The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 260: Lüshi Chunqiu, Two Toads, Yingzi from Jixia, Qin Qi's Ingenious Plan

"What is this? Why is it hanging here?" A farmer dressed in coarse cloth relied on his strength to squeeze to the front row, staring at the cloth with burning eyes.

He looked around, hoping to find the wooden pillar that was worth fifty gold that he had heard from his elders since he was a child.

He didn't find it.

The farmer was a little discouraged. He looked up at the two rolls of cloth that had never appeared at the east gate, hoping for a lucky break.

[Perhaps the pillars have not been brought yet.]
He was illiterate and didn't know what was written on the cloth and the wooden sign.

He didn't know, but he was reluctant to leave and couldn't move his legs. He stood there waiting patiently for the adult in the fox fur coat under the cloth to explain.

Like most of the people in Xianyang waiting here.

The people of Xianyang have their own regrets - moving a tree to establish trust.

At that time, Shang Jun erected a three-meter-high pillar at the south gate of the market, promising that whoever could move it to the north gate of the market would be rewarded with ten gold coins.

The people don't believe it and no one moves.

Shang Junti rewarded him with fifty gold.

One man picked up the pillar and moved it to the north gate of the market.

Shang Junli offered a reward of fifty gold.

In the eyes of the top leaders, this act was Shang Yang establishing the credibility of the new law in the hearts of the people and winning the trust of the people with fifty gold.

But in the eyes of the people in Xianyang, what new law is it? That’s fifty gold!
Seeing that Shang Jun really gave a reward of fifty gold, all the people in Xianyang present regretted it.

Why didn't I go up and try? That's fifty gold coins! I can't grow that much even if I work hard for eight lifetimes!
The people of Xianyang, who missed the opportunity to get rich in one day, passed this story down forever.

From father to father, father to son, son to grandson...

Deep in the blood of Xianyang people, there has always been a point of waiting for the second move of trees to establish trust and become rich overnight.

When they learned that there was a book hanging at the East Gate, the point in the blood of the Xianyang people moved.

Farmers gave up their farm work, merchants gave up their business, weavers gave up weaving... everyone flocked to the east gate, hoping to fulfill the legendary "moving the tree to establish trust."

As the sun rose higher and higher, more and more people gathered, exceeding a thousand.

Under the silk book, Lu Buwei's retainer who had been dozing off yawned, stretched hard, and cried out in comfort.

The retainer was named Pengfei, a name given by Lü Buwei, and was one of the compilers of "Lüshi Chunqiu".

Pengfei glanced at the crowd and saw that most of them were farmers and merchants. A hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.

[What are these peasants and lowly merchants doing here? They have polluted the Lüshi Chunqiu!]
"Gentlemen!" Pengfei clasped his hands together and took the lead.

After attracting everyone's attention, he pointed to the cloths densely written with words on both sides of the city gate and shouted loudly:

"This is the great work written by the Prime Minister - Lüshi Chunqiu.

"This book is all-encompassing, divided into twelve volumes, 160 chapters, and more than 200,000 words.

“The book is divided into three parts: records, overviews, and theories—twelve records, eight overviews, and six theories.

"Prick up your ears and listen carefully."

Pengfei pointed at the large wooden sign on top of the city gate and said word by word:
"But anyone who can add, delete, or modify even one word will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"

Emphasize the tone:

“Over 200,000 words, as long as you can add, delete, or change one word!
"A thousand gold! It's yours!"

A meteorite fell into the sea, causing huge waves.

The crowd was boiling and the noise was deafening.

Fifty gold is already an invincible number, a thousand gold...

If I can really get it, I wouldn’t mind losing my life!
The eyes of the people are hotter than the sun in the sky and can drive away the winter.

They stared, and could only stare... they were illiterate.

What they waited for was twenty times more than what their ancestors had waited for, but the regrets they had were more than twenty times more than what their ancestors had waited for.

Their ancestors could still move the three-meter-high wooden pillar.

