Chapter 330: What Vessel?

"Qin, holding the strategic heartland of all under Heaven, established its capital at the headwaters of the realm, set laws and ordinances yet enfeoffed no sons or younger brothers, so that ducal sons and commoners alike fought fiercely in the state's wars. Each time it seized territory, it abolished enfeoffed lords and set up commanderies and counties — thus Qin grew ever stronger. This is what it means to unite the strength of a whole state into a public vessel…"

"Chu was not so. Its enfeoffed lords were too many, its noble houses too weighty — even Wu Qi could not restrain them. At the Battle of Yan and Ying, Lord Wu'an led his army deep into Chu alone, yet the Chu enfeoffed lords each clung to his own household and fled at the first rumor of his approach. And so Chu grew feebler by the day. Though its territory stretched five thousand li and it bore a million halberds, it could not withstand a hundred thousand of Qin's crack troops. Why? This is what it means to divide a state's strength into the vessels of private houses."

"Therefore, enfeoffment invariably weakens, while commanderies and counties bring strength. Now Your Majesty has united all within the seas, yet if you divide half of all under Heaven into enfeoffed kingdoms, do you not fear that a hundred years hence your sons and grandsons will repeat the fate of the house of Zhou?"

Having read the memorial Li Si had submitted overnight, Qin Shi Huang revealed a rare smile.

"Li Si, ah, Li Si — you have written yet another fine essay worthy of being proclaimed to all under Heaven."

No, rather, one should say: any essay Li Si put his mind to writing could draw a reader in before they knew it, and after reading it make them slap the table in acclaim. Truly worthy of a disciple of Master Xun.

But in Qin Shi Huang's heart, Master Xun's other disciple held an even higher place.

Li Si was merely a great talent who could help him accomplish the work of an emperor — a man pleasant and smooth to employ. But the words Han Fei had written could be upheld as the very Way of the sovereign.

Qin Shi Huang remembered the first time he read "The Five Vermin" and "The Solitary Indignation" — he had been stunned as though beholding a celestial being, and exclaimed outright: "Ah! If I could but meet this man and travel with him, I could die without regret!"

A pity — matters do not always unfold as one imagines.

Qin Shi Huang swept away his stray thoughts and looked at the memorials piled before him. Aside from Li Si, Wei Zhuang, Wang Wan, Feng Quji, the Nine Ministers, and the Capital Minister Ye Teng had all written their memorials overnight and submitted them. Though their literary polish fell far short of Li Si's, at least none had remained silent.

Among them, some — like Wang Wan and the Minister of the Imperial Clan — steadfastly held that enfeoffment was best; others, like Feng Quji, held views similar to Li Si's.

Only that old Chancellor Wei Zhuang dared to speak equivocal nonsense, because he understood: the Emperor kept him as Chancellor not for his ability, but to occupy that position — one man below, ten thousand above — and delay handing it to whoever came next.

The chancellorship, in the Emperor's eyes, was nothing more than a meaty bone, used to goad the hounds into performing desperately in the hunt.

On this debate between enfeoffment and commanderies, Qin Shi Huang had long since made his choice. He had allowed the court debate to run its course and sat back to watch Wang Wan and Li Si wrestle only because he wished to see what views the assembled ministers held.

If every man's heart leaned toward enfeoffment, that would be dangerous indeed…

But the situation was roughly as he had anticipated. The Ruist academicians came from east of the mountains; their reading had addled their brains. They clung stubbornly to that set of Zhougong's governance which Confucius had yearned for in his heart — stuck in antiquity and incapable of change.

And among the court officials, the civil officials had their own factions, the military officers their own private ambitions — they could not wait to enfeoff the various princes as kings on a grand scale, for then they might perhaps restore the discontinued substantive enfeoffments and carve out territory to become lords and marquises themselves.

Everyone, while putting forward their own opinions, was guessing at the Emperor's mind — Li Si was no exception.

After reading through all the memorials, Qin Shi Huang raised his head and rubbed his neck, sore from working through the night. He had an attendant drape a fox-fur robe over him against the cold, then asked the receptionist:

"Who is on duty tonight?"

…

Gentlemen of the Guard on duty had to keep their eyes open the whole night and answer every summons at once. If they dozed off, they would be severely punished. So when the summons came, Heifu quickly followed the receptionist inside.

