Chapter 10 Chapter Four

In 246 BC, Ying Zheng, who was only thirteen years old, succeeded to the throne as a prince, known in history as the first year of the first emperor.Zhao Ji was made queen mother, and Lu Buwei was still the prime minister. In addition to being named Marquis of Wenxin, he was also honored as Zhongfu.Zhongfu, which means uncle, because Duke Huan of Qi once called Guan Zhong Zhongfu, and since then, Zhongfu has become the most respected title for the king's closest ministers. Although Lu Buwei emptied the real power of King Zhuang Xiang on the first day he became prime minister, but after all, there is still a symbol of the king towering over his head, so he has to be scruples.But now, once Zichu died, Yingzheng ascended the throne, Qin's political power and military power all fell into his hands, he can do whatever he wants, and he can do whatever he wants without restraint, becoming a typical uncrowned king.The soldiers and civilians of the Qin State had no choice but to bow their heads to the ground and make promises.

So far, Lu Buwei has truly known the power and taste of power, and it is not difficult to understand why there have been so many people crowded in a narrow alley in the past dynasties, in order to gain an official position at all costs and even their own lives.According to historical records, although Lu Buwei reached the pinnacle of power, he still maintained a clear mind, and did not forget about it and did any crazy and irrational acts. Just when he was intoxicated with himself, Zhao Ji came to the door on his own initiative.Ever since they came to the Qin Kingdom, considering Zhao Ji's status, Lu Buwei's status and the fortified palace, they must be cautious. Even if there was some flirtatious behavior, the adulterous behavior of taking off their clothes and going to bed may not have happened before.However, as soon as Zi Chu died, Zhao Ji couldn't hold back anymore.King Zhuang Xiang is a beauty today and a court lady tomorrow, so naturally he will spend less time "cultivating" Zhao Ji who is like an old book that has been flipped through.In other words, during the three or four years since she came to the Qin Palace, Zhao Ji was named Queen, but she was actually a widow.For a woman who is not yet thirty and at the height of her sexual desire, it is more difficult than being in dire straits.As soon as Zi Chu died, Zhao Ji felt the pleasure of breaking free from the cage and regaining her freedom. Lu Buwei also became more courageous. He abandoned the left and right and found a secret place, which made Zhao Ji satisfied several times.Zhao Ji, however, is like a withered grain that has long been looking forward to the rain. As soon as the rain sprinkles, the seedlings will turn green and flourish.She is not satisfied with a few poor raindrops, she wants to obtain a legitimate status and marry Lu Buwei Chongxing.In Lu Buwei's opinion, this must be a typical woman's view. As a businessman, what he values ​​is not a false name, but a tangible and visible strength. What's the difference?The palace is dense and the rules are strict, can they do it?The two of them had an affair, which is already risking the disgrace of the world, how can they continue to rush forward regardless of life and death?However, Zhao Ji begged with tearful eyes, and proposed that he abolish Yingzheng and establish himself as king.She said: "As long as I become the king of Qin and I am the queen, we can stay together in a dignified manner." Lu Buwei was stunned when he heard this, "How can I kill my own son and take his throne? A son is king, isn't it the same thing as being king yourself? Besides, isn't Ying Zheng also your son? Why are you so cruel?" Zhao Ji said: "One side is my son, and the other side is my lover , if I have to choose one of them, Buwei, you are the one I can rely on. After all, our own son is not equal to ourselves!"

At this time, Lu Buwei really felt the seriousness of the matter.With extraordinary wisdom, he quickly came up with what he thought was a wonderful way to get out - he found a tall and handsome young man named Lai Ai as a substitute, and let him serve in the Queen Mother's palace as an eunuch.During the execution of the corruption sentence, Lu Buwei specially sent someone to tamper with, but did not remove the two testicles in Lai Ai's crotch.In other words, the person assigned to Zhao Ji was a real man.In this way, Zhao Ji's desire will be satisfied, and she will not come to Lu Buwei to "pull her tendons".

