Chapter 238 The First Emperor who doesn’t like portraits [Please subscribe]

Author: Wang Shushu

Chapter 238 The First Emperor who doesn’t like portraits [Please subscribe]

Feng in Feng Chan refers to offering sacrifices to heaven, while Zen refers to offering sacrifices to earth.

Generally, it is a grand ceremony held by ancient emperors to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth during times of peace and prosperity, or when heaven brings auspiciousness.

There is such a description in "Guanzi Feng Chan Chapter": "In the past, there was no Huai clan who granted Mount Tai, and Zen said so; Huixi granted Mount Tai, and Zen said so; Shen Nong granted Mount Tai, and Zen said so; Emperor Yan granted Mount Tai... King Zhou Cheng granted Mount Tai,

Head of the Zen Society: After receiving the order, they will be granted Zen status.”

In other words, as early as the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period, the activity of conferring Zen had already appeared, and was highly valued by the rulers at that time, and it has been passed down since then.

Although the productivity level of feudal society has been greatly improved compared to the era of eating hair and drinking blood, on the whole, humans still know very little about the mystery, power and impermanence of nature.

Therefore, some rulers use the Zen ceremony to win the "favor" of nature, thus maximizing the consolidation of their own rule.

In addition, after hundreds or even thousands of years of development, Fengchan has already become an important part of ancient culture and has been widely recognized by emperors, ministers and common people.

If the Zen ceremony was completed well enough and successfully held, it would naturally be the icing on the cake for the feudal dynasty at that time.

Among all the recorded conferral ceremonies, the First Emperor's conferential ceremony on Mount Tai is definitely one that cannot be ignored.

When Hu Wujing reported to Ying Zheng and some scholars advised him to become a Buddhist monk at Mount Tai, Ying Zheng was shocked and expectant in his heart.

And Li Si lost no time in adding: "Your Majesty, in accordance with the will of heaven, has the power to unify the six countries. In ancient times, in order to highlight his achievements, the emperor would confer a Zen title;

Your Majesty has made more achievements than the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, so you should perform the ceremony of enshrining him in Zen, so that the people of the world will recognize that Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven who was ordered by Heaven and is now acting on behalf of Heaven."

"Um"

Ying Zheng calmly nodded slightly and immediately fell into deep thought.

The purpose of his eastward tour was to inspect the four directions, observe the people's sentiments, and show his majesty.

Li Si's advice was very much in line with his wishes.

But the meaning of Taishan Fengchan is not simple.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qi State was always known to the world as a great oriental country, so private schools in Qi State were particularly prosperous.

There are also many scholars.

The scholars in Qilu looked down upon the First Emperor.

Many people who did not want to be ruled by Qin gathered here.

In addition, Qi was the last country to be conquered. For Qin, whose political core was in the western border, how to stabilize its local rule was a problem that had to be solved.

The First Emperor personally went to Mount Tai, located in the Qilu area, to conduct Buddhist rituals, which became an effective way to solve this problem.

Of course, in addition to the complex political purpose, there is also the relationship between Zen worship and life that cannot be ignored.

As an inevitable thing in life, death is always a heavy topic.

For a supreme being like the First Emperor, the emotion of nostalgia for life was even stronger in him.

Therefore, the pursuit of longevity and even immortality is also a goal that he has always wanted to reach. However, the completion of this goal is obviously beyond the reach of human beings, so placing hope in nature has become one of his choices.

After all, Fengchan is not only an important way to express reverence for nature, but also because the mountains are long-standing, Fengchan is also a symbol of longevity.

But the current First Emperor knew very little about the ritual of enshrining Zen.

Because from the Qin State, which was a small border country to the country that now unites the six countries, no monarch has ever performed the ceremony of enshrining Zen.

"Since Tingwei also agrees with me to confer Zen, can you explain to me a little bit about this ceremony of conferring Zen?"

"this"

Li Si looked hesitant.

Although he was knowledgeable and knowledgeable about everything in the world, the First Emperor's question stumped him.

Because the study of etiquette is what Confucianism is good at, and its research is also the most thorough. When he gave advice to the First Emperor, he was more concerned with political purposes, and he knew only a limited amount of other things.

However, when the First Emperor took the initiative to ask, he had no choice but to answer, so he hesitated for a moment and then said bravely:

"Replying to Your Majesty, it is said that this enshrinement ceremony is an ancient gift and has been passed down to this day for seventy-two generations. The Zhou Dynasty stipulates that only the emperor can perform the enshrinement ceremony and offer sacrifices to Mount Tai;

The princes could only offer sacrifices to the mountains within their fiefdom;

As for how to enshrine Mount Tai, the veteran is not very clear."

"but."

As he spoke, he changed the topic and continued: "Gongyang Gan and all the Confucian scholars in the Doctor's Palace all regard themselves as knowledgeable about etiquette. Your Majesty can summon them to ask questions."

"hehe."

