Chapter 299: The same track, the same conduct, the great name Yao Jia lost his superior
The shouts from the Xianyang Palace gradually became less and less audible, and the First Emperor was awakened by the silence around him.
The pearls hanging on the Tongtian Crown made a soft sound, crisp and loud.
After the enfeoffment of ministers, at least half of the venue for court meetings was left. The slightly empty Xianyang Palace was almost full today.
The First Emperor could call out the names of all these faces, but many of them were already unfamiliar to him, as if he had not seen them for years.
[These people were all that bastard’s team in the beginning, and now they are the ones who want to kill that bastard, haha.]
[I just want to replace the feudal system with counties, so that these people will no longer have fiefs, and there will only be Qin in the world. ]
[These people must no longer be able to establish themselves as kings and compete with the Ying clan to seize the foundation of our Great Qin. ]
[I thought what I did was already outrageous, but that bastard actually wanted to wipe out these people and enjoy wealth and glory in this era.]
【My father said at the beginning that this boy has the heart of a tiger, and his heart is so wild that no one in the world can match it. I didn't believe it, and it's true.】
"Fusheng."
The First Emperor called out.
"I am here."
The Confucian leader, Doctor Fusheng, who had just followed the general trend and said "Your Majesty is wise", stood up in response.
"Last time you said that I should unify and integrate the Qin's wheel tracks, and I explained the pros and cons. I don't know if you still insist on your idea today."
To realize the revenge of Confucianism was Fu Sheng's lifelong wish, and he was willing to bear the infamy for it.
The three words "books are in the same track" first appeared in Confucian classics.
" The Book of Rites : The Doctrine of the Mean": Today, our vehicles will all be built on the same track, and our books will all be written in the same script.
Fusheng was overjoyed. He crossed his hands in front of him and circled them. Halfway through bowing, he was startled to realize that the First Emperor did not like Zhou rituals. He hastily straightened up and bowed his head.
"If your majesty wants to unify the world, you must not only unify the wheel tracks, but also unify the clothing. Only when the wheels are of the same track, the writing system is the same, and the customs are the same, can we have a prosperous era.
"During the reign of Taikang, the whole country had the same writing system, the same wheel gauge, and the same customs. Cattle and horses roamed the wild, surplus grain was stored in the fields, travelers lived in thatched huts, and the outer gates were not closed. People met each other as if they were family.
"Those who are in need get money from the roads, so there is a saying at that time that 'there are endless people in the world'. I hope Your Majesty will take the present as an example and create another glorious era."
As soon as Fu Sheng finished speaking, a head of a small aristocratic family who had no official title or title at the banquet stood up and pointed at Fu Sheng and cursed him.
"You ignorant and corrupt scholars, the Crown Prince saved your lives, but Your Majesty spared your lives without any gratitude, and you are still spreading lies to confuse the people. The Left Prime Minister said long ago that Zhou rituals are not suitable for Qin, and Zhou systems are not suitable for Qin. Don't you listen to the Left Prime Minister's words?"
[Hey, you are worthy of using Ez as a shield? ]
Li Si exerted force with his thighs and was about to stand up again.
Hearing Fu Sheng's sudden voice, his legs relaxed.
"I heard someone burst into laughter when he was given a fief, saying that the thousand-year feudal system was good. He hid behind the left prime minister and used the name of the left prime minister to say that the Zhou and Qin dynasties were different. The Yu, Xia, Shang, Zhou and Qin dynasties were five dynasties, but can the world change? Confucius said: 'Those who are good at speaking and making a good impression are rarely kind.'
"Your face is hateful, your heart is false to Qin, and there are few people who are kind and eloquent! The Analects of Confucius says: The Book of Songs has three hundred poems, and one word can sum them up: think without evil. Don't you read the Book of Songs? Don't you sing "No Clothes"? I advise you to recite it three hundred times a day to correct your thoughts!"
From the debate on feudal fiefdom and the county system, the simple-minded Fu Sheng summed up a truth.
