Chapter 34: Going to Court to Hear Government Affairs [Jinjiang Authentic Edition, Exclusive Release: Since the Tassel is Born, Why is It Born?...
Seeing Old Li's eyes gleaming, his gaze etched, as if he were looking at a delicious chicken drumstick, Qin Ying couldn't help but widen her eyes. Her soft, milk-fleshed body trembled, and she subconsciously turned her round head away. She wondered in astonishment: Could it be that his eyesight is already bad at such a young age? Why was Li Si staring at her with such an infatuated gaze? He had a normal sense of taste, but he didn't want to look into the eyes of a sixty-year-old man with half his hair and beard white, with such a sticky gaze!
Damn! This really looks a bit shabby!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the emperor's eldest grandson did not accept his kind gaze and turned his little head away, Li Si was not disappointed. Instead, he felt that the little guy's subconscious action just proved that the emperor's eldest grandson was too young and had not yet realized that he had great potential to become the "Second Emperor of Qin"!
Pu Yu! What a beautiful, clear piece of unpolished jade! Li Si's old face flushed with excitement as he looked at the Emperor with eyes full of joy. He was so excited that he couldn't even utter a complete sentence except for a respectful title!
Seeing the deep admiration in Li Si's eyes, as well as the ardent gaze he cast upon his grandson, the First Emperor couldn't help but smile. After all, this clever little kid's surname was "Ying," not "Li"! With such a promising and intelligent grandson, why should he worry about the prosperity of the Qin Dynasty?
What's more, even if we take a step back, no one in this world does something just to be scolded.
Some time ago, a group of Confucian officials in the imperial court were so emotionally agitated and insulted by Li Si over the "Book Burning Order" that some even wanted to bang their heads against the pillars to express their resistance!
As an emperor, he naturally knew how much hatred and criticism the "Book Burning Order" had incurred! However, due to the current speed of dissemination of government orders and information, he had no better solution!
Books circulated freely among the people like fish in the sea, especially in the former territories of the six kingdoms outside the Great Wall. The common people in the former territories of the six kingdoms were illiterate because of the strong hostility towards Qin caused by the wars among the seven kingdoms.
Before unification, the common people outside the Great Wall had to get all the information about the outside world through the mouths of local nobles. After unification, not only did the nobles become nobles of a fallen country, but the control over information dissemination was still firmly in the hands of this group of people.
The decrees issued from Xianyang often have not yet been transmitted to the counties outside the Great Wall. They have long been distorted by the nobles of the fallen country and twisted beyond recognition in the former territories of the Six Kingdoms. It is easy to imagine how dark the decrees will become when they reach the ears of the common people!
The common people in the former lands of the six kingdoms have no judgment, no ability to think, and are bewitched by a group of nobles of the fallen nation with ulterior motives. They do not obey the imperial decrees, and although the chaos they cause cannot have any adverse effects on the current rule of the Qin Dynasty, it does delay agricultural production!
In order to quickly unify the thoughts among the people and to more quickly control the rebellious nobles of the fallen country, Li Si proposed in his court that as long as all the ideas spread among the people from top to bottom are collected, and then the inflammatory books are burned in a centralized manner, the policy of keeping the people ignorant will be further deepened. Gradually, there will be no books among the people, and naturally the common people will no longer have the idea of rebellion.
The First Emperor knew that Li Si's method of issuing the book burning order was very brutal, but this brutal method did allow him to see direct results. But now, after listening to his grandson's baby voice, he saw a method that was more relaxed but could achieve the same purpose. Naturally, the First Emperor was extremely happy.
The Emperor was delighted, and Li Si, a clever man, became even more enthusiastic in his praise. He looked at the round back of the little emperor's head with admiration and praised him openly:
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Changsun is truly worthy of being the chosen one by the Black Bird! Upon closer inspection, while the 'Book Control Order' proposed by the young prince is a bit more complicated and even time-consuming than my 'Book Burning Order,' the effect after implementation is far superior! I, your Highness, am deeply impressed!"
"I'm just curious. Your Highness just mentioned that controlling public opinion requires four steps. You've only just explained the first step. How should the remaining three steps be handled? Your Highness, please teach me. I, too, long to rise to the top and make great progress!"
