Chapter 6 Section 5: The rhinoceros headed into Xianyang

Ying Si was greatly cheered up, the depression that had been suppressed in his heart for more than half a year had melted into ice and snow. The overall situation of the state affairs finally stabilized under his careful mediation.Killing Shang Yang, pacifying the Rong and Di, eradicating the aristocratic clan, and restoring the hearts of the people are all connected in a circle. Anything wrong may lead to the collapse of Qin.He actually escaped any danger in the coherent action, and he couldn't help but thank God.But the most gratifying and exciting thing for Ying Xi was the reply of the hearts of the people on the execution ground.After the car cracked Shangjun, the government and the people were already cold and the people lost their hearts, but the iron-fisted feat of killing the restored family in one fell swoop made the Qin people feel bad, and the pleasure of revenge washed away the repressed grievances, the most rare people's hearts Finally returned safely, really incredible!Ying Si lost no time in affirming the two chief culprits of "forced to kill Shang Jun" at the execution ground, exonerated himself completely, and completely conquered the people.This is his most proud stroke of power.He knows that some people will call him despicable, but as long as he can win the hearts of the people, stabilize his power position, advance the great cause of Qin, and make him an immortal monarch with a long history, it is really trivial to scold and criticize him. Yes; the taste of using power to maneuver is really wonderful, it is a kind of ultimate enjoyment beyond the reach of all living beings; as long as the power is used properly, the monarch will always be the embodiment of heaven and justice - there is nothing wrong with killing the family, and there is nothing wrong with quelling rebellion. There is nothing wrong with cracking Shang Yang!As a monarch, as long as you uphold the new law and make the people rich and the country strong, the people will never be concerned about the bloody sacrifices in the upper power field.After all, the people are the most real.

Qin was finally in his own hands.But what's next? Thinking of looking forward, Ying Si always felt a little uneasy.If I want to become a great monarch like my father-in-law, I must turn Qin into the most powerful country in the world and the only overlord in my own hands; Turn him into a surly monarch who "knows how to kill but can't govern the country".But how to move forward?When the crisis was eliminated, the court situation was stabilized, and when it was necessary to grasp the direction of Qin in a larger world, Ying Si felt for the first time that he was lacking in intelligence, and felt at a loss for the first time.The father-in-law has Shangjun, who do you have?In the final analysis, only the combination of the father-in-law and the monarch and ministers like Shangjun can achieve great things; In the past ten years, the reform has been successful, and it has been completely reborn.Ying Si thinks that he is no worse than his father-in-law in terms of talent and courage in stabilizing the court. What he lacks is a great talent like Shang Jun to be the prime minister; People like Jingjian and Guowei Cheying, although loyal and commendable, are not talents in the universe.

Such a great talent is hard to come by. When it was warm and cold, Jing Jian and Che Ying submitted the "Letter of Resignation" together, asking to return to Linquan.The reasons of the two are almost the same: "Internal worries have been eliminated, the rebellion has been put down, the government is stable, the old minister has heart failure, and is incapable of assisting the government. Please return to the forest to benefit the backward." Ying Si felt a pressure when he saw it. It rested heavily on his shoulders. After thinking for a long time, Ying Si resolutely took the case: allowing the senior doctor Jing Jian and Guo Wei Che Ying to resign and retire.Even without Yingqian with Uncle Wen, Ying Si issued a public edict, rewarding the two veteran ministers with a thousand gold each, and was allowed to leave Xianyang after completing the official business within one month.As soon as the edict was issued, the courtiers were in an uproar, thinking that the new monarch was going to attack the "remnant party of the Shang monarch" again!The ministers, county guards, and county magistrates appointed by Shang Jun were all nervous for a while.Some ministers anxiously asked Yingqian about his plans, but Yingqian laughed loudly: "Don't worry, gentlemen, please resign, the old ministers, and the new ones must advance, what has anything to do with the new law!"