The way to win is to explain things thoroughly and get to the root of the problem, without thinking about how Chunyu Yue taught him to judge the situation.
The debate between the young master and the young family ended before it even began. In terms of logic, how could he beat Fusheng, who had been studying the classics for more than 20 years?
He didn't care about reason but power. He never expected Fu Sheng to be so unruly. He didn't follow the rules at all and directly exposed the fact that he used Li Si as a gun.
The head of the small family, who had originally wanted to stir up a confrontation between the Legalists and the Confucians, became angry and humiliated as he watched the fight from the sidelines.
"You should all be killed and buried alive!"
Fusheng did not know that Chunyu Yue was still alive, and was furious when the second head of the small family exposed his scars and spoke insultingly to him.
"You must see the sharpness of my sword!"
Generals like Meng Tian and Li Xin who fight on the battlefield like this kind of challenge the most.
However, they are proud of their noble status and many of them claim to be the aristocratic families with the purest Qin bloodline, but they have long lost the Qin bloodline.
He threw down a few words saying that one should not lose manners in front of His Majesty and that Confucian scholars are useless, and then returned to his seat.
But the fact that the head of this small aristocratic family was not good at speaking does not mean that all aristocratic families were not good at speaking. He was just throwing out a brick to test the reaction of the First Emperor and his important ministers.
The First Emperor was seen sitting on it without saying a word, impartially.
Yao Jia, the then prime minister and a famous aristocrat, stood up and performed the Zhou dynasty worship ceremony to the First Emperor.
Then he said: "Your Majesty, please restore the Zhou rituals, replace the law with rituals, and use them to govern people."
Fu Sheng looked at Yao Jia with three parts of confusion and seven parts of joy in his eyes.
Anyone who wants to restore Zhou rites is my Confucian friend.
He bowed and said, "I second the proposal."
[The more knowledge you have, the more worldly-wise you are. 】
Li Si thought to himself that the slight admiration he had just felt for Fu Sheng disappeared without a trace.
Wang Wan and Feng Quji looked at each other.
Wang Wan shook his head to indicate that His Majesty was in a bad mood at the moment and it was not appropriate to interfere in this matter, so we should not say more.
Feng Quji nodded. The Imperial Censor, who was good at judging the situation, didn't want to take either side today.
The First Emperor had always governed the country according to the law, so naturally he would not give a good face at this moment.
He said angrily, "This is ridiculous!"
Yao Jia chuckled and said, "Jia thinks your Majesty is right. The Zhou rituals should have been forgotten long ago."
Fu Sheng only then realized that Yao Jia was retreating to advance, his face changed and he was about to speak.
But Yao Jia, who won the position of Shangqing and the reputation of aristocratic status with his mouth, was not the small world master who was dumb in his mouth just now. He continued to speak without taking a breath, leaving Fusheng no room to speak.
"The Zhou rituals and systems are not suitable for Qin. It has nothing to do with what anyone says. It is a fact. Zhou ruled the country with rituals and perished. Qin ruled the country with laws and perished Zhou. The same writing, the same wheel gauge, and the same ethics, these three are not suitable for Qin from Jia's point of view..."
The daimyo's long speech had just begun.
The First Emperor made the final decision.
"Gai Nie."
"I am here."
Yao Jia had a bad feeling in his heart. Looking into the teasing eyes of the First Emperor, he felt a sudden chill.
"Draft edict: dismiss Yao Jia from his position as Shangqing."
Yao Jia shuddered, took a step back and almost fell down.
All the ministers were shocked!
Looking at the emotionless eyes of the First Emperor, they remembered that his nickname was Tyrant!
A tyrant who could behead court officials outside the Xianyang Palace, chop off their limbs and expose them to the sun in the courtyard for all the officials to see!
Except for the nine ministers of state, namely the Chief Justice and the Minister of Rites, who had actual posts, the rest of the ministers were honorary posts with no annual performance appraisal.
