For Li Si, being the head of hundreds of officials, the position of prime minister, one person below ten thousand people, was his most satisfying status.
If he continues to move up, he will become an emperor, but he doesn't have the courage.
But he was absolutely unwilling to let him fall.
Therefore, all he cares about is his official position and his own interests. For this reason, his submission to Ying Zheng basically has no bottom line.
As the leader of hundreds of officials, unless Li Si takes the lead, there is no hope that the imperial court can raise effective objections to Ying Zheng's book-burning order.
After listening to Zhang Liang's words, Gao Jianli was silent for a moment with a complex expression, and finally couldn't help but echoed what Big Iron Hammer said:
"Indeed...it's all in the dog's belly!"
The snow girl took over the conversation and continued:
"Since the empire cannot stop it, the various schools of thought can only resist it in person."
Zhang Liang just smiled when he heard this and didn't comment. He looked at everyone and asked:
"Do you think we should resist?"
"Can you resist?" Big Hammer confused him, and asked with eyes wide open, "If you don't resist, then all the schools of thought will just tie themselves up and let the empire chop off their heads one by one!"
Zhang Liang didn't mind Sledgehammer's response and asked calmly, "How do you think you should resist?"
This time, everyone could tell that Zhang Liang had a deeper meaning, and Gao Jianli asked, "What does Zifang have to say?"
"I don't suggest confronting the empire head-on, it's meaningless." Zhang Liang didn't give in, and went straight to the point, "The various schools of thought are very powerful, but in the end they are all scattered. Even if they have the same goal to resist the burning of books, it is just
...The sand that is barely kneaded into a ball breaks into pieces when touched."
"The empire is very weak now, but it is not so weak that it has no ability to resist."
"If the various schools of thought try to stand out, they will become a knife in the hands of others."
The book-burning order is a crazy act that risks the disapproval of the world, but except for Ying Zheng and the Empire, not everyone will oppose it.
On the contrary, there are many anti-Qin forces who would be happy to see this happen.
They don't care about this 'knowledge', they want to overthrow the empire, or seize, or take back power.
If power cannot be wrested from the hands of the Empire, having 'knowledge' in their hands means nothing to them.
On the contrary, as long as they can overthrow the empire and establish their own new order on top of the ruins, they can find ways to deal with the impact of book burning.
On this basis, Ying Zheng's insistence on burning books will only shake the empire's rule, which is a great good thing for them.
In other words, the only ones who are really anxious now are the various schools of thought.
These books are the crystallization of the wisdom and thoughts accumulated bit by bit by their ancestors and themselves over hundreds of years. If they were to be burned all at once - many people would probably be more willing to burn themselves.
Looking at Gao Jianli and others who were thoughtful, Zhang Liang smiled and continued, "The empire's blade is about to attack. If you don't want to resist head-on, you might as well try to hide."
"The emperor wants to burn books, so we should try our best to hide them."
"The sky is so big and the earth is so big that it can't even accommodate some books."
Tianming scratched his head and said, "It sounds good, but... is it really that simple?"
As a father-in-law, Tianming knew very little about books, so he could only logically judge that Zhang Liang's suggestion was correct.
It's like someone wants to steal your things, and the other party is too strong to resist, so you can only hide your things.
It is certainly not advisable to guard against thieves for a thousand days, but it is probably not easy for Ying Zheng to be a thief now.
Gao Jianli and the others looked at each other, but their expressions were complicated, as if they were worried about this.
Hiding books sounds like a simple thing, but in fact... it's not easy.
Even if it is a relatively strong and stable carrier like bamboo slips, it needs regular maintenance during storage to avoid damage by insects, rats, and moisture.
Not to mention other carriers such as paper, which will be scrapped if not careful.
Therefore, books cannot be hidden just by stuffing them in any place.
Not to mention the extent of the empire's book-burning efforts is still unknown.
If burning books was just a round of collection, it would be easier to handle. There is always a way to find a safe place to hide things in a short time.
But if there is a long-term tug of war, you must find an environment that is stable enough to ensure that the books will not be damaged.
But it is difficult to hide this kind of situation from the empire - unless the emperor burns books just to mean something - which is obviously impossible.
Generally speaking, collecting books to fight book burning is not a completely unfeasible plan, but it will definitely be troublesome to implement.
The most troublesome thing is that the book-burning order targets all the schools of thought, but the schools of thought themselves are not a unified group.
