At this moment, after the First Emperor destroyed the six kingdoms, it took another seven years to finally drive out the Xiongnu in the north and pacify the Baiyue in the south, forming a large empire that started from Liaodong in the east, reached the plateau in the west, occupied Lingnan in the south, and reached Yinshan Mountain in the north.
The First Emperor also abolished the enfeoffment system handed down from the Western Zhou Dynasty and implemented a single system of counties and counties in national management. A total of forty-eight counties were established across the country for management.
At this moment, the Qin Dynasty reached the peak of its rule, and just after that, the famous event in history occurred in the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor.
In the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor, the Xiongnu were expelled to Mobei, and the land of Baiyue was pacified and included in the territory of Qin. The First Emperor was very happy. From then on, there was no force in the world that could resist the Qin army.
So, the First Emperor held a big banquet in Xianyang Palace on his birthday to celebrate the great victory!
After the banquet began, the three ministers and nine ministers took turns toasting to the First Emperor, wishing the Qin Dynasty a long destiny and the Emperor a long life. Then the seventy doctors present came forward to toast and celebrate his birthday. The scene was grand, and the First Emperor was very happy.
Servant Zhou Qingchen came forward and said: "Before your Majesty, the territory of Qin State did not exceed a thousand miles, surrounded by powerful enemies, and the world was constantly in disputes. After your Majesty came to the throne, relying on your Majesty's wisdom and martial arts, the six kingdoms were destroyed within twenty years." , drive the Xiongnu to the north, and merge with the Baiyue to the south, the whole world bows its head, and wherever the sun and moon can shine, everyone admires your majesty’s benevolence!”
Dr. Liu Wenhe continued: "Your Majesty has established the territories of the princes of various countries into counties and counties, and the wars in the world have calmed down. Everyone lives and works in peace and contentment without the worry of war. It can be said that he has created an eternal achievement that can be passed down for eternity. From ancient times to the present, no one can catch up with your Majesty." of mighty virtue.”
Dr. Qi Ren Chun Yuyue always remembered Wang Wan's instructions before leaving, and he was always aggrieved. Now he heard someone praising the system of prefectures and counties. He was very angry. He couldn't help but stand up and remonstrate, saying: "Your Majesty, I heard that Shang The Dynasty and Zhou Dynasties ruled the world for more than a thousand years because they used enfeoffment to govern the world. They made their own children and trusted heroes kings and made them their auxiliary forces. Once the emperor was threatened, the princes would come to help.
Now His Majesty owns the world, but his children are common people without any titles. If there are ministers like Tian Chang and Liu Qing in the future, there will be no one to help them. How can we save them? I have never heard of anyone who did not imitate the ancients and remain undefeated for a long time. Now they are flattering His Majesty in person to deepen His Majesty's fault. They are really not loyal ministers. Your Majesty, please enlighten me! "
When the First Emperor heard this, his good mood was completely ruined, and his face suddenly seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. However, since the Zhengguo incident, the First Emperor valued his reputation for humbly accepting advice, and did not want to damage his image, so he coldly He asked: "What do you think of this?"
At the beginning of the unification of the world, Prime Minister Wang Wan proposed to use enfeoffment to consolidate the world, and there were many supporters in the court. However, the First Emperor advocated Legalism and stood firmly on the side of Tingwei Li Si, and the county system was implemented. Now that Chun Yuyue has put this issue on the table again, many ministers who support enfeoffment in private are secretly happy and unwilling to refute it.
Previously, the First Emperor dismissed Wang Wan and promoted Li Si to prime minister because Li Si advocated the system of prefectures and counties, while Wang Wan advocated the enfeoffment system. Faced with this situation, Li Si could not stay out of it.
So Li Si stood up and said: "The systems formulated by the five emperors in ancient times are all different, and the systems in the three generations have also been different. However, the world can be well governed. Why? It is because the times are different, and the background for governing society has also emerged. If there are differences, the corresponding systems must also be changed. Only by advancing with the times can the country be governed well. Sticking to the past will not lead to long-term peace and stability.
Now His Majesty has created a great cause and established immortal achievements. This has never happened three generations ago. It is naturally impossible to govern the world according to the methods three generations ago. This is not something that stupid scholars can understand. But what Chunyu Yue said now was three generations ago. What can we imitate?
Now the world is unified, the four seas are submissive, and the country is governed by unified laws. The common people work hard at agricultural production and cottage industry at home, while the scholars study laws and prohibitions at court, and the world can be governed! "
Chunyu Yue became even more angry and argued: "The difference between what the Prime Minister said is that the system of Shang and Zhou Dynasty has been tested for thousands of years and we should inherit it. Now that all counties have been established, in just a few years, it cannot be said that this is in line with the current situation." System. Once there is a change in the court and there are no princes outside to respond, how can the emperor govern the world with one person? Isn’t this building a wall on eggs?"
