Chapter 6 Han Fei

  On this day, Li Si, the chief secretary of the Qin court, had just finished his morning audience and was having breakfast at home when a messenger from the palace suddenly arrived with an urgent summons from the King of Qin. Li Si's heart skipped a beat as he wondered what urgent matter had arisen, but he did not dare to delay and hastily rushed to the Qin palace.

  "What urgent matter does Your Majesty have for me?" Li Si asked, his voice slightly tense with a hint of uncertainty.

  King Qin Zheng gazed at Li Si with piercing eyes: "I heard that you and Han Fei of the State of Han are bosom friends, is this true?"

  Li Si was startled and thought the King of Qin was looking for trouble with him, so he hastily said: "I once studied with Han Fei in the same school, but after graduation, I have had no contact with him. Please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly!"

  The King of Qin smiled and said, "Lord Li, don't be nervous, I have no other intention. Just now I read the articles 'Shuo Nan' and 'Gu Fen', and felt that the author Han Fei is very talented. I also heard that you are an old acquaintance of his, so I called you to ask for your advice!"

  Li Si let out a sigh of relief and began to speak in a smooth tone: "The 'Shuo Nan' actually tells a story:

  In the past, there was a person named Mí Zī Xiāo in the State of Wèi who was deeply favored by the Lord of Wèi. One night, someone took a shortcut to inform Mí Zī Xiāo that his mother was ill. Knowing that the law of the State of Wèi stipulated that stealing the lord's carriage and cutting off both feet would be punished, he still drove the lord's carriage overnight to visit his mother. Later, when the Lord of Wèi heard about this, he praised: "Mí Zī Xiāo is indeed a filial son! He was willing to commit the crime of having his feet cut off for the sake of his mother! Let him be pardoned!"

  Another day, Mizi and Weijun went to the orchard together. After Mizi ate a few bites of a peach, she thought it was extremely delicious and offered it to Weijun to taste. At that time, Weijun was very moved and said: 'Mizi really loves me, thinking of me when there's something good to eat!'

  But later, when Miko's beauty faded and her love waned, the lord of Wei accused him of two crimes. The charges were: 'He once secretly drove my carriage, and also gave me a leftover peach to eat!'

  Han Fei's intention is to warn the world: 'Those who serve the king with their beauty can only get a few good days!' To truly serve the country and thrive without defeat, one must have real talent and learning. Otherwise, Mei Zi's case is the best example!

  The King of Qin nodded and said, "I also have this intention. In the 'Lonely Indignation' it is also said: The heavenly dragon is a creature that can be disturbed and ridden, but under its throat there are inverted scales a foot long; if a person touches them, they will certainly be killed. A ruler also has inverted scales. If those who speak of this can avoid touching the ruler's inverted scales, then it is almost possible! What do you think about this, my dear minister?"

  Li Si respectfully said: "This passage means that if you want to persuade the king, you must cater to his preferences and speak with clever words. If not, you will not only fail to achieve your goal but also risk offending the king's dignity and suffering a fatal disaster! How many upright officials throughout history have suffered this fate due to their ignorance of this subtle theory?"

  King Qin Zheng nodded and praised: "It seems that Minister Li has deeply studied Han Fei's doctrine, and what he has gained is also quite similar to mine. But why hasn't he recommended it to me all along?"

  Li Si suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and hastily said: "Although Han Fei's doctrine is quite ingenious, he has always been loyal to the state of Han, and his words have often shown disrespect to Your Majesty and the state of Qin. Therefore, I dare not rashly recommend him!"

  King Qin Zheng heard this and smiled slightly: "So that's how it is, I was wrong to suspect you!" Suddenly King Qin let out a loud laugh, revealing his overbearing aura: "However, I think Han Fei's teachings can only be applied to others, not to me. Under the heavens, only I control others, no one can control me!"

  Li Si hastily said: "Your Majesty's talent is heaven-sent, rarely seen in ancient or modern times. It's not something an ordinary person can attain!" King Zheng of Qin heard this and smiled, saying: "Love Minister, you're overpraising me! However, Han Fei's talent is enough to govern the country and bring peace to the nation. I deeply love him. Does Love Minister have a way to summon him to enter Qin and serve me?"

  Li Si saw that the King of Qin appreciated Han Fei so much, and he couldn't help but stir up his usual desire for power and profit, and his resentment towards others. He secretly regretted that he had previously praised Han Fei too much, and without regard for their former friendship, he slandered Han Fei, saying: "Your Majesty, although Han Fei has great talent and wrote over a million words, including 'Solitary Indignation', he suffers from a severe stutter and is not good at speaking. I'm afraid that if you meet him, it will disappoint Your Majesty!"

  The King of Qin heard this and didn't think much of it, saying: "What's the big deal? It's just speaking slowly! As long as we can listen to his wonderful theories, what's the harm in waiting ten days and nights?" Suddenly, King Zheng noticed that Li Si seemed somewhat unwilling, and he suspected Li Si's sincerity. He casually said: "Could it be that you don't want to help me make this happen, Love?"

  Li Si saw that the king's expression was not right, and he was terrified in his heart. He hastily said: "Your Majesty has an order, how dare I not follow it? Wanting Han Fei to come to our Great Qin is actually very easy! General Han Teng, the interior historian, isn't he stationed on the front line against Korea? As long as Your Majesty orders him to pretend to attack Korea, if the King of Korea wants to discuss terms, let him send Han Fei over!"

