Chapter 57 How to establish a successor?

        “If you were to divide the territories according to your wishes, in a few years, the overseas countries that were granted territories may pose a threat to the nine provinces. What then should be done?”

    Qin Shi Huang and Li Si were both opposed to the practice of dividing territories, not only because it weakened central authority but also due to the warning set by the Western Zhou Dynasty. The division of territories during the Western Zhou led to centuries of chaos across China.

    Having experienced that period of chaos, Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Li Si naturally did not want to revert to the practice of dividing territories during the Zhou Dynasty, allowing the world to return to that era of great division.

    The Records of the Grand Historian records that Premier Li Si proposed: "When King Zhou and King Wu divided their territories among their relatives and kin, they granted many titles. Over time, these relatives became distant from each other and started attacking like enemies. Different rulers also engaged in mutual warfare, while King Zhou could not prevent these conflicts."

    On this vast land of the Nine Provinces, when a family is separated for a long time, their relationships grow distant and they might attack each other like enemies. How much more so if they are granted territories outside the Nine Provinces? By then, the sky would be higher and the emperor even farther away; couldn't those feudal lords granted territories overseas develop sinister intentions?

    With Ying Zheng's understanding of human nature, it wouldn't just be a possibility; it was inevitable.

    The feudal lords who are granted territories overseas will definitely covet the Nine Provinces, and their mutual battles and killings will be even more ferocious.

    Li Nian said straightforwardly, "I cannot resolve this!"

    Emperor Qin Shi Huang looked at him and said, "If you cannot resolve this, then why did you propose this solution?"

    "With the current power of the Qin Dynasty, it is indeed unable to solve this problem. However, I believe that it would be better to occupy these places first and turn them into territories of our Great Qin Empire. In the future, even if the kings overseas have strange thoughts, they will be like brothers fighting within the walls, with the flesh rotting in the pot."

    Li Nian's meaning was clear: His majesty desires to rule over the entire land of the world, which is currently impossible. But these overseas territories, if not occupied by us now, will be taken by the barbarians.

    These barbarians might later attack the Huaxia, so it is better to occupy the feudal lords first. Even if they rebel in the future and engage in mutual battles, they are still internal disputes between brothers, not foreign invasion.

    It's better to have the flesh rot in the pot of Huaxia than to be taken and eaten by foreign tribes and outsiders!

    Win Zheng thought for a moment and realized that dividing the land was the only way he could control so much territory. Unless he chose to ignore the lands outside of the Great Qin and adopt a policy of isolation, focusing solely on the land of Great Qin.

    But as a monarch with insatiable desire for power and conquest, how could he possibly allow such vast territory to exist right under his nose without attempting to occupy it?

    The historical records describe Emperor Qin Shi Huang as greedy, and that is not false; almost all monarchs are greedy people. But isn't it true that in normal people, who does not have some degree of greed?

    Moreover, these lands are not what he originally imagined to be barren; some of them are even more fertile than the nine provinces. Furthermore, he wants the Qin Dynasty to become the first permanent empire in Chinese history.

    This is a choice for Emperor Qin Shi Huang: If you do not want to divide territories overseas, then you must abandon the lands overseas. If you do not want to give up the lands overseas, then you can only implement the policy of dividing territories overseas.

    At this moment, Emperor Qin Shi Huang realized that this young man had been answering for a long time but seemed to have not properly addressed how to solve the issue of the heir apparent, that is, how to ensure that the successor upon his sudden death would be the one he wanted and not be overthrown by others in a conspiracy, thus preventing another incident like what Li Nian described in history.

    Emperor Qin Shi Huang immediately said, "I have understood your words, but I would like to know how to avoid the events of Zhao Gao, Hu Hong, and Li Si?"

    The best solution to this problem is to establish an heir apparent early or to create a widely recognized and universally accepted system of succession.