Chapter Thirty-Eight: Embarrassed

  "Shut up. What benevolent ruler loves the people, what people are important, the altar and the grain are secondary, the ruler is light, all of these are absurd talks, views of rotten Confucians."

  King Qin Zheng slammed his hand on the table and said, "In these years, what have you been studying? Have you only learned such pedantic and absurd theories? From now on, you are not allowed to read any other books except [Shang Jun Shu]. Wait for my examination. If there's anything you don't understand, go ask Li Tingwei. If you can't even understand [Shang Jun Shu], then don't bother reading other books. Dismissed."

  In front of King Zheng of Qin, a 14 or 15-year-old boy knelt down. He was born with white teeth and red lips, clear eyebrows and eyes, and a face as beautiful as a woman's. However, under the furious accusation of King Zheng of Qin, he lowered his head, staring at his own feet, not daring to look directly at King Zheng of Qin. Later, when he heard King Zheng of Qin let him retreat, he also breathed a sigh of relief, like being released from prison, and hurriedly gave King Zheng of Qin a salute, saying: "Father king, I will retire." Then he backed out of the side hall and ran away quickly.

  He saw the eunuch hastily retreat from the side hall, and Qin Wang Zheng also sighed with a bitter smile, shaking his head in silence. Just then, only to hear the voice of the inner attendant outside the palace: "Your Majesty, the Lord Li Si, the Minister of Justice, requests an audience."

  King Qin said: "Xuan."

  Before long, Li Si walked into the side hall with a joyful expression, and fell to the ground, saying: "Your servant Li Si pays homage to Your Majesty, wishing you longevity and boundless prosperity."

  The King of Qin nodded and said: "Li Ping, come forward."

  Li Si hastily said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." He then stood up and continued, "Your Majesty, when I came in just now, I saw the Crown Prince leaving with a pale face. Is it not that he has again displeased you in some way?"

  The King of Qin sighed and said, "It's all because of those 18,000+ Qin soldiers who were released back. Li Mu is indeed a master of military strategy in today's world, with such audacity to release all the captives back, not only establishing his own reputation for benevolence, but also making it difficult for my entire nation of Qin to move left or right. This is truly a clever calculation, and he is indeed the number one enemy of my Qin nation's unification of the world."

  Li Si also smiled bitterly and remained silent. After Li Mu released more than 18,000 captured Qin soldiers, it indeed caused a considerable stir in the court and among the people of Qin. How to deal with these 18,000 Qin soldiers became a major problem. The many ministers of Qin argued on the court for several days, but no result came out.

  The Qin state implemented a policy of rewarding farming and warfare, attaching great importance to military achievements. There were rewards for achievements, but also punishments for failures. The military laws established by the Qin state were extremely strict. If they lost a battle, the commander-in-chief would return home and commit suicide as an apology to the country. Therefore, when the Qin army fought against other states, they often won more battles than they lost. On one hand, this was due to the rewards for military achievements, but on the other hand, it was also because defeated generals were put to death.

  Of course, at times when a defeat is inevitable, the King of Qin would issue a special amnesty, exempting the defeated generals from death penalty and allowing them to redeem themselves. However, the King of Qin would not issue such an amnesty without reason; only when the enemy's forces were truly too strong, or due to objective reasons such as weather or environment, and the commander had indeed used all his strength, in cases of non-war crimes, would the King of Qin issue a special amnesty.

  In the first year of King Zheng's reign (246 BC), Wei Gongzi Xinlingjun Wuji led a coalition of Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han and Yan to resist Qin. The coalition army gathered 600,000 troops and defeated the Qin army south of the Yellow River, causing Meng Wu to flee in defeat. The coalition army took advantage of their victory and attacked Hangu Pass, but the Qin army closed the gate and did not dare to come out again. After Meng Wu escaped back to Qin, he was pardoned by Prime Minister Lü Buwei on behalf of King Zheng, who exempted him from death penalty because this defeat was not due to Meng Wu's lack of effort, but rather the enemy's overwhelming strength. However, most of the defeated Qin generals did not have such good luck as Meng Wu.

  It was the same for generals and ordinary soldiers. The Qin military law implemented the system of collective punishment, where any soldier who fled in battle would not only be executed but also have his entire family demoted to slavery. If a squad leader escaped, the whole squad would be guilty; if a company leader escaped, the whole company would be guilty. Therefore, every time they went into battle, Qin soldiers were equally brave and fought to the death without retreating.

  But now the situation is that for hundreds of years, Qin State has never encountered such a thing - the enemy army released all the captured Qin soldiers, what to do?

  The ministers of the Qin state were also divided into two factions. One faction believed that these soldiers were defeated troops and should be punished according to the law, all executed, otherwise it would not be enough to intimidate the whole army; while another faction believed that this batch of Qin soldiers had fought hard on the battlefield and had not fled in battle, but were captured by the Zhao army, now being released by Li Mu, and it was not that the Qin soldiers did not work hard, therefore King Zheng of Qin should issue a special amnesty to pardon them.

  The two factions each quoted classics and cited evidence to prove that their own opinions were correct, arguing loudly in the imperial court for several days, but neither could convince the other.

  But King Zheng of Qin is now indeed in a dilemma. If he does not deal with these soldiers, it will have a great impact on the morale of the Qin army. Being captured by the enemy and then released without punishment after returning to their country, who would still fight to the death on the battlefield in the future?

  But punishing the crime is not that simple. Although Qin State killed enemy soldiers without mercy, in the Battle of Changping, they buried alive 400,000 Zhao soldiers. However, this time they were facing their own military personnel. King Zheng of Qin was also aware of the principle of "not blaming the masses". If it were just a few thousand people, it would be manageable, but this time there were over 18,000 people who returned, each with their own parents, siblings, and children. At the very least, tens of thousands of people would be affected, causing unrest that would not be small, and even Qin State would find it difficult to withstand such turmoil.

