Chapter 80: Imparting Knowledge

Imperial Study.

In a side hall.

Fang Xuanling was giving a lesson to Li Lizhi.

Li Lizhi was indeed an exemplary student, sitting perfectly still, paying close attention to the lecture.

“Good day, teacher!” Suddenly, Li Zhi appeared in the hall, startling Fang Xuanling.

She forced herself to remain composed, clearing her throat several times.

“Ahem… Your Highness has not attended class for several days. Do you still remember what we studied before?” Fang Xuanling asked.

“Weren’t we learning the Records of the Grand Historian and composing poetry? I mastered those long ago!” Li Zhi replied with a smile.

To test his intelligence—whether he truly possessed a photographic memory—Li Zhi had, in just a few days, reviewed all the historical records and ancient poems. They were still vivid in his mind.

“Would you like to quiz me, teacher?”

“Er… that won’t be necessary!” Fang Xuanling was honestly rather intimidated.

Every time she tested Li Zhi, she ended up embarrassed.

Li Lizhi couldn’t help but giggle. “Teacher, are you afraid?”

“Since you’re here, sit properly. Let’s continue the lesson.” Fang Xuanling motioned for Li Zhi to take a seat farther away, then picked up a book. “Today, we won’t discuss history or compose poetry. Let’s critique the ancients.”

“What is critiquing the ancients? It means choosing a figure from the past, commenting on their life, and sharing your thoughts about them.”

“Your Highness, Princess, you go first.”

Fang Xuanling didn’t even glance at Li Zhi, acting as if he weren’t present at all.

Li Lizhi, caught off guard, became somewhat flustered.

She glanced at Li Zhi. “Zhi, help your sister answer, won’t you?”

“The teacher is asking you, not me.”

“Oh, help me, please!”

The two exchanged meaningful looks.

Fang Xuanling eyed the desk, her expression stern. “Princess, I am asking you. Please don’t involve others.”

“Teacher, you know I can’t answer, yet you insist. Why not ask Zhi? He understands everything—commenting on a historical figure is child’s play for him!” Li Lizhi was not to be bullied so easily and immediately retorted.

“Uh…”

Fang Xuanling was stunned.

What now?

She’d been outmaneuvered by the little troublemaker!

If she didn’t let Li Zhi answer, it would be admitting Li Lizhi was right; but if she did, she’d likely be made a fool of again! Whatever she chose, it seemed she couldn’t win.

Li Zhi found this amusing. “Teacher, what’s wrong? You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

“Ahem… Why would I be afraid? If Your Highness knows the answer, then by all means! However…” Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment, deciding to make things more challenging.

“Since you’re so confident, tell me—who was the greatest emperor in history? Comment on his life! Do you know?”

This question was highly controversial—even Fang Xuanling herself couldn’t say for certain.

After all, there were many types of great emperors: some excelled in governance, others in military affairs. From one perspective, a person might be a great emperor; from another, not so much.

No matter whom Li Zhi chose, Fang Xuanling could find grounds to dispute it.

“Have you decided?” Fang Xuanling stroked her beard, feeling pleased with herself. “How clever I am to have thought of this! Today, I must restore my dignity. If only His Majesty were here…”

“I’ve decided.” After a brief moment of thought, Li Zhi placed his hands behind his back and spoke confidently, “The greatest emperor in history was Ying Zheng.”

“Why Ying Zheng? Didn’t he burn books and bury scholars? Don’t you know that?”

“He burned books and buried scholars to unify the culture of the nation! And that part of history isn’t entirely accurate. After unifying the six states, to achieve true unity, he executed some scholars who opposed him and destroyed books other than those of Confucius and Mencius. However, the descendants of the six conquered states hated Qin Shi Huang so much that they wrote slanderous accounts, and later Han dynasty historians deliberately denigrated him to amplify the greatness of Han Gaozu, leading later generations to regard him as a tyrant.”

These words left Fang Xuanling astonished.

Since antiquity, both official and unofficial histories have never spoken well of Qin Shi Huang. Everyone considered him a tyrant, the very model of a bad emperor.

How was it that, in Li Zhi’s view, he became a good man?

“Even so, he can hardly be called the greatest emperor! After him there was Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Xiu…”

“Heh.” Li Zhi shook his head. “Liu Xiu was indeed a bold and capable emperor. His famous declaration ‘Whoever offends the Han, however distant, must be punished’ shows that under his rule, the Han dynasty reached unprecedented strength!”

“But compared to Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu falls far short!”

“First, in terms of achievements, he can’t compare! In an era of contending schools of thought and great upheaval, Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, standardized measurements, and established the very concept of the emperor…”

“Second, in terms of character, he cannot match Qin Shi Huang!”

At this, Li Zhi smiled at Fang Xuanling. “Teacher, do you know what I most admire about Qin Shi Huang?”

Fang Xuanling had already been rendered speechless.

She murmured, “I would be honored to learn.”

Li Zhi continued, “What I most admire is his noble character! At the height of his power, Qin Shi Huang commanded an army of a million, sweeping all before him. In the end, these forces were divided: one part stationed in the south, one guarding against the Xiongnu. General Wang Jian asked him, ‘With all our forces abroad, what if trouble befalls Qin at home?’”

“Qin Shi Huang issued a strict decree: no matter what happened, whether he lived or died, regardless of any threat to the homeland, these million troops were never to return! The integrity of the borders must be maintained. Qin may fall, but the Chinese people must not perish!”

“Teacher, have you noticed? When Xiang Yu and Liu Bang attacked Qin, they met almost no real resistance. Only Zhang Han, with tens of thousands of laborers from building the Great Wall, hastily formed an army and held out for a time.”

“From start to finish, the one million elite troops never appeared on the battlefield!”

Fang Xuanling fell into deep thought, and only after a long silence did she recover. “Your Highness, where did you learn this history? I have read countless ancient books but never encountered such an account.”

She had to admit, Li Zhi’s explanation made a great deal of sense.

How was it that the mighty Qin army could not withstand a mere tens of thousands of rebels? Under those conditions, the forces of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were poorly equipped, a motley crew compared to the Qin legions—yet this ragtag force toppled Qin in an astonishingly short time!

Why? It made no sense!

Fang Xuanling took a deep breath. “It seems the records in our histories are not entirely accurate!”

Li Zhi seized the opportunity: “To Qin Shi Huang, the empire of Qin was insignificant. What he cared about was the survival of the Chinese people! Isn’t that a noble spirit?”

“Without his persistence, the land would still be fractured today!”

“And there would be no such thing as an emperor!”

“The greatness of Qin Shi Huang cannot be described by the word ‘outstanding’ alone. Teacher, you should consider another word to describe him.”