The scholars at the Xianyang Academy thought that only after they had reached a conclusion would Xunzi present the document of their consensus to the King of Qin.
However, Xunzi drew a timeline in his mind. When that time came, no matter how many people opposed it, he would directly submit the document to the King of Qin in front of all the ministers in the court, as the prime minister, to make the final decision.
No one knew what the scholars in the Xianyang Academy were thinking, but judging from King Qin Zhu's expression, he must be very happy.
Xunzi did not say how King Zhu of Qin observed mourning, but his words were all for the common people.
Ying Xiaozheng and Zhu Xiang were also in the court, but they were sitting behind a screen at the side of the court, so the ministers could not see them.
Zhu Xiang sighed, with a smile on his face showing the fun.
The corners of Ying Xiaozheng's mouth twitched slightly as he recalled the mourning period of the Qin Empire in his dream.
After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he hoped to be inclusive and accept the knowledge of the six eastern countries, and also let the scholars of the six eastern countries accept him and the Qin Empire.
But no matter how tolerant Qin Shihuang was, the other party didn't even look at him, let alone give him sincere advice.
That group of oriental scholars talked about feudal fiefdoms all the time. No matter what policy Qin Shihuang asked about, they would turn the topic to feudal fiefdoms. When Qin Shihuang didn't want to mention it, they would talk about it over and over again.
If Zhu Xiang was in the court of Qin Shihuang in Ying Xiaozheng's dream, he would definitely feel a sense of familiarity that he missed.
He often encounters such parrots when arguing with people online.
In short, the other party is already talking to you with a stance, so it’s useless to talk about anything. He has a clear stance and purpose, and doesn’t really want to have a good talk with you.
Therefore, Qin Shihuang's mourning policy was still originally stipulated by the Qin officials who belonged to the Legalists, so two extremes emerged.
First, the people of Qin could not observe mourning for their parents. "The order stated: When an official's parents die, they must have been buried for one month; when a son or a son is born with the same parents, they must be buried for ten days; when the parents of an official or a son of the same parents die, they must be buried for five days"; then, the people of Qin had to observe a very harsh three years of heavy mourning for the emperor.
The decree issued by Qin Shihuang in the dream was inconsistent with Ying Xiaozheng's own idea, so Ying Xiaozheng changed the matter and asked his uncle for his opinion.
Zhu Xiang told him at the time that this was a continuation of the Qin Dynasty's policy of "encouraging the superiors and suppressing the inferiors" and Shang Yang's policy of abusing the people.
"But the people are also people. Even rabbits will bite when they are oppressed, let alone the common people?" Zhu Xiang smiled helplessly at that time. "No matter whether the high and mighty king accepts this or not, when the anger of the common people accumulates little by little and finally burns down his majestic country, he will not have the chance to understand, but his descendants will understand."
Ying Xiaozheng looked at his uncle's smile and felt a chill.
After hearing Xunzi's suggestion, Ying Xiaozheng raised his head and whispered, "Uncle, the people only mourn for the king for 36 days. Won't they look down on the king?"
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "They will be grateful to the king from the bottom of their hearts."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "What I'm asking is whether they will despise the authority of the king."
Zhu Xiang rubbed Ying Xiaozheng's head and said, "Zheng'er, you have to understand that only a king who is alive and has power has authority."
Ying Xiaozheng bit his back teeth which had not yet fallen out, revealing an indignant look.
Zhu Xiang said: "Zheng'er, every king hopes that his authority will last forever regardless of life or death, but this is impossible in reality. Look, no matter whether it is a tyrant or a wise king, even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors who have been deified, who is really afraid of them now? Authority is fear. As long as this person dies, no one will be afraid of him anymore."
“Future generations will respect your achievements, adore you, admire you, and even deify you, but they will not be afraid of you.” When Zhu Xiang said this, his sight seemed to be looking through the palace wall into the distant beyond.
This is how people in later generations treated Qin Shihuang. They respected him, worshipped him, yearned for him, and even called him "Brother Zheng" with a sense of humor, as if Qin Shihuang had become a young idol on the stage.
Not to mention those fans who closed their eyes and turned a blind eye to the real tyranny of Qin Shihuang, even those who acknowledged that Qin Shihuang was a tyrant would not be afraid of him because of his brutal deeds.
