Diqin Designer

Chapter 433 Your subject wishes to recommend himself to Your Majesty as the Crown Prince of Qin!
When Li Nian talked about the rule of law and the rule of virtue, he didn't mention things like "there are laws to follow, laws must be followed, and violations must be investigated" or "princes are subject to the same laws as commoners," because saying these things would be useless and would only offend people.

This is something that cannot be fully achieved even in modern times, let alone in this era. Even if the First Emperor has changed and is different from the one in history, to expect him to abide by the law like ordinary people and be punished equally for breaking the law is wishful thinking!

After Fusu bowed to Li Nian to express his gratitude, before Li Nian could return the bow, a strong male voice came from outside the garden, praising, "Well said!"

Upon hearing the male voice, everyone in the garden immediately stood up and respectfully looked towards the garden gate. There, under the protection of several imperial guards, the First Emperor strode into the garden.

Everyone bowed to the First Emperor, saying, "Your subjects greet Father (Your Majesty)!"

Following the First Emperor was a group of imperial concubines, but no other ministers, because this was a family banquet hosted by the First Emperor, and only his children, concubines, and his prospective son-in-law, Li Nian, were present.

In fact, when Fusu was having his questioning with Li Nian, the First Emperor had already arrived nearby. He happened to hear Li Nian talking to Fusu about morality and law, so he stopped the people who were going to inform him and asked everyone else to keep quiet and listen from outside.

He wanted to know how Li Nian would speak to Fusu, and also how Fusu would react after hearing Li Nian's words.

Although he currently leans towards making Fusu the Crown Prince of Qin, he shares the same concern as Li Nian: that Fusu's change of heart is not permanent but temporary, and that Fusu still harbors deep resentment towards him.

If he had made Fusu the crown prince, and then Fusu had ascended the throne after his death, and then used the same old methods on the Qin Dynasty, even after he died, his blood pressure would have soared: "Hey, Dad, I was just kidding you. I didn't actually change. I just wanted to wait until you died before I used them!"

However, the First Emperor was quite satisfied with Fusu's reaction this time, feeling that Fusu had indeed made progress after being sent to a local area.

"Let's all get flat!"

As everyone rose to express their gratitude, the First Emperor looked at Fusu and said, "In governing a country, morality and law are both indispensable, but you must remember to prioritize law and use morality as a supplement. Do not confuse the primary and secondary aspects, otherwise it will harm the country. Do not think that morality is better and therefore assume that morality should be the primary principle!"

The last sentence is clearly a reference to Fusu.

After pointing to Fusu, the First Emperor said, "As for the difference between morality and law, Li Nian has already explained it to you clearly, so I will not say more about it here."

The young masters responded in unison, "We will obey our father's teachings!"

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor nodded and said, "Please take your seats. This is a family banquet, so there's no need to be so formal."

After the First Emperor and his consorts were all seated, everyone who was supposed to be there should have been, but Fusu keenly noticed that Huhai was still nowhere to be seen.

Fusu was even more puzzled: This shouldn't be the case. Today is a family banquet specially prepared by the Emperor. Huhai shouldn't have been left out!

Moreover, Hu Hai was the youngest among his brothers and was greatly favored by his father, so it was impossible for his father to have forgotten him.

Just as Fusu thought of "Huhai being favored by his father", he remembered something else. It seemed that Huhai had been severely punished by his father for some reason and was no longer as favored as before.

However, Fusu still doesn't know why Huhai was punished. In any case, the reasons given by his father for the punishment seem a bit bizarre to Fusu, as if he deliberately found a fault to punish Huhai.

But while punishment is necessary, surely it's not enough to prevent Hu Hai from attending family banquets. He hadn't heard that Hu Hai had committed any heinous crimes!

If it were the old Fusu, he would have already stood up and asked the First Emperor why Huhai was not there. However, the current Fusu is more adaptable than before. Since his father did not allow Huhai to appear, there must be a reason. If his father wanted him to know, he would let him know, instead of him being clever and asking.

Often, what one thinks is good may not actually be good, just like the advice he once wrote to his father that he thought was beneficial to the Qin Dynasty.

When the First Emperor saw that Fusu did not jump out to ask where Huhai had gone, he nodded in satisfaction. Fusu had grown up and was able to be patient and restrain himself to think about the reasons behind things, unlike before when he would rush out after making some assumptions without thinking things through.

This is the demeanor a crown prince should have; only by entrusting the empire to him can he possibly shoulder the responsibility!

Even if his eldest son hadn't gone through the historical events of Hu Hai, Li Si, and Zhao Gao altering the imperial edict and had successfully inherited the throne, the First Emperor didn't believe he could lead the Qin Dynasty to a better and stronger state. At most, he could extend the Qin Dynasty's lifespan for a while longer, but not for very long.