Outside the Zhangtai Palace, all was already utterly still, but here within the forbidden inner court, the silence revealed hints of busyness. Heifu saw receptionists carrying bamboo scrolls in and out — memorials sent from the various commanderies and counties, most likely.

Heifu had been a Gentleman of the Guard for only a few days, but he had already heard that the Emperor's habit was not to rest until the day's government affairs were finished. The hour had already passed the time of settled stillness (11 p. m. to 1 a. m.); ordinary commoners would long since have had several dreams. Who would have imagined that their Emperor was still toiling before his desk?

"Could it be that Qin Shi Huang's short life was simply death from overwork?"

Thinking thus, he stepped into the depths of the inner court. The inner attendant on duty in the hall saw Heifu being led in and, with a movement soft as a cat's, gently rolled up the curtain and beaded screen, letting him stoop to enter.

A faint fragrance wafted from the beast-shaped brazier, suffusing the bedchamber — probably an incense to rouse the mind.

Passing another wooden screen, Heifu could at last see clearly: the Emperor, already divested of his crown and headdress, sat upright behind his desk in a set of black informal robes, leafing through bamboo slips and tablets. Two palace maids attended at a distance beside the imperial desk, making the vast hall seem exceptionally empty and spacious.

The receptionist led Heifu straight before the imperial presence and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Heifu, Commander of the Palace Gentlemen, is summoned!"

"Your humble servant Heifu pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Heifu prostrated himself. At that moment the Emperor finished reading another scroll of bamboo slips. He bent over the imperial desk, moistened his brush with ink, and wrote and marked something. He did not raise his head, merely gave a slight nod to indicate "I have noted," then with a light wave of his hand bade Heifu dispense with the formalities.

When working, Qin Shi Huang appeared extremely intent — now frowning, now nodding — so that for a long stretch of time he forgot Heifu's presence beside him.

The Emperor having nothing to say, Heifu could only stand with eyes on his nose and nose on his heart, not daring to let out a loud breath. He sensed that Qin Shi Huang was probably a man who deeply disliked having his work process interrupted…

Only after he had read through three more scrolls of bamboo slips, finished writing his instructions, and had no more work at hand did the Emperor raise his head and speak:

"When I earlier ordered the ministers to deliberate on an imperial title, the memorial Heifu submitted quite accorded with my intent. Only then did I learn that this military clerk of commoner origin actually possessed some skill with brush and knife. Today the ministers have spoken on the debate between enfeoffment and commanderies — what is your view?"

"Your Majesty."

Heifu said hastily: "Your humble servant is no longer a Gentleman Consultant, but the Director of the Palace Guard, charged only with keeping night watch over the forbidden precincts — I dare not discuss governance!"

Heifu had heard the story of how the Crown-Keeper once draped a robe over Marquis Zhao of Han, yet afterward was punished together with the Robe-Keeper. In the Legalist view, dereliction of duty was a crime — but overstepping one's authority was also a crime! As a devotee of Han Fei's doctrines, Qin Shi Huang surely detested those who overstepped their authority. The waters of the Xianyang court ran deep. Having shown his mettle once and gained real benefit, that was enough. What Heifu needed now was to speak less and observe more — not to play the dog catching rats and meddle in others' affairs.

"No matter."

Qin Shi Huang set down the bamboo slips and brush: "It is I who bid you speak!"

Though not overstepping one's authority was a principle for Qin officials, once the Emperor gave the order, the dog meant to watch the door had to learn to catch rats, and the hen meant to lay eggs had to learn to herald the dawn.

Such was the supreme sovereign's power. When the Emperor bade you open your mouth, you had no choice but to speak.

Fortunately, after listening to Li Si and Wang Wan debate today, Heifu had pondered the matter afterward and still had a bit of stock in his belly.

What was called "enfeoffment" was when the sovereign parceled out state territory to royal house members or meritorious officials, and it could be inherited. The enfeoffed person held ruling power within the fief — this was substantive enfeoffment. There was also another type: nominal enfeoffment, which granted no land, only a noble title, stipend, and privileges.

"Commanderies and counties" was when the central government divided the state's territory into commanderies and counties, appointing commandery governors and county magistrates to govern them, with fixed terms of office and no hereditary succession.

The Zhou dynasty was a classic example of the enfeoffment system; the Qin dynasty, then, was a classic example of the commandery-county system.

