The First Emperor said quietly:
"If I had Xunzi to assist me, I would be able to do this."
At the first sight of Xun Qing, the First Emperor knew what his brother's solution was. Qin was short of people to govern, and Xun Qing's thousands of disciples were scattered all over the world, enough to fill the vacancies in the three worlds.
[Li Mu, Han Fei, Lian Po, and now even Xunzi are used by them. What kind of witchcraft did this Zhuzi use to recruit so many talented people that I couldn't recruit? What's wrong with me? ]
The First Emperor, who was sitting on the throne of the world, was a little unhappy, and he was also a little jealous that had not appeared in his heart since he became king. He was fond of his brother for being able to recruit many talented people that he could not recruit.
"Really?"
The old man asked back, his eyes were like one eye, two eyes, a thousand eyes, and a thousand eyes could not see the bottom of the deep pool, reflecting all the way to the deepest part of the heart of the First Emperor.
The old man made a fist and tapped his left chest.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to rush back to you. Please ask yourself before speaking."
The First Emperor was silent, calm and thinking calmly.
[If Xunzi assists me, will I be removed from the three great families? ]
It didn't take a long time for the First Emperor to know the answer within a few breaths. He didn't know it.
The three great aristocratic families had contributed to the Qin State, and their behavior was not wrong in the eyes of the First Emperor. To this day, the three major families have passed away, and his younger brother has told the three major families the way to die. The First Emperor still believes that the three major families did not make any big mistakes.
What does it mean to have hundreds of concubines die? What does it mean to force and lure common people into low status? Is it a mistake to transport a large number of well-trained concubines to Guanzhong Tower every year? It should be the credit!
The building was a government agency, and all the profits were owned by the government and put into the national treasury. The First Emperor really didn't understand what was wrong with the three great families.
If he was wrong, it was because his brother thought he was wrong.
If it weren't for Ying Chengyu, even if Xun Qing assisted Zuo, he could safely replace the three major families, the First Emperor would not do it.
The First Emperor could not do such things as tearing down mills and killing donkeys, crossing rivers and demolishing bridges, and killing meritorious officials for no reason.
Xun Qing observed the change in the Emperor's expression. Although he had almost guessed the Emperor's answer, he still asked:
"Will your Majesty kill him?"
Don't take speculation as the truth. This is what his superior said casually. Xun Qing thinks this is absolutely correct.
"do not kill."
"This is the difference between Your Majesty and Your Majesty."
"...I see, I seem to understand why you all chose that Zhuzi instead of me. It seems that Xunzi will not enter the Qin Hall."
The First Emperor smiled.
"Can I have a few chats with Xunzi? To clear up some confusion. I was really depressed in the days after Shuzi left."
Xun Qing nodded and said:
"Relax one by one, the way of civil and military affairs. Your Majesty, if you have been backlogged for a long time, it will be like a bow string that has been stretched full and is in danger of breaking. I don't know what your Majesty wants to ask. Is it "Encouragement to Learn"?"
The First Emperor waved his hands and said:
"I ask myself that I have little talent and little knowledge, but I can still understand the article "Encouragement to Learning" and there is nothing unreasonable about it. What I want to ask is, sir, he considers himself a Confucian, but he is not tolerated by Confucianism. His ideological teaching also severely punishes and denounces good people. . The two most outstanding disciples, Han Fei and Li Si, are both Dafa practitioners. What’s the explanation for this?”
Xunzi said:
"The evil disciple Li Si attaches great importance to utilitarianism, and Confucianism and Law are both means to him. If your Majesty likes Confucianism, he will become Confucianism, and if Your Majesty likes the Dharma, he will become Dharma. This utilitarian heart sold to the emperor's family is the Legalist mind, not the Qing Dynasty. He was taught to be a Legalist, but he chose Legalism himself.”
Dressing up, he couldn't help but smile when he thought of Han Fei, his next favorite disciple.
"As for Han Fei, you originally thought that he was a genius of Legalism and was born with this knowledge. However, it was not until you heard that your Majesty was discussing Taoism with Han Fei that night that you realized that Han Fei was not a genius of Legalism, and Han Fei had no choice. The martial arts in South Korea are flourishing, morals are corrupt, and people's hearts are evil, which can only be controlled by severe legal torture. In order to save South Korea, Han Fei had no choice but to join Legalism."