The First Emperor believed that Fusu's temperament was not enough to control the former nobles of the six states, and at most, the rebellion of the former nobles of the six states would come later than when Huhai ascended the throne.

Even when he was alive, he was not able to control the former nobles of the six states. The fact that Zhang Liang dared to assassinate him, that Xiang Ji dared to say "he can be replaced", and that the Xiang clan dared to recruit retainers, forge weapons, and train soldiers is proof of this.

While he was alive, the former nobles of the six kingdoms were all like this. But after he died and Fusu took his place, how could the nobles of the six kingdoms abandon their rebellious intentions and obediently become good citizens of the empire? On what grounds? On what grounds that Fusu was benevolent?

In any case, the First Emperor did not believe the nonsense that if Fusu had ascended the throne instead of Huhai, the Qin Dynasty could have continued.

The Qin Dynasty had too many problems, and no one but the First Emperor, who unified the world, could change them, not even Fusu. Moreover, the main conflict between the nobles of the six states and the Qin Dynasty was that when the Qin Dynasty unified the world, it destroyed their states, causing them to lose their former power and status.

To resolve this conflict, the Qin Dynasty would have to restore their former power and status. But if the Qin Dynasty did that, then why did it unify the world in the first place?

If this is not done, the conflict cannot be resolved, the hatred of the former nobles of the six states towards Qin will not disappear, and they will surely rebel. Regardless of whether Huhai or Fusu sits on the throne, this grudge can only be resolved when one side is destroyed.

In the history Li Nian described, the result was the collapse of the Qin Dynasty and the resolution of grudges. In today's world, the resolution is achieved through the destruction of the former nobles of the six states.

The Han Dynasty did indeed benefit from the advantages of the Qin Dynasty. As the forerunner, the Qin Dynasty absorbed the hatred of the former nobles of the six states, leaving them with almost no hatred towards the Han Dynasty. They found it difficult to accept the forerunner Qin, but they could accept the successor Han.

The original Fusu could not handle the original Qin Dynasty, let alone the current Qin Dynasty. The current Qin Dynasty has eliminated some of its ills and is developing in a positive direction, but it also faces many unprecedented problems. Given Fusu's original temperament, it would be difficult for him to handle them! Fusu must adapt to the changes in Qin Dynasty and change himself accordingly in order to become a suitable crown prince of Qin Dynasty. After all, even he is changing because of Qin Dynasty.

But Fusu wisely didn't ask where Huhai had gone. However, someone else did. Most of the First Emperor's sons were of mediocre talent, and one of them asked the First Emperor, "Father, where has Huhai gone? Why haven't we seen him?"

When the First Emperor looked at the prince who had asked the question, he was not disappointed. He already knew that most of his sons were of average ability. So many people faced the executioner's blade of Hu Hai and Zhao Gao, and not only did they not rebel, but none of them even did what Prince Gao did.

If it were him, even if the resistance failed, he would never have done nothing under the executioner's blade of Hu Hai and Zhao Gao. Either way, he would die, so why not take a chance?
The First Emperor also knew that his sons were not very capable, and there was a reason for that: he had not given them proper guidance and education. Even his eldest son, Fusu, was spoiled, let alone his other sons, with Huhai being an exception!
Hu Hai was his favorite son and was often by his side. Logically, he should have been better at studying than his other sons except Fusu, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be even more crooked.

Of course, there was one thing the First Emperor knew but didn't want to think about: perhaps it was because he favored Hu Hai and kept him by his side that Hu Hai learned his cruelty, ruthlessness, and cunning.

If this were true, wouldn't it mean that he was also a cruel, ruthless, cunning, and treacherous person?
Even if it were true, the First Emperor would not openly admit it!

The First Emperor calmly said, "Hu Hai has made some mistakes and is currently reflecting on them behind closed doors!"

After the First Emperor said that Huhai was "reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors," no one else asked any further questions. Asking once was enough; asking any more might anger their father. They were not like their elder brother Fusu, who knew he would anger their father and still went against him.

They also noticed something amiss: the elder brother, Fusu, who was always kind and doted on his younger brother Huhai, did not step forward to ask where Huhai had gone.

Even their elder brother Fusu didn't ask, yet they kept asking. Wouldn't that just bring trouble upon themselves?
This made the young masters sigh inwardly, realizing that their brother Fusu had indeed changed a lot, and was quite different from the Fusu they knew before.

This was a family banquet, which should have been a harmonious and lively occasion, but because the First Emperor was present, no one dared to make a fuss. With the emperor in front of them, who would dare to be presumptuous?

The First Emperor didn't arrange any entertainment, and the banquet ended uneventfully. At this point, the First Emperor said, "Fusu and Li Nian, you two come with me!"

