Diqin Designer

Chapter 437 Fusu Knows History (Continued)

Hu Hai ascended the throne with a forged edict, making his accession illegitimate. He feared that his other brothers would threaten his imperial position, so it was understandable that he conspired with Zhao Gao to harm his other brothers. But why did he not even spare his sisters?

Those sisters, being women, posed no threat to Hu Hai's throne. Yet, those two scoundrels, Hu Hai and Zhao Gao, still targeted them, and even used the cruel punishment of "dismemberment"!

Another important reason why Fusu turned pale was that Huhai could even harm his sisters who posed no threat to his throne, so how could his wives and daughters possibly fare well?
He was bound to be among those killed, and likely to suffer a worse fate than his brothers and sisters. He and Zhao Gao were mortal enemies, and how could Zhao Gao not seek revenge once he gained power?

The thought of Xi Man being humiliated and Qi Le being harmed after his suicide made Fu Su tremble, not from fear, but from anger!

He was not only angry at scoundrels like Huhai, Zhao Gao, and Li Si for their outrageous behavior, but also at the incompetence of Fusu in the secret document, who allowed his wife and daughters to be harmed. If he could stand in front of Fusu, he would definitely slap him a few times and kick him a few times: You coward, you died so easily, but do you know how much trouble you have left behind?

It was because you committed suicide that Meng Tian followed suit, allowing Hu Hai, Zhao Gao, Li Si, and others to act without restraint. They harmed not only their wives and daughters, but also their younger brothers and sisters, and even the Qin Dynasty. Why wasn't it you who was executed by dismemberment?
Based on his understanding of himself, Fusu pondered the matter and realized that if it were his former self, the things recorded in the secret scroll might indeed have happened.

Thinking of this, Fusu raised his right hand and slapped himself hard several times. The burning pain on his face made him even more clear-headed.

After drawing his own blood, Fusu continued reading the records on the secret scroll. After eliminating what they perceived as threats, Huhai and Zhao Gao, those two scoundrels, began to let loose and act completely recklessly. Zhao Gao called a deer a horse, and Huhai made the already harsh Qin laws even more cruel.

The Qin Dynasty, already riddled with deep-seated problems, was rapidly marched down the road to ruin under the "fast pace" of these people. Finally, some people could no longer bear it and rose up in rebellion, which was followed by a massive nationwide uprising. The Qin Dynasty was powerless to reverse its fate.

Seeing that Huhai was killed by Zhao Gao, and Zhao Gao was then executed by Ziying, Fusu was not satisfied. He felt that these two scoundrels had died too easily and should be subjected to cruel punishments so that they could also experience the cruelty of dismemberment.

When Fusu saw Prince Ziying of Qin, with a rope around his neck, riding a white horse in a plain carriage, surrendering to Liu Ji, the Duke of Pei, with the imperial seal and insignia, he felt a sense of sorrow. The once mighty Qin had fallen to such a state. But when he then saw Xiang Yu enter Xianyang, kill Ziying and the Qin princes and their clansmen, massacre the city, and burn down the palaces, Fusu felt a surge of anger. Xiang Yu was truly hateful and deserved to die!

Although the State of Chu was destroyed by the State of Qin, the State of Qin did not massacre or persecute the Xiang clan after the destruction of Chu. In fact, the State of Qin spared the Xiang clan. However, after the Xiang clan rose up, Xiang Ji slaughtered all the members of the Qin royal family.

Had I known this would happen, the Qin dynasty recorded in this secret scroll should have exterminated the Xiang clan beforehand, especially Xiang Ji, who must have been killed!
The account in the secret scroll ends with Xiang Ji's massacre of Xianyang, because the royal family was almost wiped out, and the Qin Dynasty was completely out of the picture. What happened after that was no longer relevant to the Qin Dynasty.

Even after the secret scroll was finished, Fusu did not put it down. He continued to read it carefully, and only put it down after reading it many times.

If the account in this secret scroll is true, then many questions he couldn't understand before will now be answered: the reason why his father suddenly came to see him, why he seemingly punished Huhai for no reason, and why he no longer trusted and valued Li Si and Zhao Gao, was all because his father knew about this history.

His father made a bet with him, sending him to that godforsaken place to train him, in order to change his temperament and prevent him from becoming like the character described in the account. His father wanted to establish an heir, and he now understood that his father was worried that if an heir was not established in time, people like Huhai, Zhao Gao, and Li Si would take advantage of the situation, just like in the account.

No wonder the Emperor sent Meng Yi and Meng Tian to arrest the Xiang clan and execute them; it was because of this account. No wonder the Emperor treated Liu Ji so well; although Liu Ji raised the banner of rebellion against Qin, he did not massacre the Qin royal family when he entered Xianyang.

However, this account is clearly incomplete. There must have been more to come, such as the future of Liu Ji and Xiang Ji, and who ultimately gained the throne. Han Xin and Chen Ping must have also played significant roles later on.

