Qin Official

The tinkling sound resounded non-stop, and on the huge cliff of Zhifu Mountain, a stone carving was being carved bit by bit by countless craftsmen...

Heifu, who was in charge of supervising the work, looked up at the seal-engraved stones. The words were written by Li Si. After arranging the first phase of the task of "collecting the Book of the World" in Linzi, Prime Minister Li also came to Jiaodong, and the first thing after arriving in Zhifu was The first thing he did was to write a stone-engraved document for Qin Shihuang. Those words were majestic and simple, which was full of praise.

"In the thirty-second year of the Wei Dynasty, it was Mengdong, and everything was in a state of death. The emperor traveled eastward, visited Zhifu, and shined on the sea..."

"In Yu County, we must obey the holy will. The ministers recited the merits, please engrave them on stones, and hang them in the usual way."

After reading this paragraph, Heifu looked at Zhang Cang, who was also assigned this boring job, and said: "Everywhere your Majesty goes, he likes to mark stones as a mark of memory."

"It's not just your Majesty."

Zhang Cang said: "My senior brother Han Fei once told a story that King Wuling of Zhao asked craftsmen to make a hook ladder, climbed Mount Bowu, carved a big footprint, and then wrote next to it: My father once traveled here!"

"After King Zhao of Qin heard about this, he also ordered people to climb Mount Huashan with hooks and ladders, and built a huge chessboard out of pine, cypress and stone. The board was eight feet wide and the chessboard was eight inches long. On the side of the huge stone, there were inscriptions: King Qin once talked with the gods in the sky. Let’s play chess!”

"Hahaha! Such a thing could happen?"

After hearing this, Heifu couldn't help laughing. Isn't this a typical "so-and-so is here for a visit"! It turns out that Master Zhao and King Zhao of Qin are the initiators of this practice.

Everywhere Qin Shihuang visited, he would happily send people to carve stones as souvenirs. So far, he has left three places in Hengshan, Yishan and Taishan. Of course, Zhifu Island with beautiful scenery and strong yang energy will not be missed.

"I remember that a few years ago, when the stone carvings were first being done at Hengshan, Prime Minister Li once published a paper on "Discussing Stone Carvings."

Heifu recalled the not-so-famous article because he clearly remembered what Li Si said at the time...

"The five emperors and three kings in ancient times had different knowledge and teachings, and unclear laws. They pretended to be powerful to deceive ghosts and gods in distant places, but they were not worthy of their names, so they did not live long. While they were still alive, the princes became more rebellious and the laws were ineffective."

He also said: "Now the emperor has unified the sea into counties and counties, and the world is at peace. All the ministers recited the emperor's merits and deeds, and carved them on gold and stone to represent the scriptures."...

These paragraphs of Li Si explain the reason for writing and engraving the inscriptions, that is, not to recite ghosts and gods, not to mention ancient kings, but only to respect the current emperor. This theme has been consistent from the Hengshan stone carvings four years ago to the Zhifu stone carvings today and has never changed. There is not a single word in the stone carvings praising ancient kings and ghosts and gods.

"So, what is Prime Minister Li's attitude towards ghosts and gods and Fang Xiandao, who wrote that memorial?" Hei Fu asked Zhang Cang.

"None of the disciples taught by Master believes in ghosts and gods."

Zhang Cang shook his head and said: "Master will tell each disciple a story. It is said that in the south of Xia Shou, there is a man named Juan Shuliang. This man is stupid and afraid of everything. Walking on a moonlit night, he lowers his head and sees I thought my own shadow was a ghost lying on the ground, and when I looked up at my hair, I thought it was a standing monster. I was so frightened that I turned around and ran away. When I got home, I died of fright."

"The Master said that there are no ghosts and gods in this world. In other words, ghosts and gods do not exist in the world, but in the human heart!"

"Anyone who thinks there are ghosts must be the impression left when they are in a trance and unclear mind. As for those who claim that they have been practicing since childhood, have seen gods, and can teach emperors the art of immortality, they are either stupid enough to deceive themselves. , or they have bad thoughts and want to use the name of ghosts and gods to achieve their own goals!"

Xunzi also gave a new interpretation of sacrifices and divination: "The eclipses of the sun and moon are used to relieve people, and droughts bring relief. The divination and then the decision of major events are not done in the hope of seeking, but in the form of literature. Therefore, the gentleman thinks of literature, and the people think of gods. . If you think of literature, you will be lucky, if you think of gods, you will be unlucky. "

He did not believe that praying for rain could make it rain, or that divination could predict the future. The reason why sacrifices and divination are held is just for the sake of etiquette and ritual, and is a kind of educational activity. It is enough for the people to believe. If the carnivores who govern them really believe that sacrifices and divination have mysterious effects, it will cause disaster.

That's why Han Feicai ridiculed the kings of Chu and Yan who believed in elixirs in his "Shuo Lin", and in "Xie Xie" he mocked those who believed in tortoise shell divination and used these results to make war decisions, saying with a smile: " Tortoises, ghosts and gods are not enough to win, nor are they able to fight with their hometowns left and right. However, relying on them is a fool's errand!"

