Chapter 9 1. King's Landing

The empire is a typical form of power society, and the emperor is the core of the empire. We know that the imperial meeting at the beginning of the establishment of the Great Qin Empire mainly made two decisions. One is that the head of the empire will be called the "emperor" from now on, and the other is to abolish the "feudal system" and implement the "county system".Many people believe that changing the name to "emperor" was just to satisfy Qin Shihuang's vanity. Bo Yang even called it "winning political obscenity", and thought it showed that he was "average in IQ" ("Bo Yang said - Read Tongjian· On History).According to me, this underestimated Qin Shihuang.It is undeniable that there is indeed an element of vanity in it.The so-called "the name of the emperor, the name of the king", the emperor and the king are not the same.King is the title of the tribal era.Bigger tribal leaders can be called kings, and they are tribal kings.Later, the older vassals and kings were also called kings, and they were called vassal kings.For example, the monarch of Chu, regardless of Zhou Tianzi, only gave him a viscount, and he has long claimed to be king by himself.Emperor, but not just anyone dares to call it indiscriminately (at the end of the Warring States period, Qin and Qi both proclaimed themselves emperors, but soon resumed their titles), and the title of emperor was even more unheard of.Is the "personal title" (king) called by everyone like the unique "heavenly title" (emperor)?

However, things are not that simple. In fact, Qin Shihuang's name change was not a whim.He didn't change "Qin" to "Zhou" or anything else, that's proof.But it is absolutely impossible not to change "king" to "emperor" (or something else).Because as far as the regime is concerned, Qin is still Qin and has not changed; but as far as the country is concerned, "this Qin" is no longer "the other Qin".In the past, "Qin" was a kingdom, but now this "Qin" is an empire.If the title of "king" is used, not only can it not be distinguished from the extinct countries (the kings of the six countries are called "kings"), but it can also be distinguished from the Zhou royal family (the emperor of Zhou is also called "king").Zhou Tianzi is the "lord of the world" in name, and Emperor Qin is the "lord of the world" in essence. How can they be confused and collectively referred to as "king"?

In fact, Zhou Tianzi called himself king, just like Qin Shihuang called himself emperor, and it also had special political significance, that is, to turn the de facto country into a de jure country.Now, Qin also has the problem of changing from a de facto empire to a de jure empire.If you don't proclaim yourself emperor, how can Yingzheng crown your empire?We must be clear that the "revolution" launched by Qin was not just to change the "dynasty", but to replace the old system (state system) with a new system (imperial system).Qin Shihuang was fully aware of this, so he called himself "Shihuang", that is, "the first person of the new system".Moreover, precisely because the title of emperor is a symbol of the imperial system, the monarchs of all dynasties after the first emperor also called themselves emperors, and no one changed their titles to kings.From this point of view, Mr. Bo Yang's criticism seems to be "average IQ".

Don't think that being king or emperor is an indifferent matter.You must know that "emperor" and "county" coexist, while "royal system" coexists with "feudalism".Still being called "King" means that the feudal system will still be implemented.This was something that Shihuang absolutely could not agree to (Li Si's suggestion was nothing more than "just in line with the king's heart").Because the feudal system is "shared by the world", the county system is "dictatorship by one person".According to the feudal system (that is, the state system), starting from the king (son of heaven), to the public, marquis, uncle, son, male, and even Qing and Dafu, each has its own territory and privileges.Even the lowest level of nobleman, the scholar, has a relatively independent personality and can wander among the princes, while the high-ranking "king" is like being swayed by overhead.However, in the system of prefectures and counties, all the subjects of the world, from Li Shu (the head of Qian) to officials, obeyed the emperor.Advancing and retreating, rising and falling, the principles of action are arbitrary; whether rewards and punishments are hidden or not, the power of heaven is unpredictable;For a dictator, it is clear at a glance which of the two systems is better or worse. How could Qin Shihuang, who created the imperial system single-handedly, be called king instead of emperor?

What's more, under the state system, there is not only the supreme "king", but also the most powerful "tyrant".Wang Zhizun, tyrant to the strongest.Supreme and Xeon are not the same person, and the struggle for hegemony is still legal.This will lead to war and eventually threaten the king.Therefore, it is necessary to unify the supreme and the strongest, and this unity is the emperor. In fact, Qin Shihuang was not only satisfied with the false name of an emperor, nor was he intoxicated by the spring breeze. Instead, he established a series of supporting systems at the same time, and started his pace of completely reforming the social system non-stop, and he acted vigorously and resolutely, which cannot be discussed.He unified the land, unified the army, unified the laws, unified the taxation, unified the currency, unified weights and measures, unified the width of roads and carriage tracks, unified written characters, and also tried to unify people's thinking and behavior, including It is stipulated that the common people use black cloth to wrap their heads and call it "the head of Guizhou". Books with the same text, and actions with the same spirit."

