Chapter 61: I Intend to Control the Empire's Public Opinion

Ying Zheng looked at Wang Jian, then glanced at Wang Ben standing behind his general. How could he not know what this father and son duo were thinking? They were simply worried that their achievements were so great as to overshadow the ruler, and that he would eventually put them to death.

Was his capacity as a sovereign really so narrow that he could not tolerate others? However, the two of you should not even dream of retiring to your hometowns to enjoy the glory of your achievements. In Our opinion, your merits are not yet sufficient; they can and must become even greater!

Upon hearing the candidates for the crown prince proposed by the various ministers, Fusu received the highest number of votes, while Huhai and several younger princes received none at all.

Ying Zheng had long anticipated this outcome. Bringing up the succession today was merely to test the waters, but he had no intention of naming Fusu as crown prince just yet. Firstly, Fusu had not yet fundamentally changed his temperament; secondly, naming him now would draw too many scrutinizing eyes upon him, making it exceedingly difficult to mold and reform him thereafter.

Ying Zheng stated, "The matter of the succession shall rest here for today. We shall discuss it again another day!"

Chunyu Yue opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but then closed it again. He had foolishly thought the King would settle upon the heir today, only to find it was once again all empty talk.

Zhao Gao, Li Si, and the others breathed sighs of relief. As long as the King did not finalize the crown prince today, they still had opportunities to make the King change his mind regarding the successor.

The other ministers were hardly surprised that Ying Zheng was postponing the decision. The King had shelved this issue for many years; if he had actually decided on the crown prince today, the sun truly would have risen from the west.

Ying Zheng continued, "Although the realm is now unified, the hearts of the people remain unsettled. Conspiracy-minded individuals are fabricating malicious rumors among the populace to bewilder the masses. As time goes on, this will inevitably become a grave disaster. We intend to establish the Bureau of Public Opinion to monitor the realm's discourse and dispel rumors for the people. What do your excellencies think?"

Before his voice had even faded, Chunyu Yue sprang forward once more. "Your Majesty, this must never be done! Have you not heard of King Li of Zhou?"

The "Affair of King Li" was precisely the origin of the idiom "Stopping the people's mouths is more difficult than blocking a river," which is recorded in the *Guoyu: The Discourses of Zhou*, specifically in the section where Duke Zhao remonstrates with King Li to stop him from silencing public criticism.

Ying Zheng looked at Chunyu Yue and asked expressionlessly, "Are you comparing Us to King Li of Zhou?"

Under Ying Zheng's piercing gaze, Chunyu Yue lowered his head and replied, "This subject dares not. However, since ancient times, the words of the people are like the flowing waters of a river; they should be guided by dredging, not by blocking. Though blocking may control them for a time, it ultimately causes the waters to accumulate into a flood. When the blocked river finally bursts, the harm inflicted upon the people will be immense."

Ying Zheng countered, "Then do you believe that letting anyone in the world speak whatever they please is a good thing? If someone privately disparages Us and slanders Great Qin, what should be done then? Have you not heard the saying that three men can make a tiger appear in the market?"

Chunyu Yue replied, "Your Majesty, if the ruler's person is upright, his shadow will not be slanted; if the water is clear of itself, the stream will not be muddy. Everyone in the world knows Your Majesty's supreme virtue; how could they ever give credence to mere rumors? Even if there are those who fabricate falsehoods, they are merely a negligible few."

His underlying meaning was that as long as the King maintained his personal integrity and virtue, he need not fear idle gossip and slander. Even if some people spread rumors, they were just an isolated minority, and the King should trust that the eyes of the populace were discerning and sharp enough not to be misled by such falsehoods.

It sounded very reasonable in theory, but did it actually work that way in practice?

If someone splashed dirty water on you and you refused to refute it or find a way to resolve it, simply relying on your own personal uprightness to let the rumors spontaneously collapse without anyone believing them—well, that was an exceedingly naive notion.

Even in the technologically advanced modern era, such malicious rumors and smears remained difficult to resolve. Otherwise, why would certain covert filming incidents in the subway still lack a definitive conclusion, and why would some people still be cyberbullying the owner of a Wuxi cake shop even after the truth had come to light?

If modern times were still like this, how much more so in a feudal dynastic era like Great Qin? If one did not proactively take control of public opinion, would not the distinction between right and wrong be left entirely to the arbitrary judgment of others?

Li Si stepped forward and said, "This subject agrees with Your Majesty's words. The common people are ignorant and lacking in wisdom; how can they possibly distinguish truth from falsehood in a rumor? If anyone were allowed to freely criticize the court's policies and discuss the sovereign at will, the realm would inevitably be flooded with rumors, bringing endless calamities."