Li Si realized that these Confucian scholars had a deep-rooted admiration for the feudal system and despised the county system in their hearts. It was difficult to convince them in a short time to make them agree with the county system. If we don't use force to warn these nerds, they will continue to criticize in the future, so he said: "Our Da Qin has strengthened its national power and unified the world by establishing prefectures and counties! How can we say that it has not been tested?
Before, the world fell apart and there was no strong unified political power. The princes rose up at the same time and attacked each other. People didn't know how to adapt. Everyone had their own opinions and their opinions were chaotic, so various private schools were able to rise.
Now the emperor has annexed the world, clarified right and wrong, and established his supreme status. However, some scholars are still ignorant of current affairs and do not learn from reality. They still insist on imitating ancient times, using past events to criticize the current social system, spreading rumors everywhere, and confusing the people.
They taught knowledge privately and criticized the country's laws and education together. When the laws were issued, they each used their own theories to discuss them. When they went home, they criticized them in their hearts. When they came out, they talked in the streets and boasted about themselves in front of the monarch. They used this to gain fame and be new and different. Thinking that he is superior, he leads a group of followers below to fabricate slanderous words. If this situation is not prohibited, the monarch's authority will decline, and party members will collude with each other. Therefore, I believe that this current situation must be prohibited.
The minister suggested that, except for the books written by the historians of the Qin State, all history books from other countries should be destroyed; except for the books that are not needed by the doctorate officials themselves, all the books collected by the people, such as "Poems" and "Books", as well as the books of hundreds of schools of thought , will be destroyed. Anyone who gathers a crowd to discuss poems and books will be beheaded, and the entire clan will be exterminated. They will be gathered in counties and counties to be destroyed within thirty days. If an official fails to report the incident after knowing it, he will be punished according to the same crime. If the order is not carried out within thirty days, he will be fined as a Chengdan. Medical books, agricultural books, and divination books are not included. In addition, all the books of various schools of thought were destroyed. If you want to learn laws, you should go to the officials to learn. "
It has been nine years since the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and the debate on whether to restore the feudal system has also continued for nine years. It still has no intention of stopping. The First Emperor's patience has reached its limit. If this continues, all kinds of thoughts will It will spread, and every time the government implements a decree, it will be criticized and difficult to implement, so the First Emperor also decided to use severe measures to stop the current endless debate.
The First Emperor did not want to dwell on this issue anymore, and severely rebuked: "I have unified the world for nine years, and you pedantic Confucian scholars are still thinking about enfeoffment. Do you want to tear the Qin Dynasty into pieces again?
The Prime Minister's suggestion is right! I will burn all the miscellaneous books in the world, unify the political orders from now on, and make the Qin Dynasty consolidate forever! I am issuing an edict that all miscellaneous books will be destroyed within thirty days from now on, and private lectures will be prohibited from now on! Violators will be severely punished according to law! "
Chunyu Yue knelt his head on the ground and cried: "Your Majesty, think twice! The country of Qin cannot be ruined like this!"
The First Emperor said angrily: "I am thinking that you have been loyal and patient for many years, but now you are so ignorant of current affairs and slandering the country's plans. Someone comes and puts you in prison and castrates you!"
As soon as the book-burning order came out, all the scholars in the world were in an uproar. However, due to the majesty of the imperial court, no one dared to disobey.
Confucian scholar Liu Qing said to Kong Lin privately: "Once the book burning order is implemented, I am afraid that all the classics of all schools of thought will be scattered! I want to collect some books privately and pass on Confucianism." Both Liu Qing and Kong Lin were there Chao Zhong serves as a doctor, because they are both from Qi, and they are usually very close to each other.
Kong Lin said: "Now the emperor has issued an order. If you don't burn the books, you will be cut off from the city. You will be sentenced to four years in prison. You will have to stand guard during the day and build the Great Wall at night. Is this something that scholars like you and I can endure?"
Liu Qing said seriously: "Mencius said, 'Fish is what I want, bear's paw is also what I want. You can't have both. One would give up fish and take bear's paw. Life is also what I want, righteousness , and that’s what I want. You can’t have both, and you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness.’ Now that I am so scared just to be punished as a city Dan, are there really no moral people in our Confucian school?”
Kong Lin was very ashamed and bowed again: "Brother Liu, what are your plans? I will try my best to complete it."