Today, these two thin silk books are hundreds and thousands of times heavier than that wooden pillar in their hearts, and they are illiterate and cannot even move it.

Every generation has its own regrets.

The regret of their ancestors was why they didn't go up and give it a try.

Their regret is, why can’t they learn to read?

There are 200,000 words. Isn't it easy to change one of them?
If you delete, add or modify any one of them, it will cost you a fortune!

One gold is equal to twenty-four taels of gold, and one tael of gold is equal to three hundred coins.

The real-time price of rice in Xianyang is 46 coins per stone.

One thousand gold coins equals... a lot of money! A lot of food! I can't use it all up in ten lifetimes!
A huge amount of money is right in front of you, but you can’t get it.

They were unwilling to give in, and asked Pengfei in unison:
"How many days will it take? Will it still take place tomorrow? Is it too late to learn calligraphy now?"

"Sir, if you teach me a few words, I will give you half of the thousand gold coins."

"If I carry these two pieces of cloth to the west gate, can you give me fifty gold coins? Can I also carry the big wooden sign with me?"

"..."

Pengfei put his hands in his sleeves, leaned back, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

[This is not prepared for you at all, what are you arguing about?]
The crowd of onlookers were mostly ordinary people, but not exclusively.

"Hanging a book at the East Gate, each word is worth a thousand gold, for the world to review." A scholar's eyes were dazzled and full of awe, "Prime Minister Qin's move is extraordinary!"

"If you add or delete a word, you will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins?" A middle-aged man who looked like a businessman narrowed his eyes, stared at the wooden sign, and muttered to himself, "This is not a small amount... What is Prime Minister Qin going to do? We must tell Dashu quickly."

"Lü Buwei has great power in the court, and this move is just to show off his power." An old man sneered, holding his head high, with the demeanor of Qu Yuan who is the only one sober while everyone else is drunk.

The old man's voice was loud, and instantly caused several people in the crowd to turn their heads.

The old man looked sideways alertly, lowered his head and disappeared into the crowd, his figure quickly disappeared.

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Lu Buwei sat upright in the main hall, reviewing memorials at his desk with a calm expression.

There were piles of bamboo slips on the ground, filling the entire floor.

There are several people standing among the bamboo slips.

They all looked respectful and were Lu Buwei's confidants.

"My lord, the letter has been hung on the city gate, and a wooden notice board has been hung together with the letter. Now everyone in Xianyang knows about it." Li Si bowed and reported, with a rare look of excitement on his naturally serious face.

The better the shelter, the better the mice live.

The greater the power of Lu Buwei, the greater the power of Li Si.

Lu Buwei nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the bamboo slips in front of him, and he wrote as he did so:

“Can anyone suggest a revision?”

Lao Ai opened his mouth wide and laughed unscrupulously:

“It’s just the farmers and untouchables who are talking about it.

"They compared Lüshi Chunqiu to Shang Yang's "Moving the Trees to Establish Trust". Many people even asked if they could be rewarded with 50 gold coins if they moved the book. It was ridiculous.

"Pengfei is so annoyed, hahahaha!"

The tip of the brush in Lu Buwei's hand paused slightly.

He talked to Lao Ai many times, explicitly or implicitly, about people's livelihood, people's hearts and opinions, but he could not change this barbarian who only knew how to train birds.

Lao Ai, who came from a humble and poor family, looked down on the common people even more than people like Gan Luo, who came from a noble family, and his contempt for the common people was even deeper in his bones.

This went against Lu Buwei's political views, which made him very unhappy.

Lao Ai was very good at observing women's words and expressions, and he was just as good when he set his sights on men.

When I saw my master's arm tighten, I knew I had said the wrong thing.

He did not try to remedy the situation, but said frankly:
"My lord, please don't be angry, this is just Wei's personality.

"My Lord, if you ask me to seduce any young girl or beautiful woman from ten to eighty years old, and I fail to seduce her within half a month, Lao Ai will have his penis cut off.

