My son, Fusu, please abdicate the first emperor!

Chapter 801: Xingtan is no longer the same Xingtan

In the courtyard, the emerald green vines began to turn red and purple, and the leaves drooped their heads tiredly, as if they would break off and fall to the ground in the next second. However, they seemed very stubborn, and no matter how strong the wind blew, they always stubbornly clung to the vines.

However, the apricot trees still look full of vitality in autumn. The leaves of the apricot trees turn red and yellow one after another, and the garden is a sea of ​​red, like a flame, burning the passion of the earth.

Each apricot tree is blooming vigorously like a flower that has exploded. Its appearance is round, like a big ball of wool.

It was the season for withering flowers, but the apricot trees seemed to be in bloom.

They seem to be venting the anger that has been pent up from spring to autumn, and each fiery red leaf is full of the momentum released by the trees.

He looks heroic and confident, carrying a big sword as if he is going to kill the enemy.

Surrounding the big apricot tree, every inch of land in the apricot orchard was covered with thick fallen leaves.

From spring to summer, and then through the autumn wind, the life of leaves comes to an end. They return to the land, turn into nutrients, and return to the embrace of the mother tree that gave birth to them in another way.

The golden leaves covered the ground like thick blankets. The students spread bamboo mats and gathered around their teacher, the Venerable, to play the zither and listen to the Master's teachings.

After a hundred years, Confucius' spirit of teaching at the Xingtan Temple gradually took root in the Qin State.

In this golden garden, the scene of hundreds of young students in black bachelor's robes listening to the lecture together is so fascinating that one can't take their eyes off it.

The apricot trees in summer may seem ordinary, just dark green; but in autumn, they officially enter their prime, each one is passionate and blooms its life with all its might.

When other trees have burned out their youth, the apricot tree continues to radiate its charm in autumn.

This large courtyard full of apricot trees, coupled with so many young and energetic students studying and playing inside, was such a sight that anyone passing by the Imperial College could not help but stop in their hurried steps to admire it.

However, what they admired was not the fact that the apricot trees could bloom with such vigorous vitality in these bleak years.

Like Qin II, they stopped to watch the youth of this group of people.

They were exactly seventeen or eighteen years old, a time in life when it is easiest to make mistakes, the most hazy, but also the most beautiful.

Although they had just entered the Imperial College, most of them had already started a family not long ago. While studying, they were thinking about the women at home.

When they arrived at the Imperial College, the well-organized life sometimes made them feel confused.

Among all people in the world and in all walks of life, the happiest people are students.

It’s just that students often don’t think they are happy when they are students. They have all kinds of troubles about youth, and it is also at this time that the evil side of human nature will be thoroughly aroused.

But no matter what means they used to come here, and what purpose or mentality they had in mind for studying; all of them have one thing in common, they are all proud of being disciples of Taixue from the bottom of their hearts, their eyebrows are flying upwards, and they will never lower their eyes to look at people.

Because one day in the future, all of them will have the opportunity or will have the most glorious moment in their lives - entering the palace to serve the emperor.

Passersby were watching outside the garden, while Emperor Qin II stood beside the school and looked at the group of students.

"Your Majesty, do you want to call these students back to class?"

The school supervisor saw that the emperor had been staring at the group of students motionlessly for a long time, but he did not understand what was so special and beautiful about this apricot garden.

He suggested this in order to please the emperor.

"No need."

Qin II handed the list of students in the school to the supervisor.

Although Wang Ben's family was granted titles and left, there were hundreds of generals in Wangjiatun who had followed Wang Jian from Pinyang Township.

For Chinese people, the most powerful force is the clan.

When one person attains the Tao, the chicken and the dog ascend to heaven.

Once a king, prince, general or minister emerges from a family, his influence will affect half of the entire village.

History is written by the victors, which is actually a bit problematic. It’s because people don’t care about the history of the losers, but only admire the strongest and the victors.

Everyone will remember that Liu Bang's hometown is Pei County, but no one will remember places like Lizhai and Zhaozhuang where some generals and princes came from...

But in fact, it is often the people coming out of these villages that have an influence no less than that of "Pei County".

Behind the rise of Wang Jian, there are hundreds or even thousands of members of the Wang family.

It is human nature to cling to the powerful and wealthy.

Wang Jian rose from a commoner to become one of the four great generals of the Warring States Period. His rise was almost in parallel with the gradual grasp of power by Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng when he was the King of Qin.