The same goes for Zhang Cang, who dared to hold his head high on the top of Mount Tai when the emperor Feng Chan was in the rain, and loudly said that there is no God's will in this world.

Almost all Xunmen disciples are atheists. Even Fuqiupo, at best, "respect ghosts and gods and stay away from them" and rarely talk about strange powers and chaos.

In the same way, it is not surprising that Li Si could say something like "Fake power to ghosts and gods in order to deceive distant places." Legalists have always disbelieved in ghosts and gods, only in laws and regulations, and in rule by men.

"What kind of teacher will teach what kind of disciples." Heifu clapped his hands in praise, but then changed the subject and said:

"But the day before yesterday, His Majesty invited An Qisheng to live in the palace and accompany him around. He asked him about the ghosts and gods of the fairy mountain. Prime Minister Li was by his side, but he didn't say a word..."

Speaking of An Qisheng, Hei Fu became angry. This old man is said to be from Langya, and his teacher is the famous alchemist "Heshang Gong". He studied Huang Lao's studies and practiced the art of yin and yang. He is considered the most famous person in the "Fangxian Tao" in the world. It is said that he is over a hundred years old and possesses the magic of immortality. , Yan Qi Fang magicians took him as their leader and called him the "Thousand-year-old Man".

An Qisheng has been famous for a long time. In the past, several kings of Qi, Yan, and Zhao all looked for An Qisheng, but his whereabouts were mysterious and he was never seen. After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he also sent people to invite An Qisheng to Xianyang, but it was difficult to find his trace. Some people said that he became an immortal, while others said that he traveled on a crane.

Who would have thought that this guy was actually hiding on Zhifu Island, pretending to be an inconspicuous old man guarding the temple, evading the investigation by the black husband, and suddenly revealed his identity!

The scholar who had been looking for him for a long time suddenly came to visit him. Qin Shihuang was very happy and asked An Qisheng to stay. That day, Hei Fu and Zhang Cang wanted to give some words of advice, but before they could speak, Qin Shihuang arranged a boring errand on Zhifu Island...

Yes, the meaning is obvious. I thought they were bothering me with their talk, so I left early!

Li Si, who arrived at that time, saw this scene, but said nothing. Instead, he congratulated Qin Shihuang and seemed happy to see the matter come to fruition...

Zhang Cang shook his head and sighed: "The Prime Minister's advice has always been in His Majesty's favour. Your Majesty is now increasingly interested in seeking immortality. How could the Prime Minister knowingly spoil His Majesty's interest?"

Zhang Cang knows the personalities of his two senior brothers very clearly. The biggest difference between Han Fei and Li Si is probably that one is dark in books and the other is dark in heart. One has his own principles, while the other has no principles and no principles. Bottom line.

For Li Si, as long as he satisfied the emperor's desires and maintained his status, everything could be compromised.

"Prime Minister, he has forgotten."

Zhang Cang felt a little sad: "Master once taught us that if you obey orders and it benefits you, you are called obedience; if you obey orders but do not benefit you, you are called flattery! Blindly flattering your superiors is not good for the country."

Not only the matter of cultivating immortals, but also His Majesty the Emperor's great construction projects. Li Si also obeyed orders and never dared to argue about anything, even when he was a court official. But now that he is the prime minister, if he is so perfunctory and flattering, he may be ruined. State affairs.

"When a prime minister is appointed, he should obey the Tao rather than the emperor." Zhang Cang was not very satisfied with Li Si's actions after taking office, and talked about the correct way to serve as a minister in Xunzi's opinion.

"If someone is able to give advice to the king, he can use it and discard it if he doesn't use it. He is called a remonstrating minister."

"If you are able to advise the king, you can use it, but if you don't use it, you will die. This is called fighting for ministers."

"Those who are able to lead a group of ministers and hundreds of officials, and then work with the powerful king to support the king. Although the king is uneasy, he has to listen, so he can solve the country's serious troubles, eliminate the country's serious harm, and achieve the goal of respecting the king and ensuring the country. This is called an auxiliary minister."

"Those who can resist the emperor's order, steal the emperor's important things, rebel against the emperor, save the country from danger, eliminate the emperor's humiliation, and make achievements that can bring great benefits to the country are called Fu ministers."

"Therefore, those who admonish, contend, assist, and persuade are the ministers of the country and the treasure of the king!"

"Jizi can be said to be an admonisher to Yin, Zixu can be said to be a contender to Wu, Pingyuan Jun and Xinling Jun can be said to be assistants to Zhao and Wei, and Yi Yin and Zhou Gong can be said to be ministers to Shang and Zhou."

After Zhang Cang finished speaking, he looked at Hei Fu: "I, Zhang Cang, would like to be a remonstrator. Where is Hei Fu?"

But Hei Fu just looked at the carved stone and said nothing...

"I still do not know!"

…

By the next day, the Zhifu Carving Stone had been carved, and Heifu and Zhang Cang had finished their work and returned to Hexian County on the other side of the sea by boat.

At the palace in Hexian County, Heifu heard bad news from Ziying, the fifth master who accompanied the emperor.

