Chapter Twenty-One: Ripples

  The previous chapter was a bit wordy, I happened to see these and shamelessly quoted some of them, forgive me! The Diaoyu Islands belong to China!

  Representatives of the hundred families soon reached a consensus and decided to wait and see how the situation developed before making any further decisions.

  This round of negotiations will obviously have no results. The green-robed man is clearly the master of this place, and under his leadership, the crowd in the hall dispersed one after another.

  The old man with a red nose did not leave like the others, but walked back and forth in the hall with his hands behind him, looking worried.

  Before long, the old man in green sent everyone back to the hall and saw the red-nosed old man looking depressed and comforted him: "Wen Tongjun doesn't have to worry, Qin's brutal rule has lost the hearts of the people. Now that the chaos has begun, the remnants of the six states will not let go of this great opportunity. We just need to follow the trend."

  Wen Tongjun, also known as Kong Anguo, was the ninth-generation grandson of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. During the late Warring States period, when a hundred schools of thought contended with one another, the Confucian school's emphasis on benevolence and propriety seemed to be at odds with the overall trend of that era of great contention.

  Naturally, during the nearly hundred years of the late Warring States period, Confucianism was largely neglected.

  After Qin unified China, if the Qin Empire could respect and employ Confucians, it would undoubtedly be the best proof of its magnanimity.

  Thus Confucianism, a school of thought that had been nearly forgotten for almost a century, was promoted to the imperial court by Qin Shi Huang's edict.

  Kong Ang as the ninth-generation grandson of Confucius and the leader of the Confucian school at that time, was also appointed by Emperor Qin Shi Huang as a high-ranking official comparable to the ancient marquises - Wén Tōng Jūn, holding the office of Shǎo Fù, leading all literary scholars in the world.

  Qin and the two Hans that followed, referred to as literary scholars, were a general term for various schools of learning; those who led the literary scholars were in fact the leaders of the scholarly world.

  It was later proven by history that this was a highly ironic thing.

  The Great Qin Empire was the first in history to elevate the neglected Confucian school to a leading position, but this school did not reciprocate and instead relapsed into its old ways, insisting on adhering to the feudal system of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, advocating for the enfeoffment of vassals to govern the world, and advocating for restoration.

  The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang was furious and punished Kong Qiu, but Kong Qiu fled in advance and took all the Confucian scholars with him to escape the search of the First Emperor.

  Qin Shi Huang, in a fit of rage, desecrated the tomb of Confucius, which is to say that this was the precursor to the "Burning of the Books and Burying of Scholars".

  Kong Yu heard the comfort of the green-robed old man and could only nod helplessly: "Thanks for reminding me, Brother Fan. I understand."

  The old man in green robes was obviously an official of the Great Qin, as the Qin dynasty stipulated that officials above the third rank wore green robes, while ordinary commoners could only wear white robes.

  Tian Fan, a descendant of Mozi's seventh generation grandson Tian Ju, is the current leader of the Mohist school. During the Qin dynasty, there was a system of doctorial politics, which was divided into twelve major doctors and seventy-two minor doctors. As the leader of the Mohist school, Tian Fan was one of the twelve major doctors.

  Kong Qiu's current worried and unsmiling expression is naturally because after the "burning of books and burying of scholars", the entire Great Qin has no place for Confucianism to stand, and Confucianism can only secretly pass on its teachings in hiding. As long as it cannot overthrow the Great Qin, Confucianism will not be able to emerge from hiding.

  This was something that Confucianism, which had once been the leader of all schools of thought, could never accept.

  The "Huainanzi - Yuandao" records: "Mozi learned the skills of Confucian scholars and received the teachings of Confucius." It is clear that the thought of Mohism originated from Confucianism, but Mozi re-examined and transformed Confucian doctrines, thus establishing his own banner.

  Although the Mohist and Confucian schools were mutually critical during the Warring States period, after Qin's unification, as a result of their shared cultural heritage, they naturally formed an alliance.

  So after Confucianism was condemned, Mohism continued to flourish in secret.

  Tian Ren was also disheartened about the big matter, so he didn't offer any more advice to Kong Yu. Both of them were feeling down and didn't want to say anything more, so they reluctantly parted ways to rest.

  …………

  The resplendent and enlightened Prime Minister's mansion.

  The grand hall was also filled with huge candles, shining as bright as daylight. The shadows were dense, and the seats were filled with officials of all sizes wearing various robes.

  During the Qin Dynasty, there was no imperial examination system, so most officials were appointed by the emperor after being recommended by the prime minister. Power was relatively concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, and the prime minister was appointed and dismissed by the emperor, which indirectly concentrated imperial power.

