54: Chapter 54 Li Si: The Führer's eloquence is simply heaven-defying! Terrifyingly so!

"Senior Brother Sun Daping, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhao Fusu was still waving the folding fan in his hand with a calm and composed expression.

"I admit defeat."

Sun Daping was like a defeated rooster, looking completely dejected.

Standing beside Sun Daping, Shu Botong suddenly felt much better when he saw his close friend being rendered speechless and defeated by Zhao Fusu.

"What about the rest of you?"

Zhao Fusu's gaze turned toward the Confucian Scholars behind Sun Daping and Shu Botong.

Many of the Confucian Scholars opened their mouths as if to speak.

They did indeed have points to make regarding the shortcomings of the commandery-county system.

For instance, because the governors in the commandery-county system served fixed terms, they might be transferred before they even understood the situation of their commandery.

The development of such a commandery would inevitably be delayed.

If the commandery were enfeoffed to a vassal, it would be the vassal's own territory. He would certainly be dedicated and diligent in developing his own land.

But they didn't dare say it.

The people of Xianyang were staring at them intently; if they insisted on restoring the enfeoffment system, it would be no different from wanting to start a war in the eyes of the commoners.

How could they dare to debate Zhao Fusu under such circumstances?

Of course, even if the Confucian Scholars used this point to debate,

Zhao Fusu could easily out-argue them.

Who could guarantee that a vassal king would manage his fief diligently or truly treat the people well?

Take Zhu Shuang, the second son of Zhu Yuanzhang, for example.

As soon as Zhu Shuang arrived at his fief, he began large-scale construction. Not only did he spend a long time renovating palaces, but he also wanted to waste manpower and resources to move the pavilions from the Nine Dragon Pond left by the Tang Dynasty into his own palace.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely angry, to the point of issuing successive edicts to condemn him.

Zhu Shuang paid no heed to Zhu Yuanzhang's warnings; instead, taking advantage of the imperial power being far away, he became even more excessive.

Once, Zhu Yuanzhang sent him on an expedition against the Xifan. Before he left, he repeatedly emphasized the need to respect the local people and to only perform military tasks without causing trouble.

Although Zhu Shuang was victorious on the battlefield, he committed many absurd acts along the way, causing the Xifan people to seethe with resentment.

He ordered his subordinates to seize pregnant women, causing many couples to be separated.

He also seized 150 young girls aged seven or eight and 155 boys aged seven to ten, and ordered them to be castrated.

These young boys were forced onto the road before their wounds had healed, resulting in heavy casualties.

Zhu Shuang was also oppressive toward the people of Guanzhong.

He not only forced them to spend all their wealth to buy gold and silver for him but also drove many to the point of selling their children to satisfy his selfish desires.

The people could not endure it; over 300 people gathered before the Prince's Mansion to beg for mercy, only to be brutally beaten by the guards he sent. One elderly man was even beaten to death, and nearly 100 people were detained.

Within his palace, Zhu Shuang abused private punishments even more, performing cruel acts such as cutting off tongues, burying people in snow, and burning them with fire.

Under the enfeoffment system, if the people of any fief encountered a vassal king like Zhu Shuang, they would suffer.

Vassal kings held their positions for life, and it was hereditary.

It was entirely possible for a son to be even more tyrannical than his father.

Zhao Fusu lightly fanned himself, looking at the group of Confucian Scholars who were like eggplants hit by frost—wilted and listless.

He dared to propose debating a thousand Confucian Scholars single-handedly; if he didn't have some real skill, he wouldn't dare be so arrogant!

"The Fuehrer is so amazing!"

Watching Zhao Fusu silence a thousand Confucian Scholars alone truly left Meng Yi shaken to his core.

"Husband!"

Wang Xia's beautiful eyes were fixed entirely on Zhao Fusu.

Zhao Fusu's high-spirited appearance, being the center of everyone's attention, really made her heart flutter.

"Fuehrer, your eloquence is truly remarkable!"

Li Si was truly impressed by Zhao Fusu.

Those Confucian Scholars were extremely skilled with their tongues.

One could tell by how they were able to provoke the First Emperor to the point of wanting to bury them alive.

As for Li Si himself, it was the same; he had also been so angered by these Confucian Scholars that he wanted to bury them all.

And yet, over a thousand such silver-tongued Confucian Scholars were nothing in front of Zhao Fusu, utterly routed and left in a mess.

Feng Quji also looked at Zhao Fusu with a face full of admiration.

Zhao Fusu's eloquence was the greatest he had ever seen; he could talk the living into being dead.

The First Emperor had frequently launched wars, destroying the six states one after another with incomparable brutality.

In Zhao Fusu's mouth, it became: the unification of the world is the general trend.

It was Heaven that allowed Qin to unify the world.

Even if the First Emperor hadn't unified the world, someone else would have.

The millions of soldiers who died in the wars launched by the First Emperor became a fault that belonged to no single person or state.

All the blame could not be pushed onto the First Emperor or the State of Qin.

In fact, according to Zhao Fusu, the First Emperor, by ending over a thousand years of conflict, had become a savior and a great hero.

"The Fuehrer's eloquence can be called heaven-defying!"

"It's terrifying!"

Li Si and Feng Quji glanced at each other.

They couldn't help but think that Zhao Fusu leading the twenty thousand Guanzhong Army into Xianyang and surrounding the residences of the court officials was clearly a rebellion and a military coup. Yet, in Zhao Fusu's words, it became an exercise to prevent the Remnants of the Six States from rebelling following the First Emperor's sudden death, and he was protecting the officials.

His eloquence was simply mind-blowing.

Since he said it was reasonable, they had to say it was reasonable.

After all, they truly had no way to deal with Zhao Fusu and had to follow his wishes.

As Zhao Fusu put it, dignity only exists at the edge of a sword, and truth only exists within the range of a crossbow!

Since the truth was in Zhao Fusu's hands, then whatever Zhao Fusu said was right.

"Prime Minister Li Si."

"Premier Feng Quji."

Zhao Fusu said, "While there are so many people here, I think we should take the opportunity to announce the lifting of economic controls and the opening of the economy."

"Mhm."

Ever since Li Si and Feng Quji witnessed the powerful force of the Steam Engine, they had both keenly sensed that the Steam Engine would bring about an increase in productivity.

If the Steam Engine could really be made into a steam rotary tiller or a steam combine harvester, then one farmer could do far more than the work of thirty-three people!

If one farmer could support more people, then a large number of farmers could be liberated to engage in industry and commerce, thereby raising the economic level of the Great Qin Empire.

"Everyone,"

Zhao Fusu said, "Starting tomorrow, the area Inside the Pass will serve as a pilot for reform. Commoners can buy grain, and nobles can sell grain."

"What!"

"We can sell grain now!"

The nobles of Great Qin could hardly believe their ears.

After performing meritorious deeds on the battlefield, they were granted land.

The higher their noble rank, the more land they received, and the more grain they could harvest.

Was there really no grain Inside the Pass?

Of course that was impossible!

No matter how poor the harvest, the Guanzhong Plain was a plain after all, with the Wei River flowing through it, making it suitable for growing grain.

But according to Shang Yang's reforms, they were not allowed to sell their grain!

God knows how miserable they felt watching their granaries overflow with grain they couldn't sell and couldn't finish eating!

Now that grain could be sold, how could they not be happy!