Because Qin Shihuang is a dead man who has been dead for thousands of years. No matter how cruel he was, what can he do to the people who are alive today
"Zheng'er, fear will disappear with your death, only respect will last forever." Zhu Xiang retracted his gaze, "If you want future generations to remember you forever, do more things that will make them respect you forever."
Ying Xiaozheng said indifferently: "Oh."
Zhu Xiang laughed: "But Zheng'er, even if you don't do anything special, you will definitely make future generations respect you forever. Your uncle is very relieved about this."
Ying Xiaozheng's expression finally looked better.
King Zhu of Qin winked at Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng.
Why are you two still chatting? Pay attention! We are in court!
Qin Wangzhu was anxious and wanted to go over and talk to Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng about what happened today. He had a lot to share.
Unfortunately, he still had to wait until the court meeting was over.
After Xunzi proposed that "the people should observe mourning for their monarch with days instead of months", someone immediately objected, saying that this would lose the monarch's dignity.
Xunzi retorted calmly: "I heard that the First Lord was seriously ill one year, and the people who loved him prayed for him, and officials from many places presented him with letters and auspicious signs from the people. The First Lord was not happy about the people's spontaneous concerns, but reprimanded them and issued an edict that if such things happened again in the future, they would be severely punished."
Xunzi's mouth curled up slowly: "I have only been in Qin for a few years. May I ask if this is true?"
The man didn't answer, and Qin Wangzhu, who was watching the fun, immediately said, "It's true!" I know! I was right next to him! I was so scared!
Ying Xiaozheng leaned forward and pricked up his ears.
Zhu Xiang patted Ying Xiaozheng's shoulder and made a trumpet shape with his hand next to his ear.
Ying Xiaozheng understood and immediately put his hands to his ears to make a trumpet shape.
Qin Wangzhu glanced at the little movements of the two people, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up wildly.
Xunzi said: "The people praying for the wise king is obviously the best way to show the majesty of the monarch. Why is the former king not only unhappy, but also severely punished?"
He glanced at the doctor who refuted him, and said slowly: "I don't understand, can you help me solve this puzzle?"
The man's face darkened, but he didn't dare to answer.
Even though King Zhaoxiang of Qin had passed away, King Zhu of Qin behaved like a filial son. How dare he speak ill of the late king in front of King Zhu of Qin
Meng Ao glanced at everyone and said, "When the First Lord was seriously ill, not only was there a famine in the country, but the six border countries were also eyeing him covetously. At this moment, the people and officials should focus on farming and preparing for war. The First Lord believed that anything that would hinder the prosperity of Qin should not happen, even if it was to pray for the king's blessing."
Meng Ao glanced at everyone again and sneered, "The first lord left a will that mourning should not affect state affairs. Prime Minister Xun's move not only allows the people to observe heavy mourning for the first lord to demonstrate the majesty of the monarch, but also follows the instructions of the first lord's will, not disturbing the people and not affecting state affairs. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
Qin Wangzhu knocked heavily on the armrest of the throne with his hand wearing the golden ring: "I also want to hear what the ministers are dissatisfied with."
Zhu Xiang put down his hand, his face full of regret.
This King of Qin is different from the old King of Qin. He doesn't like to beat around the bush. If it were the old King of Qin, he would definitely let the court officials quarrel, and then find more handles on the court officials and slowly deal with them later.
Qin Wangzhu always goes straight to the end when doing things. Once he gets the answer he wants, he will go straight to it without causing any trouble.
Compared with the old King of Qin, King Qin Zhu was very tolerant to his subjects by doing this. The subjects did not have to say the wrong thing accidentally and suffer terrible consequences as they did when discussing politics in the court of the old King of Qin.
However, for him as a bystander, such a court was less exciting.
Ying Xiaozheng's face was also full of regret.
Even though some people in the court looked down on the "old prince" who had just become the King of Qin, in the Qin State, the power of the King of Qin was supreme. King Qin Zhu had already made the decision, and his subordinates would not say anything more.
Xunzi also thought that someone would argue with him again, and he had already prepared a lot of satires on the subject, but the matter ended just like that.
Xunzi felt both regretful and happy. A king like the King of Qin was indeed the one who best met his ideal of unifying the world.