  Most of the officials seated in the hall were courtiers from the Li Si system, and the Qin Dynasty did not have the so-called party struggles and factions of later dynasties. However, due to the recommendation of the Prime Minister, these officials naturally tended towards the Prime Minister.

  The Prime Minister Li Si sat at the top, and to his right was a spirited old man with a wrinkled face but piercing eyes that gave off an aura of great pressure.

  This man was none other than Feng Qiju, the Right Chancellor of the Great Qin Empire.

  On both sides of the hall were seated officials, to Li Si's left was a middle-aged man in military attire, with a dark bronze complexion, big ears and nose, tiger eyes and thick eyebrows, giving off an aura of majesty. His face bore some resemblance to that of the old man sitting at the head beside Li Si.

  Feng Jie, Right Chancellor Feng Qiju's son, father and son served in the same dynasty as officials and held high positions together. Feng Jie was the Imperial Censor of the Great Qin Empire, holding the title of General.

  In the armor, a middle-aged man with a pale face and a slightly feminine long horse face stood opposite him. It was Yao Jia, the Grand Justice of the Great Qin Empire, who had been in charge of the empire's punishment for a long time, and his slightly feminine appearance gave people a gloomy feeling.

  Feng Ji sat down and saw that it was Zhang Han, the Minister of the Imperial Household, who had just returned from the eastern tour with Hu Hai and exterminated Zhao Gao's family.

  Wang Li and the other generals of the Imperial Guard were in the palace at this time, only he had completed the task entrusted by Hu Hai and was resting at home, but was summoned by Prime Minister Li Si.

  At this time, only Feng Jie said: "Zhang Shao Fu, is it true that the Emperor of Qin was awakened by his dream and designed to kill Zhao Gao, the thief?"

  Zhang Han reluctantly said, "Lord Feng, it is indeed so. This was spoken by the Emperor himself, how could I possibly fabricate it?" Tonight, countless people had already asked him this question, and Hu Hai had not instructed Zhang Han to keep it a secret, so when he first arrived, Zhang Han had already told several times about Hu Hai's execution of Zhao Gao and what followed.

  At this time, hearing Feng Jie ask again, he couldn't help but feel a little impatient.

  Feng Jie also felt Zhang Han's impatience, but didn't take it to heart. After all, whoever spends a whole night talking about the same thing dozens of times with tens of people would get impatient too.

  "Your Majesty is really wonderful! Good! Good!" Feng Jie clapped his hands and laughed loudly, completely forgetting that he had scolded Hu Hai.

  Feng Qi heard Feng Jie's words and his eyebrows twitched with anger. He shouted loudly: "How dare you!"

  Feng Jie, still basking in the joy, suddenly heard his father's loud shout and was startled. He immediately reacted that he had overstepped and hastily said: "Jie is too excited, too excited. Your Majesty will definitely not mind!"

  Feng went hastily, and obviously had no choice but to deal with his rough son. He glared at him for a moment before turning around and saying: "Prime Minister, I have seen His Majesty, now His Majesty..."

  The words behind were not asked by Feng Qidi, because he didn't know what to ask either.

  The main thing is that when Hu Hai returned to Xianyang in the morning, Feng Yi and Feng Jie did not go to meet him because they had been ordered to stay at home before Hu Hai's eastern tour. They had never seen Hu Hai, so all the things were understood roughly through the servants and Zhang Han's narration.

  Li Si knew what Feng Yi was going to ask and narrowed his eyes, pondering for a moment before saying: "They cannot be mentioned on the same day, they are like two different people, profound and unfathomable!"

  Upon hearing Li Si's words, Feng Quji's face, which was full of wrinkles, suddenly lit up with a smile like a chrysanthemum, and he repeatedly exclaimed: "Heaven blesses our Great Qin!"

  Obviously, no one suspected that Hu Hai's claim of being awakened by the First Emperor in a dream was an obvious scam in hindsight. The theory of ghosts and gods still had a market in the Qin Dynasty at that time, and the Yin Yang School still had a great influence.

  Many officials in the hall were excited when they heard Li Si and Feng Quji's words, and the hall was bustling for a while.

  ………

  The same scene appeared in the large and small mansions of Xianyang City, with more or fewer people, but everyone understood that the Great Qin was about to change again.

  The grand and majestic war is the theme of this book, while the yin-yang school is only to highlight one aspect of the long history of Chinese culture in the pre-Qin era, pointing out a thread of the hundred schools. Don't worry, fantasy will not be involved too much.

  These chapters are a bit dull, just some necessary narration, but the climax is coming soon, don't worry.

  New week, can everyone lend a helping hand and make some noise on the new book charts? Collect, recommend, and click to your heart's content!

  The previous chapter was a bit wordy, I happened to see these and shamelessly quoted some of them, forgive me! The Diaoyu Islands belong to China!!!