Chapter 17 Restless Winter

Cheng Jiao was silent again. After a long while, he sighed and said, "If it is possible, living a life of drunkenness and dreaming of death is also a way."

After saying this, he casually sat down cross-legged, with an inexplicable look on his face, and said, "How can I be willing to accept the fact that a new era is about to begin?"

"You have a grandmother who cares about you in every way." Ying Zifei looked at the pillar behind him and said meaningfully: "Compared to the king, you have already got enough."

A person's growth will never be smooth sailing, even if he is a genius.

As yin and yang rotate, and between gains and losses, only you know the answer.

Cheng Jiao knew what Ying Zifei was talking about. He was silent for a moment and then started laughing.

Yes, he got enough!
"Ying Zifei, I need the strength to protect myself, you have to help me."

Cheng Jiao changed the subject and added, "In the next ten or twenty years, before your future offspring grow up, I will be able to check your power in some way."

"If you want the Black Ice Platform to continue to expand as you envisioned, you must let me have equal strength. Only then can you make some people less vigilant about your Black Ice Platform's expansion."

After understanding some things, Cheng Jiao took control of Ying Zifei without hesitation. The two might become friends in the future, but they would never become allies.

"Cheng Jiao, you seem to overestimate yourself." Ying Zifei smiled and deliberately provoked: "Do you know why Ying Shisan was transferred by the king? You are not the only alternative."

"Also, how can you be sure that I don't have a plan to deal with it?"

"I have already cut the power of the Black Ice Platform once. When the time is right, I can do it again."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jiao laughed and said, "Ying Zifei, the king's trust in you will indeed allow you to carry out your envisioned expansion plan step by step."

"But because of this, Brother Wang will not help you deal with those who are holding you back and deliberately causing trouble."

"Only when I reach a certain level as those people expect, will your own troubles be reduced."

"So, the best solution is for me to grow to the expected level and establish an impression that those people imagine can check and balance you."

Ying Zifei smiled. As expected, this guy becomes a shrewd man once he figures out some things.

"Give me the power of the Luowang that you hold." Ying Zifei sat up straight and said calmly, "I originally thought that you would be in charge of this part of the Luowang power, but now you have figured it out. We need to trade something."

"Okay!" Cheng Jiao nodded in agreement. When he was brought to this place by his brother Ying Zheng, the so-called supervision had been replaced by trust in him.

"So straightforward?" Ying Zifei was a little surprised. Cheng Jiao snorted and said unhappily: "Do you think I'm stupid? The power of Luowang will definitely not be in the hands of you, me, and Prime Minister Lu Buwei after my brother takes power in the future."

"There is no difference between putting it in my hands and putting it in your hands now."

"For me, the power of Zong Yingwei is the center of gravity."

Cheng Jiao imitated Ying Zifei and leaned against the pillar behind him. He sighed and said, "The development of the Zongyingwei is destined to be different from that of the Black Ice Platform and the Shadow Secret Guard."

"I need to strengthen my own strength, and I also need the power in your hands to supplement it."

"Zong Yingwei, tsk tsk, spies mixed in from various forces are really a headache."

When the two reached an agreement, King Ying Zheng of Qin and Lu Buwei were also discussing this issue.

The idea of ​​mobilizing Ying Shisan was not that of King Ying Zheng of Qin, but that of Prime Minister Lu Buwei.

He knew that King Ying Zheng of Qin trusted Ying Zifei, but Lu Buwei still played this card.

The art of checks and balances was the imperial mentality that he wanted to teach to King Ying Zheng of Qin, and it was also to reduce the possibility of Ying Zifei being hindered by others.

For Lu Buwei, he was looking forward to seeing what good things Ying Zifei would come up with in the future.

Therefore, overt checks and balances must be arranged, both for prevention and to help.

"Father Zhong, you also want to push for the splitting of Luowang!"

Ying Zheng has been making progress all the time. After he figured out Lu Buwei's serial layout, part of the power of Luowang will be temporarily taken over by his cousin Ying Zifei.

"Haha, just think of it as me helping him." Lü Buwei looked into the distance, seeing nothing but white, and said with a sigh: "I just don't know if the sword in his hand can cut off the destiny that has been arranged for him."

King Qin Ying Zheng seemed to be thinking about something. Lu Buwei withdrew his thoughts and said with a smile: "That guy's stage is not in the court or in the army."

"Compared to the fighting and scheming on these two stages, there are too many calculations and betrayals on his stage."

……

Having prepared everything that needed to be prepared, Lu Buwei no longer delayed and decisively presented the paper in the court.

The appearance of paper was shocking, and now, all forces in the court understood why Lu Buwei chose to work in unison with King Ying Zheng of Qin.

He, Lu Buwei, wants to use paper to usher in a new era.

The court today was exceptionally noisy. Ying Zifei and Cheng Jiao each closed their eyes to rest, letting the important officials in the court make more noise.