After Qin Shihuang executed Lu Buwei, during the reign of Changping Jun Xiong Qi, the King of Qin began to turn his attention to the young generals under the military merit system in order to fight against the power of high-ranking nobles of the Chu clan in Qin.

Wang Jian, who came from Pinyang Township, beheaded dozens of people and captured cities one after another during a campaign against the State of Zhao.

Ying Zheng began to remember his name.

It was in the eleventh year of Qin Shihuang's reign that he really made the entire Qin State begin to notice his existence.

Wang Jian was promoted to general and led his troops to attack Yanyu of Zhao State. Wang Jian led the army for only eighteen days before he ordered the captains with less than 100 dan of salary to go home, and selected two out of the ten people in the original army to stay in the army. As a result, those who stayed were the elite of the army.

Wang Jian used this elite force with high morale to capture Yanyu and nine cities of Zhao at the same time.

From then on, Qin Shihuang valued Wang Jian very much.

Qin Shihuang's appreciation of Wang Jian meant that he delegated his power to allow him to expand his power and influence in the army.

As a descendant of a declining noble family, how could Wang Jian gain a foothold in the Qin State, which was full of heroes?

Of course, it depends on unity.

The nobles have powerful family backgrounds, and marriage alliances continue to consolidate factional power.

Their power is so intertwined that it cannot be shaken in a short time.

Wang Jian began to unite his own people.

According to historical records, the number of Wang Jian's brothers, children, grandchildren and other generals who were granted titles by Qin Shi Huang was as many as thirteen.

The thirteen generals are all great generals.

Those who lead troops in battle are at least at the rank of captain.

So within twenty years, the Wang family rose rapidly, and twenty years was just enough time for the next generation to grow up.

With a large family, would they actively control the number of children they have? That is absolutely impossible. In the minds of the ancients, the more children a family has, the better.

The Wang family expanded rapidly during this period.

After Wang Ben accepted the fief, he took his sons and brothers with whom he had a good relationship to the State of Liang.

But there are still many members of the Wang family. For a family, when the main strength is suddenly drained away, the remaining branches are like branches that have been cut off from nutrients, and they fall from the big tree.

However, these branches had already consumed enough resources. Even if they fell to the ground, they were forced to unite under the pressure of the crisis and actively take root in the earth to absorb nutrients.

In the list of classmates in a certain class, there were so many members of the Wang family suddenly appearing in a certain class.

How could that be a coincidence?

Fusu understood it immediately.

Not long ago, Fusu also saw the newly compiled list of generals at all levels in the military system.

The Wang family still has a considerable advantage in numbers.

It was actually roughly equal in number to the Meng clan, which was at its peak. It was hard to imagine what would have happened if Wang Ben had stayed and refused to leave.

In addition to the Wang family, there are the Feng family, the Meng family, the Yang family, and the Li family. They are either royal relatives or great contributors.

There are only a few people with small surnames on the list.

This is a very scary phenomenon.

Fusu remembered what Zhang Cang had said that day when he accused him of monopolizing education.

Fusu didn't believe it at first, but after seeing the list of new disciples in the school, he began to feel terrified.

After the abolition of the military merit system, officials' promotion depended on being disciples in the school.

Fusu even suspected that these families that stayed behind were a way for the heroes to leave something for him when they left.

Or maybe the nobles saw the situation changing and became desperate.

With so many third-generation and second-generation generals entering the academy, isn't this controlling the grassroots legal team?

Fusu looked at the list and felt upset.

He wanted to ask Chunyu Yue how this list was made.

Chunyu Yue was elected by everyone as the chief academic officer of the Imperial Academy.

But the result of this control really made Fusu feel disgusted.

Barely one year after the emperor ascended the throne, the Imperial Academy changed its name.

Qin II couldn't help looking at the students in the garden with worry.

He threw the list to the school supervisor, who bent over and took it with both hands. A hint of panic flashed in his eyes, and then a lot of sweat seeped out of his neck.

He didn't expect that the emperor would actually ask for the list of names of students in the classroom.

In fact, Fusu's original intention was to find out whether there were any historical celebrities he knew on the list of this school. It is much more convenient to follow the map than to look for talents everywhere.

As a result, he saw a very shameful scene in the Imperial Academy.

There is no doubt that all teachers in Xingyuan are good teachers.

However, the leaves were still clinging tightly to the withered vines, absorbing nutrients and milk bit by bit, until their faces turned red and purple.

Chen Ping looked at the school supervisor and knew at first glance that there was something wrong with him.

