I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 129 Zhang Liang, are you poisonous?!

In the tenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang was brewing a vigorous reform, ranging from the vassal system and the maritime ban strategy to the crisis-ridden East Palace and the powerful Huaixi nobles.

In the ninth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin was sharpening his knife and planning to split the five surnames and seven families with a conspiracy, and planned to use printing technology to reshuffle the family clans.

And in the Qin Dynasty, it was the 29th year of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Ying Zheng was not idle either.

After class, he immediately went from his bedroom to Zhangtai Palace and summoned Zhang Liang, Meng Tian and Fusu.

Fusu, who was called over, looked confused:
"...Father, I was just watching them work in the House of the Imperial Household. What can I do for you?"

Zhang Liang touched his nose.

He had actually been watching the fun with Fusu just now. After all, it was a text carrier made of tree bark but as thin as silk. Any scholar would not refuse to learn about it, right? But now Ying Zheng suddenly called for people, and Zhang Liang had just decided to go, and he was going with Fusu, the eldest son, so he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Meng Tian guessed what Your Majesty meant. He said respectfully:
"Your Majesty, do you want to discuss the exam questions with me?"

exam questions?

A man like Ying Zheng actually has to take an exam?!
Zhang Liang instantly perked up. He didn't say anything, but he stared at Ying Zheng with his sharp eyes, with a look that said "Tell me quickly, I want to see a joke."

Unlike other ministers of the Qin Dynasty, since Zhang Liang dared to plan to assassinate the First Emperor, he was not afraid of death. He was not as respectful and fearful as other Qin ministers in front of Ying Zheng. Most importantly, Ying Zheng himself did not care much about his rudeness.

Ying Zheng nodded slightly:

"good."

"The teacher gave everyone two days. Actually, if you add this afternoon and the morning of the next class, it should be three days."

"This question itself is quite difficult. Even if you spend three days, you may not be able to think it through thoroughly."

"Meng Tian, ​​talk to Fusu and Zhang Liang and ask them to participate."

The reason why he summoned them was actually because Ying Zheng wanted to gather ideas from all sides.

In terms of the general direction, Ying Zheng could control it himself; Zhang Liang was very familiar with manipulating people's hearts and playing tricks; national affairs could not be separated from the army, and Meng Tian just happened to be there; as for Fusu... when it came to how to mix hundreds of schools of thought and put on the skin of Confucianism, the eldest prince of the Qin Dynasty, who had been taught by great Confucian scholars since childhood, was undoubtedly a good candidate.

It takes the integration of all these people to solve the problem well.

But after Meng Tian finished talking about the exam, Fusu didn't say a word.

After thinking for a while, Fusu frowned and suddenly said:
"Father, I think there is still one person missing to complete this national policy document."

Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows with some interest and asked:

"Who?"

Fusu bowed:

"Lis!"

Ying Zheng, who had been leaning lazily on the couch just now, sat up straight.

With a smile in his eyes, he looked at his eldest son:
"I remember that you were very hostile to him before, and you wanted him to die with Zhao Gao. Why do you think of him now?"

"What's more, whether it's the Confucianism you studied, the Huang-Lao school of thought Zhang Liang studied, or the military strategy of Meng Tian, ​​they all conflict greatly with the Legalism that Li Si studied. If you ask him to get involved, won't you just be causing trouble for yourself?"

Fusu nodded, then shook his head:
"Father, what you said is indeed true, but our Great Qin was founded on the law and governed by law. It has been like this for hundreds of years."

"No matter how Confucianism, Huang-Lao or military strategists govern the country, the Qin Dynasty cannot abolish the law. Otherwise, there will be many remnants of the six kingdoms ready to make trouble in this newly pacified world. Once the law is relaxed too quickly, the original good public security of the Qin Dynasty will collapse overnight."

"What's more, you mean to use Confucianism as a cover to mix the Hundred Schools of Thought into it, and Legalism is an indispensable part."

"I have a personal grudge against Li Si, but you have also said that you keep him because he is useful and because he is a coward who dares not act rashly in front of you. Asking him to come here to discuss the matter will only benefit you and you just sit here. How dare he act presumptuously?"

The smile that Ying Zheng had just had in his eyes widened, and even the corners of his mouth, which had always been tense, curled up slightly.

It seems that what I learned from Zhu Yuanzhang really came in handy.

Let this child who is ignorant of the suffering of the people and has been locked up in the palace to study read more memorials and do more things. In just a short period of time, Fusu has matured a lot. Previously, he shouted and shouted at Li Si to fight and kill him, but now he can take the initiative to ask Li Si to help discuss national policies and complete the task.