"This matter is very troublesome to deal with. We have to contact other sects as soon as possible." Gao Jianli did not explain Tianming's doubts in detail, but just explained the reality in a deep voice.
Zhang Liang reminded at this time, "It is appropriate to contact colleagues from various schools of thought, but please make sure that the insider is reliable enough."
"Only a few people at the highest levels of the empire know about the book burning. If the news leaks, the consequences may be disastrous."
"You must be very careful about this matter!"
In the last sentence, Zhang Liang's tone was particularly serious.
The identities of the 'few people' he mentioned are very clear.
In addition to Ying Zheng himself and the Confucian and Mohist people who knew about it due to the leak of intelligence, there were only three people: Prime Minister Li Si, who was the head of the hundred officials, Gu Xun, who was the imperial advisor, and Fusu, the eldest son who was relegated to the north.
Know this clearly.
In addition, even the most important ministers such as Zhao Gao, the emperor's favorite and the former commander of the CRRC, and the right prime minister Feng Quji and the imperial censor Feng Jie may not know - they may have some understanding, but certainly not completely.
.
If the Zhuzi Baijia reacted in advance and let the empire know about it, the blame would definitely be placed on Gu Xun - of course, in fact it was indeed his fault.
It’s hard to say how much trouble this pot will bring to Gu Xun, but it will definitely intensify the conflicting relationship between Gu Xun and Ying Zheng that has already begun to collapse.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! For Zhang Liang, he is happy to see the relationship between Gu Xun and Ying Zheng deteriorate, but he cannot actively promote this situation.
"This..." Gao Jianli looked around, and after hesitating for a while he could only sigh, "It seems that we can't take any big action for the time being... But I'll let Mr. Xiaoyao know."
According to Zhang Liang, what they have to do is not to be careful, but to do nothing.
Although hundreds of schools of thought are always mentioned together, the relationship between the various schools and factions is actually very general, and there are some conflicts, and they are even mortal enemies.
In this kind of relationship, it is simply unrealistic to expect the other party to help them keep confidential information.
I'm afraid that if the Mo family informed them, the empire would know about it.
The only person Gao Jianli could trust was Xiaoyaozi, the head of Renzong, and he could only tell him.
Zhang Liang was not surprised by this and had no intention of continuing to point fingers. He just smiled.
At this time, Xue Nu interrupted and asked, "Has Little Sage Village already responded?"
Zhang Liang did not hide anything and nodded, "Senior Brother Fu Nian has already been dealing with the book-burning order."
"When the eldest son Fusu visited last time, he specially reminded Senior Brother Fu Nian, and he started preparations very early."
Gao Jianli and the others looked at each other, and none of them asked Zhang Liang why he was talking now if he already knew.
There may be many reasons. In short, Zhang Liang, or the Confucians, have no obligation to provide information to the Mohists.
It would be great if they are willing to tell you now - you must know that they have taken risks.
"Since we have already prepared, are we sure we can deal with Ying Zheng's attack this time?" Gao Jianli asked carefully, considering his words.
Zhang Liang smiled with a complicated meaning and shrugged, "If it is just to deal with the book-burning order, Xiaoshengxianzhuang is already prepared, but... the problem Confucianism will face is not whether it can preserve the classics of the sages."
"Confucianism and Mohism are different from farmers, and from most schools of thought."
"Little Shengxian Village is facing a difficult choice between gain and loss."
With the help of quicksand, it is not difficult for Confucians to preserve their books.
But if Little Sage Village chooses to compromise with the empire on the book-burning order, or even becomes an accomplice of the empire in promoting this matter, then the reputation of Little Saint Estate will be unnecessary, and even the reputation of Confucianism will fall to the bottom.
As a member of hundreds of schools of thought, it is okay not to resist the empire, but it is definitely not okay not to oppose the burning of books, especially Confucianism, which advocates teaching and educating people the most.
But if Xiaoshengxianzhuang refuses to compromise or bow its head, given the character of the First Emperor, they may be able to keep the book, but there is a high probability that they will not be able to save themselves.
Gao Jianli and others understood what Zhang Liang meant, and no one was speechless for a while.
After the awkward silence lasted for a while, Gao Jianli broke the silence and asked, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
Zhang Liang shook his head and replied with a smile, "I am mainly reminding you about the Book Burning Order. We can only deal with the troubles in Little Sage Village by ourselves, no one can help."
As Zhang Liang said before, Confucianism is special.
It is particularly characterized by its natural inclination towards imperial power.
