Chapter 49 Debating with Ying Zheng
The fall of the Qin Dynasty is a complex and profound historical issue. It would be no exaggeration to say that it could be the subject of a doctoral dissertation.
Countless people have contributed their wisdom and research to this issue, ultimately arriving at the most essential answer—the will of the people.
When Qin lost its mandate, the whole world chased after it.
Lin Fengzhi thought the First Emperor would be angry because her remarks directly targeted the foundation of his rule and his legacy, completely negating his life's achievements and wisdom, and greatly violating the inviolable dignity of an emperor.
In reality, Ying Zheng was looking for loopholes in Lin Fengzhi's vehement words.
His slender fingers tapped lightly on the table, the tassels on his crown tilting slightly with the movement of his head. He smiled faintly amidst the dangling five-colored jade beads: "For a century, the world has been divided, cities destroyed, rivers silted up, and weights and measures in disarray. I have built roads connecting the world, constructed the Great Wall to defend against the Xiongnu, and intend to dig the Ling Canal to transport military provisions—this is not extravagance, but the foundation for an everlasting dynasty. If we speak of emptiness, the root lies in the six former states. The profits from iron smelting in Han and Wei have all gone to powerful families, and the salt and copper taxes from Chu and Yue have not entered the treasury. I have swept away these accumulated abuses, so that the wealth will return to the central government. Without the Great Wall, the Xiongnu would have plundered and killed countless people every year; how many millions would have died? Which is more important?"
The First Emperor did not refute Lin Fengzhi's statement that Legalism had shortcomings in governing the country.
After Shang Yang's reforms, Legalism became the cornerstone of Qin's governance. Legalism enabled Qin to rise from a small, peripheral state to a unified hegemon, and Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang) relied on Legalism.
Were Qin laws harsh? Yes, they were.
The practice of collective punishment was prevalent, and minor offenses were severely punished.
In addition to following the scientific diet and lifestyle schedule given to him by Lin Fengzhi, he has also been reflecting on the choices he made when he was dying.
Did the original Fusu not have any ulterior motives when he chose him as his successor? Was it merely because he was the eldest son and considered capable among the princes?
No.
He often recalled the assassination attempt at Bolangsha in the dream of the Black Bird. He never forgot the dream of that iron hammer that rolled down with the force of splitting mountains and overturning seas and smashed into his secondary carriage.
But the dream that followed about his own death was even more terrifying, which is why he was so eager to unravel the mystery of his death. This does not mean that he forgot the dream.
In fact, he repeatedly pondered and speculated about every dream that the Black Bird indicated, trying to figure out what kind of process led to that result.
Ying Zheng couldn't help but feel a chill when he thought of the assassination attempt at Bolangsha. He hadn't experienced many assassination attempts in his life, and many had been thwarted invisibly. Only a handful had actually come to his aid.
He has personally experienced two assassination attempts. The first was before the unification of the six kingdoms when Jing Ke attempted to assassinate him for the sake of the Yan state. The second was when the world was first established, when Jing Ke's friend Gao Jianli attempted to assassinate him for Jing Ke's sake.
When Jing Ke attempted to assassinate the King of Qin, the country was in a state of division during the Warring States period, with each faction serving its own master.
But when Gao Jianli assassinated him, the six states had already been destroyed, and Ying Zheng's mindset was shifting from conqueror to ruler. Gao Jianli's actions made him acutely aware that the people of the six states would not be at his service.
His first eastern tour has ended safely, but he believes he will definitely make another eastern tour in the future.
Several years after the Qin Dynasty unified the world, he was assassinated at Bolangsha.
Although the hammer struck the secondary vehicle, the fact that the assassin was able to carry out the assassination despite the tight security coverage completely exposed the security loopholes.
Bolangsha was originally Korean territory, bordered by the Yellow River to the north and the Guandu River to the south. Its sand dunes, marshes, and dense reeds made it ideal for ambushes and retreats, making it perfect for assassinations.
What does this tell us?
This shows that there were still people in the six states who were fighting to the death against the current emperor for the sake of their former country.
