Qin Official

"Kangding, the capital of Guizhou, will benefit for a long time. These are His Majesty's original words carved on the stone in Mount Yi. I'm afraid you only heard it from the fifth doctor Yang Huan before you met His Majesty. You will learn and apply it now."

There was a voice from behind. Heifu turned around and found that the fat man behind him was not leaving anymore. He was sitting on a big rock, panting.

The fat man who spoke was of course Zhang Cang. Whether it was because he was already in his forties or because he ate too many sweets, he was fatter than when Hei Fu left Xianyang. In later generations, he would probably still be a fat man weighing two hundred pounds. His round, moon-like face had grown a lot bigger. Fortunately, he had grown a rather bold beard, which covered his fat chin.

The carriages and horses could only reach the foot of the mountain, but could not cross the ridge. Along the way, Zhang Cang was already out of breath from exhaustion just by keeping up with Hei Fu.

Hei Fu did not rush him and let the group rest in the ravine. He laughed with Zhang Cang and said, "Otherwise, what else can I do? Do I want to imitate the guards of Linzi and Jibei and offer dragons and turtles?" ?I don’t want to deceive you.”

"Deceiving the emperor? How dare they deceive the emperor?"

Zhang Cang sneered and said: "Don't your majesty know that most of the so-called auspiciousness is fake? It's just that Duke Huan of Qi likes to wear purple, and a whole country likes to wear purple; King Ling of Chu likes to have a slim waist, and many people in the palace starve to death. It's just a matter of following the example! If your majesty If you don't want all the counties and counties to offer auspiciousness, you only need to severely punish one or two people and say, "Young Master, I don't like auspiciousness." Then within a day, no ministers will dare to offer auspiciousness; in less than a month, no one in the world will dare to return Good luck!"

To put it bluntly, a slap in the face can't make a difference. First, the emperor acquiesces, and then officials rush to show off their limits.

Zhang Cang pointed at Hei Fu with his fat finger and said: "In my opinion, you think that Shou's flattery is too rough and you want to teach them a lesson. Sure enough, His Majesty praised you greatly after hearing what you said. It's really a judgment call. "

He immediately became serious again: "However, although what you said is also flattery, you are right. The way of heaven is related to the people's hearts. What God sees comes from what the people see. What God hears comes from what the people in Guizhou hear. The truth is. The auspiciousness is the praise of the people, not the Linfeng and Five Spirits."

Heifu knew that Zhang Cang was an "atheist" and was deeply influenced by the words of his teacher Xunzi: "Heaven behaves in an orderly manner, and it does not exist for Yao, and it does not perish for Jie." In Zhang Cang's view, auspiciousness, disasters, and disasters are all lies. For humans, heaven and earth naturally have their own laws. If they are regulated, they will be good, and if they are chaotic, they will be misfortunes.

Therefore, in front of Heifu, Zhang Cang bluntly pointed out the ridiculousness of offering auspiciousness to the whole country to build momentum for the emperor's enshrinement.

But is there any way to speak out and give advice like Fusu did? His Majesty the Emperor is in high spirits, and being a critic will do no good to Heifu at all.

So he stopped the topic and turned to ask Zhang Cang: "Your Majesty is about to enshrine the throne, and the auspiciousness is over. There is no need to mention it again. Let's talk about another thing."

"As far as I know, everyone who studies is very enthusiastic about being granted Zen status. Your senior brother, Fuqiu Bo, a great scholar in Jiaodong, has always been unwilling to be an official. But when he heard that His Majesty was granted Zen status, he even regretted that he was too old to be able to do so. Seeing the grand occasion. Confucian scholars and officials were discussing eagerly in the palace at the foot of Mount Tai. They hoped that the process and etiquette for enshrining Zen would be formulated by themselves so that their reputation would last forever. But it was you, Zhang Zihu, a disciple of Xunmen who was proficient in etiquette, music and etiquette, who deliberately asked for it. Why are you deliberately avoiding the mission of offering sacrifices at the Yin-Yang watershed of Mount Tai?"

Zhang Cang wanted to speak, but looked at the official Feng Chang who was urging them to leave, and then whispered: "I will tell you when we get to Qi Great Wall."

Before consecrating Mount Tai, there was a complicated process, which required worshiping all the surrounding mountains and rivers. Of course, the emperor could not do it all himself, so he sent ministers to do it on their behalf. What Heifu and Zhang Cang took their turns to do was "The Yin and Yang of Mount Tai" "Water Dividing" sacrifice.

The yang of Mount Tai is that the Wen River flows to the west; the yin of Mount Tai is that the Jishui River flows to the east. The streams in Yang Valley all flow into Wenshui, and the streams in Yin Valley flow into Jishui. The dividing line between the north and south valleys is the Great Wall of Qi in front of them.

