Chapter 42: That is so typically you, Fusu!

At this moment, Li Nian understood and looked at the two piles of bamboo slips before him.

“This pile must be the slips of the various princes, so could the other pile be those of the ministers of Qin? Emperor Qin Shi Huang must have assigned these two questions as tasks to both the ministers and the princes, asking them to respond.”

“Truly worthy of being the First Emperor!” Li Nian admired inwardly.

Some emperors would shy away from such questions, yet Qin Shi Huang boldly presented them and demanded answers.

This was the true weight of being “the first sovereign to take the title of Emperor in China.”

“But why would the Emperor send these bamboo slips to me? To seek my counsel?”

Li Nian asked the reporting guard, “Aside from these bamboo slips, did His Majesty give any other instructions?”

The guard thought carefully and replied, “None, Young Master.”

This was puzzling. No instructions on what to do, just sending the slips over—was he merely supposed to read them?

Qin Shi Huang surely wasn’t so frivolous!

After reviewing the slips from the princes, Li Nian picked up one from the pile suspected to be written by the ministers of Qin.

The bamboo slips confirmed his assumption—another prince’s writing, also answering the two questions, though this prince’s response was rather ordinary.

He continued reading a few more from other princes, all lacking originality and written in plain language, until he opened one signed by Fusu. Li Nian’s spirits lifted.

He was eager to see what insight this most favored prince of Qin Shi Huang would offer.

But the anticipation was short-lived.

After reading only a few lines, Li Nian’s expression grew strange, silently thinking, “As expected of you, Fusu!”

Fusu’s writing was more refined than the others, with seemingly reasoned arguments and a clear thesis: that the harsh and cruel laws of Qin were misguided, and only benevolent governance should be practiced.

But Fusu, as the eldest son cherished by the Emperor, did he consider how his father might react to such a submission?

The content seemed unfinished. Could Fusu have written several volumes?

Li Nian glanced at the remaining slips and gasped. There weren’t enough princes to account for so many slips.

Clearly, some had written multiple volumes, and Fusu was most likely the one who wrote the most.

Picking up another slip, it continued seamlessly—again Fusu’s writing. Another, again Fusu.

Li Nian could imagine Qin Shi Huang’s mood upon reading these slips: a fire kindled in his heart and fury raging in his mind, yet no way to discipline Fusu.

This was the grief and helplessness of an old father who did not understand his son.

Fusu failed to grasp the crucial point and did not recognize his proper place.

The Emperor wanted him to become a qualified ruler, to master the art of kingship, to govern wisely without bias or partial belief.

But Fusu had clearly taken a wrong path; his political direction was not that of a sovereign.

He was the favored eldest son, the heir to Qin’s great empire—how could he be so blind to his role and duties?

Did the Emperor dislike Fusu advocating benevolent governance?

Certainly not; otherwise, he would not have had Chunyu Yue teach Fusu.

After finishing all of Fusu’s slips—more than ten in total—Li Nian exclaimed, “Good heavens, no wonder the Emperor must have been fuming with anger.”

His treasured eldest son was a fool who misunderstood him and constantly stabbed at his heart; his beloved youngest son was a vile brute; and the other sons were a bunch of mediocre dullards.

No wonder Qin Shi Huang had refrained from naming an heir all these years. Which son was fit to succeed?

“If a son is unworthy, the Emperor himself bears responsibility. Someone like Prince Fusu should change his name and experience life among the common people to truly understand the difficulties of governance and grasp his father’s intentions. As for Huhai, there’s little to say—better to end his line humanely and avoid further pollution.”

Li Nian felt neither ill will nor fondness toward Fusu.

Yet if he had to choose, Fusu would be the better choice for the next Emperor, for his leniency would offer greater security to those under his rule.

Having finished reading the princes’ slips, Li Nian turned to the other pile and took one volume.

This first slip was written by Zhao Gao.

Seeing the signature, Li Nian thought, “Was this intentional or accidental on the Emperor’s part?”

Among so many ministers’ slips, Zhao Gao’s was placed first. Li Nian found it hard to believe there was no deliberate design.

Recalling that among the princes’ slips, the first he picked was Huhai’s, Li Nian became more convinced that Qin Shi Huang intended this arrangement.

“Zhao Gao was a capable man, articulate and apt in examples. Those who rose to high rank in Qin were not mediocre. Although history records some foolish acts by them from a later perspective, those actions fit the era and their own interests.”

“This is Li Si’s slip—sharp and penetrating—but I recall Li Si once advised ‘to moderate punishments and lighten taxes.’ Why then here does he advocate harsher penalties to instill fear in the people?”

Li Nian pondered as he read Li Si’s words.

“True, human thoughts are not fixed. At different ages and circumstances, ideas change. Qin had just unified the land; Li Si might indeed have had such thoughts then.”

Continuing, he read Wang Wan’s proposal to secure core areas while granting fiefs in remote regions.

Li Nian sighed, “Had Qin adopted Wang Wan’s plan, it might have avoided collapse after the Second Emperor. But Qin Shi Huang was too confident, believing Qin could wholly control the realm, so he rejected Wang Wan’s advice.”

“Wang Wan’s loss of the prime minister post and Li Si’s rise likely relate to this. The Emperor wanted a prime minister who shared his views.”

“Qin’s downfall stemmed from many issues, but undeniably one was that Qin was the first great unified empire of China; no one had ever ruled such a vast realm before. The methods of governance were still being explored, and they moved too hastily.”

“Wang Wan’s approach offered a transition. Had it been adopted, Qin might have passed through the novice phase of ruling a vast empire.”

“The early Han dynasty granted fiefs to princes, later curbing their power under Emperor Wu. This bears resemblance to Wang Wan’s method.”

“Of course, Qin and Han cannot be entirely compared—Qin’s situation was more complex.”

Li Nian carefully reread Wang Wan’s slip. This Qin prime minister, scarcely recorded in history, was indeed capable.

If he lacked talent, how could he have served as prime minister under Qin Shi Huang?