Those in power always have the understanding that if they allow the people to live and work in peace and contentment and do not bully the people wantonly, they can be regarded as rare good officials.
Li Si is not the only one who thinks so. Almost all ministers and even wise kings in history think so.
So, is this perception wrong?
I can’t say it’s wrong, I can only say it’s not entirely right.
Because this has a great relationship with the ancient environment. It was the environment that limited the cognition of ancient people.
Ancient society often fought wars. Either you fought me or I fought you. Even if the Qin State unified the six countries and ended hundreds of years of mutual attacks during the Warring States Period, wars still existed.
The existence of war has brought a huge burden to the people, and many people have even been trapped in the war and displaced.
Therefore, at this time, the people just want to live well. How can they dare to have other ideas?
When they meet an official who doesn't bother them, the people will think that the official is a good official, and they will be grateful to him and even send him thousands of words in writing.
This caused those ministers who were doing nothing in the court to feel that they were good officials.
If ancient officials wanted to survive in the court, they would first consider their own interests. There were never many ancient officials who truly thought about the people.
Even if it's just a penny.
Even the official who said, "Be concerned about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness", his painstaking reforms were also for the benefit of the court.
Although what he said was somewhat vague and not even a specific goal, many people still praised him and said he was a good official.
Even those emperors in history who regarded the world as royal property were the same. They first considered their own interests and never really considered the common people.
It was not until the great men established the country that they proposed to solve the problem of food and clothing first. Only then can we truly think about the people. realistic goals.
"But Li Tingwei, does the country really need governance?"
Zhao Hao asked with a smile.
Still have questions?
Of course the country needs governance!
Li Si was speechless and was about to refute Zhao Hao.
However, before he could speak, Zhao Hao interrupted categorically: "The country does not need the so-called governance at all, and the Guizhou head does not need the so-called enlightenment;
"Guanzi·Herdsmen" once said: "The warehouse is solid and you know the etiquette; the food and clothing are sufficient and you know the honor and disgrace." Keeping the head of Guizhou fed and clothed is the first priority. As for governing the country and educating it, it is just the incompetence of some officials. It’s all in vain! "
"Incompetence is nothing."
Li Si pondered for a moment, looked at Zhao Hao with a solemn expression, and couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly:
"Young Master's opinion of our ministers who govern the country are not ordinary. If these words are heard by other ministers who govern the country, I am afraid that they will follow in the footsteps of your eldest brother Fusu, and even your Majesty will not be able to protect you."
"hey-hey."
Zhao Hao smiled slyly: "Li Tingwei, don't worry. It's bitterly cold in the north and there are wars and disasters. I haven't lived enough yet. How can I dig a hole for myself? What I just said is just for you. That's what you said." Even if you get out, I won’t admit it!”
"It would be better if you don't admit it!"
Li Si laughed. After laughing, his expression suddenly became lonely again: "You are very smart, smarter than your eldest brother, but it is a pity that your eldest brother"
At this point, Li Si shook his head and said no more.
In fact, Zhao Hao knew it without him having to say it.
The relationship between Li Si and Fusu is not simple.
Since Li Si was re-employed by the First Emperor, the relationship between the Li family and the royal family has been very close.
Not only did his son marry the First Emperor's daughter, but his daughter also married the First Emperor's son.
Fusu's wife was Li Si's daughter.
Therefore, Fusu is equivalent to Li Si's son-in-law.
But this pair of sons-in-law who were supposed to complement each other failed to complement each other in the end, and even became enemies.
Why is this?
The reasons are complex.
But the biggest reason was that Fusu valued Mengshi, which forced Li Si to lean towards Hu Hai.
Of course, Li Si is not inclined to Hu Hai yet.
It's just that Fusu is not very close to Li Si now.
This may be related to the political differences between the feudal system and the county system.
After a moment of silence, Li Si continued: "Young Master is right, Guizhou really only needs to be fed and clothed. What kind of grand scene will it be like in an era when Guizhou can be fed and clothed?
Even in the era when the sages ruled the country, there were still hungry people in Guizhou. It was impossible for him to be like what the young master said. "
"Then Li Tingwei thinks it's better to keep the head of Guizhou well fed and clothed, or to let the head of Guizhou go hungry?" Zhao Hao smiled meaningfully.
“Needless to say, I’ll be well fed and clothed!”
Li Si's eyes widened, and then he said with emotion: "In such a prosperous age, even if I just take a look at it, I think it's worth it."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh: "But it's too difficult, it's impossible."
"hehe."