Amidst the envious gazes of many young nobles, Fusu and Li Nian followed the First Emperor out of the garden. The First Emperor walked in front, and the two followed behind. The First Emperor remained silent, and the two remained silent as well.

After walking a considerable distance, the First Emperor said, "Do you two know why I asked you to come out with me?"

Fusu tried to guess what his father wanted them to do, but couldn't figure out. He thought it might be too much. Li Nian, on the other hand, had guessed a little.

Fusu honestly replied, "Your Majesty, I do not know!"

The First Emperor continued walking forward, and without waiting for Li Nian's reply, he said, "I am considering the matter of establishing an heir. The Qin Dynasty has been established for nearly two years, and if you include the time when I was King of Qin, it has been several decades, yet the Qin Dynasty still has no crown prince. My ministers have repeatedly advised me that the country is unstable without a crown prince! I wholeheartedly agree!"

Li Nian thought to himself, "As expected!" However, he was unconvinced by the First Emperor's explanation for wanting to establish an heir: the First Emperor did not want to establish an heir because of the advice of his ministers; rather, he was afraid that if he suddenly died one day, the events described by Li Nian would happen after listening to Li Nian's account of history.

He did not want the Qin Dynasty to perish because he had not chosen a good successor. Besides, Li Nian, a visitor from later generations, had already told him the history. If he let the Qin Dynasty follow the same path as in history, wouldn't that make him look incompetent?
This problem must be solved. The Qin Dynasty can perish, but it cannot perish under his rule, nor can it perish for this reason.

Li Nian guessed the purpose of the First Emperor summoning him and Fusu, and thus knew what the First Emperor was going to do next. He couldn't help but feel grateful to the First Emperor: the First Emperor was paving the way for him and Fusu.

After hearing the First Emperor's words, Fusu was slightly surprised at first, but quickly calmed down. After learning that all his brothers had returned to Xianyang, he knew that his father might be planning to establish an heir. And now that his father had said it directly in front of him and his brother-in-law Li Nian, it was very likely that his father wanted to establish him as the heir.

But the closer we get to this point, the less we should rush things and the more composed we should be. Everything is still unsettled, so we shouldn't be too excited or celebrate. Fusu was even more calm!
The First Emperor turned to look at the two men, and seeing that they were both calm and their breathing was not disordered, he asked again, "Li Nian, who do you think I should make as my heir?"

Upon hearing this question, Fusu also looked at Li Nian, curious about which of the young men his future brother-in-law would choose.

This prospective brother-in-law is highly regarded by the Emperor, and his words can have a significant impact on the Emperor. If the Emperor does not support him as the Crown Prince, the Emperor may waver in his decision to make him the Crown Prince.

Li Nian knew that the First Emperor had deliberately created an opportunity for him to speak in front of Fusu and support making Fusu the crown prince, so as to deepen Fusu's favor and ensure that he could get along well with Fusu even after the First Emperor's death.

Li Nian said solemnly, "I believe that Prince Fusu should be established as the crown prince. Prince Fusu is of excellent character and quite talented, making him the best choice for the crown prince of Qin! However..."

With a simple "However," Li Nian changed the subject, saying, "Please forgive my presumptuous opinion, Your Majesty and the young master. Prince Fusu still has many shortcomings and needs more experience. As the Crown Prince of Qin, he bears great responsibility and should be knowledgeable about all aspects of Qin in order to make Qin more prosperous and powerful!"

"Moreover, the Great Qin is currently undergoing an unprecedented transformation. As the Crown Prince of Great Qin, you must know and learn more, otherwise you will find it difficult to cope. You must not only be knowledgeable in politics, but also in military affairs, understand the ways of commerce and economics, and comprehend the principles of industrial development. You don't have to be an expert in everything, but you must be able to deceive others!"

In short, although Fusu has changed and is stronger than the historical Fusu, with his current abilities, he is still unable to keep up with the changes in the Qin Dynasty and needs to continue to make improvements and reforms.

The First Emperor did not comment on Li Nian's words, but instead asked Fusu, "Li Nian recommended you as the crown prince. What is your opinion?"

This was yet another trap set by the First Emperor for Fusu. If it were the old Fusu, he would have politely and humbly said, "I will leave it to Father Emperor to decide. No matter who you appoint, I will accept it!"

If Fusu were to give this answer now, he would have no chance of becoming the Crown Prince of Qin, even if he became exceptionally outstanding later; he would have already lost his opportunity.

If someone wants to become the crown prince of Qin but doesn't even believe in himself and doesn't dare to recommend himself, how can he govern Qin well and lead it to greater strength and prosperity?

Fusu first thanked Li Nian, saying, "Thank you, brother-in-law, for recommending me!" Then he turned to the First Emperor and said, "Your subject wishes to recommend myself to Your Majesty as the Crown Prince of Qin!"

(End of this chapter)