"Education must guide the people, making them aware of what they can learn and what they cannot, so that they become useful to the King and the Qin, rather than harmful."
Ying Zheng said: "What you mentioned last time about 'loyalty to the king and love for the country, adhering to laws and regulations'?"
Li Nian nodded: "That's right, 'loyalty to the king and love for the country, adhering to laws and regulations' is the prerequisite and the essence. There have been many people in later generations with high levels of knowledge, yet they even fail to demonstrate patriotism. They betray their own country by praising enemy nations and speaking ill of their homeland, claiming that the air in other countries is sweet."
Although Ying Zheng cannot understand the meaning of "air," he knows that this must not be good news.
"Education is also related to the state ideology. Previously, I asked the king, what is the reason for Qin to annihilate the other six countries and unify the world? How can we make the people of these six countries, as well as people all over the world, believe that it is correct for the king to govern them?"
"This 'reason' is the national ideology, the principle of establishing the state of Qin, the principle of governing the world for Qin, and the principle that allows the line of the state of Qin to continue!"
"Having a rightful position and name is essential. The Qin has already obtained the 'position', but the 'name' has not been established. If the name is not right, speech will not be smooth, and if speech is not smooth, things will not be successful."
"On the ideology of the state of Qin, I also mentioned in my previous explanation to the king: The seven countries are one family, all are the brothers and sisters of the Chinese civilization, their mutual attacks have caused great suffering to the people, and Qin's annihilation of the six countries and its final resolution of chaos have brought peace to the world and less suffering to mankind, contributing greatly to our Chinese civilization."
"Such achievements, the people of all the world should be grateful to the king and the Qin. Is this not the principle of establishing the state of Qin, and the principle of governing the world by Qin?"
"The Qin annihilated the six countries because they caused chaos, causing the people of the world to suffer. The Qin did this for the well-being of all living beings. Therefore, all living beings should listen to me and accept my governance."
"In education, the national ideology must be included to let people understand the correctness and inevitability of the Qin's annihilation of the six countries. Only when people regard Qin's governance of the world as something natural will they willingly accept Qin's governance and support its leadership."
"The education in national ideology must be resolutely carried out. The people of the six countries now may have grievances against the Qin, and it may be difficult to change them. But what about their next generation, and the generation after that?"
Ying Zheng immediately understood Li Nian's meaning. National ideology education cannot be abandoned. Perhaps the people of this generation may not believe in it, but their children and grandchildren can be changed.
This is to transform the people of the six countries into Qin people, erasing the original six-country mark on them and marking them with Qin and Han.
From now on, though we come from different regions, from all over the five seas and lakes, we are all Qin people, all brothers and sisters of the Han people!
"The king has stationed a large army at the border, leaving the domestic forces weak. This involves two issues: one is foreign enemies, and the other is internal strife."
"Regarding internal strife, my suggestion is to leave enough troops within the territory of Qin to secure the country. We should allocate troops according to the terrain, population, and ease of logistics supply across the entire Qin."
"If the king is worried that generals stationed in one place for a long time may lead to soldiers knowing only the general's orders but not the king's decrees, then we can rotate the stationed generals periodically, such as every three or five years, replacing the general in charge of Shu. Officials can also be rotated in this manner."
Li Nian added: "Of course, my suggestions may not be suitable for the current Qin. It is up to the king to decide."
The ancients were not foolish and could well understand the consequences of having a general stationed in a certain location for a long time. However, why did they choose not to opt for regular rotation of generals?
It's all because of the limitations. Whether it's the quality of the soldiers or the difficult roads, none of these support such an action.
"My words are not unfounded but based on historical records. The general Zhaotu, who was sent by the king to attack the Chu Yi, took control of an area and proclaimed himself king during the chaos at the end of Qin."
Ying Zheng first looked surprised, then smiled, "That he did not declare himself king before my death shows that Zhaotu is rather loyal."
There is no sense of blame in his words, as if it were an ordinary matter.
Li Nian said: "Regarding the enemy, the king has dispatched General Meng Tian to the Shangjing district with 300,000 troops to defend against enemies and build a Great Wall to repel them. In the south, he has sent Tu Si, Zhaotu and Ren Xiao to attack Chu Yi. It shows that the king pays great attention to external enemies. However, I think it's not enough and the methods are not right."
"As for the Huns in the north, they have long been a problem for our Chinese civilization. Even if one batch is exterminated, another will arise soon, just like wild grass on the prairie that cannot be eaten by cattle and sheep or extinguished by fire. But why do the Huns keep appearing? Why have they always been enemies of our civilization? How can we effectively govern them?"
"The problem of the Huns is a difficulty for dynasties in later generations, and many disasters have been caused by the Huns: At the beginning of the Han dynasty, the Xiongnu coalition leader Murong Tu used 400,000 elite horsemen to encircle Emperor Gaozu at Bailing Mountain, known as 'Bailing Encirclement'; In the early Tang dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang was also forced to sign a 'Wei River Alliance' with the Khan of Xuanju; And during the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yingzong was captured by Wa Lai and became known as 'The Monarch Who Calls For Entry'. "
As Li Nian mentioned Emperor Gaozu being trapped in the "Bailing Encirclement" and Emperor Taizong being forced to conclude the "Wei River Alliance," Ying Zheng felt an inexplicable sense of joy in his heart.
Han and Tang were two dynasties that later generations took pride in. Who would have thought there were such embarrassing incidents, especially Gaozu's incident with the Xiongnu. It brought him a sense of pleasure, after all, it was the Han Dynasty that inherited the Qin Dynasty.
As for Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, who was known as the "Monarch Who Calls For Entry," it is estimated that after being captured by the Huns, he shamelessly helped them knock on the city gates.
Such a person is not worthy to be an emperor.
If it were him, he would never be captured and would never help the Huns knock on the city gates!
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would never have dreamt that his face was soiled in front of the First Emperor.
"Why do the Huns keep appearing? I believe that the statement 'the Huns will always appear' is not accurate. The Huns have always been there, but some are small groups, while others are large groups."
"When a certain group of Huns becomes strong, they will annex, conquer and coerce other weaker groups of Huns, forming a force that can threaten the central Chinese dynasties. When this powerful group of Huns declines, other groups of Huns will become strong, take over their positions, and repeat what they have done before."
"The Huns have always been there; it's not that one generation is exterminated and another is born. Rather, it's when a powerful Hun tribe declines that another Hun tribe rises to take its place."
"Therefore, in order to eliminate the problem of the Huns, we cannot only look at the strongest group of Huns; we must also pay attention to other Hun tribes, and we must attack all of them at once, destroy their means of survival, and then only can effective governance be achieved."
"Why have the Huns always been enemies of our Chinese civilization? I believe there are two reasons: one is related to their survival needs, and the other is that once they gain strength, they see their neighbors have something good but their own home has none, so they want to seize it."
"The Huns who pose the greatest threat to the central Chinese dynasties mostly come from the northern grasslands. The grasslands are not suitable for farming, but they are rich in water and grass, making them ideal for grazing."
"However, like the phases of the moon, the sky has its ups and downs, wind, frost, rain and snow. The grasslands are not suitable for grazing at all times."
