Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

For Li Si, being the head of all officials and the prime minister, second only to the emperor and above everyone else, was the status and position that satisfied him the most.

To continue moving up would be to become emperor, but he didn't have the courage.

But he was absolutely unwilling to let him fall.

Therefore, the only thing he cared about was his official position and his own interests, and for this reason, he had basically no bottom line in his submission to Ying Zheng.

If Li Si, the head of all officials, does not step forward, there will be no hope of effective opposition to Ying Zheng's book burning order within the court.

After hearing Zhang Liang's words, Gao Jianli was silent for a moment with a complicated expression on his face. Finally, he couldn't help but echoed Da Tiechui's words:
"Indeed...it's all read into the dog's stomach!"

The Snow Girl took over the conversation and continued:

"Since the empire cannot stop it from within, the only thing left for the various schools of thought to do is to resist it themselves."

Zhang Liang just smiled when he heard this, and did not comment. He looked at everyone and asked:

"What do you think? Should we resist?"

"How can we not resist?" The big hammer confused him, and he asked back with his eyes wide open, "If we don't resist, then all the philosophers should just tie their own hands and feet and let the empire chop off their heads one by one!"

Zhang Liang didn't mind Da Tiechui's response, and calmly asked, "Then how do you think we should resist?"

This time, everyone could tell that Zhang Liang had a deeper meaning. Gao Jianli asked back, "What do you think, Zifang?"

"I don't recommend confronting the empire head-on. It's meaningless." Zhang Liang didn't keep the suspense and got straight to the point. "The various schools of thought are powerful, but they are ultimately a pile of scattered sand. Even if they share the same goal to resist the book burning, they are just... barely squeezed together into a ball of sand, which will break at the slightest touch."

"The empire is very weak now, but it is not so weak that it has no ability to resist."

"If the various schools of thought try to stand out, they will probably become a knife in the hands of others."

The book burning order was a crazy act that went against the will of the world, but not everyone would oppose it except Ying Zheng and the empire.

On the contrary, there are many anti-Qin forces who would be happy to see this happen.

They don't care about this "knowledge", what they want is to overthrow the empire, or seize, or take back power.

If they can't take power away from the Empire, it means nothing to them that 'knowledge' is in their hands.

On the contrary, as long as they can overthrow the empire and build a new order of their own on the ruins, they can find a way to deal with the impact of the book burning.

On this basis, Ying Zheng's insistence on burning books would only shake the rule of the empire, which was a great thing for them.

In other words, the only ones who are truly anxious now are the various schools of thought.

These books are the crystallization of wisdom and thoughts accumulated by their ancestors and themselves over hundreds of years. If they were to be burned in one day, many people would probably prefer to burn themselves.

Looking at Gao Jianli and the others who seemed to be thinking about something, Zhang Liang smiled and continued, "The blade of the empire is about to fall on us. If it is not convenient to resist head-on, we might as well try to hide from it."

"If the emperor wants to burn books, we should try our best to hide them."

"The world is so big, it can't be so big that it can't even accommodate a few books."

Tianming scratched his head and said, "It sounds good, but... is it really that simple?"

As a father, Tianming knew too little about books and could only logically judge that Zhang Liang's suggestion was correct.

It is like someone wants to steal your things, but the other party is very strong and it is difficult to resist, so you can only hide your things.

It is certainly not advisable to guard against thieves for a thousand days, but it is probably not easy for Ying Zheng to be a thief now.

Gao Jianli and the others looked at each other, their expressions were complicated, as if they had some concerns about this.

Hiding books sounds like a simple thing, but in reality... it's not easy.

Even a relatively solid and stable carrier like bamboo slips needs regular maintenance to prevent damage from insects, rats, moisture and moisture.

Not to mention other carriers such as paper, which can be scrapped if you are not careful.

Therefore, books cannot be hidden by simply stuffing them somewhere.

Not to mention that the exact extent of the empire's book burning is still unknown.

If the book burning was just a matter of confiscation, then it would be easy to deal with. There would always be a way to find a safe place to hide things for a short period of time.

But if it is a long-term tug-of-war, you must find an environment that is safe enough to ensure that the books will not be damaged.

But it would be difficult to hide such circumstances from the empire - unless the emperor burned the books just to show his loyalty - which was obviously impossible.

All in all, using book collection to fight book burning is not a completely unfeasible plan, but it will definitely be troublesome to implement.

The most troublesome thing is that the book burning order was aimed at all the schools of thought, but the schools of thought themselves were not a unified collective.