The First Emperor realized that even after unifying the six kingdoms, the forces of resistance would still exist and pose a great threat.
He vaguely sensed that relying solely on high-pressure rule and harsh laws was insufficient to govern the vast empire.
This was a concern he had neither explicitly addressed nor was willing to delve into.
Fusu advocated "leniency and benevolence," which contradicted the strict approach of Legalism. Did he not consider a possible shift in policy but never explicitly stated it? Wasn't his failure to immediately punish Chunyu Yue and his group precisely because he harbored some concerns?
"Your Majesty's unification of the six kingdoms and the realm is indeed a monumental achievement. What you say is all true. The construction of highways, the Great Wall, and the Ling Canal were all intended to ensure the long-term peace and stability of the realm, a heart as clear as the sun and moon. However, Your Majesty places the blame for the depleted treasury entirely on the six kingdoms, while ignoring the shortcomings of the new policies implemented after unification. Is Your Majesty making excuses?"
The First Emperor characterized fiscal expenditures as "strategic investments," ignoring the actual state of the national treasury. He also blamed the old system of the six former states for the fragmentation of finances, shifting the blame to the previous dynasty.
It is true that many of the Qin Dynasty's projects were meant to be lasting achievements, but was it necessary to exhaust the lifeblood of this generation to accomplish them?
After a century of war among the six states, the people were like parched seedlings, desperately needing rest and recuperation. The Great Wall was a formidable defense against the Xiongnu, but the Xiongnu threat was not an immediate one. At this time, the Xiongnu's steppe leader, Modu Chanyu, had not yet distinguished himself, and the Xiongnu were driven back beyond the Great Wall by Meng Tian.
The construction of the Great Wall and imperial roads alone required the conscription of hundreds of thousands of laborers, along with 700,000 convicts for building imperial tombs. The newly initiated campaign against the Baiyue tribes also conscripted 100,000 laborers to construct the Ling Canal. The total population of the Qin Dynasty was only a little over 20 million. If this led to agricultural neglect and fields left uncultivated, it would be too late for regrets.
Lin Fengzhi knew he couldn't win an argument with the First Emperor. Following his line of thought would only lead to a praise session, so he didn't follow the trap the First Emperor had set. Instead, he continued to refute him: "Leaving aside taxes for now, has Your Majesty really not noticed anything about the personnel issues?"
The First Emperor countered, "The divine messenger's claim of severing the path to advancement—whose path was it severing? I promote talented individuals based on military merit and rank; how can you say I'm blocking the path of the virtuous?"
If Lin Fengzhi had just transmigrated to the Qin Dynasty, she probably wouldn't have been able to answer this question. Now, however, she has grown up and is living amidst the tides of the times. Combining her knowledge from her later life, she has keenly observed the irrationality of the Qin Dynasty's personnel system.
The "military meritocracy" system is considered an important institutional guarantee for the Qin state's strength and unification of the six states. It stipulated that the rewards of titles, land, houses, and servants were all based on the size of military merits, theoretically breaking the aristocratic monopoly of hereditary nobility.
In reality, ordinary soldiers needed to kill enemy officers or nobles to earn a noble title, and a soldier's head usually only earned them a reward or a penance. Commoners typically only reached the eighth or ninth rank of nobility, making it difficult for them to enter the true decision-making level.
The military meritocracy was more of an efficient wartime mobilization and resource control tool than a purely equal ladder for advancement. Its incentive effect on ordinary soldiers was limited and difficult to achieve. After unification and the end of large-scale warfare, the opportunities for ordinary people to gain titles through military merit decreased sharply, and the main upward mobility channels narrowed.
"In the past, the practice of supporting scholars was prevalent. Lord Mengchang had three thousand retainers. Even though there were some who were just filling in, there were also talented and virtuous people. Before that, there was a hundred schools of thought contending among the seven states. Disciples of Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Mohism could all travel and persuade the feudal lords. Scholars could still achieve upward social mobility through their talents and doctrines. After the abolition of the enfeoffment system, scholars lost the way to become retainers or members of the nobility. The Qin Dynasty took officials as teachers and prohibited private schools. Your Majesty has pushed away this group of people who could be won over."