"You insist on asking Lao Ai to read Mencius and to sympathize with the farmers and merchants, but Lao Ai really can't do it!
"I was wandering outside Handan and nearly starved to death several times, but no untouchable gave me a bite of food.

"If the master had not given me a bowl of beans and rice, Wei would have died in the wild forest twenty miles away from Handan, eaten by wild beasts and turned into a pile of bones.

"We, the people of Zhao, repay kindness when we are kind and take revenge when we are vengeful." "My lord has given me a new life, and I will do whatever you ask me to do."

"The untouchables have hatred for me, so I cannot love them."

This barbarian, who was even more rude than the Hu people, laughed and patted his crotch and said:

"But I love their mothers, wives, and daughters very much, hahahahahaha!"

Lao Ai also tried to pretend to love the people in front of Lu Buwei, but his performance was never perfect.

He always has the mentality that he is superior to others, and often unconsciously shows contempt for others in his words and actions.

His good friend Zhao Di said that he was too shallow and if his disguise failed, he should not pretend, lest his master would be unhappy to see his inconsistency.

It’s better to relax and show your true self.

Although this would displease his lord, as long as Lao Ai was loyal, his lord would not fail to use him.

Although the lord has many followers, and there are countless talented and virtuous ones, there are only a handful of them who are loyal and dare to oppose the royal power.

Lao Ai believed it.

Lu Buwei snorted lightly and said nothing. He was too lazy to pay attention to this barbarian, but his anger had subsided.

"It's good that my lord is no longer angry." Lao Ai laughed and gave his good friend Zhao Di a look that said, "You are right, I will invite you to play with women some other day."

Zhao Di looked straight ahead and made no response.

Zhao Di is now nominally the second-in-command of the Supreme Court, but in reality he is already the top leader of the Supreme Court, and a leader who has the final say.

He, who has actual power up to the level of Nine Ministers, is not like Lao Ai, who only thinks about playing with women and can't even pretend to be one.

Seeing his master reading the bamboo slips without saying anything, Zhao Di knew that it was his turn to speak.

He took a step forward and said in a deep voice:
"The people who don't know the truth are in a frenzy, and those who can read dare not act rashly.

"If there are people who mention that the master is using books to gain power, the Imperial Court will also be keeping an eye on them and can arrest them and put them in jail at any time."

With a "click" sound, Lu Buwei threw his pen on the desk.

Lao Ai's mouth was still wide open, but his laughter had stopped, like a toad with its mouth wide open.

"Who gave you the power to monitor the people?" Lu Buwei had a blank expression on his face.

As the words fell, it seemed to shatter the four walls of the main hall, and everyone, including the bamboo slips, were exposed to the cold outdoors.

Zhao Di's forehead was covered with sweat. His usually smart mind was in a mess and he had trouble organizing his words.

The official who had the final say in the court of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court Justice, said in a stammering voice:
"This this……"

"The hidden palace maid was killed, and your court couldn't find the murderer. The people said a few words, and your court arrested and put him in jail." Lü Buwei's chest rose and fell like a bellows, and his voice was cold as ice: "You said Lao Ai didn't pretend, but you pretended more convincingly!"

With a plop, Zhao Di knelt on the ground, lowered his head and dared not speak.

With another "crash", several stacks of bamboo slips were knocked over.

The rest of the people dared not breathe a word.

In the room, one could clearly hear Lü Buwei's heavy breathing due to anger:
"Get out! Everyone, retreat! Let someone speak!"

"Yes!" Zhao Di responded and ran out as if he was running for his life.

After sitting down to calm down for a while, Lü Buwei picked up the brush again and said before he put pen to paper:

"Yao Jia."

The man with thick eyebrows like two ink stains bowed and replied:

"exist."

"Have you memorized Lüshi Chunqiu?"

"I've memorized it."

"If someone were to argue with you, would you be able to win?"

"can."

"What if this person is Lord Chang'an?"