Right Prime Minister Wang Wan also added, "The Chief Commandant of Justice speaks with reason. The discourse of the realm cannot afford to be left unobserved, yet neither should it be suppressed with excessive severity. The proper measure must be strictly maintained. This subject believes the Bureau of Public Opinion should be established."

Seeing Wang Wan step forward to support the idea, Chunyu Yue knew the general trend was lost and that the Bureau of Public Opinion would inevitably be built. He could only wonder what kind of impact this bureau would have on the realm and upon their Confucian school.

Since he could not stop it, he might as well join it. Chunyu Yue requested, "This subject begs to enter the Bureau of Public Opinion to serve Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng glanced sideways at Chunyu Yue. You simply do not want the Bureau of Public Opinion to fall entirely into the hands of Li Si and become an echo chamber for people like him, do you?

However, Li Nian had told him that the ideological battlefield of public opinion was vitally important. He could not possibly allow either Li Si or Chunyu Yue to control it single-handedly; Li Si was overly radical, while Chunyu Yue was far too conservative.

After much deliberation, Ying Zheng's gaze finally settled upon Wang Wan. "Entrust this matter to the Prime Minister," he decreed. "Li Si and Chunyu Yue shall assist the Prime Minister in drafting the laws and regulations for the Bureau of Public Opinion, while Zhao Gao shall be responsible for monitoring the realm's discourse."

Although in Ying Zheng's heart Zhao Gao was already no better than a lump of dog shit, even a lump of shit had its uses. Since he would sooner or later have to put Zhao Gao to death, why not let Zhao Gao do more dirty and exhausting work for him before he died?

Upon hearing the appointment assigned to him by Ying Zheng, Zhao Gao was quite delighted. The King's favor and indulgence toward him had returned; the King still trusted him after all! Monitoring the public opinion of the entire realm—what an immense scope of power and responsibility! The King had actually handed it over to him, which clearly showed how much the King valued him.

Wang Wan, Li Si, Chunyu Yue, and Zhao Gao all bowed in unison, proclaiming, "This subject obeys the imperial decree!"

Ying Zheng continued, "The Bureau of Public Opinion is not only a place to monitor the realm's discourse, but also a place to propagate the ideals of Great Qin and gather the constructive advice of the common people. This duty shall be entrusted to the Imperial Censor-in-Chief."

"When We speak of 'propagating Great Qin,' We mean explaining the state policies of Great Qin to all the people of the realm, spreading the majestic reputation of Great Qin, and making it difficult for malicious individuals to slander us ever again. This responsibility is profoundly weighty; the Imperial Censor-in-Chief must treat it with the utmost caution!"

Feng Jie knew his duty was not nearly as simple as the two sentences Ying Zheng had uttered; it also encompassed beautifying and promoting the image of Great Qin. He replied solemnly, "This subject obeys the command!"

Ying Zheng's words caused the expressions of several ministers to shift slightly. They all adhered to the philosophy that the common people could be made to exert their physical strength for the state, but should not be made to understand the reasons behind it. While propagating the majestic reputation of Great Qin could be understood, explaining state policies directly to the populace ran completely counter to their traditional doctrines.

One minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this subject believes it is inappropriate to explain state policies to the common people. Since ancient times, sovereigns have governed the people just as shepherds herd lambs; there is no need to let the lambs understand why they must do something, but merely to let them know that they must do it thus. Furthermore, as the Chief Commandant of Justice stated earlier, 'the common people are ignorant and lacking in wisdom.' Even if one were to explain policies to them, how could they possibly understand?"

Ying Zheng retorted, "Is 'since ancient times' necessarily correct? Explaining policies to the people is done so that state policies can be implemented more smoothly. When the people understand, state policies are far easier to put into practice. When the people do not understand, even if a policy can be forced through, it will mostly result in twice the effort for half the result. Besides, what the people do not understand today, they may well understand tomorrow."

If he wished to establish a favorable public opinion base advantageous to Great Qin within the territories of the conquered six states, he needed to explain the benefits of Great Qin's governance to the people of those former states:

*Look at how wonderful our Great Qin policies are, and how rotten the governance of your former six states used to be! Come quickly to trust and embrace Great Qin, and under Great Qin's rule, we guarantee that all of you can live a happy, beautiful, and new life.*

That minister was not entirely wrong either. Standing from his perspective and cognitive standpoint, he believed governing the people was just like herding cattle and sheep. For a dynasty that had already achieved long-term stability, adopting such an approach might indeed be viable.

However, Great Qin's current condition was far from stable. What Ying Zheng desired right now was to forcefully stabilize the realm and minimize the risk of perishing in the second generation.