Without this majesty, how can we unite the hearts of the seven countries
Once this matter is confirmed, the subsequent topics will be easy.
In order not to interfere with state affairs, the subjects only need to observe mourning for 36 days, and the king can naturally do the same.
However, after it was decided that the new King of Qin only needed to observe mourning for the old King of Qin for thirty-six days, Qin Wangzhu proposed an exception.
The excuses he used were: first, that the Qin Dynasty's mourning system was only changed after the death of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, so he could not use this system; second, that he was extremely sad and had to observe mourning for King Zhaoxiang of Qin for a longer period of time.
So, according to the old tradition of Qin, King Zhu of Qin mourned for King Zhaoxiang of Qin for one year. During this year, the new year was not changed, but King Zhu of Qin still handled state affairs himself and did not ignore government affairs because of mourning.
Crown Prince Zichu immediately led all the officials to flatter the King of Qin. Not only did the King of Qin reduce the burden of the people in mourning for the king, he also insisted on mourning for a longer period of time himself. The King of Qin is truly a good monarch who loves his people and is filial!
Qin Wangzhu stroked his beard and listened to the flattery of the court officials, with a bright smile on his face, it was unclear whether it was real or fake.
Zhu Xiang vaguely saw the old King of Qin still sitting on the throne, with a warm smile on his face and a cold gaze scanning the ministers below his seat.
He rubbed his eyes.
The important matter of the king's mourning had been argued for such a long time, but when it came to the court, it was over in less than half an hour.
Afterwards, the court first discussed the follow-up matters after the burial of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, such as the princes sending people to pay homage, and then discussed matters that needed to be dealt with in state affairs such as farming, preparing for war, and implementing government orders.
The climate has fluctuated in recent years, still being warm most of the time but occasionally experiencing extreme cold weather like when Zhu Xiang left Zhao.
When the climate fluctuates, it is always accompanied by severe droughts and floods, which lead to crop failure and people’s livelihood being in dire straits.
At this time, Qin would usually send troops to plunder the six states to ease the pressure of famine in its own country. But now that Qin was preparing to unify the world, it could not create more hatred, and not only could it not plunder too much, but it also had to help the conquered lands rebuild order and production.
The transformation of Qin's strategy was the biggest challenge facing King Zhu of Qin.
In fact, the discussion about mourning was also a prelude to this transformation. If it were the Qin State before the transformation, the scholars in the Xianyang Academy would not have had the opportunity to make a fuss.
What kind of attitude should he take to face the temptations of the crowd, how to change the image of Qin and the King of Qin in the minds of the scholars of the other six countries, and at the same time uphold the authority of the King of Qin and the basic national policy of Qin. King Zhu of Qin had no idea about all this.
No one had ever done this before, so he could only grope his way forward and pave the way for future generations.
The court meeting ended, and except for the issue of mourning, all other issues concerning state affairs had not reached a conclusion. King Qin Zhu only temporarily ordered the most urgent measures to be taken.
After the court meeting, King Zhu of Qin asked Crown Prince Zichu and the left and right prime ministers to stay, and the others left.
When Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng walked out from behind the screen, Zichu, Xunzi and Cai Ze all looked very excited.
They had long known that when Prince Zhu was still the crown prince, he was overly doting on Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiao Zheng. Unexpectedly, after Prince Zhu became the king of Qin, this doting did not change at all.
People outside are saying that Zhu Xiang is the actual ruler of Qin. Your Majesty, do you really let Zhu Xiang govern behind the screen
"I want Zheng'er to learn more." Seeing the questioning looks from the left and right prime ministers, Qin Wangzhu argued, "Zheng'er is not a child anymore. It's time for him to learn about state affairs."
Xunzi said sarcastically, "Your Majesty is wise. If outsiders knew about this, they would no longer mention that the Crown Prince is too powerful. They would probably think that Prince Zheng is the one with too much power."
Qin Wangzhu said cheerfully: "Let them talk. Zheng'er, don't be afraid. Grandfather will protect you."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Zheng'er knows that Xun Weng just envies me!"
Xunzi's eyes turned cold.
Ying Xiaozheng immediately hid behind Zhu Xiang.
Not only did his aunt's beating hurt a lot, Xunzi's ruler also hurt a lot.