While the old practice of supporting talented individuals may have included petty thieves and scoundrels, its greatness lay in its "redundancy" and "inclusivity." Lord Mengchang didn't necessarily need every retainer to save the country and its people; he supported those who could mimic a rooster's crow, those who could crawl through dog holes, and also visionary statesmen like Feng Xuan. It was precisely this seemingly inefficient "waste" that, in crucial moments, provided unexpected solutions.
In the Qin Dynasty, everything was about efficiency and usefulness. Useless doctrines? Abandoned. Useless scholars? Demoted. Useless old nobles? Destroyed. It was like a highly precise ruler, measuring out all the qualified parts, while cutting away all the non-compliant, seemingly useless "redundancy" and "potential."
He gained an extremely efficient bureaucratic machine, but lost the flexibility, buffer, and fertile ground for innovation in the entire society. The scholars of the six states were not all fools who clung to the past; they simply found themselves unable to find an entrance before the new, magnificent, but extremely narrow-minded palace of Qin.
The First Emperor maintained his original posture, without even raising an eyebrow.
“Divine messenger, you only see the three thousand petty thieves under Lord Mengchang’s patronage, but you cannot see that in my court, Li Si (a man of Chu), Wei Liao (a man of Wei), Feng Quji (a descendant of a man of Han), and Meng Tian (a descendant of a man of Qi) hold high positions among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. To say that I have alienated scholars? Absurd! I have opened up a path to heaven for them that is broader, fairer, and greater than being a retainer or a high-ranking official.”
The so-called three thousand retainers were nothing more than private soldiers and tools for personal gain, kept by nobles like Lord Mengchang. They only cared about their lords, never about the country. The likes of Su Qin and Zhang Yi, constantly switching allegiances, incited war throughout the land with their eloquence, causing a century of endless conflict—a great scourge to the nation. The enfeoffment system was even more of a disaster; today a minister could be granted land and a king tomorrow, challenging the central government. When would the world ever achieve true peace?
When Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, he eradicated the malignant tumors that bred war and divided the country. There was only one center in the world: Xianyang; and only one power: his imperial power. He proclaimed this as true peace and stability, and the greatest responsibility he could have for the people.
If Ying Zheng hadn't known the divine messenger's high regard for his policies, he would have thought Lin Fengzhi was actually a Confucian disciple. Chunyu Yue and his group had been advocating the enfeoffment system for quite some time.
Lin Fengzhi had been waiting for him to list the court officials. She suddenly stood up and looked directly at the First Emperor, who exuded an imposing aura even without anger: "Your Majesty is eloquent, citing Li Si, Meng Tian, and others. However, when did Li Si enter Qin? It was during the time when Lü Buwei was in power, before the late king had passed away, and when Qin was still actively recruiting talented people from all over the world. When did the Meng family pledge allegiance? His grandfather, Meng Ao, entered Qin from Qi during the reign of King Zhaoxiang and served as a general for Qin for decades, already deeply bound to the Ying clan."
Ying Zheng searched through his civil and military officials and was astonished to find that Lin Fengzhi's prediction had come true. His key ministers were either members of the Ying clan or had pledged allegiance to him long before the unification of the empire.
Ying Zheng was immediately speechless.
He said, “In my court, only merit and loyalty matter, regardless of origin or seniority. Are the scholars of the six kingdoms of Guandong difficult to appoint? It’s not that I don’t use them, but that they haven’t yet proven themselves worthy of my trust. How can I lightly bestow the position of Prime Minister and the seal of General upon a group of pedantic scholars who only know how to talk about the old system, who are devoted to their homeland but have no merit for the new dynasty? If you want a high position, earn it with real achievements. That is the greatest fairness.”
No, Lin Fengzhi thought to herself.
It will be the same in ten years.
Historically, the First Emperor's trusted ministers remained largely the same until his death. This suggests he was indeed very loyal to those he trusted, but it also demonstrates the lack of fresh blood entering his court.
