Qin Official

Qilu has always been the place where the Qin Dynasty's national policies are affected the slowest, because it is far away from Guanzhong, and it is often delayed from half a year to a year.

But this year is different. In August and September of the 31st year of Qin Shi Huang, Qin Shi Huang went on a hunting tour to Qilu and enshrined Mount Tai. During this period, the people of Qi Lu, who had always felt that the sky was high and the emperor was far away, really felt the impact of the emperor's moodiness on their lives. huge impact.

The First Emperor of Qin consecrated Mount Tai, but ended up having a serious quarrel with the Confucian scholars. All the Confucian scholars were left at the foot of the mountain and were not allowed to participate in the consecration. In the end, they broke up unhappy. After returning home, many people were resentful and borrowed "Poems" and "Books" " began to satirize the imperial court. The bold ones even directly said that the rain when Qin Shihuang was granted Zen must be God's anger, which meant that Qin Shihuang was not the real emperor!

The rumor spread for a while, and the whole family went to the execution ground. Within a few days, the public opinion reached the ears of the emperor. This was not a master who ignored the faults of the villain. He ordered the Tingwei to conduct a strict investigation. Within half a month, in Linzi, Jibei and Xuejun arrested dozens of Confucian scholars who slandered the imperial court and were imprisoned. Hundreds of Guizhou heads were implicated for spreading rumors.

At the same time, Qin officials in various counties announced that from now on it would be a serious crime to "refer to the past instead of the present". It was forbidden to use historical stories as metaphors to satirize the court, and they were not allowed to discuss "Poems" and "Books". For a time, Qilu was under martial law, and Qin people were everywhere in the streets The officials watched and arrested those who gathered for discussion at any time. When the scholars met on the street, they only dared to look at each other and communicate with their eyes.

Not to mention, at the end of September, the world's first printing workshop opened in Linzi Palace. The first thing to be printed was a new law called "The Law of Holding Shu", which no longer required the swordsman and penman to copy every sentence. Thousands of pieces of yellow paper were printed at once, and the station commissioners worked hard to deliver them to each county, while local postmen stuffed them into their backpacks and delivered them from county to township.

Soon, this decree was posted all over Qilu counties, and even reached Lu County, Xue County, in front of Confucius’s house...

Kong Yu, the seventh grandson of Confucius in a scholar's official garb, was holding this thin decree, but felt that it weighed as much as a thousand pounds, and his hands were trembling slightly!

The Qin officials who came to the door stood in the courtyard with their soldiers, glanced at the not-so-luxurious Kong family mansion, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Kong, your Majesty's edict is clear: Anyone who is not a doctor and has a collection of "Poems", "Books", "Spring and Autumn" and a hundred schools of thought should be handed over to the guard and sent to Xianyang, Your Majesty During my tour to the East, I saw the prosperity of Guandong's literary style and was very impressed by it, so I decided to rewrite the "History of the Country", covering the Five Emperors and Three Dynasties, and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Six Kingdoms. The miscellaneous books of hundreds of schools of thought will be compiled into a canon and recorded into a complete document so that it will last forever."

"The entire Lu County and the entire Xue County know that the Kong family is the successor of Confucius and has passed down poems and books from generation to generation. This is his family's education. Although your family does not have the most money in the county, it has the largest collection of books. Since Your Majesty wants the county to donate books , please hand it over, sir!"

Kong Yucai was very angry when he was enshrined in Mount Tai. Although he was warned by his disciple Shusun Tong when he came back, he did not criticize the matter. But he was completely disappointed with Qin Shihuang and the Qin Dynasty. Now that he heard that the government was trying to arrest people and defend the people, they went out of their way and wanted to collect the world's books to compile and tamper with them, and he suddenly became vigilant.

"I'm afraid repairing books is a lie, but burning books is true. It's not like Wei Yang has never done something like this before!"

