Wei Zheng looked at Wang Qian, then at Wang Ben standing behind him. He couldn't tell what thoughts the father and son had in mind, but it was no more than worrying that their great achievements would surpass the king, and he might kill them.
Shouldn't my majesty have such a lack of magnanimity? However, you two father-son don't think about retiring and returning home with honor! I think your achievements are still insufficient, they can be even higher!
Listening to the various candidates proposed by the ministers, Su Fu received the most votes, while Huhai and several young princes did not receive a single vote.
To this situation, Qin Zheng had anticipated it early on. Today, by proposing his wish to appoint a successor, he intended to test it. However, he would not appoint Su Fu as the successor immediately. Firstly, Su Fu's character had not changed. Secondly, appointing Su Fu now would attract too much attention to him, making it difficult to change Su Fu's ways again in the future.
Qin Zheng said, "The issue of appointing a successor will be discussed here today, and we will discuss it again at a later time!"
Chun Yu Yue opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again after a moment. He had hoped that the king would settle on a crown prince today, but it seemed that there was still no decisive outcome.
Zhao Gao, Li Si, and others heaved a sigh of relief. As long as the king had not decided on a crown prince today, they still had a chance to convince him to change his choice for the heir.
Other officials did not find it strange that the king had put off appointing a crown prince for so many years. The king had been delaying this issue for so long that if he had finally decided on a crown prince today, it would be like the sun rising from the west.
Qin Zheng said again, "Although the world is unified today, people's hearts are not settled. There are deceitful people in the folk who create ghostly rumors to confuse the people. Over time, they must become a source of trouble. I want to establish a system of media monitoring to keep an eye on public opinion and dispel rumors for the benefit of the people. What do you think, ministers?"
As soon as the words fell, Chun Yu Yue jumped in again: "Your Majesty, this cannot be done at all! Have you not heard of the story of King Li?"
"The affair of King Li" is the origin of the idiom "It is better to prevent people from talking than to prevent the water from flowing," which is recorded in "Gǔ Yuáng Guó Zhī Yàn Shào Gōng Jiàn Lì Wang."
Qin Zheng looked at Chun Yu Yue, his face expressionless, and said: "Are you comparing me to King Li of the Zhou Dynasty?"
Under the gaze of Qin Zheng, Chun Yu Yue bowed his head and said: "I dare not, but since ancient times, what the people say is like flowing water; it should be guided rather than blocked. Blocking it may control it for a time, but it will cause the water to accumulate into a flood. When the rivers are blocked and then burst, many people will be injured."
Qin Zheng asked, "Then do you think letting people speak freely is a good thing? What if someone secretly criticizes me and harms the Qin Dynasty? Haven't you heard that three people make a tiger?"
Chun Yu Yue said: "Your Majesty, a straight body casts no crooked shadow, clear water does not become muddy, the people of the world know your virtues, and how can they believe rumors? Even if there are slanderers, they are insignificant."
It means that as long as Your Majesty maintains upright character and moral virtue, you have nothing to fear from rumors. Even if there are some who spread rumors, they are just a few individuals. You should believe that the eyes of the people are bright and they will not believe these rumors.
The reasoning is sound, but is it really that simple in practice?
Others throw mud at you, without rebuking or coming up with solutions, just relying on your upright character to make rumors fall apart by themselves, others won't believe in rumors, it can only be said that the idea is very good.
Even in today's modern age with advanced internet technology, it is still difficult to resolve such defamation and rumor mongering cases. Otherwise, why would the subway surveillance case remain unresolved to this day? The Wuxi cake shop incident has already been reversed, yet there are still people who are unaware of this and continue to cyberbully the cake shop owner.
Even in today's modern age, it is still difficult to resolve such defamation and rumor mongering cases. How much more so in the era of a feudal dynasty like the Qin Dynasty, where if they don't actively control public opinion, then good and evil will be determined by others.
Li Si said, "The minister agrees with the king's words. The people are ignorant and lack wisdom, how can they distinguish between rumors? If everyone can freely evaluate government affairs and discuss monarchs, chaos will certainly arise throughout the world, bringing endless misfortune."