Lin Fengzhi closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, her words still sharp: "A nation is like a giant, merely a skeleton with bones, capable only of movement. To make it a living person, it needs blood, energy, meridians, and spirit. The Hundred Schools of Thought of the past, though seemingly chaotic, were the lifeblood of the world's wisdom flowing forth."
“The Mohist craftsmen can build cloud ladders and defensive siege weapons; the Daoist philosophy can be used for recuperation and development; and even the Confucianism that Your Majesty despises, its concepts of rites and laws, in times of peace, are the best medicine to turn swords into plowshares, build rural order, and educate the people to be content with production. This is why I said earlier that Your Majesty should not punish the Confucianists so severely.”
The First Emperor's expression shifted slightly, as if he were moved: "Why did the divine messenger say that I did not regard the people of the six states as my own? My people must all contribute to the great cause of the empire."
"Weren't most of the people used in the southern expedition against the Baiyue people Chu people? Weren't most of the convicts and laborers who built the mausoleum from the six states east of the pass?"
Chi Su, carrying improved gunpowder, and Zhang Han headed south to Baiyue. Liu Ji, seeing the potential for profit and the opportunity to return home, decided to join the army. Lin Fengzhi felt that Liu Ji's trip to Baiyue was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.
Before they left, Lin Fengzhi overheard their discussion about military matters concerning the conquest of Baiyue. Only then did she realize that most of the soldiers for the southern expedition against Baiyue were from Chu.
As for the source of the people conscripted to build the mausoleum at Mount Li, Lin Fengzhi had been touring the mausoleum area for several months and knew exactly what each area was for. During her months at the mausoleum, she spoke with many laborers and convicts, most of whom came from the six kingdoms of Guandong.
Lin Fengzhi was unaware that later archaeological discoveries proved that the majority of the laborers and convicts in the Lishan Mausoleum were from the six kingdoms.
The burden on the Qin people in Guanzhong was shifted to the six states east of Guandong.
How could he not know about the corvée labor that the First Emperor himself had personally issued? His gaze was deep, and he remained silent.
Lin Fengzhi stepped forward and slowly said, “Your Majesty was able to conquer the world because it was not yet united; to maintain it, you need its hearts to be won over. Now the world is unified. Times have changed; the struggle between nations has become a struggle between the court and the people. Governing an unprecedentedly vast empire requires far more wisdom than internal oppression or external warfare. Your Majesty uses the Legalist methods used against enemies to treat your own people. The laws are harsh, and the corvée labor is heavy, so the people of Guandong have never forgotten the severity of Qin, rather than its virtues. Your Majesty has filled the hearts of countless commoners with resentment.”
Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, mere soldiers, not nobles of the six former states, how could they rally the people with a single call? Because they represented ordinary people crushed, abandoned, and driven to desperation by this extremely efficient machine. The First Emperor's system cultivated its own most powerful gravediggers.
"Your Majesty, I do not believe the old system was perfect. Feudalism leads to division, fostering scholars breeds wickedness, and the contention of a hundred schools of thought leads to chaos. But Your Majesty's solution is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Because you fear division, you suppress all local vitality; because you fear chaos, you stifle all different ideas; because you fear uselessness, you reject all redundancy and inclusiveness."
"The true foundation of an everlasting dynasty lies not in forging the world into a silent block of iron, but in being able to embrace all rivers and transform different forces into one's own. With Legalism as the framework, establish order; with Confucianism as the rule of law in the countryside, win over the hearts of the people; and with the teachings of all schools of thought, enrich the national treasury and enhance civilization. Let the old aristocracy find their place in the new dynasty, let scholars have a path to follow in the Imperial Academy, and let the common people have a chance to breathe within the bounds of the law."
Ying Zheng pondered for a moment, then looked into Lin Fengzhi's eyes: "Does the divine envoy want me to build the Xianyang Academy, modeled after the Jixia Academy, to lift the restrictions on the common people and to give important positions to the other schools of thought?"
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Author's Note: *The Impact of Three Assassination Attempts on Qin Shi Huang's Territorial Policies - Sun Jiazhou
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