Zhao Hao smiled noncommittally, and then stared at Li Si with a burning gaze. Seeing that he was not showing off at all, he spoke eloquently:
"Li Tingwei was originally a minor official in the Chu State. When he entered the Qin Dynasty, he was full of enthusiasm. Unfortunately, he was not reused by Lu Buwei. He eventually compiled "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" for him. Later, he was appreciated by my father and became the long history of my father. , At that time, Li Tingwei, had he ever thought about today?"
"this"
Li Si hesitated, not knowing how to answer.
Zhao Hao ignored him and continued: "Later, Lu Buwei and my father had different political opinions and eventually parted ways. Did Li Tingwei ever think of replacing him?"
Li Si: "."
"Wars have raged in the seven kingdoms for hundreds of years. Everyone thought that the war would last for a long time or even never end. But my father, the emperor, fought for six generations and finally unified the six kingdoms. Isn't it something that no one before us could do?"
Li Si: "."
"Nothing is impossible in this world. As long as we follow the right path, success is inevitable. Even if our generation cannot do it, there will be the next generation and the next generation. As the saying goes, success does not have to be in me." !”
Li Si: "."
Zhao Hao: "."
The two looked at each other, both speechless.
After a while, Li Si suddenly stood up from his seat and murmured excitedly: "The success does not have to be on me. The success does not have to be on me. Well, the success does not have to be on me."
He had assisted the First Emperor in governing the country for many years, but he had never had such a clear goal.
Even though he proposed many national policies, even though he believed that he was as good as any famous historical minister, he still did not find his own way.
He was in step with the First Emperor on major policies and principles, and felt that the path chosen by the First Emperor was his own path.
But he forgot that the First Emperor was different from him. He simply couldn't do what the First Emperor could do.
Even if he had as much power as the First Emperor, he still couldn't do it.
This is the reason why when Qin II came to the throne, he still failed despite his overwhelming power.
To put it simply, he overestimated his abilities and had no goals of his own.
But now, the target appears.
"It doesn't matter if you can't do it yourself, just do as much as possible and move forward towards your goal."
Zhao Hao's words awakened Li Si, making him enlightened, with clear thoughts and an independent spirit.
"From now on, I, Li Si, will do what I want to do, and not even Your Majesty can affect my goal!"
Li Si's will is like a torch, gathering the scattered spirits bit by bit into a whole.
How did Zhao Gao deceive Li Si in the first place?
He told Li Si frankly that if Fusu ascends the throne, he will not reuse you, or even depose you as prime minister. The national policies you have worked so hard to formulate will be in vain, and the 'tyranny' of the First Emperor will be wiped out. Because of you, you will become a 'scapegoat' and be eliminated by Fusu in accordance with public opinion.
Every point pointed directly at Li Siben's heart, destroyed his will, caused his will to collapse, and was eventually used by Zhao Gao.
So, why did Li Si, who was well versed in political struggles, believe Zhao Gao's words? It was because his will was on the First Emperor.
He pinned all his hopes on the First Emperor. When the First Emperor died, his hope was gone.
And since he has no hope, his will is naturally not firm.
It is normal for Zhao Gao to take advantage of this situation.
But it was different now, he had gathered his will.
In the future, he will follow his own will. Even if the First Emperor dies, it will not have much impact on him.
When Zhao Hao saw this, he couldn't help but be a little stunned.
He didn't expect that his few words of emotion would elicit such a big reaction from Li Si.
"Do you believe me, Master?"
Li Si suddenly turned around and asked Zhao Hao seriously.
Zhao Hao suddenly fell silent.
How should he answer this?
He felt that it was not important whether he believed in Li Si or not. What was important was whether Li Si himself would really change?
As the saying goes, knowing people but not their hearts, he does not think that a few words of his own can completely change a famous historical official.
If a famous historical minister can be easily changed, he is not worthy of being a famous historical minister.
Although he didn’t know how true or false Li Si’s words were, Zhao Hao was too embarrassed not to cooperate when the atmosphere was high, so he smiled and said, “Of course I believe Li Tingwei!”
"Hahaha, good! I feel relieved that the young master trusts me!"
Li Si raised his head and laughed, then took three steps and two steps at a time, returned to the table, raised his glass and signaled to Zhao Hao: "Sir, please!"
After saying that, before Zhao Hao could raise his glass, he drank it in one gulp.
Zhao Hao had a smile on his face and wondered whether he was possessed by an evil spirit today or something, so he ran to Li Si's mansion to tell him these things.
It's fine now, I dug a hole and sold out the First Emperor's father.
It is never that easy to solve the problem of food and clothing. Under the conditions of later generations, it took many years of hard work to achieve it.
No, you can't take Li Si into the ditch, otherwise the First Emperor's father might get very angry with him.
After all, he is such a respected and capable minister of state affairs.
His mind was racing, Zhao Hao suddenly thought of another question, tilted his head and said, "I wonder what Li Tingwei can do to keep Guizhou fed and clothed?"