Hearing Old Li praising her, Qin Ying turned her head in her grandfather's arms again. Seeing that the old man looked at her with a more normal look, no longer lingering, she looked up at her grandfather with a smile in his eyes and continued to babble and gesture:
"Aa ...
"...We first need to spread the concept of 'Huaxia people' throughout the world. We need to make the common people understand that the wars among the Seven Kingdoms were essentially civil wars among the seven vassal states under the Zhou Dynasty! All of the Seven Kingdoms are descendants of Yanhuang and Leizu. We are all Huaxia people with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin! We are different from the foreigners in the frontier with high noses, deep eyes, colorful eyes, and curly hair!"
"Whether it's the Qin people living inside the Great Wall or the Zhao, Yan, Han, Qi, Wei, or Chu people living outside, we're all essentially the same. In earlier times, we were all ancient people, the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou. Now, things have changed, and we're all Qin people. We, the people living in the seven vassal states, have been a loving family from ancient times to the present. The Zhou people fell on hard times, and the Qin people were chosen by the Black Bird to continue managing this huge family, not to break it up..."
They pricked up their ears and listened quietly to the emperor's translation of the emperor's eldest grandson's words, word by word. Li Si, a native of Chu, and Zhao Gao, a native of Zhao, gradually became fascinated.
In the eyes of Qin Ying, a later soul, the process of Qin's conquest of the six states was like the people eating roujiamo marching from west to east, and along the way, they beat up people who ate stewed noodles, soup dumplings, donkey meat hot pot, roast duck, hot dry noodles, and pancakes with scallions one by one, and completely subdued them, so that everyone began to listen to the orders of the people eating roujiamo.
Whether it was the horrific Battle of Changping at the end of the Warring States Period, the massive Five-Nation War against Qin organized by Wei's Prince Xinling, or even the later Qin's campaign of unification, these wars were essentially Chinese civil wars, completely different from the humiliating foreign invasions that later entailed national hatred and family feuds! Therefore, when he looked up at his grandfather with an "Ah Ba Ah Ba" sound and spoke of the Seven Kingdoms being one family, his tone was very natural and his expression was very calm.
But for the Qin Dynasty elites who have truly experienced the pain of class decline, the brutal wars in which big countries conquered small countries, and the feudal system passed down from ancient times to the present, which is deeply engraved in their minds and blood, it still takes some time to fully digest the long list of words said by the little grandson of the emperor.
The term "Huaxia people" has existed as early as the Zhou Dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang was well-read, he was naturally familiar with the words spoken by his grandson.
Although his grandson's detached words and thoughts surprised him a little, he followed the little guy's train of thought and thought carefully. Tracing back to the roots, he wanted people from all counties in the world to understand their "roots", their "belongings", and understand that the frequent wars of national destruction among nations were actually the essence of "Chinese civil wars" in line with the trend of unification. This seemed useless on the surface, but it was indeed necessary!
If you want to unify the existing chaotic thoughts among the people, but you can't even find a practical "starting point", you will be like a rootless duckweed. No matter how many propaganda words you use, they will eventually go in one ear and out the other, and will never reach the hearts of the people.
In just a short while, the First Emperor made up his mind and looked at Li Si. Li Si quickly understood and leaned forward and said:
"Your Majesty, the Emperor's eldest grandson is absolutely right. I will try to spread the message 'The seven heroes of the world are one family, and the war of unification is a war between the Chinese people themselves' to the people as soon as possible."
"color!!!"
The First Emperor praised with a smile, and then he saw his grandson babbling to him:
"Aaaah..." (Father, this second step of "cultural integration" isn't just about "tracing back to the roots." We also need to build academies from top to bottom, compile unified textbooks, and have teachers in the academies repeat the concept of the Chinese people being one family over and over again when teaching children all over the country!)
(The Black Bird said, "If the children are strong, the youth will be strong! If the youth are strong, the country will be strong!" If you want to completely win the hearts of the people and the adults can't control them, you have to start with the children. When these children, who have been influenced by the teachers in the academy and have been learning the laws of Qin since childhood, grow up, they will definitely be loyal to the Qin Dynasty!)
