Xiang Shaolong said: "I will set up a big pot here and boil the oil. Your Majesty will ask them to come and put their hands in it."
The First Emperor also let Xiang Shaolong say that he was doubtful. He was afraid of being cheated. It didn't matter if he defrauded some money. The main reason was that his dream had collapsed. There were not many things worthy of the First Emperor's pursuit now.
The First Emperor ordered people to set up the oil pan and summoned the two alchemists.
The oil has boiled and people have arrived.
The First Emperor first introduced them and said to Xiang Shaolong: "These two are the immortal leaders I call the seekable immortals. This is Hou Sheng and this is Lu Sheng."
He then introduced Xiang Shaolong to these two people and said, "This is my Highness, King Jin of Qin Dynasty, Xiang Shaolong."
When Xiang Shaolong heard this, he realized that without Xu Fu, the most famous alchemist should be Xu Fu. Maybe he had not left the mountain yet.
Xiang Shaolong cupped his fists and said, "You two immortals are so polite. I just heard your majesty mention the magical powers of the two immortals. I was very surprised. I want to see it with my own eyes. I hope the two immortals don't blame me for being presumptuous." Point to the oil pan.
A look of panic suddenly appeared on the faces of these two men. Although it disappeared briefly, they were still discovered by the First Emperor.
From the moment they appeared, the First Emperor had been staring at them. It could be said that the First Emperor was also very nervous, fearing that his dream of immortality would be shattered.
The two of them calmed down instantly. Lu Sheng opened his mouth and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, King Jin, doesn't trust us? Your Majesty wants to seek immortality, but he doesn't trust us in his heart. How can he live forever if his heart is not sincere?" He looked sanctimonious and worldly. Human appearance.
Xiang Shaolong said: "Two Immortals, please don't misunderstand me. I have traveled all over the country for many years and have never seen such supernatural powers. I cannot help but feel regretful that I cannot see it with my own eyes. I ask you two Immortals to grant this little wish of mine."
Lu Sheng said to the First Emperor: "Your Majesty doesn't trust us, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve immortality!"
The First Emperor had always been respectful to them, and he wanted to intimidate the First Emperor with his greed for immortality.
However, the First Emperor was a suspicious person to begin with. Seeing that they were trying to evade, his suspicions became even more intense and he began to feel irritable. In the past, if there was no doubt about him, they would be very respectful and give them whatever they asked for. But now that they have doubts, he is already overbearing and impatient. He is also eager to know whether they have magical powers.
The First Emperor said in a deep voice: "I ask the two immortals not to refuse. Please show it to me again today." There was already a lack of respect in his tone.
Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng looked at each other, fearful in their hearts, not knowing how the day would end.
Lu Sheng said: "Mystical powers cannot be displayed casually and require a lot of preparation."
The First Emperor said: "Okay, you start preparing now, I will be waiting here."
Seeing that it was difficult to escape today, Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng became increasingly panicked and looked at each other.
Xiang Shaolong smiled slightly, without urging, and ordered someone to bring a large piece of raw meat, and suddenly threw it into the boiling oil pan. Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng were shocked by the sound of "sizzling", and they immediately smelled something. The smell of meat makes her look even more frightened.
The First Emperor's heart felt cold, and his last hope was shattered. His face was as dark as water, and he stared at the two men fiercely.
Their legs went weak, they fell to the ground in panic, and begged: "Your Majesty, please spare my life!".
The First Emperor was more disappointed in his heart, and shouted angrily: "Come here, drag these two liars down, the car will break!"
This roar was filled with the disappointment of shattered dreams and the anger of losing face.
Xiang Shaolong couldn't say any more sarcastic words. He felt a little bit regretful that he had pierced the First Emperor's illusions and indeed ruined the First Emperor's happiness.
Fortunately, the relationship between the two was unusual. It was not difficult for the First Emperor to accept being deceived in front of Xiang Shaolong, but he was still very angry in his heart.
After a while, the First Emperor said dejectedly: "I forgot to ask just now. I wonder how they put their hands into the boiling hot oil."
Xiang Shaolong said: "Although I don't know how they did it specifically, it should be that other substances that are insoluble in the oil and have a lower boiling temperature are put in the oil, so this substance actually boils at a lower temperature. It started to boil, and we thought it was oil boiling."
The First Emperor said angrily: "These magicians are so abominable, I will issue an order to kill them all."
Xiang Shaolong quickly stopped him and said: "Your Majesty, no! Kill these two people because they deceived the emperor and deserved their punishment. The others are not guilty."
The First Emperor asked: "Is the liar still innocent?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "Of course you are guilty of cheating, but the crime does not lead to death. We, the Qin Dynasty, rule the country by law, and people must first commit a crime before they can be punished."