"Xunzi, please teach Zhu Xiang more about presiding over the funeral for your father. If Zhu Xiang is the ceremonial officer, your father might be happier." Qin Wangzhu hurried to get down to business, so as to prevent Xunzi from beating his precious grandson in front of him. "Xunzi, thank you for taking care of this funeral."
Xunzi said respectfully, "It's my job, so it's not a big deal."
Qin Wangzhu said: "Xunzi, you don't need to worry too much about those scholars who oppose the Xianyang Academy. I have decided to let them revise the book."
"Revise the book?" Xunzi was stunned at first, then glanced at Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang immediately responded reflexively: "It has nothing to do with me! It wasn't my idea!"
Cai Ze was helpless: "Zhu Xiang, your reaction confirms that you are the one offering advice to the emperor."
Zhu Xiang: “…”
He coughed dryly and said, "Okay, it's me. The compilation of the book has been delayed for so long. Now that papermaking and printing technology have been improved, the cost has been reduced a lot. Maybe it's time to do it. Besides, Qin should also prepare to train more scholars after unification. If we don't compile a book, how can we gather ideas and develop a set of textbooks for the examiners?"
Zhu Xiang looked at Xunzi and said seriously: "After Qin unified the world, all the schools of thought will be used by Qin, and they will not stick to one school of thought. But not sticking to one school of thought does not mean that the thoughts are confused. After the land is unified, the thoughts must also be unified. Therefore, it is very important to compile a set of 'Qin studies'."
Xunzi gave a cold smile: "It is also important to let the disobedient people concentrate on compiling books and stop making noises, right? Zhu Xiang?"
Zhu Xiang's eyes were uncertain: "I didn't say that."
Xunzi took a deep breath and said, "Compiling a book is a big deal. After the war, who knows how many precious books will be lost in the flames of war. Even if it is simply to preserve these precious books for future generations, we should compile a book. But, Your Majesty, what is your attitude towards the history books of the Six Kingdoms?"
King Qin Zhu pondered for a long time, and Xunzi waited for a long time.
Ying Xiaozheng looked up at his grandfather.
What decision will the father make? Will he destroy the history books of the six kingdoms and only keep the history books of Qin
"Leave a backup, but rewrite the history of Zhou." After a while, Qin Wangzhu said, "The history of each country records things that other countries don't know, but they all avoid taboos for the sake of their own monarchs. The Zhou Dynasty has been destroyed, and now is the era of Qin. Qin rewrites the history of Zhou, and there is no need to avoid taboos for the Zhou king and the princes."
Confucius once said that one of the principles for historians in compiling history is "keeping secrets of the ruler", from which the idiom "Spring and Autumn style of writing" was derived.
What Qin Wangzhu meant was that it was already the Qin era, and the King of Zhou and the princes were not "rulers", so the people who compiled the history of Zhou should integrate the historical books of various countries and restore the historical truth as much as possible.
Of course, there is another unstated meaning of Qin Wang Zhu, which is that only the King of Qin is the "king", so this history book only needs to avoid some things about the King of Qin.
When Xunzi heard this, a bright smile broke out on his face.
He bowed slowly and kowtowed to Qin Wangzhu sincerely: "Your Majesty is wise."
King Zhu of Qin felt a little uncomfortable when he saw Xunzi's respectful salute.
He quickly helped Xunzi up and said, "I hope that the history of Zhou can serve as a reference for future Qin kings, so the historians should also record the gains and losses of Qin. As long as the records are appropriate, even if I have done something wrong, I will not be afraid of it being recorded in the history books. With the courage of the king and father, it should be the same."
Xunzi bowed again: "I respect your Majesty's command."
Ying Xiaozheng clenched his little fist in his sleeve for a while, then slowly opened it unwillingly.
In the dream, in another world that I remembered, my grandfather observed mourning for a year after he ascended the throne, and passed away only three days after the change of the era name.
During the short period of one year and three days in power, it is hard to tell what kind of King Qin my grandfather was.
But the grandfather in front of him, even though he had not yet completed the one-year mourning period for his reign, Ying Xiaozheng was sure that his grandfather must be a very wise and great King of Qin.
Even though my great-grandfather was wise and great, he was completely different from my great-grandfather.
