The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

In the height of summer, under the blazing sun,

The sunlight made the tiles on Lin Guang Palace scorching hot.

The Lin Guang Palace was silent except for the sound of the spring water flowing down from Gan Quan Mountain.

The spring water trickled and gathered into small streams.

Finally, the water was guided through bamboo pipes and poured into a small pond in the palace.

In the middle of the pond, there is a pavilion.

Walking along the stone bridge, it won't take long before you reach the pavilion in the middle of the pond.

The First Emperor's children were all gathered around the pond.

Inside the pavilion, Fusu was sitting and talking with Shen Gong, who had come with him.

Fusu sat on the cool bamboo mat.

Leaning against the desk, he flipped through the books in his hands.

After a long sigh, he said, "Lord Shen, reading this letter has moved me deeply, and I am even more aware of my previous foolishness."

Lord Shen was quite surprised: "Why do you say that, my lord?"

After thinking for a moment, Fusu placed the letter on the table, then stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked around.

Looking at his younger siblings playing in the distance.

He said, "My teacher often told me that when I ascend the throne, I must restore the Zhou rites and implement the feudal system."

"To enfeoff sons and brothers to protect the central government and serve as its branches and assistants."

At that time, Fusu also thought it was not bad.

The illustrious Zhou Dynasty expanded from a single continent into the Nine Provinces of China precisely because of this.

But now, Fusu has realized the truth.

Why did the Emperor insist on abolishing feudalism and implementing the prefecture-county system?

"What Father Emperor saw was that the enfeoffment system led to the division of the feudal lords, hundreds of years of chaos, and ultimately the branches outweighed the trunk, and the rites and music collapsed."

While enfeoffment is desirable, it is only a preliminary step.

After several hundred years, when kinship ties have weakened, wouldn't we be repeating the mistakes of the Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States period?

In the Zhou Dynasty, the first state to offend the emperor's majesty was the state of Zheng, which was granted to the Ji clan.

However, he did not believe that enfeoffment was entirely without merit.

"The territory of the Qin Dynasty is too vast."

"Within the six directions, the Emperor's land extends west to the shifting sands, south to the northernmost point, east to the Eastern Sea, and north to the Great Xia."

"Even if counties and prefectures are established throughout the region, it will be difficult to control the remote areas."

He lowered his eyes and looked at Shen Gong, "If that's the case, why can't the two coexist?"

"This...this..." Shen Gong was stunned by Fu Su's words.

Discussion on feudalism and the prefecture-county system

Since the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, this has never stopped.

However, no one has ever proposed that the two coexist as Fusu suggested.

Fusu smiled and said.

"The reason why the Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment system was a drawback was that the Zhou emperor enfeoffed all the surrounding areas, which allowed the feudal lords to grow stronger and stronger."

"Since counties and prefectures have limited control over remote areas."

"Then why not enfeoff feudal lords in remote regions, such as Vietnam, and divide the land among themselves?"

An emperor may make decisions arbitrarily, but he cannot be selfish!

Fusu was not a selfish person.

He believed that remote areas were difficult to control, and that it would only increase the burden on the imperial court if all the land were under its control.

It would be better to grant fiefdoms to the border regions that are beyond our control.

In this way, the unification of the Central Plains is not affected, and the meritorious officials can be settled without being left with no more titles to bestow.

"Wouldn't this be the proper way for ruler and subject to coexist?"

Fusu was excited about his idea.

But then he remembered that he had supported the enfeoffment system in the past, and if he were to propose it again now, his father would certainly not allow it.

His father wouldn't listen to his explanation of the differences.

Shaking his head, Fusu sighed helplessly. He knew that his father was stubborn and could not change his mind once he made a decision.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

He can wait; he still has time.

But he didn't notice that outside the pavilion, on the railing, a small black bird flapped its wings and flew away.

...............

A bird landed on the palace wall.

Standing among the green tiles and looking around, I saw a person walking towards me from a distance, startling the birds into flight.

The First Emperor, leaning on his sword, walked over.

He was dressed only in a black outer robe, and his crown had been removed, leaving only a simple long crown on his head.

At Lin Guang Palace, however, one does not need to wear a crown.

Aside from some initial discomfort, I felt a sense of relief after taking it off.

With nothing to do today, the First Emperor went out for a walk by himself.

The palace walls blocked out the view outside, creating a quiet and leisurely atmosphere. The emperor, however, never noticed the candlelight burning year after year.

I only noticed it today, but it's really beautiful.

As he walked, the First Emperor found himself drawn to the palace where the Heavenly Mandate Black Bird resided.

As he looked around, the First Emperor lowered his gaze.

"Heh." The First Emperor shook his head with a smile and was about to turn and leave when he heard a voice coming from the side.

"Since you're already here, why not come in and have a seat?"

The First Emperor was taken aback.

He turned around and saw only a small black bird standing on the palace wall, tilting its head and looking at him.

The First Emperor thought he had misheard.

He raised an eyebrow, then looked away. "Strange, why does it sound like the voice of the Celestial Bird?"

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

It's possible that I've been overworked lately and am experiencing auditory hallucinations.

"Your Majesty, why are you ignoring me?"

The First Emperor turned around. This was the second time he had heard it. Surely it couldn't be a hallucination?

But after looking around,

There was only that little black bird around him.

He raised an eyebrow, walked to the palace wall, looked up, and asked, "The Celestial Bird of Destiny?"

He jumped off the palace wall.

It landed on the First Emperor's shoulder and said, "It's me."

"This..." The First Emperor chuckled, speechless. "Why has the Heavenly Mandate Black Bird become so small?"

After thinking for a moment, Xuan Ye raised his head and spoke.

"Not long after I molted, I discovered that I could control changes in my body size."

After saying this, he jumped down from the First Emperor's shoulder.

In front of the First Emperor, a faint mysterious light emanated from his body, and he slowly grew from a small bird into a large bird.

As it grew, the feathers on its body also changed.

Soon, it returned to its wondrous form, just like the Celestial Bird.

Upon witnessing this scene, the First Emperor was amazed.

They surrounded Xuan Ye, marveling at him and looking at him again and again.

Despite being the First Emperor, the supreme ruler of the world, this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a miraculous scene.

"how?"

Xuan Ye lowered his head and looked at the First Emperor, asking a question.

The First Emperor chuckled and said, "This is truly amazing, a rare sight in the world."

"Of course." Xuan Ye nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "There's something even more amazing, Your Majesty, please take a look."

After he finished speaking, his body suddenly grew larger.

Soon, even the palace walls could no longer conceal him; the First Emperor stood at his feet, appearing quite small.

Xuan Ye said, lying face down on his side.

"Your Majesty, please come up."

"This." The First Emperor hesitated for a moment, then followed Xuan Ye's instructions, grabbed the feather, and flipped himself up.

"Hold on tight," Xuan Ye reminded him.

Then, flapping its wings, it gradually left the ground, and with a single flap, flew out of the Lin Guang Palace.