Li Si was originally from Shangcai, Chu State (now southwest of Shangcai, Henan Province). When he was young, he worked as a minor official in Chu State, responsible for handling documents, and lived a repetitive and boring life every day. In such a time of great strife, being an unknown person is not what Li Si wants.
At present, the state of Chu is already in decline. Even if Li Si has all kinds of talents, he doesn't know how to use them. For so many years, Li Si felt that his time was wasted, he had no strategy in his mind, and no idea in his sleeves. Such a person would be inactive in any country. Only by first enriching oneself and increasing one's bargaining chips can one be able to express his ambitions in other countries.
In order to realize his long-cherished ambition, Li Si came to Xunqing to learn "the art of the emperor" from him.
Xun Qing was originally from the State of Zhao. He came to Jixia Academy in the State of Qi. To finally stand out from the crowd of experts and become a famous figure is to be described as a late bloomer. By the time of King Xiang of Qi, the Academy was no longer there and Jixia was deserted. The influential figures who had been with Xun Qing were all lost in the dust of history. Only Xunqing is still at the top of his game, with great fame, respected status, and peach blossoms all over the world.
But in the end, Xunqing was framed by a traitor, and sadly left the state of Qi, which had given him infinite glory and honor. Xunqing came to the state of Chu, and with the help of Lord Chunshen, he became the emperor of Lanling (now Cangshan, Shandong). Southwest Lanling Town) Order. However, Xunqing was unwilling to accept it, not because his official career was bleak, but because his knowledge had not met a true disciple. In his lifetime, if he met a disciple who could inherit his mantle, Xunqing would feel that he Die without regrets.
At this time, Li Si came to Xun Qing full of hope to learn from him. Soon after, Han Fei also came to Xun Qing in high spirits. Xun Qing was worried that he had no successors, so he taught them wholeheartedly. In addition, both of them were talented and intelligent, and soon became Xun Qing's favorite disciples.
This can't help but make people suspicious. Xunqing is a master of Confucianism, and his banner is the Tao of Confucius and Mencius, and the Tao of Confucius and Mencius promotes benevolent government and rule of law. How can he achieve great things in the world and win fame during and after his death in the Warring States era full of treachery and conquest?
In fact, Xunqing and Mencius did not simply inherit and carry forward the relationship. He changed the shortcomings of Confucius and Mencius' empty talk about political ideals in the past. Based on the political situation at that time, he broke the rules and transformed traditional Confucianism to make it more suitable for society. The development of the country and the needs of the emerging landlord class ruling group, and widely absorbed the legalist ideas of governing the country, mainly involving the "imperial art" of how to govern the country and pacify the world.
It just so happened that Li Si and Han Fei came here to learn how to govern the country, full of ideals of getting ahead and prospering. However, Xunqing had not yet taught all his knowledge to his two favorite disciples, and the two of them wanted to leave him to seek a future.
It was easy for Han Fei to identify the country he requested to surrender to, and that was South Korea. However, Xun Qing was worried that South Korea was already in a state of decline. It would be extremely difficult for Han Fei to turn the tide after South Korea. In the future, if South Korea cannot be saved, how will Han Fei deal with himself?
After Li Si made a difficult choice, he finally decided on the direction in which he would serve - Qin. Because he deeply realized that although there are still seven dominant countries in the world today, only Qin can eventually unify the world.
Militarily, after the battle of Changping, Zhao was unable to compete with the Qin army; in terms of national strength, although Qi was strong, it was not as prosperous as when Jixia Academy was prosperous. The king was incompetent, the military was decadent, and he was happy to attack. After conquering Qi, he could only live in a corner and was unable to compete for the world.
Other countries were even less worth mentioning. Even South Korea, where his junior brother Han Fei went, would inevitably end in defeat. He didn't know whether Han Fei's departure was a blessing or a curse. The only thing he could be sure of was that he and Han Fei were mutually reinforcing each other. , definitely cannot go to a country. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured.