But in terms of treatment, the Shangqing and the Jiuqing were exactly the same. Both received an annual salary of 2,000 dan, which was the highest salary in the Qin State.
Those who could achieve the position of Shangqing had made great contributions to Qin and were the absolute top candidates for Qin.
Yao Jia's position as a senior minister was earned by risking his life, including several great feats such as sowing discord among the six kingdoms to prevent them from joining forces to attack Qin and bringing Han Fei back from Han to Qin.
But it was so easy to be dismissed, so easy that Yao Jia felt like he was in a dream. Daming couldn't figure out what he had said wrong!
"Why don't you say anything?"
The First Emperor asked doubtfully, raising his hand slightly.
"continue."
Bent over his desk, holding a pen, Gai Nie kept writing as he drafted the edict, writing it down exactly according to what the First Emperor had said, without changing a single word.
[After the young master left, His Majesty's murderous aura suddenly became much stronger...]
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
Yao Jia uttered the word "minister" twice. The sweat on his forehead made this most famous figure of the time stumble and could hardly form a complete sentence.
Yao Jia didn't dare to speak nonsense again until he knew why the First Emperor was angry and why he dismissed him from his position as minister.
【Fortunately, I am not good at speaking. 】
The head of the small family who had just stood up suddenly felt extremely lucky that he could not defeat Fu Sheng. He buried his head, hiding his presence.
[I was not the first to say that I was against Fu Sheng, so why was I the only one to be deposed when no one else was involved! If it wasn't this, it must be something else. What exactly is the difference between what I said and what that person said? What made Your Majesty angry?]
[The same writing, the same carriages, the same conduct... The same writing! The same writing of the times! This is the decree! Your Majesty hates my words about the decree! Twenty-eight Qin officials died in this way! How can I forget it! ]
His reputation as a person with a sharp mind and good observation skills was not undeserved after all, and he reacted quickly.
He knelt down and bowed his head, saying: "I have spoken out of turn! Only if the wheels are on the same track and the people follow the same moral code, it will not conform to Qin!"
With his head lowered, Yao Jia could not see the First Emperor's expression, so he paused for a moment to try to guess whether it was true.
Fu Sheng, who was about to refute Yao Jia, waited for Yao Jia to catch his breath and forgot what to say - this great scholar was not afraid of being dismissed as a doctor, but was afraid that Confucianism would be banned and Confucian scholars would be cheated.
He did not hear the First Emperor speak, nor did he hear anyone interrupt him. Apart from the rustling sound of Gai Nie writing, there was only the throbbing of his heart in his chest.
Yao Jia knew that his guess was true, and hurriedly said: "The carriages of the four directions are different. It has been five hundred years since then, and the tracks between the countries have long been determined. If they are to imitate the Qin carriages, all the tracks must be erased, which will consume a huge amount of manpower and material resources, and the Qin Dynasty does not have the spare energy.
"The same principle also applies to the conduct of the same kind. The customs of different places are not the same. When people from Qin came to Qi, many of them had dampness in their bodies, and it itched after midnight during the rainy season. It is best to adapt the customs and appearance of the people to the local conditions. If they are arbitrarily changed, there will be chaos everywhere, no less than war."
After saying this, Yao Jia still knelt on the ground with his hands on the ground, lowered his head and dared not move.
This speech explains the disadvantages of following the same path and doing the same things from various angles. It is well-reasoned and much better than what the head of the small family said before.
If he had not been dismissed from his position as a minister, Yao Jia would have attacked the great scholar Fu Sheng. The debates of famous scholars have always been highly aggressive, and they consider it beautiful to leave people speechless.
He would say that Confucius founded Confucianism to restore the Zhou rituals, and the fact that the Zhou was destroyed by the Qin Dynasty was sufficient proof that the Zhou rituals were not effective. Your Majesty, what can you listen to about a doctrine that promotes a failed dynasty?
I will never be as law-abiding as I am now.
"Yao Jia's reputation is well-deserved."
Suddenly, an old man's voice rose from the seat at the back, praising Yao Jia, who was hated by the First Emperor.