Is this self-confidence and unrestrained attitude due to the fact that my grandfather has been the crown prince for many years, his right to the throne is very stable, and the transition from crown prince to King of Qin is also very smooth
Can I learn such confidence and ease
"Xunzi, don't be tempted and go write history yourself." Zhu Xiang said quickly when he saw Xunzi so excited.
Xunzi said unhappily, "I won't go for now. I'll go after I fix Qin Li."
Zhu Xiang said: "Xunzi, if you are no longer the prime minister, what will happen to the court? Do you have the heart to hand over the court to the strategists and legalists?"
Zichu held his forehead with his hand.
Qin Wangzhu and Ying Xiaozheng, both grandfather and grandson, watched Zhu Xiang perform with great interest.
Zhu Xiang said: "If Lin Zhi returns from his mission, the court will even be occupied by Laozi and Zhuangzi! How terrible that would be!"
Xunzi could no longer bear it. Although he didn't bring a ruler, he clenched his fist and hit him hard: "Shut up! If you are so worried about Confucianism, why don't you enter the court yourself!"
Zhu Xiang covered his head and said, "No, I have to get up early to attend court."
Qin Wangzhu: "..."
He felt around in his arms, and finally untied the long sword from his waist and handed it to Xunzi: "Use this scabbard to hit me!"
Cai Ze immediately pulled Ying Xiaozheng behind him to protect him to prevent Xunzi from accidentally hurting Ying Xiaozheng.
Zichu tucked his sleeves in and watched Zhu Xiang commit suicide in silence.
Zhu Xiang single-handedly messed up the touching "dialogue on history editing" between Xunzi and Qin Wangzhu, and was hit by Xunzi's scabbard several times.
Xunzi scolded: "Can't you be more serious!"
Zhu Xiang touched the place where he was beaten and said, "I am very serious. I am telling the truth."
Zichu snorted coldly: "I heard that you sleep until noon every day, it is true."
Cai Ze sighed. No matter how time changes, Zhu Xiang will always look like this. You won't grow up, right
Qin Wangzhu and Ying Xiaozheng were still watching the fun happily. Qin Wangzhu even grabbed a handful of fried soybeans from the table for Ying Xiaozheng to eat.
Zhu Xiang was deliberately teasing Xunzi.
He knew that with Xunzi's wisdom, he would definitely be able to see the sinister intention of his advice. Xunzi was old, and if he kept his anger in his heart, it would cause problems. It would be better for him to find an excuse to let Xunzi beat him a few times, and then Xunzi would no longer be angry.
Although Xunzi saw through his own sinister intentions, with his rationality, he would not beat himself for this matter. He could only act like a joke on purpose.
Although, what Zhu Xiang said was indeed true.
He insisted on not attending court. Besides the fact that he was not used to the atmosphere of court meetings, the biggest reason was that court meetings were too tiring. He had to get up early and leave late, working harder than an old ox.
After beating Zhu Xiang, Xunzi felt much less angry.
He glared at Zhu Xiang a few times, but he really couldn't do anything about Zhu Xiang. After returning the sword to Qin Wangzhu, he snorted a few times and was no longer upset about Zhu Xiang's advice.
If he had not been lenient with Zhu Xiang, he would have been angered to death by Zhu Xiang long ago.
Seeing that Xunzi and Zhu Xiang had "reconciled", King Zhu of Qin smiled and ordered a banquet to be held. While eating, they discussed the affairs of the court and mentioned Lin Zhi who was on a diplomatic mission.
Lin Zhi went on a diplomatic mission to the State of Chu and formally signed a treaty with the King of Chu to divide the country along the river.
Qin would no longer actively cross the Yangtze River to attack Chu, but Chu could no longer help the other five countries fight Qin. Once Chu breached the contract, Qin General Li Mu would reignite the war in the south of Chu.
Lin Zhi's bottom line mission on this mission was to sign this treaty, temporarily stabilize the State of Chu, and allow the State of Qin to concentrate all its strength on the Three Jins.
Cai Ze had been operating in the Shangdang Plateau for several years, and with the help of Zhu Xiang's guidance on farming techniques, the Qin State was able to digest the annexed areas of the Three Jins very quickly.
According to Cai Ze's judgment, Qin already has the strength to continue to erode Wei and Han, and even destroy these two countries.