Most of Qin Shihuang's changes were regarded as "the great cause of unification" and highly praised.However, when people eulogize and praise its great achievements, they often ignore the autocracy and centralization behind it.That's right, unification does not mean unification, and centralization does not necessarily mean dictatorship or dictatorship.The thirteen states with their own constitutions and democratically elected governments form a unified country (the United States of America) under the framework of the federal constitution, which means unity but not unity; the Tang Dynasty Zhengshitang system mentioned in the previous chapter means centralization rather than dictatorship.It can be seen that unity can be diverse and harmonious (unity of diversity); it can also be pluralistic and republic (unity of pluralism); unity is dictatorship, and it is easy to change from tyranny to dictatorship.Obviously, the key here is centralization.Because decentralization is not necessarily autocratic, centralization is hard to talk about.There is authoritarian centralization, non-authoritarian centralization, and semi-authoritarian centralization (enlightened autocracy). This is a troublesome matter.

But with Qin Shihuang, these are not a problem.For Qin Shihuang, unification and centralization were two aspects of the same problem, and autocracy was exactly what he dreamed of.Of course, autocracy and monarchy cannot be equated.One can be dictatorship without being an emperor (such as Saddam Hussein), and one may not be autocratic even with an emperor (such as a constitutional monarchy), but an empire without an emperor is not like an empire. It is always easier to centralize power with the title of emperor (this is actually Yuan Shikai risking the world. Not one of the reasons for blatantly claiming to be emperor).Because it not only means the power of decision-making and examination and approval, but also the power of legislation, judicial power, supervisory power and supreme judicial power. It is simply the collection of all powers in the world.

So, why did the emperor have such an absolute power?No.Not only unreasonable, but harmful.In fact, the emperor's absolute power without supervision and restriction was an important reason for the downfall of many dynasties.We shall return to this later.What's more, there are all kinds of emperors in history.There are puppet emperors like Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, idiot emperors like Emperor Hui of Jin, strike emperors like Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, and many baby emperors who came to the throne at a young age.However, although these emperors did not actually play any role, none of them said that the emperor was not wanted, or that the emperor could be emptied.What is this indicating?It can only show that people need an emperor.There is such a supreme arbitrator, at least people feel that there is still hope for fairness and justice (for example, they can also "sue imperial court"), and people feel that sunshine and rain will fall from the sky one day, and unreasonable disasters such as swordsmen and bandits can be spared .In short, with an emperor, we can "become slaves" and enjoy peace.As for those "conspirators and careerists" who have real power, they can "coerce the emperor to make the princes" and grab the greatest benefits for themselves. Therefore, everyone wants the emperor. Once the world is in chaos, people look forward to the birth of the "true son of heaven". It will be like looking at the clouds after a long drought; and once the so-called "true man" reigns high in the world, people don't know what to be happy about.

Qin Shihuang's proclaiming emperor just complied with this requirement.Moreover, he also sent Mushou for the people of the world.Each county has a guard (chief executive), a lieutenant (military chief), and a supervisor (ombudsman), and each county has a county magistrate or county magistrate (a large county is called a county magistrate, and a small county is called a county magistrate).They were directly appointed by the central government to represent the emperor and spread the sunshine and rain of the empire all over the world.The central authority has set up the prime minister, Taiwei and Yushi doctor.The prime minister is in charge of all the officials, which is equivalent to the county guard of the empire; the Taiwei is in charge of military affairs, which is equivalent to the county lieutenant of the empire;In this way, from the central government to the local government, an "official agency system" in which administrative, military, and supervisory powers are paralleled has been established nationwide.In fact, the various official systems of the empire, including the judicial system, administrative system, supervisory system, and military system, were almost all created by Qin.Qin is indeed the initiator of the imperial system and its leading copyright owner.

