“Zhao Gao, go make a pot of tea. Father, you really are something else. I've been talking here for so long, and you haven't even brought me a cup of tea. My throat is about to smoke, you know?
You're abusing a child. I'm going to tell Mother.”
Ying Zheng was speechless again. How could this kid always be so unserious?
“This servant will go right away!”
Zhao Gao put down his brush and went out to make tea.
“Stinky brat, I’m curious. My other sons, your elder brothers, are all scared to speak in front of me. You don't have that fear. Are you not afraid of me?”
“What's there to be afraid of? Are you going to kill me? You are my father. Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs, right?”
“Haha, well said. This is why I like you so much. Father and son should have a father-son way of getting along. You being this way makes me happy.”
Ying Zheng laughed again. In the end, he still cared about family.
“Your Majesty, please have some tea.”
“Young Master, please have some tea.”
Zhao Gao brewed tea for the two of them.
Zhao Chen picked up his cup and took a sip.
“This is so bad. What kind of tea is this.”
“Young Master, please forgive me. This is… This is…” Zhao Gao was scared and immediately knelt down to plead for forgiveness.
“It's fine. You are too picky, Chen’er.”
“Zhao Gao, get up. I didn't mean to blame you. Bring the tea leaves and boil a pot of water. Bring it over.”
“This servant will go right away.”
Zhao Gao didn’t dare to delay and went to do it immediately. He was secretly relieved. He was still useful.
He soon returned, carrying a kettle. Two maids followed behind, carrying tea leaves and utensils.
“Young Master, everything is ready.”
“Why are they still green leaves? This won’t work. Zhao Gao, bring a pot over.”
“Yes!!”
Zhao Gao ran out again without any complaint. He was even secretly happy. At least he was still useful.
“Chen’er, tea leaves are all green leaves. Could there be something else? What do you want the pot for?”
“Father, you'll find out soon. Maybe this can increase some income for the Qin Dynasty.” Zhao Chen smiled mysteriously.
“Young Master, the pot has been brought.”
“Set it up!”
“Young Master, please forgive me. This servant forgot the firewood. This servant will go get some.”
“No need, just set up the pot!”
Zhao Gao set up the pot as instructed.
Zhao Chen snapped his fingers and a flame appeared under the iron pot.
“This…”
“Chen’er, did you learn this trick from the Yin Yang School? It's very good!”
“Hehe, these are just little tricks.”
“Put the tea leaves in the pot and start stir-frying. Just like cooking.”
Zhao Gao put the tea leaves in the pot and began to stir-fry.
Soon, a refreshing aroma filled the hall.
The tea leaves turned from emerald green to gray withered leaves under the stir-frying.
Fortunately, Zhao Chen controlled the heat well, and the tea leaves were soon stir-fried.
Everyone didn’t understand why. They didn’t dare to ask or say anything.
“Alright, it's done. Zhao Gao, present the tea leaves!”
“Yes!”
“Father, try my tea.”
Zhao Chen picked up some tea leaves and put them in a teacup. Then he poured water from the kettle and placed it in front of Ying Zheng.
“???.”
Is this finished? Is this drinking tea?
Seeing Ying Zheng's confusion, Zhao Chen smiled slightly. “Father, take a sip and see.”
Ying Zheng had no choice but to pick up the teacup and took a small sip.
“Hmm?”
With just one sip, Ying Zheng’s eyes lit up.
“Chen’er, how did you do this? This tea is bitter at first, but it has an endless aftertaste, refreshing the mouth, retaining the tea's fragrance and richness.
Good, very good. I never thought that such a simple stir-frying of tea leaves would make it so delicious. It seems to have a refreshing effect. It is truly miraculous.
It seems that I have been drinking tea wrong all these years!”
“Hehe, how is it? Tea should be drunk this way. The way you drank it before was an insult to tea!”
Zhao Chen chuckled.
“How about it, Father, selling tea after stir-frying it, wouldn't that make the Qin Dynasty earn some money?”
“Good. I believe those so-called nobles and scholars will love the fragrance of tea. Tea will be their favorite thing.”
“Zhao Gao, you saw the stir-frying method just now, right? From now on, make tea according to this method. Remember, the tea leaves must be stir-fried slowly over low heat. This way, the aroma of the tea leaves will be locked in and the tea leaves will last longer.”
“This servant understands.”
“Also, keep the method secret, understand?”
“Yes!!”
“Alright, Zhao Gao will handle the tea. We’ve had tea, so let’s continue.”
“Ah, do we have to continue?”
“What, you don't want to? Then I'll hand over the Office of the Penal Code to you.”
“Then I’ll continue. Right, where were we, oh, I remember.”
“Shen Zi’s proposal is built on the foundation that the king must be as wise as you, Father.” Zhao Chen subtly flattered Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng smiled slightly, obviously pleased.
“But what about Confucianism? Their Hou Jian’s king is a super sage, he must be very moral and use his love to inspire his ministers and people. If they make mistakes, punish them lightly, use the heart of a sage to persuade and forgive them, and they will be grateful;
So, ministers and people will take the sage as a model and do good deeds.
This shows that even in this ideal framework, Legalism is more practical than Confucianism.
Shen Dao’s “rule by man” is aimed at the king alone, but this king is the main axis of the country. If the king misrules, how can the country not perish?
In Shen Dao’s time, King Wei of Qi neglected his duties in the early years, leading to chaos in domestic affairs and corruption among officials, and external forces bullied them. So later, King Wei of Qi made every effort to govern well, starting with himself, severely punishing corrupt officials and strictly enforcing the law.
Father, do you remember the story about King Wei of Qi and the two officials?”
“Of course I remember. It is said that there were two officials, many officials in the court spoke ill of the official of Ji Mo, and spoke well of the official of A.
King Wei of Qi secretly investigated and found that the official of Ji Mo was an honest man, not good at socializing, and the people he governed had no complaints.
On the other hand, the official of A was good at socializing, and the people he governed were in turmoil.
So, King Wei of Qi rewarded the official of Ji Mo and boiled the official of A.
From then on, the Qi state was greatly revived and politics gradually became clear.”
“That’s right, that’s how it is. At first glance, this is good!
Qi state became powerful.
But this sowed the seeds of disaster. King Wei of Qi, although he was a wise king, did not conduct a public trial. He did not give the official of A the opportunity to defend himself. This is a disaster.
Why, even though it is known that a person is guilty of a heinous crime, should a public trial procedure be carried out, listing the charges, and then punishing the criminal, it is to show the fairness and openness of law enforcement in the eyes of the law.
So that everyone has a record to refer to.
Maybe there are other untold reasons why the official of A governed the area as he did?
If the monarch had neglected his duties for many years, what if there was a disaster in the area, or if the natural conditions of the area were not as good as Ji Mo city?
Many objective factors can lead to public opinions.
So whether it was a wrongful killing or not is unknown, but at least there should be a trial process.
King Wei of Qi did not have that. He relied entirely on his subjective judgment, which is very dangerous. King Wei of Qi may have done the right thing, but it doesn't mean that future monarchs will be as wise.
During the reign of King Min of Qi, because King Min of Qi held the power of the country, many ministers dared not rashly offer advice. Even if the monarch was wrong, they dared not mention it.
So the first flaw of Legalism lies in “power control”.
Although “power control” emphasizes rule by law, its core still lies in the presence of a wise king.”
“Yes!!” Ying Zheng agreed wholeheartedly.
Continue to ask for flowers, ask for monthly tickets! Ask for flowers, ask for monthly tickets! Ask for flowers, ask for monthly tickets! Ask for flowers, ask for monthly tickets!