However, King Zhu of Qin decided to swallow up a country a little at a time and not move its capital for the time being.
Even if only the county and the capital city of Wei and Han were left, as long as the country was not destroyed, the six countries would continue to be enemies of each other and would not unite.
When Qin destroyed the capital of Wei or Han and completely eliminated Wei and Han, it would be time for Qin to swallow up the world in one go.
Now among the six states, only Chu had food and soldiers, a barely respectable monarch and a not-so-mediocre prime minister. If Chu did not move, the other five states would not be able to unite again before Qin completely destroyed Wei or Han. So when King Zhaoxiang of Qin was about to die, he specially sent Lin Zhi to visit Chu.
He had high hopes for Lin Xiangru's son, hoping that Lin Zhi could show Lin Xiangru's style during this visit.
In addition to the "bottom line mission" given to Lin Zhi by King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Lin Zhi had more goals.
He didn't tell anyone about these goals before he left, not even Zhu Xiang.
Lin Zhi smiled and said at the time that it was enough for him to know the goal, otherwise it would be too embarrassing if he failed to achieve it.
"I hope Lin Zhi can come back before your father is buried." Qin Wangzhu sighed, "Your father loves Lin Zhi very much, he must want Lin Zhi to see him off."
Qin Wangzhu was always talking about serious matters, but he couldn't help but say something like "the king and father like it very much".
From people to things, from weather to scenery, the figure of King Zhaoxiang of Qin lingers in Qin Wangzhu's heart.
When King Zhu of Qin was so tired from handling documents that he lay down on his desk to take a nap, he would often dream of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin would, as always, complain that he was in poor health and was tired from handling such a small amount of paperwork, and would let him have a good rest.
"Even if Zichu is weak, you still have so many ministers! If it doesn't work, let Zhu Xiang do it! He is so lazy every day, he is really not worthy of being a son!"
Qin Wangzhu sometimes wakes up laughing and sometimes wakes up crying.
He never thought that he would miss his father so much.
"He should be able to catch up." Zhu Xiang said, "He may come back with the envoys from the King of Chu who came to pay homage."
Qin Wangzhu smiled and said, "That's good."
In the south, Lin Zhi did return to Qin with the envoys sent by the King of Chu.
Li Mu originally wanted to come back with Lin Zhi, but King Zhaoxiang of Qin specially gave Li Mu an imperial edict, asking Li Mu to continue to defend Jiangdong and not to return to Xianyang.
Similarly, Meng Wu continued to hold on to Eyi and guard the important road where the Han River and the Yangtze River intersect.
"Mr. Lin, is Duke Zhu Xiang still in Xianyang?" The envoy sent by the King of Chu was Huang Xie, Lord Chunshen, who had already resigned from the position of Prime Minister.
Because of the defeat in the Jiangdong Campaign, Huang Xie was ignored by the King of Chu. When Lin Zhi signed the treaty with the King of Chu, Huang Xie was excluded.
However, Lin Zhi persuaded the King of Chu to reconcile with Huang Xie. The King of Chu followed Lin Zhi's advice and recalled Huang Xie, but reduced Huang Xie's fiefdom.
After Huang Xie was reinstated, the first thing the King of Chu asked Huang Xie to do was to pay homage to King Zhaoxiang of Qin on behalf of Chu and to inquire about the current situation in Qin.
The King of Chu was once a hostage in the State of Qin. Huang Xie was in Qin with the King of Chu and helped the King of Chu escape back to Chu, thus gaining the favor of the King of Chu.
This is somewhat similar to Lu Buwei.
Huang Xie almost lost his life in Qin State, and had more or less hatred towards Qin State. He was a "hawk" who firmly advocated a tough stance against Qin State.
He had mixed feelings about returning to Qin. This time, he decided to use his own eyes to clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of Qin, and then continue to persuade the King of Chu not to believe in the agreement with Qin.
The Qin people are barbaric! Cunning and rude! When have they ever kept their promises?!
Huang Xie looked at Lin Zhi and felt quite unhappy.
How could Lin Xiangru's son go to the land of barbarians and serve the king of barbarians? Since you don't care about barbarians, why don't you come to Chu? The king of Chu is worse than the king of Qin.