"Fusu, you really have grown up a lot."

Ying Zheng nodded slowly and said with a smile:
"Since you have no objection, then summon Li Si to meet with you and discuss it together."

…………

When Li Si was summoned to the palace, he was sweating profusely, as if he had been fished out of the water.

Even after changing into clean clothes, he couldn't stop sweating.

There was no other reason. He was simply too frightened the last time he was summoned by the First Emperor.

He didn't know whether he would encounter a disaster when he entered the palace this time, so before leaving, he had even made arrangements for his funeral with his wife and children at home, which shocked the whole family.

But it was not until he entered Zhangtai Palace that Li Si discovered that there was a person here whom he did not recognize.

Needless to say, the First Emperor sitting on the main seat, and the eldest prince Fusu and the general Meng Tian beside him were all familiar to him. However, there was only one person present, who was dressed simply and plainly and had a feminine and beautiful appearance like a woman. He had never seen him before.

The person who could sit with these three in Zhangtai Palace could not be an ordinary person, but if it was a descendant of a family or a famous hermit, Li Si thought to himself that he should have heard of him. But for someone with this appearance, he searched his memory for a long time and couldn't find one who could match the name.

After Li Si paid his respects, the First Emperor spoke without waiting for him to ask.

"You know Fusu and Meng Tian. The other one is a talented person I recently recruited."

"Li Si, have you ever heard that there is a Zhang family in Han and that there is an orphan in the Zhang family named Zhang Liang?"

When Li Si heard this name, he got goosebumps all over his body!

Previously, the First Emperor asked him to find a man named Zhang Liang, but after finding out that he was a remnant of the Six Kingdoms, he did not kill him but only locked him up in the imperial prison. He knew about this, but since all subsequent matters were handled by the Black Ice Platform, he only knew half of it.

Could it be that... this feminine and beautiful guy in front of me, who doesn’t look like a man, is Zhang Liang?
That's a guy who is plotting to assassinate Your Majesty!

Li Si blurted out subconsciously:

"Your Majesty, Zhang Liang is——"

Before he could finish his words, Ying Zheng opened his eyelids and glanced at him, then blocked all the words that followed.

Only then did Li Si come to his senses.

What kind of person is your majesty? Zhang Liang had been imprisoned before, how could he not know who this person is?

Now that Your Majesty has allowed Zhang Liang to sit here, and just now you said that he has been subdued, then he has no say in anything.

Seeing that Li Si had been obedient and stopped talking, Ying Zheng was quite satisfied with this guy's behavior.

He said calmly to Meng Tian:
"Tell him roughly again. There is no need to hide anything. Tell him the general direction. I'll sit here and you two can discuss it." When it comes to eloquence, a soldier like Meng Tian is not actually good at it, but there is no other way. There is no one more suitable than him among those present.

Although Fusu was willing to let Li Si participate in the discussion, this did not mean that his hostility towards Li Si had eased. On the contrary, if Li Si did not follow the right path today, had great disagreements with the overall direction of the reform, and insisted on the Legalist school, he would not hesitate to ask his father to kill this beast.

Li Si was kept because he was useful. Since he is useless now, why keep him?

Li Si was very clear about Zhang Liang's identity. He knew nothing about Zhang Liang's talents. He only knew that this man was a traitor. If he wanted Zhang Liang to communicate with him, he might as well ask Fusu to go up.

It is even more impossible for the First Emperor, a dignified emperor, to explain to Li Si.

After the last round, only Meng Tian was left.

Meng Tian reluctantly pulled Li Si to sit beside him, and roughly explained the ins and outs of this test question, explained Zhang Liang's future status and talents, and emphasized the county-state system, as well as the fact that Your Majesty was determined to change the current development direction of the Qin Dynasty.

Li Si's eyes widened when he heard this.

Others may not know, but doesn’t he know?

When the first emperor decided on the direction of the county system, many people in the court actually expressed different opinions, some of which were similar to the county-state system, but Li Si was a staunch supporter of the county system at that time.

It was not because he admired this system so much, but because he was perceptive enough to see that Your Majesty wanted to avoid the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and was unwilling to divide the land and enfeoff kings, so Li Si chose to follow Your Majesty's thinking.

But now, just because that so-called immortal or teacher gave a lesson, Your Majesty wants to change?

Everyone in this world knows how stubborn and willful the current emperor is!
Oh my god...

Is the world of Qin really going to change?

"… Prime Minister, Prime Minister? Are you listening to me?"

The confused thoughts were interrupted by a shaking.

Li Si looked back and found that it was Meng Tian who was pushing him, and he hinted at the leader with his eyes.

