Li Nian deliberately emphasized the five characters "deserved remuneration."
Han Xin believed that he had worked hard and produced a lot for Liu Bang, and he should be granted the title of a king. When Liu Bang refused to bestow the title upon him, Han Xin became angry and argued with Liu Bang, even going so far as to send a letter during a time of peril for Liu Bang demanding the title of a king.
In fact, according to Han Xin's perspective, it was only what he had earned through his merits and what rightfully belonged to him.
Little did he know that such an attitude and way of handling things would only make Liu Bang's heart feel unwilling. Even with the persuasion of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, Han Xin was generously granted the title of king, but Liu Bang's heart must have been filled with resentment.
Kings all have the same thought: You can only take what I want to give you, and if I don't want to give it to you, even if you have enough merit, you cannot take it!
That aside, Han Xin's forcing Liu Bang to grant him the title of a king during a time of crisis was unbecoming.
Historians have analyzed that Han Xin's naivety and ignorance of human relationships stem from these factors, although his talent in commanding troops was fully developed, he was completely devoid of understanding human affairs.
He merely thought that his merits were sufficient, and he wanted to receive the due compensation he deserved. What is wrong with that?
"As for the Lord of Chu, the Great King and Qin have a national and family grudge with him. A person like Liu Hui, who is a thousand generations of outstanding figures, has a firm will and right intention that are unparalleled among ordinary people. This cannot be changed with just three or two words! Therefore, Liu Hui's hatred towards the Great King and Qin will not be eliminated until one side is annihilated."
Although he agreed with Li Nian's view, but Ying Zheng was still dissatisfied, the first strategist in Chinese history, but could not be used by him.
When a person reaches a certain level of brilliance, even his enemies will sigh in admiration and feel pity for his talent!
Ying Zheng said, "If I didn't kill Zhang Liang, could you persuade him to serve me?"
Emperor Qin Shihuang still had some bearing, although he was somewhat petty in certain respects, such as forcing Lü Buwei to commit suicide and immediately going to the ancient enemies he had when he was attacked in Handan.
Li Nian pondered for a moment and said, "If I could meet Lord Liu, I would be willing to try for Your Majesty, but I do not believe I can persuade Lord Liu."
How could someone like Zhang Liang be easily swayed by him?
Li Nian believed that even if Zhang Liang were shown things from the future and made aware of future events, using the great cause of the Chinese nation to persuade him, it would still be difficult to sway him.
Unless the Chinese nation is in a situation of saving its homeland, it would be hard to persuade him. However, the current Chinese nation is clearly not at that stage. Even during persuasion, Liu Hui would smile and say, "Even if there were no Zhang Liang in this world, there would still be someone later on! Moreover, isn't there you?"
Li Nian felt as if he had already seen the scene of meeting Liu Hui.
Those like Lord Liu are all adherents to the way, holding onto their inner path, and standing by their own beliefs.
Those like Lord Liu, their words are promises, their actions without regret, and their intentions unchanged. Their bodies may be destroyed, but their will cannot be changed.
To change Liu Hui's will is as difficult as making Zhuge Liang betray Shu Han and surrender to Cao Wei.
Ying Zheng said, "If you have the opportunity, go ahead and do it. Whether it succeeds or fails, I will not blame you. Let's eat first!"
I didn't realize it, and here we are again at mealtime. I wonder what we will be having this time?
This time should be a big improvement compared to the last time.
Plates are served: a dish of scallion and tofu, a pot of stewed venison, a plate of boiled vegetables, and a bowl of rice cooked with bamboo shoots...
The venison was fragrant with a rich scent, which was something the Qin Empire had never experienced before. This was because it was cooked with the specially brewed Sanshicha (13-fragrant) oil prepared by Li Nian.
Li Nian picked up a piece of tofu. Although the flavor of scallion and tofu was not as exquisite as in later times, it was already quite good, and there was no bitterness common in salt of this era.
This is because he refined the palace salt in his thoughts over the past few days.
At present, the Qin Empire mainly uses mined salt, which has many impurities and a bitter and astringent taste. Although the best quality of mined salt is selected for use in the palace, it cannot completely avoid its bitterness and harshness.
The method to refine the salt is also simple. Dissolve the salt, add plant ash for boiling, let it cool down and then filter out the insoluble matter.
'Living in the Qin Dynasty is getting better and better day by day. Robinson Crusoe could turn a desert island into a farm, and I've crossed over to the Qin Dynasty with so many people at my disposal. How can I not achieve something great?'