The First Emperor didn't know whether he understood or not. He looked thoughtful and quickly continued to ask:
"I think it is ridiculous when Mencius said that people were originally good by nature in the beginning. I thought it was extremely absurd when Xunzi said that people were originally evil by nature in the beginning. Han Fei and Li Sidu once told me that Xunzi advocated using punishment to suppress evil thoughts in people's hearts."
Shaking the book Xunzi just handed him in his hand.
"Xunzi praised everyone in the Qin State in the book and praised the Qin State. It can be seen that Xunzi highly recognized the Qin State. However, the Qin State ruled the country by law and had such a great scene. No matter how I look at it, Xunzi should It’s the Legalists who do it.”
The First Emperor said so many words, discussing whether Xun Qing was a great Confucian or a Dafa, and his purpose was still to recruit Xunzi.
The First Emperor admired Xunzi's disciples Li Si and Han Fei very much. Seeing Xunzi through a filter, and then having a conversation with Xunzi, the First Emperor really didn't want to let this great talent go.
No other country values Legalism as much as Qin. There was no other emperor in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods who loved talents as much as the First Emperor.
Xunzi understood what he meant and sighed.
[You and Your Majesty have different ways, so why are you plotting...]
The First Emperor thought that Xunzi's attitude was loose and struck while the iron was hot:
"Why did Xunzi sigh, but he thought that like Huang Xie, I was just paying lip service, but in fact I was only willing to give Lanling a county? As long as Xunzi enters the government today, I can repay Xunzi by reinstating the imperial master of Zhou!"
Xunzi's face immediately became serious.
"It is the intention of Legalists to seek rewards for meritorious service. What Fa Sheng does is not what Confucians want or what Qing does. Your Majesty governs the country by law, invites talented people to Qin with merit and benefit, and has implemented Qin Xiaogong's order to recruit talents to this day. . You can conquer the world, but you cannot make it peaceful."
The First Emperor retorted:
"Chun Yuyue, who once studied under Xunzi, devoted himself to seeking high-ranking officials in order to realize Confucian ideals..."
Xunzi did not wait for the First Emperor to finish speaking, but immediately interrupted him and said:
"This is not Confucianism, but a pseudo-Confucianism!"
The First Emperor was not angry and immediately said:
"King Zhao of Chu invited Confucius and promised him heavy rewards. He would grant Confucius seven hundred miles of land and the corresponding population. Confucius immediately took his disciples to Chu State. On the way to Chen State, Cai State trapped Confucius in the wild. Confucius He sent Zilu to the State of Chu for help, and was eventually rescued by King Zhao of Chu. However, when King Zhao of Chu regretted not using Confucius in a more important way, Confucius abandoned Chu. Such behavior was completely contrary to what Xunzi said Confucianism was going towards. Xunzi would never You might say that Confucius is not a Confucian."
These words of the First Emperor contained most of his views on Confucianism.
He agrees with Confucian benevolence and can let Chunyu Yue be the teacher of the eldest son, teaching the eldest son that harshness alone is not enough to become an emperor.
But it will not allow Confucian scholars to hold high positions. Because even though he looked at the classics, Confucius could not achieve the theory he proposed. Talking about being unjust and rich and noble is like a floating cloud to me. But when the barbarian state of Chu offered him an olive branch full of fame and fortune, he went there immediately without hesitation. How can a country be governed with such a doctrine that even the founder could not achieve?
The First Emperor originally thought that these questions would make Xunzi feel ashamed, or that questioning Xunzi would at least make Xunzi speechless for a short time.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Xunzi immediately said:
"Confucius is a Confucian, but his behavior is not Confucian. Confucius was wrong."
"..."
The First Emperor didn't know what to say.
He did not expect that Xunzi, who claimed to be a Confucian and the successor of Confucius' thoughts, could even deny Confucius.
"Qing wrote in "Encouragement to Learning": Six crabs kneel and have two claws, but in fact eight crabs kneel and have two claws. Born with limits, learning has no limits. The more you learn, the more you realize how insignificant you are. The words of the sage will be spoken a thousand years later. It may be heresy. You can make mistakes, Confucius can make mistakes, and all the classics today may be wrong. Unjust behavior and wrong principles are not Confucianism."
The First Emperor's eyes widened, he pointed at Xunzi and couldn't help laughing.