"School Palace?" After hearing his grandson's additional words, the First Emperor quickly translated them.
Li Si laughed and twirled his beard when he heard this:
"Your Majesty, the point raised by the young emperor's grandson coincides with the advice of this old minister to abolish private schools and establish official schools from top to bottom! Not only should private books be regulated, but the private schools that are rampant among the people should also be strictly controlled. How can anyone be a teacher? Those who want to be teachers must pass the official school examination before they can teach in the official schools! Otherwise, if they casually teach some children rebellious ideas in private schools, won't it cause chaos in the future?"
Hearing what Old Li said, Qin Ying nodded repeatedly to show her agreement. In later generations, technology is so advanced that the minimum requirement to become a teacher is to obtain a qualification certificate first.
If you want to teach and impart knowledge in Daqin, you cannot open a class privately without passing the official assessment!
"Okay, Lord Si, please discuss the matter of the official school with a few ministers, and feel free to come up with a set of rules for me."
"promise!"
Li Si hurriedly bowed and said yes. After standing up, he looked at the little grandson of the emperor with his infatuated eyes full of sparkling. He even had some secret regret in his heart. His two daughters were a few years younger than the eldest son. If the eldest grandson of the emperor was his grandson-in-law, then even if he had a stubborn son-in-law who could make him angry to death, he would still accept him.
Qin Ying has gotten used to Old Li's lingering gaze. If he wants to look at his eyes, then so be it. After all, if he looks at them too much, he won't lose any fat, nor will he fall in love with Old Li. It depends on his freedom, and he is willing to give it to Old Li!
Seeing that both Grandfather and Li Si had accepted the first two steps well, Qin Ying continued to explain the third and fourth steps, using both words and gestures:
"Ahhhhh..." (Father, the third step in unifying thought is called "information monopoly." Don't you want to unify the writing system throughout the world, using the small seal script developed by Si Tingwei to gradually replace the writing system left by the Seven Heroes?)
"Ah, ah, ah..." (My grandson thinks you could refer to the "Huaxia Dictionary" and launch a "Daqin Dictionary" with a small seal script annotated version. Convert all the seven major characters into small seal script to accelerate the spread of small seal script among all scholars in the world. Once the paper for the Shaofu is produced, write "notices" regularly, write the latest government decrees of the court on the notices, distribute them and post them on the propaganda walls of each village, and have the village head gather the common people in the village and read the contents of the notices aloud to them!)
"Aa ...
"Ah, ah, ah..." (Once the above three steps are deployed, the fourth step can be "transforming contradictions"! Compiling the "Great Qin Knowledge Collection", the libraries built in various places, and the large and small official schools, whether it is compiling books, managing books, or teaching children, all require scholars from all over the world to complete! Xuanniao taught his grandson that if you want to accomplish a great cause, you must unite all the forces that can be united!)
“Aaaaaaaa…” (There are also conflicts among the remnants of the Six Kingdoms. They are not all in one. When the Grandfather issued the order to collect books from the people, he could have said that those who can voluntarily hand in books without being urged by the county governors, pavilion chiefs, or village heads, and those who turn in more books and higher quality books, will have priority in hiring sons and daughters of their families when the court starts recruiting people to compile knowledge books, manage libraries, and recruit teachers for the academy. This will provide them with an opportunity to live a good life, and naturally the remnants can be divided from within by interests. As time goes by, their conflicts with the Qin royal family will naturally transform into conflicts among themselves, with hostility, attacks, and complaints against each other!)
"Aa ...
Qin Ying raised her two short hands high, and after she finished expressing her opinions on revising the "Book Burning Order", she obediently closed her mouth, raised her head with sparkling eyes and looked at her grandfather.
Li Si and Zhao Gao, who were watching, saw the little prince waving his hands and clapping his hands. From time to time, he would stretch out a few short white fingers to make the "one, two, three, four" gesture.
The little prince spoke in baby talk and flowery language, his little round face flushed red, but the emperor kept looking down at the little prince. Except for his pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes becoming more and more dazzling, he did not even open his mouth to translate.
Li Si was eager to understand what this cheerful, childish chatter meant. He waited and waited, almost scratching his head, but the Emperor still didn't say anything. Li Si couldn't help but look at the First Emperor and whispered, "Your Majesty?!"
