Qin Official

Linzi has a large population and is the most popular place for citizen culture in the world. Its people are rich and enjoy pleasure. In their spare time, they all play Yu, drum and harp, build, play harp, fight cocks, run dogs, play Liubo, and play Cuju. In addition to these entertainment projects, actors and dwarfs are often active in restaurants in the streets and alleys, performing some performances during the banquet, in order to win the support of diners and help the restaurants to attract business.

The performances of most actors are mostly teasing, funny, and even self-inflicted. They will sing while beating the drums, and do somersaults on the table to make people laugh. The "Drumming and Rapping Pottery Figurines of the Eastern Han Dynasty" unearthed in later generations are A portrait of this group of people.

But among this group of people, there are also some outliers. They do not regard themselves as lowly advocates of excellence. They follow the example of Chunyu Jiji during the reign of King Qi Wei, relying on their words to eat and tell stories in wine shops. Although the story is based on street talk and hearsay, there are also some ancient stories that are talked about, such as "Yan Zi sent Chu" and "Chun Yu Ji wisely persuaded the king of Qi", which the people of Qi loved to hear.

In the busiest Zhuangyue City in Linzi, there is a famous wine shop, which invites a actor named "Youxiu" to sit on the table all year round.

It is said that Youxiu was once a slave of a "family". The family made up stories and asked him to tell them. The more Youxiu told them, the better they became, and his reputation spread throughout Linzi. Before Jia's death, Yuxiu regained his freedom, and he continued to make a living by telling stories. He would appear in this wine shop on the first and fifteenth day of every month. At this time, the restaurant is full of guests, and Youxiu sits in the middle. The diners who come here surround him on three floors inside and three outside.

Today is the first day of September, and is no exception. Youxiu is less than six feet tall. He wears a turban on his head, his shoulders are high, he is wearing a child's dark clothes, but he has an exaggerated mustache. He looks a little funny, but His expression was very serious.

He sat at the center table of the wine shop, glanced around, and started the story with his unique loud voice...

"Shi Kuang was a high official in the Spring and Autumn Period of Jin Ping Gong. He was a blind music official, erudite and talented, especially good at music, and good at playing the piano. I wrote six chapters of "Shi Kuang" for him. Today I will only talk about one of them, "The Sound of the Subjugation of the Country" This matter."

As Youxiu started talking, a moment later, the story gradually came to an end.

"When Shi Kuang played "Qing Shang", sixteen black cranes flew together in front of the corridor door under the hall; when "Qing Zheng" was played, the black cranes stretched out their necks and began to sing and dance with the sound of the piano. Duke Ping of Jin was overjoyed when he saw this. He stood up and toasted Shi Kuang, and then asked Shi Kuang, is there any more moving music than this?"

"Shi Kuang said that there is music like "Qing Jiao", but only people with profound virtues can listen to this music. The king is not worthy of it. If he listens to it forcefully, I am afraid that his family and country will be destroyed!"

"Dong Ping of Jin did not hesitate and said that it is best for me to have fun in this life, so he forced Shi Kuang to play. If he didn't obey, he would be killed! Shi Kuang had no choice but to take the piano and play it. He played the first song, and Bai Yun followed. The sky in the northwest appeared, and the color of the heaven and earth changed instantly; in the second song, strong winds and heavy rain came, hitting the sky and covering the earth, blowing the roof tiles flying in all directions, and everyone running around in panic!"

There were a lot of discussions in the wine shop, but they all stopped now, astonished by Shi Kuang's miraculous skills.

Youxiu continued: "Ping Gong was so frightened that he crouched down and hid between the corridors. He shouted repeatedly, asking Shi Kuang to stop playing. When Shi Kuang stopped, the wind stopped, the rain receded, and the clouds cleared and the fog dispersed."

"But it was too late. There was a severe drought in Jin for three years, and no grass grew. Duke Ping of Jin also fell seriously ill, and Jin declined..."

Having said this, Youxiu slapped the table and ended today's story. Only then did the diners come back to their senses and praised the story one after another, but some people laughed and said:

"Isn't it just listening to the piano? Can it really be so exaggerated to the point of changing the situation?"

Youxiu smiled and said: "This gentleman is right, but ritual and music are indistinguishable from each other. Music is like virtue, so music is also divided into many types."

He stood up and counted them one by one with his fingers: "There is the joy of the emperor, the joy of the princes, the joy of the ministers, the joy of the scholars, the joy of the common people, and so on. So joy Don't be reckless, your status and virtue must match it, otherwise it will lead to some bad things. This is what Confucius said, 'If a country is in severe drought, all punishments and virtues will be lost.'"

"Does Youxiu also recite the teachings of Confucius?" asked a young Confucian scholar wearing a Confucian crown in the wine shop.

Youxiu explained: "Although I have never worshiped a Confucian as my teacher or worn a Confucian uniform or a Confucian crown, I have heard about Confucius' words from my friends."