During this period, Lu Buwei did another thing that greatly benefited Qin. Facing the fierce attack of Qiang Qin, the neighboring South Korea came up with a "weak strategy" to hold back Qin in desperation.They sent an excellent water conservancy expert named Zheng Guo to persuade the Qin people to build a large canal.Once Qin State started to build the canal, it would invest a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources and would have no time to go east, and South Korea would be safe.The reason why South Korea came up with this strategy is that ten years ago, under the auspices of Li Bing, the prefect of Shu County of Qin State, the Shu County of Qin State controlled the water damage of Minjiang River and built the famous Dujiangyan Irrigation Project, which made the fertile fields of thousands of miles of Shu land a big granary for Qin State.This time, as long as there is a little lobbying, Qin, who has benefited a lot and tasted the sweetness, will definitely start building the canal again.

South Korea’s speculation is correct. Lu Buwei saw that Zheng Guo was proficient in water conservancy, and his proposal to build a large canal in the Guanzhong area and then take the water from the Jing River to irrigate the Guanzhong Plain is not only feasible, but also predictable. No less than Dujiangyan. As a result, another great water conservancy project in Qin State was officially started in the first year of Qin Shihuang (246 BC). The foundation stone laying ceremony was presided over by Lu Buwei, the prime minister, and its solemnity can be imagined. However, Qin Guo, who is most used to using spies and intelligence tactics, soon found out that Zheng Guo was just a spy of South Korea, and the strategy he persuaded Qin Guo to build canals was also a vicious strategy to exhaust Qin.

Although Qin's strategy of exhausting Qin has delayed Qin, South Korea can linger on for a few more years, but after it is completed, it will be an immortal cause that benefits the country and the people, and Qin will become more prosperous and stronger because of it.A good boxer naturally knows that it is more powerful to first retract the fist a little bit, and then to punch it out. After discovering the trick, Lu Buwei did not kill Zheng Guo, but continued to use him to repair him. This fully demonstrates Lu Buwei's open-mindedness and eclecticism in employing people. From this, we also see that Lu Buwei does have foresight and great demeanor that ordinary people can't match.

In order to repay Lu Buwei's kindness of not killing, Zheng Guo became more serious about the design and construction of the project.Ten years later, the project was finally successfully completed. Lu Buwei ordered to name the canal after Zheng Guo, a hydraulic engineer, and called it Zhengguo Canal. It was the first time in Chinese history to name a project after a person. The Zhengguo Canal is located in the north of the Weihe River, with a total length of more than 150 kilometers. The original simple aqueduct was used to solve the problem of crossing many rivers. It also took advantage of the favorable terrain to implement artesian irrigation, showing a high level of technology.After the completion of the Zhengguo Canal, the irrigated area reached more than 40,000 hectares (approximately 2.8 million mu today), and the Guanzhong Plain, the headquarters of the Qin State, seemed to have become a rice granary overnight.

As Yingzheng grew up day by day, his resentment towards Lu Buwei also deepened, and frictions and contradictions gradually turned into subtle or obvious conflicts. As we mentioned before, Ying Zheng had a vague hatred for Lu Buwei because of his ambiguous relationship with his mother Zhao Ji when he was a child.Childhood life and environment profoundly affect the formation and development of personal character, and the instinctive feelings and impressions of likes and dislikes in childhood are likely to condense into an irresolvable psychological stereotype.The hatred that Ying Zheng had instilled in his childhood, not only did not dissipate slowly with the growth of age and Lu Buwei's care and love for him, but it was still growing inexplicably day by day.In addition to caring for Yingzheng, Lu Buwei is more concerned with supervision, urging him to practice literature and martial arts, work hard, and become a wise king with great talents.And this will only deepen Ying Zheng's resentment: Who are you?What qualifications do you have to control me?What is Zhongfu?It's not my father after all!Don't look at my Zhongfu Zhongfu screaming affectionately, I'm so annoyed and hate you in my heart!