Who would have thought that these two short words would be like a thunderclap that would "awaken" His Majesty the Emperor from his great joy!
Li Si and Zhao Gao only saw His Majesty, having regained his composure, suddenly lift the little prince high up by his armpits, laughing heartily with joy:
"Hahahahahahaha, I am like a fish in water! Great Qin has such a wonderful saintly grandson! The Qin people will be passed down for generations!"
"Starting tomorrow, place a soft couch on the steps of the outer palace. I allow the eldest grandson of the emperor to attend court!"
"His Majesty!"
Li Si and Zhao Gao never expected that after waiting for His Majesty for such a long time, they would hear such shocking words from His Majesty.
When Qin Ying was pinched under the armpits by her grandfather and held high up like a chubby little kitten, she couldn't help but clench her fists, her pupils trembling with fear.
[Oops! Did he just say something too grandiose? How did he end up working as a babysitter for his father again?! His own father is eating sand in the outer reaches of the Great Wall, and as a son—he's in a wet diaper, attending court. Is this appropriate?]
Is it suitable?
Of course it is slightly inappropriate!
Seeing His Majesty's excited eyes shining brightly and his heart filled with joy that he had nowhere to release, Li Si couldn't help but swallow his saliva secretly. The last time he saw His Majesty's passionate gaze was when he first read the works of his classmate Han Feizi. He hugged Han Feizi's book and shouted with burning eyes: "If I could meet this man and travel with him, I would not regret dying!"
He had already secretly decided in his heart that the eldest grandson of the emperor was the candidate for the "Second Emperor of Qin" that he had been searching for so hard in the imperial family! How could he allow such a good young man to go to the court and be deceived by those Confucian officials? Therefore, he looked at the First Emperor cautiously and advised:
"Your Majesty, I know that the Emperor's eldest grandson is blessed with wisdom and intelligence, but His Highness is only eight months old. If we allow His Highness to attend court, isn't it too early?"
"Let's not even talk about whether the young prince, who is still in diapers and nursing, has enough energy to attend the court this morning. Just think about the atmosphere in the court. If the ministers start arguing loudly over differing policies, or even roll up their sleeves and come to blows, wouldn't it be bad if the heated words and bloody scenes startled the young prince?"
Zhao Gao also nodded silently in agreement. After all, a gentleman is proficient in the six arts, and even a civil servant is someone who can roll up his sleeves and fight!
He suppressed the shock in his heart and couldn't help but raise his eyelids to take a look at the little grandson. He was really curious about what the little grandson had just said to His Majesty that could surprise His Majesty to this extent.
Li Si's pertinent words brought the Emperor back from his boundless ecstasy to the cold reality. The First Emperor held his grandson in his arms again, his eyes filled with deep joy. Such an outstanding! Such an intelligent grandson! He was incomparable to all his eighteen sons tied together!
Alas, how could such an outstanding grandson be only eight months old? If he were eight years old, he would have let him attend court to discuss government affairs, not to mention attending court to listen to government affairs!
The First Emperor sighed inwardly and watched Li Si and Zhao Gaoyuan unmoved as they translated the methods of "information monopoly" and "contradiction transformation" that his grandson had just told him.
Upon hearing this brilliant idea, Li Si and Zhao Gao both gaped in astonishment, finally understanding His Majesty's ecstasy! Oh my God! Is this the little prince, beloved by heaven, chosen by the black bird? This wisdom is far beyond the reach of anyone in this world! No wonder His Majesty was so excited that he wanted the little prince to attend court in a diaper!
Such a brilliant young man doesn't attend court! How can he sleep at this age?! How can he sleep?!
Li Si looked at the innocent little prince, heartbroken and furious, waving his flag and shouting frantically in his heart: [Xuanni, please open your eyes! If you gave birth to Ying, why did you give birth to Fusu?!]
"What if the eldest son's brains were half as intelligent as the eldest grandson's? How come, by the time he came of age, his young son had become the Prince of An, with a large county as his fiefdom? And his tall father was just an ordinary commoner? Look at me, is this reasonable? Young Master Fusu, have you only grown in stature and not in brains over the years?!"
…
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