"This matter is very troublesome to deal with. We have to contact other sects as soon as possible." Gao Jianli did not explain Tianming's doubts in detail, but simply explained the reality in a deep voice.

Zhang Liang reminded him at this time, "It is right to contact fellow philosophers, but please make sure that the people who know the truth are reliable enough."

"As for the book burning, only a few people at the highest levels of the empire know about it. If the news leaks, the consequences will be disastrous."

"You must be extra careful about this matter!"

Zhang Liang's tone was particularly heavy in the last sentence.

The 'few people' he mentioned had very clear identities.

Apart from Ying Zheng himself, and those from the Confucian and Mohist schools who knew about this because of leaked intelligence, the only three people who knew about this clearly were Prime Minister Li Si, the head of all officials, Gu Xun, the imperial teacher, and Prince Fusu, the eldest son who was exiled to the north.

Apart from this, even the emperor's favorite former Minister of the Imperial Chariots Zhao Gao, and right prime minister Feng Quji and imperial censor Feng Jie, who were among the most important officials, might not know about it - perhaps they knew something, but certainly not completely.

If the various schools of thought had reacted in advance and then let the empire know about it, the blame would definitely be put on Gu Xun - of course, in fact, it was indeed his fault.

It is hard to say how much trouble this pot will bring to Gu Xun, but it will definitely intensify the conflicting relationship between Gu Xun and Ying Zheng, which has already begun to collapse.

For Zhang Liang, he would be happy to see the relationship between Gu Xun and Ying Zheng deteriorate, but he could not take the initiative to cause this situation.

"This..." Gao Jianli looked around, hesitated for a while and could only sigh, "It seems that I can't make any big moves for the time being... But I will let Mr. Xiaoyao know."

According to Zhang Liang, what they should do is not to be careful, but to do nothing.

Although the various schools of thought are always mentioned together, the relationships between them are actually very ordinary. Some even have conflicts or are even mortal enemies.

With this kind of relationship, it is simply unrealistic to expect the other party to help them keep confidential information.

I'm afraid that if the Mohists inform them, the Empire will know about it.

The only person Gao Jianli could trust was the Human Sect's leader, Xiaoyaozi, and he could only inform him.

Zhang Liang was not surprised by this, nor did he intend to continue to make comments. He just smiled.

Snow Girl interrupted and asked, "Has Xiaoshengxian Manor already made a response?" Zhang Liang did not hide anything and nodded, "Brother Fu Nian has already made a response to the Book Burning Order."

"The last time the eldest son Fusu visited, he specifically reminded Senior Brother Fu Nian, and he started preparing a long time ago."

Gao Jianli and the others looked at each other, but no one was tactless enough to ask Zhang Liang why he only told them now if he already knew it.

There may be many reasons, but in short, Zhang Liang, or the Confucians, had no obligation to provide information to the Mohists.

It's good that they are willing to tell you now - you have to know that they have taken the risk.

"Since you have been prepared, are you confident in dealing with Ying Zheng's attack this time?" Gao Jianli asked carefully, considering his words.

Zhang Liang smiled with mixed feelings and shrugged. "If it was just a matter of dealing with the Book Burning Order, Xiaoshengxian Manor would have been prepared. However... the problem that Confucianism will face is not whether we can preserve the classics of the ancient sages."

"Confucianism is different from Mohism, Agriculture, and most of the other schools of thought."

"Xiao Shengxian Manor is facing a difficult choice of gain and loss."

With the help of Liusha, it was not difficult for Confucianists to preserve their books.

However, if Xiao Shengxian Manor chose to compromise with the empire on the issue of the book burning order, or even became an accomplice of the empire in pushing this matter forward, then Xiao Shengxian Manor's reputation would be ruined, and the reputation of Confucianism would also fall to the bottom.

As a member of the Hundred Schools of Thought, it is fine not to resist the empire, but it is definitely not okay not to oppose the burning of books, especially for Confucianism, which is the most advocated of teaching and educating people.

But if Xiao Shengxianzhuang refused to compromise and bowed its head, given the character of the First Emperor, they might be able to keep the books, but they would most likely not be able to save themselves.

Gao Jianli and others understood what Zhang Liang meant, and no one was speechless for a moment.

After an awkward silence lasted for a while, Gao Jianli broke the silence and asked, "Is there anything we can help with?"

Zhang Liang shook his head and replied with a smile, "I am here mainly to remind you of the Book Burning Order. The troubles in Xiaoshengxian Manor can only be dealt with by ourselves. No one else can help."

Just as Zhang Liang said before, Confucianism is special.

