Ying Zheng quietly listened to Li Nian reciting "The Banquet Hall at the Palace of Marron", without interrupting in the middle.
The palace of the Banquet Hall in that work is not yet built in the Great Qin of today, but it is also what Li Nian knows about the historical person he did. Let's hear how later generations evaluate it.
Upon finishing the entire poem, Ying Zheng still said nothing, and Li Nian did not inquire either. He continued speaking on his own: "The King, in order to resist the Xiongnu, ordered General Meng Tian to build the Great Wall, but for the people, it undoubtedly added to the burden of corvée labor. There is a widely spread story among the people called 'Meng Jiangnu's Lament over the Great Wall.'"
"The story originally took place in Qi state, and the Great Wall that Meng Jiangnu wept over was the Qi Great Wall. However, later it gradually evolved into the Qin Great Wall."
After explaining to Ying Zheng, Li Nian then recounted the story of the Great Qin version of Meng Jiangnu weeping over the Great Wall.
Ying Zheng did not ask why the story set in Qi country was attributed to the Qin Dynasty.
Of course, it's because the reputation of the Qin Dynasty in later generations was bad and it was hated by the people. So what if we splash some dirty water around?
Moreover, the story of Meng Jiangnu didn't actually happen during the Qin Dynasty. But did the construction of the Great Wall by the Qin Dynasty not have similar incidents?
It is likely that there were more such incidents than not!
Li Nian was not going to explain the origins of Meng Jiangnu's lament over the Great Wall. Instead, he intended to inform Ying Zheng about how terrible his and the Qin Dynasty's reputations became in later generations.
"There were 700,000 convicts at Mount Li, Your Majesty. There's no need for me to say more. What I want to talk about is the mausoleum at Mount Li. As a human emperor in life, most honored and esteemed, naturally, you would also want to bring this glory into the afterlife. Therefore, you expended the strength of the people to build an extremely grandiose mausoleum."
The Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum was not started after he became the first emperor, but had already been in construction. However, after he became the first emperor, the scale of the mausoleum to be built became even larger.
Because before the unification of the world, he was still the King of Qin, one of the seven state kings. But after becoming the emperor, he was the sovereign of the world, and the first emperor in history.
How could the tomb of a former ruler compare to the majesty of an emperor?
It is certain that it needs to be built larger, maintained better, and decorated with more variety to demonstrate his majesty and glory, so that he can also enjoy the power of an emperor after death.
"Inside the mausoleum, there are various palaces and many strange treasures on display. Surrounding the tomb, there are numerous different shaped and varied in content pit burial sites and tombs. There are more than four hundred of them discovered in the future."
"By the time Your Majesty passed away, the mausoleum was not yet completed. After Hu Hai, the prince, ascended the throne, it took another year and more to finish it."
"After the mausoleum was completed, Hu Hai, the prince, killed all the craftsmen who built it and massacred all the concubines in Your Majesty's harem without an heir."
"While the killing was not done by Your Majesty, this hatred will fall on Your Majesty's shoulders!"
It's not unfair for it to fall on the Emperor Qin. After all, he didn't arrange for a successor properly himself, and it was also his decision to build such a grand mausoleum.
"Especially when building such an enormous imperial mausoleum, so many people have to leave their homes, families, and parents. How would they look at You, Your Majesty?"
This time, Ying Zheng stopped being silent and finally spoke up, but he did not answer Li Nian's question. Instead, he said: "Then what about my merits? I extinguished the six states and unified the world under one rule. You mentioned 'same car tracks, same script, same measure standards.' Do they remember none of it?"
At the beginning, Ying Zheng's voice was very loud, as if he was unwilling to ask questions to future generations and the people of the world. But as he asked more questions, his voice grew smaller and smaller, like a wounded tiger howling.
At this moment, Li Nian even felt a bit of pity for Emperor Qin. But he quickly dismissed this pity, what's there to be pitied?