Xun Qing also visited Qin in the past, but it was a pity that Qin did not accept his political ideas. He wondered why Li Si chose to go to Qin. Li Si replied: "Sir, there is a famous saying: green, taken from blue and blue from blue; ice, water is cold for water. When you arrived in Qin, the reason why the King of Qin did not accept your political ideas was nothing more than Mr.'s ideas were not suitable for the Qin State at that time. Nowadays, time has changed, and students have improved and innovated his academic work. I believe that they will be able to show their talents in the Qin State. Junior Brother Han Fei once said: Looking at the world , only the Qin State in the four seas can achieve the unyielding foundation of the eternal emperor. Although the seven countries are competing for supremacy, the other six countries are more than one step weaker. Since today's students have achieved success in their studies, they must seize the opportunity to compete with The world is in chaos."
At this point, Li Si felt a little emotional and continued: "In the past, students saw two mice, one was living in the toilet, eating dirty and smelly human feces, and was always scared, afraid of being discovered by living animals; the other One lives in a comfortable granary, with fine clothes and fine food every day, no one disturbs it, and lives a life of a mouse on a mouse. This contrast and gap reminds the students of their current situation and those who have achieved fame and great achievements. The most shameful thing in life is humbleness, and the greatest sorrow is poverty. Naturally, students will not be willing to remain anonymous and inactive, because students worry that if they continue to be humble and poor, they will surely suffer the consequences of others. In this era of great competition, since we have full talents, we must show our talents and gain both fame and fortune. This is what scholars should do. Therefore, students are going to Qin State , in order to realize my ideal of pursuing fame and wealth, I hope Mr. Qi will make it come true." ("Historical Records: Biography of Li Si")
When Xun Qing heard this, he didn't say anything, but his eyes clearly showed a very complicated expression, either he was reluctant to give up, or he was unwilling, or he was worried, and he didn't know whether Li Si's departure was a blessing or a curse.
At this moment, Li Si only sees fame, fortune, and a brilliant future. How can he see Xun Qing's good intentions? With a beautiful yearning for the future, Li Si excitedly embarked on a journey to Qin.
Li Si came to Xianyang with great ambitions, thinking that he would have an adventure. Like Fan Ju, Cai Ze and others, as long as he could meet the King of Qin, he would be able to soar into the sky and become a blockbuster.
Unfortunately, reality is always crueler than imagination. Li Si tried his best but never saw King Qin. And not long after, King Qin died, and Ying Zheng ascended the throne at the age of 13, assisted by Prime Minister Lu Buwei. He could neither be like Fan Ju, who had someone recommend him; nor could he be like Cai Ze, who relied on his sharp tongue to persuade Lu Buwei to step down and replace him, because Lu Buwei was at the height of his power at this time, how could he retreat bravely?
Therefore, Li Si could only settle for the next best thing and find Lu Buwei.
Of course, Lu Buwei is different from Lord Xinling. Regardless of your status or ability, he will directly accept you as his disciple. After Li Si visited, Lu Buwei tortured him. The specific content is roughly asking how Li Si came to him? Where did you learn from in the past? What methods of governing a country have you learned? What will Qin do in the future? Li Si paid great attention to Lu Buwei's question, so he briefly stated his thoughts. Of course, before this, Li Si also considered whether Lu Buwei would be jealous of his talents, but after Li Si received Lu Buwei's respect, Li Si realized that he was judging a gentleman with a villain's heart.
What Lu Buwei never expected was that King Qin would marry perfectly with the retainer he left behind. When Lu Buwei realized this, his rights had been transferred and digested by King Qin and Li Si without knowing it.
In fact, after Li Si was reused by Lu Buwei, he was equivalent to getting a pass to meet the King of Qin. From this, Li Si could discuss the world with the King of Qin and make suggestions for him.