As for Zhu Xiang, his mood was even more complicated.
He had already sent people to invite Zhu Xiang to join Chu! Just a little bit, just a little bit, and Zhu Xiang would become the Duke of Chu!
Whenever Huang Xie thought of this incident, he would wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself.
Why didn't I send someone earlier? Why didn't I let them go faster? If the State of Chu had rescued Zhu Xiang from prison, then Lin Zhi, Cai Ze, Li Mu, and even Lian Po and Xunzi would have been wise ministers of the State of Chu!
Therefore, when Huang Xie went to Qin State this time, he also wanted to lobby Zhu Xiang.
Although Zhu Xiang was already a relative of the Qin State and was unlikely to leave the Qin State, what if? What if the King of Qin was a foolish king who was as afraid of Zhu Xiang as the King of Zhao? Wouldn't he be able to save Zhu Xiang
"The First Lord regards Zhu Xiang as his grandson, and Zhu Xiang regards the First Lord as his grandfather. Now Zhu Xiang should be in mourning for the First Lord in the Ling Palace, of course in Xianyang." Lin Zhi knew what Huang Xie was thinking and ruthlessly shattered Huang Xie's dream. "When Your Majesty was still the crown prince, you were very close to Zhu Xiang. Your Majesty is extremely filial to the First Lord. I'm afraid Zhu Xiang has always been by Your Majesty's side. As long as Chunshen Jun sees Your Majesty, he will definitely see Zhu Xiang."
Huang Xie was in a low mood: "Duke Zhu Xiang is also highly regarded by the King of Qin now?"
How could that be? Isn't it true that every dynasty has its own ministers
Lin Zhi smiled and said, "Of course. Zhu Xiang's reputation for kindness is known to the world. Which wise monarch would not value Zhu Xiang? You will understand when you meet Zhu Xiang. Chunshen Jun missed the opportunity to meet Zhu Xiang in Jiangdong last time, so you must take a good look this time."
Huang Xie’s expression froze.
He looked at Lin Zhi deeply and said, "Jiangdong?"
Lin Zhi was surprised and said, "Chun Shenjun didn't know? Chun Shenjun was across the river from Zhu Xiang and the First Lord at that time, and Zhu Xiang even watched the fire by the river."
Huang Xie: “…” The Battle of Jiangdong was his most humiliating defeat. Lin Zhi not only brought up the issue but also told him that there was nothing wrong with his decision, but the Chu army was too weak to achieve his goal.
The King of Qin was indeed in Jiangdong, and even Zhu Xiang was in Jiangdong. If he had won at that time...
Unfortunately, there is no if.
Huang Xie still believed that it was not his decision that was wrong, but that he was held back by the great nobles of the Chu State.
He deeply understood from the Battle of Jiangdong that his previous compromises and his previous efforts to integrate into the Chu noble families were not only useless, but he might even be ridiculed and despised by the Chu noble families.
Even though he was the powerful Chunshen Jun, in the eyes of the Chu nobles, he was still a poor scholar who was not worthy of being on the stage, no different from a commoner.
He would never be accepted into this group.
When Lin Zhi talked about the battle of Jiangdong, Huang Xie lost interest in continuing the conversation with Lin Zhi.
Lin Zhi's ears were finally quiet, and he was able to calm down and memorize the surrounding scenery and roads, and draw maps by lamplight at night.
He had learned the skill of drawing maps from Lin Xiangru. After he became friends with Zhu Xiang, Zhu Xiang taught him modern map-making knowledge such as contour maps. The Mo family also made several small props based on the principles of map-making tools mentioned by Zhu Xiang.
This time, Lin Zhi was on a diplomatic mission to the heartland of Chu State. He showed off his identity as a descendant of Laozi and Zhuangzi and traveled around the country, like a dandy young man who didn't take his mission seriously. He memorized the mountains, rivers, and roads in his mind and drew them on paper.
When he returned to Xianyang, this was the first gift he presented to the new King of Qin.
The second gift was the "official import and export route" that he had discussed when he was negotiating the treaty with the King of Chu.
Zhu Xiang once mentioned to him the "food war" and the current food crisis in Qi State.