At the foot of Mount Tai, Kong Kun had clearly seen the true face of the imperial court that came and went away as soon as they were summoned. He would not be fooled by the same thing a second time!

So Kong Yu returned the edict to the officials and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Everyone knows that borrowing books requires the owner's permission. Otherwise, it is not borrowing books, but robbing books. Your Majesty wants to borrow my books, so you don't need to ask us." Do you agree? Also, after I borrow it, when can I pay it back?"

"Return the book?"

When the Qin official heard this, he burst out laughing with joy: "Mr. Kong, Mr. Kong, you have read too many books, and you must have become stupid by reading your head. Although I am a small official, I also know that there is a saying, 'Is it possible that all the world is not the same?' The land of the king, the shores of the land are not the king's subjects. This whole world is your majesty's private property, and we are all your majesty's concubines. He said in the edict that he wanted a petition, and anyone who dares to refuse it is breaking the law!"

The clerk stopped being polite and said with a serious face: "It is clearly stated in the "Laws of Holding the Book" that after the order is given, the book will be handed over to the county within ten days, and the letter will be handed over to the county within twenty days. If the letter is not handed over to the county within thirty days, he will be punished. Four years of hard work with a tattoo on your face and building the Great Wall! Mr. Kong, I respect you as a famous scholar in Lu County and a virtuous person. I also hope that you will hand over the book as soon as possible within thirty days, so as not to embarrass me!"

The implication is that if you don't hand it over by then, he will come and rob it!

"What books should be handed in?" Kong Kun's son asked.

The Qin official said: "Except for medicine, divination, and books on planting trees in the farm, everything else must be delivered!"

Kong Kun's son shook his head: "All my family has are books on rituals, music, poetry, and the Spring and Autumn Annals of Changes. There are no books written by these peasants!"

"Then hand them all over, and don't keep any of them privately!"

Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, Kong Kun's apprentice Shusun Tong came over after hearing the inquiry and gave an exhortation before allowing the junior official to return temporarily.

"Sir, there are so many books in Kong's house that I can't clean them up at the moment. I hope you can give them a few days of leniency. They will be delivered to the county within twenty days!"

"This doctor understands our difficulties, but there is no way to extend it any longer, just ten days! If you don't hand it over in ten days, if we come back again, we will take the rope with us!"

"sure."

Shusun Tong smiled and sent the person away, then asked the servant to close the door, and hurriedly pulled Kong Yu and said:

"Master, this time the emperor is serious. I heard that several Confucian scholars in Jibei refused to hand over their books and have been arrested and imprisoned. They have been sentenced to have their hair and face tattooed, and they are going to be sentenced to hard labor... "

"Torturing scholars is really an insult to politeness!" Kong Yu was heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do. How could he, a scholar, fight against the cruel court?

"Oh, now I finally understand what it means to be harsher than a tiger! If I had known this, I should have learned from those people, floated on the sea on a boat, and surrendered to Lord Canghai!"

He looked up to the sky and sighed. It seemed that if he didn't hand in the book, the Kong family might be in danger of extinction, but he couldn't bear to watch the classics that his ancestors had worked hard to collect and compile for generations to be destroyed.

So Kong Yu looked at Shusun Tong: "Did you find what I asked you to find?"

"Don't worry, Master! I've brought it!"

It was late autumn, and Shusun Tong was wearing thick clothes. He smiled and took off his clothes, and there was a pile of yellow hemp paper padded inside!

It turned out that Kong Kun was also self-aware. At that time, he felt that Shusun Tong was "able to see the changes of the times", while he could only do some "unused learning" and was far less adaptable than his disciples. Therefore, the Qin Dynasty recruited him to go to Xianyang to become a doctor, but Kong Kun rejected him and recommended Shusun Tong instead. Although he was stubborn, he was not confused. There was someone in the court who could take care of the Kong family.

This was the case this time. Shu Suntong was well-informed and told Kong Kun early that the Qin Dynasty would collect the books of the former kings and called them repair books. In fact, they were destroying books. Kong was the master of books, which was in danger!