"Hahaha, interesting, interesting, really interesting. Only when I meet Xunzi today can I know who is the best teacher. I know today that the Confucianism that Shuzi talks about is Xunzi's Confucianism, not Confucius' Confucianism! I dare to ask Xunzi, why does Confucianism govern the country? ?”
If Ying Chengyu had left for ten and a half days, he would definitely not have left if he had seen what he saw today.
He did not expect that his elder brother, who could not be persuaded despite all his efforts and was more stubborn than an ox and devoted himself to promoting Legalism, would actually take the initiative to ask Xunzi how to use Confucianism in government.
"Long ceremony and respect the law."
Xunzi first read out four words carefully, and then said softly:
"Man is born with desires. His eyes are fond of color, his ears are fond of sounds, his mouth is fond of taste, and his heart is fond of profit. Desires are bound to lead to contention. In the beginning, human nature is inherently evil. If a country has its people, it is for the country. To govern is to teach the people and govern them. People. Understand etiquette and righteousness to transform them, establish laws and regulations to rule them, and punish them severely to prohibit them."
The First Emperor carefully chewed what Xunzi said for a long time before saying:
"Using etiquette and justice to educate the people and reform their inherently bad human nature is Confucianism. Using punishments and laws to subdue those with bad tempers is the law. This is the first time I have heard that Confucianism is the mortal enemy, and the two families of law must work together. Governing the country.”
The old man was immediately displeased and emphasized:
"This is not Dharma, this is just Confucianism!"
Not to be outdone, the First Emperor said:
"Except from Xunzi, I have never seen anything similar in Confucianism."
The old man suddenly stretched his waist to roll up his sleeves. This movement was too big and almost shook the green scarf off his head.
The old man hurriedly supported him, then continued to roll up his sleeves, and said with his two bare forearms with obvious muscles:
"Let me ask you about the words and deeds recorded by Confucius in The Analects of Confucius: Tao is governed by government, and justice is governed by punishment, and the people are spared without shame. Tao is governed by virtue, and justice is governed by etiquette. There is shame and integrity. These two sentences are What do you mean?"
The First Emperor was furious when he saw that he was not addressed as His Majesty respectfully. The corners of his mouth twitched as the old man rolled up his sleeves as if he was about to fight. This image was really far different from the previous one.
[Those who are close to the ink are black, it must be the influence of that Zhu Zi, this Zhu Zi really deserves to be beaten! ]
He scolded his brother in his heart, but the talent-loving First Emperor answered the questions honestly.
"It means that relying solely on punishment has limitations. People will only find ways to escape punishment, but they have no sense of shame. Only by educating people with morality and etiquette will they know their shame and be self-disciplined."
Pa~
The old man immediately patted the table.
"Does what Confucius said mean the same thing as what I said?"
The First Emperor nodded helplessly and admitted that he had little education.
The First Emperor had naturally read "The Analects of Confucius", but the First Emperor, who never believed that Confucianism could govern the country, naturally did not pay too much attention to Confucian classics.
Everyone has a subject that they love to learn. The First Emperor liked to study Dharma, "Han Feizi" and "Shang Jun Shu". The First Emperor remembered every article in "Han Feizi" in his mind, and all the theories in "The Book of Shang Jun" were applied by the First Emperor.
The old man became a little less angry, and his voice was a little quieter than before, but it was still louder than at the beginning.
"Let me ask you again, "Mencius" also says: Being kind is not enough to govern, and being just the law is not enough to do one's own thing. What does this sentence mean?"
The First Emperor smiled bitterly and said:
"I already know, but I was negligent. The Confucian classics did say this. Xunzi does not need to give examples. Just now Xunzi said that Confucius was not a Confucian, and in previous years he also said that Mencius was a pseudo-Confucian. Today, I use Confucius and Mencius as examples to prove Confucianism. , don’t you feel it’s inconsistent?”
The old man put down his sleeves and said slowly:
"Confucianism is a correct theory. Those who are correct are called Confucians, and those who are incorrect are called pseudo-Confucians."
The First Emperor held it in for a while. No matter how much he appreciated Xunzi's talents and learning, he couldn't bear it anymore.
"Xunzi, has anyone ever said you are shameless?"
Xunzi took out the book written by the First Emperor, turned it over a few times, handed it over, and pointed to a line of words on it.