Judging by historical development, the shift from enfeoffment to commanderies and counties was an inevitable process. Yet the debate over its merits and flaws, back and forth, was a topic that would endure for two thousand years without fading. It was often said that Qin's swift fall was connected to its failure to enfeoff — taking that as a starting point would invite endless further disputes.

But Heifu, standing at this turning point of history, was pondering in his heart not how to devise a perfect, all-encompassing policy for Great Qin, but rather calculating his own gains and losses…

"Qin Shi Huang surely leans toward commanderies and counties. My answer may not greatly alter state policy, but it will have an enormous impact on my personal career."

Heifu did not imagine that a casual remark from a minor figure like himself could change Qin Shi Huang's mind.

So whatever he said next had to follow several principles.

First, he must not offend Li Si! Still less could he let the Emperor feel that Heifu's thinking strayed too far from his own.

Yet he could not simply echo Li Si entirely — he had to have his own view, one that would make the Emperor remember him deeply!

After sorting out his thoughts, Heifu lowered his head and said: "Your servant comes from humble origins and served as a clerk in Nan Commandery, and thus knows what commanderies and counties are. In the campaign against Chu I saw Lord Hu Douran and Lord of Qin Sun Feng, and fought against them, and thus came to know what enfeoffment is. Therefore, as to what the Left Chancellor said today about how fine the enfeoffment of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties was, I truly have no knowledge. As for the merits and flaws of enfeoffment and commanderies, I dare not speak recklessly."

"It is better that you do not know those ancient matters. Speak as you think — do not hold back out of concern."

Qin Shi Huang stroked his beard and thought to himself: the political views of the imperial clan, the civil officials, the military officers, the academicians — he had now heard from virtually everyone.

Though his mind was already made up — he intended to endorse Li Si's proposal, abolish the old system, and thoroughly sever the wheel of enfeoffment and fragmentation, sending all under Heaven, under his own driving, hurtling down an entirely new road —

this time, he still wished to know: a young man who had risen from the commoners, who had fought in two campaigns to destroy Chu and expanded his territory by a thousand li — how did he view this matter?

This was not consultation, still less seeking answers to doubts, but rather a desire to examine this young man's political views and caliber.

Every person is a vessel, each with a different function.

Confucius said that Zigong was a hu-lian — a ritual vessel for the ancestral temple, a talent fit to govern a state and bring peace to the realm.

In Qin Shi Huang's repository of talents, Wang Jian was a mighty sun-shooting bow, capable of striking down powerful foes, but once the swans and geese had all been hunted, he had to be stored away on a high shelf — those crows and sparrows that occasionally flew by were not worth using him for.

Li Xin was originally a sharp blade for butchering oxen, but it was carelessly broken once, and now can only serve as a small knife for slaughtering chickens.

Li Si, on the other hand, is a cord — timber straightened to the line, bent by steaming to form a wheel — capable of binding the lawless and setting the world in order, but one end of the cord must be held firmly in the hand.

As for Han Fei, he is a tortoise shell enshrined in the temple, which Qin Shi Huang may consult at any time. The divination texts carved upon the shell can help him achieve the Way of the South-facing Ruler, but a tortoise shell is only useful once the tortoise is dead…

The rest — Meng Tian, Meng Yi, Li You, and the others — are all vessels as well.

Heifu has already caught Qin Shi Huang's eye, but this young man is somewhat strange. He seems to be versed in both civil and military affairs, yet also seems to excel at neither. At times he has novel ideas, at times he appears mediocre. What sort of vessel is he?

"In this subject's opinion…"

After hesitating for a long while, Heifu finally gritted his teeth and said: "In this humble subject's foolish view, feudalism and the commandery system appear contradictory, yet in truth, they need not be mutually exclusive. Would it not be better to…"

He stole a glance at Qin Shi Huang's expression — neither pleased nor angered — and, emboldened, continued: "Would it not be better to do as the successive rulers of Qin have done over the past hundred-plus years, allowing feudalism and the commandery system to coexist, implementing one state with dual tracks!"

PS: Thanks to Fenglin Wanxiao for becoming an Alliance Leader of this book. This is the owed bonus chapter, counting for the 30th.

Also, May is almost over — begging for monthly votes!

(End of chapter)