Easy to write on and easy to carry, some people's hands tremble when holding the paper.

They were not excited but afraid. They were afraid that the emergence of this thing would gradually reduce their advantage.

The world of family background and bloodline is about to be torn apart. The inheritance of knowledge has never been easy. Too many people want to learn but don't know how.

With the emergence of paper today, a crack has been created in the light of future destiny for many people.

Some were afraid, but naturally some were overjoyed. Children from poor families wanted to learn but had no way to do so. Now with this paper, there were more possibilities.

There was a great uproar in the imperial court. Changping Jun, who was watching, had trembling hands and was making lies in his heart.

Qin's military merit and farming and warfare methods made Qin full of desire for expansion. Perhaps one day in the future, Qin would become strong because of these methods, but would also perish because of them.

The theory of civil and military governance means that only when civil and military governance reach a relative balance can a country become increasingly powerful.

If the imbalance between civil and military governance is too great and reaches a certain limit, the consequences will be disastrous.

The paper in his hand was telling Changping Jun that this thing would be the beginning of an era.

The concepts of family background and bloodline have imprisoned people's hearts and blocked the path for many people to reach higher positions.

Princes and generals, I would rather be kind!
The Qin State's basic foundation had such an upward channel to achieve this path.

The more he thought about it, the more powerless Changping Jun felt. He tried to calm himself down, but when he saw King Ying Zheng of Qin sitting firmly on the throne without saying a word, and then saw Prime Minister Lu Buwei's confident and domineering attitude, the breath in his heart was released!
A different kind of war is coming!

Some people within Qin were opposed to the emergence of paper, but compared with the aristocratic families in the six kingdoms, they were nothing.

How could those people allow anyone to overthrow their rule?

The more conservative, the more fearful, and the more resistant they are, the more opportunities it gives Qin to absorb children from poor families.

There is so much room for maneuver!
With Lu Buwei's ability, he would definitely use it to the fullest extent.

The quarrels in the court at this time could not shake the will of King Ying Zheng of Qin and Lu Buwei. Before these people's moods could calm down a little, Lu Buwei made another memorial.

"In every county town in the Qin State, a library should be established."

"People in Qin who are interested in reading can go to the library and copy the books they want to learn."

Some people in the court were stunned when they heard this. It seemed that Lu Buwei was going to force them to death.

"Prime Minister, this is inappropriate. If the people of the six countries take advantage of this, wouldn't they take advantage of us?"

When this was said, some people laughed out of anger. If you want to copy a book, you must first have paper and pen, and you must be able to recognize words.

Although the conditions stated that everyone in the Qin State could copy it, only a small number of people were able to do so.

The real purpose of Lu Buwei's move was to attract and lure talents from the six countries and give hope to most people in Qin.

The opposition of these people is nothing more than the spread of knowledge, which will only make it impossible for them to pursue and block it as time goes by.

Without waiting for the two sides to get into further arguments, King Ying Zheng of Qin made the final decision with the word "yes".

After the court session, many people felt like they were floating as they walked. Some were excited, some were scared, each with their own thoughts.

After returning to the mansion, Changping Jun felt that his depression was relieved a little.

Even if he had some thoughts about today's matter, he didn't dare to make any big moves.

Lu Buwei would not give any chance to anyone who wanted to stop him.

After kneeling for a while and calming down a lot, Changping Jun called his confidant and told him to do some things.

After the confidant left, Changping Jun looked leisurely. He originally didn't want to contact the power of the Chu farmers at this time, but the situation changed and he had to borrow my power.

The beginning of a new era is destined to turn the framework of the old era into ruins.

And he was afraid of the emergence of such an era!

Nobles should be nobility, and the orthodox princes enfeoffed by the Great Zhou should each have their own inheritance and continue it forever.

……

The shock caused by the paper made the city of Xianyang extremely restless, and then it spread throughout the Qin State at the fastest speed, and then to the whole world.

The envoys who had been prepared long ago began to travel to various countries with the paper. This was both an announcement and a rehearsal for the future sale of paper.

This year's cold winter is destined to be restless. When the envoys arrived at various countries and presented paper as a gift from Qin to the kings of the six countries as a sign of etiquette, the turmoil that followed was much more chaotic than that of the Qin court.

The king saw the breaking point, and the nobles and powerful families saw the crisis of subverting their rule and inheritance. The unrest caused by the Qin State was destined to be the most dreamy color of this winter.

The various schools of thought could no longer sit still at this time. Their inheritance and influence all required talents.

Talent needs to grow, and simple paper can expand the base of talents.

It is necessary to determine the Qin State's regulations on paper as soon as possible, and it would be best if Qin State could make this technology public.

Despite the cold winter, more and more people came to Qin. Lu Buwei, who had anticipated this, suppressed the restlessness of some people and told them in a domineering manner that the initiative was in his hands.

(End of this chapter)