So after getting the opportunity to meet the King of Qin independently, Li Si made a decisive decision and preached his political theory to the King of Qin: "Opportunities should not be missed and they will never come back. Those who achieved great things in ancient times not only needed extraordinary talents and perseverance, but also needed The unique vision of seizing the opportunity. What a heroic man Mugong of Qin was in the past, but in the end he still failed to complete the grand blueprint of unifying the world. The reason is that the time is not yet ripe. The Zhou royal family and the King of Zhou still have the power and the hearts of the people are not lost. At the same time, all the heroes in the world During the war, the princes joined together, and the world was divided and divided into five overlords: Duke Mu of Qin, Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Xiang of Song, and King Zhuang of Chu. Countries were in conflict with each other from east to west, and from north to south. No country had the strength to dominate the world. But now the world is The situation has undergone tremendous changes. From the beginning of Qin Xiaogong, "Shang Jun assisted him, internally enacted laws, farmed and weaved, and repaired war tools, so the Qin people gave it up and took the land outside the Xihe River." From then on, Qin people The country has gone through six generations of kings. Everyone worked hard and worked hard to govern, and finally formed the situation where the tiger is sitting on the dragon's side and controls the world. The six countries all follow the lead of Qin. This is Qin's opportunity. Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, King Qin Don't miss it. You can take advantage of the weakness of the Six Kingdoms and the demise of the Zhou royal family to complete the great cause of unification in one fell swoop. According to the current strength of the Qin State, conquering the world is not as easy as scattering dust on the stove. The Qin State will not be able to do so at this time. Move, when will we wait?"
Although this meeting was very short, King Qin did not even have the opportunity to have a long conversation with Li Si. But through Li Si's remarks, the King of Qin seemed to have seen the beautiful situation in which the powerful Qin State would soon become the only Qin Dynasty in the world, and the King of Qin would become the common ruler of the world. In excitement, Li Si was granted the title of Changshi.
Li Si was not satisfied with such an official position, so Li Si seized the opportunity and spoke to the King of Qin again: "The reason why the princes in the world stand side by side is because their talents are scattered and each is loyal to his own country. This is how the country becomes chaotic and divided. Qin wants to unify the world. To achieve great ambitions, we must make extensive friends with guests and celebrities from all over the world, and those who are willing to make good friends with Qin and serve Qin, Qin will reciprocate and give them generous gifts. On the contrary, if there are people who are unwilling to serve, If the Qin State has talented people, the Qin State must send a large number of assassins to kill them, in order to eradicate the foundation of the existence of the Six Kingdoms. And the Qin State can make great use of those who survive and make their king If he is ignorant and incompetent, he will send a large army to conquer. In this way, the world will be settled."
This time, the King of Qin was once again moved by Li Si's remarks. Undoubtedly, Li Si further planned the specific measures for Qin to unify the world. The King of Qin then named Li Si a guest minister, mainly to study specific strategies for the King of Qin to unify the world.
The monarch and his ministers finally reached a consensus on ideal goals and policy measures. Li Si even formulated a strategy for King Qin to destroy South Korea first to frighten other countries and finally dominate the world. There is always a huge gap between ideal and reality. Just when King Qin was determined to unify the world, the affair between Lu Buwei and Queen Mother Zhao Ji came to light in the harem of Qin. The six eastern countries, especially Zhao, showed vague signs of recovery. What is even more worrying is that the arrival of a person obviously delayed the time for Qin to conquer the six kingdoms. This person was Zheng Guo.
Zheng Guo is a Korean whose specific birth and death years are unknown. He was a famous hydraulic scientist during the Warring States Period and was known as a hydraulic engineer at the time. The reason for going to Qin this time was because South Korea heard that Qin had a plan to exterminate South Korea, and had a plan to prevent Qin from invading and weakening Qin's national power, making it unable to conquer the east. South Korea then sent Zheng Guo to Qin to lobby.
After the State of Zheng arrived in the State of Qin, he immediately suggested to the King of Qin to divert the Jingshui River - Jingshui River is the Jinghe River. Its origin is in Jingyuan County, today's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and flows through the three provinces of Ningxia, Gansu and Shaanxi; it is connected with the Weihe River in Gaoling, Shaanxi Province. At the confluence of Chenjiatan in the county, the water of Jinghe River is clear and the water of Weihe River is turbid, so it is said that "Jinghe and Weihe are distinct". The east and north Luoshui rivers serve as canals, thus making Guanzhong fertile. The King of Qin readily accepted Zheng Guo's suggestion and appointed him as the commander in charge of the canal construction project.