Yingqian was not wrong.What the new monarch Ying Si thinks is to take the resignation of the old officials as an opportunity to rectify the court situation.Jing Jian is the senior official, the central minister who actually presided over the daily state affairs during the Shang Dynasty; Che Ying is the Guowei, who holds the real military and political power; the two of them, one civil and one military, are in charge of the key points of the Qin State.If Ying Si wants to make any new moves, it is impossible to cross these two pillars.Ying Si has a good eye for people and has no doubts about the loyalty of these two veterans, but she always feels very awkward.They have a kind of admiration for Shang Jun, which is almost like respecting gods. When dealing with state affairs, they must call "Shang Jun's law" without overstepping the threshold. Knowing that the two men had intended to resign a long time ago, Ying Si was not in a hurry to transfer power; seeing that the two resigned at the same time, the shadow of Shang Yang was faintly swaying in his heart. Sooner or later, why not go with the flow and start your new dynasty and new achievements as soon as possible?The idea is determined, and it will be implemented immediately, and just like the famous saying of the father-in-law's reform in the past, "major events depend on arbitrariness rather than collective planning", even Uncle Yingqian did not discuss it with him.Ying Si sent a majestic signal to the government and the people of Qin: the supreme power is firmly in the hands of the monarch, and no one can shake it!

At this time, the internal servant reported: Shang Yu, the governor of the county, asked to see him.Ying Si suddenly smiled and said, "Wait for this Heizi, Heizi will come, invite him in quickly." Xi Liji did not receive the imperial edict, but he found it himself to enter the palace.After returning to Xianyang from Longxi, Xi Liji smelled a breath of dynastic change.Although he is a feudal lord, he is only a local courtier after all. In addition, he is negligent in making friends. In Xianyang, there is almost no one who can make friends with him from the bottom of his heart, and there is nothing to say when he meets officials.Relying on his own intuition, he noticed the indescribable panic that permeated the officialdom.In accordance with his duties, he returned to the doctor's mansion as usual, and he had to report in detail about the trip to Longxi, and to propose new ideas to the government to appease the Rongdi tribe.The officials who received him were out of their minds, so he asked to see the senior doctor, Jingjian, but Wang Gu, who was in charge of the book, told him about him, but he didn't hear him.Xi Liji knew it in his heart, so he left with a haha.For such a big event, there must be an explanation, so he went directly to Miyagi to see the monarch.

"Qiliqing has worked so hard in the west, and he deserves great credit." Ying Si smiled faintly, but asked abruptly, "I heard that Qing has been widowed for many years, why?" Xi Liji really didn't expect the monarch to ask this matter at the outset, and said with a smile: "I want to report the trip to Longxi in detail." He wanted to avoid this topic. "I know all about the trip to Longxi, let's talk about it later." Ying Si smiled and said, "Today we will talk about your family." "Hehehe, this matter is irrelevant, why don't you bother me?" Chu Liji's black face turned red.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Ying Si said with a serious tone despite a smile on his face, "Today, I want to help you get married." Chu Liji hurriedly cupped his hands in a salute: "Thank you for the kindness of the monarch. However, the relationship between the minister and his deceased wife is very deep, and there is no intention of continuing. Besides, hehehe, I am a black fat man, and the daughter of that family married me. It is a waste of money. .” Rude self-deprecating but dotted with elegant humor, Ying Si couldn't help laughing: "Ji Li Ji, Yi Li Ji, you can tell, black fat man? Violence? No, no, no, widowed men are reckless, Ah ha ha ha ha..." Ying Xi, who was always serious about speaking and smiling, burst out laughing for the first time.

"Hey hey hey, the black fat man is not a heavenly thing, so it's okay to be violent. It's a pity for me, a fair lady." Chi Liji's face was flushed, and his expression was ridiculous when he said that. Ying Si was even more joyful, and laughed so much that he fell on the desk and coughed. After a while, he calmed down, and his face couldn't help but smile: "You are not allowed to disobey orders, and we will get married in three months! My fair lady, you don't need to worry about it." If you want to commit yourself to state affairs, how can you not have a family foundation?"