Ying Zheng smiled noncommittally.

He knew this was Li Si's shortcoming, so he didn't ask any more questions.

But Zheng Guo didn’t understand Mount Tai’s enshrinement of Zen, so he stood up again, cupped his hands towards Ying Zheng and said:

"Your Majesty, when you enshrine the Zen in Mount Tai, you will definitely work hard and mobilize the masses, but now the world is in turmoil, the remnants of the six countries have not yet been eliminated, and there are occasional changes in the borders;

The veteran is worried that they are secretly colluding and are still evil, disturbing His Majesty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, as far as I know, the ceremony of enshrining Zen has only been performed by King Cheng of Zhou and several subsequent kings. After the Zhou Dynasty moved eastward, such a grand ceremony has never been performed again!"

Feng Quji echoed.

Feng Jie glanced at him, stood up and said seriously: "Your Majesty, in the past, Duke Huan of Qi dominated the princes and wanted to perform the ceremony of enshrining him, but Guan Zhong finally persuaded him not to do so.

Guan Zhong once said: "If there is no auspicious sign in the world, if you perform the ceremony of enshrining Zen, you will anger the emperor of heaven and bring disaster to the state." Therefore, the old minister also feels that it is good to be cautious."

"What the imperial censor said is wrong!"

As soon as Feng Jie finished speaking, Yao Jia retorted: "Let's not mention that Duke Huan of Qi is a prince. Let's talk about the conditions for being granted Zen status stipulated by the Zhou Dynasty. Only the emperor can be granted Zen status. He is not worthy, let alone compared with His Majesty."

"We, the Qin Dynasty, have inherited the will of God and have a long history. Its auspicious omens have already appeared during the period of Duke Xiaowen. Do you know that Duke Xiaowen hunted the black dragon and obtained the auspiciousness of the black water, so that he could destroy the Eastern Zhou Dynasty?

Your Majesty has acted for Heaven and destroyed the six kingdoms. At this time, it is time to enshrine Mount Tai to respond to the Emperor of Heaven and thank him for his protection!"

"this"

Feng Jie didn't expect Yao Jia to use Zhao Hao's theory of "doing justice for heaven" to refute him, so he couldn't help but secretly scolded him for being shameless. He was about to speak out to refute, but Ying Zheng raised his hand to stop him: "What you dear friends are saying is reasonable.

I'm thinking about me and the country, but there's no need to fight anymore."

"The matter of granting Zen status will be discussed later. In fact, South Vietnam is uncertain, and I have no intention of granting Zen status. The main purpose of this eastward tour is to inspect the world, observe the people's sentiments, and clean up the remaining evildoers of the Six Kingdoms."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Ying Zheng's speech satisfied all the ministers present.

Feng Quji and his son felt that the First Emperor accepted the suggestions of Li Si and others on the surface, but in fact he did not approve of them in his heart.

However, Li Si and others felt that the First Emperor accepted their suggestion, which meant that they still had the upper hand.

Next, Ying Zheng took Li Si, Feng Quji and others to discuss national affairs together. It was not until late at night that he dragged his tired body back to the palace.

On the other side, Chunan Pavilion.

Laifu is playing with the wicks to make the study brighter.

Not far away, Zhao Hao was lying on the ground with his butt stuck out and working hard.

Because he wanted to establish a bank and issue treasury bonds and banknotes, he had not yet designed the templates for treasury bonds and banknotes, so he had to hurry up and prepare.

Although movable type printing had been developed before the publication of newspapers, the templates for printing national debt rolls and banknotes still used woodblock printing.

When it comes to engraving and printing, the most important thing is not to make mistakes. Otherwise, if you make one mistake, all your previous efforts will be wasted and you will have to engrave it all over again.

Undoubtedly, this is a delicate job.

Zhao Hao painted very seriously. He wanted to design a special template and wanted to auction it for a high price in the antique market in later generations.

So he took it upon himself to design the first version of Da Qin's paper coins.

Just like the coins of later generations, they are not only beautiful, but also have collection value.

"Young master, do you really want to issue such coins?"

In the study, Laifu looked at the template designed by Zhao Hao, tilted his head and said: "If we carve according to the template designed by the young master, I am afraid that many craftsmen will be tired and it will take a long time!"

Zhao Hao was immersed in the beautiful fantasy of a 'designer'. Now he didn't like others to contradict him, so he curled his lips and said:

"What do you know? Even though the design of this template is complicated, it is an anti-counterfeiting mark. If the design is too simple, it will be easy for outsiders to imitate it!"

After saying that, he said seriously: "This matter is related to the stability of the country!"

Laifu thought about it and felt it made sense, then nodded solemnly.

"Young Master is right, but why does this template only have patterns and no words?"

"No words?"

Zhao Hao reacted for a moment, and then realized that the template he designed seemed to have no words.

Whether it is a banknote or a national bond, there must be words on it, such as how many taels, how much, etc.
To be continued...