Prime Minister Wang Can also said, "The Attorney General's words are reasonable. Public opinion cannot be ignored, but it cannot be strictly monitored either. We must strike the right balance in this. I think a media monitoring system can be established."
Seeing Wang Wan come forward and speak, Chun Yu Yue also knows that the situation is out of his control. The establishment of the system of media monitoring is inevitable. What he doesn't know is what kind of impact this system will have on the world and on them, the Confucian scholars.
Since it cannot be prevented, why not join in? Chun Yu Yue said, "I request to join the system of media monitoring and serve Your Majesty."
Qin Zheng looked at Chun Yu Yue and said, "Are you unwilling to let the system of media monitoring fall into the hands of people like Li Si, becoming a platform for their one-sided opinions?"
But Li Nian has told him that the ideological arena is very important. He cannot allow either Li Si or Chun Yu Yue to control it alone. Li Si is too aggressive, and Chun Yu Yue is too conservative.
After much thought, Qin Zheng's gaze finally landed on Wang Wan, and he said, "This matter will be entrusted to the Prime Minister. Li Si and Chun Yu Yue will assist the Prime Minister in formulating the regulations for the system of media monitoring, and Zhao Gao will be responsible for monitoring public opinion throughout the realm."
Although Zhao Gao is already a pile of dog shit in Qin Zheng's heart, he is still useful. After all, sooner or later, he will have to kill Zhao Gao. Why not make him do more dirty work before he dies?
Hearing the appointment from Qin Zheng, Zhao Gao was quite pleased. The king's favor to him returned, and the king still trusted him. Supervising public opinion throughout the realm carries such great responsibility, and yet the king entrusted it to him, which clearly shows that the king still values him.
Wang Wan, Li Si, Chun Yu Yue, and Zhao Gao all answered in unison, "Your majesty's orders will be carried out!"
Qin Zheng said again: "The system of media monitoring is not only a place to supervise public opinion throughout the realm, but also a place to promote the Qin Dynasty and collect suggestions from the people. This matter will be entrusted to the Grand Inspector."
"I speak of 'promoting the Qin Dynasty' as conveying the political decrees of the Qin Dynasty to the millions of people under its rule, spreading the glory of the Qin Dynasty, so that evil-minded individuals will find it hard to defame us. This responsibility is great, and the Grand Inspector must handle it with caution!"
Feng Jie knew that his duties were not as simple as what the king had said, including giving a good image of the Qin Dynasty. He answered earnestly, "Your majesty, I will carry out my duties!"
The king's words caused slight changes in the expressions of some officials. They all advocated that people should be used for their strength but not for their knowledge. However, what the king required Feng Jie to do was to spread the glory of the Qin Dynasty, which could be understood, but it contradicted their view on explaining the policies of the Qin Dynasty to the people.
One minister said, "Your Majesty, I believe it is not appropriate to explain the policies to the people. Since ancient times, a ruler governs the people like a shepherd herding lambs; there is no need for the lambs to know why they must do something; it is enough for them to know that they should do so. Moreover, as the Attorney General just mentioned, 'The people are ignorant and lack wisdom'; even if we explain things to them, how can they understand?"
Qin Zheng said, "Is 'since ancient times' correct? Explaining policies to the people is for better implementation of the policies. If the people understand, the policies will be more smoothly executed. If they don't understand, even if the policies are executed, it will be like working twice as hard. Moreover, the people today may not understand, but tomorrow they might."
He wants to establish favorable public opinion in the lands of the six states in favor of the Qin Dynasty, and he needs to explain the benefits of the Qin Dynasty's policies to the people of these six states:
Look, the edicts of our Qin Dynasty are so good; the edicts of the six states you used to follow were so terrible. Come to the Qin Dynasty quickly! Under the rule of the Qin Dynasty, you're sure to live a happy and beautiful new life.
This minister is also correct. From his perspective and understanding, governing the people like herding cattle and sheep is acceptable for a stable dynasty.
But the current situation of the Qin Dynasty is not yet stable, and Qin Zheng's goal now is to stabilize the realm and reduce the possibility of a quick fall as occurred with Emperor Shi of Qin.
