Chapter 39 Different Reactions to Two Questions

When Ying Zheng granted an audience to Zhang Han and appointed him as the executor of the reform pilot plan, all the princes of Great Qin received two questions from Ying Zheng. Recognizing that this was a test from their father, each of them reacted differently.

Upon seeing the questions, Fusu’s expression lit up with excitement and immense joy: "This must mean that Father has realized the flaws within Great Qin. He sees that governing the state through harsh laws is unacceptable, and that benevolent governance must be applied."

Without delay, he ordered a servant to bring brush and bamboo slips, and began to write passionately and at great length.

If Great Qin were to perish, what would be the cause of its destruction?

Naturally, it would be because of the failure to practice benevolent governance and the sole reliance on severe penal laws.

If Great Qin is to avoid destruction, how should it be governed?

Naturally, by implementing benevolent governance and abolishing those cruel laws.

At that moment, Fusu felt that his father’s mind had finally opened up, recognizing the problems plaguing Great Qin. Filled with excitement and joy, he wrote across more than a dozen bamboo slips.

He wanted to seize the moment while his father's mind was enlightened to eloquently expound upon the virtues of benevolent governance. In the past, his father had refused to listen, but this time he was determined to persuade him!

On the other side, his "good brother" Huhai, after pondering the questions for a moment, also picked up his brush to write, though his content was entirely different from Fusu's.

At his age, he naturally did not understand as much about statecraft as his elder brother Fusu. However, he took a different path: instead of addressing the two questions themselves, he showered his father with lavish praise.

Huhai's response revolved firmly around the core theme that "as long as my father is here, Great Qin will never perish." The content went roughly as follows: With Father presiding over Great Qin, the state will certainly never fall. Under Father's rule, Great Qin is already utterly perfect, without a single flaw.

He praised Ying Zheng as unprecedented in the past and unmatched in the future, the only flawless being in history. What were the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or the philosophers of the hundred schools of thought? Compared to his father, none of them were worthy.

Though he was still young and did not understand much about the Dao of governance, he knew how to make his father happy. Reading such words from a child, his father would only find them rustic and innocent, the truest expression of his inner thoughts, and would thus be all the more pleased.

After all, children are the most honest, and their words stem from their hearts, unlike adults who sometimes speak insincerely. Besides, this naive child was his own flesh and blood, which added even more points.

As the day came to an end, the ministers of Great Qin, having finished their official duties for the day, returned to their respective residences and began to ponder the two questions left behind by the First Emperor.

In the mansion of Zhao Gao, Zhao Gao sat before a low desk, his right index finger gently tapping the surface as he deliberated on the deeper implications behind Ying Zheng's two questions.

To Zhao Gao, the questions themselves were worthy of attention, but what deserved even more attention was what lay behind them. Only by grasping these hidden meanings could one fathom Ying Zheng's intentions and win his favor.

Over the years, this was how he had always operated, and it was precisely this approach that had allowed him to climb to his current position.

Yet, yesterday and today, Ying Zheng's abnormal reactions had filled him with unease.

He was the King's most favored minister, frequently summoned to attend him personally, meaning he usually learned of any developments long before anyone else.

Yet for the past two days, the King had not even glanced at his way, let alone summoned him for attendance, acting as though he had forgotten him completely.

"Could it be that Meng Yi is whispering slander in the King's ear and framing me?"

Zhao Gao immediately dismissed the thought: "It shouldn't be Meng Yi. Although he holds a grudge against me, he is an upright man. If he had wanted to frame me, he would have done so long ago, without waiting until today. Seen in this light, it must be that mysterious person within the palace!"

"It is a pity that news regarding this person has been strictly sealed by the King. With my abilities, I have been unable to uncover much, save for the rumor that this person is a man."

"Residing within the royal palace as a man, this person enjoys the deep trust of the King. Could their framing of me stem from some grievance between us?"