Naturally, Lu Buwei didn't know about his psychological activities, and he wouldn't conduct a deep investigation into an ignorant child. All he could do was call out to his son in his heart, my dear son. , and then fulfill the duties of a father in behavior. In 244 BC, in order to avenge the shame of the Qin State, Lu Buwei used the defeated general Meng Ao to counterattack the Wei State, plundered 20 cities at once, and returned with a complete victory.In this regard, Lu Buwei, who is the Prime Minister, will inevitably show a bit of arrogance. Unexpectedly, Qin Wang Yingzheng said dismissively: "What is this? It can only be regarded as a half victory. If it is me, I will go all out." , led the army to Daliang, the capital of the Wei State." Hearing this, Lu Buwei felt that Ying Zheng had such an aura at such a young age, and he was really a child to teach, so he couldn't help but twirling his beard, nodding his head and laughing.Yingzheng continued: "I want to occupy Daliang, massacre the city for three days, and then take advantage of the victory to wipe out the state of Wei, killing his corpse everywhere, blood flowing like rivers, everyone is afraid, everyone surrenders, and then return to the palace!" Lu Buwei heard. Shocked and startled, I wondered where did this child come up with such vicious and terrifying thoughts?You have to quickly turn him around and learn some ways of governing the country by caring for the people.I found a few mentors with profound knowledge and poured him some ideas and contents of Confucianism, Taoism, and Mohism.

However, it turned out to be just the opposite. Yingzheng was so dizzy and bored by the endless chants and explanations of those gentlemen all day long, that he couldn't help but develop a strong rebellious mentality.You want me to learn Confucianism, ink and Taoism, but I just ignore these crap!I want to study the legalist theory, which is dedicated to singing against Confucianism, Mohism, and Taoism, and use it as a magic weapon. Let's see what your father can do to me? There is no impenetrable wall in the world. After a long time, Ying Zheng will naturally know about Lu Buwei's affair with Zhao Ji.It is very possible that he has also seen the scenes of the two of them loving each other intentionally or unintentionally.There was nothing he could do about it other than grit his teeth and be angry alone.As a result, he couldn't help arousing the hatred from his childhood again, new and old hatred came to his heart together, and he vowed to take revenge whenever he had the chance.And the object of hatred this time, besides Prime Minister Lu Buwei, is also his mother Zhao Ji. He thinks that her mother's promiscuousness in the palace is really disrespectful and shameful!

