My son, Fusu, please abdicate the first emperor!

Chapter 800 Kong Yu: I regret it
The prosperity of the Imperial Academy far exceeded Fusu's expectations.

Fusu was overjoyed that someone like Kong Yu could stay in the Imperial Academy for a long time.

"I have long admired your great name, and I know your character. I know that you will not serve the powerful."

Kong Yu was so surprised that the emperor said such words right away. Was he saying that he was too pretentious?

Kong Yu, who was always very arrogant in front of others, broke into a sweat after hearing these words.

Because he always felt that Qin II was hinting at something.

Before this, many elders or nobles in the court had invited him to attend banquets at their homes, but he refused them all.

Originally Kong Yu didn't think there was anything wrong with these things, until something happened before that planted a thorn in his heart.

It turned out that when Meng Wu was alive, he also wanted to invite him over. The Meng family was full of Confucian scholars, and they originally came from the land of Qi and Lu, and they always revered Confucius.

Today, Confucius' descendant Kong Fu has lived up to everyone's expectations. He is well-versed in literature and art, has a deep understanding of the times, has a noble character, and is very famous throughout the world.

This made old man Meng Wu very eager to see this person when he was lying on his sickbed. When he was in good health in the past, he would not put on airs and would just ride a horse to visit the Imperial Academy.

However, his body was frail and he could not hold on for much longer, so he asked his youngest son to invite Kong Yu.

As a result, Kong Yu, a grown man, actually rejected Meng Yi.

Because in Kong Yu's mind, all the status and even reputation of the Meng family in Qin were not earned by the Meng family members themselves.

Meng Wu's father Meng Ao betrayed the State of Qi and went to the State of Qin, which meant he could not be considered a loyal minister.

As a result, the Meng family made many military achievements in the Qin State, and gradually gained such prestige in the court. It would have been fine if they said anything else, but Qin Shihuang praised the Meng brothers and called them "loyal" and "righteous".

This made Kong Yu feel unreasonable. His ancestors were such speculators, and his descendants just tasted the fruits of speculation, but they actually cleared themselves of the crime of serving their master twice and even gave themselves the reputation of "loyalty and righteousness". How could this not make people feel hateful.

Because of this incident, Kong Yu naturally held a contemptuous attitude towards the Meng family.

In fact, in the past hundred years, the Shandong Meng family and the Shandong Kong family even met each other frequently.

Perhaps the Qin people themselves did not know the source of the Meng family's glorious glory in Qin, but the Kong family of Qi knew the Meng family very well.

So Kong Yu didn't go there at first.

As a result, Meng Wu died not long after this incident.

When Kong Yu heard the news, he felt quite regretful. He felt that the other person was about to die, and sending his own son to invite him over showed that he was being respected.

"How can you be so arrogant and conceited that you ignore others?"

"Doesn't this make me seem a little too inhumane?"

But Kong Yu felt that since this matter had been rejected, it was rejected. He did not want to go in person to express condolences and make himself appear hypocritical.

So, Kong Yu bowed to the Meng family at home and poured wine to express his apology to the old man and his intention to see him off.

He always kept this matter in mind, and only Shusun Tong knew about it.

But what happened next made Kong Yu realize that he had too deep a prejudice against the civil and military officials of the Qin Empire. He was too arrogant and blindly believed the evaluation of the villagers, thinking that every official of the Qin Dynasty was extremely hateful.

It turned out that after Meng Wu died, all the civil and military officials in the court ran to mourn this man, and almost everyone in the Imperial Academy who could go went.

Those who did not go there also missed the old man Meng Wu in the Imperial Academy, saying that he was a man who truly cared about the world. Apart from anything else, recommending a great talent like Wei Liao from the Wei State was already a great achievement for the Qin Empire.

After seeing this situation, Kong Yu felt that he had misunderstood old man Meng Wu, and even told others that the Meng brothers were not loyal.

As a result, the Meng brothers didn't say anything about themselves, but instead gave those who were unhappy with the Meng brothers some excuses to attack them. They often used their own words to slander the Meng brothers.

In addition to the fact that Meng Wu's death prompted many people to conduct research, made Kong Yu repent, and redefined the reputation of the Meng family.

Then there was what Kong Yu heard about the praises that the common people in Xianyang gave him after Meng Wu's death.