  The King of Qin heard this and burst out laughing, obviously very pleased with Li Si's cleverness.

  King Zheng of Qin continued to implement his consistent national strategy of allying with distant states and attacking nearby ones. On the one hand, he sent Meng Wu and others to make friends with Yan and Qi, while on the other hand, he intensified preparations for attacking Zhao and destroying Han.

  Soon, the King of Qin and Yan Qi reached a friendly treaty of mutual non-aggression and mutual commercial convenience. Without worrying about his back, King Zheng immediately ordered the 100,000-strong army led by Internal Historian Han Tong, stationed near Nanyang, to quickly approach the border of Korea, making a fierce and menacing posture that could attack at any time.

  King An of Han, in a state of extreme anxiety, had no choice but to follow the will of King Qin and sent Han Fei as an envoy to the State of Qin, hoping that his brotherly king could ease the current tense situation between the two countries.

  *

  Han Fei arrived in the state of Qin, King Ying Zheng was overjoyed and immediately summoned all officials to the palace to formally receive the national letter presented by Han Fei. In the evening, a grand banquet was held to entertain him, with the Prime Minister and other high-ranking officials attending as companions. Fu Su was young and not suitable for seating, so he unfortunately missed his first formal meeting with Han Fei!

  After the banquet, King Zheng of Qin waited for all his ministers to leave and had a private meeting with Queen Dowager in the South Study. He summoned Han Fei alone, without even bringing Zhao Gao or inviting Li Si, which made them both envious and resentful, so angry that their teeth itched, thus burying the seeds of their joint conspiracy against Han Fei!

  After the request, Fu Su was also lucky enough to get Qin Wang's approval to sit together with Han Fei at Nan Shu.

  Nan Shu Fang is a palace chamber, equivalent to the inner quarters of Qin Wang Zheng, where he and Queen Dowager would spend time alone. Only those who were highly valued by Qin Wang Zheng could enter without being summoned, such as Zhao Gao. Since Qin Wang Zheng took power, only his most trusted guests and officials had been able to enter. Han Fei's face was flushed with excitement, clearly surprised that he was so valued by the king. Meanwhile, Queen Dowager, who had long admired Han Fei, despite being pregnant, personally poured tea for him, leaving him both honored and terrified.

  Fu Su first saw Han Fei, looked him up and down, and saw that he was unusually handsome, with a clear face, three strands of whiskers, a prominent nose, a square mouth, long eyebrows, and a pair of eyes that were bright and wise, full of wisdom and light. His demeanor was elegant and refined, with an air of nobility about him!

  King Zheng of Qin felt a bit nervous and smiled, saying: "I had the good fortune to read some of your masterpieces the other day, and I was deeply impressed by their ingenuity. Now that you have come to my Qin state, I must make sure to learn from you!" Han Fei hastily replied: "Your Majesty's praise is an honor to me, I dare not accept the word 'teach'!"

  Fu Su nodded immediately, it is said that Han Fei has a stutter, which is indeed true, but it doesn't seem too serious.

  The Queen, who also admired Han Fei very much, smiled and said: "Mr. with 'law', 'technique' and 'power' combined theory of governance, put forward 'the world is different then things are different, things are different must change the law', can indeed hit the point of the problem, make people think deeply."

  Han Fei nodded proudly and said, "The Queen is overpraising me. In fact, everything in this world is constantly changing, there is nothing that remains unchanged, only by constantly changing the law can we keep up with the times!"

  Fu Su's eyes lit up, and he interjected: "According to what Master Shi said, the way of governing a country can be summarized in one sentence!" Han Fei saw that Fu Su, who was still just a young boy, had suddenly spoken out, and couldn't help but pause for a moment before saying: "Young master, please go ahead and speak!"

  Fu Su smiled slightly and said four words: "Keep pace with the times!" Han Fei's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he exclaimed: "'Keeping pace with the times'! Wonderful! It really is a phrase that speaks to my heart!" He couldn't help but look at Fu Su with newfound respect.

  The King of Qin was also quite pleased: "Sir, you're overpraising me. My son is still young, and if there's anything unclear in the future, I hope you'll give him more guidance!" Han Fei hastily replied: "Although the prince is still young, he already has such insight - I'm not as good as him! In the future, we should ask each other for advice!"

  Four people in a quiet room had an in-depth conversation, as they shared similar interests and their words flowed freely with great pleasure.

  As they talked to the end, King Qin suddenly asked Han Fei a sentence: "Have you ever heard of Yao Jia before? I heard that he and Mr. are old acquaintances, what about his character and talent?"

  Han Fei is a scholar with a straightforward temperament: "He is an old acquaintance, but there's no deep connection between us. He used to be the gatekeeper of Daliang in Wei State, but he was corrupt and often engaged in bribery. Later, he was exposed by others and escaped to Zhao State. After bribing Guo Kuo, he became a minister in front of King Zhao, but eventually got expelled from Zhao State again for taking bribes! This is not a righteous person! Why does Your Majesty ask about this man?"

  "Oh, nothing, just happened to think of it, just asking casually!" Qin Wang Zheng's heart suddenly rose with a surge of anger.

  Due to Li Si's strong recommendation and Yao Jia's own abilities, King Zheng of Qin had just granted Yao Jia a fief of a thousand households and honored him as an Upper Censor. Now, after hearing Han Fei's words, Yao Jia turned out to be such a person, he couldn't help but feel nauseous, like having eaten a fly, and at the same time became dissatisfied with both Li Si and Yao Jia!