These new policies, like Shang Yang's new laws, are not allowed to be discussed.According to "Historical Records Biography of Li Si", in 213 BC (the thirty-fourth year of Emperor Qin Shihuang), a man named Chun Yuyue from the Qi State, at a state banquet, revisited feudalism, saying that the Yin and Zhou dynasties The reason why they can last for thousands of years is because they have entrusted their children and heroes.Now that His Majesty himself has become the emperor (Your Majesty has domestic), but the descendants of phoenixes and dragons have become common people (the children are ordinary people), I am afraid it is very inappropriate.why?Because "things that do not learn from the past but can last for a long time are unheard of."Qin Shihuang asked Li Si to express his opinion.At this time, Li Si was already a prime minister.Li Si, who was the prime minister, didn't talk about the facts.His idea is to take this opportunity to eradicate all possibility of discussing state affairs.So Li Si wrote a letter saying that the current government order is not good, and there are many discussions, all because the thinking is not unified and academics are too free.People do not accept official orders, but appreciate folk ideas (people are good at what they learn privately), and criticize the imperial system (not established above) based on this.As soon as they heard that the imperial court had promulgated some decrees (under hearing the decree), they expressed their opinions based on folk thoughts (each discussed with his own private knowledge).When they go to court, they slander in their hearts (people are wrong), and after they go to court, they gossip in the streets (go out and discuss), and even criticize the emperor to become famous (not the Lord's name), and they are known for holding different political opinions (different tastes) Think high), take the lead in creating gossip (leading the group to create slander).If things go on like this, the prestige of the king is bound to be lost (the dominant position is lower than the upper), and the people form cliques for private interests (the party and the success are lower).Therefore, only by banning private education can we rectify the root cause and solve the problem fundamentally.

Qin Shihuang agreed with Li Si's opinion.So he ordered that, in addition to the official collection, the history of the state of Qin, the books on medicine, divination, and farming, all the books on literature, art, philosophy, and various schools of thought in private collections should be burned. .This is burning books.A year later, Qin Shihuang fled because alchemists Hou Sheng, Lu Sheng and others refused to find medicine for him, and buried more than 460 Confucian scholars alive in a rage.This is cheating Confucianism. The great cause of reunification made Qin Shihuang famous throughout the ages, while burning books and burying Confucianism made him infamous forever.So this gentleman became one of the most controversial figures in Chinese history.Those who respect them wish they could follow in their footsteps, while those who hate them wish they could whip corpses and eat their flesh.But Qin Shihuang didn't know this, and even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care.In his view, with the two systems of centralization and agency of officials, and with the closure of the world's people's mouths about "the past is not the present", an "eternal empire" can be established.He even said triumphantly: "Associated as the first emperor, later generations will be counted, and the second and third generations will be passed on to all generations, and they will be passed on endlessly."Because the obstacles have been removed, the system has been established, and all financial resources, power and force are concentrated in his hands, as the saying goes, "A good general guards the key points with a strong crossbow, trustworthy ministers are fine soldiers, and Chen Libing is the best" (Jia Yi (Guo Qin) On ), there is no reason why his empire should not last forever. It's a pity that the wheel of history is not turned by the fingers of dictators, and it doesn't even pay attention to the comments and comments of cultural people.Long before the thinkers and writers took up the "weapons of criticism", the people who could not stand the tyranny had implemented their "criticism of weapons".Chen Sheng, a farmer's son, a humble soldier, and a man sentenced to hard labor, rose up when he had nowhere to go, triggering an anti-Qin struggle that swept across the country.In 206 BC, the rebel army led by Peigong Liu Bang attacked Guanzhong.Prince Qin, who no longer dared to proclaim himself emperor, "tied his neck to group" (the ribbon was tied around his neck, indicating that he intended to commit suicide), with a white car and a plain horse, and descended beside Jidao.More than a month later, soldiers from all walks of life arrived, Xiang Yu killed Ziying, slaughtered Xianyang, and set fire to the palace.The raging fire is said to be "unextinguishable for three months" ("Historical Records Xiang Yu Benji"). The majestic and powerful Qin Empire perished.It existed for only fifteen short years in history, and only twelve years in reality.Once Qin Shihuang died, it existed in name only; once Qin II died, it disappeared.But it has not been forgotten.A controversial theory holds that China is the pronunciation of "Qin".Although this claim cannot be confirmed, it is more symbolic than the other two (silk and porcelain).In fact, for more than two thousand years before the 20th century, China was indeed "Qin", the Great Qin Empire not called the Great Qin Empire.Because all dynasties practiced the imperial system founded by Qin Shihuang, even those long or short dynasties established by ethnic minorities were no exception. A hundred generations practiced Qin politics; and the first executor of the political will of the Qin Dynasty was Han.