"Your Majesty, isn't this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this is a big burden for Hei Fatty?" Chi Li was so anxious that he could not speak, and said with a blushing heart: "I have no talent and no ability, I have no intention of being an official, I just want to return Homeland, be a hermit." Ying Si looked at Xi Liji in surprise, and suddenly laughed again: "Fatty Hei also wants to resign? No! What can you do?" Chu Liji looked frustrated, thought for a while, and then smiled: "Your Majesty, Chu Liji recommends a great talent to replace me, a green leaf and a rotten tree, what does the monarch think?"

"Oh? Great talent? What is your last name? Where is it now?" "This person will arrive in Xianyang within three days. If the king reuses this person, it means that the minister's request has been granted." "What if you don't reuse it?" "The minister is willing to be a green leaf and a rotten tree." "Okay!" Ying Si suddenly took the case seriously and said: "Before Dongliang arrives, I will take up the post of doctor temporarily because of the illness in the green leaves and rotten trees, and I will work on the same day."

"Your Majesty, what, how do you do this?" Chi Li was eager to wait for a long speech, but the Monarch Ying Si walked away.Xi Liji suddenly froze in the hall, looking around in a daze.At this moment, only a burst of laughter was heard, and a white-haired man in black with a veil came out from behind the curtain: "Doctor, are you all right?" "You? Who is it?" Amidst the surprise, Xi Liji suddenly realized: "Ci Liji, please see the young master." Yingqian teased, "You have a high-ranking official's wife in no time. What a rotten tree with green leaves, it's about to bloom." Chu Liji was very embarrassed: "Young master, why should you make fun of it? Chu Liji didn't agree." Yingqian sneered and said, "I claim to be incompetent, but I just learned to walk with those old people in Handan, and they also made a fuss about resigning from office and becoming a hermit to gain a clear name. Do I still have the true qualities of my old Qin?" Chi Liji had calmed down, and said with a faint smile: "Words and deeds come from the heart, why do you need to learn how to walk in Handan?" "Xiang Liji, do you know who recommended you?" Ying Qian suddenly looked serious when he saw his weak smile. "It can be said that you have no eyes to recommend people with Chuli disease." Chu Liji replied lightly. Yingqian sneered for a while: "Xi Liji, you are so bold! Is Shang Jun a blind man?" Chu Liji was very surprised, then shook his head and laughed loudly: "Young master is brilliant, and Chu Liji admires it." Yingqian didn't smile, and behind the black veil was a low and serious tone: "Qi Liji, don't think that I brought up Lord Shang to fool you. Although Yingqian has a personal grudge against Lord Shang, he has no public enmity. After all, the monarch It's the same." Yingqian sighed deeply: "The capital punishment of Shang Jun is due to self-hate and self-inflicted punishment. Otherwise, only your Shang Yujun can protect Shang Jun. With no worries about life and the turmoil in the government and opposition, how could the monarch kill Shang Jun? However, Shang Jun has no second thoughts, is dedicated to public affairs and disregards selfishness, and can only resolve the crisis of Qin State and maintain the new law by consciously dying. Only in this way, Shang Jun Before the king's execution, he had a secret long talk with the king in the Yunyang State Prison, and he explained a major event behind him. It was at that time that the king of Shang recommended you, Xi Liji, and Sima Cuo, the guard of Hangu Pass. Otherwise , how can the monarch summon you two to rush to Xianyang to participate in the important task of fighting against the outside world and securing the interior? In the heart of Shangjun, I hope that you will put aside your personal feelings, put the overall situation first, and be a minister of the new monarch to safeguard the new law. Who would miss you? Liji, but caring about the loss of the virtues of the monarch and Yingqian, and caring about the kindness of Shangjun's self-knowledge, when the state of Qin needs the support of good ministers most, he steps back and only seeks peace of mind. Such a situation, Could it be that he has greatly chilled the heart of the Shang monarch? He has failed the high hopes of the monarch?" His speech was extremely frank, naked and undisguised, and he made a deep denigration of himself and even the new monarch, which can be described as upright and righteous. Chu Liji couldn't help being shocked, he was silent for a long time, and bowed solemnly: "Chu Liji, I would like to be