The Qi Great Wall was built in the rolling Taiyi Mountains. Although there are flat valleys along the route, most of them are mountains. The Great Wall is either made of rammed earth or made of bricks and stones. It is built according to the situation of the mountain. Although the buildings are not tall, they are connected together and spiral along the mountain like a stone snake. It is indeed spectacular.

"It extends from the defense gate near Pingyin to the east, passing through Shimen, Jiagu, and Mulingguan, to the Jimo seaside, nearly a thousand miles from east to west."

Zhang Cang finally climbed up the Qi Great Wall and looked far into the distance. Feizhai, who had not left Xianyang City for a long time, couldn't help but cheer.

But Hei Fu laughed at him and said that if he went to Shuofang and Yunzhong in Saibei and saw Meng Tian connecting the Great Wall of the Three Kingdoms of Yan, Zhao and Qin, it would be spectacular!

The Great Wall of Qi also played a role in defending Jin and Chu in the past, but now it has lost its military function and has become a useless stone wall.

Heifu also has a theory: "What is within the Central Plains cannot be called the Great Wall. It can only be called a defensive barrier, which hinders business and travel. And only what is standing in the desperate situation outside the Great Wall, resisting the foreign invaders and protecting the people on the frontier, can be called the Great Wall!"

"Wei Wei, as you said."

Zhang Cang sent Feng Chang's officials to prepare for the complex sacrificial ceremony, and he said to Hei Fu: "You just asked me why I have so little interest in Feng Chan?"

"Let me tell you, because this Taishan Fengchan is not an ancient thing at all, but a lie fabricated by the people of Qilu!"

…

"Is Feng Chan a fake?"

Heifu was stunned. He didn't know much about the doorway here, but everyone around him repeatedly told him that Feng Chan existed since ancient times.

Zhang Cang's senior brother Fuqiu Bo, a great scholar in Jiaodong, took the trouble to say that ancient emperors such as Wu Huai, Fu Xi, Shennong, Yan Emperor, Huang Emperor, Yao, Shun, Yu, etc. all held Zen ceremonies.

But today, on the Great Wall near Mount Tai, Zhang Cang exposed this lie.

"Although Uncle Fuqiu is my senior brother and a kind-hearted elder who took good care of me back then, he only learned the superficial knowledge of Master and not the true essence!"

Then, Zhang Cang began a logical and rigorous textual research to prove that "Feng Chan" did not exist in ancient times.

"I was in charge of the world's books in the Yushi Mansion, and I searched through all the historical books I could find. I found that the Emperor of Zhou once asked people to study the system on the four mountains, but Mount Tai was only one of the four mountains and had nothing special about it. Until the time of Confucius, Although various countries have offered sacrifices to their respective mountains and rivers, no one has ever mentioned the enshrinement of Zen in Mount Tai, not even in The Analects of Confucius. At most, the Marquis of Lu and the Ji family traveled to Mount Tai, but that was just a small sacrifice for Lu State itself. "

"It wasn't until the past two hundred years, especially after the construction of Jixia Academy, that the theory of conferring Zen has sprung up. At first, I only dared to say that Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, and King Zhou Cheng conferred Zen. Later, I became bolder and bolder, and gradually said that Fuxi, Shennong, Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang also granted Zen status and passed Mount Tai. Now, many more 'ancient emperors' have emerged out of thin air who are older than Fuxi and Shennong. The Wuhuai family and their ilk have actually added up to seventy-two kings..."

"Did those ancient emperors really come to Mount Tai to worship? Why are there no records in the history books? They had to be rediscovered in modern times!"

After hearing this, Hei Fu did not comment, but smiled and said: "Uncle Fuqiu said that in "Guanzi", Guan Zhong advised Qi Huan Gong not to do the matter of enshrining Zen. He counted the seventy-two kings who had enshrined Zen in Taishan. How to explain this?"

"It's also fake."

Zhang Cang rolled his sleeves and said: "Although the knowledge in "Guanzi" is extensive, this book was written by Jixia scholars under the guise of Tuo Zhong. The text is relatively easy to understand, and it is not at all as simple as the articles in the Spring and Autumn Period. It mentions The fact that Duke Huan of Qi intended to grant Zen status was a fiction by Mr. Jixia, not a fact."

"This kind of relying on the past to explain the present is not an isolated matter. Take the abdication as an example. The abdication of Yao and Shun is also non-existent in ancient times. It was advocated by Mohists and Confucians of the Zizhang family. They made up ancient events and wrote "Tang Yu Zhi" "Tao" and other articles spread among the countries, believing that only abdication can end the chaos. As a result, King Kuai of Yan was fooled and abdicated, which led to great chaos in the Yan country... My master said at that time that Yao and Shun abdicated, which was just a lie. , This is the biography of a shallow person, and the saying of a humble person!"

"Stop it, stop it."

Seeing that Zhang Cang was about to start a lengthy criticism, Heifu quickly asked him to stop:

"Today we will only talk about the title of Zen, not the abdication. Please explain the former clearly."

Fatty Zhang spread his hands: "That's the truth, what else can you say?"

