Starting with ten elixirs of immortality, I led the First Emperor to rebel against the Qin Dynasty.

Xianyang City, Chunyu Yue's residence.

These past few days, the place has become bustling with activity, with a constant flow of traffic.

One after another, proclamations written by Kong Fu himself were sent to various parts of the Qin Dynasty by carrier pigeons.

The Confucian scholars who received the letter were all filled with righteous indignation and slammed their fists on the table in protest.

Li Si, you've gone too far!

Not only did the current dynasty distort Confucian classics, but it also forged portraits of the sage, portraying Confucius, the teacher of all ages, as a muscular brute wielding a weapon!

This is an insult to Confucius and a trampling of Confucianism.

It’s tolerable, it’s unbearable!

A number of Confucian scholars were already on their way to Xianyang at Kong Fu's call. Kong Fu's subsequent manifesto further ignited everyone's anger.

Scholars of Confucianism from all over the country put down their teaching sticks and books, and, whether by carriage, horse, or on foot, they gathered in Xianyang day and night, filled with anger.

At this moment, no fewer than forty or fifty people had gathered in the main hall of Chunyu Yue's residence.

Among these people were elderly scholars who were over seventy years old and highly respected, scholars who were in their prime and quite famous, and young scholars who were just beginning to show their talents and full of vigor.

This was just the vanguard; every now and then, weary scholars would arrive outside the gate, making the already crowded mansion even more packed.

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

A hot-tempered, middle-aged scholar slammed his hand heavily on the table, making the teacups jump.

He cursed, spitting as he spoke: "That Li Si is nothing but a minor official from Shangcai, who has risen to power by sheer luck, yet he dares to be so arrogant! He insults our revered teacher and distorts the classics; such a traitor is a parasite on the nation! If he is not eliminated, where is justice?!"

"That's right! Li Si, that scoundrel, must be eliminated!"

"We scholars, with our noble character, cannot bear such a humiliating disgrace!"

"Yes! Let's fight him!"

In an instant, the crowd in the hall was filled with excitement. The young scholars were all fired up, rolling up their sleeves, as if they were about to rush into the Prime Minister's mansion and fight Li Si to the death.

Shusun Tong sat to one side of the main seat, looking at the chaotic scene with a headache.

He cleared his throat, trying to calm the crowd: "Gentlemen, please calm down! This matter needs further consideration!"

"Li Si's evil deeds are abhorrent to both gods and men! We all feel the same way! However, this matter requires careful consideration; we must not act rashly!"

"Deliberately consider this?" a young Confucian scholar retorted, his neck stiff. "Master Shusun! What more is there to consider? Li Si has already depicted the sage in such a way! If we continue to consider this, the Confucian school will utterly lose face!"

"Yes! Did we travel all this way to Xianyang just to sit here drinking tea and discussing matters?"

"What we want is justice!"

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Chunyu Yue, who had been silent all along, slowly stood up, his face gloomy, and looked around at everyone in the hall.

As soon as he stood up, the originally noisy lobby instantly became much quieter.

After all, this proclamation summoning Confucian scholars from all over the country was issued in his and Kong Fu's names.

"I, Chunyu Yue, deeply understand your feelings!" Chunyu Yue's voice was hoarse.

"Li Si's treachery is beyond description! I wish I could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin!"

"But!" Her tone shifted, her eyes sharpening, "Are we dealing with merely Li Si?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Chunyu Yue sneered, "Gentlemen, don't forget who Li Si is. He's the Left Chancellor of Qin! Why does he dare to be so arrogant? Because you all know who's standing behind him, don't you?"

"Where was that painting displayed? In whose presence was it displayed?"

"Did His Majesty utter a single word of rebuke at the time? No! Not only did he not, but afterwards he even presented the painting as a 'gift' to Mr. Kong Fu at his bedside!"

What does this tell us?

Chunyu Yue's words were like ice water poured over his head, calming the hot-blooded Confucian scholar down.

Yes.

They were so focused on how hateful Li Si was that they subconsciously or deliberately ignored the most crucial figure.

First Emperor, Ying Zheng!

Without Ying Zheng's tacit approval, or even indulgence, would Li Si dare to do that?

"Back when the six states were still intact, we Confucian scholars and itinerant intellectuals, with our silver tongues, could travel between them, instigate wars, and overthrow regimes!"

An old scholar stroked his beard, a look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes, but it quickly turned into a long sigh.

"But now, the world is at peace. The Qin cavalry has swept across the land, its might shaking the four seas. And Ying Zheng is ruthless and merciless. If we make a single wrong move, I fear..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

The consequences will be utterly disastrous!

The mere thought of Ying Zheng's imposing face instantly calmed many people down, and cold sweat even seeped down their backs.

There is still room for maneuver when fighting against Li Si.

But what if they turned their attention to Ying Zheng...?

Isn't that just courting death?

"Then... what should we do?" a scholar asked in a low voice, his previous fervor gone, replaced by confusion and fear.

"Are we just going to give up like this? Slink away and go home?"

"Then we've traveled all this way to Xianyang, won't we become a laughingstock to the world!"

Everyone frowned, looking at each other, unable to come up with a solution for the moment.

Just then, Kong Fu, who had been lying on the sickbed in the inner hall and was being helped out, spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Who said we're just going to let it go like that?"

Everyone looked over at the sound and saw that Kong Fu's face was still pale, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, burning with a crazy hatred.

Supported by two disciples, he walked step by step to the main seat, sat down slowly, and said, panting heavily.

"We can't touch Ying Zheng for now. But Li Si must die!"

"We Confucianists value legitimacy! If we're going to fight, we must defeat him and utterly discredit him!"

A glint of light flashed in Kong Fu's eyes.

Why did Ying Zheng favor Li Si? Because Li Si could be used by him! His strict Legalist approach to governance deeply resonated with Ying Zheng!

"But do the people of the world like this harsh set of laws? No! Nobody likes them!"

"The weapon I await is not in my hand, but in my mouth, in my pen!"

"Starting tomorrow, we will mobilize everyone with influence in Xianyang to spread the word in taverns, teahouses, markets... in all places where people gather! We will tell everyone what a treacherous and wicked man Li Si is! He has bewitched the emperor, enacted cruel laws and punishments, and plunged the people of the land into misery!"

"The reason why the Qin Dynasty has such heavy taxes and numerous corvée labor is entirely due to the machinations of that treacherous Li Si!"

"We must pin all the blame on Li Si! Let him become the public enemy of all! Let him be infamous for eternity!"

"When the whole world is scorning Li Si, I refuse to believe that Ying Zheng will still favor him so unreservedly!"

Kong Fu's plan was a revelation to all the Confucian scholars present.

Yes, that's a good idea.

If you can't hurt Ying Zheng, can't you at least deal with Li Si?

"Mr. Kong Fu's plan is brilliant!"

"Yes! That's the plan! Smear Li Si's reputation! Ruin his name!"

"Let him know the consequences of offending Confucianism!"