Yao Jia frowned with a confident look on his face, and the two puddles of ink merged into one:
"Chang'an Jun debated with Gongsun Longzi, and although he was defeated, he still won honor. He gained the name of Yingzi through his study of form and name.

"Jia went to the Jixia Academy to listen to Ying Zi's lectures. Ying Zi was the only one who could make knowledge come alive.

"In a debate with Ying Zi, Jia can only say that he can give it a try, but the outcome is unknown."

Hearing this, Li Si couldn't help but glance at this unfamiliar colleague.

[The outcome is unknown???]
[Toad swallowing the sky, why are you so arrogant?]
Li Si's duty was to supervise water conservancy and he was often with Zheng State in Guanzhong and not often with Lu Buwei.

"Dun Ruo, what about you?" Lu Buwei asked without raising his head.

The fat man standing next to Yao Jia, who was a head shorter than Yao Jia, patted his stomach:
"The ink in my weak belly is enough to be called a son.

"The weak one is a son, and the weak one is also a son.

"Weakness knows Ying Zi, but Ying Zi does not know weakness.

"In debate, the weak can win."

Li Si turned his head back again, and a hint of sarcasm appeared on his serious face.

[Another toad comes.]
Qin Palace, Central Palace, Chengjiao Palace, Liyi Palace.

Weiyang Lord Qin Qi blocked the door and prevented Ying Chengjiao from leaving:
"You are not allowed to go. I have made arrangements."

Qin Qi was extremely reluctant to let Ying Chengjiao take the lead.

The fight between Lu Buwei and Ying Zheng was in full swing. If anything happened to Ying Zheng, the royal family would at least have a backup option.

"What arrangements has the Emperor made?" Ying Chengjiao stopped and asked.

"Lüshi Chunqiu" is not an ordinary book, but a classic work compiled by his teacher by gathering all his learned disciples.

After repeated polishing, every word is a gem, and the revisions are endless.

With Confucius compiling the "Spring and Autumn Annals" before him, it is definitely beyond the reach of ordinary people to imagine that his teacher would dare to bring the "Lüshi Chunqiu" with his personal imprint to the forefront at this time.

"More than 200,000 words, and not a single word can be changed? The inspiration for this plan came from you, a brat." Qin Qi smiled contemptuously: "I have sent someone to go..."

After hearing Qin Qi's brilliant plan, Ying Chengjiao's eyes went dark and he bumped into his father who was blocking the door:

"Father, if you don't have a plan, don't hold it in!"

At the East City Gate, a ragged beggar squeezed into the crowd and asked with a silly smile:

"This book... is it true that not even a single word can be changed?"

The onlookers disliked the beggar's dirtiness and moved away, leaving a rare open space.

Pengfei, who was in charge of the cloth, opened his eyes, saw that it was a beggar, was too lazy to pay attention to him, and closed his eyes again.

Seeing that no one paid any attention to him, the beggar did not leave out of shame, but instead moved closer to the cloth with a silly smile on his face.

At the gate of the city, sharp soldiers blocked the attack with their arms crossed.

The beggar shouted:

"Why stop me?
"Didn't the Prime Minister say that anyone who adds, deletes or changes a single word will receive a thousand gold coins?

"You take the Prime Minister's words as fart!"

The sharp soldier was furious and was about to hit him with the handle of the axe, but was stopped by Pengfei who realized something was wrong.

There is no beggar in Xianyang who dares to speak like this. Did the royal family invite a scholar who doesn't care about his appearance?
This retainer of Lü Buwei, who participated in compiling Lüshi Chunqiu, pointed at the cloth with a serious expression:
"Please tell me how to change it."

The beggar's eyes sparkled, and he pointed to a "Z" on the cloth and said:
"Delete this '之'!"

Pengfei's face suddenly froze.

The beggar laughed foolishly:

“I have never been to school, but I know this one word.

"But I know that this word is an interjection, and it doesn't matter whether it is there or not.

"If this '之' cannot be deleted."

The beggar's finger followed the words on the silk book and soon pointed to the second "之":

"Then delete this!"

(End of this chapter)