Qin Official

It wasn't until he saw it with his own eyes that Hei Fu discovered that Qin's national plans were not decided by the king and emperor alone. Instead, they adopted the same strategy as later generations: holding meetings.

For example, during the reign of Duke Xiao of Qin, Shang Yang, Qianlong, Du Zhi and other ministers held a meeting in front of Duke Xiao. After a debate, Duke Xiao of Qin leaned towards Shang Yang, and the reform began.

During the reign of King Qin Huiwen, Zhang Yi and Sima Cuo also debated whether to conquer Korea or destroy Shu, and Sima Cuo finally won.

During the reign of King Wu of Qin, Qiliji and Gan Mao debated about attacking Yiyang.

Even during the reign of King Qin Zhao, regarding the sins, life and death of Bai Qi, Lord Wu'an, although King Qin Zhao insisted on his own way, he still followed the situation and asked the ministers to hold a meeting to vote...

This kind of imperial meeting is called "court meeting" and is also the theme of every court meeting.

This is not only the tradition of the Qin State, but also what Qin Shihuang highly praised in "Han Feizi": "Although the leader is wise, he cannot do it alone! He is outnumbered by the crowd, and his wisdom is not enough. Instead of using one person, it is better to use a country..."

Of course, the outcome of the meeting is by no means the minority obeying the majority. The process of these court discussions is very much like a debate. The king does not personally attend, but only acts as the host and referee, watching with a cold eye, but has the final decision-making power.

The same was true for the previous debate on honorary title, and the current dispute between feudal counties and counties...

From Heifu's position, Wang Wan, the first debater on the affirmative side, had not yet spoken, while Zong Zheng, the second debater and one of the Nine Qings, stood up abruptly and questioned what Li Si meant by what he said just now. Is there any suspicion of slandering the ministers?

Li Si, a debater on the opposing side, is not afraid of offending people today. Political opinions should either not be expressed. Once they are expressed, they must stand firm and never hesitate to retreat.

He showed a smile: "I said that the feudal suggestions are the old words that have not been changed!"

Before Zongzheng could grab the advantage, Li Si bowed to Qin Shihuang again: "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain in detail!"

"Can."

Qin Shihuang, as the referee, gave the opposing side a chance to speak, and the affirmative debaters had to stop and listen carefully to Li Si's flaws.

Li Sidao: "Just now, all the gentlemen said that the Zhou Dynasty divided the land like a melon, established five titles such as duke, marquis, uncle, son and male, and ennobled the children as princes. There are more than a hundred princes, like stars. , are spread all over the world, just like the spokes are concentrated on the hub of a chariot, gathered around the emperor of Zhou; together they become a pilgrimage gathering, and when they separate they become a guard and fence, but is this so?"

There was nothing wrong with what he said, and Zong Zheng and others could only nod in agreement.

Who is Li Si? A disciple of Xun Qing, a powerful scholar, he was also a top scholar himself. He had studied in Jixia and Lanling. He was very familiar with Confucianism. When he saw that the other party had fallen into the trap, he immediately used his spear to attack his shield!

He talked eloquently: "But why do you avoid talking about what happened next? The inheritance of the Zhou Dynasty only lasted for more than a hundred years. When King Zhou Yi arrived, because he was supported by the princes, he went down to the hall to greet the princes in person. It hurts the courtesy and hurts the respect. Although King Xuan of Zhou was revived, he was unable to decide the heir of the Marquis of Lu. In this way, the barbarians gradually became more and more unruly. By the time of King Zhou Li and King Zhou You, the princes became more difficult to control. The common princes blatantly carried out the emperor's government, and the princes of Shen colluded. Dogs and Rong invaded. When King Ping moved east, the Zhou Dynasty classified itself as a prince. From then on, there were those who shot the king's shoulders with arrows, and those who asked for the throne. The princes were surly, and no one regarded the emperor as the emperor anymore."

"So I thought that the doctor said that the Zhou Dynasty was inherited for eight hundred years, but in fact it was only three hundred years. In the next five hundred and fifty years, the so-called emperor of Zhou was just an empty name! The reason is that Zhou divided the power of more than a hundred princes. , in the end the royal family invaded the mausoleum and declined, and the princes were unable to lose their tail..."

After talking about the disadvantages of Zhou feudalism in one breath, Li Si concluded: "Therefore, there were many disciples with the same surname who were granted the title of Wenwu in Zhou Dynasty. However, the honor of a gentleman was cut off after five generations. After hundreds of years, the princes became alienated. In order to annex the land, such as They attacked and punished each other like enemies, and even the emperor of Zhou could not stop them. They were even attacked by the princes and gradually declined."