It turned out that His Majesty was also staring at him.

He shuddered all over and said immediately:
"I heard it. I heard it all."

"General, do you want me to give you some advice?"

"Is it about the county-state system and the changes in the laws?"

Meng Tian didn't know why he took off his pants to fart. Wasn't it obvious? Why was he asking?
But since he was asked, he nodded and said:
"good."

"This exam is of great importance. If the results are good, it will be of great benefit to our Great Qin."

"If the Prime Minister has any ideas, please speak up. We will discuss them and then hand them over to Your Majesty for the final decision."

Li Si's mind, which had been in a mess just now, finally became clear when he saw the Qin Shi Huang's eyes that seemed like a sword thrusting at him.

He knew that ability was the only bargaining chip for him to survive. If he didn't do anything serious today, it wouldn't be long before His Majesty would find a mistake to kill him.

Whether it's for the future of the Qin Dynasty, the future of the Legalists, or my own future...

This matter must be done properly!

"First of all, can you explain clearly how this county-state system works?"

"After being conferred the title of king and given the fief, do local affairs still need to be reported to the court, or should they be directly handed over to the local prince to handle?"

"How much power should a prince have to be considered appropriate?"

Hearing Li Si's question, Zhang Liang and Fusu looked at each other.

Both of them already knew the process of how Qin II Hu Hai came to power, and they also knew that one of Zhao Gao and Hu Hai died and the other was almost useless, but Li Si was still kept and the First Emperor never touched him.

Now they finally understood why Li Si was chosen to stay.

His vision is really accurate!
After receiving Fusu's eye signal, Zhang Liang, who had become familiar with him recently, paused and spoke first.

"In fact, this matter was already mentioned during the debate in Qin Ting."

"You are a radical who advocates the direct use of the county system, while the other group is relatively conservative. Now it seems that their ideas are actually correct."

"The six kingdoms are already several times larger than the original Qin. If there is no trustworthy person to guard them, it is very easy for rebellion to occur. The county system is only applicable to the original territory of the Qin. No matter how large the territory is, it is too far away to reach. How long will it take just to pass on the order? Not to mention direct governance."

"The best way is to temporarily enfeoff the older princes of the Qin Dynasty who are proficient in Qin law to the former territories of the six kingdoms, give them the military strength and power of county governors and county lieutenants, and first allow the common people in various places to register as citizens and carry out Shang Yang's reforms."

"But now the best time has passed. The Qin Dynasty has no more wars to fight, and the people's desire for military merit has passed. When I was among the people, I also asked around. A large number of old Qin people with military merit complained about the county system. The land and slaves originally promised to them by military merit were getting less and less. Many people even waited for many years but still couldn't get the right land."

"The nobles of the six nations have already gone into hiding. It is almost impossible to find them using ordinary laws. The previous method can no longer be used."

Is the time past?

Did I want to propose the county system? That was what the First Emperor was thinking of at the beginning, and I just agreed with him!
Li Si was stung by Zhang Liang's eyes and wanted to jump up and curse on the spot, but because the emperor was right in front of him, he did not dare to do such a rude thing.

He is not someone like Zhang Liang who is not afraid of death.

Therefore, Li Si could only swallow his anger and ask:

"Since you said the time has passed, do you have any other options?"

Zhang Liang knew that the other party was angry and was about to find fault with him, but he was not afraid at all.

The barefoot man is not afraid of the one wearing shoes. He has nothing now, but the other party is extremely afraid of being kicked away by the First Emperor. What is he afraid of?
So Zhang Liang smiled and said:

"Yes, I have."

"Prime Minister, you should have found quite a few nobles from the six kingdoms. I heard that some were settled in the vicinity of Xianyang, and some were imprisoned in the imperial prison like I was. Not to mention those who died."

"Disperse them all. For example, the nobles of Qi will be granted the land of Yan, and the nobles of Yan will be granted the land of Zhao..."

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Li Si's eyes widened as he stared at the feminine man in front of him, his face full of disbelief.

This person...his heart and eyes must be poisoned, right?
Qi hated Yan, and Yan hated Zhao. They fought countless battles and countless people died on the battlefield. It was a century-old feud, but everyone knew it. This feud basically only existed among the aristocratic class, and ordinary people also hated the aristocrats of the enemy country.

Among the six countries, such a relationship existed not only between Qi, Yan and Zhao, but also among all the countries.

Now Zhang Liang wants to exchange the titles of kings for the nobles of various countries...

No wonder the First Emperor wanted to use him.

What a big conspirator!!!

(End of this chapter)