It is special in its natural inclination towards imperial power.

Among the various schools of thought, the vast majority hoped that they could become an academic school that would be valued by the empire, although most of them could only dream about it. The only ones that could truly become the mainstream and enter the court were the four schools of Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism and Taoism.

The dominant doctrine of the empire today is Legalism, so Mohism, Taoism, and other schools of thought are distancing themselves from the empire.

They might not reject the empire's choice of their doctrines, but they would not rush to join the imperial court - even if they wanted to, they could not avoid the Legalists.

But Confucianism is different.

When there is only one political regime in the world, Confucianism will choose it regardless of whether it chooses Confucianism or not.

Confucianism has too many doctrines and ideas that require Confucian scholars to do so, and they are also accustomed to doing so.

This ultimately led to Confucianism facing a dilemma that was completely different from other schools of thought.

Whether it is the Mohists or the Agriculturalists, the causes of the difficulties they face may be different, but when it comes down to it, they are all closely related to the use of force.

Fighting is a common occurrence for most of the various schools of thought - of course, it is relatively rare when the opponent is an empire.

However, it doesn't matter who you hit, the only difference is whether you can beat them or not.

If you can beat them, then there's nothing much to say. Just make sure you don't lose the advantage.

If you can't win, then you have to find a way to strengthen yourself or weaken your opponent. If you can't do either, then find a way to move around.

The Mohists and the Agriculturalists did not abandon these methods when facing the empire.

But Confucianism is different. It does not need to take action, and it cannot take action.

If they took action, it would mean that Confucianism had betrayed its own ideas and doctrines and had dug up its own roots.

But if you don't take action... the result doesn't seem to be much different.

If the Confucian faction holds power, they can try to use power to resist power, but they are the "opposition party" and have no power except their mouth.

Caught between a dilemma and unable to back down... this is the real dilemma facing Xiaoshengxianzhuang.

Of course, the situation facing Confucianism is not completely without good aspects - it is destined to be hit, the only difference is where the blade cuts.

But Xiao Shengxianzhuang can choose where the knife lands, and no matter where it lands, it is not fatal and there is always room for survival. The only difference is where the "flesh" is lost.

Zhang Liang's tone of voice was not heavy, and he still had his usual smile on his face, but everyone could sense the sadness and loneliness in his heart.

The predicament faced by Xiaoshengxianzhuang made Zhang Liang unconsciously recall the predicament faced by Han Fei when he returned to his homeland many years ago and tried to reverse the government.

As smart and resourceful as Han Fei was, and he won over Wei Zhuang, Zi Nu and others to help him, he still had to compromise with the court on many things, and even got himself caught up in it.

Sometimes, personal ability is really not enough to turn the situation around.

Back then, Han Fei was only facing the precarious Han court, and it was like this already. Now, Xiaoshengxianzhuang will have to face the imperial court, so Zhang Liang is even more helpless.

A depressing atmosphere filled the already small Xuanwu control room. Many people wanted to speak but didn't know what to say.

Finally, it was the most ignorant Tianming who broke the deadlock - although his brain became smarter, the fact of his upbringing would not change. He did not understand Confucianism, so he did not know that Confucianism had fallen into a dilemma.

"Third Master, you are not being clear... What exactly is your trouble?"

"Speak clearly, we can definitely help."

Zhang Liang smiled and shook his head. He didn't explain too much, but just perfunctorily said, "Now you should take care of yourself first. Senior Brother Fu Nian will handle the Confucian affairs."

Then he took the initiative to change the subject, "Tianming, how many favors do you owe me?"

"Ah?" Tianming was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He raised his eyes and recalled for a moment before answering, "Three."

"Okay." Zhang Liang nodded with a smile, "Now there are four of us."

"Ah? Why are there more?" Tianming was confused.

He didn't mind owing Zhang Liang a few favors, but this inexplicable increase was not a big deal.

Zhang Liang explained, "On the night when the Qinglong Plan was implemented, I pointed you in the right direction, right?"

Zhang Liang was already involved in the Qinglong Project and provided certain assistance to the Mohists. Logically, he would not ask for any additional favors for it.

However, he showed up in person that night and pointed out Ying Zheng's location to Tianming Shaoyu and the other two who were originally planned to be bait, allowing the subsequent progress of the Qinglong Plan to go smoothly. This was extra help, and it was help specifically for Tianming Shaoyu.

He could also use another way to remind the Mohists... Of course, it might be slower, but the impact would not be that great.

For this reason, it is reasonable to ask for another favor. (End of this chapter)