Fusu had other questions. The records clearly revealed future events, so who told his father, and were these records true or false?

A name automatically surfaced in Fusu's mind: the person who told his father these things was most likely his good brother-in-law. There should be no one else besides his brother-in-law!

Come to think of it, that brother-in-law's origins are mysterious, and it is unknown exactly when he appeared in the palace. But it must have been because of his appearance in the palace that he informed the Emperor of these records, which caused the Emperor to change.

However, if his conjecture is true, wouldn't that brother-in-law truly know five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future?

Thinking of this, Fusu became even more curious about Li Nian's origins. Could this brother-in-law really be a sage sent down from heaven to Qin?

He didn't even consider the possibility that Li Nian was a visitor from later times; the idea simply didn't come to mind.

Seeing that Fusu had finished reading and put down the scroll, the First Emperor asked, "Have you finished reading?"

Fusu said, "Your subject has finished reading!"

The First Emperor then asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Fusu asked, "Your Majesty, are these things true?"

The First Emperor said, "If we were unaware, then it is true; if we already know, then we will not do it. Everything has changed, and there will be no more recorded events!"

Many people and things have changed. The Qin Dynasty will no longer follow the path described in the records, and everything described in the records will not happen, so it is naturally untrue.

Fusu took a deep breath, stood up, bowed to the First Emperor, and said, "Your subject now understands Your Majesty's good intentions!"

The First Emperor glanced at Fusu and asked, "Do you have any questions about my handling of Huhai?"

Fusu paused for a moment, then replied, "No!"

The Emperor had two options for dealing with Hu Hai: either secretly imprison him so that he would never have the chance to write the events described in the records, or execute him to end the matter once and for all.

Although he did not know which method his father had used, Fusu did not intend to ask, and simply pretended that Prince Huhai of Qin had never existed.

Although Hu Hai was once his beloved younger brother, this affection and brotherly bond quickly faded after seeing the events described in the records, especially after the First Emperor confirmed that these records were true.

Yes, Hu Hai was still young and had not yet become the Qin Er Shi of historical records, who slaughtered his brothers and sisters. But Fusu did not want to gamble on that possibility, and among those killed by Hu Hai and Zhao Gao would certainly be his wife, daughters, and concubines. He really did not want to think about his daughter, who was only a few years old at the time, being dismembered alive in the future, and the bloody scene of her being tortured, perhaps calling his name in pain and begging him for help, or perhaps loudly cursing him as a coward who could not even protect his wife and daughter.

Even though Hu Hai was his younger brother, it would be better for him to disappear. No matter how he disappeared, a Hu Hai who disappeared would be a good Hu Hai.

The First Emperor was quite satisfied with Fusu's answer. If Fusu had pleaded for Huhai or felt that making Huhai disappear was too much, he would have immediately rejected the idea of ​​making Fusu the crown prince.

The First Emperor then asked, "So, what do you think caused the Qin Dynasty, as described in this account, to perish?"

His father had asked him this question two years ago, and he had even submitted a memorial to the emperor. But now, when his father asked him the same question again, Fusu had a different opinion than before.

Now that he has learned of the records in the secret scroll, Fusu knows that the changes in the Qin Dynasty in the past two years were actually made intentionally by his father to save the Qin Dynasty. In other words, these changes were made in response to the problems that led to the Qin Dynasty's demise as recorded in the scroll.

Fusu did not answer immediately. This was clearly not a simple question. He recalled the changes in the Qin Dynasty over the past two years, as well as what he knew and heard, analyzing and reasoning through the information in his mind.

The First Emperor was not in a hurry and patiently waited for Fusu to think it over. After a while, Fusu finally spoke: "Your Majesty, I believe the reasons for the downfall of the Qin Dynasty as recorded in the annals are as follows: First, the laws were too harsh. When the emperor mentioned in the annals was alive, the laws were already quite strict. After that emperor passed away and Huhai ascended the throne, the laws became even harsher, making it unbearable for the people of the land."

"Secondly, the nobles of the six states, whose states were destroyed because of Qin, harbor deep hatred for Qin and constantly dream of destroying Qin and restoring their states. If given the opportunity, they will surely rebel."

"Thirdly, Hu Hai, Zhao Gao and others acted recklessly. They not only killed members of the imperial family, but also persecuted loyal officials. With the court unstable, how could the local areas be governed well? Moreover, the turmoil in the court would affect the local areas, making it difficult for all parts of the country to be at peace."

"The four..."

At this point, Fusu paused. What he was about to say might anger his father, but he chose to continue: "The fourth point concerns Father. It was because the father mentioned in the records did not establish an heir in time that Huhai, Zhao Gao, Li Si, and others were given an opportunity. If that father had designated an heir earlier, and the whole world knew, how could Huhai, Zhao Gao, and others have had the chance?"

