Shouldn't he be different from the emperors of the later dynasties?
Qin Shi Huang looked at Li Nian and said, "You come from a country that is not a dynasty, nor a king. How do the people of your future nation evaluate the emperor?"
It seemed as though he feared Li Nian wouldn't understand what he was asking, so he added, "That is to say, the one you often refer to as the 'public opinion battleground'..."
Li Nian immediately understood what Qin Shi Huang wanted to ask. He wanted to know how that person evaluated the emperor. Clearly, the emperor had become interested in that person after listening to Li Nian's previous talks.
It is often said that although this is not malicious, it only describes that person as, but using the way of calling a king to call that person is indeed an insult to that person.
Because that person has never been a king!
Li Nian remained silent, and Qin Shi Huang didn't hurry either, waiting quietly.
After a while, Li Nian said, "That person has indeed evaluated you, the king, and is different from the emperors of the dynasties."
That person is indeed formidable; it is said that they loved to read the Twenty-Four Histories, and they read the version with 3,600 volumes, totaling over 43 million characters, and they read it more than sixty times.
"One of that person's poems and one of their songs have mentioned you. The poem is titled 'Quyili·Reading Feiyanglun to Guo' and the song's title is not mentioned in the text provided. Here are the contents of the poem: 'I advise you to curse less Emperor Qin Shi Huang, to discuss the incidents of burning and massacring. The spirit of Anlong has died but his achievements remain, Confucianism is high in name but full of chaff. For a hundred generations, Qin's governance was followed, ten times scolding it is not good writing. Read thoroughly Tang people's feudal theory, do not return from Zhu to Wenwang.'"
This poem pleased Qin Shi Huang, as he had not expected that the founding figure of the future would not immediately label him as a tyrant but instead give him a fairly favorable evaluation.
However, it did not bring Qin Shi Huang much joy. Li Nian continued, "But that person also criticized that after you unified the six states, you lost your ambition and became arrogant and satisfied with your achievements. You began to rest on your laurels, obsessed with your past accomplishments, indulged in luxuries, sought immortals, repaired palaces, cruelly oppressed the people, wandered around aimlessly, squandering time idly."
As he pronounced the last four characters "boringly", Li Nian felt a hint of a smile. That person really knows how to critique Emperor Shi Huang, using those very words.
Qin Shi Huang fell silent again. The impact of "wandering around, wasting years, and being very boring" was greater than the things Li Nian had previously told him.
In the eyes of the founder of the future, he was an incredibly boring person. The four characters directly pointed to his innermost thoughts, which silenced Qin Shi Huang more than calling him a tyrant or a muddleheaded ruler.
After a moment, Qin Shi Huang regained his composure from the shock and asked, "Is there another song?"
Li Nian said, "That song is not meant to criticize your majesty, and it would be no trouble for me to recite it to your majesty if you would like to know."
Qin Shi Huang said, "Recite it to me quickly!"
As per the emperor's command, Li Nian began to recite.
After listening to Li Nian's recitation, Qin Shi Huang remained silent for a long time before softly repeating, "Such is the beauty of the land and rivers, attracting numerous heroes to bend their knees..."
He looked at Li Nian and asked, "Was that person about the same age as the emperor when he wrote this song?"
Li Nian replied, "No, that person was actually older than your majesty at the time."
Qin Shi Huang laughed upon hearing this and continued to repeat, "To be sorry, Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Han Wu, slightly inferior in literary talent; Emperor Tang Zong and Emperor Song Zi, slightly inferior in elegance. The heavenly hero of one generation, Genghis Khan, only knows how to draw a bow and shoot at large birds."
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang refers to me. Emperor Han Wu refers to the Han dynasty emperor who 'abolished the hundred schools of thought, revering Confucianism alone.' Tang Zong and Song Zi refer to the founding emperors of the Tang and Song dynasties. So who is this 'the great hero of a generation, Genghis Khan'?"
Li Nian said, "Genghis Khan is not of our Han ethnicity, but of the Mongolian tribe. He led Mongolian iron horsemen to rule the world, conquering territories many times larger than the Qin empire. He conquered many Western countries and became renowned throughout the world."
The Qin empire is too small to rest on its laurels and count its achievements. Look at Genghis Khan; he conquered the West, his territory stretched across Europe and Asia, and he was feared worldwide.
Qin Shi Huang paused and recited the last line again, "All things of the past, counting the famous figures, we shall wait and see this age. Does that person's words 'counting the famous figures, we shall wait and see this age' refer to himself?"
Li Nian shook his head and said, "That person's words 'counting the famous figures' refer not to himself but to all people of the world, including himself!"
Indeed, the founder of the future is quite different from him. If he were in that person's place, he probably wouldn't remember all the people of the world but only his achievements.
Qin Shi Huang thought silently to himself, and then he suddenly looked at Li Nian and asked, "In your opinion, who is stronger between me and that person?"
Although he roughly knew the answer, he still wanted to ask and compare.
Hearing Qin Shi Huang's question, Li Nian shook his head in his heart. The emperor's competitive spirit is indeed strong. He wants to compare even across different time periods.
He responded implicitly, "Your majesty, that person was not a king. He always put the people at heart, and also, the difficulties that the future Chinese nation faced are not comparable to those of the Qin empire."
Li Nian wanted to say directly: What problems does the Qin empire have? Can they compare to the difficulties our ancestors faced in pioneering the path? What were the difficulties that our ancestors faced, and what is the Qin empire?
Although Li Nian did not directly answer, the meaning conveyed in his words was already clear:
Your majesty, though you are the king of the Qin dynasty and the ruler of the world, you are not comparable to that person. You are a king, but he is not; that alone makes him far superior to you!
Ying Zheng was still going to ask, "Can I surpass him?" but the words were swallowed back as the phrase "That person was not a king, and he always put the people at heart" had already spoken for itself.
A long, lingering sigh echoed through the quiet Changtai Palace.
Ying Zheng said, "When you have time, tell me about the history of the future. It's getting late now. Go rest and return tomorrow with a list of people who can be used by the emperor. Also, when will your paper be invented?"
He had heard about the importance of paper earlier, but so far, he hadn't seen any.
Li Nian said, "It should be able to be made within a month!"
Ying Zheng nodded and said, "In a month, you don't need to come again. Focus on your work. If you have any needs, report to me. If I have anything to do, I will summon you."
Qin Shi Huang will soon be crowned emperor. In one month, he will be very busy, and he will not summon Li Nian again to give him lectures.
"Understood!"
After stepping out of the Changtai Palace, Li Nian felt a cold chill down his back. The grandiose and inspiring speech he had just given now seemed like he was dancing on the brink of hell, and at any moment, Emperor Qin Shi Huang might take his life. Thankfully, Emperor Qin Shi Huang did not get angry, so his life was temporarily spared.
But if faced with the same situation again, he would probably still choose to speak...
"Life is so wonderful! I hope to live longer in the Qin empire!"
"Bi Shizhong said 'All men must die, but some deaths are heavier than Mount Tai while others are lighter than a feather,' so where will this feather from the future fly in this era?"
Under the guard of the palace guards, Li Nian returned to the Six Heroes Palace. It was a full moon night, and he stopped and looked up at the bright moon in the sky. In this era of the Qin dynasty, there was no smog, making the moon appear even cleaner and brighter.
"The people of today cannot see the moon of ancient times, but the moon of ancient times has shone upon the people of today. It's a pity that the moonlight upon me is not the same moonlight as in ancient times..."