The young Ying Zheng's heart was filled with an indescribable hatred and humiliation that he could not vent.Reminiscent of what I saw when I was a child, I traced back to the fact that my mother Zhao Ji used to be Lu Buwei's concubine, and reminiscent of the rumors that he was a little bastard once circulated in Qin State. For a while, the clever Ying Zheng seemed to understand everything. . So, he carefully observed Xiangguo's fatherly eyes, and recalled Zhongfu's love for him over the years, every word and deed, bit by bit, vividly in his mind.Immediately, a sense of family affection and kindness that he had never felt before surged through his heart. Heh, it is very possible that Zhong's father is his biological father! Knowing this, Ying Zheng's heart became complicated. However, Lu Buwei not only did his own thing, but held the actual power of Qin, even he, the justifiable king of Qin, didn't pay attention to him at all.When Qin Guo responded to a major event, he didn't let Yingzheng intervene, didn't discuss with him, just did it, and didn't give him a word of anger.That's all, he also asked King Qin to learn this and that, to do this and that, to ask for instructions and reports on major and minor matters, and he might be reprimanded at every turn. You, Lu Buwei, are my biological father, so you can't act like this!After all, you are just a subject; but I am the aloof lord of a country, and I have the noble lineage of the Ying family. thing! Is it tolerable, which is unbearable? ! However, Ying Zheng had to endure it with tears of blood in his heart and an apologetic smile on his face. He is a violent person, but also a scheming person.Bear with it, if you can't bear it a little, you will make a big mess. According to the customs of the Qin State, you can hold a crown ceremony and take real power when you are 22 years old.So, he eagerly hoped that the day of the coronation ceremony would come soon... At this time, Lu Buwei, while achieving great success and reaching the peak of power step by step, felt a kind of emptiness that he had never felt before. For the great cause of Qin, Lu Buwei really worked hard day and night.When he was a businessman, he traveled all over the world, heard about it all over the place, and later devoted all his energy and thought to helping the innovators become a king, and he was still like a spinning top when he sat firmly in the prime minister and even became an uncrowned queen. Generally, it goes on and on all day long.Of course, his efforts and struggles have been richly rewarded. No businessman has ever achieved such great success like him.Yes, he, Lu Buwei, has reached the heights that human beings can achieve.In this life, he seems to have got everything, money, beauties, power... He can get whatever he wants, do whatever he wants, do whatever he wants, without any scruples, what joy is this?However, when I calm down and think about it carefully, it seems that I have gained nothing, everything is empty and an illusion.You have to grab something real and do a great event that will be passed on to future generations. So, what should we do? In the blink of an eye, he was in his sixties.In his whole life, Lu Buwei never seemed to be free, rested and at ease.He really wanted to relax himself, enjoy the happiness, and live a few days of ease, which is to achieve the state that people often say "live in sorrow, die in peace".But, he can't!In this life, what he is most worried about is Yingzheng. All he can do is to burn all his remains to make Qin country more prosperous and prosperous, clear the last obstacle for the unification of the six countries, and lay a solid foundation for the future. To lay a solid foundation for his world... In a word, he wants to leave more beneficial and considerable things for his own son.But what kind of son and king is Yingzheng?Lu Buwei wanted to change him and shape him according to the ideal in his heart. On the surface, his goal seems to have been achieved.But what about some practical developments in the future?He can't grasp it, can't control it, and lacks self-confidence. It seems that in order to establish a great cause that will last forever, it may not be enough to make meritorious deeds, and it is necessary to consider making a statement. After some thinking, Lu Buwei sent Li Si to discuss.This Li Si was the famous Prime Minister of Qin State in the future.But now, he is just one of the three thousand guests who defected to Lu Buwei's door, and of course, he is also the one he values ​​the most.Here's the conversation between the two of them: Lu Buwei asked: "I want to ask you, which is more important, meritorious service or public opinion?" Li Si replied: "Contributing merit is more important than the present, and making a statement is in the future. The achievements are obvious to all, and the words are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Comparing the two, I think that making a statement is more important than making a contribution." Lu Buwei asked again: "Do you want to pass it on through the ages?" Li Sidao: "Achievements are perishable, and only by making a statement can we become an indelible and immortal monument!" Hearing this, Lu Buwei shouted loudly, "Okay, since that's the case, I've made up my mind!" Li Si asked, "I don't know how Xiangguo will speak up?" Lu Buwei stood up, walked around the room excitedly and said: "I want to compile a big book called "Lu Shi Chunqiu". It is necessary to preserve the important historical facts of ancient times, but also to reflect the struggle of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period; it must be based on the Qin State, and it must also become a construction blueprint and governance outline for the unification of the world in the future.” Lu Buwei is determined to raise them to an abstract and rational level from all aspects of philosophy, thought, politics, strategy, military, and economy based on his practical experience of struggling all his life.He first listed the compilation purpose of "Lu Shi Chunqiu", drew up a compilation framework, and then selected talented and insightful people among the disciples to write separately.The writing method is uncertain, and the length is not limited, but the chapters are required to be extraordinary, and the words must be pearls, and they must not be filled with words. Lu Buwei went from making money in business to gaining power and doing meritorious service and writing books. Through this clear pursuit and transformation, we can somewhat see