So the two masters and apprentices worked together and came up with a solution: Didn't the imperial court require the documents to be handed in within ten days? They secretly copied part of it and kept it, giving only the original, so that a certain part could be kept.

The matter was so urgent that Kong Kun ignored his old habit of using only bamboo slips for writing, and asked Shusuntong to use his position to get some paper.

Shusun Tong took out all the papers and sighed: "The imperial court not only accepts books from the people, but also bans all paper that is not much on the market. The petty officials will flog those who go out with the paper without permission, and those who make paper privately It’s a capital crime for a luxury workshop, but fortunately I’m a doctor so I can own part of it.”

"It is better to guard against the people's mouth than against the river."

Kong Kun shook his head and immediately closed the door and no one went out. He asked a few trustworthy family members and Shusun Tong to start copying books for several days, because there were people sent by Qin officials to monitor them. I didn’t dare to work at night, so I could only find time to do it during the day. But even if the whole family went into battle together, my hand was almost broken, many pens were broken, and all the ink at home was used up and could only be replaced by charcoal. The deadline came on the last day Before, I only copied chapters from The Analects of Confucius, Shangshu, Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals...

Kong Yu was desperate. He had already memorized the parts he could memorize and transcribed the parts he couldn't remember, but it was only a drop in the bucket.

On the eve of the Qin official's visit again, Kong Kun tore open the wall of his mansion and put the thick stacks of paper in the small wooden box. Then he watched it being sealed away bit by bit. Kong Kun could only sigh. One sound:

"I wonder if there will be a day when Huabi will publish a book in my lifetime?"

…

The next day, when the Qin officials came to the door again with a group of soldiers, they saw an extremely spectacular scene: outside the door of Kong's house, bamboo slips and wooden slips were piled up like a mountain!

Although he knew that the Kong family had a lot of books, the clerk's eyes widened: "It will take more than ten carriages to transport it."

Kong Yu said with some pride: "Confucius was rich in learning. After that, ancestors of all generations had the habit of collecting books. The house at home was ten acres, and many houses were used to store books."

Speaking of this, Kong Yu felt sad.

Other people's property is in terms of fields, houses, gold and pearls, but the only wealth left by my ancestors is these books...

Relying on this knowledge and the disciples he taught from generation to generation, the Kong family was able to live longer than those short-lived princes, and was respected by the people of Qi and Lu for a long time.

Now without them, the Kong family will be severely damaged!

The Qin official felt unhappy when he saw Kong Kun's arrogance, and curled his lips: "These bamboo scrolls, despite their large number, probably don't have many words in them. Mr. Kong, I'm not saying that, they are just paper legal documents from the county government." , add up to no less than them!”

"Fish eyes are very similar to pearls, but with the same amount of fish eyes, which one is more valuable than pearls?" Kong Yu thought, but his disciple Shusun Tong shook his head at him and still did not say anything.

Finally, more than a dozen cars arrived. When the powerful soldiers began to move the books, Kong Yu was heartbroken.

"Don't wear it out, this is a legacy from the time of Confucius!"

"Be gentle, this book is the only one!"

Kong Yu's voice sounded like pleading. During this period, the soldiers accidentally dropped a few books from their elbows and smashed them into the soil. He rushed over, carefully picked them up, wiped them clean on his clothes, and felt distressed as if they were his own. The child fell...

When everything was over and the mountain of books in front of Kong's house was evacuated, Kong Yu felt lost and looked at the horse-drawn carriage in the distance for a long time. This seventh-generation grandson of Confucius, who loved books so much, burst into tears because he knew that he might never see those "treasures" again.

After a while, his tears had dried, and he suddenly said to his uncle and grandson: "I suddenly envy you as a teacher. As a doctor, you can also read poems and books, and even participated in compiling the so-called "National History" and "History of the Nation". "Hundred Classics"..."

