Linzi has a large population and is the place with the most popular citizen culture in the world. Its people are rich and enjoy pleasure. In their spare time, they all play the yu, the harp, the harp, the piano, the cockfighting, the running dog, Liubo, and Cuju. In addition to
In addition to these entertainment items, actors and dwarfs are often active in restaurants on the streets and perform some performances during the banquet to win the support of diners and help the restaurants to attract business.
The performances of most actors are mostly teasing, funny, and even self-destructive. They will sing while beating the drums, and do somersaults on the table to make people laugh. The "Drumming and Rapping Pottery Figurines of the Eastern Han Dynasty" unearthed in later generations are
A portrait of this group of people.
But among this group of people, there are also some outliers. They do not regard themselves as lowly advocators. They follow the example of Chunyu Ji during the reign of King Wei of Qi. They live by their words and tell stories in wine shops. Although the stories are based on street talk,
I heard it from hearsay, but there are also some ancient stories that people talk about, such as "Yan Zi sent Chu" and "Chun Yu Ji Zhi persuaded the king of Qi", which the people of Qi loved to hear.
In Linzi's busiest village, Yuezhishi, there is a famous wine shop, which invites a actor named "Youxiu" to sit on the table all year round.
It is said that Youxiu was once a slave of a "family". The family made up stories and asked him to tell them. The more Youxiu told them, the better, and his reputation spread throughout Linzi. Before his death, Youxiu's freedom was restored, and he continued
He makes a living by telling stories, and will appear in this wine shop on the first and fifteenth day of every month. At this time, the wine shop is full of guests, and Youxiu is sitting in the middle. The diners who come here surround him three floors inside and three floors outside.
layer.
Today is the first day of September, and it is no exception. Youxiu is less than six feet tall. He wears a turban on his head, his shoulders are high, he is wearing a child's dark clothes, but he has an exaggerated mustache. He looks a little funny, but
His expression was very serious.
He sat at the center table of the restaurant, glanced around, and started the story in his unique loud voice...
"Shi Kuang was an official in the Spring and Autumn Period of Jin Ping Gong. He was a blind music official, erudite and talented, especially good at music and good at playing the piano. I wrote six chapters of "Shi Kuang" for him. Today I will only talk about one of them, "The Sound of the Subjugation of the Country"
This matter."
As Youxiu started talking, a moment later, the story gradually came to an end.
"When Shi Kuang played "Qing Shang", sixteen black cranes flew together in front of the corridor door under the hall; when "Qing Zheng" was played, the black cranes stretched out their necks and began to sing and dance with the sound of the piano. Duke Ping of Jin was overjoyed when he saw this.
He stood up and toasted Shi Kuang, and then asked Shi Kuang, is there any more moving music than this?"
"Shi Kuang said that there is the music of "Qing Jiao", but only people with profound virtues can listen to this music. The king is not worthy of it. If he listens to it by force, I am afraid that his family and country will be destroyed!"
"Jin Ping Gong was not hesitant and said that it is best for me to have fun in this life, so he forced Shi Kuang to play. If he didn't obey, he would be killed! Shi Kuang had no choice but to take the qin and play it. He played the first song, and Bai Yun followed.
The sky in the northwest appeared, and the color of the heaven and earth changed instantly; in the second song, strong winds and heavy rain came, hitting the sky and covering the earth, blowing the roof tiles flying in all directions, and everyone running around in panic!"
There were originally a lot of discussions in the wine shop, but now they all stopped, astonished by Shi Kuang's miraculous skills.
Youxiu continued: "Ping Gong was so frightened that he hid in the corridor and shouted repeatedly, asking Shi Kuang to stop playing. When Shi Kuang stopped, the wind stopped and the rain receded, and the clouds cleared and the fog dispersed."
"But it was too late. There was a severe drought in Jin for three years, and no grass grew. Duke Ping of Jin also fell seriously ill, and Jin declined..."
Having said this, Youxiu slapped the table and ended today's story. Only then did the diners come back to their senses and praised the story one after another, but some people laughed and said:
"Isn't it just listening to the piano? Can it really be so exaggerated to the point where the situation changes?"
Youxiu smiled and said: "This gentleman is right, but ritual and music are not divided into two words. Music is like virtue, so music is also divided into many types."
He stood up and counted them one by one with his fingers: "There is the joy of the emperor, the joy of the princes, the joy of the ministers, the joy of the scholars, the joy of the common people, and so on.
You can't do it rashly, your status and virtue must match it, otherwise it will lead to some bad things. This is what Confucius said, 'If a country is in severe drought, all punishments and virtues will be lost.'"
"Does Youxiu also recite the teachings of Confucius?" asked a young Confucian scholar wearing a Confucian crown in the wine shop.
Youxiu explained: "Although I have never worshiped a Confucian as my teacher or worn a Confucian uniform or a Confucian crown, I have heard the words of Confucius from my friends."
His voice suddenly changed: "Actually, things in this world are not like this. If a king is not morally worthy and imitates Duke Ping of Jin and does something forcibly, he will definitely be regarded as rude by heaven and earth and will be punished.