Upon hearing these "four," the First Emperor did not become angry. Instead, he calmly asked, "Then who do you think the 'I' mentioned in the records could appoint? You, Gao, or Jiang Lü? If you were appointed, would you be able to hold onto the position of Crown Prince and protect the Qin Dynasty?"

These three questions left Fusu speechless. Looking at his brothers, including himself, none of them seemed to be very capable. From his father's perspective, it was indeed difficult to choose one of them.

Moreover, even if his father had designated him as the crown prince in advance, given his previous personality, when Hu Hai, Zhao Gao, and others sent people to deliver a false edict to force him to commit suicide, would he have chosen not to obey the edict?
Given his previous folly, he would probably still obey the imperial edict and simply slit his own throat, allowing Hu Hai, Zhao Gao, and others to succeed in their plan.

Even if Hu Hai, Zhao Gao, and others did not issue a false edict, or even if he committed suicide upon receiving the edict and became the successor to the throne, could he really have defended the Qin Dynasty?

Fusu pondered deeply and came to a conclusion: he probably couldn't protect the Qin Dynasty. He could only patch things up and make minor repairs to prolong its existence, but he could hardly reverse its fate of destruction.

The Qin Dynasty was riddled with deep-seated problems. Although he had some prestige among the people and was praised for his fortitude, bravery, trustworthiness, and foresight, these praises could not change the deep-seated problems of the Qin Dynasty.

Fusu said frankly, "If the emperor in the records had made me the crown prince, I fear I would not have been able to hold onto the position! It is our incompetence that has put the emperor in such a difficult position. It is our fault!"

The First Emperor said, "It's good that you know this. If you were all capable, why would I need to worry about you so much? But unfortunately, none of you are capable! However..."

The First Emperor then changed the subject: "This cannot be entirely blamed on you. I also bear some responsibility. I failed to teach you properly, which is why you have not become capable and useful."

The First Emperor also knew that there were problems with his sons' education. Otherwise, how could there not be any capable sons among so many? Even Fusu, who was known for his virtue among the common people, was just the tallest among the short and not capable of shouldering great responsibilities.

After saying this, the First Emperor asked, "Is there any other reason for the downfall of the Qin Dynasty?"

Fusu then continued, “Fifthly, the Great Qin is too hasty and has not considered all aspects. The prefecture-county system is good, but it requires a great many officials. However, the Great Qin has just unified the world. Where will it find so many officials? If the prefecture-county system is implemented hastily, it will only make the prefectures and counties empty names without any real power.”

This was something Fusu thought of when he combined the Qin policy of "making Qin soldiers into officials", the Xianyang examination, and enfeoffing his brothers as kings in various places. The former two were obviously to solve the problem of lack of officials when implementing the prefecture-county system, while the latter was to create a transitional period for the Qin Dynasty.

"Moreover, the conditions in different parts of the world are different, and governance should be tailored to the specific circumstances of each region. However, the records show that the Great Qin was eager to unify the policies of different regions. Although the idea was good, it was difficult to achieve."

"These five factors are what I believe are the reasons for the downfall of the Great Qin!"

After listening, the First Emperor said, "You have indeed made great progress in recognizing these five points. Go back and think about them in detail. Not only should you consider the causes of these problems, but you should also think about how to solve them. Once you have thought them through, submit them to me in writing!"

After assigning Fusu a task, the First Emperor continued, "How do you think Zhao Gao and Li Si should be punished? Some people believe that Li Si was forced by Zhao Gao and Huhai to participate in their conspiracy. What are your thoughts?"

"This doesn't require much thought," Fusu replied. "In that record, Li Si was the prime minister, holding a very high position. If he himself was unwilling to conspire with Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, how could the two have forced Li Si? If he truly was unwilling to conspire with Zhao and Hu, not to mention anything else, even if he revealed Zhao Gao and Hu Hai's forged edict, things would be different."

"Li Si was nothing more than blinded by power, believing that conspiring with Hu Hai would be more in his interest. I previously disliked Legalism, and Li Si must have thought that if I succeeded to the throne, it would cause him to lose power. Li Si was unwilling to accept this, so he naturally conspired with Zhao and Hu."

"Although Li Si is deeply obsessed with power, he is better than Zhao Gao. He does not want to weaken the Qin Dynasty; on the contrary, he still wants to serve the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, I believe that he should be treated differently when being punished!"

"Zhao Gao should be executed by dismemberment and his entire clan exterminated. Li Si's family may be spared, but Li Si himself must die. The favors bestowed upon Li Si's family should be gradually withdrawn. However, before punishing them, we must allow Zhao Gao and Li Si to make the best use of their talents and resources!"

Fusu's eyes flashed with anger. According to the records in that secret scroll, Zhao Gao and Li Si were his enemies. In Fusu's eyes, they should both be killed, and at most, Li Si's entire clan should be spared!

This is also how the First Emperor is currently dealing with Li Si and Zhao Gao: not taking their lives for the time being in order to squeeze out their remaining value. When they lose their value one day, they will be purged.

(End of this chapter)