It is said that Meng Wu often taught his children not to compete for fame and titles with the children of other commoners' families, and to give what they could and give generously what they could.

This made Kong Yu, who knew the situation, even more regretful.

Only God knows how much he disdained the wealthy and powerful in Xianyang City before...

Under Meng Wu's guidance, although Meng Yi was young, competitive and unwilling to listen to advice, he never did anything corrupt or illegal.

It is said that he once investigated a case and spent a lot of his own salary on travel expenses. As a result, when he returned to Xianyang City, he did not ask the government to reimburse his travel expenses.

But the same cannot be said for other ministers, who would take every opportunity to get as much reimbursement as possible from the government.

Therefore, everyone who worked in the Imperial Court admired Meng Yi. Unfortunately, Meng Yi did not know how to be tactful and considerate to others. In the final analysis, he was too young. However, everyone believed that he would be a good Imperial Court in the future.

And Meng Tian was even more extraordinary.

He often reported the achievements of his subordinates to Qin Shi Huang truthfully, and recommended all the talented people under his command to Qin Shi Huang regardless of their background.

Such leaders are extremely popular in the Qin bureaucracy.

No one disrespects Meng Tian.

Especially those generals promoted by Meng Tian. To be honest, if Meng Tian had not promoted these truly capable generals, it would have been absolutely not easy for Qin II to change and abolish the military merit system.

It was these people who formed the final dam, serving as a powerful force to fight against the "parasites" of the Qin Empire.

After Kong Yu knew these things, he felt very regretful.

He wrongly blamed the Meng family.

In fact, Meng Ao just couldn't stand the attitude of the King of Qi, so he turned to the light.

His ancestors and fathers didn't say anything, but he had such strong opinions about the Meng family.

Later, this incident became a thorn in Kong Yu's heart.

He no longer dared to make rash judgments about others.

But he did not change his principles and still refused to go to the homes of the rich and powerful.

This matter was refuted by Kong Yu's student Shusun Tong, so Kong Yu and Shusun Tong had not had any contact for a long time.

Hearing that Qin II had come in person, Kong Yu wanted to express his loyalty to the emperor and his support and recognition of Qin II. He knew that he still had considerable status and influence in the eyes of honest people. But when he heard what Qin II said, Kong Yu was a little unhappy.

He was honest and straightforward, so he asked the Second Emperor of Qin, "I wonder what your Majesty means by this?"

The second emperor's eyes widened visibly, then he squinted and smiled, "I think with your temper, you won't be able to stay in this Imperial College for long."

Kong Yu waved his hand and said, "If I want to live here, no one can stop me."

The Second didn't say much, just smiled with his eyes narrowed.

It seems that Kong Yu can only explain classics at best. With such a personality, he is really not suitable for being an official, nor can he take on important responsibilities. He lives in a world of books...

The Second Emperor led Kong Yu and his party to wander around other corners of the Imperial Academy.

Fusu was very satisfied with the current situation of Taixue.

The masters of hundreds of schools of thought and their favorite students are now all in the Imperial Academy. In addition to some suggestions and policies that Fusu made for the Qin Empire, these masters also spoke freely about state affairs following the abdication of Qin Shihuang.

Compared to Zhang Cang who always spoke arrogantly in the court, the great monks with great virtue in recent years usually kept their achievements and fame hidden in the Imperial College and were basically very low-key.

When they made sharp comments on the emperor's reorganization of the Mohist School and even on his plan to let the Mohist School emerge and establish a career, it immediately attracted the people of Xianyang City to come to the Imperial College to stop and watch.

Probably it was from the time when Fusu traveled through time that a trend of respecting scholars inexplicably arose in the Qin State's Xianyang City, or it could be said that a trend of loving reading a lot arose in the Qin State.

Because the young prince had simplified the writing system at a very young age, for the people of Xianyang and the old Qin people, such news itself was the best motivation to cheer up and study writing well.

Later, when the Imperial Academy was built, it gradually developed to its current size and was filled with the most learned people in the world. It was said that just a casual word from them was enough to inspire several articles of discussion from the scholars who were wandering and watching outside the gate of the Imperial Academy.

By the time Qin II ascended the throne, Taixue had become a supreme existence in the minds of people all over the world.

This place not only carries the hopes of countless scholars and even students of the Legalists, but also the hopes of countless ordinary people.