"Well"
Li Si was slightly startled when he heard Zhao Hao's words: "How?"
He really hadn't thought about this, and he didn't even have a way to do it. Wasn't his happiness in vain?
"What? Li Tingwei, you."
Zhao Hao blinked and looked at Li Si with a cute expression.
Li suddenly looked ashamed and said with a dry throat: "I haven't thought about this carefully yet."
"puff--"
Seeing his father make a fool of himself, Li Zhan, who had always been a transparent person, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Um?"
Li Si heard the laughter and followed the sound. His face darkened and he shouted angrily: "What are you laughing at?!"
"Ah I"
Li Zhan was startled and quickly explained: "I thought of something funny!"
"What's so funny?"
Li Si narrowed his eyes slightly and stared straight at Li Zhan.
Li Zhan swallowed subconsciously and was about to answer.
But he saw Li Si looking around, picking up a spoon for scooping wine, and walking towards him angrily.
"Father, spare my life."
Li Zhan quickly begged for mercy, and at the same time turned to look at Zhao Hao, with expectant eyes and a hint of pity.
Zhao Hao couldn't help but raise his hand to his forehead at this moment, feeling quite sympathetic.
At the beginning, this was how he faced the First Emperor's father.
"Li Tingwei, wait! I have an immature idea, maybe I can tell you!"
"Um?"
Li Si paused when he heard Zhao Hao's words, then put down his wine spoon and looked at Zhao Hao as if he was all ears.
At the same time, Li Zhan looked like he was surviving a disaster and let out a long sigh of relief.
But I heard Zhao Hao continue: "I looked at the history books and found that in a certain short period of time, the people could have enough food and clothing!"
"Oh? When?"
Li Si looked surprised and said thoughtfully: "I am not talented and have read many history books, but I have never seen such a grand scene."
He was not bragging. Being appointed by Lu Buwei as the editor-in-chief of "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" was based on being well-read.
Whenever Lu Buwei's disciples asked him for advice, they were impressed by his rich knowledge.
Even the First Emperor often asked him for advice.
"It's not that Li Tingwei hasn't seen it before, but he doesn't care about it. Just like the work-for-relief in "Yanzi Chunqiu", didn't Li Tingwei also think of it immediately?"
Zhao Hao laughed and teased Li Si, then sorted out his thoughts and continued: "Whether it is the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, or the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period when heroes competed for hegemony, there are times when Guizhou heads have enough food and clothing, such as every dynasty, every The Nation’s First Decades.”
"Um"
Li Si thought about it carefully and found that it was really the case. The people of every dynasty and every country at the beginning of their founding often had a better life. Take the Qin Dynasty as an example. Although it took a lot of manpower and material resources to unify the six countries, the days in Guizhou were not the same. Things were tough before.
There were fewer wars and fewer slave labor.
The land area has become larger. If Guizhou has enough land, it can grow a lot of food. With food, it will naturally be enough to eat. If you exchange food for money, you can also buy better clothes.
Qi, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, Han and other countries in history all had such times.
Otherwise, there would not be a situation like the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period.
"Young Master is right."
Li Si nodded in approval, and then sighed: "It's a pity that in the end, the country will decline and subjugate. Every dynasty and every country has powerful and powerful people in power in the later period. If the king is in power, how can the country not decline and subjugate?"
Your Majesty also hates the powerful and corrupt officials, so he enacted strict laws to restrain them. He even banned enfeoffment and adopted the system of counties and counties. This is all because of the lessons of history."
Hearing this, Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh, shook his head and said:
"Although my father's approach is correct, the demise of a country has little to do with the power of powerful men and the rule of weak kings."
"How can this be?"
Li Si looked at Zhao Hao in disbelief, and even felt that Zhao Hao's words were a bit counterintuitive.
Which country in history did not perish due to a cowardly king and treacherous ministers?
Not to mention the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, let’s talk about the six kingdoms that were just destroyed.
If their monarchs and ministers were wise, how could they be destroyed by the Qin Dynasty in just ten years?
You know, the conflict between the Seven Kingdoms lasted for hundreds of years.
It took hundreds of years for the country to not be destroyed, but it happened that it was destroyed within ten years of the First Emperor's dynasty?
Is this all the work of the First Emperor alone?
impossible!
Think about Guo Kai of Zhao State and King Zhao Youmiao?
Think about Qi Wangjian of Qi State, Yan Wangxi of Yan State, Prince Dan, etc. Which of them is not Qin's "friendly army" in destroying the six countries?
Seeing that Li Si seemed unconvinced, Zhao Hao stopped covering up and said directly:
"I think what really kills a country is its land!"
"land?"
Li Si's expression changed.
This was another key that he didn't expect.
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(End of chapter)