The First Emperor asked: "Is there nothing I can do to them?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "These two liars who deceive the emperor have been ripped apart by your majesty. How can we say that there is nothing we can do. In fact, these alchemists were born out of Yin Yang, Five Elements and Huang Lao's theory, and they are indeed pursuing immortality. They are trying to refine elixirs and eat them If you use it, you can live forever. During the process of alchemy, through experiments, they discovered some properties of substances and the reactions they produced. They summarized their experiences and kept it secret because others did not understand the mysteries. Some alchemists with evil intentions used these to defraud people. Money. Their tricks are actually the same as my wine-making process and paper-making technology. I can sell the wine I make at a high price because others don’t know my technical secrets. Once I disclose my wine-making process, everyone will I can brew my own wine. But I won’t describe these techniques that I can do but others can’t as supernatural phenomena.”
The First Emperor was still a little grudge, and it was hard to calm down his anger without killing some people.
Seeing that the First Emperor was still murderous, Xiang Shaolong continued to persuade: "These people are not useless. If their discoveries are formed into a system and studied carefully, they can be developed into a separate discipline, at least in medicine. They have made some contributions. But they They just like to use this knowledge to show off and deceive. In fact, nothing can surpass nature. We look incredible because we don’t understand nature enough, and their methods are the process of us humans understanding nature.”
The First Emperor said, "They concealed these discoveries with bad intentions. Doesn't this also punish them?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "How can this be punished? Then wouldn't I be guilty if I didn't disclose my wine-making and paper-making skills? These are just so-called unique skills or special skills. We can't legislate people with special skills. Guilty. Both legislation and law enforcement have a certain lag. But since we insist on ruling the country by law, we must act in strict accordance with the law. Their crime is cheating, not their discoveries. As long as they don't cheat, Just not guilty.”
The First Emperor was convinced by Xiang Shaolong, but he was still a little unhappy and asked, "Is there any way to cure them?"
Xiang Shaolong asked: "How does Your Majesty want to deal with them?"
The First Emperor said: "Just so that they can't deceive people."
Xiang Shaolong thought to himself: "Scammers are an ancient industry, and they are advancing with the times. Even in the 21st century, there are still many, and it is impossible to eliminate them. People will be fooled, and deception is secondary, mainly because of greed. But I can take this opportunity to do something.”
Xiang Shaolong said: "There are some methods you can try. First of all, we need to open up the people's wisdom. If the people can master this knowledge, they will naturally not be able to cheat."
The First Emperor said: "Even I don't understand this, how can the common people understand it?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "There are no special skills that must not be passed on to others. Since they have mastered this knowledge, Your Majesty can let them make it public, but of course it cannot be forced. The so-called special skills are just a means of making a living. There is always something worth exchanging for them." No matter how precious something is, it has its value.”
The First Emperor asked: "Do I still want to reward them?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "If His Majesty doesn't want to reward them, that's fine. We can invest in the state and set up our own research institute to study these scientific issues, produce results, and then announce them to the world. But this requires popularizing education so that everyone can read. Literacy. We now have papermaking and printing, so it’s technically possible.”
The First Emperor hesitated and asked: "If the common people are literate, it will offend the interests of the nobles. Wouldn't society be in chaos?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "It is to limit the power of the nobles. If the disciples from poor families can really read well, we can provide them with a path to promotion, which can also break the shortcomings of the aristocratic family's monopoly on government affairs. The three great lords of the Chu State: Qu, Jing, and Zhao The aristocratic family controls the government, which has led to talents like Li Si coming to our Great Qin. Now even the royal family cannot be enfeoffed and their power must be restricted. However, because of their monopoly of knowledge, these nobles can spread throughout the court and influence the government. Your Majesty is the most powerful in the world. Although the royal family is not necessarily the most powerful family in the world."
The First Emperor was startled and asked: "I remember when the little princess of Chu came to marry, you were most afraid of the royal family. Why are you afraid of these nobles now?"
Xiang Shaolong said: "I was not afraid of the royal family back then, but I judged their position based on their status. As for the hostile relationship at that time, the royal family was a mortal enemy, but their nobles were a force that could be united. This also shows that , even if the dynasty changes, the interests of the nobles have not been greatly affected. Look at the fortunes of the royal families in various countries now, and then look at the fortunes of those nobles. They are still big families that monopolize knowledge. Even when the royal family is weak, these nobles themselves You can ascend the throne, Tian Chen Dai Qi is the best example."
The First Emperor had never thought of this before, and was shocked. Due to Xiang Shaolong's influence, the First Emperor has always been concerned about people's livelihood, preventing civil unrest, and at the same time preventing the restoration of the royal family. He has always ignored these aristocratic families. He did not expect that the harm of the aristocratic families would be so great, and asked: "Then what should I do? Are we going to eradicate these aristocratic families directly?”
Xiang Shaolong said: "Violent eradication will cause chaos in the world, and they monopolize knowledge. If they are eradicated, who will be the official?"