Because this is where the hard work of Qin II was. Everyone knows that Qin II cultivated those capable, wise and honest officials here, hoping that they would be diligent in their duties after graduation.

When the war lasted for hundreds of years, the Qin State built a paradise for scholars where there was no war or disaster.

The people who live here are either wealthy children from prominent families who study classics in preparation for future careers in government, or the most prestigious scholars in the world who discuss the ways of heaven and earth.

In the pre-Qin era, discussing the heavens and the earth and philosophy was not something illusory.

On the contrary, people of that era respected those who had attained enlightenment.

The reason has been mentioned before. Since everyone has deviated from the Tao, if someone understands the Tao at this time, he will naturally be sought after by the world.

By the time Qin II ascended the throne, the entire Imperial Academy had become famous throughout the world.

Anyone who can hold an official position here is a hero in the eyes of people all over the world.

The Qin people valued literature and began to despise armed warfare, all because of their emperor.

After experiencing Qin Shi Huang and then Qin Er Shi.

People gradually realized that having force alone is not necessarily a good thing, but it is different if a person has literary talent.

Everyone regarded Qin II as a new role model in the new era and peaceful times.

This affected their attitude towards Imperial College and their change in attitude towards reading and writing.

Smart people have already started to cultivate their children to study hard in school, while stupid people are still trying to train their children's muscles and develop their strength, hoping that their children will be able to earn new military merits for their families one day in the future.

Times are changing, but the changes are very subtle.

Unless one day, the wheel of time is completely turned over, and the sand and stones falling on people make a large number of ordinary people complain bitterly, or people's lives have undergone earth-shaking changes, and the past way of survival can no longer allow their lives to survive in the past way, only then will people realize that the times have really changed.

It’s a pity that most people are always a step slow in seizing the opportunity, and only a few people can seize the opportunity and enjoy the dividends of the times.

The future will surely be the world of teachers. A large number of teachers will go to the countryside to popularize literacy knowledge and educate the public about astronomy and geography.

The whole era will be renewed.

Unfortunately, most people still don't understand the general situation and are busy sending their men to the army. Previously, Qin II said that he would establish a standing army of up to 500,000.

Many people thought that Qin II was kind-hearted - stupid to the extreme or easy to exploit, and that they could get a lot of benefits from him, so they regarded this army as a place to support idle personnel.

Therefore, those who had the means would do everything they could to send their precious and stupid sons into the standing army of the Qin Dynasty. They believed that this would allow them to enjoy a good life.

This sounds ridiculous yet helpless.

When the country is at war, it is often the children from poor families who are ambitious and go out to kill the enemy and defend their country with just food on their backs. They rush to the most dangerous places and fight the most heroically.

The children of wealthy families and the 'fence-sitters' were busy writing articles praising the 'heroes' in the rear in order to attract attention and make a living.

This human blood steamed bun, stained with patriotism and national sentiment, can't it be enough for you to eat for the rest of your life?

['Fence-sitter' = technicalism. I wrote the correct word but it was blocked, so I can only change it to 'fence-sitter'. I hope readers understand. ]

When the war was over, the children of wealthy families and the fence-sitters enjoyed the immediate benefits of the end of the war; they began to scramble to join the army and fight for the battlefield where they would rather give up all their property than go.

Times are always changing, but some things will never change. Nowadays, in addition to the military, places like Imperial College have gradually become places where dignitaries and nobles scramble to place their descendants.

The so-called "fence-sitters" want to have both sides, but in fact they are the driving force of the times.

The reformists are too radical, the people cannot keep up, and the interests involved are too broad; while the conservatives who are concerned about corruption stick to the ancestral rules and do not want to move.

When Qin II carried out cultural and educational reforms, some aristocratic families from military and industrial families were unwilling to compromise.

At this time, those speculators decisively threw themselves into the arms of Qin II and brought their children into the Imperial College, causing the conservatives to lose their numerical advantage and power influence.

Therefore, Qin II really had a mixture of love and hate for these speculators.

When Fusu saw the descendants of those high-ranking officials all appearing in the Imperial Academy, he was very worried.

In just a short period of time, Imperial College has become a gathering place for the powerful and wealthy.

In some classes, half of the students have the surname Wang, which is simply ridiculous.

(End of this chapter)