taught." The next day, Ying Si held the first court meeting after the rebellion, and issued an edict: Xi Liji was appointed as a doctor, and the general administration of state affairs; Still living as the Taifu, he will be promoted to the first level of nobility; all county magistrates will be promoted to the first level of nobility, and their original positions will not change.At this time, the old Qin family who relied on hereditary titles to be officials in the country have all been eliminated, and the reformers in the Shang Dynasty have also undergone some purges. After some arrangements were made and the court was about to disperse, the chief servant hurriedly reported: "There is a scholar at the palace gate asking to see him, claiming to be the head of the rhinoceros of the State of Wei, and saying that he has a long-term strategy to offer to the State of Qin." "Rhinoceros head?" Ying Si looked at Chu Liji in surprise, "But the person Chu Liqing mentioned?" "Exactly." Ji Liji said: "This man's real name is Gongsun Yan, he learned from Yang Zhuzhi, and he claims to be the world's number one political strategist; he once served in the states of Wei, Chu, and Zhao, and repeatedly defeated his opponents in official circles; his words are like a rhinoceros The leader is unstoppable, so the name rhinoceros head is mostly known, but his real name has been forgotten. I met this person unexpectedly in Longxi, and advised him to serve in Qin Dynasty." "Okay! Sir, please come to the hall." Ying Si was very excited as he felt like sailing with the wind and giving to others. In a short while, a heroic middle-aged celebrity entered the hall like a gust of wind, wearing a red cloak, no crown, long beard and temples, and everyone's eyes lit up!This person came into the hall and looked around, everyone could appreciate those piercing eyes.I saw him stepping forward quickly, and bowed deeply: "Shandong rhino head, see King Qin—!" The hall was shocked!Ying Si was quite displeased: "I am not king. What do you mean, sir?" Rhinoceros said loudly: "This is the first strategy Rhinoceros dedicated to Qin: Lige Kingdom." "It's really sharp, if you don't want to be annoying." Ying Xi said with a faint smile: "There must be a way to say it." Standing in the center of the hall, Rhinoceros looked around with his hands folded: "The three kings of the world are Zhou, Wei, and Qi. If Zhou is insufficient, Wei Zheng declines, and Qi also passes the sun. Only Qin's vitality rises in the east. Guarding a principality, How to inspire the ambitions of the people of the country? How to deter the six kingdoms of Shandong? Xishou asserts that if you want to win the competition in the Central Plains, you must first correct your title!" There was silence in the hall, unable to respond to this abrupt "long-term strategy" for a while.Xi Liji felt that the monarch could not always deal with it directly without any room for maneuver, so he cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Mr. The head of the rhinoceros laughed proudly: "Okay! The chief plan of the rhinoceros is sixteen characters: the name is corrected, the east goes out to fight for hegemony, the central plains competes, and the world is ruled." "Yang Zhu's learning is all about benefiting the world and not doing it. Sir, what do you want for Qin's plan?" Chi Liji knew that this person never hid himself, so he wanted to find out what he was thinking. "Ailment in Xili is really a person." Xishou smiled teasingly: "People are not for themselves, and heaven and earth are destroyed. Yang Zhu's school advocates self-interest, but does not advocate harming others. Strategists plan for the state, and the state benefits, naturally. It is necessary to give strategists high-ranking officials and generous salaries. This is the right way of the world. The prosperity of the world is for profit. The world is full of hustle and bustle for profit. For all scholars, who does not come for fame and fortune? Except for high-ranking officials. Jue, how can there be another rhinoceros head?" After some speeches, all the officials in the palace opened their eyes wide in surprise, everyone's face was red, their ears were hot and their hearts were beating wildly. Yingqian couldn't bear it anymore, and said with a sneer: "Then, what benefits can you bring to the Qin State? You can get high-ranking officials and nobles in exchange for sixteen words that are big and useless?" This is an acrimonious question in the eyes of ordinary people, but Xishou did not feel embarrassed at all, and said with a slight smile: "Sixteen characters are the outline, and the outline is the same as the outline. As for how to make the Qin State gain great benefits, I