Zhao Gao tallied his enemies and found they were indeed numerous, rendering him momentarily incapable of identifying which one of them resided within the palace.

"The King's posing of these two questions today must also be influenced by this person. In my view, this person has surely told the King that Great Qin has problems—problems neither few nor small, sufficient to cause the downfall of the state."

"These two questions are both a test of us by the King and a genuine quest for answers from us. Therefore, one must not flatters the King or claim that Great Qin has no faults; rather, one must point out the hidden perils of Great Qin and articulate them methodically."

Though a villain, Zhao Gao's ability to fathom human hearts was unquestionable. Within a few thoughts, he had roughly guessed the outline of the entire affair and knew how to answer the two questions.

Meanwhile, in the residence of Li Si, much like Zhao Gao, Li Si had also deduced the cause and effect.

However, he did not overthink as much as Zhao Gao. He did not rely on flattery and sycophancy to win the King's favor and rise to power; he relied on genuine learning and ability.

Regardless of who had prompted the King to pose these two questions, there must be a reason behind them. In Li Si's view, although Great Qin had now unified the world, it was still far from the realm of perfection envisioned by the Legalists, and many flaws remained. It seemed these very flaws could potentially lead to the destruction of Great Qin.

Li Si picked up his brush and rapidly wrote upon the bamboo slips. What he penned was as follows: When conquering the six states, the remnants of their nobilities were not properly dealt with; the laws are still not severe enough, and the common people are treated with too much leniency; while the territories of the six states have been unified, the systems have yet to be standardized; there are too many schools of thought, and ideologies are far too chaotic...

Having identified the problems, the next step was to devise solutions.

With a flick of his brush, Li Si began to write down his methods of resolution:

Since the nobilities of the six states are a destabilizing factor for Great Qin, those people should simply be sent to their deaths. Dead men can no longer yearn for their former countries or incite rebellion;

Since the laws are not strict enough and may lead the common people to revolt, more legal codes and statutes should be enacted, increasing punishments and corvée labor to ensure the populace feels absolute terror and exhaustion;

Since the systems have yet to be unified, the scripts of the other six states must be abolished, leaving only the script of Great Qin; the currencies of the six states must be discarded, permitting only the currency of Great Qin; the laws of the six states must be eradicated, enforcing solely the legal ordinances of Great Qin. The original systems of the six states must be utterly destroyed and unified under Great Qin;

Since there are too many schools of thought and ideologies are too chaotic, the other schools must be dismissed and Legalism alone exalted. The classical texts of the other schools should be burned, and anyone discovered studying or propagating them severely punished without leniency. The other schools of thought must be completely eradicated within Great Qin, so that the common people can no longer learn such things.

While Zhao Gao and Li Si were writing furiously, in the residence of Academician Chunyu Yue, Chunyu Yue was flushed with excitement as he spoke to several other Confucian scholars who held the title of Academician: "Today the King left us with two questions: If Great Qin were to perish, what would be the cause of its destruction? If we wish for Great Qin to avoid destruction, how should it be governed?"

Chunyu Yue's face was brimming with agitation and excitement. Having served as an Academician in Great Qin for so long, the opportunity had finally arrived for him and the Confucians.

"This is our chance as Confucians!"

"Why would Great Qin perish? There is no need to ask; it must be due to governing the state through Legalism, which ultimately brings disaster to the country and its people! How should it be governed to prevent Great Qin's destruction? Naturally, by employing our Confucianism, restoring the Rites of Zhou, and reshaping ritual and music."

Chunyu Yue wore an expression that took it as a matter of course that only Confucianism could govern the realm properly. The other Confucian scholars chimed in with agreement, save for Su Xu, whose face bore an expression of deep anxiety.

Watching the excited figures of the others, Su Xu muttered inwardly: 'These two questions were surely proposed to the King by that person in the Six Heroes Palace. That person holds Confucianism in great disdain—how could they possibly allow Confucianism to replace Legalism? If we tell the King that we must use Confucianism to...'