The emperor must have known about it.

Chen Ping actually knew this school supervisor.

Chen Ping also held an official position in the Imperial Academy, but he was an assistant manager, and his main responsibility was to secure resources for the various schools of thought.

He was a powerful official, who was ordered to protect the emerging forces of the Hundred Schools of Thought and, of course, to supervise and look after the princes.

The academic room, on the other hand, belongs to a different system from the various schools of thought and even the doctors and ministers.

The doctors and ministers are the academic tycoons of the time.

The various schools of thought were recruited.

There was a first-come, first-served distinction between them and the inherent doctors and ministers of Qin. The first to come would definitely occupy the territory first. The land price in Xianyang City was very high, and the real power positions in Qin were definitely limited.

Those who arrive first naturally rush to grab a spot, and those who arrive later naturally have to squeeze for a spot since there are no spots left.

Moreover, the migration of various schools of thought also came at a price. They traveled across mountains and rivers, bringing their children with them, and the entire family needed to be comforted.

It is impossible to be satisfied with a newly conferred powerless official position in the Imperial College.

In the past, Qin Shihuang's method was to grant empty titles and then give a lot of money to get the job done.

As soon as Qin II came to power, he wanted to promote these great philosophers three levels in a row, and he actually started to arrange actual official positions for them.

The state-owned factory was a product that everyone supported, as well as those secret military gunpowder weapons agency departments.

This made the professors and doctors who taught students in the Imperial College jealous. One group had practical skills, while the other group was well-educated and good at reasoning. So the other group began to split.

Some of them applied to higher-ups, vying for the top spot and becoming great professors; others tried to get close to powerful officials in an attempt to form alliances through marriage; others tried hard to write articles and submit them to the emperor in order to attract his attention; and still others worked hard to gain access to the Censorate.

In the Imperial College, which is admired by everyone in the world, only this apricot forest is peaceful. The rest of the place is filled with fighting without war.

Basically, the three factions are incompatible for power. Kong Yu is the academic tycoon. His position is unshakable and basically no one dares to provoke him.

Moreover, Kong Yu did not like to be a mean person and would not fight for anything. When he was given an official position, he would rather be humble and give up.

Such a man has no enemy unless he takes up the sword himself...

As for the study room, that’s a long story.

Rules were established from the beginning of training Qin officials. The selection criteria for Qin officials was that only the sons of historians could study law.

This means that the descendants of legal professionals will have this kind of livelihood for their entire lives.

Here we commemorate Lin Xin who sacrificed in the political struggle.

He belongs to this faction.

However, as the situation changed, the composition of the people pouring into the Imperial Academy became more and more complex.

Newly-growing forces always like to cram their offspring into the academy to first gain the status of disciples.

In the early period of Qin Shihuang's reign, the control over the academy was relatively strict, because he wanted to ensure that the academy was full of talents, and he always gave those who rose from the common people to military merit and titles opportunities to let them get the benefits they deserved.

However, as the Baiyue War came to an end, there were no new military nobility, and the new policies were like boiling a frog in warm water. The old aristocratic interest groups could not resist and could only use the school as a springboard.

It’s unbelievable what kind of trouble would happen if this matter was concealed for two or three years.

Chen Ping looked at the unlucky supervisor. He knew that he would definitely be replaced, but who would be the next supervisor? What would happen to this group of students next?

The school supervisor trembled with fear, and the other officials accompanying him from the Imperial College and even the school supervisors also kept silent and held their breath.

Qin Ershi looked at the group of like-minded 'ghosts' behind him and said with a smile, "I see that this Imperial College has a myriad of scenes and tens of thousands of luxurious items on display. Unfortunately, the sum of all these things cannot compare to this apricot forest."

Qin II looked at the apricot forest that was burning like fire, and at the fiery red maple forest on the mountains outside Xianyang City in the distance, the two echoed each other.

"In this Imperial College, only Xinglin is clean."

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other, with different thoughts in their minds.

Although Kong Yu, who was accompanying him, had never liked interacting with people in the school, he now knew what was going on.

"Xingtan is no longer the same as it used to be. Your Majesty is truly disappointed today."

"Well - not necessarily. If there were strict teachers, perhaps this situation could be saved and contained. I'm afraid that the teachers have given up their dignity and chosen to bow to the power."

Qin II looked at the school supervisor again.

All the teachers of law and history echoed and praised, "Your Majesty is wise."

(End of this chapter)