Wang Wan, Li Si, Feng Jie and others were at work. Upon receiving the order from Ying Zheng, they immediately headed for the Zhangtai Palace. As soon as they entered the palace, they found that almost all of the important officials of Qin were gathered there. They realized that there must be a significant issue.
Ying Zheng wasted no words, and once all the ministers arrived, he directly had the eunuchs distribute the bamboo slips.
Another look at the bamboo slips?
Wang Wan and a few others looked at the bamboo slips and had doubts in their hearts. They had read the "Zhao Nian Lecture by the First Emperor" bamboo slips, which were written by "that person" mentioned by the King.
It seems that the King is very fond of that person!
But upon opening the bamboo slips, they found that it was not a set of advice or profound arguments, rather, it contained some recorded phrases.
It not only recorded what was said, but also the age of the speaker, whether they were male or female, their appearance, where they were from, and when they spoke.
Soon, the ministers saw a problem from the records on the bamboo slips. Some appeared deep in thought, some were surprised, some frowned and their expressions were not very pleasant.
Ying Zheng said, "If you have finished reading the bamboo slips in your hands, you may exchange them with others!"
Immediately, a minister exchanged the bamboo slips with others. Upon opening them, they found that the recorded phrases were also similar, but the speakers were different.
Could it be that these bamboo slips are all of this type? Someone has been collecting these bamboo slips from the folk and sending them to the King?
On reflecting on this, the ministers also felt a sense of gravity. If the contents recorded on the bamboo slips were true, then the issue was indeed significant, with a major impact on the Great Qin, especially for...
A minister looked at Li Si and found that although his expression was not very pleasant, it wasn't to the point of shock and confusion.
Interestingly enough, Qin primarily governs with legalist ideas, but in the Great Qin's imperial hall, legalist ministers are not dominant, but there are various deities.
After all the bamboo slips had been reviewed by the ministers, Ying Zheng said, "You ministers have now seen the bamboo slips and must have understood where the problem lies. I need not hide from you that these bamboo slips were obtained through an investigation sent by my orders. They are simply the words of the people of Great Qin, and the bamboo slips from the original six states have not yet been returned."
Indeed, the King would not only send investigators to the western Qin region but would also send them to the other six countries. The problem would then become even more complicated.
Don't be fooled by the ease of handling this matter. If the elders of Qin want to live well, let them have it. It's really that simple? It's as if driving a car, discovering that you're off course, simply turning the steering wheel will get you back on track?
With the scale of Great Qin, even the slightest change can cause the heavens and earth to crack!
One must consider carefully, not just issue a decree randomly. What does a good life mean? How will the laws be amended? What are the potential impacts?
Especially the modification of laws...
The contents recorded on the bamboo slips are mostly the wishes of the elders of Guanzhong for a better life. Although not explicitly stated, all the ministers have realized one thing: The legalist thought of governing the people with strict laws and severe punishments has its shortcomings and is not perfect.
Otherwise, according to the legalist system of Great Qin, "the most excellent way to govern people is through strict laws and severe punishments. The highest level of control is to control their hearts, the second level is to control their speech, and the third level is to control their actions." The elders of Guanzhong would not and dare not have thoughts like "The war has ended, we should be able to live a good life now."
Assuming that the Chancellor Wang Wan would be the first to speak, he was surprised when the Chancellor Li Si jumped in and said, "Please allow me to postpone the punishments and reduce taxes so that we can gain the hearts of the people!"
Ying Zheng looked at Li Si and felt that he finally completely understood what kind of person Li Si was—Li Si was a clever person who put himself first!
Whether it is Confucianism or Legalism, they are just a hat on Li Si's head, and are used as tools to achieve his goals.
In Li Si's mind, there should be such a three-tiered division: himself in the first class, Legalism in the first class, and others in the first class.
When his interests are not affected, Legalism is superior to others, and he will practice and demonstrate legalist thoughts, which is what Li Si usually shows. However, when his interests are affected, even Legalism can be flexibly discarded, as it is now.
Li Si believes in legalist ideas, but he is more concerned with his own interests. That's why he participated in the manipulation of the will by Huai and Zhao Gao.
Some people say that Li Si was forced into this by Huai and Zhao Gao, which is truly incredible. They were able to compel a powerful Chancellor.
More likely, Li Si believed that Fusu's ascension to power would be detrimental to him. He was swayed by Huai and Zhao Gao and willingly participated, but he didn't expect that Huai and Zhao Gao were so ruthless that they didn't spare even their partner, Li Si. He fell short by one move and ended up with the punishment of being crucified alive, bisected at the waist, and his three families being banished.
If he had supported Fusu's succession, given Fusu's temperament, even if Fusu didn't like him, he wouldn't have allowed him to continue staying at the court of Great Qin. There's a good chance he would have ended his days in a decent manner.
But Li Si was too greedy. He desired to be the one who rides the dragon to power and clings to his position and power.
'Li Si does not believe in Legalism, nor is he loyal to the monarch. He is only loyal to power,' Ying Zheng thought in his heart.
Chancellor Wang Wan said, "Vice Minister Li Si has spoken the truth. It is indeed necessary to mitigate the penalties and lighten the tax burden. The elders of Guanzhong all have this thought, which is in line with the will of the people. If we go against it, it will surely lead to trouble; conversely, if we act in accordance with the trend, Your Majesty will undoubtedly win over the hearts of the elders of Guanzhong, which will be beneficial to our country!"
"It's just a matter of deciding how much to ease the penalties and how much to reduce the taxes. We must discuss it carefully, not just act impulsively and announce it to the world. We also need to consider the situation in Qin, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei and other places."
After saying this, Wang Wan didn't continue, as there were some things he knew but couldn't say directly without the King's approval.
Seeing Wang Wan pause and stop speaking, Ying Zheng said, "If you have something to say, Chancellor, why not elaborate on it to me? I will not penalize you for your words!"
Wang Wan bowed to Ying Zheng and said, "The King mentioned sending investigators to the original six states to gather information. The bamboo slips have not yet been returned, but it is not difficult to guess what the people in those areas might be thinking."
"In the six states, Great Qin has been called 'tigers and wolves'. How the people in these six states view Great Qin is that they find it very fierce. They will be afraid of Great Qin and worry about how it will treat them. If we are too harsh to the people in these six states, it will breed resentment in their hearts, which could even lead to hatred."
This sort of speech, in the past, Wang Wan probably would not have dared to say, because he knew the character of his king: to put it nicely, he was confident and strong; to put it bluntly, he was stubborn and self-righteous.
If he had said to treat the people of the six states well, not to be so harsh, and otherwise they might resent it, he would only think that no one dared to resent him in his rule.
Li Si would also come out to argue. The old people of Qin could accept Qin laws, and didn't say they were harsh. Instead, they unified the world under Great Qin. Why can't these people from the six states accept them?
It's only because recently the King has shown some changes in attitude that Wang Wan has dared to speak more.
Upon hearing Wang Wan's words, Li Si raised his eyebrows but didn't speak. If possible, he still hoped to implement the original Qin laws in the territories of the six states, as it would be more advantageous to him.
But he also realized that the legalist method had indeed run into problems this time, and until they find a solution, it's better to stay silent and watch what happens, rather than speak rashly.
Wang Wan continued, "Therefore, when governing the territories of the former six states, we cannot directly apply the existing Qin laws; some changes must be made."