He is an emperor, an absolute ruler, who wields the power over the world and is fed by the tribute of countless people. Yet he does not do good deeds but instead enacts tyrannical policies. Shouldn't he be cursed for that?
Have you ever thought about those who died while building the Great Wall? Have you ever thought about those who died while building the mausoleum? Have you ever thought about when he spent lavishly on the construction of the Abang Palace, how many people in the world were still going hungry and had no clothes to wear?
Although Li Nian worked under Emperor Qin and provided various references for him, he never considered Emperor Qin to be a perfect and flawless good person.
He is an emperor, a ferocious tiger. People see his resplendent colors and his tall and majestic appearance, but they do not see his form when he is eating people.
But Li Nian does not intend to confine the emperor's tiger into a cage. He knows that he cannot do it himself.
Even though he comes from the future and now appears to have won the trust of Emperor Qin, if he dares to propose anything like parliamentary democracy or constitutional monarchy, Emperor Qin will be willing to chop off his head.
What he can do is to try to reduce some of the Emperor Qin's cruelties, make China a little better, and make the people of this Qin Dynasty era a little better. To achieve these goals, he must change Emperor Qin's mindset.
If Emperor Qin does not wish to change, what can he do? Will he make a firecracker to blow up Emperor Qin?
If Emperor Qin dies, he will inevitably die as well!
With Emperor Qin's character, he definitely issued orders. If he died suddenly without a reason, he would be punished severely!
Moreover, killing Emperor Qin will lead to another emperor taking his place, and it is impossible to achieve a state without a king in this era.
What if Hu Hai, that brute, came to power? Given his cruelty, the Qin Dynasty would suffer even worse misfortunes.
Even if Fu Song succeeds in inheriting the throne, if he turns Confucianism into the Confucianism of the later times, what changes would there be between this world and the historical China?
Moreover, Li Nian himself is not a brave person. He is afraid of death and pain.
If he cannot change anything, he will just eat and wait for death in the palace of the Qin Dynasty. When Emperor Qin passes away, he will leave with him, or someone else will take him away.
It would be best if he died quickly and without too much pain. He really fears torture!
Li Nian did not speak to comfort Emperor Qin but calmly said, "Your Majesty, you have extinguished the six states and unified the world. 'Same car tracks, same script, same measure standards' are indeed your merits. But for the common people today, what benefits do they bring?"
Emperor Qin looked at Li Nian but said nothing.
Li Nian continued, "From the perspective of future generations, 'same car tracks, same script, same measure standards' are excellent policies that greatly benefit the world."
"But the common people today cannot see the benefits you and the Qin Dynasty bring to them. Instead, they only see endless tyranny. So what is the relevance of your achievements to them?"
"Can you make them have enough to eat and warm clothes? Can you let them marry and live in spacious, bright houses? Can you make them be respected?"
Li Nian did not stop asking, and without waiting for Emperor Qin to respond, he shook his head and said: "None of it has any relevance. The achievements of Your Majesty only make their lives even harder!"
Emperor Qin asked, "The people of today hate me, which should be expected. But why do the people of later generations also think I am cruel and unkind?"
Li Nian simply gave one answer, and Emperor Qin stood there in shock. He sighed and said, "Because the people of later generations are mostly commoners and lowly subjects!"
Emperor Qin was silent. Yes, the people of later generations are mostly commoners, and they do not stand on the side of the people during the Qin Dynasty. Why should they stand on the side of Your Majesty Winqiang? Can the lives of commoners be controlled by the heart of an emperor?
During the conversation between Li Nian and Ying Zheng, the palace of Zhangtai was eerily silent, and all the court eunuchs and maids dare not move. Even Meng Yi is motionless, trying to keep himself from making any sound and reducing his presence as much as possible.
If he could, Meng Yi would have preferred not to come today to accompany the emperor. However, he had no choice but to be present, as the emperor would not allow him to miss it.