Liu Qingdao: "There are still a few days until the book burning today. You and I will copy the "Poetry" and "Book" again and hide them in different places. If anyone reports on them, hand over the originals. I will punish you by being a Cheng Dan. Brother Kong, please be sure to keep the manuscript!"
Kong Lin admired Liu Qing's loyalty very much and said: "Everything must be obeyed by Brother Liu!"
So the two stayed up all night, copied a new copy, and hid it between the walls.
Soon, the deadline for the book burning order came and someone reported that Liu Qing had collected books. Liu Qing had no choice but to hand over the originals. He was punished as a Chengdan and died at the foot of the Great Wall a month later.
Kong Lin was grateful for Liu Qing's experience and preserved the "Poetry" and "Book" completely.
After the book-burning order was implemented, no one in the court or among the people dared to openly discuss government affairs, especially the enfeoffment system, which on the surface has become a thing of the past forever.
The First Emperor was very proud and said to Zhao Gao: "Now Da Qin has not only unified the world materially, but also ideologically everyone in the world recognizes our Da Qin! This is the beginning of a thousand years of achievements!"
Zhao Gao said: "Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and is truly a model for all generations! In the future, he will surely be famous for centuries and be worshiped by future generations!"
When the First Emperor heard Zhao Gao talk about his descendants, he suddenly thought that although he had made extraordinary achievements, he could not escape death after all, and his face became gloomy. Zhao Gao saw that the First Emperor was displeased and realized that he had made a mistake. He quickly kowtowed and said, "I made a mistake. Please forgive me. Your Majesty will definitely get the elixir of life and live a long life! There is no need for future generations to worship him."
The First Emperor said: "Get up. I forgive your guilt. Go and call Lu Sheng!"
Zhao Gao did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly went to Xuan Lu to see him.
After Lu Sheng arrived, the First Emperor asked: "Now that I have ordered Meng Tian to expel the Xiongnu, and the immortal's requirements have been met, should I be given the elixir of immortality?"
Lu Sheng said: "Your Majesty, you don't know. Since the immortal is willing to ask me to bring a letter to your majesty, it means that your majesty has an immortal connection and can meet the real person. But in the past few days, when I ask the immortal to come to see your majesty, I always get the same answer. It feels like something is blocking me. When I communicated with others, they all said they felt this way."
The First Emperor asked: "Sir, do you know the reason?"
"It is said in the fairy prescription that evil ghosts will harm the real person, and evil ghosts often follow the monarch. I think this may be the reason why the real person does not show up."
"Then how can we drive away evil spirits?"
"Your Majesty must always hide his actions to avoid evil spirits! Only when you avoid evil spirits can the real person come. If the place where the monarch lives is known by his subjects, it will also hinder the gods."
The First Emperor became more and more interested and asked, "What are the talents of the real person?"
"A real person will not be soaked by water when immersed in water. He will not feel heat when he enters fire. He can fly in the clouds and mist. He will live forever and live as long as heaven and earth. Now that your majesty governs the world, he has received too many people and dealt with too many things to be peaceful. No desire. I hope no one knows about the palace you live in, and then the elixir of immortality can probably be found."
"I am very envious of Zhenren for having such abilities. From now on, I will call myself 'Zhenren', not 'Lian'."
Therefore, in order to hide his whereabouts, the First Emperor ordered 270 palaces within 200 miles near Xianyang to be connected with roads erected in the air and corridors on the ground, and curtains, bells, drums, and beauties were placed in them. The arrangement must not be moved. Everywhere the emperor went must be kept strictly confidential. If anyone revealed the location, he would be punished by death.
One day, the First Emperor visited the Liangshan Palace. From the mountain, he saw a group of people and horses walking on the road down the mountain. There were many chariots and riders. They were walking on the street with great momentum. Anyone who didn't get out of the way in time was whipped. The First Emperor asked the people around him: "Whose family does this team of chariots and riders at the foot of the mountain belong to?"
One of the attendants replied: "Your Majesty, this is Prime Minister Li Si's chariot."
The First Emperor snorted coldly and said: "Li Si is the Prime Minister now, and he is so powerful!"
Li Si was always cautious in doing things. In order to know the movements of the First Emperor in time, he bribed many of the First Emperor's followers. An attendant accepted Li Si's benefits and saw that the First Emperor was dissatisfied with Li Si, so he immediately reported the matter to Li Si secretly.
Li Si was horrified after hearing this. He quickly reduced the number of cars he drove and ordered his family not to show off outside in the future.
Since the last time the First Emperor saw Li Si traveling with such great fanfare, he had been very angry and wanted to catch him at the door of the Prime Minister's Mansion and give him a warning.