His voice suddenly changed: "Actually, things in this world are not like this. If a king is not morally worthy and imitates Duke Ping of Jin and does something forcibly, he will definitely be considered rude by heaven and earth and will be punished. Give some omens and give warnings and punishments!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the wine shop was in an uproar. The young Confucian scholar wearing a Confucian crown whispered to others: "Will you be warned if you do something that does not match your own virtue? Then I heard that the emperor went to Mount Tai last month Feng Chan, he encountered a heavy rain just after he went up the mountain, and his whole body was soaked. How should we calculate this?"

"Emperor Feng Chan is in the rain?"

Many people heard about this for the first time and immediately became interested. In the past few years, under the control of the government, the price of wine in Linzi has increased several times. There are basically no poor people who can come here for entertainment. Qi people are easy to talk about, especially this group of people who have no worries about food and clothing.

While pushing cups and cups, the diners began to discuss this "state matter."

The Confucian scholar told everyone the news he had heard from his teacher. From the time when Qin Shihuang did not use the words of Confucian scholars and violated ancient practices, he used the etiquette of Qin Guanzhong mixed with the "customs of Rong and Di" to consecrate Zen, to the changes on the top of Mount Tai.

After several cups of horse urine, the young Confucian scholar became bolder, and finally shouted: "My master and friend said that Mount Tai is spiritual and will not accept the title of Zen from a virtuous king. At that time, Duke Huan of Qi was not qualified, let alone this so-called The First Emperor of Qin, in my opinion, is not really the son of destiny!"

As soon as these words came out, there was silence in the wine shop, and then there was a burst of agreement. After the rule of the Qin Dynasty, the life of Linzi people had dropped several levels. Their dissatisfaction had long been settled in their hearts. Although they did not dare to take any action, they could put it into practice. To vent in words, Youxiu just drank wine and looked at the scene in front of her with a smile.

The Confucian scholar was encouraged and shouted again: "The emperor is unethical and violent, but he forcibly consecrated Zen with the ritual of Rong and Di. He angered God and sent down a warning of torrential rain. In my opinion, it is just like Duke Ping of Jin who forced himself to listen to "Qingjiao" , in the next few years, the world may be in chaos!"

"Of course!" Everyone toasted to the Confucian scholar.

Only a few smart people noticed that the topics being discussed in this wine shop were getting more and more strange, so they put a few and a half taels of money on the table and started to walk out.

But before everyone could leave the wine shop, a rush of footsteps stopped outside.

A group of Qin soldiers surrounded this place.

Everyone's expressions suddenly changed. Youxiu stood up quickly and wanted to run out of the back door, but found that there was also blocked. When the owner of the restaurant came out after hearing the news, his face turned pale.

A group of black-clad Qin soldiers walked in like wolves and tigers with swords in their hands, pointing their weapons at all the diners.

Then, a Qin jailer wearing a law walked into the wine shop, glanced at the people inside, fixed his eyes on Youxiu and the drunken Confucian scholar, sneered, waved his hand and said:

"Everyone who slanders His Majesty in this wine shop will be arrested. No one can escape!"

…

Qin Shihuang has left Jixia and came to the "Palace" in Linzi City, which is actually the former palace of King Qi.

Qi people like extravagance. Starting from Jiang Qi, almost every king will build a high platform of his own. The successive kings of Tian Qi also inherited this hobby. Therefore, in the palace city in the southwest of Linzi City, there are countless high-rise buildings standing like pyramids. The bases are very wide and are surrounded by smooth stones. It is spectacular when you look at it.

Qin Shihuang lived in the Dashi Palace, which was built by King Xuan of Qi and covered an area of ​​100 acres. The hall above was also very large, with a total of 300 rooms. This project is so huge that it took three years to complete due to the wealth of Qi, but now it is an advantage for the people of Qin.

In the hall of the main hall, the ministers who accompanied the emperor on his eastward tour and the chief officials from Linzi were all present. The atmosphere was somewhat solemn, as if a war was imminent.

"This is indeed a war...a battle of life and death without smoke, but with far-reaching consequences!"

Hei Fu stood in the middle of the hall and sighed secretly. As he expected, the group of Confucian scholars waiting at the foot of Mount Tai actually ridiculed him when they heard that Qin Shihuang's conferment of Zen was blocked by wind and rain. It would have been fine if they said it behind his back, but there were a few big talkers who actually expressed this through letters and other means. The incident spread to Linzi and became known throughout the city.

If you don't seek death, you won't die. In the eyes of Qin Shihuang and Qin officials, openly questioning the legitimacy of Qin and saying that the emperor had "bad morals" was obviously a challenge to the emperor's authority! After hearing this, he was furious and immediately ordered Li Si and Linzi officials to send out troops to arrest anyone who discussed the matter. Those who spread rumors would be punished as libel.

The Linzi County Sheriff and the Prime Minister are reporting the arrests in Linzi City in the past few days.

"Your Majesty, anyone in Linzi who dares to criticize the title of Zen in the streets of wine shops has been arrested!"

According to the confessions of Youxiu and others, the government investigated and found a doctor who first leaked the news and slandered the emperor. He also implicated dozens of people, mostly Confucian scholars. As a result, out of the seventy doctors, two out of ten were lost, and the others were also in panic. After all, after the emperor left them at the foot of Mount Tai, everyone had more or less complained.

