While he was enjoying a feast, Xun Yu Yue came out and exploded to hurtle in the favor of decentralization, which he did not like. Shao Huang knew the mood at that time.
This Chun Yu Yue is not a normal person either; he didn't see that everyone was in high spirits and had to sweep away everyone's joy.
Just like when someone is celebrating a birthday for an elderly person, there are guests who come out and say to the host: "What's the point of celebrating a birthday for this old thing? He's going to die sooner or later."
"Li Si misstated his ideas and rejected the books of various scholars, scholars and poets. Only the books of medicine, divination, tree cultivation were left. The king adopted Li Si's suggestion and issued a decree to burn all other books."
"The killing of the scholars occurred the next year after the burning of books, and the cause was that two alchemists who had been trying to get a potion of immortality for the king secretly discussed the king..."
Li Nian said this, glancing quietly at Shao Huang, who happened to look over at the same time.
Seeing Li Nian's action, Shao Huang knew that the two alchemists must not have said anything nice about him while discussing him, so he said, "Go ahead and speak!"
Li Nian said, "Master Huo and Master Luo say that Your Majesty is naturally fierce and stubborn, having come from the vassals to conquer the whole land. Filled with self-satisfaction and greed for power, You do as you please, thinking that no one has ever been able to surpass You from ancient times to now."
Shao Huang's face turned black again, as he once again remembered Li Nian's statement about the main reasons for the collapse of Qin, that his impatience and overconfidence were also among them. Did the words of Master Huo and Master Luo not align with those of Li Nian?
"The say that Your Majesty specifically appoints favored prison officials, even though there are seventy scholars, they are not highly regarded and are merely decorations. The Prime Minister and ministers can only follow Your Majesty's orders to do things, with no room for their own thoughts."
"Your Majesty enjoys using punishment and death to establish authority, and the people of the world are afraid to violate laws, so they dare not speak their minds. Your Majesty does not hear his own mistakes, and becomes more arrogant day by day. The officials are frightened and can only use lies to deceive Your Majesty in order to protect themselves..."
After listening, Shao Huang raised his eyebrow and said, "Am I really so unworthy?"
Li Nian said, "Of course not. Regarding the point that 'Prime Minister and ministers can only accept orders from the king and do things according to his instructions', if it were truly like that, how could the suggestion of burning books by Li Si be accepted by Your Majesty? These people are simply dissatisfied with Your Majesty and therefore intend to criticize You deliberately in their discussions."
"They left, and I believe it is not because they think Your Majesty is fierce and greedy and do not want to help Your Majesty find the potion of immortality, but they are afraid!"
"They are afraid of being discovered for secretly gossiping about Your Majesty, but the most important reason is that they fear they will not find the elixir of immortality. Whether there is an elixir of immortality, these alchemists who deceive Your Majesty know better than anyone!"
"Master Huo and Master Luo discuss Your Majesty, seemingly pointing out his weaknesses, but in reality, they are looking for an excuse to escape. They are proving their escape reasonable and covering up the fact that they cannot find the elixir of immortality."
A cold flash of light shot from Shao Huang's eyes.
Since Li Nian told him that the alchemists' concoctions were harmful on that day, he had not taken any more, but he also did not make a public announcement. He merely followed Li Nian's instructions to raise small animals such as chickens and rats in the palace.
Although it had only been a few days, the chickens and mice that had taken the alchemists' concoctions had begun to show some unusual symptoms. In particular, the mice, which were smaller than the chickens, had lost their appetite and vitality.
Hearing the alchemists Master Huo and Master Luo gossip about him behind his back, Shao Huang had only one thought in his mind: This group of alchemists really deserve to die!
Moreover, Master Huo and Master Luo were extremely cunning. Their criticism of him was supposed to justify their escape, but in reality, it was a cover-up for the fact that they had never found the elixir of immortality and feared being discovered by him.
They themselves had something to hide, but instead, they accused him of being unwilling to search for immortality for a greedy and cruel ruler, making themselves look great and noble.
Say that, have the ability to find the elixir of immortality?
Two shameless scoundrels!