Give some omens and give warnings and punishments!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the wine shop was in an uproar. The young Confucian scholar wearing a Confucian crown whispered to others: "Will you be warned if you do something that does not match your own virtue? Then I heard that the emperor went to Mount Tai last month
Feng Chan, he encountered a heavy rain just as he went up the mountain, and his whole body was soaked. How should we calculate this?"
"Emperor Feng Chan encountered rain?"
Many people heard about this for the first time and immediately became interested. In the past few years, under the control of the government, the price of wine in Linzi has increased several times. There are basically no poor people who can come here for entertainment. Qi people are easy to talk about.
, this is especially true for this group of people who have no worries about food and clothing.
While pushing cups and cups, the diners began to discuss this "state matter."
The Confucian scholar told everyone the news he had heard from his teacher. From the time when Qin Shihuang did not use the words of Confucian scholars and violated ancient practices, he used the etiquette of Qin Guanzhong mixed with the "customs of Rong and Di" to consecrate Zen, and then to the changes on the top of Mount Tai.
After several cups of horse urine, the young Confucian scholar became more courageous, and finally shouted: "My master and friend said that Mount Tai is spiritual and will not accept the title of Zen from a virtuous king. At that time, Duke Huan of Qi was not qualified, let alone this so-called
The First Emperor of Qin, in my opinion, is not really the son of destiny!"
As soon as these words came out, there was silence in the wine shop, and then there was a burst of agreement. After the rule of the Qin Dynasty, the life of Linzi people had dropped several levels. Their dissatisfaction had already been settled in their hearts. Although they did not dare to take any action, they could put it into practice.
To vent in words, Youxiu just drank wine and watched the scene in front of her with a smile.
The Confucian scholar was encouraged and shouted again: "The emperor is unethical and violent, but he forcibly consecrated Zen with the ritual of Rong and Di. He angered the heavens and sent down a warning of torrential rain. In my opinion, it is just like Duke Ping of Jin who forced himself to listen to "Qingjiao"
, in the next few years, the world may be in chaos!"
"Of course!" Everyone toasted to the Confucian scholar.
Only a few smart people noticed that the topics being discussed in this wine shop were getting more and more strange, so they put a few coins and a half on the table and started to walk out.
But before everyone could leave the wine shop, there was a rush of footsteps and they stopped outside.
A group of Qin soldiers surrounded this place.
Everyone's expressions suddenly changed. Youxiu stood up quickly and wanted to run out of the back door, but found that there was also blocked. When the owner of the restaurant came out after hearing the news, his face turned pale.
A group of Qin soldiers in black armed with swords walked in like wolves and tigers, pointing their weapons at all the diners.
Then, a Qin jailer wearing a law walked into the wine shop, glanced at the people inside, fixed his eyes on Youxiu and the drunken Confucian scholar, sneered, waved his hand and said:
"Everyone who slanders His Majesty in this wine shop will be arrested. No one can escape!"
…
Qin Shihuang had left Jixia and came to the "Exit Palace" in Linzi City, which was actually the former Qi Palace.
Qi people like extravagance. Starting from Jiang Qi, almost every king will build a high platform of his own. The kings of Tian Qi also inherited this hobby. Therefore, in the palace city southwest of Linzi City, there are countless pyramids standing like
The high platform building has a wide platform base and is surrounded by smooth stones, making it a spectacular sight.
Qin Shihuang lived in the Dashi Palace, which was built by King Xuan of Qi. It covers an area of 100 acres, and the hall above is also very large, with a total of 300 rooms. This project is so huge that with the wealth of Qi State, three buildings were built.
It has not been completed in years, but now it is advantageous to the people of Qin.
In the main hall, the ministers who accompanied the emperor on his eastward tour, as well as the chief officials from Linzi were all present. The atmosphere was somewhat solemn, as if a war was imminent.
"This is indeed a war...a battle of life and death without smoke, but with far-reaching consequences!"
Hei Fu stood in the middle of the hall and sighed secretly. As he expected, the group of Confucian scholars waiting at the foot of Mount Tai heard that Qin Shihuang's enthronement was blocked by wind and rain, and actually ridiculed him. It would have been fine if they had said it behind his back, but there were a few
He was such a big talker that he spread the news to Linzi through letters and other means, making the whole city aware of it.
If you don't commit suicide, you won't die. In the eyes of Qin Shihuang and Qin officials, they openly questioned the legitimacy of Qin and said that the emperor had "poor moral character". This was obviously a challenge to the emperor's authority! Hearing this, he was furious and immediately gave instructions to Li Si and Linzi officials.
, sent out personnel to arrest anyone who discussed this matter, and those who spread rumors would be punished as libel.
Linzi County Sheriff, Cheng is reporting on the arrests in Linzi City in the past few days.
"Your Majesty, anyone in Linzi who dares to criticize the title of Zen in the streets of wine shops has been arrested!"
According to the confessions of Youxiu and others, the government investigated and found a doctor who first leaked the news and slandered the emperor. He also implicated dozens of people, mostly Confucian scholars. In this way, seventy doctors, ten
Secondly, other people were also worried. After all, after the emperor left them at the foot of Mount Tai, everyone had more or less complained.
