51: Chapter 51 Uncle Tong, whose Fire Was Suppressed

Li Si and Feng Quji both looked toward Zhao Fusu. When they saw that he still wore a smile and was slowly waving his folding fan, they felt much more at ease.

Waving his fan and smiling, Zhao Fusu spoke with calm composure, "To say the First Emperor was militaristic, launching successive campaigns to destroy the Six States—can the First Emperor really be blamed for that?"

Zhao Fusu's voice rose, "The unification of the world was an inevitable trend!"

"If it were not unified by Qin, it would have been unified by another state."

"And it is crystal clear that unification is far superior to fragmentation and strife."

"Heaven used the hand of Qin to open the stage for future generations; who could possibly resist it?"

"And as for Qin versus other states, what choice was there?"

"Qin's annexation of the Six States was actually the culmination of a millennium-long trend in ancient times, reaching maturity only then. It was not something Qin Shi Huang could achieve alone, nor was it something the State of Qin could achieve alone. Its merits and faults are likewise not for one man or one state to bear alone."

Zhao Fusu's words were spoken from the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, divided into three points.

First, one simply cannot stop the historical trend of world unification.

Second, the benefits of unification far outweigh fragmentation; unity is better than division. As for who unifies the world, it does not matter. Whether it was Qin or another state, it was inevitable.

Who did the unifying was irrelevant.

Third, the State of Qin and Qin Shi Huang unifying the world was not the achievement of a single state or person. Conversely, Qin Shi Huang's mistakes cannot be borne by him alone.

As soon as Zhao Fusu's viewpoint was presented...

Many people from the Six Lands were resentful, yet they acknowledged its truth.

The current Six Lands were divided into Zhao Territory, Wei Territory, Chu Region, Han State Land, Yan Territory, and Qi Territory.

Among the predecessors of the Six Lands, which of the Six States had not annexed smaller nations?

You feel wronged because your state was annexed by Qin. Were the states you annexed not also innocent?

For a thousand years, small states were continuously annexed and assimilated by larger ones. The remaining Seven Warring States were bound to fight for supremacy until a final victor emerged.

Zhao Fusu's view was cold-blooded, yet it struck them as profoundly logical.

"Our Great Qin was originally a small state on the northwestern frontier, where our ancestors made a living raising horses."

"During the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period—Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, King Zhuang of Chu, King Helü of Wu, and King Goujian of Yue—every hegemon was illustrious for a time."

"At that time, our Great Qin was nothing more than an insignificant small state."

"Over hundreds of years, small states were continuously annihilated by large ones, eventually forming the map of the Seven Warring States."

"Among the Seven Warring States—Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin—our Qin was the weakest."

"But why was it ultimately our Great Qin that destroyed the Six States?"

Zhao Fusu's question prompted deep thought in many.

This included Zhang Liang and Xiang Liang, who were within the crowd.

Zhao Fusu was not wrong. The ancestors of Qin had originally only raised horses for the Son of Heaven of the Zhou Dynasty.

The origins of every other state were more prestigious than Qin's.

Among the Seven Warring States, Qin had also been the weakest. Both the Han State and the Chu State were once stronger than Qin.

In the end, it was the weakest that destroyed the Six States which were stronger than itself.

One had to admit this was a miracle.

Did the Remnants of the Six States hate the First Emperor?

Of course they did.

What they hated even more was that the one who destroyed the other six states wasn't themselves.

Zhang Liang and Xiang Liang had also wondered why the one to destroy the other states wasn't their own country.

They had each reached different conclusions from their own perspectives.

For instance, Zhang Liang believed that whether it was the tactic of 'Befriending distant states while attacking neighbors' or the 'Horizontal Alliance' strategy, Qin's methods were brilliant.

Xiang Liang, on the other hand, believed Qin's generals were exceptionally skilled in warfare: Bai Qi's great flanking maneuvers, General Wang Jian's war of attrition, and Meng Tian's coordination of multiple branches of the military.

They were very curious to hear what different reasons Zhao Fusu might provide.

"Our Great Qin rose through Lord Shang's Reforms, establishing the commandery-county system. By separating the administrative and military powers of the commanderies and counties, it became difficult for them to amass troops for personal gain or threaten the monarch's rule."

"Our Great Qin benefited from the rule of centralized power, concentrating resources to achieve great things. The entire nation followed only the monarch's orders. With a united will and a single heart, we were able to conquer a vast territory."

"If our Qin were to implement the enfeoffment system, it would be equivalent to dividing and weakening our own strength. With internal feudal lords constraining each other, we would be unable to concentrate power for great tasks, let alone destroy the Six States and possess such a vast territory as we do today."

"How many of you know just how large the territory of our Great Qin Empire is today?"

"It reaches the Great Sea and the northwest of the Liaodong Peninsula to the east, Lintao and the Qiang regions to the west, Lingnan to the south, and is bounded by the Yellow River to the north, connecting the Yin Mountains all the way to the southern tip of Liaodong."

"All future descendants of our Great Qin Empire will be able to enjoy this vast territory."

"The First Emperor's purpose in building the Galloping Roads, the Straight Road, and the Great Wall was to protect this vast territory for future generations, so it would not be snatched away by the Xiongnu people or the Donghu."

"The First Emperor established such a massive foundation for future generations and fought wars his entire life. Is it not acceptable for him to enjoy himself a little by building the Epang Palace and the Lishan Mausoleum?"

Zhao Fusu's words left Shu Botong speechless.

What is the most intuitive way to judge whether a country is powerful or not?

Whether its land area is large.

A powerful country must have a large land area!

This is because the stronger the national power, the wider its influence can radiate, and the more territory it possesses.

The Zhou Dynasty was remarkable, but the current map of the Great Qin Empire is larger than that of the Zhou Dynasty.

Zhao Fusu's point was that the reason Great Qin could expand its map to such an extent was by relying on the advanced commandery-county system.

If Great Qin had still relied on the enfeoffment system, it would have been impossible to expand the territory beyond that of the Zhou Dynasty.

Zhao Fusu's words completely silenced Shu Botong.

Shu Botong looked at Zhao Fusu with eyes full of disbelief.

He had originally thought he could easily leave Zhao Fusu with nothing to say.

As it turned out, it was Zhao Fusu who had left him speechless.

Sun Daping was also somewhat surprised.

The reason he had let Shu Botong be the first to attack was that Shu Botong was the most eloquent among their group.

The most eloquent among them could not outtalk Zhao Fusu, which made Sun Daping's expression turn sour.

If their group of over a thousand people could not outtalk Zhao Fusu alone, they would be mocked by the whole world.

If this were written into plays, they would still be mocked hundreds or thousands of years from now!

They couldn't lose!

They absolutely could not lose!

Seeing that no one else was opening fire, Sun Daping had to step up himself.

He said, "Under the enfeoffment system, the monarch grants land and people to kinsmen, meritorious officials, and descendants of previous nobles, allowing them to establish vassal states."

"These vassal states serve as a protective screen for the royal house, bearing the responsibility of guarding it. When the royal house faces external threats, the vassals are obligated to send troops to the rescue and protect its safety."

"The vassals are all related by blood; they will surely live in harmony, and the world will be at peace."

"Stupid!"

Sun Daping had just finished speaking when Zhao Fusu directly barked a rebuke.