As Li Nian was thinking, Ying Zheng asked, "Have you mentioned that Pujiang, the leader of the armed forces of Xinjin, entered the capital of our Qin Dynasty and did he not butcher our Qin royal family?"
This is Emperor Qin's judgment on whether to kill Pujiang. If Pujiang has killed the royal family of Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin will never let Pujiang go.
Li Nian replied truthfully, "Pujiang did not kill the royal family of Qin Dynasty when he entered Xianyang. After Huaihai, the prince, was killed by Zhao Gao, Zhao Gao was then killed by Prince Ying. Prince Ying succeeded to the throne, but at that time the Qin Dynasty had already been beyond salvation. Prince Ying ruled for only forty-six days before he surrendered to Pujiang."
When Li Nian mentioned "Prince Ying," the Emperor's hand holding the chopsticks stopped, and he sighed longingly, "It's Ying!"
Li Nian said, "As for the identity of Prince Ying, the historical records are unclear. Therefore, several legends have been passed down: Prince Ying was the grandson of Your Majesty, Prince Ying was the younger brother of Your Majesty, and Prince Ying was the nephew of Your Majesty."
Ying Zheng glanced at him and said, "You later generations may not know everything either. It won't hurt to tell you. Ying is my nephew, the son of Cheng Jiao."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for clarifying!"
"Records of the Grand Historian" was written by Sima Qian, but many parts of it have contradictions. In addition, ancient Chinese texts are known for their brevity and lack of punctuation marks, leading to different interpretations in different versions.
For example, the account of Prince Ying in "Records of the Grand Historian - The Biographies of Li Si" is recorded as: "Zhao Gao knew that heaven was not with him, and the ministers would not agree, so he summoned the brother of Emperor Qin, and bestowed upon him the seal. Prince Ying ascended the throne and was troubled by this, so he claimed to be ill and did not attend to affairs. He conspired with eunuch Han Tan and his son to murder Zhao Gao."
This version calls the prince Ying "Zi Ying," who is the younger brother of Emperor Qin. If added with the title "Prince," it would be "Prince Zi Ying!"
But other historical documents do not record that Emperor Qin had any other younger brothers besides Cheng Jiao, his mother Zhao Ji, and the two sons he had with Lü Buwei.
However, the "Records of the Grand Historian - The Treatise on Emperor Qin Shi Huang" records it differently: "He established the nephew of the second emperor, Prince Ying, as the king of Qin."
In this version, Prince Ying is called "Ying," the son of the older brother of Huaiha, making him the son-in-law of Fusu. This version identifies Prince Ying as the son of Fusu.
This version is the most unreliable. How could Huaiha, Zhao Gao, and Li Si have conspired to kill Fusu while leaving his son alive?
Plus, with Huaiha ascending the throne and his madness in killing his siblings, how could he have left the son of Fusu alive?
There is another version which believes that Sima Qian made a mistake in writing "Records of the Grand Historian - The Biographies of Li Si." He actually meant to write "He summoned the younger brother of Emperor Qin and granted him the seal" instead of "He summoned Emperor Qin's younger brother, Ying, and granted him the seal," meaning that Ying was actually the son of Emperor Qin's younger brother "Ying," who was his nephew.
Now, it is Emperor Qin himself who has confirmed this version. "Zi Ying" should be referred to as "Ying," his nephew, the son of Cheng Jiao.
Li Nian said, "After Prince Ying surrendered, although some of his subordinates proposed killing Prince Ying, Pujiang did not agree. In fact, when Pujiang wanted to establish himself as the king in the Central Plains, he wanted Prince Ying to become the prime minister of the country."
Ying Zheng nodded and said, "He is quite generous. He did not kill him to avoid future trouble and wanted someone to serve as his prime minister. What happened afterwards?"
Li Nian fell silent, causing Ying Zheng to frown. He looked up and asked, "Is it that Pujiang was untrustworthy and then killed Ying and the others?"
After saying that, he relaxed his tone and said, "Go ahead and tell me. I won't blame you!"
Li Nian shook his head and said, "It was not Pujiang who did it, but Xiang Yu. After Pujiang entered Xianyang, he returned his troops to Bagushang. The 'Records of the Grand Historian' records that after a month and a half, the forces of the various states arrived. Xiang Yu took command, killing Ying and the various princes and branches of the Qin Dynasty. He then massacred Xianyang, burned its palaces, captured its children and women, collected its treasures and goods, which were then divided among the various states."