According to the law, the first person to spread rumors is guilty of defamation, and in serious cases may be beheaded and abandoned. Other sympathizers must also be charged with the crime of "gang drinking" and the crime of knowingly failing to report, or be fined or punished.
Disciple, sent to build Lishan Mausoleum.
But Qin Shihuang didn't want to give up, so he asked the ministers to gather to discuss how to deal with the matter.
As a patron of Confucian scholars, Zuo Prime Minister Wang Wan could not escape the blame, but during the discussion, he still insisted that what happened this time was just a small group of ignorant Confucian scholars who were dissatisfied, and they could just find them one by one and punish them, but
It is not necessary to implicate all PhDs.
"Your Majesty, the people of Qilu are naturally good at discussing things. Foolish people are just talking about it for a while, so there is nothing to worry about."
"Prime Minister Zuo, what you said is wrong! It is precisely because there are so many fools in the world that we cannot allow people to slander us. Otherwise, if people in the world believe it to be true, their hearts will be disturbed and chaos will arise!"
The right prime minister, Li Si, was confronting him. He knew that the time had come to completely defeat Wang Wan and bring him to a standstill!
Heifu stood behind him and saw Li Si, opposite to Wang Wan's hunched back, taking a big step, walking out of the queue to pay homage to Qin Shihuang, and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, in the past, the princes had disputes and recruited a large number of lobbyists, so that they could not be cured but talked about. They were so indulgent that these people couldn't control their own mouths! They often used false words to bring harm to the present, and used pretentious words to bring bad names.
Reality."
"Today, it has been decided that the laws come from His Majesty, and no matter what is right or wrong, one person is determined. Under the Emperor, the people's heads of Guizhou should devote themselves to agriculture and industry and create wealth for Your Majesty. Scholars should learn the laws, punishments and prohibitions, and serve as officials of the Qin Dynasty.
Your Majesty governs the people, this is the proper use of reading and learning!"
"But now, students do not learn from the present but study the ancients. They only appreciate the knowledge they have learned privately and criticize the legal system established by the imperial court. In this way, they slander His Majesty's rule and confuse the people's hearts. Whenever they hear something, they will
Everyone discusses based on what they have learned, and takes the lead in making slander among the people. I am afraid that these kinds of things are not unique to Linzi. If they are not prohibited, they will inevitably make people's hearts wander, weakening the power of the imperial court at the top, and forming the trend of cliques at the bottom...
"
Having said this, Li Si paid his respects again and suggested:
"In my opinion, after every incident, it is not enough to just pursue the culprit. We should establish new laws and regulations to prohibit private discussions in the world. Let the historians burn all the history books of the six countries they have collected! Only Dr. Xianyang is allowed to officialize the classics.
After studying and collecting, in addition to the collection of "Poems", "Books", and the words of various schools of thought in the world, they should also be guarded by the locals and burned by the generals! From now on, those who borrow the ancient and non-modern will be punished!
Anyone who dares to gather in groups to talk about ancient events, "Poems" and "Books" will be beheaded and abandoned in the market! Those who secretly keep poems and books and talk about hundreds of schools of thought will be tattooed as City Dan! I hope Your Majesty will give you permission!"
"What!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was an uproar in the hall, especially Zhang Cang, who was standing at the end, was shocked and looked at his senior brother Li Si in disbelief.
Li Si also studied imperial arts in Lanling and Jixia back then. He had a certain understanding of Baijiayan and was deeply nourished by it. Why is it now necessary to ban all of them across the board?
If this thing comes to pass, let alone the "New Jixia" that Mr. Hei said that day, which is brewing in the world, this world's academic forest will probably be like Qi Palace outside, with all the flowers withered and lonely, with only a few chrysanthemums left.
Down!
He was about to go out and make a request, saying that this must never be done! However, unexpectedly, the man in front of him had noticed his move. In order to prevent the fat man who carried the hope of China's future science from being convicted for his words again, he took the lead.
He stood up and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, the words of your Prime Minister are very good!"
Everyone looked at Heifu. He actually agreed before everyone could react from the shock? He was too hasty.
Ye Teng was also very surprised and scrambled to stand out. This was not something a son-in-law would do.
Qin Shihuang had not expressed his position yet, but he looked at Hei Fu and said with a playful smile: "You also think that Prime Minister You's proposal is feasible?"
"The matter of Mount Tai's enshrining of Zen is obviously auspicious and in line with the virtues of Qin. Those who slander are all people with ulterior motives and should be punished! As for doctors and private students, they have allowed chaos in the past few years, and they really should be rectified!"
Heifu expressed his position, but then his voice changed and he said:
"However, the laws of Qin have always punished the guilty severely and pardoned the innocent. Unless it was a clan execution, it only punished the father, mother, and wife of the three clans. I am ignorant. Although the knowledge in this world is collectively called 'Hundred Schools', in fact
, but they all go their own way, and even become hostile to each other. Those who have not interacted with each other for the rest of their lives are not only not relatives, they are not even neighbors. Now because a few Confucian scholars have committed crimes, all other private schools are banned and all books are burned. Will this...