Chapter 26

After hearing these words, Ying Su did not blame him, for he also knew that Li Si was speaking the truth!

And every time he thought of this, he could not help but sigh!

Indeed!

Although the Great Qin Army is formidable, in terms of comprehensive national strength and people's livelihood, it truly cannot compare to the Great Zhou!

In fact, even the claim that it is half of the Great Zhou's peak was an exaggeration by Li Si.

There was no other way; under the governance of Zhou Gongdan, the Great Zhou enjoyed a peak period of nearly two hundred years!

And during this two-hundred-year peak, the nation, writing, culture, economy, and education all achieved sound development!

At its absolute peak, it even brought the entire populace to a state where everyone could have enough to eat!

In fact, because of this, later historians redefined the first great unified dynasty!

That is correct!

The first great unified dynasty in Chinese history was not the Qin Dynasty!

It was the Zhou Dynasty!

The Great Zhou was the first great unified dynasty in Chinese history!

Even though they practiced the feudal system!

Yet, based on the degree of control the Son of Heaven of the Zhou Dynasty exerted over the various feudal states during its peak, it could be completely defined as a great unified dynasty!

However, Ying Su was not discouraged!

How many years did it take for the Great Zhou, from defeating the Great Shang to Zhou Gongdan governing the state, to reach such a situation?

How many years has it been since the Qin Wang swept across the six states?

Moreover, can the truly established great unified dynasty of the Qin Dynasty be the same as that kind of watered-down great unified dynasty?

They are completely different!

Therefore, Ying Su was not discouraged at all.

He would make the Great Qin, after the First Emperor, usher in a period of rapid development!

And speaking of a period of rapid development, Ying Su could not help but want to ask Li Si a question:

"Between Shang Yang's reforms and Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu, which do you think is the true path to a powerful state?"

At that moment, Ying Su asked!

And speaking of Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu, one could not help but mention a figure whom, in Ying Su's view, possessed governing abilities at least at double S full level, infinitely close to SSS level.

A super fierce person who, after three Qin Wangs died within three years in the State of Qin, immediately cleaned up the mess, caused the comprehensive national strength of Qin to continue increasing for ten years, and even made the First Emperor, Seeing Ying Zheng, fear him for ten years!

It was he who abolished the primary merit-recording technique!

In fact, the capital that allowed Seeing Ying Zheng to sweep across the six states also had a part contributed by him!

Without him, after Ying Ying Yiren died, the State of Qin would most likely have fallen into endless internal chaos!

He was Lu Buwei!

The author of Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu!

And mentioning Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu, Li Si's heart could not help but tremble slightly, for he had once been a guest of Lu Buwei!

Similarly, it was precisely because of Lu Buwei that he had the opportunity to rise.

But... regarding some of Lu Buwei's actions, he could not help but find them highly objectionable!

For instance, not respecting the Qin Wang!

Failing to recognize the situation, and unable to distinguish the essential difference between a king and a minister!

But at the same time, regarding some of Lu Buwei's viewpoints, Li Si also agreed with them quite strongly!

Regarding this person's governing strategies, he was equally filled with immense admiration!

After pondering for a long time, he spoke:

"The essence of Shang Yang's reforms lies in weakening the power of the nobility, transferring the strength stripped from the nobles through severe laws and military merit onto the common people, using the people to counterbalance the nobles, thus making everyone in Qin fond of war and rendering wartime Qin incredibly formidable!"

"My teacher, Xunzi, though a Confucian scholar, believed that human nature is inherently evil and requires strict laws for restraint, so he highly advocated governing the country by law!"

"Han Fei believed that law is the foundation of a nation, but how to use the law, and how to propagate it so that everyone knows and obeys the law, is the fundamental point! Otherwise, if the ruler establishes laws but the people do not know the laws, then the ruler's laws are as if they do not exist!"

"And Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu is completely different from the Legalists; not only is it different from the Legalists, but it is also different from the Daoists, the Confucians, and the Mohists; it differs from all of these!"

"In my opinion, Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu is more like a doctrine that combines the thoughts of the Confucian, Mohist, Daoist, and Legalist schools into one!"

"In the war to unify the six states, Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu believed that the six states should be nibbled away gradually and not conquered all at once; such rapid expansion might cause instability in people's hearts, trigger great chaos, and ultimately rebound against Qin!"

"In terms of governing the state, Lu Lu Shi Chunqiu advocates ruling by doing nothing; the ruler should love the people like children, be lenient with punishments and laws, and return benevolence to the people!"

After Li Si finished speaking, he bowed down to Ying Su.

And Ying Su said nothing, only looking at Li Si: "Are you done speaking?"

"I..."

Li Si's body trembled slightly, his head bowed, saying nothing.

Ying Su continued to look at him, and he still remained silent!

Finally, Ying Su nodded:

"I understand!"

"Your Majesty, the Emperor, I..."

Li Si opened his mouth; he wanted to say something, but this time, Ying Su did not give him the chance:

"What you wanted to say, what you could say, you have already said!"

"What you wanted to say but hesitated to speak out shows that you are still hesitating!"

"Since you are hesitating, then do not speak it out for the time being!"

"Follow your true heart!"

"I..."

Li Si wept, bowing down before Facing Ying Su:

"Li Si advocates governing the state by law. Li Si believes that law is the root of a nation, law is the foundation of a nation. At all times and in all places, the people must be constrained by law. Especially now that our Qin state has established a unified dynasty, the laws must be unified. Without legal constraints, the former people would do as they please, I would do as I please; how could a state become a state? How could the Emperor possess any majesty?"

He cried out, bowing his head to the ground before Facing Ying Su with great force!

PS: Begging for flowers, begging for evaluation votes!!!!

022. Paper, to replace bamboo slips!

Hearing his words, Facing Ying Su smiled, bent down, and helped him up:

"Prime Minister, rise quickly!"

"Your Majesty... I..."

Li Si opened his mouth; he still wanted to say something!

But... Facing Ying Su waved his hand, cutting him off:

"I have come today with urgent matters to seek you out!"

"Urgent matters?"

Li Si was startled, immediately becoming solemn: "Your Majesty, just give the order; Li Si will give his life!"

Facing Ying Su smiled, then pulled an object from his robe!

"This... what is this object?"

Li Si was bewildered, and at the same time, took the rolled-up linen paper from Facing Ying Su's hand!

But after looking and looking again, he did not understand!

Facing Ying Su merely smiled without speaking; he pulled a single sheet from the large roll of paper in Li Si's hand.

Then, taking up a brush, he wrote a single character upon it:

"Paper!"

And, pointing at this character, he spoke aloud: "Paper!"

"With it, bamboo slips can be replaced!"

"What?"

"Replace bamboo slips?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Li Si was utterly stunned!

One must know, those are bamboo slips!

Since clumsy recording methods such as oracle bones and stone inscriptions were eliminated, the method of recording on bamboo slips has been unshakable!