The First Emperor looked intently.
[Yingzi said: Science is an absolutely correct subject. Whatever is correct is science, whatever is incorrect is pseudoscience. Scientific knowledge that was originally believed to be correct is found to be incorrect over time. Then this knowledge is not scientific knowledge, but pseudo-scientific knowledge. 】
[Qing said: The world has not heard of scientific teachings, please use Confucianism instead. 】
[Yingzi said: As long as you are happy. 】
[Qing said: Good. 】
The First Emperor originally wanted to go back and study carefully the book written by Xunzi, which recorded the words and deeds of Ying Chengyu.
Xunzi, the most famous teacher, did not dare to call himself Xunzi in the book, but called others his son. Doesn’t this book have to be full of good words and can be passed down as a classic?
And now, the First Emperor still has the idea of taking it back to read, but not to study it in detail, but to read it to pass the time.
The First Emperor pointed at the books and questioned the old man with a calm and unashamed look in an extremely suspicious tone.
"What did Xunzi remember? Should such scoundrel remarks be remembered with caution? Is this kind of Zhuzi worthy of being called Zi? Is it too careless to use Zi here? Is it because Xunzi gave gifts to Shuzi's disciples because of his dignity?"
The old man looked at the First Emperor's body wrapped in imperial robes and measured the difference in strength between the enemy and ourselves.
Thinking about what your Majesty once said, his brother's martial arts are ordinary, so he can fight Qin General Meng Tian.
He was proficient in the six arts, but as he got older, he gave up the Confucian tradition of using martial arts to judge right and wrong.
"Your Majesty saw that the Qing refused to join Qin as an official, so he did not treat him with courtesy. Has Your Majesty forgotten that it does not matter whether the Qing entered the Qin hall or not. What Qin needs are officials who work for the government and go deep into the people, not one The superior master."
Upon seeing this, the First Emperor asked:
"If I don't treat Xunzi with courtesy, then Xunzi won't call his disciples to Qin? Is this consistent with Confucianism?"
Xunzi stared at the First Emperor for a long time, and the two refused to give in to each other.
After a while, Xunzi spoke firmly.
"No matter what your Majesty does, you should call your disciples to Qin. This is Confucianism!"
The First Emperor grinned, looking up to the sky and laughing.
"Hahahaha, Yingzi is not worthy of being called Yingzi, Xunzi is worthy of being called Xunzi."
The old man got down from his seat and bowed deeply to the First Emperor, who was kneeling and laughing on the side of the table.
"The people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important. If a king has no people, he will not be a king, and if a country has no people, it will not be a country. Please ask your majesty to regard the world as his son, and to abolish concubines!"
The First Emperor's smile never faded, he shook his head and said:
"If I haven't said anything about this before, I can respond to you. However, I have personally promised and made an agreement with that Shuzi, so I cannot respond to you. I may be wrong, but my promise cannot be changed."
There was a look of sadness on the old man's face. The First Emperor got down from his seat, helped the old man up, and said beside him:
"Xunzi won't call his disciples to Qin because I don't respond to your request?"
"This is not what Confucians do."
"Xunzi is highly righteous. I think Xunzi's way is similar to that of Shuzi. Although I can't cancel the concubines according to Xunzi, I can ban the towers and add the crime of obscenity to Qin law as Shuzi said. Is this good? "
"Great kindness."
"If Xunzi has time, he can teach me in the palace. I don't listen to Confucius's Confucianism, but I can listen to Xunzi's Confucianism."
"Your Majesty's opinions are almost the same as those of your Majesty. Your Majesty cannot listen to your Majesty's words, and you cannot listen to your Majesty's words."
"In teaching knowledge and solving doubts, that Shuzi is far behind Xunzi."
The First Emperor stayed at the Jun's Mansion in Chang'an until the moonlight rose above the willow trees, and then he took a carriage back to the palace with unfinished business.
That night, all the pigeons raised in Xianyang Palace were released.
Fortunately, it was night and the sky was dark, so these pigeons were not very noticeable. If the sky is clear and the sun is bright, a large area of the sky must be blocked.
This large group of pigeons with paper tied to their feet flapped their wings loudly, and the flapping sound awakened countless nobles from their dreams.
They take advantage of the darkness of night and fly to all directions, all over the world.
