“Later Prussian King William III had two sayings, 'It is precisely because of poverty that we need to pursue education; I have never heard of a country being impoverished by running education, or ending up in ruins due to it. In my view, education not only will not make a country poor, on the contrary, it is the best means to escape poverty.'"
Once again, there are two sentences that contradict the thoughts of the Legalist school. The words of Ying Zheng are carefully chewed and thought over. "Enlighten the people and promote education" is good for strengthening the country and strengthening the people, but what about the king? Can a king gain anything from it?
Or is it that only the people benefit from it, while the monarch suffers only disadvantages?
Ying Zheng, after all, was a feudal autocrat who naturally considered the impact on his authority. He would not agree to something that is beneficial to the country and the people unless it benefited him directly. The fact that it is beneficial to both the country and the people does not necessarily mean it is advantageous to him as a king.
Moreover, he did not think that Li Nian's claim that it is beneficial for the Qin dynasty and him is true.
Having held the royal power for so many years, many people have said similar things to him, only for them to be proven to have ulterior motives in the end.
Nevertheless, for a king to say such words, it must not be too bad.
Li Nian didn't know what Ying Zheng was thinking and continued, "Education is the paramount policy of the country. It is the cornerstone of a nation's and a people's survival in the world, and it cannot be taken lightly. However, with the current situation of Qin Dynasty, it is impossible to achieve universal education as in later times. We can only first selectively cultivate talent and educate a group of people first. Then, we can use them as torchbearers to ignite the vast expanse of my Qin Dynasty!"
"In the future, from the Western Tianshan Mountains to the Eastern Sea, from the Northern Loye to the Southern Mangyue, all the subjects of our great Qin Dynasty will be literate. Our Qin Dynasty will undoubtedly stand tall and proud among the nations of the world."
Li Nian painted a picture for Ying Zheng, but Ying Zheng refused to eat it. Instead, he asked, "Are you doing this for me, or for the Qin Dynasty and the Han nation?"
When he asked this question, Ying Zheng's gaze fell on Li Nian, his expression grave and serious. The atmosphere in the palace hall instantly became heavy and oppressive, which was the aura of a monarch.
"Accompanying the king is like accompanying a tiger; his changes of face are quicker than flipping through a book. He was calling me 'little sweetie' just a moment ago, and now he's throwing out this deadly question."
"I really admire those time-traveling ancestors who dared to talk and laugh with emperors like Ying Zheng and Hongwu. Their fate must be very strong!"
This was a very dangerous question to answer poorly, but Li Nian had thought about it. After all, he would have to work under the watchful eye of Emperor Ying Zheng, an incredibly capable and far-sighted ruler. He had to consider many possibilities that might arise.
Li Nian said, "I believe that today's Qin Dynasty is the same as the Han nation, and the Qin Dynasty is the same as Your Majesty. What is there to differentiate between them?"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes and the weight of the pressure on Li Nian increased even more.
After several breaths, Ying Zheng finally smiled and said, "You're quite clever!"
With Ying Zheng's smile, the heavy pressure in the hall dissipated, returning to a state of tranquility as if the pressure just now had been an illusion.
But soon, Ying Zheng's smile faded, and he said in a faint tone, "You should know that the answer I want is not this. It is what benefits me personally when I start to enlighten the people. You should understand my intention!"
This time, the pressure was not as heavy, but the flat tone made Li Nian feel an terrifying chill, as if an endless frost was about to pour down at any moment.
The king's heart is inscrutable. This is what it means for 'thunder and rain to be the king's grace': this very moment!
Li Nian spoke sincerely, "I dare not deceive the king. 'Enlighten the people and promote education' may indeed harm the king's power, but if done well, it will also benefit the king. My words are not meant to benefit Han nation at the expense of Your Majesty, but rather to benefit Your Majesty, Qin Dynasty, and Han nation alike!"
Ying Zheng simply watched Li Nian without speaking, allowing him to continue.