Zheng Guo shoulders the national mission, and at the same time he also tries his best on his own works, but he cannot have both, so Zheng Guo often falls into a contradictory mentality. After a painful ideological struggle, Zheng Guo finally decided that he could work hard for his country, but he must also go all out for his works, so that he can be worthy of his conscience.
However, soon after, Qin discovered the plot of South Korea and Zheng Guo, then dismissed Zheng Guo from his official position and intended to kill Zheng Guo. Zheng Guo was fearless, served the country and the people, and did not regret his death. However, his masterpiece was not completed, and his greatest wish in life was not realized. How could he be willing to leave this world like this? So Zheng Guo complained to the King of Qin, saying that he was not only innocent but had meritorious service.
King Qin asked him why he said that?
Zheng Guo bluntly said that he came to Qin as a spy to weaken Qin. However, the King of Qin only knew one thing but not the other. Although this project greatly depleted Qin's national power and delayed Qin's attack on the six countries, it left Qin with a foundation that would last forever. With this project, the Qin State will benefit from it for thousands of generations. The Qin State took advantage of this period of time to accumulate strength and make great achievements. It was not a pity that he died. Failure to complete such a magnificent project was a regret for himself, the King of Qin, the State of Qin, and future generations. Therefore, Zheng Guo asked the King of Qin to allow him to complete the project.
The King of Qin appreciated Zheng Guo's frankness and understood deeply that since the Battle of Changping, Qin's war against the six eastern kingdoms had not made much progress. He could just use this time to strengthen his troops and prepare for changes, so he agreed. accepted Zheng Guo's request.
King Qin didn't know that his seemingly insignificant decision at this time would eventually give birth to a great work in history - Zheng Guoqu.
The construction of Zhengguo Canal began in the first year of the Qin Dynasty (246 BC), and it took more than 10 years to complete, consuming a lot of manpower, material and financial resources. But its functions are also endless. It starts from Zhongshan (today's northwest of Jingyang, Shaanxi), diverts the river water westward to Hukou as the mouth of the canal, takes advantage of the slightly higher terrain in the northwest and slightly lower southeast, diverts water along the southern foot of Beishan, stretches eastward, and flows into Beiluoshui. The entire length More than 300 miles. According to Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing Zhu·Jushui", the Zhengguo Canal roughly flows through today's Jingyang, Gaoling, Fuping, Sanyuan, Pucheng and other counties. The irrigated area reaches more than 40,000 hectares, increasing the yield of one mu of land to one bell (six stones and four buckets), which can be said to benefit thousands of people. Therefore, the "Historical Records: Book of River Canals" says: "Therefore, Guanzhong was a fertile wilderness. In the unfavorable years, Qin became prosperous and strong, and merged with the princes, so it was named Zheng Guo Canal." After the Qin Dynasty, although the irrigation scope of this canal has been reduced, it has continued throughout the ages and has continued to this day. It still irrigates much of the land in the Guanzhong region. It is in line with a local famous saying: Zheng Guo’s great success lies in agriculture.
However, although Zheng Guo was forgiven by the King of Qin, other guest officials suffered the same fate.
After the Zheng State incident broke out, the Qin State court was in turmoil. Some officials even advised the King of Qin: "There are currently a large number of foreign guests and scholars, most of whom have no good intentions. For the benefit of their own country, they will not hesitate to test the law." , came to Qin to carry out sabotage activities, the only way to prevent Qin from being threatened is to prevent them from happening and expel them all from the country."
The King of Qin thought it was reasonable and issued an order to expel guests. Although Li Si was a guest minister, he was also on the list of being expelled. Naturally, Li Si was unwilling to leave Qin like this, so he wrote a letter to the King of Qin, stating the disadvantages of the expulsion order and the necessity of seeking talented people regardless of national boundaries. This is the famous "Book of Admonition and Expulsion".