the changes in people's values ​​in that era.In today's China of reform and opening up, the change curve of its values ​​can also be clearly described as: from being an official to power, doing business to make money, and slowly transferring to advocating knowledge.If we compare the power transfer in the present era with the Warring States period, we will find many meaningful "turning points". Raise soldiers for a thousand days and use them for a while.Lu Buwei gave an order to compile a book, and those disciples who had been eager to try for a long time were all not idle people. Their purpose of coming to join Lu Buwei was to make contributions and become famous. Of course, they also wanted to repay the favor. Do not exhaust your talents and actively serve? Working together, the draft of "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" will be completed soon.In order to make it reach the height of word-by-word and extraordinary chapters, which can be passed down through the ages, the manuscript was changed several times, and it was revised and rebooked several times until Lu Buwei was satisfied.After the manuscript was compiled, Lu Buwei was probably inspired by Shang Yang's "reward for moving wood", and interpreted the famous historical event of "a word of gold".In the eighth year of Qin Shihuang (239 BC), Lu Buwei ordered people to hang the completed manuscript of "Lushi Chunqiu" with nearly 200,000 characters at the gate of the capital Xianyang. Announced that if there is an expert who can modify a word, he will be rewarded with a thousand gold. A thousand taels of gold is not a small amount, and the bright yellow light must have attracted and tempted many educated people who came to watch.However, until the "Lushi Chunqiu" hanging on the city gate no longer became a hot spot for people's attention, and Lu Buwei felt uninterested and took it off, no one came forward to point out or add or delete a word.Many people are afraid of Lu Buwei's hot authority, but you have to admit that "Lu Shi Chunqiu" is indeed a dazzling and wonderful book!The book consists of three parts: "Twelve Ji", "Ba Lan" and "Six Treatises", divided into 26 volumes, with a total of 160 articles.Each volume has a general theme, and the chapters in the next volume are governed by this general theme, and they also play their own purposes with ease; and between each chapter, there are not some isolated individuals, but each other. Connections, and some also have hierarchical relationships.As far as the structure of the book is concerned, it is so systematic and uniform and has overall regulations, which is unique among the pre-Qin scholars, and it is also the first organized and planned anthology in my country; if it is determined by the content, it can be no exaggeration. It can be said that "Lu Shi Chunqiu" can be regarded as an encyclopedia-like masterpiece of that era: from the movement of celestial bodies in the vast universe to the size of agricultural furrows and ridges, from the life of ancestors in ancient times to the ideal blueprint of future society, Philosophy, politics, military affairs, ethics, morality, astronomy, geography, agriculture and other pre-Qin natural and social science knowledge, school theory also adopts Confucianism, law, Mohism, Taoism, yin and yang and five elements... Almost all of them are "Lu's Spring and Autumn" It is all-encompassing and all-encompassing.What's even more rare is that although it has learned from many schools, it has formed its own unique ideological system based on the selection criteria of "taking the middle righteousness as the style, taking inaction as the discipline, and taking the public as the standard". Although "Lu's Spring and Autumn" is not written by Lu Buwei personally, the views it reflects are the interpretation of Lu Buwei's thoughts. Lu Buwei is ambitious and not satisfied with Qin's hegemony, he wants to push this hegemony to the kingly way.That is to say, he hoped that the Qin State after the unification of the world could become a typical kingdom of kings.Although Lu Buwei took pains to infuse Confucianism, Taoism and Mohism into Yingzheng, he also knew in his heart that what Yingzheng admired and believed in was the domineering theory of Legalism, and he was arrogant, rebellious, perverted, cruel, and extreme... ...Therefore, "Lushi Chunqiu" spent a lot of space and pen and ink to run through Taoism in terms of natural principles, and embody Confucianism at the level of social order, so as to eliminate the influence of Qin's legalism and change Yingzheng's legalism. revered concept.For example, "Lu Shi Chunqiu" opposes the arbitrariness of the monarchy, and believes that "the world is not ruled by one person, but the world is governed by the world"; it advocates that the people are the first, the most important, and the foundation. The origin of the ancestral temple lies in the people"; denial of severe punishment and heavy punishment, "Severe punishment and heavy rewards are the politics of the decline of the world"; Lu Buwei also insisted on atheism, advocated abstinence and thrift, eulogized abdication, practiced benevolence, righteousness and propriety, and favored hierarchical enfeoffment ...And this is completely different from Qin Shihuang's gradually formed concept of arguing that autocratic rule integrates all powers in one person, implements severe punishments, establishes county systems, adheres to the primitive beliefs of the Qin people's polytheistic world, and squanders pleasure. Regarding the ideological and political opposition between Qin Shihuang and Lu Buwei, Mr. Guo Moruo made a more detailed analysis and comparison in terms of world outlook, political views, general tendencies, etc. Interested readers may wish to refer to it. When "Lu's Spring and Autumn" was released, it was the eve of Yingzheng holding the crown ceremony and assuming real power. However, Lu Buwei not only failed to achieve the expected goal, but intensified the conflict between him and Ying Zheng. Ying Zheng hid in the deep palace and read the leaflet engraved with "Lu Shi Chunqiu" word by word. While reading it, he couldn't help but burst into flames, scolded loudly, and angrily threw the leaflet to pieces. .After some venting, Ying Zheng still couldn't let go of his hatred, so he stacked these bamboo pieces together and burned them for a moment. The conflict between him and Zhongfu has reached the point of irreconcilability. Once the time is right, Lu Buwei will have to swallow the bitter fruit he planted.