"Now that I am in Qin, its grain output is several times that of the other six countries. Qin's grain is cheap, while the grain of the six countries is expensive. If we export cheap grain and buy the specialties of the six countries, I am afraid that not only will all the money of the six countries go to Qin, but their citizens may also not want to farm anymore."
Coins can be cast into weapons. Even if the six countries do not sell copper and iron ore to Qin, Qin can use other countries' minerals to make weapons.
And if the people of the six countries were as unwilling to farm as the people of Qi, even if only 10% or 50% of the people reduced their farming, once Qin stopped supplying food to the six countries, many people in the six countries would starve to death.
Zhu Xiang was drunk when he talked about this plan, but after he sobered up, he did not remind himself who had heard the plan not to use this cruel plan.
Lin Zhi knew that Zhu Xiang would not lose his memory of when he was drunk even after getting drunk. If he didn't remind himself, he must be feeling very conflicted.
On the one hand, Zhu Xiang knew that this plan would cause many common people to suffer, but on the other hand, he knew that if the plan succeeded, it would be easier for Qin to unify the world and perhaps more people could be saved.
Just by paying a small price, you can gain huge benefits.
But these costs are all people. Why should they be considered costs? If you were the cost, would you be willing
Zhu Xiang has always held on to this idea. So when he proposed one vicious plan after another that required a price, how upset must he have felt
Lin Zhi knew this clearly and also used the strategy proposed by Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang had already suppressed his moral conscience and given him advice. If he didn't use it, it would be a waste of Zhu Xiang's inner struggle.
However, he started from the Chu State where even if there was a shortage of food, wild grass and wild animals could support the common people until they crossed the Yangtze River to farm in Southern Qin, and it was difficult for people to starve to death. If this plan succeeded, Zhu Xiang would not have too much psychological burden.
Lin Zhi looked at the mountain with empty eyes, measured the distance with his palm, and had a smile on his face.
Of course, no one in the world would know that this plan was proposed by Zhu Xiang.
Who else could have come up with such a vicious and cruel plan except me, the strategist Lin Zhi
That’s right, I, Lin Zhi, am a member of the school of diplomacy today.
Soon, envoys sent by the princes of the six countries arrived in Xianyang one after another.
Zhu Xiang accepted Xunzi's inhumane training as a ceremonial official, and now he has become a decent person with great temperament, which has impressed his friends.
Zichu: "I saw a monkey who not only put on clothes, but also finally learned human etiquette."
Cai Ze: "I see Zhu Xiang acting like a Confucian scholar again. The last time I saw him like this was in Handan City."
Ying Xiaozheng: "Is this still my uncle? Uncle, uncle, where are you? Zheng'er can't find you!"
Zhu Xiang immediately hit Ying Xiaozheng on the head, and then Xunzi quickly hit Zhu Xiang on the head.
Qin Wangzhu smiled happily.
The closer it got to the funeral, the more depressed and heavy-hearted Qin Wangzhu felt.
After the people sent by the six states paid their respects, his king and father were buried. From then on, he would never see his king and father again.
Whenever he was in a very depressed mood, Zhu Xiang, Zichu and others would find ways to cheer him up.
Qin Wangzhu had more than twenty sons. When those sons saw Qin Wangzhu, they would cry even more sadly than Qin Wangzhu, and then shout out the four words "My condolences, father and lord" with a look of almost fainting.
It is obvious that these sons have rarely seen their great father.
Every time Qin Wangzhu saw this scene, he felt more and more uncomfortable.
At that time, he would hold Zheng'er's hand, stand in the mourning hall and chat with King Zhaoxiang of Qin, pouring out his inner distress.
"My Lord, those people thought they were smart enough to slander me, saying that Zichu was busy with government affairs and didn't miss you at all." Qin Wangzhu said gloomily, "Missing someone is not about who sheds more tears."
When Zichu handled government affairs with him, he would occasionally pass documents to the wrong direction, occasionally show a dazed look, and occasionally call the wrong name, all of which proved that Zichu, like himself, missed his king and father.
"Grandfather, don't cry too much in front of Great-Uncle Zeng, or he will scold you." Ying Xiaozheng handed over the handkerchief.
Qin Wangzhu rubbed Ying Xiaozheng's head: "Yes."
The envoys from the six countries have arrived, and he must not show weakness in front of them.
(End of this chapter)