Li Nian continued, "After Master Huo and Master Luo fled, Your Majesty naturally became very angry. Your Majesty respected them and gave them generous rewards. Now they are slandering Your Majesty. Your Majesty dispatched people to investigate the scholars in Xianyang City, some of whom, like Master Huo and Master Luo, have fabricated rumors to confuse the people. Therefore, Your Majesty ordered the arrest of scholars, who were found guilty of hundreds of deaths and buried alive in Xianyang City. This is known as 'killing scholars'."
In the Qin Dynasty, scholars could also be categorized with alchemists; it was not that when Emperor Qin ordered the massacre of scholars, all those killed were alchemists and none were scholars.
"Scholar, soft and gentle, a term for those who practice divination." In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was originally a subcategory of diviners, historians, bards, and fortune-tellers.
"I told the king about 'burning books and burying scholars' not to discuss its right or wrong, but its impact. After burning books and burying scholars, the king's and Qin's reputation among the people quickly declined. Many people believed that the king was a cruel ruler and that Qin was a brutal dynasty."
"The reasons, Your Majesty should be able to think of them, are precisely because those scholars and alchemists who were not killed by Your Majesty have been spreading their view of the king's tyranny and oppression everywhere. The people of different places have never seen Your Majesty in person, how could they know the true nature of the king? It's like three people making a lion, and after a while, what is false becomes true."
Li Nian secretly muttered in his heart, "In addition, some things are indeed true!"
"After three people turn into tigers, the people's hearts are no longer in favor of Qin. By the time Your Majesty passed away, Prince Huhe of Gou was ascended to the throne. The dynasty fell into ruin within two generations. This is an oversight in Your Majesty's rule of the world!"
"The ancient saying goes, 'It is more important to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against rivers.' Just because you cannot prevent them does not mean you should do nothing, neither explain nor refute, and let others defame you. The people of Qin have not yet been enlightened, how can they distinguish between what scholars and alchemists say is true or false?"
"Your Majesty trusted and indulged in alchemists to an excessive degree, seeking immortality. There is another event recorded in the history books. Your Majesty once believed that there were three islands of immortality in the East Sea: Fang Zhu, Peng Lai, and Ying Zhou. You dispatched alchemist Xu Fu to lead 3000 boys and girls to seek immortality overseas, but after Xu Fu set sail, he never returned."
Shao Huang said, "He died?"
Li Nian shook his head and said, "No, according to some records, alchemist Xu Fu did reach the foot of the plateau islands, but he was afraid of being punished by Your Majesty and did not dare to return."
Alright, another Master Huo and Master Luo. These alchemists truly deserve to die!
This time, I will not let these scoundrels run away again!
"Your Majesty trusted Xu Fu greatly, but he responded in such a way that not only betrayed Your Majesty, but also caused harm to future generations because of Xu Fu."
Shao Huang wondered, "If Xu Fu didn't return to my Qin Dynasty, how could he have caused trouble..."
Before the words were finished, Shao Huang understood immediately. He paused and then continued, "Could it be that those islands in the basin have become a nation in later generations and caused a great disaster to our country?"
Li Nian nodded, "Xu Fu led 3,000 girls to the foot of the plateau islands, bringing a large number of advanced technologies from our Qin Dynasty. This country caused great humiliation to our country in later generations and led to the death of countless people of our country. Half of our territory fell into its hands. And its people cannot be considered human. They are cruel to the extreme..."
Thinking of the events he had seen, such as Lüshun, Lugou Bridge, Nanjing, 731 and so on, hatred surged from Li Nian's heart. He rose from his chair and knelt before Shao Huang, "I have a request. I hope Your Majesty will agree!"
Through several conversations and the observations of this period, Shao Huang has gradually understood the temperament of Li Nian, this man from a future time. If he were to ask this person to kneel down and kowtow to him, there would be no hesitation on his part. However, even though his body was kneeling, there was absolutely no humility in his heart.
Kneeling down and bowing to him out of fear of his royal power, not out of respect for him. In fact, he really does not want to kneel before him at all.
However, when mentioning that country, this person who seemed greedy and cowardly, but still had determination and pride in his heart, willingly knelt down to him. He was asking for a request to make to him.