"Now, the five hundred and fifty years of chaos left by the Zhou Dynasty are finally unified by His Majesty's spirit, and they are all the prefectures and counties of Qin. It is enough to reward the disciples and meritorious officials with public taxes. Why should we repeat the mistakes of the Zhou Dynasty? Therefore, I think that feudalism is not a good strategy, and setting up counties and counties in various countries is the way to bring peace to the world!"

After Li Si finished speaking, there was silence in the hall, except for the sound of Hu Wujing, the historian in front of where Hei Fu was standing, rustling his pen on the silk while recording in excitement.

As a historian, he has to record every word and deed of the ministers at court. The most boring thing is to have nothing to do for a day and write down a bunch of words of praise.

On the contrary, this kind of courtiers held completely opposite attitudes, and the scene of the debate in court was much more interesting to record.

However, what disappointed Hu Wujing was that after Li Si finished speaking, Hongru, the ministers who supported the feudal side, did not organize a decent counterattack.

As expected of a famous writer who once wrote a famous article such as "Book of Remonstrance and Expulsion of Guests", Li Si's words were logically clear. Not only were the doctors unable to find any flaws, but even Wang Wan could not think of a rebuttal for a while...

Fortunately, Qin Shihuang did not embarrass Wang Wan for too long. He did not agree with the prefectures and counties, nor did he categorically deny feudalism. Instead, he ordered the prime minister, the imperial censor, the nine ministers, the internal history and other important officials to submit memorials after they returned home. Talking about the advantages and disadvantages of feudalism, counties and counties, and my own opinions, I will submit it to the ban tomorrow.

Immediately, he signaled to the audience and shouted, "Stop drinking and retreat from the court!" This ended the first court meeting after proclaiming the emperor...

After the emperor's chariot left the hall under the escort of the guards, Wang Wan breathed a sigh of relief. With this time buffer, he could at least clarify his thoughts and refute Li Si, an inconsistent villain!

He glanced at Li Si, who was already torn, waved his sleeves, and left the hall angrily with Zong Zheng and other ministers, as well as the doctors.

Li Si smiled calmly and was not afraid at all. He had been condescending to Wang Wan for a long time. In the past period, he had been agreeing with Wang Wan on small things to make him relax his vigilance. Today, he suddenly expressed his position and was fully prepared for a showdown. .

When it comes to debate, he only dares to recognize the top three, but compared to writing articles and memorials, playing with words, in the dynasty... no, in the whole world, who is Li Si's opponent?

Unless the soul who died in Yunyang Prison comes back to life, Li Si will be afraid...

"When you were alive, I felt like a thorn in my back day and night, but after you died, sometimes I felt so lonely..."

Li Si shook his head and sighed. Different from his usual behavior when he arrived, Li Tingwei widened his waist belt, straightened his back, and strode out of the hall!

…

As the dispute between feudalism and prefectures and counties comes to the fore, the struggle between Wang and Li in the court has come to an end. The ministers have different minds. Some hold the feudal theory, or say that prefectures and counties are good. However, during the whole process, Heifu, who had been watching with cold eyes, felt that he had gained experience again.

After the court meeting, Heifu, Meng Yi, Wang Li and Lang Wei lined up in front, left and right to escort the emperor back to the palace in his chariot. They thought to themselves:

"Li Si's last words are really vicious, especially the word "hero", which is clearly a crazy hint that the reason why many ministers support feudalism is because they are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to tear apart the soil and ennoble the king for their own selfish motives... "

At present, the Qin Dynasty no longer carries out real seals. Even Wang Jian's title is a false one, and he can only enjoy the false title of a town lord.

"Hey, although the emperor asked the ministers to go back and reorganize the language and compete in the memorial, those military ministers who previously supported feudalism, as long as they are smart enough, no longer have the guts to openly support it, right?"

Similarly, Heifu looked up at the emperor's tall back on the chariot and suddenly discovered one of Qin Shihuang's hobbies.

Unlike King Xuan of Qi in the story "Lan Yu Chong Shu", Qin Shihuang did not like to listen to the large ensemble of his ministers, because in that case, he would not know whether the ministers were superior or not.

The emperor, like King Min of Qi, wanted to listen to everything one by one. He would take the ministers out one by one to express their opinions on something, just like asking the music officer to play the sheng alone. In this way, we can understand everyone's talents, kick out Mr. Nanguo who is mixed in, and be able to grasp everyone's political leanings.

He guessed correctly. This method was what Han Fei said: "Those who ask ministers to speak must know the truth, and those who do not speak must ask them for choices. Then ministers must not dare to speak nonsense, nor dare to remain silent..."

This is the southern technique of a shrewd monarch.

"In this way, courtiers like Ye Teng who are watching the whole show will no longer be able to remain silent."

Heifu was gloating over his misfortune, but he never thought that when he spent the night in the guard prison, he was taken out alone by Qin Shihuang, who was not qualified to talk about the matter, and asked him to express his opinions on the title of king and counties...