The heavy rain falls gently, moistening the world.
Li Si slowly opened his eyes and gazed towards the horizon.
He was almost starving to death.
He was born in Shangcai, Chu, and served as a minor officer. After saving enough money, he wanted to study the teachings of the sages and thus came to Qi State in search of Xunzi, who was willing to teach various subjects.
However, he was suddenly attacked by wild men along the way, and all his money and provisions were taken away. He was left destitute and ended up here.
"Is it the will of heaven for me to die here? Can I, Li Si, truly be destined to fail in acquiring the teachings of the sages?"
Li Si sighed deeply.
After enduring countless hardships and struggles, he finally managed to accumulate enough funds for his studies, only to find himself lost on the road.
At this moment, he felt a brilliant light flash before his eyes.
The feeling of being drenched in rain from his own body disappeared.
In its place, his whole body began to feel incredibly comfortable.
It was as if the unique pleasure of reading, during the time of studying.
He saw a piece of wood. For some unknown reason, the wood seemed to be unaffected by the rain, and on it were some very redundant characters:
Hello, are you Li Si?
My name is Zhao Ping'an.
I heard that you feel disappointed in life and are constantly faced with setbacks?
Li Si stared at the slowly appearing words on the board in front of him, exclaiming:
"How can one write like this?"
He didn't understand, isn't it wasteful to use so much ink and bamboo slips like this?
"Perhaps it is the offspring of the wealthy?"
Li Si felt envious:
He wished he were also the offspring of a wealthy family, so that he could write like this.
Li Si shook his head and quickly discarded his distractions, pondering: "What is this thing?"
"Could it be that since I am about to die, heaven is mocking me?"
Before he had a chance to fully consider what had happened, the board in front of him, which seemed to be made of wood, slowly revealed these ancient Chinese characters with black ink:
Are you disappointed with life?
I know you want to go to Qi State to find Xunzi, but you haven't succeeded in finding him.
I think you are a person with a firm will and great prospects.
I will teach you the art of calculation. This knowledge can create strong soldiers, similar to the views of the Mozi school. Would you like to learn it?
Li Si looked at the board, "Since there's nothing much to hope for, might as well have a little fun with this board?"
He used his fingers to wet some rainwater, wrote on the board:
I won't learn, won't learn, the art of calculation, how can it not be similar to the views of the Mozi school? I prefer the concept of universal love and non-aggression.
Slowly, more characters appeared on the board:
Then I will teach you the principles of all things moving, the theory of heaven as a circle and earth as a square. Are you willing to learn?
Li Si shook his head, continued to wet his fingers with some rainwater and write:
Not willing, not willing, the principles of heaven and earth, the talk of spirits and gods, is better left as mere talk.
...
The college dormitory.
Zhao Ping'an had a headache.
Just playing a game, why is Li Si so hard to please?
Teaching him calculation he won't learn, teaching him physics he won't learn, then what does he want to learn?
Can't I let him show off his swordsmanship in front of Guan Yu? Teach him about the system of county and prefecture centralization?
Zhao Ping'an is a game reviewer, and often takes on commercial projects.
He was originally going to review for the final exam, but he had a headache when he saw the book for final exam review. So, he decided to take on some commercial projects to work on for a while.
This new game was something he found himself on the commercial platform, named "Huaxia."
The game's developer has some sort of brain fart, and they sent Zhao Ping'an a beta version. The installer had loads of bugs, making it impossible to install. It seems like they don't even care about making a good game.
Zhao Ping'an had to tweak it a bit to get it installed, and only then he could start playing the game.
"Text-based game?"
Zhao Ping'an wanted to protest at the time:
On the phone screen, a simple interface appeared with rows of text floating, without any image modeling, just text lines. The text lines formed the main body of the game.
[You have two choices now]
[You can help and exchange ideas with Confucius between Chen and Cai, or teach Li Si the teachings of the sages.]
Zhao Ping'an chose Li Si without hesitation.
So, he started chatting with Li Si, hoping to teach Li Si some profound knowledge that would change history, making himself feel good.
However, he found:
This Li Si is even harder to deal with than Empress Dowager Cixi. No matter what he teaches, Li Si won't learn. Zhao Ping'an feels like he is the Buddha's ancestor, and Li Si is like the monkey seeking knowledge.
Moreover, the game cannot be rewound, which is the most outrageous.
However, after finding this out, Zhao Ping'an was already prepared to put down his phone and start studying seriously for a while.
He opened his book, and every single word on the book about Ideology and Politics in Front of him seemed to be telling him to go away.
He couldn't bear to look at it.
"This book doesn't even want me to read it, why should I bother looking at it?"
Zhao Ping'an couldn't help but lift his phone again, opening the game once more.
Feeling helpless and with nothing more to teach, Zhao Ping'an typed out word by word in the game:
【I want to teach you the difference between Confucianism and Legalism, the division between Taoism and Mohism, as well as the principles of county and prefecture centralization. Are you willing to learn?】
These were precisely the areas of expertise for Li Si, and Zhao Ping'an didn't know what to say.
...
"Incredible! How does this person know that I am interested in learning about governance?"
Li Si rubbed his eyes, confirming that it wasn't a dream:
This board truly did have writing that claimed to teach him the teachings of the sages!
As long as he could learn some knowledge, it didn't matter who taught him!
"But does he really have the knowledge?"
Li Si was skeptical, for the study of the evolution of the heavens and earth and the art of calculation were already enough to fill a person's academic life. Could it be mere arrogance?
He pondered for a moment, and continued to wet his fingers with the ink, writing on the board:
I want to see what kind of knowledge the master has.
And after that, the board gradually revealed the expected words:
【To establish a country and rule it through feudal lords and vassals, this is the fundamental meaning of establishing a state.]
[But the feudal lords have arisen, and the rituals and music have fallen into disarray. Initially, King Chu of Chu asked for the nine-stand bronze ritual pot; then, the three families divided Jin. This is the original state of establishing a country and ruling it through feudal lords and vassals, which has now been shattered.]
[From this, it can be seen that the feudal system is bound to perish.]
[Why not adopt centralized authority based on the terrain and distribute prefectures and counties to govern the world?]
[If one knows why the feudal system has evolved into prefectures and counties, then one would know the flaws of prefectures and counties and would revert to the feudal system. However, will it revert to the feudal system?]
[...]
Li Si looked at the characters on the board, excitedly saying:
"How wonderful, how wonderful! This is truly the teachings of the sages!"
"But I wonder why his words suddenly became so literary, not at all like his style?"
He was very excited:
"Even if this board is a dying glimmer of light, I accept it!"
"To be able to learn this in my lifetime is truly a great fortune!"
[...]
Later, the "Li family biography" of the History of the State was written as follows:
Li Si was from Shangcai, Chu. Seeking the way to govern the world, he went to Qi to pay homage to Xunzi. On his way, he met Zhaozi, who taught him the classics and imparted to him the principles of county and prefecture centralization, the debate between Confucianism and Legalism, and the philosophy of integration. Influenced by Zhaozi's teachings, his heart leaned towards Qin, where he fully pursued his aspirations in Qi. He assisted Emperor Shi Huang in unifying the six realms, proving himself to be an outstanding figure!
Zhaozi was a historian who has left many records, including the account of Emperor Shi Huang. Li Si was said to have been taught by the assassin Jing Ke, Han Gaozu (Emperor Gao of Han), and Han Huaiying (Han General Huai). However, these accounts cannot be verified. His teachings appear to have been altered in some way, and it remains uncertain why.