In short, based on his research and understanding of the gentlemen in Jixia, Zhang Cang knew that these Qilu Confucian scholars and scholars would dare to make up anything in order to promote their political ideas. Fengchan did not exist since ancient times, but was a fiction created by people in Qilu, especially Qi, in the past two hundred years.

That's why Qi Huangong came up with the idea of ​​conferring Zen, and at the same time, he also chose to perform the consecration in Mount Tai.

"Is Mount Tai high? Is it so high that once you climb it, you will feel that all the mountains in the world are small?" Zhang Cang asked Hei Fu.

Heifu shook his head and said with a smile: "People who think so may be because they have gone to too few places and have not enough experience..."

In terms of altitude alone, Mount Tai is actually not high at all. It is not as high as Mount Hua, let alone Mount Helan that Heifu saw outside the Great Wall. It is even less comparable to the snow-capped mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the west of Qin State.

But in the eyes of the people of Qilu, Mount Tai, located at the junction of Qilu and Lu, stands out among the plains and hills. This is the highest mountain in the "world".

Why did Zeus and the Greek gods live on Mount Olympus? Because it is the mountain of the Greeks.

In the same way, the place of Zen is not in Huashan or Songshan, but in Taishan. This is just because for the past two hundred years, the cultural center of the world has been in Qilu and Jixia Academy. Therefore, the regional gods and mountains and rivers of Qilu are said to have been the faith of the whole world since ancient times.

This is what the gentlemen of Jixia have prepared for the King of Tian Qi who they think is most likely to ascend to the throne of emperor and come to the world to care for the barbarians. It is a coronation ceremony prepared for the future unification of the country.

Later, the declining state of Qi lost this qualification, but the theory of Feng Chan was spread by more and more scholars from Jixia, spread throughout the nine states, and finally became the truth!

"Emperors who have been appointed since ancient times have never become Zen?" This lie, which has been emphasized countless times, has been accepted by intellectuals all over the world, and they stubbornly believe that it is true. Even the arrogant Qin Shihuang Emperor has to accept this lie in turn. theory.

Heifu agreed with Zhang Cang's words and sighed: "When the truth is false, the false is also true."

He was not stupid enough to ask Zhang Cang why he knew that the Feng Chan story was a modern fiction but did not tell Qin Shihuang the truth?

Because the emperor doesn't need the truth.

Just like the auspiciousness presented by the ministers, it can't make a difference with a slap. Whether the ancient emperor's Feng Chan is true or false is no longer important. The important thing is that the world's scholars think it is true, and Qin Shihuang also needs to use Feng Chan to package the empire. , let your achievements be "recognized" by heaven and earth.

The Qin State has always adopted doctrines. As long as it is beneficial to its rule, it will not hesitate to use it. This is true for the Legalists, the Mohists, the Five Virtues of the Yin and Yang School, and the Confucian Zen.

If you are really the Son of Heaven, and you are destined to follow your destiny, then there must be signs of your destiny, that is, the appearance of Fu Rui. Only with this visible proof can one be qualified for Zen status. Only by practicing Zen can one be qualified to rule the world...

Qin Shihuang needs to make the world recognize this fact through conferring Zen, which is good for unification.

So even though Zhang Cang knew everything about Feng Chan, he was still happy to see it come to fruition.

What's more, Warlock Fang also emphasized in Qin Shihuang's ears that whether looking west for the Queen Mother Kingdom or east for immortals, enshrining Zen is an indispensable part of immortality...

After saying this, Zhang Cang shook his head and said: "So in the end, maybe your Majesty will be the first person to be granted Zen status in ancient and modern times!"

"I understand why you want to stay away from this matter."

Heifu smiled and said: "Although the Confucian scholars claim that the title of Zen has a long history, this is actually the first time to grant Zen. There is no precedent at all. There are three hundred people, seven or eight schools, and at least seven or eight opinions. If you guessed correctly, When you and I go back, those Confucian scholars probably still won’t be able to come up with a feasible sacrificial plan... It seems that this troublesome matter of Mount Tai’s enshrinement of Zen has just begun!”

…

Heifu's guess was not wrong. When he and Zhang Cang finished their errands on August 14th and returned to the palace at the foot of Mount Tai, they found that the lively atmosphere of the Confucian Confucians discussing the Zen ceremony was as if blown by the cold wind on the top of the mountain. After a while, it became lonely and silent. The ministers and officials were all trembling with fear, not daring to express their feelings, and could only signal each other with their eyes...

"Fifth doctor, what happened?" Hei Fu asked knowingly.

The fifth doctor, Yang Zhen, was worried about this matter and sighed:

"Young Master Zao didn't know something. Yesterday and today, the Confucian scholars were discussing the Zen Ceremony. They all had their own opinions. There were more than ten kinds of opinions. More than 300 people were noisy and finally started to fight. In anger, His Majesty ordered They blasted them all out!"