Chapter 589

Although noncommittal, Su Xuan still spoke, "In Xun Zi's eyes, is the Qin Guo like this?"

"As far as I know, Xun Zi once traveled to the Qin Guo years ago and praised the Qin Guo, saying, 'The Qin Guo has had four generations of victory; it is fate, not luck!'"

Xun Zi said faintly, "You remember my past very clearly, then do you know that I also said another sentence at that time?"

"'If you weigh it by the merits and fame of a king, then it is far from enough!'"

Xun Zi lived for a very long time. He once traveled to various countries in the world. When he traveled to the Qin Guo, the ruler of the Qin Guo was King Zhaowang of Qin. He held a positive attitude toward the strength of the Qin Guo.

In the eyes of many, the Qin Guo experiencing Duke Xiao of Qin, King Huiwen, King Wu, and up to King Zhaowang was a kind of luck; after all, they had four generations of wise rulers. But in Xun Zi's view, this was not luck, but because of the Qin Guo's system. After Shang Yang's reform, the system formed by the Qin Guo made it difficult for the Qin Guo to have muddled rulers.

But this system had both advantages and disadvantages.

While Xun Zi praised it, he also disapproved of its strategy of prioritizing penal law and administration while slighting benevolence, virtue, and the gentleman-scholar, which is why that later remark exists.

"Although Xun Zi did say the later sentence, at that time, after all, it was far from today. The Qin Guo of today is no longer the Qin Guo of the past. As long as the State of Qi is destroyed, the Qin Guo can establish an unprecedented great cause and unify the world. At that time, the nine provinces will be connected, and the six directions will have the same customs!"

"Has Xun Zi changed his initial view?"

Xun Zi was silent for a while and said, "The nine provinces connected, the six directions with the same customs—even I have to admit that I indeed underestimated the Qin Guo. If the Qin Guo accomplishes this, it will indeed have achieved an unprecedented great cause."

This sentence was Xun Zi's sincere words.

When he traveled to the Qin Guo years ago, the ruler of the Qin Guo was King Zhaowang of Qin. At that time, although the Qin Guo was powerful and had Bai Qi as a general, conquering the six countries wantonly, it ultimately failed to destroy the six countries.

Later, the six countries joined forces several times, especially the time Lord Xinling defeated the Qin Guo, which showed that the Qin Guo was not invincible.

Unfortunately, times have changed.

As the Qin Guo continuously attacked the six countries, finally, the scales of victory completely tilted toward the Qin Guo one day.

Thus, Han Guo was destroyed. After Han Guo was destroyed, it was like a fuse; the other countries were also successively destroyed by the Qin Guo. Today, five of the six Shandong states have been destroyed.

Compared to the result, this process was not so important.

Xun Zi had to admit that if the Qin Guo truly unified the world, regardless of the Qin Guo's reputation in the six Shandong states, the Qin Guo had already achieved a great cause!

But admiring the Qin Guo was one thing; this did not mean Xun Zi agreed with the Qin Guo's system. He continued, "I still hold that view. Shang Yang's reform successfully trained the Qin Guo into a powerful war chariot. Wherever the war chariot went, the six countries successively bowed their heads. But the Qin Guo values criminal law and administration and slights benevolence and virtue. If this continues, it will eventually leave behind deep hidden dangers..."

"At present, these hidden dangers have not yet erupted, only because the war has not ended. If one day, after the war ends, the Qin Guo still values criminal law and administration and slights benevolence and virtue, and the common people are in a high-pressure environment for a long time, it will sooner or later invite backlash..."

Su Xuan listened quietly to Xun Zi's words and had to praise him in his heart.

Xun Zi was indeed Xun Zi; he saw the drawbacks of the Qin Guo's system at a glance.

After Shang Yang's reform, the Qin Guo implemented the military merit system, which made the Qin Guo a nation of soldiers, facing the six countries with the strength of one country, and it was about to destroy the six countries. But the military merit system had a huge drawback.

That was, there must be war.

Constant war made this war chariot full of scars and hidden dangers. It was only because of the war that they did not erupt. If one day, there was no more war in the world, then all the hidden dangers would erupt in an instant, not only because the soldiers had no battles to fight and no opportunities for promotion, but also because the people of the several countries destroyed by the Qin Guo could not bear the Qin Guo's harsh laws. They had been enduring it. It was fine while Seeing Ying Zheng was alive; after all, if he did not die, no one dared to move. But if he died, the sword hanging over the heads of the people of the world would disappear, and the people of the six countries who were unwilling to accept the Qin Guo's cruel laws would instantly riot.

History was just like that.

After Seeing Ying Zheng passed away, Hu Hai succeeded to the throne, and in just a few years, the Qin Guo was directly destroyed.

Looking at the later Han Dynasty, in terms of system, it inherited the Qin Guo entirely, but the two Hans lasted for hundreds of years. Why?

It was only because during the Han Dynasty, many cruel laws were abolished, the burden on the heads of the people became much lighter, and the people also got a chance to breathe.

Still the same sentence: if they could truly live, who would think of rebelling?

"What Xun Zi said is indeed very reasonable. I have also advised the King of Qin on the hidden dangers of valuing administration and slighting benevolence and virtue, but because the world has not yet been unified, it is not yet the time for reform!"

After the relevant thoughts flashed through Su Xuan's mind, Su Xuan said to Xun Zi.

"Oh?"

Su Xuan's words surprised Xun Zi. He did not expect that this leader of the Yin-Yang School, who was famous for his martial force, had such vision to see this.

Su Xuan continued, "However, even if the world is unified, it is impossible to rashly abolish administration. The reason the Qin Guo values administration is to train more soldiers and lay the foundation for the military merit system."

Upon hearing Su Xuan's later words, Xun Zi said, "The existence of the military merit system does indeed make the Qin Guo possess a powerful army that overrides the six countries, but one must know that its existence also has its drawbacks, that is, there must be uninterrupted war."

"After the six countries are destroyed, where will there be so many wars?"

Earlier, Su Xuan claimed to have advised the King of Qin on reform, which surprised Xun Zi, but later, hearing Su Xuan claim that the Qin Guo could not rashly abolish administration and the military merit system, he disagreed.

In his view, as long as the Qin Guo continued to implement the military merit system, the Qin Guo would be finished sooner or later.

It was the principle he spoke of: the existence of the military merit system must have war.

"Does Xun Zi think that destroying the six countries is the end?" Su Xuan's mouth curled into a strange smile.

Xun Zi's brows lifted slightly. "What do you want to say?"

"To the south are the Baiyue, to the north are the Xiongnu!"

"Destroying the six countries and unifying the world can only show that the Qin Guo has solved internal troubles, but external troubles have not been eliminated. And even if the Baiyue are conquered and the Xiongnu are destroyed, this world is larger than Xun Zi imagines. Outside the nine provinces, there are still nine provinces. The military merit system will always have soil for its existence!" **Chapter 591: You Do It If You Can! **