Most of the hundreds of scholars hope that they can become an academic school reused by the empire, although most of them can only think that the only ones who can truly become the mainstream and enter the court are the four schools of Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism and Taoism.
The current dominant doctrine in the empire is Legalism, so Mohism, Taoism, and other schools of thought are alienating the empire.
They may not reject the empire's choice of their doctrine, but they will not rush to join the empire's court - even if they wanted to, they could not avoid Legalism.
But Confucianism is different.
When there is only one political power in the world, whether it chooses Confucianism or not, Confucianism will choose it.
Confucianism has too many theoretical concepts that require Confucian scholars to do this, and they are accustomed to doing so.
This ultimately led to Confucianism facing a completely different dilemma from other sects.
Whether it is the Mohist family or the peasant family, the causes of the difficulties they face may be different, but when implemented, they are inseparable from force.
Fighting is common for most scholars - of course, it is rarer when the opponent is an empire.
However, anyone who is beaten is beaten, and it is nothing more than the difference between being unable to beat or being able to beat.
If you win, there's nothing much to say. Just make sure you don't lose your advantage.
If you can't defeat him, you have to find a way to strengthen yourself or weaken your opponent. If you can't do that, you have to find a way to wander around.
The Mohist family and the peasant family did not shun these methods when facing the empire.
But Confucianism is different. It does not need to take action, let alone cannot take action.
Moving hands means that Confucianism has abandoned its own ideas and doctrines and dug its own roots.
But if you don't take action... the result doesn't seem to make much difference.
If the Confucian faction holds power, they can try to use power to resist power, but they are the "opposition party" and have no power except their mouth.
Being caught between a rock and a hard place, riding a tiger with a hard time getting off... This is the real dilemma faced by Xiaoshengxian Village.
Of course, the situation faced by Confucianism is not without its good points - it is destined to be stabbed, the difference is only where the blade strikes.
But Xiaoshengxianzhuang can choose where to land the knife, and no matter where the knife lands, it is not fatal. It can still save some breath. The difference is only in which aspect of "meat" is lost.
Zhang Liang's tone of voice was not serious and he always had a smile, but everyone could feel the sadness and loneliness in his heart.
The dilemma faced by Xiaoshengxian Village made Zhang Liang unconsciously recall the dilemma faced by Han Fei when he returned to his homeland many years ago and tried to reverse Chao Gang.
As smart and witty as Han Fei was, he also enlisted the help of Wei Zhuang Zi Nu and others, but still had to compromise with the government on many matters, even to the point where he himself got stuck.
There are times when personal abilities really cannot turn the situation around.
Back then, Han Fei only faced the turbulent Korean court, but now Xiaoshengxianzhuang will face the imperial court, and Zhang Liang is even more helpless.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! A depressing atmosphere filled the small Xuanwu central control room. Many people wanted to talk but didn’t know what to say.
In the end, it was the most ignorant Tian Ming who broke the deadlock - although his mind had become smarter, the fact of his father-in-law's education would not change. He did not understand Confucianism, so he did not know that Confucianism had fallen into a dilemma.
"Third Master, you can't explain clearly...what exactly is your trouble?"
"Speak clearly and we will definitely be able to help."
Zhang Liang smiled and shook his head. He didn't explain too much, but said perfunctorily, "It's better to take care of yourself now. Confucian matters... Senior Brother Fu Nian will take care of it."
Then he took the initiative to change the topic, "Tianming, how many favors do you owe me?"
"Ah?" Tianming was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He raised his eyes and recalled for a moment before replying, "Three."
"Okay." Zhang Liang nodded with a smile, "Now there are four."
"Ah? Why are there more?" Tianming looked confused.
He didn't care if he owed Zhang Liang a few favors, but this inexplicable increase was not a problem.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Liang explained, "On the night the Qinglong Plan was implemented, I pointed you to the right path, right?"
Zhang Liang had already been involved in the Qinglong Project and had provided certain help to the Mo family. Logically, he would not ask for any additional favors for this.
However, he showed up in person that night and pointed out the location of Ying Zheng to Tian Ming Shao Yu and the two who were going to serve as bait according to the original plan, so that the follow-up progress of the Qinglong Project could go smoothly. This was extra help, and it was specifically targeted at Tian Ming Shao Yu.
of help.
He can also remind the people of the Mo family in another way... Of course, it may be a little slower, but the impact will not be great.
For this reason, it is reasonable to ask for personal favors.