  Moreover, this batch of Qin soldiers did not die in Zhao State, but instead returned to their country and were killed by their own people. This is also unacceptable. Therefore, even the normally decisive King Zheng of Qin had to be cautious this time. He only ordered that these 18,000 Qin soldiers be temporarily detained, but he hesitated and failed to make a decision on how to deal with them.

  Just now, Fusu, the eldest son of King Zheng of Qin, came to see him and also pleaded for the 18,000 Qin soldiers. He asked King Zheng of Qin to issue an amnesty to exempt this batch of Qin soldiers from punishment. Although the courtiers were divided into two factions, no matter what reason they used, they all based their arguments on the military laws and orders of the Qin state, looking for interpretations that were beneficial to themselves. However, Fusu's argument to persuade King Zheng of Qin was based on the Confucian ideas of benevolence, righteousness, morality, and love for the people.

  Although the Qin state was founded on Legalist philosophy, it did not completely prohibit the ideas of other schools of thought. For example, when Lü Buwei served as Prime Minister in Qin, he compiled and edited the "Lüshi Chunqiu", which is actually a collection of works from various schools of thought.

  As one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, Confucianism was already one of the most widely spread doctrines among the people and could not be completely prohibited. In Chinese history, although Legalism and Confucianism seemed to be mutually exclusive, they were actually closely related, with many Legalist scholars being disciples of Confucian masters, such as Li Si and Han Fei, who studied under the great Confucian Xunzi. Therefore, the education of the crown prince in Qin was mainly based on Legalism but also included other schools of thought, including Confucianism.

  Fu Su was the eldest son of Qin Wang Zheng and also very intelligent, so Qin Wang Zheng also intended to make him the crown prince. However, Fu Su used Confucianist ideas to advise Qin Wang Zheng, which clearly went against the governing ideology of the Qin state. As a result, Qin Wang Zheng became furious, severely scolding Fu Su and banishing him from the imperial court, ordering him to go back and study the "Shang Jun Shu" seriously.

  The Book of Lord Shang is a collection of writings attributed to the Legalist philosopher and politician Shang Yang, who served as the Chancellor of Qin during the reign of Duke Xiao. The book outlines his vision for reforming the state of Qin through law and institutions, and is considered one of the most important works of the Legalist school.

  Shang Yang's reforms in Qin lasted for over 20 years, establishing a national policy of rewarding farming and encouraging military merit, which made Qin a well-governed state. It rose from being a small country on the western border to becoming the strongest among the Seven Warring States. The foundation for Qin's current prosperity was laid at that time. Although Shang Yang was later killed by King Huiwen of Qin on charges of treason, his legal system remained intact and continued until now, ensuring that Qin has been the leading state among all countries for over a hundred years.

  The "Shang Jun Shu" thus became the foundation of Qin's national policy, and also a work that every young noble in Qin had to study seriously.

  Li Si hastily said, "The Great King is worried and the Grand Duke is still young, so it's easy for him to be misled by the empty words of the Confucians. However, the Grand Duke has been clever since childhood, if he is taught diligently, he will definitely not disappoint the Great King."

  The King of Qin nodded and said, "I have been busy with state affairs in recent years and have relaxed a bit on Fu Su's education. It seems that I need to intensify my examination of them in the future and find a good teacher for him. This is not only for Fu Su but also for other princes. Otherwise, after I die, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the great cause of Qin."

  Li Si advised again: "The princes are still young now, and it's still possible to teach them slowly. Your Majesty doesn't have to be in a hurry."

  The King of Qin waved his hand and said, "Never mind that. Li Qing has entered the palace to see me, what's the matter?"

  Li Si hastily said: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. I have just received a report that the Intendant of the Capital, Han Teng, has already captured Xinye and King An of Hann has surrendered. The state of Hann is now completely destroyed."

  "Ah!" King Qin Zheng heard this and immediately used both hands to support the table, kneeling up, saying: "I didn't expect Han Teng to have really done it."

  Han Teng was originally a high-ranking minister of the Korean royal family. Due to his disagreement with King An of Korea, in the 14th year of Qin Wang Zheng (233 BC), he surrendered the land of Nanyang, Korea to the Qin state and defected to the Qin state. He was appointed as the Interior Minister by Qin Wang Zheng and served as an official in the Qin state for three years, during which he performed his duties conscientiously and gained the trust of Qin Wang Zheng.

  Just two months ago, Han Tian voluntarily submitted a memorial to King Zheng of Qin, requesting to lead the army himself and attack the State of Han. Moreover, he only needed to bring the 5,000 soldiers from Nanyang who had surrendered to Qin, and he would be able to destroy the State of Han.

  First, the destruction of Korea was originally a military plan proposed by Li Si to unify the world, but at this time, Qin State was attacking Zhao State on two fronts, with a total of 400,000 troops deployed, and it was impossible to open up a new front in Korea.

  Although Korea is now very weak, it still has hundreds of miles of territory, nearly 100,000 troops, and almost a thousand chariots. The capital, Xinzheng, is also a large city with high walls and wide moats. However, Han Tong proposed that only 5,000 soldiers would be needed to destroy Korea. Li Si was not confident in his heart. But thinking of Han Tong being a noble minister of the Korean royal family, he knew the situation in Korea like the back of his hand. Since he dared to make this guarantee, he must have some confidence. Therefore, he still recommended to King Zheng of Qin that Han Tong lead the army to conquer Korea.