"I have memorized a historical song and verse, which contains the main dynasties of our Han nation over two thousand years. Among the dynasties after Qin Dynasty, if we separate the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, and the Southern and Northern Song Dynasties, there is a common characteristic: their reigns were all relatively short-lived, lasting no more than three hundred years."
This remark made Ying Zheng frown, and Li Nian's silence reminded him of something he had not thought of before. That song was well-known to him, and with a bit of calculation based on the timeline of Han history, he could have figured it out himself.
If each dynasty's reign does not exceed three hundred years, then does that not mean that even if he resolves the existing problems in the Qin Dynasty and prevents it from perishing within two generations, it would still be unable to escape the cycle of dynastic collapse every three hundred years?
Ying Zheng said, "Do you have a method to make a dynasty last beyond three hundred years?"
Li Nian shook his head and said, "I don't have it, but I think it's worth trying to make Qin Dynasty remembered by future generations forever, making Qin Dynasty the emblem of future Han nation. When people in the future talk about Your Majesty and Qin Dynasty, they will feel even more proud and honored. Just as I am from the future, we are called 'Han' and 'Tang' by foreigners."
Han and Tang?
Ying Zheng reacted, "The title 'Han' refers to the Han Dynasty, while 'Tang' refers to the Tang Dynasty."
How powerful were these two dynasties?
So powerful that their descendants were proud to be called "Han" or "Tang"!
Why didn't their descendants in the future refer to them as "Qin people" and take pride in his great Qin Dynasty?
The Tang Dynasty can be overlooked as it is several centuries apart. However, the Han Dynasty was right after the Qin Dynasty.
Ying Zheng's mood is complicated!
At this moment, Li Nian brought up another point: "Perhaps we can also try to make the Qin royal family last longer, even coexisting with the Han nation, the dynasty may eventually perish, but the Han nation will endure forever."
This aroused Ying Zheng's keen interest. Upon reflection, it indeed made sense. The dynasties that followed the Qin Dynasty had collapsed every three hundred years, but the people living on this land had not changed. If they could truly integrate the Qin Dynasty with the Han nation, making them another name for the Han nation, wouldn't that be equivalent to a different version of an eternal Qin Dynasty?
He didn't consider the possibility of the Qin royal family coexisting with the Han nation, as he understood from Li Nian that Haixi had ruined the Qin Dynasty in just two generations. Since then, he realized that no matter how well he did now, if his descendants were unworthy, there would still be a time of destruction.
Ying Zheng asked, "Is that all you have to say?"
Li Nian replied, "I can only offer advice and suggestions. The main work still depends on Your Majesty. As I come from a later time, my understanding of the Qin Dynasty is far less than yours, and the strategies I propose may not necessarily be beneficial for you and the Qin Dynasty. It is up to Your Majesty to correct them and make them suitable for the Qin Dynasty."
"Just as my proposal 'Enlighten the people and promote education', if executed well, will bring wisdom to the people and strengthen the nation. Our great Qin Dynasty will become even more powerful, allowing us to drive back the Xiongnu to the north and conquer Daxiaoyuezi to the west. We can expand our territory even further under Your Majesty's governance, spreading Your Majesty's name even farther. In doing so, we can achieve the goal of making every place illuminated by the moon and sun be part of our Qin territory!"
"There is a concept in later times called the 'Never Ending Empire,' which means that no matter day or night, the empire's territory is always under the sunlight. I believe that our great Qin Dynasty may very well become a Never Ending Empire!"
To completely conquer and control all the land on Earth may not be feasible for our Qin Dynasty. However, becoming a Never-Ending Empire, like Spain and the British did, is still possible. We Qin Dynasty have nothing to prevent us from achieving this."
Li Nian thought that with his help, catching up with the British might be challenging, but reaching the level of the Spanish Empire when it was a Never-Ending Empire should be feasible and there's potential for it.
Spain became a Never-Ending Empire in the 16th century, at a time when the technological gap between it and the Qin Dynasty was much smaller than the gap from modern times to the present.
