67: Chapter 67 Li Si's Admiration: The Führer is truly a born leader!

"Two premiers, please mind your image!"

Seeing Li Si and Feng Quji holding the paper with infatuated expressions, he reminded them.

"It was my loss of composure!"

Both Li Si and Feng Quji's old faces turned red.

It wasn't their fault for being so excited.

They knew what the appearance of paper meant for scholars; more people would be able to study!

Of course, this only benefited scholars and had little to do with their own interests.

For big figures like Li Si, whose net worth was billions or even tens of billions, money and even power were no longer pursuits.

He pursued the promotion of his own theories to more people, so they could be passed down through generations.

No matter how much money or power, once a person dies, it's just a handful of yellow soil.

But theories can influence more people and be seen by future generations.

For example, Confucius has been physically dead for over two thousand years, but in spirit and influence, he hasn't died; his influence is expanding globally.

He achieved eternal life in spirit!

Li Si was also pursuing this realm of eternal life.

The appearance of paper would drive the emergence of paper books, allowing him to better and more conveniently promote his theories to the world.

The Zhou Dynasty ruled the country with rites, meaning all vassal states listened to the Son of Heaven of Zhou.

The Son of Heaven of Zhou and the vassal states maintained a state of harmonious coexistence.

During festivals, everyone would gather, play music, and dance in harmony.

The collapse of rites and music began with Duke Zhuang of Zheng's arrow shot at the Son of Heaven of Zhou.

The Son of Heaven of Zhou's strength could no longer suppress the increasingly powerful vassal states.

Strong states bullied weak ones.

The world fell into chaos, sinking into the naked law of the jungle where the strong were respected and human values collapsed.

There was no longer a standard for what people should do.

People couldn't judge who was good or evil; good and evil were confused.

Even judging good and evil was useless because good didn't necessarily bring rewards.

Evil didn't necessarily bring retribution.

The result of this confusion was the collapse of values.

People couldn't distinguish good from evil, and there was no retribution.

In this situation, there was a crisis: no one practiced good or avoided evil anymore!

Everyone took chances, thinking that murder and arson didn't matter.

Pre-Qin Confucianism proposed new standards of good and evil amidst the collapse of values.

"Benevolence" is the core of Confucius's thought and the highest moral standard.

It emphasizes loving others, which includes care, respect, and sympathy.

Phrases like "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you" and "The benevolent person loves others" embody the spirit of benevolence and empathy.

It advocates treating others with a kind and tolerant attitude.

The "rites" in Confucius's thought mainly refer to social etiquette norms and the hierarchy system.

Confucius advocated restoring the rites of zhou to regulate behavior and maintain social order. He emphasized that people of different statuses should follow appropriate etiquette on different occasions, practicing "restraining oneself and returning to the rites" to achieve social harmony and stability.

Therefore, Confucianism emphasizes Benevolent Governance.

Confucius, Mencius, and others in the Confucian school believed that "man's nature is good at birth," so they naively thought that using Benevolent Governance could inspire the world and build a harmonious and loving society.

However, reality is cruel, and facts proved that human nature is unreliable and inconsistent with reality.

Xunzi was the last representative of Pre-Qin Confucianism.

He discovered the evil side of human nature, which is innate.

Thus, Xunzi proposed the "Evil Nature" theory, believing human nature is inherently evil, denying that people are born noble, and emphasizing that only environment and education can make people kind.

Xunzi's heterodoxy influenced his students Han Feizi and Li Si.

They also believed human nature was inherently evil and that the source of evil must be removed through punishment.

Qin Shi Huang promoted the Rule of Law. After Li Si got rid of Han Feizi, he implemented the Rule of Law in the State of Qin, rising in rank to become the second-in-command.

Besides implementing the Rule of Law in the State of Qin, Li Si also wanted to implement it in the Six Lands.

Now with paper, he could write his Legalist theories into books and promote them in the Six Lands.

"Head of State, when will we start selling paper?"

Li Si was already impatient to sell paper and write books.

"No rush."

Zhao Fusu said: "Let's talk about the newspaper first."

"Newspaper?"

Li Si and Feng Quji were so focused on the paper that they hadn't asked what a newspaper was.

Zhao Fusu said: "A newspaper is where we write down what we want the people to know on paper and report it widely."

"One issue will be published every week."

"Ah!"

Li Si and Feng Quji's eyes widened.

"Head of State, you are even more ruthless than I am!"

Li Si looked at Zhao Fusu in shock.

His face was full of disbelief.

Even though he was over fifty years older than Zhao Fusu.

In front of Zhao Fusu, he felt like a simple-minded young man.

He was still simply thinking about writing his theories into books to influence the people.

Zhao Fusu, on the other hand, was going to forcibly hammer his ideas into the people's brains.

If the people saw the content Zhao Fusu wanted them to see for a long time, their perception would unknowingly be assimilated by Zhao Fusu.

Their thoughts would also synchronize with Zhao Fusu's.

Li Si looked at Zhao Fusu in horror.

He could hardly believe that such a terrifying method was thought up by a young man like Zhao Fusu!

Li Si became increasingly respectful in front of Zhao Fusu.

The Head of State was truly a born ruler!

"Prime Minister Li Si."

Zhao Fusu said to Li Si: "I plan to establish a new department within the Parliament, the Great Qin Empire General Administration of Press and Publication. You pick some people with good writing skills to serve as editors and be responsible for drafting articles."

"I am the Editor-in-Chief."

"Before the newspaper is published, it must pass my review."

"Oh, oh!"

Li Si nodded slightly.

"By the way, let me clarify something with you."

"One of our newspapers has five sheets, with a total of twenty pages."

"The content of the first page of the first issue will be personally arranged by me; you cannot touch it."

"And you don't need to arrange the content for the second page either; Chief Legislator Wang Xia will publish content there."

"As for the newspaper, the content I want you to publish must be placed in a prominent position."

"If I'm not satisfied after reviewing it, it will be sent back for you to finalize the draft again."

"Oh!"

Li Si and Feng Quji could understand.

Zhao Fusu had already said that his purpose for creating the newspaper wasn't simply to let the people see the news, but to let them see the content he wanted them to see!

"Then, let me tell you something very serious."

Zhao Fusu's expression suddenly became solemn.

"Hmm?"

Hearing Zhao Fusu say this, both Li Si and Feng Quji became curious, wondering what Zhao Fusu wanted to say.