According to the law, the first person to spread the rumor is guilty of defamation, and in serious cases may be beheaded and abandoned. Other sympathizers must also be charged with the crime of "group drinking" of gathering a crowd to cause trouble and the crime of failure to report knowledge, or be fined or punished. Disciple, sent to build Lishan Mausoleum.

But Qin Shihuang didn't want to give up, so he asked the officials to gather to discuss how to deal with the matter.

As a patron of Confucian scholars, Zuo Prime Minister Wang Wan could not escape the blame, but during the discussion, he still insisted that what happened this time was just a small group of ignorant Confucian scholars who were dissatisfied, and they could just find them one by one and punish them, but It is not necessary to implicate all PhDs.

"Your Majesty, the people of Qilu are naturally open to discussion. It's just a temporary discussion among stupid people. It's nothing to worry about."

"Prime Minister Zuo, what you said is wrong! It is precisely because there are so many foolish people in the world that we cannot allow people to slander us. Otherwise, if people in the world believe it to be true, their hearts will be disturbed and chaos will arise!"

The right prime minister, Li Si, was confronting him. He knew that the time had come to completely defeat Wang Wan and make him unable to recover!

Heifu stood behind him and saw Li Si, opposite to Wang Wan's hunched back, taking a big step, walking out of the queue to pay homage to Qin Shihuang, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, in the past, the princes had disputes and recruited a large number of lobbyists, so that they could not be cured but talked about. They were so indulgent that these people could not control their own mouths! They often used false words to bring harm to the present, and used pretentious words to bring bad names. Reality."

"Today, it has been decided that the laws come from His Majesty, and no matter what is right or wrong, it is decided by one person. Under the emperor, the people of Guizhou should devote themselves to agriculture and industry and create wealth for Your Majesty. Scholars should learn the laws and punishments, and serve as officials of the Qin Dynasty. Your Majesty governs the people, this is the proper use of reading and learning!"

"But now, students do not learn from the present but study the past. They only appreciate the knowledge they have learned privately and criticize the legal system established by the imperial court. In this way, they slander His Majesty's rule and confuse the people. Whenever you hear something, you will Everyone discusses based on what they have learned and takes the lead in creating slander among the people. I am afraid that all this is not unique to Linzi. If it is not prohibited, it will inevitably make people's hearts wander, weakening the power of the court at the top, and forming a trend of cliques at the bottom... "

Having said this, Li Si paid his respects again and suggested:

"In my opinion, after every incident, it is not enough to just investigate the culprit. New laws should be established to prohibit private discussions in the world. Let the historians burn all the history books of the six countries they have collected! Only Dr. Xianyang is allowed to officialize the classics After studying the collection, in addition, if there is a collection of "Poems", "Books", and the sayings of hundreds of schools of thought in the world, they should also be burned by local guards and Wei! From now on, those who borrow the ancient and non-modern will be punished! Those who dare to gather in groups to talk about ancient events, "Poems" and "Books" will be beheaded and abandoned in the market! Those who secretly hide poems, books and hundreds of schools of thought will be tattooed as City Dan! I hope Your Majesty will give you permission!"

"What!"

As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar in the hall, especially Zhang Cang, who was standing at the end, was shocked and looked at his senior brother Li Si in disbelief.

Li Si also studied imperial arts in Lanling and Jixia back then. He had a certain understanding of Baijiayan and was deeply nourished by it. Why is it necessary to ban all of them now?

If this comes to pass, let alone the "New Jixia" that Mr. Hei said that day, which is brewing in the world, this world's academic forest will probably be like the Qi Palace outside, with all the flowers withered and lonely, with only a few chrysanthemums left. Down!

He was about to go out and make a request, saying that this was absolutely impossible! Unexpectedly, Heifu in front had noticed his actions. In order to prevent the fat man who carried the hope of China's future science from being convicted for his words again, he stood up first and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, the words of your Prime Minister are of great kindness!"

Everyone looked at Heifu. He actually agreed before everyone could react from the shock? It's too urgent.

Ye Teng was also very surprised and scrambled to stand out. This was not something that his son-in-law would do.

Qin Shihuang had not expressed his position yet, but he looked at Hei Fu and said with a playful smile: "You also think that Prime Minister You's proposal is feasible?"

"The matter of Mount Tai's enshrining of Zen is obviously auspicious and in line with the virtues of Qin. The slanderers are all people with ulterior motives and should be punished! As for doctors and private schools, they have allowed chaos in the past few years, and they really should be rectified!"

Heifu expressed his position, but then his voice changed and he said:

"However, the law of Qin has always punished the guilty severely and pardoned the innocent. Unless it was a clan execution, it only punished the father, mother and wife. I am ignorant. Although the knowledge in this world is collectively called 'Hundred Schools', in fact , but they all go their own way, and even become hostile to each other. Those who have not interacted with each other for the rest of their lives are not only not relatives, they are not even neighbors. Now because a few Confucian scholars have committed crimes, all other private schools are banned and all books are burned. Will this... …Is it suspected of causing harm to Chiyu?”