"Your Majesty and An Qisheng have been chatting for three consecutive days! Yesterday they even talked at length into the night. Your Majesty went to the table several times, so that An Qisheng could get within three steps."

"Three days!"

Zhang Cang was shocked: "Then what did An Qisheng tell His Majesty?"

Ziying said: "It's just about Sanxian Mountain. I once heard a few words from the sidelines. An Qisheng said that there is a big ravine in the east of Shaohai, named Guixi. In it are Daiyu, Yuanjiao, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. , Penglai Five Immortals Mountain. When he was young, he practiced Taoism with Lord Heshang, and he once traveled to the sea to seek it. He went north to Shamen Island, and went south to Zhongzhou, reaching Zhuya. That year, he was boating in the East China Sea and encountered a strong storm, destroying his boat and injuring his body. Capture his soul. When he wakes up, he sees an immortal, only to find out that he is rescued by a divine turtle and reaches the Penglai Immortal Mountain..."

"An Qisheng said that the Penglai immortals all have skin like ice and snow, and are as soft as virgins. They do not eat grains, inhale the wind and drink dew, ride on the clouds, ride on flying dragons, and swim across the four seas. All animals on the mountain are white. , building palaces with gold and silver, everything is similar to the mortal world but different at the same time.”

"The immortal kept him for a few days, and then asked the turtle to take him back to Qi. After An Qisheng landed, he realized that several years had passed. It turned out that one day in the dangerous situation was equivalent to one year in the mortal world! After that, An Qisheng Qi Sheng went to look for Sanxian Mountain several times, but found that he could never go up. In fact, the distance to Sanxian Mountain was not that far. The difficulty was that when he was about to reach the side of the mountain, the sea wind would blow the boat away from the mountain. Before reaching the mountain, Looking at the past, it looks like a white cloud; when I come closer, I see that Sanshen Mountain is under the sea water. If you want to climb the mountain, you will be blown away by the wind every time, and you will never reach it."

"Does your Majesty believe such a weird thing?"

Zhang Cang became even more anxious, while Hei Fu nodded silently, thinking to himself: "Maybe he encountered a mirage. He can't prove that he has been there, but no one can prove that he hasn't been there..."

Ziying said: "After entering Qidi, there are often hundreds of alchemists talking about gods, monsters and strange alchemy techniques, but none of them are detailed. Your Majesty yearns for the immortals who do not eat the fireworks of the world, are not afraid of water and fire, can fly in the clouds and mist, and can come and go freely. . In addition to Sanxian Mountain, An Qisheng also told the story of the Yellow Emperor casting a cauldron and riding a dragon to heaven. Your Majesty will listen to it..."

"What did you say?" Zhang Cang asked.

Ziying looked around and whispered: "Your Majesty said, I am as sincere as the Yellow Emperor. Although I see my wife as if I had taken off my ears, I do not want to abandon the world..."

Shoes are shoes. Chen Ping is right. If you are in good health, who would be so afraid of death? Heifu had heard to some extent that as his body grew older and his illnesses worsened, had Qin Shihuang's mid-life crisis reached this point?

And what he is reluctant to abandon, is it the world or the common people?

Will Qin Shi Huang, who wants both fish and cake, end up empty-handed in the end?

"As for the rest, I don't know about the fact that His Majesty shielded everyone and had secret talks with An Qisheng." Ziying said and left.

At this time, two magicians, Lu Sheng and Han Zhong, passed by and saluted everyone.

Although their attitudes were still respectful, when Han finally looked at Hei Fu, the small pride in his eyes could not be concealed. Lu Ao also had a meaningful smile on his lips. They made the right bet by inviting An Qisheng.

This person is indeed a difficult character to deal with. When everyone else chooses to please the emperor and refuses to say anything when they see through it, Heifu, how should you deal with it?

When there was no one around, Zhang Cang stamped his feet and said:

"Your Majesty is so superstitious about Fang Xian Dao that he goes so far as to do this!"

After Zhang Cang turned around a few times, he looked at Hei Fu who was silent and became even more angry. He pointed at him and scolded him: "Hei Fu, why did Prime Minister Li not say a word when His Majesty favored Warlock Fang? , isn’t it the same for you! Qiao Mincheng said, being good at getting favors is the best, and you are a minister. If we just sit back and do nothing, what is the difference between us and Prime Minister Li and Warlock Fang? You are talking!"

However, Hei Fu just stared at the inner room of the palace, which was still brightly lit in the middle of the night. Qin Shihuang was probably still talking with An Qisheng about the way to immortality and immortality.

"It's such a pity that the front table is empty in the middle of the night."

Hei Fu sighed, which stunned Zhang Cang. There seemed to be countless regrets in his words. He didn't know whether he was feeling regretful about people or things.

"Don't ask the common people, ask ghosts and gods!"

Heifu turned around and smiled at Zhang Cang, who was shocked by his sentence: "Brother Zihu, didn't you ask me, what kind of minister do I want to be, admonish, contend, assist, or fu?" Soon, you will know!”

…

ps: I drank too much yesterday and I just returned to Kunming from the imperial capital. There is only one chapter left today.

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