Wang Wan's body trembled, and he raised his head slightly to look at the First Emperor.
[How can Your Majesty tolerate him entering the court? ]
Li Si resisted the urge to look up.
[Your Majesty, what did you discuss with your Majesty? Is this okay? ]
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, wanting to know who dared to stroke the tiger's whiskers and speak for Yao Jia when the First Emperor was angry.
When I turned around, I didn't see the person anymore, probably because he spoke before he stood up.
The court officials were even more surprised.
[Your Majesty is so powerful, how dare you offend His Majesty! ]
The ministers observed the First Emperor's expression and waited for the person who spoke to stand up - if he did not want to die.
When the man with a voice older than Wang Wan's stood up, everyone couldn't help but cry out.
This is why this person dared not to show his true face at such a grand court meeting, and covered his face with a black scarf that only left his eyes, mouth, nose and air outlets exposed.
The man stood up and spoke at the same time.
"You have the ability to reach the top of the world with your sharp tongue. However, your words are a disgrace to famous scholars. Famous scholars debate on the ultimate truth of heaven and earth, but you only show off your ability of talking.
"Gongsun Longzi said that the difference between the hard and the white, Huizi said that the unity is the same, and they are all the knowledge of governing the world. Only you, Yao Jia, have forgotten the teachings of your predecessors and only have the word "profit" in your eyes. You are a piece of trash!"
Praise first and then criticize.
To suppress, first praise.
The words of the man wearing the veil made the ministers think this was right. No one dared to go against His Majesty's thoughts at this moment.
Seeing that the First Emperor did not reprimand those who wore veils, they speculated whether this person was another mouthpiece of the First Emperor, otherwise there was no reason why he would not be punished.
[It seems that your majesty is determined to make the same rules and conduct the same people. This cannot be stopped...]
Yao Jia's chewing muscles bulged and he clenched his teeth tightly.
For many years, no one had said this about him.
Ever since he became famous, famous people all over the world have always been proud of him. At that time, his status as a famous person was the highest, so there was no end to such sarcastic remarks.
If he had not been so overwhelmed by the power of the First Emperor that he dared not raise his head, he would have turned around and faced the person who spoke nonsense, and the person who spoke nonsense would have been so badly beaten that he would not dare to talk nonsense again.
If he knew that the person who stood up was covered with a black scarf, which seemed to be the tacit approval of the First Emperor, perhaps his mood would be calmed down a little at this moment.
The man with the veil stood up, holding his waist. The ministers judged that he was quite old by his wrinkled hands and his movements that did not seem to be fake.
After hearing about the punishment of Ying Chengjiao, the old general Meng Ao felt bored and had nothing to do. He had no interest in the government orders and did not touch them.
The old general’s philosophy is very simple: anything that is not related to fighting is nothing. What does it have to do with you?
But when he first heard the voice covering his face, he was immediately startled and turned his head to look where the voice came from.
If his grandson Mengyi had not held down his feet, the old general would have stood up to see who was speaking.
"Father! This is a court meeting!"
Meng Yi was anxious and quickly reminded him quietly.
"I know, don't make a noise!"
The veteran replied impatiently, his eyes still fixed on that spot.
When he saw the man stand up, the old general almost stood up again.
Fortunately, his grandson did not trust him and was already prepared. He held down his legs tightly and kept reminding him of the word "court meeting".
The veteran had a complicated expression and cursed.
"Why isn't this birdman dead yet?!"
Meng Yi glanced at the masked man and then at the indifferent First Emperor.
He whispered, "Father, do you know this person? Who is he?"
"What the hell are you asking? If you don't want to die, shut up!" said the veteran angrily.
The high and mighty First Emperor seemed to not want to see any more farce below, and did not want to allow people below to make wild guesses.
Then he said, "Jiang Shang, if you disagree with what Yao Jia said, then tell us what you think."
After laughing, the emperor said in a deep voice: "That makes sense. I will appoint you as the prime minister!"
