusu said cautiously, "Father, the sun is shining brightly outside, shall we go out for a walk?"
It is already August and the weather is getting cooler. Even if you go out at noon, you won’t feel too hot.
"Yeah." Ying Zheng gave face to his eldest son and carried him over when they crossed the threshold.
Fusu recalled his past life, but he was too young at that time and could not remember whether his father also liked to tease him in the same way.
But there is one thing that Fusu is absolutely sure of, that is, his father loves him at all times.
"Father, I'm not on Mr. Han's side." Fusu held his father's little finger to prevent the adult with long legs from leaving him behind.
Ying Zheng could barely move his legs, accommodating the child's pace. Hearing this, he smiled sarcastically and said, "Oh, I thought that in just a few days, my son would regard his teacher as more important than his father."
Fusu: “…”
Fusu temporarily put aside what he was about to say. He was flattered and said, "Father, you are jealous."
Ying Zheng was puzzled and asked, "Why are you jealous? I don't like to be jealous."
Oh, the jealousy at that time was not as intense as the jealousy later.
But it doesn’t matter, Fusu knows what jealousy means, and his father is jealous!
Fusu's mouth corners were about to fly up to the sky, and he said in a light tone: "In Fusu's heart, father will always be the most important. Father, don't worry, Fusu is your son, no one can take him away."
Ying Zheng suddenly understood the meaning of jealousy. He bent down and knocked Fusu on the forehead, saying with a smile: "If you dare to laugh at me, be careful that I will punish you."
Fusu chuckled and said, "Father loves Fusu and doesn't want to punish me."
Ying Zheng looked at his smug look and shook his head in amusement, "You've learned quite well to push your luck."
Fusu smiled and said, "It's because the teacher my father gave me taught me well."
Ying Zheng stood up straight, and the father and son walked forward slowly again. He asked with a smile, "Hello, sir? Fusu, your father asks you, who is better, Han Fei, Meng Yi, or Chang Wenjun?"
Fusu answered without hesitation: "Mr. Han is better."
"So..." Ying Zheng said slowly, "You are afraid that I will bully him."
Fusu shook his head and said, "Father, we have all read Mr. Han's articles. He has always been very outspoken and never cares about anyone's face."
To put it bluntly, Han Fei is really good at arguing with people. No matter who the opponent is, he will show no mercy.
But Han Fei never confronted Ying Zheng. Although he often said things that Ying Zheng didn't like to hear, his attitude was always extremely respectful.
This is because he had something to ask of Ying Zheng. His respectful attitude and humble words were all prayers to Ying Zheng.
If Ying Zheng wanted to make things difficult for Han Fei, he would certainly not be able to resist, but what good would that do to Ying Zheng?
After all, Ying Zheng still wants Han Fei to be able to serve him in the future.
Ying Zheng nodded, but did not mention Han Fei. Instead, he said, "My son is very smart."
Ying Zheng naturally knew about Han Fei's affairs, but he was surprised that Fusu could say these words.
【Author’s words】
When things are different, be prepared for change. When times are different, things are different. Both are from Han Feizi: Five Vermin
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