must have another plan. Qin Gong, please see—— With a dashing cloak, he pulled out a roll of bamboo slips from his leather pouch, and clapped his right hand: "All the pictures of kings and tyrants are on it." "Can you tell me, sir?" Ying Qian asked coldly. The rhinoceros said with a teasing smile: "The long-term strategy is white, but the fine-grained strategy will not be announced. This is the key to power, the Tai Tuo really doesn't know?" Ying Si has been thinking about it, and at this moment suddenly slapped the desk and loudly said: "Decree: Rhinoceros is Qin Guoshangqing. The court is dismissed." Under the astonished eyes of the courtiers, the mysterious rhinoceros head followed the monarch in strides. That night, Ying Si summoned Uncle Yingqian, senior doctor Chi Liji, and Guowei Sima Cuo to cleanse the rhinoceros together and listen to rhinoceros explaining his kingly strategies. finished talking. Ying Si never showed the excitement and shock that Rhinoceros expected, and instead of listening intently, she was silently thinking.After talking about the main topic, Xi Liji asked Xishou to talk about the world's strategists, and Ying Si kept asking happily.Since Duke Xiao of the state of Qin was critically ill and Lord Shang was executed, the monarchs and ministers of the Qin State have been in constant crisis for two or three years, and have no time to look around, and have become unfamiliar with the situation in the Central Plains.The news about the rise of Shandong strategists told by Xishou really made them feel fresh and excited. In recent years, a school of strategists has emerged from a hundred schools of thought.Scholars of this school are very strange, there are disciples of that family, regardless of the original knowledge, they just study and figure out the situation of the countries, lobby the princes, and plan the king's strategy for the country they yearn for.Xishou said that he himself was "Yang Zhu strategist", that is, a famous strategist under Yang Zi's sect.The Jixia Academy in Qi State has keenly seen the unlimited momentum of strategists. There are already famous masters who specialize in teaching their students "the study of strategists". A certain school of knowledge, instead of integrating all kinds of schools of thought into one, extracts its aspects of strengthening the country, enriching the people, and power and tactics, and mixes it into a "combined knowledge" of strategists; secondly, strategists use tempering their eloquence as the main way to increase their talents, and often offer rewards to encourage them The debaters who won Lien Chan; Zhuang Xin, Lu Zhonglian, Chu Long, Xin Yuanyan and other young elites from Jixia Academy are already famous as strategists.At the end, Xishou predicted with confidence: "The future Warring States will be dominated by strategists, and will no longer be ruled by Legalists!" "So, the current strategist climate is still in its infancy?" Ying Si seemed to be speculating, but also seemed to be asking. "No." Xishou waved his hands: "The climate for strategists has formed. One is that the real new strategists have emerged, and the other is that the wave of reforms in the Warring States Period has passed, and the balance of power in the world has been formed. It is time for strategists to seek the country." Chi Li laughed and said, "Who is Fang Ren's 'true new strategist' that Mr. said? Could it be that Mr. is boasting?" Rhinoceros laughed heartily: "No and no. Do the kings and gentlemen know who Guiguzi is?" "Who doesn't know Guiguzi?" Chi Liji smiled leisurely, and answered with a question. "I'm afraid you only know one thing, but not the other." Xishou said solemnly: "Everyone knows that Guiguzi is deep and unpredictable. In the past, Li Kui and Shang Yang were the disciples of the Legalists, and later there were Sun Bin and Pang Juan as disciples of the Military School; but No one knows that this expert has already started to carve out strategist disciples twenty years ago. There are also two, do you know?" Rhinoceros revealed a mysterious smile. This news is really unexpected!Everyone shook their heads in surprise.Ying Si urgently asked, "Who are these two?" "Su Qin. Zhang Yi." Xishou paused every word, very clearly. "Su Qin, Zhang Yi? Which country are you from?" Yingqian asked indifferently. "Luoyang Su Qin. Anyi Zhang Yi." "Sir, do you think Su Qin and Zhang Yi are better than your husband?" Chi Liji seemed to be indifferent. "I've only heard his name, but I haven't seen him, so how do I answer the number one strategist in the world?" Xishou suddenly became serious.Before the words fell to the point, the monarchs and ministers in the seat laughed at the same time.