Shusun Tong said quickly: "Master, if you want to become a doctor, is it not just a matter of a word?"

He was right. There were many people among the doctors this time who were convicted for their speeches, and some left with their titles and seals. Most of the positions were vacant. The emperor was planning to recruit another group of people who were willing to cooperate with the court.

But Kong Kun shook his head and asked Shusun Tong to follow him into the inner room of the house and said to him:

"Mosists often say that Confucian scholars teach useless things. Although I like to argue with them, in fact I also understand that in this world, the poems, books, rituals and music I teach are not liked by carnivores, and they are indeed useless. Knowledge. And those who understand these knowledge, only my friends, thought that in this way, I can be alone in this life, hold books and study until death, and be on the same page with the court. Even if they see the accumulation of books in my house Rushan, after discovering that what I teach is loyalty to the emperor and filial piety, he will not regard him as a savage beast, but now it seems that I was wrong..."

Before Kong Yu cited scriptures, he habitually wanted to find a book, but when he looked up, he found that the study room that was once full of people was now empty, with not a single book left. He couldn't help but feel sad and rebelled:

"Confucius once said, the king is the king, the ministers are the ministers, the father is the father, the son is the son. The king treats the ministers with courtesy, and the ministers treat the king with loyalty. I have always believed this."

"But now, I appreciate Mencius' words even more..."

Kong Yu looked at Shusun Tong and said: "If the king regards his ministers as his hands and feet, then his ministers will regard him as his heart and soul; if his ministers regard his ministers as dogs and horses, then his ministers will regard him as a fellow countryman!"

"If a king treats his ministers like dirt, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit!"

Shusuntong followed this sentence, took a deep breath, looked back at the closed door, and checked that no one was eavesdropping. Then he returned to Kong Yu and said with some excitement: "Master, you Do you agree with me to do that?"

Although Shusun Tong was committed to Qin, he saw that the actions of the court were not in line with Confucian scholars, so he always had his own ideas. He had secret contacts with anti-Qin people, such as Zhang Er, Chen Yu, etc. This time Qin Shihuang visited the east, he took the opportunity to reconnect with him.

As for why he knew Chen Yu? Because Chen Yu was also a Confucian scholar, he came to Kong Kun's house to live for a long time after the fall of Zhao. Now that Zhang and Chen have become fugitives, the Kong family has also secretly provided some financial support...

But even though they had contact, Kong Yu and Shusun Tong's master and apprentice did nothing. As he said, it is best to "do not interfere with the water in the well". Until Kong Yu was completely disappointed with the court because of the two matters of enshrining Zen and holding a book of laws!

Now, if someone rises up, he will definitely flee without hesitation, holding the ritual vessel!

Why did the scholars rebel? Isn't it because this world makes him unable to study!

Kong Yu seemed to have woken up and said resolutely: "Mencius also said that those who destroy benevolence are called 'thieves', those who destroy righteousness are called 'crime', and those who destroy benevolence and righteousness are called 'yifu'!"

"Jie and Zhou were such a one-man, single-handed man. He killed Jie and Zhou, but I have heard of killing single-handed men, but I have never heard of regicide!"

This is the most extreme statement made by Mencius, who found a good friend for his ministers and scholars to create a cowardly king and a tyrant.

Kong Yu said in a low voice: "In a city with ten houses, there must be loyal men. I believe that with the size of the six kingdoms, there must be those who are willing to follow the example of Jing Ke and Gao Jianli and kill the lonely man!"

"Master, don't worry."

Shusun Tong paid his respects again and told him a confidential message:

"There are so many people in the world who want to kill the First Emperor, but the doctors and alchemists around the emperor know the emperor's daily whereabouts, and I am not the only one who is willing to reveal the information to them! This time on the eastward tour, the security is far less than in Guanzhong, Master. Let’s wait and see! It won’t be too long before someone will attack!”

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