On this day, the First Emperor knew that Li Si was going to the court to perform an official mission, so he changed into casual clothes in advance and stood guard in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion with Meng Yi and other entourage. Unexpectedly, Li Si traveled with only one carriage and four followers.
Seeing this, the First Emperor knew that someone had tipped him off, and said angrily: "Someone in the palace has leaked my words. Meng Yi, I order you to interrogate all your followers and find out who leaked the secret!"
Meng Yi said: "I obey!" Meng Yi had been appointed as a court official at this time, replacing Li Si, and was responsible for the criminal law in the palace.
Meng Yi then arrested all the followers of the First Emperor that day and interrogated them one by one. The attendant who revealed the secret knew that he would be executed if he confessed, so he gritted his teeth and refused to admit it.
The result of the interrogation was that no one admitted to leaking secrets. The First Emperor was furious and ordered all his followers that day to be executed. From then on, the followers no longer dared to reveal the whereabouts and remarks of the First Emperor.
The First Emperor has disappeared, but the real person has not yet appeared.
Lu Sheng felt that he had been looking for the elixir for several years but could not find it. Once the First Emperor found out that everything was in vain, he would definitely punish him severely. So when discussing how to find immortals with other magicians, he said: "The First Emperor was born to be stubborn and violent, and he was self-righteous. He was originally a prince of one party. Later, he relied on killing to unify the world. He thought that no one could catch up with him since ancient times. He had a perverse temperament. Do whatever you want.”
When the magicians heard Lu Sheng slandering the First Emperor, they did not dare to answer the question. Looking at each other. Among the sorcerers there was Hou Sheng, who was originally a Confucian scholar. When he saw that the First Emperor was obsessed with seeking immortality, he fell in love with him, hoping to please the First Emperor with this, become a member of the hierarchy, and be reused.
I never thought that although the First Emperor was close to the magicians, he never discussed national affairs with them, let alone promoted them to positions! One day, Hou Sheng couldn't help but express his opinions on the harsh laws of the First Emperor, hoping to rest with the people. However, the First Emperor reprimanded him on the spot, saying: "Isn't it the right of you sorcerers to discuss national affairs? Just practice for me. That’s the elixir, nothing else needs to be said!”
When Hou Sheng saw that he could not be promoted to an official position, he became increasingly slack. As time went by, no elixir was refined, so he was often reprimanded by the First Emperor. The doctors and Confucian scholars he had interacted with before looked down on him, thinking that he was an opportunist who had blasphemed Confucian teachings, and disdained to associate with him. Therefore, Hou Sheng blamed the First Emperor for his failure and felt very resentful.
At this time, when he heard that Lu Sheng belittled the First Emperor, he couldn't help but echoed: "More than that, the First Emperor specially appointed officials who were good at punishing crimes to govern the world, and he only believed in their words. Although there were seventy doctors in the palace, they were just fill-in personnel. It’s not trustworthy.”
Seeing someone agreeing with him, Lu Sheng spoke more enthusiastically: "Yes, the First Emperor was greedy for power and held all the power tightly in his own hands. Neither the prime minister nor the ministers had real power. They just accepted the official decisions that had been made and relied on everything. The emperor will handle it. The emperor also likes to use punishment and killing to establish his majesty. Everyone in the world is afraid of being convicted and just wants to keep his position. No one dares to tell the truth. What's the point of staying here?"
Hearing what Lu Sheng said, Hou Sheng suddenly realized that it was a serious crime to slander the emperor like this! But what he said was like water being thrown out, which could not be undone. At this moment, he decided to flee. Thinking of this, he became even more unscrupulous in speaking and said: "Brother Lu is so right. The emperor cannot hear others talking about himself." If a fault is discovered, he will be punished. In the long run, the ministers succumbed out of fear and used deceitful words to gain the emperor's favor without conscience. The emperor became even more arrogant because of this!"
Lu Sheng said: "The First Emperor also enacted a law that stipulates that one person cannot use two kinds of tricks at the same time. If the tricks are not effective, he will be sentenced to death. It is simply ridiculous. He can actually figure out the will of the gods?"
Hou Sheng said: "I heard that there are as many as three hundred people who observe the stars and clouds to predict good and bad luck. Although they are all knowledgeable, they are afraid of the emperor and can only flatter him and dare not point out his faults directly. No matter how big or small the affairs of the world are, they can only flatter him. It depends on the emperor. The emperor even uses a scale to weigh documents. There is a certain amount in a day, and he cannot rest until the amount is reached. He is so greedy for power that we can no longer find elixirs for him."
Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng criticized the First Emperor in unison. They knew that if the First Emperor knew what they said, they would definitely be punished, so they fled overnight with the rewards given to them by the First Emperor.
